Board Thread:Role Plays/@comment-25268570-20150216024744/@comment-24901923-20150314052327

Kieran opened up this next round by tossing several small Will-O-Wisps in quick succession, using short jabs from each hand to maximize the speed of his output, which was about 6 Wisps in 3 seconds. Several landed at point blank range, just close enough for Aiden to feel the concentrated concussive detonations. Now that Aiden knew what to expect, Kieran and Roderick took their buckets of balls, and tossed them into the air. Albus caught and brought them to him with his Semblance, setting them into a slow spiral so that he could retain control. With the wolf Faunus ready, Kieran launched another barrage, and kept it going this time, as Albus sent in tennis balls from his "cloud" and Roderick managed their projectiles' trajectory with his glyphs. They came so thickly that Aiden was almost entirely on the defensive now. The sounds of Kieran's Will-O-Wisps drew the attention of the other occupants of the gym, who ceased their activities to see what was going on.

"Son of a bitch!", Arcturus remarked in surpise. The sentiment was echoed throughout the room. Aiden was taking the intense assault better than he would've expected, though the sheer volume resulted in plenty of hits. Though they were small, discharging so many Will-O-Wisps quickly depleted Kieran's Aura, and he called a stop, breathing heavily from spending so much of his reserves so fast. Albus looked somewhat relieved, as the effort of managing so many objects at once was a strain for him. Arcturus turned to Aizen and stepped onto the Plum Flower poles, walking on them as though they were solid ground.

"Your leader gave us a fine show, I think. Let's take this to the floor. Electra will have the next bout, and then it's my turn. All this action is making me itch for a spar. Rambert? Please get me a Grimmslayer blade and sparring gauntlets, will you?", Arcturus said. Team BEAR's second in command, who had been standing by the Plum Flower poles, set off to fulfill Arcturus' request. Arcturus summoned some glyphs to act as steps, and walked down to the floor, gesturing for Aizen to follow. The freshman did so, and the sophomore dispelled the ad hoc staircase. Electra simply jumped down and used one of her Uplift glyphs to slow her fall. The trio walked over to a free sparring ring, and Electra and Aizen got ready to square off again.

This bout was different from the last. Those watching could tell that Aizen had switched to a much faster style, one that caught Electra off guard. The rules of the spar forbade using Dust or Semblance, so she was unable to break Aizen's offensive and regain the initiative. Thinking desperately, she ducked into a lunging crouch and thrust upward, only for her to find her strike parried and Aizen's blade at her neck before she could retreat into a roll.

"Fatal blow. Aizen. Reset. That was quite unexpected, Aizen. Most impressive.", Arcturus called out as the rest of the gym's occupants cheered and clapped. Electra holstered her gunblade and shook hands with the freshman.

"Good job. I'm not often beaten by another swordfighter our age.", she said graciously before stepping out of the way. Arcturus swapped his lantern shield/gauntlets with some basic demi-gauntlets. Rambert unsheathed the weapon Arcturus asked for and handed it to him. It was a sickle-sword, with a waved edge, guards bent up towards the blade, spiked pommel, and hook points just behind the point on the rear and below the curved upper half of the blade on the front.

"My father's family, the Silvermanes, have a long tradition of swordsmanship. I keep up with it to honor them, even if I forsook the sword and shield for the namesake weapons of my mother's family. Albus does too. This is the sort of blade used by Grimmslayer swordsmen, for it's versatility. You saw a bit of their style with Electra, thank's to Grandpa Crassus' training, but the style is meant for a sword like this.", Arcturus explained.