Training by the Lake (Rivers, Serenity)

[Roxanne]

Roxanne nodded as Rivers continued to successfully defend himself, considering him to be pretty decent with a sword. His defensive work seemed to better than his offensive though and in a normal sword fight, that would put him at a disadvantage. She smiled as he managed to avoid being swept off his feet, only stumbling slightly. That was good, his foot work was as quick as his reaction time.

She proceeded to press her advantage, moving to keep him off balance by following him as he moved backward and allowing him no time to properly regain his footing. After a few more quick parries, she twisted around Rivers and swung her sword low at the back of his thighs, forgetting to tamper her speed but still using only half her strength.

[Rivers]

Rivers backpedal and continues to desperately deflect Roxanne's attacks. As she begins to press the attack harder he raises his hand as if to grab his shorter sword with both hands. Then suddenly a wooden knife was hurldeling towards Roxanne's face as she cuts behind him.

Rivers sets his stance and moves to block the blow a wooden knife now in his offhand in addition to the short sword.

Serenity would be able to tell that Rivers had not created a tunnel to get the throwing knives. He gives Roxanne a boyish grin.

[Roxanne]

Roxanne flipped backwards as she noticed the knife headed for her that came out of no where, hearing it before she saw it.

She saw Rivers produce more weapons and he grinned at her after he blocked her attack. This was getting interesting and she returned his grin before darting forward. She swung her sword low then feinted, bringing it up in a flash for a frontal attack and parrying against Rivers with lightning fast reflexes.

[Rivers]

Rivers clicks his tongue as Roxanne evades his attack then immediately recovers. Her charge is met with a thick cloud of dirt Rivers kicks into the air before throwing his knife at her leg. He again starts back pedaling and attempting to avoid a direct confrontation, but her attack nicks his offhand. He winces in pain then puts the hand behind his back, as if it had really been to injured to use.

He suddenly kicks up his long brown coat to obscure himself.

[Roxanne]

Roxanne was both surprised and at the same time, somewhat not surprised at the sudden cloud of dust Rivers kicked up to distract and blind her. She hadn't been expecting it but he didn't quite seem like one to fight fair. Instead of continuing forward where she could not see, Roxanne chose to jump up and over the dust. She heard the thrown knife hit the ground a second later as she landed behind Rivers.

Having been more focused on the knife and her landing, Roxanne didn't see which way Rivers went after he obscured himself with his cloak. The result being that he ended up backpedaling right into her and she fell on her ass with an audible 'oof'.

[Rivers]

As Rivers is surprised to suddenly run into Roxanne and he ends up toppling down along with her as they fall. He immediately spins around and straddles her stomach between his legs. He grins as he produces another knife then suddenly a cold chill runs down his spine as he realizes his situation and he raises his arms in front of himself to brace for impact, after all straddling someone never worked that well against someone with inhuman strength.

[Roxanne]

"Well, this is most unexpected," Roxanne said as she found herself pinned underneath Rivers. Seeing as he raised his arms instead of attacking, she decided to somewhat grant him what he was clearly prepared for. She sat up as best she could, wrapping her arms around him and flipping him over, quickly almost before he'd have time to register it but carefully. She didn't want to hurt him really, but there would be bruises.

Now, straddling Rivers, Roxanne had the clear advantage. The only slight difference in the position was she wasn't straddling his stomach, but had herself firmly planted on his lap due to having sat up before rolling him. She leveled her sword against his neck, leaning forward slowly but not putting any pressure on the blade. "If only we weren't in polite company," she whispered in a sultry tone, her breath likely tickling the hair around his ear. She sat back up, her preferred intentions clear in her gaze. "I win," she declared.

[Rivers]

Rivers had expected Roxanne to shove him, but as she reaches up and flips him over he adjusts strategies. As he she leans forward and makes her declaration of victory Rivers smiles up at her and says. "Well I don't know...let's call it a draw." He suggests, and Roxanne would feel something hard poking into her stomach. Looking down he had placed the knife just above her navel.

He stared up at her with a mischievous grin on his face. "Now, as much as I enjoy this situation...I am afraid that this is not conducive to training. Or really much else." He admits as he props himself up on his elbows.

[Serenity Caine]

Serenity lowered her arm one final time, and turned her body to watch them spar, sitting in the grass. Her arm was aching loudly, transferring to her shoulder blade and upper back. She rolled it lightly, and watched them in amusement as the fight went on. She saw Rivers take a blow to his hand, not having a preference over who won.

When the fighting took a turn, Serenity found herself watching more closely, focusing on the maneuvers as well as the situation as a whole. Rivers somehow ended up on Roxy, and Serenity arched an eyebrow. Interesting turn of events. Serenity leaned back on her hands, using them to support her in the grass, watching with a smile as Roxy managed to flip them over. She saw both of them lift a weapon to the other. They seemed nearly evenly matched. She saw Roxy speak but couldn’t make out the words, however Rivers wasn’t so subtle. Serenity furrowed her eyebrows together and put two and two together, rolling her eyes. She got up and rolled out her shoulder more, facing the lake rather than them. She wasn’t mad at Roxy, nor was she mad at Rivers, but the situation of flirting in front of someone always made her feel awkward and left out— not that she wanted to be apart of whatever they had going.

Serenity glanced over her should at Rivers, as he props up on his elbows, seeing the grin. She let out a silent sigh, trying to rid herself of any petty jealously that was rising in her. She and Rivers weren’t anything to get worked up about. They kissed, so what? He kisses many women… He was her friend before anything else. She needed to remember that. Serenity took a deep breath and placed her sabre back on its fabric once more, removing it from the grass. She remained silent, waiting for them to be done, it was awkward enough as it was.

[Roxanne]

Roxanne looked down as she felt a light jab in her stomach and Rivers insisted on a draw. She shook her, smiling and amused. "I suppose I have no choice. A draw then," she conceded, nodding. As he pointed out that their position was not conducive to anything, at least not in the present location or company, she sighed and stood then offered him a hand to pull him to his feet.

She looks over to see what progress Serenity has made. Seeing as the other woman had stopped her maneuvers, Roxanne assumed she'd gotten tired out. She also noticed that Serenity seemed to be avoiding looking at them which puzzled her. She considered the situation, then shrugged. "Shall we work on your magic now?" she called over, having decided to ignore whatever problem Serenity was having with the two of them. It was clearly personal and thus did not concern her.

[Rivers]

"Well I don't think it would have gone so well for me if you hadn't held back. This only serves to remind me that I'm relatively weak in the grand scheme of things." He admits with a chuckle, though he waves his hand when she offers to help him up as he looks over at the gloomy Serenity.

"What's up sport?" He asks, placing an arm on Serenity's shoulder to use her for support. He was surprised by how out of practice he was, though he was more or less steady at this point, and he looked at Serenity with a smile. He did not know exactly what was going on, but he had some guesses based on what he knew of Serenity's personality. He stops leaning on her and produces a wooden knife from his pocket.

"This reminds me, the other thing I want to teach you is how to conceal and use a knife. These are more useful on a day to day basis since they can be concealed, and if you are good you can also use them as a projectile." he explains, seeming to believe the explaination he was giving her.

[Serenity Caine]

Serenity nodded to Roxy, clearing her throat, but before she could move, Rivers leaned on her shoulder. She arched an eyebrow at the nickname, and shook her head. Sport? Please. She moved away from him, still rubbing her arm lightly. She looked again to Roxy, but Rivers once more stopped her, producing a wooden knife and explaining it.

Concealing shouldn’t be too hard, though using it as a projectile seems sneaky… She was skeptical, glancing back and forth between them both. She really knew very little on the matter.

Which shall we work on first? Magic, or throwing knives? She spoke, reigning in her tone. She was not jealous, she was not mad, she was okay. She chanted in her head, a small smile producing on her lips. She was fine. It did not concern her. She looked to them both with the smile on her face.

[Roxanne]

Roxanne kept an eye on Rivers as he seemed a bit tired out or possibly strained. She thought she had been gentle with him but now a worried look settled on her face as he leaned on Serenity for support. Though instead of offering to train her in magic, he holds up a small knife and starts explaining about concealment. Roxanne looked down at her bare feet, wishing she'd worn her boots which she kept her own knife concealed in. "He has a good point, Serenity. I usually keep a dagger concealed in one of my boots," she added, not really being helpful but offering an example of sorts.

As Serenity asks which one they want to work her on, Roxanne shrugs and looks at Rivers, clearly deferring to him in this decision. "I'm fine for either so I'll leave you two to make that call," she said.

[Rivers]

Rivers frowns as Serenity suddenly pulls away from him, after a few moments he realizes what is going on and a wide grin spreads across his face. He manages to wrestle it down after a second or two and he suddenly appears in front of Serenity again leaning down and looking up into her eyes. Rivers pale brown eyes seemed to hold a playful glint and his expression was one of curiosity.

"When you get a bit better the two of us should spar as well." He suggests then stands up straight as Roxanne talks.

As both girls look to him Rivers grins and shrugs his shoulders. "Hey don't look at me, Ser's the one who's going to be learning. I will do what I can to assist." He smiles wolfishly at Serenity as he raises his hands. "Well I'll be happy to help either way."

[Serenity Caine]

Serenity arched an eyebrow at Rivers as he grinned, not sure what he found so humorous. She found herself inches away from him moments later as he towered over her, looking directly into her eyes. She had to blink a few times to allow her eyes to focus on his entire face, the sudden close proximity causing them to blur. She saw the look in his eyes, slightly contrasting to that on the rest of his face, and she felt her expression turn to one of hesitance.

Only if you’re my teacher. Her voice was soft, her face remained the same, but her tone was far different. She doubted Roxy would hear her, but she also didn’t know how demons worked. Serenity cleared her throat as he stood straight again, glancing over at the other red head. It seemed no one knew what to do next.

The dull pain in her arm suggested to move on to magic for the time being, wanting a longer break before returning to physical combat. Well… Ice, or fire? She glanced between the two again, knowing that she’d need them both eventually.