The training ground was a remarkable place. It was burned, beaten, battered, ripped, and blew up many times, but like magic it was repaired every day. This had been the place where many powerful figures in arda had their training matches at. Blood was shed here, and families were broken here. It was these grounds where many people ended their lives and ended others. These grounds were remarkable. No matter how badly out of shape they it had gotten, no matter how much blood was spilt, it always went back to normal.

Today, the grounds would be used for the assassin known as Jade Valdis. Her body glowed in the suns light as she stood in the middle of the grounds and awaited her sparing partner for the day. It was none other than the man she had met in the tavern that bar fight. Nathaniel his name was.

He was late. Jade stood in the middle of the grounds preparing her weapons and her arsenal ready for a small bout, but she was stuck waiting an excessively long time for Nathan. Why do men always think that women can be stood up, but men couldn’t be? Jade realized this was a training bout, but the thought of showing him that females can be just as good as any male was a goal that she was going to show him. Once he finally decided to show up that is. Either way, she was not alone. Her wraith was with her to keep her company, so she wasn’t too pissed. She just really wanted to get this started.

He was late. Even without any way to judge time, Nathaniel knew he was late. Not that he was happy about it; oh no, far from that actually. A fiasco involving meat pies and a well-aimed shot from a drunk (he'd have ducked if he'd thought the man could aim while slumped over the table), he'd not only gotten into something of a scuffle but then had to change on top of it. Which frustrated him, because he only had so much clothing and he really didn't like his green outfits as much as his usual red ones. There was something royal about maroon.

Cursing faintly under his breath he stepped through the gates, the thick grasses of the land shrinking down as the trodden path was stepped upon. A thousand men had traversed this place, and in their ignorance for nature they had trampled what few shreds of grass futilely poked through the dirt. Nathaniel was no different, who crushed dirt, stone and weed under his heel. Heels covered by black boots resting just at his ankle, so they were almost worthy of being called shoes. Tucked into them were loose black pants, and a green vest was on atop it. Over that was his armor, the plates glistening in the sun.

Then, of course, his cape. Which he'd refused to come without. And his sword, recently customized, which rested in its sheath. It was ordinary enough upon first glance, but one of the sides was fitted with teeth, the serrations perhaps little over half an inch. What made the barbs interesting was that they were twisted so that they went in easily, but tore thick chunks when pulled backwards. And of course the magical quality which allowed them to extend three times their usual size, making the pain all the more excruciating. Particularly lanky foes could more or less be sawed in half! Made of mithril, it also was capable of standing up to a number of stronger enemies. It truly was a marvel of its own.

"Ms. Valdis, my sincerest apologies." Nathaniel's words were crisp as he approached. "I was... detained, as it were. I hope I didn't keep you too long?" The smooth words did not carry the weight at all of his frustration, and it was hardly possible to tell he'd been upset without some form of innate ability or magical talent. Cracking his neck he stepped up into the circle, walking opposite of her and drawing his blade. "Shall we begin, then?"

Jade had seen Nathaniel coming from the distance. She prepared herself as she untucked her weapons and readied herself for the worst to come. This was a training match of course, but if Nathan was really the sexist that she thought he was, then he wouldn't let up at all. Chances are is that he would actually aim to kill, but that would be where he would be messed up. If he thought that she didn't come with a game plan than he would surely loose. Depending on if he fought to kill, or held back to try to make it an effective training match would determine how Jade would go about this fight. The silent assassin could use her speed and agility to her extreme advantage, or she could go toe to toe with a towering brute and show him that she is a formidable foe. Either way, this was going to be fun for Jade licked her lips seductively and treaded forward in the direction of Nathan.

"Why do men think they can make the women wait." Jade said as she walked right up to Nathan. Jade moved in close as she used her index finger and middle finger to walk up Nathaniel's chest in a seductive way and stopped at his chin where she moved closer. "Im not one you want to keep waiting sweetie." Jade said as she moved herself closer to him as if she was about to kiss him. Just as the heat between his face was radiating onto hers she pushed herself away turning her back to him. In a split second Jade ducked her body down and turned her body in a complete 180 degree turn and shot her left leg out aimed for a quick leg sweep. Hit or miss this was the beginning of a long day.

Jade finished her leg sweep as she forcefully shot her hands into the ground pushing herself upwards. She then outstretched her right leg for a rising kick, while in the air she contorted her body so that she do a 360 degree turn in the air. As she reached the climax of her upward kick, she brought her left leg out forcefully as she aimed a back heel kick to Nathaniel. As she was airborne however, she managed to draw her dagger. After the quick heel kick, he tucked her body together and did a semi front flip landing onto the balls of her toes. She clutched her dagger tightly as she did a barrel roll to the right and turned towards Nathaniel and prepared for his strike back. This was it, the time for Jade to show that she was just as good any other fighter.

Nathaniel smiled thinly. "It was not by my choice that I kept you waiting. I suspected you'd appreciate me coming here not dressed in meat, so I sought to change." A deep bow was given, one that curved his spine and made him slide one foot forward for balance. A graceful bow, one taught many eves ago when he'd worn the skin of another man. A nicer, gentler man who might have actually cared. "I apologize if I kept you waiting long." As it was his words did not hold the hollow ring of lies. However, they were truth only because she was a business partner; her gender had nothing to do with his apology.

When she drew in close he felt a smile grace his features, and felt his cheeks move with the same grace his long legs had. Practiced. Curteous. Nathaniel would be lying if he claimed Jade was not at least somewhat attractive, and he appreciated the contact. Still, years of wisdom had taught him wariness; he knew not to trust her just because she drew close. Indeed, even the hounds had to be paid off at night for him to borrow. Besides, his senses tingled when she drew close, a sort of electricity seeming to radiate off of her. She was dangerous, and he didn't fancy changing genders.

"I'm not one you want keep waiting, Sweetie." She whispered, her voice low and seductive as her hands trailed up his armored chest. Nathaniel smiled once more, ready to respond and clasp her hand-- but she spun quickly out of his reach, and he showed not the faintest signs of surprise. Rather, his smile grew. So, this was the beginning, was it? So be it.

Almost as soon as she had drawn back she spun back around, assaulting him with a barrage of blows. The speed was too much for him to draw his sword, so instead he wrenched his sheath from his side and used it as a make shift shield. The initial sweeping kick he blocked, though the rising kicks he had to defend with his forearms as they rose too quickly and fluidly for him to hold off with the covering. It hurt quite a fair bit, as the momentum made her blows stronger. It was still better than taking it to the face though, and within seconds she had hit the ground.

Nathaniel spun swiftly to keep his eyes on her, drawing his sword that it was out and ready in one hand. The other he used to toss the sheath aside, and carefully he began to circle her. "Not bad," He admitted smoothly. "You have a strong offense." Then he stood more straighter, a smirk gracing him. "Though I can't help but feel you're trying to get me back for my tardiness." The light tease was proof enough of how comfortable he was in his situation.

Nathaniel had no intentions of killing her, or maiming her. Her gender also played little in his treatment of her. However, a plan had brewed within his skull, and he couldn't help but enjoy how offensive she was being. She's forcing me on the defensive. That could be good for less equipped foes, but what about ones with heavy armor, or defending posts? She needs to learn to taunt as well... he didn't doubt that she had that tucked in her arsenal as well.

Upfront force seemed to fail. Not as bad as jade though, but either way you look a the coin, it failed. The blows were all blocked, and the third kick completely missed. He was faster than she originally thought, but here was his downfall. Because he had on plated armor, his armor was heavy and he would grow tired a lot faster than Jade would. Her dagger could slice through his armor though, but that required a lot of close courter battling and with that sword in his hand, close courters would be very risky. His movement would also be somewhat impaired because of the armor, even if he was used to the weight, it would still prove to be his downfall.

“So you think your skilled.” Jade said as she rose to her feet sighing softly as the thoughts of what she would do next came to her mind. They were in the training grounds, filled with low and high trees alike. This was the ideal place for assassins. It was more than likely certain that he did not have the same speed and agility that she had, so keeping a high momentum up would slaughter him. The surroundings were the perfect place for the silent assassin, and its time to show that.

“Lets kick this up a bit more.” Jade said as she took off in a full sprint for the trees. She came to the first low wise tree where she made a quick jump and planted her feet to the side of the tree. She then used her strong legs and propelled herself upwards as she turned her body to face Nathan. While she was turning she had unhooked her bow and had snapped a barbed arrow, and a poison arrow into it. She came to the next tree and she followed the same movements that she did on the previous tree and launched herself in the opposite direction. She launched the two arrows at him but the main purpose of this was not to get him hit, but buy herself time to scale the trees until she had an incredible assassin vantage point. Lets see him scale the trees as fast as she did, she would be surprised, but she had the clear advantage here. Lets see what his plan of action would be, this was not so much of a training match, as it was a test to see the tactic skills of Nathaniel.

Nathaniel gave a smirk at her first words. "Well, I don't like to brag..." She was far better than he'd expected, all things considered. She was still female, and distantly he wondered how much greater she might be had her gender been different. Then again, women were deadly when it came to this profession. Their bodies were built for such lithe manuevers and agile movements. Jade had been correct in assuming he had no way to keep up with her speed, nor climb up a tree. Even without his armour he would have had difficulty, his larger frame making it difficult for the branches to maintain his weight. Nathaniel wasn't worried about that though, and even as he watched her race towards the forestry he moved back, away from her.

Crunch, clank, crack. The armor shifted, the ground squashed, and within moments Nathaniel had crossed backwards across the threshold of the circle. The stands were only a few feet away from him, and within moments he could touch it. However, twin arrows were approaching, niether of which he wanted planted in his back if he did hop the stands. So Nathaniel skirted to the left, intending to bring the sword crashing down on the arrows. To his shock the mark was missed, as if some gust of wind had forced them at his form. Had it not been for his plated armor Nathaniel would be suffering from the effects of poison, which was never a matter one wanted to play with. Still, he couldn't help but wonder how those arrows had known to hit their mark even as it had moved; it was by sheer luck they'd missed flesh.

So, the little girl knows how to play after all... Pulling his sword close he moved backwards, a few inches free of the wooden stands, Falling back he let his weight pull him, and rather than hit the side of it he disappeared within the wood entirely. Even his sword was pulled with him, and the disappearance of the male showed that he had his own tricks up his sleeves. Though an assassin perched high was certain death for a ground-based warrior such as him, without any target to find she was at the disadvantage. The stands, being set up circular with spaces between, promised him the oppurtunity to attack from most directions. Even the small gaps between weren't enough to reveal him too long. There was also the ability to climb the stands, which would give him the leverage needed to throw whatever he might find in the stands.

I'll let her use up her weapons. Force her to me. It was a fine strategy; if the assassin ran out of arrows, she'd have to fight close again. And in close quarters he could easily defeat her; she was fast, but one good hit from his sword would be enough to down her, he was sure. If not because of the length of the blade then because of the barbs on the side; tearing it out was agonizing for the strongest foe, and Jade wasn't exactly beefy enough for it to avoid injuring vital organs. Even if he could catch an arm or a leg he could likely ensure an arterie was cut in the process.

Moving, he enjoyed the odd sensation of being here and there at the same moment. He felt like some cat defying laws set down by the most strict of scholars*, the whole of his being denying what it was. He could perceive light, but saw none of it. Similarily, he knew of touch yet felt absolutely nothing. It wasn't quite like being numb, for he was capable of his usual movements. Yet there was a lack of signal, a failure to register anything being there. No wind or sun, no last minute flares of adrenaline-fueled nerves. Even the clothing he wore-- no, the very skin was pleasantly absent. Yet something registered at the back of his mind, directing him. Perhaps the hail of noise he could pick up, amplified here in the wood (would his skull be crushed by such an opressive force if it failed to exist?), and through the varying volumes he could decipher where he was in the stands.

Slowly, carefully, he edged as far left from his entrance as he could. Just beyond the sound was booming, and it sounded as if the God of Thunder had come from the most high of perches upon clouds to rattle the place. Nathaniel drew back, the abysmal nothingness giving him one last embrace before he flung himself from its grip, lunging out from the side of the stand. His poise was like a deers, legs spread in a vee and left foot leading. The moment it touched wood it disappeared, and once more he fell into it as if it were merely water, molecules nothing but gnats to be swatted aside at will. There was a comfort to being engulfed by nothing again, but it was disturbing as well. Silently he listened, every sense alive and perfectly alert. Nathaniel waited for signs of Jade, sounds of her moving or knocking another arrow to let fly in his direction. This game had turned to cat and mouse, and Nathaniel found himself unusually invigorated by the reversal of roles.

Come, my little hunter... Surely you've got something else up your sleeve. He purred to none but himself, silently willing Jade to attack again. This was exactly what he needed and wanted; forcing him onto the defensive meant his loss of energy was minimal compared to hers. Soon she would exhaust her energy from the barrage of offensive attacks, and then she'd be fodder for the beast.