animus_network | Video; Mourn the Past, Strengthen the Present

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Video; Mourn the Past, Strengthen the Present

Last month, I posted to the Network asking for those who would be willing teach others how to fight--both with and without powers--to contact me. Many of you were willing to share your talents with those who needed them, and I thank you very much for that.

[Diarmuid smiles and bows his head for a moment before continuing.]

However, aside from a few people who I have already helped find teachers, I haven't really heard from anyone who would like to take advantage of the skills that have been offered. I understand that many of you have probably already found teachers amongst those who you know. For those who still might be looking, I thought that I would post a list of those who offered their services so you can take advantage of them should you ever wish to.

I will warn you, though, that most of these people are battle-hardened warriors and do not pull their punches. If you take them up on their offers, please be prepared to work your hardest. They will expect no less and those who you are fighting for deserve no less.

Here is the list. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Since I know most of the people on the list, if you are unsure who you should contact, I will be glad to direct you to a teacher.

Teacher List:

Diarmuid Ua Duibhne: Teaches armed and unarmed combat. Spear and sword focused. Duel-wield specialty. Can teach all levels of fighters.
Mayu: Armed Combat. Axe focus.
Cerberus: Teaches armed and unarmed combat. Knowledgeable with almost all weapons. Specialty in modern weapons.
Saber of White: Teaches armed and unarmed combat. Sword specialty.
Aleph: Teaches armed combat. Knows melee weapons. Sword specialty.
Sir Lancelot du Lac: Teaches armed and unarmed combat. Specialty in non-traditional weapons.
Ken Amada: Teaches armed combat. Specialty in spears and improvising weapons.
Enoch: Skilled in the use of slings. Also skilled in making them.

If anyone would like to be added to the list, please feel free to let me know. Also, let me know if you would like the information listed by your names altered in anyway or wish to be removed from the list. This list isn't a static thing by any means.

On a sadder note, for any of you who knew Mami Tomoe, it has come to my attention that she has been sent home. I know she was close to many people. She left me a cookie recipe and since Riki has given us such a good selection of food this month, I can think of no better way to honor her memory than to bake some of the sweets she made so well. Anyone who would like to join me is welcome, though, I cannot guarantee my cookies will be anywhere near as good as the ones she made. I--

[For a moment it seems like Diarmuid will continue, but after a few seconds, he just shakes his head and ends the feed.]

----

(OOC: If anyone would like to meet up with Diarmuid in the kitchen to try making those cookies, feel free to tag your response with Action, Kitchen and cooking shenanigans can be had!)

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[Diarmuid shakes his head.]

Not freaky--I grew up in Ancient Ireland, remember? It was just unexpected.

[Though he has to admit, of all the questions he probably should be asking, only one actually makes it out of his mouth, and Diarmuid can't help but blush when he realizes what he's actually asked.]

That can't be comfortable...can it?

[Asks the guy wearing skintight armor made out of who knows what...]

Oh, cool then.

[She does arch a brow at the question, cocking a hip and motioning at him with her mouth pulling into a smile.]

It looks a lot more comfortable than... well, whatever that is. Looks constricting.

[Diarmuid smiles sheepishly and pulls at the material of his armor.]

I have no idea why my armor of old was recreated like this. It's not constricting, but...I suppose it is better than fighting in the nude as some of our brothers in the past did.

Uh-huh.

[Asagi shrugs and taps at the metal of a bit of armor.]

Well, it's not much, but at least I'm not naked either.

[A pause, considering.]

I mean, probably could be, but that would be difficult.

The advantage to charging into battle naked is the fact no one expects it, so you get that mental advantage, but a mental advantage does little against guns, spears, and other thrown weapons.

[Diarmuid shrugs.]

As long as it's protective I suppose it doesn't really matter what it looks like. The oddest looking armor can provide the best protection if made in the right way.

[Spells, protective fields and other things like that can make even the lightest armor stronger than any weapon.]

I guess there is that. But it's too cumbersome to bother, in my case.

[Completely lacking in any kind of propriety, whoops.]

I'll give you that- and believe me, I'm a lot more protected than I look.

[She holds an arm out to the side, and the violet protrusion on the outside of her arm lengthens and sharpens into a short blade. She bows with an overly-dramatic flourish, and looks up at him from her bow, a smirk growing on her face.]

In any case... may I have this dance?

[The way her weapon appears causes Diarmuid to raise a curious eyebrow, but he doesn't ask for now. There will be plenty of time for questions later. He flips backward to place some distance between them and then raises his spear into a ready position.]

Usually, it's the gentleman who leads the dance, but this particular gentleman owes you for taking off so quickly during our race. The first move is yours, Asagi.

[A smirk crosses his face.]

Make good use of it. A dance is no fun when too many advantages are given, and so I will give no more.

[She watches him move away, eyes narrowing, and can't help the way her fingers twitch and then curl into fists.

He's strong, she can sense that much. Way stronger than any of the I-weapons she'd taken down. The thought sends an excited shiver up her spine, and she brings her arm up, blade lengthening.]

I wouldn't dream of asking for it.

[Her first attack is fast and brutal, bringing her arm across and down as if she means to slice him apart diagonally.]

Excellent.

[Fast as she is, he's easily able to dodge the attack, though he does more than just dodge it. Diarmuid's leap takes him up and over her head in less than the blink of an eye. His feet barely hit the ground before he is pushing himself forward, spear point aimed at her back. However, the blow is a feint and as soon as he gets a little closer, he spins his spear around and drops lower, swinging the spear's weighted butt at her knees.]

Not bad!

[She jumps over the incoming thrust, which is fortunate because the sweep at her knees misses as she jams her sword into the floor, extending it so she can twist and bring her leg down at him, heel extending into another blade as it swings down.]

[Multiple blades that can change at will. While Diarmuid doesn't express his appreciation in words, it gleams in his eyes. He might not speak much during battle, but that doesn't mean that an observant person won't be able to tell just how he feels.

He blocks her blow with the shaft of his spear, pushing back with inhuman force, hoping that between that and him kicking out at the blade she has dug into the floor, he can throw her off balance.]

[She's got them everywhere too- it's so handy being a cloneblade.

She smirks at him knowingly, and while he does manage to shove her away (he's stronger than she expected) she retracts the blade she'd dug into the ground, dropping into a crouch and sweeping out with her leg again, blade at her heel still extended.]

~~[Kinky.~~]

[For just the blink of an eye, Diarmuid's spear flat out disappears leaving both of his hands free so he can tumble backward away from her leg sweep. The spear is right back in his hands, though. Hoping to catch her recovering from the missed move, Diarmuid immediately moves back at her--or perhaps that should be above her since he launches himself into the air, spear aimed at her heart from above.]

[~~Oh, absolutely.~~

She's curious about the way the spear disappears, but makes note to ask about it later, when she's not quite as preoccupied. She doesn't have time to bring her arms up to block after the miss, so instead several portions of her hair- including the largest, vaguely cat-ear shaped ones- spear themselves upward like living whips to try and make him either miss or divert his course. Either way, it will give her the opportunity to get herself together for his next attack.]

[Well, that is something Diarmuid wasn't expecting. How often is a person attacked by someone's hair after all? He doesn't let it throw him for long, though, bringing his leg around so he can get the very slightest contact with one of those tendrils of hair and redirect his momentum backward. For a man known to have walked the razor shape edge of his sword and who regularly perches on the pointed end of his spear, it doesn't take more than just a feather touch to rebound, and he is there and gone before she can react to try and ensnare him with those tendrils.

However, even as Diarmuid moves to land away from her, his spear moves in to try and hit her. He might not be as adept at throwing his weapon as his brother is, but that doesn't mean Diarmuid doesn't know how. The weapon is carefully angled under her hair and thrown while he is still close enough to her that she will be hard pressed to dodge it. Even so, he fully expects her to either dodge of knock it away and is full ready to call it back to his hand when he lands.]

[She's just full of surprises, but some of them you really don't want her to pull out the stops for, Diarmuid. Still, she looks suitably impressed when he just rebounds off the sharp edge like that, giving a low whistle.

She doesn't try and dodge the spear when it comes- instead those same tendrils snatch it just shy of her stomach, leaving a thin, gleaming line of silver- in cloneblade form, she apparently doesn't bleed red. She tosses the spear away though, and dives forward, intending to come in low with an upward slice of an arm.]

[The silver blood is surprising to Diarmuid, not so much because of its color but because of the fact it means that he actually managed to strike her. That is something he really hadn't expected. Still, he doesn't let that surprise slow him down because he knows she will take full advantage of that and he will be the one bleeding next.

He calls his spear back to him before it can hit the ground, but doesn't resummon it. Instead, he pulls the blades Waver made for him and blocks her strike with those, pushing hard back against her strike in an attempt to knock her off balance.]

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Video; Mourn the Past, Strengthen the Present

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