Path of the Hunters - NSFW

"Too bad." She studied her nails. "It would 'ave been fun to see 'ow well they could do against me."

He raised an eyebrow. "So you were thinking about joining in?"

"Per'aps. I don't get enough practice where the aim is to not kill, after all."

"Hmm... I think we can change the schedule a little. Of course, we'd have to get you in some proper workout attire."

She lifted a brow. "Nova, I 'ave fought people in this outfit before. And effectively."

[bbs]

"Not for you. These boys can get a little rambunctious sometimes, so I'm just covering bases."

"Rambunctious 'ow exactly?" She had a feeling that she knew and it did nothing but amuse her.

"A lady fighting in a short little dress like that? You do the math. After all, most of them are still male."

She smiled. "And you think that every fighter they come across will be dressed in the same way? They should get used to fighting those like me and... This way they will be unlikely to underestimate opponents."

"Well, like I said earlier, street fighting is forbidden, and I doubt that situation will come up in a tournament... But, you do raise a good point."

She smiled. "Besides that, I am more comfortable like this. Now, 'oo is the strongest one 'ere? Or, more importantly, the most cocky?"

He returned the smile, then blew his whistle toward the class. "All right, guys! Get over here! Grab a knee!"

The class gathered in front of Nova and Aurélie, all of them lowering themselves to their knees. "Okay. You guys have a special treat today. Miss Aurélie here wants to challenge you guys in a sparring match. Now, don't underestimate her because of her appearance. This is one tough contender.

"Wilder! On your feet!" Immediately, Elesis got up, stepping to the front of the class. "Do you think you can take her?"

"I think I can do better than everyone else, including you." Elesis said, a cocky grin on her face, mixed with intense zeal.

Nova smirked, turned back to the dog. "Our cockiest fighter."

Aurélie laughed. "Bonne. Tell me, Nova, are there rules?"

"Just the basics: No cheap shots, no eye gouging, no low blows-nothing that can be permanently damaging or potentially deadly. The match is over in the event of a tap-out or if I deem necessary. Everyone, step back, give these two some space."

"Could we get some mud with this fight?" one student commented, causing most of the class to chuckle.

"Knock out thirty, Jones," Nova said to the student, who groaned. "Briggs, keep an eye on him." The first student, a red hedgehog, and another, a gray wolf, got up and moved to the back wall. "Anything else?" The rest of the class backed up wordlessly, giving the two fighters plenty of room.

The dog let out another laugh, a blade suddenly twirling between her fingers. It was a moderate, steady rhythm. Slow enough to be seen, fast enough to be difficult to keep up with with the untrained eye.

Elesis grinned, a gleam similar to Nova's in her eyes. "This is gonna be fun." She got into a fighting stance.

"All right," Nova said, standing between the two. "Elesis, are you ready?"

"You know it!"

"Aurélie, are you ready?"

Eyes closed, she shifted her stance, held the blade firmly. When her eyes opened again they were dull. If she wasn't going to try and kill this person, she needed to concentrate. "Oui."

"Okay... Begin!" Nova quickly moved out of the battle area.

Elesis made the first move, aiming a punch for the dog's gut.

Aurélie grabbed her wrist, twisted. The blade was nowhere to be seen.

Ignoring the slight pain, she kept moving in, grabbed her shoulder with her free hand, and attempted to knee her in the stomach.

The dog turned, evading easily, and twisted Elesis's wrist so that she landed on her back.

The echidna hit the ground with a grunt, quickly tried to get back to her feet.

Aurélie waited for her to rise, the blade twirling again.

Now back on her feet, Elesis reset her stance. She moved back in, a bit more cautiously this time.

The dog waited, eyes still dull. The echidna was obviously holding back, so Aurélie wasn't about to lower her guard. She chucked her blade, aiming directly between Elesis's eyes.