[b][i][center]Annabeth Gulch[/b][/i][/center]

Annabeth viciously hacked away at the straw dummy. Occasionally one blow would be particularly powerful and she'd cleave right through it, which brought her a sense of satisfaction that helped her ignore her shortcoming yesterday. These cleaving blows were far and in between, but she felt that she was getting a pattern of idea of how to make it more consistent. As she attempted to cleave a head in half (Which she failed at doing, forcing the axe to get stuck somewhere between the eyes), a voice called out to her. She tried pulling out axe out quickly, but it took her a food five seconds to do so, five seconds in which an opponent could have taken advantage of. Luckily even though she used up so much time to pull her axe out, the person who spoke didn't seem hostile.

Annabeth turned to see the man who spoke to her. He was dressed in a light guard uniform, which told Annabeth that he was a guard. Why he was her instead of helping with the reconstruction of the college she didn't know. Wasn't her business she suppose, but after yesterday, she didn't want to be caught off guard yet again. She eyed him as he explained how to properly use an axe, even pointing out that she seemed to have taken two-handed axe training instead of her more usual weapon-and-shield style. She still didn't quite trust him, but she took mental notes of his technique on how to handle her axe better. Than the man made proper introductions. He was indeed a guardsman here, and his name was Grey. He complimented Annabeth on her form and physique and even thought that if she kept at it, she'd master the axe. [b]"Thank you. And I certainly hope I can get better with this before too long."[/b] Annabeth shifted her hand on the handle of her axe, taking into consideration of what Grey told her. She wanted a bit of reach on her weapon, as it was already much shorter than her long sword and any less and she might as well just find herself a large knife. Admittedly her past training had made her used to swinging her axe from near the bottom, and now having so much hilt made it a bit cumbersome. Annabeth figured that she'd find the right balance for her eventually.

Remembering her part in basic manners, Annabeth faced Grey to introduce herself. [b]"My name is Annabeth Gulch. I'm a student here at the college. I'm just here to... To get ready for another disaster. Um..."[/b] Annabeth shook her head. She really should stop thinking about yesterday. If she need something to focus on, she should focus on getting the right handling on her axe. [b]"So what brings you here, Sir Grey? I had thought all the guardsmen were working towards reconstructing the college/ At least, that's what I seem most of them doing if they aren't... Well, guarding."[/b]