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

Annabeth continued to hack and slash at the wooden dummy. While she still found her new handling of the axe to be cumbersome, she was starting to get a feel for it. She somewhat was listening to what Grey was saying, telling her that he was to take a day off after fighting a particularly large demon. She saw plenty of them last night, and the guards who fought them. Most of them are dead. She supposed that the survivors would be too injured to serve, but a quickly glance at Grey showed that, while he still barred scars from last night, he was quite healthy for someone who fought against a large demon as he said. Perhaps his injuries were more than physical? Well, Annabeth wasn't going to pry. She didn't really want to know.

Grey moved the subject back to fighting and mentioned her choice of shields. Grey used a larger shield than her buckler, made of wood and bound by metal. Annabeth's own shield was made entirely out of iron, with some leather backing. [b]"I like my buckler. Lighter than most shields I work with, and the way it's designed allows me to parry blades easier. Plus I can do this-"[/b] As Annabeth finished one attack with her axe, she suddenly jumped towards the straw dummy and slammed her buckler right into it's head. She struck it with so much force that she was able to decapitate the dummy, though attacking it with her axe before hand probably helped. [b]"Which to be honest, I have a hard time doing with larger shields. I even tried using a targe once, not too bad, but it's not a buckler."[/b]Annabeth sunk her axe into the remains of the straw dummy and walked over to her bag, which contained most of her things including her waterskin.

Drinking and pouring some water over her head, Annabeth looked towards Grey. [b]"Why so interested in teaching me? Not that I mind, but I don't want you to think that I'm incapable of handling myself."[/b] At least Annabeth wants to think that she can handle herself. Last night proved otherwise, but she doesn't want to dwell on those thoughts.