Ahh, Salem was so cute when he was excited, even if she had absolutely no idea at all what he had said. She nodded politely, praying he wouldn't ask her about anything he said because she hadn't been able to understand a word. Fortunately, Aaron had understood more than she did, responding in kind and revealing a little about himself. Lilie took note, although she mentally admonished herself for taking in everything he said for the sole purpose of hoping to get an advantage in their spar. Was that mean? Probably. But if he had been trained by Lucan and had even half of his skill, she was in for a rough time.
At Aaron's question, Lilie nodded. "That's a good idea," She agreed, her hands fiddling with the hem of her skirt a little. She had often heard the phrase 'small fish in a big pond' but as the third fight went on, she was feeling it more and more. Everyone else seemed to know what they were doing, making her feel a little lost. Arianna hadn't responded to her message, either; she must have been busy with her own things.
By the time the third match had passed, the white haired girl was lost in her own thoughts. It took her a second to realize that it was time for the two to get going, and she nudged Aaron. "Shall we?" She asked him.
Aaron had gotten absorbed in the third match - two vampires this time, though they seemed more like they were testing out the arena than really going for competition - and hadn’t been expecting Lilie’s nudge. Of course, that wasn’t to say it wasn’t welcome.
He looked from Lilie to the arena and back again, then nodded. ”We shall!” he replied enthusiastically, already standing and looking for the best way down from the stands.
”We’ll be back after the match, right?” The first part of his sentence had been directed at Salem, but at the end he looked back to Lilie for confirmation.
Nodding with much enthusiasm, the white haired girl agreed. ”Yeah! Of course!”
Aaron nodded his assent and led the way down out of the stands, back to the arch where their group had first entered. After securing directions from a guild member, the pair made their way down to the prep area beneath the stands, electing to enter the arena from the same side, as opposed to entering from opposite sides as they would in a formal duel.
Once they’d made it into one of the prep rooms, Aaron set about getting ready, carefully removing and folding his cardigan on a nearby bench, then rolling up his sleeves to just past his elbows. Once he’d finished, he looked to Lilie.
”So,” he began, swinging his arms to test his sleeves, ”The arena official told me that we can decide the rules of the match. When I train, our bouts usually go to death or surrender, but we can do first blood if you’d prefer.”
He paused and thought for a moment. ”Or, I suppose it would just be first hit. We’ll try not to make anyone bleed today.” He flashed a smile and laughed a little, hoping to come off as clever instead of creepy.
The white haired girl hesitated for a moment, eyeing Aaron for a moment. First blood? Now there was something she hadn't quite been expecting to hear. He must have been serious about their spar. Then again, it was a chance to prove their worth to their peers, an opportunity to demonstrate their skill. She had to admit, it was a little nerve wracking, but it was all in good fun.
Lilie smiled, shaking her head lightly. ”Another time, then,” She returned his good spirits with a joke of her own, slipping her arms out of her jacket. She was used to fighting with it, but considering her lean towards recklessness, she didn't want to accidentally get it torn or dirtied.
Taking her rapier and gauche knife off her waist, she raised an eyebrow at Aaron, a little confidence in her smile this time. ”Death or surrender, then; I think a little show will entertain the masses,” she decided.
Aaron shrugged, but he couldn’t help but grin. ”Your funeral, I suppose,” he joked, stretching his neck as he spoke and holding back a laugh. He could feel a nervous excitement welling up inside him, the familiar anticipation before a bout. It was a little different this time though; he’d only ever really fought Lucan (well, at least since he was fifteen) and now he finally had a new opponent. Lucan was a formidable adversary, sure, but as erratic as he tried to be, Aaron pretty much knew what to expect. This time, though, his opponent was completely unpredictable. He was practically giddy at the thought.
Having determined he probably wouldn’t rip his shirt and more or less prepared himself, Aaron glanced at the arena door and then over to Lilie, hand on his pommel. ”Ready?”
Stretching her arms above her head, she let out a slight squeal before dropping her arms to her sides. Unsheathing her rapier, she wrung out her wrist. The weight of the weapons seemed to spark something in her, and as she looked at Aaron, gone was the normally gentle look she had.
”Yes!” Probably a little too enthusiastic, sure, but a spar was exactly what she needed to really loosen up.
Aaron smiled and extended an arm toward the door. ”After you, then.”
They strode out onto the sand of the arena, Lilie in front and Aaron behind, and Aaron was finally fully aware of how grand a structure it really was. Blinking up at the stadium lights, he could see the stands, largely empty but for some groups here and there, but couldn’t tell who occupied them. Not that he would have known them, of course, but it was a strange feeling nonetheless, to be out in the open where anyone could see. A stark contrast to the privacy of the training room back home.
He tried not to let it phase him; he knew that once things got started, the stands and the lights and the people would melt away. Instead, he found himself a little mesmerized by the swaying of Lilie’s ponytail as she walked.
When they reached the centre an official requested their weapons, and Aaron finally drew his sword and handed it over handle-first to be magically dulled. When his sword was returned, he simply held onto it instead of re-sheathing it, taking a minute to look it over.
The hilt and handle were beautiful in a simple way; that much anyone could see when he wore it. A soft brown leather grip, sleek guard, a pommel shaped vaguely like the rising sun. But what people didn’t usually see, and what was on display now, was the blade - in Aaron’s opinion, the most beautiful part of the whole thing. The metal was brassy in colour, and polished to a mirror finish; the stadium lights bounced off it brilliantly as he turned it, making sure the dulling hadn’t actually damaged it. Everything looked in order.
Lilie was staring unabashedly at Aaron's weapon, slightly amazed as she noticed the details. She had to admit it was gorgeous, admiring it until she was told to take her own weapon back. If it weren’t for their spar, she would have asked to hold it, or at least get to admire it for a little longer. Although now that she thought about it, Salem did mention that Aaron had some sort of relation to the Noila family. Maybe the weapon had been a gift of some sorts?
Her eyes fell on her own weapon for a moment; her rapier was more of a hand me down than anything to write home about. It was her mother’s weapon back when she was an instructor, only given to her once she was assigned to the academy. Still, despite its age, it was reliable, and she would make sure to use it to the best of her ability. Now it was only a question to see if said ability was up to snuff.
Before anything else, however, she needed to pay him a compliment. ”It’s beautiful,” She told him, holding her weapons at her side.
Aaron looked up when Lilie spoke, responding with a sheepish grin. ”Thank you,” he replied, eyes falling back to his blade, ”Its name is Dawn. Yours has a name too, right?” He certainly hoped so; it was bad luck to fight with a nameless weapon.
Now it was her turn to grin. ”Zantedeschia,”” She presented her rapier, withdrawing her gauche knife and showing it to him as well. ”And Aethiopica. Not very creative if you really think about it, but… I think they're fitting.”
Aaron’s eyes widened when he heard the names; he hadn’t the foggiest idea what they meant. But he grinned along with Lilie anyway, adding, ”They’re beautiful.”
The arena official gave Aaron a dirty look, presumably for stalling, before commanding that they shake hands and take their places. He transferred Dawn to his left hand, offering his right. ”Good luck.”
”And to you as well,” She replied, taking both blades with her left and shaking his hand. It reminded her a little of the first time they met, but she wouldn't have expected them to end up sparring like this.
The two took their places, a few paces each from the centre and facing each other, as the official explained the rules. He then asked what they had decided the win conditions to be, and after Lilie replied that it was to death or surrender, the official nodded and backed up to a safe distance. Once he’d retreated, he called, “Are both combattants ready?”
Aaron had spent a second shifting his weight from one foot to the other and spun his sword in hand with a flick of the wrist, noting how the stadium lights made it flash as the blade turned. Then he turned his eyes to Lilie, moving into a ready stance, sword low and close to the body in a two-handed grip, the point aimed toward the ground.
”Ready!” he called, gaze not shifting from his opponent. His eyes drifted over her as she prepared, like he usually would with Lucan, but instead of noting how she positioned her feet or held her weapon, he noticed how her skirt - she was fighting in a skirt - showed quite a bit of leg, how her dress exposed her shoulders, and how there was something very strangely and wonderfully compelling about seeing such a beautiful girl with a sword. He took a deep breath to steel himself; now was not the time for this.
Taking in a deep breath, Lilie nodded as she took her own stance; one foot forward, rapier and knife aloft. Considering how Arianna had shown her that she still had much to learn, she was eager to see what Aaron was capable of. A fire seemed to light up in her eyes as she studied him closely. He had a certain grace to his movement, a practiced ease to how he held his weapon. The way he held it so easily showed his strength, so she guessed that if she could stay ahead of him with her speed, she would be alright. Getting hit didn't seem like it would be any fun; she could make out his build through his clothes, a little concerned that he could overpower her if she wasn't careful. She was so focused on studying him that she recalled that she needed to let the official know she was ready to rumble.
”Ready!” She stated.
The official raised his hand. “Begin!”
Aaron didn’t move, instead, he forced himself to pay attention to Lilie, the way she held herself, barring himself from being distracted for the time being. She was fairly small and kind of waifish, and wouldn’t have a chance at an impasse, so he suspected she would try to keep her distance. However, he knew better than to think strength was everything and reminded himself how agile a weapon the rapier was; if their skill levels were matched, she could outmaneuver him if he wasn’t careful. A count started in his head, like a metronome, as he waited; he wanted to see what she’d do.
She was a little surprised he hadn't moved right away, narrowing her eyes slightly. Maybe he wanted to see what she was going to do first, to see what she was capable of. Not that she blamed him, she was just a little hesitant as well. But she knew she needed to shake that off, and if he was giving her a pass, then she needed to fully take advantage of it.
First things first, however: she wanted to see if those muscles were just for show.
Lilie gripped her rapier as she charged forward, brandishing Zantedeschia as she neared him. Bringing her arm up, she knew it was a basic attack, but she brought it down with a little more strength than needed, wanting to see exactly how strong Aaron was.
One and two and three and- the first attack came soon, with Lilie charging forward, sword high. What an odd choice for a fencer, to be slashing like that. Aaron lowered himself a touch as she approached, noting the fiery look in her eye when she got close enough.
Finally, it was time for Dawn and Zantedeschia to formally meet and Aaron brought his sword up to parry, turning in unison with Lilie and letting her blade slide along the length of his with a satisfying shing ultimately toward the ground, using her momentum against her to send her past where he’d been standing. They’d effectively traded places, and he could have attacked for a killing blow right there, but he wanted to hold off and see how aggressive she was going to be. He couldn’t lie: it intrigued him, and in a way he wasn’t used to.
Coming to a halt, Lilie turned back towards Aaron, her ponytail whipping around her. It was good to see her observations had been accurate, now the only thing left was to see what else he was capable of. If he was going to stay on the defense, then she needed to force him to react. Once again she closed the distance between the two, holding onto her rapier tightly as this time she used her weapon the way it was meant to be, jabbing it forward.
Lilie wasted no time coming back, this time with a much more typical fencing move. A little grin tugged at the corner of Aaron’s mouth as he braced, admiring this other side of Lilie. Gone was the timid girl from orientation - this Lilie was out for blood.
He liked it.
Still, there was a blade coming for him and there wasn’t much time to stare. Fortunately, it wasn’t a hard hit to deal with. Her lunge was clean but in all honesty, Aaron was used to a quicker opponent. He could afford the instant’s hesitation he’d had as he watched her, and still parried her blade to the side when she arrived, albeit a tad clumsier than perhaps he normally would have. Something about her - or rather, everything about her - was throwing him a little off.
For all intents and purposes, Lilie felt like she was attacking a wall. Aaron offered her no openings, keeping up with her strikes. Either she wasn't as fast as she thought or Aaron was much more skilled than she had initially assumed. She was beginning to lean towards the latter as he managed to either block her attacks or avoid them. It was just a touch frustrating, but at the same time, it had been a while since she had focused this hard and put in so much effort. She was having the time of her life.
Aaron’s grin gradually widened to a full smile as the bout continued and Lilie pressed on. They covered a good bit of distance around the arena as he met her rapid-fire attacks with mostly parries and dodges, switching between one- and two-handed grips and keeping on the defensive. While he could have countered more than once for a decisive blow, he didn’t really want the bout to end so quickly. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d fought someone who wasn’t miles above him in skill level, where a single slip-up would mean ‘death’. Lilie was clearly skilled, but Aaron was used to fighting a vampire who was his better in every conceivable way; with Lilie, he had a little room to breathe, and a lot of fun watching her go.
At this point, the spar wasn't getting anywhere. Not necessarily a bad thing, but all good things must come to an end. If Lilie could throw him off his game even just a little bit, she was pretty sure she could land a decisive blow. With that in mind, Lilie made up her mind, gripping her gauche knife as she went completely in. Her secondary weapon met his sword, directing both blades aside as she created her opening. Throwing all caution to the wind, she lunged at him with her rapier.
The bout continued for another minute or so unproductively - though Aaron wasn’t complaining - before something in Lilie seemed to shift. Suddenly, she went for his blade with her gauche knife, opening up his chest for her subsequent lunge. All at once, Aaron’s cavalier attitude disappeared and his muscle memory took over, and the fun had to end.
Blade arm occupied, Aaron swept Lilie’s rapier away with the back of his free arm, then came back to grab it by the blade; as he did so he turned, letting Lilie’s momentum guide them. For a split second, it was almost like dancing - until he wrenched the rapier from her grip, pushed with his sword arm and sent her spinning to the ground.
Before she could react, he pinned her gauche knife to the sand with his foot and trained the point of his sword on her throat, standing over her. For a second he was still, eyes cold and deadly serious; then, with a few blinks his expression lightened, and he gently tapped the bottom of her chin with the flat of his blade, cracking a smile. ”Dead.”
It all happened so quickly that it took Lilie a second to realize what had happened. She had gotten overconfident, it seemed, and now it was over. Seeing that cold look on a face that she had previously seen as rather kind seemed to shake her, making her forget that it had been only a spar. Her blue eyes were wide, her breath caught in her throat before the shock wore off. She blinked a few times before throwing her head back, letting out the smallest groan of disappointment. The official confirmed Aaron's victory and the bitter taste of defeat lingered. It was only then that she realized how out of breath she was, her body having gone through quite the workout. Even if it was a loss, she had enjoyed it thoroughly.
Looking back at Aaron, she let out a sigh, raising her right hand to slick her bangs off her forehead. ”Oh well,” She said as she laughed. ”That was too much fun!”
Aaron laughed a little too, sheathing his weapon and removing his foot from Lilie’s knife. ”Yeah!” he replied animatedly, offering his hand. However, a look of genuine concern crossed his face as he helped Lilie to her feet. ”I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
Looking herself over, she shook her head in response to his question. ”Unless you count a bruised ego, I think I'm fine,” She assured him, rolling her aching shoulder.
Aaron was still a touch concerned as Lilie dealt with her shoulder, but he didn’t want to come off as overbearing. Instead, he left her to her own devices for a second and retrieved her rapier from where it had landed several feet away. He smiled as he handed it back to her, then glanced around.
”We should probably head out,” he suggested, tossing an indicative glance to some people waiting in the wings for their turn.
Shoot, she completely forgot about...everyone else. Her eyes darted to the watching audience, holding her weapons to her as she quickly nodded. ”Y-Yeah!” She quickly followed his lead, nearly stumbling over herself.
Waving his thanks in the general direction of the arena official, Aaron let Lilie head out first before he made his leave, both of them making their way back to the prep room for their clothes.
However, when they got back up the stairs to the entry arch, they were stopped by a vampire woman in a conservative blouse and a pencil skirt, wearing a pearl necklace and a nametag that read “Allison.” She was clearly upset, but was keeping her composure.
“Lilie Dionne?” she asked, addressing Lilie.
Said girl hesitated slightly, a little wary of the vampire, though she supposed if she was being addressed, it was with good reason. ”Um...yes?” She replied, slightly stepping closer to Aaron.
Aaron noticed Lilie’s discomfort and reflexively took half a step forward, as if he were subtly trying to put himself between her and the vampire. However, his expression was simply concerned, until he felt his watch and phone buzzing with an incoming message. The number was unrecognized, but Aaron was pretty sure he knew who it was from.
> Return immediately.
“Follow me please,” the vampire continued, eyes fixed on Lilie, “The headmaster would like a word with you.”
The headmaster? Her first thought went to her school days where the naughty children were sent to the principal’s office to get reprimanded. Looking at the vampire, she seemed somewhat resigned, knowing that disobedience was frowned upon, but she looked at Aaron again. ”I…” She hesitated, growing increasingly nervous.
Aaron glanced between his phone, the administrator and Lilie with a pained expression. Lilie seemed so nervous, and something in him pulled him to stay with her, but duty was calling and he convinced himself she’d be in good hands.
”I’m sorry,” he uttered regretfully, shoving his phone back into his pocket and looking apologetically to Lilie, ”I have to go.”
Of course he had his own business to attend to, she mentally berated herself for thinking otherwise. Nodding, she turned towards the vampire, about to follow her, though something came to mind. ”Ah--just a moment,” She gave the vampire an apologetic look, but considering how serious she looked, she had no idea what she was going to walk into.
She searched her pockets, pulling out a small marker she carried. Turning back towards Aaron and without waiting for his permission, she took his hand in hers, pulling his arm towards her. She scribbled what looked like numbers onto his arm, and once she finished, she released him. ”Call me!” She grinned, excusing herself to follow Allison.
Aaron’s eyes widened when Lilie grabbed his hand, but he offered no resistance. By the time she’d finished scrawling her number on his arm, his ears were burning red.
He stood rooted in place as she followed the administrator away, staring after her dumbfounded for a moment, a ghost of a smile on his lips. When his brain turned itself back on, he waved once - needlessly - and called back a somewhat clumsy, ”Okay..!”
He blinked down at his arm a few times before he crashed all the way back to reality. Then, with an inward curse and an urgent look around, he took off toward his dorm.
He made pretty good time, considering it had been his first time making the cross-campus run, and he slowed to a brisk walk as he approached the circle of noble dorms, rolling his sleeves back down to his wrists - and over Lilie’s number - as he went.
