~Control of the Divine~ Accepting Profiles/Open

[MX5Speed]

Selina's pupils went sharp and thin, not defined slits like her mother's but nearing the shape as Yorath was upon her. Rather than ready an arrow the princess raises the practice bow horizontally and blocks Yorath's slice with the metal guard where her hand usually held the bow steady. She smirks slightly at the momentary halt of the two forces and presses back on his blade with just enough force to slide Yorath back a few inches, reminding him without words that she was only half human. Then without warning Selina side steps the Officer Cadet, notching an arrow as she spun aimed for Yorath. As soon as the first arrow was off the second was ready, but was not fired after the first. The princess's style in battle was not stereotypical archery. Had she stuck to such a thing, Antony would have refused to train her. First she wanted to see what Yorath could do. Then she would focus on putting him on the ground.

[Ris Ane]

Antony threw his hands in the air, a look of childish guilt spread across his face. "I have no idea what you are talking about, Azar." Antony stated. He knew his lie wouldn't work, for the two of them shared a Bond. As their previous Commander and his dragon Mithdraug before them, they'd bonded as one mind, to reinstate the Dragon Riders. As a gift, to his late friend and mentor, Antony set to work recruiting Dragons of all sizes and backgrounds for their brigade. He paired Knights with their dragon counterparts, told them to get to know one another, learn from one another. Get a feel for flight. Dragon Surfing, as Antony had called it all those years ago, was the first stepping stone the Dragon Riders would need to overcome. Most did exceptional, others, not so much. Now, they had a strong brigade of Dragon Rider, yes, but they were stretched thin, two Riders at each keep. Antony hoped to increase those numbers, but as of late, hasn;t had the time. Now, his mind returned to Azar and he grinned, "Eh, can't pull wool over yer eyes, Azar. Little sparring match. Sel' and Yorath are gonna duke it out and--OH! That was nice! Fantastic block Selina! I knew there was a reason I keep you around!" Antony clapped his feet together, then turned back to Azar, "What was I saying? Oh, yeah. They're sparring for my amusement. I also want to see if Yorath can best the young princess in a game of wits." Antony held onto his knee with one hand, and held up a finger to Azar with the other, "So, what brings you out here? Thought you were still workin' the bugs outta that, buzzsaw thing, you almost took my head off with the other day."

[Derpzilla88]

"Even without being bonded, I know you too well Antony. Any fight you set up is always for your amusement." Azar said, a smirk going across his face. Personally, Azar hoped that Selina would win the fight, simply for the enjoyment of seeing an underdog win. "And as for that little mechanism I made, I tweaked it a bit. The safety lock should be working now. So no more firing off at random. I've gone to work on another project, just to see if I can get it working." he assured the captain. Antony always had a strange habit of coming into Azar's shop at the worst of times. The buzzsaw incident was not the first time the dragon had nearly decapitated Antony. And he was unfortunately sure that it wouldn't be the last.

[Mikaela Loque]

Dragon blood, Yorath might have cursed it had that not been treason, he attempted to deafen his ears to Ant's shouts. Of course the favor would be with the princess, but then again, she didn't lose much if she lost the spar. He, on the other hand, couldn't afford to have men smirking and chuckling behind his back, which was precisely what they would do, win or lose, after this fight. If he won, they would say the princess held back her dragon strength and let him win, which was an insult to his abilities. If he lost, then he lost to a princess ten years his junior. He wasn't sure which was more humiliating. In any case that would breed insolence, break up the chain of command, and that could mean precious seconds wasted in battle or when the royal family's life was in danger. Antony didn't take himself too seriously. He hardly took anything seriously. In a way, that created familiarity among his men, and made them friends as well as fighters, but when the life of the king or his family concerned, the shoe was on the other foot. Yorath's stomach was twisting in knots the second Antony said the two of them would fight. The dragon queen's daughter had strength much larger than that of a normal human being, and he knew almost immediately that she was playing with him, hoping to see him spend his energy, show his abilities and limits. That sickened him. You're the princess, not I. I show my abilities in the line of duty protecting you. You'll protect the realm from the throne, but it's my job to lay my life down for the realm. I should be displaying my strength at the demonstration tonight, but instead I'm signing the death warrant of any respect my men might have for me with every second spent fighting the king's daughter.
The princess had cunning, as well as strength and swiftness, but every advantage she had could be turned on her.
*Tang* the rubber-tipped arrow bounced off the flat of his sword and Yorath sprang forward, seemingly aiming to shove her onto her back with one swift strike while her arrow was notched.

Isolde watched her brother fight with worried and earnest eyes. She didn't care for fighting at all herself, and she wanted dearly to cheer for her brother, but didn't want to be cheering against the princess.

[MX5Speed]

"You're not focusing." Selina couldn't remember how many times Antony had shouted the same phrase at her. It was easy to tell by Yorath's stance, grip, and movements that he was quite skilled. But everything he did was lagging, even if it was by mere fractions of time. As he came at her again sword raised the princess was forced to play the duck and weave game. When Yorath sliced she would step both aside and in rather than away, forcing him to back up rather than she if he wanted his range back again. "Whatever's running amok in your head, get it out. If it's fighting me that bothers you so, then forget who I am." Selina raises the bow again firing the second arrow towards his knee, a more awkward block that would allow her a second to notch the third and fire at his chest. "If you cannot put aside who I am, then hold out your hand, Officer Cadet Yorath. I will end this magnificently and with your honor still in tact." It wasn't often that Selina touched other people's minds without permission, but she could almost feel the man's internal battle.

[Mikaela Loque]

"Forget who you are? Your grace, to do that would be forswearing my oaths." Yorath ignored her words in his head. He would not take her pity. He did not forget who she was, but he did as he was ordered. His sword went down, seemingly to protect his knee, but something glittered along the edge of it and shot into the tiles beneath his feet. He brought his sword up then and began slashing quickly and mercilessly at the princess. Suddenly the floor broke apart beneath her feet and short balusters of stone and earth began rising up and shaking and shifting beneath her like she was trying to stand on a stormy sea.
Of course...he's in the spellsword corps... thought Isolde. She glanced over at Antony to see his reaction. He said they only needed to knock the other down. He never said whether they could or could not use magic. Yorath struck and struck at the princess, his footing sure and quick while the ground beneath her threatened to send her tumbling at every moment.

[MX5Speed]

Now he was focusing. That or she'd pissed him off a bit. Yorath's attacks were more fierce now, putting the archer on the retreat. Soon enough she was blocking and parrying hits with the front of the bow until the ground began to shift and tumble beneath her feet. Selina wobbled this way and that why still trying to block Yorath's assault. The rocking made the princess's movements less precise, and the next slice from the Officer Cadet snapped the practice bow in half. Stumbling backwards the princess throws the broken bow at Yorath as hard as she could and glances around for solid ground. She was no where near as skilled in the magical arts as the others were. In fact she was lacking. All she was left with was a knife on her side and her wits. "Oop, gonna-" Selina had to duck away from another slice. "fall..." The princess kicks off the ground trying to handspring backwards. But her akward footing on the tumbling ground did not allow for a hard kick. Twisting through the air Selina lands on her palms and the tips of her toes, trying to keep her stomach and chest from the ground as her head quickly snapped up to see if there was time to get away from Yorath or if he would have her cornered already.

[Mikaela Loque]

The stones beneath her gave a violent thrust and Selina was thrown up in the air, before a heavy strike from Yorath's sword onto her misdesction sent her sprawling on the now flattening tiles of the floor. He had won, but he was flushed and panting, and sweat sparkled on his brow. Isolde stood up and clapped and cheered eagerly, then suddenly remembered her proprieties, sat down, and cleared her throat. Yorath wiped his forehead and held his hand out to the princess. "You fought valiantly, your grace," he said smiling, "Though you would not be out of a job if you lost." he added, joking.

[Ris Ane]

Antony shot a glare to his Bonded and frowned a bit. The memory of the, what he called, 'Buzz Saw Event" still fresh in his mind. "Yeah, how about a little warning next time your working on something that can lop my head off, eh?" Antony paused as the ground shook beneath them, and he turned back to the battle. He gripped the edge of the fountain and leaned forward, as Selina spun through the air, and landed. Antony blinked several times, then smiled excitedly, throwing his head back. He bellowed with laughter as his feet clapped together once more. He pointed to the upheaval of solid ground, and snickered. "Did you see that! Kid's got quite the...what do I call it...uh...prowess? Was it?" he asked, turning his head to Azar for confirmation, the back to Yorath and Selina.

[MX5Speed]

Selina's stomach muscles barely had time to clench when the ground below her thrust upwards sending her into the air. Then the blade came down on her, thankfully dull and rounded as to not cause damage. The princess reaches out, slamming one arm down to break her fall as she landed in the dirt. Selina coughs a few times, sucking air back into her lungs quickly from the impact. "Ngh.. oh that ground hurt..." Selina sits upright, hugging her midsection for a moment or two before looking up to Yorath. "Yeah, thanks. You know a lot more than I do. All that spell stuff." The princess then removes her arms from around her midsection and takes Yorath's hand to pull herself up from the ground. "Oi, Uncle Ant'! Ya' satisfied with that? I really don't want another beating today." Selina then noticed that Azar had arrived and smiled as she walked over towards them. "Mornin' Azar."

[Ris Ane]

Antony hopped down from the fountain and crossed his arms, "A fine match indeed. Thought the Kid was gonna lose there for a moment, but all that spellsword training payed off." Antony stepped over an overturned flooring tile and nodded. "I'll tell you this again, Yorath; Get the damn stick out of yer a**. An opponent, is an opponent, regardless of their stature, or rank, or title. Had you not attacked the way you had, you'd have lost. Forget what other Knights tell you, forget about the 'rules' just go at it with everything. Sel's a tough girl...dragon...half-dragon. Anyway, She can take anything you dish out...I mean, her father's the King, for gods sake. How do you think Lucius became King in the first place. He treats no man any differently in battle, than he would have treated me. Though, on occasion, I tend to use dirty tactics, but that was what made it interesting." Antony placed a hand on Yorath's shoulder, "You've got the makings of a Captain, you just gotta throw out the damn rulebook every once in a while, and fight." he said with a grin. He knew what was coming next...something he'd received several times from the boys mother, a lecture on rules. Internally, Antony braced himself for the boring lecture.

[Mikaela Loque]

"Thank you sir," said Yorath, still trying to catch his breath. He probably would have gone on about his oaths and how opponent or not Selina was still a princess and still the lifeblood of the king and her marriage to a suitor of sufficient blood and rank and power was vital for the King to stay in power, but instead, he only sputtered out a "Permission to go lie down somewhere sir?"
Isolde stood up and ran off to a nearby fountain with a silver pitcher and chalice. She filled two chalices and brought them both over to Yorath and the princess. She served the princess first, then her brother, who drank so quickly water ran down his chin.

[MX5Speed]

"Ah, water. Thank you Isolde." Selina said as she took the chalice carefully from the young woman so that it would not spill. While Antony spoke to Yorath the princess gulps down all of the cool, clear water before lowering the chalice from her lips. Yorath was still out of breath and asking for permissions to lie down. Perhaps she'd gone a bit harder on the man than she'd realized. After all, most of her combat had been with her brothers who shared her blood, or with her father and Antony who were quite used to it. She'd remember the next time she got into a melee battle with a human not to push so hard.

[Ris Ane]

Antony smiled nervously at Yorath, but not out of nervousness. "Eh, yeah. Sure. Go ahead." Antony stated. He took leave of Yorath and turned to Selina when Isolde brought the water and scratched his head, "Gods, how he's related to me I'll never understand." he whispered, as not to let the two Feligund's hear. He chuckled, then placed a hand on Selina's shoulder. "You did good...considering you were holding back, of course." he stated with a sly grin. He'd fought the young princess enough to know her fighting style, and when she was keeping her true strength hidden. "Good for you, all the same." he added, with a pat on the shoulder.

[Mikaela Loque]

Isolde's mouth tightened at Ant's words. She had musician's ears, and heard Ant clear as a bird call. She looked down at the stones, listening to Ant state that the princess was in fact holding back. So was he, she thought, looking at the stones. Yorath could work earth magic like she could work music, but it took just as much strength to hold back the fury of the stones as it did to rain them down upon an enemy.