Welcome to Gaia! ::

Sasha wasn't sure where to go from there. Where was the best place to start? It hadn't been a long time since she'd last seen Rin, but even still - it felt like years had passed. Everything was so disjointed and scattered in her mind.

In an abrupt motion, Sasha rose to her feet and started to pace. She suddenly felt caged, like there wasn't enough air in the room to breathe.

"Can we go outside?"

Sasha picked up the gift bag before she slipped past Rin.

She didn't stop walking until she'd reached the training grounds.

Once she was there, Sasha loomed over the brownish, coppery stains of Rep's dried blood on the dirt. Everything felt kind of surreal up until that point. Had it all really happened?

The blood smeared on the ground said yes.

Sasha wanted to feel it again; she'd never really been in control of her own life. There had been the decision she'd made to come to the island - that had been her decision, and hers alone. She wanted something that she could control, the way she'd controlled herself enough to let Rep get away after the second warning.

Or did she want to lose control again, to lash out, to hurt someone - anyone? She didn't know. She didn't know, and that was the scariest part. This felt crazy, insane.

Setting the gift bag on the ground, Sasha slowly removed her jacket. Reaching up, she unfastened Nona from her hair, cupping the barrette in her palm before glancing up at Rin. Her cheeks felt hot and flushed.

"Are you up for a spar, Rin?"

Sasha watched Rin as she summoned Byr, waiting until the other woman had her weapon at the ready before curling her fingers around Nona's desummoned form.

<...be careful, dove. This one can - and will - fight back. You have already lost to her once, Sasha.>

Hush, Nona.

<Do not be careless, sweetling. That is all your Nona asks.>

The weapon surged into her true form, long blades gleaming dangerously where they curved into the talon-like hooks. Nona, while speaking of warnings, was otherwise exuding a sense of excitement, anticipation.

Sasha rolled her shoulders back and darted forward without another word.

Nona clashed against Rin's fear shield powerfully but that did not stop Byr from calling out orders, orders which Rin followed. She flipped the axe upside down to wedge the staff under the hooks and swung out at Sasha, the gesture like going from twirling a baton to swinging a bat in one swift motion.



And then she swung his lower half - lashing out towards Sasha's knees and clattering against her fear shield there.

Byr seemed suddenly distracted, too much to give Rin any pointers as she charged in again. Rin's eyes were narrowed - this was indeed challenging. They were both stronger now and despite the strange indecipherable noises Byr was presently making Rin swung his handle hard against Sasha's shield.

A moment was all Rin needed to be charging in for another attack, a light graze but it had been intended far more brutal. A hit was a hit though and Rin was glad to take it.

<Jack, oh Jack~>

The hell is wrong with you, Byr? Focus!

Rin wasn't aware of the battle going on secretly within Sasha so she kept on attacking, this time Byr's blade hit Sasha's shield far more squarely. A non moving target was almost always too easy to hit... it was upsetting on a level Rin couldn't really comprehend.

Rin flinched at the yelping sound Byr had made when Sasha's hit landed and raked across his shield. It wasn't pain, it certainly wasn't surprise... what it was though, she couldn't quite place it.



What? Byr, are you mad?...

She didn't know how to make anyone anything so instead she simply attacked again - the bite of Byr's blade skidding across Nona's shield yet again.

"You can do better than that, Goldy, I know you can," the words were hissed through clenched teeth but still bore no malicious intent.