He honestly did not want to kill the other trainee, even if it had been permitted, even if he had honestly thought he had the skill and training necessary to do so. The fact that he was not sure of the latter part, and that it was not permitted besides, did not overly bother him. He wasn't so sure, though, that the other trainee felt the same. Richard parried and dodged to the best of his ability, but he did find himself wondering a moment or two if she'd gotten the message that they weren't allowed to kill each other. Shifting his grip on the sword in his hand, he narrowly missed receiving a cut to his face--thanks more to his height and less to his ability, really--and managed to land a cut to her forearm.
He jumped back a step from her retaliatory strike, but stumbled and suffered a shallow gash across his shoulder for his clumsiness. He reflected, from the part of his brain not on the fight, that the audience seemed... bored. Maybe it was the shared lack of skill? They were both trainees, after all. Not terribly experienced, and more than a little haphazard in their movements, they stumbled more often than they actually managed to land any hits. It did seem to mutual frustrate them, however, as they weren't able to deliver on what they were supposed to be actually doing. Would they actually get any appreciable experience out of this if they couldn't even hit each other? At least, with stronger hits than the glancing blows and grazes of blades against skin?
Richard and his opponent both seemed to have the same idea at the same time and mutually backed away from one another. They circled one another, clearly sizing each other up, but neither one actually making a move of any kind. A shout of "get on with it!" momentarily distracted them both, and Richard couldn't help the small roll of his eyes as they went back to regarding one another. Was that an amused quirk of the mouth he saw on his opponent? Hard to say, honestly. Both taking a deep breath, Richard jumped towards her again.
Richard's Journal
Division: Sun trainee
Arcana: Wheel of Fortune
Description: Richard is on the tall side and clearly not built for power, with long legs and long arms. He has dark olive skin, blue eyes, and long auburn hair that he keeps loosely braided. He wears black jeans that are neat and clean, but with enough room for a wide range of movement, and paired with a black and orange striped sweater. He does not seem to ever hold completely still.
