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Candace had been very disappointed in her performance during that final battle. Anything she hit she barely touched. What the ******** had been her problem? She was usually ruthless, quicker, more agile, more effective. Had she even so much as scratched that dragon b***h? Ugh.

Atropos was summoned as she walked onto the field, a bag with her water bottle and a towel tossed aside. Her coat joined them soon after, draped over the bag far from where she would be going to down on the dummies over here.

Was it really that bad? Atropos asked with clear disbelief. She couldn't believe Candace had truly done as badly as she was claiming! Surely she was just being hard on herself as usual? It had to be that. Her Candace was not a failure, she just thought she was when left to her own devices. Candace frowned.

It was pathetic. Atropos was summoned after Candace had stretched her limbs a bit, walking over to her bag and taking out her runic gloves to put them on. I really need to practice without you too, apparently. We'll go to the gym after this.

Atropos snorted. Practice without me? Nonsense. When would you not need me?

Candace refused to answer.

Weapon and Hunter had been going over a mental list of things to work on when Rep arrived, and Candace honestly didn't even notice he was there at first. She had her own concerns, her own training; Rep wasn't worth her thoughts unless he made himself known to her. It wasn't until someone came over and just started whacking on the dummies like some uncouth neanderthal with no tact. One brow arched high as she glanced over her shoulder to see who it was, a slow smile spreading across her lips when she caught sight of her favorite Sun trainee.

Cute. She chuckled and rolled her eyes, adjusting her gloves and tapping her foot on the ground as she turned to the dummies in front of her. Candace didn't acknowledge Rep other than that little smile, she didn't go anywhere near him, she didn't wave, she didn't say a word in his direction. Instead she lunged at the nearest dummy and threw herself forward, catching herself on one hand and using the other to push herself into a spin. Her legs kicked the dummy once, twice, three times before she tumbled to the ground and pushed herself backward, catching and dragging the talon on the back of Atropos' boot as she tumbled backward until her feet were on the ground again and she could hop up to stand. She grinned at her handiwork. The dummy's head was hanging from its neck and whatever made up the insides of its body was spilling out onto the grass.

"Oops. I'll have to fix it before I leave." Candace chuckled. This was fun, ignoring Rep and just not caring that he was there. She was better than him. The question was would he get annoyed? Would he try to get her attention? She was curious what he would do. She could feel him watching her and it gave her a certain thrill. Was Rep afraid of her? Oh, Rep.

She stepped away from the dummy to dig through the bag she had tossed on the ground, fiddling with her phone for a minute. What are you doing?

Timing how long it takes him to get pissed off that I won't acknowledge his presence. It had to happen, it just had to. Candace would wait however long it took.

The phone was tossed back into her bag and Candace stood again, looking the next untouched dummy up and down. Moving targets were better practice, she needed that unpredictability to keep herself on top of things. She might as well try some new things on these dummies though, huh? A simulator could only show her so much. Sometimes having an unusual weapon sucked.

HEY!

Candace rolled her eyes. I'm not saying you suck, I'm saying the situation sucks. There's no one except maybe Robert to ask for help that's actually helpful and he's probably busy right now. And last time still stung. Her first lost spar. She frowned, eyes narrowed at the dummy in front of her. Even after all this time it was still hard. Keep out of the way, keep low, but hit high, hit effectively and hit hard. It got tiring.

Her eyes darted to Rep and then the dummy again. He was an unpredictable b*****d even with his weapon. He wouldn't hold back on her...but she hated the very idea of asking him for help. Atropos groaned. If he's useful then use him! Candace pouted.

No. I don't need him. He wasn't useful. She didn't want him near her. Atropos wished she had eyes to roll.

Don't you want to fight him? Candace shook her head, trying something else on the dummy in front of her. Atropos sighed. She wanted a fight, if she couldn't remember their last one then she wanted one now.

The weapon reverted back to her totem form without so much as a word of warning. Candace stumbled a bit, blinking and staring down at her rings. What the hell? Atro--

I. Want. To fight him. She blinked.

Are you seriously--

DUMMIES ARE STUPID.

How old are you--

La la la not listening la de da de da how doth the little crodocile improve his shining tail~.

"Ugh! FINE!" Candace ruffled her hair and stepped away from the lineup of dummies to approach Rep. She stayed a safe distance away, far from the swing of his axe. Ridiculous ******** thing. "Rep!" She called out to get his attention, looking completely exasperated. Thanks, Atropos. Thanks. "Atropos wants a fight, and I'm sure you'd love a chance to smack me with that thing, hm? What do you say, up for a fair fight?" Or well...a fairer fight than before.

"Fair in that you have your weapon," Candace clarified with a dismissive wave. "I wouldn't attack you with your weapon locked. Not with Atropos." It was true, Candace didn't want to spar someone with that kind of handicap. It wasn't fair, and spars weren't meant to be blood baths. She couldn't help but grin when he said yes.

"I'll remember that for next time." Atropos finally allowed herself to be summoned again. The weapon literally glowed with excitement. When was their last spar? It had been so long ago!

((UHHHHH WILL DO AN ATTACK POST WHEN GET HOME))

Rep was wary of Candace. She'd been the first person to put him in his place when he'd arrived on the island and beyond that point he would never underestimate her again. Atro played into every one of his range weaknesses, Tracey's blindspot arc all the more of a vulnerability when the person in question technically had two weapons, even if she couldn't always employ both at once.

He hated having her this close, metaphorically breathing down his neck, and rebelled, turning on his heel to bring the lesser bladed edge of Tracey around, somehow managing to clip her point blank with the blade. It wasn't enough to buy him distance but it was enough to at least get the fear flowing.

HP : 48/50
DMG: 8
Charge: 1/3

Rep wasn't used to people going for his legs, generally people doggedly focused only on landing hits on vulnerable bodily areas, the torso, arms and the like. A hit on his leg was a serious concern and it was only using Tracey like a staff to lean on that stopped him from falling on his face.

"Sneaky b***h." he hissed, but there was admiration in his tone, it was nice to fight someone with experience, with a weapon so radically different from others he'd fought against.

He regained his footing and leapt backwards from her, mid jump bringing Tracey around like a wing to connect with her shield. He felt like he was hardly making a dent.

HP : 40/50
DMG: 9
Charge: 2/3

As Candace's fist connected with the bridge of his nose, even with Tracey's shield in the way, Rep cried out in surprise and pain. Anywhere else was fine, his face, specifically his nose was a weakness that predated even the axe's healing powers, what should have been a slightly irritating blow made agony radiate from his nose to his cheekbones and beyond, enough for just a second to jar him completely out of the fight. <********> Dizzying blotches of red flashed before his eyes as it felt like the bones in his face grated against one another.

No he had to.. He shook his head, backing up away from her, looking just to put distance between them, distance between that pain. He might well have kept backing up like a shying horse if it wasn't for Tracey metaphorically yanking his reigns.



The words were like a slap in the face, and with a hurried and frantic snarl he used the panicked distance as an opening for another wide and sweeping blow, this time twisting the blade out of a feint to bring it down in an overhead swing.

"Like this."

HP : 36/50
DMG: 9
Charge: 3/3

There was a spike of irritation at himself as Candace noticed his moment of distraction, ******** stupid, he made it bleedingly obvious. He didn't explain it out, didn't want to have to recount how the nearest person he'd had to a friend back then had turned on him over a woman and the result had left him a lot of painful surgery and an obvious weak spot for the rest of his days.

He had a feeling the charge was coming, there was always one on the horizon in spars, very few people held back on them, it meant listening to a weapon complain the rest of the battle and risking a loss. There was no time and no way to defend against the hits as she went into overdrive, strike after strike raining on him from what felt like all angles, his shield brutally decimated by the assault.

The force of the assault was enough to knock him to the ground, taking a few gasping breaths to steady his senses before in a desperate scrabble hauling himself and Tracey up. He knew all too well lingering on the dirt was asking for a finisher.

"Its nothing." he snapped defensively at her as he tried to regain his sense of balance and momentum. The charge stayed, this time somehow patient, lurking just within reach, Tracey urging him to use it, but with a strange muted warning of its danger if he did.

He had nothing to lose but the fight.

With a mental shrug he let the charge race through him, picking up his pace until the world seemed to slow the way it always did. He leapt, the nearest he came to flight, throwing all the energy at his disposal behind it. His muscles screamed and it was an uphill and awful locked battle with his own endurance and his desire to /win/ this ******** battle, to obliterate her and lord it over her. It was for every time she'd accidentally stung him with her words, every humiliating defeat, every time mist got something he wanted.

At the apex of his jump, he swung the axe over, narrowing his eyes at her, he'd ******** get her, she's see, he could feel the power in this swing, Tracey close, closer...

His eyes went wide as at the very worst moment, his shield gave out. The full force of the exertion of the attack ripped through him, Tracey suddenly very very heavy. He came down like he was tied to an anvil, the swing going wide, sinking into the ground next to Candace several feet before in a flicker, Tracey vanished and he slumped to the dirt unconscious.

HP : -7/50
DMG: Miss
Charge: 0/3