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Camelot smiled and waved as Hype approached, and Merlinite offered her a grin in greeting. He swished his tail behind him, always glad to be of some use to the White Moon. Even if it was just as a punching bag. Sometimes, it was the most useful thing for him to do.

After all, how often did people get to fight against a real Youma without fear of actually being killed? Well. Half youma.

But it was good enough for practicing, and much better than a dummy or something. Hopefully.

"No problem," he said, before Camelot could respond. "I'm eager to get to work! I'm sure you're great as a knight already, from what Camelot said, but I can help you toughen up, no problem. You want to start here, or go to Camelot's Wonder, or what? I don't think it would be a problem to just practice in the woods or something. Save some of his energy."

"I'm not that old and decrepit, Dennis." Camelot sighed, but he knew Merlinite's concern did come from a place of caring.

Cameot, vaguely annoyed by Merlinite's antics, took hold of his tail and tugged it as he focused on his Wonder. It took no time at all for them to appear in a completely different place to the one they'd been before. A gentle wind was blowing, the sky cloudy but not yet raining, as they stood on the crest of a hill overlooking the ruined castle of Camelot itself. While the Royal Knight had been working hard to restore what he could, and had made some good progress by now, there was no way he would ever be able to rebuild an entire castle all by himself.

Still, some of the rooms inside and the courtyard/gardens were looking much better than they used to.

Merlinite pulled his tail away, grumbling a bit and swinging it behind him in irritation, but knowing he'd earned that. He shrugged it off pretty easily, getting down on all fours and bounding off across the grass toward the castle. Camelot looked at Hyperborea, offering her a smile.

"We can train in the courtyard, I think.That's probably where Merlinite is off to, anyway. I've set up what I can for a training ground, from what I could find around the grounds. There's an old barracks over there, after all, where knights used to train."

"I've been working on the castle bit by bit," Camelot said on a sigh, looking a little proud as he looked over the place. He had invested a lot of time here, whenever he could. Merlinite had been here a few times as well, to help with the work. It was a lot easier to get things done with two people, and he actually had a pretty nice looking castle going. They'd cleaned out almost all the debris and were repairing the walls as best they could. He'd restored what decorations he could, and brought in what he got online to augment it. It was sort of a mix of modern day and ancient times now, though it was still sparse and a work in progress.

Sighing, though he was smiling, Camlot trotted after the two, grinning as they entered the courtyard and the training sections they duo had set up.

"Well," Camelot said, nodding to Merlinite. The half dragon bounced to the center of the training area, holding up his claws and pretending to growl in a very over the top fashion. "I first want to see your fighting style as it's matured into today, so Merlinite will be your opponent. Don't worry about hurting him: his head is very thick, and he can take quite a few hits."

"What'd you say?" Merlinite yelled, shaking his fist, "I heard my name!"

Camelot smirked at Hype knowingly, but nodded to start the training match. He could offer insight and suggestions from watching her fight, and he knew Merlinite had done enough training spars with others to be able to hold his own.

Camelot watched the duo, taking on a more serious expression as he did so. He moved forward to get closer to the battle, though he stayed to the side lines with his hands behind his back, watching and taking notes, for now, before he would step in and give what advice he could. After so many years and so many battles, it all felt a little too familiar.

The best thing he could do with all those experiences was share them with others, to help them become stronger and, in that, be able to protect themselves better. Preserving the lives of his fellow knights was his utmost goal.

Merlinite grinned, baring his teeth, and swished his tail behind him. He ducked down to all fours, the angle making it easier for him to dart around like a lizard, though he preferred to think of himself as a dragon. His wing was damaged and he could not use it for balance as he used to, but it hardly seemed to slow him down.

It meant his head was much lower than she might have anticipated, and he dove for her leg that held her balance, aiming to grab it rather than slash at it, because he did not want to hurt her, either. She was nice enough not to use her powers, after all.

Camelot watched, rolling his eyes and Merlinite's less than noble fighting style.

"Always consider what kind of an enemy you're fighting before you attack," he advised passively, "some are very good at teleporting and attacking from other sides, and hedging your bets on big combos might leave you exposed."

Merlinite swished his tail behind him, grinning broadly and holding his clawed hand up not in a fist, obviously, but as if he was ready to slash her. He would not do any real damage, nothing lasting, but a warning scratch or two might be in order if she let her guard down too far.

At the moment, it did not seem like that was too much of a worry. He was impressed, but he supposed he didn't really need to be. She was the right rank to be a challenge for him, and he knew she worked hard to be where she was. This training was not to learn, but to improve, which was why he was not interesting in holding back and treating her like a newbie.

He just wasn't aiming to really hurt her, either. There was plenty of middle ground to work with.

Camelot watched and nodded his head thoughtfully as she tackled Merlinite, who was not expecting such a close range attack, and smiled. Merlinite fell backwards, kicking and struggling to try and get from under her, so he could get some footing back.

"Good!" Camelot called, "looks like Dennis was the one off guard there. Excellent choice, Hyperborea."

"Argh!" Merlinite was not ready to be yanked to his feet, his wing flaring a bit but not able to extend like it used to. After he had been injured, it never quite healed correctly. Still, he had already learned to compensate for it, just as he had learned to compensate when he first got it. If he got used to fighting with a wing, he could get used to fighting without one again.

Or with a mostly useless one, anyway.

"Hey!" He was sent flying over her shoulder and tumbling into the grass, rolling foot over head over tail and back again. He came to a stop near enough to Camelot to hear his laughter filling the calm, quiet clearing. "Oh, shut up, old man!"

"Well, you heard her, Dennis. Stop goofing around and do something useful, so she might actually get some practice out of this," Camelot said evenly, as if not insulting the half dragon. Merlinite dragged himself to his feet, huffing at Camelot grumpily and swishing his tail behind him.

"Alright, fine!" He charged, running on his hands and feet, then coiled down about a foot from Hyperborea before throwing himself into the air. He launched over her, turning as he made to land behind her and attack her from behind, reminding himself not to use his claws so instead aiming a palm attack to her tail bone.

Merlinite was having a lot of fun, though he knew it was important to keep his focus. He just liked fighting and being able to help the white moon in his limited capacity. Until he was purified, this was about as much as he could do for them, while keeping away from the negaverse and biding his time.

He was not expecting the bright flash of light, coming to a sudden stop and covering his eyes with his clawed hand. He realized his mistake too late and grumbled when Hype managed to get around him, holding up his hands in surrender.

"Yeah, yeah, you win," he sighed, exaggerating his annoyance for show. Camelot was laughing, walking over to the duo.

"Your technique is very good, you know. Training always helps keep things sharp, but you have more talent in defending yourself and keeping others safe than you seem to think. Confidence goes a long way in battle, as much as skill and knowledge." The Royal Knight smiled warmly, though he glanced at Merlinite. "Of course, too much can push things the other way, and end up hurting as well."

Merlinite stuck his tongue out petulantly.