I thought you'd be taller

[Nekromonga]

"Right, right... Staying down there that long can put a person... on edge." Cas looked at the wrist-blade herself, trying to hide her surprise. She turned around, away from Axel so he wouldn't see her fidget with how to put the blade away. Crap, how do you get this thing back inside? She was not well acquainted with the armor, and decided to just remove it before she put out someone's eye out. The armorer brought out a convenient armor stand, and Cas lost the gauntlets and picked up the sword.

Now, swords. that was something Cas was not familiar with. Clubs, knives, knuckledusters and shanks were her domain. At most she wielded short blades, but a long blade... well, maybe the principles were the same.
But Kreiga? she saw the Mandalorian Crusader mural... and they wielded those long swords. Looks like she'd have to apply herself.

Cas faced Axel once she was ready. She clearly knew no sword fighting stances, so she stuck to knife style, holding the blade one handed with her other hand for defense, her posture neutral. And, just like with knives, she went for a thrust once it got underway, while minding her defense with her free hand.

[member="The Banshee"]

 

[The Banshee]

Axel would picked up one of the well-balanced practice swords with his dominant left hand, twirling it around a few times to get his bearings before he took his stance. His sword was held out point frontwards while still maintaining position cross-body position. His other hand would bear a position resembling her's, though the hand looked a little more ready to strike out than her's did.​

​

As she lunged, his sword would come down across the top of her's near the point. The light wooden sword would be batted away easily, an effect amplified by his superior strength. The sword's tip would tap the ground, and the Mandalorian would capitalize by stepping on it. Part of her "blade" now under his foot, he would seize the opportunity to punch at her face with a right hook before stepping off the blade and resuming the trial.​

​

[member="Nekromonga"]​

 

[Nekromonga]

Cas lost her grip on the sword easily enough. She knew how to block a punch, but knew better not to try against a large foe. She leans with the hook, then she goes inside Axel's reach and connects her right forearm to his sword arm at a bent angle to control his sword swings. Follow the threat- closer to danger, farther from harm. The arm would adjust automatically if he tried to pull back the sword. Once there she poured dominant hand attacks into his face. Attacks that started with fingers lightly grazing the eyes, then a hammer blow to the nose, then a few quick, controlled punches to the chin... all happening in less than split second.

As before she leaned her weight fully into the sword arm's side, controlling the sword while putting herself out of his other arm's reach. Never stand in his field of effective attack. She attempts a vicious disarm by striking his wrist and the back of his palm, a technique that usually works in shocking someone out of their weapon.

"I suppose that wasn't exactly sword fighting anymore." Cas stepped away once she either got his sword or got flattened again.

[member="The Banshee"]

 

[The Banshee]

As Axel missed the punch, he would immediately adjust his tactic. As she moved her arm to control the motion of his, he would simply stop moving it. He would instead twist his wrist with the sword in it, bringing down the wooden rod across the front of his body. Just like her sword, her arm would get hit from the top by his weapon. Her punch would now hit his his ribs instead of the desired target of his face (which still hurt regardless). He would then lean in with a headbutt, the top of his forehead going for the bridge of her nose before she could attempt another blow.​

​

He would then leap backwards, breaking the lock between the two. He would kick her discarded sword back over to her, offering a chance to try again. "All melee fights have elements of hand to hand in them, trick is keeping the sword in your hand the whole time..."​

​

[member="Nekromonga"]​

 

[Nekromonga]

Cas moved her arm, leveling her elbow to her shoulder level to let Axel's headbutt meet her bony elbow, bracing herself. Despite her stance she was nearly pushed over backward.

Once the exchange was done, Cas picked up the sword and tried again, this time trying to be more cautious, though her gang-style knife fighting was readily apparent. A few feints here and there, while she goes for a disarm. Ripostes were not in her vocabulary, and she had sense not to try to block. This was likely her largest deficiency.

[member="The Banshee"]

 

[The Banshee]

At this point, Axel had seen what he had needed to see. She showed proficiency in ranged weaponry, and had some pretty decent skills in hand to hand combat. Her melee skills had to be worked on, but it was certainly fixable. She went to disarm him, and he moved the sword further towards his center. Blade inside her's, he would quickly slide it downwards to probably rap her on the knuckles. He was still a bit sour from the failed headbutt, to say the least.

He would then stop, flipping his sword downward in a sign that the trial was over. He would stick out his hand, offering to take her's so he could store it away. "You have knack for hand to hand, I'll give you that. Where'd you learn?"

[member="Nekromonga"]

 

[Nekromonga]

Once the training was over, Cas happily handed the sword to Axel. She supposed she'd eventually had to learn to use a sword, the better to counter people who used them anyway.

Cas decided to keep the answer honest yet non-specific. "Oh... just back home. Dad died in some war, and mom had to pay the bills. Old Nan taught me everything I needed to know to survive." She wasn't sure if the Mandalorians had a centralized military, but she felt being honest in a way made it easier to talk to people on the ship. Cas's expression turned a bit cold at the memory of that old hag, remembering the things she put the "useful children" through. But now with Coruscant behind her, and everything she learned got her to this place, Cas was just being nostalgic. "Old people always tell us how they were a hundred times tougher at our age."

[member="The Banshee"]

 

[The Banshee]

Axel took the practice sword and carried it back to the rack. He listened to her response the whole time, nodding his head slightly as he did so. Like most who took up her profession, this one had a tough early life. Something the Mandalorian warrior couldn't really relate to.

He would turn back around to her, his rough voice sounding through the room. "Tough stuff, I like it. I have all I need for now, go get some rest. We'll be at Ord Mantell by tomorrow." He himself was looking forward to seeing the Consortium's base change operation in person. They were currently in the process of moving their resources off of Nar Shaddaa to Ord Mantell. This new recruit would get to witness the Consortium's might in not long at all, it seemed.

[member="Nekromonga"]

 

[Casandrae Vau]

((Awww yeah sub-charries))



"Right. I'll be in my bunk then... maybe look around."

Cas internally breathed a sigh of relief, and picked up her gear. She'd have a few hours to really brush up on being Mandalorian... and a lot of other things. She looked at Axel and wanted to ask him, but decided at the moment to get things done by herself. Cas suddenly felt a bit dizzy, and looked up at the supply room lights... why were they so ... bright? Cas slipped on the helmet, the lens filter and flare buffer of her helmet more than mere shielding- it was a piece of home. She set the filter to maximum, the stress on her eyes now greatly reduced. She'd probably have to find some thick goggles from now on if she was going to walk around... or get used to the helmet.


((End of social thread... for now.))

[member="The Banshee"]