Team CNDL Sparring

>It’s a crisp autumn day on the grounds of Beacon Academy
>Students going about their business, heading to Vale for shopping, or to the Library to study
>And team CNDL is sparring again
>It’s their usual routine, a 4 person free for all, melee only, no semblances
>If you get disarmed, you’re out

>Candelae goes to clobber Duro over the head with her riot baton
>He blocks with his staff and uses the momentum to spin the weapon around for his own attack
>Candelae drops to her knees, the carved wooden staff whizzing over her head
>She rolls to the side and swings at Duro’s leg from her crouching position
>He knocks the Baton aside and goes for a lunge, as Candelae retreats
>He lunges again, and she mirrors the action, the flat ends of the staff and baton slamming into each other

>They both try to power through, throwing all their weight into forcing their weapon forward
>While they are both locked in their struggle, Lily charges forwards towards them
>She pulls a lever on her widened greatsword, detaching the two halves of the blade from each other
>Where there was once only a single sword, there are now two, directly next to each other
>Gripping a sword in each hand, she wrenches them apart just as she reaches the pair of duelists

>The knight-in-training swings at both of them, but they break off the struggle
>Candelae backflips twice before righting herself and preparing to charge forward
>Duro makes a massive leap backwards, far from both Lily and Candelae
>He takes the time to attach the weight and chain looped around his belt to his staff, turning it into a flail

>As he charges back into the fray, a leg flashes out at his shin with lightning speed
>He jumps over it, turning around as he lands
>Nettle’s kick was fast, but he’s faster
>She runs at him, combat knife in hand

>Meanwhile, Candelae is delivering a rain of lighting blows to Lily, who deflects them all with her twin swords
>She launches a counterattack, blades dancing through the air
>Candelae performs a dance of her own, evading the swings in a continuous flow of movement
>She gets below Lily’s guard and rams the end of the baton straight at her face
>Lily takes the hit
>She grits her teeth, and knees Candelae in the stomach as hard as she can

>At the same time, Duro retreats from the rapid series of knife lunges
>He moves backward, trying to gain enough reach to use his weapon effectively
>Nettle, slightly short of breath from her speedy attack, does not pursue
>As he reaches to correct distance, he swings the flail once, twice, three times
>She dodges the first swing, and the second, but the third catches her in the side and knocks her away

>She moved with the blow, but it still takes her a second to recover
>And during that second, Duro lets loose with a crushing overhead swing
>Nettle calmly takes two quick steps forward and one to the side, the flail smashing into the ground behind her
>She steps on the chain

>Duro frowns and pulls a few times, but Nettle grabs the chain with her off-hand
>He detaches the chain from his staff and rushes forwards as Nettle tosses it aside
>Duro rushes in, but is stopped by Candelae slamming into him
>Lily had managed to knock one of her opponents into another, to take two out at once
>Though as they still held their weapons, they weren’t out of the match yet
>Grinning like an idiot, Lily turns to Nettle

>Only to be greeted by a green-and-brown blur speeding towards her
>She connects her two swords back together and makes a horizontal slash at Nettle
>The small girl leaps high, over both the sword and its wielder
>As she lands, she spins around with lightning speed, her knife already on its way to her target
>But instead of Lily, the knife instead meets her sword, yet the swordswoman had not turned around

>Lily has her greatsword diagonally across her back, similar to how she carries it normally
>But instead of the usual straps and buckles, it is supported only by her right hand
>Nettle makes a lunge, but Lily turns, adding the momentum to the swing of her sword
>The blade catches the surprised girl in the stomach
>Had she been without Aura, she may very well have been cut in half
>Instead, she is propelled backwards by the force of the blow

>Lily sees a knife clatter to the ground nearby
>Disarmed
>One down, two to go
>She quickly glances at Nettle, who’s scraping herself off the ground, before turning to face Candelae and Duro
>The pair of them untangled themselves and are exchanging blows
>Lily heads off to join their brawl

>Nettle stands and smiles, her hands behind her back
>In one of them is her heavy bladed combat knife
>The knife she tossed out to trick Lily was actually one of her throwing knives
>Now that they think she’s out of the match, she can launch a counter attack
>Slowly and calmly, she approaches the other three

>Candelae jumps as Duro and Lily swing their weapons, and for a second the redhead seems to hang suspended upside-down in midair between them
>Then she kicks off Lily’s swords at Duro, who thrusts his staff at the flying assailant
>Candelae’s feet meet the end of the staff as she coils her body, then springs off it and to the side of Lily, forming a triangle with the other two

>Lily, in turn, splits her sword and points one at both Duro and Candelae
>Duro twists the grip of his staff, drawing his sword from its wooden sheath
>The blade he points at Candelae, and the staff at Lily
>Candelae points her riot baton at Lily and points her finger at Duro
>The three smile at each other
>They tense, preparing to resume their battle

>During this moment of serenity, Nettle takes her chance and sprints forward, revealing the knife in her hand
>She can get to Lily in time, at least
>The trio’s heads begin to turn as they hear the approaching footsteps
>Suddenly the earth is yanked away from beneath Nettle’s feet

>Her foot must have slipped on someloose gravel
>Somehow she’s falling backwards
>Her arms splay out in front of her, reaching towards the sky
>Her muscles tense with the anticipation of the impact
>Her eyes reflexively squeeze shut
>And then it stops

>She’s not moving
>It almost feels like she’s floating
>There’s something pressing on her back
>That’s not the ground beneath her head either
>It feels more like…

>She opens her eyes to see six more blinking at her
>Lily’s hands are on the back of her head
>Duro’s palm is pressed against her back
>Candelae has Nettle’s feet resting on her shoulders, her head popped up between them
>Her head isn’t touching the ground
>None of her is, actually
>She really is floating
>Supported by her teammates

>A short distance away, their weapons lie in a pile on the ground
>The trio look at the knife in Nettle’s hand, then at the throwing knife Nettle had dropped earlier
>Her three teammates all break out smiling

>Lily’s encouraging smile, Candelae’s enthusiastic smile, Duro’s approving smile
>All three smiles beam at her like the sun
>The three of them speak at the exact same time, with the exact same words
>”Congrats, you win.”