middaeg | (semi-open!)

[ eren doesn’t make a habit of slouching around— always on the move for something, training his body and keeping in shape was no different a task from the usual labor he chooses. everyday, a few hours dedicated. always.

he continues choosing the favored hand to hand with those willing to practice grappling with him. which wasn’t particularly plentiful, considering a dragon’s strength and the fear of some fighters breaking their limbs in a freak accident. eren practices by himself until then, doing bursts of exercises that stimulate the same muscles used for successful falls, hooks and clenches. punches. dummy kicking (though he’s better with his punches). occasionally wondering if he could somehow implement what he knew when his form changed into that of a full dragon. maybe? he still had hands.

it’s only when he catches site of a woman and her strokes of a weapon he’s never seen before. it looked like a whip, many whips, so a little closer he comes, curious and bobbing his head harmlessly to convey that in his approach. ]

[The weapon, Gideon Jura's sural, is heavy and unfamiliar in Chandra's hands. It's something she's been attempting to work with, to learn and master as tribute to her fallen friend, since she'd arrived...his passing only mere hours before. The snap of the steel tipped blades as she lacerates the training dummies, the sparks hissing and popping off of the shield spell she has to keep up to effectively use the weapon, and the sheer concentration on using the weapon's momentum are becoming more companionable to her day by day.

She notes Eren's approach and slows her training, pulling her blow back and letting the bladed whip go slack, falling to the ground before beginning to twine them back around her wrist.]

Hello, Eren. Help you with something?

[ wow, it's. it's very aggressive. double edged, even. he wonders how she'd be able to wield it if she didn't have shield magic to back her up, and watches the leather hang and swing from earlier momentum until they settle into her hold. ]

What's that?

[ he's very direct! ]

It's called a Sural. A weapon from Theros.

[Which...probably doesn't mean shit to him, she realizes, so...]

Theros is another world, a different reality, like this being different from your own. A...friend left it to me.

[ it doesn’t mean anything exemplary, and doesn’t ring a single bell— but it does feed into the curiosity of how their realities are far beyond their own sense of understanding. a dimension in a dimension in a dimension . . .

the closer he steps, the closer his tongue directs itself to the weapon. ]

An aggressive friend. [ he says that with a touch of lightness, no offense or telling off intended. it actually sounds more like a compliment. ] You always need shields to use it?

I don't know if I'd say he was particularly aggressive, but Gids was a soldier.

[Way, way more than a simple soldier, she's underselling it a little, but 'divine champion of the God of the Sun' is a bit ostentatious for someone as simple as Gideon was at the core.]

And yeah, I do. He didn't. He...well, he was invulnerable to physical force.

[That, however, is not an underselling or an exaggeration.]

I've never met a pacifistic soldier.

[ which isn't something to be ashamed of! there's armin, but. you ain't a pacifist if you step on people, even with lack of choice (eren would say there was plenty of choice there, but let us forget his gruesome decisions). ]

You've got it down, looks like.

Not being a pacifist doesn't mean you're aggressive, either. Gids was...all about fighting only when you had to.

[She shrugs, flipping the shield off and relaxing her posture.]

I've got it down sort of. Not well enough to use it non-lethally. But I'm getting there.

[ and fighting . . . is aggressive, no matter the circumstance. but he won’t comment further. if she didn’t know what he meant now, she probably wouldn’t understand if he funneled it down and chewed it out. ]

With spells?

Yeah. There's...some magic Gids could do that made it so the blades didn't cut, but sapped strength instead. Like a weakening touch to subdue people. It's something I haven't really worked out yet.

[And it's important, in part, because she wants to honor his memory.]

What's got you out in the training yard, Eren?

[ it’s at least something that, as she explains, eren can see her doing. magic comes with a price, so— maybe she could figure something out with favorable equilibrium. at the question, eren’s tail sways to the side with the weight he shifts between his legs. ]

Keeping form. [ he’s exceptionally built for his stature, and once your body hits that prime, you shouldn’t slow down! unless flaccidness is your desire. ] I can’t ease up when it’s still my weapon.

You're a martial arts guy?

[She guesses. She's really only met one person in her whole life that's into that kind of thing, and Narset is...odd.]

[ you know what— sure. ]

Hand to hand, yeah. I’ve always done better in close quarters.

That's cool. I can't say I've got much real experience.

I'm more a...ranged...person.

Would it be something you’d want to work on?

[ because if it is (a very good plan b to consider), eren has a plan. ]

I mean, it can't hurt? Gids taught me the very basics, but if you know someone willing to demonstrate further...

Only if, [ then three two one you’ve found yourself a dance partner!! one that doesn’t give much warning when he chooses to launch forth with a curving side jab, a standing stance melding into one of combat in a blink. so, think fast— he aims for vitals, face and eyes first. ] you’re fast enough!

[Now, Chandra is not a close in fighter, but she's a twitchy, reactive person who's been through absolute hell and back. And she doesn't really know Eren enough to be relaxed completely around him. When his fist comes flying at her face, she swings her gauntleted arm up to parry the blow, turning it aside before it gets to her.

Her free hand extends and she retaliates, aiming for his belly.]

...The hell!

[ a smart idea, and she isn’t as bad as she claims to be. a good tussle it’ll be, then. eren has a few extra things to care for— the sharpness of his claws and the pin needle stack that was the tip of his tail that threatened to lash to protect himself. his more functional limbs win out in taking movement, following the flow of her blow and not only attempting to clinch closer to her, but to hook her arm into his. if she’s fast enough, it won’t get caught in a grapple, but that doesn’t mean he stands by when it comes to retaliation. ]

I’d say—

[She is not fast enough, she gets caught immediately, but her own reflexes are geared towards other things. As Eren grabs hold of her, yanks her close, her free hand makes quick, sharp movement and she shimmers...vanishing in a puff of smoke and appearing a few feet away.

This time, she sets herself into a more prepared, ready stance.]

-getting handsy already?

[ fighting witches is all too quirky, but eren can’t say he doesn’t learn from it. his tail and tongue flick quickly to find her where she stands anew, his clawed hands pulling up close to his face in an equally ready stance that circles into her, slowly, predatory— but you can see his teeth, fangs, in the way he manages to smile. ]

It’s never too early for that.

[Chandra's attention notes the tail, the position of his body, and so she releases a little more of her power. There's a cracking, clacking sound as the skin of her arms turns into stone.]

You're not venomous, are you?

[She's assuming some sort of dragon, and she remembers Berserker's poison very well.]

I don't want to spar and wind up getting sick because of an accident.

[ as far as eren knew? he’d never bite one purposefully if he knew, but, ]

I’m fire based. [ last time he checked, poison did not drip from his mouth, or his tail— it was mostly just for show, that and to use as an extra force. he’s coming for her again, regardless, wanting to give less room for her to breathe, and more to move quickly with her thoughts as he did. chandra would realize that eren certainly liked to use his arms. sucker punches and corkscrews were an aim he’d give, her own arms protected and stoney. it doesn’t stop him from trying for weak points, regardless of blocking. he hopes she does, in fact. ]

[Chandra meets his rush with one of her own, the instincts she did have telling her to go in hard and fast and let the her arms cover her. She came on like a battering ram, both arms crossed, hunched over and letting him strike at stone. Smart? Maaaybe not, but when she starts gathering stone at her feet she's a bit more stable if slow moving.]

(semi-open!)

@ chandra

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