Starlight sword fight

Ember was so lost in her own little world, fighting imaginary foes, that she didn't even notice someone else was in the gardens with her. At this time of night, she had expected everyone else would be asleep. That apparently was not so, as the sound of rustling shrubbery nearby made the adolescent fae's ears snap up to attention, and then as gracefully as she had been moving came to stop on a dime, her lithe body whirling around to face the source of the sound. There stood the newcomer, Aylin, watching her with a mischievous look on her face. Ember's face immediately flushed with warmth; she hadn't been meaning for anyone to see her practice. How much had Aylin seen? Clearly enough to make the remark that all she lacked was a sparring partner. "I wasn't expecting anyone else to be up this late," Ember replied, perhaps answering the unspoken question of why she was alone, perhaps partly to insist she hadn't been intending to spar.

The next suggestion that Aylin offered took Ember totally off guard. Spar with real edged blades?! Even her father had never permitted them to do that! Safety had always been the paramount rule in their lessons, and even now her sire's voice echoed in her head, warning her to never spar with a real weapon. Swords are meant for fights you don't mind killing in. Artorias' sage words gave her pause as she looked at Aylin with trepidation. What if she accidentally swung too hard or too recklessly and hurt the girl—or worse. But Aylin had already drawn her sword and taken her place opposite Ember, showing no reluctance to engage in such a dangerous sport. Well shit. Ember couldn't back down now and look like a coward! Swallowing back her apprehension, she took a deep breath and nodded. Guess they were doing this then!

Ember assumed her fighting stance opposite of Aylin, her muscles loose and limber, her nerves tensed and ready to react, senses sharpened and heightened for the fight. She balanced Ravenedge's weight in her grasp, sizing up her opponent, analyzing her stance and form. They had sparred before with non-edged training blades, so this would not be an unknown fight to her. The moment was still, quiet, even the crickets seeming to hush in the prelude of the fight. Then Ember made the first move, closing in quick with a flurry of paws on the ground and swinging her blade around to aim a slash at Aylin's center. The move was made decisively, but subdued, Ember holding back from delivering as much might and ferocity in her strike as she could out of fear of causing actual damage to the innocent Adravendi woman. She swiftly followed up that initial swing with another with the same withheld energy, aiming more to collide her blade with Aylin's own than to try and land a serious strike on her opponent's body.

WC: 489
Total: 1503 / 1500

"Ember Carpathius"