[Hermes]

"Anytime~ Have a good time."

[Asche]

Asche flew over the front lines in Hawk form, he spied several rebels locked in combat with loyalist soldiers. He sped into a sharp dive at a soldier who was going in for the kill on a young rebel. Just before he contacted with the loyalist he changed form into a large bear, the soldier's eyes filled with fear as his body was crushed by the whole weight.

Asche transformed back into his normal form and rolled off the unconscious soldier, he shook his head and whispered to himself never to do that again. He looked up to see who his next opponent would be.

[Espy]

Espy blinked twice. She was sure she'd just seen a bear fall from the sky, or an eagle change into a bear, or an eagle crush a human... She rubbed her eyes. She must be getting tired...

But there was still work to do. Ducking a swinging blade that had appeared out of nowhere, she jammed the butt end of her stave into a soldier's ribcage, then pulled her blade from its sheathe and slit his throat, dodging the spray of blood. Eurgh. Poorly armed and armored.

She rifled through his pouches and stuffed a few gold coins into her pocket, then wiped the dagger on the man's shirt. By the time she looked up, the bear -- or hawk -- was gone. ...So weird.

[Iseiah]

Iseiah walked onto the Front Lines slowly and methodically, waiting for his sparring partner to make her all-but-subtle appearance. His muscles were tense with anticipation and his eyes scanned the battlefield for any sign of her approach, but he could find none. Relaxing a small bit, he leaned against a battle-scarred boulder and counted down until the time they would finally meet.

[Asura]

"If I didn't know any better, I would say you were waiting for someone, sir," said Asura as she looked down upon Iseiah from her perch atop the boulder. She has never conversed with this particular member of the Rebel faction--not that she had really conversed with any of them--and their communications were often limited to a quick nod or a sharp glare.

But despite that, the purity of his strength was unlike anything she has ever seen.

She did not know what to think of it.

"It is rare that I see you in the front lines, Iseiah."

[Iseiah]

He was surprised, but only for a moment. Clearly this... Asura was a more capable opponent than he had at first realized. How she got upon the boulder he had surveyed just minutes before was a mystery to him and he didn't like that one bit. He reminded himself to be cautious and bartered back with a quick reply, "Well, I have been training many of the new recruits we have acquired. It's a hard job, but without proper training, they cannot hope to have a chance against such... powerful odds."

He turned to face her more clearly and smirked. "I am glad that after all this bartering back and forth, we will finally get to have our little... match. Are you sure you want to do this?"

[Asura]

"Perhaps you do not know me very well," said Asura as she jumped from the boulder, unsheathed her swords and turned to face Iseiah. "Regardless of the opponent, I will not turn down a fight. Do not think too badly of me if I accidentally kill you in the process."

She paused for a moment as she surveyed his weaponless hands. Her eyes fully opened but quickly slit down to a harsh glare. "Unless you're a mage."

Her formerly attacking posture shifted to a defensive one.

[Iseiah]

He couldn't help but laugh, "Don't worry, Asura, beyond a few mental abilities and minor healing talents, I'm helpless in the realm of magic." He shifted to a defensive posture as well, mirroring her movements as best as he could. He had trained for this, and was not going to let anything distract him from his goal.

"After the battle is over, one of us may not leave the field in one piece... but that's the thrill of battle, is it not?" His muscles tensed and he switched his arms for a more defensive block. "I do not wish to harm you beyond recognition, but if you leave me no choice, then so be it."

He looked across the battlefield and saw recruits he had trained. Some of them had improved greatly, slaying those who stood in their way. Those who had not received enough training were cut down easily enough. He sighed, his surveying complete, and did a back flip to increase the distance between him and Asura.

[Asura]

"Yes, it is certainly a pity that one of us may not live to see the end of this war," she smiled as she sped forward, the ribbons of her laurels lashing the air like whips. "Oh! But I can't die. I suppose that just leaves one possibility, doesn't it?"

Asura struck with her right blade, but Iseiah's flip had given him enough distance to nullify the attack. She sped forward again, glee lighting up her expression like a child during their birthday. "It was not an utter waste to listen to the old codger, after all. If it will allow me to face those like you in the battlefield."

[Iseiah]

It was lucky that he had moved back, because Asura moved with the speed of something supernatural. Her speed, combined with her blades, made her a more formidable foe than he had faced before. His muscles tensed as he worked on dodging her vicious blows one at a time. He gasped as he quipped back, "Well, I can't die either. I have something important to live for, and you're not going to be the one to take that from me!"

He tensed his legs and jumped up in the air as high as he could, which, through his training, was ten or so feet. While in the air he concentrated as hard as he could and sent a mental blast at Asura. Her mind was strong, but all he needed was a moment of hesitation to get in a strike. "Come on, blast, do your worst!"

[Asura]

Asura stopped completely where she stood as a pounding headache started from her forehead that radiated back. She momentarily let down her guard, dropping her left hand down to her side while the right went up to her temple.

But even through the intense, spreading pain, she kept both of her eyes steadily fixed on Iseiah, not betraying an ounce of the true agony she felt. "If you think you little mind tricks will work on me, think again, fool. There is nothing I want that you can possibly give, so keep protecting what you think is precious while you still have the arms to hold them."

With a fierce cry, she fought through the pain and launched herself in the air, headed straight for Iseiah.

[Iseiah]

Damn! I expected resistance but that was one of the strongest blasts I can do! What am I going to do?! He thought as she sped towards him clearly pissed off. He concentrated and let his body fall closer to the ground so that Asura missed him. He pulled out his emergency weapon, an extendible bo staff made of a metal stronger than steel. He didn't like to use it unless it was an emergency, but clearly this was one.

He landed as lightly as he could, minimizing any injury he would have received. Even so, he winced and had to take a moment to recover.

"I'll have arms until I cut them off myself, Asura!" He yelled, launching at the supernatural force before him with his staff ready to smash her. "Take this," he yelled as he lashed out at her.

[Asura]

Asura grit her teeth as her eyebrows furrowed with slight worry. As much as she would like to pretend that it did not faze her, Iseiah's forced entry into her mind compromised her balance.

I hate magic and mental attacks! she snarled in her fogged mind, cursing her lack of defense to them as she quickly crossed her arms over her face to block the downward sweep of Iseiah's bo staff. It hit with such a force that shocked Asura enough to force her to take a step back to brace herself. But this man is a very strong fighter, stronger than most I have faced. But he is no way strong enough to defeat me.

She flipped her blades to face inward while her arms were still crossed. In a split-second, she sliced them down far enough to bury themselves a centimeter deep into the metal weapon, locking both Iseiah and herself in place. "You are a very interesting man, Iseiah. Few are able to surprise me like this."

[Iseiah]

He took the compliment with a grain of salt, as knew interesting to her meant a challenge... and no one challenges Asura, especially on her battlefield. He smirked and tried his best to look confident as replied, "Why thank you. I offer the same to you. It's not often my enemies survive my mental blasts, yet it barely phased you."

He looked at his bo staff, the strongest metal he knew of had been easily pierced by Asura's daggers. Unless he let go of his weapon and showed weakness, he didn't know how he was going to get out of this deadlock. He quickly shifted his hands, preparing to spin the staff and disarm Asura. His muscles tensed, waiting for her to try and make the slightest move.

[Asura]

Asura continued to stared at Iseiah calculatingly amidst their deadlock. Neither one dared make the first move, for both knew that it would start their fight anew. After several minutes of no movement despite the churning battlefield that raged about them, Asura smiled cheekily.

"Care to join me for some tea when we return to base?"

[Iseiah]

He almost died laughing. After all this, she was asking him to come have tea with her. Whether this was a plan to silently eliminate him, he did not know, but he decided to trust her for the time being. He sent a pulse through his weapon which gently removed her lodged blades from his staff, and he back flipped again to give them conversation room.

"Are we going for tea now, or shall we continue our sparring?" He smiled and dropped to a simple defensive pose.