Train? Sore-thin! Get it?[NK, IO]

Fri Aug 25, 2017 1:16 pm

She still had so much to do. After leaving Haven country, Alice hadn't had much time to train. She almost had down her new shadow style technique, but that was just the tip of the iceberg for Alice. Besides that, all she really knew was the basic imitation technique of the Nara clan. Growing up with her scumbag father taught her that there was so much more that she could do with her abilities, but she had yet to focus on that aspect of herself. Perhaps now, with some time remaining before she had to move out, she might actually be able to get something accomplished. At least, that was what she was hoping for in this secluded area of the black market. Her only question was, what exactly was she going to do first?

WC: 135

Fri Aug 25, 2017 2:52 pm

Sorethin moved through the black market on the way to a possible training ground with a carefree attitude. He was of course constantly aware of his surroundings, his paranoia culminating into constantly keeping his Chakra Sensory skill active at all times lest he be caught off guard. His black coat and snow white hair was quite an obvious distinction in the area of the black market, his body not showing any of the usual stitching that he discovered so many members of his clan possessed. That was of course preferred, as it meant that he didn’t look like some velveteen abomination dreamt up in some child’s dream. Or nightmare depending on your point of view of course. As it stood though he was more than ready to start his training with a vigor and he had a great deal to do in order to get there. He had four total hearts and he only had the elements of his original one. This was a gross oversight on his part a it meant he was only operating at partial efficiency. He’d need to hurry up and get some, if not all of them trained and integrated into his body lest he continue to stagnate. He moved through the town at a brisk pace, with a carefree grin and his hands in his pockets before he caught sight of a training field in the distance. He quickly began to move for the field, intending to get some work done, hopefully with as few prying eyes as possible.

As he arrived at the field it would appear to be occupied by someone else. She looked to be in her late teens with shoulder length black hair, a uniform of some kind, an eye patch on her left eye and decent cleavage. He shrugged mentally, it wasn’t like he assumed NO ONE would see him train, just as few eyes as possible. He also had far too much to work on at the moment to worry about trying to kill the girl. Especially with so many nearby witnesses. He’d simply try and share the field, as much as it might annoy. That meant he’d need to be social too, ah well. He could put on a smile and work a little charm. He took a quick survey of the field, as far as he knew they weren’t too far within Iron country. As such it was quite snowy and the field was covered in a decent amount of the white, cold substance. Mountainous peaks ranged around the black market with a few fields of snow jutting out to assist in training techniques. He’d sigh and put on a smile before stepping up to the girl, his voice calling out to her in greeting. “G’morning.” He’d say as he stepped up to her unthreateningly “Mind if I use the field with ya? I have a bit of training to do myself.” He’d ask with a simple shrug. If she turned to look at him to acknowledge his presence she’d see snow white hair, piercing yellow eyes and skin the colour of ivory, he stood at 6’2 and had on his usual outfit at the moment. Which granted made him seem far warmer than the girls should be making her. A uniform? In the snow? Lord what was she thinking?

WC: 554

Fri Aug 25, 2017 3:46 pm

Her train of thought was quickly interrupted by an uninvited guest. A strange looking man, taller than Alice was, with hair that matched the snowy ground around them and eyes that glowed yellow like a cat's. She struggled to not roll her eyes at the man as she thought of trapping him in a sphere of water and having her sharks devour the poor soul in a bloody mess. That cheered her up a bit, allowing her to actually smile sincerely as she turned to the bastard.

"O-oh. Of course, yea you can definitely train here with me. It's so funny I was just thinking I could use a, well, um, a partner.... actually," she answered, feigning shy innocence as she usually did among possible targets. Generally, she made it a rule that she wouldn't bring business home with her, attacking someone in the confines of Black Market territory never ended well. However, Alice was prone to violence when she was irritated, and one sure-fire way to do that was to intrude on her training sessions. "I mean, that is if you, if you don't mind, Mr. umm.....I'm sorry, but what, um what was your name? I'm, I'm Alice."

How irritating it was to pretend to by this shy, awkward little bimbo. It disgusted her every time she had to don this absolutely ridiculous mask. Unfortunately, it was what she had become best at over the years, luring unsuspecting victims into her web before robbing them blind and leaving.

WC: 248

Fri Aug 25, 2017 4:04 pm

Sorethin’s eyes would narrow at the young girl’s quick decision to allow him to train as well. He would have to keep an eye on her. Something truly wasn’t right here, he could feel it. A little girl acting this innocent in a den of thieves, murderers and rapists? Doubtful, but he mentally shrugged. He could play along if she wanted to tow the line. “Sorethin” He would answer, it was said with a small smile and a light nod of his head in greeting before he decided to simply get down to business. He brought out his threads, separating the folds of his skin to allow the three hearts he had that he needed to train out into three beating bundles in the air. It didn’t matter if the girl was disgusted by what she saw, he’d simply keep training regardless. “Excellent..I need to integrate some...new additions to my being.” He would say with a small smirk on his face. He’d go ahead and learn them from first to last in order of which he obtained them. That would mean the water heart of the dead Uzumaki was first. He brought the still beating appendage out of his grouping of threads and held it in his hands. The blood had long since gone, the heart merely keeping itself functional due to his threads. He focused intently on the power the organ possessed, the latent abilities in the water element that it might have within its integrated chakra network within. It was this power that he would need to fuse with his own body.

“You wouldn’t happen to have any tips on how to learn about the water element would you madame?” He’d say with a polite little lilt to his voice. He had a feeling of foreboding, that if he didn’t keep this girl happy, or at the very least not angry with him, then he wouldn’t survive this day. He went back to focusing on the heart he had within his hands, keeping half an ear out for any advice or tips the girl might have for him in this regard. The sooner he got this element mastered the sooner he could move on to the next. He slowly began to feel for the ebb and flow of his chakra, trying to get a feel for how the element might feel to him in the process. He tried to imagine his chakra as fluid and flexible. He needed to get into the right mindset in order to truly call the water element his own. His focus was almost completely on the heart before his eyes as he studied it intently, as if he were trying to unlock the secrets it may hold. He doubted the girl would understand what he was doing and why but that didn’t matter to him. She would understand that he was trying to train and element somehow, and that was all the mattered as far he was concerned. He could feel his chakra beginning to try and meld into the element he wanted, trying to form the calming waves of chakra within himself. He just needed to focus a bit more and it’d be perfect. Then he’d easily be able to obtain the water element as his own and move on to the next one.

After a few minutes of concentration on the vital organ of the human body he would glance over at the girl, making sure she wasn’t trying to kill or rob him. He still had to be careful, she was in this area for a reason after all and it most certainly wasn’t because she was defenseless. “So what are you working on?” He’d ask intently, hoping to get her talking so he could hear where she was at the very least while he focused on his own training, his sensory active to keep watch for any active chakra that he might be able to guard against.

WC: 658
TWC: 1212/2000

Fri Aug 25, 2017 5:22 pm

Sorethin. What a strange name. Though, she had to admit, not the strangest she had encountered over the years either. The name wasn't the strangest thing about this man, though. No, not even close. After kindly introducing himself his body seemed to split apart, held together only by strange black threads that wriggled like worms in mud after a rainstorm. Three separate entities made themselves known now, beating as if they were alive, the chorus of multiple heartbeats echoing throughout the nearly deserted area. Her eyes widened, though only one was visible, for only an instant before Alice discarded her normal guise and took on her natural stature. A disgusted look took hold of her features, her eyes narrowed as she watched the man holding one of the beating ball of tendrils in his hands. An air of danger lurked upon the snow-white fields now, this one could surprise her if she wasn't vigilant.

She crossed her arms across her chest, leaning back against the wall of a rundown shack as she watched Sorethin work. He mentioned something about integrating new beings, and even had the gall to ask for tips on utilizing the water element. What in hell was he even doing? Several minutes had passed with Alice just watching him out of pure curiosity, she had never seen such a thing happen in her lifetime. The man's yellow eyes glancing over at the girl ripped her away from her reverie, a slight flush of red ran across her cheeks before returning to their naturally pale color. It was embarrassing to be caught staring at this wretched man. He better not think it was for his looks, what kind of girl did he think she was? Quickly picking up a discarded blade someone had apparently left lying around, the girl twirled it with a simple flick of her wrist before holding it out and slightly to the right of her at waist level.

"I decided it was time I became more proficient with different types of weapons. Today I was planning on training in swordsmanship," she answered flatly, moving ever closer to Sorethin's position in a pointed manner. It wasn't like she was going to attack the bastard, she just couldn't stand this annoying urge to help him. Water was her specialty element after all, and untrained fools like this one needed to be guided lest they give her a bad reputation. When she was within five feet or so of the man and his...curiosities...she stopped and thrust the sword into the ground in front of her with one swift motion. "Here, let me help you," she said softly, creating three hand seals in quick succession without waiting for this obstruction to give her his permission. A steady stream of water poured out from her mouth which she directed at the ground around the two of them, circling Sorethin as she did so in order to make sure the water engulfed the entirety of the field they were in, including beneath their feet. "Try channeling that thing you have in your hand and forming some of the water in front of you into a small sphere about three inches in diameter. Like this," forming another quick hand seal she placed her left palm on the surface of the water for a moment, retracting it only to show a perfect sphere of the clear liquid resting on the surface. "If you can manage to do that, I'm sure you'll have accomplished whatever it is you're trying to do," she said matter-of-factly as she stood back up and yanked the sword out of the ground once more.

With sword in hand, Alice walked away from the man to give her ample space for what she had in mind for her own training. She took a stance holding the sword with both hands out in front of her, the lower half of her body angled only slightly so that her feet were shoulder length apart, her left foot in front of her right. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and allowed her other senses to kick into hyperdrive. She could smell damp snow, hear the wind passing over what little earth and dead grass there was in the area. All of her experiences coming together as one to paint her an exact picture of her surroundings. When her eyes opened, she saw three enemies around her. One only several feet in front of her, the other two on either side. A type of training she had learned from a wandering swordsman recently, letting her mind create imaginary foes to fight against. Her focus was on them, though that didn't limit her ability to sense her unwelcomed guest either.

WC: 786

Sat Aug 26, 2017 8:55 am

Sorethin would chuckle at the girls blush when he caught her staring. He understood of course, it wasn’t everyday someone pulled out what appeared to be the beating hearts of other people and begin trying to learn what he could from them. That would cause anyone to stare, if they didn’t try to outright kill him. Points for the girl for not trying to do just that. Of course now her guise had waned and gone was the innocent little girl. She had the air of a hardened killer, someone who would get what she wanted regardless. It made things so much more refreshing to drop the pretenses. Luckily he was rather fluid when it came to his attitude so every act and charade fit him rather well. So long as he got what he wanted in the end it simply didn’t matter how he got there. Her answer to his question regarding her training intrigued him ‘Swordsmanship eh? Well she has the lithe build that would suit a quick and effective sword user..’ He’d think to himself, using what knowledge regarding body times his parents had ingrained into his mind before their deaths. All of a sudden she’d speak softly, moving over and performing hand seals rapidly as she did so. He honestly couldn’t stop her, so despite how much he didn’t want to die he’d have to sit there and let her do what she was doing. It was only after she began spewing out water around him that he realized she had said ‘Let me help you..’ He’d pay close attention to what she was saying and doing regarding the water element and he’d nod his head, his focus solely on what she had said to do. She created a small sphere of water in her hand, holding between her hand and the surface of the water. He’d watched intently as she focused her chakra into the sphere, controlling it masterfully. He’d nod his head in understand as he too knelt down by the water and began to channel chakra into his hand, feeling his personal chakra resonate within the heart that he held within his hands.

He could feel the pulse of the heart as he felt his chakra slowly align with the foreign chakra network. A network deprived of chakra slowly revitalized as fresh life energy flowed through it’s coils and the beating could be heard getting just a little louder. All of a sudden a small rush of chakra would flow through Sorethin as the heart was pulled back into his body slowly, the integration complete. He took a moment to look down at his hands and flex them. The new elemental energy coursing through his veins bringing a small smirk to his lips as he knelt back down to the water the dark haired girl had provided. He slowly and expertly focused his chakra into the ebb and flow of the water element before placing a hand on the surface of the water. Slowly he’d raise his hand and a small sphere, exactly like the one Alice had made before appeared between his hand and water. He’d smirk once more as the movement felt as natural as breathing. His water element wasn’t any weaker than his earth one it would seem. That was good, it meant he could get the same results with the others. He’d take a moment and bring the water sphere up and maneuver it around with his chakra. To an onlooker it might look like he was showing off. But to the more trained eye it would appear as if he was simply trying to make sure he was confident in the feel of the element he now found under his control.

After a few minutes of this he’d look toward Alice, only two bundles of threads remained outside of his body at this point. But he’d take a moment to watch her train, it was interesting to see someone else train from time to time. You know, when you weren’t intending to murder them afterwards anyway. He’d admire her form as she got into a stance and appeared to focus on the area before her. ‘Shadow foes?’ He’d wonder to himself curiously. He’d watch for a few minutes longer, but he wouldn’t make a noise to disturb her focus. She was allowing him to train her after all, and gave him tips on how to control an element she seemed to use as well. The least he could do was keep quiet to allow her to do her own training. With this in mind it was time to move onto the next heart in his collection. The first heart he had obtained from a crimson haired boy that used multiple chains. This next one he obtained from some random man who came up to him practicing his fire element. As if he wouldn’t just murder him outright for doing so, granted the man couldn’t have known that he needed his heart in order to get stronger, so he couldn’t have possibly known that he would kill him for merely practicing his fire elemental manipulation.

He reached out toward the next bundle of tendrils and began to focus on it’s own dead chakra network, weaving and kneading his chakra into it to revitalize connections now gone. The telltale beating of the organ the only hint that it was functional at all. A look of focus would adorn his face, of course he’d be fully aware of his surroundings in this situation, lest Alice try something funny. As if he could stop her either way, she had the air of someone he simply would not be able to handle. Of course this meant he’d have to let her get her way in whatever she felt like she wanted but what could you do? It was a kill or be kill world out there after all. With that thought process done he would turn back to his training and begin to focus on the element of fire intently. He would try to ignite a feeling of fire within himself as he kneaded his chakra throughout the heart. He tried to keep in mind that small orb of flame the man he killed for the heart had in his hands. A small spark, a tiny star of energy if you will. Within it lay limitless possibilities of destruction and power. He merely needed to harness it and bend it to his will. He slowly began to feel a weak connection to the heart, and noted that it took a bit longer this time. Was that because he was trying to integrate another one into his body right after another? Or could it be that the more hearts he possessed the harder it became to integrate them. He furrowed an eyebrow at this thought process for a moment and paused to look at what Alice was doing, the idea of swordsmanship intrigued him greatly, so he wanted to see a bit of it for his own eyes.

WC: 1174
TWC: 2386
Midthread claim please. 10 stats and my water element. I kinda wanna learn a few things from Alice here in this one lol.
I'll reset the total WC down to whatever I've worked on toward the next heart after approval, to keep things simpler.

Sat Aug 26, 2017 9:15 am

Approved

Sat Aug 26, 2017 6:58 pm

Her focus was on the shadow foes surrounding her, not noticing Sorethin's accomplishment in actually putting what she had demonstrated into practicality. She might have actually been impressed with this weirdo if she had. Either way, she could almost literally feel the man's eyes on her as she worked. It wasn't a distraction by any means, only being noticed by her subconscious at this point thanks to her years of experiences piling into adept muscle memory. The girl's breathing slowed, concentrated to match her movements and give her perfect fluidity and striking power. The shadow foes charged in at her as if they were a single entity, the imagined teamwork Alice had put into place for them coming to fruition. The two figures on either side of her making horizontal slicing motions with their swords simultaneously, the one on the left slicing at Alice's ribs in the direction of her back while the one on the right did the exact opposite. While this was happening, the third shadow opponent had dashed forward in the blink of an eye, his own sword arching downwards at the crown of her head.

She knew this was coming, her eyes and ears picking up the clenching of muscle groups that preceded this type of attack. Raising her own sword above her head, Alice jumped straight up into the air, her feet landing on top of the two horizontal blades momentarily as the sounds of metal clashing rang through her ears. Her sword deflected the third enemies strike flawlessly, the other weapons being used as a spring board to enhance her own momentum and flip over top of the central enemy, the prior parry putting the man off balance for just a second which gave her enough time to land safely behind him. The instant her feet hit the ground, she pivoted on the ball of her right foot and the heel of her left, turning one-hundred and eighty degrees to the right as she brought cold steal across the man's back, no doubt ripping through cloth and flesh alike. It was one with such fluidity it was as if she was the embodiment of water herself, the way it ebbed and flowed with such graceful power and couldn't be stopped.

One down, two to go. There was no hesitation in their eyes as they each stepped forward to take the fallen one's place, both using swift an pointed movements to bring their own swords into a downward arch above her head. Still having the momentum from her pivot, she adjusted her grip only slightly and slashed straight upward at the intersecting blades above. She was stronger than they, her movements quicker. The combined kinetic force pushed the opposing weapons upward and caused the two men to take a step back in order to keep their balance. It was all she needed in order to counter. Continuing her swing to finish the arching path she had created, Alice wasted no time in bringing the bladed edge of her sword horizontally across the stomach of the man on her right, pivoting once more as she did so to let the momentum carry her weapon through a symmetric slice across the remaining enemy.

She stopped there, in a slight kneeling stance with her sword held outward and almost behind her body. Two soft thuds signaled the men dropping to the floor. At the sound, Alice stood up pointedly, twirling the sword in her hand for a moment before attempting to sheathe it on her left side. Of course, since this wasn't exactly her sword, there was no sheathe there for it to slide into. How embarrassing. Her face flushed for the second time that day, her eyes rolling at the uncomfortable thought of having been seen. Recovering quickly, she stabbed the blade into the ground in front of her for the second time and turned to watch Sorethin once more. She would notice that only two of those monstrosities remained, the man now staring at Alice the way she had been earlier. A smile crossed her face at this. "Like what you see?" she teased.

WC: 688
TWC: 1,857
1,857/4,000

Sat Aug 26, 2017 8:52 pm

Sorethin would watch her imaginary battle, entranced by the graceful, fluid motions of the lithe girl before fighting a chuckle at watching her to try to sheathe a sword that wasn’t hers. Meaning no sheathe. He’d shrug for a moment at her teasing and smile at the girl with a playful tinge to it. ‘Two can play that game little one’ “Who wouldn’t?” He’d say, with a raised eyebrow with one hand opening up toward the sky as if to say ‘duh’. He’d take a deep breath as he felt his chakra move through the second heart, trying to get the chakra system to spark back up with his own energy so that he could use the latent elemental energies within. The heart, becoming little more than a power plant when it would finally occur. He’d look at the bundle of tendrils for a moment with a critical eye, noting that it WAS in fact a bit more difficult to do this than before. That’s fine though, it showed something that he could work the kinks out of later, besides Alice if she were interesting in taking the ‘game’ that far. But anyway, let’s get back on track with this shall we? At this point Sorethin would turn to back to Alice, having noticed she had seen him with only two bundles now he’d point toward his chest. “I finished the water one..” He’d say as he stretched out a hand and a small stream of water flowed up from the river and followed his movements for a moment to prove the point, before letting it drop down. “Fire’s next..” He’d say simply as he found it was difficult to focus on conversation when he was trying to integrate another organ into his system.

He’d blink for a moment, bringing a hand to his head during his attempt to regain focus before shaking it to clear his thoughts. “Sorry, trying to do this seems to take a bit more focus than I thought..” He’d say simply as he turn back to the heart that’s beating was slowly getting louder and louder. He’d nod his head at the progress. He could feel his chakra being taken by the heart’s latent chakra system. Feel it being used to help restore the heart’s ability to generate the chakra of the elemental type that it had used before. It wasn’t as if it hadn’t been practiced after all. He began to focus harder on what he was doing, obviously putting all of his attention to the bundle of threads that’s beating was getting louder and louder to anyone who would notice. Alice would hopefully notice that he started focusing on what he was doing and let him finish before speaking, lest he not notice she had said anything. Or she could kill him and move on with her day, but something told him she wouldn’t so close to the market, bad manners and all.

As his focus on what would be his third heart increased exponentially he actively began channeling his chakra into the organ. A faint shroud of chakra could be seen surrounding Sorethin if one looked, it would be plainly visible to the naked eye due to sheer amount of chakra he was pouring into it. A light flickering of orangish, reddish tinge could be seen around the heart itself, showing to someone watching that his chakra was in fact being turned into fire chakra when it went through the heart’s system. It was simply a matter of integrating the ability to create fire chakra into his own body's system and for that to happen he needed to have the chakra system function on it’s own once more. The beating of the organ got louder still as the life giving energy that was chakra flowed throughout its system. Rapidly getting faster and louder as time went on. He began to imagine his chakra becoming a raging inferno. A deep fire that destroyed all within his path on his way to dominance. He held out one hand toward the heart, a good few meters separating him from the beating appendage. Slowly, a small orb of fire would appear in the palm of his hand, the palm reaching outward towards the heart in question. The small orb would begin to steadily get brighter as his own chakra fed the heart and as such the heart fed his own chakra. The now vibrant display of chakra would be clearly visible to those looking, but his sensory still told him it was still only Alice in the clearing with him so he wasn’t too worried unless she tried to kill him. Which again she could do any time she wanted and had decided not to thus far. Slowly the orangish tinge from the side of the heart began getting bigger, more vibrant. It slowly began to match power with Sorethin’s own chakra shroud as it’s capabilities slowly came alive once more. He could feel the power in the heart begin to radiate powerfully, obviously the fire user had an extremely powerful fire element. He wondered if it had a bloodline for it or something? That didn’t matter now though, any power the man had alive was his now that he had killed him.

At this point the orb of fire in his hand would be akin to a small star, the light radiating off of it might cause some people to avert their eyes due to the magnitude but Sorethin could hardly see it due to his intense focus. He continued to weave his chakra throughout the heart, using it’s power to fuel the brightly glowing orb in his hand. The more power from the heart that our snow haired friend could command, the brighter and hotter the orb got. In terms of heat the orb barely felt warm to him but that was probably because it was made from his own chakra. If one looked they could see the snow around him melting completely, revealing sparse vegetation and rocky surroundings around them. The orb was slowly getting hotter and hotter though, even the his touch. As it did the diameter of the melted snow would increase. Of course it wouldn’t only melt until it got to the water that Alice had made for him to train with before. That in it of itself appeared to have a bubble of two appear here and there. Showing that it too was extremely hot. One thing was for sure, if Alice had been cold wearing nothing but a schoolgirl uniform before, she was much warmer now.

The orangish tinge that bled into his blue chakra shroud continued to grow larger and larger, turning more and more of the shroud orange. Showing that more and more of his chakra was conforming to the element that was fire. Proof that his work was almost complete with this heart. He couldn’t imagine how much harder the next heart would be. But maybe it was simply because of the stark difference between earth, water, and fire? For the most part with the first two you’re using what’s already there. With fire you have to use your chakra to create it. He wondered if that was the reason. If it was then his wind one shouldn’t prove too difficult. Lightning, if he ever got his hands on one. Would prove to be annoying indeed. It was at this point that the heat from the orb in his hands peaked, the brightness causing Sorethin as well to squint. After a few moment more suddenly, and without warning the orange part of the shroud completely engulfed the blue. As if a great battle had just been one. The beating of the heart could be heard clearly throughout the clearing as his chakra succeeded in reviving the desolate chakra system within the heart. The orb in his hands would disappear, fading into nothing as the bundle of tendrils would begin to move toward him once more. Meter after meter it would slowly come back to him before integrating into his body once more just as it had been. This time however a distinct difference was apparent. The density of Sorethin’s chakra in the area increased exponentially as his power increased once more. Adding another element to his body so quickly would do that to ya after all. His orange shroud of chakra, denoting the fire element within his body flowed about him like a small storm before dissipating all at once. So there he stood, in the middle of a clearing surrounded by what was currently nearly boiling water, melted snow, and Alice. His breathing was labored due to his efforts, but his mind was free and clear once again.

He disliked his mind being taken up like that, it left him open to his surroundings. If Alice hadn’t attacked him during this time, then surely he could give at least a modicum of trust to the young girl. He quickly got his breathing under control before taking in a deep breath, taking the fire chakra within his body he’d let lose a small stream of his from his mouth, nothing spectacular by any means. But enough to clearly show that he had in fact obtained mastery over the element he had been working on at the moment. A small smirk would adorn his lips at this point at his success. He was making progress in spades now. The moment he finished getting these elements under control he could begin working on techniques for them. At this point he’d turn back to the young girl and if she had stared at him the entire time would use her own joke against her. “Like what you see?” He’d say with a small grin before schooling his features and inclining his head politely. “I do apologize though, it was rude of me to ignore your presence for the moment, but that did in fact take much more focus than I’d care to admit to.” He’d say as he shrugged his shoulders in the ‘oh well’ gesture. “I had been intending to say that your form was graceful and fluid, like a dance. If I didn’t know already that you were a water user I’d say with certainty that you were after watching it. Only someone who’s body was naturally inclined to moving with such grace could possibly move like that so quickly.” He’d say as he looked toward the final bundle of tendrils that was around them. Of all his available hearts only wind was left. He began the process of kneading his chakra into that one's system as well. This time however he would have to split his attention. He couldn’t afford to give all of his focus to another thing like that again, not here. It was far too risky of an endeavor. The girl could have slit his throat while he tamed fire and he wouldn’t have even noticed.

So he’d keep his chakra slowly kneading itself into the wind heart, slowly filling it’s chakra pathways with energy once more that would slowly become entwined with the latent wind chakra that lay within. It would probably take a little longer, but he could live with it taking a bit more time in exchange for not having to drop his guard so severely. At this point he’d turn back to Alice and raise an eyebrow at the young girl, as if to say ‘What now?’ It wasn’t a loaded question or anything. She had put down the sword for the moment and he still had another heart to assimilate into his being. Did she want to practice with him? Was she simply taking a break to see what he was doing? Should they strip? He didn’t know at this point. So he’d simply wait for to take the lead at the point.

WC: 1976
TWC: 2362 (2000 for Fire heart and ten stats, will claim at the end, restarting word count from 362)

Mon Aug 28, 2017 4:30 am

It seemed this guy had a little sass in him after all, making a flirtatious retort to her own words. She couldn't help smiling at that, it had been a while since she was able to truly enjoy herself and this was the perfect opportunity to indulge in that. Still saying nothing, Alice watched the strange man continue his own training. Noticing that she had seen one of the beating bundles of tendrils was no longer in view, Sorethin gave a short response saying he had finished the water one. As if to prove he was telling the truth, he then stretched out his arm and manipulated the water for a moment before letting it drop back to the ground. It was impressive how quickly he had managed to master the element, something the girl made sure to take note of. Whoever this guy really was, he could most definitely become a threat later down the line....or a pawn, depending on how this meeting played out. Only time would tell. For now, Alice would return to her own training after being informed that Sorethin needed to focus on what he was doing in order to get it down. Shrugging, Alice picked up her sword and walked a small distance away, giving herself plenty of excess space for what she would be doing next.

She held her sword between the fingers of one hand, clasping them both together to form the single hand seal required to create shadow clones. As she did so, she made sure not to harm herself with the bladed weapon, even experts were known to make mistakes from time to time. There was a cloud of smoke, the widely known symbol of a shadow clone technique being activated, before two exact copies of the girl were standing before her when it dispersed. Each of the clones were holding their own sword, the same as the original. This time she would be fighting physical opponents instead of just shadow foes. Not only that, but she was, for all intents and purposes, fighting with herself. This was both good and bad; she knew every possible move her opponents could make, but they also knew the same about her. It would absolutely be a challenge to come out of this one completely unscathed. She smiled at the thought. Without saying a single word, all three girls took their stances and prepared for the fight to come.

Alice's eyes slowly scanned her surroundings, making sure to not lose sight of either of her clones. Her senses were still in high alert, as they generally always were at this point in her life, allowing her to keep tabs on both of her opponents as well as Sorethin in the background. It wouldn't do to be killed by this bastard simply because she let her guard down during a training session. How embarrassing would that be? No, that would most certainly not happen today.

The first clone, the one in front of Alice on her left, was the first to make a move. Using all her speed to dash forward, the clone jabbed the sword directly at Alice's head as fast as she could. Alice saw it coming the moment the clone took her first step, noticing the muscle movements in the clone's arms and legs and recognizing the initial stance she took. She sliced her sword up in a vertical position, placing her right hand on the flat of the blade as she pressed it against the clone's sword and let the two weapons slide across each other. She continued the movement, bringing the blade completely through its arc and attempted to slice the clone directly down the middle. The clone sidestepped, the sword slicing only a piece of her clothing. The second clone had seen this and already began her own attack, taking advantage of the situation. The instant the first clone had moved out of the way, she was replaced by the second clone stepping forward with her own sword coming down in a diagonal slash aiming to slice Alice from her right shoulder to her left hip. Alice, however, wasn't about to let that happen.

The girl quickly pivoted on her right foot, twisting to the left a full three hundred and sixty degrees. She slammed the hilt of her sword into the back of her clone full force, making it lose balance and stumble forward into the first clone, both of which fell flat on the snow-wet ground. Alice had already turned to face them again, sword held firmly in front of her in her right hand. Her left was tucked neatly behind her back as she waited for the clones to get to their feet. Seeing how they had already been embarrassed, the two fakes angrily scrambled to their feet and held their swords at the ready. As soon as they were ready to go, Alice brought her left arm out from behind her back and launched a single kunai knife at both of her opponents with one fluid motion. The clones easily deflected the thrown weapons with their swords, but it was only a distraction in the first place. The moment the ninja tools had left her hand, Alice had dashed forward at the space between both clones and used the momentum to carry her sword through both of them, starting first with a horizontal slice through the midsection of the clone on the right and coming all the way around to do the same thing to the clone on the left. In an instant both shadow clones disappeared in another small cloud of smoke the same way they had arrived.

Wiping away some cold sweat from her forehead, Alice stood to her full height and let herself relax a little. Training in the art of swordsmanship was indeed quite difficult after all. Luckily, it seemed like Sorethin had managed to finish with his fire element about roughly the same time. When he spoke, he commented on the fluidity and gracefulness of her body as she slid through the different positions, sword in tow. Flattery, although she would never admit it, was indeed the perfect way to get on Alice's good side. After all, no one liked her more than she did herself and anyone willing to praise this god's gift to man should be welcomed. "Thank you. I've been practicing with swords for quite some time now, but I thought it was the perfect opportunity to hone my skills a bit more," she said casually. Her sword was stabbed back into the ground at this point, no longer necessary to be in her grasp at the moment. It was about time she took a short break. The man's eyebrow raised at her, obviously questioning what her intentions were now. To be honest, she still had quite a bit she needed to take care of before heading out on her next adventure. She wouldn't have much time to train once she left the Land of Iron, not for quite some time anyway. "Well I do have a bit more I'd like to do before I call it a day, though I'm not entirely sure I should be giving away all my abilities to you just yet," she said teasingly, punctuating her sentence with a playful wink.

WC: 1,217
TWC: 3,074
3,074/4,000

Train? Sore-thin! Get it?[NK, IO]

Train? Sore-thin! Get it?[NK, IO]

Re: Train? Sore-thin! Get it?[NK, IO]

Re: Train? Sore-thin! Get it?[NK, IO]

Re: Train? Sore-thin! Get it?[NK, IO]

Re: Train? Sore-thin! Get it?[NK, IO]

Re: Train? Sore-thin! Get it?[NK, IO]

Re: Train? Sore-thin! Get it?[NK, IO]

Re: Train? Sore-thin! Get it?[NK, IO]

Re: Train? Sore-thin! Get it?[NK, IO]

Re: Train? Sore-thin! Get it?[NK, IO]