Melorn would nod to his niece as she left, looking over at Menis with a small smile. "THat was pretty good kid, but I don;t think she noticed." H esaid as he went back to his guns. With a sigh, Menis too, went back to practicing.
As Thyverian made it into the gym, he saw the shadows begin to writhe, and merge, forming the armored figure he knew as Manus. Making his way to the opposite side of the soon to be arena, Thyverian drew his sword eagerly, he did not think he could win, but he would be damned if he backed down from a challenge. "So, kid, are you ready?" Manus said as he twisted his arms, his blades extending from his gauntlets. "As I'll ever be."
Seylian made it into the gym, and stopped dead in his tracks. Surely Thyverian wasn't gonna do something as stupid as try to fight the more experienced fighter. Not voicing his concern for the red head's sanity, he simply moved to the wall to spectate. "So, want me to hold back? Perhaps I should turn my shadows off." Manus said teasingly, intentionally testing the younger male's ego. Shaking his head, Thyverian would respond, "No, I would fight you with all of your arsenal."
"Are you certain? You likely have no chance of winning if I use everything I have."
"If I beat you while you are holding back, it is not a true victory."
Offering the younger warrior a respectful grunt, Manus would ignite his own shadow, making it come over him like an aura of black fire. "Then let us begin." With that, the two rushed at one another, and from the moment their blades clashed, it seemed as if the battle was already over. Thyverian wound up hitting the ground many time sin the first thirty seconds, but he always managed to find his feet again and try once more. Seylain merely shook his head a she watched his friend get knocked down again and again.
"I want you to fight as if your life depend son it boy!" Manus said as he crashed his elbow into Thyverian's exposed chest, as he staggered back, the red head could feel the older male strike him several times before he hit the ground. The pain began to blurr together, only getting worse as he stood up. Thyverian began to get the sense he was being test, with a breath, he lifted his sword and continued to try to fight Manus.
After several minuets of being completely out preformed, Thyverian managed to block, and even deflect one of Manus' attacks. This shocked both the older black feline as well as the onlooker, Seylian. The white feline however moved in, delivering as making blunt attacks as he could, before finally kicking the stunned Manus to the floor. Laughing, the older feline stood up, "So.. you can fight after all, good, now lets see how you do when I try." The look on Thyverian's face a she heard those words was not unlike, 'oh shit.' He had felt some pride, having knocked down such a skilled warrior. Before he could react, Manus began to use his shadows, moving around Thyverian with ease, striking him from any, and every location possible, and with that, the red head began losing horribly again.
Menis arrived just in time, to watch Thyverian swinging at shadows, and getting kicked to the ground by his older brother. "Whats going on?" Menis whispered to Seylian as he walked over beside him, "Thyverian is showing us all what kind of Masochist he is." Seylian replied laughing as the aforementioned feline was thrown across the room. As he began to stand, THyverian felt the shadow opening behind him, he quickly rolled away an instant before Manus came out with an attack. Gathering all his strength, the red head smacked the older feline's helmet with the hilt of his sword, causing a sickening impact that caused Manus to stagger back. As Thyverian tried to follow up on him, Manus vanished into the shadows. "Thats twice you managed to strike me, I am impressed."
Before Thyverian could reply, Manus came up, from the red head's shadow. Too late, Thyverian tries to flee, Manus grips him tightly, then drags him down into his own shadow, both of them vanishing as if falling into a lake. This creeped Menis out majorly, his brother had never done that to him... thank the Gods. Now trapped in the realm of Shadows, Thyverian began to thrash about, trying to hit Manus, unable to tell his shadow from the rest of the darkness. "Lets see how you fare in MY world." Manus was always a bit arrogant about his mastery of the shadow arts, often referring to the 'shadow realm' as his own world. Thyverian would not be one to argue as he began to get pummeled by the darkness itself, his vain attempts to fight back seemed less than impressive.
Not long after, the battered feline would come flying out of a portal, and onto the hard, unforgiving gym floor. Stepping from the shadows, Manus began to laugh. "You have done well, you should however give up now, because I will not be nice any longer." He said uttering a deep growl to emphasize the dangers of continuing this battle. Pushing himself up to his feet, Thyverian would only glare at him defiantly, "Bring it." This would cause Manus to laugh once more, "You two are alot alike..." He said before rushing at Thyveiran again, who would manage to block his wrist blades with his own bastard sword. He could feel Manus' superior strength as he was pushed back, the shadows writhing around him burned like flames. "Fight for your life, Thyverian." Manus would utter, before finally breaking Thyverian;s guard, kicking at his leg to bring him down to a knee. Quickly taking hold of his left arm and twisting it violently. Thyverian would yowl in agony as he felt the bones in his limp snap like twigs> "Fight!" Manus would spit, before slamming his foot into his back, breaking more than a few ribs as the red head flew forward.
Seylian and Menis would try to intervene, but would be stopped by a thick wall of dark flames. "You will not interfere!" Manus called out as he lifted Thyverian up over his head. "Your life is on the line, boy, fight!" He commanded as he threw him down, chest first onto his knew, shattering more of the boy's bones. Standing up, Manus would watch Thyverian fight to his feet, gripping his sword with his good arm,a nd trying to rush him. Manus would merely fling some shadows into his face, causing him to stagger. Walking away from the white feline, the black feline would vanish into one of his shadow portals, that were a unique ability of his, other shifters needed to move into a shadow to vanish, Manus could create his own if the area was not too bright. Appearing from a portal behind Thyverian, the assassin would clap his hands over the younger male's head, cracking his skull as Thyverian tried to scream. Retracing the blades on one arm, he would slam his fist into the boy's gut. Thyverian would lurch forward, vomiting some blood onto Manus' armor. The shadow shifter would erect another portal behind Thyverian, kicking him into it and following quickly. Another portal would appear above the arena which Thyverian would come falling out of with Manus close behind. As he hit the ground, the red headed feline would cry out again as the older male landed directly on him, breaking even more of his bones.
Jumping off of him, Manus would finally give the boy a break from his attacks, "Give up, or get up." He said sternly, soon after Thyverian began to struggle to his feet. This would provoke a curt laugh from the other male, "You really are tenacious, you will be most useful... if you could just learn to fight!" With that, Manus would reach behind himself, his arm entering a portal, and reappearing from a portal behind the wounded feline. Grasping onto his long, red hair, Manus would pull just as the boy began to speak. Another cry of pain, as Thyverian was pulled through one portal and tossed out the other.
Thyverian did not stand after this, Manus would wait several seconds before finally turning his back on him. "Well, you did better than one would expect from a rookie... but I thought you had more..."Just as it Manus began to walk away, a rush of adrenaline began to course through Thyverian's broken body. The pain blurring into the background as he stood up quickly, lifting up his sword. "I didn't hear no bell." Just after he spoke, Manus vanished into the darkness, and again began to attack Thyverian rapidly from the darkness. as he felt the older male pummel him from the darkness, Thyverian tried to fight back, but failed. That is, until it happened, something clicked, and he could feel it, Manus' movements. Turning quickly, Thyverian would catch the older male in the shadows, this woudl startle Manus, a she wa snot used to anyone, not even other shifters being able to follow him. As he looked into the younger male's defiant eyes, he two sets of eyes staring back at him, THyverian's and someone else's under his.
Throwing Manus back, Thyveirna began to attack, but his movements were different. He with an experience that was beyond his own years, or even Manus' apparently by the way he began to out fight the trained assassin. Noone was sure what was going on, Thyverian was just acting on each impulse he felt, it was strange, like he had done this all before. Finally, Manus would catch the boy;s sword in his own wrist blades, the two reaching a stalemate, even though Manus was stronger before and Thyverian was only using one arm. "So I was right... there is something about you." Manus said with a grunt, a she struggled to hold the younger male back. Thyverian would not speak, only twisting his sword quickly. Causing Manus' own blades to bend and finally break, then the younger male began to repay the older for the beating he had given before. No bones broken, but he did break his helmet, bloody his nose and give him several love slashes before cutting at his leg and forcing him to a knee. Then, the white male finally collapsed, his wounds taking their toll a she passed out infront of Manus.
The walls of flame dissipating as the older male got back to his feet, his bloody face now exposed, "It has been along time, since I have seen my own blood." He spoke as he wiped a bit from his face and looked at it. "Still red." He spoke, jokingly as the other two males ran over. "What the hell man!?" Seylain would ask demandingly as he reached his friend. "Brother!?" Menis asked accusingly as he stood before him. "I merely wanted to tease out the boy's potential. Don;t worry, he just has to find Cylesta, I think she knows a thing or three about healing magic." Manus said before finally vanishing.
It was not much longer, before Thyverian came back around, getting up to his feet, refusing the aid of his friends as he began to stagger around the ship. They had mentioned something about Cylesta, and so that is where he headed, or tried to, he was not sure where her room was, where Menis mentioned she might be. It would take him some time, and many wrong turns, but he finally stumble into the females room. Looking over he saw her on the bed, he did not notice her armor discarded, and was unaware of her nudity, hidden by her covers and shadows. "Cylesta..." He whispered through the pain a she approched her, normally, he would not be so eager to awken a deathly person such as her, but this pain was unbearable. So much so, that he would collapse onto of her as she slept.