Anna watched Gunner slip into his usual Guardian Robot persona and smiled a bit, taking comfort in the normalcy. As he came at her she blocked and dodged as usual, actually more focused today than usual because she was afraid what her own hormones might do if he managed to grab her like he had yesterday. Today, however, she didn't let him push her into the defensive. She took initiative and attacked and dodged equally. She ducked a punch and socked him a good one in his solar plexus, a blow that could knock the air out of him if he didn't turn his body a bit, and then brought her other arm up in an uppercut. She knew he'd probably stop the uppercut but she was ready for that... prepping to go for his knees with a kick if he caught her arm. Today she wasn't being her usual joking self, she was trying to take a page from his book and focus only on the training... on making her movements fluid and fast. Her face was, for once, emotionless and focused... determined.

~*~

As Niya took up a defensive position Jordan smiled a bit. He liked to feel his opponent out first so, he started slow... throwing a punch here or there. A kick when she blocked... All the while, he kept himself circling her, taking in her fighting style and reading her movements carefully before he actually went on the offensive. She knew when he finally started taking things seriously, because instead of his earlier attack and retreat method he was actually coming at her pretty hard. He threw a right hook, keeping his left arm up to guard against her attack, and then followed it up with the left hand snapping out to attempt to catch her unaware... but he kept his elbows close, never over extending in case he had to block and effectively keeping the zone in which she could attack smaller.

~*~

Sebastian headed to class and was surprised to see Ms. Matila was still nowhere in sight... However, another teacher was already strolling in to take over. As she faced the class she began describing different ways for each element to push their powers. Air was to attempt putting out a candle by sucking the air away from the flame... this attack could be used to suck air out of an enemy's lungs. Fire was told to attempt controlling a small orb of it tightly, and try to make it burst like a bomb when throne at the fireproof wall they'd set up earlier that day. Earth was told to attempt forming a sharp spike or something with a sharp edge... it wouldn't be as effective or even deadly as a stake but any weapon if a guardian was defenseless could help them protect their ward more effectively. As for water, they were to try the orb as well... only they needed to hold it in place for an extended period in order to emulate drowning... this wouldn't kill a strigoi but it would incapacitate.

Later a Guardian came in and informed the students on how they could use their powers to help their Novices during surprise attacks... "As it is impractical to let you actually use lethal abilities on the Guardians in the school, we will be giving each of you pouches of colored powder... when you hit one of the Guardian's with these bags the powder will stain our clothes and allow us to know which element we were hit by and how to act accordingly. It isn't as practical as we'd like, but other training methods are being considered... until then this will be a fun and safe way to practice."

~*~

Aleks frowned again and gently took her hand, "Come with me..." He had led her out of the school and informed both a moroi teacher and a guardian that they would need fill ins before they'd left the building. Once outside he took her somewhere more private. "Trishia... you can talk to me. I would never tell anyone anything you wanted kept secret but you need to speak... it is obvious this is weighing heavily on you..."