[@Xavier Bloodbayne] [i]Auz sprang to his feet at about the same time Xavier did. He eyed the bloody hand, the crimson rod, then darted a look at his breastplate. Gears turned, pieces fell into place. And, matching Xavier's smirk with a sardonic grin of his own, Aux neatly took a sharp step to his right, angling his left flank towards Xavier in order to preemptively evade what he guessed would be a piston of deadly blood shooting up from the spot he had just been standing in. Or perhaps there was no secret attack. Auz might have just miscalculated his opponent's abilities. It never hurt to be paranoid though. If Xavier couldn't burrow through the ground with his blood, then it'd just look like Auz had assumed a curt side stance, left hand grabbing the midblade of his sword which was held up over his head. The point was levelled in Xavier's direction.[/i] [img]http://i.imgur.com/HUHAJx4.jpg[/img] (The chap on the left's stance.)