[@Doc Doctor]

Tekla #2 raised an eyebrow as Catskull’s sword came down and stopped her chain short of ensnaring its intended target. [i]Not bad.[/i] The man came forwards, and she backed away, pushing off her right foot and transitioning from there into a quick series of retreating steps. The distance between them would close slightly, but not enough to bring her within reach of his sword. As things stood, she had the range advantage, and she wasn’t going to let go of it so easily.

The slack meant she couldn’t bring her chain rushing back for an immediate follow-up, but she still had her hands, and they worked quickly to draw it in. Once it was free of the sword she’d pull it back, spinning it once to build up momentum before letting its length loose again, this time in a wide overhead arc that would bring it hurtling down towards Catskull’s head from above.

Tekla #4, meanwhile, was lagging slightly behind #2, though her eyebrow rose slightly higher as Catskull defended, and she seemed to smile a little. [i]This one’s movements are masterful.[/i] She retreated in much the same manner as her counterpart #2, before proceeding with the same attack, though there was a slight difference- she moved just a little faster, filled with adrenaline by the thrill of meeting such a skilled opponent.

The other two Teklas were just making their opening strikes. Tekla #1, unimpressed by a man who seemed to be nothing but talk, would stride into range before attacking with a similar movement to #2 and #4’s initial attempts to entangle their opponent’s leg. This one, however, was aimed higher: roughly at chest level, meant to strike him hard in the ribs with the weight at the end of the chain, bringing his rant to a premature end.

Tekla #3 diverged the most, reacting strongly to Catskull’s change of armaments. She made no attempt to rush him, but struck before #1 on account of her opponent’s own forward movement. Rather than lunge, she swung her right arm gently forwards, a movement too slow to be an attack in and of itself. Then her grip loosened, and she snapped out with a crisp, powerful kick from her right leg. She was much too far away for this to hit Catskull, but he wasn’t the intended target- rather, she kicked the dangling weight on the end of her chain, shooting it straight towards Catskull’s head, aiming to smack him with a concussive blow before he could bring his shield up.