[h1][center][color=olivedrab]Experienced Group[/color][/center][/h1]
[center][sub]with [color=#9932CC]Lucan[/color] [@Apoalo], [color=92278f]Victor[/color] [@ReusableSword], [color=f0d705]Aaron[/color] [@Obscene Symphony], and [color=deepskyblue]Lilie[/color] [@Hero][/sub][/center]

Lucan was personally glad that the class ended, and made a mental note to make a formal inquiry on the Dame’s background. As he stood he realized that he would more than likely be teaching in the arena and his mind went back to Damien. He opened his phone and sent a text message to Leander, asking the vampire to ensure that Damien got to the arena on time. With that he made his way out of the Hall and made the all too familiar trek to the arena grounds.

He gave a wide smile as he entered the arena floor and stood off to the side as everyone trickled in.

Aaron had been hoping for the chance to change, but it appeared he’d be fighting in a suit tonight as the flow of students into the Arena was halted only by aides blocking the door as the Arena Master cleared the area. Aaron watched with no small amount of admiration as the sand swirled and solidified into stone rods, though as they all walked out into the Arena he had to wonder why the sand had been swept away. The floor beneath it was stone, and it wouldn’t be pleasant to land on when people inevitably either fell or were wrestled to the ground, but Aaron wasn’t too worried. Surely the Academy had Life mages on staff. 

He said a little prayer in the back of his head for his suit pants - hopefully he wouldn't be destroying a [I]second[/I] pair tonight - as he set his jacket and bag aside and traded Dawn for some sparring gear, taking a moment to roll up his sleeves and get his hair out of the way as Dracion said his spiel. His hair was the only thing Aaron didn’t keep precisely functional, being too short to tie back but too long to effectively train with, but it wasn’t difficult to deal with; growing up around women had its perks, and it didn’t take long for him to have his hair neatly back and secured against his head in three french braids, pinned at the nape of his neck so an opponent had nothing to grab. The sparring gear was more of a challenge; he was used to training in just a t-shirt and sweats and feeling the consequences of his mistakes, and as he momentarily fought with the straps he had to wonder if the extra padding was going to inhibit him. 

Still, he fell into line on Lucan’s side of the Arena, no small amount amused; he should have known that the Knight of the Evening would have wormed his way out of training below his level somehow, but he was glad for it (despite that wide smile on Lucan’s face thoroughly freaking him out). When Dracion instructed the less skilled students to try a few hits, Aaron smirked to himself, wanting for a split second to shout ‘Alright!’ and go for Lucan. Unfortunately, ambushing Lucan never worked, and of course, he didn’t want to disrupt the class. He had to set an example, after all. 

Lilie hopped in place, bouncing on her heels as she looked around excitedly. As much as she enjoyed learning about her new magic, she had to admit that being somewhere familiar was a great comfort. Sure, she was probably going to get her butt handed to her, but she wanted to improve herself; she owed Aaron for her defeat the day-night-whatever before.

She wasn’t entirely used to the suit, finding it a little clunky for her taste. She couldn’t believe Aaron’s teacher was the one showing them how to fight, or rather, further instructing them. She also couldn’t believe the Astorio vampire was with them, occasionally throwing a cautious glance his way. Well, if he was going to be confrontational, she supposed this was the way to go about it. Ceasing her hopping, she stretched her arms above her head as she looked around at the other groupings, coming to attention when addressed.  

Victor made it a point to stay behind after the class was dismissed and give the professor a more personal apology for his tardiness. When he was done explaining himself he wasted little time moving toward the arena where the others were gathering. A few students in red robes made their way around the arena stands while the mountain of a man made his introduction. 

A brief safety meeting before going over pairings. Victor was disappointed to find that their were not as many advanced students as he had hoped. It was no concern of his, plenty of advanced students filled the stands around them. Some looked like the mages he was with earlier. When the teacher announced Lucan as his assistant with no mention of himself, he couldn't help but frown. Yet again another test from his father. Either he didnt send word to this school of having him help assist the others in combat training or the more likely reason being he did request it but told them to make Victor earn it. Just another pain.

The tall vampire waited for a few moments for the group to disperse before approaching his group. Taking his place next to Aaron and keeping his facial expressions cold and stoic. Although he didn't like most of the other vampires here as a default setting, Lucan was different. To Victor he wasn't just another vampire, he was a fellow soldier just with a different and more political job. That didn't make him any less or more than him, at least in his eyes. He kept his hands clasped behind his back and eyes straight forward without looking or fixating on anything in particular. Glancing at the boy next to him for only a moment he muttered something quietly so only he would hear, [color=92278f]“To capture a predator you can’t remain the prey.”[/color]

Lucan watched silently as the group made their way over to the side of the arena. [color=#9932CC]“Good afternoon. I normally don’t require protective padding to be worn, especially in a hand to hand combat scenario but as it is the school must be protected. For you human fighters this will slow you down a bit, and for vampiric it does nothing in the grand scheme of things. To get things started I will be having you each spar the other so I can see what exactly you know and what you don’t. Mr. Starag, and Count Astorio will be the first pairing. Ms. Dionne you and I will observe. Everyone to positions.”[/color] Lucan was in full military mode at this point. His voice was short, crisp, and authoritative and it left no room for argument. He was also truly intrigued at seeing each individual fight, even if he already knew one rather well.

Catching his cryptic little phrase, Aaron gave the Astorio Count a quizzical sidelong look, but said nothing, snapping back to attention when Lucan spoke. A spike of nervous anticipation struck him at being paired with the Count, Aaron eager to finally try a new opponent. A smarter man might be intimidated by the Count’s hulking size, especially considering he was a vampire, but Aaron had been fighting the same man for so long that it was a welcome change of pace. 

He nodded dutifully at Lucan’s command and moved a little away, standing to face his opponent at a respectable distance. Despite Dracion's statement about ranks and titles, Aaron gave the Count a bow, waiting for him to square off. 

Nodding towards Lucan, Victor walked towards the pile of sparring gear. He had no intent on wearing any of it and did this by showing the red robed student next to the pile of gear that none of it fit. To the point of purposefully breaking some of it. However, he did settle for arm and leg guards. Stepping back up to the arena side lines the tall vampire set his things down on the ground. Starting by slipping off his shoes and socks and then his jacket.

[color=92278f]“Stag.”[/color] Victor called the boy, trying to get his attention without insulting him outright but still disrespectful to not use his full name. [color=92278f]“You are familiar with vampire biology, yes?”[/color] he paused for a moment as he set a small round tin on his things. [color=92278f]“Tell me, why is it so rare to see a vampire with a scar?”[/color] pulling an ordinate metal flask from one pocket of his jacket and taking a swig. A visual shiver passing over him for a brief moment before he put the flask away.

Aaron watched warily as the monster of a vampire prepared himself, snapping to attention when his name - or something like it, anyway - was called. It wasn't surprising for an Astorio to speak in so flippantly, though somewhere in the back of his mind Aaron decided he preferred being referred to by a mangled name over none at all. 

The question was odd, but if Aaron were to guess, he'd say the Astorio was trying to intimidate him. [color=f0d705]“It takes either sunlight or prolonged, repeated trauma to scar a vampire, Count,”[/color] he replied, eyeing the flask and the vampire's shiver. 

Victor seemed to grimace at the taste of whatever was in that flask, [color=92278f]“good.”[/color] A simple reply but he didn't have to tell him everything just yet. Pulling his black turtleneck off and placing it neatly on his jacket exposing the extensive scarring on his frame. He slowly grabbed the arm pads and put them on. Picking up the small round container, he opened it. Dipping two of his fingers into something that had the consistency of vaseline. Rubbing the contents in his hands then onto his cheeks, forehead, and neck. 

Finishing his little ritual with rubbing a hand full of whatever dirt and sand was left on the stone floor in his hands. [color=92278f]“Don't get your hopes up stag, these scars are not from battle.”[/color] Victor slowly stepped up to a respectable distance from the boy and found his stance. An aggressive boxing stance commonly used by other vampires in combat. [color=92278f]“I acquired these scars by breaking an Astorio law, I am an example of what Astorio torture looks like.”[/color] Once the boy was ready Victor would begin their test of combat skills with a hefty punch from his left arm once he was close enough to the boy.

While he watched Count Astorio go about his routine, Aaron’s eyes went cold, looking critically over his opponent. His size was certainly formidable, and Aaron assumed there was strength to match, but luckily Lucan had taught him how to use his opponent’s power to his advantage. He would eventually be either outlasted or overpowered, that much was fact (and he was not looking forward to his eventual, inevitable meeting with the stone floor) but he'd be able to hold his own for some time at least. The Count’s intimidation was brushed to the back of Aaron’s mind as he moved into his own ready stance, lower to the ground and more evasive than his opponent’s aggressive one. [color=f0d705]“Ready.”[/color]

No sooner had the word left his lips than Aaron was met with a strike; he very nearly caught it, feeling the rush of air on his face as he managed to dodge to the side, deflecting the Count’s striking arm away. Years of training his footwork came in handy as he tried to circle his opponent, doing his best to keep out of reach, but there was no respite: Victor followed that punch with another, and another, strike after strike with no delay and advancing. Aaron evaded; to one side, the other, ducking and weaving, redirecting Victor’s striking force where he could to slow him down and leading the vampire in a large arc. They covered a good amount of ground, Victor unrelenting and Aaron just barely keeping up until finally he wasn’t fast enough, catching one of Victor’s punches in the ribs and stumbling back, doubled over. 

The padding helped a bit, but a punch from a vampire was never fun; Aaron had to take a moment to recover, breathing heavy and clutching his side. He straightened up slowly, focusing on the spot where he’d been struck. It didn’t feel [i]good[/i] by any means, but there didn’t seem to be any ribs broken, so he was fine to continue. 

Now that he wasn’t being attacked, Aaron had the chance to think. It might not have seemed like much to the spectators, but Count Astorio’s attacks, his question and the odd intimidation, everything he was doing was intentional. Aaron had barely held his own; his first dodge had been sloppy, he knew, but he wasn’t sure why. The Count was fast, yes, but so was Lucan, and Aaron had been dealing with a fast opponent for years. So why had he been taken off guard? Not to mention every other strike. Aaron knew he could hold his own for a little while in a bout with a vampire, but as quickly as it went by, the whole thing felt precarious. Like the Count could have had him with any of those punches. So why not? Why hold back in a setting like this? Why would an Astorio hold back at all?

Aaron’s mind went back to the affair at the end of Varis’ class, and what Max described Count Astorio to have done. He’d been messing with people then; maybe he was doing the same now. It seemed the Count was fond of toying with people. He looked between Lucan and the Count for cues, prepared to ready up again. 

Stepping back from the boy smiling, Victor was quite pleased with Aaron's abilities so far. [color=92278f]“So you can hold your own against a vampire for a time, that's good. You had a good teacher.”[/color] the tall vampire rolled his shoulders making his joints crack and pop loudly. [color=92278f]“Now I know you can fight against a normal opponent using conventional means. Unfortunately for you, I am not a normal opponent and I use strange tactics.”[/color] Clapping his hands together with a smile, [color=92278f]“So, I'm going to pin you now. Once you have had enough you can tap out otherwise I will continue until you pass out.”[/color]

Victor resumed his aggressive stance and waited for Aaron to compose himself before continuing. Once the boy got back in his same defensive stance Victor took a deep breath and closed his eyes. At the end of the long breath he opened his hands in a way that looked like he was ready to grasp the air in front of him and opened his eyes. Aaron would be met with the dark abyss of a vampire’s glare that was what could be described as the impossibly still moments right before a vampire goes into a rage. Victor clearly had no intention of holding anything back.

Being able to manipulate his emotions to get into and out of this state was something he learned a long time ago. With a quick movement Victor was on the ground in a posture befitting a large predator who was about to pounce. A moment later he lunged towards the empty space between Lucan and Aaron staying low and close to the floor. Honestly to those watching it would either look very funny and strange to down right horrifying. 

Right when the large vampire was in between the two his direction changed almost immediately towards Aaron. Placing his right hand firmy on the ground and twisting his body to push off with his right leg toward the boy. Something strange happened for the briefest of moments however, to those close by it almost seemed as if his hand melded with the stone floor for just a moment. It happened so fast that it might have just been a trick of the mind or was it real?

Slamming into the side of the mage the two tumbled off the stone arena floor resting on the side lines. Victor had managed to land on his back with aaron firmly pinned between his legs and his arms wrapped around one of Aaron's arms and his neck. Victor was applying pressure to the sides of Aaron's throat effectively cutting off blood flow to his brain. If he didn't tap out Victor would keep to his promise and remain in this pose until the boy fell asleep. Whispering quietly in his ear the whole time, [color=92278f]“shhh just go to sleep, just go to sleep.”[/color]

There was no time for Aaron to be confused about the Count’s odd stance before something slammed into his side, sending them both tumbling. Aaron saw nothing but a blur, didn't know where they were or even which way was up, and the next thing he knew he had his legs and one arm pinned and an arm around his throat, squeezing. 

Panic didn't often strike Aaron in combat. In fact, he’d say just the opposite: that he was calmer in combat than in his everyday life, all thoughts beyond his opponent’s actions and his own quieted somewhere in the recesses of his mind. But there, on his back in a chokehold with the memory of the Count’s indescribable glare, suddenly all he could see was a blurry figure above him, black eyes swirling in a haze of red, the only sound the rush of blood in his ears with an impossibly strong hand crushing his throat, and he panicked. Unwise in his urgency, he struggled, only worsening his own state as every move only tightened the grip on his neck. As his vision grew darker and his movements grew weaker, by some miracle he regained his faculties enough to properly tap out, patting frantically on the Count’s arm. He scrambled away when he was released, rolled onto his hands and knees and clutched his throat, heaving for breath that had never been withheld in the first place. 

A few moments passed before he collected himself, finally standing with an inward groan. He hadn't felt it in the heat of the moment - he never did - but every part of him that had collided with the stone floor in their tussle was complaining now, his tailbone, knee, elbow and shoulder throbbing. In a way, the pain brought him back down to earth; the sting and throbbing of forming bruises pulled him out of his head and forced him to focus on the present, as opposed to getting wrapped up in his thoughts. In the past. 

[color=f0d705]“You are a formidable opponent, Count,”[/color] Aaron gasped, breathing heavily. Now that he’d calmed down, he let a raspy but good-natured chuckle escape him as he rolled his sore shoulder. [color=f0d705]“I only wish I could provide you more of a challenge.”[/color]

Victor watched and listened to the heartbeat of his foe start to slow from its quick pace. He was sure the Starag boy would try to last as long as he could before surrendering with a few taps on his arm. Releasing the boy and watching him recover from his seated position on the ground. He slowly stood as the darkness faded from his eyes and the boy began to speak. 

Stepping back up to the sidelines of the ring he turned back towards Aaron for a moment, [color=92278f]“you better hope you never do. The only way you could, would be to use your magic in a lethal way. At that point we would both be trying to kill each other.”[/color] Blunt but honest, physically mages were hard pressed to be as strong as vampires on a bad day. Magic is what leveled the playing field.

[color=92278f]“Lucan our fight is done and I do believe we both know where this one stands in regards to combat ability. It's your turn now.”[/color] Still standing at the sidelines of the arena, he again shifted his attention to the Starag. [color=92278f]“I suggest you sit down. You will be light headed for a little bit and you might start to get a headache soon.”[/color] A brief moment of care towards the mage was dismissed quickly by returning his attention to the other two.

Lucan watched with his arms crossed and stared critically at either fighter. The initial strikes almost made the vampire roll his eyes but he remained emotionless. It was obvious that Aaron would have no hope of beating such a seasoned combatant but Lucan would be lying if he hadn’t hoped he would have put up a better performance. Silly mistakes, no doubt due to missing practices and due to the intimidation that Victor used, and he underestimated the speed of a vampiric opponent that didn’t hold back. But, despite this he was still miles ahead of other mages and the knowledge was inside Aaron’s head. 

[color=#9932CC]”I will not be fighting, my place within these sands is as instructor. Now, obviously Count your form is impeccable for yourself as ever. Mr. Starag, you made mistakes as I’m sure you know. The pain you’re feeling will be plenty of punishment for such, but as Count Astorio and Ms. Dionne spar you will think over said mistakes and explain to me in depth after.”[/color] He nodded towards Lille and kept his hands crossed over his chest.

He wanted her to do [i]what?![/i] Lilie's eyes widened considerably at Lucan's instruction, an incredulous laugh caught in her throat as she looked from vampire to vampire. Victor had wiped the floor with Aaron, how the heck was she supposed to do any better?! Her nerves had nearly been shot just by watching--seeing Aaron struggling had grown a painful lump in her throat--but apparently now it was her turn to taste the stone floor. She teetered on her spot for a second, though she gave no audible protest as she quietly took her place, resigned.

Nodding towards the other vampire, Victor stepped back out onto the stone floor and took his original position, [color=92278f]“well that's too bad, here I was hoping to see you in action again, Lucan. I suppose I will be patient.”[/color] Folding his arms behind him and standing at ease while he waited for the ghostly girl to take her place in the arena. [i]“Why did she have to have her face.”[/i] he thought to himself. [color=92278f]“Ms. Dionne, I know a few hours isn't very long for you to reconcile with your fears, but if you freeze up. If you hesitate or just curl into a ball, it won't stop me. I will repay your fear with pain, maybe then you will have something real to worry about.”[/color] He knew this wasn't the best way to go about this, but in a world for the immortals, it is easy to get left behind.

Lilie inhaled slowly, focused a little more on calming herself down before the spar would start. Taking down bigger opponents via hand-to-hand wasn't exactly easy for a normal opponent, let alone trying to take down a vampire that was nearly twice her size and probably her weight, too. [I]Focus,[/i] she mentally reprimanded herself, getting into the proper mindset. Despite knowing she was probably going to need two or three life mages at the end of this, the white haired girl psyched herself up. Fighting was something she actually liked to do, and while she hadn't expected to be fighting a vampire on day one, ripping off the bandaid was probably better. Maybe. An assurance to prevent herself from high tailing it out of there? Oh definitely. But running from a social interaction was different than running from a fight, at least to her anyway.

Victor was bigger and sturdier, but normal take down techniques probably wouldn't get her too far. Using his own force against him was her best bet, but that was easier said than done. Vampires didn't have the typical weak spots either, or rather she wasn't physically strong enough to take actual advantage of them. Was now a good time to admit she wasn't great in hand to hand? She wished she had her weapon, it would have helped her keep some distance. She should have taken her mother's instructions more seriously, but it was too late for that. As she was about to put herself in what could be considered a passable stance, Victor spoke. Well, if she wasn't afraid of him before, she certainly was now. Still, she had to agree with him: freezing up was going to do more harm than good.

Exhaling slowly, Lilie shook her head at the Count, bringing up her arms close and her fists clenched. She focused entirely on the opponent in front of her, clearing her head of hesitation and worry--the battlefield was no place for any of that. [Color=00BFFF]"Thanks for the heads up,"[/color] She replied, putting herself in the right state of mind. Her eyes narrowed, a calmness draping over her and replacing her nervousness with anticipation.

The count got into the fighting stance like he did before but this time he went from stern to relaxed as he looked her over. The way she held herself looked more like a fighting stance for dueling more than hand to hand. By this observation alone he concluded that she wouldn't put up as much of a fight compared to the boy. So he resumed his stern fighting stance and began to move toward her. Switching from a left handed dominant stance like he had with Aaron to a right handed stance, both to confuse and let his opponent see that he was ambidextrous. Normally he would fight a right handed opponent left handed because it threw off their fighting style.

Approaching slowly still, he purposefully gave her more time to visualise and anticipate his attacks because he knew that for some the wait alone before the first punch could be agonizing and stressful. Then in a quick motion he swung at her with a fast reverse punch that seemed to be heading for her right side before suddenly dropping towards the floor. The vampires body went with it and using the momentum of his swing he twisted his body and swept his left leg out to attempt to trip her with the back of his leg with a sweep kick. Whether the maneuver worked or not he was quick to plant his left foot and push off of it with a strong roundhouse kick with his right leg aimed at her hip.

Lilie braced herself for what she thought was the first hit, but watching Victor drop down clued her in on what he was doing. A quick hop solved that problem, albeit she unintentionally trapped herself as his foot met her hip. Had she known just how hard it was going to be, she probably would have let herself trip; the girl found herself meeting the floor anyway, the sheer force of the vampire's hit toppling her to the ground. She felt like she just got hit with a ton of bricks! How the heck was this fair?! No wonder Aaron was so used to this, getting hit by a vampire was the equivalent of running into a metal door! To her credit, she picked herself up a lot faster than she realized, ignoring her aching hip as she got to her feet. That was going to hurt later.

The large vampire waited for his opponent to regain her posture after he sent her to the floor with his last hit. Once he was sure she was back in the game he again began assaulting the space around her with normal strikes aimed at her head and body to test her reflexes. Again once his opponent was winded he stopped and stepped back. [color=92278f]“Lucan this one is better than the other students but her stances and movements are better suited for wielding a sword. Still not as good as the stag over there.”[/color] With a smile he looked at the girl, [color=92278f]“unfortunately, you did not surpass my expectations. So now like the stag, you have to pay for it.”[/color] 

Victor moved slowly in a circle around her just out of her reach. He could use hypnosis but he wanted her to feel exactly what he was about to do to her. The move he had chosen, like with Aaron, would require a bit of distance behind her. Finding a path clear of people and obstacles he nodded, [color=92278f]“ready?”[/color] It was just another thing to catch her off guard as he charged right for her without warning. Reaching out and hooking his fingers under her padded chest piece he pulled her towards his chest and spun in a disorientating circle. After circling together once as if they were dancing, he used his strength and their momentum to throw the poor girl towards an empty part of the arena. Almost like trying to skip a flat stone across water. He knew that it was going to hurt but the pads would soften the blow, besides life mages need to earn their keep. The vampire only hoped that Salem saw him throw her like that.

This academy was doing a great job on belittling her, that's for sure. Lilie barely contained her pout, more winded than anything, though she became alarmed as he mentioned having to pay. Wasn't this supposed to be a spar?! But there was no time to question or react, Victor charging at her throwing her off guard. For a giant he was [i]fast[/i]--everything happened so quickly that she didn't have time to even brace herself. Then again, she thought he was going to put her in a chokehold; the last thing she expected was the get [i]thrown[/i].

Lilie went flying, shocked that it took absolutely no effort on Victor's part at how effortlessly he accomplished it. Sure, as a lightweight she had been tossed around by her older brother, but he didn't have the capability to throw her like this. But being airborne was the least of her worries, as once she ate stone floor that became the forefront of her concern. She eventually rolled to a stop, curling up as the shoulder she landed on and her hip began to ache something fierce. After a few seconds she tried to get up, her body protesting heavily. She forced herself to lay on her back, her breathlessness and lack of energy finally catching up to her. Ugh, if he was trying to kill her, he may as well come and finish the job, there was no way she could properly defend herself after that. Closing her eyes, she exhaled a groan, covering her face with her right arm.

Aaron watched eagerly from his spot on the sidelines, having taken the Count’s advice and sat down. He could feel that headache he’d warned him about taking hold already, but that didn’t stop him from paying close attention to Lilie’s turn with the hulking vampire. Lilie was certainly more adept at fencing than hand to hand combat, but he supposed that much could be expected from someone who likely trained as a hobby rather than a practical skill. Aaron wasn’t sure what the vampire’s “expectations” of her were, but what happened next wiped any other thought from his mind. The bastard [i]threw[/i] her!

Eyes wide, Aaron watched, shocked, as Lilie flew near-horizontally across the arena, eventually half-rolling across the stone floor before coming to a very painful-looking stop some distance away. She hardly moved after that, save for a failed attempt to sit up, and at this distance he could just hardly hear a pitiable groan escape her. What on [i]earth?![/i]

Concerned and suddenly angry, Aaron shot to his feet, having to catch himself on the Arena wall as a wave of dizziness - no doubt another side effect of that choke hold - washed over him. When it cleared he rushed over to where Lilie lay, shooting an indignant look at Lucan as he passed before kneeling down next to the girl, looking for obvious signs of injury. He was no healer, but to his eye it didn’t look like anything was broken - a stroke of luck, probably - though she didn’t exactly seem in good shape, either. 

[color=f0d705]“Are you alright?”[/color] he asked softly, hesitant to do so much as tap her on the arm lest he hit a sore spot. [color=f0d705]“You didn’t hit your head, did you?”[/color]