Marian. Ash made sure to remember the girl's face and name with a half-smile. Her accent was strange, but her way of speaking wasn't exactly uncomfortable and Ashling found herself somewhat interested in the pretty filly named Bodaway who had been a gift from a Shaman to the Texan before her. The one-sided conversation ceased suddenly, as they passed Rumple's door, and Ash made a mental note of that as well before continuing on to the group of Snow and Kenichi. Blue eyes slid to admire the foreign face of an Easterner but were quickly cast back down to the wooden floor, the idea of staring for too long much to rude to her, and then they were moving again, to the courtyard. 

The fresh, rain-soaked air was welcome after being inside the stuffy Guild all day, and Ash took a deep breath before realizing how busy it actually was. People, some familiar and some not, sat in small groups, chatting, training, doing whatever hunters did on their days off, and a faint feeling of fear ebbed in her head but was quickly gone when Ash noticed how beautiful everything appeared. The sky was gray-blue, the color you would normally see after endless days of rain in England, and covered with swirling bleak clouds and wisps of promising white. The sun was warm, already nearly drying the damp grass and concrete and wood around the courtyard, yet underfoot moisture squished up from her boots. Ash stared down, hiding a small, silent smile, until she heard Snow speak, something about using the training ground, and a faint blush covered her face as she glanced back up and noticed the dummies and skill-oriented tests scattered throughout the landscape. Snow wanted them to show off right now? Alice rubbed her shoulder, opening her mouth to protest, but before she could even spit a single word into the air Kenichi was moving. Flashes of silver danced across the poor, defenseless dummies, and in what seemed to be a matter of seconds three of the dolls were destroyed, ripped apart by amazing swordsmanship and some other, smaller weapon Ash couldn't name. 

[i]'Impressive'[/i]

"Impressive." someone whispered in her ear, and Ash jolted forward slightly as wight suddenly pressed down on her shoulders, something soft curling around her neck. Vapor snuggled up close, his voice low, eyes piercing the back of Kenichi with interest, and then Snow, and finally meeting Ash's who was slightly confused about his sudden appearance (but then again, when was't she). He purred, tail uncurling from around her neck to point down behind her, where a familiar sheath lay.

"Brought you something that'll help you show off."

Ash slowly lowered herself down, trying to keep the cat balanced comfortably on her shoulder, and finally wrapped her fingers around cool leather. The Vorpal Blade. Apparently given to her by the strange Guild Leader, Merlin. Ashling straightened, slowly removing the dull leather sheath from the short sword, a small smile appearing as she once again got to stare at the beautiful carvings in the hilt and blade. It was a short sword, nearly a machete, covered from point to hilt in floral designs, and just holding it gave Ash a feeling of weightlessness and energy. Something else was in the leather holder as well, and she tipped it over slightly and was surprised to see a pack of cards tumble to her feet. Ah yes, these had simply appeared three days ago on her bedside table, and what an unpleasant surprise they had been. The cards inside were heavy, and the edges were ridiculously sharp and nearly cost the sleepy Ashling a finger. They were stupid playthings, but the idea of using them as a weapon was prominent among her varied thoughts, and she turned to give a small smile of thanks to her cat friend, but he was already gone.

"I suppose..." Ash spoke suddenly, slipping the pack of cards into her dress pocket, "I'll go next." Her finger traced the edge of the Vorpal Blade, blue eyes lolling dreamily over her plentiful targets until she decided on a small patch of three dummies placed close together. And then, with sudden swiftness, she bolted forward with loud footsteps, seemingly a black blur against the dull colors of the courtyard. Speed was everything to Ash, her main point in fighting and defending, and she thought it best to show off that good point by always moving. Even when she was in front of her first target she did not slow, not a single bit, instead she jumped forward, plowing blade-first through the doll's chest. The fabric gave and split as the blade pierced the dummy, and then came Ash's added weight which managed to knock the post over completely with a sudden crack. The wood splintered and then both bodies were falling forward, but she recovered quickly, pulling the blade free as she rolled over the doll's body and back onto her feet, already continuing onto the next dummy.

[i]'Perhaps using the cards could work on this one.'[/i] her brain noted as soon as she realized how far away the next target was. Memories of Kenichi's fight from before, with those needle-like objects, replaying in Ash's head, inspiration blooming. She slipped her free hand into the pocket, using her middle finger and pointer to pull four cards from the already open case and with quick finesse she flung the four forward. Three of them simply caught the wind and fluttered to the earth lazily, evidence of her lack of understanding on how to throw the weapon, but the other one sailed through the air like a small whirlwind, barely missing the dummy as it planted itself into the very edge of it's face. She was upon it in a moment after that, arms raised high to give the unmoving doll a downward slash. The fabric once again split and two halves slumped to either side of her blade and then she was spinning around, foot lifting and extending to give a strong kick to the remaining post, sending it toppling, and then she was running once again. The last dummy was closer, and there were plenty of ways to finish it off, chopping, dicing, jabbing, more cards, maybe showing off some hand-to-hand, but instead she began to think about herself.

[i]'Right now I am fast, but heavy. Not very heavy, but heavy. I can be lighter, faster, I can kick off this dummy without knocking it over. I can float. I will float.'[/i]

Blue eyes widened suddenly, gleaming brightly, and then narrowed. Her steps became lighter, body much more fluid then before, and the loud footsteps became quieter. The dummy was suddenly in front of her, looming, looking fragile. Light. Light. She was light. Ashling jumped forward, this time with her foot first, and planted it square against the doll's chest. There was a feeling of hardness within the body, the wooded post perhaps, and then she was kicking backwards, flipping higher into the air. Wind whistled passed her ears and weightlessness set in, a whirlwind of butterflies and leaves suspending her momentarily in the air. Her body tightened, the arm that held the blade was thrust back, and then the familiar weight of a weapon was gone, thrown forward at the target. The sword sailed downwards, gleaming in the mid-day sunlight, and it split right through the weak fabric and dug into the wet earth behind the dummy, leaving behind a large hole in the doll's chest. Ashling grinned, breathing quickly as her skirt fluttered around her knees, the same wind from before slowing her descent. Her mind was painfully clear and light and her legs felt raw yet ready for more running, but that was the price for jumping so suddenly into dummy-training after a few days of no exercise at all, and as soon as her toes connected with the ground she was running once more, slower, to gather up her weapon. She then straightened, neatening her appearance while eyes eyes locked on her toes as her face flushed a pale red,

"Sorry," her voice was hoarse, breathing heavy, "haven't done much of that since I got 'ere."