the town is painted white (eternally) - [open]

[hopelessdreamer]

Characters: Gal and you
Date: morning through afternoon
Summary: training!
Warnings: sweaty mostly-shirtless ladies--wait, not that kind!! will update if necessary.

Comments

[no_hometown]

Sephiroth has recently lost Loly, her only regular sparring partner, and certainly the only one who came close to being her equal in strength, speed, and skill. She doesn't often talk about emotional matters, but she does feel the lack of her erstwhile companion.

In addition, having separated from Kadaj--with some misgivings about leaving the young "woman" without supervision--has left her restless and a little uneasy. Her surveillance sweeps of the Gardens have grown more frequent again, so it's no surprise that she happens to pass by Gal's new training ground. She notices the activity and comes to rest, intrigued.

She approaches Gal, with her usual polite nod of acknowledgment. "Good morning."

[hopelessdreamer]

She blinks and straightens, a little embarrassed she didn't notice the other woman's presence until she spoke. Talk about letting her guard down. She scolds herself mentally.

"Morning."

Her smile is genuine, though, at seeing a familiar face. There's not enough familiarity here.

"Sephiroth, right?" How could she forget a name like that.

[no_hometown]

Sephiroth does have an alarming way of appearing suddenly, as some have learned to their misfortune.

"Yes." She inclines her head slightly in her usual greeting. "Gal. It is a pleasure to see another swordswoman here. I had a regular sparring partner for some few weeks, but she recently returned home." Sephiroth is sorry Loly is gone, but she does not regret the loss of anyone here too much, for various reasons. Most--if not all--of the Gardens' residents would prefer to be returned home, Sephiroth herself included.

"If you'd like a partner, I would be amenable."

[hopelessdreamer]

"So that sword's not just for show, huh? I'm impressed."

She reaches up to scratch the back of her head. "I'll admit that training alone does get a little tedious after a while. If you're up for it, I certainly won't refuse."

[no_hometown]

"At home, I am a commander in the military." Sephiroth doesn't go into detail about SOLDIER. Enhanced she might be, and she doesn't expect a match with an equal--as she's never had one--but where sparring is concerned, she can restrain herself enough to combat any opponent in a way that is useful to both of them.

"I would enjoy it. You can let me know when you're ready." She herself is always ready, at a moment's notice.

[hopelessdreamer]

She whistles a little and forms a practiced bow, out of respect for rank. Most women didn't make it to such positions, and those who did didn't have it easy.

"No problem. I was almost done stretching, just give me a minute."

As she finishes up, she considers how wise it would be to try a new opponent with live steel. Maybe practice swords would be a better idea, but she doesn't want to be insulting.

"Before we start, are there any traditions, or...rules you need to follow where you're from?"

[no_hometown]

"Please, take your time. My responsibilities are few here." Her tone is wry. The lack of activity is one of the worst things about this place. Perhaps not the very worst, but its ranking is high, for someone used to near-constant training and warfare.

In the months she's been here, she has grown a little less used to that constancy, but from what she understands, she will return to the point she was taken from with little, if any, memory of this place. One day, suddenly, she will be home. In the midst of the Wutai War, that is. Standing here, politely waiting for Gal to finish stretching, her own world seems so far away.

"No, we draw our swords and begin." She smiles, remembering her friends. Genesis' poetry doesn't count as a tradition. Fortunately. "Our styles of fighting are most likely different, but I will adapt."

[hopelessdreamer]

"If you're sure." A soldier, versed in combat; she should know how to test an opponent. They'd just start out carefully. Gal doesn't bother with her shirt or gloves; she knows she'd get complacent without callouses on her hands, so she trains without them. Working hands that would never land her a husband--that's all she heard as she grew up, but she'd insisted on sword training anyway. It was for revenge, at first. But somewhere along the line, it changed to "for protecting".

Sephiroth is taller than her, taller and with longer reach than even Van, so she'll have to adjust accordingly. She retrieves her sword and holds it out in front of her for a moment, a formal, practiced gesture. Then she draws it, neither discarding the scabbard nor tucking it into her belt, but keeping it held in her left hand in a reverse grip. A practiced eye would notice the wear on the leather, indicating it's just as much of a weapon as her blade is.

She slides her feet apart and settles into a comfortable stance, nodding to indicate her readiness.

[no_hometown]

Sephiroth smiles. She enjoys fighting. She is the strongest in SOLDIER, the strongest warrior in her world, and the only woman of her rank. When she'd tested into SOLDIER as a girl of fourteen, with her perfect score, the other SOLDIERs had initially been unwilling to accept her. They had treated her with disrespect. She had changed their minds soon enough. Now she was the hero.

She draws the Masamune, noting the way Gal holds both her sword and scabbard and drawing the necessary conclusions. She returns Gal's nod. Then she begins, moving smoothly forward. Holding back, at least for now. She doesn't know how quick or strong Gal is, or how she compares to a member of SOLDIER. To test her reactions, Sephiroth leads her with an exploratory feint.