(no subject)
Weapons class would have been more interesting if Anya didn't have to ignore Veronica quite so stridently. Of course, it might have been said that she didn't need to ignore her in such a determined fashion, but Anya wasn't the type to do things by halves, and after the party of the previous week, Anya felt the need to make sure Veronica knew she wasn't noticing her at all. By very purposefully not noticing her.
As it was, she had her back to the other girl, focused in a determined way on Teyla's instruction. After all, the woman only had one arm to teach with, and the sticks, they looked interesting, and effective. Well. Effective for sticks that weren't stakes, but fighting vampires wasn't really the thing here was it? She edged away from Veronica as Teyla started pairing them off to practice, her face falling when she looked at the two of them sharply, and promptly teamed them up.
It would have to happen this way, wouldn't it? Anya sighed internally and gave Veronica a tight-lipped smile. Actually, a tight-lipped grimace. Oooh. Maybe she could hit her with a stick. That prospect cheered her immensely.
Veronica herself didn't mind the idea of getting in a few good swings at Anya. Being stuck with in class with her since the party hadn't diminished the pre-existing disdain she felt for Anya, but she wasn't ten anymore. She wasn't about go whining to Teyla that it wasn't fair she was getting stuck with Trampy McBitch just because she didn't like it. It was just a matter of making sure she didn't let her irritation get in the way of the fight; she'd been taught and well, and as she adjusted her grip on the bantos stick, she forced herself to be calm, steady. "Ready?" she asked, her voice tight all the same.
"Of course," Anya was more than ready, adjusting her grip as she'd been taught. This wasn't a sword, and there weren't vampires or other crazed things to kill... No, scratch that. Other crazed thing was a possible description of Veronica. Killing would be bad, obviously, though a bit of threatening maybe? Anya moved into a defensive stance.
Shoulders tensed, eyes focused steadly on Anya, Veronica began to move - not striking or even moving to do so yet, just watching, waiting to catch her. Anya was clearly waiting for her to make the first move, taking up the defense, and Veronica was making a strong effort not to telegraph her moves before she made them. After a few moments and without any clear change in her expression or gaze, Veronica whirled and struck.
"Ouch!" Anya looked indignant when the bantos stick struck her arm. "That hurt!" She refocused, backing off and setting again, remembering everything she'd picked up over the years, had been taught by Buffy and that she'd learned from Teyla.
"You have to focus," Veronica said wryly. "Not my fault if I catch you off guard." She'd trained long and hard, that was true, but if Anya was as ancient as she claimed, she should have picked up a trick or two along the way. Underestimating her opponent was a bad idea and Veronica knew it, but the spite the other girl invoked in her made things simpler, became something to channel into energy and focus. Maintaining a defensive stance, she watched Anya.
She was ancient, and she did know a few things. Just remembering them when she needed to was sometimes hard. This time Anya had a good reason, mainly not letting Veronica kick her ass. Ignoring her comments she circled around the other girl, repeating in her mind everything she thought of, trying for calm, and finally grasping it, managing a good quick shot.
Raising the bantos as fast as she could, Veronica narrowly avoided getting knocked hard, hearing the clack of the sticks against each other much closer than she would have liked. She ducked down and spun away, swinging her stick again immediately, her expression hard as she moved.
Her arm shook from where the sticks had hit and she managed to block, just, slashing forward with her stick for Veronica's stomach, treating it more like a sword than a blunt object. But she couldn't help wonder what the point of this was, fighting all the time, trying to prove again and again that she was alright, but always getting it wrong. She might have stabbed with a bit more force than she'd intended.
With a soft grunt of effort, Veronica staggered backwards out of range, but only by a scant couple inches. She almost fell over backwards anyway, which would have defeated the entire purpose. On a rational level, none of this had to do with Anya anyway - it was about perfect a skill, being prepared for the next time something happened. But what did it really matter? She'd thought for a long time that she'd been preparing herself for in case Aaron Echolls or someone like that showed up, and when he had, she'd done nothing. This wasn't about the rational level. This was about the fact that, for whatever reason, logical or not, Anya pissed her off. Her eyes narrowed as she stepped forward again, swinging heavily at the other woman.
It should have connected, and probably with enough force that even Veronica would have regretted it for a moment. Physical violence wasn't her usual answer, not when a well-planned retort would suffice. It didn't matter either way, though - the stick cut through empty air. Where Anya had been literally a second before, there was nothing. The force of the motion pulled Veronica to the side, and she dug the bantos stick against the ground to steady herself, staring. Nothing and no one. Taking another step back, she looked around to the rest of the class, bewildered. Getting in a good hit was one thing; having her opponent disappear altogether was something completely else.
As it was, she had her back to the other girl, focused in a determined way on Teyla's instruction. After all, the woman only had one arm to teach with, and the sticks, they looked interesting, and effective. Well. Effective for sticks that weren't stakes, but fighting vampires wasn't really the thing here was it? She edged away from Veronica as Teyla started pairing them off to practice, her face falling when she looked at the two of them sharply, and promptly teamed them up.
It would have to happen this way, wouldn't it? Anya sighed internally and gave Veronica a tight-lipped smile. Actually, a tight-lipped grimace. Oooh. Maybe she could hit her with a stick. That prospect cheered her immensely.
Veronica herself didn't mind the idea of getting in a few good swings at Anya. Being stuck with in class with her since the party hadn't diminished the pre-existing disdain she felt for Anya, but she wasn't ten anymore. She wasn't about go whining to Teyla that it wasn't fair she was getting stuck with Trampy McBitch just because she didn't like it. It was just a matter of making sure she didn't let her irritation get in the way of the fight; she'd been taught and well, and as she adjusted her grip on the bantos stick, she forced herself to be calm, steady. "Ready?" she asked, her voice tight all the same.
"Of course," Anya was more than ready, adjusting her grip as she'd been taught. This wasn't a sword, and there weren't vampires or other crazed things to kill... No, scratch that. Other crazed thing was a possible description of Veronica. Killing would be bad, obviously, though a bit of threatening maybe? Anya moved into a defensive stance.
Shoulders tensed, eyes focused steadly on Anya, Veronica began to move - not striking or even moving to do so yet, just watching, waiting to catch her. Anya was clearly waiting for her to make the first move, taking up the defense, and Veronica was making a strong effort not to telegraph her moves before she made them. After a few moments and without any clear change in her expression or gaze, Veronica whirled and struck.
"Ouch!" Anya looked indignant when the bantos stick struck her arm. "That hurt!" She refocused, backing off and setting again, remembering everything she'd picked up over the years, had been taught by Buffy and that she'd learned from Teyla.
"You have to focus," Veronica said wryly. "Not my fault if I catch you off guard." She'd trained long and hard, that was true, but if Anya was as ancient as she claimed, she should have picked up a trick or two along the way. Underestimating her opponent was a bad idea and Veronica knew it, but the spite the other girl invoked in her made things simpler, became something to channel into energy and focus. Maintaining a defensive stance, she watched Anya.
She was ancient, and she did know a few things. Just remembering them when she needed to was sometimes hard. This time Anya had a good reason, mainly not letting Veronica kick her ass. Ignoring her comments she circled around the other girl, repeating in her mind everything she thought of, trying for calm, and finally grasping it, managing a good quick shot.
Raising the bantos as fast as she could, Veronica narrowly avoided getting knocked hard, hearing the clack of the sticks against each other much closer than she would have liked. She ducked down and spun away, swinging her stick again immediately, her expression hard as she moved.
Her arm shook from where the sticks had hit and she managed to block, just, slashing forward with her stick for Veronica's stomach, treating it more like a sword than a blunt object. But she couldn't help wonder what the point of this was, fighting all the time, trying to prove again and again that she was alright, but always getting it wrong. She might have stabbed with a bit more force than she'd intended.
With a soft grunt of effort, Veronica staggered backwards out of range, but only by a scant couple inches. She almost fell over backwards anyway, which would have defeated the entire purpose. On a rational level, none of this had to do with Anya anyway - it was about perfect a skill, being prepared for the next time something happened. But what did it really matter? She'd thought for a long time that she'd been preparing herself for in case Aaron Echolls or someone like that showed up, and when he had, she'd done nothing. This wasn't about the rational level. This was about the fact that, for whatever reason, logical or not, Anya pissed her off. Her eyes narrowed as she stepped forward again, swinging heavily at the other woman.
It should have connected, and probably with enough force that even Veronica would have regretted it for a moment. Physical violence wasn't her usual answer, not when a well-planned retort would suffice. It didn't matter either way, though - the stick cut through empty air. Where Anya had been literally a second before, there was nothing. The force of the motion pulled Veronica to the side, and she dug the bantos stick against the ground to steady herself, staring. Nothing and no one. Taking another step back, she looked around to the rest of the class, bewildered. Getting in a good hit was one thing; having her opponent disappear altogether was something completely else.