StV: A Friendly Sparring Session, Part Four

Nightfall was utterly unfamiliar with guantlet swords, but she took to using a pair of them like a duck to water; Jade, who'd been impressed already, found herself wondering how her own team was going to keep up. That was a thought for later, though. 

The smaller girl was a gymnast, but she was also a dancer and had been studying martial arts since she'd first arrived at the school a year ago. A few basic instructions on how to make use of those blades, and she was handy enough to make Jade glad of her armor. Her balance was perfect, her stance and stepping impeccable, and she had sweep-and-stab down to an art within minutes. She still had trouble getting around Jade's shield, but the gauntlet swords covered her forearms and gave her some additional protection -- enough to block Jade's blade when it got past her own. 

Jade was still the better fighter -- more reach, more practice, and the ability to use sword and shield simultaneously -- but she could already see that she was going to have to push herself in training to keep up. She was also painfully aware that Nightfall could do things that she simply couldn't: blind her, for example. The shield wouldn't be much help if Nightfall took them fully into the dark. At that point, she'd be relying entirely on her armor. 

Nightfall caught an overhead strike between crossed blades, then stepped back. "Hold."

Jade backed off and lowered her blade. 

"Okay," said Nightfall. "My turn to try to help you. When we were trying to capture your brick, you knocked down Tempest and very nearly took her out of the fight. Can you try that again, or something like it?"

Jade frowned, but the expression was puzzled rather than irritated. "All right." She stepped back, and shook out her hands, letting sword and shield dissolve back into her. She kept her armor, though. Then she let her power spill out of her again, not unlike a gauntlet sword, but longer -- and flexible.

"Begin," called Ms. Brigham from the control room, and Jade lashed out with a long whip of green-white energy, which Nightfall brushed aside with her shadowy blades. "Yes, that!" she said, moving in as Jade retreated, lashing at her again and again as Nightfall parried and advanced. "It's good -- it's great! -- but you're using it like a tool. Grab me with it."

Jade hesitated and almost let the whip dissolve. Then she brought it around for another lash, and at the last moment pulled it short and had it reach out to wrap around Nightfall's legs.

Nightfall let her gauntlet blades evaporate as she toppled over. "There you go," she said. "Okay, now I have another question -- for me, too. Our powers are pretty similar in some ways. You can pull these shapes out of your body, right? Can you let go of them?"

"No," Jade admitted. "They're pretty well rooted in me."

Nightfall nodded. "...But they can be flexible, and you can control how they move if you think about it."

"...I guess I can," Jade admitted. This was new to her, though Lyceus had pointed it out as well. 

Nightfall grinned. "Can you make wings?"