Not So Silent Training

[Demi Smith]

Demi watched the stretching, recognizing it for what it was. She really didn't think that she'd done a whole lot of the dodging, but if Richard wanted to mix things up, she wasn't going to argue with him. Plus, it was a lot more fun to throw stuff at people than get stuff thrown at you. that last definitely decided things for Demi, making her nod confidently.

Demi picked up a few of the golf-balls, figuring that she'd start there. She held them between her fingers, listening as Richard kept going, insisting that it would be "double-training," which just sounded pretty stupid to her. Still, she didn't see any reason not to give him what he wanted. She didn't immediately start flinging the balls. Oh no, instead Demi bent down and rubbed them around on the ground, pushing them in slightly. Once they had a bit of dirt attached, she had them ready.

She got up. Richard had already taken a stance, so he must be ready. Demi nodded and then whipped her hand, flinging the first golf ball, aimed right at his chest. She didn't just count on her throw, however: she put her power behind it, giving it an extra push about halfway between the two of them, adding a little extra spin to it too. Just had to test him out first, then she'd really let him have it.

[Richard Buckles]

He was controlling his breath as he stared down at his opponent and was as ready as he could be. Normally it would have looked strange taking on a small girl like her so seriously but he knew he couldn't let the guard down for a moment or else he would end up in bruises. If he was going to be beaten by a girl he wasn't going to make it an easy victory. He exhaled sharply as he saw her deciding to use his balls.

He saw as she took stance and threw her first projectile right at him. It was a center hit and while he could have dodged it he also wanted to test counter acting. Her approximate size and musculature with the angle she threw the ball left it coming in a bit harder than it should. He did not know why this was happening but he knew how to counter it with ease as it was a straight forwards shot. He turned his body to the side so he could narrowly avoid it with little movement on his part as well as make himself smaller a target in the process.

He waited to move till the last second he could as it made adjusted subsequent shots harder he knew that from experience. He kept looking over at her now though as he would not let her get the drop on him with a second attack like he had done with his distraction tactic.

[Demi Smith]

"So you can dodge," Demi said. She picked up another of the dirty balls, watching him closely. He'd figured out how to dodge the relatively fast pitches, but she hadn't really been trying too hard. And she hadn't really been using her ability. She wondered how far she could actually push with this guy. Could he take her going all out? he acted like he did, but, well, so did a lot of people. Vera had, and Demi'd had her eating dirt.

Demi tossed the ball up in the air again, then, while one was still in the air, she flung another out of her left hand. As soon as that shot out, she jerked her head, catching the first ball and flinging it out too. They both shot at odd angles, and this time, Demi kept her attention focused on both of them. The one she'd flicked she left mostly to just curve at him, though she put another spin on it at the last second, jerking it the direction she expected him to go. as for the one she'd flung with her mind, she kept that one fully focused and guided, and when Richard started to move, she had every intention of making it follow him like a persistent gnat.

[Richard Buckles]

He nodded "Well sure straight shots even with a little extra umph behind it aren't that hard to dodge." he replied. He didn't mean to sound cocky but he probably did, especially how she was. He saw her tactic was having a similar approach to his as she threw two balls. Though he could tell from their movements there was spin he couldn't figure out why. His mind went to maybe her power was the only thing that made sense. He should have brought gloves and long sleeves he was thinking now and could have worked on deflection.

He moved back with his upper body to avoid one. Using the momentum from the dodge of the first his right foot came up and kicked the sole out. When he did the second ball hit the bottom of his show and slid along it instead of a straight impact. He ricocheted that second shot but in doing so made Richard fall onto his back. The motion he did to do it looked very fluid. "Really tossing on a bit of heat there. Makes me think I should be wearing some body armor."

[Demi Smith]

"Hey, they're curving," Demi replied. She'd at least been managing that much with most of them, and she definitely had the trick up her sleeve for this one, enough of one that she was already smirking even as she spoke.

The first got dodged. The second one he sort of kicked, but wound up on his back. Demi, not quite ready to give up, flung a hand out this time, catching the one that he'd started rolling on his foot. She smiled. "Hey, if you're worried about getting hurt, then you're doing it wrong," she said, before starting to move her hand around. She was sending the ball zig-zagging around Richard's area, effectively attacking him with the thing, again very much like some sort of highly angered insect.

It wasn't quite as sharp as she'd have liked though: his trick with the foot had knocked some of the dirt off the ball. So sometimes it looped or kept going when Demi wanted it to stop. Still had the same general effect.

[Richard Buckles]

Richard thought he had done enough to block and evade. He didn't think she would maintain control over the ball to that degree with just a layer of dust more than anything. He had figured she was supping up her launch with it. He brought his arms up his arms up as fast as he could to guard against her zig zagger but he was not fast enough given he was mid fall when it happened. So it clocked him in the face thankfully with not as much force as originally mustered.

He lay on the ground now just staying there "Well I was just joking." he said as he slowly stood "But seriously try hitting me with something a bit more. I mean avoiding a ball isn't really what I thought would be what I was avoiding. Just try not to kill me is all." he laughed softly. Though he wondered if she could actually get that wound up about things. He rubbed his cheek a little bit, he obviously had been being to lacks over things. He had to kick it up into a higher gear.

He stood straight up and breathed in deeply and slowly, closing his eyes for a few moment as he pictured a targeting reticle. This was no different than being on the range and in combat training together. He just had to remember accomplish the objective no matter what. She wasn't a little girl she was an enemy soldier that needed to be taken down. There were no such distinctions as male, female, young or old. He knew there had been numerous accounts of child soldiers, if they had a gun they were lethal. Or in the case of Demi with her power she was a big threat bare handed.

[Demi Smith]

Demi lost concentration when she actually connected with his face, mostly because she happened to burst out laughing. She bent over slightly, the mirth shaking her whole body for several seconds. It was just hilarious to have seen him take the ball to the face and now lay flat. Demi almost ended up on the ground herself, but managed to steel herself enough to look at him as he kept talking. "Why would I kill you? You're too much fun alive," she pointed out. She was already rolling up another ball, moving it around her fingers and feeling her connection with it. When he said more, did he mean he wanted her to fling something bigger at him or try a little harder?

Demi could see him starting to sort of getting into the right mindset. It actually looked a lot like entering Flow, and it gave her a slight pang. And, well, it made her want to take this a bit more seriously. She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, centering herself. She bent down, scooping up a few of the balls. She could probably do this at least one more time, and she figured he wouldn't want much more.

So Demi stretched her hand out, three dirty golf balls hovering in the air. This took pretty much all the focus she had left, and she could already feel some of the tension from maintaining it hitting her. But she took a breath anyway, looking down, making sure he was ready. Then Demi spun, first flinging one with a forward flick before dancing forward. Her limbs spun in an intricate movement, each one sending the ball flying. She kept moving too, kept the rhythm of her motions into the full Flow while the balls began launching toward him. They were dodgable though, and there was probably even a bit of a pattern there...

[Richard Buckles]

Richard didn't really get how someone so snarky and sarcastic didn't seem to get when he was joking as much as he thought she should of. He shrugged that off of course as he was getting serious of course. He had to determine the most efficient response to whatever she through at him. He had his focus peaked now as she prepared her attack. He had to do whatever it took to take her down. Though he was a bit disappointed by her high and mighty praise of how wonderfully strong she was but she was still not seeming much of the challenge he expected.

Richard saw her drawing her weapon of choice up and so he put his hands in his pocket now and as her starting to rotate which was obviously a sign of readied attack. So right before the first ball left her hand he was charging towards her with a fast pace and as the first came zooming past he ducked down doing a spinning motion himself which was when his hand left his pocket. As he did this he released a ball he had in his pocket to collide with hers assuming it didn't move in the mean time of that. He then kept spinning and pulling the second ball out of his pock with the other hand and doing the same with the second one but this time before avoiding it.

Middle of the spin shouting out a pronounces "Oorah" then when he was finished he kept moving forwards rather fluidly. He was gunning straight at her. He wasn't taking a range approach as that made things easier to strike for him but given then circumstances he thought a frontal assault was best. He was prepared for a dust cloud as after seeing how dust kicked up in her wake he thought it might be a defensive maneuver she would pull.

[Demi Smith]

Of course Demi wasn't simply wiping the floor with him. Not like she practiced jerking balls around or anything like that, and she was definitely holding back. Or at least, she had been up till now. She'd gotten into the full Flow, the motions almost too fluid. The Flow was, after all, a specially designed martial art, uniquely set up to help mutants utilize their powers in the most efficient way possible. Demi had been studying it before she'd even gotten her powers, and hardly a day passed when she didn't at least enter the basic forms.

Still, she was impressed at how well Richard countered. Someone had taught him how to fight too, though obviously not in the same way they'd taught Demi. It kinda reminded her a bit of Roxana, only rougher, like he wasn't quite sure how to combine the training with his power just yet. Demi didn't spend much more time thinking of it right now, however, as he was heading for her.

So, he wanted to play that game? Demi spun out, creating a full cloud of dust, more or less what he expected. Except that she then rolled her shoulders forward, sending it spraying toward him. And as soon as she did that, she stomped into the ground, utilizing a trick she'd picked up from another training partner, soon kicking the ground up under his feet in little mole hills.

[Richard Buckles]

His mind flashed back to the boot camp the drill sergeant screaming about how they had move faster faster and get over those obstacles to the goal. It wasn't something comforting but somehow that pressure of being pushed towards a goal did help him then. It was helping him now some as he let his focus on her not deter away because of the dust she kicked up.

He pulled his shirt up now to cover his mouth and nose so he wouldn't breath in as much dirt. He knew if he started coughing it would slow him down far more than having something covering his mouth. He closed his eyes for a moment at the initial contact with the dust cloud but opened his eyes up squinting a bit. He felt something weird when he stepped on the ground as if there was a hole he stepped on then the next foot forwards caught it wrong and snared him. His ankle dipped in and down he went now.

He was there on the ground again hardly able to see caught in the dust and she was not even 5 feet from him. He was in a bad position all around. He pulled himself up and fell back a bit now covered in dirt. He lowered his shirt and breathing out hard. He was limping a little as he was sort from twisting his ankle. This was more what he had in mind, of course he had provoked it and realized quickly how with the things at hand he was not equipped to deal with this sort of thing.

[Demi Smith]

How many people had Demi done this to already? They all went in looking at her size, the barely five feet tall, not even hitting triple digits in weight, and figured that they could handle her. What was there to worry about with a girl that small? And she only moved dirt around, not like she flung rocks or stuff. Then they found out that dirt got everywhere, that it clogged and stung and grated at flesh, scraping at it. And now Demi even had more tricks, stuff she'd picked up.

She almost wanted to fire off a few kicks, particularly as it went right along with the Flow. Kick. Kick. Roll. All along; she could practically see it. Except she could also see him panting, see him down, and she recalled seeing so many people she fought like that. They all gasped a yield, but, well, they could.

So Demi rolled back, spinning arms. she breathed hard herself, and she could feel her head and muscles aching, but she had a feeling she knew the answer to the question before she asked it: "Give up?"

[Richard Buckles]

He would continue with his frontal assault but the pain in his ankle while not crippling was something he knew if he disregarded now would pay heavily for later. He would have fought through it if this was a real fight. He knew he would as if it was a real fight the end result would be death or capture. Though was maybe best not to move as much as he could avoid it but how was he to combat her.

He was already in pain and if he fell pray to that again would either be both ankles or the other would be very bad. Thankfully nothing like a break. He was greatly distracted by the pain in his ankle so he lopsided his stance as he took a few deep breathes. He had to focus on the goal not the pain not her asking about giving up. He had to figure something out to at least make this not feel so one sided.

He looked at the cloud of dust and his mind calculated the way it dispersed out and assuming she was in the center he had one shot before she could take him down for the win. He wasn't sure it would work at all but it was a hail mary sort of throw. He took out a golf ball. He disliked how it was his right leg that was hurt as that was his more dominate one. He ground his teeth together as his mind focused best it could on the goal and calculated trajectory. He then felt it click quickly what to do and the way to hold it in the throw.

He leaned back and then took a step forwards onto his left foot. When he did this he brought his arm around like a whip and chucked the ball with all the strength he could in a brute force and physics way. He needed speed which was achieved by power so the speed and power of the desired impact were combined with this object. If he had targeted correctly and she was in the position he though then then ball should curve up part way to hit her in the head despite the throw being lower at the start.

Of course this was only if she had stayed in the center of where she dispersed her dirty cloud. If she moved forwards it would hit just in a different place and if she moved to the side or back a few steps miss entirely.

[Demi Smith]

It was a good thing there was some distance, and that Demi had been looking right at Richard. Because if the circumstances hadn't aligned well in her favor, she would've ended up getting smacked in the head. As it was, she managed to jerk her head up, getting the dirt and dust to take a lot of the blow. a shoulder roll made sure that the ball connected with something, stopping its momentum.

"So that's a no," Demi said. She then spun, whirling in a circle. She used the pure momentum to drag a sod of topsoil, forming a football sized ball of earth and dirt. She could do that standing still (could do a bit more thanks to training with Joey Flamick), but the momentum made it easier. Another roll and she sent it flying toward Richard, before jerking a leg to try and make the ground under him just unsteady enough to make dodging hard (and to make sure he didn't end up getting smacked in the face with the clod: Demi didn't want to kill the guy).