From Attuned to Ascended to Ancient, Kiada Njovu-Reyes has been reborn several times throughout her short life, but her fighting spirit has never once been diminished. With beauty, grace and a quick wit, Kiada is the whole package wrapped in an infectious smile. Recent endeavours have found her in the heart of the Hollowed Grounds, aiding the region and bettering it for her new Ancient kin, and whatever she does next, we know it's sure to pack a punch.
Congratulations, Kiada!
Credits
Court of the Fallen was created in October of 2018 by Odd, Honey, and Crooked.
Skinning and hosting by the epically talented Kaons, and functionality fanciness by the coding magic of Neowulf. If you ever see either of them around, make sure to show them some love!
War was coming, and though Phoebe was not taking part in it, she knew she needed to train. Bad things always happened in Caido. A safe haven sounded nice but if she was unprepared the worst would surely happen. Some weakness would be found, some crack would burst open, they'd tunnel beneath the walls - something.
So the demigoddess found herself on the isles, beating a training dummy as hard as she could. She relied on training from both Harper and Ronin to guide her punches and kicks, focusing on power while not falling over. It was a tricky thing when there was something actually exerting force back against her.
She had been in Torchline to obtain a few skincare items for the spa, but curiosity over the persistent cold had kept her there for longer than planned. It is no real worry, given she has employees to tend the spa whenever she is absent, so Hotaru has spent time visiting her favored places with the aid of her falcon form. While many faces are familiar, none are so surprising as the fellow blonde she spies from above.
Diving immediately, the Valkyrie transforms feet above the sand, landing with a thump and striding gracefully out of it. Phoebe is…training? Which Hotaru never would have expected from the demigoddess. But it does nothing to dim the warm, elegant smile as she approaches, having given a good distance so as not to startle the younger woman. “Phoebe! Is that you dear?” Ru is never wrong, mind, but she still has her manners and regal disposition to contend with.
through her, in a rush of musk and saffron beauty falls into disarray
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
Phoebe noticed the movement from the corner of her eye, stopping her punches as she did so. Turning to see who approached, she heard a familiar voice call out her name. Her eyes widened a bit, surprised to see Ru so far from Halo. Perhaps it was she who brought the unseasonably cool weather!
"It is me." she said with a smile, reaching out to hug the woman if she allowed. "How have you been? You didn't happen to stop by to spar did you?" she said jokingly.
Ru is not the most touchy of women - at least not when she is courting favor, lust, or distraction - but she smiles and easily welcomes the taller woman into her arms. Despite the strangeness of their early history, Phoebe has become a distinctly welcome individual in her life, and the rest is water under the bridge.
“I’ve been wonderful, if rather bored as of late. I wasn’t here to train, but I would be happy to if you’d like a partner instead of a dummy?” She is quite well-versed in such arts to say the least, and a proficient trainer when necessary.
through her, in a rush of musk and saffron beauty falls into disarray
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
"Oh I would love a partner." Phoebe said almost in relief. Frankly she didn't know enough about what she was doing for practicing with a dummy to be effective. It just meant she had a good punch, and one punch did not a fighter make.
"I am preparing in case the safe haven is breached during the war." she explained. Ru would know well enough that Phoebe wasn't a fighter, so for her to be training was very out of her character. She was a lover and healer, not a fighter.
Her relief is palpable, and Ru can understand feeling out of your depth even if she cannot at all comprehend the lack of fighting instinct and desire. But they are different women, and in some ways it’s a good thing, as the Valkyrie has wealth of knowledge to spare to help her fellow Frey-worshiper.
Though it’s unlikely to happen, it’s a valiant cause, and one Ru is happy to help in. “Are you looking for hand-to-hand instruction over magical?” As she asks it, she shamelessly begins to shed her outer layers until she stands in her bra and leggings in the sunlight, willing to contend with the cold for the brief moment it would take to warm up once they started sparring. She is far from body shy; after all what did she have to be insecure about? “We can start with punches and kicks or full takedowns, do you have a preference?”
through her, in a rush of musk and saffron beauty falls into disarray
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
"If I could practice my magic shield that would be wonderful but mostly hand to hand." she said. Phoebe knew better than to think she could master fighting in such a short time, but even less so a weapon. And her shield was still only short lived so she couldn't rely on it wholly.
It took Phoebe a moment to decide, not at all concerned with Ru's state of dress. She birthed babies for a living. She had seen it all when it came to female anatomy. "Take downs." she decided. "Harper showed me how to punch and kick but I don't know how to take someone down." Unless pantsing someone was considered a formal battle tactic.
Ru notes the request for later; surely they can do a little training with her shield at the end, but given her work with the dummy when Ru had arrived, takedowns are most important right now.
It’s a shame Phoebe is straight, because they’d make a beautiful sight if she was at all interested in Hotaru disrobing. Screw Sunjata, they would make Frey proud.
But alas, a different kind of physicality today.
“Okay, so most people who are relying on body attacks are going to go straight for your face. With your demigod strength, you have a few great options; grabbing their wrist and tossing them over your shoulder, or doing a close-contact evasion and buckling their knee. I’ll show you both. Throw a slow mock punch for me.” Ru waits for Phoebe to obey, and then she places both her hands around the woman’s forearm and wrist, her own hands side to side. “You’re going to turn towards their inner arm like this, so your shoulder is towards their chest. Hold very tight.” She squeezes - gently, she’s just demonstrating right now - and begins to slowly pull Phoebe’s arm over her own shoulder, turning her back towards the woman’s chest as she continues instructing verbally. “Begin pulling it over your shoulder while you turn. You’re going to use their momentum to help flip them over your shoulder, so your back should be facing them. Here is where I would throw you; you can choose to let go or not. Keeping hold means you have control over them, letting go means a harder impact. Got it?” Ru stops there, releasing and turning back around. “We aren’t going to do the full flip yet. You’ll have to practice those first three steps first before I’ll have you throw me okay? Now you try.” Ru throws a very slow, slightly wide punch, allowing Phoebe to try out the grapple.
through her, in a rush of musk and saffron beauty falls into disarray
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
Phoebe was studious, watching Ru closely as she moved and held her arm. Something about it reminded her of the block Harper had taught her once upon a time. She nodded slowly, willing herself to commit the movements to memory. There were real implications with this training. Ru might think her reasoning far fetched, but everything always went wrong in Caido somehow. She didn't want to risk being underprepared.
Then it was her turn. Phoebe moved quickly, perhaps surprisingly so, to grab Ru's arm and wrist, twisting and pulling forward with her shoulder towards the other woman's chest. But she remained delicate, not exerting enough force or pressure to throw her - and though she may not have been perfect in form, she would have been effective if she had.
Ru hadn’t anticipated needing to reach Phoebe too many times. The woman is in the medical field after all, she must be rather sharp to have learned such an in depth field at a young age. She’s glad to be proved correct as the midwife firmly and quickly grasps her arm, drawing Ru in sharply enough that the Valkyrie’s chest meets Phoebe’s back in a controlled jerk, just as she should. “Great job,” she praises, and shakes free to step backward. “Again, but this time actually pull. Just enough to get me off my feet and more onto your shoulder. I’m not too heavy, and you’re rather strong, so focus on control instead of fully flipping me even if you’ll be able to.” She does a slightly faster punch this time as well, still easily read even by a novice, but upping the pace for Phoebe to test herself steadily with each repetition.
through her, in a rush of musk and saffron beauty falls into disarray
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
Phoebe smiled under the praise. She had always been the eager to please sort of student.
But Ru was quickly back to business and so she sobered quickly. The Nightingale nodded and took a readied stance again. If the increased speed bothered her any, the Valkyrie wouldn't notice - mainly because Phoebe was quite quick herself. She grabbed her arm more firmly this time, leaning forward as she flipped this time. With ease, Ru's feet would come off the ground, surprising even Phoebe. She didn't think someone as small as Ru would be heavy but her own strength surprised her.
Success again. Ru tenses her abdomen - a well-trained core more than adept at taking this kind of treatment - in preparation for the dig of Phoebe’s shoulder into it, so that it doesn’t knock the wind out of her. She certainly isn’t heavy, but it’s clear Phoebe is still adjusting to her demigodly strength somehow. Hotaru wonders about it for a moment as her feet come back to earth, but she doesn’t linger on it.
“Wonderful! Now this time I want you to follow through the entire motion and throw me. Keep hold of my arm, it will give you more control. Don’t worry about hurting me; I’ll cushion the fall with my magic, and the sand is already soft.” And they both have healing magic, even if the Valkyrie does get a little bruised. Rinse and repeat as Ru steps back and does another punch, faster yet again.
through her, in a rush of musk and saffron beauty falls into disarray
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
Phoebe breathed a sigh of relief. Good again! But Ru leaves no time for celebration. Just as well. Time before the war was whiling away.
Again the increased speed went unnoticed and Phoebe's fingers clamped down on Ru's arm with a force. Not thinking of how easily she had picked up Ru, she grunted with the force of throwing the other woman to the ground.
With a very. Loud. Thud.
"Oh by Frey are you alright?!" Phoebe said in alarm, still holding Ru's arm.
Luckily for Phoebe, Hotaru is well-prepared. The midwife may underestimate her strength, but as the trainer - and the one being thrown - Hotaru does not make the same mistake. Though she lands loudly, flipped with no small amount of strength, she pockets her fall with a blanket of air that disrupts the sand more than her own body. She also curls properly to minimize the damage, tucking chin to chest. But it still knocks the air out of her, entire body reverberating with the throw - it’s a great follow through.
Phoebe’s startled cry makes her laugh, though it takes a moment for the sound to be heard with how she’s still a little winded. Lifting her free arm, she pats Phoebe’s hands where they grip her forearm, aiming for comforting. “I’m okay, I’m sure I didn’t even bruise with the sand. You did fantastic. How did it feel? Any clunky bits?” Meanwhile she holds out her hand, silently asking for Phoebe to help her up.
through her, in a rush of musk and saffron beauty falls into disarray
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
