Autumnal Melee

Beacon's training arena is set to the standard configuration, the floor flat and level. Within, practiced movements smoothly guide a lengthy blade through a set of familiar forms before the wielder and blade are suddenly flying and cutting through the air. After four flying cuts, wielder and blade return to ground level with a horizontal slash. "Better..." Lí mutters, having been working on perfecting the form for some time. A moment later, he returns to a neutral stance, Fenghuang held over his head with his dominant hand on the hilt and his off hand supporting the blade. Taking a few breaths, he prepares to move through the form once more.

"Hide from the Chef, hide from the Chef, hide from the knife wielding Chef... And I've lost 'im... Jaysus, thank you..." Mark muttered, quiet as he could, as he entered the Campus Arena. He used a back door, off near the left most side of the main stage area. Why? Well, apparently the schools cafeteria personal don't like it when you steal food (Just an apple...), then complain like a little shite after getting caught. They also, apparently, sick the large, meat-preparation guy after you... Scary bunch of cooks, ain't they?

With a relative sense of safety easing its way into Marks mind and body, he slowly made his way into the spacious, open Arena. The place was set up rather plainly, with the sparring stage simple, even and flat. It was only after passing a podium set off to the side of the stage, that Mark saw he wasn't alone. Unmistakably (kind of), Mark was certain (again, sort of) that before him was Li, practicing his combat craft with speed and expertise comparable to a master, who only ever trained to excel his already deadly art. Mark took a few steps, and posted up near the side of the stage, out of sight, and merely watched. "Huh... Care to share what the air did to incur your wrath, this time?" Mark said, completely in jest.

The brown haired man had walked through a side door into the campus arena, going about his rounds as he checked the grounds and buildings. It wasn't something that was requested of him but he felt that this made the academy safer, for students and teachers alike. And so, on his rounds, upon stepping into the building that housed the sparing area for students to practice in, he saw a young man, or woman, he could not tell from this distance. But he noticed someone had decided to take time out of their scheduel to practice a bit.

Ashland couldn't but smile lightly, remembering how it brother had trained constantly before leaving him and their father behind to live his dream. He found himself leaning against the wall near the door to continue watching from afar for a bit longer before he noticed another student enter from the other end of the room. He watched the other man and found himself chuckling lightly at the comment he gave the other student who had been training.

"Just practicing forms, Mark," Lí says in response to the other man's jesting. "Perhaps you and our other guest could join me in a spar?" he suggests, voice rising slightly with his challenge. "Hunting Grimm and facing other people are vastly different, wouldn't you agree?" he adds, quirking a brow as well.

"You've got a point, there. I've never had to fill a man with more than one bullet to put 'im down." Mark said, nodding his head a bit as he walked around the sparing arena, entering Li's field of vision. "Beowolves, or an Ursa on the other hand... Those big bastards can take a few hits, Hah-hah... You remember Initiation? First year? Ran out of ammo the first two hours...."

Mark stopped then, hands in his pockets, and turned to look up at Li on the arena stage. "A Spar doesn't seem too bad of an idea, I need the exercise; been sittin' around, eatin' for too long." That, and I need an alibi, just in case that angry Chef comes back around. In one quick motion, he crouched down, then sprung up, jumping onto the raised arena in one leap, arms spread out to apply balance. "I'm surprised, though... I didn't think you'd ask, thought you'd prefer a private session." Mark slipped his hands into his pockets again, and began stepping around the rim of the arena.

Ashland felt a little taken back at realizing that the student in the area had noticed him. He wondered how, he barely even made a sound upon entering. But, he did notice that the other student had yet to take notice of him, which he found a little amusing. He decided to stay put, the student had wanted him to join in on a spar but he wasn't up to it.

"I remember almost running out of Dust for Fenghuang," Lí says in response to Mark's reminiscing. "In response to your other question, I know that you at least tolerate me, and I've been falling out of practice, lately. Going through forms, while undoubtedly beneficial, is simply no substitute for the actual thing..." Resting Fenghuang on his shoulder, Lí turns to the entryway that he noticed opening earlier to see Ashland standing against a nearby wall. "Why don't you come join us, Mr. Kennedy?" he asks, his voice in an inviting tone.

Nodding in agreement at Li's statement of practice with an actual person, Mark still takes slow steps along the arena rim. "I wouldn't just say I tolerate you, man." Mark says, stopping his trek of the arena's ring side, and standing in place behind Li, slightly off to the right. "A bit more than that, maybe. We went to Signal; four years each, yeah? Now we're at Beacon, same year, same class. I believe you're a good guy... Spoke up a bit more, we could'a been friends.

Mark swiveled his head off to the side, following Li's line of sight, and catches a glimpse of, whom he assumed, was Mr. Kennedy. "Oy! Cut the shadow lurker act, man, I can see you!... We can both see you!"

Ashland blinked at both their comments towards him and found himself chuckling a little at the remark of him being a shadow lurker. If he was one, then that meant he was doing his job. But, he was also a little surprised that one of them actually knew him name. He wasn't one to be spoke of in a normal conversation, being that he was only a guard at the academy. But, after he took a breath, he took the stairs that led him down towards the area.

He smiled lightly, stoping at the edge of the ring, "I'd feel more comfortable if you'd call me Ashland" he laughed a little awkwardly, "I'm not much older than you guys, so it'd be a favor to me really" he trailed off.

"Very well, Ashland," Lí says, before turning back to briefly face Mark. "Are there any stipulations either of you feel we should discuss before we begin?" he asks, glancing between the two.

(Is Ashland still under the impression Lí is female? Mark's address towards him seems rather typical of the character regardless of the gender of his conversation partner...)

"As long as ya don't accidently run me through with your sword, I'm fine." Mark says, again in a jesting manner, pulling his hands from his pockets. "Other than that, I say free for all, eh? Hah-Hah! Have some real fun. Full use of weapons, semblances, the whole nine yards..." With that said, Mark gave his shoulders a bit of a roll, mecha-shifting both his arms into their thicker, armored, more robotic looking combat forms. Once they'd finished their transformations, on both arm biceps, labels clearly read "E.R." on the left, and "Morgue" on the right.

"How 'bout you, Ashland. Anything you wanna add?" Mark asked, twisting his wrists and bending his elbows, the gears and mini-pistons under all the plating giving off cranks and whirring noises.

Ashland quietly took a breath before hoisting himself up onto the arena, dusting himself off a little, "Well, I don't really think I can use Gemini. A gun against a sword, even in practice, is a little unfair." he put in. He gave a quick glance to Li and scratched the back of his head, looking away, "I...also don't feel...comfortable with fighting a girl..." he trailed.

(does that answer your question, Wei?)

(Indeed it does.)

--

Lí adopts a mildly patronizing smile before shifting into his neutral combat stance. "I assure you, Ashland, I am not some helpless little girl. I expect you to come at us both with everything you have if you are to participate in this spar. That means you'll use any firearms you have against me, too," Lí challenges, patronizing smile turning to a confident smirk. "I do hope this will be a beautiful fight, though..." he adds, glancing back and forth between Mark and Ashland.

"Alright, alright... We're in business, then?" Mark asked, a grin fully formed on his face, already beginning to bounce on the balls of his feet. While bouncing, Mark began throwing punches, much like a shadow boxer; each strike at the air causing his arms' gears to whiz and whir. "Don't be afraid to use guns, Ashland; I know I won't." Mark stopped the shadow boxing and bouncing, opting instead, then, to take up a loose boxers stance, moving his up-held fists in slight circles, clearly ready to go.

Ashland found himself shifting unconfortably at Li's statement and looking at his feet. He forced himself to focus and looked up at the two of them before shifting his attention to Li, "I never said that you were helpless" he sighed before reaching up once more to stratch the back of his head. He took a breath and turned his attention to Mark, to seemed ready to go.

He found himself nodding to the two of them, deciding that if they felt up to it, he would use his firearm. He would have to be careful with his shots though, wouldn't want to send anyone to the clinic. Course, these were also students and he had never really been taught, so they could possibly be better than he was. He hoped he could keep up with them. "Alright, I'm game, I guess."

"Excellent," Lí says, voice lilting slightly with a mild growl. His eyes flicker to Mark, then he shifts, hair whipping behind him as he speeds past Ashland's side. Rather than trying to take the opportunity to strike, he allows himself to carry on until he has an appreciable distance between himself and the guard, with said man between himself and Mark. He shifts again to slow himself, and returns to his neutral stance, ready to move into a more offensive or defensive posture as needed.

"Whoa!" Mark, caught off guard by Li's speed, whips his head in the direction of his opponent. Well, both opponents, now that Li was behind Ashland. Then a nasty idea came to him. Focusing his aura, Mark poured the ethereal energy into his throat and vocal chords. "You wanna start this off properly, you kick it off...." Mark suddenly surged forward, taking a single step, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "With a BANG!" The focused, concussive aura blast left Mark's being, roaring through his throat, rippling through the air as an expanding, blue-grey shockwave, bearing down on both opponents. One use down, four more to go.

Ashland glanced as Li passed him and then turned to look to Mark but didn't have much of a chance when he felt something powerful push against him. It was almost like the force he shoots from his gauntlet. When he did realize what was happening, he found himself off balanced and then thrown forward.

He however did not realize that there was someone before him and thus found himself crashing into the other student face first. Before he even knew it, he found himself getting on his hands and feet, looking down to see Li's face not two inches from his. Ashland blinked a few times, not clearly registering what had happened.

Lí blinks for a few moments, before remarking, "Sorry, not interested." He then releases Fenghuang from his hand and shifts to slide out from under Ashland between the man's legs, quickly shifting again to right himself after he's clear. Once upright, he shoots a glare at Mark, not saying anything further.

Catching Li's glare, Mark responds with a cheeky grin of his own, splaying his hands out to the sides in a "what?" sort of way. "What's the matter, Li? You got that whole "Personal Space" thing goin'? Thought you wouldn't mind gettin' close..." he says, exchanging looks between Li and the still downed Ashland, grin ever present. "Ash! Come on, man, stand up!" Mark didn't know if he could simply call Ashland "Ash", but hey, what was one more poke after knocking the two together?

Ashland finally realized the situation when he heard Li speak and then found himself root to the spot as Li started to move out from under him in an embarrassing fashion, causing a blush to shade his cheeks. Even when he was sure Li and moved away from him, he found himself unable to move from the shock of what had just occured. He barely even register what was being said behind him until he heard Mark call out to him.

He pushed himself up onto his feet and dusted himself off before turning to the two behind him, unleashing a glare upon the larger of the two, "I would appricate it if you'd refrain from calling me that" he muttered loud enough for the two to hear him. He then reached up and pulled out Gemini from it's holster under his right arm, then reaching into the pack around his left leg, pulling out a black magazine with a yellow jagged stripe going down it. He flicked a switch and the current magainze that was in the gun slid out, landing in his hand as he slid the yellow lined one into it.

He then put away the other magazine into the pack before pulling back on the barrel to load it. He then flipped the safety off and turned his attention back to the other two, focusing on Mark. "Alright, let's get started" he smirked.

Lí has enough presence of mind, even in his discomforted anger, to ensure he has his weapon before trying to take on Mark. He shifts to Fenghuang's location, quickly grabbing the hilt of the blade before straightening up and facing about to return to glaring at Mark. He adopts a more offensive stance, much of the hilt resting against his forearm to support the length of the blade as he keeps it pointed at his adversary. The pommel extends beyond his elbow, allowing him the means for combat in extremely close quarters.

Oooh, shit... They're looking at me like they caught me holding both their mums in a sweet embrace... Maybe I should stop pushin' buttons.... NAH! I still got a few more to press!

With a devilish, fight-hungry grin plastered on his face, Mark puts both his arms into another mecha-shift phase; the right taking on the form of a triple barreled Gatling gun, and his left having its fist shifted, splitting down the middle, only for a two foot claw-like blade to spring out with a harsh *shingk!*. Letting out a roar of pure adrenaline, Mark takes off sprinting toward Li, while aiming his right arm Gatling at Ashland. As he sprints, Mark fires several rounds at Ashland, and once he's close enough, Mark does an aura assisted jump, drawing back his left arm for a powerful downward slashing stab at Li.

Upon seeing one of Mark's metal arms turn into a gattling gun, Ashland knew that he would have to rely on his semblance against it. He had not wanted to use it right off the bat in the battle but he realized that if he is to dodge effectively, he would have to call upon it. And so, he got his body ready and tapped into his clairvoyance, his eyes starting to glow a whitish red as he began to see the world a few seconds ahead of him.

When the bullets came, he moved his body ahead of them with his added sight and raised his gun toward Mark, letting his sight fade away, his eyes turning back to normal as he fired the first shot. He felt that he should keep his distance for now, he didn't want to accidently get Li with his gauntlet, both the claws and power pulses. So he hung back, looking for an opening.

Lí watches Mark take to the air, and his glare melts into a smirk. He shifts skyward, holding the flat of Fenghuang's blade before him as he soars towards his adversary. He quickly notices Ashland taking aim, and projects a sloped ice barrier to intercept or redirect the shot towards the ground just before it's fired. The motion he puts Fenghuang through places the pommel in the lead position to strike Mark, headed for the young man's solar plexus.

The sound of Ashland's gun firing was a brief distraction, with Mark looking in time to see an... Ice barrier? Block a single bullet. This moment of distraction was costly. Flashing pain lit up in Mark's eyes, his right even went blurry, his stomach clenching and a bit of stinging bile rising into his throat as Li's strike connected with his un-armored abdomen, this in turn caused his downward strike to miss Li completely, instead going past his head and over his shoulder. Another taste slipped in past the bile, that of iron and salt; his blood, and since when was air so scarce? Shit, last time he was hit this hard was.... Another place, during another time. No rational was in mind as Mark sent a kick toward Li's lower body, trying to separate them, and at the same time use the backward force to run his blade over Li's shoulder.

Lord, the pain from the hit stung, but it should've been more intense. Nerve damage from a previous injury, however, helped lessen the pain, but it was still there. A pump of Aura helped Mark keep his erratic breathing under control, but the blood... He'd have to deal with later.

Ashland blinked a bit at seeing his bullet suddenly loose its momentum as it collided with a wall of ice, which shattered upon impact with the bullet. However, his bullet also lost all force, falling with the shattered ice as he turned his attention back towards Li and Mark to see Mark take a nasty hit to the gut, which appeared to cause quite a bit of pain for the larger of the two.

He found himself grimacing, he almost felt sorry for Mark, almost. But it was a sparing match and Mark kinda asked for it with the stunt he had pulled. Ashland watched the two of them as he decided to continue to wait for an sufficent opening for him to get in close.

Lí positions the flat of Fenghuang between Mark's blade and himself, allowing it to slide off harmlessly as he's pushed away. He falls to the ground, but subtly shifts to lighten the impact, quickly getting up and facing Ashland, stepping to the side so Mark is out of the way. Lí flips Fenghuang to a reverse grip and stabs the point into the ground, sending a line of ice toward Ashland, priming it to explode violently once it reaches the man.

Some spittle and blood dribbled out of Mark's mouth as he descended, faster than he thought, and hit the ground. It was by no means a soft landing, ending with Mark landing on his feet, and tumbling backward, doing a sort of botched roll to lessen the impact. Mid-roll, Mark's Gatling arm smacked against the floor, causing his weapon to fire a single shot... At Li. Hit or not, the bullet had left the barrel.

Vision still blurry as hell, and with his abdomen burning up something fierce, Mark rolled over and planted his bladed arm into the arena floor, using it to assist in pushing himself up.

Ashland watched the two land, Li landing almost gracefully and Mark, not so gracefully. But when he took a glance at Li, he found that Li had turned towards him and sent an line of ice towards him. He was surprised by the switch of target, he had thought the two of them would have had an unspoken truce after what happened. But it seems that Li thought otherwise and Ashland shook his head, focusing once more onto the battle. He tried to move out of the way of the ice and at the last minute jumped to the side, the ice exploding behind him.

He rolled across the ground and pushed himself into a kneeling position, bring up his gun, aiming towards Li. He narrowed his eyes and fired off three shots before getting to his feet. He pushed off the ground and sprinted towards Li after his bullets, shifting his thumb on his gauntlet to charge up the dust at the palm of his hand.