Fire & Brimstone

[Dragon]

(September 4th, open to all taking Dragon's class.)

The female gave a loud roar. It signaled the start of the sparring. There was no instruction beyond the papers they'd received that a dragon would be teaching the defense class. She would critique them after the mini session she was having with them. There were no teams, no speeches. There was just a dragon. Her. A female who ignored the pains in her heart and mind. She curled her maw as she dipped her head towards the students.

Heaven help anyone who was late. She might accidentally take them out.

She flapped her wings behind her, her eyes narrowed, teeth sparkling before them. She wouldn't kill them obviously and she wouldn't injure them. She might rough them up a bit but nothing intense. And there'd be no fire. Not today.

After all, she thought, it was just the first class of the year.

[Astrid]

Oh, this was going to go well.

The fact that it was a sparring class was no problem at all for Astrid. The fact that it was taught by a dragon had barely caused her to raise an eyebrow. Even the fact that she was expected to train hand-to-hand instead of with her axe didn't bother the viking girl.

What bothered her was that, as this was a class, they were all still in uniform. Trying to fight with all this loose fabric flapping about could only end in disaster.

She'd tucked the end of her tie into her shirt to make it less of a target for an opponent to grab, but Astrid was well aware this wouldn't stop anyone who was determined enough to use it against her. Not to mention the shirt itself was loose enough everywhere besides the collar that it would be incredibly easy for the fabric to get caught on something.

Still, she had signed up for this class, so Astrid was determined to do her best, in spite of the uniform's many drawbacks. If her opponent did try to use her tie to choke her, Astrid swore she would make them regret that choice of attack.

She glanced around out of the corner of her eye, noticing a ginger girl her own age, a younger black-haired girl and a small spotted dog also each seeking a sparring partner, amongst others; the class must have been a fairly popular one. The blonde girl quickly turned her attention to the opponent who had picked her out as a sparring partner. Astrid was poised with her arms raised defensively, anticipating them to throw the first attack; from there, she would be able to launch her own merciless counter-assault.

(ooc: Astrid can be fighting anyone; Anna, Vanellope and Patch are all here and open for sparring partners, too, because I figured they'd all see the value of this class)

[Deleted]

Tafftya had been looking forward to a self-denfense class for awhile. Maybe it was because she actually wanted to learn how to defense herself. She may have talked a big game in Sugar Rush, but now she had a chance to prove it. She didn't even bother to take out the lollipop she had been saving for class. This class didn't even require sweets. It required brute force and skill. Skill was something that she had always had as a racer. Now she could have it as a fighter.

Her blue eyes glanced around the room, there was Vanellope, that stupid glitch, and a few other kids, and a dog. The doors opened agains to reveal three other students. A girl who walked with an aura that made her seem like she was the most powerful, her hair bright as flames. A boy with snow white hair and blue eyes one of her own circle, and a very tiny tiny girl with pink hair and pink eyes. She was the most nervous of the three. The flame girl seemed pumped up, while the white haired boy looked around for a sparing partner.

(ooc: Tafftya, Sunset, Jack and Arietta can fight anyone)

[Dragon]

Dragon lifted her head towards the group, letting out another roar before coughing and actually speaking. Something she usually didn't do but in this case instruction was needed. "Anyone who doesn't have a partner," came her bellowing voice, "Fight me. You need to learn to defend yourselves against something bigger than you so you can defend something smaller with ease." She batted her large eyes to get the arena's dust out of her lashes before she crashed on her four feet, teeth flashing in an annoyed manner in their direction.

Hopefully one would take the bait. That way she could teach them that fighting each other was NOT going to be as easy as they thought.

[Elsa]

This was a bad idea if ever Elsa had seen one.

She had signed on for the class hoping for an environment more closely related to that of something she would learn back home from an instructor, and what she had gotten was a class being taught by a dragon and involving actually taking on the other students. This really wasn't going to go over well, especially since they all were still in uniform to her knowledge. Elsa almost wished she had followed her instinct and hid out in the dorms instead of going to class. However, it was too late to go back. The princess needed to actually throw her weight around with the other students and deal with the consequences of it.

A quick glance around the area revealed her opponent choices, and none were necessarily pleasant. She thought she had caught a glimpse of her sister, but ultimately she brushed it off and decided it was merely the stress of the class playing with her mind. There was a spotted dog, a girl who had to be at least half her age with black hair, a blonde who looked about Anna's age, another little girl, a girl with pink hair, and...

Elsa's gaze strayed to Sunset Shimmer, and for a moment she found herself just kind of staring as she fidgeted with her gloves. Even in combat class, Elsa refused to take the gloves off. Revealing her powers here and now would have ended her, she was absolutely certain. So, Elsa had to make due with actual combat maneuvers instead of relying on powers she'd been born with.

Their eyes had met, she was certain. Now all that needed to happen was for Sunset to make the first move.

---

Vitani, on the other hand, found no interest in any of the remaining opponents. The cub was more interested in taking on their professor, and so she rushed past everyone else and approached Dragon. Claws slid out into view and she growled, tail lashing from side to side as a determined look formed on her face. If no one else was going to take on the dragon, Vitani would. She'd prove to them that her size didn't matter and that she could handle anything thrown her way.

"I'll fight you," Vitani stated proudly.

---

Angel, on the other hand, wasn't so sure of what was going to happen. She had spotted Patch nearby and, undoubtedly, was wishing another canine would spar with her. The problem was that the little dalmatian was more or less her friend by that point. How would he even feel about going up against her? For that matter, what defenses did Patch even have? He was a house dog, if nothing else, and Angel had the advantage of getting into scrapes long before she'd met Patch. Therefore, the fluffy mixed breed knew more or less how to handle herself in a fighting situation. She could only hope that Patch had some knowledge of his own.

So, Angel padded forward to meet Patch. The intent should have been obvious enough, as it was a combat class, but she wouldn't make the first move. Not against Patch, anyway. Even if the saying dictated that ladies ought to go first, she wanted to see what Patch would do against her as she dropped into a defensive position and waited.

[Sunset Shimmer]

Indeed their eyes had met, for a moment Sunset scaled the girl's looks as if trying to decide the real power she had. Shrugging her shoulders, the fire circle girl sighed and approached the blonde. The water circle member looked extremely nervous. Sunset glanced at the gloves on her hands and raised an eyebrow.

"You lookin' for a partner?" she asked. "I'll fight you."

---
It had been Jack who had almost wanted to approach Elsa when she arrived, however, he knew how nervous she was going to be in this class. It was probably better that they put distance between each other. His blue eyes scaled the room, and came across a fairly red hair, was it red? It was hard to tell, but she seemed much more...energetic. Just what he needed. "Hey." he said coming up to Anna. "Wanna pair up?"

---
Arietta was in no position to fight the dragon. She had been raised by animals, no way could she fight one. Pink eyes came across a very intemidating looking girl with blonde hair. It beat fighting someone that was younger than her. Trying to muster up the bravery to approach, that's what Arietta did. "Um, do you want a partner?" she asked.

[Elsa]

"I... Yes. Yes, I am looking for an opponent," Elsa answered. This didn't stop her from fidgeting with her hands, though. Fingers brushed against the sides of her gloves and her brows creased slightly with concern for what would happen. Elsa had never tried to fight anyone before, and with the prospect of potentially going up against anyone in combat she almost wished she could just go back to Arendelle and forget about completing the educational part of the school. Now, though, the princess had to actually put up with going up against someone in a sparring match.

A nervous breath escaped her and she shuddered a little. Maybe, if she was lucky, Sunset wouldn't notice her fear. But who was she kidding? Elsa's fear was practically coming off of her in waves and it was a miracle her powers weren't reacting to her fear for the moment. Perhaps she was lucky and the gloves were finally concealing her power completely. Whatever was happening, though, Elsa wasn't going to make the first move. She'd let Sunset start them off.

[Patch]

"Oh, hi, Angel," Patch's tail waved back and forth in happiness at seeing his newest friend. Though it wouldn't be fair to say that he'd fallen head-over-paws for her, the dal was undeniably smitten by the female's attractive looks, and the fact that she was approaching him again had to be a good thing in Patch's book. Then again, he was the only other canine present that he could see, so that might have been Angel's only reason for approaching him. Even in spite of the fact that this was a combat class and would have to fight, Patch was glad to see her anyway; the spotted pup figured he would still rather spar with someone he knew than someone he didn't. They weren't going to hurt each other after all, that he was fairly sure of; he saw his siblings play-wrestling all the time at home, and while this was a bit more serious, he couldn't imagine it getting too rough.

"Looks like we're sparring partners," he offered, lowering himself into a perparatory crouch the way he'd seen Ol' Thunder do a million times before... then paused to throw the end of his tie over his shoulder to keep it from beneath his paws, before returning to his position. Tripping himself on it during this class, not only in front of Angel but everyone else too, would have been the height of embarassment.

Angel looked as if she was on the defensive already, so Patch didn't hesitate a moment longer; the dal leapt forward, forepaws outstretched to bowl Angel over in what he hoped was a fairly good imitation of the One-of-a-Kind Wonderdog.

---

Elsa was in this class? Catching the sound of her sister's voice, Anna had almost turned to look for the older girl, before realising she was being addressed by someone else and had hastily faced him instead. A white-haired youth - who, by the sparkle in his blue eyes, Anna pegged as something of a mischief-maker - was asking to partner with her. Internally, Anna shrugged; it probably wasn't the best time to approach Elsa even if she was here, so why not?

"Okay, sure," she agreed aimiably, glad for an excuse not to have to join the - small - number taking on the dragon at the front of the class. She knew a bit of self-defense to use against people - and could throw a wicked punch when she wanted to - but taking on animals of any kind was a bit out of her league. "I've trained in self-defense a little, but I've never gone against someone else before," she explained/warned the boy as she shrugged out of her uniform jacket for freedom of movement - even though it left her tie hanging free; was that a bad idea in this class? Once she had deposited the jacket out of the way, Anna raised her arms, fully prepared to throw the first punch as soon as Jack let her know he was ready.

---

"Go for it." Astrid wasn't one to waste time, especially not when it came to combat. The girl's hair colour might have raised her eyebrows, but the viking warrior wasn't inclined to comment; as she had once told Hiccup, for the most part she didn't care what people did, and if Arietta wanted strangely-coloured hair, that was her business. Astrid adjusted her position slightly - keeping on her toes, ready to move as soon as her new opponent threw an attack - while she waited for the other girl to get herself together and make the first move.

[Deleted]

Jack smiled, relieved that she hadn't turned him away. The girl seemed just as eager as he was to get started. It was hand to hand right? That meant he didn't need to use his staff. The winter spirit had never dealt with anything like combat without his staff. It would be interesting to say the least. "I haven't had much experience with hand-to-hand combat. I would much rather fight someone my own age than a giant dragon." He laughed uneasily before flying over to a safe spot to put his staff and returned to Anna.

He got into a well-positioned pose that he had seen the other guardians do when they had fought. This couldn't be too hard. "Alright, show me what you got."

---
Arietta nodded with a tiny smile. She got into a fighting position, though the earth circle girl was better with magic and had little skill in fighting hand to hand. She would have to learn the right way. She couldn't afford to show weakness come the fights tomorrow morning, if she was chosen. Her eyes narrowed as she aimed a kick at Astrid's stomach.

---
Sunset looked at Elsa, wondering if she could actually fight her. The water circle girl looked like she wanted to run away right now. Sighing with disgust, the girl got into a position. "If you don't look more serious about this,then you are going down in one hit." she said, eyes narrowed in an attempt to get the girl fighting. There would be no use to fighting an opponent that wouldn't fight back. If looks could kill then this would be a time for anyone to back down. Even if it wasn't the true fights, Sunset Shimmer was serious.

No one was going to beat her. Not at anything.

[Anna]

"Okay, watch out!" With nothing further in the way of warning, Anna flung a forceful punch at Jack's head. Actually, she had probably put far too much force behind it; the princess' only 'sparring partners' back home had been suits of armour, which could take much more battering than an avergae human. If Jack didn't react quickly enough, her first would connect very solidly with his jaw; if he did move out of the way, Anna's momentum would pitch her clumsily off her feet altogether.

---

Astrid wasn't sure, but she had a suspicion that this girl was going to be a bit of a pushover. For a fighter with her experience, it was very plain that said experience was something Arietta was definitely lacking. Her movements were amateurish, betraying her intent long before she reached the point where the blow would land... the viking girl almost wished she'd chosen a more capable opponent, but it was too late to back out now.

Arietta's foot didn't even make contact. As soon as she had struck, Astrid had pulled to one side, dropped to a crouch, and lashed out in a kick of her own that was intended to sweep Arietta's legs straight out from under her and deposite the pink-haired girl roughly to the ground.

[Deleted]

Jack was not expecting such force to come from the small girl. In fact, he didn't even have time to react to the punch. So, her punch had hit him right in the jaw. It sent him staggering holding his jaw. "Ow." he muttered, rubbing his jaw. No blood, and it wasn't broken so maybe it was okay. Maybe having his staff with him wouldn't be a bad idea, at least then he could freeze the sore.

Rubbing his check once more, he cracked his knuckles before stepping back to the girl. "Not bad." he muttered. "You sure that this isn't your first time fighting someone your own age?" he asked, before aiming a kick hoping to knock Anna off her feet. It had a little less force than Anna's fist but enough to seem strong.

---
Arietta was expecting as much, after all magic was more of her area. So, when she ended up on the floor the girl was not surprised that the fire circle girl had experience. This was a class to learn right? Her pink eyes glanced over to see the flame haired girl looking at a very regal looking water circle member. At least Arietta wasn't fighting her. Forcing herself to her feet again, Arietta focused on Astrid, trying to think of the best strategy to at least knock the girl down.

[Anna]

"Oh, I'm sorry! I mean," she caught herself quickly, "I did warn you," she pointed out, trying to sound moderately regal. This was a combat class; she couldn't be apologising every time she landed a successful hit. And besides, as much as she regretted hurting the boy, Anna was secretly relieved that her punch had connected; she would have looked quite a fool if she'd not only missed, but pitched herself completely off her feet into the bargain.

"Well, I've-" she began to answer, and then abruptly found her legs flying out from under her. The floor rushed up to meet her, and Anna found herself landing flat on her back hard enough to rattle her teeth.

"Oof." The princess gave a slight groan as she sat up, rubbing her back. "I used to practice against the suits of armour about the castle. And they don't usually hit back," she added ruefully, clambering back to her feet and taking a moment to dust her uniform off. As soon as that was done, however, Anna threw another punch, this one towards Jack's shoulder.

---

Astrid didn't try to hide her smirk as Arietta hit the ground. It wasn't that she liked inflicting pain, although that did have it's place; but rather that she liked proving her superiority. Until Hiccup had come along, she'd been the best in dragon training - and even after that, she had still been the best fighter, technically speaking - so while she could never exactly be called cocky, Astrid did enjoy the chance to demonstrate that she was still just as good.

In a real fight, she would have pressed the attack while Arietta was down - anyone who waited for an opponent to get up again first was a fool - but since this was just training, Astrid figured she should go a little easier on the girl. Maybe. As soon as Arietta was up again, though, Astrid through another kick; this one towards her opponent's chest. Even if she didn't put as much force behind the blow as she normally would, Astrid was still wearing her tough viking boots - the uniform dress code said nothing about footwear - so it would still pack quite a punch unless the other girl had a surprise up her sleeve.

[Deleted]

Jack was expecting the punch, the white haired boy dodged it easily. He grabbed her wrist before attempting to flip her over. He wasn't very strong but he wanted to be sure that he could handle himself. But in a way, he was trying to be careful to not freeze her either. Despite looking human, Jack knew that his skin was colder than most. He didn't want to startle Anna into thinking he was a walking snowman. "Suits of armor huh?" he commented. "Sounds impressive. I bet you were a real Joan of Arc."

[Anna]

Jack might not have been very strong - but neither was Anna very heavy. She registered the grasp of his cold hand just below her shirt cuff, but had no real time to react before she found her feet leaving the ground again as she was suddenly flipped into the air. Her wrist was wrenched from the boy's grasp, and Anna only just managed to fling both arms out in front of her to break her fall and keep from being deposited flat on her face. Pushing herself up off the ground, Anna wheeled to face her sparring partner once again. In spite of almost becoming closely aquainted with the floor twice now, the princess was actually starting to enjoy herself here.

"Well, I didn't have anyone else around to spar with," she explained with a shrug, rolling her shoulders as she contemplated her next move. "So this is all pretty new to me," she added, indicating that she meant sparring with a living partner. The mention of Joan of Arc made her smile a bit; even if she wouldn't compare herself to the warrior woman, Joan's portrait had been one of her favourite companions back during her phase of talking to the pictures on the castle walls.

"I guess you've got some experience at this sort of thing too?" she enquired. Admittedly, given her own tendencies towards clumsiness, getting her off her feet - even twice in a row - wasn't necessarily a huge achievement, but she assumed Jack at least had some idea of what he was doing in combat like this.

[Deleted]

Jack was surprised that he had actually lifted her off the ground, and maybe it was his overconfidence but he simply had forgotten that Anna could fight back and stumbled a bit, feeling pain enter his shoulder. "Uh sort of, its a long story but i don't think you would believe me." he said smiling. "Most people don't." He glanced around the room at the other students who were fighting. So far, the flame haired girl had done nothing but wait for Elsa. Maybe she wanted to see what the girl would do?

---
Arietta was quicker this time to draw away from the kick aiming for her and rolled out of the way before kicking out under Astrid's feet. She wasn't sure why but her heart beat was racing faster and faster. She had never felt this rush before? Was this what knights experienced? A smile formed on her face as pink hair flowed behind her as she moved. Arietta was not afraid to admit that it was kind of fun and exciting.