Dueling Shadows [Vigilant Shadows Members]

[Wicked Basket]

Jacob stood absolutely still in contrast to the energetic and bouncy Kenneth. Jacob sighed on the inside as the younger ranger launched a random, uncoordinated attack. The moment Kenneth reached him, Jacob teleported to the boy's left and gave him a shove.

"I could have ended this just now," Jacob said coldly. "Consider this a second chance."

[GoblinFae]

The young ranger stumbled forward, catching himself quickly even as he turned red from embarrassment. That certainly was not how he had intended the fight to begin. He nodded in response but chose to save his efforts for fighting rather than wordplay.

Reigning in his energy, Kenneth quickly switched from offense to defense as he awaited Jacob's next move. 'Not the brightest opening move in the history of opening moves there, Kenny-boy. Definitely not impressing anyone with that!'

[Wicked Basket]

Jacob eyed his opponent. Kenneth was waiting for him to make a move. Very well. Jacob left his ready stance and began slowly circling Kenneth. Jacob's muscles would occasionally tense and then relax, toying with the young ranger's mind.

Then, he attacked. One moment he was staring Kenneth down and the next he was launching a punch towards Kenneth's stomach which would be followed by attempting to sweep the boy's legs out from under him. If that succeeded, then Jacob would kick him before he even hit the ground after being tripped and send him a good distance backwards.

[Zero]

Tesha chuckled softly at Atlas' statement. Well, it wasn't outside the realm of possibility, but she wasn't about to hold her breath. Maybe that said something sad about her. "Alright, well let's go, unless you want to watch Vari beat the snot out of Kent."

[GoblinFae]

The punch landed perfectly, causing Kenneth to double over and wheeze in pain even as his feet were sweeper out from underneath him. The final kick did not land as planned though as he rolled to the side some and used his hands to push himself further to the side and away from Jacob. He still slid back some as he landed in a crouch position though not as far as his opponent would have wanted.

Barely taking a second to breathe, the young ranger charged for the man'a muddle before attempting to feint at the last moment and pull back to slide and sweep. It was a risky move but would put him at a bit of an advantage if he could manage to pull it off.

[Wicked Basket]

As the younger ranger charged at him Jacob merely teleported behind him again. However, he did not follow up on it.

"Being a Shadow Ranger grants you several unique abilities," he said flatly. "Charging at me like that is not the only tactic available to you."

Again, he could have easily ended it right then, but this could be a learning experience for the youngling. It was the responsibility of the more experienced to teach the young. Kenneth had much to learn, and there was no time like the present to start. Besides, it was much safer learning in an environment like this than trying to learn in a real life or death situation.

[GoblinFae]

Kenneth growled slightly, feeling like a fool before calming himself just enough to tune Jacob out and think. He was a skilled fighter but like any young Ranger still had things to learn. A glance in Tesha's direction sent his blood racing in ways not even the fight could and suddenly he was blinking in and out of existence rapidly, pinging himself from place to place around the ring in hopes of confusing his opponent even as he moved behind and in front of Jacob without striking, waiting for the right opportunity as he built up speed.

[Wicked Basket]

Jacob stood motionless as Kenneth was suddenly everywhere and nowhere all at the same time. The boy was trying to confuse him. Jacob decided to employ and fun little trick of his own and vanished, but he didn't come back. Jacob had teleported himself high up into the air. While he was indeed falling, Kenneth would hopefully stop and wonder where he went before he struck the ground. As long as Kenneth didn't look up, the plan should work quite well.

[GoblinFae]

Unfortunately for his opponent, Kenneth was wise to that particular move as it was one of his Aunt's favorites and therefore one he had suffered the outcome of far too many times to forget it now. A glance upwards revealed Jacob's near-perfect plan moments before the younger ranger was able to move to foil it.

Blinking in and out a few more times on the ground in hopes of tricking Jacob into a false sense of security, Kenneth finally launched himself through the shadows and into where he guessed his opponent's trajectory would have him at the moment of impact. His intention was to force Jacob to the ground with his own shoulder in the other man's stomach that would at the very least would stun him and possibly even wind him.

[Wicked Basket]

Unfortunately for Kenneth, Jacob suspected that Kenneth's impulsive nature would cause him to go after him, so it wasn't too much of a surprise when the young ranger did just that. Jacob caught Kenneth by the shoulders before impact and teleported the both of them to the ground. Kenneth would then find himself in a headlock and an armbar at the same time, completely restricting his movement.

"Do you concede," Jacob asked.

[GoblinFae]

Kenneth groaned and struggled fiercely despite knowing he was had. "Can't you knock me out or something," he protested in a whisper, one eye peaking out to see if Tesha was already laughing at him. "I'll never hear the end of it otherwise. At least give me a valiant end," the young ranger continued to plea as he fought and wiggled to overthrow Jacob.

[Wicked Basket]

"Those who go seeking a valiant end usually find it sooner than they would like," Jacob told him. "Do you concede?"

Jacob wasn't going to be letting go of the boy until he admitted defeat. The fact that Kenneth was still struggling and fighting his grip was proof that he was not so easily defeated, not a bad quality to possess. Still, Jacob would prefer that he concede soon for he did not want to have to stand there and hold him like this all day.

[GoblinFae]

"Believe me, it's already ended sooner than I would have wished," he griped as he finally went limp in his elder's arms. "I Kenneth Kent admit defeat" the young man declared in a louder voice even as his expression soured with embarrassment.

[Zane]

Atlas popped his neck with a quick flex on the muscles along the vertebrate. "Seems like the fight is already over, see if you can get him to come. The infirmary might have something for his pride."

---------

Alucard helped the combatants to their feet, "Congratulations Ranger Vari, as the winner of a match, you get to dine at The Moonlit Tonic and Ale for free all day. Courtesy of myself and Old Dimitri." Ushering them off the ring, he opened the match invitation again, "Any other takers?"

[Wicked Basket]

With the match over, Jacob retrieved his things and went off to train by himself like he always did. It was a very rare thing for Jacob to ever show up at The Moonlit Tonic and Ale as he was usually busy training and believed that a Ranger must be alert and prepared at all times. There was no time for leisurely sitting down to eat and drink at some tavern. Sharpening his mind and strengthening his body was more important.

[Zero]

Tesha hadn't needed to worry about not getting to see Kenneth fight after all. It was over so fast that even she had to blink in surprise. Sure, in a hand-to-hand duel she figured that Kent would lose, but so quickly...that was pretty damn funny. She couldn't hold back a snicker as she nodded to Atlas. "He's going to need something for that bruised ego! 'Course I intend to poke and prod it."

With a smirk the silver-haired woman disappeared in shadow only to reappear at Kenneth's side. "C'mon loser, I'm going with Atlas to the infirmary, you should come too. Maybe they'll have some ice for that burn."

[GoblinFae]

Kenneth flinched at his best friend's sudden appearance though he should have accepted it. Surely she was not going to miss the perfect opportunity to rub salt into his wounded pride. With a sullen nod of his head, the young ranger slunk along, shuffling his feet with his eyes lowered as he wove his way back to Atlas. "Let's go before she starts singing my failure," he almost begged the other male in a pleading whisper.

[Zane]

Alucard spoke up again, calling out to Jacob, "Actually, I have had a change of heart. Ranger Vari, Come back to the Dias, I, Master Shadow Alucard Leohalt, challenge you to a duel." He knew, of course, that Jacob would never turn down a duel, so once the ranger was back to the raised arena, he began his quick spiel. "You and I both know that you were pulling your punches. I can only assume that it was because you wanted Ranger Kent to learn something from the experience. However, sometimes pain is a much better teacher, if remains as a reminder that you could have done something better, and it's lingering memory is a motivation to do better. Regardless, I challenged you, so you pick the weapon."

~~~~~

Atlas was beginning to lead them away from the fights and to the infirmary. It was his intention to get there sometime that day. But damn it all if he wasn't going to watch the Master Shadow go to blows, something so few lived to see and tell about later. So naturally, he stopped and turned his eyes towards the Dias.

[Wicked Basket]

Jacob froze when he was challenged by none other than the Master Shadow. He immediately turned around and made his way back to the Dias, dropping things nearby. Alucard was allowing him to pick the weapon used in the duel. However, Jacob was slightly torn. He couldn't turn down a duel, but he couldn't strike his superior either. Suddenly, an idea popped into his.

"You know that I cannot refuse a duel," Jacob told him. "You also know that I would never strike my superior. In order to allow myself a clear conscience, we will use bows."

If Jacob was going to fight his superior whether or not he wanted to, he was going to make it incredibly interesting to see. Two men with bows with only one arrow each. This was its own breed of duel never seen before as far as Jacob knew. He was actually slightly curious to see how it went. Jacob summoned his bow and an arrow from the Shadow Barracks and prepared himself for what was undoubtedly going to be a very tough fight.

[GoblinFae]

"Oy!" Kenneth cried out in shock as he glared daggers at the Shadow Master. His cheeks flamed with embarrassment to be so called out on his poor duel in front of everyone and by the second in command of their whole order on top of it. It certainly did not help that since he had first arrived Alucard had held a near-constant presence in his family home growing up thanks to the birth of the Shadow Master's son Kurtis.

Quite affronted, the shadow ranger turned to his fellow companions. "It wasn't that bad was it? I mean I held my own some right? Tesha don't you dare start laughing!" he quickly added as an after thought, already imagining the jibes dancing on the tip of her tongue.