[Dr. Gustave]

The smell of sweat, dirt and dust was the best way Titania could describe Beacons training and sparring grounds. They were a set of six fields, each a simple expanse of dry dirt, with simple markings on the ground indicating starting positions and the halfway point. She was sure the field would be nothing but a litter of craters in the ground by now if not for the help of Kirkka. She wasn't a fan of the fields herself, much preferring the clean, sleek, indoor arena where she taught her combat classes, but she saw the draw of them. They made it all feel more real.

The feeling of the shifting dirt beneath boots and the taste of kicked up dust in the air brought all of a hunter's senses to the foreground, grounding them in reality and forcing them to pay attention. In truth, she did miss the days when she went out on missions, the days when she could experience that adrenaline rush freely, but she was older now, too old to be going out on hunting missions. Her place was as a guide for the next generation.

She shifted her head slightly to look at Malina, who stood several feet away and who had coiled their tail into something of chair, using it and the simple wooden staff she was holding to lean against. A small smile tugged at Titania's lips as she thought back to her own trainings with the girl and how content she was with how she was turning out.

Not everyone felt the same, of course. After her recent stunt trying to teach children about aura mastery, the infirmary had two cases of severe migraines and one case of a student nearly going comatose. The council, of course, tried to have her removed. Some of the other teachers agreed. If not for Titania's close relationship with Alban, she was sure Malina would have been fired and possibly charged but she thankfully avoided that.

Now she needed to take time off of her own schedule to help show that Malina was capable of properly handling and teaching students, even if she wasn't fond of them. It was frustrating, yes, but Titania had been known to pull several all nighters to complete a project back in her Beacon days, this wasn't so different.

To that end, they were here. All Malina knew was that it was going to be a training exercise. All she was waiting for was her opponent to arrive.

[Zwei Not]

It was far from often that Mrs. Automne requested a student for a training exercise, but it was know that the act could be a sign of something good or bad. Hopefully this meant that she saw potential in him. He was comfortable in his strength, but not complacent. His two time tournament performances were a sign of that. However...

He didn’t know how much she knew.

He had to be careful with Phi around some of the staff; his disputes with Malina were evidence enough. As such, the AI and hardlight generator were left in the care of Caja, who was assisting Budonoki in his own dealings with the LifeWeave company. Keeping them in close proximity to the old man was his best bet for their safety.

However, it felt strange walking down the halls without Phi at his back. Fighting without her was going to be even more of a challenge. As the young man left the locker room, he scanned the outdoor arenas for his instructor... only for his gaze to sour immediately upon sight of Malina Nahualli. An agitated sigh left his lips as he strode toward them; it was too late to back out now.

His unhappy gaze locked on the scorpion tailed girl, Juno joined the two with little in the way of words. Whatever this was, he had a feeling it wasn’t going to end well.

[Dr. Gustave]

Titania only gave a soft smile as she watched her student lock eyes with her former student and nodded in Juno's direction. "Thank you for making time, Juno, I know an extra session can be taxing on an already tight schedule." With that pleasantry out of the way, she moved onto the matter at hand. "You've made it into tournament twice now and making it to the semi-finals once is very impressive on its own, let alone..." She let the thought hang. "It's clear you have potential to be a great hunter," She shot a quick smile toward a Malina that hadn't yet looked back to her, "much like Malina here. That said, you're still rough around the edges, like a mined stone that still needs to be shined and cleaned before it's worth anything."

Titania nodded to the field of dirt and dust. "Today you'll be facing off against Malina in a sparring match- now I know that facing off a full huntress on your own is essentially suicide." She followed quickly before her student could make any remark. "But this isn't a standard sparring match. For Malina's part, she only has that standard sparring staff, her tail, and her semblance. All she'll be doing is defending and trying to avoid your attacks. All you have to do is land as many hits as you can before I call the match."

With the explanation finished, Malina silently stood from her seated position and dug the tip of her tail from the dirt before making her way to one end of the field. Titania watched her go, only briefly, before turning back to Juno. "Any questions?"

[Zwei Not]

Juno’s eyes flicked to the older woman as she explained her reason for having him train with the bitch. As many hits as he could, huh? It wasn’t quantity that mattered so much as quality. All he needed was to get in and stay in. So long as those conditions were met, he could wail as much as he wanted.

”Any questions I have can be saved for afterward.” he simply replied, handing the woman his jacket as he drew his sword. His attention returned to Malina as he strode toward the other side of the arena, his finger hovering over the black trigger as he kept his stride. ”I’m ready whenever.” the young man called as he took his position, his glare focused on Malina as he spoke. All he needed to do was hit her.

How hard could that possibly be?

[Dr. Gustave]

Twin streams of brown dust flowed from beneath Titanias's heavy robes and coalesced beneath her before forming into a rocky seat perfectly curved to the contours of her body. "I expect at least one hit, Juno." She began as she took her seat. "And, Malina, I don't think I have to say what I expect from you." She said as she eyed the girl closely. She had taken a relaxed pose, standing with the wooden staff in her right hand, one end pressed against the earth, and her tail wrapped around to left side so that the tip was already guarding her stomach and chest. Her left hand was already brushed against the clasp of her satchel, ready to unsnap it at any time and reach inside. The stoney expression hadn't cracked but she did notice that the girl stole a glance at Juno's sword. Titania didn't miss her grip tightening around the staff. "You may start whenever you want."

[Zwei Not]

At least one hit, huh? Either Titania was underestimating him, or he was in for a quick lesson from the person causing a third of his problems. Regardless, she wasn’t going to move until he did, that was how this training session was going to work. Land one hit, and he’s golden.

Inhaling deeply, Juno considered his options for an approach. Launching himself at her could be unexpected, but also risky. If she could react, he’d end up halfway across the yard, or with his face planted between the dirt and the bitch’s boot. Dashing up wasn’t the greatest idea either, but a cautious walk was also just unnecessary. He couldn’t strike from range without Phi, either.

He was starting to miss her already.

After his moment of consideration, Juno shook his head, then lunged toward the pseudo-faunus, sword held in his familiar backhand stance. Once he found himself within striking range, the young man let loose with a swift horizontal slash to her chest, mostly to see how she would respond.

[Dr. Gustave]

Titania leaned back into her chair, slipping into the unnaturally comfortable rock as Juno readied himself. She had noted the lack of the shimmering blue companion he usually had-- Phi, as Malina had called her. Her existence was... curious to say the least. She had worked with students that utilized adaptive combat AI assistants before, even on that was able to record the movements and mannerisms of enemies to predict attacks, but they had all been dumb AI. If Malina were to be believed, this was something more, something quite interesting from the bowels of Atlas. She was hoping to see her in action more closely today but that could wait if it needed. For now, she needed to study her clay before she could figure out the final shape.

As she watched him launch forward, she fell into her element. There was little thought in his attack, or so it appeared. Malina was guarded from both sides-- her tail on her left and the staff on the right. Was it a ploy to simply see how she would fight back? Yes, that seemed right.

And yet he chose to attack her more guarded side. Her tail was metal and spined, not to mention she still had her right hand on the clasp of her satchel. And... There it was.

The tail lashed out toward the blade and to the untrained observer, one would be excused for thinking the tail slammed against the sword so hard it sent the boy stumbling backward. But Titania knew better.

She knew Malina, and she knew that bass-y crack. She knew that mere centimeters from can't contact, Malina had launched a blast of energy against only the sword.

Titania couldn't help but smile at the act, that spreading of disinformation was one of the first things she taught the girl. She was made for the psychological side of the fight, had the mind for it and certainly had the behavior for it, but Juno? It was still early to tell.

[Zwei Not]

The resounding, bassy crack was the first thing Juno registered, followed closely by his sword snapping back, having been forcefully repulsed. The contact was definitely not metal on metal, that sound and force were evidence enough. As the young man stumbled back, he took a moment to process what had just happened. He remembered being thrown against the wall after his fight with Acero through some unseen impact, and Malina was the first person to act then.

So she could cause directed impacts from seemingly nowhere. He’d have to test the limits on that.

Once the young man regained his posture, he dashed forward again, almost as though he were going for a similar attack, only to drop into a low, circular sweep kick once he found himself in range.

[Dr. Gustave]

Titania watched, eyes drawn to the little details and quiet moments of Juno's fighting style. The split moment of processing what had happened, something that would get him killed in a real fight. Another moment to regain himself before charging back in. She couldn't fault him for taking his time, though. Not here. This match was designed to give him as much time as he needed, as much time as Titania needed to observe him.

She hadn't been ignoring Malina, though, far from it. There were tiny small tells that gave away every detail, every thought that went through her head. She'd gotten a great sense of those tells in the four years she trained the girl, sculpted her to be a better version of herself, but her four years away from Titania had loosened her control on identifying those tells. They were still there, of course.

A darting of the eyes, shooting from foot to arm to face back to foot, the tail instinctively moving from a defensive stance in front of her to an aggressive stand poised over her left shoulder, her footing shifting on a tiny amount by putting her right foot forward only an inch. She could see her brows furrow, nostrals flare, lips curl down in a way only noticeable to someone who has spent years with the girl. All tiny details, tiny posturing yelling at the world that she's ready.

Before Juno had even to transition from his fake-out, she was sliding her right foot further forward and released another bass-y crack of energy, slamming bodily against Juno and kicking up dust from the field.

[Zwei Not]

Juno cried out in pain as the sudden force impacted his chest, sending him into the ground and sliding on his back, kicking up a cloud of dirt and dust along the way. The young man eventually tumbled his way back to his feet as he slid to a stop, one hand firmly planted on the ground with the other gripping his blade. So that was too easily read. New plan.

A loud, reverberating BANG sounded as the young man launched himself back at the scorpion-tailed woman, maintaining a similar line to the first two strikes. This time, however, was different. The young man’s violet, fiery aura erupted around him mid flight, enveloping him completely before dispersing and leaving a shadowy, silhouetted form in its wake. Though his body seemed frozen for a second after the display, Juno maintained his momentum, fully intent on slamming full tilt into the older woman.

Juno hadn’t wanted to break out Full Stop so early, but quite frankly, fighting without Phi was much more difficult than he had anticipated, and Malina clearly outclassed him. As much as he hated to admit it, he was beginning to regret leaving the AI behind.