"...Oh, great. Another omnipotent god, not like I haven't seen you dolts before. Actually kicked one's ass too, and he was hunting me. ...As long as you keep this a fair duel, sure. Though knowing your types, you won't-" [i]Irina rolled her eyes, laughing to herself calmly before swinging her blade to her side.[/i] "You need a weapon, sweetheart. Unless you want me to bash your teeth in?"

He laughed really hard. "Ah, you think I'm a god? Well, I guess I'm flattered... But despite how amazing I appear, I'm not a god." He flicked his wrist and a single handed broadsword appeared in his hand. "You don't have the means to kill me, though. And this is only a sim. Dont go easy."

"We'll see about that, Cadet." [i]The woman smirked, merely humming as she circled around the young man. There was a certain elegance to every movement she made, as if she was already plotting a stratagem against her foe.[/i]

He smiled, circling as well. Grom his stance and movements, he was clearly accustomed to his weapon's use.

[i]Soon, Irina stopped, as she began a casual approach towards him. At this point, he was in a corner of their room.[/i]

He swiped at her with a quick swing of his sword, intending to force her back so he could reposition.

[i]The Vileblood didn't allow that to throw her off, as she pressed both of her weapons against the incoming sword, slamming her foot into the man's stomach and pushing forwards in an attempt to literally push him into the wall.[/i]

He was knocked back into the wall alright, which he then pushed off of. He slamned into her sword first with an impressive amount of force.

[i]She was then pushed back, smiling and nodding as she was forced to back away, parrying and playing defensive now.[/i] "Good, good-"

"Thanks." He smirked as he sliced at her. "I'm a tad out of practice though."

"Eh, you're alright-" [i]She immediately followed up with another parry, leaping back and nodding.[/i] "-Definitely someone who thinks out his situations instead of acting impulsive. And well, not utilizing magic."

"Well, I [i]did[/i] say I wouldn't cheat." He thrust at her throat.

"True-" [i]Her hilt met the blade suddenly, knocking it away as she still kept the defensive.[/i]

He stepped back, leveling the blade towards her.

((Leveling would be bringing the blade down, correct? Apologies, never heard the term used. My vocab is shit ._.))

[i]Light footsteps came from the portal into the real world, echoing throughput the dark, plain room, until.. a humanoid figure stepped into the simulation, curiosity overtaking them as they merely looked around, allowing Irina plenty of time to look the newcomer over once or twice, maybe thrice.. because they were an eye catcher. For starters, it was female, standing at a most imposing, impressive height of six feet and eleven inches tall, right beneath seven feet, as she towered over Irina. Further, she had a mesomorph build, muscles lining her armoured frame, though not to ugly extents, as she was merely fit and athletic, her focus on strength rather than speed and agility.. and well, her equipment showed that. But first, another detail. Gracing her back were two large, majestic, angelic wings, each as tall as her, covered in large feathers, a pristine white in colour, without a single imperfection anywhere, as divine as the angel herself, as they were furled up closely to her body, shifting around just a little. Then, of course, there was her face, and her head in general, radiating with breathtaking beauty, as divine as the angel wings upon her back. Soft, feminine and angles features line her visage, with high cheekbones leading into a gently curving jawline, just to form a small, pointy chin, with in it, a small, delightful dimple. Above the little dimple sat two pinkish lips, each thin and small, while the corners were curled up into a slight grin, big enough to show her pristine, white teeth ever so very slightly. Above the lips was her nose, gently curving inwards, while the little tip was an an adorable red-pink-ish colour, as it was adorably small. Next to the nose were her eyes, each a crimson red in colour, laying a bit deep within her face, with short eyelashes, and above it, her two well-maintained eyebrows, a raven black in colour, much like her hair, which reached down to her shoulders, wavy and curly, looking as soft as silk from where Irina was. Then, finally, there was the angel's equipment. She bore no visible weaponry on her, her empty hands hanging at her sides as she stood there, tall and curious, strangely interested in the simulated room around her, as it took up all of her attention, for now, though Irina was certainly noticed. But, ahem, anyway, Astraeus was donning a suit of purely grey armour, the plates of holy metal unpainted. The suit was surprisingly thin, hugging her body tightly, while being loose enough not to show anything of, the plating a good inch thing in general, while the breastplate jumped up to a solid two and a half. One strange thing that was immediately noted, however, were the runes, litanies, and prayers inscribed and engraved all over the armour, written in Latin and languages consisting of symbols, all foreign and entirely strange to the Vileblood, though the thing most worthy of note was the symbol on Astra's chest. A triangular shield, creating a 'V' with the top like spikes, three in total, one on each corner, and one exactly in the middle. Two roses were crossed inside of the shield, the thorns like swords, the flower like a treasure, and then, attached to the shield itself, were two magnificent angel wings. It was like a crest, covering her entire front. She made a little 'hmm' noise as she looked around, only for her eyes to fall upon Irina. The angel simply tilted her head to the right, the curiosity still in her eyes, though significantly less.[/i]

[i]The Vileblood only looked upon the angelic being with an interest of her own, while simulated, darkened blood continued to drip from the stained blades, almost beginning to pool around her booted feet. She remained silent, straight and tall, surveying the woman that had entered: an angel? She hasn't seen one beforehand, although she had dealt with deities and such. Shit-tier gods and the like. Cough cough, Mortar.[/i] [i]Irina was still silent, before nodding at the angel and holding the two weapons - the dagger and the sword combination - together, the pommel of the knife oddly fitting to the saber's. She screwed the blades together with a quite clang, a faint flash of sparks flying from the conjoining of the two weapons as she combined the bladed weaponry together. She then began to speak with a matured, yet beautiful voice - Italian in origin, as she retrieved a pure white napkin from her coat's pocket and began to clean the blades.[/i] "...Odd. I didn't expect a visit from an angel, of all to come around here. Is there...something that you needed?" [i]Irina's voice rang throughout the simulated room, her eyes looking up at Astraeus as she spoke. It wasn't exactly with a suspicious glare, although she seemed quite confused, if anything.[/i]

[i]Astra's eyes darted downwards to Irina's Rakuyo, watching the weapons, now conjoined, brought together. She had spotted and seen the weapons before, but the binding make interest and curiosity well up within her armoured bosom. From the sword, both crimson red pearls moved to what the Vileblood was donning upon her person.. Simple cloth, and already, the angel understood; the pale woman was clearly meant for dexterity, as opposed to Astraeus, who was currently in her heavy 'mode', as made obvious by her gear.[/i] "I was merely exploring," [i]The angelic lady calmly responded, her own voice being very much soft and gentle to the ears, like silk to the skin, with an undeniably loving, caring, and compassionate tone to it, pairing well with that kind smile on her lips. The symphony of her voice was relaxing and comforting, yet it had something powerful to it, lacing every word like a sneaky undertone, intermixed with a foreign accent, the thing entirely exotic and strange to Irina's ears, while it gave the illusion like Astra was from a different time entirely, used to speaking a strange language.[/i] "But now, I stumbled upon here.. Maiden, you are looking for a duel, are you not?" [i]The angel seemed.. inexperienced with the language she was speaking, her pronunciations all being a little off, but only a little, while her question floated within the air. She held out her right hand, standing a good seven feet away from Irina, as azure blue flames coated the angel's hand, sprouting up from within her clenched fist, as embers and cinders of blue fluttered and floated down to the stone ground, where they died out. The fire climbed up, Astra's grip loosening a little as something filled her hand, round and cylindrical.. Soon enough, Astraeus held a sword within her right hand, the blade curious and interesting. The entire thing was three-and-a-half foot long, the hilt being six inches, the blade being three feet. The cruciform grip was tightly wrapped in blackened leather, a heart-shaped pommel beneath it, a stone grey in colour, with the tip facing down. The blade was as grey as the pommel and guard, like rock as it was engraved with runes and divine litanies of hatred, angelic in origin. Double-edged and straight-bladed, half an inch thick, an inch-and-a-half wide.[/i]

[i]Irina had remained quiet as she studied Astraeus on her own, her eyes widening and reflecting an almost impressed feeling as she studied the angelic being's longsword, which had seemed to have been summoned from...whoever knows where, Irina thought. As Astra had correctly guess that Irina was built for dexterity and speed, Irina would guess that Astra would be utilizing a more strength-focused combat style, although with her wings...well, she could easily fly and cover ground, which was an issue for Irina if anything.[/i] [i]What Irina enjoyed the most was not the weapons or the armor - but Astra's voice. It was so foreign, yet oddly familiar: perhaps she had heard something like it from Yharnam. She did enjoy it, somewhat.[/i] "...I suppose I was, my lady," [i]Irina nodded in confirmation to Astra's questioning, using the same level of politeness that Astraeus was. It was mostly because no-one else had been so kind to her beforehand (and for good reason), so Astra's kind demeanor was certainly a first for her. Usually she would be sarcastic, but this was a little difficult.[/i] "Melee only, I would presume? You're fine with the armor, and...I'll refrain from slicing and hacking away at your wings. I like my fights to be enjoyable, not unfair." [i]That wasn't exactly true, but it wasn't a lie either: Irina loved combat that was fair when it didn't matter, but she would be a conniving, cheating bitch in a fight when A: Her life, or other's lives, were on the line, or B: She just didn't like that person.[/i] [i]Astra, well...she was likable enough.[/i]

"Indeed, my fair Maiden.." [i]The response was simple, yet it got the point across. One strange thing to note, however, was that Astra's voice took a.. sultry tone, though it was extremely faint and almost unnoticeable, yet as clear as day to the Huntress. But, whatever. She nodded, her right hand lowering back down to her right side, while azure blue flames began to coat her body, welling up from within the cracks in between the plates of divine metal. The fire spread a across the angel, yet stuck to her armour, growing bigger and brighter, while strangely enough, the temperature didn't change at all; not even a single degree.. odd. The oddness, however, only went further, as there was no smoke either; only the deathly silent fire as it grew and covered Astraeus, yet even that fell away, with a whoose of entirely black smoke. Just like that, the fire vanished, within the blink of an eye. At the same time, Astra's armour all fell away to her feet, in piles of dark grey ash, a few azure blue cinders floating around, only to hit the floor, dying out, extinguished entirely. Yet, the angel wasn't left naked. While her armour was gone, she now donned a pair of robed, the skirt-thing having cuts in the sides to avoid hindering maneuverability. The whole outfit was plain and a colourless grey, signifying purity, if anything. Emblazoned upon the soft, silky cloth were the same runes upon the woman's armour, entire litanies and prayers, a to provide divine protection from physical harm, maybe even magical and psychic. Sitting upon her chest, made from silver thread, was the same emblem she had on her chest plate previously: the shield with on it, the two roses, and attached to it, the angel wings. Irina also got a look at the woman's skin, as her arms from the elbow down were uncovered, showing pinkish skin, a healthy colour, entirely pristine and without a single blemish or imperfection. Oddly enough, she stood upon bare feet, her nails short and well-kept.[/i] "Let us clash our blades in a dance of mettle and fury, shall we?" [i]Astraus smiled, her right foot moving beneath the left, while her arms bent slightly, as she did the same, giving the Vileblood a polite curtsy.[/i]

"We shall, indeed. Thank you for this, it's been a while since I've met someone with.. ...Oh, never mind." [i]Irina shook her her head silently, breathing in before she bent her body: she placed her right hand, still clasping her Rakuyo, over her heart and bowed, her left hand behind her back as she did so. Think of that one bow from Dark Souls - the Dignified Bow or something, I genuinely forgot.[/i] [i]After Irina had bowed, she rose up to her full height, which was still considerably shorter than the angel ahead, before raising up her double-bladed weapon. Placing both hands upon the hilts of the weapon, she twisted both handles, before a *clang!* ran throughout the room, as she tore the two weapons from each other. Now, Irina wielded her signature sword/dagger combination, as she began a slow, steady approach towards Astraeus. It was a test, if anything - to see the angel's next movements.[/i]

[i]Once Irina had begun to move, Astra slowly straightened herself, the light tapping of leather boots upon the stone floor alerting the angel. She fidgeted her wings around a little, the two majestic things twitching ever so slightly, as she rose back to her gigantic height. Her left hand quickly straightened out her robes, the sound of smooth, tender skin running over soft, silky cloth gently reaching the Vileblood's ears. Now that Astraeus was ready to fling herself at Irina, she did something truly odd.. Her kind smile faded, of course, as a more serious, concentrated look crossed her visage, her crimson red eyes fluctuating into a focused ocean blue. Then, she began to walk towards her opponent, bare feet lightly slapping upon the cold stone of what I assume is Castle Cainhurst.[/i] "As much as I hate talking during a fight," [i]She spoke up with a slightly guilty tone to her soothing voice, her words true,[/i] "I can't help but wonder where we are, my fair Maiden?" [i]Surprisingly enough, the angel didn't use the distraction her words might have caused to launch a sudden attack at Irina.. oh, no, instead the divine woman continued to simply walk, slowly and steadily, calmly. Closer and closer, her blue eyes looking the Vileblood over, especially her arms, the muscles beneath the clothing.. seeing when they would tense and strain.[/i]

[i]Irina wasn't taken back too much by the question that the angelic being had imposed, more or less she expected her to ask. She wasn't aware of whether it was her stratagem of distraction or just conversation, although the latter was revealed - Irina was certain that it was either the first, or Astraeus was plainly curious about the location.[/i] "Castle Cainhurst, dear," [i]Irina whispered, in a tone that was watchful in a sense, yet considerably kind to the angel. Her boots clattered softly against the dark, ancient stone, as the dimly lit arena was suddenly ignited by the flickering fires of torches and candles, set long ago by its previous inhabitants..[/i] "It is a cold, dreadful place.. yet once, I could call it a home." [i]A saddened look, one of remembrance, crossed Irina's face before it was replaced by a sudden concentration, her icy blue eyes meeting Astraeus' sapphire blues: once Irina was around six feet away from the angel, she stopped in place, assuming a combative stance while her sword held outwards, holding her dagger behind it in the case that she had the advantage: clearly, the dagger was used to end confrontations, delivering a swift blow to the side that would injure her foe.[/i]