Testing Our Mettle [Mars]

[Lady Uranus]

January 10th, Year One

The clang of steel reverberated throughout the training arena, as was usual during these hours of the afternoon. The tall, lean blonde brushed her sweaty bangs out of her eyes, before she and the Lunarian Arms Master began another sparring around. Amara was already one of the best at working with the sword on the face of her homeworld, but she still trained with other masters of the blade (when not fighting in wars) to refine her skills. Though it had been eight Terran years since she had taken matters into her own hands, stolen the Space Sword and her henshin stick, and joined the ranks of the army fighting in the civil war, she still sometimes felt like that lanky, slightly awkward girl of (by the reckoning of the Terrans) eighteen. Especially when she was around the Princess of Neptune. She had long since known she was a Lover of Women, as her own harem was nothing to scoff at, but in the recent few Terran years, since she was seventeen by the reckoning of the same people, Amara had come to notice growing feelings for the elegant Neptunian Princess.

They had been what some might call distant friends since they were very small – they had met at the celebration of the Moon Princess’ birth – but never had the blonde dreamed that she would fall in love with the closest thing she had ever had to a best friend. Snapping back to reality, her stormy silver-grey eyes blazed with fury at herself, as her wandering thoughts almost cost her dearly. As it was, she just managed to avoid getting a few of her fingers sliced off, and still disarmed her opponent, pinning the older male to the ground, her sword at his throat. Stepping back, she removed her sword, and but did not extend a hand to help him up. Once he was on his feet once more, the arms master regarded her coolly. She could tell what he was thinking, as most thought it, when they got to know her at all past she shell of a warrior, but would neither confirm, nor refute his thoughts. Better to let him think that she had already been drinking before the training session she had requested, as she sometimes tended to do before battle to steel her nerves, rather than that her thoughts were wandering to things she should not be thinking about during a battle.

The former was slightly true anyways, despite that fact that she hadn’t had nearly enough to make her razor concentration less than perfect. With a slight inclination of the head, the blonde dismissed the Arms Master. He nodded, bowed, and left, knowing that he had been dismissed. Once her sword was clean, she sheathed it, and allowed it to disappear from her hands. Her ability to summon her Space Sword at will and less than a nanosecond’s notice had been the first true manifestation of her powers, save for the fact that her planetary symbol had beamed from her forehead at certain times, not least when Princess Serenity had been born. The second, had been her ability to train with her elemental powers, but that had only come after about five Terran years of training herself when she had any spare moment from the battle of the civil wars which ravaged her planet, and then from the battles she participated in beyond the reaches of Pluto.

However, for now she needed to ready herself for a different kind of battle. Stretching to cool her muscles and to keep them limber and flexible, Amara thought over the next opponent she had asked to meet her here. Princess Rei of Mars; the white-blonde hoped that the Senshi of Flame would prove to be a worthy sparring partner. She was looking forward to this, and not simply because it would be the first chance she got to test the mettle of an Inner Senshi in battle; the Queen had asked her to say on the Moon to train the Inners, and she wanted to test them so she could take their measure.

It was also because, as all Uranians, but especially the War Queens of which she was First, Amara loved finding new and interesting people to fight with.

[ladymars]

Sailor mars was running down to the training grounds her sword in hand yes she had a sword there are just something’s you needed a sword for because flame sniper wasn’t always going to work. Why was she running to the training grounds with a sword of all things well Sailor Uranus had asked to meet with her for a spar and well this was something she had wanted for a while so who was she to turn it down. Now as for the running that’s actually quite simple she was late. She had needed to make a stop and talk to Venus about a few guards that had never bothered to show up to relive the flame senshi so she could go to bed.


She had to send a guard in to find them and of course mars had lost her temper and now the guards were afraid of her.
She came sliding to a halt in front of Uranus “I’m sorry I’m late I had to make a report to Venus” Mars said completely out of breath oh yes those guards would hear it tonight but for now she can get some of her frustration out in a spar so it was looking up. Finally catching her breath she stood up straight and looked at Uranus this was one woman she had looked up to for years so she wasn’t going to disappoint in this spar she would make sure of that.

[Lady Uranus]

The sound of heels upon marble alerted Amara to Mars’ presence long before the girl slid to a stop, panting, in front of her. She hardly listened to the younger’s explanation as to why she was late; she was here, and that was all that mattered to the Uranian just then. Perhaps, had the situation been different she would have berated the ravenette harshly for lack of punctuality. As it was, she simply held up a hand to forestall any more words. “Try not to waste any more time, Mars, or we shall be here all night.” She couldn’t have cared less as to how harsh and cold her words came; it was simply her nature, and she wouldn’t be coddling any of these children who had never seen real battle. Wordlessly, as she hadn’t needed the incantation for two Terran years now, Amara called her power, and in a rush of what appeared to be golden wind, the tall woman was clad in her Senshi fuku.

Summoning her sword, she allowed the sheath to vanish, before turning to Mars. “We fight until one has pinned the other. After that, we may continue, but that is up to you. Hold nothing back, or I might just kill you for your weakness.” That said, Uranus turned and placed a small amount of distance between them. Slipping into her stance, she waited for Mars to make the first move. Untried as this girl was, the blonde knew that she could best her easily. Hm, well, perhaps not easily, per se, but it certainly wouldn’t prove a challenge. She hadn’t seen a real challenge in quite a few Terran years, and wondered if she ever would again. The thought saddened her, but now wasn’t the time to be thinking of such things. Now, now was the time to fight, and to show this girl what real battle meant.

[ladymars]

Mars would be lieing if she said see didn't find the woman’s comment rude or that the second one had kind of scared her a bit OK so the last she would never admit she would never hear the end of it from her father. She unsheathed her sword she wouldn't disappoint that was for sure. she threw the sheath gently to the side and took a stance her father had taught her being the daughter of Aries kind of gave her an advantage over most on the moon but she knew she would probably not beat Uranus this woman had seen many years of battle so all she could do was give it her all. she had learned some swordsmanship from her father but most children on mars had at least a year of instruction they were considered the planet of war after all. OK so the title may or may not have had something to do with who sat on the throne.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm her nerves and her breathing something she had done for a few years by this point. Sure she was for love and all that but she was technically the senshi of war not just passion and flame well she believed that at least. She stood in her stance but soon realized Uranus was waiting for her to make the first move this definantly seemed unusual to her she normally waited for her sparing partners to go at her first. She shrugged well might as well get this started so she moved in 'throwing' the first attack she swung her sword with precision expected from the daughter of Aries even if she had only actually had a few years of instruction and had taught herself most of what she knew.