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Elder's blades in his fur slid into his back, but the blades on his feet and ankles remained. Along with the horns, which were stained red a bit. ''So this is where other hunters meet?''

Sterling nodded to the various other Hunters who were talking amongst themselves, before answering Hybrid.

"Yes. We come to check current bounties on demons, who's doing what, who's been killed. It's as much to keep tabs on each other as well as socialize and drop stories of harrowing adventures. Our life isn't pretty. But we do it because it keeps everyone else safe." He buckled the sword around his waist. "I like the traveling. And the feeling that comes from saving an innocent bystander from an attack."

''The only demons I saw were Silenia and a Cerberus.''

"A Cerberus? Where did you see one of those?"

''In the 3rd floor of the arena.''

"Third floor? There was a third floor? What floor were you on, pray tell?" If Sterling's grip on the hilt of his sword tightened, he didn't seem to notice. "For that matter, was Silenia even on the first floor because we fell down into your floor..." And oh man, if only' he'd known about that cerberus, he might have made a killing--well, assuming he had been in one piece still.

''I was on the second floor. Silenia lives on the surface, aka 1st floor. The arena has the tendacy of making the first floor dissolve away. Ever since the 3rd floor got flooded when a fire melted the water line, no ones been able to sucessfully get there. Even hunters will try to get there, only to sink into the water and never be seen again..''

Sterling shuddered. "Thank God I never saw that third floor." He paused and looked around. They were in a clear area, not particularly frequented by villagers, but neither so far out that finding help would be a problem.

"Well, here's as good a place as any, if you're interested in training."

''Do you want me to use this form or my human form?''

Sterling shrugged. "Or whichever form you use most often."

He drew the sword and tested its weight while Hybrid did whatever he was going to do.

Elder shifted back to his human form, bones snapping and skin stretching until the tall humanid figure was back, the bladed tail moving hazardly around, glinting. His belly still bore stitches from his innnards being changed.

Sterling eyed the tail warily, knowing now just what it could do. "Alright, ground rules. We move slow and we do so calculatedly. My sword is sharp, and so are your blades. Good news, I'm back to full strength, so I should be able to dodge most if not all of what you throw at me."

He adjusted his grip on the sword, and then nodded at Hybrid. "Alright, so, pretend I'm rushing for you like an idiot, newbie of a Hunter. What is your first reaction?"

''Well, I'd calculate your speed accordingly..You know, the angle and weight of what I can guess then attempt to trip you so my blade would hit your leg and curl around it...Thusly tripping you and probably injuring the leg.''

Sterling nodded. "What about if that didn't work. Has anyone been able to attack with a ranged weapon? Or even a dagger?" He grunted. "Better yet, what if we just mime the action? I'll go slow...so don't try to kill me."

He raised the sword and moved towards Hybrid like he was going to attack from the front...but slowly.

Elder growled, and the main instinct to attack anything that came close to him kicked in. It wasn't long before Sterling found himself on the other side of the room, though not injured. Elder had attacked back, but so much of a blur that it had happened too fast. Though his tail blade still moved hazardly behind him.

Sterling picked himself up off the ground with a sigh. Right. This wasn't going to be easy. Maybe the kid didn't need training after all.

"What you did just now, did you think about it or did you just attack on instinct?" Sterling checked to see that he wasn't injured and realized that the kid had some semblance of control--otherwise he'd be stripped to ribbons.

Elder didn't respond, in a fighting pose and tensed up, growling harshly. His eyes lacked pupils, heart racing.

Sterling waited for a moment before realizing Hybrid was already in battle mode. "Right..." He grinned. Well, now he could at least test Hybrid Elder's physical speed. And it seemed too that he was entirely on instinct now.

He darted forward, only at the last minute--when he estimated the tail would come at him--did he jump forward, intending to force Hybrid to use his arms instead of always relying on his tail. Of course he had his sword ready to deflect a blade aimed for his head or neck.

Elder swung out with his claws hands at Sterling, snarling loudly, with inhuman strength. His tail blade swing out only after he had swung his bladed hands.

Fortunately, his inhuman strength and Sterling's weren't too one-sided. Sterling had only been thrown because he hadn't expected the sudden move and hadn't braced himself accordingly. Now, he blocked Elder's attack with the flat of his blade.

"Well, you've got some work cut out for you," Sterling muttered, looking now for a way to disengage without getting cut. Tricky when the opponent was covered with blades.