slayers_desire | taking Clark to Rome

"I could guide you to the volumes that might be most useful to read first," April suggested. Refering to the demonology books on The Scourge mostly.

"Over this way is our gymnasium and training area." There are many weapons here.

Clark has been trying not to think too much about the ones who are going to take his girlfriend away and torture her, but that is part of his motive for wanting a look at this particular library. Whether he can prevent it or not, he still feels like being prepared is better than being in the dark about it all, especially if he gets to face her tormentors.

Most of his exposure to weapons like this come from Lex, and in fact Clark still has the fencing foil that Lex gave him as a gift. But these are much more serious-looking, and heavy. "I bet you all get a lot of use out of this room."

And knowing that Clark is prepared to face this enemy will make April more comfortable. Of course she trusts him to save her. But giving him the upper hand will certainly mean life or death.

"I am trained with a couple of these weapons, but more hand-to-hand combat. The more complex weapons are for the Slayers. They were born to handle them."

"Even the battleaxes?" Some of the weapons are absolutely enormous, and a quick peek with x-ray vision confirms that some of them have incredibly dense metals such as lead in them. It'd be nothing to him, but for a human they would be incredibly heavy and difficult to wield. But then, she did say that Slayers have enhanced strength and reflexes, so it's not totally unbelievable.

"The story is that the Powers That Be created the first Slayer by mixing a demon with a human. They have incredible strength, speed and agility. So they are able to defeat the forces of darkness."

"It takes a demon to kill a demon, huh? Makes sense." He has to resist the urge to test the edges of some of the weapons on display, because they would just get dull instead of letting him feel how sharp they are.

"Did you want to spar?" April knew he was stronger and faster, but there will still much about this kind of combat that he didn't know. Giving her a slight advantage.

He hesitates a brief moment. "Is it likely we'll be interrupted? Or watched?" A lifetime of having to hide who he is makes him cautious about possibly revealing his powers to the unsuspecting, and even though this is a completely different universe than his own, it's a hard habit to break.

"Very unlikely. Dad, Willow and Rain are out looking for Buffy. Xander went out for a date. And it is just you and me here."

"Okay then." Though they've only sparred once, and it was before they started dating, he enjoyed the experience and what she taught him has come in handy a handful of times. And now that he has a better idea about her body's physical limits, he feels more confident using his strength against her without hurting her.

"Did you have a specific style or lesson in mind, or are we going free-form?"

"Free-form. Let's see what you can do." April will pick up one of the lighter swords. She knows that it won't hurt him.

"And we could always make it interesting. Place wagers."

Clark hasn't had much experience using swords, but Lex did teach him some basics once, and he figures his reflexes are up to the task. So he selects a moderately weighted shortsword, figuring his longer reach and greater height are already working against her without adding a longer blade to the mix.

"What kind of bet did you have in mind?"

"Loser owes the other person a strip tease." April smiles. "Doesn't have to be today. But will have to shake it all sooner or later."

Oh, now that's unfair, because now he's going to be distracted. Although, granted, she could use the extra advantage over him. "Define 'loser,'" he says with a smile.

In a no-holds barred fight, he knows that he would probably win unless she used kryptonite on him. But there are other kinds of losing.

"Good point." April knows that physically Clark has the advantage. Hence taking advantages over him mentally can work in her favor.

"The loser will be the one who says Uncle first. Either because they have been outmaneuvered in the combat. Or because of other reasons..." She can't play all her cards right now.

"Other reasons, huh?" He raises his eyebrows, still smiling. "Okay, you're on."

He's not planning to use his powers, other than passive ones like his strength and invulnerability, just pitting strength against skill and seeing what happens.

"Just remember to stay focused." April moved closer to him. "And whatever you do, don't think about me saying that word first. And getting to see me all naked. And dancing. For you."

Oh yes, the words were said on purpose. April is hoping to gain the first advantage in the fight, distracting Clark just enough to raise the sword and go for an attack.

Clark may be thinking all sorts of wonderful thoughts right now, but he's gotten the feeling they may end up fighting a little dirty (on a number of levels), so he was halfway expecting an attack.

Not using superspeed, he reminds himself, getting his own sword up to hopefully block her blow. And having to remember not to grip the sword hilt so tight that he squishes it like butter.

He decides to stay on defense for now, seeing what she does, what her strategy is. He shifts his stance accordingly, and although he isn't trained, there's a vague sense of instinct about how he should move and behave.

April is glad to see he was expecting an attack. She might be using a dirty-tactic, but at least it is a flirtatious one. Not the kind Demons would use.

With a smile, her sword blocked by his, April twirled to bring her sword back. And then came at him again, lower slightly. Her strategy is simple, keep him offguard, and use her training to her advantage.

He moves his blade to block again, and is mostly being troubled by what exactly he's supposed to do with his other arm besides balance, since he probably shouldn't be using his arms to block and parry. Even though he could. He has a feeling he'd end up sleeveless in short order if that was the case, and he likes this jacket.

On her next attack, when he blocks he also shoves, trying to force her blade away and create an opening to swing the flat of his blade at her side.

April seems to have no issues with her other arm. When he shovers her back, she leans back to dodge under the flat of his blade, using that arm to support her weight. Then she rolls and goes for his ankles with her blade.

Keeping himself restricted to normal speeds, Clark wasn't expecting an attack so low, so he's too slow to jump out of the way. The impact doesn't hurt him, but it's like swinging a sword into solid granite.

Already in motion, he takes a huge step back, out of her immediate reach.

The vibration of the sword distracts April enough, and she has to work to keep her balance enough that Clark effectively gets out of her reach. There is also a slight bend to her sword now. Since she tried to literally hit a semi with a moped.

Standing up, she drops the sword and cautiously watches him. He now has the advantage with a weapon, until she can reach one.

"Solid like a brickhouse," She licks her lips.

Clark feels just a little bit guilty about wrecking one of the swords already. It wasn't his fault, but she's lucky she didn't put enough force into it to actually shatter the blade. He's destroyed more than one knife that way.

He stays back, not pressing his advantage, but begins to circle a little bit in an effort to not be between her and the rack of weapons. Fighting dirty or not, he can't help his chivalric nature that demands at least pretending to be a fair fight.

Instead he twirls the sword a little in his hand, as if limbering up for a strike. "That's what you get when you eat all your green vegetables."

Noting that he is giving her a chance to get another weapon, April is able to reach the rack of weapons and pulls out a three-sectional staff. Returning to the combat, the staff flows nicely in her hands due to her agility.

"I am just going to have to find the brick that takes you down." A playful smile. Moving in quickly, April angles the top half of her staff towards his face, the bottom half towards his knees. Unless he uses his superspeed, Clark will only be able to block one.

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