Fellow Recruits [Closed]

Erek's eyes lifted as the tired looking man entered the room, his brow arching slightly, he didn't need to come if he was exhausted- he was welcome to ask them to reschedule. But he was in no place to judge the man. His military habits had forced him to effectively be in a constant state of a perfect schedule on when it was time to sleep- so he always got six to eight hours of rest. This however sadly, didn't always mean much if his sleep was troubled and filled with haunting nightmares of the past. He was feeling a bit tired himself due to that, as per usual, and he was still there- he would mind his own business. The man had shown up, and was obviously intending to help, that alone was reason to not question the man's judgement.

Instead, he pushed himself smoothly to his feet, accepting the hand and giving him a firm single shake. Thankfully, the man's German was fluent- but Erek's was rusty, he'd gotten a bit better spending the time with Freyleif, but he was still anything but what he would comfortably call "fluent" in it just yet. He knew the language certainly, but that didn't mean he should try and hold a detailed conversation in it- thankfully, the man didn't appear interested in a detailed conversation. Matching the man's curt, but polite tone, "Erek Blackmore, a pleasure," nodding his head slightly, and after a moment of thought to ensure he had the right words, "Thank you," he would state, simple, brief, to the point, and respectful- it was all he needed.

Erek instantly noticed the body language and vocal cues were similar to his own. Another military man then? It was something he could respect well enough, he stood with perfectly straight posture, face a calm mask as he would incline his head simply to the man as he cut straight to the chase. He could easily appreciate such a thing, "My German is rusty, I apologize," he clarified before beginning- his words were excellent, as was his accent, however it was clear he wasn't used to communicating in the tongue, having to halt occasionally to situation the words he wanted in the correct order. Due to this, he kept it short and sweet, "I need assistance in reishi control. You're welcome to pressure me however you wish, I simply need to practice summoning, maintaining, and utilizing my spirit weapon while in combat," with this explained he would calmly give the man space- and time to reply, or prepare in whatever way he deemed necessary.

Once the man gave clear indication he was ready, Erek would turn and enter the primary training room itself- pushing the door open and holding it for the man respectfully, before he would move toward the center to give them both some space. Then, Erek's hand lifted up to his throat- pulling out the dogtags that hung from his neck, focusing for a brief moment as he struggled to pull in the spirit particles from the room, before his hang lowered- notably not holding the tags any longer, leaving them around his neck. Instead in his hand appeared to be a pulsating mass of smoke-like reiatsu, deep red and grey- the scent of gunpowder filling the air around him as he clearly struggled to maintain the shape of the weapon in the vague design of what appeared to be a combat knife of some sort.

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The switch to Japanese was a welcome change, and he would incline his head respectfully in appreciation at the man's leniency and flexibility. Especially when he switched to explaining the details of not only spiritual terms but also delving into how they worked, comparing them to a concept he could understand easily. The man was a decent teacher, at least when it came to lectures- and he talked like someone much older than he appeared; not that Erek had any room to judge or assume there. Once he had hit his physical prime he had just sort of, stopped physically aging all together really, it wasn't so hard to think that others had similar issues- be it seen as a blessing, curse, or both.

Erek listened quite patiently as the man would explain the details of, effectively, everything. Freyleif had touched on things, as had Mei- but having a breakdown of it and an example to work off of was nice. Mei was lacking a formal education in these matters as well, and Freyleif had basically gone with an "I'll answer anything you ask" approach, which was all well and good- except for the fact that he didn't really know what to ask at this point. She'd covered the basics with him instead, and worked toward general reishi control, and the concept of blut itself- but they hadn't gone into the specific science of how either worked. Simply how to do it, because in either of their eyes it was all that they needed. Still, that didn't mean he didn't appreciate the effort to explain it by any means.

Up to this point, it had all been "spiritual nonsense" if he was honest. Having it broken down to a sort of science helped make it more understandable to him. Certainly worth the extra bit of effort used to halt and listen to the instructions themselves, and explanation on it all. His eyes trailed down to the rough blade that had formed in his hand- it wasn't like the one he had summoned originally, that had been longer, far more focused- but still, this was better than nothing. He could only assume that with higher levels of control, he could manifest a stronger blade- perhaps even shape the blade itself into something that was more fitting to his mental image of what his weapon should be. A broader blade or some sort would be nice, but at the moment he supposed the knife would have to do.

As the man knelt down, drawing what appeared to be a smooth metal rectangle, Erek's brow arched slightly- it was oddly designed, almost like a sword hilt but it clearly had no real blade to it. That was, until the man flicked his wrist and the hilt exploded into softly humming particles. The effect was instant in his memory, it sounded similar to distant gunfire, or a chainsaw or other engine being turned on. Slowly, his brow arched before he listened to the explanation of what the blade was, and how it worked. Glancing at the blade with a curious expression- so it would effectively force him to re-complete the blade with each clash, he could theoretically dodge, but that would cause the entire point of this training to be rendered null and void. Instead, Erek's lips curled into a wolf-like grin, canines flashing as Dresden called out a simple challenge.

The next instant cause him by surprise, he burst forward with surprisingly intense speed- Erek hadn't ever seen something like that, catching him off guard as his eyes widened slightly. Thankfully, the difference in their combat skill was instantly obvious to him, the man's footing was wrong, his unarmed combat skill was likely minimal- though he had to admit the fluidity of the blade in his hands was impressive. Still, it wasn't quite enough. The selee's rotating blade extended outward, lashing out to dig into his side- Erek would smoothly lash out, his knife of energy clashing with the selee- reading through the feint smoothly. His superior experience in the field becoming obvious- however, this didn't come without its negatives.

Even as he knocked the attack off-aim and away from him, the knife shattered in his palm, proving how weak his reishi control really was. For a brief moment his body twitched, clearly about to act on instinct and continue with a barrage of unarmed attacks, but his hesitation halted him as he instead leaped back for a brief moment for distance. There was no point attacking the man back, the point of this was to focus entirely on his reishi control, and nothing more. He could always train his other combat aspects in other ways, what he needed to do now was form his knife as many times as he could, to get pressured into it more and more. His goal for now: ensure he didn't take a hit. The second goal: try to maintain his blade so that even when it directly clashed with the selee, it held out. Even if it was only able to withstand two assaults instead of one, that would be a significant improvement.

His hand opened, and with a frown of focus- his hand shook, his dog tags ignited into red and grey energy, before a new knife manifested in his hand, looking just as ragged as the last one. But he knew all too well this wasn't going to be a rapid change, it was going to take time, long, arduous and grating- that was the task he had chosen. He accepted that, understanding it was the most effective way for him to increase in strength as quickly as possible. Erek waited, raising the knife up and counting the seconds- what had that burst of speed been before? There were so many things for him to learn, and each one would be something that could come into use later on. Knowledge was power, and he intended to gain as much of it as he could, as quickly as possible without taking any shortcuts that would backfire on him.

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Erek silently thanked Dresden with a nod as the man allowed him time to re-summon up his blade, glancing down at it, before focusing on his opponent who was spinning the selee carefully- before suddenly lunging at him. Erek had studied countless styles of martial arts and weapon play- he recognized this as western in origin, a fencing style of some sort? But it was clearly European, his weakest area of knowledge. His training had been primarily focused on the eastern styles of combat, infused with traits of the standard military training regimen. Letting out a slow breath, he watched as the tip became an arc- rapidly morphing into an S design, before aiming to flow- quite fluidly- into a thrust toward his chests epicenter.

Erek's eyes narrowed- the blade lashing out at his left wrist- the hand that didn't hold a blade, was he trying to get him to cross his arms so that he could easily attack the opening it would leave on his right side, instead of his chest? There was a way to counter this, one he'd used in swordplay before, and especially in war when his primary arm was out of commission- he had trained himself to be better than relying on a single arm. But, he wasn't certain he could do it. Still, there was no harm in trying, he trusted the man not to cause any lingering damage to him if he managed a direct hit. As the tip of the blade arced toward his left wrist- his dog tags pulsed once more, and this time- another blade manifested in his left hand. It was slopped, weak.

But it was enough. His left blade smashed into the selee, blocking the blow and parrying it with likely- more force than Dres expected since he doubted the man expected him to block from that side period. This allowed his right hand to slam downward with its own blade, shattering it as well and aiming to knock the mans blade backward along with him to completely shut down the final attempt at a jab at his chest. He was a skilled swordsman, but he was clearly rusty, and likely tired. Then again, he was tired as well. It was likely less a difference of "knowledge" and more a difference of "practice".

He'd been fighting every day of his life, actively training each day for a dedicated amount of time, while having only recently exited a war's battlefield. He was in top condition when it came to his martial skills- if the man was even a bit rusty, that would easily explain the difference. Still, that was good. It meant that perhaps he could help Dres regain his edge just as he was helping him learn to focus his reishi properly. The dog tags glinted again, and a blade manifested in his right hand once more- his frown of concentration remaining- obviously his technique of "summoning two blades at once" was not something he could maintain yet. He'd only done it briefly to block the man, and that was the extent of it for now.

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The sound of the selee grinding against his blade was-- interesting, but he didn't have time to focus on it. Countering was the best he could do, and as the clash forced them back to separate once more, the man snapped at him, telling him to focus. Erek didn't comment-- he didn't have the time too. As he straightened his blade that flickered in his primary hand pulsed as he tried to force the particles around him closer, but he was struggling. His mind was torn at the moment-- combat, and spiritual control. He didn't have time to listen to the man treat him like a new recruit to fighting to the death.

That wasn't the issue here.

Shifting his footing slightly, he wordlessly focused on one the two things-- maintaining his control over the reishi around him to maintain his blades, and the fight itself. At the moment, he was focused only on one thing, defense, so as to maximize the time that he could practice with the blades. The next moment, the man dashed forward once more, the selee spun through the air in a circular saw-like motion, before the man's hands caught it with the downward momentum of the spin. It's chainsaw edge slashing directly down at him, a yell filled the air-- but Erek was used to fighting in a field where the sounds of explosions, gunfire, and screams of pain was common. Such a tactic only worked on inexperienced fighters-- he didn't even wince as his eyes narrowed on the incoming attack before he did what he could-- lashing out with his blade, targeting the Selee as the blade lashed downward. The clash of the forces from each end causing the reishi to scatter around them-- the man seemed to be trying to get him to attack him directly.

But that wasn't how Erek fought, to begin with-- he was a defensive fighter based around counter attacks if he attacked at all. Similarly, he had no business trying to attack when he could barely maintain his weapon. He kept his focus purely on one thing: Maintaining his blades form as the pressure poured down from above, trying to dig into his own blade, the selee, indeed was basically eating the reishi he was using to form the blade. Clashing like this was good at honing that focus, but he only had a few brief moments he was sure before the man would try again. He had been prepared for a few moments to shift his reishi and release a blow-- what he had not been prepared for was a blast of raw force slamming into him.

The impact combined with the selee that dug into his blade shattered it. The selee dipping forward to lash into him-- Erek barely managed to snap his wrist to the side at the last moment to smack the hilt of the blade away so that it nicked his cheek as he instantly lunged to the opposite side the selee had been traveling to give himself room as his blade reformed in his palm.

That had surprised him-- he didn't know that spiritual power could be used in such a raw form like that. It made him grin for a brief moment as he lifted the blade up once more, getting his footing back into a comfortable stance-- waiting for the next assault on him.

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Erek watched the man faltered and hang back for a moment, a single blink causing him to tilt his head slightly-- was he already tired? Though he certainly didn't feel like he was at a hundred percent, he wasn't exactly suffering from any sensations of tremendous fatigue-- was it because he wasn't really using reishi for anything, just his own physical body? His eyes trailed toward the glowing blade in his hand, contemplating this for a brief moment-- before Dresden suddenly spoke, raising a hand as an odd piece of jewelry caught his gaze before he commented on absorbing the reishi in the atmosphere. Wasn't that a bit redundant-- he could barely form the blade as it was.

But, he didn't really get a say. The moment the man started to pull in the reishi around him, his eyes narrowed as the weapon in his palm faltered-- blinking like a candle in the wind, or perhaps a kerosene lamp running out of fuel. Well, that was a problem-- and all of that energy was apparently going to the man, but Erek didn't panic. Instead, he turned his focus internal, just as the man was absorbing the reishi around them, he could hold on to what he'd already gathered. His grip was far weaker than the man's, comparatively, as the blade fluctuated in size from its standard size, to a dagger, and anywhere in-between until the man finished his absorption.

The moment he did, his hand lowered-- and an odd blue hue flowed up his arm before the man flickered from one side of the room-- to the next. It was just like the movement from before, but this time it was different, far more elegant, far more difficult to follow-- like Mei's. He barely had time to raise his blade in a guard before the man was barraging him with blows, the pattern was completely random, a barrage that was cleaning traveling from one area to the next as Erek barely managed to block each blow, with no room to counter. His blade had shrunk, more comparable to a combat knife than a short sword due to the loss of reishi.

Thankfully-- his own physical abilities and skill hadn't lowered any despite this, unlike the other man who appeared reliant on the reishi, he had only physical fatigue to worry about. The barrage of blows ended when he felt a final slice open up the tip of his nose as he barely managed to raise his blade in time-- a second cut forming on his right hip. The others had been blocked, but two had managed to slip through, the reach of his "combat knife" not enough to fully hamper the seele's swings.

Feeling the brief halt in the assault, Erek would shift, intending to shove the man off-- when instead he had flashed backward to land on the wall once more. Hirenkyaku. He was certain of it now, the same technique that Mei had shown him and tried to teach him, the technique he'd barely managed a few times with her dedicated assistance. Such a damn pain. Raising his blade up once more, he waited-- it was clear Dres intended to push him far harder now, the next attack would likely be his strongest. Erek would need to brace as best he could to endure, he had no intention of stopping, not until he dropped.

Then he'd repeated the process-- over, and over-- until he had nothing else to give. Then once he rested, he would continue the pattern-- until he didn't fall any longer. Until he was a wall to protect the Quincy, just as he had told himself he would become.

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Erek's arm lifted-- and the man came at him. Just as he had initially expected him too. What he hadn't expected was the raw speed and force. The blade in his hand pulsed, and he slammed it forward at a vertical blow to add his entire bodies power into it-- but that wasn't enough. The man was no longer just using his physical body, he was using the reishi to amplify him well beyond his normal bodies limitations-- Erek however, had never even considered such a thing. His pupils contracted to slim dots in the centers of his iris's. The force caused his feet to immediately skid backward as his second hand gripped the hilt just as desperately, trying to use his entire body to force against the attack, the broad side of his knife struggling against the seele's point.

Then he felt the blade crack.

His pupils widened-- and he realized it was going to give. He simply wasn't strong enough to counter this, the skill? He had that- he knew if he could just twist his blade, finesse just a bit, he could completely deflect the seele off-course and send it flying to the side, with Dresden with it and deliver a kick straight to his stomach. He could probably even win.

But the amount of raw power that was being released was too substantial-- and that was the difference in the clash. Erek simply lacked the ability to properly channel his reishi in order to defend properly, and so, he realized he was going to be impaled straight through the side of his chest. He was going to be stabbed, by the equivalent of a chainsaw-- how much damage would that trigger in him? How long would he be hospitalized if he sustained damage that severe? Dresden had clearly overestimated his abilities.

What was he going to do?

He clenched his teeth-- the entire scene had seemed like it had been several seconds, but it had all happened in barely a single tick of the clock. Erek had been through countless battles, he'd broken through countless barriers-- they had all been human barriers, sure. But in the end, a barrier was a barrier. He'd tear it down, if he was still unable to properly manifest his spiritual weapon, then he would simply break through it. His eyes focused-- and at the very last moment, he did all he could think of, he pushed harder. He drug the reishi around him with more force, more focus, and with a low growl-- he felt the power flood his senses. It was different, something he wasn't used too, his veins flashed with brilliant blue light.

Then suddenly, the blade shattered- but it didn't matter. With half a knife, Erek slammed his power forward-- as the force of Blut-Arterie pumped through his veins and smashed the incoming seele to the side with it. THe weapon shattered due to the force and deflected the attack at the last moment as the power of Erek's own attack sent him flying to his right just as his deflection was aimed to send Dresden to his left to force the mans own power against him. He rolled forward several times as the ground exploded from the exchange of power, dust flying through the air as he coughed in shock.

It felt like his arms were shaking-- glancing down at them he noticed the blue glow and noticed it quickly fading as he placed a hand on the ground to try and steady himself. What the fuck had that been?

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Erek grunted a bit, forcing himself up slowly as he squinted at his arms-- that were still shaking from the excursion before he would lower his palms a bit and examine the man that was-- now buried in the wall. The claps drawing his attention as he blinked a few times in confusion, though he inclined his head a bit in thanks to the compliment, he was still not quite clear on what had happened-- the clash was a blur in his mind. He frowned a bit before he watched the man shift a bit from the hole and begin talking about something about blood- before he would arch a brow as the man would explain he hadn't entirely been confident in his ability to temper his blow.

Some people may complain that such a move was reckless, but Erek would allow a slow grin to spread over his lips. Basically, it meant he had made the man push his limits-- he'd made him go all out to the point he hadn't been confident that he would be able to win without going all out. That alone was something worth being proud of in his eyes considering his inexperience in spiritual combat. As the man moved forward, giving a Japanese-style bow, he would return it-- memories of training with his old teachers in different dojo's flashing through his mind with slight amusement, before he would listen to his words curiously.

Nodding in agreement on the idea of serious injury possibly becoming a problem-- he would take a breath to allow the adrenaline rushing through his body to calm with his heart-rate that was even more erratic than it should have been all things considered. Raising his hand and accepting it in his own, he gave Dresden a single, firm handshake before he would release it-- noting his limbs were still shaking before he would tuck them behind his back in his previous stance.

"Good match," he would agree as he glanced at the Seele, making a mental note of the weapon before he would take a slow breath. Blinking a few times as he again mentioned blood-- but nodded his hand, perhaps he should do some more research into it all, or things may get a bit dicey later. He supposed studying had its points. Relaxing his grip on his wrist he was hit with a sudden wave of fatigue, blinking briefly. Was this the cost of spiritual combat? He'd only done something-- he thought-- once that was comparable, but now he felt absolutely exhausted.

Also hungry. Quite hungry in fact. His gaze rose to the man opposite of him and he offered a slight grin.

"Mind if I tempt you with a meal as thanks?" the offer was casual, he wouldn't take offense if the man refused-- if he accepted perhaps they could talk a bit. He was curious about the sword style the man had used, and honestly where he had learned to fight in general. He clearly had plenty of experience, but he seemed a bit rusty-- it was enough to pique his interest for an over-the-meal discussion if nothing else. Plus he did certainly owe him-- even in the short exchange, he had learned quite a bit.

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Erek was quite content, though his arms still shook slightly there was no pain beyond the standard throbbing from overused muscles, so he hadn't pushed himself too far doing whatever the hell it had been. Instead, he was sitting down patiently next to Dresden as the man ordered his own meal-- Erek's was far heavier, including Kushiyaki, Karaage, and Sashimi. Thankfully he didn't get too many looks, likely because of his size as he bit into the raw fish, unlike his partner he wasn't overly concerned with the idea talking. He was comfortable in the low sounds of communication going on around them as he took a drink from his own beer.

However, to his brief surprise, the man would glance toward him and comment that if he needed a sparring partner again he was always open-- a slight smirk formed on Erek's lips as he nodded his head, respectfully swallowing before he replied as he lowered his chopsticks briefly from his Sashimi.

"I'll probably take you up on that-- and even if you're right," Erek had enough tact to not ask why the man thought that he didn't quite know him well enough to go digging into any issues the man may have, "--I'd still happily practice with you even if it was just honing normal skills. Shaking off the rust can help anyone get stronger, even if it's in the most minute ways," as he stated this he would then take another swig of his drink, contemplating the question the man had offered him as he seemed to be silently counting. After he had swallowed, he would reply casually.

"About a week now-- I suppose? No, probably more like nine days," as he explained this he would allow his chin to rest in his palm. "--I had a training regimen, briefly, with a woman named Mei Rowan-- but I wanted a bit more experience before I headed to Berlin." As he stated this he would allow his gaze to move toward the man, he was obviously trying to start a conversation, but he didn't want to pry into the man's business either-- that would simply be rude. After a few moments of thought, an idea occurred to him as he lowered the can from his lips.

"I was in the US Military before this-- had a falling out with a superior officer so my career track was fucked, went to a private security force instead," he shrugged a bit as he glanced over at him, figuring offering up some base of his own past would feed enough into the conversation to help the man along. He didn't seem the most social individual-- and honestly, neither was he, but he wasn't against talking by any means. Just rarely initiated it-- usually, he was all business, it was just how he was.

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Dresden responded with more shock than he had anticipated-- certainly, many had been surprised by how much of a "newblood" he was-- but that was the first time he'd gotten such a serious reaction. Resting his chin in his palm, he would arch a brow, making sure the man wasn't going to choke out on him, once the initial danger of such had passed he would sip his own beer and wait, certain there were more questions coming after a reaction like that. Sure enough, any pickup on the social cue was ignored-- not that Erek minded, he had no issue talking about his past.

He was just another soldier after all.

"Ah, you know her?" he commented with a slight smile, clearly not having had as difficult a time with her as he had-- or perhaps he was just less concerned about it, either way, he wasn't overly affected. Instead, he contemplated the next question that was offered.

"Luck, mostly," he would explain as he lightly tapped a finger against the top of his can, before he would explain in a bit more detail, "--I was forcibly awakened, I was on a bit of a traveling journey-- in New Mexico, heading to travel through Mexico itself to experience some new things. I was attacked by a Hollow-- apparently it awakened my latent blood, barely managed to kill it-- suffered some fairly serious wounds." As he explained this he would briefly allow a hand to trail to his shoulder, where the ugly scar's still adorned him, decorating and matching with the countless others on his body.

"Apparently the--" he halted, still getting used to the terms, "Reiatsu? Was enough that it caught a few patrolling Quincy's attention-- they nursed me back to health, and were kind enough to explain my new situation once they realized I had no idea what the fuck was happening." he chuckled dryly, taking another swig of his beer as he scratched his fingertips along his chin in thought briefly.

"So like I said-- dumb luck. I was lucky enough not only to win-- but survive, and on top of that be found by Quincy-- who were willing enough to help a stranger and send me here with a recommendation to seek out other Quincy. They even did some digging into their old clan archives or something like that for a few possible addresses." A dry smile formed on his lips before he glanced back toward Dresden, "--I've always been the lucky sort, it's why I'm still alive, but that's definitely in my top five moments I think."

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