Though the suggestions were far less aggressive in their delivery, some were still not very clear on how Vera was supposed to correct herself. There were only so many effective fighting stances and even less if you do not follow some lesser known styles of martial arts. So while the stance she used was predictable, it was effective in making her a smaller target and have an easy time sending both light and heavy attacks. Even animals have their own predictable aggressive stance.

Vera knew her pet was holding back as beating her own Mistress into a pulp would not be the wisest of training methods. But, these attacks were now much more noticable as Kite held back and slowed down. It was a bit insulting but the Head Girl followed along anyway. She started with solid blocks to keep the various curved and straight punches aimed at her. Once her defense was doing well enough, she focused more on blocking towards joints and more vulnerable parts of the limbs. If she could predict the attack and be fast enough, it may be possible for her to attack a joint before a punch could reach her. It was a bit difficult to notice any flares of emotions with these more casual strikes though.

Sword's emotions in a fight were usually just an unmitigated sea of savagery and eagerness for destruction. Trying to teach was a wholly new experience, and one she was almost certain she was doing quite a poor job of. Not that there was much to read in the confusion of 'am i doing this right?' And 'what should i be doing differently?'

Still, Vera did seem to be getting better at blocking her quickly. That was good. "When you feel comfortable blocking solidly, mia Regina, try for deflecting instead. i'm the idiot who takes every hit straight on, and pushing a blow aside rather than stopping its momentum is the easiest way to get someone to overreach and expose something vital. It's riskier if weapons get involved, but it's nearly all going to be flesh on flesh here."

Uncertainity was about the only emotion coming from Sword. Vera would not say anything though. This was good training not just for her but for Kite as well. Being limited to combat and aggression, there were few chances for Sword to come to surface. Kitten has shown that it was at least somewhat possible for these fragments to learn and change some. The fact Sword is even attempting to teach was proof enough that she was willing to change her views somewhat in order to better serve her Mistress.

Deflecting attacks suited Vera more as she was not one to clash brute force with brute force. She knew well enough that it was safer to just knock attacks out and away. She worked on deflection as per Sword's request. The silver haired woman focused more on just sending the wide attacks off course before trying to counter with strikes of her own from the opening these methods made. "Like this?" she asked, wishing to ensure she was doing things correctly.

Sword nodded, though still confused. She had learned to fight simply by fighting. Kitten had required a protector, and the only option there had been was to fight every threat as a lethal one, to carve that threat out of existence in order to secure for a few brief breaths a new temporary niche. There was, to her own mind, very little within her save to be that cutting edge, to be Sword. And yet, here she was. Taking part in a collar around their neck, trying to teach defense to their Owner, her Queen. It was definitely impossible, and probably not even desirable, to regain that which had been lost, forsaken, severed. But perhaps even one who had shed everything but violence and duty could grow anew.

"Yes, mia Regina, though try not to focus too much on each singular attack. You're spotting my feints quite well, but someone doesn't need more than one mind to make more than one real attack at once."

Vera was aware of the confusion and perhaps minor discomfort involved in doing something unfamiliar. There was much the Head Girl did not know when it came to the details of Kite's condition. They were three separate and completely different personalities all in one body and mind. But, what happens if one personality starts to move away from their original state? Would it start taking over? Would nothing change? Would there be complications if a means of bringing all three back together as one was found? Vera was not a psychiatrist and she doubt even that profession would be enough to have all the answers in this case.

"Then you need to throw more than one attack, my pet," Vera replied with a faint smile, "Do not worry, I trust you will take care of me." She would wait for the next attacks, seeing if her senses detect any change when multiple attacks were thrown at once. It may not be entirely useful if Kite had different emotional tells compared to someone else. But, it would get the Head Girl used to reading her opponent and learning about their aura as quickly as possible.

Reassembly would likely be impossible, given there had been a fourth, forcibly excised by the labs and twisted into something utterly unrecognizable. Under Vera's collar, Analyzer and Sword specifically sought to grow to 'cover the gap', that the wound of that rending not continue to call out to what the Flame had become. No, as ever, there is only one Path, and it is of moving forward, not looking longingly back.

But those were maters of the past, and possibly the future. It's time for now, now. Being anywhere but the now while fighting is a sure way to get crushed. "Alright mia Regina." Sword would betray a brief surge of satisfaction that her Queen was explicitly asking her to step it up. And she did, opening with an eternal favourite of hers, even when a stamp-kick misses it closes distance, arms already in motion for a chip to the side of the neck, as her weight carried forward, back leg rising for a knee to the gut. Still not striking at full strength, because she did not want to put Vera in the medical wing, much less having to carry her there. Not from any shirking of such a responsibility, but because there was no way to do that without being SEEN, and a helpless Head Girl being carried across the campus would be a Very Bad Message to send.

But this... an endless flurry of attacks, purity in assault, this was Sword's element, her home. And for once, she was doing it for growth, rather than simple brutality. Sword felt GOOD.

Sword was so happy to be allowed to let loose a bit more. But that surge of positive emotions would soon be replaced with that roaring flame of aggression as the woman pressed the attack. Vera shifted to the side to avoid the kick which only put Kite in closer range for further strikes. Things were definitely speeding up as the gap between a flare of emotion and a physical strike grew less and less. But, a quick tell was better than no tell especially in a fight.

The chop was sharp but was still a swiping attack, giving Vera time to both block the woman's approaching wrist. The Head Girl grabbed that wrist. Feeling the still going flare of emotions, the silver haired woman tried to pull on that arm to send Kite off balance during her next attack. As she did this, her other arm snapped forward to strike at her pet's face. Hopefully, pulling the woman into the blow will not hurt too much. Vera would release the wrist and back away, not wishing to harm her possession.

Sword had mentioned that part of her way of doing things was to simply soak all the punishment lain upon her, so it is probably no great surprise that she isn't stunned, though she lets Vera back away, grinning. "This is normally the part where i'd make use of just how much i can ignore pain to go for a tackle. But there's very little to learn or teach in that position."

And she attacked again, a straight punch for Vera's midsection that would be followed by either a heavier hit from the other hand, or a kick at Vera's legs, depending on which way Vera deflected the first attack. Aggression was something that never truly left Sword's emotions, after all, she always was on the lookout for someone to fight, even if she didn't act on the urge outside of the Rules her Queen had set for her.

Just because Kite was willing to take any and all punishment did not mean Vera would suddenly take advantage of that and try and harm her pet. Sword mentioned that she would have tackled her then. Then again, if this were someone else, Vera would not have stopped attacking until her opponent was subdued. Perhaps in the future, more brutal forms of sparing would be done. But for right now, both of them were learning the ropes of sparing and teaching.

Vera blocked the punch and deflected it off the side. She knew trying to stop any of these blows head on would take far more energy and possibly leave her open for attack. The kick came but there was no time to back away. Instead, the silver haired woman just let her instincts lift her leg so the kick would hit a shin or calf rather than a joint. She then used that raised leg to turn her body while throwing a strong right towards Kite's face.

(My apologies for the delay, the usual suspects are to blame)

Sword ducked under the blow, crouching only for a brief moment before lunging with intent to drive her shoulder into Vera's chest, sure, that pretty much gave Vera free reign for her sides and back for a few moments, but any strike opens opportunities for counterstrike. But this wasn't a real fight. So just after contact, Sword twisted aside and stepped away to get some distance again. "The head's a great target for controlling a fight, mia Regina, but too much focus on it and you give that control right back."

Sword needed the space for herself, as well. Perhaps this place had been a bad choice after all, for a moment she'd lost sight of things, and she had no idea how much force she'd put behind that slam.

((It's okies. ^.^))

Vera's counterattack hit nothing but air as Kite ducked under and slammed right into the Head Girl. "Oof!" Some breath was lost as the woman stumbled backwards and eventually fell on her ass. "I'm fine," she waved Kite back should she show any concern about harming her Mistress, "So in other words, do not aim for the same place multiple times." The Head Girl rose to her feet, smoothing out her skirt as she took a deep breath. She was bit winded from the impact but, there was no serious injury to her body. Shifting back into a fighting stance, she waited for her pet to continue with her sparring lesson.

Concern is a complicated one for Sword, she has it, though how to go about showing it has usually been some form of 'point me at the thing that hurt you and i will make them bleed' for her. Sword did not know the details of how her Queen always seemed to know her emotions better than she herself did, but in the ones she had not even a wisp of how to express, it was helpful.

"Not so much that as avoiding any simple patterns, mia Regina. There will be times you do want to hit the same place again right away, particularly to take advantage of an opening. I'm far from perfect on that, more often than not, i start by charging or lunging in close. Reckless, and the source of plenty of scars. But that's just part of berserking. Hopefully, you can be a better fighter than i am, mia Regina, so that i can be wielded as your weapon."

Sword smiled, and even in her emotions gave no warning before a sudden low jab towards Vera's stomach, thrown, empathically speaking, quite amiably, for a punch.

The clarification was unnecessary as Vera knew what her pet meant. But, it was welcomed nonetheless. Thankfully, the Head Girl was already in her fighting stance as Kite suddenly attacked with a quick jab towards her stomach. Vera was unable to read the attack coming emotionally but was able to see it with her eyes at least. She shifted to one side, twisting her body as she did to make the attack graze across her shirt.

The Head Girl used her back arm to block the punch away while sending her front arm out for a fast jab of her own. She followed the punch with another with her other arm to try and force Kite away. Knowing Sword though, pushing a berserker back was unlikely. So instead, Vera would shift to the side and swing a kick towards her pet's midsection. The shorts she wore made kicks easy enough to throw and it was doubtful the little skirts of the school uniform would hinder her in a real fight.

Kite was caught off guard by Vera's flurry of strikes, so when the kick connected with her stomach she actually doubled over, briefly falling to one knee with the breath forced out of her. Sword was happy about this. Accusations of masochism aside (and probably not entirely unfounded), this was the goal. For her queen to be more able to defend herself should someone attack her, to defeat them. Though whether to push harder or take a break now was a question she didn't now how to answer. Her instincts were always to push. Which is why rather than get back to her feetSword lashed out, twisting to kick at Vera's legs, either to knock her down or get her to back away.

Vera's attacks slipped through the experienced woman's defenses. The Head Girl stepped back as Kite fell to a knee, gasping for breath. This would be an opportunity to go all out and take advantage of her fallen partner but, that was simply not Vera's methods. This was just to protect herself against potential student threats. Making them stop attacking her would be enough. If they were to get up and continue, she would deal with it then. Besides, Vera would not try cornering Sword as that would only put herself in danger rather than at an advantage.

The Head Girl was not too concerned about Kite's condition. The aura of happiness radiating from the woman was enough to let her know that the damage was not serious. A sudden spark made Vera jump back to avoid the sweeping kick. Kite wanted to keep going and going it seemed. Now was a good time to stop or at least take a break.

"That is enough for now," she ordered, "We have been at this for a bit. Shall we rest?" Vera left the question open. The silver haired woman obviously could not just train forever but, she was willing to continue a bit longer after their break if Sword wished. Taking a slow breath, Vera stretched a bit as she was once more bombarded with the emotions that saturated this place. It was not exactly pleasant but at least she was with pleasant company, her precious pet and protector. "Are you feeling better about this?" Vera asked, "You seem to be more comfortable teaching compared to before."