Envy's Ford [Vanyel, Veralia]

Even though the flow of combat had slowed to a stop, Vanyel's stance and posture never broke, ready to attack again at any point. He didn't care about her acknowledging him as strong. More than anything, he was thinking about what she might do next. She had some kind of jade-colored flames, was hard to deal proper damage to with Hierro, and was able to slip in and out of offensive and defensive positions with their movement technique.

It wasn't until she questioned his techniques that he blinked in confusion, until he remembered the brief instance in one of their clashes. He had managed to transmute his energy into water out of desperation to cool the flames that had seared him. Then, she started inquiring about his hand-to-hand. He remembered Amaranta had called it the same thing. Did they really not have formalized martial arts within the Arrancar?

"It was...something. If I try, I...might be able to do it again? But, why're you callin' it hand-to-hand? It's...It's just martial arts, both from the Living World throughout history, and some that I created myself. Fluidity is kind of the point, it keeps your body in a particular motion that lets you use your entire body as a weapon, brace yourself for attacks, and dodge if needed."

THE FIRE OF ENVY NEVER DIES

THE FLAME THAT BURNS THE BRIGHTEST

"I know how to throw a good punch, some kicks, and throw my strength around like a brute, but I guess I lack proper martial arts knowledge."

Veralia was blunt and didn't bother hiding her insight. Ain't like this was a battle for life or death. If anything, she was curious to see if she could push this in her favor to learn from someone that knows their shit.

"Perhaps we both can help each other out. You've got me beat when it comes to finesse, while my strength seems to be forcing whatever watery power to come out due to pressure. Maybe we can both train each other and get ourselves stronger."

Her blood-red eyes narrowed as she focused on Vanyel. She knew that trusting a hollow wasn’t easy, so the next move was his in this brief ceasefire of their spar.

So, he was right. She basically fought like a barbarian, throwing around punches and kicks with her raw power. When it came to a lack of martial knowledge, overpowering an opponent with pure physicality was a sound option. Well, that strategy did work, to some degree, but, it would only get you so far. The suggestion of helping one another out caused Vanyel to raise an eyebrow.

He wasn't exactly eager to start trusting a Hollow. But, with that burst of power that came out during their spar, and thinking back to all the notes and ideas he had written down...this could be his chance. He took a moment to think about it in silence, keeping his eye closely trained on Veralia.

"...Alright. Let's do this."

Taking a deep breath in, Vanyel focused his thoughts. He wondered how he would be able to get that power to appear again, beyond throw himself into danger. Fire and water, both had unveiled themselves through fighting with an Arrancar. In their ceasefire, Vanyel took a bit of time to think about the two elements, and what they meant, and how they related to each situation.

Fire was easy; expansive, aggressive, restlessness, activeness. The expansive, aggressive chaos that the last occurrence had, the restless and active nature of his overall lifestyle with martial arts, cooking, and work as a bodyguard. As for water...creativity, pliancy and adaptability. His experimentation in martial arts to adapt and work with the flow of this woman's fighting style.

Keeping those thoughts in mind, he pressed the front of his foot onto the ground, channeling energy through his body, trying to tap into that burst of speed that allowed him to narrowly avoid her attacks before. In a flash, he surged forward with a charging step, aiming to sink his knee into her stomach. Though, compared to his blows from before, he had channeled energy into the area in a manner to give it an extra sense of weight, like the pressure of the deep sea.

THE FIRE OF ENVY NEVER DIES

THE FLAME THAT BURNS THE BRIGHTEST

Veralia felt the force of his kick as he came at her. Grunting in pain, she now had a feel for his speed and strength, steeling herself as she coughed up a bit of spit in response. In exchange for this hurt, she hoped his foot would feel like it was kicking straight through diamond and steel as she had hardened her Hierro at her gut to more tactfully use her abilities and bait him into an exchange.

Then, she lunged forward, this time with purpose, her movements wild but fierce. As she threw a punch aimed for Vanyel’s chest, her other hand stayed back, poised, ready to strike again if needed. In the back of her mind, she knew she had to change. She had to focus more, use her strength in a way that didn’t just rely on overwhelming force. But it was hard to let go of those instincts, especially when they had carried her through so many fights.

"I’ll figure it out."

With a growl, she was still relying on brute strength but with the intent of learning. Her fiery nature was hard to temper, but she knew deep down that there was a lesson here—one she needed to learn, even if it frustrated her.

"And you will figure out that water shit as well."

Her voice was fierce, but there was a hint of encouragement beneath the challenge, a recognition that they were both pushing themselves to grow.

Despite it feeling like he had just sunk his knee into a steel wall, Vanyel didn't even flinch. Ready to reciprocate, Vanyel's free hand was quick to push Veralia's incoming strike to the side, even quicker with the switch from offense to defense. Without needing to alter his arm's position, Vanyel launched his elbow upward in an attempt to change targets and keep her on the defensive by focusing on particularly vulnerable areas able to be exposed. After all, even an Arrancar could be stunned by sudden head trauma with the right amount of force applied.

"And you'll figure out how to attack without lookin' like an ape. In martial arts, every part of your body is crucial to maintaining that flow, both offensively or defensively."

Forming a thin platform of energy to stand on, inspired by the Shinigami that used them to imitate flight, it allowed him to stay in the air and keep a sound sense of footwork. If she wanted to learn how to fight like a martial artist, she was going to learn the hard way, and Vanyel had no problem beating the information into her if it meant she got it right.

THE FIRE OF ENVY NEVER DIES

THE FLAME THAT BURNS THE BRIGHTEST

Veralia's face briefly turned red at his comment as she narrowly evaded the swing of his elbow, but it wasn't as if he was wrong about his assessment. Most of her opponents could be overwhelmed with enough strength, as in Hueco Mundo; all that mattered was if you were strong enough to protect what was yours. So it was a bitch of a lesson to learn, but she'd find the strength needed to push through.

In an irritated but determined voice, she spoke out to him as she regained her focus.

"Flow, huh? Fine, I'll show ya flow. Don’t expect me to just stand here and take a beating."

With a flicker of emerald fire gathering around her fists, she charged forward again, this time trying to focus more on what Vanyel had said. Instead of throwing wild punches, she aimed a sharp, precise jab toward his ribs, trying to keep her energy concentrated. She followed it up with a quick spin, using the momentum to bring her leg around in a sweeping kick aimed at his side.

Even as she fought, her movements still carried the raw strength she was known for, but now there was an edge of control—a hint of the flow Vanyel was pushing her to find. She wasn’t used to this style of fighting, and it showed, but the fire in her soul refused to back down.

With his elbow in an awkward position, he wasn't in any position to try and block her incoming attack. With such a slippery opponent, he needed to continue that flow of adaptation. He glanced at her oncoming knife hand, and his energy responded, an amount of it pooling in a wide area around his ribs. It was a quick, precise jab, but had been slightly dampened, her hand briefly feeling as if it had made contact with the surface of water.

However, before she was able to get her second attack off, Vanyel was quick to push himself forward in a turn-step and slam into Veralia with the full brunt of his shoulder, back, and, essentially, turning the entirety of his body into a sudden, devastating weapon.

A signature technique of Bājíquán, the tetsuzanko, Iron Shoulder. It was intended to take advantage of her being off-balance and force her down.

He could tell that she was trying to use the idea of flowing attacks, but, she still needed proper guidance on how these things worked. So, spreading his legs, Vanyel entered the horse stance, acting as a sort of visual representation for what he was about to explain.

"Not terrible, but martial arts is about maintaining awareness of your entire body, what each part is doing while you're moving or attacking. Use your speed if you want to attack with the legs. Aim for the upper body to disorient, take up their field of vision, and don't leave a leg on the ground, that can backfire. If you're not, then keep your stance wide to support your upper body and keep yourself stable."

THE FIRE OF ENVY NEVER DIES

THE FLAME THAT BURNS THE BRIGHTEST

Veralia sucked her teeth, staggering slightly as Vanyel's Iron Shoulder made contact with her body. Fortunately, she was able to absorb the brunt of the force, but she still growled out of irritation. Quickly, she planted her feet to prevent herself from falling back to the earth. With his words murmuring in her mind like a burning pain, she nodded and her intent was to strike back at any cost.

"Stable... right. Thanks, I ain't pissed at ya, just myself."

As steam exited her mouth like a dragon, her eyes narrowed as she focused. With irritation in her voice, this wasn't optimal even if she could feel her envious nature trying to boil for his technique. Forcing herself to calm down, she shifted her stance, spreading her legs wide for balance, mirroring his horse stance but adapting it with her own aggression.

Taking his advice to heart, she pushed off the ground with her back leg, using her speed to slide low into a sweeping kick aimed at Vanyel’s legs. The idea wasn’t just to knock him off balance but to open up his defenses by attacking his lower body while staying stable herself. Fire trailed lightly from her foot, adding an extra edge to the strike, but controlled this time—more like a blade than a wild flame.

As soon as her sweep was finished, she pushed off her other leg, aiming to leap upward and drive her knee toward his chest. It was a fast, fluid motion meant to catch him off-guard by transitioning quickly from defense to offense, attacking his upper body to disrupt his balance, just like he had advised. The knee carried more precision than before, her raw power now guided with more focus.

She was learning quick, even without his notes on footwork. It was almost unnerving and worrisome. His eyes narrowed slightly, but he nodded as she mimicked his own stance. As she went for a sweep to his legs, Vanyel did a quick, small leap to avoid the attack, bringing his arms up to protect himself, layering his hands on top of one another as she tried to take him off-guard.

While it did dampen the blow, it still made him flinch as it forced him backward, in part a blessing, as it allowed him to avoid the hazard where his feet were just moments before. This level of adaptation wasn't something he was used to seeing. But, these were Arrancar, and there was a whole thing with reincarnation in the world they lived in. It was possible that she had some kind of martial background in a prior life, someone so skilled that the muscle memory remained dormant, waiting to be awoken.

Or, it was also entirely possible that she was just prodigious with martial arts. Either way, Vanyel regained his footing, returning to the horse stance.

"Better. Quick motions like that keep an enemy from taking advantage of your shifted balance."

Channeling energy to access that burst of speed again, Vanyel surged forward, raising his fist to strike her in the dead center of her head. But, it stopped just short, his other arm suddenly launching to strike her left shoulder in place of the feint. As the feint stopped, Veralia would feel a sudden rush of heat wash over her, energy briefly coating his fist, before switching to the other, something that would leave a small burn, should it make contact.

THE FIRE OF ENVY NEVER DIES

THE FLAME THAT BURNS THE BRIGHTEST

Even though she was making headway, her head was still burning with envy and contempt. Part of her felt like a moron for not picking up on this sooner, while the other was stubborn and just forcing herself to push through the training so she could take the lessons and be better off in the long-run. As her head began to throb and ache, her eyes brightened with an emerald glow as more steam exited her mouth and she was ready to lock in for the next round of exchanges.

As his fist came close, the sudden rush of heat brushed her skin, and she barely managed to twist her body, pulling her shoulder back to avoid taking the full impact of the strike. However, the burn still seared against her, reminding her that she wasn’t fast enough yet. Not yet.

"Tch, I think you'll master water faster than fire. Your soul is cool and calm."

Grunting, Veralia used the momentum of the deflection to push herself back in a fluid motion. She was focusing on staying low to the ground and gathering energy as the soles of her feet ignited in an emerald light. Quickly, Veralia planted her foot firmly and spun around, her leg sweeping toward Vanyel’s legs again, but this time with more control as a wave of fire shot out from her foot as if it were protecting her. While her actual fighting form was still wild—her kick was precise, fast, and backed with just enough force to knock him off balance if it connected.

"Fire is wild, sure, but it’s also alive. You must treat it like a living thing, not just some weapon you swing around. Fire responds to emotion, to intent. You need to feel it, control it, guide it. Put more of your heart into it if you want it to burn me."

Her tone was fierce, yet guiding as they both were figuring this shit out as they went along.

"Or to put it another way: what the hell makes your soul burn up? Ask yourself that question."