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."

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.

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.

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."

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.