Gray stepped forward and then raised his sword lightly.
The tip angled forward, shoulders relaxed, feet placed shoulder-width apart. His left foot slid half a step back, heel barely lifting as he adjusted his center of gravity.
Aurora observed everything about that same stance.
The angle of his wrist.
The tension in his forearm and the even distribution of weight through his hips.
Her lips curved faintly.
"Interesting."
Fwoop!
She moved first with no warning at all.
One moment she stood still, the next she had crossed half the distance between them, her boots gliding over the stone with barely a sound.
Her blade cut downward in a clean diagonal arc aimed at his shoulder.
Gray stepped to the side rather than blocking directly.
Steel scraped against steel as he redirected the edge at the last second, turning her strike away with a precise flick of his wrist.
The impact rang through the training ground, sharp and controlled.
Aurora pivoted instantly.
