<strong>Name: </strong>Henrik<br/><strong>Location:</strong>The Top<br/><strong>Tagged: </strong>Shizuru, open<br/>No sooner had he reached his gear than he heard the demoness teacher address him. He would turn to look at her, meeting her gaze with his own, out of respect. "Very well. It's an honor." And Henrik was not a man to just pass out idle compliments, or say anything he did not mean. There's no flattery or ass-kissing here; just respect.<br/><br/><br/>He held the sword's scabbard in his left hand as he approached her, right hand slowly drawing the bluish-silvery broadsword from the metal-studded leather home it had. Since she was so proficient with fighting, and had seen him dual-wielding earlier to boot, she'd likely notice right away that the way he held the scabbard, indicated he would be using it in an offensive or defensive capacity. The thick metal studs on it made it seem all the more likely.<br/><br/>"I believe she will grow stronger from it. Some times, you'll be stuck miles from civilization, with a broken tibia, and have no recourse but to hike." His comment is meant more as an explanation as to why he would allow the fight to get that intense, rather than a defense of his choice. He never saw a need to defend his actions; merely to explain them. People would draw their conclusions, and stick with them, and Henrik would not seek to change them.<br/><br/>"Would you prefer we hold ourselves back in training?" This was not some smart-ass rhetorical question, but, he meant it sincerely. Henrik had his firmly-settled ideas on training; the teacher most certainly would have her own, and in some way, he was hoping to actually get her perspective.<br/><br/>Confident as Henrik was, and appeared to be, he knew that he could always stand to learn something new, and that what he did know was not the be all, end all; there was always impurities in the logic that needed to be smelted out, and new thoughts to alloy into it.<br/><br/>His eyes were not yet closed, since he could see her inactivity; and yet, he most sincerely doubted she was anything but fully prepared and ready. Though still outwardly confident, in truth, he was a bit nervous; but how could that be anything but a natural reaction to whom he was facing?<br/><br/>It should be noted that his talking had taken place while walking towards her; and once that final word had been uttered, his pace quickened, closing the distance between them; he would lash out at her hip with the metal-studded scabbard; there would be a moments pause, perhaps of hesitation, but in truth, he waited for a specific reason.<br/><br/>If she were to teleport away, he would move to a more defensive stance; if she did not teleport, she'd soon find the flat side of the sword moving towards her left shoulder.<br/><br/>Obviously, still burdened by the weights, there is a degree of sluggishness to his movements; but still, he was doing far better than an unburdened average warrior could do.