<div class="floatright">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/c/c1/RedAjah.jpg)</div><strong>Character name:</strong>Theraeve Valaim (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=234819.msg11557599#msg11557599)<br/><strong>Position:</strong>Aes Sedai of the Red Ajah<br/><strong>Bondmate:</strong>n/a<br/><strong>Tag:</strong>Kalain, Open<br/><strong>Time:</strong>Early Afternoon, Saven 6th, 990NE<br/><strong>Place:</strong>Training grounds<br/><strong>Warning:</strong>n/a<br/><hr/><br/>When her kick wasn't immediately blocked or parried, Theraeve knew that it was going to connect just as she'd pictured before throwing it, but the end result was far from being as satisfying as she'd hoped. Having learned to protect herself in the very same way, by distributing the force of a blow more evenly through an area rather than allowing it all to be concentrated upon the point of impact, she instinctively recognized that she'd failed to truly hurt him just by the way that his muscles felt when her shin connected against them.<br/><br/>Impressive enough, but what really shocked her was the manner in which he caught the follow up punch so effortlessly, even taking the time to taunt her with that blasted apple, earning himself an angry snarl for his efforts. "It's not even wor-" Theraeve started, only to be cut off as her opponent brusquely shifted his body and hurled his fist directly towards her solar plexus, striking at the vulnerable area with a level of precision that could only have been earned through countless hours of training and experience.<br/><br/>In the fraction of a second that she was afforded, Theraeve breathed out and momentarily flexed her sternum outwards to meet the blow head on, causing it to act as a sort of hard shell that protected the diaphragm behind it from the full force of Kal's punch. Having so little time to react, she hadn't been able to defend perfectly, and so still found most of the air being driven out of her lungs, causing her to double over with an involuntary gasp before going down to one knee. Without that instinctive reaction, however, she surely would have been left writhing around on the sand, desperately wheezing for air, an outcome that she'd only avoided by the narrowest of margins.<br/><br/>Even now he continued to insult her by not pressing the attack further when he could. Instead, he was seemingly content to just stand there, looking oh-so very proud of himself in a way that drove Theraeve absolutely crazy. She wanted so desperately to punish this bastard, to rip him the shreds with her bare hands, and yet...her shapely lips slowly curved upwards into an almost fiendish smirk even as she clutched an arm over her bruised solar plexus, the pain feeding her adrenaline and making her feel more alive than she had while facing the three Valdars previously.<br/><br/>"Theraeve," she gave him her name, her naturally deep and smoky voice carrying even more of a raspy edge than usual. He'd earned that much, at least. "If I didn't know any better," she continued, pausing once to breathe, "I'd think you were trying to impress me." Doing her best to ignore the pain spreading out throughout her chest, Theraeve pushed herself back up to her feet, ready to continue. She had definitely found some respect for him already, but that didn't mean that she wanted to take him apart any less than before, especially here on his own turf, in front of his own men.<br/><br/>The thought of it alone was enough to excite her and make her eager for more, although this time she would let him come to her. "It's impolite to keep a lady waiting. Manners." As casually as she could managed under the circumstances, she dusted herself off and brushed the stray strands of blonde hair away from her face, inviting him to make his move whenever he was ready.