Journal

"…Are you sure you want to spar, Laurent?"

Kris frowns at his partner, who is giving his gunblade a few test swings. "Why wouldn't I? We've never been able to before now."

"Yes, that's true, but…" Kris turns his gaze to the greatsword in his hands. "…I don't want to hurt you. On accident, that is."

"So you'd rather do it on purpose?" Laurent chuckles lightly when Kris huffs in annoyance. "Don't worry, I think I have enough combat experience to dodge you. But can you say the same?"

"I didn't take you to be the competitive type, my love…"

"Not sure what you mean." Laurent keeps his tone neutral, but the excitement in his eyes betrays his true feelings. "Are you ready?"

"I suppose." Kris lifts the greatsword and, with a serious expression, lunges towards Laurent.

Laurent's eyes widen slightly as Kris quickly closes the distance, and he backsteps out of the way just before the greatsword slams into the ground where he was. Hells…! How is he able to move so quickly!?

Kris wastes no time launching another attack, throwing all of his weight into a horizontal slice that nearly knocks himself off balance, and the gunbreaker steps back with a frown. Wait… does Eir even know how to use that sword?

Laurent keeps his distance, dodging his partner's heavy-handed strikes with increasing ease. It became clear to him that Kris used the greatsword as a bludgeon, relying on his newfound speed and strength to dispatch foes before they could strike.

It's easy enough to see his weakness. I need to get him to stop for a moment, though… Laurent sidesteps another of the dark knight's wild attacks, then quickly swings his gunblade down in an attempt to throw him off balance.

The Warrior of Light tsks, swiftly moving the greatsword in front of him to block the blow. The impact causes a loud metallic tang to ring out, and Kris folds his ears down in annoyance. "Must you? The noise hurts my ears."

"Apologies for not being as accommodating as your enemies." Laurent fires a cartridge from his gunblade, and a bright light blinds Kris while his arms buckle from the force of the attack.

"Hells… Could you be less annoying?" Kris squints, trying to find his opponent, but finds that Laurent is no longer in front of him.

Eir won't be able to recover in time, agility be damned. Now…! The gunbreaker quietly circles Kris, and upon getting behind him, raises the gunblade over his head and brings it down with a force meant to be the decisive blow.

"…Huh?" Laurent felt the blade hit something, but it wasn't the shoulder he was aiming for. Instead, he sees that Kris lifted his forearm to block the blow, with dark energy surrounding his arm as extra protection. Given his angry expression and gritted teeth, Laurent could tell that the blow still hurt him, but it certainly wasn't the final blow he was hoping for.

Laurent takes a few steps back, but after a moment, an unamused expression crosses his face. "That's not particularly fair, Kris, using your dark arts when I have none."

Kris rubs his forearm and matches his expression. "You started it—it's not like I can use gunblade cartridges on a whim."

"That's different—"

"How?"

"I… that is…" Laurent looks away, mumbling something before coming up with an excuse. "You're the one with the Echo! I needed something to level the playing field."

Kris rolls his eyes, clearly over the argument, and scowls as he rubs his forearm again. "Why were you swinging so hard, anyway? You damn near broke my arm."

"And you damn near crushed my skull with that first swing!" Laurent crosses his arms in a huff.

"You're the one with the combat experience, if I remember correctly."

The two Viera glare at each other, and eventually, Kris sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. "…Maybe sparring isn't the best idea."

Laurent turns away, sulking. "Perhaps…"

"You really are competitive, aren't you?" Kris chuckles before walking over and standing next to his partner. "I don't need to tell you that being the better fighter isn't about pure strength. You already know you have me beat, anyway." He softly smiles, leaning so that Laurent can see him. "I don't think we have to nearly kill each other to see that."

Upon seeing Kris's face, Laurent's expression softens. "You're right, my love…"

"I always am." Kris laughs as Laurent gives him another glare, and he turns him back in the direction of Mor Dhona. "Let's head back and get some rest… someone needs to nurse my poor arm back to health, after all."