Swipe Right For New Lieutenant Jr!

[Sam]

João stroked his facial scruff slightly as he leaned into the table. Musing on both their replies. Both were good... Benbow reminded him of himself somewhat. Just a basic and honest man wasn't he? Good. But Poppy wanted change and João could relate to craving change. Wanting to impact the world? If you will? Yeah, wanting to leave an impact that was.

"Good, good..."

The large CO Officer lifted the table with one arm and gently placed it in a corner to create more room for the both of them to have their spar. With that João held the white timer in his outstretched large palm squinting at it with his orange eyes. He placed his hand over the nozzle turning it all the way.

"Três, dois, um, comece!"
("Three, Two, One, Begin!" In Portuguese)

Joâo let go of the nozzle a clicking sound was heard along with the furious ticks of the little timer. The marine chuckled to himself, excited to see what Poppy had to offer. If someone could last against Cynna for that long? Then they were more than combat ready. In recent years the North Blue had become increasingly dangerous especially after the events on Marineford. Officers needed to be at thier best!

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João | White Smoke #F5F5F5 | Post Count: 6

[Fox]

Poppy breathed deeply in the calm moments before the Lieutenant declared for them to begin. She closed her eyes and readied her stance, opening them the instant Teixeira said go. She fell forward as if she were about to pass out onto the floor as Cynna rushed at her. It entirely appeared as though her sleep deprivation had caught up to her in an instant. And as the thrust was about to pass over her, Poppy disappeared in a sudden burst of speed. She zig-zagged around Cynna, leaping up into the air as she finally reappeared to swing her sword at the back of Cynna’s head.

“Mabataki,” she said sleepily, “and…”

Poppy swung her sheathed sword incredibly lazily at Cynna in a way that looked almost half-hearted and flimsy.

“Nemuritora.”

Regardless of whether Cynna blocked, dodged, or parried this blow, it would be accompanied with incredible and surprising force, enough to send the unwary flying. While Poppy might have looked half-asleep, there was nothing sleepy about her movements or the power behind her blows. She was here to earn that position. By force, if needed.

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Poppy | #ff0000 | Post Count: 6

[Kami-Gaz]

"Três, dois, um, comece!"

Cynna surged forward and moved to meet the sleepy attack with a shallow thrust aimed knock the young woman on the shoulder. That however did not happen as she slipped past and made her counter. With a chuckle Cynna stepped back as she spun about face and thrust her sword forward to redirect the momentum and the attack itself away. It was good that she did because the power in the arm of young Poppy was tremendous, that would have left quite the bruise if it had impacted. With a grin the elder marine slipped back a few steps. “Deceptively strong and agile.”

Her free hand slipped down to her belt and pulled the half demon mask free and placed it over her mouth, when it clicked into place with the piercings behind her ears her eyes sharpened. “No holding back for you!” She announced before surging forward again, as she did, she fired a beanbag out of the gun part of her weapon as a distraction. The sword didn’t stay in a thrusting motion for long as it was angled quickly and a series of slashing attacks, using the back of the blade. Cynna was aiming to really test the defence of the woman in front of her.

She did expect a majority of these to be dodged, parried or countered in some way but the sheer amount of quick and light attacks were designed to really pressure people into making mistakes due to the sheer speed. As Cynna shifted her attack patterns she would pull the trigger and fire a beanbag at her opponent. ”Klingenhagel(Hail Of Blades)”

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SPOILER: Click to show

{Techs Used}Name:– Klingenhagel (Hail Of Blades)
Fighting Style:– Donnerschlag
Rank:– 2
Description:– Cynna attacks in a quick flurry of strikes, spinning her blade shooting her shells to utilise the recoil and cocking her lever action loader in a quick practiced motion to maximise damage and speed. This is a quick and devastating technique that needs a perfect opening to achieve maximum damage whilst not killing the target.

[Sam]

Watching from behind the desk João narrowed his eyes looking at Poppy’s rather unusual fighting style. It seemed so sluggish like someone sleep deprived but that was the deception behind it as the power and agility behind was made known. He smiled showing off his pearly whites and hyena-like fangs. His orange eyes opened wide, even Cynna seemed to have initially become surprised.

“Good, good.”

João said to himself as he began to write some notes. He was trained in swordsmanship himself so there were some things he could likely pass on to Poppy if he did recruit her. Or learn from her if he was honest. After all her style seemed rather skillful and in a very strange way… graceful. He put his pen down and watched at Cynna’s showcase. If Poppy could somehow bypass this attack from Cynna then he was certain she was the one. No contest… not to offend Mr.Benbow but compared to Poppy his presence hadn’t been impressive. Of course he’d give him a chance to fight Cynna nonetheless. It was only fair after all and it was never good to jump to conclusions. But a part of him had already settled on Lieutenant Junior Catania.

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João | White Smoke #F5F5F5 | Post Count: 7

[Fox]

“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” Poppy said flatly, her dull monotone not really conveying the excitement that she felt. She landed lightly after Cynna parried her attack, resetting her feet so that she wouldn’t be caught off balance. Cynna surged forth once more, firing a beanbag out of her weapon. Poppy blinked with surprise, not really accustomed to this sort of fighting and only barely managed to parry it with her blade.

Of course, the veteran wasn’t quite done with her, lifting her blade to engage in a series of slashing attacks directed at her. It seemed as though Poppy was about to be hit by the barrage of blades, but all of a sudden, Poppy tilted backward as if she were about to fall over, avoiding the first of the blows. She suddenly jerked back upright as if lurching from sleep, which enabled her to avoid another slash. Another near miss. A parry there. Poppy was perfectly matching Cynna in speed and skill.

Noticing the quick and sudden shift in attack pattern, Poppy decided to go on the offensive. Dodging one last strike, Poppy disappeared in a sudden burst of speed, the same as last time, effectively avoiding the last beanbag Cynna threw at her to reappear at the woman’s feet, angling her sword directly upward toward the Warrant Officer’s throat. She could have jumped and stabbed upwards with the same blinding speed as before, but she relaxed instead.

“Is that sufficient, Lieutenant, sir? I think one of us will actually get hurt if we proceed much further.”

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Poppy | #ff0000 | Post Count: 7

[Kami-Gaz]

This Poppy was good with a blade, she handled the distraction shot and then kept pace with her defence, parrying and dodging all of the attacks with skill. This was then pushed even as Poppy did what felt like an uncharacteristic fall making one of the swipes miss entirely. That was no worry as Cynna simply adjusted and pushed on for a few strikes. The pressure was on, but it wasn’t enough Cynna needed to make a change and to go in for a decisive blow.

She shifted her footwork and made a move to go for a wider attack, one that couldn’t be dodged as easily. It was in that moment that Poppy made a move at a speed Cynna hadn’t seen from the young marine yet. Just as the tip of Poppy’s blade reached her throat the back of the horned marine’s stopped just short of the side of the girl’s neck.

“Aye sir, Catania is right there. We’ve at least gotten each other into a stalemate. She is good.” Cynna praised before taking a step back and sheathing her blade, as she did, she wore a proud smile. It was not often that she was impressed by someone else’s bladework, especially by a younger female officer. It was good to see.

The Warrant Officer then turned to the other candidate and her smile turned predatory in nature, could the man with the personality of a wet noodle hold a candle to Poppy Catanaia? Or was he another man with all bluster that got here through daddy’s money? “Are we ready Benbow Sir?”