Toughen Up (open)

[Tatsu Savage]

A soft panting was the only thing heard over the steady sound of feet pounding on the ground, as a small shadow sped through the already darkening forest. It was just early afternoon, but somehow these woods were always dark and gloomy, but that made them an even better place to train without being seen.

With a powerful leap, the black-clad figure jumped across a small stream, smoothly landing on the other side and without breaking her run, she continued on her invisible path through the forest. Suddenly, something flashed silvery in the dark and an almost silent exhalation was the only sign for the killing that had just been committed.

A dagger was put back in its holster as the girl quickly neared the edge of the woods, the small lights the torches that led up to the castle emitted was just enough to illuminate the witch's pale skin and the grey eyes that glinted dangerously in the dark.

Slithering to a halt by the black lake, the young girl took a deep breath, the freezing cold air of the winter hitting her airways, but she just smiled and tilted her head upwards to let some of the falling snow hit her tongue. The approaching steps from behind her did not make her turn, but the dagger slipped back into the Slytherin's hand.

[Meg Parsons]

Walking through the vast Hogwarts grounds always seemed to calm Meg down. Slowly, she wandered, not caring where her feet took her, only searching for peace and solitude. She was like that, sometimes - being around people got her so uptight and angry, even if she hadn't exchanged a word of conversation with them.
The early afternoon light held the weakness of winter, and somehow, didn't feel warm at all. Clouds covered the sky in a blanket of grey, which spat small drops of snow to the ground. Meg shivered.
Looking up, she realised that her feet had taken her to the edge of the forbidden forest, by the black lake; and that she was not alone. A small, darkly-clothed figure was standing by the shore of the lake, head thrown back in the snow. Meg halted for a moment.
"Hello!" she called out, staying where she had stopped, unsure if she was welcome. If she doesn't reply, I'll carry on walking, she resolved.

[Tatsu Savage]

A smirk slipped into the girl's face and her eyes flashed bright for a second before she slowly turned to look at the new arrival. It was a Ravenclaw girl, not much older than her, with long red hair and a rather innocent look about her. Well...we shall see if she really is that innocent, she thought and took a step closer to the other girl, her dagger hidden under her sleeve.
"Hello ... " She said calmly and crooked her head to the side to give the Ravenclaw a look over. "What brings you out in this weather?" For now, the Slytherin would play nicely.

[Meg Parsons]

Meg stared at the girl, almost surprised that she had been answered. She was obviously slytherin, with long, blonde hair and a pale, defined face, wearing too much eyeliner and a blank expression. It took her a second to remember that she had been asked a question.
"Getting some fresh air," Meg replied, "it was too stuffy in there." She gestured in a vague direction of the castle, and let her arm fall back to her side. "What about you?" she asked, with what she hoped came across as a friendly smile. In reality, the corners of her mouth barely twitched. I am really not in toe mood for conversation, why did I start this? she wondered to herself idly, hugging her chest for warmth.

[Tatsu Savage]

Nodding calmly to herself, the Slytherin listened to the other girl before jumping forward to press her dagger against her throat. "I was training in the woods." she growled, a slightly demented grin on her face which was only inches apart from the Ravenclaw's. She stared right into her eyes for a few moments, before stepping back, the calm expression back on her face, as her dagger vanished back in its holster. "Fresh air is always something to look for, especially when you're surrounded by idiots inside." she muttered, looking back at the calm surface of the lake which always managed to sooth her as well.

[Meg Parsons]

Meg screamed as she felt the coldness of metal dig into her neck, jerking backwards, her breath coming in ragged gasps. The Slytherin girl grinned, her wild eyes only inches from Meg's own, wide with terror. The girl stepped back, returning to calmness, and Meg also stepped back, her hand at her throat.

"Yeah, idiots," she whispered, almost to her self, "and crazy people with knives..." the girl hard turned her back on Meg, and instead was staring into the black waters before them, still and silent as a statue.

"I took a self defense class once," sh added, slightly louder, rasing her chin in an attempt to make herself seem taller. THis girl is younger than me and I'm terrified of her! she screamed internally. I wonder if there's a way to leave without losing any blood.

[Tatsu Savage]

Looking over her shoulder at the older girl, she raised an eyebrow at her in amusement of her reaction to the dagger on her throat. It was almost cute the way she had screamed rather than trying to defend herself. If she had actually meant to kill the girl, it would have been quite simple to do that. "Chill out, girl, I'm no threat to you...for now." she commented almost casually, resting her hand on her hip as she smirked at the Ravenclaw.

Slowly, Tatsu raised her hands and started clapping, the smirk not leaving her face. "I'm so impressed." she drawled sarcastically, though her expression was still more amused than condescending. At least the Raven had not run away screaming which was something to work on. A little bravery was in almost everyone. "I'm sure I can teach you more in an hour than you learned in this whole class." Tatsu told her, smirk widening into a grin.

[Meg Parsons]

Meg stared back at the Slytherin reproachfully. "What was I supposed to think, you had a dagger at my throat!" she shouted, annoyance and anger overtaking her fears. The Slytherin was still watching her, smirking, her hand on her hip. The dagger was gone; back wherever it had come from, she supposed.

Meg looked confused at the girl's bold statement. "Are you offering to teach me?" she asked, curious. She didn't trust the Slytherin one bit, but maybe the younger girl had something to offer. And skills like that were always useful.

[Tatsu Savage]

Tatsu chuckled, still really amused at the other girl's reaction to a simple dagger and she slowly walked towards the Ravenclaw. "You really never went through a traditional wizarding training did you? I mean completely with combat fighting techniques and so on." she asked the older student with a curious expression on her face. On first look, Hogwarts might seem like just a normal school full of normal students, but Tatsu knew that especially with the Travellers and Templers, a good training was necessary to be able to defend yourself.

At the question, she shrugged, not breaking eye contact with the other girl. "If you want me to? I went through a hard training with my parents and my younger sister, so I could teach you some tricks, help you toughen up, you know? So a simple dagger won't send you screaming anymore. You see, we have guys here with swords bigger than myself." Tatsu smirked at the Raven.

[Meg Parsons]

Meg shook her head, trembling a little. It took her all her self control to not step away as the Slytherin walked towards her, laughing. Meg felt her face grow red with embarrassment. "It was taekwondo," she muttered, looking down.

With a sigh, she returned her gaze to the Slytherin. "I'm Meg," she said, "and yeah, I would like you to." Silently, she prayed that the decision she had just made was not completely terrible, and she wouldn't live to regret it. The Slytherin girl scared her. She had an edgy look about her, and Meg was certain that if it took her fancy, the small blonde could kill her with no qualms, and get away with it too. She shuddered, and met the Slytherin's gaze evenly.

[Tatsu Savage]

"Taekwondo?" Tatsu crooked her head to the side, looking at the Ravenclaw with a confused expression. "I never heard of that before, must be some muggle thing, I guess. You're a muggleborn?" she asked curiously, not that she really cared, but it would explain a few things.

Nodding sharply when she heard the girl's decision, she held out her and and shook the other student's shortly. "Good. Most people would be to proud to take an advise, especially from someone who is younger, but you seem to be smarter than that. I appreciate it." Shooting a smirk at her, Tatsu introduced herself. "Tatsu Savage is my name.“ She turned on her heels and walked back towards the forest. “Come then! Let’s start.” She called over her shoulder.

[Meg Parsons]

Meg took shelter from the thickening snow under a nearby tree, crossing her arms, and shook her head. "Half-blood," she corrected, well aware of the prejudices that Slytherin house had against anyone who wasn't pureblood. Although, she realised, she didn't say mudblood. Just muggleborn.

"I'm not going to turn down an offer of help," Meg replied, in an almost confrontational manner. "I was sorted into Ravenclaw for a reason, you know. I love learning." She accepted the handshake and looked away. "Even if it's not quite orthodox," she added, almost to herself.

Staring up at the sky, watching the snowflakes fall in intricate dances to the quickly-whitening ground, now covered with a light sugar-coating of snow, was mesmerising. She shook her head, telling herself to snap out of it, and looked back at the Slytherin girl, who had walked into the forest and was staring back at her expectantly. With a nervous sigh, Meg followed Tatsu into the gloom. "Are you sure we should be here?" she asked, her voice shaking slightly. "It's called the Forbidden Forest for a reason." The trees around oppressed her, their tall, dark, bare branches filtering out the light into dappled rays and dark shadows, which seemed to move whenever she turned her back. Shivering, she hurried after the Slytherin, not wanting to be left behind and alone.

[Tatsu Savage]

Tatsu chuckled and leaned against a nearby tree, observing the other student. "I don't give a shit." she told the Ravenclaw bluntly when she corrected her assumption. Although she took pride in the long tradition of her family, Tatsu had no prejudice against muggleborns or halfbloods, like the girl in front of her obviously was. "Blood only gets you so far, for the rest you need to work hard." she shrugged and pulled out her wand.

"Orthodox is only for those that can't think of more unique ways." she gave back, smirking and quickly conjured a dummy, like her father had thought her. It was a good way to start a training and for warm-up, though later she would move to fight one on one with the girl if she proved talented enough.

Seeing the other student's unease, Tatsu laughed wolfishly and shook her head. "It's called forbidden because the teacher don't want any innocent children to get hurt. You just need to become one with the darkness here instead of fearing it." she advised her, looking into the deep shadows of the forest which seemed to call out for her. But even if Tatsu loved to train here, she also knew of the dangers that could await you and always stayed on her guard.
Turning her attention back to the Raven and nodded towards the dummy. "Well then, Meg, go and show me what kind of defensive spells you already know." With a flick of her wand, the dummy moved to life and sped towards the red-haired girl. It would only throw her over if she let it get too close, but not seriously hurt her.

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