A Dagger in One Hand... ((Scotland))

[Argentina]

Argentina stepped out into the asphalt pavement of the training grounds, and was immediately greeted by a cold breeze from the open-roofed "ceiling". She tilted her head back and looked at the sky that seemed gray with dark clouds that rolled by. Argentina hadn't seen the bare sky in quite some time.. but she immediately wished it had been a more comforting sight, instead of this dark, gloomy haze that hung in her face like a fog. Tina frowned with displeasure and let herself flop down onto the ground. She criss-crossed her legs and looked down at her boots, reaching in and pulling out her twin daggers from the compartments strapped on the inside.

With her back turned to the adjoining entranceway, Tina lightly slid the inside of her palm against the flat of one of the blades. The edges were dull. She gave a disdainful sigh and shook her head before stuffing the knives back into her combat boots. ¡Maldita sea! She thought, Stupid things need to be sharpened yet again... Argentina leaned back and crossed her legs one over the other, lying sprawled out onto the concrete and staring up at the sky. She just wanted to hopefully attempt enjoy a small bit of fresh air before getting in some sort of practice-run before the tournament that had been announced.

[Scotland]

Scotland smoked as he walked to the meeting place for tournament practice. He was paired with a girl he'd rarely run into before. She was a child by his standards, less than 300 years since her independence, so he decided he'd have to be gentle with her. He couldn't just throw blows at her without care like he might Sweden or Ireland. That didn't mean he wasn't going to smoke around her. He hadn't bought his weapons either, just a stick tucked into his belt. This meeting he needed to learn how his partner moved and what her fighting style was like. The stick would fill in just fine for his sword, if he decided to use it. Depending on his partner, he might switch to axes.

Kicking open the door with his foot on the panic bar, Scotland strolled out to the general training grounds. Looking around he spotted a dark-haired girl sitting on the ground and he walked up to her, stopping right in front of her feet. He took a drag as he observed her and flicked the ash off his cigarette to the side. She was a tiny thing, but that seemed typical of Spain's rugrats. Her hair hung down around her shoulders like shining black silk, and curled cutely around her face. Her eyes were large and like the sea at night when the shining creatures came up from the deep, set into a coffee with cream-colored face. She was almost too pretty. It made him curious what her specialty in fighting was, fearing it was Spain's toothpick sword. Already his mind was trying to come up with ways to use her small size and thus probable agility/speed to the best advantage.

They were up against Poland and Lithuania. Those two had a history of conquest and refusing to stay down; but their biggest advantage was that history of teamwork. They knew each other's abilities and short falls; how to captitalize on each other's strengths and cover weaknesses. The way he figured it, they had been given the hardest pair to beat. That's what made this training so important. He and the girl had to get at least half that good, and didn't have much time to do it.

He held out his free hand to help her up as smoke curled up around his face. "Fer ye do," he greeted, figuring after staring at her for a bit, he should say something.

[No he's not wearing his kilt. Yet. He's in his normal uniform.]

[Argentina]

(Yeah, I kinda suspected as much. XD Sorry if this comes out short, it's because I'm currently typing this on my phone before I go to class.)

Argentina, who had been quietly eyeing the taller man as he stared at her for quite some time now, listened with raised eyebrows as he greeted her. "Can I help you?" She asked, letting her eyes wander up to his hand he extended for her. Tina took the hand within her much smaller palm and used it to hoist herself up. With his recognizable shaggy, stark red hair, there was no doubt that he was her tournament partner. She knew she had seen him around before, but hadn't exactly been properly introduced to him as of yet.

As Argentina stood, her nose wrinkled a bit at the smoke that immediately hit her in the face like a six-wheel truck. Smoking was generally common in Argentina's country, but even so, she could never bring herself to become "accustomed" to the rank stench. Tina looked up at the man who towered over her. His build was certainly something, as he is clearly very muscular. Argentina was petite, but Scotland was like a looming building compared to her. Even so, Argentina did not look at all intimidated... Perhaps being used to having people being a lot taller than her. He also had a pretty handsome face.. But the smoke fumes that circled him ruined it for Tina.

[Scotland]

Scotland stood there and let the girl use his hand for leverage as she stood up on her own.

"M'hopin'" he answered her question as she made faces, undoubtedly at his smoking. He was used to the faces, England made them all the time at him. Nastier ones at that. And not just about smoking.

"So, what'ye do?" he asked a question of his own, getting to the point. He wasn't sure how familiar she was with fighting, and they had to be non-lethal to boot. Of course people were going to get hurt though. There were enough old nations in the tournament who were going to have difficultly being gentle to their opponents. Lithuania would probably be fine. He seemed pretty well in control of himself. Poland might turn into a beast though. It was hard to imagine just how strong the little blonde had been when one looked at him now.

He nursed the cigarette as he waited to see or hear what the girl's fighting specialty was. No one ever accused Scotland of being the friendly type. Or the small-talk type.

[Short too. I don't even have the excuse of using a phone.]

[Argentina]

Argentina gave a sigh in response, at first giving Scotland a bored look. "...Nice to meet you too." She said simply before snatching her twin daggers right out of her boots with a flick of the wrist. Her boots were tall enough on her legs that she didn't have to bend down to unsheath them, or even look downwards. She knew just where they were, and once her slender fingers wrapped around the hilts, it made for a quick weapon defense. This itself would prove to be good for last-minute fights.

Argentina held the blades out in front of her, eyeing them carefully before looking up at Scotland as though awaiting a response. A small smile graced her lips. "I specialize in daggers. I figured that would be my best choice for a tournament, seeing my only other weapon is a machine gun..."

(Again, on my phone. Sorry.)

[Scotland]

He only nodded once at her greeting, showing no remorse at having skipped pleasantries. Instead he watched her whip two daggers out of her boots without having to look down for them, so quickly it was almost as if they had flown into her hands. As he had expected, she was quick. That was good. Maybe she should start the fight with only one dagger, and keep the other in reserve, as a surprise. He lifted a brow at her mention of a machine gun. He also used an automatic uzi, but that was or the times he had distance, a short amount of time, and no need for good aim. He eyed the daggers, looked back at her serious face, and then down at the daggers again before throwing down his cigarette butt and stepping on it with a twist of his foot to put it out.

He pulled the stick loose from his belt and tapped the end against the side of his boot. "Yer quick. 'at's good. I 'ave a big sword. M'nae so quick, but wit I hit goes down."

He considered again the best way to face off again the two opponents. "Our 'pponents be a good team. N'tain't spacktards. D'yoo know 'em?"

Perhaps that was the best way to start, by picking apart their opponents and looking for weaknesses.

[Argentina]

(Okay, for once, I'm on my computer... so I'll try to make this one a bit longer than my last two.)

Argentina watched quietly as Scotland's boot slammed down onto the cigarette, twisting it until all that was left was a crushed butt and some ash. At least the cigarette was gone, however, the scent still hung heavily in the air. It was then that Tina realized that it hadn't just been the cigarette giving off the odor, it was Scotland himself. He reeked of smoke that possibly clung to the inside of his mouth, probably due to years and years of lighting up.

Argentina glanced at the stick as Scotland patted it against his boot. At least he said he had a sword... the look of momentary fear in Argentina's eyes showed she was afraid he was going to be using that during the tournament. She mentally scolded herself for not knowing better and giving herself a small scare, and gave a small sigh-like grunt of relief, "M'hm.." But said nothing more and let Scotland go on.

She listened closely to Scotland's accent as he spoke. It was definitely a lot different than that jerk England, with whom Argentina had many spats over the Falkland Islands... then again, Argentina had never heard a Scottish accent before, so she hadn't known what to expect.

Hearing Scotland ask what she knew about their opponents in the first round jolted Tina out of her thoughts. She didn't notice that she was drifting out so deeply. Argentina blinked a few times, letting her eyes adjust again. "H-huh? Oh, sí... or, at least I know of them. I don't believe I've really met them personally, so I'm not sure if what I can tell you about them is anything you don't already know." She replied curtly.

[Scotland]

[Now I want to show up for the tournament with El Sticko de Muerte, just to freak her out]

From Argentina's almost dazed expression when he asked if she knew about the opposing team made Scotland wonder if there wasn't something between her and them that he wasn't aware of. Well, she'd share it if she wanted to. He would have expected she didn't know much about them, since she wasn't in Europe. Heck, he only knew about them cause they had owned much of Eastern Europe and when Russia moved in, well, everyone in Europe noticed when Russia moved. Noticed and watched with intense interest and apprehension. No one liked having a guy that big and powerful with a habit of collecting other nations move closer towards them. It was like discovering the creepy doll had moved off the dresser and closer to you when you looked away.

He lifted the stick and set it on his shoulder like he would have for his sword. "So, 'ey'll prob'ly start taeget'er. I 'hink we split 'em up. I can do it. 'en ye keep one on ye while I flatten th'other?"

[I'm trying to keep his accent up while keeping intelligible. Let me know if I'm failing]

[Argentina]

Argentina - now more alert and not spacing out like she had been - gave a nod, thumbing the hilt of her daggers quietly in anticipation. "Of course I can. I'll take whichever one of 'em you don't want." She smirked and stuffed the daggers back into her boots - again, without bothering to look down. It was hard to believe she could do something like that without accidentally slicing her leg open.

"One thing I do know about those two; they're nothing without each other. Lithuania's too emotionally scarred due to that Russia guy, so he's a serious coward and a bit of a crybaby at times..." Argentina commented and tilted her head back, looking up at the sky and flicking her braid that ran down one side over her shoulder and out of her way. She seemed to be acting as though she had just recalled this. "Now Poland... He's a bit of a mystery to me. You can never really tell what he's planning. He may look like he wouldn't be much of a problem, but who knows... Point is, I'd still be careful with him."

Tina paused and looked back at Scotland, her braid falling back over her shoulder again. "So, you're just going to... practice with that stick... right?" Tina asked, still eyeing the stick carefully. "If you're going to use only that, I may as well just use the end of my daggers... I don't want to stab you and end up hurting you by accident before the tournament even starts."

(Nah, you're doing fine.)

[Scotland]

He nodded at her observations, and then smiled slightly at her comment about his stick. "S'why I 'ave it. Don' want'ta 'urt ye afore we get'ta fighting'."

He eyed her hands, and tapped the stick on his shoulder in contemplation. "Our 'pponents will probably be usin' swords. Wha' can ye do against a sword?"

And with that, he suddenly flips the stick down off his shoulder and down at her head. Since it's just a stick and the weight is negiligible he can stop the stick in an instant. He just wanted to see how fast she was, and how effective her daggers might be. In his experience, daggers were a close-in weapon to be used only when no other weapon was available, or as a back up weapon. Against a heavy sword, they would just go flying out of hands. Sometimes with the hands attached.

[I'm sorry for the delay and the shortness. I can't concentrate. I think I'm fighting a cold, but wanted to get something out.]

[Argentina]

(It's alright, I'm fighting a cold as well. So is SK... damn, why is everyone on here getting sick?)

Immediately, Argentina, who had seen this move coming, yanked out her daggers and thrusted her arms up above her head, slamming the flat of both blades against the stick in attempt to stop it, if only for a moment. She glanced at Scotland and lifted her eyebrows curiously. "And then..." Argentina side-stepped out of the way of the stick quickly. She was a speedy little thing, and also very agile. It was only her strength that was her downfall.

Tina is obviously petite and thin. Brute strength just isn't her thing. She can keep a foe going for a while, she can dodge and block and give cheap-shots by thrusting her dagger forward, and then jumping back. Tina can attempt to tire out her opponents, or daze them... but if she by chance ever was to be pinned down, chances are she wouldn't be able to push the offender off of her in 10 second's time. That is why she thought she and Scotland would make a good pair. Scotland probably wasn't as fast, but he was much stronger. They evened eachother out, and they could use that to their advantage.

Argentina locked her gaze on Scotland with eyes that said all of this, in just that. A look.

[Scotland]

Scotland let her guide the stick around with her daggers, not even trying to resist her maneuvers. He let the end of the stick drop to the ground as she guided it, with a small quirking of the corner of his mouth. As he expected, quick and agile. Not too bad. If she could duck and dodge and tire out one of their opponents, he could take care of the other. Of course, a real sword had a lot more weight to it that would be difficult for her wrists to stand up to.

"Brilliant," he said finally, looking back at her sea-colored eyes and nodding in response. "Ye keep one busy, I'll sit atop th'other."

And that was how it looked in his head. Argentina would keep one dancing while he planted his butt on the other. Regardless of which one, he bet they would cry.

"But catchin' swords on yer blades'll break yer wrists." The end of the stick was tapped on the ground before being lifted again. "Yer better dodgin' and lookin' fer openin's. Kickin' works too."

He then swung the stick at her again, coming from her left, at about chest height for her. He was used to fighting people bearing swords, and he'd fought the two before, during Sweden's Deluge assault on Poland in the 1600s. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, and well, Sweden was a good friend.

He wasn't so sure she knew how to deal with his type of fighter. Fighting him would be the best form of practice he could offer.

[Argentina]

Argentina cringed and quickly jumped backwards to avoid the sudden attack. She stumbled a bit but quickly caught her balance and got into a more "ready" fighting stance. Tina planted her feet firmly into the ground, but did so in a way that she could easily push off the concrete with her heels to catch her chance to avoid another attack, this time by dodging like Scotland had said.

As she waited for the next move, she replied with a simple "I know," at what Scotland had said about breaking her wrists. "I just wasn't prepared to jump out of the way, of course! A nice 'Uno, dos, tres' or 'Ready, set, go' would be more appreciated next time."

The way Argentina said it, you'd think she sounded irritated, but the smile on her face and mischievous, excited look in her eyes told different. It was obvious that she was going to enjoy this, even just this practice alone. Tina flipped her daggers around so the blades were facing inward, towards her wrists. This way she could just butt Scotland with the handles and not have to worry about stabbing him.

It had been a while since Tina had fought true hand-to-hand combat with anyone. Not counting zombies a few times. They just didn't fight back like Tina wanted. She loves a good challenge, but those stupid zombies are too damn slow and stupid to fill her needs for a good fight. Not that Tina exactly wanted hoards of zombies to plow through. She had more experience in this kind of close-combat fighting than Scotland was probably aware of. Back home, they even had classes for that kind of stuff. Even today, it's a popular way of fighting in Argentina.

[Scotland]

"Un, deux, trois!" he rattled off in French before stepping towards her to make up for her jumping back, and swinging at her again. This time from her right since the stick had been pointed that way. He used French because it was close enough to Spanish and he'd incorporated some French words into his language. Partly because France was an old friend, partly because it got on England's nerves. The latter was good enough reason alone to do it.

The excited look on her face made his lips pull back from his teeth in a feral grin. He liked seeing a lust for battle in the younger nations, even if it wasn't a desired trait in the world today. Most battles these days were performed in suits while sitting at tables.

It was true Scotland wasn't aware of Argentina's fighting style. He hadn't paid much attention to South America, and England always went to the meetings for the entire UK. To tell the truth, he preferred it that way, having no desire to sit at the stuffy table. The few times he had gone, he'd mostly goofed off with France or the Nordics, making fun of the current speaker and having England glare at him the entire time. The rest of the UK usually just got debriefed by England after he returned home. Or rather, received their orders. Scotland, stop being a cunt. Wales, get the sheep out of the house. North Ireland, stop blowing things up, and blah blah blah.

Doing some sparring with her now was a good way for him to learn her style so he could adjust to work with it. He did notice she had turned her blades, which he was grateful for. In the battle he could care less, but no point in getting injured during practice.

[Argentina]

(And doesn't Tina know what an ass England can be. She's fought with him, how many times now over land? Or maybe it's just Tina trying to expand her ego land claims. Probably both.)

Tina immediately ducked when she saw the stick coming at her from the right. She felt the stick still catch some of her hair as she pulled herself down, however, and Argentina was immediately thankful that this was just a stick. If Scotland was using a sword and sliced her hair just now, Tina would be one pissed nation. I'm sure anyone would say, 'Better your hair than your arm, right?'... and Argentina would have to respond with, 'Hell no.' She'd probably sooner chop her own arm off. Then again, Argentines are pretty vain about appearances.

She peered up at Scotland and her own lips curled in a smirk at the feral and beastly grin. She wasn't sure why, but that look on his face almost made Argentina feel as though she had accomplished something. Still down from when she had narrowly dodged the stick, Tina thrusted one arm forward, attempting to hit or at least graze Scotland in the side with the end of her dagger.

(Sorry that this is short.. I really have no excuse. You're welcome.)