Prepairing for a new Enemy (England and Slov)

[Czech Republic]

If one were to gaze at young Juliana Schneider that afternoon on the training grounds they would before to stop and take a second look. 

In contrast to her modest and rather old-fashion attire, the Czech girl wore a pair of tight black knee-length pants, a simple tank top with no sleeves to cover she shoulders, a pair of black boots that added a little to her short stature and would also find her long auburn hair pulled up into a high ponytail effectively keeping her bangs from her eyes. As always her blue scarf was wrapped around her neck. Like her cousin, Ivan, she refused to part with it. Around her waist was a sheath and in her hand the handle belonging to a rapier. 

Before lye a string of dummies their limbs removed and some with their head decapitated showing how well her progress was thus far in her swordplay training. Though she had, had these to show for her hard work she w still unstasified and kept at it.

Now Juliana was very proud of her ability to fight with a blade. She had been taught this old art when she was very young and took great pride in the fact that she could brandish a sword in a time when women were consisdred the weaker sex. 

However as time wore on and the wars became more intense the weapons of war became more advanced and the art of swordplay became obsolete.

The new war that was before all the nations was unlike any that Juliana had faced before. Though young she had seen many wars and suffered through them with others like her. But take all the wars she had faced and put them all together...you still wouldn't have the same kind of war. 

Now she found that she'd have to go back to using her old methods of killing in order to take down their new threat to the world. She regretted to admit it but her skills were pretty rusty. Not long ago she had attempted to take down an undead foe in a single blow as she once could do to a living man only to find that it took her  four extra tries before she had to switch back to her gun.

So now here she was on her time off, training her ass off trying her best to remember the old skills her teachers had once taught er all those years ago.

She took a step back deciding to take a small rest wiping the sweat off her brow shaking her head at the dummies before her. 

"I need more force..."

'No what I need is my technique back!'

 she sighed sheathing her blade and testing against one of the posts where a dummy once hung. But how was she to remind herself of something she had not used in many, many years? 

[England]

England was in a good mood.

It was a rare thing to see, especially when he was always either fighting or working, but for once, he'd actually gotten his paperwork for the day done with, and was now wandering the warehouse, wondering what to do. His eyes were tired from all the paperwork, so reading was definitely out of the question, and England was not the type of person that lazed on a couch all day long to play some mindless video game or watch some horrible where explosions and sex scenes took up three quarters of the content. So if he wasn't going to spend his day inside, he may as well have gotten some physical exercise in. Since everybody seemed occupied as he walked around the warehouse, he could not find a partner to go out with him on a scouting run, so instead, he found himself going for the training grounds outside.

The thought of having to practice on dummies was a bit dreary, and he momentarily considered going back and getting some sleep instead, but before he knew it, his feet had led him to the training grounds. Stepping under the wooden structure, he noted the silence and figured no one was around. When he got a bit closer, though, he noticed the blur of colour by the dummies, and narrowed his eyes. Which nation was that? England had a hard time remembering them all, sometimes.

It took him a moment, but as he got closer, her name came up in his mind, and he called from afar so he wouldn't startle her too much.

"Czech Republic!"

[Czech Republic]

'That voice...'

The young eyes looked over shoulder and they immediately widened.

England. Along with France she had known this nation for a very, very long time. She remembered when she first met the nation when he was very young himself while she was just a tiny little thing that shared her whole homeland with her brothers and sister. Her first impression of him was the same with France; A stupid, loud foreigner. But after time wore on she came to admire said nation and liked to cling to his arm like the way a child would to a father.

She had such fond memories with him...helping him to bake, helping him to kick Austria's ass in the 30 year War, and punching him in the face when he even dared suggest that the unruly tomboy should wear a dress. Yes good times, good times. Though they also had a bumpy relationship for a time in WWII when she and her brother Slovakia were given to Germany...without even considering their feelings. Despite the hard times she still loved him like a member of her own family.

Her eyes brightened up like a little school girl as she realized that it really was England a large grin forming on her face.

"England!"

She ran over to him and with a single problem wrapped her arms around him. despite her petite figure she managed to grab him in a strong, suffocating embrace managing to also lift him up a few inches off the ground. When she was done she promptly set him down and pulled back to flash him a sweet and simply adorable smile.

"How are you tata? She asked politely using the old pet name she would often call him as a child though was used more sparingly present day.

"It's seem so long since I've seen you since the...zombie outbreak."

Her big sister instincts began to kick in at once (which was ironic being that the nation was far older than she was). She planted her hands on her hips and gave him a critical look over making sure that nothing was amiss.

"Have you been eating right England? You've always been so skinny!" She cooed standing up on her tip toes and gently pinched both his cheeks giggling like a child while doing so.

[England]

Letting out a small cry of surprise when he was lifted off the ground, England sighed, wondering if all the younger nations in the world could pick him up so easily if they wanted to. It didn't make him feel very in control, nor powerful. He could finally breathe once she set him back down on his feet, and straightened his rumpled clothes. Though he was not very fond of hugs, he didn't pay much attention to what the girl had done to him and tried to concentrate on what she was saying instead. Unfortunately for him, she was talking way too fast for him to keep up, so at some point, he just had to grab her wrists and gently set them down, effectively stopping her onslaught of questions.

"Czech Republic, please, slow down." England grumbled, taking a deep breath. "Yes, I have been alright, if not a bit tired. As for how skinny I am, I've always been rather on the small side. I just have a quick metabolism, and rationing doesn't do much for my muscle growth." he was rather displeased with how fragile he looked. Often, when he looked at himself in the mirror, he had to look away. That's why he was working so hard to train and gain muscle mass. He was not a twig, but he was not America, either. All his muscles were hidden and undetectable under his skin, and it made him look thinner than he wanted to look like.

"Anyways." he quickly changed the subject, unwilling for it to remain on his physical appearance. "What were you doing here, all alone? Training, of course, but were you working on anything in particular?"

[Czech Republic]

Quietly she listened to the answers to her questions nodding politely to each one calming down a little after having her little moment of excitement and reunion. She gave him a look of sympathy; it must have been tiring to look after the home base day in and day out, keeping everything running as well as making sure that everyone present was safe. She would have to be sure to make him one of her special pillows to help him sleep better.

She gave a warm smile to him shaking her head at his response to her last question...there it was again...She remembered countless times that he would be so judgmental of his own appearance causing him to work out more often and at times just sulk and go through little moments of depression. To be honest she always thought that was as strong and handsome as the say she first met him. Of course that was her opinion.

"Anyways." She could tell that he wanted to change the subject fast. "What were you doing here, all alone? training, of course, but were you working on anything in particular?"

Her eyes became bright once more.

"I was thinking that I needed some practice with my swordsmanship! I hate to admit it...but I'm getting rusty in my old age..." She said this jokingly shaking her head at it. With that she unsheathed her rapier as to show it to him. It was a beautiful blade...lovely custom designed hilt, well balanced and so sharp that it could take off a limb in one fell sweep. If used right that is!

Her eyes turned warm as she ran a hand lovingly over the surface over the old blade. It had seen many good and bad times.

"Hey England...do you remember when we were young and you and France taught me how to use a sword?"

Oh how she remembered that day! The two boys rejected her proposal to teach her over and over again...that is until she used her signature weapon...the 'Czech Pout' making them do whatever she wanted naturally. After that she found that she had faced her very first challenge as well as held her very first sharp blunt object. A big mistake on the other nations part.

She sighed at the thought of her childnhood...though there were lots of time of sadness there were always the little moments that really mattered to her. Her head perked up as a large smile came over her face.


"England." She sheathed her blade and took a step forwards towards him smiling sweetly at him her face as bright as sunshine.

"Do you think maybe you could help me train? Please...?" She flashed him her 'Czech Pout' to make sure his answer would be yes, putting her hands together in a begging motion and making the sweetest, ccutest face that could even rival America's puppy dog eyes. Oh how she loved to use her cutness against another nation.

[England]

"Of course I'd be willing to help you train. Training is the most important task a zombie survivor has to do, after all." England complied without a single objection to start with. "Stiff upper lip, Czech Republic, dirty tricks like that won't work on zombies." he quipped, patting her cheek softly to get her to stop the pouting. She didn't even have to beg: he would have insisted to see her progress anyways. Insecurity was never a good sign, so England wanted to be sure of everybody's skills, to be confident when he sent them out to fight.

Fighting zombies was a completely different method than regular fighting. Regular fighting could be summarized to cutting down and dodging blows. Zombie fighting was meticulous and much more refined. Mowing down the attackers wouldn't cut it anymore. Precision mattered a lot more than force in zombie warfare, and England wanted to make sure that everybody had the precision to stab a zombie with a sword right through the eye socket. It was no easy task, and since a lot of the nations fought violently and used strength to their advantage, England really wanted everyone to know that this was not something they could assume they knew. All of them were wielding weapons for the first time when fighting zombies. This was completely new to all of them.

"Come over here and pick up your weapon. Show me what you've gotten down so far and I will either tell you what you need to learn, or what you need to fix." he motioned, striding over to the mannequins and observing the deep slashes she gouged through the straw and leather. She needed refinement, of course, but Czech Republic was on the right track. She'd be fine with a little help.

[Czech Republic]

"Of course I'd be willing to help you train."

She was overjoyed once hearing him say yes to her proposal.

"Stiff upper lip, Czech Republic, dirty tricks like that won't work on zombies."

She rolled her eyes when he patted her cheek. When his back was turned to walk towards the dummies she made a face at him and stuck her tongue out. It was instintive for her to use the technique!

After all every time she'd ask him something the answer was almost always 'no'. Then again her ideas werent exactly the smartest nor were they considered 'safe'. This only proved the other nations right when they said she was still a child.

When he turned back towards her she quickly changed her face looking very intentive.

"Come over here and pick up your weapon. Show me what you've gotten down so far and I will either tell you what you need to learn, or what you need to fix."

He didn't need to tell her twice. She had her blade out then came at one of the mannequins. In a quick slash from the shoulder and across she then turned and attacked again the blade this time coming across the neck.

She pulled back and observed only to find a frown and a hand reaching up to touch her head as a headache began to form. She had effectively creates a large cut from the shoulder to the gut which would have sent a persons inards on the floor. What really made her annoyed was the other mark she had given the mannequin. She had hit it in the neck very deep yet the head was still attatched to the body. After trying it eight times and still unsuccessful you couldn't blame her for the small twinge of impatience.

"Kurze!" She cursed showing impatience in her eyes but managed to keep her composure.

She looked to England then back to the dummies head gesturing to it as she spoke.

"Every time I try to dismember the head it takes me almost three times to get it right..."

She bit her lip fuming quietly to herself. She hated when she failed a task.

[England]

Not wishing to get caught in her strikes, England stood back and leaned against one of the dummies out of bounds, crossing his arms and observing how she moved. Following her quick movements and breaking down the anatomy of her strikes, he took a moment to analyze her technique and thought about what she had to improve. Unfortunately, it had all been very fast, and that didn't give him much of a sample to pull his deductions from. That, and the fact that the things she was facing off against were dummies, not moving and not reacting to her strikes. Oh well, they had to make do with what they had.

"Alright." he nodded after a bit of reflection. "So your main goal is always to destroy the brain. Merely severing a zombie's head will not do the job, and on the contrary, it'll make things worse, because when a snapping jaw is rolling somewhere below your knee height, it's a lot harder to spot it. Always aim to strike a single, rapid blow to the brain. And if that doesn't work, be sure to locate your severed head, and stab it immediately." he walked over to her, grabbing a sword from the rack as he went and testing its weight.

It had been a while he'd used a sword, but he'd have to make do with his reflexes.

"Alright so this is the ideal way of fighting a zombie with a sword." turning the handled in his hand to get accustomed to the weight, England bent his knees and turned his body slightly in an offensive position, and suddenly, without warning, stabbed the mannequin head through where the eye would have been. "I didn't think I'd get it. I'm glad my sword skills aren't rusty as I thought they would be." he remarked, before backing up a little. "As for decapitation, if ever you need it, always aim for the middle of the throat. A spine will take energy to sever, so swing hard and aim right." he went over and traced the imaginary line on the expanse of the mannequin's throat, and stood back a few steps. "Try."

[Czech Republic]

Her face brightened up as she listened to his advice. She honored his knowledge greatly and always found his words of wisdom inspiring and very helpful.

She watched intently as he drew a sword from the wall and gave a demonstration of his own much to her delight. She had to admit that seeing the englishman move with such power in his movements was enough for someone to as they say 'fangirl out'.

She snapped out of her admiration and watched him trace where he wanted her to strike at. Once he stepped back she nodded understanding what he wanted of her and was happy to compley.

To confirm her target she placed a hand towards her own throat tracing out the spot. She quickly moved at it both hands on the hilt swinging it back and aiming right for the throat. She found that she was a little off and hit the chin of the mannequin. She stepped back then let her head sink low as she started to mutter curses in her native tongue. How embarressing...

(Slov will be joining us shortly!)

[[x] Slovenia]

'Looks like it might snow...'

With a quick gaze to the sky, Slovenia glared at the faint traces of grey clouds that threatened to allow snow to fall on the training area. She grimaced at the very thought as she pushed her auburn hair from her eyes. Like a German she was pessimistic about everything which explained the tight frown that was always present on her face. 

'Great now it'll get colder and then I'll get sick...' She had to give a low chuckle at the irony...imagine it; a medic getting sick. She strode on with grace in her steps her head down on her feet watching them move forward counting off the steady tempo wit each step. 

"One, two, three, four, one two three four..."

She reached her desired destination with one goal. Training. Though she mostly preferred to stay on the sidelines of a fight she knew that even she would have to get in a little practice from time to time just in case she happened to come across one of her undead foes.

She proceeded on in and stopped at the picture that she saw. What she saw was her baby sister, Czech Republic watching England with great admiration in those big blue-green eyes of her's. She shook her head knowing exactly what was going through the girl's head. 

Czech Republic was but a child at heart and was often seen crushing on any male nation who showed some form of phhysical strength. She then saw it was England and her frown deepened. That just made the matter even more so ridiculous. She'd known England just as long as Czech Republic had and as the older sister she knew everything about her sister and knew that she had a huge crush on the brit when a child. Of course she also had a crush on any other strong male she had seen (including her own brother Poland) like all immature children do...yet she found her sister still clung to her childlike qualities. 

'She should just settle down with that brash Italian she likes so much and just grow up.' 

She watched the young nation take up her rapier and strike as instructed only to see that she had missed her mark making a small smirk touch her stoic face. She decided now was the time to make herself be known to the two of them. 

She appeared behind both of them without their knowledge being that she was very light footed and had a nasty habit of sneaking up on people for the pleasure in their surprised faces.

"Hello England. Hello Baby Sister."

[England]

"That wasn't so bad." England shook his head when she missed, eyes trained on the nick she made at the mannequin's chin. "Unfortunately, that would, at most, skin the zombie's face, and that's not what we're looking for. Though with practice, you'll learn to aim better. Start off by using less power in your swings, and concentrating on hitting your mark instead. Once you have that down, you can slowly started swinging harder and harder until you decapitate your mannequin. It's always important to go step by step, or you won't get anywhere."

He walked back to the mannequin and ran a finger on the nick she'd made, and then ran his hand across the entirety of the mannequin's throat before walking back to her side.

"Try swinging it softer, and hitting it anywhere on the neck. Refinement of aim and power control will come with time and practice. You can always try again if you think you need more practice."

He was about to give her some pointers on how to hold her sword in offensive position, too, but he was interrupted by a new voice right behind him. Out of pure reflex, he tensed and spun around, feet spread in a defensive posture, but relaxed when he recognized the newcomer as an ally. Embarrassingly enough, an ally he didn't recognize. She called Czech Republic her little sister, so... Slovenia, probably.

"Hello." he greeted, not chancing himself with the name. "Sorry if we're monopolizing the mannequins here. If you wanted to train with one, I'm sure there are some used ones against the wall."

[Czech Republic]

Hating to be patronized, she flashed a glare at England muttering a swift insult in Czech so that he would not understand her. Though a proper young lady she was no above using fouls language to vent her frustration.

She composed herself and watched his hands, took in every word he said, nodding here and there to show she understood. She was a teacher's dream; She'd actually listen and do as instructed. When he offered her the dummy again she marked herself. Her eyes traced out the mark that she needed to strike thinking she'd go a little slower this time round. England was right, she could hit harder and faster once she got a little better.

"Hello England, hello baby sister..." 

The voice came out of nowhere almost like a ghost scaring Czech so much that when her arm made to strike she nearly hit England in the face with her blade. A shudder ran down her spine when the voice processed in her mind. Then her eyes narrowed into an unamused glare and her left eye gave a twitch. 

It was her 'beloved' big and only sister, Slovenia. This woman had always been a pain in ass  her whole life. Not as much as Poland mind you, but still pretty annoying with all the babying, the way she'd sneak up and scare the hell out of her, and her sister's constant desire for her to get married. Just because she was 'happily' married didn't mean she knew when someone was ready for marriage! 


She looked up at the towering woman raising a finger of accusial at her, the anger clear in her eyes, the time for her to be ladylike had passed.

"Dammit Slovenia! Why the hell do you have to do that!? I almost hit England in the face!" 

[[x] Slovenia]

 A look of apparent pleasure touched her hard grey eyes at the responses both England and Czech Republic gave her, the faintest smile touching her lips, it no sooner disappeared when England gave her a greeting. She was a woman who was so perceptive that it was almost like she could read minds.

When he did not use her name she knew instantly that he had no clue as to who she was. Her eyes narrowed into an icy cold glare at the nation who stood just as tall as she did.

She admitted that she was not the most well known nation in her region. Even her baby brother and sister were more well known than she was. Yet when she had known England since the Middle Ages she expected him to remember a simple name.

"To answer the question you're asking yourself; yes I am Slovenia. Make sure to remember it this time."

Her voice was colder than ice as she walked past England brushing shoulders roughly to reach her sister. She rolled her eyes at the little brat's complaining having heard it plenty of times. 

She reached down and gently took Czech Republic's face in her strong hands and found a few traces of dirt on her face. Despite the teen's protests, she took a handkerchief and proceeded to wipe her face clean like a mother would.

"You need to learn to take care of yourself already." She stated dryly.

[England]

"Well excuse me for having other things to remember lately. I haven't seen you since forever, and I don't speak to you that often, so please forgive me if I had a blank on your name for a moment." England raised a brow, silent cynicism lining his words as he leaned his weight on one foot and crossed his arms. He watched her brush right past him, not commenting about how rudely she bumped him as she strode towards Czech Republic, and only watched her wipe the younger's face with a handkerchief, his eyes only slightly widening at the nostalgia that washed over him. Once upon a time, he, too, would wipe his protege's face...

He did not want to stay, all of a sudden.

"Well forgive the intrusion, then." the acidic sarcasm hidden between the lines was meant for Slovenia, as he hadn't taken well to being so rudely addressed. "I will take my leave, if you permit me." he rolled his eyes, wondering if she'd caught how absolutely cynical he was being. "Czech Republic, be sure to work on your aim. If ever you need anything, come find me, alright?" he then inclined his head mockingly and spun around to leave. "Good day, ladies."

[Czech Republic]

“Slovenia stop it!” She pushed away from Slovenia and crossed her arms squarely against her chest.

“I’m not a baby anymore so stop treating me like one!”

"Well forgive the intrusion, then."

Czech’s head looked up hearing his voice was dripping with sarcasm and realized how rude she was to England! Sure she was forgotten! But it didn’t mean that she should hold a grudge! And she called her immature!

"I will take my leave, if you permit me." Her heart sank when he said this, she wanted him to help her train! There was no way that she and Slovenia could train together! The woman had barely lifted a finger in a war before! With his back turned to leave, she took off running and tackled him from behind.

“Please don’t leave England! I’m sorry that Slovenia was rude to you but that’s just how she always is to everyone!”

She could see when she moved to look in his eyes that he was offended greatly by Slovenia’s icy attitude. This was why she didn’t have any friends!

“And I’m sure that Slovenia is sorry too! Isn’t that right Slovenia?” She gave her the look, the look that begged her to play along.

She looked back to England as she put her hands together in the begging position.

“Please stay England! If you don’t I’ll have to ask France for help! That would suck!”

Though she loved the Frenchman she had to admit that fighting was not his cup of tea, now if she wanted to ask him for help for sneaking around without anyone knowing you were there…he’d be the first she’d come to. However if the situation came down to it she'd ask France to help her as a second choice.

She jutted her lip out her eyes going all wide and shiny as she gave him the ‘Czech Pout’. She didn’t want to use it a second time but she felt like it was necessary this time round. I mean who could resist the sweet and adorable puppy dog eyes of a young petite girl?