His First Battle in a Long While

Cesare whipped the dagger he had hidden in his cape out and flicked it so it appeared between the fingers of his right hand. The gold hilt gleamed with a sparkle while the rest of the handle was black. The blade was long enough to damage and kill, but it was terrible for long-range battles.

Today, Cesare wanted to have a friendly spar and preferably against a fellow Templar, with no bets. He needed to see how his muscles had recovered over the past few months of being in care. His recent run-in with a Templar on the back streets of rome probably partially showed he was fit and well but he needed direct proof.

"Good afternoon!" Maria called down from a nearby rooftop upon which she was crouching. She nimbly clambered down the side of the building before landing with a thud in front of Cesare, sending dust flying everywhere. Now within the battle arena, she knew there was nowhere else to run. Thankfully, this fight wasn't to the death so anything went.
"What do you say to a spar with me?" Maria asked, entering a fighting stance and whipping out her single hidden blade.

"Challenge gladly accepted. Prepare to meet your fate." Cesare grinned with a demonic-like smile. Fighting an Assassin was going to be fun. If he managed to defeat this one, it would show he was battle-worthy and the Assassins had a way to go. If it was the other way around... Then at least he had a measure of skill.

Cesare decided to start the battle with a vicious swipe of his dagger downward and to bring it around again in an arc so Maria would be distracted by one side and having to defend against another swipe so quickly. This would be a battle of wits!

Maria met Cesare's downward swipe with her single hidden blade, observing the sparks that erupted when the two weapons met. She was taken by surprise from an attack to her side though as he took his dagger away and swung it around to meet her body. She barely leapt out of the way in time and was taken aback by the sharp, searing pain in her side. She lifted up the cloth to inspect the damage. Thankfully, the wound was small but it was rather painful.
With renewed vigour, Maria stood straight again and reentered her battle positions, leaping directly at Cesare with a loud roar not dissimilar to that of a Lion. She aimed directly at his decoratove armour, hoping to at least dent it.

Cesare grinned upon injuring Maria, leaping back as she launched herself at him again, this time rather recklessly. This was really a battle to see who was better - a soilder or a pirate.
Cesare also met Maria's reckless attack with his own dagger - since he was safely out of the way now, he could attack without fear, aiming to dig his dagger deep into the side of her body.

Maria had a plan this time. As Cesare launched his attack toward Maria from the side, she leapt and rolled in the air and grabbed his arm, all in one fluid movement. She then, with the help of gravity, fell to the ground below, the breath being knocked out of her lungs but she still held on fast. If she let go, she would lose because the dagger now hung above her body.
Issuing part 2 of her strategy, she forcefully yanked on Cesare's arm, aiming to throw him over her body.

Cesare wasn't prepared for this. As she deftly avoided the blow, he was grabbed and thrust over her body while she lay on the ground. He yelled as he was thrown onto his back. With the best of his strength, he tried to spin over on the cobbled ground, using his other hand to wrench away her arm as she still held his with his weapon in.