[Aaaand Taning only now realizes that Nico had flipped the tables on him: he's the one on the defensive now. He takes a small pause in Nico's attacks and presses that for all its worth, in a transparent attempt to take back control of the spar.

Too transparent.

Josh has always been very earnest. I suppose that sometimes means he can get preeeetty tense, yeah. It's all part of his campaign to be the best he can be, which is an admirable goal in itself.

[But it's not "in itself", and if Nico detects a slight hint of disapproval in this mage's voice, then it's because Taning thinks Josh has let fear and insecurity color his actions to the point of self-destruction. Or it could be because Nico almost smacked his knee into Taning's chin. Either one works, really.]