The Salle; Wednesday Afternoon (lunch through sixth period)

[bound2blade.livejournal.com]

While waiting for Henry, Setsuna was working a few forms with the gorgeous Narnian sword Peter had brought for her, getting use to its balance, its weight. It was lighter than she remembered Rhindon being, but it was also so short, by comparrison to Yuunagi, but she still liked the feel of it. Not nearly as graceful, but that was the style, and she could easily adapt to it. She quickly initiated a few sequences. Yes, she could definately get used to using her....


[[ she's expecting henryoredward eventually, maybe, but salle's open for all use ]]

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[henryoredward.livejournal.com]

Henry entered the salle. Guessing that proper Victorian attire might not be the best for this sort of thing, he'd finally broken down and worn some of his modern clothing. It was a starched shirt and slacks, but you had to give the kid credit for trying.
"Hullo!"

[bound2blade.livejournal.com]

Setsuna was a girl who constantly trained in a school uniform with a pair of biker shorts. She was definately no one to critcize anyone's attire.

"Henry, you made it! Excellent! And look!" She held out her new Western style sword for him to see. "I've just recieved another sword from my good friend, Peter. If you wanted to practise with her because it's more comfortable for you, then you can. But if I'm teaching you Eastern sword philosophy, I think you'd be best with Daisuke." She drifted toward the weapons locker to switch out the proper weapons, barely realizing that she was a wee bit babbling. She was very, very excited, though.

[henryoredward.livejournal.com]

Henry peered at the Western sword. "It is lovely, but I agree with you. If I'm to learn, it's best done properly." Henry was a little fidgety, and smiling. He was rather excited. "Is Daisuke the type of blade, or the name of the sword?"

[bound2blade.livejournal.com]

Setsuna nodded as she put the Western sword away and pulled out two Eastern ones, the one she was using the other day and a smaller one, just as sleek but designed different, with a hilt and a bit more curve. "Daisuke is his name; he is a katana, which you may remember me having mentioned earlier." She looked at him for a moment, judging his fidgeting and determining if he could catch the sword if she tossed it to him, and figured she might as well. If he didn't, then she'd definately have an idea on his reflexes.

She tossed Diasuke lightly over to him. "The name means 'Great Helper," so he should be perfect for a beginner." She took up her nodachi. "And this is Yuunagi, which means 'Evening Calm.' The name of a blade is very important to Eastern warriors. It forms a connection between the warrior and the weapon; without that connection, you cannot become a great warrior."

She beamed a little proudly at that. That turned out to be an excellent way to introduce Henry to all of this.

[henryoredward.livejournal.com]

It's awkward and sloppy, but Henry managed to catch Daisuke. He held it in his right hand, looking carefully at it. "Daisuke, great helper," he memorized.

[bound2blade.livejournal.com]

Setsuna smiled a little, quietly interpretating how he caught the sword. He did catch Daisuke; that was the important part. It showed that there was definately a lot of hope. She nodded. "Right, then. I think I've figured out what we'll do for our first session then. I want you to get to know him. You can talk to him, but I'll warn you, he's not going ot talk back, not in any language you'll be able to understand for quite a while now. The best way to get to know a sword is just to spend time with it. You said your experience in fencing has been limited, but are you familiar with basic forms? Work through them, and pay very close attention to how you're holding the sword, how it's moving, how it shifts in your hand. Pay attention to it, like you would..a...lover..."

She bit her lip and blushed a bit, realizing the comparrison came from her before she could stop it. She's got to stop reading those Edo romances...

[henryoredward.livejournal.com]

Henry was more or less with Setsuna until she said the word "lover." Then his face turns red and he nearly drops Daisuke. "What?"
He started to calm down, and searched for another simile. He knew what Setsuna meant, even if her word choice did throw him off. Get to understand it like someone you love.
Like Emma.
He nearly blushed again, this time for an entirely different reason. But he took a breath and settled down.
"Okay."

[bound2blade.livejournal.com]

Setsuna winced sharply at the reaction, holding in her own temptation to flail. But she was the sensei in this situation, so flailing wouldn't help. She drew in a breath. "Um, anyway, yes. Do you, uh, know basic forms, then?"

[henryoredward.livejournal.com]

Somewhat more calm, Henry shook his head.

[bound2blade.livejournal.com]

Setsuna nodded a bit. That meant they'd have to backtrack a bit, but...

"That's actually a good thing, because then I can start you out on Eastern forms without having to worry too much about your Western forms influencing them. I'll show you, and you can just follow me. It may feel a little strange at first, but just try to focus on me and your sword." She finched a bit, scolding her brain. That wasn't even remotely euphamistic, stop taking it like that!

"Now, there are three basic ways to start Eastern forms. The most common is with your sword in front of you, hands holding it thus, parallel to the floor." She set herself stiffly, arms extended in front of her with her one hand on Yuunagi's sheath, one hand on the hilt, and looked over to Henry for him to follow her example.

[henryoredward.livejournal.com]

Henry mimicked her stance, looking back and forth from his own posture to Setsuna’s, trying to get it down. He noticed the sturdiness of the posture, but took it a little too far, standing rigid.

[bound2blade.livejournal.com]

"Relax your shoulders," Setsuna corrected him, watching him from the corner of her eye. "Try not to grip so tightly. You don't want to choke the flow of energy from your hand to the hilt." Still, she was impressed with how he held himself or, at the very least, his ability to follow directions and imitate what he was shown.

[henryoredward.livejournal.com]

Henry took another breath, and his shoulders relaxed as he breathed out. He shifted his grip on Daisuke, trying to hold it firmly without it becoming a death grip.

[kitty--fetish.livejournal.com]

Alphonse decided to head to the salle, knowing that a certain sword-wielding warrior from Japan would have to be there if he couldn't find her anywhere else. He did owe her some help that was long overdue in training sessions, and now that Alphonse had the time (and the need to get his mind off certain things), now felt like the perfect time to pop in before his only class for the day.

When he entered and spotted Setsuna, who looked to be showing the tools of the trade to an unfamiliar face, he stood back, not wanting to disrupt.

[bound2blade.livejournal.com]

Setsuna's eyes went to Alphonse as he entered the room, and she nodded her head to him slightly as she finished up a few things with Henry, hoping Alphonse wouldn't mind. Eventually, they came to the end of what she felt was an appropriate first lesson, and gave Henry a small smile, "I think that's good for today. You're an excellent student. Now, if you'll excuse me, this is Alphonse, the boy I was telling you about yesterday. I'll go see what he wants; maybe he actually wants to practise a bit." Setsuna really hoped so. All those forms had her really warmed up and a session of training would be very nice.

"Hello, Alphonse!" Setsuna smiled brightly at him as she headed over. "How are you today?"

[kitty--fetish.livejournal.com]

During the lesson, he nodded back towards her, signaling he'd wait; in the meantime, he leaned back on a wall, watching with interest as Setsuna proceeded with her lesson.

Once she started coming towards him, Alphonse stood up straight again, pulling his hand out of a pocket to give a small wave. "Hey. Just here to kill some time. Thought you might like to break down that wall, since it's been a while."

[bound2blade.livejournal.com]

"I was hoping you'd say something like that," Setsuna said with a grin. "I'd absolutely love to."

[kitty--fetish.livejournal.com]

"Super," he replied. "Same routine as last time?"

[bound2blade.livejournal.com]

Setsuna nodded, giving Yuunagi a little twirl in the air as she moved over to the larger practise area. "Yup. Rocks are where they always are."

She paused a bit as she settled into a ready position and realized, out loud, "It's been a while...Might take me a moment to think of what I want to practise."

[kitty--fetish.livejournal.com]

"No worries," Alphonse assured, wandering towards the pile of rocks. He pushed the rocks that had somehow floated off too far from the pile back in their appropriate spot with his foot, and once done, pulled on his gloves. "I'm in no rush. Ready when you are."

[bound2blade.livejournal.com]

Setsuna considered for a moment while she built up a list of techniques in her head, and gave Alphonse a nod. "Ready."

[kitty--fetish.livejournal.com]

At the signal, Alphonse held up his hands, quickly transmuting the pile of stones into a wall, stepping back as soon as it finished. He wasn't sure what types of techniques Setsuna would be using, but if it was safe enough to stay closer to the wall, he'd do so for quicker rounds.

[bound2blade.livejournal.com]

Setsuna was going to start off slowly from the lack practise, swinging her sword back sharply as she charged forward, calling out the name, finishing its title as she neared the wall and brought the blade back around. If she had come an inch closer, Yuunagi's tip would have scratched into the wall but, where she was, it just sliced through air. It still created a deep incision in the wall, though, and Setsuna brought her sword back around for a diagonal slash across the previous one, creating a cut with wind. A third one came down through the air from over her head, straight and vertical, and then she bounced back a step as she force a hand, still holding Yuunagi's sheath sharply forward and grunted out an "Om."

The three lines glowed for a brief moment before they tore themselves open, crumbling the wall.

[kitty--fetish.livejournal.com]

No matter how many times she performed, Alphonse didn't think he'd ever fail to be impressed. As soon as the wall started falling, he stepped to his initial position again, building up the wall again in the same way as before.

It was almost nice, he thought, simply doing something that was so easy as this that he hardly had to think about it; and at the same time, see some impressive performances.

[bound2blade.livejournal.com]

As Alphonse had set up the next wall, Setsuna had quickly flipped back to her original mark, swing Yuunagi to a position ready over her shoulder, and waited the brief amount of time before Alphonse was ready. As soon as the last stone had smoothed out, she stepped forward, into a twirl, Yuunagi spinning around with her as she called out another sharp, crisp sounding attack. A great wind seemed to gather with her spin, and a small cyclone of air, visible to a watchful eye, darted from her blade toward the wall, tearing it down as it cut off its path.