fandomhighdorms | Gym, Tuesday evening

So maybe the Reverend Mother's stern warning last week might have gotten Irulan off her ass and finally explore the gym.

Parker stopped for a breather, and a chance to gulp some water, and noticed Irulan. "Irulan. Hey." She gave her a small smirk. "No hat. Yay."

"Hello, Parker," Irulan said, smiling, then soberly, "I find headdresses to be a bother when attempting a workout."

"I would expect so," Parker said, then smiled a little wickedly as she wiped sweat off her forehead with the back of her wrist. "Although if you're going to keep wearing them, you'll have to learn to compensate at some point." Parker capped her bottle, and cracked her neck before sending Irulan a speculative look. "Do you need the bag?"

Irulan eyed the bag, "No thank you, I mostly do... I think the equivalent would be yoga in this time. I will go through forms first and perhaps later attempt to practice with the knife."

Parker perked up at the mention of the knife, and asked, "Do you mind if I watch? Knife-fighting is one of the things I haven't learned yet. Swordwork only translates so far. I can do my forms while you get warmed up."

Irulan inclined her head and smiled, "If you wish, knife fighting is -- it's become the fighting style of my time since las guns can't penetrate the personal shield. There's even duels." Irulan unrolled a kit, the knives had dull edges, "Would you like to try?"

"Yes, thanks." Parker stretched her arms out, and took off the boxing gloves, loosening up her shoulders and doing a few leg stretches before approaching the kit. "Any one?"

Irulan nodded, "These are all training knives, oh and just in case," she took out an extra shield, "You may want to wear a shield to prevent any injury."

Parker accepted a knife, getting a good grip on it similar to her sword grip, and then warily looked at the shield belt. "Okay. How does that thing work, and can it give me an electrical shock if I screw it up?"

She smiled, "No fear of that, activating it is a simple matter of--" Irulan flicked the switch and the shield went up and there was the familiar zing and smell of ozone, "pressing a button."

"Interesting." Parker stood up, and imitated Irulan, studying the altered angles of light around herself as the shield activated. She poked the knife at it experimentally. "Okay, this is going to be impossible. How do we even fight?"

"A sure and steady hand and a sharp blade can penetrate the shield." She explained, "I will attempt the forms first and you can follow my movements after."

Irulan took two knives, closed her eyes and breathed in the quick one-two that triggered muscle relaxation, then her muscles relaxed as she conditioned it to the first phase of the Wierding Way. She stepped forward, moved her left hand in a circular motion followed by a jab by her right knife, shield and deflect and attack.

Not so different from swordfighting after all; shorter movements, more careful defense because of the lack of reach, but still, similar. Parker imitated Irulan's movements, slower, to make sure she had them correctly, and then checked the younger girl's progress.

Irulan paused to glance at Parker and nodded approvingly, "You have to keep your right foot carefully balanced. Using the knife means you have to fight an opponent who can get in very close."

Parker's eyes narrowed, and she readjusted her stance, closer to if she were sparring with someone, kickboxing. "More like this? Arms at this angle?" She slowly began to circle, and pushed her knife out through the shield again, watching how it smoothly parted to let the blade through. "Takes some getting used to."

"Good," She said approvingly, "You're good at this. I suppose the shield is strange for you, I confess I never go without my shield." Irulan positioned herself away, "If you ever reach advance levels I may teach you the Weirding Way."

"It's very odd. Distracting, from the flicker in my peripheral vision." Parker slowly turned, trying to accustom herself to the smell and the very low-level buzz as the shield moved with her. She tried a few moves of Tai Chi, and got a little more comfortable with the encasing energy. "What's the 'Weirding Way'?"

"A secret way of fighting developed by the Bene Gesserit," Her smile was wry, "I should not even be telling you but they are a universe away, I see no harm. And this is the Wierding Way."

Irulan adjusted her breathing again, then drew to a standstill for a few seconds before becoming a series of blurred movements, from one end to the next, working fast, circling around and ending a moment later before Parker with her knives held at a stance.

"Whoa." Parker stared, then broke into a huge smile, impressed. "Show me that again. Please?"

There was almost a grin on her face, she had missed doing this. "Very well." She bowed this time, focused and projected in her mind the path she wanted -- the Prana Bindu and then moved.

Mind is reality, claimed the Weirding Way philosophy and it very well seemed so as she turned around the room, flashing her arms in a feint against a shadow enemy, turning in a circle and moving for the simple joy of moving. Unfortunately, there is a danger of too much movement and she misjudged a step and that effectively ended her dance as she fell ingloriously on her backside.

She looked at Parker a little breathless, "This time didn't go so well."

Parker stifled a grin, and said, "Up until then, it was very, very cool." She offered hand to Irulan. "And anyone can be off-balance for a moment. I would love to move that fast. It's amazing."

Irulan pushed herself up, "It is amazing, it takes a lifetime of practice. It's why I do the yoga, or in my time it is called the Prana Bindu it allows you complete control over your body."

"I do Tai Chi. Not too dissimilar, in some ways." Parker shook her head. "But no way it would allow me to move like that. One more thing I'll have to study at some point, it looks like." She cocked her head. "Does it help with fist-fighting? Wait, you probably don't do that."

"Not fist fighting," Irulan said with a shake of a head, "Although there were some noblemen who were into that for a while but since they were clueless how to do the Weirding Way they ended up looking... strange."

Parker grinned. "It's probably the only kind of fighting you'll see around here. Well, wrestling, kick-boxing-- variations on a theme. I don't think anyone else can do that." She went through a Tai Chi form, then did a kick-jump. "Now, if I could do that as fast as you did-- heh."

Irulan looked impressed, "That is a good kick."

"Thanks. Six-- going on seven-- years of practice." Parker did it again, then tilted her head. "I could demonstrate, if you want to learn."

Irulan nodded, "Yes, please." It wasn't that she liked the physical effort but it would help dampen any would be assassin's spirit.

Parker demonstrated the kick first. "Your leg goes up, bends at the knee, and extends." She held that position for half a minute, so Irulan could see how it worked. "Then it folds back down. To do it with the jump, you step forward woith the opposite leg--" she did so, "Then use the momentum to propel you forward and up. See?" She repeated the action. "Of course, a rockette kick--" Parker extended her leg and snapped it upward, hard, all one in one motion, "--looks great and has a lot of power behind it, but you risk landing on your butt like you did before. You try the first one, without the jump."

Irulan followed, emulating Parker's movements before snapping her leg in the way she saw Parker did earlier.

"Nice," Parker admitted. "Careful. But that one's *really* effective if you're wearing three-inch spike heels, and you manage to keep your balance." She smirked. "Partly just for the distraction value."

She smiled, "i can imagine how distracting and deadly, stilletos as death."

"The element of surprise can be deadlier than a high-kick." Parker smirked. "If you want-- I'll trade you a few more fighting moves, for the knife-fighting?"

"Acceptable arrangement," Irulan said with a nod. "Would you like to keep the shield? Projectile weapons are basically useless against that."

Parker boggled for a moment. Oh, what she could do with this. Her thoughts immediately focused on ways of getting to Brigitte without getting caught or hurt-- "Are you certain? This thing has to have cost a fortune."

"I have enough of those at home<" she said with a shrug as if were just another pair of shoes.

Parker recognized the gesture-- it was the same one she used when loaning shoes or jewelry. "Thank you. I really appreciate this." She turned off the shield, and carefully placed the belt with her boxing gloves. "Now. Show me that move with the knife, again...."

They ran through several more drills, and Tai Chi forms, until both were tired. And Parker left smiling, with one problem solved, certain there would be no nightmares that night.

Gym, Tuesday evening

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