fandomhighdorms | The Salle: Tuesday afternoon

Sabriel had spent the morning reading, and now she was definitely ready for a work out session with a sword, so she made her way to the Salle.

She nodded to the boy practicing, and went to find a practice sword for herself.

Karal smiled back at her, not sure what the etiquette was for the Salle - apart from 'don't get crumbs on the floor' - but he thought saying, "Hello," was probably safe enough. He also paused what he was doing.

"Hello," Sabriel replied, pausing her browsing for a moment to turn and give him a smile. "I'm Sabriel."

"Karal," he said, with another smile. "From Karse. It is good to meet you. You are not one of yesterday's new students, are you?"

"Oh, no, I arrived in May." Sabriel smiled a little sheepishly. "I have been a little asocial, trying to read up on this place."

"I think that I may have seen you," he said uncertainly. "And I know that feeling well, trying to learn about this place. Everything here seems extremely strange." He lowered the practice sword until the point was on the floor. "Does that mean you are not from this world either?"

"Now, this is a first," Setsuna commented with a small smile as she arrived at the salle early, of so she thought, to find Karal (and the pastries) already there. "usually I'm able to fit in a full set before my students arrive and here I almost feel late."

"Well," he said with a smile, gratefully lowering the sword to point at the floor. "I thought I should arrive as early as I could, given it has been some time since I practised. How are you today, Setsuna?"

[oooh - picnic! Fun! And I suspect you are right.]

"Quite well, thank you," Setsuna smiled with a nod, moving toward the weapon's locker for Yuunagi. "And quite excited, look." She turned slightly toward him, putting her unbandaged arm toward him. There definitely was a scar, pink and still looking fresh, but, considering that the arm was actually attached to the muscle there, she considered it quite an improvement. "It's looking good. And how are you?"

"I am good," he said, walking closer to study her arm, unable to hold back a wince, because he could imagine what it must have looked like before it began to heal. "I am glad it is healing so well. It feels stronger?"

"It feels very strong," Setsuna said, her smile excited and her eyes filled with a very rare spark of pure eagerness. "It feels ready. Now if only I could decide if it has the patience to wait until after pastries, or if the pastries should be the ones to wait."

Karal grinned at her enthusiasm - he could see it in her face - and he stepped back a few steps, raising his practice sword in something like a salute. "I suspect that pastries are much less important than swordwork," he laughed. "Practice first, and then we will have earned them!"

"You have such a wonderful perspective on thinks, Karal," Setsuna said with a laugh, pulling Yuunagi out of the weapon's locker, running her fingers along her smooth sheath and hilt for a moment before separating them, drawing the blade slowly out to inspect it. She had done a little bit of work with her, and had been down a few times to keep the blade polished, but she checked the blade as if looking for signs of disuse. Finding everything to her approval, though, she set aside the sheath and moved her arm around a little to warm it up as she moved out into the practise area.

"Remind me again. Is there anything specific you had said you wanted to work on next?"

Karal blinked at her; he'd been distracted, watching her with the sword. "It is beautiful," he said, nodding at it. "And I am not sure. I think I have a fair grasp of what you have shown me so far. I do not really know what comes next." He wanted to mention his desire to concentrate on defensive only, but he'd promised he would learn everything she had to teach him.

[ooc: And I head to work in about 20 minutes, so AFK for about an hour.]

Setsuna gave a soft smile, ducking her head slightly against a blush. A compliment toward a warrior's sword was like a compliment to the warrior herself. "Yuunagi's very important to me," she said, as if it justify it, "so of course I believe in taking good care of her.....Have we worked into the side strikes yet?" she asked, taking a moment, again, to work her arm slightly as if to test its ability to handle this, and then demonstrated a simple move, one foot stepping forward as she brought the sword to her side and then swiped, parallel with the floor in a sharp half arc.

She tried her best not to wince at the vague pulling of her arm.

Karal caught the wince. He was watching her carefully, in addition to his normal attentiveness, so he wasn't going to miss it. "You will take care?" he asked softly. "Please? I do not want you to re-injure yourself." He was looking at her entreatingly as he raised his sword, mimicking her stance. "And no, we have not."

Setsuna shook her head. "It's nothing," she insisted. "It's just that the muscle hasn't quite gotten accustomed to the movement again. It only needs to be reminded...We'll cover these, then, today, as they're the basic foundation of an attack. Once you get the hang of it, I can easily then teach you how to turn this into a common defense. Did you pick up on how it was done? I'll show you again, and if you want to try it, go ahead, but I can lead you through it if you need. I'd much rather see how you naturally approach it, though, so I can pick up on what feels right."

She gave him a nod, settled back, and executed the move again, making it as clear and concise as she could, then settling back, sword pointed down, lightly rubbing her upper arm. It had been way too long...

"All right," he said agreeably, though he was going to be watching her closely, and he was prepared to feign exhaustion if it became necessary. "I remember what you did, but that doesn't mean I can duplicate it. I will try, though." Karal smiled ruefully and set his feet as hers had been, closed his eyes to picture the movement, then copied it.

Or attempted to copy it. He had very little idea what he was doing, and he still knew that had been clumsy.

"Try it again," Setsuna offered. "Your wrist is too limp; the swing is in the arm, not the wrist, so keep that in mind when you give it another attempt."

That made sense and he nodded, resettling into his stance and repeating the movement, slower this time, but focusing on swinging from the arm and keeping his wrist firm. "That felt better," he said. "Less clumsy."

"It looks better, too. More likely to work that way, too," Setsuna said, with a slight smile. "The less awkward it feels, the more likely it is you're moving toward doing it right."

"Setsuna, simply holding a sword feels awkward to me," he admitted with a smile. "But I understand your meaning. Riding a horse is the same. When it feels natural, you know you are doing it correctly." He tried the movement again, still slow, but with great concentration. It felt slightly better. "I fear I will need a lot of practice."

With a small, light chuckle, Setsuna gave Yuunagi a small twirl to get the right positioning, and settled into a stance, ready to meet Karal's pace. "Nothing wrong with that. Practise is what makes you strong. Consider: I have been doing this since I was four, and I still practise nearly ever single day."

"Since you were four?" He gaped at her, following the motion of her swoord, then nodded, as if something had clicked into place for him. "That explains why you are so skilled. And you are absolutely right, practice is important. Very important." Rearranging his feet so they matched her positioning better, he lifted the sword again. "And so I will practice, as often as I can, beginning now." And he repeated the movement.

"Well, technically," Setsuna gave a small smile, her cheeks slightly pink, and did the movement with Karal as closely as she could, "since before I could even remember, but that's about the age where I can actually recall anything clearly."

"I was taken for the Temple when I was nine," he said after a moment of silence, feeling the need to offer something in exchange. He watched her sword and worked through the movement again. "But I have never heard of training for anything beginning so young. Was it your parents who began to teach you?"

And, again, Setsuna tried to match Karal's movement with him. It reminded her of the exercises they did when all the girls would line up and anyone who got off the beat, whoever had their sword too high, or two low, or not fast enough, would be called out and, if it continued, they would have to serve extra practise. She shook her head lightly, putting a little more into her swings. "No," she said, simply. "I never knew my parents." It was clear, though, that this fact did not disturb her, which probably made it even more disturbing a comment.

It would have been, to someone who had not grown up as Karal had, excpecting never to see his family again once he entered the Cloister. Mostly he just felt a bit sad for her. "May I ask why not?" he asked, falling into a rhythym, trying to match Setsuna's movements exactly, grateful she was going slow enough he could keep up.

Setsuna was sure to stick to Karal's pace, not force him to do things the other way around. She frowned, slightly, trying to think of the best way to explain; her speed didn't increase, but her force did. "I was abandoned," she said, finally, simply. "If it weren't for the fact that a very gracious man named Eishun Konoe found me, I probably would have died somewhere in the mountains outside of Kyoto."

"Very Greek mythology, I know," Setsuna added, only remembering after she said it that Karal probably wouldn't be familiar with those myths, unless he'd been talking to the right people around here.

He slowed, sword sagging as he turned to look at her fully, turning over possible responses. "Anyone who would abandon their child, who would abandon you, does not deserve to have you," he finally said, facing forward once more and lifting his sword. "Eishun Konoe was the one who trained you? And I will take your word that it is similar to Greek mythology," he added with a small smile.

Setsuna's mouth gaped open, like a fish, not because of what Karal said, but because he had stopped. The words didn't really sink into her consciousness for exactly that reason, but when he shifted and resumed before she could say anything, her mouth snapped shut and she frowned, confused by the response. And went back to the moves, frowning, feeling distracted, because she couldn't explain to Karal exactly why she had been abandoned. "He...no, he simply found me, and...hired me; the school itself trained me, though I worked mostly under Aoyama-sensei....I...it....it's all very complicated, really..."

"Oh." Karal frowned, now a little confused himself, but that was what came of making assumptions, he guessed. "That does sound complicated, but there is no need to explain." He smiled sideways at her and tried to get back into the rhythm of the movement. "I was not trying to pry the details of your childhood from you."

Setsuna shook her head. "No, it's alright. Just natural curiousity; I understand. I know that my situation is a bit....strange, but, at the same time, I didn't think it was strange at all while I was in it."

"No one ever does. It is not until you wind up somewhere completely different that you are able to consider your previous situation objectively," he said, sounding very certain, and his movement echoed that certainty.

[ooc: Gah - I have to gooo AFK for awhile, and so sorry for missing your last ping!...and remembering to hit post would have been helpful *facepalm*]

And Setsuna smiled softly to see such a sure swing. "Yes. That's actually why I came here in the first place...To experience a bit of a less strange life. I'm rather pleased with the results."

"This is less strange?" he asked, blinking in surprise, but this time he didn't stop, repeating the movement, a little bit faster, a little bit stronger, and for the first time it didn't feel completely unnatural. "Setsuna, the place you come from must be different indeed."

[SP yay!]

"It's my situation that's different," Setsuna clarified, easily and happily picking up on the increases in Karal's work, "not so much the place. I always marveled at how actually similar my old school, Mahora, is to Fandom."

"Ah, I see." He nodded. "For me, Fandom is very different, but my situation, to some extent, remains the same. I still have my responsibilities, as priest and as Envoy." His next swing had a lot more force, but not nearly as much control, as his attention turned briefly inward. "But this place...being here grants me a distance, a time to think, for which I am grateful."

"Careful to keep a balance," Setsuna said, in a way that, at first, might be talking about more than just their swordwork, if she didn't continue on, "between strength and control." It was an idle correction, not letting their conversation dissuade her from the fact that she was teaching, but she continued, "I understand that entirely. I might actually be leaving here soon, so that I may return to my own responsibilities...I've had my distance. You know?"

"I, yes I do," he replied, accepting the correction easily, and taking a deep, steadying breath before repeating the movement more smoothly. "I will miss you if you leave." Karal understood, of course. Responsibilities must be returned to, but he would be sad to see her leave.

Setsuna gave a small smile. "It could all be talk, really. I know I'll miss this place terribly, too, and don't know if I'll actually be able to do it."

"You will promise not to leave without saying good bye, at least?" he asked. "In the event that you do go?"

"Of course," Setsuna nodded as her blade cut across the air. "That's a promise I know I can keep."

Karal smiled. "Thank you." He tried to make his sword cut the air as Setsuna's did, but it trembled slightly, the unfamiliar action finally catching up with him. "Should I switch arms now, do you think? And how is yours feeling?"

"It's feeling great," Setsuna said, grinning a little happily at that. It hadn't been bothering her at all since after they had started; the conversation probably helped keep her mind off it, too. "But, yes, switching arms would be a good idea."

At which point, rather quickly and suddenly, Setsuna'd twirled Yuunagi and, next second, it was ready to go in her left hand. She hadn't even realized, for the most part, that she'd done it. "Ready when you are."

The suddenness both startled and impressed Karal, and he passed his practice sword - far less gracefully - from one hand to the other, then lifted it and nodded. "I am ready," he said with a small smile, his first attempt deliberately slow and careful. "Or as ready as I can be."

Setsuna grinned back at him. "Other arm is always harder," she sympathized.

Billy hadn't practiced with his sword in a while, so after retrieving it from the locker, and polishing it, he set about going through a few forms, his movements growing more and more complex as he went.

The Salle: Tuesday afternoon

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