Jul 30 19:47:48 106 PA - Crossing Swords
From Chronicles
The current game time is: Sat Jul 30 19:47:48 106 PA.
OOC Note: Training RP (Zach teaching Amber WP: Sword)
Zachary will take a bit to convince to do this. It won't be too hard, but a discussion over Amber's safety will be what gets them here. Zack will be lightly dressed for the gym, wearing a light shirt and long shorts to just above the knee, both airy and breathable. And in a clear spot with some mats, he'll stand with Amber. Both will have padded practice swords, though for now Zachary is taking a less physical path to teaching. "Now, fighting with a longer blade is very different from fighting with shorter ones. The reach, of course, but the balance is not the same and there is more weight to control," he tells her.
Amber watches Zach as he talks, her small, muscled frame bouncing a bit as her excitement overflows a bit. Clad in shorts and T-shirt over her sports bra, she seems ready to get her hands on a weapon and start monkeying around. She's behaving though, allowing Zachary to teach at his own pace, "Seems like its worth it though, in the end, the more distance between me and a baddie, the better, I'd think." She smiles brightly, eyes darting occasionally to the practice weapons as she grins.
"That is an advantage," Zachary agrees. "But in tighter quarters, a smaller blade is easier to use." He smiles and comes to stand beside her. Let me see how you hold it. This practice blade is meant to approximate a hand and a half sword. One that is versatile as you can hold it in one hand or with two ,to give yourself better balance and stability. Hold it in one hand and find a ready posture that suits you."
Amber claps her hands before reaching for her practice sword, her small hand wrapping the hilt as she easily raises the sword. Her muscled arm flexes a bit as she moves the sword around, but she's more than up for the task of holding the wooden weapon. Holding it well, well, thats another story. She strikes her best pose, and its reminicent of the over the top stance she recently saw at the movies. Still, she smiling, and seems to think she's doing quite well, "Like this?"
"Not quite," Zachary replies with a smile. His own is laid down for the moment as he moves to Amber, reaching out to touch arm, hip and shoulder in adjusting her posture to something a bit more relaxed and sadly mundane. "What you see in videos is rarely real. A more relaxed stance is what you want. Something that lets you be ready to act to strike or defend, without sacrificing balance. As my tutor once said, you must stand at the crossroads of action."
Amber bobs her head, her body relaxing a bit as her stance improves. She's strong and remarkably graceful, and she finds herself easily molded into a more proper stance, "Ok, so thats like, being ready for anything, huh, gotta be ready for an attack from anywhere?" She hops a bit, her body turning towards the left and right, as if fending off invisible attackers, but she returns to the stance you indicated even as she grins, "The videos do make it look good though, don't they? Like I do!"
Zachary smiles as he crouches down to pick his practice sword up once more. "They do make it very.. bombastic. My tutor said that such things were simply a waste of energy. It looks good, but why expend the effort to flip or otherwise act acrobatically when the same action can be done simpler, without the chance that you might stumble or fall?" He moves around to face her. "It is more mundane, but it is better in a true fight." He lifts his blade. "Now.. I wish you to get used to the different feel of the sword. Slow strikes. Focus on how the blade feels, how the weight effects you."
Amber swings her sword around, the movements a bit garish and showy, but well controlled in her strong grasp. She looks over at you, smirking a bit, "Want me to just practice in the air, or you want me to come at you a bit?" she asks, sword still moving easily, if a little ineffectually, in her hand, "I think I can do without the big movements for now, I guess, have to learn to walk before you run, right?"
"That is just it," Zachary replies with a smile, his own practice blade lifted into a relaxed ready before him, his posture balanced and spry. "Come at me. Slow strokes at first. Not to hit, but to learn how it feels. These are weighted to feel real, though they will do no harm. So let the weight of the blade start to teach you, then I shall fill in the basics properly."
Amber does as she's instructed, sword making a slow even movement towards you, as if it were a real strike in slow motion. A second "attack" follows just as slowly, as she starts to get a feel for the weapon in her hand, and how its weight effects its path, "They're not too heavy, which is good. I think something this size or a bit smaller would be easy for me, but I wouldn't want to try anything too much bigger." She smirks as her eyes find yours, "How am I doin?"
Zachary meets her movements with equally slow and measured parries, giving her a point of reference as he observes her movements intently. Though there is a slow development of his smile that suggests he's not just pleased with her progress thus far. "You're doing.. lovely," he replies, that smile lingering as he motions. "A little faster now. Work your way up slowly." He still holding the light, defensive stance to meet her continued practice. Letting her get the feel of having someone blocking her strikes.
An so Amber does as she's instructed, a pleased look on her face as she steps up the speed and power behind her attacks, not full strength, but definetly putting a bit more into each effort, "I've a wonderful teacher, so its no wonder I do so well!" She tosses you a wink and a smirk, "Though is it always so jarring to have a sword knocked away like this? I can feel muscles in my arm that don't get much use getting a bit of a work out."
"Sword fighting does work different muscles than with the knife, so says my tutor," Zachary replies, moving gracefully to meet the quicker swings. "It is more so when in a true fight, where more power may be used to deflect your blade. The swing of the sword lets one put great force and momentum behind it, when properly trained. Training those muscles will be part of your learning process, as we practice just like this."
Another bob of her head signals Amber's understanding, "Yeah, I would never make wide sweeping motions, and i never have to account for the top of the blade having to be stopped with a knife." She waves her sword a bit, making little stabbing motions towards you, "Thats how I'd work with a knife, but I can see how that wouldn't be as effective with the sword." she slides back into a close approximation of the stance you taught her as she prepares, "Its weird for sure, I've always thought i was pretty strong, its been a while since I found muscles I haven't used." a playful wink follows her comment.
A soft touch of red colors Zach's cheeks at her playful words, though he does look to keep on topic as he notes, "Defense will do the same. New muscles to work. But for now, offense." He is prepared to defend further as he notes, "Some swords are made to thrust and even the slashing blades can be deadly with a skilled stab." He smiles, that lithe stance settled firmly into once more.
Amber comes at you with another few quick strikes, her efforts a bit more true to life this time, his natural abilities taking her far, despite he unfamiliarity with the sword. She doesn't seem to quite grasp some of the concepts behind the weapon, and in a true fight, she'd have left herself open, but she seems to have a bit of promise. She's started to sweat a bit, and her breathing is a bit heavier, but she seems to be enjoying herself, "Yeah! Defense can come later, I plan on never giving my enemies a chance to go on the offensive!"
Zachary is less troubled by the extent of their practice, the defensive play letting him conserve his strength. "But what if your opponent has strong defense? You can no doubt feel, as we practice, that you are expending greater energy. You're strong, but it still takes effort to swing the blade. It takes less to defend, as I am. And if you exhaust yourself, your defenses will slip and then the foe will have an edge. You must let a foe attack to open themselves to you." Even so, he smiles as he waves his sword to carefully turn aside the light, but more energetic blows.
"Yeah, I'm starting to see that." Amber says as she begins to slow her pace, taking a moment to regroup and get her stance back in order, "Things take time, and I'm down with that. I like learning new things, i've found, and I've not found a book yet that I couldn't get through recently. Still, its nice to have a little bit of nourishing of my body going on, to accompany all the workout my mind has gotten the last month or so."
Zachary smiles and after a moment he seems to get a little uncommon daring as he replies, "I do enjoy.. nourishing your body." He doesn't quite have that innuendo tone going on, instead giving the racy statement a warm honesty. Though he doesn't lower his guard, even as she takes it slower. Keeping pace with the lighter attacks. "This is good for me as well, I suppose. I'm still a bit embarrassed about the first time, like this."
Even still, Amber notes the effort and lets out a cross between a chuckle and a snort, her grin returning quickly as she swats at your behind with her sword, a very telegraphed, but light hearded attack, "Yeah, that was all my fault, really. I'm not too bad with some weapons, and sometimes I just get all this pent up energy and I wanna fight!" She punches the air between you before lowering back into her stance, coming at you in ernest once more, "But still, I think it's working much better now that I've given you some warning."
Zachary reacts to the telegraphed swat automatically, the blade dropped low in behind to parry. Though a moment later he realizes the intent and a bit of warm red lingers on his cheeks. He seems pleased with himself nonetheless. But once she resumes, he's ready to continue providing her the means to train those muscles and to learn the feel of the sword. "Yes.. slower is good. I truly did not wish to do you harm. And I suppose that I am not used to.. a woman so aggressive as you are."
Amber prepares herself, and launches another few quick strikes, "Oh? Are you used to some other sort of woman that i'm not familiar with?" She grins and presses forward a bit, "Perhaps you're getting aquatinted with some other sorta lady, hmmm?" She grins, eyes sparkling as she attempts to put you a bit off balance, her attack coming with both words and sword, though she seems to be enjoying herself immensely.
"Well no, of course not," Zachary replies, his defense hesitating a bit, nearly missing a block before he gets back into the flow of their practice. "I mean those I have spoken to and such before.. though I suppose most I never really knew well. Acquaintances and the like. The friends my parents had were all.. very proper. The women tending to be demure. As you can be at times, yet.. I do like when you are not demure." That soft pink lingering faintly as he says so, voice lowered as if he would not wish to share this past her.
"Oh? And am I not proper?" Amber asks with a grin, eyes widening a bit as if surprised by the implication. She swings a few more times, more power in her attacks this time, her motions less flashy and a bit controlled, "You must think me completely brutish, don't you?" she teases, grinning happily, "I bet none of your parents friends could rebuild a plasma rifle from scrap, huh!"
"By their definition, you would not be proper," Zach agrees, lightly thoughtful.. for only lightly can be distract himself while their practice blades dance together. She with an edge in grace, he with an edge in skill, balanced in that. "But that doesn't matter to me. What matters is you are beautiful and talented and.. wonderful." And he lowers his guard just a bit too much as he says that, with that simple, real honesty that he just seems to toss about.
Amber's combat skills are not completely lacking, and she smirks to herself as she notices what she thinks is an opening. She hesitates, and then lets the moment pass, not wanting to press her advantage, or wound her boy. Still, she smiles to herself as her eyes drop to the mat a bit, "What would they say about me, hmmm? Your parents? What would they say about you being with someone like me?" A feint, "Would they approve?"
The question seems to give Zach pause and he stills. Thinking about that. He really doesn't have to think very long to answer, however. "They probably wouldn't approve," he admits. "But they are not here..and I came here to make my way." He Steps towards her, reaching out. "To make my choices.. so it doesn't really matter what they would think. Does it?"
Amber shrugs, wiping her forehead with her arm as she leans on her practice sword, "I guess it sorta does, in the end, I know you're the type that probably cares a little bit about your parents and wants to make them happy." She takes a few deep breaths, trying to get her labored breathing under control, "But I think that's more of a conversation for another place, really, and I think my poor muscles have had enough for one day."
Rasputin enters the Gym, his normal suit replaced by a smart looking track suit. It fits him well, but isn't the suit. He carries a small gym bag and hums softly with a whisper on his lips. Zachary shakes his head slightly, his arms reaching out to embrace her, careful of the practice sword. "it doesn't matter and we don't need to talk about it at all," he decides firmly. He then smiles softly and adds softly, "Perhaps we should go home. I can help you relax and we shall spend some lazy time together. I've been working too much, I know."
Rasputin continues on his way into the Sparring Room.
"Yeah, let me hit the showers real quick, and I'll meet you by the front door in like twenty minutes?" Amber rolls her shoulders back and gets out of the ring, tossing her sword back into the rack a bit uncermoniously, "I'll be quick, and I'll see you soon for cuddles!" She smiles and bounces off towards the lockerroom.
"Yes, I will be waiting for you," Zachary admits, smiling after Amber. He a bit slower than she in putting the blade up. His own thoughts turning towards some more active means of relaxing her. Feeling a little aggressive impulse rise in him. Rare, but occasionally coming to the fore when he feels most intent to do something for her.
