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Post by moralhazard on May 10, 2019 23:54:09 GMT
The longer they practiced, the more Kara seemed to relax. She hadn’t doubted that Warden was tough and strong; that she had known the day before. But until she saw her train, Kara hadn’t been sure - how it would go.
It wasn’t exactly right to compare Warden and Dhaunmyr; they were very different types of pupils. All the same, Kara had spent weeks dragging Dhaunmyr through training with all of her (considerable) strength as he (mentally) kicked and flailed, until, eventually, he had settled in Part of her had thought Warden wouldn’t be the same, but it was one thing to think it and another thing to see it.
Kara wasn’t exactly complimentary, but she would occasionally give Warden a slight nod. Only after Warden’s first successful run through did Kara nod fully, and speak. “Good.”
They switched tactics next; Kara would teach Warden a new strike, this one with the butt of the weapon. It was about momentum and strength both; it took an understanding of how the weapon moved and precise control to manage it.
After a few tries from Warden, Kara set her own glaive down, marched outside, and returned with a roughly humanoid shaped dummy on a heavy base. She set it down in front of Warden and have her a firm nod, stepping back to let her try it.
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Jarovbees
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Playing: Solstice (Paladin 6)/Umbrae (Sorcerer 1/Warlock 4)/Avren Wands (Rogue 2/Sorcerer 1)
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Post by Jarovbees on May 11, 2019 1:41:05 GMT
Compliments weren't necessary; it was progress that made Warden thrive above all else. If Kara thought her ready for the next step, and the next, then she would take that as a sign that she was doing something right. Setbacks had her gritting her teeth and trying again, and again, until the maneuver was more polished. Even so, there was a small smile at that singular 'good'.
That new strike had her intense focus, as this was partly the reason why she wanted to master the weapon. Her battle axe could promise a good swing, but with the glaive, she could get in at least another blow more than she would otherwise get at a time. Those moments of opportunity could add up, and she wasn't about to ignore that. So she practiced a bit more while Kara headed outside, wanting to perfect what she had started to learn.
Warden had to resist the urge to help the shorter human woman with the training dummy; Kara was more than capable, on that end. Nodding back to Kara, she then settled into the appropriate stance and attempted the maneuver again with the dummy as a target. The momentum took a little getting used to, but every extra effort was a little smoother than the last.
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Post by moralhazard on May 11, 2019 2:48:05 GMT
A little smoother – but not quite smooth enough. Kara scowled a little, watching Warden. After one strike, she gave a little shake of the head; at that angle, the glaive would fight Warden the whole way, and enough resistance from her opponent might yank it free from her hands.
Kara set a hand on the end of the glaive after Warden’s next strike, holding it in place for a moment. She hesitated, thinking, then gave it a tug, turning Warden to face her. Kara’s hands wrapped over Warden’s, holding them into place on the glaive.
Kara swept the glaive down for Warden, guiding her through the sweep and the flick up with the butt, effortlessly able to keep her body out of the way of the strike. She looked up at Warden, very serious. “It’s not just the motion,” Kara said, quietly. “The glaive will fight you on every swing if you don’t get the angle right.”
A pulse of agony surged through her; Kara’s gaze dropped for a moment, focusing squarely on Warden’s armor. She would have been horrified to know the rush of pain that had swept through her face, utterly unaware of it. She took a deep breath, and continued the exercise as smoothly as if she’d never stopped. She kept hold of Warden’s hands for half a dozen more strikes, doing her best to show Warden how to move the glaive so that the angle and momentum would work for her – not against her.
Kara stepped back after that, and nodded at the training dummy again, crossing her arms over her chest to watch again.
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Jarovbees
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Playing: Solstice (Paladin 6)/Umbrae (Sorcerer 1/Warlock 4)/Avren Wands (Rogue 2/Sorcerer 1)
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Post by Jarovbees on May 11, 2019 14:50:14 GMT
The advice made sense to Warden, who looked a little abashed for a moment before steeling herself to do it again the right away. "Good point. I hadn't thought of it like that." The tiefling knew full well that she was still used to one-handed weapons and their own momentum, so the reminder to treat this differently was necessary. Do it right, or...well, there wasn't another option, in Warden's mind. She wasn't going to waste anyone's time, hers or Kara's.
Kara's sudden shift in gaze was noted, but she made no comment. Whether she was tired or whatnot, Warden knew that if it were her, she wouldn't want any inquiries either. Pride, sure, but they all deserved some dignity. She didn't know the woman well enough to feel comfortable prodding anyway, so unless it was important she simply continued to follow instructions.
Repetition was the key to learning, so Warden followed Kara's guidance closely for the next half a dozen strikes. When it was her turn to face the training dummy once more, the tiefling paladin drew a deep breath and focused her gaze. She lashed out, more concerned with getting her movements precise than just blindly thrashing it.
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Post by moralhazard on May 11, 2019 16:15:38 GMT
Kara watched Warden for a long time. Slowly, her shoulders relaxed a fraction and the scowl on her face lightened. She nodded, and left Warden to practice the strike on her own while Kara hauled the dummy back to the main training area.
“Last one for today,” Kara said, looking at Warden as she returned. Their last exercise would be another training dance, this one incorporating the butt of the weapon strike Warden had learned onto two different sequences.
Again, Kara demonstrated the dance at speed, then as slow and controlled as she could, letting Warden see how it came together. She took Warden through the steps and moves, piece by piece, then left her to try it.
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Jarovbees
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Playing: Solstice (Paladin 6)/Umbrae (Sorcerer 1/Warlock 4)/Avren Wands (Rogue 2/Sorcerer 1)
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Post by Jarovbees on May 11, 2019 17:44:51 GMT
A last training dance was fine with Warden, who figured she had more than enough material to practice from at this point. Finding the time would be an interesting challenge, between missions and patrols and miscellaneous errands, but this was worth prioritizing, so she would make it work somehow. She paused to watch Kara's newest draining dance intently, both at speed and slower, watching how one action flowed into the next to shape the set as a whole.
Prior practice paid off, or at least she felt it had, as her training dance felt a bit smoother and more natural than her first attempts. It was not flawless, doubtless Kara could still find little things to correct, but it was a decent foundation. She would go through it again and again until it felt more automatic and less something she actively had to dwell on. Let her muscles do the memorizing.
"...like this?"
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Post by moralhazard on May 11, 2019 17:54:29 GMT
Kara nodded. There were little things she could fix – placement of feet, the position of Warden’s hands on the glaive, the exact angle of a few of the attacks – but it had flowed well, and she thought it would be better to make corrections after Warden had had a bit more time to practice. The big pieces were there, and Kara was, honestly, pleased at how quickly Warden had understood the strikes.
“Yes,” Kara exhaled, slowly, the last of the tension releasing from her as the lesson ended. She felt it in her shoulders and neck, a strange tightness, and reached up with one hand to rub at her shoulder muscles. She hadn’t been sure she could do it. She still wasn’t sure she had done it, but – she thought she’d made a good attempt.
“Practice on your own,” Kara was quiet, thinking. Dhaunmyr she had forced to come every day, or as many days as he wanted. With Warden – Kara didn’t think she’d need to see her every day. There were more lessons – more strikes, more dances, more forms; she wanted to see Warden do these training dances again in a few days, to correct any new errors and maybe some of the smaller ones.
“Back here in three days?” Kara asked, exhaling slowly. That seemed to her like enough time for Warden to be able to practice on her own, but not so long that any mistakes might become permanent. She let it be a question though; there was an odd, faint worry that Warden wouldn't want another lesson.
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Jarovbees
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Playing: Solstice (Paladin 6)/Umbrae (Sorcerer 1/Warlock 4)/Avren Wands (Rogue 2/Sorcerer 1)
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Post by Jarovbees on May 11, 2019 18:28:51 GMT
"I'll go through what you've taught me on my own time. Hopefully I'll make a little progress for the next time." Warden nodded firmly, ready and willing to pull her own weight. The tiefling woman had never known anything else, and she wasn't about to start slacking off now that she had extra training on her mind. She felt both weary and invigorated, certain she had learned much from this and that there was more to learn. It was exciting.
She was silent for a moment, thinking over short-term plans and if she would be able to return in that time-span...but barring unforeseen circumstances, none of that should interfere with glaive-training. That had been her only concern, out of all this. "Three days should be fine. Same time, and should we meet just outside? Or will they let me in, knowing that I'm waiting for you?" That's probably something she should know before leaving for the day.
(Word count: 7,732)
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Post by moralhazard on May 11, 2019 21:51:02 GMT
“They’ll let you in,” Kara hoped the flicker of relief she felt at Warden’s easy acceptance of their next meeting didn’t show on her face. She turned away to hide it, just in case, picking up her own glaive again and turning it over in her hands. Some training for herself would be good, Kara decided. She didn’t have long before she needed to work, and it would be easier if she could – settle, first. She turned back to Warden, giving her a nod, and then more or less pushed the thoughts of her paladin student from her mind, starting practice forms of her own. Unlike the day before, Kara knew she wouldn’t have time to run through all of them; she focused on the hardest, the ones that she knew would take every ounce of her strength and concentration to do justice to. Kara jumped and slashed and turned; she spun her glaive and herself back and forth in endless whirls, balancing momentum and power and control. By the end of it she felt drawn out and tired, the last two days close to catching up with her. To her surprise, she also felt – content. Kara probed at the feeling, and knew it for what it was. She felt content. What would Ironfist say, if she were here? Kara wondered. The warm feeling in her chest didn’t fade as Kara cleaned and sheathed her blade, and she even caught herself nodding politely to Rolond as she left the training space, almost without thinking. Kara knew, then, the answer; perhaps she had always known it. Her mentor would be proud. She knew it in her heart and her bones, and she let it flow through her, lift her up and carry her ahead. Kara even caught herself looking forward to their next training session.
((Word count: 8,689))
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