A Confluence of Abilities... (Shai; Eridanus)

[Zandelia]

The Tent City of Sunberth

Fall 35th, AV 511


Zandelia had a rare occurrence this day, and that was shown in so far as she had no limp at all as she made her way back through the tent city that was her barrier from the darker streets of Sunberth’s alleys and markets. She held her home there, enshrined at the very centre of the hundreds of canvas triangles, and a fine home it was by many accounts. It held no regal items and it was unlikely to become a social sensation, however its tranquillity and spaciousness was enough for Zandelia. When she spent the majority of her time running leaping and fighting it was pleasant at least to have somewhere to sit and just be. It was an irony then that though her intentions were always to do just that she always ended up doing something else within the thickly oiled canvas walls. Her evenings were spent pouring carefully crafted over notes or swiftly stolen missives. Sometimes she had a drink to relax, other times she did not. She had few possessions to speak of and little in the way of money that was ever on display. She had no fear of robbery and yet she always slept with a dagger.

A contradiction I am, indeed. My home life is little more than an extension of my working one. None know where I lay my head and no friends have ever graced its walls. A sad hermit I have become she thought to herself, a little sadly, as she walked through the flapped entrance and set about undressing.

“Still, something moves this evening that might just change that for the better. For once I have trust enough to spare a visit or two from a useful woman, and a strange man indeed” she muttered to herself as she pulled her Shadowsilk robes over her head and threw them onto her bedding, “I can only hope it’s not bloody miss-placed, this trust of mine” she finished as the studded leather armour followed it swiftly.

She took the opportunity to stretch her tired muscles, easing the tension in her shoulder and neck as she let herself sink onto the end of her bed before rubbing her thighs in an attempt to rub away the aching masses there. Fitter was might well be now, yet still she needed time to recover from a hard day’s work. She pulled at herself here and there, probing a knot in one place and smoothing the tension in another. It was a bodily ritual she completed every day – knowing now how truly useful it was to her body. It not only halved her recovery time but filled her with a sensation of pleasure that she did not often get throughout her time at The Establishment. Still, time was wasting and she would need to be outside to meet the newcomers soon enough in order to begin the exchanges of experience, not wishing to miss the golden opportunity. She patted herself down once more, smoothing her trousers and shifting her corset into place on top of her blouse before pulling her leather boots back on and striding out of her home to wait, just outside the entrance flap.

Let’s just hope they damned well makes an appearance as I can’t be petching bothered to hunt Shai cute little arse down, and Eridanus can only be caught half the bloody time she thought to herself as she crossed her arms under her bust and took up a sentinel’s position in front of her home.

It was getting further into the evening now, the sky darkening earlier each day and casting lengthy shadows across the tent city that were only partially banished by the spluttering torches that each resident kept going at night to guide their visitors in. Zandelia had never had much use for one before, however she had kindled one now and stuck it firmly into the ground beside her with a few hard shoves, gathering a mound of dirt back up around its base to keep it stable. It was a dangerous practise for a person who lived in what was akin to a house made of parchment, but it was the only way to provide light and, therefore, a necessity. Still, she waited despite her growing concerns, for her new pupils – and teacher at that too – to arrive.

“Come on Shai, Eridanus, where the shyke are you?” she asked the darkness itself as it gathered, slowly, around her.

[Eridanus]

Eridanus woke up in the musty confines of the library, his head rested on his hand on a well-used desk (by him anyway) and he squinted around him, realizing that the light was already fading. Time had passed quite quickly, and he had only remembered that it used to be really bright with Syna's rays warming the place up when he had fetched a book on spying to read. He had been visited by a strange woman who turned out to be Master Tua's other word-runner. She had been quite interested in this topic, and had requested for his assistance, somehow mistaking him for some librarian or something. Fortunately for her, he was already quite familiar with the library by then, for he often slummed in the safe confines of this building which crime usually avoided due to a lack of interest, and in his free time had gotten familiar with the way books were loosely organized. They had began talking, and before she left she had invited him to her tent a couple of days in the future to swap more ideas. He had accepted, having enjoyed the brief exchange of knowledge. In fact, he realized with a jolt that the day he was supposed to meet Zandelia was this day - the day that he finally gave in to exhaustion while Syna still reigned because of the incident that occurred earlier in the day. Shyke, girl's gonna get mad. He carefully placed the stone that he picked up outside the library that he used as a bookmark on the page that he left his book on, and he left the book on the table, moving out of the library. There was no need to replace the book or anything, for it seemed that he was the only occupant in this place, and he would replace it after he was done reading. It was great, for it felt like he owned the entire building and he whistled as he found his way to the open area where homeless people substituted buildings with tents as their shelter against the elements. It was fortunate that they had met in the library at night when Eri was in his celestial form for it would be complicated to explain his morphing conditions. In fact, there was a pretty big misunderstanding with Bob a few weeks back regarding this and he was getting tired of repeating the same explanation over and over again. When he arrived at the place, he found the feisty young woman standing guard in front of a tent - probably hers - her eyes examining the area in front of her. As he made his way towards her, he caught her eye and he waved, a smile of recognition on his face.

[Shai]

Shai rolled over. Her tent was pitched on a carefully chosen rooftop, it was almost inaccessible unless someone had a grappling hook, wings, or was a Symenestra. These small chances didn’t bother her too terrible much; she didn’t have much worth stealing which was true of most people who lived in tents. Actually it was true of most citizens of Sunberth. Shai rolled over again, twisting her bedding into an unnamable mass. It wasn’t until her third toss was completely impeded that she finally opened her eyes. It was nice and dark already, a perfect time to wake up. Sure she lost a few hours of prowling but a girl ought to get her beauty sleep. Shai took her time unbraiding her hair and rebraiding it and washed her face as well.

The spider stepped out of the tent with her water skin that didn’t at all hold water. She’d carefully poured her fruit slurry into it while she was still in the tent. Breakfast on the go was lucky because as soon as she turned to look at her tent she realized she had forgotten something. “Oh petch, how late am I?” Shai shoved her water skin into a pocket inside her cloak and raced towards the tent city by roof top.

Perching on the last building Shai looked out over the makeshift community of tents. She had suspicions that several of her acquaintances lived here. Not that her arrangement was much better but it at least offered some safety. Shai slipped down the wall and headed off into the city. Zandelia had given her a general location but it still took a while to find. The time required was magnified by the fact that the spider insisted on staying to the shadows as much as possible, this was dangerous territory to be alone in with no buildings to use as escape routes.

Eventually Shai spotted Zandelia and another man standing beside a tent. To things were evident she had arrived and she was late. She positioned her arrival so that she silently slid up behind Zandelia. Maybe they’d just assume she had always been there and they hadn’t noticed. She failed to say anything upon arrival, she simply stood there and evaluated the two people she would be training to steal.

[Zandelia]

It was when time began to stretch on unimaginably longer than she wished it to, Eridanus and herself still awaiting the arrival of Shai to her tent, that her senses finally decided to play their parts and tell her of the presence behind her. She span on her heel, startled by the fact that the small symenestran had been able to so silently transport herself behind Zandelia – at the centre of what was Zandelia’s own domain, or what little she had of it in Sunberth at least. It worried her that the woman had so adeptly coalesced out of the shadows, sending a slither of doubt into her mind about whether it had been a wise decision to invite her to her home after all. Shai was a thief by trade, and though Zandelia had little of worth she could not be entirely certain the little spider would not just kill her if it suited her agenda. Wariness still warred with the desire to trust within Zandelia upon that issue, though now was not the time to resolve it. Now was the time for introductions and commencement.

We do not have all bloody night after all do we? she looked at Eridanus as she thought that, still not fully comprehending of his character and species – for want of a better word.

“Well, it seems we are all here now and there are times for names too. Shai, Eridanus, we have much to accomplish and not much free time to do it in. I will be teaching you the arts of unarmed combat, on how to fight without weapons and survive long enough to make a difference in your fortunes” she stated simply, her credentials not needing to be given to either of them. They would be given soon enough in the form of bruises she was sure.

“Shai, you are of course a thief by nature. Shadows are your friends and teaching us to meld with them and learn their arts is what you are here to teach. A powerful combination with what I bring to the table” she continued, nodding to the small woman and giving a small smile.

“Eridanus, you have knowledge and wisdom. I am sure there are things you could transfer, to both Shai and I, with time and proper instruction also. So we all stand to gain from this. I say this so that we know what we have met here for and what we can gain if we work together,” she brought her little speech to its natural ending now, “so let’s not have any bloody arguments eh?” she chuckled out loud, walking forwards now to be better lit for their sights.

She was simply clothed they would see, all the better to be able to move with the beating steps of combat. It was their first lesson, after a fashion, but one that could not be told so much as observed. The flowing robes they knew her by, almost universally, were gone and she most probably seemed less imposing to them in her current form. Another lesson lay there should they care to examine it and that was found within the unexpected – looking as if one could not win a fight often gave you the opportunity to do so if exercised correctly. Countless times she had won when others should have beaten her to a pulp, using cunning rather than brute force. Her arms were crossed under her bust as she looked from one and then to the other, assessing what their potential strength’s and weaknesses might be, in advance of needing to correct them. She grinned, the torch light playing across her face and turning her scarred countenance into a roughly demonic visage.

“Now, the first thing you need to know about unarmed combat is that it is an art and not a brawling melee. Many times you may have seen a bar room brawl and it can easily be assumed that the flailing of limbs and pulling of hair could be the basis of unarmed combat. It is, however, its opposite. Unarmed combat is about control and power to a point, rather than over-whelming power. Many brawlers have been felled by people of weaker frame because they knew where to hit and how to do so better than the brute before them” she spoke, seeking to hammer into their heads that what she would teach them would take time and be far more structured than a street thuggery they would know already, “so get such examples out of your damned minds this second or as I teach you I’ll be forced to expel them in a less pleasant manner” she finished, rolling her shoulders a few times to loosen them.

“Now, to the very basics!” she barked.

“The central platform for every piece of unarmed combat are the stances that are used, and yes there are more than one depending upon which situation you may be facing. So let’s begin there and expand outwards. If you’re quick students I may even be able tog et around to teaching you some basics of striking and blocking too. But I will not progress until each core stage has been learnt – otherwise it would be pointless” she continued, “so why don’t you both show me how you would stand if you were in a defensive position?” she initiated the teaching with a firm instruction – starting as she meant to carry on.

Let us see if they inherently know a thing or two and see what we can build from there she mused, watching as they assembled their frames.

oocRight, here we go! Basically you just need to stand how your character thinks they should. This is merely for Zandelia’s reference to see how much work might be needed. After your posts I will be writing out all the stances for you both to learn IC anyways

[Eridanus]

Zandelia began her speech, addressing both Eri and the sneaking symenestra who suddenly appeared behind the human, catching both the human and Ethaefal by surprise. His hands jerked as his reflexes made him automatically grab his blades, only stopping himself from doing so by pure effort of will when he realized that she was the other person who would be joining them today. It was an odd sort of gathering, but it proved to be beneficial to the parties involved, like Zandelia mentioned in her speech, as they would be sharing their area of expertise. The group would improve as a whole and everyone would walk away having learned something. As the word-runner outlined the ideas and concept of what unarmed combat should be and should not be, the Ethaefal found himself nodding in agreement as she spoke, for he belonged in the same school of thought as her. Some combatants who swear by their form of brawling would disagree, but Eri would have pointed out to them that their practised forms of brawling inherently made their style of fighting into a sort of martial art, except less organized and formalized, but it was no longer the formless flailing of arms that amateurs resort to when fists became a preferred form of communication over civilized words. She finished by demanding to see their forms, and Eri quickly stretched his body by twisting his upper torso a few times and swinging his arms casually so that he would not accidentally strain any muscles. He recalled his previous knowledge regarding the topic, and he calmly stepped aside, his legs slightly bending and his arms raising up in a practised stance that was an amalgam of his years of improvised combat strengthened by his training under Master Jernwick of the Unarmed Department in Denval's Academy as well as his own take on the Sanctus Peccator posture he had painstakingly practised while under the Akalak Ishkaral in Alvadas.

[Shai]

Shai nodded, and listened patiently to Zandelia. She took note of the other man’s name, she’d never seen him before but his name was unique enough that she might be able to remember it after only on mentioning. After spending a bit of time musing on what a defensive stance was Shai finally took a low stance with one claw open near her face and one balled into a loose fist near her abdomen. It was a guess at best, Shai didn’t defend she killed and then ran. At best Shai’s experience included dodging but not blocking at all.

Rolling on the balls of her feet she checked to make sure she had the movement she would normally use in her version of defense and decided it would do. Then she interjected a brief bit of her won lesson into the situation. “I cannot teach stealth unless we are solely focused on that task, but I can teach you the skill of stealing while we move. In fact, it is best if I am preoccupied when you do.“ Shai cleared her throat for her explanation of pick pocketing. Prior to arriving she had spent several chimes considering how to place words on the activity she so often took part in. “The first step many take towards a career in procurement is that of pick pocketing. The more the mark is distracted the easier it is. The goal is to get away with your prize without being noticed at all, pick pocketing is not mugging.” Reaching into her cloak Shai pulled out a small pebble, only remarkable for the spherical smoothness and the crooked white veins running along its surface. “This pebble will be right inside this pocket.” She replaced it inside her cloak in a pocket near her waist and left the pocket unbuttoned. “Once both of you can take it without my noticing we can move on to more practical ways to pick pocket.” She tried to keep her mind clear and on the task at hand but it kept wandering off to what tactics she could use to teach them the rest of thievery. Eventually she would need to find a lock and a decent house for them to burglarize.

Shai readjusted herself back to her imagining of a defensive stance and let her peripheral vision gloss over the stranger. Zandelia had been vague about what he brought to this skill swap and Shai didn’t care for surprises.

[Zandelia]

Zandelia listened to Shai’s explanation attentively, keeping her eye focused upon the shifting of their bodies as the words entered her mind and the location of the pebble filed away for future attempts at theft. It was not an easy place the woman had chosen to steal from, not Eridanus at the very least, and the Symenestran seemed very wary of the Ethaefal man for some reason. She could not blame her, she supposed, having not told either of them that there would be another she was helping to instruct. However, the opportunity to both teach and learn as a coherent unit had been too much to pass up for her, the differing types of information that would inevitably be given far more special to her than Shai’s personal comfort. The girl would have to deal with it if she wished to stay, and Zandelia knew how to tempt people into staying for her own purposes.

Still, at the very least they seem to have the general idea of how to stand, which means less work before moving onwards. Still, Shai seems to be guessing and Eridanus seems more tutored than practised perhaps she thought to herself, her harshness of assessment serving a purpose. She would not be over-generous and send them off to their deaths, that situation being of no profit to anyone.

She grunted a few times as she walked around the pair of them, feeling the firmness of their stances as she patted the down, twisting their limbs, shoulders and hips into her fully desired whim. It was a powerful feeling, but humbling at the same time. To know that you had power over those who came to you, but that they looked to you to aid in their own survival – it was a double edged blade, a bittersweet ceremony. Still, she did not have to move them around altogether too much, her fumbling of Shai more of an excuse to get the woman into the habit of thinking it was normal during training to do such to pupils. In that manner she would be less suspicious of her touching, leaving an opening for the pebble in the future.

“Well, you two seem to have the general gist of what a defensive stance should ideally look like,” she spoke, now out in front of them both once more, “a solid and suitably wide base, a low centre of gravity, body twisted to lessen the points of assault and fists ready for both defence and attack respectively. The defensive stance” she finished as she settled into her own form, slightly more easily than they had.

Her right leg was forwards, her left leg back and to the right a little so as to provide stability of movement. Her knees were bent, bringing her lower and closer to the ground, perfect for standing ground and swift changes of motion. Her torso was side on to any forward attackers, her left arm extended out in front of her and the forearm crossing her torso with fist loosely balled. The right fist was to be found just above her hip and ready to lash out at any whom may assault her in stupidity. It was a simple stance, even a silly looking stance to the untrained eye, but it would keep them alive when those whom charged around dumbly would die. She looked at them both, watching as they subtly changed their own stances to mimic her own until she nodded and was satisfied. Whatever they had known before was irrelevant to her for the moment as she was teaching them – Zandelia style.

“And offensive stance is exactly the same, but opposite” she chuckled at them, jumping upwards a little and switching her legs so that her left one was forwards and right back now, her fist positions switched exactly and torso still sideways on but in the opposite direction now. She watched them both switch too, settling down slowly into the offensive stance until she nodded once more.

There may be hope for their survival yet it seems she thought to herself as she set about talking a little bit more before moving on to footwork.

“Some might question the names of those stances, but their reality is that they are partially fluid. Offensive stance is where your stronger hand is at you waist, the theory being that you can deliver a much more convincing offensive in that manner, the weaker forwards hand acting as a shield and jabbing machine whilst your stronger hand gets much more force generated behind it for stronger attacks,” she spoke slowly to ensure they understood the thinking behind the stances, which was half of the battle, “the defensive stance acts much the same way, with the stronger hand forwards and ready t block much more effectively than your weaker side as it is usually more co-ordinated and swift” she finished, clapping her hands together and smiling at them both.

“Now, I think you should both spend a little time switching between those stances, getting a true feel for their potential. Seek out the subtleness of the stable base, the ability to shift quickly into different motions and the inherent strengths of the placement of the arms. I shall watch and guide where appropriate. Begin” she finalized, cocking her head to the left a little as she watched her would-be mentee’s in unarmed combat.

And now to feel up Shai a little more, for both enjoyment and business. Eridanus can just get the business she chortled to herself mentally as she set about stewarding them both.

Her hands took every opportunity to correct any mistakes they made, to centre their positions more for instance. There were few errors in number, however, and that afforded her the ability to concentrate on the pebble. It was a game of subtle distraction, committing most of Shai’s attention to her teaching rather than her pockets. It was enjoyable to grab her hips and twist them ever so slightly to correct them, perhaps borderline harassment to feel up her leg a little with the outward intention of helping the woman. Still, every time she touched her the symenestran grew a little less wary perhaps and a portion more focused upon getting things right. It was when Zandelia saw the frustrated frown upon her face, the intense look glinting within her eyes, that she took her opportunity. Zandelia was behind her, her bust almost bracing up the woman as she helped guide the Shai’s forwards hand in the offensive stance.

Time to steal she thought, though it would be a shame to lose out on such a close position to the woman, their faces all but close enough for a kiss.

Her hand snaked out as if twisting her hip once more, but brushing her cloak aside gently as her fingers sought the pocket and the stone within. It was easy enough to catch it between her index and middle finger and extract its form without apparent notice. She held up the stone in front of Shai’s face with a giggle before placing it back inside the woman’s palm and moving onwards to help school Eridanus.

[Eridanus]

Eri paid attention to the Symenestra as she explained her rules of the game and he began plotting in his mind. This was interesting indeed, for it was like playing two separate games that were intertwined with each other. It was an intriguing choice for Zandelia to structure their exchange of ideas as such, though he admitted that the sum would be greater than its parts, and all three of them would walk away having better than before. Zandelia began to walk around and physically correcting their stances, and Eri shifted appropriately to suit her style of alternating between a defensive and offensive stance. He knew that one must keep an open mind in order to learn, and so he temporarily banished his previous experience in hand-to-hand, fully relying on any instructions that Zandelia would give out. This was the best way to absorb information, for if one were to empty one's mind one would be like a sponge leeching the water of knowledge. If one were to hang on to past lessons and ideas, one would be like a solid brick incapable of absorbing anything.

His eyes narrowed when he caught Zandelia's game, for it was clear to him that she was feeling the spider down more than usual. Of course, pragmatically speaking it was because he had a better form, but he was sure that Zandelia wanted to get her hands close enough to the Symenestra in order to steal that pebble and he silently commended her. There was nothing he could do for now without looking suspicious, and he began to plan for later. Hopefully there would be some sort of sparring between the two of them, and he would be able to have a chance at having a go at that pebble.

Zandelia instructed them to begin practising their ability to fluidly switch between the stances, and he complied, trying to swiftly change from one form to another without looking too awkward. At first, he questioned the idea behind having two separate stances, for combat was not a turn-based game of chess with clearly marked intervals of attacks or blocks. It was an adaptive art, its form always morphing to fit the circumstances. He now saw the reasoning though, for each stance would maximize either offensive strikes or defensive counters while minimizing the other, and so the ability to fluidly change between each stance would allow one to have the best of both worlds. Of course, this would depend on his ability to read the signs and respond appropriately, and it was dangerous in that if one read the intent wrongly one would take more damage as compared to a universal stance. The stakes and risks were higher but the rewards would be as well.

He nodded in appreciation as he continued to practice, switching positions while making sure his stance was perfect. It was not, definitely, but his rough movements after a few times of trying were an improvement from the first time he attempted it, and this raised his morale. Leg forward, hand back; hand forward, leg back. He tirelessly repeated this mantra as his body followed suit, the Ethaefal intent on drilling the two stances and the appropriate shifting motions into his muscle memory. In combat there was no time to think, most movements and responses relied on muscle memory and experience, and so even though his mind was already familiar with it, he knew his body was not and he had to repeat it until he could mindlessly do it in his sleep. Figuratively speaking, of course.

Eri looked up from his practising just in time to see Zandelia showing the pebble held between her fingers to Shai, before returning it to the Symenestra. He was right! All that excessive touchy-feeling was really in order to lower Shai's guard so that she could proceed with her pick-pocketing. This woman was much smarter than he expected, and probably twice as crafty. He resolved to succeed just as her, but he could not rely on the teacher-student relationship like Zandelia had to steal it, and so he began thinking of ways to do so while they were sparring.

[Shai]

Shai corrected her stance as advised. Noting the discrepancy between the attentions she and Eridanus received. At first it made sense that perhaps she was simply less practiced than him, it certainly looked that way from his stance in comparison to hers. Eventually, though, it seemed excessive and Shai realized Zandelia was already trying for the pebble. Shai allowed her to take the trinket, it wasn’t a horrible tactic but it was far too slow. A pick pocket simply didn’t get the leisure time to feel up their mark. But, for a first attempt, it displayed a foundation of understanding Shai could work with. Nodding to acknowledge Zandelia’s success and then tilting her head towards Eridanus, “Once you have gained the pebble too I will move on to the first basic trick and then discuss subtle use of shadows as well.”

Shai returned her attention to Zandelia’s instructions. She made sure to take on each stance individually at first and then dropping them completely to switch so that she didn’t forget any of the details. Eventually Shai began to flow between the two stances; at first she did it well. But as time progressed and her repetitions increased, the forms began to lose concrete shape and her upbringing broke through, make it look more like she as shifting between dance moves than combat postures. It looked nice but the spider lost most of the power by doing so.

She couldn’t help it; training for combat always took her back home. When she was little she could recall spying on father training ‘Davi, someday the eldest child would be forced to go to the surface and seek surrogates for his sisters. How Lavidis had told her brother about the dangers he might face, people who would crush him for his race before ever learning his name. It was a danger that Symenestra had to face, otherwise the only option was their extinction.

Shai let her mind wander to those she had already met on the surface, many of which could end her on accident such as Tikon the Isurian swordsman. It wasn’t even difficult to imagine an opponent who could dwarf her anymore, all humans seemed to have greater height and bulk than her even several of the children. Her only chances in combat were surprise and agility, these lessons were a last ditch effort should her surprise fail her and she had to incapacitate her opponent instead. This train of thought eventually brought her body to a halt.

Glancing to her fellow student and potential pupil the brittle spider couldn’t help but ask a question. “Eridanus, if you were to fight a woman who was smaller, more fragile, but quicker. What main avenues would you defend against? Where would you worry she might do the most damage?”

Waiting for his answer the thief returned to her practice, still mulling over how she might attack a larger opponent if she was forced into honest combat. Shai eventually noticed she was turning her instructions into a performance and stopped, forcing herself to drop the positions completely before switching again. It was slow and eventually she managed to flow between the two without flourishing and losing power.

[Archelon]

Thread Award "..." And the Results!!!!: Shai : SkillName 1-5 How/why? acrobatics 1 Larceny 1 Stealth 1 Unarmed 1 Lores: Wariness of an Ethfael. Eridanus : SkillName 1-5 How/why? Larceny 2 Lores: Two games at once is twice the fun. Zandelia : SkillName 1-5 How/why? Larceny 2 Observation 2 Unarmed 2 Teaching 1 Lores: Arranging for some Training. Would you like some extra turtle sauce ? : Interesting keep them up Shame this ended so soon