(Flashback) Workout Session

by **Zsshirshavira** on April 6th, 2013, 5:13 am

Vira was in her full Dhani form, tongue flickering from her serpentine head, slithering through the twisting cavern route to the training room. With her liquid black scales, she appeared almost as a moving shadow in the darkness. Sidling quietly between two large boulders, Zsshirshavira peered with two glowing blue eyes at the vast hollow that was the Training Gallery of Zinrah.

It was very tasteful and elegant...at least to a Dhani. Hundreds of spires of rock jutted up from the rough floor, brittle shale that was easily replaced by minor earth Reimancy, and absolutely perfect for weapons practice, particularly the dozens of different types of wooden weapons available for use. Her people thought of combat training as something as normal as going to the library, or visiting a shopping bazaar. It was where many of the snake-beasts were found, honing their skills.

Every child in Zinrah knew war. You grew up in Zinrah, you were expected to fight to protect the Nest and all her inhabitants. The Myrians wouldn't let them get away with anything else. Primitive and brutish though they were, there was a sort of grudging respect Vira carried for them. They knew how to fight. And for that reason, so too did the Dhani need to know the way of combat.

Vira didn't like that, though. She wanted her people to be able to advance, the children to be able to learn and live in peace. It was part of the reason she dedicated her life to fighting. If she got good enough at fighting, maybe not so many others would have to.

Plus...killing was such a rush! Her shining eyes of azure gleamed at the prospect of slaughtering Myrians with impunity.

Unable to contain herself any longer, she set her coils to motion in a tumbling downhill slither down the craggy boulders towards the rows upon rows of racked weaponry.

Spears, glaives, halberds, greatswords, shields, maces, clubs, Vira felt like a child in a candy store. She had already practiced with the longsword, and found it useful, though rather boring. It was such a basic weapon, but it had been a good place to start. Today, she sought something a little different.

Reaching out with a muscular, clawed arm, she grabbed the haft of a spear. Nice, long reach. Excellent for thrusting, decent cutting edge, and most importantly, it was elegant in its' simplicity.

Vira breathed in deeply, her scaled rippling, their black countenance giving way to pale, smooth skin, as dark hair flowed from her head. The bones of her body gave way and rearranged, spine shortening, limbs losing muscle. Her tail split painlessly down the middle and shrank to become legs.

She was in her human form. Vira preferred to practice weaponry in this way, as when she shifted to Dhani, whatever moves she had done before happened smoother and faster as a result of her increased strength, much like how human athletes would train with weighted clothing.

The spear was a good seven-and-a-quarter feet long, ending in a wooden point that looked as though it had seen recent use. Striding over towards a vacant shale block, Vira grasped the weapon tightly with both hands and lowered its' point at the earthen target. When it came down to it, mastery of any weapon came down to one simple thing. Reps. The more you practiced any particular move, the better you got at it, and the more moves you practiced, the more deadly you were. Fighting came so naturally to her. She sighed, wishing that all things in life were as simple to divine.

Sighting her target, she crouched slightly, and gave a quick jab at the stone, right at about where an opponents stomach level would be. Right away she liked the distance from which she could land a blow. She also appreciated the fact that her arms were not up and swinging to and fro as they would be when wielding sword and shield. She disliked her arms and weaponry getting in the way of her field of vision, as it made it harder to keep track of her environment. With the spear, her arms were low and out of the way. She brought the point up for another, harder jab, the force vibrating up the haft of the weapon.

Vira thought for a moment on a useful drill she might incorporate into her training. She wasn't very familiar with the spear yet, so she didn't know what areas she needed to work on. She gave another dozen, evenly spaced jabs, simply focusing on controlling her pace, breathing, and control over the lengthy polearm.

She turned and sought out a Dhani man who was practicing his sword and shieldplay. He was good, that much she could see. Vira wondered if he would be a good sparring partner. Though extremely inexperienced with her spear, she needed to work it in a semi-real context. Only then would she know what to begin touching up.

The young woman walked swiftly towards him. Dhani were less inhibited about nudity, as performing The Shift between forms made clothing rather inconvenient.

"You. Man. Do you care to spar with me?" It was more of a command than a request, but she would not be denied.

To her slight surprise, the male nodded. "It would be my honor, of course." Well, well, obedient AND flattering. It would almost be a shame to trounce him. Smiling, Vira turned and led the way to one of the dozen raised platforms around The Gallery. Most often she used them for wrestling matches, but she thought them perfect for her spearwork. Each platform was only around 30 feet across, and it would help her to learn to manage distance with her weapon.

by **Zsshirshavira** on April 6th, 2013, 5:48 am

She leaped up to the raised platform, spear in hand. The woman gave it a few leisurely twirls around herself, trying to give the impression that she was more experienced with it than she was, but only succeeded in embarrassing herself when it slipped from her grasp and clattered to the floor.

Quickly stooping to snatch it back up, she looked towards her opponent, who was smirking as he raised his shield. Vira's eyes narrowed. Petching arrogant little runt...she'd have to put him in his place, now. His dark eyes peered into her own blue as the two Dhani circled the ring like two lions, sizing each other up, waiting for the other to have a lapse in concentration or stance. She tried to have good form, keeping bent at the knees, the spear leveled in front of her, shoulders relaxed.

Even as she checked her own stance, she reviewed his, looking for potential openings. Shield up, blocking most of his upper body, sword held low and tilted to the side, ready to snap up at a moment's notice. A good posture.

Lunging forward, she gave a couple strong jabs, one low, one high, hoping that he'd try to catch the first strike and be hit by the second. But the Dhani man was equal to that. Rather than worry about attempting to be faster than her blow, he simply charged into it, catching the point of her spear upon the center of his shield. Vira's grip was tight, and she was not expecting him to defend so aggressively. Not prepared for the force he brought to bear, she was shoved from the platform, landing painfully upon her stomach as she twisted in midair, attempting to salvage her error.

She got up in a flash, breathing hard. Bested in the first move. She had been wrong to underestimate him. Quickly clambering back up to the platform, she leveled her spear yet again, and stepped into her next thrust, putting more power behind the blow. Yet again, her opponent was ready. While last time he had shoved against her to disturb her footing, this time, he absorbed the blow and hopped back with it, turning his shield downwards and sending her lancepoint to the ground, while leaving her overextended.

He gave her a hard rap across the shoulder with the flat of his wooden blade. The blow stung Vira's pride more than her body, though she knew she would sport a sizeable bruise the next day. Her next attack was furious, many thrusts all in different areas. Low, high, mid, mid, high, low again. The lunging spearhead was a blur even to her. Her partner responded by turtling up behind his wooden shield, taking the strikes that gouged ugly marks into its' surface.

Vira saw him brace with his rear foot, and knew he was preparing to shove her yet again. She reacted by sending a thrust as she strafed to the side, keeping the momentum from pushing her back, before she retracted, and feinted towards the head. The man raised his shield, falling for her trap perfectly as she ducked low and scored a solid strike directly to his kneecap, buckling him momentarily.

"Hah!" She exulted.

He seemed more shocked than anything, and in the subsequent few matches, he treated her with more respect, now cautious of her feints. But Vira had discovered his game, and come up with her own. If he was going to attempt to counter, she would simply have to scare him into reacting to one blow, before shifting and throwing another. With this strategy, she won every time, her weapon's natural reach far outstripping his sword. In a particularly brilliant move, she gave a sideways swipe to his shield side, circling and repeating the strike. One, two, three, four, then she saw him plant and prepare to capitalize, and just as he did, she reversed direction with her circling and struck to his other side, slamming the edge of the spearhead into his elbow, knocking the sword from his hand.

By the end, they were both glistening with sweat and breathing heavily, though not trying to reveal their exhaustion to the other. Finally, he lowered his weapons, thanked her for the match, and stalked away, a sullen expression upon his face.

She grinned fiercely, wiping the sweat from her brow, her bangs plastered to her forehead. All she needed to do was stick and move. Stick and move.

by **Zsshirshavira** on April 6th, 2013, 7:18 am

She took a few moments to rest, and trotted over to a pool of water in the corner, splashing her body, ridding it of the sweat of her previous exertions. After that, she sat at the edge of the water, her feet in, and relived her victory over and over again in her head. Surely that was irrefutable PROOF that she was meant to fight. Who else but a great warrior could improve so quickly?

Or at least...that was what she told herself.

Her spear lay next to her, and as soon as she'd given herself a few minutes to recover, Vira picked it back up and walked over to the stone pillars.

Now she knew what she needed to work on. She needed to work on delivering multiple jabs while moving. It was all in the footwork. And so, she set to work.

Jab, jab, strafe left, low thrust. She repeated the combination more than 20 times, each time finding something she could refine. Her double jab at the beginning was becoming very quick, once she realized that they weren't actually strikes, but rather just two light touches to distract the opponent while you moved and struck at an angle. Dropping her level to strike after she shuffled was simply icing on the cake.

That's what the spear was. A weapon of misdirection. Feint, feint, move, strike. Soon, the brittle stone target in front of her had a circle of gouge marks around it, like a belt of wounds. This only served to improve her accuracy, as now she had an actual visible area to aim for, rather than estimating where an opponent's legs would be. Slicing open the thigh, piercing the kneecap, opening up the shin. These were her goals with this combination. After all, if you could damage someone's lower extremities, the battle was practically won. Prey that didn't move was prey that didn't make it. It was all about getting those reps in.

Her arms began to ache, particularly her shoulders from thrusting the spear so much, and her thighs from her continually dropping level to deliver said thrusts, and she found herself needing another rest after a half-bell of non-stop work, shaking the burn from her limbs as she paced, catching her breath.

Happy with her progress as of yet, Vira returned the spear to its' designated rack, though not before using a sharp stone to gouge a few quick lines in it. It was the ideal length for her, and she wanted to be able to recognize it quickly when it wasn't being used by another, so she wouldn't have to constantly adjust to a new weapon every time she resolved to practice.

Stretching luxuriously, before settling belly-down upon the hard stone floor, Vira shivered with pleasure as her sore muscles loosened and stretched as her entire body grew, muscle layered upon muscle, her legs fusing and stretching out some forty feet behind as her skin darkened, tiny diamond scales etching a living pattern on her body. Her arms withered and retracted.

Ahh...her return to her true self. THIS was who she really was, some 40 feet long, powerful, graceful, dark as the deepest shadow in the deepest cave. More than a ton of thick muscle, velvety scales, and killer instinct. She set her coils to motion, sliding heavily over boulders and slipping into the pool where she'd bathed before. She could hold her breath for very long periods of time, and she would not surface again for many minutes, content to spiral round and round the pool of water, occasionally yawning to let the soothing water rinse between her fangs.

When she finally DID come up for air, some fifteen minutes later, she felt very rested. Being in this powerful state was very rejuvenating for her mentally. After all, one cannot truly rest comfortably, with no worries, until one is the deadliest being around. Vira shifted back into her human form, and cracked her neck and knuckles.

During her little catnap (snakenap?), the Gallery had become a little busier, with a few younglings showing up to grapple. They would serve no challenge for her. She needed to find a female around her size. Somebody who could equal or exceed her physical strength, so she could work on her technique a little more. Being able to muscle your way through any engagement was useful, but not beneficial once you encountered someone who knew how to use your own strength against you. Vira knew, for she had done this to others quite frequently.

The ring at the very opposite end of the Gallery held a very interesting match. It was not a raised platform, but rather a pit, and a small crowd had gathered around the lip of it to watch the combatants at the bottom grapple.

Vira quickly padded over softly, the crowd parting to make room for her. She was older and larger than many of the spectators, after all, and it was only fair that they give way to their superior. Peering down, a small smile traced its' way upon her lips. The two Dhani at the bottom were practicing a rare form of grappling indeed. It was a sort of game, one Vira had played often once she first discovered the use of her humanoid form nearly a decade ago.

The two combatants would begin grappling in their full constrictor forms, until one shifted, at which point the other would flow into Dhani form as well, wrestling all the while, before finally shifting into human form to finish the match. Sometimes the game was played in reverse as well, beginning as a human, and shifting while grappling through Dhani to snake.

It was a good device to learn how to shift efficiently, and even better to learn how to grapple effectively. It was not enough to know how to constrict someone as a constrictor. To be a truly skilled wrestler, a Dhani had to master all three forms, each with their own distinct style.

The match was entertaining, but eventually ended just as they began the shift to human. Once the female on the bottom sprouted legs, she was quick to bring them up to her opponent's neck, to choke her in the crook of her knees. The triangle. For a few seconds, the victim writhed and attempted to escape, but it was sealed, and she submitted with a series of taps soon thereafter.

Both winner and loser climbed up out of the pit using ladders that had been carved into the stone itself, and went their separate ways. Vira was quick to replace them, jumping down without use of the ladder and landing upon the balls of her feet. She waited excitedly for an opponent.

A redheaded female leaped down opposite her, and immediately settled into a low wrestler's stance, hands up, feet apart and stagger-stepped, and elbows tucked in, to help guard against a low takedown aiming for the legs.

Vira fell into a similar stance, and the two sprang together like lions. Grappling was not like weaponsplay, there was no hesitation. Grappling was won by creating openings with physical strength and technique, and it was at this form of combat that Vira excelled. She secured a strong overhook with her left arm wrapped around her opponent's right, while her free hand came to cup the back of her opponent's neck, forearm shoved against her clavicle in a rough collar-tie.

Satisfied with the control she had, Vira began to shuffle this way and that while keeping her arms locked to her adversary, seeking to throw her off balance and impose her will upon the fire-headed Dhani. Vira yanked her right arm down, snapping her opponent's head down a few inches, quickly raising her stance higher and securing a headlock.

She sprawled out with her legs, dragging the woman to the ground headfirst, and began to cinch her right arm through to cup her left bicep. Already the woman would feel the pressure on her neck from such a hold, but she could not deny Vira what was her specialty. Locking the choke up, Vira rolled lazily to the left, the girl rolling along with her, falling hopelessly deep into the choke. Vira shrugged and began to slowly squeeze, when she suddenly felt her grip loosening.

The Shift! The girl had begun the change to Dhani, her muscles now too large for Vira's small, human arms to get 'round. Vira began Shifting as well, simply holding on for dear life as she changed and grew stronger, her long black tresses retreating back into her head, while she became more and more reptilian. Soon, both were Dhani, and Vira had won the struggle, managing to keep hold of her prey. Now they were on equal footing again, with Vira's increased size enabling her to sink in the choke. This time, when she rolled her opponent over, there was no more struggle, only quiet acceptance of defeat in the form of three rapid-fire taps.

The ebony serpent let go immediately, and savored her handy work. The girl's face, even reptilian, still showed some degree of pressure and stress in the form of discoloration around her neck. She rubbed her throat and worked her jaw muscles, which had also been compressed in Vira's grip.

She finished her shift into snake form, and waited patiently for Vira to do the same. She wanted more? Well, that was fine by Vira. More practice.

In no time, they were both massive pythons, and they quickly writhed around each other like a tangled ball of ferocity. As a rule, neither were allowed to use their fangs, but the viciousness with which they used their heads to control each other would make that difficult to see.

This time, Vira instigated the Shift, sprouting nubs on her side while she tried to twirl around her opponent to begin constriction. Her arms then grew, and her opponent noticed just a second too late, getting enveloped in that crushing embrace before she could begin to change. Rather than set up an intricate submission, Vira used her body lock to throw the large Dhani's upper body across the ring, sending it into the wall with a dull thud.

Her opponent slithered in low, arms coming around to try and catch Vira around the middle and repeat the suplex that had been done to her. Vira quickly extended both arms and caught hold of the back of her opponent's neck yet again, falling to her back and pulling the woman on top of her. She leaned to the left, and locked her arms around the girl's, wrenching it up and around in a shoulder-lock while keeping her coils around the Dhani's main body to keep her from rolling out of the technique. She got the tap again, releasing her opponent. Sparring was a poor substitute for actually hunting. It was sort of like catch-and-release, whereas when the food was going to die anyways, it didn't hurt to render them unconscious with a choke, or break a few bones.

Vira had spent years dedicated to grappling, and she had no doubt that she was the most proficient at it in the Gallery at the moment. Based on the fearful glances of the pitiful onlookers above, she was definitely the best wrestler they'd seen.

by **Zsshirshavira** on April 6th, 2013, 7:27 pm

She was not so tired after the wrestling match as she had been after the spear session. To grapple was her element, like a fish in water, and she relished every experience, no matter if the victory came easily as it did today, or if it came difficultly, as it nearly never did.

Striding away from her beaten foe, Vira gripped the ladder and began to climb up out of the pit. She was almost done working out for the day, but there was one last obstacle she wanted to tackle. Towards the leftward most side of the Training Gallery, the wall was mottled and gouged with rough handholds made for rock climbing. Vira was an athletic, strong Dhani, but she had never attempted this wall in all her years in the caverns. After all, everyone could see you climb up the wall, and everyone saw you if you fell. She was a great deal more worried about embarrassment than injury.

Nevertheless, her body yearned for yet more exercise, and to maintain her warrior's physique, she had to satiate such yearnings. She rolled her shoulders and set off towards the wall. Luckily for her, nobody seemed to be climbing today. Unluckily for her, that meant she couldn't watch someone do it to get a good idea of how she should proceed.

Placing her hand upon a dull rock jutting out from the surface of the cavern about a foot above her head, she looked around for another point of leverage. Finding one, she raised her feet and hopped up to a larger rock that was only perhaps two feet from the ground. The going was slow at first, but soon, finding a handhold, stopping, looking for another, and taking it would see her 15 feet up the wall. But she was slow, clumsy. There was little confidence in her stride, and if Vira knew if she had been in the jungle trying to climb away from Myrian fighters, she would be long dead by now.

That fact frustrated her, which only served to make her climbing worse. Furthermore, she didn't understand why she did not yield any physical exhaustion. Perhaps she was going so slow for fear of falling, she was inadvertently affording herself time for rest. She descended the wall, hopping off the last five feet and landing crouched. She stood straight and gazed with her blue eyes all the way up to the top of the wall, more than 80 feet above her. The climbing did not end there, for the more masterful climbers. Even the ceiling itself was studded with little notches and rocks where hands, feet, and coils might find purchase.

She wanted to make it there. She hated failing at any athletic pursuit, and climbing was no different. Vira closed her eyes and took several deep, calming breaths. She could not afford to let anger cloud her mind as she scaled the wall, for it would only bar her from improving.

She set off upwards yet again, using the exact handholds as before. As a result, she was slightly faster, but not enough so. Vira's hand lashed out like a serpent catching a mouse, grasping a rock and hoisting herself up, while her feet scrabbled to find purchase. NOW her muscles burned with effort. Luckily she was fit, and more than capable of climbing up a few more feet. However, her left hand slipped on a handhold that was covered in moist moss, and she was left dangling by only her right. She was over 23 feet up, and not eager to fall to a hard rocky landing. Vertigo sliced through her stomach like a knife, and it was all she could do to keep from shrieking.

Finally, her left foot found purchase, soon followed by her right. She clung to the wall like a spidermonkey, panting with fear, but more so with exhilaration. Her adrenaline was pumping like crazy, her heart a veritable drum in her chest. This along with her arms and legs burning from their continual support of her, and she was beginning to find climbing to be a very tough route of exercise. Vira's resolve would not let her stop until she made it at LEAST 40 feet up. Her arms were truly beginning to burn like crazy, now, as she went back to scaling the wall.

It was different than running in the fact that sometimes Vira needed to go left or right, not just straight. She had to seek out different handholds. Sidling against a long outcrop of stone, she had a bit of time to catch her breath before getting right back on that horse, so to speak.

The Dhani gritted her teeth as she ascended, but she was beginning to find her pace, her rhythm. Catch, hold, hoist, sight a new spot, repeat.

This time, she did not trust every handhold before she committed to it, quickly patting each one for moss before continuing her way upwards. She had passed the forty foot mark long ago, and stopped once she realized she'd gone too far. Looking back over her shoulder at the ground far below made her shudder inwardly, and she began her descent.

Climbing down was almost harder than going up, because unlike an ascent, she could not see where her footholds were. But she made it to the bottom unharmed. She was surprised to find herself actually shaking from the effort of her exertion, as she reached up to massage her left shoulder. She was tired, but pleased with her first day of climbing, and was very excited to try other surfaces as well, not simply Dhani-made climbing walls, but foreign caverns, trees, and much else besides. It could be her new hobby, Siku knew she needed one, after all.

She Shifted quietly back into her full snake form, and made her slithering way through the narrow passageways of Zinrah out to the forest beyond. She was tired...but more than that, she was hungry. And she deserved a nice meal after all her hard work. Perhaps a crocodile or wild boar. Her forked tongue flickered happily, tasting the scent of wounded prey not far from Zinrah. She quickened her pace, and fell into her natural instincts, ready to eat.