Closed [Tuvya Sasaran] Playing with the big boys (Vanator)

[Orabelle Deepseeker]

43rd of Winter, 513 AV

She promised. The young konti promised! Chy'lah promised she'd be at Tuvya Sasaran. The little konti knew how important it was for Orabelle to get the hang of fighting. Orabelle wanted- no, she needed to learn how to do some unarmed combat, it was one of the requirement -at least she heard- to become a citizen of Riverfall, and after a seasons of being in Riverfall she just knew she had to become a part of it. She loved it here. The attention she got, and the safety she felt was all apart of the big reason she loved it here. If unarmed combat is what it takes to stay here, then so be it. Orabelle will demolish this skill and take the kuvan test. She set her mind to it and today she will do it.

The first step into the Tuvya Sasaran and Orabelle just knew it was not for her. The men and some women bellowed, swiftly kicked and punched. Orabelle could of sworn she saw an akalak man break another man's leg. There was a small look of horror on her face as she watched the extremely competitive fighters."No, no." She murmured, covering her face."Chy'lah you dope!" Orabelle was furious.

She walked around trying to find someone, but everyone was so busy. The Akalaks who dominated the place paid no attention to her at all, sadly. The small group of humans didn't either, so she sat and watched a few fights. It was even painful to watch. She cringe and squeaked when someone was getting their butt handed to them. No one looked like they were inflicting pain but fighting was just a sensitive thing for Orabelle. Yeah, her temper is outrageous but never in her life has it caused her to act violent and use such creative moves. If she were ever to master unarmed combat, she would use it more for defense. Those were the battles she had kept her eyes on. Some people were using there whole body, while others who she assumed were more experienced just flicked their wrist and stopped the move before it could really make a blow. Those were the fights she kept an eye on. Less attack, more defense. Little by little, Orabelle became less sensitive to fighting.

[Vanator]

The more skilled Vanator had become with his battle ax, the more he realized that combining some other martial skills with the weapon would benefit his lethality overall. Already, the few basic concepts he had grasped of unarmed fighting actually helped him fight better with the ax. But he wanted to learn more, and not just to help him with his weapon. He was thorough when it came to security, and he always had a weapon nearby. But should one not be available, the Drykas had to ensure he was able to defend himself and others should the need arise.

Caleum had sparred with him some, but Vanator sought a more conducive environment to work on his hand-to hand fighting. So, into Rivefall he went, bound for the Tuvya Sasaran. He entered the busy school, instantly noting how the school was different than its melee-centric cousin. Students practiced shoeless, in loose attire, engaging closely in several different styles of fighting. Vanator had no style to speak of, only what he had figured out on his own.

He strolled slowly around the perimeter of the large main room, watching. Van was not sure whether he was ready to take official lessons, or simply sought a partner to spar with. The instructors were rather occupied with students at the moment. As he traveled along the outer wall, Van came upon a curious sight. A woman, seemingly frail and certainly out of place in the violent hall, sat against the wall. Vanator stopped when he came to her, looking down.

"Are you waiting for someone?" He inquired.

[Orabelle Deepseeker]

The young woman began to grow bored. She couldn't stand to watch the others fights anymore. If her beloved niece didn't arrive in time, Orabelle could see herself leaving although she was kind of looking forward to this. As a young child she's took on whatever the sea threw at her, so she could definitely do this. She had developed somewhat muscles, lugging on ropes and standing on deck during the fierce storms. She didn't find fighting entertaining or even a bit fun. But she would definitely accomplish it if she had too. Orabelle has too much pride and would never let this slip through her fingers. So she decided against leaving, instead she would find an instructor.


As she began to rise a human male approached her. His hair was long, and almost blonde," "Are you waiting for someone?" He asked.


Orabelle didn't hesitate to answer, now that she was standing across from him."I was, a small konti girl. You can't miss her at all. I want to learn a bit about unarmed combat and she gave me specific instructions to meet her here." She grabbed a beautifully long ponytail and whipped it around for Vanator to see." I did what she told me to do. Pulled my hair back and even wore less makeup which is something I don't normally do." She told trying not to come off as arrogant.

She noticed how much muscle he had and tilted her head. Not that she's never seen a man with muscle it's just the akalaks carried more than the humans which made her wonder." Are you an instructor here, or something?" She asked."If you are, I would like a... whatever fighters call it, lesson?"


Organelle folded her arms for a minute as she waited for a respond but than remembered she didn't introduce herself."I'm Orabelle Deepseeker. Who might you be?" She asked with a polite smile.

[Vanator]

Vanator had learned never to judge someone's abilities by their appearance. But this young woman seemed as out of place in the Sasaran as a fish in the Burning Lands. She was as tall as he when she stood, slim in build, without the more generous curves of other women. She certainly was a beauty, sapphire eyes framed in features of exotic mocha skin. Her dark hair seemed to shimmer, especially when she so proudly displayed her long pony tail. The woman may not have been ready to learn to fight, but she had made sure she dressed for it.

Vanator laughed lightly when she asked if he was an instructor. "I can teach you some things, unfortunately, unarmed fighting is not one of them. I have come here myself to practice some." Van turned to look out at the busy floor. "It looks like the instructors are all busy." He turned back to the young woman. "Oh, I am Vanator Denusk." He offered his hand, a gesture he had learned was a way to greet someone for the first time. The tattoo of a Kuvan could be seen on the inside of his wrist."Looks like we may be on our own, Orabelle."

[Orabelle Deepseeker]

She began to nod."Sorry, you just look like one." Vanator, besides his attire, looked as if he had spent a good amount of time here. If he were blue, purple or red and a little bit taller, his chiseled looks would have him fit in. Orabelle shook his hand softly as she studied the kuvan tattoo that had stood out."Hey I want to- wait a minute, Denusk? Are you in any relation with Kavala?" She asked, cutting off the first half of her sentence. There was no interest in the Kuvan tattoo; well, at not now. Kavala was very kind to her and seem to educate Orabelle on not only the beautiful city Riverfall but the care of the land animal known as dog. Not to mention their conversation on the nakivak system. Orabelle's idea of raising children on her own had kind of changed a bit. She still wanted to remain unwed, but her views on how a child should be raised with just a mother had changed.


She looked around the sasaran for open space and had finally found an open spot in the corner. It was no exactly a lot of space but enough for Vanator and Orabelle to at least practice a bit. She watched the spot for a minute before saying,"It looks like we just might be..." She gestured for Vanator to follow her."How about we learn together." She said with her back turned as she walked towards the recently opened spot.

"Let's do this." She watched the people around her. One knee seemed to be leading the other and their guard was always up. Orabelle tried to copy the position, taking her leg and moving it forward, she locked it in a tight and lifted one of her hands up in a L position."Hope I'm doing this right. If I'm not I blame everyone in this room because I'm only copying them." She joked.

"I hope to blend in with the rest of the people here." She looked around."It seems fighting is very important. The akalaks do it, other humans do it. By the way,"Orabelle changed subjects fast,"Are you just an original human?" She waited for Vanator to signal he was ready.

[Vanator]

Vanator smiled as Orabelle shook his hand. Her palm was smooth and her grasp light. She was not a fighter, and probably not used to hard work either. Her interest in learning to fight was intriguing. He wondered if she was ready for it.

A light of recognition lit her sparkling blue eyes. She knew Kavala. "Yes, Kavala is my sister." Though technically, Kavala was his half-sister, Vanator no longer referred to her as such. She was as much a full sister, and as close as one, as he could ever imagine. "I live at Sanctuary as well." Kavala got around, met a lot of folks, here was yet another. There had seemed to be quite a few this winter.

Suddenly the woman's gaze was on the floor. When she turned started walking, summoning Van over her shoulder, he followed. She had eyed a spot and lead the Drykas in a weaving path through the other patrons to a small area. It was a small circle, but it would allow them to practice some close techniques. The bronze skinned girl looked around her for a moment before mimicking the fighting stance of the men around her. Orabelle said she hoped to blend in. Vanator smiled. She was tall, beautiful, and had no idea what she was doing. She was already drawing curious eyes.

Van assumed his stance. It was similar to Orabelle's and the others around them. His left foot too was placed a bit forward, back foot behind and turned perpendicular to the right, with enough expanse to give him a good foundation. his hand were raised comfortably in front of him. He was not very skilled, but he understood the basic fighting stance.

"You want to make sure not to lock that front leg." Van lifted his back leg and moved it in a slow motion kick aimed at her knee cap. "Its a good way to get your leg broken, keep it bent. Also, put the bulk of your weight on your back leg, if not," He leg came out again, this time in a quick sweep that hooked around the back of her front heel and pulled her off balance. He quickly grabbed her arm to keep her from falling. "...you can be knocked off of your feet."

He smiled again. "This could get a little rough Orabelle, but its necessary if you want to learn. Look around." Van stopped to survey the busy school himself. There was a lot of slamming to the ground, grunts and struggling. "Of course, I would not try to hurt you. But, if I do, accidentally, I do want you to be surprised. I think you can tough it out. Likewise, don't hold back so much on your attacks. I can't learn if you don't give me something to defend myself from. I am pretty sturdy, if you hurt me, I will bounce back." He grinned again.

[Orabelle Deepseeker]

She thought Vanator was interesting and very wise. He didn't seem much older then her but she could be wrong. Orabelle like how polite but not flirty he was. Her lips, too, curved into a smile."I couldn't really tell besides the last name. Very lovely woman, she's helped me a lot." Orabelle would've been confused but she's been put in the same situation. She has a,konti niece she's recently met and a konti sister she knew nothing about. Actually, she probably has more konti sisters for all she knew."I've visited the Sanctuary which is where I met Kavala. I have to say, it's beautiful. Wonderful place to live."

She kept herself a distance from Vanator as she took the stance. She met his eyes focusing on him and not the curious eyes. If she wasn't so serious about learning to fight, she'd probably take the time to look around at the people who were staring at her. But if she were, the first thing she'd do is blush and wonder if it was rare for a woman to come in here.

Listening to Vanator, she loosened her front leg."Thank you." She nodded. But before she did, he demonstrated why it was so important, taking his own leg and clawing her with it. Surprised, Orabelle began flailing her hands around before he had a grip on her skinny arm and she had a grip onto one of his."Got it." She quickly nodded wide-eyed before pulling herself up. She was a bit shocked and although they were in the Tuvya Sasaran, she didn't expect him to demonstrate something like that.

She smiled back and nodded." It's necessary, if I want a Kuvan tattoo." Orabelle bobbed her head towards his own tattoo. She listened to the people around her and even took quick glances. She believe she almost had it down."I believe I can tough our your attack." She told him."As for my own attacks, I can't throw more than a punch, which would make my own hand throb." Orabelle told him.

[Vanator]

Orabelle seemed determined to learn to fight, and Vanator nodded when she attributed her interest to the desire of attaining Kuvan status. Looking at the waifish woman, the Drykas tried not to judge her likelihood of success. Anyone could learn to defend themselves. Kavala was once very passive. She had no desire to learn to use a weapon or fight. Their father had insisted that she learn, teaching her to use a crossbow. Unfortunately, terrible fate had lead his sister to embrace martial ways more readily, and now his once quiet healer of a sister was a formidable opponent on the battlefield.

Vanator knew a little about fighting unarmed, and had quite a bit of experience helping others to learn the basics of combat at The Sanctuary and how to manage an individual's strengths and weaknesses. he hoped he could help the lovely Orabelle as well.

"First of all, you have to have the right mindset Orabelle. if you go into a fight believing you will be defeated, you have already lost. You may feel weak now, unable to defend yourself. But that will change. For now, I want you to believe you can learn."

He waited for the woman to acknowledge she understood. "You are not going to go head to head with an Akalak in a fist fight, of course. You don't have the strength. But, you are long and lean, and quicker than a bulkier male. The first thing you probably want to work on is not getting hit. This is something I have been working on. I always want to plant my feet and lean out of the way of a strike. But that puts me off balance, and that is never good. I watched a friend at Sanctuary, and learned something. Moving the whole body out of the way is much better."

"Shifting the feet," He slid his front foot back, pivoting on his back foot and turning to the side, "and moving my body to the side, like a swinging door, gets you out of the way, and you keep a firm footing. Remember, a fist is very small, it doesn't take a lot to get out of its way. Now, you try. We'll go slow."

Vanator cocked back his fist, then moved it forward towards the woman's head in a slow motion punch.

[Orabelle Deepseeker]

She believed she was capable of at least defending. Orabelle's unattractive body was good for one thing, acrobatics. Which could always be used especially in a fight. Her flexible body could do a few flips here, a high kick and more if she puts her mind to it. No, she couldn't get at least a good hit at this point but she could avoidgetting hit for now. Orabelle had agility, she was like a cat. But this would be all true if it weren't for her swimming, the movements in water could easily be done on land by her. She was thinking of doing that.

Orabelle didn't need to know how to fight right on spot. But she had potential to defend herself against it. If she stopped being so fragile and stepped out her comfort zone, she'd be able to do it. She really would.

"Okay." Orabelle nodded and began mentally telling herself she can do it. She pushed defeat to the side.

"Moving the whole body out the way?" Orabelle asked before slowly bending backwards and planting both of her hands on the ground. She then pulled herself back with her feet, she would firmly put them on the ground before getting back up and balancing herself out." Like that? It's kind of what came to mind." She told him before stepping back into place. But he began demonstrating something a lot different and simple.


She felt so silly for being so unnecessarily dramatic with her back flip. Vanator showed her an even better way to avoid a hit and began putting her to the test. His fist was beginning to slowly come at her and she knew what to do now, loosening her feet, Orabelle slid out of the way of his fist.

[Vanator]

Vanator's eyes widened a bit as the dark-skinned Orabelle bent her lithe body backwards in an deep arch, demonstrating her impressive flexibility. It was an odd sight, the smooth graceful movements of the girl amid the chaos of sparring combat around them. Once she smoothly brought her coltish legs up around and firmly planted her feet on the ground, Van flashed her an approving grin and a slight nod. No, Orabelle may not have possessed the fuller figure of some of Riverfall's women, but her lean form was lovely when moving with such fluidity.

"Um, well, yeah, kind of like that." He laughed. "Honestly, with flexibility like that, and some work in acrobatics, you could easily come up with your own moves to avoid a strike."

Once the girl was ready, Van followed through with his slow-motion strike. Orabelle reacted just as he had told her, sliding on light feet to rotate her body out of the way of his fist, with the same smooth motion as her back bend. Van brought his fist back. "Yes, like that, you are getting it." The Drykas encouraged. "Now, my turn, hit me, aim for my face."