Solo Teaching An Old Wolverine New Tricks

[Sliver]

Teaching An Old Wolverine New Tricks Timestamp: 60th of Fall 512 A.V. *I have been wanting to do this particular thread for a long time. Since it’s NaNo I can see no reason to put it off any longer! “Rise and shine, weasel!” Sliver was prepared for the lumpy pillow thrown at her face. She had needed only one instance of it happening to her to ensure that it never occurred again. That being said Simon enjoyed trying to catch the Wolverine off guard, and whenever she slept in, even a single chime, he was ready with the pillow, which had become a sort of alarm clock game for both of the Kelvic. Clawed hands grabbed the speeding object out of the air, stifling it into her stomach as she fluidly stood buck naked, the pillow covering her midriff. Simon gave her a thumbs up, knowing that his tactic had worked and departed. Sliver got dressed. It was another early morning in the Stadium, and though she usually slept in, the Wolverine had made it a habit of sprinting there as to avoid the tardy slap of the bo staff that Eyrwen gave any who thought to miss even a moment of her training regimes. Swallowing her breakfast whole Sliver arrived at the Stadium just in time to only get a cautionary glare from their instructor before she began. While it could be said that most Vantha were proud of the sound of their own voice, Eyrwen was one of the few that could boast that almost all who heard it enjoyed it as much as she. Her voice was melodic, clearly designed to belt out the harrowing tale or even more harrowing orders for training, she made every syllable into something that was sure to remain with her trainees long after the sound was gone. Today she had her hands folded behind her back the bo staff a blur as it twirled behind her and she began to pace to and fro. “You are a bunch of worthless sods barely worth the skin on your own backs, yet that is how every legend begins is it not: With the dregs? And I get the enviable position of Dreg Master, lucky me.” Her eyes shown a fierce golden yellow as she made sure to catch the gazes of the dozen or so members splayed out before her. “You are all the most green members of this Watchful Ice Guild: The very bottom of the proverbial bucket of filth. You’ve heard me say it a thousand times, and I’ll say it a thousand more, perhaps you’ll stop acting like cake fed Eypharians and start acting like soldiers if I just say it enough times.” She paused to let her words sink in, the bo staff flying high up in the air before being caught by one nimble hand that then torqued it around her body viciously and sent it hurling one end first at Sliver’s face. She hadn’t been expecting the blow, but she had gotten to know their taskmaster a bit in her time here, and the woman was always full of surprises, priding herself on keeping her students on their toes. Sliver jerked her body rotating away from the brunt of the blow. It caught her on the shoulder with a dull thump, but the majority of the blow was diverted, which was good because the Kelvic was probably going to get a bruise regardless. Eyrwen clucked her tongue. “Sloppy, weasel, sloppy.” The Kelvic did her best to hide a smirk, for it was practically praised from the woman. The harsh Gold in her gaze mediated itself somewhat as their trainer resumed her paces. “Today there will be no laps or sprints or exercises of that nature. Don’t look relieved, you’ll wish you limbered up with the running after what you’ll go through today. It has come to my attention that a fair few of you only know one style of combat, which is simply unacceptable. You are a guard of the Icewatch and as such you must be flexible in every situation, one type of fighting may have gotten you out of a scrape or two, but it won’t save you when it counts, and that is what I’m here for. Those more experienced with multiple weapons or unarmed techniques will be aiding me in teaching new skills to the other’s today: Today we find you a new way to fight." Sliver blinked. She had known that guards were encouraged to learn many fighting styles, but she hadn’t realized it was mandatory. As Eyrwen led them to the gym area of the Stadium the Wolverine got a sinking feeling in her gut that always came when she handled any sort of weapon. They were unnatural separate from her claws and teeth, cold to the touch and foreign bodies she had no need of, or at least, had never had any need of before now. Eyrwen started doling out weapons. Sliver was handed a long sword with leather wrapped around the hilt. She held it awkwardly in her hand an Eyrwen rolled her eyes. “It aint made of acid, weasel. Hold it like you meant it.” Sliver tightened her grip on it and Eyrwen shrugged before moving on. She paired each of the recruits with someone that knew a thing or two about the weapon they had been given. Sliver was paired with a lanky female Vantha that flipped around her sword like Eyrwen had her bo staff. The Kelvic gulped. “Alright, you all have a weapon. I’m not saying you have to live and breathe for the damned thing, but give it a real go before you give up on the thing and try something new, you hear me?” Everyone gave varying levels of replies, from confident to Sliver’s complete uncertainty. That was when the Vantha just came at her with the blade. For several chimes Sliver attempted to whack her metal stick with her own. Strange clanging ensued and the Kelvic could tell her partner was trying to hide her amusement as she attempted to give her advice on holding the blade. “It’s all in the stance, don’t just stand there like you’re waiting for a date, you have to move around so your opponent can’t get to you.” Sliver nodded and took one step to the side, then was smacked on the side of the head. She growled. Two bells passed in this manner, Sliver trying to absorb some useful information, when in reality she understood none of it. Her partner was trying, but both Vantha and Kelvic were becoming frustrated with each other. Finally the wolverine's patience snapped like dried tinder ann she flew into a rage, bodily ripping the long sword out of her opponent’s hands and hurling it away, tackling her to the ground. “OY!” Eyrwen shouted as she shoved Sliver off of her partner. Sliver got a hold of herself and apologized. “I’m sorry teacher, I just….I understand my body, I don’t understand these metal things.” “Don’t apologize to me, weasel, apologize to your partner. She’s no teacher, but she was going way easier on you than I would have.” Sliver turned her gaze to the woman, who was already waving away the apology. “Don’t worry, I understand how hard it can be. Perhaps you should try another weapon?” Eyrwen shrugged and walked off, and Sliver looked forlornly at the weapon rack. This was going to be a very long day.

[Sliver]

To recount the entirety of the events that transpired upon this day would be a grueling and lengthy experience that the reader should not be forced to contend with. As such, the key points of the day have been highlighted by showing a partial experience of the Kelvic in question with each of the weapons she was given in attempt to find something suitable to her and her nature. Broadsword Sliver had a more enjoyable time with this weapon, despite the fact that she was quite clumsy with it. She found that just swinging it hard enough and timing it almost correctly, could get devastating results. Her conduct with the blade, however, was ungainly at best and her opponent could nimbly sidestep practically every heavy handed attack, lightly smacking her on the side or shoulder or leg in response to an easy parry of her skill with the blade. After about 15 chimes swinging the thing around Eyrwen commanded her to grab another weapon. Long Bow Now Sliver might hate swords, but at least she could understand them. You held one end that was designed to fit in your hand, and you stabbed the person with the other end. Sure people had varying levels of skill, but that was the basic idea, right? Now a bow. That was something altogether different. Sliver had no trouble with the idea of drawing and firing a bow, and it wasn’t as if her strength lacked in drawing the yew frame taut, but those damned arrows. They fell off and pointed every which way she didn’t want them too, and that little nib that was supposed to keep them in place wasn’t helpful at all. In the end she tried various ways of holding the bow: Horizontally, vertically, at an angle one way, then the other. She was forced to shoot a dozen arrows before surrendering all hope on the weapon, not one hit the target, and about half of them nearly caused injury to herself or others. Eyrwen ripped the bow from her incapable hands and just pointed, fuming, to the weapon’s rack. Mace There wasn’t as much finesse required with this weapon, and Sliver greatly appreciated that fact. It was lighter than a broadsword and she was able to maneuver it significantly better. This did, by no means signify any potential prowess. She still was unable to fathom the proper use of the strange head at the top of it. Used for bludgeoning, she used it more of a shield than an offensive weapon, which usually resulted in her opponent smacking her long sword into it, forcing it to bludgeon Sliver, who had no idea how to control the thing, resulting in her getting more injured from her own weapon than her partner. She stuck with this weapon the longest of all, truly hoping that she was on the edge of a breakthrough, but it was her opponent this time that instructed her to ditch the weapon and move on. Spear Unbeknownst to most, a small trickle of onlookers had come into the Training Stadium. This was not uncommon, but usually the public only came in during sporting events. Now Sliver was trying to use the spear. Mostly the idea of flipping it around her body as Eyrwen did her bo staff appealed to her, but she stopped trying to do this after she smacked herself in the face twice in rapid succession. After this it was back to business. She attempted to be nimble and agile, knocking aside her opponents blows with her blade to stab at her sides and vulnerable spots as instructed, but to no avail. Something about the length of the weapon from her opponent destroyed her sense of battle and the physicality of it. After about a bell working with it, she resorted to getting in close with the spear and using it as a bludgeoning tool horizontally, defeating most of the purpose of the weapon. It too was set aside in favor of something else. Daggers By this time the wolverine’s antics had drawn quite a crowd of onlookers. While the Training Stadium was open to the public, Vantha rarely came in except during the sport of Rystning. Somehow the news of the dedicated yet foolish antics of the newly minted Icewatch wolverine spread across the edges of the city, however, and many of the people who had been adversely affected by being unable to depart the city, came to watch the training session. For a long time Sliver did not notice, figuring the laughter was from her comrades, all of which were having varying degrees of success with new found weapons. These daggers she had been given were utterly perplexing for she couldn’t fathom why she would use them, a tool that required being up close and personally to one’s enemy, when she could just use her claws and fists. As with most weapons, she started using more brawling techniques than one’s that reflected the use of daggers. At first this was seen as a sign of progress, until Eyrwen noticed that Sliver was just holding the daggers, forming a fist around them and fighting this way, while not utilizing the blade at all, as if she had forgotten about them. Hoots and hollers rose from the stadium as the Kelvic blocked the dulled blows of her partner’s long sword with leather bracers, landing grazing blows and jabs. Eyrwen marched over, pinching the Kelvic’s wrists and forcing her to drop both daggers as a searing pain crawled up her arms from the tightness and strength of her teacher’s grasp. The woman pulled her off to the side of the arena and glared at her, burning coals of magenta shining at the wolverine as her voiced entered an enraged and hushed tone. “Do you think this is some sort of joke, weasel? Is this funny to you?” Sliver’s eyes widened in shock and confusion. She could say nothing in response for her voice seemed to be lost. She had never seen Eyrwen so angry at any student, and a red shame spread across her features at being the first in her knowledge to incur the wrath of such a knowledgeable teacher. Eyrwen continued to glare and Sliver continued to have nothing to say. It was then that the Vantha woman saw the river of sweat covering the Kelvic’s body, the tired and weary look in her eyes and altogether disheveled look that seemed much more extreme than any of her students had at the moment. It was not insubordination, or disrespect that stopped the wolverine continuing, only a fundamental misunderstanding of the topic of weapons in relation to her and her fighting style. At the puppy dog look that teacher received from her berating the magenta eyes swirled almost immediately into a purple blue of sympathy. “I am sorry Kelvic, I sometimes forget that you are not the same as our bears. They always have trouble, and not all learn weapon forms, but I have never had this sort of problem.” She laid a hand on the Kelvic’s shoulder, and Sliver’s expression relaxed a bit despite the fact that her breaths were still heavy with exertion. “Go back, keep working at it, and if you haven’t found something by the time we finish, you’ll work with me, alright?” Sliver nodded obediently and without any further words jogged back to her waiting partner, who had switched to a glaive and began again. She refused to fail Eyrwen. She would find something and stay in this Stadium until she had done so. Dark eyes grim with the further rigors she had just placed upon herself, Sliver lifted a machete off the rack and tried to fathom exactly how she was going to use this blade better than a longsword.

[Sliver]

Dusk was just falling over the Training Stadium when the guards slowly filed out to find something to eat, bath, and rest. They were tired and worn out after a long day. No one had escaped getting a set of bruises from their partner, no matter how agile or kind they were to their mock adversary, and all of them knew the next morning would be a tiring and sore one. Little by little the commotion died down and the Stadium emptied itself as attendants went around cleaning up, smoothing out the icy part of the arena and preparing for its use on the morrow. All the while two figures stood in the weapons area of the place, facing each other and moving as if they were unaware that everyone had left for the day and training was indeed over. Sliver was caked with sweat and dirt, layers upon layers of it over her body. She normally did not find it necessary to bathe, but the idea of water removing the layers of filth fused onto her after getting knocked to the ground so many times was beyond tempting. Eyrwen would not back down, would not go easy on her, however, and so Sliver refused to give in, to collapse or to say she was finished. So then it all came down to a contest of stubbornness. Eyrwen refused to admit failing a student, Sliver refused to admit failing a teacher, and so they continued to fight, both tired and exhausted, yet their purpose abundantly clear. Glaive, short bow, katana, morning star, bastard sword, dirk, cutlass, club, halberd, whip, stave, the wolverine tried every weapon in the rack, alternating one out for another with a grim determination, bent on seeking the correct weapon, yet none seemed to work. Finally Eyrwen knocked Sliver to the ground, lifted her up and cast a long look over her dirtied and bruised student. “Go get yourself cleaned up, there’s always tomorrow.” The thought of repeating this process on the morrow was a nightmarish one at best to the wolverine, but she nodded with a dejected sort of relief, and relinquished her blade before trudging slowly out of the Stadium. She turned to face the barracks, lost to her in the dim light, but instead of making her way back she turned towards the city and found herself walking a bit without thinking, towards the heart of Avanthal. Despite her complaining muscles and the intense desire just to sit down, Sliver felt something keeping her from simply relaxing, so she kept walking, albeit exceptionally slowly. The City was alight with color, and though she was tired, kept Sliver from being exceptionally disappointed when the lit up ice created such a beautiful show for her to walk through. She kept to the side of the noisy inns and taverns, she didn’t want to see any trouble brewing to report or step in on when she was in this state, and thus began skirting the more outer edges of the city, where it was considerably more quiet. The lilting sound of flutes was carried to her ears from a cool breeze, and after a moment another noise, not quite as musical slid into her hearing as well. Thunk, pause, thunk, pause, thunk. A longer pause heralded a sting of cursing and what sounded like falling objects. Sliver turned the corner to see a teenage boy attempting to chop wood. Several nearly split pieces lay turned upon their sides on the ground, with one remaining on the block, axe firmly imbedded in the wood as the scrawny boy tried to pull and wedge it outside. “Would you like some help?” The boy, panting, looked up from his work, clearly surprised. One eyebrow raised rather incredulously. “No offense, but you look like you need more help than I do right now.” Sliver glanced down and smirked, shrugging. “I suppose you’re right, but why not let me give it a try, anyway.” She probably wouldn’t have convinced the kid normally as easy as that, but it was clear he was as weary as she was of trying to chop this wood. With one firm yank Sliver had the axe out of the wood and set the log upright on the stump. She took a good look at the piece of wood and where she would need to hit it, swinging the axe to test its weight a few times and how it would need to hit the wood. Then with one vicious swing the wood separated into two clean pieces, axe firmly imbedded in the stump which they sat upon. Sliver jerked the axe out of the wood and glanced at the boy, who just shrugged. “I had already cut that one most of the way.” He placed an un-cut log onto the stump. Sliver chopped it in half with ease. Thus began the merry game for the boy and the Kelvic of how fast she could chop all of the wood he needed to complete before dinner. After the pile he was supposed to complete was finished, both strangers agreed that they couldn’t stop there. The teen provided the necessary moral support needed for the tired Kelvic to carry on, and Sliver powered through chopping the wood, falling into the rhythm of the action. Now this, was simple, there was a certain measure of calculation in her actions, but it was strength and concentration that counted when chopping wood, a task which she had rarely before done in her lifetime. Suffice to say both individuals were shocked and a bit disappointed when a female Vantha opened the back door of the house, and mouth agape looked at the pile of wood chopped behind her home. The boy blushed and introduced his mother to his new friend, Sliver shyly apologizing for the intrusion of their privacy. While the boy, whose name was Kilsin, was strongly reprimanded for shirking his work, Sliver was kindly invited in for dinner in payment of her services. She quietly ate a wonderful potato stew with asparagus, dried meat, and rolls, profusely apologizing about her appearance whenever possible. When the meal was done, just as the Kelvic was about to depart, she paused then asked if she might have that axe. After the father, whose name she couldn’t recall, took a look at the axe he smirked and showed her how blunt the edge was, showing her another, newer and sharper looking axe that the boy should have been using. Sliver smirked, but felt considerably better about taking the dull axe from the family. They informed her that if she ever wanted to come by again they’d glad feed her, and Sliver promised she would take them up on the offer. The dull and scratched silver hue of the axe head glinted in the faint lights of the city as Sliver made her way back to the barracks, weapon held proudly across one shoulder. The axe lay neatly against the frame of her doorway as she undressed, took a brief and cold bath, and collapsed onto her bed, a small smile on her face as she did so.

[Valkyrie]

Sliver :

Experience
1 Longsword
1 Longbow
1 Spear
2 Bodybuilding
1 Observation
1 Axe

Lore
Experimenting with a Variety of Weapons
Difficulty in Adjusting to a New Weapon
My Body is My Weapon, Not This Piece of Metal
Follies and Fumbles Draw a Crowd
Being Berated for Lack of Ability
Helping a Boy Chop Wood

Other
+ Inventory: Axe

Notes: I know you said you didn’t need the weapons skills but I awarded you the ones that contained the most detail about usage anyways. You never know, in the future you may be glad that you have those points. Beyond the actual weapon usage there wasn’t a whole lot point wise for me to give you but this was a highly entertaining thread. I felt so bad for Sliver being out of her element but I also had to hold back laughter at her puppy dog eyes so my coworkers wouldn’t hear me. Good show!

You Will Be Collected if Worthy

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, please send me a PM and we can figure it out.