Learning To Live Within One's Skin (Abashai)

[Nya Winters]

Location: The Beach Below Syliras - Evenings Timestamp: 20th day of Fall Reason: Hand to Hand Training - Ry'vata The sun had sunk down to perch on the horizon line as Nya lead her companion down onto the bright sand of the coastline. Nya truthfully wasn't sure Abashai had ever seen the salt water nor the vast coastline, but this was where she'd promised to meet their instructor. She'd taken nearly a full day to find someone willing to teach the pair of them in the way that Nya thought would benefit both herself and Abashai. They needed a compromise between the Benshira Steel and the Kelvic Claws that they could practice together and work through to help their fitness. Nya wanted Abashai to become more graceful, and Nya herself didn't want to feel so helpless in the shape she currently wore... that of a human. Their feet made imprints on the soft sand as they headed towards what looked like two large pieces of driftwood - logs really - that were set up in a V shape with a fire already laid in the V. A figure sat by it, a man about Abashai's age by the looks of it. He inclined his head when the two of them approached, but did not rise from the log he was using as a seat. Nya took a seat in the sand beyond the fire, leaving the other log for Abashai. She knew the man, had in fact already contracted him for the lessons they were going to receive. Multiple questions in Syliras had helped her locate the man... so Nya was excited about the lessons. She'd kept the reason why there were here to herself in hopes she'd surprise Abashai. Truthfully she didn't want him to have a reason to say no, or to have time to think of one. To her, learning these things were too important to them both. The blonde man cleared his throat and began speaking, his blue eyes were extremely warm matching his soft gentle voice. "I am Calroon Synros. I have spoken with Nya and she's contracted me to teach you both the basics of Ry'vata. Ry'vata is a form of hand to hand combat. Some hand to hand combats are basic, brutal, dirty fighting whose only goal is to beat down the opponent - to win. Other hand to hand combat types are complicated, beautiful, and refined into fighting arts whose goal is the perfection of human character. Ry'vata is an artform, in that manner. It is about moving your mind out of your head and having it occupy your entire body, and living within your own skin more fully. Ry'vata's main goal is to make you more one with your body, so it actually improves all aspects of your life - your walking, your speaking, your swordplay, even your balance... if you allow it and accept it. And if you must fight, even after you've found your inner balance and helped peace within you flower then this art will allow your body to defend itself, even without a weapon." The man said, speaking calmly with utter confidence in his voice. "Ry'vata is very effective in combat situations, but it involves much more than than simply fighting. Sometimes extraordinary physical abilities are required and intense mental control must be achieved. From speaking to Nya, I understand why this is important for her to learn this artform. And if you, Abashai, have never had any formal unarmed combat, it will help you as well. Ry'vata artists learn core fighting skills and become proficient in them, but they go far beyond mere proficiency and strive for perfection of advanced techniques that sculpt not only your body, but your mind as well. This is what separates Ry'vata from simple brawling - and makes it so dangerous. Ry'vata artists train in physical and mental fighting skills, but they also strive for perfection of human soul." He paused then waiting for their questions. Nya had none. She was here to learn, to absorb, and to question what she did naturally as a Forest Cat to see if she could translate that into her human form and be just as deadly. But she did look at Abashai, wondering what he was going to say about all this. Once questions were asked and answered, Calroon continued. "The first thing I want to talk about is what exactly a fight is. For this first lesson, we will simply talk about things. Tomorrow will be harder, and harder yet will the day after be. Today, we will let our energies settle together, discuss what we know, and let those of us new to the idea of Ry'vata get accustomed to it. To break down a fight... we need to understand a few things. First and foremost, what causes a fight and when we should actually fight." He paused then, glancing at Nya, and then let his eyes roam to Abashai. “In a fight, the aggressor is not the one that throws the first punch, but is the one who insists on fighting. Ry’vata artists are never aggressors. If we get into a fight, it is because we are forced too. You must first take every opportunity you can to get out of it. Leave if you can, and fight only if it is the last resort. But, if a fight is inevitable, then you must have the training and knowledge to end it as quickly as possible – and be willing to accept the consequences that result from that fight.” He said quietly. He looked to both Abashai and Nya to make sure they understood. Nya nodded… assuming that hunting was not fighting. It was survival. Calroon continued. “Most people use anger as the fuel to drive their ability to fight. It is a cheap resource and often can work for a time. But anger is dangerous to the Ry’vata artist. It stifles control and thought, making an angry person easier to beat than a person fighting with just wits. You’re fuel for a fight should be your need and will to survive. If you control your anger, you will always have an edge in any fight.” The man said quietly then moved on. “I have several rules that are always common to each fight. The winner is usually the first to act. It is very true that the first to land a good punch will probably be the one to win the fight. You can never allow your attacker to gain the advantage. You must take control of the situation and act before you react. You will win before the fight ever gets started if you can have your opponent reacting to your actions rather than acting against you and waiting for your response. Most fights are decided to punches to the head. It is instinct for two people fighting to strike at each others head. It’s also true that the first good punch is usually to the head, but please remember something… The head is is small, mobile and hard to hit… and because the skull is dense, hitting someone in the head can often lead to damage to your hand. Most fights are at close range. It can be all over in a few seconds at close range. There are no opportunities to block or kick, so it is important to make sure you are freed up to punch when in close proximity to someone else. Kicks, blocking, and countering are not likely to be effective. Most of your opponents are unlikely to be Ry’vata Artists. Ry’vata artists are trained to be non-violent and to not escalate fights thus the majority of your battles will be with non-artists. Remember that, and use your techniques liberally to end the fight as quickly as possible. Fights are unorganized. They have a beginning and an end, but everything in the middle is categorized as chaos. Anything goes… and they tend to be rude and crude. As Ry’vata artists, you will be taught to take the lead and organize them, even if its instinctual, so you are thinking and reasoning, not reacting like a mindless animal. Fights are over in seconds. You will have no time to plan, think things through or take the time to think through decisions. Instead you will have to learn to fight fast, and with confidence.” With that, he took a breath and let the pair absorb what he had said.

NoteThis is a group effort.. feel free to ask Calroon questions and even run him as much as you like ... even if you want to answer your own inquiries. If not, I'll backtrack to answer any questions and move forward to catch up in the next post, so don't worry about order too much - we'll have fun with this. And if I post big long posts, don't worry and post little short responses please! I just have to talk about a lot of stuff to really do a great job.. plus I love writing martial arts combat.

[Abashai]

When Nya told him she had a surprise, Abashai never knew what to expect. It might be a rock formation that looked like a frog, a pastry she concocted using some animal's organs or even the bones of some long lost traveler. But, no matter what it was, he always went along, knowing that surprising him delighted the Kelvic. When his bondmate had told him they were going to Syliras for a surprise, he was excited too, anxious to see what she had found now.

When they bypassed the city and climbed down to the shore, he wondered if the seashore was the surprise. He had not seen the shore since he was a child where he had once or twice visited the coast near Yahebah. The roar of the crashing waves, the endless salt water to the desert man was both beautiful and a bit of a shame. So much water and not a drop could be drunk.

Nya had indicated the fire on the beach as their destination. Abashai wondered what the man sitting there had to do with the surprise. Whatever the woman had come up with now, it was no frog-shaped rock.

Abashai had nodded politely to Calroon and listened to his introduction of Ry'vata. While he described the strange martial practice, Abashai turned to look at Nya sitting in the sand. Her green eyes were fixed on his. He saw the need for approval in her eyes. The Benshiran saw that she took a risk in setting up this training without asking, and wanted to know that it was alright. Though initially hesitant, he decided to embrace the training, Nya believed it would be good for both of them, and he agreed. Abashai gave the girl a reassuring grin, and turned his attention back to their instructor.

Abashai's martial training in the Seat of the Sons consisted mostly of military tactics, strategies and the use of weapons of war. There was no unarmed combat, none of the mind-body concepts Calroon described. But he could see that, if what the Ry'vata trainer was saying was true, it would benefit them in many ways. Also. the tenants of control during combat and acting as the non-agressor resonated with Abashai's personal ideas on fighting.

When Calroon finished giving his rules of fighting, Abashai was fully engaged and ready to learn. Still unsure of the more esoteric aspects of the martial art, Abashai focused on uderstanding the combat. "If we are not using weapons, we are using brute strength. What if our opponent is bigger, stronger." He glanced at Nya, Though a strong young woman, she was smaller than most men.

Calroon raised a finger. "You err in assuming we fight with only the power of our muscles." He stood and motioned Abashai to stand as well. "Grab my shoulder firmly. as if you were going to shove." The Benshiran thrust his right hand out to grip the teacher's left shoulder. When Abashai gripped his tunic, Calroon resisted the atttempt to push him back. "See how, when I try to resist you, you have power. You have balance. You can use your strength to push me back." It was obvious that the Calroon was struggling to keep his footing. Suddenly, Calroon shifted his left side of his body back, just a step. Abashai involuntarily leaned forward, losing his balance. The blonde man swung his right arm up under Abashai's and , without the resistance of Calroon's shoulder to push against, Abashai's grip was easily broken. The instructor's right hand came down and gripped the student's wrist, jerking the warrior off balance again and swinging him out of the way.

"One's power is in their balance. Take the balance, you take away the power, the ability to apply strength. Your power was directed in a straight line against my shoulder. When I redirected your line of power, you lost balance. you could no longer use your strength to push me. I am glad you asked that question Abashai, for this concept is one that all Ry'vata combat techniques are based on." Abashai nodded his head and turned to grin at Nya. This was going to be fun.

[Nya Winters]

Nya listened and watched carefully. It seemed that Abashai's question pleased Calroon for he was eager to answer it. She had been curious about it too and was glad Abashai spoke up. Most of the concepts Calroon outlined were fleeting things, a little hard for her to grasp, but she felt like she had at least a little understanding by the time Calroon was done speaking. Fight only if you had too, then be prepared to win. Abashai's question caught her off guard. She never really considered herself smaller or weaker, but in this form she was. Her forest cat form was almost always bigger and relied on its size and strength to get what it wanted.

But Calroon's little balance demonstration opened Nya's eyes quickly. So, this is what it meant to deal with an artform - a thinking way of fighting - rather than survival of the fittest, strongest, or most vicious. Humans were endlessly fascinating. That they had developed such techniques would give her a great deal to think about around Abashai's traditional evening fires. That is where she had developed the habit lately, as he played, of reflecting on all the little things she'd learned during the day. Now though, her reflections would have some big thoughts, larger concepts to occupy her time.

Calroon continued. "There are lots of issues I want to cover tonight before we actually get started with our training. Learning these concepts are important, especially once they are translated to your body movement and become a way of life. Ry'vata is all about body control, as I've stated before, so the first and foremost thing I want to talk about is stability, which is what Abashai has brought up. His question was well placed, because it leads us into this discussion. Ry'vata demands careful control, power over your own body, and quick movements, but before you can do any of those, you must have stability. Why? Because of two reasons... Abashai has hinted at this. The first is that if you want to win, you must have stability. The second is the opposite view. If you want to win a battle, you must upset your opponents stability. It is just as simple as that." He said, smiling slightly. Calroon wasn't a large man. He was slim and sleek, but they could both tell he was corded with muscles much like a kelvic.

"There are three things to think about in terms of stability: your weight, your base and your center of mass. Your weight never changes during a battle, you know what that means. Your base, however, is an imaginary line drawn between your feet over which your weight is supported. Your center of mass is the center of balance which is normally located somewhere right behind your belt buckle within your abdomen." Calroon reached for a stick that he'd left handy and drew a stick figure in the sand with said lines and an X over the center point. His art, for being done in loose sand, wasn't half bad. "If all these things line up, your body is in perfect balance. This center point changes as you move, sometimes it may even more to a point outside the body. But, regardless of where it is, it must fall within the boundaries of the base for stability to exist. You must be conscious of where it is at all times. Some schools of combat art will teach you to move in a wave, but in Ry'vata, we teach that when you move the body, the center of the mass should move in a straight level line to its intended position with minimal movement in any other direction. This is a conservative approach, but we believe in the stillness of balance and using energy where it counts - in strikes that win fights." Calroon said, then urged them both to rise.

"Stand. Take a few moments, visualize the base line between your feet, find your center, and move your body outrageously to see where that balance falls." Nya rose immediately (glad truthfully to move a little, sitting and listening was great, but she needed to start fidgeting soon). She stretched, scratched a line in the sand with her boot, and concentrated on what she'd seen on the instructors sand drawing and began moving. He was right, she discovered, and immediately pictured her center as a glowing ball of light, very similar to one she'd see Leo create once out of fire. It was easy to see, as she moved, how it swing back and forth and right to left, tilted, pivoted, all because of how she moved. She could go past her balance, but it felt unnatural for her, awkward. This concept was perhaps one of the easiest Nya could understand, and it seemed obvious now that it was pointed out. Forest Cats had a natural grace that somehow followed Calroon's balance and stability rules already. What she was really worried about was the combat to come. Glancing at Abashai, she looked over to see if her bondmate was understanding the lesson as well.

Calroon wasn't finished though. "From here on out, I want you to always practice being stable. There are two states, one static and one dynamic. Static stability is when you are in perfect balance sitting, standing still, relaxing.... I want you to practice this until it is second nature and to be outside of stability is unnatural. This will take work every minute of every day, and even in your sleep. Ry'vata will focus on dynamic stability, the stability that is when we are in motion. Because, if your body is not stable, it cannot move quickly to either block or attack, and you will always lack speed and power which is emphasized in our art." He said, pausing for a moment, indicating they should sit down. "Now, lets talk more about the center.... Any time your center moves away from a location directly over the base or outside the area of the base, your body becomes unstable. As the center moves higher, your legs should be bent so the center is kept as low as possible while still permitting quick movements of the body. As the center is moved lower above the base, stability increases until the point is reached where the body may no longer move effectively. You must exist within the parameters of stability, or you loose something. In Ry'vata we train so we do not have to compromise flexibility, the ability to move effectively, or speed. Learn your center, where your balance is, and live within it." Calroon said, his voice indicating there was no compromise here.

"Now, we'll talk about balance. Stability is the solidness of your body, while balance is what you must do to create stability. You maintain balance through subtle movements of your body, not by wild flailing or extreme action. Large movements in balance to correct stability tend to overcompensate and then require further compensation in the opposite direction. This is a waste. So in Ry'vata we learn to use subtle movements instead to conserve energy. Use your arms for defense and attacks, but never for balance. If you extend them for balance, it leaves you open to attack. Maintain balance through tiny movements of your muscles, head, joints and feet. If you cannot achieve balance by these little motions, then move your entire body at once into a new position that achieves balance." The blond haired man said, making sure they were understanding him.

"When you must fight, no matter what stance you use, you will have most of your weight on either one leg or the other. Always remember that for maximum stability and balance, keep your his and waist pointed in the same direction of your toes on the foot that is holding most of your weight." Calroon smiled, then lifted a hand. "To move, one must break their balance. This is ALWAYS true. And because of that, a step is merely a controlled fall. Just before the foot touches the next surface it has stepped too, the body is falling forward. If the stepping foot is knocked away or slips, then the body falls. I want to teach you how to fall next. Once you know how to fall and learn to not fear such things, we will talk about movement." He said, then leaned back, giving them both time for questions.

[Abashai]

Abashai quickly learned to respect Calroon and his art. The concepts the Ry'vata master revealed seemed to make perfect sense to him, even if he had never contemplated them before. When prompted to stand, Abashai rose and stood next to Nya. He glanced down at her, her feline attention fixed on the blonde man's demonstration.

The Benshiran felt a little silly doing the balance exercise at first. He firmly planted his boots in the sand and imagined a steel sphere at his core. Abashai began to bend and twist, noting that only a small movement that placed his imaginary sphere beyond the stable base created by his stance compromised his balance and stability. He remembered how it felt when Calroon had shifted his body as Abashai pushed against his shoulder. He could now see that his hand on that shoulder was helping to give him stability and balance. When Calroon moved, that leg of his stability was gone, Abashai's center was suddenly far from his new base of stability, just his feet, and his balance was taken. It was an eye opening revelation that stoked the desert warrior's desire to learn more.

As his larger body moved awkwardly through the exercise, Abashai glanced over at Nya. Her movements were subtle, lithe and graceful. Ever the great cat, his bondmate already instictively new how to make the minute adjustments to maintain her stability. Showoff.
He joked to himself.

With renewed zeal, Abashai listened to Calroon as he continued. He could see it would take a while to change how he even perceived movement. Then Calroon said they would learn how to fall. A chuckle burst from Abashai before he could restrain it, earning a confused glare from Calroon. "Sorry, it's just that ...sometimes I have problems dismounting." Abashai looked over at Nya with a smirk. She knew he was referring to her habit of stopping suddenly when he rode her, sending him reeling to the ground. He'd show her, he would learn how to turn those bone jarring impacts into a graceful thing of beauty.

[Nya Winters]

The kelvic swiveled her head and stared at Abashai a moment, humor filling her entire face for just an instant. She never would ever hurt him purposely, but this particular subject was slowly becoming a long-running joke between them. It was one she was correcting though. Abashai didn't know about the high cantled and pommeled cat saddle she was having made for herself in Syliras. Sus was a perfectly good mount for Abashai and a big hearted desertbred mare. But if they ever saw true battle or had to pass through dangerous territory, Nya would simply absolutely not allow the mare to carry her bondmate. Sus would become a packhorse for sure. With the mare, Abashai would have to manage reins, and weapons and worry that Sus would spook or falter somehow. Horses couldn't help it. Sometimes things scared them - like forest cats appearing where people only stood moments before. With Nya, these two things would never be a possibility. His hands would always be free for his bow or sword, and beneath him she would be just as much a weapon as anything he could hold in his hands... and far more motivated to keep him safe.

Calroon let the moment pass between the pair, and determining there were no questions, he moved on in his lesson. "When people are little, we develop a fear of falling. When you start to fall, most people tense up, cry out, and thrust their arms out to 'catch themselves' when they do fall. This is a common response to falling. People instinctively do what they can to protect their vulnerable areas, like their heads, and to do so they tend to sacrifice their limbs and in that process they will break something - most commonly their arm, wrist, or even elbow which is the worst of all. Such carelessness or reaction by instinct is dangerous. You cannot fight or even live well with broken limbs. Even if you do not break a limb, being tense as you fall can slam you with a great impact into the ground, and that impact can travel up your limbs into your head and cause you to be disorientated or even to pass out. These happenings will get you killed in battle. All of these things persist into adulthood and start dangerous habits. We need to unlearn this fear of falling, embrace the fall, and teach our minds and bodies different ways to think about falls." He said, studying Nya then Abashai in turn.

"We will learn three key important things until they are instinct when it comes to a fall. First, you must prevent injury during a fall, protect yourself from further attack, and regain a defensive position as quickly as possible. If you can master these three things, you are well on your way to learning Ry'vata." The man said, paused as was his way, and then continued onward. "There are several important things to remember during a fall. This is the first part of learning how not to get inured. First and foremost, do not let your head hit the ground. Never reach out with your arms to catch yourself, as you will likely end up with a break somewhere along the limb. Do not ever fall on your elbow or knees, these are vulnerable joints. Keep vital areas of your body off the ground since you may fall on something sharp or piercing. Spread the force of the fall evenly across as much of your body as possible. Stay relaxed.. this alone will prevent most injuries." Calroon took a breath, then smiled. "And finally... turn the energy of a fall... each motion you make, each movement, each action has an energy. Falls have very potent powerful energy.. .turn that energy into a roll. If you can make yourself as much like a ball or sphere as you can, you can roll across the ground and not absorb those energies, but transfer them into something else - a bounce back to your feet, a leg swipe from the ground that also causes an enemy to fall... When you end in an abrupt stop, you absorb all this energy and it can hurt you, but if you gradually dissipate the energy by rolling or using it to produce another action, you may end up away from danger." He added, then rose moving away from the fire and driftwood logs, gesturing for Nya to come to him.

Nya glanced at Abashai, then moved to join Calroon. "First we will learn to be brave and take the fall. When a fall is inevitable and imminent - say you are carrying a too large pile of firewood and trip - accept that it is going to happen and do things to protect yourself. What would you do first, Nya?" He asked.

Nya looked annoyed. She'd never actually TRIP carrying firewood. Of course she would, anyone could, but the forest cat wouldn't ever admit that to anyone. "Firewood does not have less value if it breaks. It all burns the same. But it could hurt me if I tripped holding a huge armfull - especially if any of it were sharp. If I was going to fall.... I would throw the wood from me as far as I could and try to fall the other way." She said, after careful thought. She looked at the instructor hopefully. He nodded, pleased. "Never try and save your package or burden unless it is a child or something precious beyond measure. Because there are very few things in life that are actually worth more than your body's wholeness and safety." He said, then continued onward. "Like Nya said, when you start to fall, instead of trying to avoid the fall and being injured in the effort, take the fall in a controlled manner. Take it every time. Take it so often its no different than walking or breathing to you. This will make you a superior Ry'vata artist." He emphasized. Then he turned his attention to Abashai. "Before we are done learning to fall, we are going to recreate the particulars of your dismount problems and teach you how to dismount even at a dead run in a safe manner for you." He paused, then smiled, gesturing widely. "Ry'vata isn't about just learning to punch and kick your opponent, it is a training and lifestyle for the whole of your everyday." Then he paused, beckoned both of them out onto the sand, together, and started going over the forms of falls.

"There are six basic ways to fall... backwards, back rolling, side, front, flip, and front rolling. We'll teach you the back and side falls first, then the rest." He said, then got down to business. "A back fall is when a person is falling backwards with no backward momentum, such as being tripped or pushed backwards. If someone pushes you or shoves you backwards, you'd use back-rolling instead... because there is more force involved. You need ot learn this fall because we are going to learn kicks and spins that are blocked or missed which might cause you to fall backwards. In any event, the attacker can end up falling backwards so he or she needs to know how to do so. Now, I teach all my students how to do these falls from sitting positions, then from squatting, then from half standing, then from full standing... so.. as I instruct you, try these techniques out." He said... then got down to business.

"Everyone sit down... like this." He instructed, sitting down facing them with his legs together, knees bent, and feet flat on the ground. His arms he put upwards, making fists with his hands, as if to guard his face like a boxer would. "Cross your arms and make fists with your hands... and tuck your chin down into your chest. Curl your back into a circle and roll the body backwards. As the upper body touches the sand, slap the sand with your palms open with your arms at this sort of angle, and exhale. Your palms should hit the ground a split second before the upper back hits. Do not reach backwards with your arms and do not keep your arms close to the body because you can't use them to defend yourself. Also, don't reach out with your arms, they are ineffective and you can also break limbs. Immediately snap your arms back in front of your chest in a guarding position to protect yourself from further attack.... " He said, then rolled up to sitting position. "I know you will feel silly, but practice that for a while until you feel your fall becoming controlled, smooth, and natural feeling." Nya did feel silly, but she did as instructed.

Gradually, they moved from doing the falls from sitting positions, to squatting, and even to standing until they felt natural and normal. Then, they moved through the other forms of falling until it was too dark to do any more work. Calroon called it a day and told them to meet him again the next day, with said mount, and they would work through dismounting and then into movement issues.

[Abashai]

When Calroon finally called it a day, Abashai silently thanked Yahal. The falling exercises had taken their toll, and he slowly lifted himself off the sand. Once Nya accepted the fact that falling was okay, she performed them with her usual feline grace. On the other hand, the larger Benshiran had struggled to roll smoothly as he fell, landing smartly on his back with a jarring thud, or forgetting to tuck his chin and smacking his head. Their instructor had been patient, coaching him until some semblance of proper technique began to appear.

Today he was grateful for the soft sand. In fact, he rather enjoyed being on the beach. It had been many years since he had walked in sand and, although not entirely like the dry deep sands in parts of Eyktol, he had eventually taken off his boots during the training to feel the shore's sand grains under his feet.

Brushing off his feet, Abashai pulled on his boots and stood, thanking Calroon with a nod. "I have learned a lot already and look forward to tomorrow, thank you." Turning to Nya, He made sure she was ready. Once they parted ways with Calroon, Abashai turned to look at Nya. "Uh, sorry I brought up the dismounting thing , it just made me laugh. I didn't know Calroon would want to actually work with the mount." Abashai didn't know how much their instructor knew about Nya, or if she wanted him to know. The Benshiran wondered if he had overstepped his bounds. I can make an excuse if you don't want to do it."

The pair began to walk up the beach, toward the city. Looking up as the last vestige of sunlight faded, Abashai began to see the pinpoints of starlight. In the waning light, he smiled at Nya and stroked the top of her head (his way of showing affection in either of Nya's forms). "Thanks for arranging the training. I can see how much it can help me... us. When we finally do start to travel, it could be a great help. It's also a good way for us to learn to work together." Turning towards the great city, They saw already the faint glow of a myriad of fires, torches and lamps stretching skyward from behind the walls. "Lets get into the city before the gates close and see if Matilda has any rooms available."

[Nya Winters]

While Abashai was tired, Nya was relieved to be released from the drudgery of falling... and falling some more... and falling even more. Abashai struggled with it, but she knew the reason why. Her bondmate was always in control. Mentally, physically, he always moved with purpose and knew just exactly what his own thoughts were in his head. Falling was about teaching a body to give up control in order to regain better control later. Abashai was slow in gaining that concept, but she knew later their roles would be reversed. It was going to be impossibly hard for her to learn to strike at her bondmate, and even harder still to learn to think of her beautiful lovely human hands and feet as weapons. Paws were ever so much more effective. Abashai already knew how deadly a fist or well placed kick could be, so the transition to him was going to be much easier.

Nya thanked Calroon as well, along with Abashai. But as soon as the instructor disappeared down the beach, Nya was off to play. She couldn't help it and had way too much excess energy built up from sitting still, listening to the instructor and repeatedly (and boringly!) falling. At first she was good, and played only barefoot chasing waves. It didn't last though and soon enough she shed her clothing all up and down the isolated stretch of beach in a scattered out trail. The forest cat chased seagulls until she was winded, attacked driftwood in mock playful battles, and waded into the water to play in the waves. They were alone then, just the two of them, so Nya had no problems letting her true colors show. It didn't take her more than ten minutes to wind down and burn off the energy, before she was trotting up, human again, still shrugging on clothing. Nya was soaking wet, more or less dressed, her hair crusted in salt, and flushed from all the fun she'd just had. Her eyes glowed as she hopped up and down on one foot, trying to stuff her left boot back on.

"We.. should come here more often." She said, finally managing to stuff the foot down in the boot and stand upright. She glanced at the trail of footprints leading off - left by their instructor - and then looked back at Abashai. "I liked him. I ... we can ask him later maybe to help with dismounting.... when we know him better. It is not a crime to be a kelvic though. I am glad to be one. But it would be hard on you to explain me if I am blamed for things I either did or did not do. People easily point fingers and lay blame. That is why I am only a cat in the woods.. or here where we are alone. Someday that will be different... and I will be more a cat." Nya more worried about Abashai than herself, about putting him in a position that required him to answer questions or take responsibility for something she might have done. Nya was committed to not letting that happen.

She moved forward, stood up on her toes, and ran her jawline up his... showing her affection. Then, she turned to pick up and shouldered her light pack while dancing along the path their instructor had taken.... walking with Abashai back towards the city. "Matilda.. I would like to see her again!" Nya said, excited for the prospect of visiting with the Konti... who always seemed to be awake for a late night conversation if Nya needed to prowl but had to resist the urge while in the city. But she did agree... agree with everything he said. It would help them be better partners. Mentally, they were in synic in a lot of things, but physically they were miles away still.

They spent the night in town, in their customary room at the Traveler's Row, though this time Nya didn't sleep across the door in her wilder form guarding Abashai. She was more relaxed in the city now, more at home there, even though she herself didn't realize it. Instead, she spent the night curled up against Abashai's back, mostly as a human wrapped in his cloak (which was bigger than hers) because she hated sleeping within layers of sheets or under blankets. They made her feel trapped. Nya also lost her shape less and less now when sleeping. Her temper too.... was more even, less excitable.

In the morning, they were back, ready to continue on with their lessons.

Calroon was ready for them as well. "Morning! Let's warm up with a brief run up and down the beach... just to the rock outcropping there in the distance, and back... and then we'll talk about body movements." He said, stripping off his shirt and joining them for the brief controlled run up the beach to the rocks and back. When they got back, Calroon started his lecture. "Today we're going to talk about Body Movements. They are divided between upper body movements and lower body movements... upper body movements include slipping, weaving and bobbing. Lower body movements involve stepping, jumping, lunging, and spinning. Once we get these movements down, we'll begin the actual combat training.... and you'll learn to start sparring." He said, looking thoughtful.

With that introduction, he launched straight into his lecture. "When moving... be it changing your body position by any means, you need to remember several things. First and foremost, your movements should be quick, but smooth and natural. You should maintain balance and stability at all times. You should always smoothly shift your body weight from one position to another and never do so until you are fully supported by one foot. Always maintain good posture. Do not move your hips up and down, keep them level and only move them side by side - rotating... Lightly slide feet over feet, don't ever drag or raise them. The sliding foot will always feel for a clear path - and clear a path for that matter by pushing obstacles out of the way. There could be weapons on the floor, bodies, anything... use your feet as your eyes so you can keep your eyes on your opponents." He said, then paused for questions.

[Abashai]

With a night of sound sleep, Abashai actually looked forward to the second day of training with Calroon and Nya. The short run along the beach was exhilerating, causing blood to pump freely, feeding his sore muscles.

As they ran, he thought again of what Nya had said last night. Nya was concerned that he would be held responsible for her, the actions of the forest cat. That was her way, probably at the heart of every kelvic, to protect their bondmate in every way. Abashai had begun to let her fulfill that role, he found he could not prevent it. She proved fiercely faithful to him, putting his needs above her own, and he knew Nya would sacrifice herself for him. It was a wonderful yet humbling feeling. But he cared for her deeply, and, though he knew she would protest, Nya was his kelvic bondmate and he was willing to take responsibility for her. He would do anything for her.

Once back at their log seats, clad only in his brown trousers, bare feet resting on the cool sand, Abashai listened intently to Calroon's lesson on body movement. The desert fighter's training of upper and lower body movement in combat was limited, as it centered on using a weapon and shield. He wanted to learn to move like Calroon did. The intructor's introduction of the fundamentals of lower body movement was familiar to the Benshiran, echoing his own training. Abashai nodded in understanding as it was explained. In his experience, changing positions with a sliding of the feet, rather than stepping, had shown him how his stability could be maintained in a fight. Also, the careful attention to the weight placed on each leg had proved important. Placing all one's weight on one leg, especially the front leg, gave your opponent a quick way to take your balance, or worse, knock you down, with a simple kick or sweep.

When Calroon took his customary pause after making a point. Abashai glanced at Nya with an anticpiating grin.

[Nya Winters]

Nya loved this part of the training... sitting, watching, listening. She also loved the excitement she felt from Abashai, how alive he seemed during these exercises. There was nothing more beautiful to her than to see him barefoot and bare chested grinning in anticipation of what was to come. His whole body was focused, and had he been a forest cat, she could tell he'd be purring. Smiling, she settled into the sand to listen, and Calroon didn't let her down.

“Upper body movements are used to make the body a constantly moving target and conceal any deliberate attack you might make. The secret is to find a balance between not wasting movement, and keeping your motions natural, flowing, and unpredictable. When in combat, you never want to be predictable, nor do you ever want to stand still.” He said, nodding. “Now, I’ll want you both standing up for this, facing each other." He paused after they got standing and paying attention. “We are going to go through ducking, bobbing, weaving, and slipping… and while its easy to explain, its even easier to demonstrate.” He said, then went on to demonstrate a lateral verses vertical attack, in terms of a punch or swing, so he could clarify the motions he was talking about.

“Ducking is simply dropping the target of an attack, usually your head, below the lateral line of an attack. It is used to protect the head. Do not duck a vertical attack, because you’ll be moving into the attack, making your opponent’s actions all the more effective.” With that, he demonstrated the difference, and let the pair practice the movement. “Next, is slipping. Slipping is moving your whole body as a unit, either side to side or back to avoid an attack. The whole point of slipping an attack is to altogether move just enough to avoid being struck without leaving yourself off balance or vulnerable to a second attack.” He said, then demonstrated slipping in a short smooth motion first to one side then another then back. “When we get to actual combat, I need you to be able to respond when I yell… duck… slip right, etc… so that’s why we learn these techniques.” He said, then took a breath.

“Then we have weaving. Weaving is simply keeping your body in motion, your muscles warm, your thoughts sharp. Weaving is a rhythmic motion of the upper body from side to side which helps you always be ready for a movement, an attack, a counter attack. Weaving can also hide attacking movements you are about to make.” He said, demonstrating this as well. Then finally, he finished with bobbing. “Bobbing is the moving of the head side to side and up and down, to avoid an attack or to make a head a constantly moving target. When you do any of these motions… always keep your eyes on a target, never let your mind or thoughts drift.” He said, demonstrating those motions as well.

Then, when they’d practiced them a bit, he went over lower body movements. It took the whole day. There were no lunch breaks, no time to stretch their muscles or rest their thoughts.. he just kept working them, as if trying to stuff as much knowledge into their heads in as short of time possible.

Then they went through leaning, shifting, pulling in, pulling out, ducking, jumping, and sliding. Most of the techniques were fairly straight forward and easy for Nya to pick up. She was slightly excited over the jumping, but when they got to actual lunging, Nya was thrilled. “Stepping is slow… so the fastest way to advance, or retreat is to lunge. In the lunge, the rear leg is the first to move. To lunge forward, the rear leg explodes forward, and as it does, the front food lifts and is propelled forward by the rear leg. Your weight is propelled forward and everything occurse as one movement. Often times you can do this before your enemy knows your going to do it. Lunging words forwards and backwards.. backwards is the same except the front leg bengs the lunge by exploding backwards.” Calroon demonstrated, and Nya laughed, excited, as she practiced lunging forward and backwards repeatedly. “You will need to practice these a lot and build your leg strength and focus… but if you do, one explosive movement to land a proper punch or a kick will save you a hundred slower punches or kicks and you’ll understand the value of swift effective exercise.” Calroon said, finishing off their study for the day. Nya was relieved. Lunging hadn't cheered her up for long.

Nya truthfully was tired. There was so much more thinking involved in moving than there was in falling and lessons on ethics. Nya normally just moved…. Never giving a thought to have one did so or why one did so. Ry’vata took a lot of thought, which exhausted her in ways practicing lunging a thousand times could not. So when the days session was called and Calroon departed after a promised to be back the next day to teach them actual combat, Nya dropped down on the sand and leaned back against the log, stretching and groaning at the same time.

She gazed up at her bondmate, admiring how his hair fell to his bare shoulders and curled slightly. Staring at Abashai did no good though to lighten her mood as it usually did. “Does it not make you tired? All the thinking you have to do as a man? It exhausts me. Even fighting, people think… Can we not just attack and get it over with? I am surprised your heads are not three times the size of your bodies. When you use a limb, like a leg, a lot it grows in size. How come your heads do not grow overly large?” She demanded, a little cross, a little more than hungry, and a whole lot tired. Nya wanted a bath, a lot of bloody meat, and a long long nap. “And can we go to the bath to swim tonight? We earned it. It is worth it for the warm water, and we both smell.”

[Abashai]

Kicking a toe in the sand and flinging the grains onto Nya's pants, Abashai grinned. "Lazy cat!" He had to admit he was quite worn himself. The day of training was mentally and physically demanding, but worth the effort. His mind reeled though with all the doctrine of movements they were taught. Most of it did not come naturally to him, except lunging. Lunging is a basic concept in the use of stabbing weapons. Not so much with his hacking khopesh, but other bladed weapons he as used like the scimitar and fighting dagger.

Nya's remarks about the size of humans' heads struck him funny and he burst out with a loud laugh. He truly enjoyed Nya's company and her wonderful perspective on things. Those naive Kelvic perceptions often opened his eyes to see things his human paradigm overlooked. He smiled warmly into her tired green eyes, still twinkling despite her weariness.

"You know me well enough to know if anyone's head would expand from too much thinking, it would be mine." He made a silly face and a gesture with his hands simulating his head growing. The bondmates made a good team. Abashai's tendancy to overthink was balanced by Nya's clarity and spontanaety. "But humans cannot help but to think. For a cat, you are driven by instinct, trust it and live by it. Humans are egocentric, like to complicate things by putting in their two coppers worth. We want to organize and anayze and categorize so we feel like we have some control in a world out of our control. It has replaced a lot of our instincts with logic. Unfortunately, logic can't help you when someone is running at you with a spear, or pouncing on your from above."

Abashai craned his neck to the side, producing a bone-popping crack and a sigh of relief. He did not like the public bath, a bath was still a private affair to the Benshiran. He bathed alone and Nya had learned to respect that (though he did allow her to washed his hair, a ritual he was quite fond of). But a warm private bath did sound good, well worth spending the extra coin.

"Very well then bondmate, a bath it is." He held out his hand to help her up, as if the spry Kelvic needed it.