Solo A Matter of Balance

[Keene Ward]

The fourteenth day of winter, 514 AV

"Good, now one foot." Keene wobbled, lifting his knee up in front of him to balance upon one foot, his toes gripping the warm pillar of rock that he teetered upon. It was amazing how little balance he had by simply shifting his weight to one foot, but the amazement was short lived as Keene writhed atop the stone for a few ticks with arms extended before he was forced to hop down. His feet hit the sand, absorbing most of the momentum. Looking up, Keene's frown met Aztiri's. "Alright, try again, Keene." Nodding, Keene hopped back up onto the stone pillar, the jump pulling him off balance and over to the other side. Several hops later, he stood with toes gripping stone and a concentrated frown upon his features as he shifted slightly in several directions to find his center. He'd never really stopped to think that standing upon a pole drawn up from the earth on one foot would be quite the challenge, but as he cautiously drew up his foot once more, he was fully aware of just how difficult it was. "Center yourself." Keene's arms extended to either side of him, slightly flapping as his weight shifted back and fourth. "Bend your knee." Following Atziri's instruction, Keene allowed his supporting leg to bend some, the wobbliness shifting from his entire body down to the curve of his leg, making balancing incredibly more simple, though just as exhausting.

As his leg wiggled beneath him, Keene stared straight ahead, his eyes focused on the stability of the woman before him. She had suggested he employ the tactic to better maintain his own balance: looking at something solid and unmoving to focus one's mind upon remaining stalwart. As ticks passed, Keene could feel his leg straining beneath his collective weight, and his body had begun to shift and shake despite the small bend in his knee. Atziri, eyes starting at him like a hawk, spoke once more. "Switch legs." Taking a few ticks to carefully place his foot next to his other one, Keene lifted the now weary appendage from the stone, cautiously switching his weight to this other leg and immediately bending it. It took him a few moments of uncertain wobbling before he steadied himself, his eyes never leaving the immobile frame of his master. "Hold it. Good." He found that in the time his left leg had struggled beneath his weight, the thigh of his right had been just as strained holding his foot up in the air. Thus, when he switched which foot he stood upon, the tense muscles in his thighs were relieved, making it slightly more easy to balance, as the feeling was more pleasant than strenuous - at least for the first few ticks.

He switched several more times, taking a few spills into the sands, before Atziri gave him further instruction. "Now kick." He blinked, remaining relatively inert for several ticks before he shifted to pull his leg back and thrust his foot forward immediately after. The resulting sweep of motion landed him on his back, though not before he bounced off of the stone pole, hitting the upper half of his right thigh as he tumbled downwards. Blinking up at the flickering light that danced about the ceiling, Keene rubbed the now sore section of his leg as he struggled up to a seated position, the sand sticking to the thin film of sweat that had begun to coat his body. Atziri regarded with him arms crossed and a wide grin. "Compensate for the kick, Keene. Balance requires you to constantly be changing." He nodded, pulling himself back up to his feet with the assistance of the stone before climbing back onto it. He waited until he was solidly standing upon before lifting his leg once more, arms out to the side and knee bent to kept himself steady. Focusing his attention on Atziri, who's brow rose in appraisal, Keene slowly sung his free leg back and fourth a few times, feeling the displacement of his weight as he did so.

As the leg moved forward, Keene could feel his body naturally swing in the opposite direction, the motion that had caused him to fall before. Not wanting to repeat the same mistake if he could help it, Keene forced his body to remain in the same place, adjusting how far back he let the leg swing before methodically allowing it to move forward. Wobbling back and fourth as he did so, he found there was a point during which the if his leg extended too far forward, it pulled backwards and vice versa. He decided to remain balanced, the kick had to also be controlled, and as he pulled his foot back a final time, he released it before allowing it to pull him off balance. The resulting kick, however, once more knocked him off the stone, though it was a more gradual loss of balance as he crumpled to the ground than a true fall. He let himself catch his breath as he pushed himself back to his feet, the tingling sensation of his worn legs suggesting he take a break. Ignoring them, he stepped back up on the stone pillar, and set his attention back onto Atziri, who nodded that he try again.

[Keene Ward]

They moved on from the pillar, after Atziri pulled it apart and sent it bad into sand. Her mastery over reimancy was something that Keene found incredibly impressive, and while, he had made progress in his own training, she was still decidedly his superior. As he waited for her next instruction, she turned, a grin on her lips as she seemed to smooth the already form fitting fabric she wore. "Fancy a spar, Initiate?" At her invitation, Keene sunk down into his stance, left foot slightly forward with hands raised in anticipation. His ribs were still sore, but the cuts on his hands had healed more or less, leaving thin scabs over his skin at various places. And while his legs were sore from the previous exercises, he was ready to exchange blows. He nodded that he was ready before Atziri charged him, swinging slow and wild. Knocking aside the arm closest to his left, Keene shifted his back foot to allow her clumsy jab to pass in front of him, repositioning himself so he was perpendicular to her momentum. Unsure what to do at that point, he lamely made an awkward round house at her stomach.

Atziri didn't waste time. She gripped his arm, though the sensation of her flesh against his wasn't present thanks to the dull red flash as she made contact. Using her momentum, she spun, lifting him off his feet and sending him into the sand with a heavy thud. Too surprised to do more than stare up at the ceiling, Keene lay still for a few ticks while his master shuffled away, a small chuckle ringing about the cavern. "You have to fight with conviction, Initiate. If you see an opening, take it." Pulling himself up into a seated position, Keene nodded, brushing some of the sand off of his elbows and backside as he rose to stand in his stance once more. The exercise in balance had given him a slightly better understanding of his physical body, and the side step had been much easier with the practice he'd put in over the last couple days. Of course, Atziri moved at a rather sluggish pace, giving him plenty of time to think and react. In a true fight, Keene was no match for anyone, let alone his master fighting with her full force. Still, the manner in which she trained was both informative as well as efficient in the sense that if his muscles were to gain proficient memories, they would do so faster in a more true pseudo-combat situation than simple solitary forms.

As she charged once more, Keene readied himself. Several jabs were extended towards him in a much more rapid fashion than before, forcing him to block with both arms and wait for an opening. It came after a few ticks as Atziri drew her arm back, twisting her torso some in wind up. Blinking, Keene ducked lower and shot his left hand in an upper cut to Atziri's midriff. The strike connected as he felt the heat of her strike pass over him. As he moved to pull his arm back to a more ready position, he noticed a knee rising up to meet his face. Having little time to retaliate, Keene pushed back at the strike, knocking himself backwards and away from the immediate danger. As he hit the ground, he heard Atziri shout out in an excited command, "Roll! Don't waste the momentum! Back on your feet!" Blinking, Keene let his legs move up over his head, the roll rather uncomfortable as he felt his skin press into the sand and his spine curl to its limit before his feet hit the ground behind him. Instead of popping back up to his feet, however, Keene just sat down with a blank stare at what had just happened. Atziri just laughed, shaking her head at the inert form of her initiate. "Almost."

Rising to his feet, Keene rubbed his neck. The little maneuver had strained the muscles slightly, but it wasn't anything more than a simple discomfort. Atziri nodded at him, beckoning him closer with a gesture. "Rolling will reduce the impact of a fall, and if you're quick, you can use it to your advantage." Her grin turned a bit more impish as Keene nodded his understanding, "Though that little display would have ended pretty poorly in a real fight." He had no doubt she spoke true. Fortunately for him, Atziri was not out to kill him, and while he nodded again, he found her little statement a bit redundant. Most of what transpired in their sparring sessions would have left him dead or seriously injured if she had not restrained herself. He had though that his countless demises had been something understood. Apparently not.

[Keene Ward]

They continued their spar, Atziri both attacking and defending, shouting orders or instructions and Keene responding as he could. As he moved to deliver a knee towards her stomach, her arms shot up to push him backwards. As he fell, she gave a short, "Roll!" to which he obliged, curling his body so that the impact was distributed over a smaller portion of his backside, and the momentum allowed him to tumble tot he side. He had gotten better at following though his evasions, however it was by no means flawless. Quickly scrabbling to his feet, sand flying every which way, Keene settled back into his stance, his mind running the roll over and over again, picking apart his inadequacies and triumphs. Fluidity was difficult to accomplish, and something supposed was either obtained through some secret technique or repetition of practice. From the way Atziri constantly knocked him down, he preferred to assume the latter was the most likely. As he shuffled back into range, making sure to keep a stable base for his feet with knees bent and elbows centered, Keene stared at his sparring partner, waiting for the next move.

She gave no further orders, only regarding him with a hint of a smirk. Taking it as an invitation to fight on his own accord, Keene lurched forward, eyes darting over her body, checking for any unfamiliar movements. Before he was in range, he paused. Atziri had started to move forward to meet him, arm swinging wide. Moving his own arm to block, centering his weight and bracing for the impact, he was taken by surprise when the strike slammed into him with an incredible amount of force, sending him rolling across the sandy training area. As he bounced across the small divots in the sand, Keene managed to get his legs under him and let the momentum carry him back up to his feet. He stood blinking, wobbling, and a bit dazed as he regarded her, a small frown of confusion on his lips. He was met with a wide grin. "Much better, initiate. That was a good roll." Keene nodded, rolling his shoulder and wincing at the dull throb that had begun from where he'd hit the ground. Though rolling was effective in minimizing the amount of time he was on the ground, it didn't change the fact that falling still hurt.

They continued on for a time, Keene's punches, rolls, dodges, and blocks becoming more and more difficult for him to enact as fatigue began to set in. He pushed past it, sweat shimmering off of his pale skin as he ducked and weaved around and between strikes at Atziri's command. It was tedious work, but it was the sort of training that Keene had been raised with; he found it strangely nostalgic. Unlike magic, he had only to focus on his own body, how it moved and shifted at his commands, what it could do and couldn't do, where he made mistakes in executive function, and where he made error in reflexive movement. It was strange, freeing almost, as he felt the force of blows against his forearms, shifting the state of his djed with each strike. He could feel himself change, adapt, with each movement. The subtle shifts in his very being as his mind chose a course of action, as he fell and rose, as he fought, became more prominent the more weary he became. His focus shifted from the woman before him to the man within him, his thoughts scattered, but revolving around the single concept of self.

Feelings alone, however, did not a warrior make. A swift slap to the back of his head as Atziri twirled away sent him face first towards the ground. The sudden mouthful of sand was quick to pull Keene out of his near mediative state and back into the physical reality of his repeated defeat and panting breath. Sputtering for a moment to rid himself of the gritty bits of earth, Keene rolled over, wiping his mouth and staring upward at nothing in particular. Atziri stood above him, staring down at him with a little grin. "Daydreaming, Initiate? That's not very like you." He pulled himself up to a seated position, rubbing his chin and finding it slightly scraped from the fall.

"Physical fighting isn't very like me either." Atziri chuckled, nodding as she took a couple steps back to allow him to stand.

"I suppose that's true." Taking a few moments to look him over, she came to a decision, nodding in a businesslike fashion. "Be back before sundown, Keene." With that, she turned and strode down the hall leading to her chambers, leaving the sweaty, blinking young man to watch her fade with the little flame that floated above her palm. Having been released for the time being, Keene ambled out of the cave after retrieving his shirt and pulling it over his head. He had a solid number of bells before the evening, and he still had yet to water the tree. The climb, as the past few days, was going to be a bit rough with his sore and tired muscles. As he hoisted himself up and over the ledge leading towards the plateau, Keene let his mind wander to distract him from the inevitably lengthy day ahead of him.

[Keene Ward]

When he returned that night, Atziri stood waiting for him outside of the cavern's mouth with arms crossed and an expectant gleam in her eyes. "On time as usual, Initiate." He nodded, stopping a few paces before her and waiting for the instructions she inevitably held for him. Atziri, however, was in no rush to tell him to do anything, and simply continued to stare at him, her smile growing more and more disconcerting in the eyes of her young initiate. Neither said anything for a time, the last vestiges of light began to fade from the sky before Atziri raised a brow to speak once more. "Aren't you going to go inside, Keene?" There was a taunt to her voice, a small challenge, to which Keene merely blinked. Take a step forward, he moved towards the cave's entrance, eyes set on his master's face. She remained immobile, watching him as intently as he did her. He felt it was a test of sorts, though with absolutely no parameters given, he was uncertain how to pass it, or even approach it. Deciding there was little course of action save standing still or entering the tunnel, Keene headed forward.

As he neared the cave, Atziri shifted in front of him, blocking his path. Keene stopped, furrowing his brow as he regarded the grinning obstacle. Taking a few steps back, Keene moved to the side in an attempt to circumnavigate Atziri. She was quick to slip directly into his path once more. They continued for several chimes, much to Keene's growing frustrations. His master, however, simply smiled back at him with each attempt. Taking a few steps back, Keene frowned at her, arms crossed and eyes appraising. Neither had said anything more after her initial question, and he had the feeling there wasn't much else to say. She was a barrier, an obstacle that he was to overcome. How, exactly, he wasn't sure. With all of the recent training the two of them had been doing together, Keene figured it was another exercise in physical combat, meaning he couldn't use reimancy to solve the problem. There were other reasons magic was a terrible idea, but Keene pushed the whole though process aside for the time being in an attempt to focus on what he could do.

As his eyes scanned her for any obvious sign of structural weaknesses, Keene couldn't find anything apparent. She was, essentially, a stalwart defender of his cavernous home. Getting past her through exploiting foibles of strength wasn't likely. Deciding to go with the most unexpected course of action, Keene charged at her, face blank and feet rushing against the ground. To his surprise, Atziri sidestepped him, latching onto his shirt and belt as he shot by before before spinning him in a semi-circle and tossing back towards the direction he'd come from. As he hit the ground, Keene curled his body against the force, tumble over a few times before he came to a halt a good distance from his failed assault. Pushing himself back to his feet, Keene winced, the combination of his already sore muscles compounded by the sudden and unexpected bruising fall. Mentally brushing it aside, Keene squared up with his master once more, grey blue eyes staring intently at the fiery woman who remained grinning and silent.

Slipping into the practiced stance, arms up and knees bent, Keene shuffled forward. Atziri's unresponsiveness neither suggested he was right in assuming he was to fight her for entrance or wrong, but under the circumstances the only thing left to him was elimination of variables via trial and error. Running at her with reckless abandon had only netted him a new bruise. As he came within range to strike, Keene quickly shuffled his feet, turning his body as the jabbed forward. His fist met air once more, though this time Atziri opted to push him out of the way. Her hands against his skin brought fourth a flinch as he stumbled away. Eyes on his master, Keene caught his balance after a few wobbling steps and tried again, this time charging forward with a small hop to deliver an uppercut to her stomach. He misjudged the distance, however, swiping at nothing before he was delivered a swift, soft slap to the side of his head.

For a moment, Keene tried to maintain balance, before he realized he was falling towards the mouth of his destination. Instead of attempting to right himself, Keene buckled his knees and tumbled to the side, clumsily rolling into the tunnel and wobbling back to his feet, hands still raised and eyes searching. Atziri laughed, clapping her hands and shaking her head. "Took you long enough, Initiate." Keene nodded in full agreement. The maneuver had hardly been anything to be proud of. In fact, it had been more of a mistake than anything else. Calmly striding towards him, Atziri motioned he lower his hands. "Always use your enemy's mistake against her, Keene." The sagacious tone she employed had a hint of playfulness to it, though Keene simply nodded, taking her advice to heart. Whether Atziri had purposefully allowed him the chance or not, he had taken it; and that was what mattered.

[Keene Ward]

Once Keene had put away the few mushrooms and seeds he'd gathered from his time out around the base of the mountain, he joined his expectant master once more upon the sand. "Shirt off." He obliged, pulling the garment up and over his head, running a hand through the tousle of his hair before carefully folding it and draping it over the back of one of the chairs. Atziri regarded him for several more ticks, eyes flicking from the yellowish bruises about his ribs to the more recent reds and purples around his elbows and shoulders. "Good." Her statement served the double purpose of an invitation, and Keene once more slipped out of his boots to press his toes into the grainy substance. The sand wasn't quite relaxing, but it felt good against his tired feet as he dug them a little deeper into it while he stood awaiting instruction. "Are you sore, Initiate?" Keene nodded. His body ached from bruises and weary muscles alike. The days they had spent in quick succession training had taken their toll upon him, but he was not without the ability to continue. She had not asked if he was incapable, merely if he had or had not been affected by their training.

Though she raised a brow and a hint of a question played at her lips, Atziri only hesitated for a few ticks before she sunk down into her fighting stance with a grin. He advanced slowly, keeping his eyes on her as he did so. With his eyes locked on his oppenent, however, Keene found footing to be a more difficult than usual, the sand pushed and pulled into deeper hills and valleys than he remembered. The moment his foot snagged against an especially troublesome bit of terrain, Atziri charged forward. While he had not been prepared for the attack, Keene had already been knocked off balance and let his momentum take him to the ground, into a roll, and directly into Atziri's path. As she flashed across his vision, he watched her leap over him, landing on the other side of him with a small spray of sand in the direction she was facing. Pushing himself up to his feet as Atziri whirled around, Keene shuffled forward, leading with a roundhouse with his left arm. She knocked it aside and shoved him backwards, but the near proper spacing of his feet gave him enough stability that he only stagged a few steps before finding his balance once more. "Nice feet, Keene."

He nodded, squaring up with her once more but paying more attention to his footing that he had previously. The ground was certainly more uneven than it had been before to the point where Keene was relatively certain Atziri had shifted all of it on purpose. Waiting for her to make the next move, as it took more than enough of his split effort to continue keeping his distance without taking another spill onto the ground, Keene kept his body tense. While he knew whatever she did would be something he wasn't necessarily prepared for, the constant sparring matches had taught him that ambiguous anticipation was more of an ally than analytical deductions. He assumed that the more reflexive he became, the better suited "thinking ahead" would benefit him, as at his current abilities, he only had a few ticks in spite of Atziri's reduced speed to retaliate as she slipped forward with a few quick jabs and an uppercut aimed at his jaw.

The first jab was too fast for him to avoid, and as her fist slammed into his chest with the ever surprising lack of force for how fast it was moving, Keene tilted his body to both absorb the blow as she had taught him and to minimize her targets by turning his shoulder towards her. The following two strikes hit his shoulder, with the final uppercut barely missing his face as Keene hopped backwards, wobbling for a moment before he caught his balance. "Counter, Keene, counter." The command was met by a short, shuffling dash as he darted in, delivering to quick strikes towards Atziri's abdomen that were both knocked aside. In her defense, she had left her side open, and while they had not practiced kicks beyond the balancing exercises that morning, Keene followed her earlier advice and took the opportunity. His leg extended out in a small arc, unsure of the proper path it should take. When he made full contact, for a very brief moment, Keene fell a similar rush of excitement he often did when transmuting his res. The sensation, however, was not enough to reach his face, nor did it last long enough for him to do much of anything but realize he had managed to hit the fiery headed powerhouse.

The next thing he knew, he was on his back, Atziri grinning down at him as she released his leg, letting it fall back to the sand with a muffled, limp thump. "Now you just have to learn to not kick like a wet noodle, Initiate!"

[Ink]

Skills
Acrobatics 4
Endurance 1
Unarmed 4
Tactics 1

Lores
Rolling With The Punches