[Flashback] Strength in Numbers (Imass)

[Naeya]

When Naeya's palms made contact with Imass' chest, she was only half-surprised to see that he hardly moved a muscle. She had put all of her weight behind the push, but he had much more weight and far more experience; this was all without mentioning that the instructor had allowed him to take a chime to prepare. Still, she was not one for failure. She tried the push again, this time stepping forcefully forward on her left foot. Nothing. Her mother liked to preach that the third time was the charm, but at this moment she would have been quite wrong. On the third time, Naeya's shove caused Imass to move his hips (which she noted proudly), but his legs stood as sturdily as mountains. Well, petch. The instructor interrupted her just as she was pulling back for a fourth try and she reluctantly dropped her hands down to her side. A defeated, but good-natured, look graced her young face as she shrugged her shoulders as if to say, "What more could I have done?" Not much, as it turned out. It appeared that the point of the exercise had been to show her how effective Imass' stance was, rather than to push the boy over - a fact that the older Akalak had conveniently omitted. What had he called it, again? The Mountain stance? Ah, that explains a lot. Clear mind, strong core. She silently repeated his words in effort to ingrain the technique in her mind, but balked when he mentioned child-bearing. Her cheeks turned crimson, and she wrinkled her nose in distaste. Was that what was expected of her? And... and what did hips have to do with child-bearing, anyway? She glanced sideways at Imass to see if he understood any better than she, but he seemed to be fascinated by a speck on the opposite wall. The older Akalak continued to speak before Naeya could nudge Imass to get his attention. He turned the focus of the lesson back to her, and she did her best to listen carefully to the instructions given. She adjusted her posture to the stance Imass had been in and took a long, deep breath, recalling the lesson on meditation that they'd been given earlier. Clear your mind. She exhaled and clenched her fists at her side, which prompted the instructor to come over and loosen them slightly. Then, another deep breath. Her stomach expanded as it filled with air. At the older Akalak's invitation, she exhaled while attempting to keep her abs tight and strong. Despite this, she still stumbled a half foot back when he tapped her. "Okay, let's try that again," she declared, giving the instructor a half-grin. Instead of continuing, however, the instructor directed Imass to take his place. The young Akalak pushed her gently, allowing her the privilege of being able to recognize and make adjustments without falling on her ass. He and the instructor both showed her the appropriate movements to make, and continued to encourage her to keep her core tight. By the time the exercises finally ceased, she could feel a distinct burning sensation in her abdomen. A very tired Naeya dropped onto her knees next to Imass and lightly grazed a hand against her stomach. She had a sneaking suspicion that she would be feeling their workout in the morning. In spite of the surprise lesson, however, she was ultimately glad she'd visited the Sasaran. Even if the instructor's final words about child-bearers continued to confuse her. That "strength in numbers" thing is a nice idea, though. The Konti hid a yawn behind a scaled hand and turned to her friend as the instructor left the training room. "I think that's my cue," she said, smiling kindly. "I'll leave you to your practice. Thank you for inviting me in, Imass. It was a pleasure seeing you again." She reached out to grasp his knee gratefully, and then pushed herself to her feet. "Don't forget to look me up sometime!" Wiping the beads of sweat from her forehead, Naeya made her way to the hallway as if to leave. At the last moment, she ducked her head back into the room. "Good luck! At the arena. You're terrif- I mean, you'll be terrific. You'll beat him. I'm sure of it." As the words poured out of her, she became aware of a sudden shyness - a shyness that was just as quickly written off as lingering guilt. "And thanks for... you know. Fighting him. Helping me. I, uh..." She shifted uncomfortably. "Well, good luck! Again. I'll be there. When you fight, I mean. Um. Yes, see you around. I hope. Thanks. Good luck! Strength in numbers and all that. I- Oh, petch..." And with that, she slapped an imaginary hand on her forehead in embarrassment and backed hastily out of the room before her tongue took her down more tangled avenues. She would spend the walk home wondering if she'd been possessed by a spirit, as that was clearly the only explanation for her momentary madness. Clearly.

[Gossamer]

Character: Naeya
Experience: + 3 Meditation, +3 Unarmed combat + 1 Flirting
Lore: Being immediately included in Akalak ritual. Being unable to say no. Distractions during meditation. Pushing Akalaks. Unarmed Combat: The mountain stance.

Character: Imass
Experience: +3 Meditation, +3 Unarmed combat
Lore: Including Konti in Akalak ritual. Achieving a quiet mind is the key to meditation. Konti can be distracting. Konti are not naturally strong. Unarmed Combat: The mountains stance.


Additional Notes Interesting thread. Imass, you did a great job running the instructor. You crazy kids depicted awkward teens very well.