Closed What Does a Mask Hide?(Altaria)

[Millicent]

Timestamp

Altaira's answer just brought more questions to Millicent's mind. Her mouth opened and started to form words, but she stopped. Questions about Avanthal, and what living in a house of healers was sprung up first, but they where all crushed by the thought of the greenhouse.

“It is so.....Green” She observed first, her voice echoing with awe. Her eyes where opened wide, and her smile just kept spreading. She barely heard Altaira words of caution as she had already started to explore. Her feet could not seem to stay on the ground as she walked. Turning mid skip, she faced Altaira and nodded.

Despite her skipping, Millicent tried to keep her breathing low as she made her way though the greenhouse. Her head turned left to right constantly trying to take everything in. Her eyes where drawn to the tanks first, and thought them out of place. However she did not get close enough to truly look at them. Her amazement was drawn to the small trees then the stunning numbers of herbs and flowers.

Slowly she circled the greenhouse, her footsteps light and carefully placed. Some of the plants she thought she remembered from her books, but the rest where new to her. Occasionally she would bend over to look closely at a flower or shrub. The rest of the time, she just wondered around as if in a trance. After a fair amount of time, she stopped to stare at a particular set of plants.

Millicent kind of just fell to the ground. She collapsed her legs, and hit the ground with a plop. Leaning over, so her back was almost parallel to the ground, she looked closely at the rough tear dropped leafs of sage plant. Her hand extended slowly and she pulled it back quickly once from the plant. Millimeter, by millimeter, her fingers approached the leaf. Feeling the odd fuzzy and bumpy texture, her grin extended as far as it could.

“Hello Mr. Sage, you are a good sage plant aren't you.” Her voice carried through the greenhouse. “I am Millicent, Mr. Sage, how are you today?” her fingers traced the leafs softly and there was a long period of silence. After a short time, Millicent turned her hear sideways toward the plant. While she was still smiling, her brow wrinkled slightly in confusion.

“I guess you are not in a talkative mood today, Mr. Sage” her voice got a little lower in disappointment. She sat back up, but continued to rub the sage bushes leafs slowly with her right hand. “Do your plants have names?” Millicent ask looking around for Altaira. Stretching backwards, she heard her back pop.

OOCI don't think I managed to capture the unmitigated joy, Millicent feels right now.

[/quote]

[Altaira Readva]

Bird Speak | Common | Vani | Others

Altaira resigned herself to lightly leaning against one of the thicker glass walls, giggling and musing happily to herself as Millicent seemed to take in the place with as much joy and vigor as she herself had a season ago. Her next few moments were spent with an amused frown, watching little Millicent run about like a mad woman. There was a point when she fell to the Earth and gave Altaira a fright, the kelvic taking several short steps in the girls direction before a sigh of relief left her. Then, of course, she started talking to a plant, and Altaira wondered if perhaps she'd hit her head on her way down.

When Millicent turned to her, doe eyed and joyous, asking her if she named the plants - she couldn't help but giggle at the question."Names? No, I'm afraid not. I probably speak for myself, but my memory isn't vast enough to remember a hundred names - especially since I refuse to favourite." She gave a short pause, and weighed the thought for a moment. Mostly."

It was then that she pushed off from the door and took her place in the center of the room. "While we're here," She began, rolling her shoulders. "I want to go over a move or two with you - but I'm no grand teacher, just bear in mind. I'd just rather not have you walk the world with such a joyous gaze, and not be able to punch the creep looking at you from the other side in the meadow." She wasn't sure how she was holding up, so she kept her voice and tone soft. "Nothing that can do serious harm, I promise you. Self defense - it will help you feel safer if you know you can take what the world throws at you."

[Millicent]

3 of Winter 513

“Hmmm, would that really be a problem?” Millicent wondered out loud. She laid on the ground and stared up at the glass ceiling. “Maybe the plants would understand that you could only remember a few of their names?” She looked at the plants quizzically. There was a disconnect between what Millicent thought plants where like and what they where.

“Oh, well that could be useful. Guards are not always around.” Millicent said, pushing herself off the ground and turning to face Altaira. She picked her feet up and looked down at where she was stepping. Making sure there was no little plants where in the way, she placed her foot down. Almost tiptoeing, she made her way back to Altaira.

The greenhouse was growing to hot for the cloak, so Millicent untied it. It fell off her back into a little crumpled pile. Millicents eyes followed Altaira and Millicent smiled as she began to mimic her movements. She felt another tingling running through her. Her hands shook slightly and her muscles tensed. “So you are going to teach me some fighting moves?” her voice rising slightly in excitement.

“My uncle told me I could not fight anymore” She offered her voice dropping low as it lost the excitement. “it is not very lady like.” Looking away from Altaira, she started to reach for her cloak. Her hands rested just above the fabric. He is gone now, you don't have to worry about him anymore. a snake hissed in her mind as she picked up the cloth. The cloak tumbled back to the ground as she turned back to Altaira.

“Actually on second thought it should be fine” Millicent grinned. It was not the halfhearted grin she gave when she was just being nice. Nor was it the wide grin that crossed her face that filled her eyes with light. This grin started by spreading to the top reached of her cheeks, then slowly opened up showing off the tightly clenched teeth. Her eye shone, but not just with joy, but with concentration, and something that board-lined on lust. It was the look of an wild beast that had been caged for a very long time. Her muscles in her legs and arms tensed.

Millicent's smile turned into a frown. Her eyes opened wide and she like stomach had flipped out. Her body shook, but this time it started in her legs and carried through her whole body making her feel weaker. She wrapped her hand across her chest, and shook her head for a second. Quickly she regained her composer. The grin from before was gone, this time replaced by the halfhearted smile.

The smile at 1:16

[Altaira Readva]

Bird Speak | Common | Vani | Others

Altaira wasn't sure how to place Millicent's reaction. It was odd, to say the least. Some disjointed conflict, a riling from within the younger woman's body that was deep to the bone. She let a frown cross her expression for a moment - Millicent's uncle? Act like a 'lady'? There was a moment when she regretted her decision, before deciding that perhaps a little teaching was what was needed. She swallowed hard as she went back and dwelt on the relation mentioned and her use of tense, before ensuring that she put it to memory well enough that she would be able to speak to Millicent further on it at some later date. Given the reaction and expression the younger woman wore, the time and place for such a talk seemed to require care and planning. Neither of which were Altaira's strong points.

"I think we need to begin by making a couple of things clear: the first of which being that I've never in my life instructed or taught, so you'll need to bear with me," She said, eyes momentarily flitting to the store, before she walked and talked as she ensured that the greenhouse door and workroom door both remained open, not keen on the idea of being a position where she was not able to notice anyone enter the store.

When she spoke again there was a certain hitch to her voice, a smooth command that was firm but not strict or overbearing. "Unarmed combat, especially, varies from person to person," She rolled her shoulders, completely foreign to the ways of teaching. Was she being too stern, or not enough? "Size matters," She continued, faint smirk smothered as she put out of mind the vulgar joke implied, "You're small, so you' be far better off leaning towards anything that requires speed and using another's size against them."

She felt like there needed to be a bit more of a personal feel to the small lesson, unwilling to have her own relationship with Millicent dissolve from friend to teacher. With that in mind she tilted her head, and gave a thoughtful look. "I'm rather opposite. I can still dodge and throw a quick hit, but for my own height and stature, I'm a strange mid point." She gave her limbs a quick stretch, before beckoning Millicent closer.

"I'm not even close to what some people like to call a master, but I have a little exercise we can begin with-" She then relaxed her stance and stood with her left leg forward, light on her feet and turned slightly. "I want you to try and hit me, just a few swings or kicks, while telling me about your motivation - if you have one."

[Millicent]

3rd of Winter 513

Nodding, Millicent giggled slightly and nervously looked her hands. They where shaking slightly. Her heart pounded in chest. I don't want to give her a hard time She felt weird. Half of her was excited and the other half of her was scared to death. Her eyes drifted around the room, darting from the windows to the door.

Her attention fell solely on Altaira as the taller woman's voice took on a commanding tone. Her hand stopped moving. In fact her whole body froze for a second as if a bird suddenly confronting a snake. In the next second, her heart was pounding again. The forceful command was not quite right, but it reminded her of her uncle.

Don't be a freak She told herself feeling her cheeks burn for a second. Altaira is our friend, not some controlling bastard. A flood of emotions hit her as she thought that. Part of her rushed to defend her uncle while the other half still did the accusing. Her hands clenched slightly as she tried to come to terms with what she felt.

Luckily Altaira broke the mood and brought Millicent’s attention solely back to her. “Yeah you are a bit taller than me” Millicent said with a giggle. She moved quickly to stand closer to Altaira, Her body stopped tensing up and she felt herself grinning again. If there was on thing that both sides of her body could agree on, then that was that they liked Altaira.

Millicent hesitated for a second. She was not sure she wanted to hit Altaira or even try to. Then again, part of her also thought it would be fun. Millicent shifted her own stance so that she was facing sideways. Most of her weight was on her back foot, and she edged slowly closer to Altaira.

Her first punch was slow and obvious. She pulled back her right hand and just swung it in Altaira general direction. If Altaira has been anyone else, Millicent would have felt embarrassed about saying her goal. “I want to protect everyone” She admitted feeling a little red even then. She paused for a second almost scare of the second part. “I also like fighting.”

[/quote]

[Altaira Readva]

Bird Speak | Common | Vani | Others |oocSorry, again, lovely! And I am so sorry the length of this post, I wanted to get some of the theory out of the way!

Slow and sloppy, but not so horrid. She at least knew that aim had to be taken as she swing, and that a stance rather sideways worked better frontal. She wasn't awfully new, that much at least was apparent. Altaira didn't bother allowing the hit to make full contact, like she'd initially intended, and instead took a small, however calculated step to the left. She noted that she'd moved a little too far than she'd intended, something that she wished to improve on more for discipline and refinery's sake than that of greater note. After all, she was no expert in the slightest.

She took her spare moment to properly register Millicent's words, nodding slowly as they rang somewhat close to her own. She understood the desire to fight to protect, having taken up unarmed combat for such a thing herself - though it was her final remark that shook the kelvic slightly. A fight for the sake of a good fight could be quite the little danger, and the skill set that Millicent would need to develop would be as unique to herself as Altaira's fine combed number was to her. She gave a slow and steady breath then, rolling her shoulders and she tried to place and word the key concepts for such a little style. A formal teaching would still need to take place - but being foreign in the practice of instruction as she was, there was little she knew about what students were promoted and told in terms of individuality.

"If you like to fight, then you're going to need a little discipline," She cringed at her own words. She sounded rather horrid, didn't she? Demanding and unkind. Nope, that wouldn't do at all. "I don't want you to get excited and throw a wayward punch, and wind up hurting yourself more than you hurt the other guy," She gave a cheeky look, and took Millicent's right fist after a short instant of hesitation.

"Make sure you hold it like this.." She almost 'awed' at how small and sweet the younger woman's hand was, before curling her fingers into a fist, and gently moving the thumb to rest snugly upon the index and middle fingers. "The placement of the thumb doesn't quite matter too much," She continued, mustering as much knowledge that had been spouted at herself in the past. "If you don't hold your fist well, you could break a finger or cause a sprain. But like this, it is tighter and flatter - both qualities that are quite key to a good punch."

She let go of the hand, then, and took a step back, tilting her head some ways. Millicent was quite the little fire cracker, it seemed. It was odd with someone so vastly different to her own little style, and she couldn't help but impose some structure to her otherwise excited movements. "You need to calm down," she giggled, walking forward once more, this time placing her hands upon Millicent's shoulders. "I know you're this little ball of energy - but you're wasting too much. You pull your shoulders a bit when you breathe, and then more so when you pant and puff. You're using far too many muscles, breathe using your lungs - not your chest and shoulders. Think mediation." She gestured to where she knew her lungs concluded, the name of the muscle that worked the lungs escaping her - though, she never really took the care to learn the name in the first place.

Altaira felt rather strange, and wondered if how she was feeling was anything akin to the way that her own elder sister felt when she taught her. It was only really then that she realised just how much other knowledge was in use with combat - from meditative breathing techniques, to anatomy and medicine and body building. There was a very good chance that Millicent wouldn't be able to get the hang of ensuring her breath was fine and punches firm for a while yet, she'd need to make it habitual. But once that was all fine and well, she'd be well on the way of keeping her body in fine control. "Now, try again with those things in mind - the shape of your fist and its firmness, and keeping your shoulders for fighting and moving, not breathing. If you keep them in mind every time you fight, it will eventually come with out a need to pay much mind." Well, at least that is what I've been told. "Give me a few little punches," She hunkered and braced herself, then, and gestured to her right arm, stand sideways once more. "Then on your last I want you to freeze mid strike - that way I can see how you hold yourself."

[Millicent]

3rd of Winter 513

The fist flew with all the force of a ball thrown by a small child. It was head straight for Altaira hand, but then the target was gone. Millicent's eyes darted around the room before noticing that her friend has slipped to the side. It was to late to pull back the punch. Having thrown her full weight behind it, Millicent stumbled forward a few steps before she came to a stop.

Blood rushed to her face, turning her cheeks bright red. I am disciplined She protested in her head, as her first clenched. Her breathing quickened, and her lips formed a small pout. A tall man, his face hidden by shadows loomed over her. His right hand rose bringing a metal studded belt with it. I know discipline

Millicent jumped slightly as she felt her hand being grabbed. Shaking her head, she looked up at Altaira, her mouth opening as if in a question. It took her a brief second to figure out what was going on again. Nodding, she moved her left to make a fist like the first. She pressed her fingers tips flat against her palm and let her thumb rest on the side of her finger.

As Altaira backed up, Millicent punched at the air. She held her fist like Altaira showed her. Starting from the shoulder, she threw her whole body behind each strike. She gave three of these punches in a row. Each one used way to many muscles and threatened to put her off balance. What was worse, was that there was no chance such telegraphed punches could hit

Taking a deep breath, Millicent looked up. She felt two hands on her shoulders. Her eyes opened wide and she shook under the touch. However her expression quickly changed to a smile. She slowed her breathing and focused on not using shoulders. It was hard for her to keep all of the things in mind at once.

Biting her upper lip, she nodded to Altaira and dropped back into a fighting stance. Turning sideways, she held her fists firmly and tried to keep her breathing simple. A small smile did manage to cross her face though. Knowing how to improve made her feel better. Shifting sideways, Millicent threw a right punch again. Just the force of her arms and shoulder went into blow. It hit Altaira's hand with a light pop. Millicent was not over balanced but there was no force behind her blow

[Altaira Readva]

Bird Speak | Common | Vani | Others

Millicent held herself sideways, and quite nicely it at that. She held her fist quite nicely, she noted, by the way the hit felt. There was no protruding knuckle or odd curvature. Nice and flat. A sound came from the depths of the store and she momentarily moved, making a gesture for Millicent to stay in place. After a short glance, she noted that arrival of Mistress Blackleaf and another of her co-workers, one of which took place behind the counter, the other making a beeline for the ledgers. Perfect. No need to worry about further intrusion, having had missed her last midday break and taking the liberty of using the time on Millicent.

When she returned she gave a dismissive wave towards the store. "My boss and a coworker, no need to worry about either," she sighed, before standing opposite to Millicent, taking quite the look over her little stance. It wasn't too bad at all, she thought, knowing that her own competency had her at a level where she was only just going a little bit further than basic. "You're not bad at all," she giggled, ensuring that she kept the mood light. "Just make sure you keep your feet shoulder's width apart, and knees slightly bent."

She pressed her lips for a moment, trying to figure which way to go from there. "Now, the punch that you just threw is what most people, from what I know of, call a 'straight punch.' It is one of many different kinds of punches, but we'll stick with this one to begin with." Using herself as a model, she stood with her front facing Millicent, lead leg in the same direction as the younger woman's. "Shoulder width," She began, making announcements of her stance, "Leading foot forward and in the direction of the target, back foot with the heel off the ground, knees slightly bent."

She nodded twice to herself before shuffling back a few steps, just to be sure Millicent was out of harm's way. Altaira pulled her arms up into the typical boxer's stance, then, readied herself for a few swings. "I'm going to throw a few normal punches, and then I'll do the third slowly." After swallowing hard she threw the two quick punches as promised, pleased with her own speed, and lowering the force as she tried to avoid damaging herself.

"A punches' real force comes from the hips. As you swing, you need your hips to follow through, and rotate your back foot to smooth out the movement and allow for a little more." Her wording was scarcely the best, though she hoped that the demonstration added a level of clarity. "You also need to make sure that you extend your arm out all the way, and pull it back nice and quick so you can go again." For good measure, she gave another three punches, almost exaggerating her movement as aimed to get the point across.

Altaira was quick to move back to her braced little stance, before giving the motion for Millicent to try a couple herself. Nodding at her quick little improvements. Satisfied after Millicent herself seemed content, she gave a smile and a nod. "Good, good," was her little praise, ensuring that she didn't go without letting her friend know of how quick she was improving. "You're doing a lot better than I ever did - Now, let's see how you do with kicks, shall we?"

[Millicent]

3rd of Winter 513

A fire began to grow into her biceps as she held her arm in the air. It started as a small sensation, easily ignorable. However like a fire, it spread. Starting in the base of the muscle, it grew with ever increasing speed and intensity. Even after the short period of time Altaira, her arm begged to be put down. Despite this, she held her arm up as if she where punching the sky. Her mind drifted, barely noticing Altaira's eyes glazing over her. If her mind was distracted she could ignore her arm. Her eyes stayed open, but a they had a glazed faraway look in them.

A grassy field laid before her broken into careful fields of rigid geometry. In the edge of the nearly endless fields lied a gray speck. Bore on the wings of wind, she flew toward the speck, far above ant size dots moved tirelessly in the fields. The speck grew, first becoming a mound, then a hill, and finally a isolated mountain. The fields fell away leaving only a mountain and an angry sea.

As if responding to her will, the wind spirals her around the gray mountain. AT first she did not even notice she was gaining height. The gray were perfectly smooth. Each spot side looked exactly the same. A boring and cold stone hewed and polished till no blemish marred the outside block.

For year, decades, centuries, she flew up the side of this rock. Always it formed a prefect square, as if it somehow gained width as well as height. Then at last there was an expanse of gray as far as the eye could see. Her wind faltered, and she fell. Above her stone walls rose and narrowed trapping her in endless gray, till even the sky was just a speck of blue in a field of gray.

Millicent's heart raced as she looked around the room. Altaira was talking and she barely heard any of it. Her eyes darted around the room and then back to Altaira, blood rushed to her face, and she could hardly believe how deep her daydream had been. Not really knowing what was going on, she watched as Altaira demonstrated several punches. Nodding solemnly, Millicent tried to play off the fact she had no idea what was going on.

Now that it was her turn to repeat the punches, Millicent gave a nervous gulp and shifted back into a fighting stance. She took her time getting her first held right and making sure she had a decent stance. Then she gave a three punches, throwing her hip into each of them. Somehow she managed to get it right. However the praise made her look away and blush again.

The the idea of using kicks came up. Frowning, she thought of how she might do that. “Like kicking a ball?” Millicent ask. Her books never really talked about hand to hand combat, and the fight or two she had seen where just punching fests.

[Altaira Readva]

Bird Speak | Common | Vani | Others | oocSorry for the delay, lovely! I have to do a lot of homework so I'm writing at least a little bit accurate, and I couldn't find a satisfactory site/video/article in terms of kicking techniques -_-

Millicent was a strange little human, Altaira decided, forcing the frown from her features as she focused once more on the exercise at hand. "Sort of," She said, nod slow and thoughtful. "But like our punches, kicks need to be quick and fluid. Speed gives the force, and fluidity makes it easier to go into another kick or move," she said, largely making things up as she went along.

She gave a short look at Millicent as she tried to place what it was that was off, a moment of internal debate as she considered putting the little exercise on hold. A moment more of irritating indecision and she shut down the thought, shaking her head as she took several steps back. "We'll keep with the sidekick for now," she continued, hoping that she'd guessed the name well enough.

She kept her stance side ways, before rolling her shoulders and reaching for the floor, continuing to speak as she stretched as she quickly changed her mind. "No, round. We'll do a round kick," She said, nodding as she stood and arched and rolled her back. "It'll suit your height better, especially since the aim is to around here," She gestured to the general region of her thigh to calf muscles, obviously lacking any profound knowledge in anatomy - human or otherwise.

She couldn't help but give a satisfied little smile then, adding a lovely little bit of information that she figured her dear little friend would appreciate. "Does some serious damage, too." Only problem being, she had to try and figure out how to demonstrate it without a training pad.

She took her typical little stance, front foot in the general direction of the invisible target, and back foot facing rather forward (As it would if she was standing as normal). "Move your front foot straight to the target," She began, hoping her balance would not fail her as she attempted to do the action in slow motion. "Then as you kick, you pivot on your front and hit the target with your shin."

She ended up taking the movement far quicker than she'd have liked, picking her knee up at a speed that meant she had to chamber just as swiftly to prevent herself from over balancing, jerking her leg back as she pretending to have hit mark. "I don't like having to do this," she trailed, approaching Millicent before she stopped before her. "But this last time, I'm going to kick you - lightly - but I want you to have a better idea of what I'm doing, alright?"

When she found that she was set to continue, she lined herself before Millicent, left foot pointing in the general direction of the younger woman's right leg. "I'll be slow, but make sure you see how the knee picks up, before the foot follows through and the shin bears the brute of hit - keep your hands up and protective of your face, but make sure balance is there too," She said, keeping her words soft and as gentle she could manage with the pace of her heart and the quickness of her breath.

She nodded towards Millicent before acting as she said, straightening her front foot forwards as she used it as a pivot point to give herself alignment and a better movement in the hips, her knee picking up and foot following through. There was a short moment when Altaira thought that she was coming in quick, managing to slow herself a great deal before giving Millicent a light tap above and beside the knee.

Almost as though she was expecting the girl to shatter, her recoil was quick and calculated. "Are you good to try on me, now?" she asked, her words half aimed at ensuring she gave no damage to her. Was it proper teaching method to use the pupil as an example dummy of some sort? Probably not.