[Great Bazaar] Just a Little Browsing (Seven)

[Jaelyn Baroth]

As much as Jaelyn was starting to enjoy this time with Seven she couldn't help but notice that he seemed distracted by something. Was it something she had said or done? She couldn't think of anything she had said that might upset him, but she knew she was hardly a master of social graces. She'd have to make sure to be extra careful for now, and maybe later she could ask him about it.

"I think you would do well with the short sword," Jaelyn responded to Seven's choice with an encouraging smile, and she released his hand reluctantly to pick up a wooden long sword, "The long sword is a weapon more of balance, both strength and nimbleness. The short sword," she nodded to the training weapon Seven had indicated before, "Is more for a nimble user, but still allows some benefit from strength."

Giving a practice swing with the wooden sword, to test its balance, Jaelyn smiled warmly back to Seven, "I would be happy to teach you most any of them. A sword or spear might be best, as that is closer to what I know, but I think with my experience I could at least get you started with most any weapon that strikes your fancy. Plus it is better to have a weapon that you are comfortable with wielding. Pick whatever feels right to you, and then we can get started."

[Seven Xu]

Seven lifted the wooden sword level with his chest and swung it to and fro as if to check its balance; mimicking the young woman in an attempt to appear to have some clue as to what he was doing, rather than being a complete novice. A smile quirked and twisted his upper lip, giving way to the tell-tale point of inhumanity that emerged to press down on the lower line of fleshy pink and distort his expression. Again, the shorter of the two blades moved with a pleasing ‘woosh’ as thin wood displaced stagnant air. He liked the way Jaelyn put his lack of experience so delicately – the short sword was obviously an easier weapon to master than the longer, thinner blade she picked up. Tact. Little people seemed to practice it in Syliras; it was refreshing to find that the art was not lost in the swelling crowds and imposing stone walls of Stormhold Citadel.

“This is good,” he praised the wooden blade, pale fingers wrapped tight around its counterweighted hilt. Leather boot clicked against the stone floor of the windowless sparring room as he let the short sword drop with his arm to his side. Seven had a hard time judging the depth in which human eyes could see in the darkness – his own adept vision could peer into the corners of the stone-walled room where torchlight didn’t quite reach – and despite his assumed comfort in the dark, it had been jarred.

“Jaelyn,”

The voice that called her wavered and cracked in its hesitance. If the Ravokian that lay nearly comatose in his small bed had been sentient, he would have shared the tale of the previous night’s events with him; but it would have fallen on deaf ears and been forgotten. Jaelyn was awake, alert, and apt to listen to him. Even if she didn’t believe him, at least the weight on his chest could be lifted. “Thank you for doing this for me. I, uh, I ran into some trouble last night and it isn’t likely I would be interested in sparring if it weren’t for that.” His determined leer dropped to the weapon in his hand, twitching upward with a flick of his wrist. Seven’s smile had long since faded, expression morphing to something entirely unreadable in the low light.

[Jaelyn Baroth]

Jaelyn continued to smile warmly as she watched Seven test the wooden short sword. She could tell he had little to no experience with handling the weapon, but the desire to learn was definitely more important than current experience. In her opinion most anyone could learn how to fight if they only had the right attitude.

When Seven declared the wooden blade good Jaelyn nodded and turned to lead the way to an open area of the room. She paused at the tone of Seven's voice, and quickly turned around with a quirked eyebrow to see what was wrong. When he confessed to having trouble last night she quickly moved to his side again, "Oh Seven, are you alright?" a quick look over showed no obvious injuries on him, which helped her calm down a little, "What happened? If someone attacked you or robbed you we should probably tell the Knights. That way we can make sure they do not bring harm or pain to anyone else."

Most might think that Seven's problems could have been caused by his unsavory heritage, but the thought didn't enter Jaelyn's mind. She hadn't even associated the handsome young man before her with the monstrous race of "Widows" she had heard about in the occasional story.

[Seven Xu]

Seven forced a smile in front of gritted teeth as he shook his head abruptly. “No, no I wasn’t robbed. And I’m fine.” The look on the young woman’s face had made him immediately regret opening his mouth. She seemed so concerned – compassion not expressed by many he encountered. Seven chose his next words carefully; unsure of whether or not he had earned the growing distress in the young woman’s voice. “I’m going to sound insane.

“I was passing Kova’s Well last night, and I heard a voice; it was calling to me.” Light brows furrowed in self-depreciation and his eyes found a particularly uninteresting spot on the floor between to focus on. “So I responded in kind – and anyway, a ghost of a man begged for my help in finding the body of his wife so I obliged. We went into the Bronze Woods, but we weren’t alone. There were men. Angry men, that wanted, uh,” he trailed off and lifted his chin to scan Jaelyn’s face to gauge her level of concern. Even he thought he sounded like a man deserving of lockup, raving of ghosts and drunks and women’s corpses. Determination drew lines in his porcelain skin, “I just need to know how to defend myself. If it weren’t for the Ghost ...” He exhaled, grip growing tighter on the wooden hilt of the practice blade as a single defiant tear found the warmth of his flushed cheek.

The fact that his heritage had played little part in the attack would probably surprise many. In fact, Seven was sure he was just seen as another young wanderer in the woods with a pale neck ripe for the slicing; to suffer the same fate of that poor, solemn Ghost. Seven’s voice wavered. “Well, you know.”

[Jaelyn Baroth]

Jaelyn was silent as she listened to Seven's explanation of what had happened to him, and her face showed that her focus was dedicated towards him at the moment. She nodded faintly at his pause over what the men wanted to do, filling in the blank for herself, but instead of Seven's nervousness her face showed a hint of anger and plenty of determination.

"It sounds like you had quite the adventure," Jaelyn spoke with a warm smile, hoping to encourage Seven with it, "And it was very noble of you to help that Ghost," the thought that Seven might be lying or crazy hadn't entered her mind, "I would be more than happy to help you learn how to defend yourself," she hesitated a moment, and then, a little bit softer, added, "And if you have need in the future I would be willing to accompany you into the woods to help against the dangers there."

Turning away again, not sure if she wanted to see Seven's reaction to her offer, Jaelyn again started to make her way out to an empty spot on the floor of the room, "Come, let us begin. The sooner we start training you, the better you will be able to protect yourself next time."

[Seven Xu]

“You would?” Flattery went far with Seven at times, and being labeled as ‘noble’ had brought color to the pale cheeks unlike any Jaelyn had witnessed before – including the short interlude at the bath house. He bent forward to offer his hand in gratitude, a gesture he’d picked up from Sylirans in his time in the city. A slave to slow reflexes, she’d already turned before he moved, and instead he bent at the waist in an awkward Lhavitian bow that both caught his balance and set him in motion behind her. “Thank you, Jaelyn.”

Shuffling to a stop a few feet to Jaelyn’s left; Seven pulled off a dark wool-knit sweater and cast it to the floor. No doubt, he’d work up a sweat; there was no need to speed up the process. Something silver glimmered in the low light and Seven’s hand found the offending object. The long, dainty silver chain was wrapped around his neck and weighted down by a crossed dagger pendant. If Jaelyn were observant, she’d catch a glimpse of the emblem before it was tucked beneath the collar of a loosely buttoned linen shirt.

“So how does this begin?” Seven lifted the training sword to shoulder-height and assumed an exaggerated stance, face lighting up with a grin as his boots dug into the stone floor. It wasn’t long before the joke ran thin and Seven straightened his posture, fingers tightening around the hilt of his wooden blade.

[Jaelyn Baroth]

Jaelyn gave a slightly embarrassed smile at Seven's blush and his question. She wasn't sure how to respond, and so just gave a small nod to him as he bowed and followed after her. Once they both stopped her eyes followed him as he pulled his sweater off, and when she caught the glimpse of silver her eyes were naturally drawn to it. It took her a moment to notice the emblem, just catching a glimpse before it vanished into Seven's shirt, and her eyebrow quirked slightly at the symbol. It seemed similar to the Braklin family crest, but Seven wasn't a native to Syliras, was he?

Thoughts on the pendant were pushed aside as Seven took up an exaggerated stance, and Jaelyn couldn't help but give an amused smile in return to his grin, "Not quite," she said softly, tempted to make a comment about it looking good, but deciding against it, "First we will start with basics and attacks."

Holding her own blade out she showed Seven her grip, "You should hold the handle firmly, but do not clench your hand. There are times you will need to adjust your grip, and clenching will also tire your grip more quickly," she returned her wooden blade to her side, taking up a simple stance with the blade angled up slightly in front of her, "Keep your feet apart to help make you more stable, and your blade in a neutral position like this. That way you can better react to attacks from most any direction."

Once Seven took up an adequate stance Jaelyn gave a small nod, "Good. Now, let us start with a basic slash," she demonstrated first, bringing her sword around in a quick arc in front of her from left to right, "Just focus on getting a smooth motion for now, do not worry about power. A good weapon amplifies your power and can make even a quick and light slash dangerous to your enemy. Once you are confident with the motion then we can delve into deeper techniques."

[Seven Xu]

Seven’s boots scuffed against the stone floor as he assumed a proper stance, hips squared and shoulders level. His fingers shifted their grip against the smooth wood of his practice sword’s hilt, eyeing Jaelyn attentively until it was his turn to prove that he had been listening. A thin wrist ticked upward and his arm rose in an arc across his chest, from the left where his stronger hand once rested and over his right shoulder. The wooden short sword cut the air between them in an audible whoosh.

Leather shuffled again, and the heave of the enthusiastic slash pulled Seven forward in an awkward half-step. “Petch!” A furrowed brow wrinkled beneath a white-curtained forehead and he yanked the sword—that had narrowly missed the young woman’s chest—back to his side. “I’m sorry!” She didn’t appear to be injured, though that did little to sway Seven’s guilty conscience. The sword clattered to the ground and he closed the gap between them, hands shooting up to Jaelyn’s shoulders in a frail attempt to inspect her for injury.

“I’m such a pansy.” As much as it pained him to admit his shortcomings in physical strength, the horde of knights that occupied every nook of Stormhold were a constant reminder that bookish types were a less than sought-after commodity in their little corner of the world. “I’m trying to improve, though. I mean, I will improve;” a flippant eye roll wobbled in the whites of his eyes as his head tilted sideways, “I can only go up from here, yeah?”

[Chevalier]

Seven

LORE

• Shielding Your Emotions
• Navigating the Great Bazaar (Syliras)
• Location: Syliran Training Grounds
• Jaelyn’s Type

EXPERIENCE

Skill	XP Earned
Rhetoric	5
Seduction	2
Interrogation	3
Observation	2
Short Sword	1

Jaelyn

LORE

• Window Shopping
• Navigating the Great Bazaar (Syliras)

EXPERIENCE

Skill	XP Earned
Rhetoric	5
Interrogation	4
Observation	2
Longsword	1
Teaching	1

Storyteller Notes

Secret :

You two are cute together . Rhetoric for obvious reasons, and Interrogation for learning a bit about one another, Observation for shopping in the Bazaar and learning/teaching some combat pointers. Seduction for Seven because he seems to secrete an awkward charm when it comes to interacting with Jaelyn.