[Sickle and Arrow]The Pen or the Sword (Open)

[Sosicly Magnolia]

10th of Summer, 513AV The building was plain, it did not catch the eye when compared with any other building in the city and it did not look inviting. It was grey as the stone that surrounded it, and the inside was much the same but this was a place where Kalinor’s great hunters grew skilled in their weapons. It was where they showcased their bravery with the trophies of the hunt, where they showed what they did for all of Kalinor. Perhaps not the prettiest building in Kalinor but the Sickle and Arrow was one of the more important ones. Sosicly could not take in décor even if she wanted too, she was too busy stumbling down the steps at a harried pace. The faster she got in, the faster she got out, the less likely she was to get into another feud with her mother about how far her physical abilities went. And she was interested in Dra-Ina who was actually allowed to hold a position such as a hunter. There was a nagging anger for the woman she hadn’t met, that she could be of more use when she wasn’t even a real Symenestra. Once she entered Sosicly paused to give nods of acknowledgement to a few of the hunters gathered in the early start of the day. From there she went directly through the small door to her right, moving across the silk ridge with confidence to end in the training room. There was not many people in the room, just the chest and two others. One of the Symenestra gathered was one Sosicly did not know the name of, the other was Valydor Scarlet, and a smile bloomed on her face at her luck. The two strode towards each other, and Sosicly held out her book. She brought no quill or ink with her today. All her necessary words were prewritten from the night previous. I am Sosicly. I wish to train so I can be more useful, will you do me the honor of helping? I wish to train in the lash. Valydor looked the girl over, of course he knew who she was and she knew there was a high chance he could say no regardless of anything else she had tried to do to prove herself as of the late. But the man nodded slowly, looking her over carefully. “The lash is a prudent choice, it does not require as much physical prowess as most. If it is still too much you may try a blow gun. I will get you one of each, first begin stretching, and when you get tired you will rest then return home. We don’t want you passing out on the floor.” He waited for her nod, and his words held no bite for they were surprisingly soft but they brooked no argument. They were his terms, and Sosicly hesitated, it was what she wanted but she didn’t like that he had laid out everything. After a chime she nodded slowly, it would be unlikely that many other hunters, especially the younger ones, would give her the time of day. She placed her knapsack with the book in the far corner of the room then began to stretch.

[Shausha]

10 Summer 513
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Shausha heard voices downstairs and dropped the trophies she was holding in either hand. Valydor had sent her, grumpily, into the back room to polish some of the non-essential trophies. For the last hour, she had pretended the little statues of men, women, and weapons were action figures which she clinked together, creating an epic battle. Valydor would rebuke her, sending his stern voice across The Sickle and Arrow and through the curtains that divided it. She'd then return to her rag, glowering darkly at her reflection in the trophy as she scrubbed.

"Fang-sister!" Shausha cried, flying across the room and squeezing her tightly. "Why are you here? I'm a hunter now!" Grinning, Shausha looped her thumbs around the straps on her harness and shook her wings. She turned to Valydor and said, brightly, "This is Sossy; She's...," Shausha trailed off, looking in the distance and listening intently at something they could not hear. She showed her teeth to the invisible intrusion several times and snapped her attention back at Sosicly and Valydor. She resumed, "So you are going to try the lashes? He made me oil them today. I will get them."

After a few moments of audible clanging and rustling of weapons, trophies and books being sorted through (thrown across the room), Shausha returned with three weapons. The first one was a leather cord that she had wrapped around her neck. It had a few knots along its length and a dull, pointed metal dart that was clipped to the end. She had been practicing with this trainer rope-dart since she had been taken in as a hunter.

The second weapon she held out to Sosicly. It was a thick, black whip; Its surface gleamed, newly oiled. The bone handle's once-textured surface was nearly smooth from years of use. Being a training lash, the wire knife at the end had been removed and replaced with colored cloth so as to be easily tracked by the eye. Shausha was eager to relieve herself of the vile thing; She had spent nearly three hours rubbing chunks of fat into the leather of the various lashes they stored.

The third weapon was an unimpressive tube of wood. The rounded lips at either end were dark and striated and smooth. A common, frayed silk bag was tied loosely to one end, containing a small amount of ammunition. Shausha pinched one of the darts out and showed its sharp, needle-like tip and tufted tail to Sosicly.
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[Sosicly Magnolia]

OOCI figure one more post from you and we can start the training with them against each other, feel free to even start it in your next post. Whatever you feel comfortable with, also I am so sorry this is a wall of text T_T

Sosicly was a tad surprised by the exuberant welcome from the Zith woman but accepted the hug for what is was with a tiny pleased smile. Once extracted she took a moment to continue her previous stretches of bending herself in half slowly to touch her toes. She continued to do this until she popped up to see Shausha held out the lash. She plucked the weapons from Shausha, and ran her hands over them delicately, the whip was heavier than she expected. She wondered how much force she would have to exert to cause any damage. Tilting the blow gun this way and that she carefully examined the ammunition then set them beside her. Next she gestured to the weapon Shausha held, then to Shausha herself and cocked her head in question. Did the Zith use that one? While she waited for her answer, she dropped the whip then touched her toes once more. Pausing for a moment, she held her arms out stiffly and twisted from side to side. Again she stopped after a chime, then stood unsure of what to do next and trying to recall the one distant dance class. Sosicly remembered only one final stretch, she sat on the floor with her feet pressed together and gently applied pressure with her arms to stretch the inside of her legs. The position did not last very long. She felt the strange, hot tugs of muscle and stood again with a few leg shakes to get rid of the feeling. Valdyor came over once she finished, and spoke to both of the women. “Shausha will work with you since her weapon is similar.” He didn’t seem to really approve of the idea but he obviously didn’t entirely seem keen on Sosicly’s venture there either. “But you are not done stretching. You will both do two more stretches I will tell you about in a chime then you will show me what you both know of your weapons so far.” “First grab one of your ankles and hold it with your opposite hand until I tell you to stop, then you will repeat. Go.” Sosicly made a grab for her ankle awkwardly, and almost tumbled into the floor of the training room. It took her several tries along with the wall support before she succeeded for the most part. When she released the wall she wobbled on one leg, her nails digging into her leg to keep it from slipping from her grip. “Switch.” Sosicly did, taking the same amount of time, “Now I want you to take your arm, lift it straight up and then bend it so your hand is behind your head. Switch when I tell you.” He demonstrated then waited with his own arms folded. Sosicly copied him, using her free hand for support, “Switch.” She did so gratefully, not appreciative of the uncomfortable warmth in her arms. When they were both completed with their stretches, he backed a good few feet away, “Now stand beside each other and show me how you think you would use your weapons.”

[Shausha]

Pew!
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Watching closely and taking a moment to understand Sosicly's gestures, Shausha deciphered the little riddle. "What? No. This is my weapon. It's shorter than a whip and slower but..." she paused for a second, wondering if she had specialized in the wrong weapon. "...easier to control."

"Oooooh you're gonna use the whip! It is heavy and you are so skinny--" her remarks were cut short when Valydor called their attention and began instruction.

Shausha had a great amount of fun doing the funny motions with her body. Bending and swaying, she giggled madly as she lost balance and toppled over. Under the stern gaze of Valydor, she tried to sober her mirth, but her efforts quickly dissolved as the strange ritual continued. Shausha strained to reach her toes and was vexed to see how easily stretching seemed to come to her tall friend. Bobbling around in the background, she pulled and stretched her muscles until they tingled.

During one movement, her leather harness dug into her chest, restricting her from completing a stretch to its fullest extent. She unhooked the thing and stepped out of it, tossing it into a corner. Without hesitation, she continued with her arm stretches. She saw Valydor roll his eyes at her and she looked around for a moment, confused. It was her turn to roll her eyes when she recalled his protest the first time she tried to undress before training... After a lot of bared teeth and silent anger, he finally allowed Shausha to do what she would with her own body.

“Now stand beside each other and show me how you think you would use your weapons.” There was a knock on the door and he held up a finger and said, "Just a moment." Quietly, he slipped his head out of the door and exchanged whispers with someone. After a moment, he glanced back at his two students before exited the building, shutting the door behind. The Valydor's and the guest's muffled voices faded slightly as the two waited in silence.

Becoming impatient, Shausha jumped to her feet and ran up to Sosicly, grabbing her arm excitedly. "Ok, I've been doing this for a while so watch close, ok?"

She stepped away from the silent symenestra and unlooped the rope dart from her neck. Taking the slack between her fingers loosely, she measured out a length and began to spin the blade at her dominant side. "So, don't be afraid of the blade end; You will get hurt a lot anyway. Aaaand," Shausha released one section of the rope from the slack in her hand, catching the next knot along its length. "You gotta get used to the way it moves. You pull it this way..." she suddenly changed the blade's direction by folding it over her waist, pulling it back, and spinning it again. "And it says 'Noooo! I go this way!' and then you say 'Nooo... You go this way!' and yank it back!"

Finally, Shausha released the final sections of rope, propelling it forward. The dart shot forward and embedded into the wall on the opposite side of the room.

"Shausha..." Valydor began, rubbing his eyes with forefinger and thumb. He had returned with a large bundle under one arm. "Maybe you should practice..."

"... in the practice room. Sorryyy," Shausha stamped her feet several times, and tugged the blade from the wall. Turning to Sosicly, Shausha said, "Come on..."

Shausha lead Sosicly to the bridge that connected to the rear building. Once inside, she noticed Valydor did not follow. He probably trusted that two beginners couldn't wreak too much havoc on a mostly empty room.

"So, are you any good at fighting or why are you here or what?"
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[Sosicly Magnolia]

Sosicly was unsure at how to answer Shausha before she settled on a negative headshake in response. Pointing to both her weapons then herself with another headshake, trying to indicate that she had never used them. Although Shausha’s earlier explanation did not really help much either but she had watched the way the Zith moved. It didn’t seemed complicated but she wondered how quickly she would get tired. Shaking out her own lash, the tip was like her companions. Sharp and made to injure, she only hope the warning would be less than truthful. Forehead wrinkling in concentration Sosicly tried to mimic Shausha’s earlier move. Holding the bone handle in her non-dominate hand and holding a few scant inches away from the sharp end or the lash with the left over dangling at her feet. A tentative twirl and the lash slid through her loose grip, sailing neatly across the floor with having finished one complete twirl. Ignoring the Zith for a moment longer, Sosicly repeated the movement only to have the same results. The lash would slip from her grip and sail away from her. Letting lose a silent huff of frustration she turned to Shausha to demand she show her again when the practice room opened. Valydor stepped through, beckoning Shausha, who left a few moments later without so much as a by-your-leave. A bit miffed Sosicly was about to demand another partner when Valdyor came towards her. She took a small step back but Valdyor simply began correcting her position. Tapping at her legs so she righted held a wider stance, feeling less off balance than before. Then he adjusted her grip, “Tighten your hand that holds the slack, you control how much it gives. Slowly release it only to give more, if not, hold it firm.” She nodded, and obediently tightened her hand, “For circle, move with your wrist, not your whole arm. You’ll waist too much energy.” Now readied in the knew stance, with instructions that only made slightly more sense than the Ziths. Sosicly gave the business end of the lash a small twirl, there was not enough force to make more than a floppy rotation but it did not go flying across the room this time. Throwing her instructor a questioning glance, she received an expectant one in return. She found that he was right, a few more practice circles, each firmer than the last told her the soreness in her shoulder from her previous swings was not something she should repeat. After having twirled the rope in a circle for the last few chimes Sosicly decided to let loose a bit of slack, her instructor gone off for the moment. Carefully she loosened her grip around the slack while twirling, her hand stinging a bit, and the circle wobbling. It collapsed on itself and she frowned, staring when Valdyors voice piped up again from across the room. “You’re circles are too tight for the amount of slack, spin them wider as you release.” Sighing at being corrected yet again, and the obvious lack of real partner, Sosicly continued. And continued. And continued.

[Ensnare]

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Character's Name

Skill	XP Gained
Observation	1
Acrobatics	2
Weapon: Symenestran Lash	2

Lore Gained

Valdyor's Stretching Techniques

How To Use a Symenestran Lash

Items/Consequences: Sore muscles in arms, legs, and sides for Five Days after the 10th of Summer, 513AV

Shausha

If you should ever return to Mizahar, Shausha, send me a PM and I will give you your grade.

If you feel I have graded you unfairly, or if you have any questions, please send me a PM and we'll work the problem out.

Notes :

Don't worry too much about the consequence, Sosicly, since the Summer season has come and gone.