[The Arena of Ancients] Now Let's Shorten Your Reach

by **Kaie** on August 26th, 2013, 5:49 am

20th of Summer, 509
4th Bell

It was an early, ungodly hour. Syna had hardly stretched a single tendril of light across the earth before Yitmah had begun Kaie's training. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, the young warrioress trudged through the thick vegetation before reaching the specified grounds. For the most part she was far too tired to actually admire her surroundings. There was no time to take in how gorgeous the day was turning out to be. She was here for her daily torture and nothing more. Just there to train and kill. All else was simply scenery and otherwise unnecessary. Besides, her trainer would certainly have her focus on much different things. Like his blades for example.

Yitmah held in both hands the handles of dulled gladiuses. He stood expectantly, eyeing her levelly as only her mentor could. When she was before him she greeted him, giving him permission to begin his lesson. Without further instruction, Yitmah began, though not how she anticipated. As soon as she gave the gesture, the man dropped the swords. They clashed on the ground sharply. The sound almost made Kaie cringe, made her want to get right back down and gather the two up. It made her want to shout and yell at him for being so foolish. Of course politeness was in order considering he was the very life source of her enthusiasm. Both were aware of that fact.

"No gladius today. Instead I'm going to shorten your range even more...Daggers," He said with a broad grin before withdrawing two he hadn't demonstrated before. Two daggers with oddly curved blades. She seemed to grin at them, showing them off enthusiastically. He knew damn well he caught her off guard with the change of pace. She could tell by the way he grinned when her eyebrows quirked he was enjoying himself.

"Kukri,"

"Yitmah, what in the hell is that?" She almost groaned when she took in the sight of the curved blades. Her teacher didn't miss the gleam in her eye as soon as he showcased the new weapons, though. By now he had figured out her love of battle like any other. He always knew how much she wished to be well versed in any tool he could put in her hands.

"Stop that. I can tell you're in love with them already. See? I even got you two," He teased gruffly in his deep tone, brandishing the daggers proudly.

Oh of course you did! You'd never miss the chance to kick my ass up and down the jungle in new, interesting ways would you, Yitmah?

Her teacher handed her the pair and pulled his own out from behind his back. He gripped their handles tightly and flashed her another grin, settling into his stance. As expected she did the same though her hold was far more awkward. Stalking forth, Yitmah began to close in with that special twinkle in his eye. The kind that told her exactly what she was in for. Another brutal round of training.

He lashed out about half speed straight at her. Kaie hissed at him and stepped off center, smacking his away with a childish slap with her blade. Yitmah chuckled to himself and tried a new slash to give her a feel for the weapon. A diagonal cut aimed across her body. This time Kaie stepped back out of range. Brow furrowing in irritation, Yitmah punished her for that choice with another down slash with the opposite dagger. This time, thanks to the meager speed, Kaie lifted her dagger to halt his. She smashed into it and knocked it from its course. Her satisfied instructor nodded his approval and tried a horizontal cross cut, which she smacked away as well.

"Ah, I can see you like the Kukri, no?" He speculated with a shrug as if she should be kissing his feet for giving her the chance to train with the daggers. He really pissed her off to no end. Then again that was one of the things she loved about him. Of course that was subject to change the more that sparred...

by **Kaie** on August 27th, 2013, 5:22 am

Now it was her turn to punish him. She lashed her curved dagger at him suddenly at full speed. Although the weight was new to her and left her unbalanced, she surely surprised him all the same. Kaie wasn't one to be labeled passive aggressive by any means, she did attack him like she had a lot of pent up anger. Like she was trying to persecute him for his harshness before. Yitmah quirked a brow at her and quickly knocked her dagger out of his way, bringing the second down from above. He paused it at the side of her throat and looking at her meaningfully.

"If you're going to do that, at least try to finish me off," He warned with another easy going shrug. Oddly enough he was calmer today. Less violent and hard on her. It was weird actually. It put her on edge and made her feet uncertain about the whole thing. Damn, he was really giving her whiplash.

"But if you think you are ready..." He began slowly like another word of caution before rushing her full speed. Completely taken unaware, Kaie lifted her daggers awkwardly in her fists. She did her best to form a guard and hoped for the best. He rained down on her, slamming his blades on her raised edges like an animal. Then when he was tired of her stagnancy, he changed angles. Yitmah stepped to her side and aimed below her guard to which she hardly managed to slap his dagger away. A Kukri blind sided her to tap the side of her head.

by **Kaie** on August 27th, 2013, 5:36 am

"Forgot about that didn't you?" Yitmah mocked, tapping the edge again on her head. Kaie grunted in return, restarting their dance from scratch. Still getting used to how it felt in her hands, Kaie thrust a Kukri up like an upper cut. Yitmah's eyes widened as if he were impressed, lips pulled back to show a toothy grin.

"Ah! Creative! I like it. But not creative enough!

Yitmah stepped back from her uppercut and jabbed one low at her stomach, which she knocked away. Then the second Kukri rolled in (which she almost forgot about again) and went for her shoulder. Kaie stepped back this time and arched backward to avoid it. Then she rocked forth to meet and block another diagonal slash. The Myrian girl began swinging from above with one and across with the other in hopes to confuse Yitmah. her instructor just laughed in her face, knocked away one and blocked the other, then proceeded to cross her out like no tomorrow.

"Weak, Kaie. Very weak. I expected better. Figure out the weight and work me, not your own weapon. Use the curves to your advantage," He advised and motioned for her to come back in, nodding his head at her. She of course needed no further invitation.

Now she was moving quicker, the feel for the daggers becoming more natural though she was far from anything skilled. Left, right, left, right slashes rained down on her but she managed to get most of them away. Often Yitmah would land one or two of them, but then she'd jump right back into it. Kaie made a point not to make the same mistake twice. Then her teacher began to bring everything together, connecting it all.

In one smooth motion, he cut across her body to block both attacks. He then proceeded to spiral to the side and aim a kick right for her leg. Kaie yelped as he made contact, nerves on fire up her thigh. Thankfully she didn't fall over this time, though she staggered plenty to keep on her feet.

"Ow! What the petch was that?" She asked him more of out general curiosity than anger. She'd been so caught up with the metal she forgot about flesh. Kaie was oddly grateful of Yitmah for that pain. It was easily forgotten that flesh can be as painful as metal sometimes.

"That was using my body with my weapon. Just as I've told you hundreds of times, Girl."

So we're back to that huh?

Kaie nodded and adjusted her hold, remembering what he has said previously to her. Body and weapon were a team, not different opponents. They were connected and should be harmonized just so. It was a fact she was forgetting the last couple of training hours.

by **Kaie** on August 27th, 2013, 9:50 pm

Kaie shook out her leg before falling back into position which earned her another chuckle from Yitmah. He seemed to be getting a lot of satisfaction out of every strike he landed on her.

"Aw, you're not going soft of me just yet are you?" He mocked to get her riled, twisting his wrists playfully. The blades tilted with each rotation, light catching their edges beautifully. Her eyes couldn't leave the beauty of the curved weapons, but they were not a distraction. Watching his hands and the dagger gave her an idea. A new edge of her own.

Without replying to his jibe, Kaie lunged forth. She tried to work his angles as he always asked her to though her execution was still sloppy. He did react to her though. Hands moves with daggers to knock and slash her away. Yitmah was moving lazily with his strokes, getting cocky with his immense skill over her. It was exactly what she hoped for.

Suddenly she tried to change her movements to surprise him. Just as she appeared to stab low at him, she turned her wrist and went to punch him square in the face. Of course he narrowly avoided it with a grin and parried her like no tomorrow. He invisibly sliced her up, earning a swift kick from her end right at his knee. Though she landed it he happened to back step in his counter, so her foot really just slid right off him. She might've caused him minor discomfort at best. The next thing she knew she was eating dirt again. If the forest floor was a living creature, Kaie assumed they'd be best friends by then.

"This is getting real old, Yitmah," She hissed from the dirt, spitting and rolling back to her feet. Yet this time she did not hold that tantrum in her body like some sort of child. She was becoming a warrior. She would take her anger out with her weapons. Emotion would not take over. Not this time. Here she would fight with what Yitmah advised. Not anger. Only righteous fury.

"Then begin something new."

Kaie tore herself from the ground and lashed her daggers at him, keeping him back. Then she came forth. She came in like a wrecking ball, eyes narrowed though it was not out of some reflex of fear. There was no room for that there. And then came her blades. Crazy slashes thrown in any direction to get it all going. Diagonal, side ways, horizontal, from above, below, and everywhere in between. The trick, she began to learn, was movement.

"Yes! There you are, Kaie! Now keep transitioning! Exactly right, always transitioning with alternating Kukri!" He shouted at her between breaths and clangs of metal with pride. He was stepping back in their dance, letting her learn how to work her weapons. Letting her first teach herself through doing. All he needed to do was block as provide a target, a realistic one that moved. Her learning was internal this time around. She was beginning to form a strategic mind. Thinking and creating before doing. For now it was all impulsive.

by **Kaie** on August 27th, 2013, 10:33 pm

That's when something clicked. She didn't know quite what it was nor what exactly caused the connection to occur. What she did know was that it made sense. The flow of the daggers was beginning to gel with her and she could see more clearly. She understood them. The Kukri. While one was attacking she could be defending with the other once, leaving one blade always lashing out. It created a rhythm. A lethal one at that. And soon enough she could feel herself becoming a flurry of Kukri, a hurricane of blades upon Yitmah.

His eyes widened in pleasant surprise as she intensified, always striking yet already learning how to block his favorite counters. It was just repetition and more repetition. Practice, practice, practice. And then that knowledge was forever hers, stored not in her brain but in her very body. Potent muscle memory more familiar with the blades with each stroke. Excitement was masked by focus and disciplined concentration. She was no longer thinking. Just acting and reacting on a whim. Kaie in no way good with these new weapons, but she was definitely making progress. That was enough to satisfy her hunger for one day.

Without warning Yitmah seemed to explode, both his Kukri knocking her arms outside her body. Blades scraped upon blades and she was forced into a very awkward position. Arms spread wide like she was about to take flight. A very different kind of course.

His foot struck her chest and she was back flat on the ground, staring up at her smiling instructor. Kukri tapped at her chest and she knew exactly what phrase would follow...

"Dead," He teased to keep her confidence in check.

Kaie huffed bitterly at him, annoyed he dared destroy her speed once she actually got it.

"Good session. Go home and rest now," He ordered with his other hand extended to take her weapons back. Reluctantly she turned the Kukri around and held the blade end. Carefully, she handed them back handle first. Yitmah took them and slipped them into the space of his belt and reached back down to take her hand. Helping her onto her feet, he couldn't help but notice her expression. Naturally she spoke before he needed to question it.

"You mean...That's it? Done already?" Kaie asked dumbfounded like she believed he was lying. Yitmah only nodded and grinned, patting her on the head like some sort of dog. Much to her annoyance...

"What I mean to say by that is...Well, I'm going to kick your ass until Leth appears in the sky tomorrow."

I knew there was a catch...