Closed A Whole New World Pt II [Moritz]

[Alric Lysane]

5th Fall 521 AV – Outpost Water Garden – Part II Alric was still recovering his breath and by the sound of the lad beside him it seemed that Moritz was also gulping in air in the bid for recovery. He wondered if he were fitter than Moritz, the man seemed to have rolled and weaved without much lethargy. Indeed despite the heavy breathing he hadn’t seemed to have much trouble with keeping up. Alric thought that his own unarmed skill was slightly better but then it was difficult to measure it properly without having a full sparring contest – something that would likely never happen given that the Outpost was the only place they could meet and it was more a market than warrior school from what he had been told on the way in. He hadn’t really considered rolling and the like as a fighting mechanism. He had seen tumbles and tucks, jumps and flips as part of performances – the rare few that either made their way to Sunberth or, mor likely, began in Sunberth and either faded away or moved on to other more savoury places. He had admired the ones he had seen, but if he were truthful he’d admit that he had not made any time for developing physical skills in a long while. Once I had enjoyed running the dark and dank warrens of Sunberth, just for the fun of it. A dare it started as, a bet or the like. But despite any won silvers the running was truly the most enjoyable part of it. Testing one’s self against your last attempt he mused to himself as his sweat cooled fully and his breathing had returned to normal. “You know, I hadn’t really thought of acrobatics as you call it, never had much call to try it with narrow streets and mud making most conflicts about numbers and brutality,” he shared with a thoughtful tone, “but I can see its value in a one on one situation, or with more space” He left it at that for now, he had learned that with Moritz in some ways less as more – he had a tendency to fill in the gaps or share knowledge – or his opinion at least – rather freely if he thought he was educating. Or proving wrong. At least that was how Alric saw it, he was willing to admit he could be wrong but there seemed little that Moritz would so far compromise on and he had shared more than Alric had and with less prompting. He supposed it was a blessing despite the blunt and somewhat direct comments. He smiled slightly again, he doubted Moritz would survive in Sunberth. He was glad that the lad was not there. It would be a shame for someone to take offense and shank him within a few days. “I suppose that this is part of those forms you mentioned? Practised routines and so on?” he asked with a flickering of curiosity. In his mind he saw others uses for such things, perhaps involving rooftops and windows to sneak through, leading to beams to traverse with goods at the end. It didn’t matter though, Moritz didn’t have to know what the skills taught might be used for and in many ways he doubted the lad would even care overly much.

[Moritz Craven]

While Moritz had quickly grown winded from his exertions, still being quite youthful it did not take long to calm his body down. He perhaps was not ready to go sprinting across the market, but surely - he felt - he could continue smaller exertions.

Once Alric was done with his drink of water Moritz took another smaller sip himself and then put the water skin away, simply sitting and slowing his breathing by counting and taking it in even measures.

When Alric then questioned him on what exactly Acrobatics was Moritz pondered for a few moments, listening to the mans thoughts and questions before finally responding. But rather than using words Moritz began by showing. He felt, in this moment at least, it would be easier to explain by doing.

Raising himself up fully, Moritz stretched his body, and then leaned forward at the waist. Bending down as far as he could with only his waist he popped back up to a standing position, only to flex himself back down and towards the ground. This time once he got to his limit he also bent his knees until his hands were flat on the ground. Pushing off with his feet Moritz then stood for a few moments that way, his legs directly above his head as he did a simple hand stand.

After holding this for a few moments, no more than a half chime, Moritz shifted his bodies weight so that he began to tilt forward towards the side where his toes pointed. Bending his body before he felt over Moritz flexed his knees and torso and curled somewhat into a ball before hitting the ground and rolling. There was a moment of dizziness as he literally moved head over heels, and then he was turning back over and landed in a crouch on his feet. This was not quite right as he had intended to land standing, but he felt this was close enough. Particularly since Alric did not know what he had been attempting. Stretching out his body Moritz pushed upward and jumped to his feet, ending up standing before the man once more.

"Acrobatics I suppose can be many things. It just depends on how you use it. I'm no master, so my own uses are somewhat limited, but I have been working on some simpler things and so have a few bits down pat. Like that hand stand. I still cannot hold it for too long, but I can do it properly now after practicing, even without a wall for support like when I began. But beyond such tricks and things it is in truth about flexibility and movement. Knowing how to move. When I did those rolls during combat, those dives and pops and things, those were forms of Acrobatics."

Pausing for a moment Moritz remembered the mans views on combat as he had seen. The man seemed rather practical, and so he assumed he would reasonably care more for what was useful in combat. With that in mind he tried to focus on that topic.

"It also can be used in other ways you perhaps have not considered. Like say... Properly taking a hit. A good acrobat is probably better at moving and dodging than someone untrained, but sometimes you will get hit. But when that happens acrobatics are all the more important. If someone punches you in the face, and you take the blow and fall on your back, not only would you be open to another attack it would take awhile to get back up. But what if instead of taking the full force of the blow into your face, you let the blow... Throw your backward, assisted the blow, threw yourself back. Then the hit would not do as much. After that someone could say... Turn that backward fall into a backward flip or roll, and end up not only putting some distance between you and the person punching you, but also landing on your feet and ready to defend yourself."

A bit confused what the man meant about forms, Moritz realized after a moment what the man was referring to. A bit in their earlier conversation about his sword forms.

"No, not really. Acrobatics is sort of its own thing. Integrated into my combat, but also separate. The forms are more about combat directly, I mean you can only swing a sword so many ways so learning the proper method for some of those... Well that is of use. But I would not really call my Acrobatics forms so to speak. But those are just meant for practice, or for beginners, its not expected a more skilled person would use only those. Its just a starting point."

Pausing again Moritz considered, thinking where a good place to start would be. Nothing too fancy. And he had only just learned how to properly do a hand stand without assistance... What then would be simple and useful to the man?

"To begin, I think a good starting point would be stretching. See how limber you are, or how not limber. You have to know your limits if you want to try to surpass them, and also to act within them in the meantime. So how about try to stretch your body. Touch your toes. Stretch your arms, legs, and neck, and see what we are working with. And then maybe we could try something simple. Like... Uh... A roll. Or a fall. Those would be useful but also good for starters."

WC: 919

[Alric Lysane]

Alric watched in interest as Moritz made his demonstration. He had expected there to be words and a long, detailed explanation so he was pleasantly surprised when it was physical reference instead. He noted that it was likely something that would also build strength as well as agility, holding your weight up and then balancing with it was no mean feat after all. The roll afterwards was a nice touch too he thought, it showed that you could smoothly transition into various forms of acrobatics without much delay. He doubted this was possible without a decent amount of practise though. Most things these days seem to require practise. I thought things were easier than this when I was younger. Or perhaps I just didn’t pay attention he conceded to himself. He immediately saw some less then savoury applications though. If you were good enough you could seemingly manage to get pretty much anywhere. Jumping, rolling, balancing and more could be useful things to learn indeed – and profitable too. He would spend more time later musing upon such things he was sure but for now he turned his attention back to Moritz as the words he had previously expected came tumbling out of him. He supressed a smile and listened intently. “Yes I can see that it has many uses, many more perhaps than initially it might seem to have,” he said in a thoughtful tone, “I suppose then, after a fashion, I’ve already used some of it many times before just never realised. Or at least something similar” he continued. “Though using it in a fight like it was instinct…that would take a long time and a lot of practise indeed. Can’t say I’d see immediate results but still…seems worth it to me. But I’ve been known to be flexible so perhaps I’ll pick it up quicker eh?” he grinned. He set about doing as Moritz suggested, it had been a long while since he had stretched himself properly. So long he couldn’t really remember the last time though he did remember many of the stretches all the same. Doubling over it wasn’t too difficult to get his fingers to his toes though there was a lot of pulling at his back at first – it eased after a while though not fully. Calves were stretched with hands on the floor and he bent his back both ways to tease it into more fluidity. Arms and shoulders were next and neck and hips circled. By the end he felt warmer and a bit looser though he had felt all of the aches and pains along the way. Clearly he needed to do it more often if only to get rid of those niggling pains. Every day from now on then he told himself. “Any specific ones you’d recommend or are these sufficient? And how do you do a roll anyway? I mean is it like the ones you do when you’re a kid…well…that normal humans do as kids anyway” he asked between stretches. He set about going through them all over again in case there were pointers he wanted to give but mostly to ease out a bit more of his stiffness and aches.

[Moritz Craven]

If nothing else Alric seemed open to listen and learn, though from what Moritz could see he preferred physical examples over words or explanations. That was fine with some things, but some thing honestly did require someone to explain what was happening. Perhaps then, Moritz reasoned, for the lesson he could do a combination of the two? Both speaking by explaining while also doing?

"I suppose that is true of anything. Learning to wield a bow, or a sword, or how to throw a punch, anything takes time and practice and training to get it down and done well. Or even your often mentioned fireball throwing, I cannot do it myself but it would go to reason that one does not just start throwing fireballs but works up to it and practices it."

Smiling a bit at his own self referential joke to an earlier bit of their conversation where Alric was focused overly on fire magic and everything being fireballs being tossed, Moritz tried to involve the man in that aspect of the conversation. He had, Moritz felt, been being a bit silly with his overly focused view on magic being fireballs.

"Honestly my teacher was much more skilled, so I would not expect to be able to do as well as she did in teaching me or as quickly, but I imagine I can at least express the basics and get you going. Maybe in a few seasons you'll even be doing hand stands or the like. Or a bit more if you really focus and practice."

At the point Moritz was at he felt he could do most of the basic practices of acrobatics, though some were still difficult and required focus like his earlier hand stand turned roll. He was hoping soon to try some more difficult things, felt he was getting near, but was a bit hesitant to push too far to fast... Maybe a flip soon? That would be the first thing he would try as far as new techniques went.

Moritz watched as Alric began to stretch, feeling out his body and joints to see what he could do. From looking parts of the mans body seemed more flexible than others, while other parts seemed almost... Stuck... But then if he had not had much in the way of training and had not been stretching properly then that was not surprising. Only by practice would he work those back out and get to a place where he could properly move himself.

He could touch his fingers to his toes without overly bending his toes, a good sign. Legs, calves, back, arms, shoulders, neck, hips, one by one Alric worked through his body to test parts with varying success. Likely this was related to other tasks he did which used those same stretching positions and so were already in use and stretched, whereas others which were not at all stretched.

"Imagine if due to not being properly limber you pulled a muscle or something in the middle of a fight... That would be quite embarrassing. And if what you have said about your city is true, possibly deadly."

Another small smile that quickly faded Moritz watched as Alric finished up, considering at length his next question before responding. What to begin with? What would be of the most use, and something he could do right away? At that his mind turned to one of his own most used things, the simple roll. In combat it was quite useful, and was also part of the proper falling method which meant it would be useful for learning that as well...

"I think your stretching is okay, I would just say two things. One, make sure not to overextend. Tight as you are right now, if you try to force something it cannot do you might hurt yourself. So don't go forcing yourself through the pain, if its enough then its enough don't keep going. Two, make sure you actually work out and stretch what your trying to stretch. Like with the toe touches,that helps with the legs and the back. But it does not use the knees, so watch out for bending those. They should be done separate from the other parts."

Pausing again Moritz considered, before deciding on a physical example.

From a standing position he turned to a free spot, then leaned forward while moving downward. Almost crouching he sort of pushed or jumped forward while turning his body, but due to the low level he was at he did not go far or high. Instead he came down turned and on one shoulder, with his head tucked in with his neck to avoid landing on it. Continuing this forward motion he began to turn, keeping his balance as best he could so that he rolled. Head over, shoulder hitting the ground, keeping going till his back hit, then coming back up out of the roll.

"I am not sure what kind of roll you did as a child, but something similar to that. I'll do it again slower."

From his standing position Moritz bent down, touching his hands to the ground.

"First you get low, close to the ground. Once you are ready you push forward, keeping both low to the ground and moving forward. Its all one motion, or should be, and the momentum of the action carries you through it. So it is actually harder to do if you do it in steps or slowly or not all at once."

As he noted he pushed forward, leaning and rolling his body till one shoulder hit the ground. Here he held himself, a bit of an ache in his arm and back from the prolonged pressure.

"You want to hit on the top of the shoulder. Not on the side where the joint moves, and not on your head. Keep your head and neck clear when you do it, since those should be protected. Tuck them in."

Rolling a bit Moritz gained some momentum from his paused position, rolling over till he landed almost on his back. This time new muscles were worked, in order to hold him there.

"It is all one motion. So you continue forward, and roll head over heels. Once over turned you land on your back, but normally since you are sort of balled you do not stop. Instead you keep that forward motion and keep rolling. From there you keep going forward, landing back on your feet."

Here Moritz pushed again, rolling along and coming to a stop crouched on his feet. From there he popped back up to a standing position by springing his body.

"After that you come to rest on your feet, and if having done it properly you can turn that forward motion into quickly rising back to a standing position where you can be ready to take action."

Having finished his demonstration in parts and at a slowed pace Moritz was now winded, and needed to rest a bit. In this case the slower version for display was actually much harder than fully doing it.

"That can be used for forward rolls. With a bit of a change you can also use it for back rolls. And rolls are part of how one falls, and so can be good practice for it."

WC: 1,222

[Alric Lysane]

“And not I can imagine fireball throwing mages doing flips as they do it” he said, half-joking but with a small frown. But he didn’t want to rekindle their earlier debate since they had found some common ground and so instead he purged the fearful thought from his mind and set about the new and current task instead. He could worry about mage-flips another time. If ever. Still he could see the practical sense of continued practise in everything, he knew well enough how your personal skills could determine the difference between food in your belly or not. “Perhaps I need to go wherever you came from and find these teachers of yours. Sounds like I could use a lot of their knowledge for my own ends. And I’m sure they could tell me many tales of teaching you too, no? For instance, how you are so big for only being…three years was it?” he said with a twinkle in his eye. He enjoyed both physical exertion and discovering new things so why not combine the he reasoned. He set about stretching his limbs further, listening to the advice he was being given. It made sense and so instead of pressing himself through the tightness fully he eased off slightly. It felt more comfortable and he could already feel it doing him some good. He felt…smoother, as if he were a clump of cold butter before but now had been smoothed out across rough bread – still a bit lumpy in places, but far better than before starting. “Oh it is, you can find bodies pretty much every day if you have a mind to look for them. Some nice things on them too that they might not need ever again. Some might call it salvage…I call it survival. But you are right, it would damage what little reputation I have were I to die by pulled muscle” he said between stretches, breathing somewhat laboured and difficult when in the motions. Then came the next observational part of the lesson, Alric stopped stretching to watch Moritz walk him through the stages of a roll. It looked simple enough and not too different from what he could remember of playing at the orphanage. There had been little in the way of toys and so physical play was the only play. Perhaps it was instinctive after a fashion, he had seen many children perform similar rolls over the years, pools of innocence between the bloodshed. He wondered if he had been like that. He saw no reason why not, but then again he couldn’t remember so he could not be sure. Mortiz’s instruction was fairly straight forward and he appreciated that he went through the move in stages so that he could see it bit by bit. It was useful though he doubted it would go so well for him. He took a deep breath and began the motions. Bending down, tilting forwards, shoulder hunching and then the point of no return that was the roll, hells coming over and then ending up on his back with only a half roll completed. He laughed, he had apparently forgotten how to roll as well as his childhood. It was amusing in a sad way. He went to try again, this time taking it a bit more slowly as Moritz had, going through the motions, focusing more on his shifting weight and balance this time. He got past the point of no return and even managed to get to the back of his heels, almost having the momentum to finish the roll but fading at the last moment to rock him back – less embarrassing but still not completed. The third attempt went better and he ended up on his feet after the roll, not entirely smooth and certainly not in the right foot position to spring into action but he had the principle down at least. He went through it three more times and each time he managed a crude roll that brought him to his feet – no doubt there were many improvements to make but if he had achieved the basic method practise would smooth out the rest. “Well well, I’ve managed to achieve what I knew when I was younger I assume,” he said as he pushed himself upwards and took a few moments to rest, “how was that? Any tips, pointers? Anything to try out next?”

[Moritz Craven]

Moritz was unsure how joking Alric was being, but did his best to play along with the assumed banter and playful rebuttal. A fireball throwing mage doing random flips and things did seem a bit comical. But then, Moritz did not seem much use for most acrobatics techniques outside of close combat and dodging attacks. For that matter he thought the same of other ranged attacks. A crossbow user for instance would just stand at range, not do odd dancing flips and such.. Perhaps an oversimplification, but true enough. But probably a joke, which Moritz thought to himself, was probably evidence he was once more overthinking things.

Outwardly Moritz simply nodded and let the conversation progress, not overly hounding on a detail. But still, thinking his ocular ability meant he could look flame at people which was something Alric had said before... Really... It boggled Moritz mind. Though he was unsure how much that said about Alric, or more so how much it said about where he was from and how they thought about and understood magic. Or the lack thereof of understanding. If someone was going to hate something, then Moritz understood to a degree that. But hating something without understanding, well then that was just going to end with incorrect people being blamed for things they did not or could not do for the sake of oversimplifying.

With a shrug Moritz thought on Lhavit, and on where Sunberth was, admitting something about his knowledge or lack thereof of knowledge on locations.

"If you want to that is up to you. Though bear in mind my old instructor is retired, so I am unsure she takes on adult students. I started when I was pretty young, even younger than I am now, and I doubt I will return to her now that I am grown mostly. Or at least in appearance grown to a degree. I don't really age like a human, but I tend to be judged by my outward appearance. And though I'm probably smart for a not even three year old, you can only learn so much so fast. So I am sure there are many gaps in my understanding and knowledge. Oh and also... I am unsure where Sunberth is, but its not in Kalea is it? That is where Lhavit is, on the coast of a big mountainous region. I don't know how long of a trip it would be, but I cannot imagine it being a short one. It took over a full season by boat to get from Lhavit to Syka, though less than two seasons, which was not fun. And Sunberth might be even further. I cannot really say, since I am unsure where it is in relation to any places I know of. Though I'm sure if you looked you could find a map or something similar about the outpost. Maybe that would help."

Considering this for the moment Moritz realized something else, after all their talking he had no idea what the man actually did for a living.

"Though if your to come to either place it would probably be wise to have some kind of usable skill or trade for work. What do you actually do? I don't think you ever actually said. I am unsure how well it would translate to a new city, since perhaps not all of the same sorts of things happen there as where you are from. So depending on what you do your possibilities might be more or less limited. Lhavit is a big city, so I imagine it would have most of the common trades and occupations. Syka on the other hand is a newer settlement, so it probably does not have all of the normal trades and things due to lack of population and such. Plus if your to go there I would recommend decent skills at surviving in the wild. Its a newer place, and its still partially encroached by the wilderness in spots, its basically a small bit cut out among it and surrounded by it. Unlike an older and bigger city like Lhavit with firm demarcations between its ends and the wilds. So another thing to consider."

Noting the mans comment on his teachers and learning stories Moritz put on a small grin and began speaking in a somewhat exaggerated tone that was an attempt to make clear he was teasing or trying to make a joke.

"Oh sure, so what your saying is a teacher is free to just tell anyone anything about their student eh? If that is the case, then I suppose I could just go around freely telling people about you and your business eh? Fair is fair, and logic in one way works int he other does it not? You are technically my student now, as I have given you a lesson. "

His joking done Moritz expression and tone returned to a more normal and less forced pair, canting his head as he considered the mans words as he realized the man still did not understand he was a kelvic. He had thought he had said it before, but perhaps he had not explicitly done so earlier? Or maybe the man had simply forgotten. Or perhaps even he did not understand what a kelvic was.

"Aging this way is quite common for me, after all I'm not human like I assume you are. I'm a kelvic. Have you not met a kelvic before. They are pretty much everywhere, I cannot imagine there are none in Sunberth... I swear I explained this earlier. This is just half of my form being expressed. The other half of my form is an Okomo. That being such, I age more akin to my Okomo form, rather than my human one. I feel like this is pretty standard stuff, have you really not met or heard of kelvic before?"

Moritz was truly puzzled, as while he had met some people who did not at first realize he was a Kelvic he could not recall meeting many people who did not even know of a Kelvic. Sunberth from what Alric said did not like magic, but surely it had Kelvic?

As the lesson continued Moritz tried to help the man fine tune his body and positioning, but it was hard for the youth as he himself was only beginning to grasp the finer points and reasoning of some of those things. Generalities were fine, but anything much more complex was beyond his own current limited understanding.

When Alric then began talking of bodies, assumed dead ones, Moritz was confused how the man got onto the topic but as he ended by agreeing with his point he did not immediately question or argue.

Watching then as the man attempted a roll of his own Moritz let the man attempt it as best he could, waiting until he was done before commenting on his first try.

"I mean... It could have been worse. I think in this case your issue might have been a mix of balance and commitment. Balance is key in all such things, so keeping level and even and balanced it needed. But also speed is important, as I showed in my example slowing down or going too slow can also cause issues. It might feel safer to go slower, but if you are not going fast enough you wont have enough momentum to carry you to the next form... And then like now you will end up on your back not on your feet. For that I would say practice some more, perhaps from a standing position now. In that way you would also be practicing your fall maneuver."

Considering on this Moritz wondered how to best take a next step, thinking it over before slowly responding.

"Practice that a few more times, if possible from a standing position till you have it all done in one smooth motion, and you will consider yourself well practiced. But you don't have to do that all today. However, the opposite and reverse of a forward roll is a back roll. Similar, but the steps are in reverse order. Imagine someone has just punched you, and you are stumbling back."

Making an example of this Moritz displayed the technique he was mentioning. Since it was the same as the other just in the opposite order he did not think as much detail was needed. Standing for a moment and checking behind him for clear space, Moritz pretended to stumble backward. Then falling he bent his body in the opposite way of before, into the curve instead of out of it at the end, coming down on his rear for a moment, then rolling on the curve of his back. From there it was onward in a turn of his body to a shoulder, and then over the shoulder and onward in the turn to end back on his feet. And with a spring he was standing firmly again.

"For some people the backward roll is easier, but it tends to vary from person to person. I prefer the forward, some the back. But they are more or less the same, just reverse of each other. Does that make sense?"

WC: 1,540

[Alric Lysane]

“Oh I’m sure it’d be a long way, still if I ever have to leave Sunberth then it is somewhere to go,” he said, he had not been entirely serious but it was always good to have backup plans, “as to where Sunberth is, it’s as far East as one can go as far as I know. It’s on a coastline and you can’t see anything on the horizon further” He wasn’t surprised that Moritz didn’t know where Sunberth was, it was not exactly the most welcoming city to strangers. Or rather, it was welcoming only until it stole everything and then possibly enslaved you too on top. Either way Alric reasoned there were few people who returned home from Sunberth with an endorsement for further visitation. Alric didn’t mind it that way, it made his life easier if he needed an easy mark for gold and it kept the city free and anarchic which was the only way he had ever known to live. He let the questions about what he did pass until Moritz was finished with all of his words and a smile came across his lips and he scratched his chin thoughtfully, wondering how best to phrase what he wanted to say. “Ah but what would you say? How much do you know about me ad how much do I know of you already?” he asked almost absently before answering his question, “but seeing as you asked I suppose an answer is fair given that you are teaching me new things. As for what I do…anything and everything really. Anything that pays. Usually small time things. Pick the occasional pocket, run messages, guard something for someone, look into things…whatever it takes to put food on the table and fire in the hearth” he shrugged. “You seem to have travelled to many places in your short life, though I suppose you are a rather large Kelvic so perhaps you feel the need to explore the large world, no? Yes…I know of your kind. Sad stories mostly. Never come to Sunberth lad, your kind sell for a lot of shiny miza and the worse sorts of the city wouldn’t be kind to you. I don’t know what an Okomo is so that’d likely make you an exotic…very profitable” He left it at that, it explained what his question had been asking and he didn’t really want to enter into a long conversation about slave markets and the rest. If Moritz pressed him he supposed he owed and answer or two but it wasn’t a subject he had much taste for – if anything he’d rather burn the whole thing down. He sighed and set about practising his rolls again as suggested, losing himself in the joy pf physical activity over mental pits. He went through the forwards rolls a few more times first, trying from his feet and standing as Moritz had stated. He found it easier for the momentum but harder on his shoulder. He bent down slightly after the first few, tilting himself forwards and twisting slightly, shoulder forwards before actually pushing off with his feet. It took him a decent number of tries before he got it right but when he did it was a satisfactory triumph where his shoulder hit that sweet spot and the momentum carried him forwards to his hip and then one foot and then the other – standing at the end. He cut his losses and stopped there, leaving it for future practise. He moved on to backward rolls, something which came less naturally. He bent his knees to lower himself to the ground and then pushed back. The first two as with the forward rolls didn’t make it. Instead he rocked back to his shoulders and then lost momentum and tilted back onto his arse. The third and forth he actually managed to tilt his head and roll over his shoulder to come to all fours but not enough momentum to truly get to his feet. The fifth and sixth he made it but he had to face up to literally throwing himself backwards and simply trusting he would be fine – not something that came naturally to him. However he managed two awkward backwards rolls to come to his feet crouching and then standing up afterwards. “You know…I suspect that with practise you could plant your hands towards the halfway point and then almost spring push yourself back and right onto your feet. That might be useful,” he mused to himself but voicing his musing for Moritz’s benefit also, “tell me, how did you start trying to learn that handstand thing?” he asked. “And what is an Okomo anyways? And don’t say you that’s a sneaky answer” he chuckled.

[Moritz Craven]

Moritz simply nodded, not really feeling the need to expand further on what he had said and the mans response. On the location of such cities though he did listen closely, thinking once more he needed a proper map to work things out. A city on the far east coast, with nothing beyond the horizon...

"That sounds like the opposite of Lhavit. It is on the west coast, and you can't see anything on the horizon. So possibly its as far as two cities can get. And with a giant mountain between, since as I said Kalea is one giant mountain with some cities on it. Maybe we could find a map of cities around here? Though I'm not sure how much that would be, or how broad an area it would cover... This place does trade in basically everything, so I am sure someone would be selling one if you know where to look. Or even if we cannot find one to buy, maybe we could get a look at one somewhere."

Moritz considered taking out his map of the outpost then, perhaps with the chance of seeing something that might indicate where to find maps, but he decided against it. For now he was conducting a lesson, simple as it was, and he needed to focus on that and not get distracted again...

"I mean, I have learned a fair bit about you, I just don't go saying everything I notice. I don't often lie, don't really like the practice myself, but I don't go bringing up other peoples business to other people unless I feel I need to or someone directly asks. And honestly, I feel like people overestimate how often people directly ask a specific person about a specific thing. Its not too common really. So people lie in advance to avoid that, but really if they had not lied it probably would not have even come up. So lying then just for lying's sake, or because you think you need to."

Listening to the man explain his occupation Moritz considered the various details, tying them together as best he could. Diverse tasks... Anything for money... Picking pockets... Running around giving info... Guarding things... Investigate things... Those to Moritz seemed like several jobs not one.

"Honestly, that sounds more like several jobs than one. Possibly a thief, or a spy, or a guard, or a mercenary maybe? As it is, I think some of those might work in Lhavit, it being a big and old city and all. People want info and such. Though thieving would be dangerous since you have the Shinya going around protecting order and enforcing law. It does not sound like Sunberth has something like that. As for Syka... Well its a new place, so I cannot see much of a need for most of those things. There are not really enough business for information to be of such value to another, and if someone pops into town and then peoples things start disappearing then someone is bound to notice. So I would avoid going there unless you have a back up skill or occupation to work by."

Ticking off the points one by one Moritz seemed just as nonchalant as before, not really seeming to react much to hearing the mans job was of some ill repute and likely illegal. Moritz was not one to judge, and it did not seem like the man was going around killing people, so it could certainly be much worse... As it was so long as no one was dying and it did not affect Moritz directly being in a far off city he was not overly concerned. And considering where it was, Sunberth, at least from Alric's description such things seemed par for the course or normal there. And he was not going to run into another city and quibble over their customs or ways of living and say they were wrong without understanding them fully.

At the mention of his own travels Moritz shook his head, not really agreeing with his thought process.

"Travel? Not really, I've never really felt a need to do so. There was someone I needed to try to find, and someone I possibly needed to kill who deserved killing, and another person who might die who might not deserve it, so I traveled. It did not really have anything to do with my interest in traveling. It could not really be helped, and it seemed right to try and do something."

It did make things easier to know that the man knew of kelvics, in truth he had been wondering how the man had not known of them, and saved some explaining he thought he might need to do. Being told however specifically not to go to Sunberth by the man he wondered further on how Kelvics were treated in places other than Lhavit and Syka. There he was more or less treated like any other person, and so it had always seemed normal enough to him that the same could be said for other places. From what Alric had said though that did not seem to be the case.

In Sunberth, once more going off Alric's words, Kelvic's seemed to be treated as... Merchandise. A good for trade, rather than a person. He knew some places had slavery, but this seemed in its own category. Treating Kelvic as non-human and not a person. At that Moritz remembered his own father and his limited nature and knowledge, his borderline feral aspects, and did not wonder that some might see kelvics as such. But then not all were exactly the same... He had yet to meet two kelvic that were exactly the same, and he did not expect to be any exception to that. Even if he was a bit odd even for a person.

"I don't plan to go to any such place soon. And certainly would not go until I was confident I could defend myself. Which I know I am know where near. I plan to stay in Syka for awhile."

Watching as Alric continued his practice he made a few small comments on it, but mainly let him repeat his attempts in silence. He did not see anything overly wrong, and he knew time and repetition was needed to work some things out.

Alric, Moritz noted, did still need to crouch or bend before doing the roll, a measure common when starting practice on such things as it made things easier. While it would not work in rule use such as fighting, it was still good for learning the basics as Alric was now and so was okay.

"That is fine for now, bending and such, since you are just beginning. But just remember as you practice more to take that part out as doing it properly means not depending on that."

As Alric began on the back roll he watched his form, seeing the issues once he began that the man was having. As before it was similar issues, but something he supposed he would get better at in time. Not enough speed. Bad balance. Not following through. Slowly the man seemed to work out the details, but only in steps and slowly.

Listening to the mans comments Moritz thought on that, considering an attempt.

"I might try that, and I think that would probably be... A bit of a combination of a roll and a... hand... Spring... I think it is called. But this is not really the place to do it. No, for proper practice you need softer ground to work on. I would avoid anything but these simple tricks here. Flips, springs, the like, I think those are better practiced and perfected on a nice soft or padded surface to avoid injuries if you fall or fail. Training is all about trying something new, and if you try those things here you are liable to get hurt. I would also say avoid doing anything new until you have it down pat in said softer and safer place."

Rolling his shoulders Moritz demonstrated the proper technique again, focusing his body before tilting back and then coming to a roll backward as he tucked and turned his body. He had not done this one overly much, but was confident in it as he had done the opposite in the forward. Reversing something then was not too hard. He did this a few times, moving in a circle by turning his roll slightly, so that eventually he ended up more or less back where he began. By the end his shoulders and a few other places were aching from the repeated motions and hard ground, but that too was training itself. Learning to endure pressure and physical things such as that was as much training as it was when he pushed himself to exertion strained his ability to breath by working hard. Both were forms of increasing his ability to endure harshness.

"For the hand thing, the hand stand as its referred to, the easiest way to begin is with something helping with balance. I found a nice straight wall, leaned up against it, and tried to do a handstand while leaning against the wall. I kept working on that until finally I started trying it without the wall to aid in balance. And eventually I could do this."

With a forward lean Moritz went down to his hands, pushing off with his feet and once more doing a handstand. He kept this for a bit before letting his body fall again, tucking his body and turning it into a roll before he sprung back to a standing position.

At the topic of an Okomo Moritz considered, thinking how to best describe what he was. An Okomo... An Okomo... Finally after some thinking he settled on a few descriptors and tried to explain it to Alric.

"An Okomo... Lets see... Well an Okomo is something like a cross between a goat and... Uh lets see... An antelope. We live mostly in Kalea, seeing as we are good for climbing such surfaces without our hooves. Though I think we are best known in Lhavit, and a fair few live around there. Other mounts like horses cannot traverse the mountain well, so one really needs an Okomo for such terrain. Perhaps on the size of... A smaller horse. But certainly big enough for a full grown man to ride when fully grown."

Pausing again Moritz tried to think of more details, but found himself struggling to define an Okomo. After all, so few people where he was from did not know already what one was.

"Skyglass hooves and horns, big things that glow in the dark. The horns and things, not the entire Okomo. I forget what that is called when it glows in the dark... Uh and colorful fur. My pelt matches my hair more or less, in big pastel streaks and such. I don't die my hair, this is my natural color. That I suppose is a basic description. At least without changing form and showing you."

Stopping there Moritz felt he had painted an adequate description of himself in his Okomo form, though he felt without truly seeing it the man likely would not fully understand.

WC: 1,883

[Alric Lysane]

“Ah, the old we are all lairs in our own way philosophy. I don’t disagree, it’s hard to do so when you live a life surrounded by them,” he said with a grin as he took a slight break to get his breath back, “but no matter really. Not many people know much about me. I suppose I take your philosophy there. People can make assumptions. Makes it easier. Maybe I’ll give an honest answer if they ask…but maybe not” he shrugged. It was a fairly common thing in Sunberth, though he was not sure it was where Moritz came from. Living in shadows had its downsides, you never really got to connect with people. The person you connected with this time might be your enemy the next. All it ever really did was make you more vulnerable. He had decided to have few friends in Sunberth the last time the last few had died. It was easier that way. He chuckled at Moritz’s listing of his jobs, or potential jobs. He wished he had been some of those, he might have made more of a pretty miza as a spy. He didn’t say more about his employment than he already had, Moritz had already decided what it was he was most likely to do and who was he to state it so easily and not give his active mind a change to puzzle something out for itself. He did do seem to love doing so after all. “Ah yes…well I am sure that if I were forced to go to this…Syka…then I’d adapt. I can be quite flexible when the need arises. But then again, I’ve never had cause to travel so I don’t think you need worry about me turning up and your things going missing. I mean after all you’d be the only one I knew there so naturally I’d come see you and then…well light fingers of course,” he chuckled and waggled his fingers, “or not…I don’t think you need concern yourself on that” He began rolling once more for a time as Moritz continued to talk, offering pointers here and there. Alric concentrated on trying to compact his body as much as was possible as he curled and rolled – both forwards and back alternately – with a secondary focus on the correct line from shoulder to hip and then the feet. It was somewhat comforting really, he had to admit, that he could at least achieve a basic roll forwards and backwards after a score or so of repetitions. Not that he expected to do much more than that this day but he tucked away the acrobatic advice for another day. He was sure that he could find a sturdy wall somewhere after all. It was enough to learn the method and put it into practise another time. He performed a half-dozen more rolls either ay before springing to his feet at the mention of Okomo – that was far more curios than acrobatics in his book. He did not know what an Antelope was but he got the impression it was large from the description of his own size that was given. And had horns and hooves like a goat. “What on earth is Skyglass?” he asked, latching onto one of the stranger things Moritz noted that he did not recognize, it seemed like a familiar name from deep within though he could not remember from where. “You can change at will? It’s not like a morning, night deal or whatever? So you could change right here and now? That sounds…strange”

[Moritz Craven]

Moritz tried to listen to what Alric was saying, but had to admit he was lost. Something about philosophy... And lies... But either the man was not speaking properly, or was speaking but in a metaphorical or confusing way, or Moritz just was not hearing him properly.

"I... What? I have no idea what you are saying. Is that in response to what I said about not lying? If so... Then I really have no idea what your saying, or how you got to that. I was just saying I wasn't the type to go blabbing peoples information for no reason, and that while i wasn't going to hide it the chance of me knowing something and someone actually asking me about it isn't too likely. I'm not sure what anything you said had to do with that."

Pausing for a moment Moritz tried to run though the mans words once more, but truly found he did not understand him. What was he trying to say? Moritz did not know, at least beyond the most basic edges of the words understanding which left so many gaps it was basically one big whole with a rim.

"I'm certain I know a few things about you, though I don't know that anyone would care. You think a bit to much about how secretive you are. People give away things all the time. With phrases. Things they say. Or do. Or express. The way they lean on a seat. Or maybe you just don't think enough of other peoples ability to see things. But honestly I don't really care much one way or the other. And I doubt anyone would come asking me about it either way. Me personally I try to keep myself open to pay attention and notice everything, but not really pay attention to any one thing. It makes things... Simpler. Focus can be... Limiting. But I also keep things open to learning something new, or finding out a likelihood I reasoned before actually isn't too likely."

For moment Moritz considered Alric in Syka, but honestly after hearing him for awhile he did not see him fitting too well. Not just due to the crime, but for the other factors. The law, order, limitations, exceptions. Even the type of people. Perhaps he could get along with them in a pinch if truly needed, but that did not mean it would be easy or he would enjoy it. Then again, Moritz admitted, he did not get along with some of them too well either. Though that might be more about his own lack of understanding of people more so than outright not fitting.

"You can suppose anything. But you can't really know for sure one way or the other till you try. I suppose that is true of a lot of things. I can think I can do a flip. But until I actually go and try, well then I won't know one way or the other. Not much point to that sort of supposition."

Alric made a vague reference to stealing from Moritz, to which Moritz responded with a disinterested indirect gaze. His mind was on other things, and he did not see it as too likely. Particularly with how the Outpost worked.

"Well I'd just say be careful of that thing here. From what I understand of the rules here, you don't want to get caught with that sort of thing in the Outpost. Might find yourself at the wrong end of a gods annoyance. Besides, everything is about risk and reward. And I doubt anything I have is worth enough to risk getting banned from the Outpost. It'd be like burning down a tree to collect a single fruit from it."

Watching his student move about he tried to make some small corrections and adjustments, but with the simple things they were working on he felt Alric had a good enough idea after the numerous examples and explanations.

He could see him slightly improving, and trying to implement the suggestions Moritz had made, but knew some of it would just take trial and error. Someone could be told how to do things, but without actually moving and trying it oneself, see if it was this way or that, stretching this muscle or this one in that way or another... Trial and error... Without such things learning could not so easily be achieved. Perhaps, Moritz reasoned from his small bit of experience and practice, being a teacher was also about letting people figure some things out and try them rather than telling them exactly what to do and correcting each small mistake.

"Better... Watch the balance... And watch the lineup, shoulders and spine. Neck and head. Twist one too far the wrong way, and you will have problems."

Alric did seem to have a curious mind, at least when it came to certain topics, and he felt that he had done at least a passable effort at instructing the man.

"I really wish there was a better place to practice, some kind of training hall or ground like where I used to learn things. Padded floors. That type. But honestly, I'm not sure if such a thing exists around here. Or where one would go to find it. Maybe it would be a good thing to ask around about. I don't think I've seen any place like that though..."

When the topic turned to Okomos Moritz was a bit surprised by Alric's enthusiastic reply and interest. He supposed it did make some sense, him not being from Lhavit and not knowing of the animal type it would seem like an exotic thing. For him in Lhavit growing up seeing another Okomo was an everyday thing. They were all over the place and quite common. It was not until then that he realized he had not seen one in quite some time, ever since coming to Syka in fact. At that Moritz suddenly felt a bit alone, never before having noticed but that he had always had that other familial unit beyond his own blood relations, and now he had lost that as well by leaving Lhavit...

"Skyglass? Its glass, that comes from the sky. Or well, it comes from something that comes from the sky. I suppose its sort of a specialty of Lhavit, half the city or more is made of the stuff, buildings as well as smaller things. Lhavit is Zintila's domain, and she is Divine of the Stars. I don't know exactly how it works, but it has to do with things come from the sky or stars, which is turned into it. Its as light as glass, but as strong or perhaps stronger than stone or steel. I suppose its magic of a sort, but a Goddesses magic rather than a persons."

Moritz wondered how Alric would feel about such things, if he considered the powers gifted by the divine the same as other magic he feared. He did seem a bit open minded at times, but he on the other hand often displayed a sense of fear of anything mystical or that he did not understand.

"As for changing, yes I can do so at will. Not just morning and night, your thinking of Eth... Eth safe... Oh darn I always have trouble with their names... The horned people who shift at night or morning from or to their horned form and from or to another other form. That's not the same as a Kelvic, not at all. Though I generally try to shift only when its fitting, such as without things on or I'm liable to rip or break them. That could get quite costly. And would be a waste. But I don't really just do it willy nilly, unless I have a good reason to do so."

Hearing the mans words about his form and how strange it was Moritz smiled at the man and let out a low coughing chuckle.

"Heeeh... You think that is strange, I think you are. Its all a matter of perspective. Do you know how long it took before I understood you humans only have one form, and weren't just odd people who for some reason did not like to shift like was proper? I'm not just this. But I'm not just the other form either. I'm both equally. I couldn't imagine being limited to just one form forever... Actually at first I thought all you humans were just weird people who refused to shift for some odd reason. Why would I assume you all were different when you looked the same as I did part of the time? Then I thought you had somehow forgotten how, or lost your other form. It was awhile before I understood you were born that way. Actually its kind of sad, that you all are so... Limited. I'm not even sure how to put it into words, how it would be to be as such after having lived as I have. Quite sad really..."

WC: 1,505