[Training] a promise to be kept

They beamed happily under Mr. Sunjata's approval... until he said that next sentence. "What?"

They watched him move away and prepare himself. "O-oh. Um." That was going to take some doing. Mr. Sunjata was a good man and not a punching bag! Well, obviously he wasn't a punching bag, but... he wasn't something - or someone! - who deserved to be punched.

This is part of the training, they reminded themselves.

So they squared up, mentally double-checked themselves, and punched Mr. Sunjata's left hand, dodged, and punched his right. They didn't hit anywhere near as hard as they had the punching bag; even knowing they weren't very strong, they didn't want to hurt him at all.

fightin' with my shadow, that is somethin' i am good at / givin' me the power that is provin' to have backlash

“You’ve got this, Quanil.” Sunjata reassures them with a brighter smile, a bit more genuine than many of his other smiles. But he prepares himself, taking a stance that would make it easy for Quanil to follow through, steel eyes following the fists as he aims to keep his own hands in place.

The first strike hits dead center in Sunjata’s hand, a small sound of a pop released from the impact, that has Sunjata relatively surprised at the accuracy of it. Then, they dodge, and the next strike comes again with a little less accuracy, but still landing somewhere within Sunjata’s relatively large and calloused hands. A bright grin crosses his face to this, bobbing his head in a nod. “Perfect, now do it again.” He places his hands in slightly different locations, giving Quanil the chance to try again.

SUNJATA

Quanil nodded, though they were a bit surprised by the shifting hands. I suppose that makes sense though. So they repeated the punch-dodge-punch, aiming for the new targets - well, same targets, different places.

"I've, uh... been meaning to ask you something." They weren't sure if talking was encouraged during training or not, but they didn't want to forget after they'd promised to ask.

So many promises: ask Mr. Sunjata to train you. Don't mention my name. Ask him about the memorial. Layers of promises, and they nearly all made Quanil tear up a bit. Like an onion.

fightin' with my shadow, that is somethin' i am good at / givin' me the power that is provin' to have backlash

Sunjata shifts his hands and watches as Quanil takes a stance and begins to strike out again in that punch dodge punch maneuver. And each strike lands dead center, the perfect strength to it that has Sunjata’s arm absorbing most of the impact of each one. A tough, strong hand in comparison to what he was expecting, and he can’t help the slight grin from forming on his face. “Very good.” He announces with a slight snort, shifting his hands around again to have them try again. “Again.”

But the question… Or, sort of question that Quanil asks is met with raised brows and his steel gaze lingers on their face, a slight tilt of his head. “What is it?” A hint of uncertainty.

SUNJATA

They paused and caught their breath before asking, "Um, I met Mi-... uh, Amun, and he wants to make a memorial for Miss Maea. On the beach, or near it. Maybe have water involved somehow. We thought we should ask you if you'd want to help with it." Okay so it wasn't technically a question, but it was an implied one. Close enough, right?

And then they went back to punching the nice Mr. Sunjata's hands: Punch-Dodge-PUNCH! They did not, however, check with him first before doing this; hopefully he was ready for it.

fightin' with my shadow, that is somethin' i am good at / givin' me the power that is provin' to have backlash

Sunjata pauses when they do, watching their face as the question tumbles from their lips. Amun wanted to make a memorial – and it’s something that Sunjata would like to be a part of… Only, Amun and him in the future at least, don’t get along at all don’t know each other all that well. So instead, he considers it, head tilting slightly, posture relaxing ever so slightly as they begin to pick up on the punch dodge punch strategy again. “I would, yeah.” He rumbles, though likely it’ll be a terrible idea in the future.

Still, his shift in position causes Quanil’s hands to get close to Sunjata’s, only to shift somewhat until one misses and glances off the side of his hand, the other hitting the tips of his fingers. “Not bad, watch your focus, and try one more time.” He offers to them while he still considers the question, the memorial.

SUNJATA

They smiled when Mr. Sunjata says he'd like to help with the memorial. Not that they'd expected any differently. They had no idea if Mr. Sunjata and M-... Amun were acquainted with each other or what they thought of each other, but they're good people who cared for Miss Maea and that's all that's important, right? "She'd love it, I'm sure."

But they'd distracted themselves too much from the matter at hand, clearly. "Oh, right. Okay." Focus up. They took a quick moment to make sure they were focusing before they did their punch-dodge-punch combo one more time.

fightin' with my shadow, that is somethin' i am good at / givin' me the power that is provin' to have backlash

He hears them speak of whether or not Maea would like it if he joined. And well, he imagines she would. If he had meant as much to her as she said he had before she’d passed, then it was certainly something he needed to be a part of. They’d just have to see how it went when they went to go and do it. So instead, he takes his hands in a similar position, telling them to focus more, while internally Sunjata thinks of other things – like Maea, what kind of memorial she might want, how that might end up turning out.

The first punch does start to somewhat miss, and Sunjata picks up attention back at what’s at hand, and watches them dodge and strike again. The second one is far more centered, and Sunjata offers Quanil a soft smile to that before drawing up his stance and standing, stretching out his palms as he focuses on deciding that the task is complete for today. “Pretty good. That should be enough for today. You’ll be pretty sore tomorrow.” He says, offering a light smile.

SUNJATA

Quanil beamed under Mr. Sunjata's approval. "Thank you, sir. As always, you've been a lot of help to me, and I really appreciate it."

They looked down at their hands. "So, I can unwrap these now?" They start in on unwrapping them anyway, without waiting for the answer.

"Is there anything I can help you with, sir?" Mr. Sunjata's been such a help, right from the start. He deserved any help Quanil could offer.

fightin' with my shadow, that is somethin' i am good at / givin' me the power that is provin' to have backlash

A light hum is given to Quanil at their reply to his approval, a small smile growing on the corners of his lips. A nod is granted back to them as they ask if they can unwrap them, despite not really needing to answer as Quanil begins to unwrap them on their own. “You did pretty well, just keep up the practice. You can fill sacks with sand and hang them when you’re back at the grounds if you want a bit more practice.” He offers, gesturing to Quanil’s hand wraps. “And you can keep those for practice as well.” Another addition, a somewhat warm smile.

But the smile falters ever so slightly when Quanil asks what they can help him with, and he tilts his head a small amount as he watches them with a light smile. “I think I’m doing alright.” He rumbles, unable to think of anything else. “Thanks though. You should probably head home and get some rest though. You’ll need it.” A wink granted as Sunjata moves to unwrap his own hands.

SUNJATA

"If you say so, sir." They realized how that sounded and rushed to add, "I mean, I'm not saying that you're not doing alright! I just meant that if you say you don't need help, then I accept that! A-and that I'd like to help if you ever do need help!"

As they continued unwrapping their hands, they mused aloud, "You and Miss Maea're both so good. I asked what she wanted and she said she wanted me to learn to defend myself; and now I ask you and you just want me to go home and get rest!" They hummed happily. "My parents always told me people are mean but so far I've really just met very good and nice people! Well... maybe a few who weren't so nice, but no one really mean."

fightin' with my shadow, that is somethin' i am good at / givin' me the power that is provin' to have backlash

There’s a lighter chuckle given to Quanil as they continue, a nod granted to them in an easy response. “I’ll be sure to let you know.” He offers, slipping away to grab a glass of water for himself and for Quanil while they continue on. Once he has them in hand and Quanil is done wrapping their hands, his attention lingers on them as they mention Maea and the smile turns a bit more somber at that.

“Rest is equally as important for training as the training itself. I think Maea ignored that part a bit too often.” He offers with a wink, though there’s not a lot of jest behind it. Just somber memories returning to the surface. “Just keep your eye out, you never know what you’ll find.” Because despite how much Quanil kept saying Sunjata was a nice man, he really wasn’t. Not in the grand scheme of things. "I've got to get home now, though. It's about time for Haai's meal." He offers with another quiet hum. "Again, I really suggest getting some rest, but if you want to stick around, the Slagveld is open for you whenever." He tips his head with that, before returning his glass of water, and grabbing his light jacket, and moving to head toward the exit unless Quanil has something to stop him with.

SUNJATA

Quanil drank the water as they listened. They hadn't really realized how thirsty they were until they saw the glass of water being offered. When Mr. Sunjata mentioned the most constant of his companions, they perked up. "Say hi to Miss Haai for me! I miss seeing her."

Maybe one day I'll have my own companion. That was a nice thought. But, for now... "I definitely think I'll be resting, sir. Thank you again!"

They left the glass and gathered their things. Their arms were already starting up the first quiet mutterings of protest, but for now, Quanil was full of enthusiasm (if not physical energy). Their quest had begun and, more importantly to them, their promise to Miss Maea had not gone unfulfilled.

{Finished}