[Training] but I'm listening

Lena

hope is the thing with feathers
that perches in the soul

Oh, so she had done something well. Pleasantly surprised, she nodded at the notions, trying to keep them stuck within her mind as the lesson moved on.

She wasn’t shocked by the nature of the impending lesson – animals were much the same, striving and willing to take any opportunity they could for evasion, for upheaval, to merely get away or snag at their prey. The Caretaker nodded, watching as Salt prepared for some movement Lena was unfamiliar with – striving to gain her own stance in return.

Towards her head.

There was a sudden gasp, and the youth swerved to the left, and stuck her sword out again, this time over her skull, hoping to cease and stop the blow once more while being out of range.

and sings the tune without the words
and never stops at all

Salt’s and Lena’s swords clashed above the Caretaker’s head, suspended above with each pressing against each other. Foiled by Lena’s block, Salt quickly withdrew her sword and took two steps counter and around from Lena’s movement. Without giving much of a chance for Lena to pause, Salt then made a lunge for Lena’s side, trying to stab her with moderate force.

”Good movement, don’t stay still in a fight. But look for a chance to counter attack! Otherwise the fight will never end!” Salt quickly advised between swings.

Lena

hope is the thing with feathers
that perches in the soul

Lena, to her credit, had never been an individual to instigate any assault. Gentle and kind, compassionate and tender, forbearing and enduring, she came from a long line of scholars rather than Dragoons and warriors. The instinct, the drive, to attack had never been there – not unless someone was harming an animal, and even then, she’d been used to forging her way through skirmishes with words.

Defending herself was modest at best – swinging round again, huffing a breath as she aimed to block the move coming at her side. Another distinct lunge away proved that she was too far to do much else though, and she swallowed down some trail of bile that threatened along her throat. “Okay,” she mumbled, either to herself or to Salt, before moving forward, reaching out with her blade, and trying to tap the mercenary on the right shoulder.

and sings the tune without the words
and never stops at all

Lena’s tap successfully struck Salt as she lunged past her. The mercenary could certainly discern the healer’s gentleness through the modest tap, but rather than chastising her for not putting enough power into the swing, Salt simply nodded and said “Yeah, just like that. When I lunged at you, I overextended myself and left myself wide open for a counter.

She wiped a bead of sweat from her brow, already getting some activity from the swings, but at least she wasn’t nearly as weak as she was earlier in the weak. She stepped back from Lena, and rather than going in for another swing, said ”That pretty much covers the basics, actually. You did good for dealing with a new teacher. Now, are there any other weapons, defensive or otherwise, you’re more inclined to use? As much as I know a sword well, at the end of the day, I might as well help you practice scenarios you might actually find yourself in. Are you more likely to get mugged in an alley somewhere, or ambushed by bandits on a trail?”

Lena

hope is the thing with feathers
that perches in the soul

Shocked that she’d done something correctly – with little to no force behind it, and certainly no manner of menace – her eyes widened, and she wiped some sweat from her brow, whisking little hairs behind her ear.

The question gave her pause too, and she found herself shaking her head. “I was hoping to ask Frey for a staff, but, that would be for healing…,” another notion that had sprung to her mind recently, and she’d have to eventually journey back to the shrine and strive once more. The following inquiry made her head rear up, staring at the taller woman, as if she’d never given it a thought. Safe and secure, having wandered throughout Stormbreak her entire life. “Um…maybe the bandits?” Especially if she continued meandering and exploring into open, wilder lands.

and sings the tune without the words
and never stops at all

Salt nodded. ”That’s a likely scenario, seeing people take advantage of the recent battles. Well, getting into a fight when you expect it is one thing, but getting into fights in the wilderness usually comes without warning. So, why don’t we try one more thing, and then I’ll let you go about your day. “

The fighter walked over to where they had left the severed dummy arm and brought it to Lena, lying it at her feet. “Here you go, tend to this arm like you’re healing it. That’s something you’re likely to find yourself doing, right? I’m going to back away and circle you from about 30 feet away, and I’m going to attack you without warning, from an angle you’re not expecting. Let’s leave your sword, say, here” she placed Lena’s sword 10 feet away from her. “This is good practice for when you have your stuff in a pack close by but you don’t actually have something to defend yourself with on you. So, your goal is to survive my ambush, get to your sword, defend yourself, and either escape the battle or counter me and take me down. Sound like a plan?”

Even Salt wasn’t too sure what she was doing—this was her first time teaching after all. She couldn’t help but wonder if this was the best way to approach a practice like this, but she figured it couldn’t hurt to help this healer be more aware of her environment while in the field.

Lena

hope is the thing with feathers
that perches in the soul

Lena listened with rapt attention – eyes widening again, attempting to recognize the scenario being brought to life. With any luck at all, or maybe skill, after all of this was done, she’d never have to encounter this particular plot and outline, but she begrudgingly accepted the notions.

If with the slightest twitch of fear in her fingers.

“Okay,” was compliance, followed by a nod, as she glanced at where her sword would be laying, and then back to the dummy. Crouching as if to tend to this poor individual’s severed proportions, she couldn’t help the anticipated, apprehensive notions, gaze going in all sorts of directions, waiting for the inevitable.

and sings the tune without the words
and never stops at all

Helen withdrew from Lena, beginning a slow, casual circle around the medic from about 20 feet away. As Lena glanced up during her work, Helen lifted her voice a bit and said, "Whenever something requires you to look down for more than a few seconds, take some time to glance up and look around every once in a while, just like you're doing. Humans are ambush predators, after all."

The mercenary waited until she was directly behind Lena, and paused, considering whether to strike from this direction. Then, decided that she would just pause to psyche Lena out, then continued walking in a circle. When she was at the 2 AM position relative to Lena, she said, "So, how long have you been a healer for?"

Salt waited for her response, and as soon as Lena started speaking, like a wildcat and with a burst of movement, Salt pounced towards the healer in full view, bounding with several long strides to close the distance, wooden sword posed to strike!

Lena

hope is the thing with feathers
that perches in the soul

She nodded at the reminder; observations she’d noted from watching many birds throughout her enclosures. Rustling around, tending to their needs amongst grass, and then raising their head, waiting for something, anything, to sound the alarm – to take flight, to flee. Lena didn’t want to be that sort of individual, but she also didn’t have the abilities to counter true, unpredictable danger yet.

Her brows furrowed while she tended to the dummy, placing the arm where it was supposed to be, looking upward as instructed, watching Salt from the corner of her eye – confused why there hadn’t been an attack yet. It made her all the more apprehensive, waiting for the inevitable, drawing in light breaths, fingers clutching, glance going to the blade and back again. “A couple years-,”

Ah, there it was.

A burst of movement snagged, and she instantly darted towards her wooden sword, snagging at it, and with a light grasp, tried to turn back towards the soldier, hoping to block the strike.

and sings the tune without the words
and never stops at all

Helen smiled, seemingly caught up in the situation of sudden energy and power. As the mercenary tried to strike Lena, the medic indeed managed to lift up her wooden sort just in time to deflect Salt's blow. Salt wasn't trying to hit extremely hard by any means--she was focusing on the speed of her strikes while holding back a bit so she wouldn't batter the poor girl--but Salt was impressed by Lena's swift reaction to her charge. In fact, it was Lena's quickness that caused Salt to briefly reflect that perhaps she was underestimating her.

Of course, in the middle of a spar, one can only take so much time to reflect.

Salt did not withdraw after Lena blocked her initially. Instead, she doubled down her attack, and swinged a few times trying to connect with Lena's torso. While she did so, between swings, she managed to get out, "Nice! That was --- some good timing on your part --- now what's it gonna be? --- If I'm really a highwayman --- you've either gotta dispatch me, or get out of here!"

Lena

hope is the thing with feathers
that perches in the soul

Perhaps that was the problem. Lena didn’t want to hurt anyone. It wasn’t in her nature. It wasn’t in her heart. She’d seen enough broken, bleeding individuals laced with pain and discomfort, under rubble and ruin. So the youth swallowed down, holding her wooden blade aloft as if it were a shield, and desperately wishing she could escape the nature of the moment clinging to her bones. Like a mantra in her mind, slow and steady, she breathed, and then rolled out of the way.

Escape. She’d escape.

Intending to be out of Salt’s range, she dashed off to the side, armament held in front of her, waiting for some inevitable lecture. “Is...is that better?” Or should she have strived to truly flee, and run from the training grounds itself?

and sings the tune without the words
and never stops at all