[Training] [SE] the sound of silence

And I know I'm asking too much
And I know I'm taking control

Soh and Jude were at home (Soh's home? their shared home? who knows because timelines), relaxing and discussing this and that, when somehow the topic of self-defense came up. Soh had shared with him that she'd been taking lessons in staff and knife fighting, and Jude had pointed out that there might be some situations in which she'd be weaponless and, therefore, defenseless, which she'd never really thought about before - especially since she'd taken to always having a knife on her person, just in case. Still, his reasoning was sound, so she'd agreed to a lesson in hand-to-hand combat. It certainly couldn't hurt, right?

So there they were, standing across from one another, Soh feeling remarkably naked without a staff or a set of knives to hold and, therefore, altogether unsure of what to do with her hands. She balanced easily on the balls of her feet, which were set shoulder-width apart, and raised her hands into a boxing (?) sort of position that felt as awkward as it probably looked. She made a face, scrunching her nose as if to make fun of her position, hoping to hide how ridiculous she felt.

But a heart that's not worth breaking
Isn't worth much, not at all

Sohalia

Jude

I'll stare at the ceiling, I'll wait right here

Frey's request had been far more detailed and difficult than Jude could have foreseen, especially when the two of them seem to be prone to picking strange days to enact them. Training with only the use of hand signs, however, is something Jude had recommended willingly. Reading body language is incredibly important when fighting and Sohalia had admitted to being rather new to training and especially hand-to-hand.

On the flip side, Jude's father had been training him in acrobatics and gymnastics since he was born, and fighting not long after. This is one of the few things Jude feels confident teaching instead of learning alongside her.

Sohalia's form is adorably wrong, and Jude grins as he reaches out and readjusts her hands into proper fists and lifts them to hover just below her eyes. Only then does he slide back into position, mimicking the exact same pose so that she can watch his body this time - and taps his own, left shoulder to encourage her to strike him there.

'Cause I don't get the feeling you'll stay another year

And I know I'm asking too much
And I know I'm taking control

Sohalia was a talkative person by nature, and to do something like this - well, anything, really - without speaking was ridiculously difficult for her. Still, as Jude corrected her stance, she stuck her tongue out at him playfully in lieu of making a self-deprecating comment. Her hands, though, didn't waver from where he placed them, and she tried very hard to consider the proper way to throw a punch as he indicated his left shoulder.

She wrinkled her nose as she considered actually trying to hit this man who she loved; it went so against her nature that for a moment she hesitated, unsure and unwilling, his indecision clear in the lines of her face and in the way her body wilted ever-so-slightly. Still, this wasn't just about training, it was for their quest, and so she took a deep breath, mentally shook herself, and took aim at Jude's left shoulder. Huffing out a breath of concentration, Soh struck, a fist coiling out towards Jude.

But a heart that's not worth breaking
Isn't worth much, not at all

Sohalia

Jude

I'll stare at the ceiling, I'll wait right here

Jude wrinkles his nose right back at her, playful and content to be juvenile. Harper had taught him in much the same way, wanting training to be fun and lighthearted even in the midst of difficult exercises or important rules. He'd undeniably had a good teacher, now he just needs to pass it on.

He can tell she's nervous and reluctant to hit him, but Jude is not only fairly confident in his abilities, he's equally uncertain of hers. In a loving way of course! Because as soon as she throws a punch, Jude's back foot slides easily and he turns a few inches out of her way, using both hands to push her outstretched arm in the hopes of forcing her off-balance. Once he catches her eyes again, he smiles encouragingly, not wanting her to be disappointed.

He demonstrates his own punch in the air, tighter to the body and not extending as far away. Faster, too. Maybe she'll get the message that she won't hurt him with something this basic, though he motions with his hands again in a circular array to mean 'try again'.

'Cause I don't get the feeling you'll stay another year

And I know I'm asking too much
And I know I'm taking control

Truth be told, she hadn't really expected to hit him, as half-hearted as her attempt had been, but neither had she expected a shove to the side to try to push her off balance. Her staff and knife training paid off; she was steady enough on her feet to avoid losing her balance, and she leapt nimbly back to avoid any potential retaliatory strike (which, of course, didn't come). As her body began to settle into a training groove, so, too, did her mind, and her eyes were considerably more focused as she prepared to try again.

In all honesty, hand-to-hand combat hadn't been something she'd have expected Jude to be proficient in - and she thought that lovingly! He was just so kind and gentle - as was Harper, in her experience - that she didn't really think of either of them as having that kind of skillset. But here they were, and he was encouraging her, and given her past experience with self-defense, she really should take this training seriously. So it was with a new resolve that she tried to mimic his punch, quick and precise, again aiming for his left shoulder.

But a heart that's not worth breaking
Isn't worth much, not at all

Sohalia

Jude

I'll stare at the ceiling, I'll wait right here

Jude's encouraging smile is only bolstered by the clear evidence that she has been training even before now, pleased to see she has a natural balance and good reflexes. All good things to build a strong foundation for fighting.

Jude doesn't need to sink into the mindset as much as Sohalia, but he had grown up doing this nearly every day, begging to join his father on the man's strict, insanely intense training regiment that was more like second nature to the man. Of course, flimsy noodle Jude had done quite a few modified exercises over the years to keep up with that.

When she punches this time he lets her hit him, the punch itself solid if lacking truly destabilizing force. Not bad for training though. This time however he retaliates, trying to grab onto her arm while his leg rises in the opening her outstretched arm has left, hoping to knee her in the stomach (not too hard of course!) whether he has snagged at her or not. They're both built for speed, so this matchup might be harder for Jude than his normal training against Harper, who has far more muscle and weight to slow him down.

'Cause I don't get the feeling you'll stay another year

And I know I'm asking too much
And I know I'm taking control

This time, her punch hit (although Soh was pretty sure he let her land it), and he retaliated, successfully grabbing her arm and aiming a knee towards her stomach. Unfortunately, one of Soh's trainers like to aim for her stomach, always yelling that her abs weren't tight enough, so she was ready for that particular tactic; she twisted rapidly to one side, and Jude's knee merely skimmed across her skin rather than directly hitting her - and yes, she did remember to tighten her abs, thankyouverymuch.

Now, though, Soh was in a bit of a predicament. With her arm held and her twist having put her off balance, she would normally have done something like try to tangle her staff in Jude's legs to try and knock him down. As it was, she had nothing to work with, and her mind promptly went blank. Her gut reaction, then, was to jerk her caught arm back towards herself, hoping to catch him by surprise and free herself, while aiming her off hand in a somewhat wild (read: imprecise) jab towards Jude's side.

But a heart that's not worth breaking
Isn't worth much, not at all

Sohalia

Jude

I'll stare at the ceiling, I'll wait right here

Perhaps he'd underestimated her, but instead of disappointment, there's only pride and satisfaction bubbling up in his chest. He's going a bit easy on her, yes, but most assailants were rather simplistic in their attacks; relying more on shock and surprise than skill and technique.

He lets her arm go readily, and though he'd like to see what her true offense is like, instinctual defense kicks in the moment she jabs at his side. Fonder of evasion, he spins to the side again, her fist grazing the furthest edge of his ribs and catching more fabric than skin. With how close they remain Jude goes for his second real blow, aiming a fist for her own shoulder since she'd had such good reflexes surrounding her stomach. His eyes are uncharacteristically sharp and intense, a tiny smirk forming on the corners of his mouth as the adrenaline starts to warm his body faster than any sweat.

'Cause I don't get the feeling you'll stay another year

And I know I'm asking too much
And I know I'm taking control

It was true that Soh had a bit of speed and agility, having been in training for a few seasons now, but she also wasn't going to win any fights single-handedly any time soon. She wasn't prepared for Jude to simply let go, and the sudden freedom of her arm left her a bit off-balance in a way that his earlier attempts had not; she caught herself before she could stumble too far back, but it left her defenseless long enough for his retaliatory punch to connect with her shoulder.

It was the first real blow that had landed in their little spar, and perhaps a few months ago, Soh would have given up to nurse her shoulder and her wounded pride. But the Sohalia of today was not the Sohalia of a few moons ago. Hoping that he'd feel a little bad for actually connecting and therefore, perhaps, be slower to react, Soh jabbed towards Jude's stomach.

But a heart that's not worth breaking
Isn't worth much, not at all

Sohalia

Jude

I'll stare at the ceiling, I'll wait right here

Normally, Jude would be too focused on training to make way for things like regret or other boyfriend duties given how hypnotic he finds hand-to-hand. Which means normally, Jude wouldn't have been hit at all.

Except he sees a huge floating spider right by Sohalia's ear, and his eyes go as big as dinner plates, gawking. Only flinching at the last second, tensing his stomach automatically (clearly their mentors are very similar) but only dulling the force of her contact, nothing more. Frantically making an x-shape with his arms in the motion to stop, he pulls at her - pretty breathless given she just socked him in the stomach - and tries to get her away from the spider that is now floating around her golden head.

It's almost impossible not to say something, but they've come this far, so Jude slaps a hand gracelessly over his girlfriend's mouth so she can't say anything either when she sees the creature, and spins her around - pointing at the spider in a frantic jabbing motion from behind her.

'Cause I don't get the feeling you'll stay another year

And I know I'm asking too much
And I know I'm taking control

Soh realized too late that Jude wasn't moving out of her way, and though she tried to pull her punch, it was too little, too late. Somehow, she ended up being the one feeling bad, and she was a out to open her mouth to apologize when a series of very strange events happened before her eyes. Jude was frantically making an x-shaped motion, which she thought he meant as a sign to stop, but then he was grabbing for her, and she thought maybe they were still going, so she started to struggle - except then he had clapped a hand over her mouth, spun her around, and she was suddenly face-to-face with a massive spider that had been floating right above her head.

Soh was suddenly very glad for Jude's hand over her mouth, because had he not been reminding her so forcefully that they were not talking, she might had squealed with surprise. As it was, she took a healthy step away from the spider, eyes round as saucers, tugging Jude with her, all while keeping her eyes locked on the creature floating around her house. Her. House. AKA, her soon-to-be-burned-to-the-ground-pile-of-ashes.

Swallowing hard, Soh tugged Jude's hand from her mouth and, one eye on the spider, she pointed to him, then made a gesture that said 'keep an eye on that' using two fingers miming from her eyes towards the spider. She then pointed to herself, pointed to the kitchen, and mimed catching the spider. If Jude kept an eye on it, she could get something to capture it with, and they could release it back into the wild.

But a heart that's not worth breaking
Isn't worth much, not at all

Sohalia

Jude

I'll stare at the ceiling, I'll wait right here

Her struggling makes complete sense, but he's glad it doesn't last long because she's rather slippery and also very close to hitting that spider. It's a miracle he doesn't completely forget their signs-only rule, because the urge to shriek-whisper in her ear is so high it makes his chest tight in preparation. Luckily she catches on immediately after, sparing him any elbows to the ribs or other unfortunate retaliations for gallantly saving her life from the eight-legged monster.

Gladly following along as she tugs him further away, he tries to gauge what she's saying with her gestures. They're mostly comprehensible, so he nods and stays in place while she retrieves - well, he isn't sure. He just stands there like an idiot hoping she comes back quickly because he thinks it's staring at him now. The only good news about that horrible, disquieting realization is the fact that obviously, he has eyes on it.

'Cause I don't get the feeling you'll stay another year

And I know I'm asking too much
And I know I'm taking control

Soh squeezed Jude's hand as she hurried away, rummaging quickly through the kitchen cabinets until she found a large bowl and a plate. In her mind, she imagined capturing the creature in the bowl, covering the bottom with the plate, and taking the spider safely outside to be released. Satisfied with her plan and with the items she'd collected, Soh rushed back to Jude, holding up the bowl and plate and miming closing them together, quirking a brow and tilting her head as though to ask if he though it would work.

Then, turning her attention to the floating spider (and shuddering at the way its legs twitched and flailed in the air), she held up the bowl and plate. Suddenly keenly aware of how awkward it was going to be to do this and not drop her dishes, she started trying to capture the spider between the two. It took a few moments, in part because she jumped every time the spider twitched, but in the end, she managed to successfully capture the creature between the plate and the bowl, closing it away and out of sight before turning to look at Jude proudly.

But a heart that's not worth breaking
Isn't worth much, not at all

Sohalia

Jude

I'll stare at the ceiling, I'll wait right here

Jude is relieved when Sohalia hurries back. He's not exactly sure what he would have done if the spider started floating around again, and now he doesn't have to figure it out. Jude looks at the plate and cup Sohalia had retrieved and gives a shrug that he hopes comes off as optimistic.

He does wait with bated breath behind her shoulder as she captures the spider, and as she turns to show him the enclosed arachnid Jude beams and gives her two thumbs up, wishing he could cheer for her. Instead, he walks swiftly backward to the front door which he opens for her so she can step outside to free the spider, keeping his eyes firmly on the impromptu trap in her hands to ensure it doesn't come floating right back inside.

'Cause I don't get the feeling you'll stay another year