Akashic Arcana Extra Curricular Activities Part I: Runic Dancing.

Craig Leo

Craig Leo

The Betrayer of Hope and Devourer of Donuts
@Appletree

Today, Neti would not be the one late for an appointment. Not just because he was particularly aware of the event, or went out of his way to know that he'd remember it. No, it was because his Shadow remembered it and so it made sure that he was there on time, at least 30 minutes early.

It had been boring, sitting in the empty training room all by himself, staring off into the vast darkness that constantly filled his eyes. It may have been more entertaining of his Shadow actually did more than hover in the back of his mind, always present and always aware.

Neti let out a loud yawn, sat cross-legged on the floor and waited for Kaila to arrive. It was good that they would get the entire room to themselves. He had plans.
 
Bare feet pounded down the hall as Kaila hurtled past students and teachers, throwing hurried apologies over her shoulder as she flashed past. Skidding to a stop before one of the doors, she took one breath, smoothed a hand through her hair and reached for the door. If her estimate was roughly on point, she had taken only 3 minutes to get here, making her only 21 minutes late.
Poking her head through the doorway, she saw only an empty training room for a moment. Thinking she had gotten the wrong room, panik welled up inside her, but then she spotted Neti sitting in a corner. Slipping fully into the room, she bowed in the Romani fashion, palms together at waist level with the fingers pointing downwards, all the while keeping her eyes on her soon to be teacher.

As soon as she was upright again, she burst out in a rush, "I'm so sorry for being late. I was practicing and I lost track of time and then suddenly it was already quater past and I still had to go back for my blades. I should have been better prepared and I know its really impertinent of me to be late when you are offering me this chance for tutoring and I promise it will never happen again and I am really really sorry!"

Shortage of breath and a stich in her side were the only reasons her rant was cut shorter than she would have liked. Panting, she pressed a hand to her side in the hopes of aleviating the pain and tried to breath regularly. While she was fit and could dance and train for hours, running full out exhausted her capabilities for the moment.
 
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Neti didn't seem to be the kind of teacher who cared if a student showed up tardy to one of their meetings, even though he thought he should be. It was really Neti's Shadow that didn't care if Kaila was 21 minutes late, or 21 hours late. To his Shadow, the time she was tardy wasn't even a fraction of the time it had existed. Time was irrelevant because it, and in turn Neti, were eternal.

So instead of scolding his student, Neti pushed himself to his feet and sauntered over to her. "You are here and there is what matters, miss Pa'u," he spoke slowly, almost lazily, taking his time especially with the pronouncement of her last name. "though I do expect you to arrive on time for your classes. "

Neti lowered himself down to the ground, sitting cross legged on the ground. He patted the floor in front of him, then gestured in Kaila's direction. He didn't wait for her to sit down before he started talking.

"I was thinking of ways that we could help you develop your skills further, but before we start going into those, I would like to know what you're wanting to take away from this session today."
 
Kaila lowered her head slightly at Netis admonishment, slight though it was, but kept her eyes on him as she walked around her. When he indicated she should join him on the floor, she settled gracefully into a cross-legged position, lying her twin blades neatly beside her, smoothed her skirt and thought about his question for a moment.

"Well, as you said, I want to develop my skills. Partly my actual figting," She ran a finger down the long handles of the blades, "and partly my magic. I know you can't help me much with my dancing, but we covered a bit of inherited magic at the end of last year and I was wondering if my people have any. I can't really ask them anymore, so this is the only way I might find it."
 
"What? You think that because I am a teacher that I do not know how to dance?" A smile crept across followed by a deep chuckle. "I'll have you know that I'm quite famous for being able to cut a little rug." he didn't mention that said cutting had been done by his sword and not his mediocre dance performance. His pupil didn't need to know that bit.

"I don't think we should ignore your dancing, I think we should incorporate it more into your magic and your fighting style." Neti began his advise right away. "I imagine, that given your life so far, that you have very accurate feet. Meaning that they go where you want them to go, at all times. Am I correct?"
 
"It has nothing to do with you being a teacher Sensei." Amusement crept into Kailas voice, followed by pride, "I just doubt you can teach me much about conventional dancing."

Listening carefully to what Neti was saying, Kaila wasn't quite sure what he was trying to get at. "Of course. Footwork is critical for dancing as well as fighting."
 
Neti nodded his head and tried to clarify. "Imagine if you would, a concept: runic sigils, drawn with your feet while you dance. Your skirts hiding the the soft sketches of your runes," he moved his hands like waves simulating a dance. "While your knives distract your enemy and keep their eyes focused at shoulder height."

He leaned forward, marking short slashing and cutting motions as he spoke. "Imagine their shock knowing that while they thought they'd been dodging your attacks and keeping up with you, that you'd been setting up a trap that entire time." He paused to let that sink ink. "If you do well at this, people will eventually learn to watch your feet. But it'd split their attention too much, it'd make it difficult to fight you even after the secret is out."
 
Kaila frowned, following Netis train of thoughts. It could be exorbitantly powerful, combining her realtively quick dance casts with the time consuming placing of runes, covered by the distraction of her melee fighting. It could also go horribly wrong. She didn't know much of runes, but anyone knew that runes, when not placed correctly or in the wrong oder, could lead to disastrous effects. She also knew that a lot of runes were highly intricate and again, very volatile if drawn wrong.

"Do you think I could? Is it possible to draw runes like that?" She asked, fingering a strand of hair absentmindedly. Then another thought struck her. "Do I even have the capabilty? Runes are mainly an inherited form of magic. Even if my ancestors had that power, it could be so diluted in me that I might not be able to pull it off." The idea of the whole concept was wonderful, but Kaila didn't want to get her hopes up too high.
 
Neti rolled his shoulders in a slow shrug. "It could be possible, with a lot of hard work and a little bit of luck. But that is what it takes to learn most magics, these days. Way more work than needed and more luck than people really understand." he leaned forwards, resting his palms against his legs. "I believe it can be learned, that it can be willed to work. But even if that weren't the case, I think you should work on involving more of your dancing into your magic and into your fighting."

He leaned back again, not really taking a moment to sit still for more than a few seconds. "Now, I guess we should focus on what we should develop first: your magic or your fighting?"
 
Kaila nodded slowly, her eyes slowly hardening in resolve. She would learn to combine her skills, no question to that, and she would do her utmost to learn what Neti was offering.

She thought about how best to go about her training. If he was giving her the choice, she wanted to make the right one. "I think I would like to start with fighting, if thats ok with you. If I already know how to combine dancing with blades effectively, incorporating runes might be easier." She got up and removed the fans from the back of her sash, lying them next to her blade. Undoing the sash, she let her skirt fall, revealing an old pair of her brothers old wide trousers, her perferred clothing for fight training.

The clothing reminded her of something. "Do you think my brother could learn Runes as well?" She asked hesitantly. While Tarans magic would not work as well in combination with runes, they could still be put to good use. And as the saying went, all knowedge is worth having.
 
Neti eased himself back up onto his feet, remembering fondly of the days when he could get back up on his feet without feeling one kind of pain. But he had lived a long, hard life and though it may have built his character, it certainly came with its own consequences. From the outside, his movements may have looked smooth and with purpose, it actually took a lot of effort for him to smother his old man noises.

Back on his feet, Neti took his time to answer Kaila's question. "It's possible for him to learn runic magic as well. Mastering the shapes, the form and the application of runes are vital, even if you don't have any particular affinity for them."

Putting a fair amount of distance between them, Neti turned to stare in Kaila's general direction. "Well then, before we can learn how to improve your fighting ability, I should experience first hand where your current level of skill is at."
 
Kaila nodded at Netis answer pertaining her brother. She would bring it up with him later.

At his wish that she fight him, Kaila gulped slightly. She understood the reasoning, but it was still quite daunting to go up against a master. She had heard of his great skill, though never seen it herself and knew that his blindness didn't encomber him at all. Laying her folded up skirt by the door, she retied her sash and tucked her fans in at her back, then picked up her blades, trying not to show her aprehention.

Each of her thin blades was a little longer than her forearm, with the hilt being roughly 3/4 the length again. Neti would have the advantage of reach, being taller and having the longer weapon, but perhaps she could use the fact that she had two. Keeping the sheaths on, she fell into a simple ready stance, arms raised to shield her body, holding both knives pointing down, so that the blades pointed away from her, following the curve of her arms.
 
Neti did carry his sword that day, however he seemed perfectly content with letting it remain in its sheath. Instead, he stayed exactly where he was, almost statuesque in his stance. His arms folded against his chest, eyes staring in Kaila's general direction.

Though as she expected, his blindness didn't seem to affect him all that much. At no point in their conversation would it look like he didn't know where or what she had been doing. It may have been just his calm demeanor playing tricks, but that was unlikely.

Once Kaila was ready, Neti reached out with his dominant hand and motioned for her to come. "Show me how well your offense is... I'll judge how well you can defend in a moment." he shifted his stance just a little bit after he was done speaking, letting both of his hands drift down towards his waist. It wasn't an exact stance, but he did look ready for whatever would come his way.
 
Although she knew she had hardly any chance of touching him, Kaila decided to not fight with open blades. This was only for practice and for him to see what she could do anyway, no need to risk any sort of injury. She studied her teacher for a moment, wondering how best to approach this. As he had for most of their converation, he was looking in her general direction, but she noticed now that his gaze went just slightly over her right shoulder. Perhaps she could work with that after all...

Taking a deep breath, she tensed, then let the air out in a whoosh, hoping the sound might hide the sound of her feet for just the milisecond she needed. She launched herself to the left and then forward towards him, aiming for a slash at his arm at chest hight with her right blade, hoping to follow it with a spinning jab at his general thigh area with the left.
 
If Kaila's attempt had worked to trick Neti, he didn't give much of an indication. Instead, he remained where he was, his eyes not moving from the spot that they had been. It was only at the last possible moment that Neti even budged an inch, but when he did, his movements were as smooth as silk.

Neti learned backwards, her first attacking getting inches away from its target, close enough that it brushed his clothing as it passed. He moved as little as possible, or just as much as he needed, his feet planted firmly where he had been standing.

As her first attack passed him, Neti straightened himself out and in that same motion, he took a fraction of a step forward and thrust his right hand out towards Kaila. With her mid-spin, she may not have been able to notice the quick movement. If that was the case, his hand could connect with her left shoulder and deliver a simple, but heavy shove capable of knocking her off balance and causing her to tumble to the floor.
 
As Kaila spun to place herself into the optimal position and to build up enough momentum for her strike, she realised she had made a grave mistake. She had been so focussed on thinking of a way of beating her Sensei, that she had forgotten to tie back the mass of dark curls that fell past her waist. While it might look kinda cool to fight with long flowing hair whipping around, the reality is quite different. Her rotation sent the tresses right into her line of vision like a cutain in a theatre, completely blocking her view of Neti. Unlike the blind teacher, Kaila was still very much dependant on her sight to move and aim appropriately.

Breaking off her attack sequence, she swiped at her hair irritably, simultaniously trying to put some distance between herself and her opponent. Sheer luck moved her away from Neti, but she wasn't fast enough to evade his blow entirely. The change in direction did give her enough time to fall away from his touch, softening the blow considerably. Unfortunately it still wasn't enough to keep her on her feet.

Twisting around as she fell, Kaila was able to turn what would have been a bruising tumble into a roll, forfitting one of her knives in the process. It clattered to the gound between them as Kaila came up into a crouch, flicking her head to shake away her hair again. She immediately threw herself foward, into what resembled a flip more than a roll, reaching for the blade while aiming a kick at both Netis hip and the back of his knees.

If she hit him, esspecially in the knees, kaila thought she should have enough force to send him to the ground. If not, she could either use her momentum to land on her feet behind him ready for another attack, or if he caught either of her legs, he would have at least one less limb to defend himself while she was close enough with both weapons in hand to try something new.
 
Neti could appreciate a fighter that was able to literally roll with the punches, or in this case, roll with his shoves. It was a skill that he may have expected a skilled dancer to be able to pull off, but that didn't diminish the respect that he'd give her. It also helped that her next attack preceded another fantastically acrobatic maneuver.

He stepped forwards again, closing in the distance of the kick so that he'd be able to catch it at her thighs rather than her ankles, canceling out a good portion of the impact the kick would've had. He may have been expected to take the kick of a student and simply shrug it off, but he wasn't exactly a young pup anymore.

"You move well," Neti spoke, sneaking a foot behind her other leg, where he's once again attempt to give her a shove and send her falling down on her butt. If he was indeed looking down at her, he'd continue speaking. "your movements can be as flashy as you'd like, but that won't matter if your attacks come from predictable angles. Use your rhythm, distract and attack. Come in from odd angles, be quick and don't devote yourself too fully to an attack."
 
Hitting something solid with her thigh rather than the expected ankle threw Kaila off balance, making her easy prey for the almost soft push. Unable to pull her leg out of his hold fast enough, the arm holding most of her weight buckled, sending her shoulder first to the floor. She pushed back into an upright, almost sitting position, both knives poised to attack again, despite the slightly odd angle her leg was now in, but froze when Neti continued speaking. She flopped back to the floor, staring up at the cieling as he spoke.

A part of her - a very large part - wanted to whine, 'But I'm a dancer, not a fighter. Dancing is supposed to be flashy.' and another resentful part of her growled 'not that you would know, seeing as you cant even see someone dance'. She pushed these thoughts away and said instead, "I'm trying to use my rhythm, but even you can see through it. Uh, sorry sensei. But a rhythm is to easy to predict, as you said."
 
Neti never had formal training in order to learn how to fight. It all came down to a mixture of real life experience, getting in various kinds of fights growing up. Some of them had been as simple as fighting over an insult, some had been fighting over food. Some of the fights he'd rather not remember. So it went without saying that the hardest thing he could do as a teacher was to coach someone how to fight.

"Hm," Neti hummed softly, trying to find the right words to describe what he'd meant. "your rhythm is good. It is not your movements that make you predictable, but the angles of your attack and the straight forward nature of them." he paused, feeling as if he'd already stated this, he needed a better way. "Perhaps I can better demonstrate if I am on the attack. Stand up and prepare yourself."

He motioned for her to stand, waiting until she got to her feet and into a defensive stance. All the while, he pondered over the ways that he could show her the lesson.
 
Much like her Sensei was reminicing about his past, Kaila found herself back in her childhood as she lay on the floor, thinking of the unending trainings she had gone through, many combining fighting, acrobatics and dance. However unlike Neti, these trainings were the extent of her experience. She had never had to use her skills in real combat, having always had elder family members to protect her. Even once her famliy was gone she hadn't fought. Her twins long range magic was better suited to two teenagers trying to get out of sticky situations.

When he let her leg go she shook her head slightly to get rid of the memories. She rolled to her feet, standing on one leg and shaking out the one Neti had trapped for a moment. Falling back into her fighting crouch, she nodded to show she was ready, watching him carefully to try and predict what he would do.
 
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