Learning how to dance... like an Aiel? (Attn:Veria)

[Jehaine]

Melenis was waiting in the Yards for her trainee to show up. Though it still felt odd to think of the Aes Sedai as such, fact remained that she had taken to bringing the woman back up to speed in terms of combat, and if she would need to think of Veria as if she were a new Trainee like any other then so be it. In a corner of her mind, she wondered what she would do if Veria hadn't been practising her laps with no one there to oversee it, but the woman had certainly shown both motivation and determination in trying to finish her fifth lap during their first meeting, where she had expected half.

 

Still, even if she had been there would be plenty to do even today. Now that she had a firm amount of stamina she could go on to basic movements. She had brought an assortment of training weapons ranging from daggers to halberds, not knowing what the Aes Sedai would be comfortable using. In case Veria wouldn't know herself, it would come in useful either way.

 

 

Melenis

Likes to come prepared

[Nephitess]

IC: Veria Ran to her training meeting with Melenis. She was a little late but not by much. She was eager to show Melenis that she had been practicing. She was also excited to see what they would do today.

 

Once she arrived to the entrance of the yards she stopped and entered at a slower pace. She saw Melenis half way through the yard and she jogged over to her. When she got to where Melenis was she saw that there was an assortment of weapons there. Curious she raised an eyebrow and asked…

 

“are we going to be working with these today?”

 

 

[Jehaine]

Melenis nodded in confirmation, stepping aside to allow Veria full view of the training weapons. They had actually been brought here for a class that had ended a couple of minutes before her appointment with the Green, and she had struck a deal that she would see to the cleaning up in their stead if she was allowed to use the gathered materials for this small training of her own.

 

- "Yes and no, actually. Today i want to get you familiar with moving with a weapon. The last thing you want in combat is throwing yourself off balance for not being used to the weapon you're holding."

 

She motioned towards the weapons again, going over them to try and guess which one Veria would choose. Reading an opponent correctly was one of the things she needed to train as well, and despite the gap between the two of them in terms of weapon skill any experience she could get in the subject would be in her advantage.

 

- "So what'll it be? The quickness and precision of a spear? The raw strength of an axe? The swift accuracy of a lighter blade? Choose. But pick something that feels right to you, that you feel comfortable with using. You need to share a certain affinity with a weapon to truly be a master of it."

 

 

Melenis

Choose your weapon ;)

[Nephitess]

IC: Veria looked over the weapons and touched them each. She lifted them and felt their weight and personality. Veria decided on the Katana. It was light and had a slightly curve blade. She moved it in small arches above her head and she smiled.

 

“I’ll take this one.”

 

EDIT: Serves me right for posting for two Chars at the same time. :P

[Jehaine]

Melenis simply nodded, showing Veria how the sheath would go and wondering where Phinn came from all of a sudden in case she wouldn't know. After that, she'd wait for a moment to allow her student to get herself to adjust to the weight of a weapon at her side. Her own weapon was worn on her back so in her case it was easier, but there had been other Trainees she had trained with, and she built from their experieces rather than hers.

 

- "Good. Now, the first thing to do is to get you used to carrying a weapon again. The last thing you want to do is trip over your own sheath, so i'll be leading you through a series of movements that will get you used to that weight hanging at your side. First up, i want you to start sidestepping for a couple of minutes, as fast as you can."

 

She'd wait, looking at Veria as she'd start to move and become aware of the weapon's weight at her side. Before anything, she'd need to compensate for that, and only when she wouldn't immediately fall down would Melenis move on to the next phase of training.

 

 

Melenis

Let's see you move, girl

[Nephitess]

OOC: LOL…sorry about the name!

 

Veria watched as Melenis adjusted the sheath on her hips and made sure to note how to fasten the buckle. Taking a few steps and moving her hips she smiled and thought..I could get used to this…turning her attention back to her mentor she listened.

 

“Good. Now, the first thing to do is to get you used to carrying a weapon again. The last thing you want to do is trip over your own sheath, so i'll be leading you through a series of movements that will get you used to that weight hanging at your side. First up, i want you to start sidestepping for a couple of minutes, as fast as you can."

 

“alright”

 

Veria moved a few paces away and started the exercise as Melenis asked. Veria tripped a few times but got back up and continued to work at it. After while she could move with out tripping..if slowly. Veria sighed and frowned a bit...she was not used to feeling this lack of grace.

 

Veria

Feeling clumsy....

[Jehaine]

Melenis looked at Veria, making small mental notes of which areas the Aes Sedai needed to improve in. A number of people underestimated how much several pounds of metal at the hip could unbalance them, though she wore her ashandarei across her back it had taken some time for her to adjust to moving around without knocking over everything within a five feet radius. Speaking of which, it looked like Veria started to get the hang of moving around, which meant she should move on to the next step.

 

- "Very well. Now, draw your sword, and match your movements to mine. Keep an eye on how i'll move, and keep the distance between us the same. My weapon has a longer reach than yours, and the point of this exercise is for you to learn to keep your opponent in the ideal range of your weapon rather than his or hers."

 

She readied her own ashandarei and waited for Veria to draw the katana out of its sheath. She'd sidestep at first, later on moving forwards and backwards as well, picking up the pace. If Veria would pick up on it fast enough she'd add a couple of feints as well, and she was confident enough she'd be able to keep that blade off of her in case Veria would make a glaring mistake and threaten to crash into her.

 

 

Melenis

Stepping it up

[Nephitess]

IC: Veria Drew her sword and looked closely at her opponent. Melenis moved smoothly and Veria followed..tripping a little over her feet. The side stepping would take getting used to! Veria followed as best she could....moving backwards as Melenis advanced and forwards as she back away. Veria tried to keep herself at a good distance...she was a little shy of the weapon Melenis was using so her nerves made her judgment worse than it normally would be.

 

Veris felt like throwing down her sword and tackling the woman...she was better with hand to hand! But...she knew she could not do that...she had to learn how to use a weapon and use it well. Veria focused her concentration again and tried harder.

 

 

[Jehaine]

- "Don't worry, you're doing quite well for a first attempt. Remember to keep your eyes on me though, and try to memorise the terrain to keep from tripping over something lying around."

 

Melenis gave Veria a brief nod to tell her that the exercise was at an end for now, but kept holding onto her own weapon as there were still one or two things to show her. Though she hadn't progressed yet to the point where she could spar against one of the Trainees, a Form or two should help when it came to practising balance. She held her weapon high, showing a couple of slashes from different directions.

 

- "This form is called 'Heron Wading in the Rushes', and is used mostly for balance as it leaves you wide open in a fight. You'll be falling down a lot trying to master this one, but it's one of the first Forms taught to Trainees here because it's perfect for training balance."

 

She watched Veria take position, helping her with a few pointers on how best to keep her balance standing on one foot, and watched the first couple of attempts to see if she managed to get the basics of it. After that, she would tell her to keep practising it for a week or two so she could start the next series of lessons. Overall, she had to admit that training people was a welcome change to being trained all the time, making a mental note to herself to try and do that more often.

 

 

Melenis

Starting to get the hang of teaching

[Nephitess]

OOC: I know I know.. I'm a horribly slow poster!! :P But I haven't forgotten you!!!

 

IC: Veria moved awkwardly...she wiggled and felt her balance pushing her to one side. She did not feel anything like a heron wadding thorough anything. She felt like a boar trying to do a dance. It was not a pretty picture.

 

Melenis continued to help her get the stance right...though Veria did not get it exactly right that day. Her teacher told her to keep practicing and ended to class for that day.

 

OOC: what should we do next?

[Nephitess]

*bump*

[Jehaine]

OOC: Ah sorry, forgot the ending post. Will have it up tomorrow as it's 2 am here atm.

 

My bad ^^;

[Nephitess]

no worries sweety!!

[Nephitess]

*hip checks*

[Jehaine]

Melenis nodded, watching Veria go through the variations of the Form with varying degrees of success. From her own training back in the day, she knew her own performance the first time she tried was less than spectacular as well, but with a little training the woman would turn out to be quite the fighter. Feeling a small tingle of satisfaction, she wondered if Kynwric felt the same when he had taught her, and watched her improve under his wing. She made a mental note to ask him the next time they'd meet.

 

- "Very well, that's it for this lesson. Don't worry, not many get that form right until the first week or two of training has passed. I sprained my ankle twice myself back in the day."

 

With a nod, she dismissed Veria, waiting until the woman was out of sight before sitting down. She was working herself hard over the past couple of years, training and training as if Tarmon Gaidon was scheduled to happen two days from now, and over the past few months she had been starting to feel the effects of it. Perhaps she really should be making that visit to the Yellows...

 

 

Melenis

Just ended class, yayz!

[Nephitess]

OOC: Thanks sweety!!!! *dances*

[Jehaine]

OOC: No probs, sorry it took so long.