Sparring by the Lake {Attn Akira}

[Asfaloth]

OOC: Continued from: http://www.dragonmount.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=10774

 

IC: Shawn stood on the edge of the lake working on his footwork in nothing but his leggings, his barefeet coursing through the sand. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a woman at the dock watching him. Again. She'd been there the last three days each time watching him from a different angle and location. He'd tried to ignore her but it was getting difficult. Who was she and why was she there? More importantly, why was she watching him go through forms?

 

He turned away from her and went to the tree under which he'd piled his things. Moving his shirt aside he strapped weights to his wrists, ankles, and waist. Then he picked up his weighted lathes and returned to the beach. He spent the next hour working the forms, concentrating as he did not only on precision but on speed as well. Then he piled everything back up and dove into the water. He swam across the lake to the dock and back to cool down from his exercise.

 

Gathering his things together he made his way back to the clearing he'd been staying in for nearly a week now. Blaize was grazing between a clump of trees Shawn had roped off to contain him, completely oblivious to the rest of the world. His camp contained a hammock, the makeshift paddock he'd set up, and a firering. He laid his stuff down and built up the fire to warm and dry his body.

 

"Well, you've come all this way following me, you may as well come out of the trees and sit down."

[zie]

Weeks, she had been waiting around this small village for weeks trying to find some one that might be worth her taking in and training. So far she had twenty or so men that all needed a beating to get them in to shape, some where still complaining about the training she required them to do every day. If she had one good one that she could leave in charge or send out looking for more men then her time could be better spent in just the training of the men for Lord Rupert Ellasar. It has only been by chance that she had seen a young man.... well by her standards young. Working what looked to be warder forms on the beach of the lake, she had to admit that he had a lot of skill and to be out her alone meant that he was at least Tower Guard or Gaidin.

 

Those two words caused her some discomfort, she had been one once a Gaidin and a Tower Guard but that was along time ago. Shaking off those dark thoughts she turned and watched him go though the forms again with the weights on, she would have to talk to him and test his ability and then report to Rupert. Seeing him dive in to the water she turned and made her way to where she knew that he had been camping, it amused her that he had not seen her watching him while he was in his camp. By watching him she knew what his path was, not the sames as hers had been but that did not matter in the training of basics of others. He probably had some mentees while at the tower training, it did not take long for him to make it back to his camp and Akira smiled when he called out to her.

 

"Well, you've come all this way following me, you may as well come out of the trees and sit down."

 

She chuckled softly and took her time coming out of the trees since he knew that she was there at least this time what was the point of making a lot of noise. Besides it was against her training to do any different, she may not be a warder any more but the training never leaves you. Walking out of the trees she sat opposite him on the ground, he did not look like much but she knew that he was well trained. The silence stretched for a few moments before she said any thing, in more cases it was hard to ask a stranger a lot of questions about some thing that they may not want to speak about at all. She knew that she did not want to speak about her past, there was to much there that needed to be hidden in order to keep her family safe.

 

" You seem to be well trained for a young pup."

 

Even though he did not show much she knew that her comment irked him just a little, how could it not, a smile came to her face as she sat there looking over at him. Since she was a master in her path she was allowed a certain attitude, in most cases though she never used it unless she was proving a point. Most of her mentees knew her moods well because they had seen all of them, her face hardened she had to stop thinking about the past it was done. She would never go back to the tower, there was just to much pain there for her to be able to keep in control.

" Feel up to a spar or are you to tired from your simple work out?"

 

* ooc not sure how you want this to go, but I figured a spar off the bat might be fun. *

[Asfaloth]

OOC: A spar was exactly what I had in mind. Conversation can come later, or during.

 

IC: "Oh, that? that was nothing but a warm-up. I'd be glad to spar with you, it's been a while since I've been able to test myself against another. What say we go down to the beach where we'll have a little more room to manuever?" A quick answer in the affirmative led Shawn to wonder just who she was.

 

He gathered his swords back and walked back to the beach. As he did so, he considered the woman walking beside him. He observed the way she walked, her posture, the way she carried herself, and soon came to the realization that she would perhaps offer more of a challenge than he'd had in a long time. Not that he was dissapointed by this, he was in fact very pleased with it. He'd been practicing his sword and form work for hours and hours on end every day since leaving the Tower, much more than his duties as a guard, mentor, and blacksmith normally allowed.

 

His goal was to test for the title and recognition of blademaster when he returned but while he knew he'd improved during his travels he'd had no oppurtunity to truly test himself against another. This spar would grant him that chance that he'd been looking for. Even if he lost he would win for the experience would give him the one thing he'd been needing, an evaluation of how well his training had worked.

 

When they got to the shore Shawn stepped ten feet away and looked her square in the eye. He would wait and let her take the first move. One thing his travels had taught him was patience, he could wait as long as he needed to.