Juliette Coulombe (clearyourmind) wrote in emillion, @ 2014-02-10 12:05:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, !log, eden dire, juliette coulombe |
Who: Juliette & Eden (mentions of Ceres)
What: Juliette is caught stalking. Eden misunderstands.
Where: Shieldwyrm Hall
When: This afternoon
Rating: One swear word, otherwise tame
Status: Complete!
It had not taken any particularly brilliant sleuthing for Juliette to find her intended target. They had met previously at Shieldwyrm Hall; to Shieldwyrm Juliette went, accordingly, at the same time on the same day of the week, and a bit of wandering had in fact revealed exactly the person she sought. Juliette still didn’t know the blonde woman’s name, but she did know one thing: this woman was or had been a member of the Kingsguard, and was the only example of such that Juliette had ever encountered (storybook heroes and deceased ancestors notwithstanding). Although the young girl still hadn’t dared to voice her dream to her mentor, this did not mean she had forgotten about it. And here, finally, was an opportunity to learn by observing without having to explain her lofty aspirations to anyone! It was too perfect to pass up. This was why she had found a corner out of the way and settled in to watch. Certainly, the weapon was not the same -- nor was the fighting style -- but certainly she could manage to glean something? It didn’t matter what time of day it was, there was always time to sneak a snack in. Whether it was before or after practice, or before or after or sometimes even during battles, Eden often had food in her mouth. She currently had half a cookie hanging sticking out of it as she moved along the cobbled courtyard of Shieldwyrm Hall. She’d been on her way to grab her partner when she noticed the squire she seen a few times before, mostly hanging around Theo. She’d never actually thought to talk to her or introduce herself, but why not? Approaching the girl, she held out the bag of cookies for her to partake in. “Want one?” Juliette was so intent on her observation that she jumped when the unfamiliar voice addressed her. A woman, shorter than her (she had found herself taller than some of the adult guild members recently; it remained thoroughly disconcerting), armored, and with a cookie hanging out of her mouth, which probably explained why her words were muffled. Juliette tried not to look guilty, though her success was questionable. There was nothing wrong perse with watching someone train, but she still felt like a child caught in stealing treats from the kitchen (despite the fact that she was being offered treats instead). “No, I… no, thank you,” she managed. “That is very kind but I… shouldn't.” She tried to keep watching the blonde woman out of the corner of her eye, as though she would disappear if Juliette didn’t pay attention, but it didn’t work very well. The ranger shrugged, muffling something along the lines of “more for me,” before turning her attention in the direction the girl was looking. It took Eden a minute, but she managed to basically devour what was left of the cookie. Then she addressed what was happening. The girl was so focused in the direction that her partner was training in. Clearly, she was sweet on her. Because who wouldn’t be mesmerized by Ceres’ power and beauty and overall awesomeness. Eden knew where she stood on that subject, so clearly this girl also shared the sentiment. “Here to watch Ceres, hm?” she said with a knowing smile. “How she manages to be all fierce and still look super pretty has always been a mystery to me.” Her hair got messed up and sometimes had branches in it, but she never wore them as well as Ceres had. Eden let out a sigh, before realizing she hadn’t even introduced herself. Shifting the bag to her other hand, she stuck out the newly free one to the girl. “Eden.” Simple. No title. No last name. Clearly friendly. Someday, Juliette was going to learn to control her tendency to blush a shade of scarlet usually reserved for tomatoes. Sadly, today would not be that day. “Oh,” she said, “no, I… that is yes, but…” What does her appearance have to do with anything? she wanted to ask, but couldn’t manage to choke the words out. She was, perhaps, slightly oversensitive thanks to recent efforts by the rumormongers. “It is very… educational,” she managed at last. “I…” and explaining further was only going to make it worse. Manners, Juliette. “Juliette.” She took the woman’s hand, shook it. The blushing and the stammering were adorable. She could easily understand where that was coming from and smiled warmly, not pointing it out, nor belittling her adoration of her partner. “Juliette,” Eden repeated to commit to memory before shaking the girl’s hand. She then went about digging yet another cookie out of the bag. It had Baker’s Dozen printed on the side of it, advertising her boyfriend’s business. She was only all too happy to do so, mostly because it meant she was eating delicious treats. “Were you planning on learning the gunblade?” It was really the only way she could think of Ceres being educational, unless you wanted to learn how to be a professional scowly mcscowlface. She was definitely an expert at that. “I am… rather inadequate with swords of most kinds,” Juliette said. Her one impromptu training session with the gunbladist had certainly reconfirmed that much. “She is quite skilled in a variety of ways, however.” It sounded pathetic, but it was true. Juliette was attempting to note the way she moved, the way she followed through, the way she clearly envisioned her invisible opponent. It was difficult to read someone’s mindset while they trained, of course, but whatever little she could glean was already better than what she had had previously. “I…. try to watch a number of more experienced fighters whose skills” and accomplishments “I admire.” “Are you interested in learning how to use swords? I could introduce you to her,” she said with an easy shrug of her shoulder. “Then again, you’re Theo’s kid and he uses swords,” she said with a frown. She’d been fortunate enough to have a mentor that led her into the path she’d wanted to go. “Weapons are weird, but not so much once you get the hang of them, I guess,” she confessed. “I’ve been working with the spear for a year or two now. Still better when working with my hands. You ever think of becoming a monk? Your body is the greatest weapon you could ever possess. It’s the kind that can’t get knocked out of your hand at least,” she said taking another bite of her cookie before offering the bag to Juliette again as if to ask if it was okay for her to eat them now that they’d conversed a bit. Surprised, Juliette blurted out, “That is my class of choice.” Then, thinking this needed further elaboration, she said, “That is, if I am successful in my class examination this spring. Lord Finch has improved my skill with swords,” as clearly this Eden knew her mentor, “but they have not been my focus for some years. That is to say, they are not the core of our work.” She continued to ignore the bag of cookies, though they did smell good. And as for the offer…. it took all she had not to shake her head quickly and vehemently. “We’ve met. I would not wish to be a nuisance… again.” The bag ignored again, she claimed them wholly. It wasn’t nice to just eat in front of someone, but since she’d rejected it twice, Eden didn’t feel it was rude to not share. “You want to pass a monk exam and you’re training under a berserker?” She said, clearly confused. She knew that there was cross-class mentoring, but it appeared that Theo was teaching her about swords. She frowned. “I got some books I can lend you. They’re mostly about the preparation of the mind and spirit, but that’s a very important aspect of mastering the body. Harmony and all that.” It probably didn’t sound very impressive considering she was stuffing her face with cookies, but she was almost always hungry. “And if you want, I can help you spar whenever I’m in town. I’m always up for helping people find The Way.” Not a way, or their way. The Way. That’s what her teacher had called it and it was different for everyone, but the same. It was hard to explain it. “Well, to the best of my ability. My mentor explains it better than me, but he’s been at it since Ajora walked the earth.” The mention of being a nuisance to Ceres made her frown in annoyance. She thrust a thumb in the speed knight’s direction. “Was she rude to you?” “No!” Juliette exclaimed. “Not at all,” she added. Terse did not equate to rude. “It was my fault, entirely. She was… very helpful. She did not have to be.” And perhaps explaining her training was the more comfortable subject here. “I train with claws now, almost exclusively,” she said. “My strength was… lacking, when I was assigned. And I am not particularly skilled in… defensive maneuvers.” Or rather, she did not take damage well. “My mentor has helped me to improve in these areas, where I was once behind my peers.” His kindness and assistance with her mental and emotional state, not to mention finally ensuring she got enough to eat, well. That could go unmentioned. “I train with others, too,” she assured. “Councilor Liu and Sister Felicity, for hand to hand.” Lady Marcos for claws, she did not add. That was not a piece of information meant to be shared with a near stranger. “Councilor Cassul for further assistance in defense. Lord Amell for some time.” She was doing well, winning spars… her regime wasn’t entirely off track, was it? “I do like books,” she admitted. She had a number of them, mostly on meditation -- it had been, for her, the hardest practice to master when this path had chosen her. “If it is not troublesome for you, I would not refuse.” Because unlike the cookies, this would function to improve her skills, and for that aim, she was not above accepting help, even from someone she didn’t know. “Oh okay. Sometimes she just…” the knight looked at her partner with a slight frown, but never finished the sentence. She just sighed and let it go, focusing onto the training regiment that Juliette rolled out for her. “That’s a really nice spread you have there. Drake’s good. I’m not very familiar with Sister Felicity or Amell. Aspel’s work speaks for itself.” She was a councilor after all. “I dunno what I could really teach you that they wouldn’t all have covered. Is there anything specific you’re struggling with?” “Decision-making,” Juliette said, though what she really meant, perhaps, was confidence. “I am too methodical, I am told.” She had improved in this mostly due to her forays into unscripted, sometimes dirty fighting with one of her fellow squires, but… best not to mention that either. And this would explain, to some degree, her fascination with the gunbladist, perhaps -- she seemed never to hesitate at all. “I have many improvements to make in all areas, however,” she finished with genuine humility. She knew there was a long way yet to go. “Anything you will suggest would be of aid.” “Using your head is great. I’m told I don’t do it often enough.” Eden scratched her head and looked over at Ceres as the obvious source for that assessment. “You said you were lacking strength, but that doesn’t just come from gaining a lot of unnecessary muscles,” she said with a scrunch of her nose. Theo and Drake were wonderful to look at, and she wouldn’t mind running her hands all over the shape and length of their bodies, but she wasn’t built the same way and her master had actually been a little shorter and smaller than herself. Reaching out, Eden tapped a finger directly in the center of Juliette’s chest. “That’s where you pull your strength from. When you have problems deciding,” she said tapping the same spot again, gently as not to hurt. “It’ll never steer you wrong.” She removed her touch from the girl. “Fuck what anyone else says is right or wrong. Only you know yourself. Only you can define who you are, not your parents, not your friends, not any of us out here. You must build your own harmony. Trying to live up to everyone else’s expectations blocks that. Once you master yourself, everything else will fall into place.” It was a lesson not far removed from the one Juliette had been taught by the very first teacher who had really managed to accomplish anything with her at all, the same man who had set her feet on the path she now walked. Thinking of it, Juliette smiled faintly (even the somewhat shocking use of vulgar language could not prevent it). It would never be easy, she suspected, to make her own decisions, especially when she so deeply mistrusted her own judgment. But it was good to be reminded that this was something she ought, perhaps, to change. “Thank you,” she said, “I will attempt to keep it in mind.” “Good,” the woman said with a smile before digging into the bag only to find she was out of cookies. “Oh, man. Did I eat all of them already?” That was the thing about cookies. So delicious. So quickly gone. There was such a disappointed look on her face before she looked up and saw that Ceres had stopped moving. “Looks like she’s done fighting imaginary dragons. Want to go and say hello while you’re here?” “Oh,” Juliette said, “no.” Not at all. “Please go on without me. I hope the rest of your afternoon is pleasant. I should…” Before she could come up with something viable that she should do, she simply nodded her head hurriedly and then turned to go, keeping her pace below a run though she dearly wanted to bolt before she was seen. Perhaps next time, she would simply have to hide better. Eden watched as the girl made a hasty escape and turned to walk into the practice area that held her partner. “What a strange girl.” |