gillian. (chiburui) wrote in emillion, @ 2014-03-05 07:57:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, !log, gillian goodwin, juliette coulombe |
I climbed a mountain, and I turned around.
Who: Gillian Goodwin & Juliette Coulombe.
What: A substitute teacher!
Where: Bahamut Hall training grounds.
When: Today.
Rating: Tame; teaching the bbs.
Status: Complete!
Weekly hand-to-hand sessions, which had once been a stable and predictable part of Juliette’s routine, had become a matter of increased uncertainty over the course of the last months. They had not been canceled, at least, which Juliette considered a victory, but it was obvious to anyone with eyes that the absence of the training master had put the guild in the rather difficult position of engaging substitute after substitute until the post could be filled (Sister Felicity, it was said, had been meant to return before Aquarius gave way to Pisces, and demonstrably, she was not here; the common agreement among those who gossipped about teachers -- which was to say, nearly everyone under the age of twenty, to some degree -- was that she had either found something better to occupy her time or gotten herself killed and Juliette could only hope for the former). For now, the squires and young fighters who made up the hand to hand sessions never quite knew what they would be getting upon arrival. Take today as an example: the blonde woman who was to lead the class was someone Juliette had seen around with a katana on more than one occasion; it seemed that today’s instructor was not a monk at all, or at least not any longer. Not that this meant there would be nothing to learn from her, of course. Knowledge came from a variety of sources. Still, as the bell tolled the top of the hour and Juliette quit her stretching to join the line of students taking today’s advanced class, she had to wonder what exactly she would learn today. Gillian herself was also given to wonder, as she was not especially keen on taking up full mantle of instructor, nor was she especially fond of inundating herself in the presence of squires. However, even amidst these truths, the mercenary fell into enough reasonable categories to have been approached about this particular situation. Catching up with old comrades around the guildhalls meant being reminded of her own beginnings, as a monk on a deliberate path to samurai--a physical and spiritual journey leading to many unforgettable places in her own life. She had always been proud of those early years, and thought fondly on those she had trained with (an understatement as that might or might not have been). Perhaps it was due to these factors that Gillian had agreed on a very brief and very temporary role as substitute instructor for this class. She introduced herself, explained in a brief and perfunctory way her role in the guild, and instructed the class on what would be the plan for the day’s lesson. Dressed notably in a dark set of kimono and hakama, with sleeves tied back to as not become a hindrance during demonstrations, the mercenary went through the class like she would have ordering men on drills--calm, precise and experienced, but lacking in that warmth that many instructors perhaps had when regarding the youths of the guild. Going through a number of familiar kata, Gillian was eventually drawn over to measure Juliette’s techniques, watching as one does those under their command. “Again.” Juliette had noticed that every hand to hand fighter she had ever met approached the discipline a little differently. This was to her benefit -- her own technique, while improved, was arguably still a bit pedantic. The greater the number of styles to which she exposed herself, therefore, the less noticeable this particular weakness became. Accordingly, she watched this new instructor attentively, searching out the unique in her stance and in her methods of attack and defense. The lack of warmth didn’t bother her -- she had been taught before by people who clearly were disinterested (and this woman, at least, appeared dedicated to her task, if not inspired by it). The combination of movements that had been assigned -- attack-block-attack-attack-attack-dodge-a Gillian stood and watched as she had with the others, her expression one of cool assessment as the girl went about the familiar forms. Practicing at the guildhall and putting these lessons to use out in the world were quite different, and watching the squires perform these skills meant tapping into her own collection of memories. In that way, she stood and catalogued each way the girl’s form might be used against her, putting them to contrast with her own experiences. “Not bad,” she said in a neutral tone (it might’ve meant anything). Truth was, Juliette seemed to possess a surprising amount of potential for one so young. Any experienced monk with a decent eye would likely be able to see as much. But whether or not that potential would see itself fully realized--that was another story (and a problem for someone else to take up, such as the girl’s mentor). For now, Gillian could aid in this short moment of class. “Give this a try,” she suggested, and went about performing the same set. However, Gillian had been taught under a number of different instructors with their own methods, those differing from what a girl Juliette’s age would be completely familiar with. One mentor especially--but he had passed on likely before any of these squires ever had cause to think of a guild, let alone join. Similar then, but not exact, and as she finished the set of movements, some others in the class had quietly drawn their attention over. Distanced as their instructor held herself, there now could be seen the slightest hint of a spark. “Now, once more.” Juliette watched the demonstration, a look of concentration upon her face as she attempted to memorize the differences between what she had done and what she was now seeing. Certainly she would not catch them all, especially not those which were minute, but the combination had taken on a different sort of feeling in this iteration, and she attempted to define and capture that, too. She was unsure why it was her performance specifically that had prompted such a demonstration, but with others coming to watch now it seemed clear that the entire class had the potential to benefit. It was to her once again that the instructor addressed the next request, however, and now, the samurai was not the only one watching her. Juliette reminded herself that very soon, she would be doing this -- most likely this and any number of other things -- in front of quite a few people with gazes far more critical than those of her classmates (as always, her attempts to approach everything as a learning experience saved her from what might appear to others a situation destined for discomfort). Therefore, she assumed her guard stance before beginning again, a little slower this time so that she might better emulate what she had seen. She could feel her own errors -- this was by no means a perfect representation of what she had been shown -- but she thought she could feel a few small improvements, too. Her balance had shifted slightly, and she thought her strikes had more power this way (a precious commodity in her case; she would certainly keep this in mind going forward). Gillian watched carefully, noting both improvements and errors. There was again a distant urge to instruct the girl further on her form, but she held herself back this time, considering that it was, perhaps, an acceptable adjustment for the time being. A glance over her shoulder was given, those watching the pair shrinking slightly under the stern attention of the Black Lions’ commander and pretending to return to what they had been doing beforehand. “Something to keep in mind moving forward,” she explained of the alterations Gillian had demonstrated. Before moving her attention onward she asked, “Going into exams soon, or do you have a year or two ahead?” It seemed her demonstration had at the very least been adequate; really, Juliette had not hoped for more. “In a month,” she answered, hoping against hope that the question she had been posed did not imply she had years of training yet to complete before she could be considered sufficiently skilled to pass. If she failed… If she failed, then she would try again. She was too stubborn to quit now. What was weak could be strengthened, what was wrong could be corrected. At least, when it came to matters of purely physical skill. “I will attempt to incorporate what you have shown me into my routine.” A pause, and then Gillian nodded her head--a response that might’ve meant anything to the girl, but for now the instructor turned back to the class, reinvesting her attention on the lessons thus ahead. If she had a confidence about Juliette and her odds at the exam, then she had decided to keep such things to herself. However, if nothing else, this day had certainly served to remind her of her own beginnings as a fighter, one perhaps not too different from any of the squires before her. “Right then,” she said to the class, her arms folded over her chest in a perfect image of her role as field commander. “As for the rest of the period, we’ll….” |