InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Greed even fails the greedy."

zaria (bravely) wrote in mirage_rpg,
@ 2008-07-04 10:30:00

Entry tags:

complete, day 6, katara, xena

Day 6
Who: Xena & Katara
What: Training
When: Morning
Where: Training Room
Rating: PG
Status: Complete

Xena had risen early, as was her habit. She showered and dressed, grabbed some light breakfast from the kitchen and headed for a room she had seen during her exploration of the resort. It was a big room, with several weapons on racks along the walls. There was a thick pad on the floor, and she assumed it was for sparring. If someone fell, they wouldn't get hurt too badly.

She entered the room and shut the door behind her. It was mirrored, as well, so that you could watch yourself as you trained. She looked around her for a moment, noting that the room was void of any other persons. She unstrapped her scabbard from her back and leaned her sword against the wall. She also unhooked her whip and chakram and set them next to the sword on the ground. She wanted to warm up before she started practicing with her sword.

While she and Gabrielle had been in India, they had discovered yoga. Gabrielle had been more into it than Xena had been, but Xena still did it sometimes to appease her friend. She was doing it now because some of the positions were good stretches and she had to admit, however reluctantly, that it was kind of relaxing.

She went through a few positions, watching herself in the mirrors. She'd grown used to mirrors. They hadn't existed in her time. The only thing she could rely on for a good reflection was some highly polished metal, or a still pond. When she felt sufficiently loose, she returned to the wall and pulled her sword from its scabbard. She turned and found a sparring dummy in the middle of the room. It hadn't been there before and it was slightly eerie. But, since no one else was still in the room, and she would know if there was, she chalked it up to a quirk of the planet.

She began her dance, because that's what it was. It was an elegant display of her skill. She slammed her sword into the dummy time and time again, stabbing and sweeping the blade through the air. The dummy never seemed to display any damage, but a thin red line would appear each time she struck it somewhere. By the time she finished, she was slightly out of breath and the dummy was covered in thin red lines.

She smiled, satisfied. But her smile vanished when she heard the door creak open.

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bravely
2008-07-09 10:23 am UTC (link)

Xena could see that the girl was catching on, and quickly. She was focused and thoughtful. It was refreshing. She was glad that the desire to learn wasn't just an offhand thing. It was being taken seriously. Xena smiled wryly to herself.

There wasn't much dialogue between them as they practiced and trained. Each time, Katara got better and better. And Xena grew more and more tired. She'd already had quite a workout before the waterbender had arrived. She would be sore later, but she didn't mind. It meant she was still alive.

Katara was better than most novices in weaponry, in that she could anticipate the attacks to a degree. Xena wouldn't go full force for a long time, not until she was sure she wouldn't hurt her too badly. Katara was going to get hurt. It was how it worked. But, she didn't want to break anything. As it was she was coming rather close to her fingers where they gripped the staff.

Xena stepped back, breathing harder than normal. Chest heaving she leaned on her staff. "You're doing well. Better than most when they first learn. I think it will come to you easily." Suddenly, Xena took her staff, turned and swept it into the backs of Katara's knees, sweeping her off her feet.

Xena stood over her and looked down. She reached a hand down to help her up. "Just don't ever let your guard down. Be prepared for anything." She helped her to her feet and stood back. "Do you want to keep going?"

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