InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "do the Time Warp"

zaria (bravely) wrote in mirage_rpg,
@ 2008-08-08 23:00:00

Entry tags:

complete, day 10, katara, xena

Day 10
Who: Xena & Katara
What: More Training
When: Late Morning
Where: Training Room
Rating: G-ish
Status: Complete

Xena had spent the last several days with Gabrielle. And they had been good. Very revealing. But, they hadn't done anything very strenuous, and she needed to work out again. It was late morning, and later than she would normally seek out some physical activity, but it was never too late in her opinion.

She locked the door and decided to go back to the training room she'd found before with all the weapons and dummies and cushioned floor mats. But then she remembered that she was supposed to be training Katara in the use of a bow staff. So, she looked up the girl's room number in the lobby and headed that way, backtracking a little but it didn't matter.

She was dressed in her usual leather armor and copper plating. Her sword was sheathed on her back and her chakram and whip were at her hips. She knocked on the door marked E104 and stood back to wait for her to answer. She didn't even know if she was in her room, but if she wanted to make sure the girl got some training in, this was the first place to look.

"Katara, it's Xena. Do you want to work with the staff some more today?" She called out against the door after she'd knocked.

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k_waterbender
2008-08-09 10:03 pm UTC (link)

Katara groaned softly as she heard the rapping at her door, then a familiar- though muffled- voice began to creep through. At first she thought she had been dreaming, tired as she was, but she soon realized it was real. Lids shot back from silver-blue eyes, and she lifted her body into a sitting position with a yawn.

What time had she gotten to sleep? Late it seemed. Once she’d finished with the new face the Planet had kidnapped, she’d gone straight to her room, had taken a quick bath, and had fallen asleep as soon as her head had hit her pillow. Naturally, she still felt the need for sleep; however, she also knew it was late morning, and she’d gone around with less sleep than this in the past. It was time to get up, and face the day.

She grabbed a robe and proceeded to quickly cover her person with it. This one was a vivid red, as her mint green robe was muddy and crumpled in a corner from the night before. Quickly, she moved to the door, pushed the hanging pelt out of her way, and opened it. Before her stood Xena, the warrior woman who had trained her in defensive moved with the staff a few days ago.

After quickly searching her mind for what the older woman had said through the door when she awoke, Katara said, “Yes. I would love to train today. I’m sorry to keep you waiting. I just woke up. I need to get ready, if that’s all right. You can come in and wait if you want.”

After gaining a response, Katara vacated the entryway and, grabbing her traditional Water Tribe attire, quickly moved to the washroom to ready herself. She had a shower hours earlier after she’d gotten out of the storm before bed, so there was no need for one now. She simply threw on her clothes, washed her face a bit, and pulled her hair back into a braid. All in all, it only took a couple of minutes. In the past, she’d had to develop a skill for readying herself quickly for the day, despite any lack of sleep.

Then she proceeded to move back through her room, looking as if she’d taken longer than a few minutes to dress. It wasn’t as if her tasks had been complicated, though. With a smile she went to train with Xena.

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bravely
2008-08-11 09:24 pm UTC (link)

Xena stepped back when the door opened and a clearly disheveled Katara stood in the doorway. Xena couldn't help but smirk, wondering how she'd managed to sleep this late. But, she knew everyone had different sleeping patterns. Not everyone rose as early as she did.

"Alright." She stepped into the room and looked around. It was vastly different than her room, but it reminded her vaguely of an Amazon hut. She crossed her arms and waited for the girl to dress and ready herself for the training session ahead. She returned a small smile and a nod when the girl emerged from the washroom and headed for the door, obviously ready to go.

Xena stepped out of the room and into the hall, waiting for Katara to close the door and follow. She looked over her shoulder as she walked ahead. "Late night?" She asked casually. She'd looked like she needed more sleep when she first came to the door, but she looked relatively bright eyed now.

"Sorry it has taken so long to get back to training. I have been a little busy the last few days and haven't even been able to train myself." She smiled apologetically as they continued down the hall to the main building and then into the training room. She opened the door for Katara and turned the light on, walking in after her.

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k_waterbender
2008-08-15 01:20 am UTC (link)

“Yes. I was caught in the storm, helping someone who had just arrived maybe an hour before dawn.” Katara responded, suppressing a yawn. She was tired, true, but she was refreshed enough to train with Xena. In fact, the waterbender was looking forward to it. She hadn’t forgotten about it at all, but it had been pushed back behind other things that happened within this place.

“That’s okay.” Katara said when Xena explained why she hadn’t been able to train with the younger woman. “I’ve been busy, too.” The waterbender stepped into the newly illuminated room, thinking it looked much the same as before, though the dummy was missing. Now that she thought about it, though, the Water Tribe femme wasn’t quite sure the dummy had been there the entire time the warrior woman had trained the waterbender last time anyway. The Planet must really enjoy messing with others’ minds.

Katara lifted a staff that she thought might have been the same one she used last time, and she held it just the way Xena had taught her to do. “Are you going to teach me more defensive moves with a staff today?” The young woman inquired. She didn’t mind. Waterbending was all about defense and turning another’s offense against them, thus making a defensive move and attack. It all flowed so smoothly together. Defense was the first and foremost thing to learn in the waterbender’s opinion. Offense could be built from it.

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bravely
2008-08-15 09:53 am UTC (link)

Xena nodded to the explanation. She'd helped someone in from the storm herself. But it hadn't been just before dawn, so she could understand her earlier weariness. Xena smirked to herself thinking of Sam Anders, the man who'd arrived. He had secrets. And Xena, while she wasn't usually very nosy, wanted to know what they were. Especially if they were dangerous secrets.

"Good. Staying busy is good." She smiled slightly as they entered the training room and looked around. It looked the same as it had before, but things were rearranged and missing or there were new additions. She wondered if it shifted to adjust to different needs. Xena removed her scabbard and leaned it against the wall. She also removed her chakram and whip, setting them on the ground near her sword. She could fight with them on, but they swung annoyingly if she wasn't using them.

She felt a little naked without her weapons, but as soon as she picked up a staff, mirroring Katara's actions, she felt better. She watched as Katara placed her hands on the staff in the positions Xena had taught her to and nodded in appreciation. "I think we will at least refresh on defensive moves, and maybe we'll see if you can block some attacks."

"Alright, show me what you learned last time." She stood with her hand on the staff, leaning on it slightly as she watched Katara go through the motions she'd been taught a few days prior.

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k_waterbender
2008-08-15 12:45 pm UTC (link)

“Yes.” Katara responded needlessly. Keeping busy was good, though. It kept the mind occupied. At least it kept her mind occupied and away from thoughts of how much she missed home, how much she missed her family and her friends. She would need to find Toph again soon. It had been nice to be around someone familiar about whom she cared.

Katara eyed the circular, disc-like weapon Xena removed from her person. She’d never seen one before, so she had no idea what it was. “What kind of weapon is that?” The waterbender inquired before lifting her staff.

The younger woman nodded as the warrior femme announced what they would go over. It sounded good to her. At Xena’s request for Katara to show her what the former had taught, the waterbender began scanning her mind. First and easiest would be the proper stance with the proper way of holding the weapon. Her hands slid into place, one near the middle, the other near the end and it was held parallel to the floor and the short end laying flat against her forearm. Her elbows were bent slightly. Her right foot moved in front of her, toe pointed ahead, and her left foot was back, toe pointed slightly away. She proceeded to turn, switching her grip to the opposing sides. Her movements were a bit stiff at first due to lack of practice and lack of sleep, but they became smoother after a couple tries. She dipped as she turned, trading hand positions with more fluid, graceful movements than with which she began. The waterbender tried to think if there was anything else that had been taught, but the rest had dealt with person to person contact, and predicting the opponent’s movements before they struck.

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bravely
2008-08-16 04:33 pm UTC (link)

Xena looked back at the chakram. The other weapons were pretty well known, so she figured she was asking about the chakram. "It's a chakram. I'll show you how it works once the weather clears up. It's more of an outdoor weapon. Ever heard of a boomerang? It's kind of like that, just... very sharp." She turned back to the girl and watched as she began to go through the motions.

She nodded her approval. Even while her motions were not as fluid as they could be, she had them down. She remembered the moves, and that was what counted. "Good. One more time." She watched as she went through them again and then pushed off her staff to walk toward her. "Now, we work on putting some of those moves into action."

Stepping back and lifting the staff into her own offensive position, she began to rain blows down on the girl. She wanted to make sure that she could block her attacks before moving on to show her how to make her own attacks.

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k_waterbender
2008-08-16 05:34 pm UTC (link)

Katara’s eyes lit up when Xena told her the chakram was similar to a boomerang. “Yes. My brother is incredibly skilled with boomerangs.” She disclosed pleasantly. It was quite amusing to see how much he loved that weapon. He still had the same boomerang he had when their father left. It was quite sentimental. No matter how many times he’d lost it in battle or otherwise, it always showed up again.

The waterbender smiled after she’d finished going through the motions of what she’d learned. Xena approved. She hadn’t failed her teacher up to this point, and she definitely didn’t intend to that at all. When she was told to do them again, she didn’t hesitate. Because Katara had just gone through them once, she completed it more quickly and smoothly than before, though it was obvious more work would improve her a great deal.

When the warrior woman announced they would work on real action with the movements, Katara was pleased. She enjoyed hand to hand combat when it was all in good fun. She remembered the praise Master Pakku had given her when she defeated every student of his in sparring matches, even those who had been training with him far longer than her. His praise was rare, and it was nice that she’d proven herself worthwhile. Fierce determination aided her well.

Xena was quick and to the point with her training. Almost as soon as she’d announced they were moving on to action, the woman began to assail the waterbender with blows from the staff. Katara was ready, though. After last time, when the woman took her feet out from under her, she’d been alert and ready for random attacks. She maintained a firm grasp on the staff as the vibrations from her blocks shuddered through the wood. A few times she had close calls, and she was almost hit by her opponent’s weapon, and once her hand actually was hit by the other’s staff, but over all, she felt she did a relatively good job.

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bravely
2008-08-17 11:10 pm UTC (link)

Xena acknowledged the mention of Katara's brother, and his proficiency with a boomerang. Her weapon was different, obviously, not only in shape but in what it could do. The only similarity was that it came back to her when she threw it. Unless of course it was intercepted in the process. "I'll have to show you how the chakram works sometime and you can compare the two."

Xena was an incredibly tough teacher. Not only did she expect her students to excel, she lacked patience. It was good that Katara was already adept in some form of offense and defense. Otherwise, things might not be going as smoothly as they were now. She nodded as the second round of stances and positions was repeated with more fluidity.

She could see that Katara was eager, and that also helped Xena be a little more willing to train the waterbender. A reluctant student was one of the worst things she could imagine. She remembered when Gabrielle wanted her to teach her to use a sword after Perdicas had been killed by Callisto. There had never been such fierce hatred and anger in her eyes, nor more determination. And Xena knew that if she taught her then how to use a sword, there would be no going back. It had only been after Gabrielle poked her rather roughly in the stomach with a sword that she'd given in. Luckily, Gabrielle's softer nature had won out and it hadn't ended in bloodshed.

As Xena began to test Katara's defensive skills, she was surprised at how well she did. She managed to block most of her attacks, though one landed on her hand (how that must sting!), and deflect them correctly. She was suitably impressed. She stepped back for a moment and nodded. "Good." She hadn't been attacking very hard or stealthily, but still, for one not trained long on the staff, she had done well.

"Do you think you can keep up if I go a little faster?" She asked the question, watching her. She was good, and a quick learner. Xena decided that she liked her. She reminded her of Gabrielle in some ways, though only in personality. Their appearances were far too different.

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k_waterbender
2008-08-19 12:27 am UTC (link)

“I will definitely take you up on that offer.” Katara had never really used a boomerang, as she’d never really gotten the hang of it, but it would still be nice to compare and contrast them. Maybe even just viewing Xena use a chakram would give her an idea of the differences.

The warrior woman was a good teacher, but also a hard, fierce one. That didn’t deter the waterbender for an instant, though. Compared to Master Pakku, Xena was kinder in personality, but they were both fast paced, skilled, and rough in their training of students. By the end of the raining of the first set of blows, Katara was breathing heavier, a couple droplets of sweat beaded at her hairline, and her hand hurt- though not so badly as it had when it first happened. She knew nothing was broken, but she expected a dark bruise to appear later.

Thankfully she was a healer, but she didn’t request a moment to heal herself. In the heat of battle, one opponent wouldn’t ask for a moment to heal oneself. In most battles, people would kill or be killed, or at least go for incapacitation. The latter was Katara’s preferred method, as taking lives simply wasn’t something she ever wanted to do with the power she wielded. This wasn’t really the heat of battle, but she continued to refrain from taking a couple minutes to heal her hand. In training, people got hurt. That’ was simply the way of it.

Katara only took a second to think about Xena’s question before answering, “Yes. I think so.” Her hand had been hit pretty near the beginning of the first rain of blows, and she’d only gotten better. Moving it up a notch definitely could be handled.

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bravely
2008-08-21 11:56 am UTC (link)

Xena had never been described as "kinder" than anyone. And if Katara had spoken the words aloud, Xena would have scoffed without hesitation. Xena was kind, in her own way, she just lacked patience. She was used to leading, and when someone didn't want to follow, it irked her. Katara's willingness to learn kept Xena from snapping at her. Of course, if Katara had no desire to learn, they wouldn't be here in the first place.

When Katara answered her question in the positive, Xena nodded her approval. Good, the girl wasn't a quitter, either. Sometimes once someone found out how difficult something was, they didn't want to do it anymore. But Katara had spirit and Xena could appreciate it. "Good." Without asking if she was reading, Xena began to volley more attacks her way.

They came more swiftly and deftly, from more different angles. She put a few spins and flourishes into the attacks and tried to keep the girl on her toes, guessing about where the next attack would come from. As soon as she could deflect one opponnent well enough, Xena thought that she and Gabrielle could teach her together and see if she could ward off two attackers at once.

She knew that Katara's hand must hurt. These flexible fighting staffs were painful if aimed at the right body part, and the nerve filled digits were one of the most painful. A blow to the ribs or back could be handled with more tolerance than a blow to the delicate fingers. But, the girl continued to defend herself, and Xena admired that as well. She smiled momentarily before slamming the staff hard in a downward sweep.

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k_waterbender
2008-08-22 08:37 am UTC (link)

A notch up wasn’t as easy as Katara had anticipated it might be, but she wasn’t wholly unprepared. Even though she lacked a good night’s sleep, she was still quick and as fluid as a beginner with a staff could hope to be. If the waterbender hadn’t already been rather adept at anticipating attacks, she would have been a bumbling failure at this, but she was quite good, and her skill showed as Xena inflicted attacks from more difficult angles at a faster pace. A few more hours of sleep definitely wouldn’t have hurt, though.

As Katara moved her staff to block each blow, mindful of her fingers, her sleep deprived mind recalled something she had forgotten: Toph. The earthbender had shown interest in learning swordsmanship from Xena when the waterbender had broached the subject. She had completely forgotten about it, and she felt guilty now that she remembered. Toph’s door was right across the hall from hers, yet she’d failed to even think of knocking on it. Because her concentration had gone awry momentarily, the next hit from the warrior woman the Water Tribe femme blocked skimmed off the end of her staff and planted into her thigh with a noticeable thwack. Her teeth clenched against the pain as a grunt sounded in her throat, but she didn’t stop; she continued to block the blows. Determined to do better, her concentration went back to what she was doing. She could broach the subject of Toph when they paused.

Katara’s hands ached, her fingers especially, but it was a good ache. It meant she was getting into shape, doing better. It meant she was getting stronger. Her braid bounced and whipped along with her movements as she attempted and mostly succeeded to block each blow. She could feel her confidence rising within herself as she noted her own improvement, her own abilities. She wasn’t a great waterbender by luck, after all. Perhaps she would be able to become a great staff wielder in time. Hopefully a short amount of time. It wasn’t that she was impatient, but she had completely mastered waterbending within three seasons after she found two different masters. Then again, she’d been born with the ability to waterbend and had shown signs of it at a very early age. Waterbending was as easy to Katara as using a boomerang was to her brother Sokka. They just had a natural gift that practice had improved, but learning other styles, other uses, was more difficult. She believed in herself, but she knew it might take a bit longer to master a staff than it had taken to master waterbending.

Katara noted the momentary smile on Xena’s lips, knowing it was one of praise and approval. That was definitely a good sign. However, the beaming feeling in the waterbender’s chest was cut short as she saw the change in positioning of the warrior woman’s stance and saw her staff moving at an alarming rate at her lower legs and feet. Without a second thought, the younger femme leaped into the air to avoid the blow, but she was a bit too slow and the other woman’s staff nicked her foot, sending her stumbling to regain her balance when she landed. Luckily, she lose control completely, but as soon as she could possibly manage, she was in position to block more oncoming attacks. Her foot was not free of aches from the blow, and the Water Tribe femme wondered if it would bruise.

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bravely
2008-08-22 10:46 am UTC (link)

Xena had seen the waterbender's attention waver for a moment and she had taken a hit to her thigh. But, for the most part, Katara was doing well. Sometimes her form was not right on par, but she was doing better than most beginners would. She appreciated the skill that the girl brought into her training and she worked with it.

After another hit to her foot, Xena decided that it was probably a good time to stop. She knew that the places where Katara had taken a hit probably stung, if not throbbed with pain. "Let's take a break. I think we've done enough for today." She didn't apologize for the hits Katara had sustained to her person, there was no reason to. Her attention had caused her to respond too slowly to block the attack adequately and that wasn't Xena's fault.

She walked over to the weapon's rack and leaned the staff against it. Leaning down, she picked up her sword, chakram and whip and put them back in their respective places. "You are doing very well, Katara. Your attention seemed to slip a few times. Do you have something on your mind?" She asked the question casually as she buckled her scabbard on her back.

Crossing her arms, one hip cocked up, she watched the waterbender. She could see the swelling beginning on her hand and knew that she would have bruises on her foot and thigh as well. That was, unless she healed herself, but Xena had no knowledge of that ability. "I think next time we train I will bring my friend Gabrielle with me. She knows the staff better than I do."

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k_waterbender
2008-08-23 06:40 pm UTC (link)

Katara only nodded when Xena declared they would stop, as they’d done enough for that day. Review was always important, and the waterbender had shown she was well enough with only defensive moves for a bit. She was a bit down on herself that she’d allowed her attention to waver as much as it had. Next time would be different. She would make sure of that.

The waterbender moved to uncork her water skin, only to realize it wasn’t on her person. Katara had forgotten to bring it. Just as her eyes lifted to scan the room for some, she noticed an open container of water that hadn’t been there previously. The Planet must have materialized it while she’d looked away for her water skin. With a smooth movement, the water streamed toward her, covering her hands. A soft blue glow took over the water like an aura, and she felt her hands soothed, healed of their aches, and the glowing ceased as the water dripped away. With one foot, she removed the shoe from the other foot. The flesh was an angry red and welted. The waterbender bent more of the clear liquid from the container, so it enveloped one hand with which she covered her foot. When the glowing ceased once more, Katara pulled her hand away to reveal that her foot looked as if it had never been hit with anything. Surface wounds were the quickest and easiest to heal. Bruising took a little longer, but it wasn’t any more difficult than a cut might be.

Her brows rose as Xena admitted she’d noticed Katara’s attention had been elsewhere. The waterbender’s face was so expressive it was easy to read in any circumstance. Apparently today had been no exception. She nodded as she replaced her shoe put her staff back in the place she’d found it, wondering again if it had been the same staff she used before. There was no telling with the Planet really. Everything was kept in top condition, and, as far as weapons went, they were always the exact same in style if the weapons were the same make.

“A couple days ago, I met a friend of mine from my world. I’ve known her for years. We talked a bit, and she admitted she’d like to learn how to use a sword. I told her I’d ask you if you’d like to meet her and teach her. Her name is Toph and she’s an earthbender, the same way I’m a waterbender but obviously with a different element. She’s incredibly skilled and determined. She’s blind, but that doesn’t hinder her much. As long as the ground is firm she sees really well by feeling vibrations, and she uses her hearing to see, too.

“So, do you think you might be able to teach her? You should meet her first.”

When Xena told her she might bring Gabrielle along next time, a smile erupted on Katara’s face. “That would be really great. We could have all four of us here: Gabrielle, Toph, you, and me. It could be a great experience for all of us.”

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bravely
2008-08-23 11:18 pm UTC (link)

Xena watched with fascination as the girl pulled the water from a container recently appeared and seemed to heal herself with it. She couldn't figure out what else she would have been doing with the water, especially since it went to the places that had been struck by the staff. She nodded and then turned her attention back to Katara's face as she began to speak.

She crossed her arms over her chest as she spoke of her friend and how she wanted to learn to use a sword. Xena's brow rose when Katara mentioned the girl was blind. She wasn't sure she could teach a girl who couldn't see a sword coming at her how to defend herself, much less attack. How did one explain it to someone who couldn't see? Still, it could be challenge, and Xena was a sucker for a challenge.

"Yeah, I think we could work something out. Why don't we train together in the next couple of days? I'll bring Gabrielle along." She agreed that it would be a good experience. Gabrielle needed to get out. She seemed to be clinging a lot lately, and Xena needed her space. She loved Gabrielle's company, more than anyone else's, but even Xena needed to breathe.

"So, I'll come find you and Toph in the next couple of days for a session. Alright? You did well today, keep it up and you'll be a natural before long." Xena nodded to her and then stepped out of the training room.

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