InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "She gave me a pen."

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.

(Read comments) - (Post a new comment)

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.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

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.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

(Read comments) -