InsaneJournal

Who: Esmeralda and Kitty
What: Sword dancing and training
When: Following this conversation
Where: The Court of Miracles
Status: Log | Complete

A Katana was probably not the sort of sword Esmeralda had been gifted, but most of the principles were the same when it came to maneuvering and Kitty could translate it well enough, or so she thought. She didn’t know what kind of sword it was, and that was important. In combat, a katana was a slashing weapon, whereas another sword might be more of a thrusting weapon. It changed the way one fought. She wouldn’t know if it would influence the dancing or not, but either way it would probably be fun. And seeing Esmeralda move and dance was always a treat. Not that her crush was still around or anything. Much.

“Is there some place in the back where you practice? I don’t want to accidentally stab someone.” Kitty unshouldered the dufflebag she’d stuffed her sword into as she gave Esmeralda a smile.

To say that Esmeralda had been shocked to see the sword show up was an understatement. Then again, this was her third set of dreams and also had already differed from the other two. She was younger for one. But she had also woken up knowing the dance and when she’d tried it in the morning, it had gone well. Slightly awkward as she got used to the blade, but other that that, it had gone well.

“We can use the dance stage as we’re closed right now.”

It was only those who lived and worked at the Court at the moment. Gringoire was no longer banished from showing his face, though things were still a bit awkward on that front. But no matter.

As it was still early, Esmeralda was dressed in her practice outfit, sword in hand. Already it was becoming part of her, that second nature muscle memory seeming to kick into play.

Kitty wondered how much Esmeralda’s head was going to get messed up by dreaming different versions of herself. There were times Kitty forgot which Kitty she was. OC Kitty and her first dreams tended to be the strongest but sometimes another version of herself would feel more real. She grinned, and removed the sword from her bag. “Different kind of sword, but I think we can make it work.”

The good thing was that for Esmeralda, the first two had been mostly similar, and they were similar to her. There hadn’t been quite that disconnect between herself and the dreams. This set though? It would be interesting to see what happened. Already she could tell that she was far more naive in this set of dreams, which was odd. There was a difference between her belief in the goodness of humanity and the naivety that seemed to come from the younger version of her.

“I’m sure we will.”

She’d handled swords in the dreams before, and she had the dancer’s grace to her already. And as she’d already been practicing the dance, it was more a matter of making sure it seemed completely seamless and that she wasn’t feeling burdened down by the sword.

“May I?” Kitty asked, gesturing at the sword. “I’d like to hold it. Every sword has a different weight and feel to it. The trick is adapting it to yourself. You already seem to have a bit of a handle though. You probably don’t even need me.”

She grinned and winked. But she did love swords. Kurt had had a collection too and she’d enjoyed playing with his rapiers, or practicing with Logan’s samurai weapons. Once she’d tried a claymore but it had been heavier than she was.

“Of course.” Esmeralda wasn’t shocked that Kitty understood the fact that swords all had their own feel and weight, she said she had experience with them. So that meant knowing exactly what sort of sword Esmeralda would be working with in terms of the dance would be good. So she handed it over with a slight laugh as she mentioned how Esmeralda probably didn’t need her. It was hard to tell but it was also just nice to spend time with her friend so it was a win in either direction.

Kitty liked to spend time with her too. She thought it was good for the both of them, really. Especially with how much Esmeralda worked. A long term goal was to eventually get her to take a vacation. An actual real vacation. She didn't think it would be easy.

Hefting the sword, Kitty swung it around and flexed her wrists. Then she spun around and jabbed with it. "It's lighter than it looks, that'll be good for dancing." Fighting too, if Esmeralda ever had need to.

She offered the sword back, hilt first. "I feel like you need just the right outfit for this."

What was a vacation? Well, she knew in theory what one was, a lot of her learning (especially of English) came from people on holiday. But given the nature of the Court, the fact that there were very few people Clopin trusted to work there (meaning those who had come from France with him), it wasn’t exactly easy. So she took the time when she could. Even if it was under the guise of practicing.

“That was what I noticed when I picked it up the first time.”

After all, it wasn’t like Esmeralda had known what to expect when she had woken up to find it. But yes. There was also the topic of the proper outfit. She had the two dresses from the first two set of dreams, plus what she’d used before. After all, there was also the aesthetic to keep in mind.

“I have one in mind.” Yes, Esmeralda did utilize the items that appeared from the dreams, they at least had some utility.

Kitty nodded. She couldn’t wait to see, but she kept quiet on that so as not to make Esmeralda uncomfortable when it came to attraction. “Ballet and sword fighting probably go hand in hand. Makes me want to start practicing that again. Let me hop down so I don’t lose a hand or something while you flail that thing around.”

She flipped off the stage, just because she could.

Esmeralda was used to the attraction people had for her, though it her levels of being uncomfortable about it had risen slightly thanks to everything that had happened with Gringoire the month before. Really just the mixed signals and her not noticing until it was right there. But still. It was always complicated when it was someone she cared about versus your typical patron.

For now though, it was going through the routine on the stage once Kitty stepped down to see how she held the sword. By now, it really was as if it were part of her since it wasn’t like this was the first time she’d practiced. No, Esmeralda had been practicing since before she had posted.

She didn’t feel the sword this time, at some point the weight being natural to her so that she was aware but not distracted.

It was amazing to watch. Kitty had always liked sword forms, they were beautiful, but the way Esmeralda moved with the weapon made it seem less like something that killed and more like a work of art. She grinned, then clapped enthusiastically when Esmeralda was finished. “Grace and beauty have nothing on you, do you know that?”

Once she finished, Esmeralda grinned. She had definitely felt that the dance would be a success. Of course, it was just her and a friend for now, and Clopin as she could tell he was keeping tabs on her as he always did on those who lived there. She could almost hear his admonishment for showing the dance before a performance but he also knew that Kitty was her friend and showed up when they were open as well so it wasn’t like she was just there to ‘see the entertainment’ without paying.

“Well, I do try.” And it could come into use. There were plenty of times she had let people think they could get the drop on her, or they underestimated her and dropped their guard that she could use to her advantage. Not so much now as she had in Paris, but she could use it to her advantage if necessary.

Kitty liked to support the place, and not just because she was Esmeralda’s friend or liked her. Or could watch her dance an infinitum. “You make it look effortless. But I know it’s not effortless.” It was a lot of work, performing, or fighting. And keeping one’s body in a fit condition to do all of that in the process.

Esmeralda certainly wasn’t going to turn down a compliment. Yes, Kitty was her friend, and yes she often downplayed herself because she knew there were always people who were worse off than her as well as more talented, but that didn’t mean it didn’t make her smile more.

“Well thank you, that’s the goal even though it isn’t effortless.” That was the trick and had been her main concern about the sword when it first showed up, the ability to make it appear effortless. There were massive differences between tambourine, scarf and sword.

“The weight might be a problem over long performances, but that can be trained away.” Kitty leaned back against a table, folding her arms and smiling. “If you don’t get uber tips for this I’m going to call shenanigans.”

“I figured as much.” It was why her initial dance wasn’t too long. She could work up to that though, the longer dances for once she built up more stamina and strength for manipulating the sword as she danced for longer periods of time. Still, she was looking forward to adding the new routine to her nightly performances. “I feel that is an appropriate response.”