((For Jelani))

[1stmacleod]

After his last time in the Nexus, Connor's looking a little worse for wear again. After a brief respite, he's back to sleeping badly. Sometimes he dreams he can see a himself in happy family gatherings, but he's always standing outside the window, in the cold or worse. He usually wakes himself beating his fists against dream-glass.

He really doesn't have anywhere else to go, though, except here and back to his own world. So he lurks. He's found one of the edge places, where Nexus dissolves into a patch of wilderness. So he sits, and gives the crowds a brooding stare, watching from the outside yet again.

Comments

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

Maybe they both needed this. Connor's been rattling around aimlessly for too long, but teaching is something he's done plenty of, yet of all the professions he told her he'd had, it's not one he'd ever think to list.

He makes her go through the kata until her body starts to remember the poses better than her mind does, making minute corrections and letting her go through the poses faster, until it may all reach the point of boring. It might be meditative for a while, but there are limits to how much repetition anybody can take.

[jelani.livejournal.com]

Yes, it does get boring, after a while. At first it's relaxing, and yes, meditative. But when her mind knows it, and her body knows it, her mind starts to wander. As her thoughts drifts to other things, the mistakes starts showing up. Her grip slips up higher once, a swing became too long, a foot in the wrong place... She scolds herself silently, inside her head, and grits her teeth.

I'm gonna get this right!

But frustration only adds to her mistakes. She's not willing to quit, no never that; she'll keep on until Connor says it's enough.

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

"You're slipping." He notes quietly, and then he turns and steps in a whirl and suddenly she'd better get the move right because there's a katana swinging her way. He's actually using the back of the blade, but she may not notice that in the first instant when he goes from teacher at her side to attacker.

[jelani.livejournal.com]

Split seconds can stretch into an eternity. Her eyes widen, adrenalin surges. She crouches, one knee nearly touching the ground. One of her hands slips out over the "blade", on the back of it for support and her other hand grips the handle firmly as she brings the bamboo sword up to meet hard cold steel. If Connor hadn't used the back of the blade, it would have easily cut through the bamboo and bit into her arm, and she realizes that. "Shit." A low growl.

But at least she has good reflexes.

Crouch low as she is she decides to try to give as good as she gets, and tries to swipe Connor's legs out from under him with a sweeping kick. While the girl lacks experience in swordfighting, it becomes very clear that she is

fast

.

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

If she'd had a real blade of her own, she would have probably done just as well, so he's not concerned about that.

He's already guessed she's the kind who fights dirty, so he's on his guard already. Most of the immortals Connor fights are older, and a lot of them are stronger. He died at nineteen and it's put limits on his body, so he'll never be a muscle man, but he's got youth on his side too. Speed is his greatest strength, in any fight. That and the stubborn determination of a terrier.

Connor leaps back in a low crouch, moving just out of reach. He doesn't give her any praise, but he does smile approvingly.

[jelani.livejournal.com]

Jelani slips back a step, adding additional distance between then. She returns that smile, even if she's not fully satisfied with her reaction, but the smile is soon replaced by a look of focus and determination.

She starts to slowly circle him, trying to treat this as any other fight, to analyze her opponent and look for an opening. It's a split-second decision when she thinks she's found done, and she moves in to strike. Connor did etch the kata into both her head and muscle-memory, at least for the time being, but translating that into an actual fight is easier said than done. And that makes her movements a bit hesitant.

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

Connor wasn't expecting flawless execution, not yet. He's only just taught her about a dozen poses, and there's plenty more of them to learn. This is just a starting ground.

Light and quick, his feet move and he keeps his eye on her as she circles, bot for the moment he's content to play defense. As much of his attention is on her form as is on keeping himself protected from her next attack. She doesn't have the problems with balance that he did when he first started out. At the time, he had almost no experience at all, instead of a career of bounty hunting.

When she strikes he whirls away, so that she's left striking at a point in the air beside him, and he pushes the shinai away from himself out of reflex, giving another silent nod. The attack meets his approval, even if he didn't hold still to get hit by it.

[jelani.livejournal.com]

The speed with which she darts away when Connor dodges and deflects her shinai is a clear sign that she was expecting a counterattack. And that in itself is a sign of the type of training she's received in the past. Some people wouldn't call it training; they would call in punishment.

She goes back to circling, but not for long before she goes back in, first feigning to the left and then an upwards strike to the right.

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

Connor prefers to attack when his opponents aren't expecting it, but for now he's content to just play defense. He wants to watch her apply the moves he's just taught into real attacks, and that's easier to watch if all he has to do is fend her off.

He shifts a little at the feint, but he's still quick enough to block before the shinai touches him. "The things you fight... do any of them heal fast, too?" He's still wary and watching for attack as he speaks.

[jelani.livejournal.com]

"Yep." She doesn't draw back this time, but as soon as Connor blocked her strike, she moves to the side for another, prepared for it to be blocked as well and already set on another to follow up. "Some even faster than me."

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

"Then you should be prepared in case-" He lets the shinai smack into his side and slides up the blade swiftly, to strike her with the back of his katana, "...they're willing to take injury for an advantage."

[jelani.livejournal.com]

Not exactly prepared, not right now. But again, she has good reflexes. And, she can be a tad reckless, which this shows. Her free arm comes up and she actually takes that blow on the back of her arm, trying to her her arm as close to the handle of the katana as she can to minimize the force of the hit. And then? Then she tries to headbutt Connor right in the face. She fights dirty, remember?

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

Connor has used the headbutting tactic many times. With that high forehead and his slightly barbaric roots, it's something he learned long before he ever knew he was immortal.

He's not used to it from somebody else, though.

Connor sees it coming, but just a hair too late, and as he's jumping back her head comes into contact with his chin with a good loud crack that just might hurt them both. He staggers back, still on his guard, and a little surprised. Then he laughs.

[jelani.livejournal.com]

At least she was prepared for the impact, but she still draws back. The hit split her skin a little bit, but that scratch is gone within seconds, leaving just a smeared drop of blood or two behind. And she's still in fighting stance, her guard up.

But, she can't help a smile when Connor starts laughing. "So, how am I doin'?"

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

"Stealing my tricks!" It's only a raspy chuckle, but that's pretty much all the laugh he ever has. He notes the healing, which looks like it's on the same level as his own. The crack surprised him, but he's all right. His chin might be harder than her forehead, and it's scratchy because he needs a shave.

He's on his guard, too, but he'll let her do the attacking for a while longer, before he teaches her a few more kata to work into the mix.

[jelani.livejournal.com]

She laughs, and then she attacks again. The kata still aren't exactly right but shows promise, and she mixes them with feigns and dirty tricks.

This is the most fun she's had in ages.

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

Connor seems to be enjoying himself too, although he'll probably wear out faster than she will. After he's played defense a while, he starts attacking back, very fast. He crouches low, and whirls, and he's got lots of clever moves if she gets at his side or behind him, too. He pulls his blows a little, though, and he keeps the sword turned to strike with the back of the blade.

[jelani.livejournal.com]

Suddenly she finds herself on defense, working hard to parry and dodge. She's not used to the sword and the katas yet, and they hinder as much as they help her.

Well then, time to fight dirty again.

With her shinai held in one hand she blocks his strike, and in the same movement she steps in, reaching to grab Connor push him backwards while at the same time attempting to hook a leg behind his and trip him.

...too bad that move got her balance all kinds of messed up. This will never work, will it?

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

Connor's footwork is a strong point and his weight shifts even as he sees the move coming, but now their legs are hooked, and he can feel she's off balance, so he turns the trick back and tries to knock her feet out from under her, and at the same time brings the butt-end of his sword down hard on the hand the holds the shinai.

[jelani.livejournal.com]

Yep, that ought to do it. Her expression is now equal parts irritation and frustration as she goes down, and gets the shinai knocked out off her hand. But again her previous training kicks in, and she gets her legs untangled and uses the momentum from her fall to roll backward over her shoulder, and further to get back up on her feet. But now she's unarmed. That doesn't mean it's all over, though, and now she's crouched in a different kind of stance. Until she manages to recover her shinai, she'll fall back on what she already knows. Unless Connor decides it is enough for now.

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

He doesn't look triumphant, or disappointed, and Connor keeps his guard up a little but goes to fetch her shinai. "I thought we were working on swords, but if you want, I can teach you how to do that one without throwing yourself off." He flips the shinai in his hand and offers it back to her, handle first, with his own katana held low and out in a non-threatening way.

[jelani.livejournal.com]

"I know that move, but I usually ain't tangled up with a sword when I do it." She straightens up out from her stance and accepts the shinai back. "So practice makes perfect, right?" That's a yes to going over that move some more.

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

"Practice makes better, anyway." He smirks a little, and draws back a step. "You shouldn't have grabbed me. If you block outward, that's enough to start the move. Grabbing your opponent will only compromise your own balance."

[jelani.livejournal.com]

"Huh." Her expression grows a bit distant as she's drawing up the move in her head, imagining the motions. "I'll keep that in mind fer later."

[1stmacleod.livejournal.com]

"Do you want to go another round, or learn more kata first?" He's looking a little winded, a little tired, but Connor is always willing to push himself harder than he pushes a student.