Private - Practice makes perfect [P]

Ash smiled as she made her way to the grassy clearing where she was to meet up with @Alice. The thought of sparring filled her with nervous energy, but also anticipation. She couldn't always rely on her lion to fight for her, and if she ran out of energy for spells she would need to fight. So this sparring exercise was as much for her benefit as it was for Alice's.

Naixi was at her side, the lioness calmly walking along and enjoying the calm pace. She wasn't sure if it was all right to bring Naixi along, but she would just be staying at the sidelines in case monsters ambushed them while they practiced. Hopefully that would be all right.

But anyway, she approached the clearing and made her presence known by rustling a bush as she walked past. "Hello?" she called out, looking around to see if Alice was there. There was a faerin girl standing there with a fox nearby, and Ash put on a big smile as she approached. "Hi! Are you Alice? I'm Ash, your sparring partner for today...?"

She waved a hand towards Naixi, who had walked over to lie down beneath a nearby tree. "That's Naixi. She'll just be staying over there, she's not going to fight so you don't have to worry. And she's really nice too! She'll just be keeping watch to make sure we're not jumped by monsters or other things while we practice, is that okay?"

Ash drummed her fingers along the side of her staff, hoping she didn't look nervous. "Anyway, nice to meet you. We can start whenever you want."

 

_____Alice was enjoying the peace in her own little way. It was after all her day to start training to be a better adventurer and her fox was helping in his own little way. The small Faerin was throwing punches at the air while the fox dodged around while standing up. When he moved to jump up on her she fell backwards and he chose to curl up on her stomach happily. Petting the small critter until they heard rustling of bushes and both jumped up in surprise. The fox running up Alice’s arm and curling around her neck to hiss while Alice held her fist up.

_____When Alice heard the girl start speaking she relaxed, that was until she saw the Lion and looked terrified, her fox hissing still as the two did not seem ready to interact with people. As Ash seemed to try and calm Alice down it worked slightly, her posture loosening as she nervously looked between the lion and the girl seemingly wondering who was scarier to her. Her fox hopping down and moving closer to Ash before she hissed at her and ran into the woods. Alice now looking towards where he escaped before returning focus back to Ash.

”Sorry… Kitsy does not always get along with strangers with animals…

_____Alice’s voice was young and pure, filled with slight terror and an over line shyness as she glanced back to the woods wishing Kitsy would return to give her a bit of confidence. It took her moment to look shocked as she returned focus to Ash. ”Sorry… I am Alice yes… Um… thanks for coming to help… Um…” Alice looked like a kid more then usual as she fumbled her words and lost track of what she was trying to say. Bowing her head slightly before she took up a stance and rushed towards Ash without any weapon.

_____Alice was wide open in countless different ways, her footing was off and seemed to skip steps causing her to fumble as she ran, her arms already reached out and her left forming a fist giving away her plan, not to mention she forgot to account for the rock between them and managed to hit her toes square against it and fell forward slamming her face to the ground. She would lay there for a few moments before sitting up and her eyes looking ready to cry, she really did suck at fighting.

 

Ash felt bad for scaring off Alice's fox friend. The girl was obviously rather attached to it and maybe having the fox nearby would help Alice feel less uneasy. But she didn't have time to think on that anymore, as the girl rushed at her.

So yes, Ash did say that Alice could start anytime, but she wasn't expecting it to be now.

Ash stumbled back, hands going up in a defensive pose, but it wasn't like she needed to bother. Alice tripped as she was running towards Ash. Ash winced in sympathy; that looked quite painful. When Alice sat up, she made her way to the other girl and knelt beside her, starting to cast a smaller healing spell.

"Are you okay? You didn't hit your head too hard?" she asked.

After confirming that Alice wasn't too hurt and making sure that her injury wouldn't bruise, Ash stood back up and offered a hand to help Alice up.

"Maybe you should find a weapon," Ash said first. "It's better if you have something rather than trying to punch people, even if you don't have any weapon masteries. You could break your hand if you're not careful while punching."

Ash's own staff wasn't even a proper weapon, really. Actually, it had been a stick she picked up right off the forest floor in Brisshal. Sure it was a bit bendy and warped, but it was still as sturdy as ever. Brisshal being the tutorial region, there was sure to be at least a few trash-tier weapons lying around for new players to use.

She did find a staff that looked similar enough to the one she was using, if sized smaller to fit a faerin. Handing it over to Alice, she went to demonstrate a stance, letting the game take over her instincts.

"The game sort of lets you know how to move a bit when you make an attack. It's sort of like how the game can take over when you're casting a spell. You won't be able to pull off weapon skills like if you had ranks in weapon masteries, but at least you won't be using the wrong stance when attacking or defending." She gave Alice a smile. "Why don't you try making an attack? Move slowly so you can understand the movement, and we can practice those."

 

_____Alive tried to show a brave face when she was asked if she was ok, she had spent enough time getting hurt because of her own stupid actions or mess ups to get used to a little bit of pain. When mention of a weapon came up Alice shook her head vigorously for no, she did not want to hurt anyone. Hopping up as she got some distance before waving her hands across the ground causing the grass to rise slightly.

_____Shortly the ground would break open and two roots would emerge moving slowly near Alice who was placing everything into focus to keep them up. Without chants or the UI she could cast magic, but it was much harder. Waving one hand out to send the first root towards Ash in attempt to lock it around the girl’s weapon and pull it away. The action took more focus as her second root settled back into the ground beside her.

_____The root’s speed was about the same as Alice had been moving, and even if it reached it could be overpowered fairly easy. It seemed to be a pattern with Alice not fully trying to cause someone any harm or do anything mean. She was far to peaceful for her own good it seemed as the root would retreat after it failed, or if it somehow managed to get the weapon Alice would have the root offer it back looking extremely sad with herself for doing something like that.

”I don’t want to be mean… I don’t wanna hurt people that I don’t have to… but I…”

_____Alice cut herself short as she would hear Kitsy returning and running over to her and resuming her spot around Alice’s neck. A quick hiss was aimed at Ash before it nuzzled into the spot and seemed to fall asleep. Alice took the moment to pet the fox as she still seemed against the very concept of training or fighting even when she was one to ask for it. There was some layer she was not providing to Ash and fairly important one.

 

Alice was dead set against even the thought of using a weapon, it seemed. When the root reached up to pull the stick away, Ash let it slip out of her hands, watching as the root placed the weapon back on the ground. She listened as Alice started to explain her reasoning for refusing, but she cut herself off when a sound caught her attention.

The fox returned with a protective hiss aimed at Ash, which she couldn't fault. She was the reason that Alice seemed so distressed, though she didn't really understand what the root cause was. Well, what to do in this kind of situation? Ash scratched the back of her head as she wondered, letting Alice have a moment to herself to calm down.

Okay. Maybe a first step would be to find out what exactly the problem was. After a brief moment of hesitation, Ash set her own staff down next to the one she had tried to give to Alice, and stepped over to the girl. Moving slowly so as not to startle her, Ash sat down on the grass.

"Uh, hey. Sorry if I upset you, I didn't mean to. It's fine if you don't want to use a weapon," Ash began. And as her mental script ran out--she really was not the best at preparing for these kinds of conversations, was she?--her nervousness got the better of her and she began to ramble.

"I mean, it's not like you have to use a weapon to hurt people. Or animals, or other creatures, or anything. I was just thinking that you might hurt yourself even worse if you tried to use your fists to defend yourself. There are ways you can use a staff like those defensively, like using it to keep people at a distance or blocking hits." Ash paused for a minute as she tried to think of how to proceed from here. "Um, well. If you don't mind me asking, what exactly did you want to get out of this session then?"

 

_____Alice would look at the ground for a couple of moments after listening to what Ash had to say. Why did she ask to help get trained if she was not ready to even undergo it or spar? ”I wanted to get stronger… I’ve always caused people trouble because I’m too weak or refuse to fight… I thought maybe… I could find a way to get stronger without using violence…” She did not know how else to explain it as she sat down and ran her hand across the grass for a couple of moments.

_____Kitsy was the one to like break the silence as she hopped down to Alice’s lap and began making her way towards Ash. At first she seemed hostile, the light hissing and puffed up fur as she tried to act big and scary, but when she got closer she was calmed down and sat near Ash leaning her head like she wanted to be petted. Alice laughed faintly as Kitsy would run circles around Ash if she tried to pet her then climb up onto the girl’s head and stood up like she was the winner of the fight if allowed.

”Kitsy I said no climbing other people… I’m sorry she likes to get up in high places or on people’s head to ride around and see more then she is used to.”

_____Alice would click her tongue causing Kitsy to jump off Ash’s head and run back to her using Alice’s arm to get back to her spot. Alice herself was more surprised that Ash seemed ok with Kitsy being annoying, most people got mad at the little fox or shouted at Alice to control her, and that was just about impossible since Kitsy did whatever she felt like doing. In a way Kitsy was the person training or control Alice, but in a friendly push out into the world way.

”You said there was ways to fight but not cause people harm… can i try doing that… you can try fighting me, I’m used to getting hurt so a only soft blows, ok?”

 

It was admirable that Alice wanted to stick with her convictions of not hurting others. Ash smiled as she listened to the explanation, nodding when Alice trailed off. She started thinking about possible ways to help figure out some defense methods that wouldn't involve causing harm to others.

As she was thinking, a sharp motion drew her attention and she watched as Kitsy leapt off Alice's head. Ash watched in surprise as the fox approached her, not quite sure what to do. Kitsy didn't seem very friendly... would smiling work? Well, Ash didn't know but she tried it anyway, giving the fox a friendly grin.That seemed to do the trick, as Kitsy now looked to be begging for head pats.

The ensuing runaround was unexpected though, and Ash ended the encounter with a pair of tiny paws scrabbling in her hair. She laughed lightly, careful not to dislodge the fox now sitting on top of her head. "Looks like Kitsy's a lot more active than Naixi. Naixi's a big lazy baby," she said cheerfully, gesturing at the tree where her lion was napping an awful lot for someone who was supposed to be a lookout. It was refreshing to have even this brief interaction, seeing as how Naixi was doing her best to live up to the 'lazy cat' stereotype.

Alice eventually called Kitsy down, and then it looked like it was time to get to business. Ash nodded and stood back up, going over to pick up her staff again.

"Right, sure. We're all still learning, so we can just take things slowly. There's no rush!"

Alice appeared to also have some control over nature. Maybe Ash could combine this self-defense with some naturamancy tricks so Alice would have more options? All right! That was the plan, then.

If Alice came rushing at her again like she did at the beginning, then Ash would concentrate on her magic, letting out a chant that caused fresh branches to sprout from the end of her staff. The branches wrapped around each other to form a flat circular shape, like she had attached a shield to the end of her staff, and she used that to gently push Alice away from her.

 

_____Before Alice fully stand back up Kitsy decided to hop off and begin approaching the large Lion. Alice figured she had no chance of reasoning with the little fox, so she set her focus mostly on Ash and got ready to charge her again. Her posture was slightly better, not nearly as much hoping, it started happening roughly ten feet from her starting location, seemingly like that was the max room she could run before needing to turn around. Her arms still had the been reached out like she was a zombie or something.

_____Her personal milestone came when she did not trip over the rock, although she did step on it slightly wrong causing her to fumble forward into the push back. It took her a moment to notice the changes to the staff, her face remaining still for a moment before she looked amazed and forgot about the fact they might still be sparring and she tried to reach for the staff to look it over. Sure she could summon roots or move trees, but to grow something off a severed piece of wood was way out of her skill book.

_____Meanwhile Kitsy was doing the silly, and reckless nature of sitting a few inches from Naixi just staring at the lioness. After a few moments she stood on her back legs, and with zero concern swatted the nose of the larger animal and ran away to the two sparring. Alice could only look at Kitsy who seemed proud of herself for likely pissing something larger than herself off. All Alice could down was look at Kitsy and set her down each time she tried to climb up her. Pointing back to Naixi as Kitsy looked over to see why she was pointing.

”Go back over there and say you're sorry, it’s rude to hit people and waking them up that way is even worse.”

_____Kitsy turned back to tip her head at Alice before hissing and hopping back over to the Lion. She sat there for a moment before swatting the Lion’s nose again and running away.

 

Ash smiled as Alice seemed interested in her staff and let the girl get a hold of it to examine it. "This probably isn't the most efficient way to use your energy," she said, gesturing to the shield. "I know it takes me a lot to get it to grow this way. But the way I usually use naturamancy is to grow some vines and roots out of the ground to wrap around people's feet to restrain them. And you seem like you've got that kind of naturamancy down pretty well already. So this is another way, once you build up your reserves a bit."

She stopped in her explanation as a rather loud snarl sounded through the area. Startled, Ash spun around to see Kitsy prancing out of Naixi's reach when the lion reached a paw out to bat at the fox. Kitsy ran back to Alice, who looked so much like a parent with a misbehaving child at the moment that Ash couldn't help but let out a chuckle.

She watched Kitsy go back to Naixi as if to apologize, and laughed at how Naixi kept a wary gaze at the smaller fox. Ash wasn't surprised when the sequence of events repeated, and Naixi tried to swat at where Kitsy was yet again.

Petulantly, the lion walked over to Ash and shoved up against her legs, headbutting her lightly while growling. Ash laughed and gave in, giving Naixi a good rub behind the ears. "That's what you get for napping, you baby," she said.

She looked back up to Alice, giving her a reassuring smile. "I've got a bat minipet that likes to mess around with Naixi too. Don't worry, Kitsy is hardly the most annoying thing that she's had to deal with. Do you want to pet her? She really likes it when you scratch right here." Ash demonstrated, smiling as Naixi began huffing in contentment.

 

_____Alice’s heart sank into her stomach when the Lion got up and started to approach, Alice was ok with small animals but after getting eaten whole once, and almost a second time she did not do so well near them as she buckled back a bit and avoided swiping range of the lion. Kitsy on the other hand ran up to the Lion from behind and tried to climb her until she sat nuzzled into her mane looking at Alice and Ash while tipping her head. If not for Kitsy having already got the lion mad and her past she would have laughed at how the small fox was acting.

”I… I’m good… last time I was near something bigger than me it ate me so…”

_____Alice stood on her tip toes when she finished speaking before weaving another step away from the lion in fear. It showed slightly in her eyes as she once again tried to call Kitsy back only for the fox to go hiding in the lion’s mane and refuses to come out. While it annoyed Alice, she also understood since she did not fully care to tame the animals, just befriend them. A breif few moments would pass before Kitsy poked her head out again and began moving to sit on Naixi’s head in a proud posture similar to how she had once sat on Ash.

”I’m sorry… Kitsy is… Kitsy… don’t you dare...”

_____The small fox raising her paw again while looking at Alice and for a moment looked like she was smiling before she swung down on the lion’s nose again unless she was stopped. Alice panicked and rushed forward to try and get the fox away from the Lion forgetting she was now well within striking distance of the large animal. Kitsy was Alice’s closest friend and even if she was a great pain she did not want to lose the little fox as she held her and curled up using her body to protect Kitsy from a swipe of the Lion got angry.

”Please don’t hurt her, she’s my closest friend…”

 

When Alice began backing away in fear, Ash looked sternly towards Naixi. The evening that she tamed her, Ash had spent at least four hours on Wikipedia and other websites reading up everything she could find about lions and their behaviors. She pressed firmly on Naixi's forehead, hopefully ensuring that Naixi got the idea that this was playtime, not hunting time. She seemed to get the message, bowing down her head and lying down, making no move closer.

Still, it didn't seem to help, as Alice still looked terrified. When Alice explained why she was so nervous, Ash nodded. "That's all right. You don't have to-"

And that was when Kitsy jumped back onto Naixi. Ash heaved a sigh. She knew where this was going, and judging by Naixi's exaggerated slump onto the ground, so did the lion. If lions could roll their eyes, that would definitely be what Naixi was doing at this exact moment, when Kitsy raised her paw once more.

But Alice moved quickly, scooping Kitsy off of Naixi and holding the fox close to her body. Ash's heart basically broke when Alice began pleading for Naixi not to hurt Kitsy. Ash looked back towards the lion, doing her best to make sure she understood that now was not the time to display any threatening behaviors at all. Naixi rumbled lowly--as close to a purr as she could get--and rolled over onto her back.

"Naixi won't hurt Kitsy," Ash reassured Alice. "But maybe they should spend a bit of time separate from each other?" Naixi's patience wouldn't last forever, and it wasn't fair to expect the lion to restrain herself indefinitely. She gave Naixi one more pat, then nudged her gently to suggest that Naixi go back to somewhere around the perimeter of the clearing.

 

_____Alice fully agreed with the idea of splitting Kitsy away from Naixi before things got worse it slightly pained Alice but walking over to the edge of the clearing and setting Kitsy down who made an attempt to run back to the Lion only for Alice to pick the little kit up and set her back on the log before pointing away from the group. The small fox tipping her head and slightly whimpering and pawing at Alice’s hand as she sternly pointed away again.

”Go back to the grove, I’ll go play with you after we are done training Kitsy since you can’t behave yourself.”

_____The small fox made one more attempt to get Alice to reconsider before another stern point and the fox lowered her head and ran off into the woods vanishing in moments. Alice would not turn back to see Ash for a few moments but when she did her eyes had been slightly red, she hated being mean even if it was to keep others safe. Slowly standing up straight and wiping her eyes one last time she looked more determined this time around. She had to improve quickly so she could go say sorry to Kitsy for being mean to her.

_____When Ash looked ready enough Alice took the first move, magic focusing on her hands before she slammed them to the ground causing larger roots to break the surface in a slight tidal wave style. The three roots had been roughly the width around as Alice’s arms but looked a bit more solid than the small roots before. The downside however, came from her not being able to redirect or control them after the initial cast of the spell.

_____If Ash stayed lined up with the roots they would each wrap around the first thing they came into contact with. Not the best spell to be able to use roots, and her other to grow plants was not much better for fighting. However she seemed to start grasping the idea of using her roots to lock up her targets, but looked exhausted afterwards.

 

Ash let Alice have a moment to collect herself. It was clear that Alice was a very gentle person, and being so hard on what she considered to be her closest friend would be difficult for her as well.

But Alice looked more determined than ever when she turned around. Well, looks like they were hopping right back into things. Ash retrieved her staff, letting the change revert and gave Alice a nod, signaling that she was ready to continue the sparring.

Ash was briefly surprised when Alice dove straight into the offense, slamming her hands into the ground. Three large roots burst from the ground, sending ripples through the earth where they emerged. Ash scrambled backwards, but not quickly enough to completely avoid the roots. One of them caught onto her ankle and held tight, quickly returning to a rigid structure much like normal, unmoving wood.

Ash gave it a few tugs, but it looked like the root was locked around her foot pretty tightly. Maybe if she pointed her toes she could slip through...? Oh, ow, ow, no, nope that wasn't about to happen, ow, splinters...

"Great job!" she called to Alice, looking up at the other girl. Alice looked incredibly drained of energy--probably because it was rather difficult to summon up roots that would be strong enough to hold something down for an extended period of time. "You're pretty good at this!"

Okay, um... now how to get out?

 

_____When Alice’s root seemed to catch Ash she could not help but weakly jump with some joy, she honestly was not expecting it to even get close to her, but when it looked like Ash was seriously stuck arose Alice looking destroyed. Rushing over and tapping the roots for them to loosen as she kept her focus on the ground, the sound of her energy bar blinking and sitting in red numbed out by her resentment of using magic on Ash even if it was what they had been training to do. Her gaze slightly looking up to Ash with worn out eyes.

”Sorry… I should have not ordered them to hold anything that tightly…”

_____After her weak spoken apology passed her lips she fell backwards breathing heavily and her stomach grumbling lightly. Her hand opening her UI to check her meters to notice her hunger and sleep meter both looked nearly out. She had to make it back to the grove before she logged off, Kitsy would be mad she had to wait for Alice to nap some before they could play but likely if she fell asleep resting against the try the small fox could entertain herself with Alice’s hair while she waited.

_____After a few moments Alice struggled to her feet, arm reaching for the smaller staff that was once offered as a weapon to her and used it to stay standing as she faced Ash. Her frame shaking slightly before Alice could speak up to the girl. ”Seems I forgot to check my other meters before sparring with you… I have to go back to the groove before I blackout… Kitsy and the others would be worried if I don’t return soon… last thing I want is them risking their safety looking for me…”

_____Doing her best to bow in respect towards Ash before she began wobbling her way back towards her home. She had learned a bit today and that was good for her. Getting over harming others was something a great distance away but after today’s training, Alice no longer saw it as impossible.

 

"Thanks," Ash said as Alice dispelled the roots. She wiggled her toes a bit, finding only the slightest bit of discomfort. Nothing that an evening of rest or a quick spell wouldn't fix! "Nothing to be sorry about, that was really good! If you ever end up in a real fight, that's perfect."

But Alice looked very tired after that act. As Ash was about to ask after her in concern, the young girl started talking about her needs meters and Ash suddenly understood. Oh, right. Yeah, it would really be bad if any of those depleted while she was away from a safe place to rest.

Ash dug around her inventory for a brief moment, pulling out a small package that she kept wrapped up in a square cloth. She handed it to Alice. "Here, you should take this. It's just a small sandwich, but that should make sure that your hunger meter won't run out before you get home."

Good thing that Ash always carried her utensils around with her, and that Investigation Mode could point out different ingredients nearby. That made preparing food a nonissue for Ash, so she felt fine with giving Alice what was supposed to be her lunch. And anyway, Alice had a greater need for it than she did--her own hunger meter was only about halfway depleted.

She returned the bow that Alice offered her, seeing as how Alice had taught her a lot today as well. As the faerin girl began to make her way back, Ash wondered for a second if she should have offered to walk with her, to make sure that nothing happened on the way. But Alice seemed rather reserved and private, and she might not appreciate that Ash knew where her home was. So, as Alice left the clearing, Ash went over to wake Naixi who had settled into yet another nap, and made her way out of Brisshal.