Practice Makes Perfect

There was something about the peaceful forest that left her always finding it an aid in her swordplay practice. Standing in one of the clearings within Brisshal's thick forest, the young Yladian stood tall, sword drawn, taking deep breathes with each blow she made to the wind. With each attack, she'd give a small battle cry- something she was taught to do when she was first taking up swordsmanship in the real world.

Her movements were like clockwork: a deep breath, a cry, and a strike.

Sounds came and went in the forest regularly. There were birds she'd listen to during breaks, and the sound of the trees rustling from the animals that flocked to them for cover from the sun. As the warmth beat down on her due to the spot she stood, she smiled gently, enjoying a moment of silence.

Even someone as energized as Solaria needed rest. But, just as quickly as she'd stopped her practice, she started her attacks at the imaginary enemy once more. She remained unaware of those around her, despite paying heed to the sounds on the wind. She focused primarily on her movements, and like that, the clockwork continued. Her pattern seeming to never end: just a consistent movement of a breath, a cry and a strike.


@Aalam Abungu

 

The forest is never quiet but it makes its own noise rabbits ran through bushes and birds chirped in trees, the best way to find an area of discord is to follow the sound. The quitter an area is the more likely than that is where you will find what is abnormal. That is what he set out to do for something was spooking animals in the area. So he followed the sound to its source and its sourced seemed to be a small girl wielding what seemed to be an impressive sword. He watched her practiced for a few minutes from the branches of an old yew tree that grew on the edge of the clearing. Resting in the shade of it canopy.

Her timing seemed perfect there was no flaw to how she moving it was beautiful to watch in a way. But for all her concentration she was out of touch with the world around her. Her focus was only on what was before her and nothing else. He was able to climb down from the tree and get within a few feet of her without seeing a pause in her routine. Clearly, his throat slightly to get her attention “Pardon me you have excellent technique. “

 

Having been caught off guard due to her own unusually high focus, the girl jumped back and held her sword toward the stranger, held in standard kendo positioning, both hands clutching the hilt until her knuckles were white as snow. As he had clearly tried not to scare her by clearing his throat for attention, she began to realize with his words there was no malice towards her.

"Ah...Um, thanks." Laughing nervously, she sheathed her sword and gave an apologetic bow. "Sorry for turning on you like that. I've seen a lot of creatures out here that aren't so friendly. I figured it'd be good to be safe, but if I'd known it was a person, I'd have been less flighty with my sword."

Moving to allow her hands to rest on her hips, one rather close to the now hidden sword, the young woman looked the man up and down with curiosity. "Did you come out here to train as well? Your Rogue skill is quite powerful, I see."

 

Aalam folded his hands behind his back as he looked at her, taking her surprised actions in stride. Even when the tip of a sword was leveled at his face, and there might have been a possibility of bodily harm, waiting until she relaxed her posture. Making sure to keep his arms folded behind him to show he meant no harm. He did not, however, return the bow looking at her a bit odd as she dipped her head. “That is strange. You seem to be an excellent swordswoman for what I have seen. Well practiced and experienced.”

Walking around her circling close enough that it’s strange but not close enough that he is a direct threat. “Yes, I was looking to practice how to hide in plain sight to be unknown to the surrounding unless I chose to be. I have found that to be a useful skill when you leave the more civilized areas of the world. ” Stopping his walk landing back in front of her letting his arm unfold from behind him rest against his sides.” Why would you be less flirty with your knife if I am a person that seems foolish don’t you think? A person can be more dangerous than any beast. I could have been sent to kill you or lead you into a trap. There might be some lining up a shot to kill you while I keep you distracted. Or I might be trying to rob you. I'm not, however, but I could be, I do thank you for the compliment though.”

 

"If you planned to rob me, you wouldn't talk to me so calmly...Or at all, for that matter." Solaria retorted, her hands gripping firmly at her waist. He'd made some good points in his rambles, but to the Yladian maiden, most of his worries were in vain.

"And if there were those wishing to attack me, I have my doubts you'd be left to me with them hiding, when they could have just as easily attacked me while I was in the midst of my practice unknowing anyone was there."

With a deep breathe and sigh, she stretched her arms over her head, folding them to rub her neck, fingers interlacing against the flesh and sea of green hair along her skin. "But if you were merely practicing Rogue, I must say you've done a good job. I hadn't noticed you were there until you spoke to me. You might want to give more warning when you jump out into a clearing in the woods to greet someone next time, though."

 

“I could just be a friendly mugger but in this case, you happen to be right I bear you no ill will. You should, however, be ready just in case the life does not suffer fools, and it seems that you are not a moron. ” Continue his walk around her she seemed to trust him well not trust him, but there was nothing in her posture that suggests that she saw him as a threat. Well at least to his eyes she could be hiding a smaller weapon on her body, but for that to be effective, he would have to get close.

“That is true but how I don’t know that you aren’t a trap for someone like me, no you're the wrong type of bait. Hmmm… Interesting very interesting, however, I must thank you for the compliment, but I disagree.” Stopping right at the edge of her vision, a slight smirk plays along his lips leaning in a bit closer to her taking a look at her skin. Noticing that there was a small layer of sweat on her, his eyes seeing a callous on her hand. “How close I could get without you noticing me is a part of the challenge. I have spent the last few days out here trying to catch a rabbit with my bare hands. Not chasing it down or killing it to simply be so well hidden that I become a part of the world around me.” Reaching down and picking up a hand full of grass try to gauge the amount of wear on the blades. Looking at the color of the blades noticing that they were not discoloured, but we're starting to bend from repeated pressure aliped over time. “You have been her practicing for most of the day, and you are hot.”

He pointed in the second direction and started walking "Follow you will not last long in this heat and then you'll be prey for bandits."

 

As he got far too close for comfort, his notice of her sweat made her giggl ever so slightly, a giggle that was clearly a nervous tic as she twitched a bit. "I see no reason to be robbed anyhow, I'm not all that powerful in regards to money. I gave a good chunk to donate to help rebuild a castle, so...I'm half broke now."

Her laugh became more sincere as she backed up- or started to, at least. Finding the back of her heal sliding on a rock she hadn't noticed yet, she grabbed onto the man she was trying to make space from to help catch and steady herself. She didn't fall, but was now just as close as she had been before, if not more.

"Anyone tell you you make a good support?" A soft grin on her face, she got to a steady pace and stretched herself, watching him worrying for her by pointing out the heat and her hard work. "I'm only hot because I train hard each day...Though I'd be happier being called hot if it wasn't because you were sniffing my sweat."

It was a simple truth. After all, who wouldn't want to be called attractive? Looking him over more clearly, her grin turned into a smirk, lips coyly curled upward on one side more than the other. "Though, going off that...You're quite the catch yourself, if I may say so. It's almost a shame you try to hide, when you're so pleasing to see."

 

She had seemed to take offense to the amount of personal space he had just taken up and almost fall into the ground. He was about to move when he realized that she was falling but the woman was faster. She managed to turn her motion around instead of falling she was grabbing onto him to stabilize herself. It happened so fast that the image of the surprise that had found its way to his face and hadn’t been able to whip it away until she let go and started to stretch.

Starting to grin slightly a more relaxed expression working on to his face at her words. He had been spending so much time by himself to hone his skills that he had forgotten how great people were. It took him a few seconds to clear the blush from his face after he heard her comment.

Working to change the topic from off of him and back to an important topic. “Training is good but you must be careful in this heat it is easy to forget to drink water. Especially if you were training as hard as I saw all day.” Gesturing to a location in the distance that he knew was there from experience, motioning for her to walk with him before starting to set off. “I am sure you are beautiful when you are not cover from sweat from training all day in the sun. However you could use a break from what I have seen, there is a fresh water stream with in walking distance from here. That you can get some clean drinking water and wash your face. Follow me” Pausing to look back at her then around at the clearing. “If you want I can bring you back here after the break.”

 

His attempt to alter the conversation from her rather sudden and possibly suspicious comment was duly noted, and she didn't bother trying to tease him for it. In fact, the blush on his face was quite enough to satisfy her, at least for the time being. Instead, her smile was from his words of concern. "Well aren't you just a honey bee?"

People still used that phrase, didn't they? It couldn't have just been one she heard a lot from her friend's mom (which, admittedly, was the only time she heard it). As he offered to lead her to and from the stream, she found her grin becoming a bit more deceptive, hand grabbing onto him in an attempt to create both closeness and awkwardness.

"Even willing to lead a lady to the stream? Yep. Definitely a catch. I'd be grateful, though, if you'd really be so kind. I promise this is as much as I'll touch you, as to keep you from getting covered in someone else's salt." In fact, she let go at that exact moment, running a few feet ahead in the direction he'd told her. "Say, what's your name anyway, stranger? I could just keep calling you gentleman like I do in my head, but it feels foolish, you know? Your name must be way nicer."

 

He paused a bit at her comment he was a honey bee? That was something that he hadn’t heard before ever; she seemed to have meant pleasantly. So maybe when she said he was like honey and sweet that made more sense at least to his ears. He was so distracted by what she called him that he was unaware just went she had grabbed his arm and was pressed up against him. There was a bit of softness to her that found itself press up against him. Swallowing down a mouth full of nervous before speaking, then releasing that she had already let his arm go and ran a bit ahead. "A bit of salt isn't hurtful in the least."

He did know if he would call himself a catch he was just doing what needs to be done in a situation. It was a hot day and there was a chance that she might pass out from the heat. Moving ahead of her towards over a small rise to point at the stream he was talking about. “Come it is just over this hill” Behind him a gentle trickle of water was flowing away from them. A crystal clear stream of cool drinking water, reaching out a hand to help her up over the rise. “ I told you it wasn’t far.”

 

Sure, salt wouldn't hurt him- but not many people really liked the smell or feeling of another person's sweat. Hell, they rarely liked their own! When they made it to the stream, she took a moment to carefully decide how she'd cleanse the salty solution that coated her, noting how her underskirt was clinging to her legs, which she hadn't noticed until they'd walked for a while.

For the moment, she opted for the simpler method. Kneeling by the stream, she splashed her face and took a drink soon after, smiling from the relief of something cool to calm the heat of her hard work. "Are you going to have some? Um..." Realizing even though she'd implied to ask, he hadn't actually told her, she giggled.

"I guess you don't feel at ease with a stranger, huh? I'm Solaria. Can I know your name too? Hearing it from someone feels a lot better than fighting with the UI."

 

He tilted his head slightly looking down at her before keel down next to the stream plunge his entire face into the water taking a long deep drink feeling the coldness seep into his body. Pulling his face out of the water gulping down breaths of air, he had forgotten how cold this stream was. Push his now wet hair from out of his face giving his head a little shake getting rid of some of the water.

Solaria…. Solaria that was a lovely name it felt light not weighted down, it was nice. Sticking out his hand for a hand shake, while giving her the proper introduction she asked for. “Well Solaria It has been interesting meeting you I am called Aalam, Aalam Abungu is the full name and I guess I must agree it is simple just to tell you.” Leaning back down to take a long drink from the stream taking a few more longer gulps before sitting down on the floor watching the water run down stream.

"So what brought you to the forest are you just taking the time to train or was there another reason?"

 

She paid clear attention to the man as he introduced himself, though the amusement of seeing how he took in the water when he dunked his head into it was a bit obvious on her face. "Aalam, hm? That's easy enough to remember, I think." The ease on her face stayed even as she opted to at least get a bit more comfortable, she took off her top layer, showing she had a thinner dress below- which, albeit, was a bit clingy at the moment.

"I have to learn to take off some of my armor when I practice. I thought it helped, but it just makes me heat up faster." She laughed a bit, new parts of her arms exposed as she dunked them into the stream, splashing herself with more water than likely was necessary soon after. Coated in liquid, her hair stuck to her cheek as she looked back at her guide. "I find that the forests here are good places to get some practice both in dealing with actual enemies and just my form. There's all sorts of pests you can find in the wilds here, but that just makes it fun to explore."

 

There is a section of truth in that, but one makes time to take a second to prepare, simply carrying some water could make a great difference.” Sitting down and watching a light breeze rustling the leaving in the tree above them. Pushing his hands into the water washing the little nicks that he had gotten when he was practicing his stealth earlier, they stung a little but he made the effort to get clean them out. “I agree however the forest is a wonderful place to practice, but if you keep practicing like that in all that clothing on a day like to this. Well, let’s just say that it is unwise.”

Glancing at her out of the corner of his eye seeing that she seemed to have to take off even more of her clothing. Making it a point after that to look instead at the stream, pausing slightly to get his thoughts together before speaking. “You said that you have most of your money to help to rebuild a castle, correct. What happened to this castle in your story that I need so much money to be rebuilt? I just started recently and well haven't been keeping up” The fact that someone was asking for help to rebuild meant that there was not enough fund to fix it on his own. However, that had to be a payoff to convince someone to do that. ”More importantly why?”

 

Seeing the nicks on his arms as she washed himself, having only glanced for a moment, Solaria inched closer, ignoring that she was wet and probably not exactly in the right shape to be looked at by a normal person. She held a hand out to touch his shoulder, gently chanting as a small light left her hand and entered his flesh.

"I happen to have some illumancy. It should heal those scrapes of yours. It'd be bad if they got infected, you know?"

She noticed the way he avoided looking at her. Glancing down, she couldn't help but laugh a bit. Her clothes were sticking to her, but she hadn't really cared at the time. "I don't think I'll be taking a full bath now. A swim might not be so bad, though. Perhaps it'll cool us both off. Like you said, it's hot, isn't it? And based on your being injured at all, I can tell you've been working hard yourself, right?"