Meditation

[Rhea Amara Tarján]

Stab, slash, spin... Round and round she went with her practicing. Rhea spun and slashed, jumped and stabbed. She had stripped her armor off and wore her training clothes. Pants, boots, and a breast band. She continued her training, almost oblivious to the world around her yet always aware and watching. What she really needed was a partner to train with, training by oneself could only do so much, and most often only perfect a form and build strength. So on she went, slashing her sword and stabbing. She was one with the blade, one with the world around her.

This was her style of meditation. She couldn't sit there in silence and stillness. She needed to move around and work her muscles. After a few more moments of sword practice, she switched to double blade, pulling out her dagger. Not once did she stop in her training as she pulled out her dagger. Her style changed to two-handed and with that she continued pattern dances, starting out simple and then moving to complex. All the while she was in her own world, meditating... but still mostly aware of her surroundings.

[napeir]

napeir sat in the brush a couple of steps away from the backside of the tree, he heard a loud banging noise and turned around.
" what is making all that racket" he said to himself crawling over to the tree.
On the other side was a women in training cloths using two weapons to hit the tree.
" can't she do damage to a rock or something" he wispered to himself again.

[Kendall Ducaine Malice]

“Finally!” Kendall thought as he spotted the first glimmering bits of the lakes surface in the distance. After marching around for the better part of the morning Kendall, was beginning to think that he would never find it. Only by chance had he happened upon the lake.

“Curse that old drunkard…”

He said with a relieved sigh, referencing the gentleman who gave him directions in exchange for money, enough to buy a pint of ale. The old man appeared sober enough but not so sober, as it would appear to avoid giving Kendall haphazard directions. No matter though, with no small degree of luck Kendall managed to make his way here to the lake, emerging from the darkness of the thick canopy of trees overhead just a few yards from the shore. Making his way out to the shoreline Kendall watched idly as the small waves gently broke upon on the pebble laden beach, lapping upon the shore as the waters surface was pushed by around by the wind. There were few white caps, the wind was really little more than a lingering breeze and the lake surface was relatively calm.

The general area around the lake was calm, quiet, and peaceful, a real attraction of the Kingdom to be had. It was no wonder that all Kendall had heard from so many people that frequented this place speak so fondly of the area. There was no real arguing about it, this place was beautiful. Almost out of a painting, Kendall could already picture himself coming back often. Pausing only for a moment at the water’s edge, drew a slow deep breath before he began to walk along the shore simply taking in the tranquility of this place. The ambient sounds of nature brought into sharp focus just how quiet the world outside the city could be, a silence would soon to be broken by… by…. “What is that?” [/b]Kendall thought to himself as his ears perked. Lifting his head he turned it so just to face the direction of the sounds, absently his feet began taking him to a line of trees near a rounding bend that he couldn’t see beyond.

As he drew closer, the sounds became more audible, it took a moment to discern what that sound really was. They were grunts, drawing closer still he could see through the leaves, the gleam of a blade as it was swung through the air. There was a muted chopping sound. “Some one is in trouble!” He thought his eyes widening. Reaching a hand down and pulling his sword out if its scabbard and gripping it tight in his fist he lunged head long through the thick hedge into the clearing beyond.

"AHHHHH!"

Landing with a heroic cry, Kendall brandished his sword against any would be attackers. But to his surprise he found not a fight but rather a woman. Now, Kendall had many sisters and was rather used to seeing them in situations that some would consider compromising so it was nothing new to him. Still seeing other women that were not of his family still tended to make him blush, it was its worst when he first arrived in the barracks, during the past few months Kendall had slowly grown accustomed to it. Still stumbling upon a woman wearing little more than a breast band and pants tended to make him blush, especially when it wasn’t simply stumbling. Rather charging from the darkness of the forest with a heroic cry. Clearing his throat, he tried to banish his embarrassment, though it was not completely possible. All he could do was manage a lopsided, uneasy face as he looked on at her.


(There that is better....Hope you don't mind that I joined.)

[Rhea Amara Tarján]

Not at all. The thread's open to anyone who wants to join

She glanced up at the trees to the mage above but did nothing more. She barely noticed him in her meditation. Rhea didn't care if her training upset anyone, not now at least in a forest where no one should have been in the first place. So on she went; slash, chop, slash, chop. It was an even rhythm almost like a heart beat. She moved from the tree just as she heard that screaming. Without thought, she whirled around, her sword and dagger crossed to block the oncoming blade. For a second her knees buckled under the weight but she soon recovered and held her stance, looking up at the man.

Her green eyes blazed in annoyance as she looked gazes with his. Rhea pushed away from the man who was much taller than she by at least half a foot. He seemed young though, maybe in his late teens. He was built and the sword he carried was enough for her to deduce that he was a warrior. "You damn fool! I could have killed you!" Rhea shook her head in anger before sheathing the blades at her hips. After a few seconds she managed to regain control of herself and said evenly, "Your running headfirst into the unknown betrays your age. Only a young buck would do that. Things like that can get you killed."

Rhea sighed and walked over to the lake. She dipped her hands into the cool waters and splashed it over her face then her neck. While she was crouched down at the lake and washing her arms she spoke, her tone now more casual than before, "I'm Rhea Amara Tarján. You can call me Rhea or Amara. So what's yours, kid?" She stood up and looked at the man calmly, awaiting his reply, as if she were completely clothed. One would think she'd remain wary around men after an incident when she was younger, but she didn't. How could she? Most of the people she worked with were men, not many women earned honor in battle with a sword as she did.

[Kendall Ducaine Malice]

Kendall froze for a moment as he looked down at Rhea, he could feel the heat in his cheeks lingering no matter how much he wished he could will it away. It took a second for her words to register in his head, she appeared… Bothered by his presence. True he was young and inexperienced, there was no denying that but it still stung to hear someone else point out the fact of his recklessness. Kendall scowled as he felt the anger rise in him and soon not just his cheeks were flushed but rather his entire face. He had no leverage upon which to argue, but he knew he just couldn’t sit back and not say anything.

“Well…”

He paused looking for something to say, his eyes desperately searching the horizon absently in search of something to offer as a rebuttal. Kendall’s lips pressed together and his mouth formed a bubble as he absently pushed air into it as he tried to conjure something to come back with.

“Well…If God will’s it, then it is simply my time to go! Nothing I can do can prolong or expedite that…”

Kendall offered a nod at the end of the sentence, he uttered it so matter of factly that it almost sounded comical. It was a weak leg to stand on but it was the only one he had, so he stood and watched as she made her way from him on over to the lake. Kendall watched her with absent intrigue as he slowly felt the heat from his head and anger dissipate. Cocking a brow as he heard Rhea give him her name then call him kid. She could hardly be 4 or 5 winters older than him, but Kendall simply let it go and not let his temper get him. His previous actions just a moment ago was more than enough to convince him he still had a lot to learn.

“My Name is Kendall Ducaine Malice…It’s a pleasure Rhea…May I ask, just what are you doing out here?”

Kendall spoke casually as he gripped the brass collar of his scabbard and sheathed his blade once again. His embarrassment seemingly had slipped away, replaced by genuine curiousity.

[Rhea Amara Tarján]

Ew... crap post :\ Sorry..

"Training," she said simply before sighing heavily. "Pleasure to meet you Kendall," she spoke once more and stretched her hand out to him in a firm handshake. "I'm sorry for snapping at you but I don't like being interrupted when I'm training, especially in the manner that you did it in. I've almost killed two people because they did something like that. Not on purpose though... It just happens when I'm focusing so hard on what I'm doing, I don't really notice too much going on around me..." Her voice trailed off and then she sat down and began cleaning her blade.

The blade had a dragon etched onto it going from the handle to about the middle of the sword. The handle was laid with gold filligree, it was her most prized and loved possession. She sighed contentedly as she continued to clean it and then after a moment she looked up and said, "So what are you doing here?" Not once did she stop in the cleaning of her sword, and once it was clean she placed it into its scabbard and looked up at him.

[Kendall Ducaine Malice]

“Training?” Kendall repeated in his head. Absently he looked around the area, there didn’t seem to be anyone else there. Perhaps she was going threw the motions as it were? Not bothering to pry Kendall nodded his head in acknowledgement. Kendall reached his arm out, extending his hand to meet Rhea’s own, her grip was firm far more firm than he would have either expected or anticipated from a woman though as he took a second glance at her he should have expected no less, she was a warrior not one of those fragile girls he saw walking around with their nose turned up to the world.

“Likewise Rhea…”

Not wanting to crush her hand Kendall matched the degree of pressure in his grip to hers and gave her hand a stout shake before letting it go so that she could return it to her side. Bringing his own hand back to him, Kendall passed it through his hair and scratched the back of his head lightly as a small chuckle slipped past his lips. How foolish he must have looked, busting out of the bushes screaming like a mad man. Regaining his composure, Kendall licked his lips and nodded once more as she continued to explain herself. He really couldn’t hold it against her for going off on him, it was rather foolish, and she was right it did betray his age. “Live and learn” he thought, he would just have to chalk this one up to experience. Kendall watched as she sat and began to maintain her impeccable looking blade, taking a small liberty Kendall lowered himself to the ground and brought his knees up and draped his arms over them.

“Being so focused is good, but sometimes being too focused can be a disadvantage… Not everything comes straight at you….”

Of course Kendall was speaking both in literal and philosophical terms but he didn’t express that point Rhea looked like the kind of person to deduce his meaning from his words. Once again Kendall’s eyes fell to her sword, it was obviously crafted by a master who both loved their craft and had a flair for both functionality and appearance. You could learn a lot about a person by simply observing them, Rhea for example. Kendall was willing to wager that she a creature of repetition and paid attention to detail.

Moving his eyes from her on over to the lake Kendall rolled his neck, the bones cracking with a hallow snap as he did. The other than what had just transpired the lake was rather peaceful. Kendall allowed himself to drift into though as he watched the waters glistening in the waning sunlight. It wasn’t long before he had heard Rhea pose a question to him. Slowly, he drew a breath and though “…just what am I doing here?”. Cocking a brow and shrugging, more to himself than to her, he spoke.

“I heard the lake was a nice calm place to come and relax, I figured since I am off duty for a few days and I haven’t really taken the opportunity to explore I would do so. Maybe even go for a swim” He shrugged and continued. “I almost didn’t make it here, some old drunk gave me the most ass backward directions and had me lost in the bush for almost the entire morning.”

Kendall shrugged his head in mild frustration before sighing once more and looking back at her and saying.

“For what its worth, I am sorry to have interrupt you…”

[Rhea Amara Tarján]

Every little thing he did, she took note of it. Rhea was the type who sat and observed the behavior of people, and from that deduced a basic personality from them. Rhea was a bit surprised that Kendall matched the firmness of her grip. He didn't tighten his grip as men often did when greeting each other to test their own strength, and he didn't have a loose grip either. This, too, surprised her some what. He didn't see her as a fragile woman as many men often did. Her respect for him was steadily increasing.

The next thing he did, only elevated him in her eyes. He didn't remain standing when she had sat down. He kneeled down as well. Had he remained standing, she would have thought him an insecure man who felt a need to be above every one. Granted, he still remained above her even when he did kneel as she was sitting with her legs crossed. Still, she did respect him for it, as she was not one to say he was beneath her when she did not yet know him. And for her, age didn't mean anything, it was merit that meant a great deal.

When he spoke, she smiled slightly. She understood what he meant. Literally, she didn't need to dwell on, philosophically was what made her smile. "Very true, my friend. I know this quite well and I wish I could break myself out of the trance I fall into when I train. I feel one with my weapons, it's a feeling and ecstasy I have not gotten any where else or with any one else," she said calmly, appealing to the literal edge. Now for the philosophical. "I see you're words are like a double-edged sword, too. Never have your mind set on one thing and one thing only, lest you miss out on another opportunity that shows itself..."

Rhea smiled once more before leaning back with her arms behind her. She continued to watch him and when he answered her question, she smirked slightly. "Nice... Getting directions from drunks are always fun, especially when you're looking for an adventure," she said nonchalantly, though clearly a bit sarcastic. When he apologized she leaned forward once more and shrugged, waving a hand in dismissal, "Don't worry about it. I needed a break any way, and besides now I have someone to spar with... If you wanted to, that is." She smiled at him once more, a twinkle in her green eyes.

[Kendall Ducaine Malice]

Rhea’s last comment broke a smile upon his face, what was with women wanting to kick his ass? First it was Tori, in his first spar ever the legendary warrior picked Kendall out of a room full of other recruits, and…well…that was the only real spar he had. The good thing about that experience was that Kendall couldn’t get any worse than he already was. Of course it was only his second time ever working with a blade, and though he was by no means a master he was no longer a novice. Kendall spent many sleepless nights working through the motions, footwork, hand movements & various techniques in order to help him catch up with his peers. Kendall had strength and endurance, however he lacked experience and any chance to gain some was prized. Letting his eyes find hers, those sparkling green eyes were rather captivating no doubt she would use them to her advantage in a spar. Chuckling softly he looked back to the lake and nodded before turning his attention back to her.

“Well that sounds most agreeable to me… I got to warn you though, a Master novice….”

He smiled lightly and brushed the palms of his hands against one and other. Rhea was more than likely far more experienced, not to mention mature (mentally) and probably ten times more comfortable with a sword than Kendall was, but like his instructors told him time and time again. “Thank the lord that you can only get better.” Standing up Kendall brushed off his rear of leaves and dead grass and stretched out with a satisfied groan. Drawing a deep breath he messaged his arms and waited for her to begin.


(Sorry it is so short, I know I didn't give you alot to work with...)

[Rhea Amara Tarján]

It's alright... I'll figure something out.

Rhea stood up and smiled once more. Had she known what Kendall had been thinking, she would have been rather insulted as she was an honorable warrior who used nothing to her advantage but her skill with a blade, but since she didn't know what he was thinking, all she did was smile. She unsheathed her blade once more and looked at it, checking to see that it was still nice and strong. After a bit of stretching and a few practice swings with her blade, she looked him in the eye and said, "Let us dance." She smiled again and started out the spar with a slash to his stomach.

It wasn't the most common way to start a spar, usually a stab was what was predicted but Rhea knew that and she figured if she knew, so did every one else. Thus, she was going to be different and try to mix things up a bit. She just had to be ready to change her blade's motion if he didn't block so that she didn't hurt him (I don't know if he's wearing armor or not... She's not, though.) Now, one would say Rhea either had a lot of faith in her opponent or that she was a bit too cocky. The woman wore no armor, her stomach was more or less exposed to the world as was generally the rest of her body as the only thing that protected it was the cloth that she wore. Either way, Rhea wasn't too worried about getting severely wounded.

[Kendall Ducaine Malice]

Reaching down and across his body Kendall gripped the hilt of his sword in his right fist; giving a stout pull while holding onto the scabbard with his left hand he unsheathed his weapon. Then, Kendall lifted his own blade to parry Rhea’s opening strike; he was caught a little off guard by the fact that she chose to don no armor or protective clothing at all. Sure they were not going at it to hurt one and other but still it was just a safety precaution. Kendall was not an experienced swordsman by any means, sure he chalked up hours of going through the rigors of routine and discipline but that was not against a living, breathing opponent. If Kendall by some miracle, blundered a score it wouldn’t be pretty, though she seemed more than adequate in deflecting anything that he might throw at her. It would stand to reason that in fact wearing no armor would make you more focused and driven to not get hit. Of course this was merely conjecture and he had no basis of comparison, he only had one other spar before and he had suitable armor to protect himself, restrictive but albeit protective however this time was a little different.

Using the same momentum from the unsheathing of his blade to parry Rhea’s attack, Kendall let it carry his hand up and arc around at it’s apex to come as a downward slash aimed at her upper torso from her left shoulder angling down to her right hip. Kendall noticed how she changed the orientation of her blade as to not hurt him if her blade were to gain purchase on his flesh. Kendall extended the same curtsey though he doubted that he would have to, her movements seemed quick and calculated. Kendall’s oversized tunic had been comfortable for his brisk morning walk but not really suitable for sparring. It’s billowing cloth was rather complicating the matter. As quick as he could Kendall took a lunging step backwards to put as much space between the two of them as possible and in one quick motion he pulled the tunic, and one arm (the one not holding a sword) out of the tunic, then shifting sword hands he took out the other hand. That was much better, beneath his larger tunic Kendall wore more of a close fitting “tank” top shirt that would allow him to move more freely. Stepping away from his fallen piece of clothing Kendall closed the gap between them once more leading in with a spearing thrust of his sword aimed at her midsection. This was getting good.

[Rhea Amara Tarján]

True, wearing no armor was also part of the training she put herself through. If you wore no armor, you were more obligated to be much more careful and to avoid getting hit. It was unorthodox and quite dangerous, but such had served the woman well in her teen years, it would serve her well now. Her green eyes followed every movement he made and when he perried her slash, she wasn't at all surprised. She watched the blade aim to come down at her shoulder, to slash her all the way down to the hip. She caught his blade while it was still in the air, deflecting the blow that might have caused her some bloodshed had she not blocked.

Then she watched him move back, naturally she followed but slowed her advanced as she saw him remove one arm from the tunic and then the other. Once he had thrown it onto the ground, he came at her with a thrust. Rhea's first reaction had wanted her to close the gap as well, but she soon realized that would not have been a good idea for she would have found herself most likely speared on his sword, thus she changed her initial reaction to a side-step and turned the blade on its flat so as not to damage the flesh save for a red welt. Her maneuver had many possibilities. He'd either be fast enough to block it, he'd get smacked in the arm or the back/backside, and if he didn't block and got hit, the spar would technically be over and she would have been crowned winner. Technically. However, she was not in the spar to 'win' so much as to enjoy the challenge and see how she stacked up against this Kendall. Granted, if the flat of her blade did hit him, he had the option of stopping the spar or continuing it... It all depended on the rules of the spar, and if they were following the traditional guidelines.

[Kendall Ducaine Malice]

For a moment Kendall thought he had made a fatal blow as he thrust his sword forward, but to his relief Rhea dodged the tip of his blade at the last moment and scored a blow with the flat girth of her blade on his side. Had this been a real battle, Kendall would be on the ground withering in pain and trying to police up his end trails. The thought jarred him and he gave a notable shiver. Being relatively new to the practice of sparring, Kendall was not fully aware of the etiquette involved. They had discussed no terms of their match before they had begun swinging their blades; rather they just jumped in. In Kendall’s mind he assumed that this meant that this was a spar till one of them conceded for one reason or another.

The cool blade of Rhea’s sword met his torso with a meaty slap, before she had time to put any distance between the two of them Kendall quickly spun, hooking his left leg back around her knees in an attempt to knock her down to the ground. It was the only attack from the position and angle that was available to him. Whether she had fallen or not, Kendall had committed his weight behind the maneuver and would fall to the ground himself. Dipping his right shoulder he allowed his momentum to carry him in a roll a few yards away from her. Popping up Kendall turned to face her again as he allowed himself to settle into a defensive position. As he settled into a balanced stance Kendall spun the hilt of his sword in his palm and held it in a reverse grip perpendicular to the ground and waited for Rhea to make her next move. All the while he could feel his heart racing in exhilaration and though he couldn’t tell, Kendall had a bright smile upon his face.

[Rhea Amara Tarján]

Rhea heard the slap of metal against flesh and would have winced had she been a viewer. Rhea knew how much it hurt to be smacked against bare skin with a blade, but since she wasn't a viewer, she had no time to wince for the man. Either way, it didn't matter. He continued the spar much to her delight. So we play until one of us gives in, she thought. Should be quite fun. Before Rhea could even jump back she felt his leg hook behind her knee. Soon enough she found herself falling to the ground with him rolling off to the side. As soon as Rhea hit the ground she jumped up and found Kendall ready for her next attack.

For a moment, the woman remained motionless, watching her 'prey'. He could have made a move, there was no rule that said it had to be her, him, her, him. He could attack even when it wasn't 'his turn'. Seeing how he wasn't going to attack, she decided to do so. Though his bright smile didn't escape her notice. Why he was smiling so happily, she wasn't sure. With a mental shrug, Rhea launched herself at Kendall, running at him as if she were going to skewer him onto her blade only to make a last minute adjustment to her attack. She switched the blade to her other hand, dropped, and hooked her foot around his legs. If he fell, the tip of her blade might rest upon his throat gently. If he remained standing, then she would come up with an uppercut to his stomach.

[Kendall Ducaine Malice]

Kendall’s smile was more that he was enjoying this. No doubt she was probably taking it easy on him seeing as he was still a beginner by comparison, but Kendall was feeling rather good that he was managing to hold his own against her so far. He watched as she started at him in a dead sprint and his smile was wiped from his face when he felt his legs buckle beneath him. Kendall lay on his back with his right hand extended across his body between he and Rhea. His elbow bent slightly as it pointed up towards her, still in his grip was his sword reversed with its tip pointed at the right side of her upper torso just between her true and false ribs angled at her heart. It seemed that they were at a bit of a stand off, each of them were poised to deliver a killing blow. Kendall started up at her with that same fiery, stark determination in his eyes. He could feel the pointed tip resting against the soft flesh of his throat causing him to tilt his head back for fear of piercing his flesh.

“Submit. I have you…”

It was rather laughable, here Kendall was with a sword at his throat ordering Rhea to give up. Kendall tried to still his voice, he had to admit this was slightly unnerving. Sure it was a spar, and Rhea seemed honorable enough but he had just met her and the circumstance of being laid out under a stranger with a weapon poised to kill him was slightly unnerving, even if that stranger was beautiful, had stunning eyes and half dressed. Yet in all his eagerness to move to a less compromising position Kendall refused to give in, he had her in check just as much as she had him. This was going to prove most interesting.