Fight Club
Jul. 25th, 2010 03:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shelbyrouIt is currently 11:59 Pacific Time on Sun Jul 25 2010.
Currently the moon is in the waxing Full (Ahroun) Moon phase (94% full).
Around the Lone Boulder
Michael nods. "Yeah, they can hurt. But they'll teach you how to block and dodge unless you enjoy being flayed open." He bends down to stretch out his legs.
Kerr nods again, placing a hand against the boulder, testing it. She's, obviously, standing by the large rock and seeming to be impressed with it's grandure while Michael is nearby and stretching.
Shelby's white-furred form approaches from downwind, her own scent hidden. She pauses at the edge of the clearing for a moment, before trotting into the clearing, shifting smoothly up into homid fifteen feet or so from the boulder. "Good afternoon Michael, Kerr. Haven't seen you here before." Her tone is neutral, even. "Your teacher allowed you to join us, did she?" The Fang is in a track suit as usual, though it's plum, not navy blue.
By now, it is not entirely mysterious when there is the sound of something much larger than a squirrel approaching through the tree branches, this time from due east. This time when Chandini appears - or partially appears, glimpses of red shirt and bright eyes flashing between the foliage - it's near the top of a sequoia, quite a long way from the ground. Without hesitating, she drops about ten feet from the branch she's on, catches herself on the next branch down, drops, catches, and drops again. She reaches the ground, landing on her feet, flushed and sweating freely, breathless and quite cheerful, and lopes into the large clearing around the boulder, finishing up with a cartwheel that sends her loose shirt flapping like a sail. "Namaste," she says between breaths, with a smile for Michael and Shelby. Then she sees Kerr and becomes briefly still. "Behen?" she says, half greeting, half question.
Freedom comes bounding into the clearing on four paws, panting a little as he skids to a halt not far from the boulder. When he changes back to homid form, he bends over, hands on his knees, to catch his breath. "Afternoon, Chandini-rhya," he says, with a general smile for the other cubs. Of other undercurrents, he's cheerfully unaware.
Michael gives Shelby a warm smile as she approaches. He seems like he's about to answer, when Chandini's enterance catches his attention. He smiles and claps his hands. He nods with a smile to Freedom, as well. "Afternoon, everyone. Kerr-yuf is here to see if she'd be allowed to watch. She doesn't have permission to work out with us yet. Is that ok, Chandini-rhya? Maybe she could climb the boulder a bit?"
Kerr turns to the sound of Shelby's voice, affecting a friendly, if nervous, grin for the Fang. "Yeah I--" Reply fails as Chandini appears with gusto, the girl taking a step and placing her back against the boulder. Once hitting that solid mass behind her, the Ahroun cub's gaze averts and her head tilts back to show the fostern her throat. "Sorry, Chandini-rhya. I know I'm not allowed to pract---" Again words cease as Michael picks up an explanation, though nothing in her posture changes.
Shelby says, "I don't mind," in case anyone's curious, though she slants a sidelong look at the other girl. "Namaste," she adds belatedly, with an additional nod for Freedom.
Chandini gives Michael an amused look. "I think she can speak, yeah?" But at the explanation, her posture shifts to one more open, even if the moon does not permit one more relaxed. She nods to Kerr and smiles. "Welcome." She looks around at her three students and says, "Has everyone been running? Michael-bhai, you have not, you have been talking. Run to there--" she picks one of the farthest points along the uneven edge of the clearing (still not all that far), pointing, "--and back, slow going out, as quickly as you can coming back. You may choose any form except the war form. Freedom, Shelby, if you are not fully loose, do the same, yeah?"
Freedom straightens up, having mostly caught his breath. "Might as well make sure," he says, and goes trotting off towards the same point. He starts at a dash, then slows rapidly as he remembers the actual instructions given.
Kerr looks, for lack of a better word, relieved that she's allowed to stay. It doesn't translate very well as she remains backed up against the boulder with her throat still offered to the Fury, but there's a lack of tension in the girl all the same. "Thank you, Chandini-rhya," she says quietly.
Michael gives the Fury a smile just before he takes off at an easy jogging pace. He runs part of the distance, raising his knees high to limber up. When he reaches the point, he takes off at a sprint racing whoever is close enough to consider it a race.
From a brushy spot, nearest to Chandini, Blood-Guard emerges from the foliage wearing his wolf form. The black-furred Gaian trots up to the the Fury Fostern, wagging, tail held high. Hello, he whuffs, his focus on the ranked Garou, though a look of mild interest goes askance, towards the cubs.
"Yes, Chandini-rhya," Shelby agrees, but apparently she thinks she is loose enough, for she doesn't head off after the two boys. Instead she absently swings her arms as she walks in small circles. When she catches sight of the Gaian Ahroun she stops, momentarily flummoxed, before she shoots a glance at the Fury and remembers her manners. "Good afternoon, Blood-Guard-rhya."
The Fury closes the distance between herself and Kerr only just barely far enough that she can reach out and touch the girl on the shoulder with her fingertips and then drop them again. "It is well, behen. Though I cannot allow you here every time, because to learn by watching is just as much learning as to learn by doing, yeah? But for today--" She pauses, head whipping to the side as Blood-Guard emerges, with sharpness that belies the deliberate gentleness of her manner. "It is well," she finishes, but doesn't look back at Kerr. "Guards-the-Blood. Namaste." Her tone is genuinely warm, but also, unmistakably, questioning.
Freedom hits the far point, and turns to come running back much faster, slipping into a tail-wagging wolf shape on his way.
"Yes, ma'am," Kerr replies, beginning to bow her head and relax a touch. "Also. If I could talk to you after the class, there's something--" The arrival and subsequent appearance of Blood Guard draws her right back into that pose, however, and she's pressed against the boulder once again.
Michael is about a quarter of the way back, when he hears the sound of four legs pounding the ground behind him. He shifts down into lupus as well, but loses some ground during the transformation. He picks up his speed, trailing after Freedom.
Blood-Guard whuffs a greeting to Shelby when she addresses him, narrowing his eyes at her reaction, and he then turns back to Chandini. Blood-Guard came to see the teaching of cubs, he tells Chandini. At the exchange between Fury and Shadow Lord, the Gaian narrows his eyes again. He sits, and turns to watch the boys run. They learn well?
With the Warder's eyes off of her Shelby casually drifts to Chandini's other side, just as casually not meeting anyone's gaze. Only because she's giving the boulder a bit of thoughtful study, of course.
Chandini too turns to study the returning cubs, tension in her shoulders and the angles of her bony hands, but humor in her eyes. "They do." She considers. "Shelby-behen, start collecting small stones, yeah? Not smaller than the tip of your thumb or larger than your fist. The size they are when you are human-form. I believe there are many in that place where the ground dips, west of the boulder." She - it must be deliberately - does not turn to look at the place she means, though it's easily within sight if she were to turn her head.
Freedom skids to a halt near Chandini, bouncing once in place with all four paws in the air to make sure he's entirely stopped. Then it's a brisk shake that sets his fur fluffing, and he returns to homid form. "I think I'm about as loose as I'm getting, Chandini-rhya," he says, ducking his head generally towards Blood-Guard.
Kerr wilts at the look from the Warder, and proceeds to tilt her head downward again. Her back remains, for now, against the boulder and her gaze rests upon the ground rather than on the activities of the other cub save for the occasional glance up to see their progress.
Shelby says, "Yes, all right. About how many?" She doesn't wait for an answer, but squints up at the sky to find the sun and drifts more-or-less west-ish past the boulder. It takes her a few seconds of searching to discover where Chandini means; when she does she takes off her jacket and lays it out to use as a makeshift bag.
About five seconds later, Grudge-Ender comes skidding to a halt beside Freedom. He shifts to homid, giving the Fianna a smile. "Good run, Freedom-yuf!" He turns to notice the black wolf with a warm smile and polite nod. "Afternoon, Blood-Guard-rhya!"
Blood-Guard sits and watches the cubs, ears canted forwards. Kerr's reaction, he ignores. He whuffs at the greetings - nonverbal and verbal - which come from the male cubs as they return from their run. No comment is given, for now.
Blood-Guard
This is a slim black male wolf. His features are long and angular in all aspects, suggesting that the wolf's thinness is genetic, but his chest is broad and 'filled' out, and he looks strong and healthy. This is confirmed by the gloss on this young adult wolf's black coat, and the fierce spark in dark brown eyes.
His coat is short for a northern latitude, and is marred by a great scar on his lower abdomen, the whorls and gnarls of flesh weaving deep into his side. He often keeps his posture twisted defensively around this old wound, but still he manages to carry himself gracefully. His movements are often too quick to track with the eye, and are always precise and silent.
"Teek," Chandini says to Freedom and Michael. "Good. Freedom, I am glad you did not make me tell you to do it again, yeah? Both of you, for your walking around, help Shelby-behen gather stones. No smaller than the tip of your human-form thumb, no bigger than your human-form fist. Bring them back here when you have as many as you can easily carry in one trip." She turns and starts scanning the treeline; for what, is not apparent.
Freedom holds up his thumb to give it a good look, for an idea of the size. "Yes, Chandini-rhya," he says, and trots off towards Shelby to lend a hand with the rocks. He throws a quick grind at Michael on the way over, whistling a few bars of "Sixteen Tons".
Kerr clasps her hands behind her back while lifting her head just enough to look at the other cubs as they begin to retreat for rock collecting. She glances toward the Gaian, seeming to want to say something though apprehensively. She swallows whatever had been lingering with a shake of her head, looks at Chandini in passing, then turns to watching Shelby's progress.
The Get cub flashes an amused smile Freedom's way as he jogs a bit to catch up. He takes off his plain black t-shirt to use it for gathering the rocks.
Blood-Guard perks as the cubs gather stones. Then he feels the eyes on him, sighs, and flicks an ear. He snaps over his shoulder, at a bug that might or might not be imaginary. Then, abruptly, he shifts his attention to Kerr. Yes, what? comes the short bark.
Shelby nods to the others as she works, hands moving easily over the stones. Most the rocks here seem to fall into the range the Fury likes, and when she has a largish pile of them she twists up her jacket into a bag, grunting a little at the weight, and returns to the boulder. "What are we going to do with these?"
But the Fury is not there, when Shelby returns. She missed Blood-Guard's response to Kerr as well. A moment before, she spotted whatever she was looking for, and darted off into the woods. She does not even get out of sight, however, and returns from the edges carrying a section of fallen log, a rough two and a half feet long, something over a foot in diameter, dark on the side that was lying on the ground. She heads back with her dubious prize, no longer running but not noticeably straining, either.
Freedom has pockets and handfuls of rocks, most of them pooled in an untucked t-shirt hem turned into an impromptu bag. He clatters with tiny rocks as he follows Shelby back. "Throwing practice?"
Kerr flinches at the bark, eyes squeezing shut and head tilting back quickly enough it raps against the boulder with a light thud. "Nothing, August-rhya," she replies quietly, with an edge of fear in her voice. "..Sorry."
Michael's hands work with the stones, picking them up with one hand and testing their size with his other before placing them in his shirt. Eventually, he gets the size range down and doesn't need to test every single one. He only judges their size by eye and places the ones that pass into the shirt. He scoops the shirt up like a bag, hoists it over his shoulder, and follows the others back. "That's my guess." He replies to Freedom.
Blood-Guard sighs again, more heavily. Speak with me some other time if you have something to say to me, Little-Dart, he tells the Shadow Lord cub. Judging by the Gaian's posture, the invitation is entirely reluctant. He puffs his posture somewhat and turns his attention back to the cubs gathering stones, for a willful distraction.
"Some of these are too small to use in the sling," Shelby tells the Warder, even though he surely already knows. "Could you do a... um. Suppressing fire, I think it's called? Load the sling with a lot of gravel, and then fling it? It wouldn't do much damage, and accuracy would be shot, but it'd probably be distracting."
Chandini sets the log down on its end and says, "It is a good guess," to Michael and Freedom, although really she should have been too far away to hear them. She rejoins the group, dusting decaying bits of bark and wood from her palms onto the legs of her jeans. "How many of you have trained with anything that fights from a distance? And what?"
Freedom moves rocks from pockets to his shirt-made pouch, and doesn't raise his hand for that one.
Kerr, a bit apprehensively, nods to the Warder, sending a quick look his way. Her head bows again, and with some reluctance her gaze stays upward enough to watch Chandini and the other cubs.
Grudge-Ender sets the bag down on the ground. Shelby's mention of a sling gets a slight groan from the cub. He shakes his head. "I have not, Chandini-rhya."
"August-rhya started me off on the sling," Shelby says, surely no longer a surprise to anyone there and paying attention. She crouches to dump her rocks out of her jacket and into a fairly tidy pile - one that she promptly makes even tidier. From down there she continues, "But that's all I know. I think I could hit that target."
Blood-Guard grunts. Lots of little stones in the sling, will go everywhere, won't do much good. Maybe, but not much of a distraction. Little pebbles don't hurt much if they are just thrown about, comes the reply to the Fang cub. His jaws crack, mood brightening, as the sling is mentioned. His fur puffs with pride.
The negative replies seem to please Chandini as much as the positive one. Both attract her thoughtful attention and no look of disapproval. "Today, it will be throwing. On another day, perhaps weapons, but the first thing is having aim at all, yeah?" But rather than start issuing instructions, she turns to the Gaian. "Guards-the-Blood, would you like to teach this part?" It's an open question: it does not seem she will be distressed by a yes or a no. There is a slightly testing curiosity in her gaze that's not wholly unlike the way she watches her students when she sets them a task with some room for independent decision-making and waits to see what they will choose.
Freedom dumps his rocks into a pile like Shelby's, except far less tidy, and brushes dirt from his hands.
Blood-Guard grunts a negative to Chandini. This is her teaching time. He looks to address the cubs. If anyone wants to learn more about the ~sling~ they are welcome to seek me for teaching. Then, the Gaian flumps down, ears swiveled forward with great interest, nose sniffing the air, to survey the lesson as it unfolds. The Warder is content to simply watch.
Kerr glances toward Chandini as she explains the activity, and even chances a peek at August as the Fury voices her offer. With a blink, the Ahroun cub quickly returns her attention to the other cubs and the pile of rocks, a wariness creeping into her posture.
Michael breathes a sigh of relief. He pick up his make-shift bag to put in next to him as he stands next to Freedom. Much like the Fianna cub, he dumps the rocks next to him with very little care. His eyes stare out to the log, seeming to already gauge the distance. He glances back toward Blood-Guard as he declines, and nods politely. He glances toward Chandini, waiting for further instructions.
Stealing glances over at the Gaian, Shelby seems surprised when he declines to take part. "Do you want me to throw, or use the sling, Chandini-rhya?" she wonders, hand drifting to one pocket as she stands. She steals a look at the two boys and adds, amused, "Aren't you all supposed to want to be baseball or football players? So this ought to be easy for you."
Chandini inclines her head to August. "Perhaps you will join us, some day," she says. She turns away from him, back to the cubs. It's a small change of angle, but a clear one. "Throw, behen. I said today was for throwing. Each of you, take some rocks with you, and pick a spot as close to the log as you think you need to be to hit it and stand there. I am less interested in how far you can throw than how well you can judge. You will probably be fairly wrong on your first try." She pauses, and then, with a glimmering look at Shelby, she adds, "In homan form for now, no closer than you need to be, and all stay on this side but spread out, because I would prefer you not hit each other, yeah? Chalo. Do it."
"I hated PE," Free admits, without much shame. "And I never tried out for baseball, because drama club was in the same afternoon slots." He picks up two handfuls of rocks from his pile, looking over the distance between cubs and target. Having considered the range, he takes several wide steps forward, then three to the left.
Kerr seems to be watching the other cubs simply for the sake of watching, even appearing reluctant to be doing that much. She glances every now and again toward Chandini, nervously, before pulling her attention back to the other cubs.
Michael listens carefully to the instructions before he picks up several decent sized rocks and begins walking toward the log. As he walks, he glances over to Shelby, holding out one of the rocks. "This is not a football. I love watching the Seahawks, not actually playing. History's more my thing. Besides, I'm ok with throwing things. Slinging things is another story." He spreads out away from the other two and stops at about twelve feet from the log. He licks his right index finger and holds it up to gauge wind direction.
Shelby colors faintly but nods, shakes out her jacket and again for good measure before slipping it back on. She zips it over her t-shirt like she's donning armor, crouches to pick out a loose handful of rocks and slips them into her pockets, then frowns at the log and backs up. She stops perhaps twenty feet away and frowns again, takes a large step forward and two back, and finally settles into position a hair farther away than where she originally chose. Kerr might be relieved to note that the Fang is aimed at the log, not her.
"Good," Chandini says, sounding oddly pleased considering all her students did was pick up some stones and walk a few steps, until she clarifies, "None of you threw. Accha. Throw now, then change your position based on how you did."
Freedom gamely hurls a rock at the log. It spins off in about the right direction, and clips the very top of the log, knocking off a tiny chip of old wood as it bounces away into another direction. "I'm not sure if moving closer will help," he says, but puts another rock in hand, and shuffles forward a step.
If Kerr were taking note of how the other three cubs were angled, she would be appreciative that none of them are aimed at her. But she's not, she's standing in semblance of submission, eyes flicking toward the various movement from the three or to the sound of Chandini's voice. She hasn't moved away from that boulder and, save for a few words prior, doesn't speak up.
Michael picks up a rock and examines it for a moment. He moves it around in his right hand, getting a feel for the size and weight as well as trying to find the best grip. Once he is satisfied, his eyes fix on the log. He takes in a calming breath, releases it slowly, and throws. The rock flies through the air and smacks solidly on the side of the log, fragmenting into smaller chunks. The Get cub smiles as he picks up his rocks and walks backward several feet. He comes to a stop at about eighteen feet from the log.
Chewing on her bottom lip in concentration, the Silver Fang is distracted a moment to semi-frown at Chandini before she quirks a rueful little smile. She huzzes a rock and clips one side of the log, about halfway up. The frown deepens, but she takes a largish step back, nods, and pulls out another rock. "Are we trying to find the farthest distance we can still hit it from, Chandini-rhya?"
"Hit well," Chandini replies, mostly agreeing. "Or you may challenge yourselves in other ways - change the angle, or your position, yeah? In time, anyway. Again."
Freedom throws a second rock. Despite what he said about distances, this one smacks into the target right on center, bouncing off onto the ground in a small shower of wood dust and dirt. "Better than baseball," he says, and steps back to where he was before to grab another rock from the pile.
Kerr glances toward the Foster, for the first time looking like she's considering soemthing. Quietly, to continue keeping to herself and not interrupting the lessons, she slides down the boulder to sit on the ground, attention returning to the stone throwing. There's a sense of readiness, a nervous and wary energy from the Ahroun cub, that she'll pop tall and stand again at the first sign that she ought to.
The Get cub goes through the same motions as before: picking a rock, sizing it up, finding the grip, breathing in, breathing out, and releasing. Either he rushed his steps or his release was off, the rock is thrown slightly to the left but still managed to clip the log, spraying a shower of bark into the air. "Slow down, Mikey, slow down. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast."
Shelby sends a thoughtful look toward the Shadow Lord cub as she weighs her next stone. Chandini's given a distracted nod, but rather than fling that rock at Kerr Shelby turns and pitches it at the log again. Again it hits, a bit closer to the base this time, and she takes another step back, drawing out a third stone.
"Only once more, like this," Chandini says. "So make it interesting for yourself, yeah?" As Kerr moves, the cub draws the fostern's eye in a quick, full-moon flicker of alertness, which swiftly softens into approval. She returns her attention to her students and waits to see how they will interpret her last instruction.
Chandini says, "Chalo."
Freedom thinks a minute, bouncing the rock up and down in his hand. When he flings the third stone, it hits a knot on the left side of the log, bouncing off sharply to the left nearly as far as his original throw. He looks entirely satisfied with this, turning back to look at Chandini for his next instructions.
Kerr tenses briefly as Chandini's gaze touches her, almost rising to stand again. But as nothing is said and the teacher returns to the students, she remains sitting. Her knees draw to her chest and her arms lay across them, still watching and still silent.
Michael picks up his rocks, and walks backwards until about twenty feet away. He picks up his next rock, and goes through his ritual again. This time, he practices the motion of the throw several times, his eyes fixed on the log the entire time. He closes his eyes, breathes in, breathes out, and throws. The stone hurls threw the air and thunks as it hits the base of the log. Michael smiles as he dusts off his hands. "Just don't ask me to do that again." His eyes glance toward Kerr with some concern.
The Silver Fang squints one eye for that 'interesting' and considers the target. 'Interesting'. Another small step back must be interesting enough, for it's there she stops, roughly twenty-five feet from the target. She takes extra time to wind up and throw, and manages to send the rock cruising straight into the log's 'face' - or where its face would be, did it have one. She can't help but yip triumph and bounce a couple of times, beaming, her arms wrapped about her frame in a congratulatory hug.
Chandini laughs at Shelby's enthusiasm, and waves the cubs back. "The remainder, we will pile here at the foot of the great rock. When it is not a full moon, we will do this again, and you will throw them at me. I am larger than the log, but harder to hit, yeah?" Her 'we' is not rhetorical - she crouches to scoop up dropped stones as well to speed the process of transportation. She picks a spot well away from where Kerr is sitting to deposit them.
Freedom gets most of his secondary pile back into his shirt, and hauls them over to where Chandini's doing the collection. "Does it make me a bad person if I say that lesson sounds like fun?" he asks, somewhat rhetorically.
Kerr allows for a brief grin at Shelby's successful attempt, happy for the other girl. As Chandini and Freedom begin gathering and depositing stones beside the boulder, the grin quickly fades and the Ahroun cub climbs to her feet. With some haste she moves away from the large rock but remaining within sight of the others, offering an apology about being underfoot and looking afraid, for lack of a better word, at what the outcome would be if she were in the way.
Michael picks up his rocks and carries them over, setting them down into the designated pile. He glances to Freedom with an amused smile, but doesn't offer a response. He stands next to Kerr. "Hey. Sorry for dragging you out here. I thought you'd enjoy yourself a bit."
Shelby doesn't partially disrobe, this time, to carry rocks, but slips more into pockets and cupped hands. It's still a couple of trips to get them all. "I haven't tried aiming at anything that moves, yet. If you really want a challenge, Chandini-rhya, we'll tie an ankle to a wrist and see what happens. Your wrist, to your ankle," she adds after a second, with a nose-wrinkling clarification.
"Accha. Perhaps after I get too good at dodging the other way. After the last revel, I had only three limbs to fight with, yeah? That would be only a little different." Chandini gives Shelby a brief grin and stands back as the last of the stones is deposited, dusting her hands on her much-abused jeans again. To Freedom she says, "It sounds like fun to me, also. I think we could do it now, but I try to be a good example, yeah?" And he gets a flicker of that grin as well. "Now. Up the boulder, in homid, not using the path, as quickly as you can. Chalo."
Freedom runs for the boulder, scrambling up halfway with the casual certainty that comes from having done this before. Hand here and foot there and a quick swing to the left... Some of his holds aren't very sturdy, but he's moving on to the next one fast enough to make up for it. And, having made it halfway, he pauses ever so briefly to offer a hand up over a particularly tricky bit to anyone who's right behind him.
Kerr shakes her head to Michael, offering a faint grin behind that otherwise guarded expression. "Don't worry about it," she replies with an uncertain glance toward Chandini. "I'm just here to watch, not distract from your lessons." She follows her comments by retreating another couple of steps, widening the distance between herself and the boulder.
Michael offers a reassuring smile to Kerr, before he takes off toward the boulder. He chooses the route he took last time, when Shelby was directing him. He has to pause every now and then to remember where the next holds are, but it doesn't take him long to figure them out. He even makes the same jump for the higher grip, his legs flashing out to find purchase on two footholds as his hands get a hold of the grip he was aiming for. He's able to get a few more grips and make some progress before he gets stuck. He glances around looking for another hand hold.
Shelby notes to no one in particular, "I knew the boulder would somehow be involved in this. With a blown-out breath she jogs for the rock, choosing a path somewhere between the easy path and the difficult side Michael's chosen. She's been practicing - must have been - for once she gets a foot started she swarms fairly rapidly up the fifteen feet, pulling her weight across the boulder with only a few grunts and a single muttered, "Ow."
Chandini stands back, hands on pretty much nonexistent hips, watching the climbers speculatively. Shelby's improvement gets a sharp and bright flick of the eyes and a small private nod.
Freedom keeps up to the top at a rapid pace, though one swing that takes his full arm's reach with no footholds on the way doesn't look safe or stable. Nonetheless, he makes it to the top in good cheer without any broken bones, and only a few abrasion marks from sliding across stone on the way up.
Kerr once more clasps her hands behind her back, head tilting up slightly as she watches the other cubs climb around on the rock. Still just watching and still every now and again glancing uneasily toward the two Fostern.
The Get cub breathes out a long sigh of frustration. The grips don't seem to stand out as well in this section of unfamiliar rockface. Finally, he catches sight of a small cravase to his right. He wedges his hand into it and pulls himself up. He finds a few foot holds and uses his legs to thrust for another hand hold. He smiles as he seems to be making more progress, until his left foot slips as he was trying to get his right foot into another grip. His body smacks against the rockface and he lets out a slight grunt as he dangles with his arms still on the grips. His head glances from side to side as his legs scramble to find purchase on anything.
Shelby has another dicey moment rolling from the side of the boulder to the top, but she manages it without falling, so it must count as a red-letter day. She beams down at Chandini from her perch, even managing to keep most of her enthusiasm for the Gaian and Kerr, before she heads over to check on the others. "Hey," she greets Freedom, sends a look down at Michael before calling, "Are we allowed to help, Chandini-rhya?"
"Haan," Chandini says. "This time." She smiles back at the Fang cub.
Freedom lies flat atop the boulder, offering both arms down to Michael. "Grab my legs?" he suggests to Shelby, letting the offer towards the cub below him go without saying in the extended reach.
Kerr allows for another shadow of a grin at Shelby's success so show through her uneasiness, and a wince at Michael's slip. With another glance toward the two Fostern, she again lowers herself to sit on the ground, still with as much readiness to stand again if the need to is even implied.
"I don't think that's going to be enough," the oldest of the cubs says dubiously, eyeing the distance between the two boys' arms. "If you," that's to Freedom, "shift up to Glabro it will help. Then you," that down to Michael, "have a handhold over to your left. No, a little higher." She continues to walk the Get through a path up to where he has, at least, a chance of catching onto Freedom's extended hand.
Michael pulls himself up with both arms, and flashes his left hand out to grab a the hold Shelby indicated. His legs find purchase on some grips and he uses them to thrust himself upward. He clasps his hands onto Freedom's wrists, his legs find grips to provide some support. As they pull him up, he pushes up with his legs to provide some help.
When all three of the cubs are on top of the stone, Chandini says easily, "And down again, however you like. Next time, we will practice climbing down, which is perhaps harder than you expect. Here, in a line." As always, her tone is punctiliously polite, as though she were inviting guests to take their seats at a formal tea, despite the near-universal absence of words like 'please,' or 'thank you.' "Shelby-behen, you did very well." Moderate praise, but her tone is warm.
Freedom does a madcap scramble back down, that's halfway a jump, and takes his place in line.
Kerr lowers her chin to her knees, gaze retreating to the ground as it seems the lesson is coming to a close.
Michael choses an easier path for the way down. It takes him some time to navigate it, but he manages without too much of a hassel. He hops down the last five feet, coming to a crouch as he hits the ground. He stands in line, a bit winded from his efforts.
For whatever reason Shelby has a small smile for next week's preview. It turns into a slightly bigger smile for Michael - perhaps for Freedom's arm-flailing plummet - but she turns and scrambles down the easiest path without a word. Until she's in line, anyway, when she bobs a quick curtsey to go along with the, "Thank you, Chandini-rhya. I've been practicing."
"I am glad," Chandini says simply. "You have been practicing climbing, and it shows. What else have you been practicing?" The angle of her face makes this a question for each cub in turn, not just the Fang.
Kerr turns her head slightly, looking around one side of the clearing. Slowly her head turns and she takes in the other side. As her attention draws to the boulder again, she looks from Chandini to August and then to the other cubs once more.
Michael glances toward Chandini. "I've been practicing my running, as well as doing some strength training with large logs and stones instead of weights. I've also been spending a few hours each day going over some moves from karate. More working on my form and technique than anything else." He glances away and down at the ground, seeming a bit frustrated with himself.
"What I always work on," is Shelby's answer, after glancing sidelong at Michael. "The sling, August-rhya's katas, running, tracking, hiding my own scent, remembering my ancestors, and whatever else Al-rhya's asked me to do."
"TK," Chandini says, reflecting. "For the running, at least some of the time, go in wolf form on three legs. When you are steady running where it is open, go where it is not, and you must go over and under and around things, yeah? All of you, practice climbing both up and down - rocks and trees, houses, whatever is in your way. Practice throwing, in each of three forms with hands, to see how it changes, and be ready to tell me how it changes, isn't it? Michael-bhai, what makes you look like that?"
Michael glances at Chandini and shrugs. "It's an ego thing, Chandini-rhya. Just realizing that my best isn't good enough sometimes. I'm not giving up. It just means I have to try harder, practice more."
'Three legs?' says Shelby's confused look, though not her tongue; instead she nods a few seconds later as if already planning how to make it work. "Yes, Chandini-rhya." She gives their target a considering look as well, clenching and unclenching her throwing hand.
Kerr turns her attention from the lessons to look again at the boulder. Her eyes move as she studies its surface, even at the distance she's gained on it, trying to pick out some of the handholds the other cubs had used.
"Ah," Chandini says, enlightened. "Haan. And on a full moon, it is harder, yeah? If you were already good at everything, we would have nothing to do, and life would be very dull. Everyone did well today - including you, Michael. On full moons, I am easy to find, because I am practicing more and doing less in yeh city, yeah? So find me if you have questions before our next practice." It's a dismissal, or at least a release. She manages to hold still, though her taut body seems to be crying out for its own release from the class.
Michael picks up his black t-shirt, dusts it off as best as he can, and puts it on. He walks over to Kerr. He stands close enough to her for a whisper to reach her and remains there momentarily before he steps away again. He shifts to lupus and heads for the closest tree line, disappearing into the underbrush.
Currently the moon is in the waxing Full (Ahroun) Moon phase (94% full).
Around the Lone Boulder
Michael nods. "Yeah, they can hurt. But they'll teach you how to block and dodge unless you enjoy being flayed open." He bends down to stretch out his legs.
Kerr nods again, placing a hand against the boulder, testing it. She's, obviously, standing by the large rock and seeming to be impressed with it's grandure while Michael is nearby and stretching.
Shelby's white-furred form approaches from downwind, her own scent hidden. She pauses at the edge of the clearing for a moment, before trotting into the clearing, shifting smoothly up into homid fifteen feet or so from the boulder. "Good afternoon Michael, Kerr. Haven't seen you here before." Her tone is neutral, even. "Your teacher allowed you to join us, did she?" The Fang is in a track suit as usual, though it's plum, not navy blue.
By now, it is not entirely mysterious when there is the sound of something much larger than a squirrel approaching through the tree branches, this time from due east. This time when Chandini appears - or partially appears, glimpses of red shirt and bright eyes flashing between the foliage - it's near the top of a sequoia, quite a long way from the ground. Without hesitating, she drops about ten feet from the branch she's on, catches herself on the next branch down, drops, catches, and drops again. She reaches the ground, landing on her feet, flushed and sweating freely, breathless and quite cheerful, and lopes into the large clearing around the boulder, finishing up with a cartwheel that sends her loose shirt flapping like a sail. "Namaste," she says between breaths, with a smile for Michael and Shelby. Then she sees Kerr and becomes briefly still. "Behen?" she says, half greeting, half question.
Freedom comes bounding into the clearing on four paws, panting a little as he skids to a halt not far from the boulder. When he changes back to homid form, he bends over, hands on his knees, to catch his breath. "Afternoon, Chandini-rhya," he says, with a general smile for the other cubs. Of other undercurrents, he's cheerfully unaware.
Michael gives Shelby a warm smile as she approaches. He seems like he's about to answer, when Chandini's enterance catches his attention. He smiles and claps his hands. He nods with a smile to Freedom, as well. "Afternoon, everyone. Kerr-yuf is here to see if she'd be allowed to watch. She doesn't have permission to work out with us yet. Is that ok, Chandini-rhya? Maybe she could climb the boulder a bit?"
Kerr turns to the sound of Shelby's voice, affecting a friendly, if nervous, grin for the Fang. "Yeah I--" Reply fails as Chandini appears with gusto, the girl taking a step and placing her back against the boulder. Once hitting that solid mass behind her, the Ahroun cub's gaze averts and her head tilts back to show the fostern her throat. "Sorry, Chandini-rhya. I know I'm not allowed to pract---" Again words cease as Michael picks up an explanation, though nothing in her posture changes.
Shelby says, "I don't mind," in case anyone's curious, though she slants a sidelong look at the other girl. "Namaste," she adds belatedly, with an additional nod for Freedom.
Chandini gives Michael an amused look. "I think she can speak, yeah?" But at the explanation, her posture shifts to one more open, even if the moon does not permit one more relaxed. She nods to Kerr and smiles. "Welcome." She looks around at her three students and says, "Has everyone been running? Michael-bhai, you have not, you have been talking. Run to there--" she picks one of the farthest points along the uneven edge of the clearing (still not all that far), pointing, "--and back, slow going out, as quickly as you can coming back. You may choose any form except the war form. Freedom, Shelby, if you are not fully loose, do the same, yeah?"
Freedom straightens up, having mostly caught his breath. "Might as well make sure," he says, and goes trotting off towards the same point. He starts at a dash, then slows rapidly as he remembers the actual instructions given.
Kerr looks, for lack of a better word, relieved that she's allowed to stay. It doesn't translate very well as she remains backed up against the boulder with her throat still offered to the Fury, but there's a lack of tension in the girl all the same. "Thank you, Chandini-rhya," she says quietly.
Michael gives the Fury a smile just before he takes off at an easy jogging pace. He runs part of the distance, raising his knees high to limber up. When he reaches the point, he takes off at a sprint racing whoever is close enough to consider it a race.
From a brushy spot, nearest to Chandini, Blood-Guard emerges from the foliage wearing his wolf form. The black-furred Gaian trots up to the the Fury Fostern, wagging, tail held high. Hello, he whuffs, his focus on the ranked Garou, though a look of mild interest goes askance, towards the cubs.
"Yes, Chandini-rhya," Shelby agrees, but apparently she thinks she is loose enough, for she doesn't head off after the two boys. Instead she absently swings her arms as she walks in small circles. When she catches sight of the Gaian Ahroun she stops, momentarily flummoxed, before she shoots a glance at the Fury and remembers her manners. "Good afternoon, Blood-Guard-rhya."
The Fury closes the distance between herself and Kerr only just barely far enough that she can reach out and touch the girl on the shoulder with her fingertips and then drop them again. "It is well, behen. Though I cannot allow you here every time, because to learn by watching is just as much learning as to learn by doing, yeah? But for today--" She pauses, head whipping to the side as Blood-Guard emerges, with sharpness that belies the deliberate gentleness of her manner. "It is well," she finishes, but doesn't look back at Kerr. "Guards-the-Blood. Namaste." Her tone is genuinely warm, but also, unmistakably, questioning.
Freedom hits the far point, and turns to come running back much faster, slipping into a tail-wagging wolf shape on his way.
"Yes, ma'am," Kerr replies, beginning to bow her head and relax a touch. "Also. If I could talk to you after the class, there's something--" The arrival and subsequent appearance of Blood Guard draws her right back into that pose, however, and she's pressed against the boulder once again.
Michael is about a quarter of the way back, when he hears the sound of four legs pounding the ground behind him. He shifts down into lupus as well, but loses some ground during the transformation. He picks up his speed, trailing after Freedom.
Blood-Guard whuffs a greeting to Shelby when she addresses him, narrowing his eyes at her reaction, and he then turns back to Chandini. Blood-Guard came to see the teaching of cubs, he tells Chandini. At the exchange between Fury and Shadow Lord, the Gaian narrows his eyes again. He sits, and turns to watch the boys run. They learn well?
With the Warder's eyes off of her Shelby casually drifts to Chandini's other side, just as casually not meeting anyone's gaze. Only because she's giving the boulder a bit of thoughtful study, of course.
Chandini too turns to study the returning cubs, tension in her shoulders and the angles of her bony hands, but humor in her eyes. "They do." She considers. "Shelby-behen, start collecting small stones, yeah? Not smaller than the tip of your thumb or larger than your fist. The size they are when you are human-form. I believe there are many in that place where the ground dips, west of the boulder." She - it must be deliberately - does not turn to look at the place she means, though it's easily within sight if she were to turn her head.
Freedom skids to a halt near Chandini, bouncing once in place with all four paws in the air to make sure he's entirely stopped. Then it's a brisk shake that sets his fur fluffing, and he returns to homid form. "I think I'm about as loose as I'm getting, Chandini-rhya," he says, ducking his head generally towards Blood-Guard.
Kerr wilts at the look from the Warder, and proceeds to tilt her head downward again. Her back remains, for now, against the boulder and her gaze rests upon the ground rather than on the activities of the other cub save for the occasional glance up to see their progress.
Shelby says, "Yes, all right. About how many?" She doesn't wait for an answer, but squints up at the sky to find the sun and drifts more-or-less west-ish past the boulder. It takes her a few seconds of searching to discover where Chandini means; when she does she takes off her jacket and lays it out to use as a makeshift bag.
About five seconds later, Grudge-Ender comes skidding to a halt beside Freedom. He shifts to homid, giving the Fianna a smile. "Good run, Freedom-yuf!" He turns to notice the black wolf with a warm smile and polite nod. "Afternoon, Blood-Guard-rhya!"
Blood-Guard sits and watches the cubs, ears canted forwards. Kerr's reaction, he ignores. He whuffs at the greetings - nonverbal and verbal - which come from the male cubs as they return from their run. No comment is given, for now.
Blood-Guard
This is a slim black male wolf. His features are long and angular in all aspects, suggesting that the wolf's thinness is genetic, but his chest is broad and 'filled' out, and he looks strong and healthy. This is confirmed by the gloss on this young adult wolf's black coat, and the fierce spark in dark brown eyes.
His coat is short for a northern latitude, and is marred by a great scar on his lower abdomen, the whorls and gnarls of flesh weaving deep into his side. He often keeps his posture twisted defensively around this old wound, but still he manages to carry himself gracefully. His movements are often too quick to track with the eye, and are always precise and silent.
"Teek," Chandini says to Freedom and Michael. "Good. Freedom, I am glad you did not make me tell you to do it again, yeah? Both of you, for your walking around, help Shelby-behen gather stones. No smaller than the tip of your human-form thumb, no bigger than your human-form fist. Bring them back here when you have as many as you can easily carry in one trip." She turns and starts scanning the treeline; for what, is not apparent.
Freedom holds up his thumb to give it a good look, for an idea of the size. "Yes, Chandini-rhya," he says, and trots off towards Shelby to lend a hand with the rocks. He throws a quick grind at Michael on the way over, whistling a few bars of "Sixteen Tons".
Kerr clasps her hands behind her back while lifting her head just enough to look at the other cubs as they begin to retreat for rock collecting. She glances toward the Gaian, seeming to want to say something though apprehensively. She swallows whatever had been lingering with a shake of her head, looks at Chandini in passing, then turns to watching Shelby's progress.
The Get cub flashes an amused smile Freedom's way as he jogs a bit to catch up. He takes off his plain black t-shirt to use it for gathering the rocks.
Blood-Guard perks as the cubs gather stones. Then he feels the eyes on him, sighs, and flicks an ear. He snaps over his shoulder, at a bug that might or might not be imaginary. Then, abruptly, he shifts his attention to Kerr. Yes, what? comes the short bark.
Shelby nods to the others as she works, hands moving easily over the stones. Most the rocks here seem to fall into the range the Fury likes, and when she has a largish pile of them she twists up her jacket into a bag, grunting a little at the weight, and returns to the boulder. "What are we going to do with these?"
But the Fury is not there, when Shelby returns. She missed Blood-Guard's response to Kerr as well. A moment before, she spotted whatever she was looking for, and darted off into the woods. She does not even get out of sight, however, and returns from the edges carrying a section of fallen log, a rough two and a half feet long, something over a foot in diameter, dark on the side that was lying on the ground. She heads back with her dubious prize, no longer running but not noticeably straining, either.
Freedom has pockets and handfuls of rocks, most of them pooled in an untucked t-shirt hem turned into an impromptu bag. He clatters with tiny rocks as he follows Shelby back. "Throwing practice?"
Kerr flinches at the bark, eyes squeezing shut and head tilting back quickly enough it raps against the boulder with a light thud. "Nothing, August-rhya," she replies quietly, with an edge of fear in her voice. "..Sorry."
Michael's hands work with the stones, picking them up with one hand and testing their size with his other before placing them in his shirt. Eventually, he gets the size range down and doesn't need to test every single one. He only judges their size by eye and places the ones that pass into the shirt. He scoops the shirt up like a bag, hoists it over his shoulder, and follows the others back. "That's my guess." He replies to Freedom.
Blood-Guard sighs again, more heavily. Speak with me some other time if you have something to say to me, Little-Dart, he tells the Shadow Lord cub. Judging by the Gaian's posture, the invitation is entirely reluctant. He puffs his posture somewhat and turns his attention back to the cubs gathering stones, for a willful distraction.
"Some of these are too small to use in the sling," Shelby tells the Warder, even though he surely already knows. "Could you do a... um. Suppressing fire, I think it's called? Load the sling with a lot of gravel, and then fling it? It wouldn't do much damage, and accuracy would be shot, but it'd probably be distracting."
Chandini sets the log down on its end and says, "It is a good guess," to Michael and Freedom, although really she should have been too far away to hear them. She rejoins the group, dusting decaying bits of bark and wood from her palms onto the legs of her jeans. "How many of you have trained with anything that fights from a distance? And what?"
Freedom moves rocks from pockets to his shirt-made pouch, and doesn't raise his hand for that one.
Kerr, a bit apprehensively, nods to the Warder, sending a quick look his way. Her head bows again, and with some reluctance her gaze stays upward enough to watch Chandini and the other cubs.
Grudge-Ender sets the bag down on the ground. Shelby's mention of a sling gets a slight groan from the cub. He shakes his head. "I have not, Chandini-rhya."
"August-rhya started me off on the sling," Shelby says, surely no longer a surprise to anyone there and paying attention. She crouches to dump her rocks out of her jacket and into a fairly tidy pile - one that she promptly makes even tidier. From down there she continues, "But that's all I know. I think I could hit that target."
Blood-Guard grunts. Lots of little stones in the sling, will go everywhere, won't do much good. Maybe, but not much of a distraction. Little pebbles don't hurt much if they are just thrown about, comes the reply to the Fang cub. His jaws crack, mood brightening, as the sling is mentioned. His fur puffs with pride.
The negative replies seem to please Chandini as much as the positive one. Both attract her thoughtful attention and no look of disapproval. "Today, it will be throwing. On another day, perhaps weapons, but the first thing is having aim at all, yeah?" But rather than start issuing instructions, she turns to the Gaian. "Guards-the-Blood, would you like to teach this part?" It's an open question: it does not seem she will be distressed by a yes or a no. There is a slightly testing curiosity in her gaze that's not wholly unlike the way she watches her students when she sets them a task with some room for independent decision-making and waits to see what they will choose.
Freedom dumps his rocks into a pile like Shelby's, except far less tidy, and brushes dirt from his hands.
Blood-Guard grunts a negative to Chandini. This is her teaching time. He looks to address the cubs. If anyone wants to learn more about the ~sling~ they are welcome to seek me for teaching. Then, the Gaian flumps down, ears swiveled forward with great interest, nose sniffing the air, to survey the lesson as it unfolds. The Warder is content to simply watch.
Kerr glances toward Chandini as she explains the activity, and even chances a peek at August as the Fury voices her offer. With a blink, the Ahroun cub quickly returns her attention to the other cubs and the pile of rocks, a wariness creeping into her posture.
Michael breathes a sigh of relief. He pick up his make-shift bag to put in next to him as he stands next to Freedom. Much like the Fianna cub, he dumps the rocks next to him with very little care. His eyes stare out to the log, seeming to already gauge the distance. He glances back toward Blood-Guard as he declines, and nods politely. He glances toward Chandini, waiting for further instructions.
Stealing glances over at the Gaian, Shelby seems surprised when he declines to take part. "Do you want me to throw, or use the sling, Chandini-rhya?" she wonders, hand drifting to one pocket as she stands. She steals a look at the two boys and adds, amused, "Aren't you all supposed to want to be baseball or football players? So this ought to be easy for you."
Chandini inclines her head to August. "Perhaps you will join us, some day," she says. She turns away from him, back to the cubs. It's a small change of angle, but a clear one. "Throw, behen. I said today was for throwing. Each of you, take some rocks with you, and pick a spot as close to the log as you think you need to be to hit it and stand there. I am less interested in how far you can throw than how well you can judge. You will probably be fairly wrong on your first try." She pauses, and then, with a glimmering look at Shelby, she adds, "In homan form for now, no closer than you need to be, and all stay on this side but spread out, because I would prefer you not hit each other, yeah? Chalo. Do it."
"I hated PE," Free admits, without much shame. "And I never tried out for baseball, because drama club was in the same afternoon slots." He picks up two handfuls of rocks from his pile, looking over the distance between cubs and target. Having considered the range, he takes several wide steps forward, then three to the left.
Kerr seems to be watching the other cubs simply for the sake of watching, even appearing reluctant to be doing that much. She glances every now and again toward Chandini, nervously, before pulling her attention back to the other cubs.
Michael listens carefully to the instructions before he picks up several decent sized rocks and begins walking toward the log. As he walks, he glances over to Shelby, holding out one of the rocks. "This is not a football. I love watching the Seahawks, not actually playing. History's more my thing. Besides, I'm ok with throwing things. Slinging things is another story." He spreads out away from the other two and stops at about twelve feet from the log. He licks his right index finger and holds it up to gauge wind direction.
Shelby colors faintly but nods, shakes out her jacket and again for good measure before slipping it back on. She zips it over her t-shirt like she's donning armor, crouches to pick out a loose handful of rocks and slips them into her pockets, then frowns at the log and backs up. She stops perhaps twenty feet away and frowns again, takes a large step forward and two back, and finally settles into position a hair farther away than where she originally chose. Kerr might be relieved to note that the Fang is aimed at the log, not her.
"Good," Chandini says, sounding oddly pleased considering all her students did was pick up some stones and walk a few steps, until she clarifies, "None of you threw. Accha. Throw now, then change your position based on how you did."
Freedom gamely hurls a rock at the log. It spins off in about the right direction, and clips the very top of the log, knocking off a tiny chip of old wood as it bounces away into another direction. "I'm not sure if moving closer will help," he says, but puts another rock in hand, and shuffles forward a step.
If Kerr were taking note of how the other three cubs were angled, she would be appreciative that none of them are aimed at her. But she's not, she's standing in semblance of submission, eyes flicking toward the various movement from the three or to the sound of Chandini's voice. She hasn't moved away from that boulder and, save for a few words prior, doesn't speak up.
Michael picks up a rock and examines it for a moment. He moves it around in his right hand, getting a feel for the size and weight as well as trying to find the best grip. Once he is satisfied, his eyes fix on the log. He takes in a calming breath, releases it slowly, and throws. The rock flies through the air and smacks solidly on the side of the log, fragmenting into smaller chunks. The Get cub smiles as he picks up his rocks and walks backward several feet. He comes to a stop at about eighteen feet from the log.
Chewing on her bottom lip in concentration, the Silver Fang is distracted a moment to semi-frown at Chandini before she quirks a rueful little smile. She huzzes a rock and clips one side of the log, about halfway up. The frown deepens, but she takes a largish step back, nods, and pulls out another rock. "Are we trying to find the farthest distance we can still hit it from, Chandini-rhya?"
"Hit well," Chandini replies, mostly agreeing. "Or you may challenge yourselves in other ways - change the angle, or your position, yeah? In time, anyway. Again."
Freedom throws a second rock. Despite what he said about distances, this one smacks into the target right on center, bouncing off onto the ground in a small shower of wood dust and dirt. "Better than baseball," he says, and steps back to where he was before to grab another rock from the pile.
Kerr glances toward the Foster, for the first time looking like she's considering soemthing. Quietly, to continue keeping to herself and not interrupting the lessons, she slides down the boulder to sit on the ground, attention returning to the stone throwing. There's a sense of readiness, a nervous and wary energy from the Ahroun cub, that she'll pop tall and stand again at the first sign that she ought to.
The Get cub goes through the same motions as before: picking a rock, sizing it up, finding the grip, breathing in, breathing out, and releasing. Either he rushed his steps or his release was off, the rock is thrown slightly to the left but still managed to clip the log, spraying a shower of bark into the air. "Slow down, Mikey, slow down. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast."
Shelby sends a thoughtful look toward the Shadow Lord cub as she weighs her next stone. Chandini's given a distracted nod, but rather than fling that rock at Kerr Shelby turns and pitches it at the log again. Again it hits, a bit closer to the base this time, and she takes another step back, drawing out a third stone.
"Only once more, like this," Chandini says. "So make it interesting for yourself, yeah?" As Kerr moves, the cub draws the fostern's eye in a quick, full-moon flicker of alertness, which swiftly softens into approval. She returns her attention to her students and waits to see how they will interpret her last instruction.
Chandini says, "Chalo."
Freedom thinks a minute, bouncing the rock up and down in his hand. When he flings the third stone, it hits a knot on the left side of the log, bouncing off sharply to the left nearly as far as his original throw. He looks entirely satisfied with this, turning back to look at Chandini for his next instructions.
Kerr tenses briefly as Chandini's gaze touches her, almost rising to stand again. But as nothing is said and the teacher returns to the students, she remains sitting. Her knees draw to her chest and her arms lay across them, still watching and still silent.
Michael picks up his rocks, and walks backwards until about twenty feet away. He picks up his next rock, and goes through his ritual again. This time, he practices the motion of the throw several times, his eyes fixed on the log the entire time. He closes his eyes, breathes in, breathes out, and throws. The stone hurls threw the air and thunks as it hits the base of the log. Michael smiles as he dusts off his hands. "Just don't ask me to do that again." His eyes glance toward Kerr with some concern.
The Silver Fang squints one eye for that 'interesting' and considers the target. 'Interesting'. Another small step back must be interesting enough, for it's there she stops, roughly twenty-five feet from the target. She takes extra time to wind up and throw, and manages to send the rock cruising straight into the log's 'face' - or where its face would be, did it have one. She can't help but yip triumph and bounce a couple of times, beaming, her arms wrapped about her frame in a congratulatory hug.
Chandini laughs at Shelby's enthusiasm, and waves the cubs back. "The remainder, we will pile here at the foot of the great rock. When it is not a full moon, we will do this again, and you will throw them at me. I am larger than the log, but harder to hit, yeah?" Her 'we' is not rhetorical - she crouches to scoop up dropped stones as well to speed the process of transportation. She picks a spot well away from where Kerr is sitting to deposit them.
Freedom gets most of his secondary pile back into his shirt, and hauls them over to where Chandini's doing the collection. "Does it make me a bad person if I say that lesson sounds like fun?" he asks, somewhat rhetorically.
Kerr allows for a brief grin at Shelby's successful attempt, happy for the other girl. As Chandini and Freedom begin gathering and depositing stones beside the boulder, the grin quickly fades and the Ahroun cub climbs to her feet. With some haste she moves away from the large rock but remaining within sight of the others, offering an apology about being underfoot and looking afraid, for lack of a better word, at what the outcome would be if she were in the way.
Michael picks up his rocks and carries them over, setting them down into the designated pile. He glances to Freedom with an amused smile, but doesn't offer a response. He stands next to Kerr. "Hey. Sorry for dragging you out here. I thought you'd enjoy yourself a bit."
Shelby doesn't partially disrobe, this time, to carry rocks, but slips more into pockets and cupped hands. It's still a couple of trips to get them all. "I haven't tried aiming at anything that moves, yet. If you really want a challenge, Chandini-rhya, we'll tie an ankle to a wrist and see what happens. Your wrist, to your ankle," she adds after a second, with a nose-wrinkling clarification.
"Accha. Perhaps after I get too good at dodging the other way. After the last revel, I had only three limbs to fight with, yeah? That would be only a little different." Chandini gives Shelby a brief grin and stands back as the last of the stones is deposited, dusting her hands on her much-abused jeans again. To Freedom she says, "It sounds like fun to me, also. I think we could do it now, but I try to be a good example, yeah?" And he gets a flicker of that grin as well. "Now. Up the boulder, in homid, not using the path, as quickly as you can. Chalo."
Freedom runs for the boulder, scrambling up halfway with the casual certainty that comes from having done this before. Hand here and foot there and a quick swing to the left... Some of his holds aren't very sturdy, but he's moving on to the next one fast enough to make up for it. And, having made it halfway, he pauses ever so briefly to offer a hand up over a particularly tricky bit to anyone who's right behind him.
Kerr shakes her head to Michael, offering a faint grin behind that otherwise guarded expression. "Don't worry about it," she replies with an uncertain glance toward Chandini. "I'm just here to watch, not distract from your lessons." She follows her comments by retreating another couple of steps, widening the distance between herself and the boulder.
Michael offers a reassuring smile to Kerr, before he takes off toward the boulder. He chooses the route he took last time, when Shelby was directing him. He has to pause every now and then to remember where the next holds are, but it doesn't take him long to figure them out. He even makes the same jump for the higher grip, his legs flashing out to find purchase on two footholds as his hands get a hold of the grip he was aiming for. He's able to get a few more grips and make some progress before he gets stuck. He glances around looking for another hand hold.
Shelby notes to no one in particular, "I knew the boulder would somehow be involved in this. With a blown-out breath she jogs for the rock, choosing a path somewhere between the easy path and the difficult side Michael's chosen. She's been practicing - must have been - for once she gets a foot started she swarms fairly rapidly up the fifteen feet, pulling her weight across the boulder with only a few grunts and a single muttered, "Ow."
Chandini stands back, hands on pretty much nonexistent hips, watching the climbers speculatively. Shelby's improvement gets a sharp and bright flick of the eyes and a small private nod.
Freedom keeps up to the top at a rapid pace, though one swing that takes his full arm's reach with no footholds on the way doesn't look safe or stable. Nonetheless, he makes it to the top in good cheer without any broken bones, and only a few abrasion marks from sliding across stone on the way up.
Kerr once more clasps her hands behind her back, head tilting up slightly as she watches the other cubs climb around on the rock. Still just watching and still every now and again glancing uneasily toward the two Fostern.
The Get cub breathes out a long sigh of frustration. The grips don't seem to stand out as well in this section of unfamiliar rockface. Finally, he catches sight of a small cravase to his right. He wedges his hand into it and pulls himself up. He finds a few foot holds and uses his legs to thrust for another hand hold. He smiles as he seems to be making more progress, until his left foot slips as he was trying to get his right foot into another grip. His body smacks against the rockface and he lets out a slight grunt as he dangles with his arms still on the grips. His head glances from side to side as his legs scramble to find purchase on anything.
Shelby has another dicey moment rolling from the side of the boulder to the top, but she manages it without falling, so it must count as a red-letter day. She beams down at Chandini from her perch, even managing to keep most of her enthusiasm for the Gaian and Kerr, before she heads over to check on the others. "Hey," she greets Freedom, sends a look down at Michael before calling, "Are we allowed to help, Chandini-rhya?"
"Haan," Chandini says. "This time." She smiles back at the Fang cub.
Freedom lies flat atop the boulder, offering both arms down to Michael. "Grab my legs?" he suggests to Shelby, letting the offer towards the cub below him go without saying in the extended reach.
Kerr allows for another shadow of a grin at Shelby's success so show through her uneasiness, and a wince at Michael's slip. With another glance toward the two Fostern, she again lowers herself to sit on the ground, still with as much readiness to stand again if the need to is even implied.
"I don't think that's going to be enough," the oldest of the cubs says dubiously, eyeing the distance between the two boys' arms. "If you," that's to Freedom, "shift up to Glabro it will help. Then you," that down to Michael, "have a handhold over to your left. No, a little higher." She continues to walk the Get through a path up to where he has, at least, a chance of catching onto Freedom's extended hand.
Michael pulls himself up with both arms, and flashes his left hand out to grab a the hold Shelby indicated. His legs find purchase on some grips and he uses them to thrust himself upward. He clasps his hands onto Freedom's wrists, his legs find grips to provide some support. As they pull him up, he pushes up with his legs to provide some help.
When all three of the cubs are on top of the stone, Chandini says easily, "And down again, however you like. Next time, we will practice climbing down, which is perhaps harder than you expect. Here, in a line." As always, her tone is punctiliously polite, as though she were inviting guests to take their seats at a formal tea, despite the near-universal absence of words like 'please,' or 'thank you.' "Shelby-behen, you did very well." Moderate praise, but her tone is warm.
Freedom does a madcap scramble back down, that's halfway a jump, and takes his place in line.
Kerr lowers her chin to her knees, gaze retreating to the ground as it seems the lesson is coming to a close.
Michael choses an easier path for the way down. It takes him some time to navigate it, but he manages without too much of a hassel. He hops down the last five feet, coming to a crouch as he hits the ground. He stands in line, a bit winded from his efforts.
For whatever reason Shelby has a small smile for next week's preview. It turns into a slightly bigger smile for Michael - perhaps for Freedom's arm-flailing plummet - but she turns and scrambles down the easiest path without a word. Until she's in line, anyway, when she bobs a quick curtsey to go along with the, "Thank you, Chandini-rhya. I've been practicing."
"I am glad," Chandini says simply. "You have been practicing climbing, and it shows. What else have you been practicing?" The angle of her face makes this a question for each cub in turn, not just the Fang.
Kerr turns her head slightly, looking around one side of the clearing. Slowly her head turns and she takes in the other side. As her attention draws to the boulder again, she looks from Chandini to August and then to the other cubs once more.
Michael glances toward Chandini. "I've been practicing my running, as well as doing some strength training with large logs and stones instead of weights. I've also been spending a few hours each day going over some moves from karate. More working on my form and technique than anything else." He glances away and down at the ground, seeming a bit frustrated with himself.
"What I always work on," is Shelby's answer, after glancing sidelong at Michael. "The sling, August-rhya's katas, running, tracking, hiding my own scent, remembering my ancestors, and whatever else Al-rhya's asked me to do."
"TK," Chandini says, reflecting. "For the running, at least some of the time, go in wolf form on three legs. When you are steady running where it is open, go where it is not, and you must go over and under and around things, yeah? All of you, practice climbing both up and down - rocks and trees, houses, whatever is in your way. Practice throwing, in each of three forms with hands, to see how it changes, and be ready to tell me how it changes, isn't it? Michael-bhai, what makes you look like that?"
Michael glances at Chandini and shrugs. "It's an ego thing, Chandini-rhya. Just realizing that my best isn't good enough sometimes. I'm not giving up. It just means I have to try harder, practice more."
'Three legs?' says Shelby's confused look, though not her tongue; instead she nods a few seconds later as if already planning how to make it work. "Yes, Chandini-rhya." She gives their target a considering look as well, clenching and unclenching her throwing hand.
Kerr turns her attention from the lessons to look again at the boulder. Her eyes move as she studies its surface, even at the distance she's gained on it, trying to pick out some of the handholds the other cubs had used.
"Ah," Chandini says, enlightened. "Haan. And on a full moon, it is harder, yeah? If you were already good at everything, we would have nothing to do, and life would be very dull. Everyone did well today - including you, Michael. On full moons, I am easy to find, because I am practicing more and doing less in yeh city, yeah? So find me if you have questions before our next practice." It's a dismissal, or at least a release. She manages to hold still, though her taut body seems to be crying out for its own release from the class.
Michael picks up his black t-shirt, dusts it off as best as he can, and puts it on. He walks over to Kerr. He stands close enough to her for a whisper to reach her and remains there momentarily before he steps away again. He shifts to lupus and heads for the closest tree line, disappearing into the underbrush.