(no subject)
Aug. 15th, 2010 07:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shelbyrouIt is currently 12:01 Pacific Time on Sun Aug 15 2010.
Currently the moon is in the waxing Crescent (Theurge) Moon phase (36% full).
Around the Lone Boulder
It's hot, for Saint Claire, or pleasantly warm for people from other parts of the country and world. Shelby's water bottle waits at the base of the boulder near her jacket, the Silver Fang nowhere to be seen -- no, there she is, sprawled on her belly on the top of the boulder, legs kicked up and crossed at the ankle like those 50's "Teenager on the Phone" drawings. She's not on the phone, however, but reading something, the soft sound of paper turning barely audible.
For once, Chandini comes into the clearing walking - on the ground, upright, and not hurtling at full speed. She seems to be in good health, even, which makes it all the more unusual. In one hand, she has a crumpled paper sack. There's a customary lift to her step and she is, for anyone close enough to hear, singing softly to herself, something with a boppy rhythm, tonal shifts which are distinctly unAmerican, and words which are almost certainly Hindi. When she clears the trees' shade and reaches the sunlight, she stops moving, closing her eyes and tilting her face up to the sun.
Freedom is not quite late, panting in his effort to make it there on time when he reaches the edge of the clearing. He slows to a walk as he hits open grass, and then hangs out in the shadow of a tree a little longer before braving the terrible sunlight. He's brought a two-liter bottle of soda that's been de-sodaed and refilled with water, the center of it still full of an icy core from a trip through the freezer.
Kerr jogs through the trees, several waterskins hanging from her shoulders in place of the bow she's usually with. Her eyes squint as she leaves the dimness of the forest and she moves to continue at her quickened pace to cross the clearing and join the other cubs at the boulder. A glance around gives her pause, eyes staying briefly on Chandini and then, an afterthought coming to the fore, she detours to join the Fostern first.
Up on the rock, Shelby placidly turns another page, her feet idly waving.
"Namaste," Chandini says, not opening her eyes. And then, apparently to Shelby, "You are here early!" She lowers her head and opens her eyes looking directly at Kerr. "Hello, little sister."
Freedom clutches his ice-water like it might save him from the big bad sun. "Afternoon, Chandini-rhya," he says, with a general smile for the cubs about.
Kerr looks to Freedom and then up at Shelby, both offered a faint, marginally nervous grin. Very briefly, almost accidentally, she meets Chandini's gaze as she turns back toward the Ahroun elder, a different light showing instead of the usual apprehensiveness. "Hello, Chandini-rhya," she returns, still with a grin though eyes dropping to the ground.
Shelby's head pops up; after a moment she offers one of her bright smiles and a wave, calling, "Namaste!" The book - a paperback, the cover brightly colored - makes its descent first, carefully lobbed to join her other possessions, before the Fang takes the slightly longer easy path back to terra firma. "It's warm again!" she adds, in case they'd missed that bit.
From out of the woods, a very short young hispanic woman approaches the group. She gives a wave and a smile, "Hola, Chandini. Is this your class? I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" She looks like she's worked up a mild sweat already today.
Chandini continues walking toward the boulder, resting one hand lightly on Kerr's shoulder as she goes, for as long as the cub seems all right with it. Melodie's appearance brings a bright smile to her face. "Mel-didi. Nay, we are only now starting. Are you needing us?"
Melodie is a very short girl, needing more than two inches to reach five feet. However, she's clearly past puberty, curvier than the average girl her age, which is somewhere in her mid teens. Her wavy brown hair reaches down just past her shoulders. Ethnically, she is hispanic, her appearance reflecting native Mexican ancestry, but with a mixture of some European giving her a hint of the exotic. She speaks at a fast pace with a moderately heavy Spanish accent.
She's wearing a baggy fashionable pink Hoodie with two black shattered hearts on the front. Underneath, she has a black T-shirt featuring a gun shooting pink hearts across her chest in a diagonal pattern. A tight pair of jeans with floral embroidery on the back pockets hugs her hips, fastened with a pink and grey argyle patterned belt. On her feet are a new pair of sneakers with the 'shock absorbers' visible, and a familiar swoosh logo, also highlighted in pink and with matching pink laces. She's got a shiny lip-gloss that also enhances her signature 'pink' color theme. On her right arm is a pink vinyl studded bracelet.
She has a butterfly tattoo on her right ankle (+details for more.)
Freedom is quaffing water from his bottle, which is going to be reduced to a large lump of ice pretty soon at this rate. And this is before practice has even started.
The proclamation from the Fang pulls Kerr's gaze upward, offering the older girl another grin as she moves along with Chandini. The waterskins are removed from her shoulder and one, quite absently, offered to Freedom while the Ahroun cub's attention turns toward Melodie.
Melodie shakes her head lightly. "No, nothing like that. I was just patrolling and stuff, and felt a little like saying hi." She looks over the gathered cubs briefly. "Don't let me stop you from your lessons."
"You're going to get brain freeze," Shelby teases Freedom, before turning to face the other Fostern squarely. "I'm Shelby Zaleski-Leveque, ragabash cub of the Silver Fangs and called Doesn't Know When to Stop," she says politely. "I'm the great-great-granddaughter of the Adren Galliards Falcon's Cry Turns Tears to Blood and Winter's Snow on Summer's Branches, and the Adren Philodox, Silver Sword with Two Blades. It's very nice to meet you."
The other fostern looks thoughtful for a moment, taking the request seriously, and then shakes her head. "Nay. Stay, didi. Kerr, that was well-prepared of you. Accha. Last week, we had more than practice, yeah? How was it for you, afterward?"
Freedom puts his bottle away hastily, and offers to the one he doesn't know, "I'm Freedom Connolly, a ragabash cub of the Fianna. Also called Fish-Herder when I'm fuzzy. We're rocking the whole ragabash cub thing here today. Pleased to meetcha."
Kerr looks back to Chandini and gives her head a small shake. "The animals were tainted. Had to kill them before they spread their disease, to release them from their suffering." Her thoughts are relayed evenly, she could have been explaining how to bake cookies. To Melodie, she follows suit of the other cubs. "I'm Kerr. Ahroun cub with as many cub-names as I've had homes. But right now, I'll answer to Second Chance." It's a weak attempt at humor, the Ahroun cub grinning though looking uncertain all the same.
As for her part, Shelby shrugs. "It was fine. I didn't see any more of them. Zosia and Tim-rhya did some scouting, though, and he said they found a rabbit with metal bones. They think they came from that building site - you know, the one that got burned down?"
Melodie stands up a bit straighter, and announces, "I'm Melodie Rodriguez, Shrouded Arrow, Fostern Philodox of the Black Furies, and Guardian of the Hidden Walk. And I just turned seventeen, so I'm not so much older than all of you." She smiles gently. "Doesn't Know When to Stop, Fish-Herder, Second Chance, nice to meet you. I was Ankle-Biter, when I was a cub."
"I heard that from Sonahari-bhai, haan, Shelby." Chandini considers the cubs, one at a time, thoughtfully. "Shelby, Kerr. You were hurt. Freedom, you helped Sonahari and me bury the creatures' bodies. Was it...nothing for you? Each of you stretched, yawned, had your evening meal, went to sleep without thinking any more about it?" Her tone is gently teasing, but truly interested.
Freedom raises a hand and says brightly, "I'm eighteen. I would totally take advantage of the superiority and wisdom that comes of being old enough to vote if it mattered around here." He gives his teacher's comment more consideration. "It was weird," he says. "Scary during, and creepy afterward. Sort of surreal, even more so that the whole 'look, ma, I turn into a wolf!' thing has been. Especially the way it all just came out of nowhere."
Shelby sends a wry look toward Chandini at Mel's introduction, but she drops the shorter girl another nod before addressing the Fostern Ahroun: "It wasn't anything, really. It bled a little, but that's about it. It wasn't like that... it wasn't anything, really." She scants Freedom a glance of his own, and folds her arms to cup her elbows.
"They were diseased animals," Kerr states with a small shrug. "They needed to be removed before they spread their disease to others." Her eyes flick toward Shelby, then away again with a blink. "Just animals who were sick. Better than letting them get worse."
Melodie nods up at the cubs. "Sometimes respect for all of Gaia's creatures means healing the herd by culling the individual. It can be a tough lesson to learn, sometimes. But if you act out of love for Gaia, she will guide your actions, in the end."
"Not.../just sick, behen," Chandini tells Kerr. She nods to Freedom, and considers Shelby thoughtfully. Her next comment is addressed generally, although her gaze "If fighting is like that, then you can do it, then, yeah?"
Freedom leans over to drop his water bottle at his feet. "If it's like what I did--I think I can do that part," he says slowly. "I don't know so much about the rest."
Kerr shakes her head slowly, though her shoulders draw up into a shrug. "I guess. They're just animals." She lowers her small collection of waterskins to the ground, tucking them up beside Shelby's things.
Shelby shrugs again and watches Kerr absently. After a moment she crosses over to collect her own water and tidy the little pile.
Melodie finds a large rock, and takes a seat on it. She reaches into her pack, and pulls out a golden apple, taking a crunchy bite and listening to the lesson.
These responses - or Kerr and Shelby's - are not entirely satisfactory to Chandini, judging by her expression, but after a moment, she appears to let it go. "Is everyone warm and loose? Shelby, behen, you were lying still." She considers, then smiles. "All of you, I think, hold hands with each other - in human form, yeah? - and run as quickly as you can without letting go or anyone falling, there--" she picks a point on the edge of the clearing that's not as far as some "--and back. Do not let go when you turn around. Chalo."
Freedom bounces on his heels, and puts hands out to offer to whoever wants to take left and right. "The faster we run, the less time spent running in the sun," he suggests to the other cubs, with relentless optimism.
"Let Shelby set the pace, as fast as she can manage," Kerr suggests as she takes Freedom's left hand. "That way it's not too fast for anyone, and we don't risk losing her or falling trying to keep up to the fastest possible runner."
Shelby looks less-than-thrilled to be running, but she obligingly takes Freedom's other and offers Kerr a thankful (if rueful) smile. "Just because you like running doesn't mean the rest of us wouldn't rather be doing something else," she tells the other Ragabash before setting off at a pace a smidgen faster than her usual, though nowhere near the others' top speeds.
Melodie watches, enjoying seeing the cubs playing. Her apple is quickly approaching its resting state as just an apple core.
Chandini stands back, hands on her narrow hips, watching with fondness and a touch of pride. Also, perhaps, a tiny gleam of humor.
Freedom bolts! ...and, like a good cub, not any faster than Shelby is running. He tries to time his steps to hers to keep at the same pace, hands wrapped loosely around the wrist of each cub on either side.
Kerr runs alongside the other two, keeping pace easily enough.
There's a bit of confusion and chaos at the midpoint of the run when Kerr and Shelby have to pivot about Freedom, but it's only a blip. The three end up back near the Furies, and Shelby gladly releases Freedom's hand to snag more water. "I'll never understand why people enjoy running so much," she says, and walks around a few little circles.
Melodie smiles a little. "Well, everyone has her own strengths to discover. But I do like the feel of the wind in my face. I like it more in lupus, though, the wolf body is better built for it." She carefully puts the apple core back into her pack.
"But less for holding hands," Chandini says, amused. To the cubs, she says, "Which person has the most influence over the running of the group? The person on the left, the middle, the right?"
"Middle," Free says, "at least in theory, because that's the link point for everyone. You can get a greater distance between the left and right people than you can between either of them and the middle one."
Kerr nods to Freedom's words. "Technically the middle. But I think, for this exercise, it wouldn't've mattered much because we knew who was setting the pace." She pauses, glancing up at Chandini before continuing. "Probably would've been better if we tried to follow rather than stay all in a horrizontal line."
Shelby glances at the others. "The one in the middle," she agrees. "Even with the others keeping to my pace, Kerr couldn't tell how fast I was running except through Freedom. --I wouldn't have wanted to try running like that," she adds to Kerr. "I think that would have been harder." She swings her arms out front and back to demonstrate, shakes her head.
Melodie looks up to Chandini, curious as to how these answers measure up.
Chandini nods easily. "So if you want one person to set your pace, you may want to give her the position with the most control, yeah?" She smiles briefly at Shelby. "TK. You did well." She bends down to pick up her paper sack, and pulls out more sticks of sidewalk chalk. This time, she offers two sticks of each color to each of the cubs - two green to Freedom, two blue to Kerr, two red to Shelby. The two hot pink ones, she pulls out and keeps for herself. "Sparring, now, yeah? You will use your near-human forms, and you will strike with chalk for your claws. You may punch and kick and grab as well, but only chalk will be blood. To start, Shelby with Kerr, Freedom with me. Unless--" she gives Melodie an impish smile "--you wish to help?" She holds out the pink chalk invitingly.
Freedom takes the chalk, and repeats, "Claws, right. Not the spring-loaded type." He follows that up with a grin for Shelby and Kerr.
Kerr nods as she takes the chalk, a quiet word of thanks spoken. She turns the bits of chalk over in her hands, glancing up to Shelby and Freedom. "Go easy on me," she tells the female Ragabash, with a faint grin.
Shelby accepts the chalk with a pained smile, the sort that says 'Oh grandmother, thank you for your lovely gift of socks'. "Yes, Chandini-rhya." She rolls her eyes at Kerr but moves away from the boulder to get some space before shifting up into Glabro. "Who was it bragging about all the sparring she'd done with Quiet-rhya?" she teases before dropping into a ready stance and nodding at the Ahroun cub.
Melodie considers it for a moment, but shakes her head. "No, you go ahead, Chandini. I'm good here. Besides, I'm a Philodox, I should judge."
With a brief smile, Chandini says, "Today, I judge. TK. Before you start, punch air as quick and hard as you can. Simple punch, straight before you. That is full speed. Then begin, at half that speed until I tell you to change. Chalo." She holds up one hand briefly to Freedom, to signal a pause while she watches the other two start. "Measure your speed, then wait," she tells him quietly.
Freedom punches as instructed, a rapid little jab. He frowns, tries a second time, and satisfied with his own test of the speed, settles back, twisting a little to watch the other two.
Kerr shakes her head slightly, not sharing in the Fang's teasing remark. "Yeah... Sure." A glance is sent toward Chandini and Melodie as draws up into Glabro. Following that, the Ahroun cub punches the air as instructed as fast and hard as she can.
"Fast as we can?" Shelby echoes, confused, but tries it - first with one fist, then the other. "Huh. --Excuse me, Chandini-rhya, but are we supposed to spar at half speed? Is that what you meant?"
Melodie suggests, "I dunno, just watch Chandini and Freedom, and then do that. Don't let your brain get in the way so much, si?" She hops off of her rock, looking very small next to the Glabros. "It's better to do it a little wrong than to not do it."
"Haan, that is what I meant. Chalo, chalo." Chandini turns to face her own partner, though she shifts her position and the angle they are facing so that she can see Shelby and Kerr past his shoulder. She, too, shifts up to glabro, and takes one stick of chalk in each hand. She, too, gravely, as though she needed to, punches the air before her, hard and very fast, nods, and steps up to Freedom. "When you are ready, begin."
Freedom shifts as well, and faces Chandini, looking a little uncertain. "Moving around is fine, right?" he says, punctuating the comma placement with a cautious kick--more like a third of speed--towards the current position of his teacher's left knee.
Kerr, at roughly half the speed she'd displayed before, sends an easy right-handed attack crosswise at Shelby. It moves from left shoulder to right hip, intending to draw a clean line through the Fang's midsection.
"They were going to," Shelby starts, nodding at the other pair, when Kerr slices at her. She abandons speech for dodging, twisting out of the Ahroun's way and attempting a cut at the other girl's attacking forearm.
Melodie quietly stays out of the way. She starts doing some stretching exercises, or perhaps it's yoga, while watching.
Chandini lifts a knee and swings her shin across, holding it vertical and sweeping Freedom's kick aside. "Faster, bhai," she says, her voice now deepened, grating. At half-speed, she jabs her right hand forward with its piece of chalk, aiming for the Fianna's shoulder.
Freedom hops backward on one foot, and that's faster than a third speed. He tries for a half-speed attack with the chalk, not quite sure of his reach as it waves towards the arm Chandini put out there.
Kerr pulls her hand back, the red chalk the Fang weilds clipping her own blue. She steps around toward the left, left hand cutting low and again with the intention of leaving a mark along Shelby's ribs.
Shelby jumps back again, the blue missing her torso but smearing a 'cut' along one arm. The Fang doesn't appear to notice her injury but circles to the left instead, keeping just out of Kerr's immediate reach and using her own arms as a shield.
Melodie keeps on stretching, entering into some rather difficult positions. She really is quite flexible! She's keeping half an eye on the play-combat, but not her full attention.
Chandini's arm already recoiled with the quick out-and-back movement of the jab, but she doesn't move it any further. Freedom's chalk manages a glancing blow, as Chandini takes the moment she might have used dodging to close in with a low slice to the belly from her other hand. Her half-speed is about the same as his, just steadier. She takes the opportunity of closing to force Freedom back a few inches to the right, where he was before, so she continues to keep the other pair in sight.
Freedom takes a long line of chalk across his belly, too distracted by jubilation over an Actual Hit to notice the incoming attack until it's too late. "Augh!" he says, with a melodramatic clutch at his stomach, and moves back exactly as he's being maneuvered. "My spleen!" He keeps one hand there, the second piece of chalk waving out in a brief feint before he tries for a forward-lunging head cut.
Kerr switches her step so she moves to the right, an effort that will bring her within range to attack again. She strikes again with her right hand, another attempt to "claw" along Shelby's face.
The Silver Fang glances over at Freedom's cry and gets another cut for her trouble, this time along her jawline and up toward one ear. Irritated, she belatedly flings up an arm to block Kerr and slices ineffectually at the Ahroun - a feint, perhaps, for her blocking arm strikes more strongly at the other girl's shoulder.
Melodie giggles a little at Freedom's antics, while stretching her leg behind her head.
Chandini pushes Freedom's elbow aside so that the momentum of his strike carries his hand well past her head. Instead of following the block up with another strike, she calls, "Bas, enough." and draws back.
Freedom settles back on his heels, leaving off the wound-clutching. His hand's covered in two colors of chalk, now. "Combat's hard," he says ruefully.
Kerr slides back from the feint, enough that she, at first, misses the actual attack. She twists, though it's too late to avoid, and ends with a fittingly red mark along her shoulder. Her opposite shoulder draws back as though to attack, halting as Chandini calls to stop. "Nice one," the Ahroun cub says to the Fang, along with a small grin.
Shelby halts her next attack, other arm swinging low, and backs off at Chandini's command. She takes no pleasure in her success--at least, there's no return grin, though she does give Kerr a nod--but reaches up a hand to wipe off the blue, freezing there. "If we got hit, do we leave it, or can we clean up?"
Melodie hops to her feet, all stretched out. "I wish I'd had this kind of training when I was a cub, though. I mean, with other cubs and stuff. Mostly we just got beat up by the adults until we figured it out." She grins a little, like this is kind of funny.
Ruefully, Chandini smiles at Mel's comment. "There is some of that, also, I think. Haan, you may wipe off the marks, but first notice them. Everyone is bleeding, yeah?" She holds up her arm, looking at the green mark on it, then looks to the pink on Freedom's abdomen, the blue along Shelby's jaw, the red on Kerr's shoulder. "Just notice, yeah? Then rub it away. Shelby-behen, tell Mel-didi why it is useful to practice at a slower speed." She dwindles down to homid, her last few words half an octave higher and much smoother than the rest, and rubs the green chalk off her arm with an acknowledging nod for Freedom.
Freedom brushes off the chalk, getting more of his own chalk across his black t-shirt in the process. He finally crouches down to wipe his hands on the grass, and use that to get the dust rubbed off.
Kerr glances toward Melodie, something akin to understanding to the Philodox's statements. At Chandini's directions, she lowers into homid while brushing at the red mark along her shoulder, her attention turning to Shelby.
The Silver Fang immediately wipes at her face to eradicate the blue, but continues to overlook the smear on her arm. "Because if you can get good when you're slow, it's easy to go faster, but if you're fast and bad, you have no way to improve," she dutifully tells the other Fury before heading back to her water bottle.
Melodie nods softly, and looks up at Chandini. "That makes sense, right?" She sounds hopeful but not convinced.
Chandini laughs. "I hope so! It is what I am teaching them." She looks around. "Shelby-behen, your arm. Everyone, walk off what ever is tight in your bodies and drink water. Then we will change things a little."
Freedom picks up his ice-loaded bottle for a long slug, since "and" doesn't necessarily imply order of events. Then he stretches his arms high above his head, swings down to touch his toes, and finally goes to walk around the boulder once or twice.
Kerr picks up one of the skins of water and drinks, head tilting back while she pulls the liquid into her mouth and swallows. She pushes the cap back into place after taking her fill, then drops the skin to the ground, her attention turning to the two Fostern while she bounces up on the balls of her feet.
Arm? Shelby frowns at both of hers before looking at the underside; grimaces and rubs away the mark with extra force. "Nothing's tight," she claims and drops her water again, settling it carefully into a nest made by her jacket before she crosses back to her original spot in the 'classroom'.
Melodie moves closer to Chandini, and talks softly with her. "I should probably patrol more, I just wanted to watch a little. You're doing a good job with them, though! I like seeing you in charge of things." She has clear admiration for her tribe sister.
From the way Chandini's cheeks darken with the hint of a flush, the respect is mutual and the compliment very welcome. "I am glad you came, didi. Come back on a full moon and help me teach," she suggests, but without pressure. She touches Melodie's arm lightly, just a brush of warm fingers, and turns back to her students. "Kerr and Freedom, no chalk, human form, full speed," she says efficiently. "Freedom, you have much less training than Kerr, but you are faster. You will probably lose, but you must try to lose as well as possible. Shelby, with me."
Freedom looks a little startled, but nods quickly, with another sip of water before he shifts himself back to homid and moves over to stand in front of Kerr. "Start whenever you want," he suggests, keeping just out of immediate arm's reach.
Kerr turns to face Freedom, giving the Fianna cub a brief look over. She steps toward him, wordlessly, but stays just beyond reach. She gives her arms a bit of a shake, a glance toward Chandini and back to Free, waiting for the word to begin.
Shelby takes in the interaction between the tribemates silently, otherwise unwilling to interrupt. When Chandini gives the others their rules she looks at them, startled, her expression shifting to a more wary neutrality as she turns back to her new opponent. "With chalk, or in lupus?" she asks, dropping a nod to Melodie.
Melodie slips off, as the cubs get back into their next lesson, off to do whatever it is that Fostern Guardians do. Which is most likely tromp around the woods looking for trouble.
"In human form, no chalk," Chandini answers easily. "But we will do differently. You will attack, I will defend. If I succeed, then I will attack just as you did, and you must defend as I did, yeah? It will keep your mind alert while you are moving." She looks over at Kerr and Freedom, and says, inclusively, "Chalo."
Kerr nods to Chandini, though her attention is on the Fianna cub. She takes a step toward Freedom, closing the distance and sending two attacks at him, both fully committed though one is sent a quarter beat ahead of the second. The first fist goes low to sink into the boy's stomach, driven by the left and, while it would hurt if it hit, it isn't going to be difficult to dodge. The second fist, right side this time, comes just after the first leaves her body. It goes high and straight, to catch Free directly just below the nose.
Freedom is a speedy Fianna cub today, bouncing out of the way of Kerr's attacks in rapid succession. (His own attacks do exist, strictly speaking, but they're mostly a bit of enthusiastic waving in that direction in an attempt to shift some attention away and confuse the matter.) It's working very well for him until that last blow comes in, unexpectedly, at his face. He yelps, and falls backwards onto the grass, clutching his mouth.
"I think so," Shelby agrees dubiously, and nods Melodie on her way. The other two fade from her attention for now as she slowly circles to her right. After only a few steps she lashes out with her right fist to Chandini's shoulder; the Fostern swings her own right across to push the attack wide, and Shelby, rather than following up the attack with another of her own, draws back to the ready position again.
Kerr presses the advantage as Freedom goes down, eyes narrowing slightly. She steps around the Fianna's body lying on the ground, angling away slightly though taking the opportunity to set up for another attack. Then, with a hop off one foot, she turns and kicks with the other, toes pulled back as her foot drives toward the male cub's ribs.
Freedom wasn't doing much more than lying there looking dazed after the first blow. When the kick connects, he yips, sounding a little offended that time, and rolls hastily backward. He scrambles up now that it's clear that falling down doesn't end the fight, moving back, and waits at that slightly safer distance with one knee on the ground to brace himself.
Moving at the same pace Shelby took, Chandini punches for Shelby's right shoulder, just as Shelby punched for hers - though not very hesitantly and from a different height. Shelby mimics the block Chandini used without enthusiasm, pushing Chandini's arm to the side, and follows up immediately with a punch to the ribs with her left, which Chandini blocks on a downward swing, bringing her right hand around under Shelby's block to a ready position. There's an odd look in the fostern's eye, and a mildly rueful set to her generally good-natured mouth.
Like some sort of bizarre county fair demonstration, Shelby repeats the block Chandini's just demonstrated, though she's slower to bring her right back into position. Rather than try for another punch she changes things up by kicking, her left snapping out for the Ahroun's knee. Chandini drops to catch the kick on her thigh instead of dancing away and as she stands, flicks a hand toward Shelby's erring wrist, tapping the Ragabash lightly and receiving a startled look in return.
Kerr's eyes narrow further as she moves forward, clearing the distance between herself and Freedom in just a couple of strides. On the last which would place her well within his personal space, she kicks instead. As her foot flies for the Ragabash's head, he leans enough to one side for it to pass harmlessly. Then he presses his own advantage, driving himself forward and his shoulder into her overextended leg. Teeth bare as the Ahroun cub grunts in surprised as she's taken down, barely managing to hook a leg around the Fianna to draw him down with her before her back smacks into the ground.
Freedom scrambles up onto Kerr's chest, and aims an ungentlemanly fist at her nose while he has a moment of confusion in which to get in a few shots himself. He's bleeding from a split lip, and unsteady with the adrenaline-and-surprise combination working on him, but he has enough time for a sharp elbow to her shoulder. Not enough sense to ditch after those blows, then, because he catches a knee to the chest from the cub beneath him, smacking into those bruised ribs again. And that's enough that he goes scrambling off and towards his feet for a bolt to a much safer distance.
As Chandini aims Shelby's kick back at her, the Fang drops her weight and takes the kick on her thigh, and then straightens again with only a touch of unsteadiness. She, too, flicks her hand out toward Chandini's wrist. Chandini twitches her hand out of the way reflexively, the curve of her brows eloquent of surprise. Then Shelby throws her fist at Chandini's face, and Chandini catches it and holds it, gentle but implacable. "Bas," she calls, loud enough for even Kerr and Freedom to register it. Then she lets Shelby's wrist go, and smiles at her.
If Shelby's strike to her wrist surprised Chandini, the Fury's catching her fist startles the Fang, and she spends a moment trying to pull her hand free before the 'halt' command registers. A last tug and she stops, nods at the other girl that yes, she's done, and she's not going to go all Jackie Chan once she's released.
Stunned from being taken down so easily, Kerr is unable to deflect either of Freedom's attacks. Thus she cries out in pain as the first fist hits her nose and brief flailing ensues as an elbow bites into her shoulder. It's enough that she lands a knee on the male Ragabash and sends him running. Of a mind to chase down the boy and further rough house with him, the Ahroun cub is just rolling to her knees and lurching after when Chandini calls a stop. She follows directions, however, face turning away from from the Fianna and eyes staying upon the ground as she stands fully.
Freedom scampers several yards away into that call to halt. He slows to come back around in a wide loop, only walking by the time he's near the boulder. He looks a touch bewildered, one hand pressed against his ribs.
Releasing Shelby's hand, Chandini motions the cubs to line up before her for debriefing. "Each of you, tell me about what happened. Shelby-behen - you had a different lesson from the other two. Say, about it. Each of you. This last, but also earlier, with the chalk."
Rubbing the knuckles of her once-trapped hand as she retreats a few steps to form the line, Shelby nods and checks about for the others. "Maybe they should shift to Glabro?" she suggests, but whether or not they do she goes on. "I don't know that there was a lesson, Chandini-rhya, except to spar, which we haven't really been doing much of. I think, maybe, that you changed the rules for our bout because you knew I wouldn't be able to hit you if we did it the usual way."
Kerr wipes at her nose as she steps in beside Shelby, wincing slightly. "Chalk thing was fun," she puts in quietly, hand lowering and head coming up slightly. "Going slow it's easier to act and react without relying in instinct. When you're going as fast as you can... you just act."
Freedom touches a hand gingerly to his face. "I guess I learned, in both fights, that when things get fast and exciting, or even just tense, I start losing track of the big picture. I get all focused on what's right in front of me, instead of, you know, what's coming at me from a weird angle." He frowns at the blood on his fingertips. "Also, I don't really like fighting when it hurts. I'm not sure if that's the right lesson."
Chandini smiles. "Shelby is correct. You two should take a healing form. The lesson is that you may not like it, but you can do it when you must, I think, bhai. Liking it is...not required, yeah? Doing it for fun is not required. Doing it often is not required - there are many other ways to give to the nation." She's speaking to Freedom, and casually, but her eyes flicker to Shelby for a moment before returning to the other Ragabash. "There will be times when you will have to fight, and those times, you will have to be able to win in one way or another - by defeating your opponent, or by learning about it and escaping to give your knowledge to others who will then destroy it. But liking fighting...nay. It is not required. I do not teach you to try to make you love it. I teach you because I want you to live, and to be able to do what matters most to you, and protect what you love, however you can do that best." She looks to the other ragabash more fully, now. "Shelby-behen, you might be able to hit me, now, but it would not be a fight you could learn very much from, yeah? But you just countered attack after attack, having only been shown how once each time, and you did it well each time." She regards all of them. "Today was hard, and you all did well. Questions hai?"
"It helps, though," Shelby murmurs, glancing sidelong at both the other cubs. As Chandini speaks to her she nods, just once and seriously, before folding her arms again. "Nothing springs to mind, Chandini-rhya. No questions from me."
Kerr shakes her head slowly. "No, ma'am. No questions." She takes in a breath then lets it out slowly, looking from Shelby to Freedom each briefly, then turning back to the Fostern. "I have something to tell you, though. Once class is over."
Freedom shakes his head, then winces, and shifts forms, a hand still on his ribs. "No questions, exactly. Though it's good to know I can still do this without being all gung-ho about it."
"TK." Chandini steps back. "Practice what you think you should, and be ready to tell me next week what that was, yeah? Namaste. Kerr, kya voh? What is it?"
Shelby nods for Chandini's instructions and steps back as well, likewise falling out of line. Rather than stick around she drifts back to the boulder and her gear, jerking her head at Freedom in an invitation to bring him along.
Kerr looks toward the two Ragabash, drifting a step or two away from the boulder. "I've been talking to KL-rhya," she says with a shrug, tone neither implying secrecy nor asking for privacy.
Freedom follows Shelby, picking up his water bottle on the way past for a deep swig of increasingly melted water.
A quick, fond, involuntary smile warms Chandini's features. "And?"
It's water for the Silver Fang as well, though she's neither breathing nor sweating as heavily as the Fianna. "Are you really eighteen?" she asks him quietly, her attention drifting past him to the others before drifting back.
Freedom nods to Shelby. "I turned 18 about a month before I ended up out here," he says quietly. "Life used to be a lot less...outdoorsy."
"And--" Kerr turns slightly, though not away from Chandini or the others. "We've been talking a lot." She lifts a hand to touch her nose again, flinching at her own action. "And I asked her if I could stay."
Free is a near-skinny teenager who's escaped that gangly all-elbows stage without hitting his full height yet. (Or at least he hopes 5'6 won't be it.) His hair's dyed blue and black, set in gelled spikes arranged carefully to look "wild". Intense green eyes, pale skin prone to freckling, a snub nose... It's the kind of face teenage girls call "cute" more often than "hot".
He wears black: black jeans, black shirt with something sarcastic on it, black sneakers, black-rimmed glasses, gray jacket when it's cold. It's not trendy enough to be goth or emo, but the intent is there.
"Accha," Chandini says, visibly pleased. She smiles down at Kerr, then puts an arm around her shoulder and tugs her closer gently, though what she actually says is, "Shift to glabro, little sister."
"Huh," Shelby murmurs, and studies his face. "I wouldn't have guessed that." She adds a moue, lips twisted wryly. "I don't care how much they say it's good to look younger, it still sucks. I'm eighteen, too. End of June."
"Yes'm," Kerr says as she does just that. "It... Deciding wasn't easy, and.. I went back and forth too many times. But I don't want to leave."
Freedom grins at Shelby, a slightly messy expression with the line of blood down his chin right now. "Really? That makes us, what, old fogies by local standards, doesn't it? But at least I don't have to feel like I'm later to the game than everyone, entirely."
Chandini's arm tightens briefly around the other ahroun's shoulders, then lets go. "You would have been my sister and welcome in that house, no matter what your tribe," she says seriously. "Every cub I teach is my family, yeah? Even ones I don't demand restitution for from the Shadow Lords. And Kaiyelji would never turn you away unless you chose to make her do so. But even so, I am glad."
The Silver Fang says, "You should wash," and gestures on her own face to his blood trail. "Yes, it's very unusual for cubs to change as late as that. You should ask Tim-rhya about his first change, sometime."
Kerr glances up at Chandini, grinning in her usual way. "Yes'm. I know. But it was my choice and... really, I ...it took a lot of thinking and questions before I decided."
Freedom scrubs at his chin. "Yeah, I'm going to go dunk my head in the water for a while. And the rest of me." He makes a face over the excess of sweatiness going on here. "I'll ask him some time. See you next week, right?"
"I'm glad," Chandini says again, simply. "Aur...now I must go. I told the women of the shelter I would be there, this evening. I am teaching some of them to fight," she adds mischievously.
Shelby nods and has some more water. "As far as I know. Gaia watch, Freedom."
"Yes, ma'am." Kerr stoops to gather up the waterskins she'd brought, offering one to Chandini. "Have fun, Chandini-rhya." There's a hint of a grin, maybe amusement, as she turns to look toward the pair of Ragabash.
Freedom turns to wave to the two he wasn't just speaking with, back to a cheery grin, before he goes trotting off towards a place with water. Enough for swimming in. "Until next week," he calls, as he goes.
"Yes, ma'am." Kerr stoops to gather up the waterskins she'd brought, offering one to Chandini. "Have fun, Chandini-rhya." There's a hint of a grin, maybe amusement, as she turns to look toward the pair of Ragabash. (repose)
Freedom turns to wave to the two he wasn't just speaking with, back to a cheery grin, before he goes trotting off towards a place with water. Enough for swimming in. "Until next week," he calls, as he goes. (repose)
Shelby sends Freedom off with another nod, though Chandini escapes while she's taking a long pull of water and not paying much attention. "--Out of curiosity, Kerr," she asks, once the Fianna is out of earshot, "How old would you have guessed him to be? Freedom, I mean?"
Kerr pops open the top to one of her remaining skins, the one she'd already started on, shoulders drawing into a shrug. "Sixteen, seventeen I guess," she replies to Shelby before taking a swallow of water. "Why do you ask?"
"Just curious, like I said," Shelby answers with another shrug. "That's about how old I'd thought he was too. I think most Garou--the ones who have been Garou for a while--tend to act older than they really are. Don't you?"
"Sometimes," Kerr answers after another drink of water. "But I think we have to, because... Look what's expected of us."
Shelby caps her bottle and lifts one shoulder at the other girl. "Yes, that's exactly what I meant." A dip and she's collected both jacket and book, though the former is folded over one arm while the latter merely held. "I'll see you next week? I've got to go meet up with Al."
Kerr nods, slinging the extra waterskins over her shoulder. "Yeah, I'll be here. And... Good job today, Shelby. And last week, too. Against the badgers."
"--Thanks," the Fang says, after a pleased moment. "You too. I wish that Talon had come back. It would make lessons more interesting, don't you think?" With a last nod she shrugs into her jacket and tucks her book into a pocket, then shifts into lupus and flicks an ear at the other girl. Gaia watch.
Kerr nods, offering a rare smile to the Ragabash. "See you later." With a small wave, she turns away and heads southwesternly, jogging toward the trees.
Currently the moon is in the waxing Crescent (Theurge) Moon phase (36% full).
Around the Lone Boulder
It's hot, for Saint Claire, or pleasantly warm for people from other parts of the country and world. Shelby's water bottle waits at the base of the boulder near her jacket, the Silver Fang nowhere to be seen -- no, there she is, sprawled on her belly on the top of the boulder, legs kicked up and crossed at the ankle like those 50's "Teenager on the Phone" drawings. She's not on the phone, however, but reading something, the soft sound of paper turning barely audible.
For once, Chandini comes into the clearing walking - on the ground, upright, and not hurtling at full speed. She seems to be in good health, even, which makes it all the more unusual. In one hand, she has a crumpled paper sack. There's a customary lift to her step and she is, for anyone close enough to hear, singing softly to herself, something with a boppy rhythm, tonal shifts which are distinctly unAmerican, and words which are almost certainly Hindi. When she clears the trees' shade and reaches the sunlight, she stops moving, closing her eyes and tilting her face up to the sun.
Freedom is not quite late, panting in his effort to make it there on time when he reaches the edge of the clearing. He slows to a walk as he hits open grass, and then hangs out in the shadow of a tree a little longer before braving the terrible sunlight. He's brought a two-liter bottle of soda that's been de-sodaed and refilled with water, the center of it still full of an icy core from a trip through the freezer.
Kerr jogs through the trees, several waterskins hanging from her shoulders in place of the bow she's usually with. Her eyes squint as she leaves the dimness of the forest and she moves to continue at her quickened pace to cross the clearing and join the other cubs at the boulder. A glance around gives her pause, eyes staying briefly on Chandini and then, an afterthought coming to the fore, she detours to join the Fostern first.
Up on the rock, Shelby placidly turns another page, her feet idly waving.
"Namaste," Chandini says, not opening her eyes. And then, apparently to Shelby, "You are here early!" She lowers her head and opens her eyes looking directly at Kerr. "Hello, little sister."
Freedom clutches his ice-water like it might save him from the big bad sun. "Afternoon, Chandini-rhya," he says, with a general smile for the cubs about.
Kerr looks to Freedom and then up at Shelby, both offered a faint, marginally nervous grin. Very briefly, almost accidentally, she meets Chandini's gaze as she turns back toward the Ahroun elder, a different light showing instead of the usual apprehensiveness. "Hello, Chandini-rhya," she returns, still with a grin though eyes dropping to the ground.
Shelby's head pops up; after a moment she offers one of her bright smiles and a wave, calling, "Namaste!" The book - a paperback, the cover brightly colored - makes its descent first, carefully lobbed to join her other possessions, before the Fang takes the slightly longer easy path back to terra firma. "It's warm again!" she adds, in case they'd missed that bit.
From out of the woods, a very short young hispanic woman approaches the group. She gives a wave and a smile, "Hola, Chandini. Is this your class? I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" She looks like she's worked up a mild sweat already today.
Chandini continues walking toward the boulder, resting one hand lightly on Kerr's shoulder as she goes, for as long as the cub seems all right with it. Melodie's appearance brings a bright smile to her face. "Mel-didi. Nay, we are only now starting. Are you needing us?"
Melodie is a very short girl, needing more than two inches to reach five feet. However, she's clearly past puberty, curvier than the average girl her age, which is somewhere in her mid teens. Her wavy brown hair reaches down just past her shoulders. Ethnically, she is hispanic, her appearance reflecting native Mexican ancestry, but with a mixture of some European giving her a hint of the exotic. She speaks at a fast pace with a moderately heavy Spanish accent.
She's wearing a baggy fashionable pink Hoodie with two black shattered hearts on the front. Underneath, she has a black T-shirt featuring a gun shooting pink hearts across her chest in a diagonal pattern. A tight pair of jeans with floral embroidery on the back pockets hugs her hips, fastened with a pink and grey argyle patterned belt. On her feet are a new pair of sneakers with the 'shock absorbers' visible, and a familiar swoosh logo, also highlighted in pink and with matching pink laces. She's got a shiny lip-gloss that also enhances her signature 'pink' color theme. On her right arm is a pink vinyl studded bracelet.
She has a butterfly tattoo on her right ankle (+details for more.)
Freedom is quaffing water from his bottle, which is going to be reduced to a large lump of ice pretty soon at this rate. And this is before practice has even started.
The proclamation from the Fang pulls Kerr's gaze upward, offering the older girl another grin as she moves along with Chandini. The waterskins are removed from her shoulder and one, quite absently, offered to Freedom while the Ahroun cub's attention turns toward Melodie.
Melodie shakes her head lightly. "No, nothing like that. I was just patrolling and stuff, and felt a little like saying hi." She looks over the gathered cubs briefly. "Don't let me stop you from your lessons."
"You're going to get brain freeze," Shelby teases Freedom, before turning to face the other Fostern squarely. "I'm Shelby Zaleski-Leveque, ragabash cub of the Silver Fangs and called Doesn't Know When to Stop," she says politely. "I'm the great-great-granddaughter of the Adren Galliards Falcon's Cry Turns Tears to Blood and Winter's Snow on Summer's Branches, and the Adren Philodox, Silver Sword with Two Blades. It's very nice to meet you."
The other fostern looks thoughtful for a moment, taking the request seriously, and then shakes her head. "Nay. Stay, didi. Kerr, that was well-prepared of you. Accha. Last week, we had more than practice, yeah? How was it for you, afterward?"
Freedom puts his bottle away hastily, and offers to the one he doesn't know, "I'm Freedom Connolly, a ragabash cub of the Fianna. Also called Fish-Herder when I'm fuzzy. We're rocking the whole ragabash cub thing here today. Pleased to meetcha."
Kerr looks back to Chandini and gives her head a small shake. "The animals were tainted. Had to kill them before they spread their disease, to release them from their suffering." Her thoughts are relayed evenly, she could have been explaining how to bake cookies. To Melodie, she follows suit of the other cubs. "I'm Kerr. Ahroun cub with as many cub-names as I've had homes. But right now, I'll answer to Second Chance." It's a weak attempt at humor, the Ahroun cub grinning though looking uncertain all the same.
As for her part, Shelby shrugs. "It was fine. I didn't see any more of them. Zosia and Tim-rhya did some scouting, though, and he said they found a rabbit with metal bones. They think they came from that building site - you know, the one that got burned down?"
Melodie stands up a bit straighter, and announces, "I'm Melodie Rodriguez, Shrouded Arrow, Fostern Philodox of the Black Furies, and Guardian of the Hidden Walk. And I just turned seventeen, so I'm not so much older than all of you." She smiles gently. "Doesn't Know When to Stop, Fish-Herder, Second Chance, nice to meet you. I was Ankle-Biter, when I was a cub."
"I heard that from Sonahari-bhai, haan, Shelby." Chandini considers the cubs, one at a time, thoughtfully. "Shelby, Kerr. You were hurt. Freedom, you helped Sonahari and me bury the creatures' bodies. Was it...nothing for you? Each of you stretched, yawned, had your evening meal, went to sleep without thinking any more about it?" Her tone is gently teasing, but truly interested.
Freedom raises a hand and says brightly, "I'm eighteen. I would totally take advantage of the superiority and wisdom that comes of being old enough to vote if it mattered around here." He gives his teacher's comment more consideration. "It was weird," he says. "Scary during, and creepy afterward. Sort of surreal, even more so that the whole 'look, ma, I turn into a wolf!' thing has been. Especially the way it all just came out of nowhere."
Shelby sends a wry look toward Chandini at Mel's introduction, but she drops the shorter girl another nod before addressing the Fostern Ahroun: "It wasn't anything, really. It bled a little, but that's about it. It wasn't like that... it wasn't anything, really." She scants Freedom a glance of his own, and folds her arms to cup her elbows.
"They were diseased animals," Kerr states with a small shrug. "They needed to be removed before they spread their disease to others." Her eyes flick toward Shelby, then away again with a blink. "Just animals who were sick. Better than letting them get worse."
Melodie nods up at the cubs. "Sometimes respect for all of Gaia's creatures means healing the herd by culling the individual. It can be a tough lesson to learn, sometimes. But if you act out of love for Gaia, she will guide your actions, in the end."
"Not.../just sick, behen," Chandini tells Kerr. She nods to Freedom, and considers Shelby thoughtfully. Her next comment is addressed generally, although her gaze "If fighting is like that, then you can do it, then, yeah?"
Freedom leans over to drop his water bottle at his feet. "If it's like what I did--I think I can do that part," he says slowly. "I don't know so much about the rest."
Kerr shakes her head slowly, though her shoulders draw up into a shrug. "I guess. They're just animals." She lowers her small collection of waterskins to the ground, tucking them up beside Shelby's things.
Shelby shrugs again and watches Kerr absently. After a moment she crosses over to collect her own water and tidy the little pile.
Melodie finds a large rock, and takes a seat on it. She reaches into her pack, and pulls out a golden apple, taking a crunchy bite and listening to the lesson.
These responses - or Kerr and Shelby's - are not entirely satisfactory to Chandini, judging by her expression, but after a moment, she appears to let it go. "Is everyone warm and loose? Shelby, behen, you were lying still." She considers, then smiles. "All of you, I think, hold hands with each other - in human form, yeah? - and run as quickly as you can without letting go or anyone falling, there--" she picks a point on the edge of the clearing that's not as far as some "--and back. Do not let go when you turn around. Chalo."
Freedom bounces on his heels, and puts hands out to offer to whoever wants to take left and right. "The faster we run, the less time spent running in the sun," he suggests to the other cubs, with relentless optimism.
"Let Shelby set the pace, as fast as she can manage," Kerr suggests as she takes Freedom's left hand. "That way it's not too fast for anyone, and we don't risk losing her or falling trying to keep up to the fastest possible runner."
Shelby looks less-than-thrilled to be running, but she obligingly takes Freedom's other and offers Kerr a thankful (if rueful) smile. "Just because you like running doesn't mean the rest of us wouldn't rather be doing something else," she tells the other Ragabash before setting off at a pace a smidgen faster than her usual, though nowhere near the others' top speeds.
Melodie watches, enjoying seeing the cubs playing. Her apple is quickly approaching its resting state as just an apple core.
Chandini stands back, hands on her narrow hips, watching with fondness and a touch of pride. Also, perhaps, a tiny gleam of humor.
Freedom bolts! ...and, like a good cub, not any faster than Shelby is running. He tries to time his steps to hers to keep at the same pace, hands wrapped loosely around the wrist of each cub on either side.
Kerr runs alongside the other two, keeping pace easily enough.
There's a bit of confusion and chaos at the midpoint of the run when Kerr and Shelby have to pivot about Freedom, but it's only a blip. The three end up back near the Furies, and Shelby gladly releases Freedom's hand to snag more water. "I'll never understand why people enjoy running so much," she says, and walks around a few little circles.
Melodie smiles a little. "Well, everyone has her own strengths to discover. But I do like the feel of the wind in my face. I like it more in lupus, though, the wolf body is better built for it." She carefully puts the apple core back into her pack.
"But less for holding hands," Chandini says, amused. To the cubs, she says, "Which person has the most influence over the running of the group? The person on the left, the middle, the right?"
"Middle," Free says, "at least in theory, because that's the link point for everyone. You can get a greater distance between the left and right people than you can between either of them and the middle one."
Kerr nods to Freedom's words. "Technically the middle. But I think, for this exercise, it wouldn't've mattered much because we knew who was setting the pace." She pauses, glancing up at Chandini before continuing. "Probably would've been better if we tried to follow rather than stay all in a horrizontal line."
Shelby glances at the others. "The one in the middle," she agrees. "Even with the others keeping to my pace, Kerr couldn't tell how fast I was running except through Freedom. --I wouldn't have wanted to try running like that," she adds to Kerr. "I think that would have been harder." She swings her arms out front and back to demonstrate, shakes her head.
Melodie looks up to Chandini, curious as to how these answers measure up.
Chandini nods easily. "So if you want one person to set your pace, you may want to give her the position with the most control, yeah?" She smiles briefly at Shelby. "TK. You did well." She bends down to pick up her paper sack, and pulls out more sticks of sidewalk chalk. This time, she offers two sticks of each color to each of the cubs - two green to Freedom, two blue to Kerr, two red to Shelby. The two hot pink ones, she pulls out and keeps for herself. "Sparring, now, yeah? You will use your near-human forms, and you will strike with chalk for your claws. You may punch and kick and grab as well, but only chalk will be blood. To start, Shelby with Kerr, Freedom with me. Unless--" she gives Melodie an impish smile "--you wish to help?" She holds out the pink chalk invitingly.
Freedom takes the chalk, and repeats, "Claws, right. Not the spring-loaded type." He follows that up with a grin for Shelby and Kerr.
Kerr nods as she takes the chalk, a quiet word of thanks spoken. She turns the bits of chalk over in her hands, glancing up to Shelby and Freedom. "Go easy on me," she tells the female Ragabash, with a faint grin.
Shelby accepts the chalk with a pained smile, the sort that says 'Oh grandmother, thank you for your lovely gift of socks'. "Yes, Chandini-rhya." She rolls her eyes at Kerr but moves away from the boulder to get some space before shifting up into Glabro. "Who was it bragging about all the sparring she'd done with Quiet-rhya?" she teases before dropping into a ready stance and nodding at the Ahroun cub.
Melodie considers it for a moment, but shakes her head. "No, you go ahead, Chandini. I'm good here. Besides, I'm a Philodox, I should judge."
With a brief smile, Chandini says, "Today, I judge. TK. Before you start, punch air as quick and hard as you can. Simple punch, straight before you. That is full speed. Then begin, at half that speed until I tell you to change. Chalo." She holds up one hand briefly to Freedom, to signal a pause while she watches the other two start. "Measure your speed, then wait," she tells him quietly.
Freedom punches as instructed, a rapid little jab. He frowns, tries a second time, and satisfied with his own test of the speed, settles back, twisting a little to watch the other two.
Kerr shakes her head slightly, not sharing in the Fang's teasing remark. "Yeah... Sure." A glance is sent toward Chandini and Melodie as draws up into Glabro. Following that, the Ahroun cub punches the air as instructed as fast and hard as she can.
"Fast as we can?" Shelby echoes, confused, but tries it - first with one fist, then the other. "Huh. --Excuse me, Chandini-rhya, but are we supposed to spar at half speed? Is that what you meant?"
Melodie suggests, "I dunno, just watch Chandini and Freedom, and then do that. Don't let your brain get in the way so much, si?" She hops off of her rock, looking very small next to the Glabros. "It's better to do it a little wrong than to not do it."
"Haan, that is what I meant. Chalo, chalo." Chandini turns to face her own partner, though she shifts her position and the angle they are facing so that she can see Shelby and Kerr past his shoulder. She, too, shifts up to glabro, and takes one stick of chalk in each hand. She, too, gravely, as though she needed to, punches the air before her, hard and very fast, nods, and steps up to Freedom. "When you are ready, begin."
Freedom shifts as well, and faces Chandini, looking a little uncertain. "Moving around is fine, right?" he says, punctuating the comma placement with a cautious kick--more like a third of speed--towards the current position of his teacher's left knee.
Kerr, at roughly half the speed she'd displayed before, sends an easy right-handed attack crosswise at Shelby. It moves from left shoulder to right hip, intending to draw a clean line through the Fang's midsection.
"They were going to," Shelby starts, nodding at the other pair, when Kerr slices at her. She abandons speech for dodging, twisting out of the Ahroun's way and attempting a cut at the other girl's attacking forearm.
Melodie quietly stays out of the way. She starts doing some stretching exercises, or perhaps it's yoga, while watching.
Chandini lifts a knee and swings her shin across, holding it vertical and sweeping Freedom's kick aside. "Faster, bhai," she says, her voice now deepened, grating. At half-speed, she jabs her right hand forward with its piece of chalk, aiming for the Fianna's shoulder.
Freedom hops backward on one foot, and that's faster than a third speed. He tries for a half-speed attack with the chalk, not quite sure of his reach as it waves towards the arm Chandini put out there.
Kerr pulls her hand back, the red chalk the Fang weilds clipping her own blue. She steps around toward the left, left hand cutting low and again with the intention of leaving a mark along Shelby's ribs.
Shelby jumps back again, the blue missing her torso but smearing a 'cut' along one arm. The Fang doesn't appear to notice her injury but circles to the left instead, keeping just out of Kerr's immediate reach and using her own arms as a shield.
Melodie keeps on stretching, entering into some rather difficult positions. She really is quite flexible! She's keeping half an eye on the play-combat, but not her full attention.
Chandini's arm already recoiled with the quick out-and-back movement of the jab, but she doesn't move it any further. Freedom's chalk manages a glancing blow, as Chandini takes the moment she might have used dodging to close in with a low slice to the belly from her other hand. Her half-speed is about the same as his, just steadier. She takes the opportunity of closing to force Freedom back a few inches to the right, where he was before, so she continues to keep the other pair in sight.
Freedom takes a long line of chalk across his belly, too distracted by jubilation over an Actual Hit to notice the incoming attack until it's too late. "Augh!" he says, with a melodramatic clutch at his stomach, and moves back exactly as he's being maneuvered. "My spleen!" He keeps one hand there, the second piece of chalk waving out in a brief feint before he tries for a forward-lunging head cut.
Kerr switches her step so she moves to the right, an effort that will bring her within range to attack again. She strikes again with her right hand, another attempt to "claw" along Shelby's face.
The Silver Fang glances over at Freedom's cry and gets another cut for her trouble, this time along her jawline and up toward one ear. Irritated, she belatedly flings up an arm to block Kerr and slices ineffectually at the Ahroun - a feint, perhaps, for her blocking arm strikes more strongly at the other girl's shoulder.
Melodie giggles a little at Freedom's antics, while stretching her leg behind her head.
Chandini pushes Freedom's elbow aside so that the momentum of his strike carries his hand well past her head. Instead of following the block up with another strike, she calls, "Bas, enough." and draws back.
Freedom settles back on his heels, leaving off the wound-clutching. His hand's covered in two colors of chalk, now. "Combat's hard," he says ruefully.
Kerr slides back from the feint, enough that she, at first, misses the actual attack. She twists, though it's too late to avoid, and ends with a fittingly red mark along her shoulder. Her opposite shoulder draws back as though to attack, halting as Chandini calls to stop. "Nice one," the Ahroun cub says to the Fang, along with a small grin.
Shelby halts her next attack, other arm swinging low, and backs off at Chandini's command. She takes no pleasure in her success--at least, there's no return grin, though she does give Kerr a nod--but reaches up a hand to wipe off the blue, freezing there. "If we got hit, do we leave it, or can we clean up?"
Melodie hops to her feet, all stretched out. "I wish I'd had this kind of training when I was a cub, though. I mean, with other cubs and stuff. Mostly we just got beat up by the adults until we figured it out." She grins a little, like this is kind of funny.
Ruefully, Chandini smiles at Mel's comment. "There is some of that, also, I think. Haan, you may wipe off the marks, but first notice them. Everyone is bleeding, yeah?" She holds up her arm, looking at the green mark on it, then looks to the pink on Freedom's abdomen, the blue along Shelby's jaw, the red on Kerr's shoulder. "Just notice, yeah? Then rub it away. Shelby-behen, tell Mel-didi why it is useful to practice at a slower speed." She dwindles down to homid, her last few words half an octave higher and much smoother than the rest, and rubs the green chalk off her arm with an acknowledging nod for Freedom.
Freedom brushes off the chalk, getting more of his own chalk across his black t-shirt in the process. He finally crouches down to wipe his hands on the grass, and use that to get the dust rubbed off.
Kerr glances toward Melodie, something akin to understanding to the Philodox's statements. At Chandini's directions, she lowers into homid while brushing at the red mark along her shoulder, her attention turning to Shelby.
The Silver Fang immediately wipes at her face to eradicate the blue, but continues to overlook the smear on her arm. "Because if you can get good when you're slow, it's easy to go faster, but if you're fast and bad, you have no way to improve," she dutifully tells the other Fury before heading back to her water bottle.
Melodie nods softly, and looks up at Chandini. "That makes sense, right?" She sounds hopeful but not convinced.
Chandini laughs. "I hope so! It is what I am teaching them." She looks around. "Shelby-behen, your arm. Everyone, walk off what ever is tight in your bodies and drink water. Then we will change things a little."
Freedom picks up his ice-loaded bottle for a long slug, since "and" doesn't necessarily imply order of events. Then he stretches his arms high above his head, swings down to touch his toes, and finally goes to walk around the boulder once or twice.
Kerr picks up one of the skins of water and drinks, head tilting back while she pulls the liquid into her mouth and swallows. She pushes the cap back into place after taking her fill, then drops the skin to the ground, her attention turning to the two Fostern while she bounces up on the balls of her feet.
Arm? Shelby frowns at both of hers before looking at the underside; grimaces and rubs away the mark with extra force. "Nothing's tight," she claims and drops her water again, settling it carefully into a nest made by her jacket before she crosses back to her original spot in the 'classroom'.
Melodie moves closer to Chandini, and talks softly with her. "I should probably patrol more, I just wanted to watch a little. You're doing a good job with them, though! I like seeing you in charge of things." She has clear admiration for her tribe sister.
From the way Chandini's cheeks darken with the hint of a flush, the respect is mutual and the compliment very welcome. "I am glad you came, didi. Come back on a full moon and help me teach," she suggests, but without pressure. She touches Melodie's arm lightly, just a brush of warm fingers, and turns back to her students. "Kerr and Freedom, no chalk, human form, full speed," she says efficiently. "Freedom, you have much less training than Kerr, but you are faster. You will probably lose, but you must try to lose as well as possible. Shelby, with me."
Freedom looks a little startled, but nods quickly, with another sip of water before he shifts himself back to homid and moves over to stand in front of Kerr. "Start whenever you want," he suggests, keeping just out of immediate arm's reach.
Kerr turns to face Freedom, giving the Fianna cub a brief look over. She steps toward him, wordlessly, but stays just beyond reach. She gives her arms a bit of a shake, a glance toward Chandini and back to Free, waiting for the word to begin.
Shelby takes in the interaction between the tribemates silently, otherwise unwilling to interrupt. When Chandini gives the others their rules she looks at them, startled, her expression shifting to a more wary neutrality as she turns back to her new opponent. "With chalk, or in lupus?" she asks, dropping a nod to Melodie.
Melodie slips off, as the cubs get back into their next lesson, off to do whatever it is that Fostern Guardians do. Which is most likely tromp around the woods looking for trouble.
"In human form, no chalk," Chandini answers easily. "But we will do differently. You will attack, I will defend. If I succeed, then I will attack just as you did, and you must defend as I did, yeah? It will keep your mind alert while you are moving." She looks over at Kerr and Freedom, and says, inclusively, "Chalo."
Kerr nods to Chandini, though her attention is on the Fianna cub. She takes a step toward Freedom, closing the distance and sending two attacks at him, both fully committed though one is sent a quarter beat ahead of the second. The first fist goes low to sink into the boy's stomach, driven by the left and, while it would hurt if it hit, it isn't going to be difficult to dodge. The second fist, right side this time, comes just after the first leaves her body. It goes high and straight, to catch Free directly just below the nose.
Freedom is a speedy Fianna cub today, bouncing out of the way of Kerr's attacks in rapid succession. (His own attacks do exist, strictly speaking, but they're mostly a bit of enthusiastic waving in that direction in an attempt to shift some attention away and confuse the matter.) It's working very well for him until that last blow comes in, unexpectedly, at his face. He yelps, and falls backwards onto the grass, clutching his mouth.
"I think so," Shelby agrees dubiously, and nods Melodie on her way. The other two fade from her attention for now as she slowly circles to her right. After only a few steps she lashes out with her right fist to Chandini's shoulder; the Fostern swings her own right across to push the attack wide, and Shelby, rather than following up the attack with another of her own, draws back to the ready position again.
Kerr presses the advantage as Freedom goes down, eyes narrowing slightly. She steps around the Fianna's body lying on the ground, angling away slightly though taking the opportunity to set up for another attack. Then, with a hop off one foot, she turns and kicks with the other, toes pulled back as her foot drives toward the male cub's ribs.
Freedom wasn't doing much more than lying there looking dazed after the first blow. When the kick connects, he yips, sounding a little offended that time, and rolls hastily backward. He scrambles up now that it's clear that falling down doesn't end the fight, moving back, and waits at that slightly safer distance with one knee on the ground to brace himself.
Moving at the same pace Shelby took, Chandini punches for Shelby's right shoulder, just as Shelby punched for hers - though not very hesitantly and from a different height. Shelby mimics the block Chandini used without enthusiasm, pushing Chandini's arm to the side, and follows up immediately with a punch to the ribs with her left, which Chandini blocks on a downward swing, bringing her right hand around under Shelby's block to a ready position. There's an odd look in the fostern's eye, and a mildly rueful set to her generally good-natured mouth.
Like some sort of bizarre county fair demonstration, Shelby repeats the block Chandini's just demonstrated, though she's slower to bring her right back into position. Rather than try for another punch she changes things up by kicking, her left snapping out for the Ahroun's knee. Chandini drops to catch the kick on her thigh instead of dancing away and as she stands, flicks a hand toward Shelby's erring wrist, tapping the Ragabash lightly and receiving a startled look in return.
Kerr's eyes narrow further as she moves forward, clearing the distance between herself and Freedom in just a couple of strides. On the last which would place her well within his personal space, she kicks instead. As her foot flies for the Ragabash's head, he leans enough to one side for it to pass harmlessly. Then he presses his own advantage, driving himself forward and his shoulder into her overextended leg. Teeth bare as the Ahroun cub grunts in surprised as she's taken down, barely managing to hook a leg around the Fianna to draw him down with her before her back smacks into the ground.
Freedom scrambles up onto Kerr's chest, and aims an ungentlemanly fist at her nose while he has a moment of confusion in which to get in a few shots himself. He's bleeding from a split lip, and unsteady with the adrenaline-and-surprise combination working on him, but he has enough time for a sharp elbow to her shoulder. Not enough sense to ditch after those blows, then, because he catches a knee to the chest from the cub beneath him, smacking into those bruised ribs again. And that's enough that he goes scrambling off and towards his feet for a bolt to a much safer distance.
As Chandini aims Shelby's kick back at her, the Fang drops her weight and takes the kick on her thigh, and then straightens again with only a touch of unsteadiness. She, too, flicks her hand out toward Chandini's wrist. Chandini twitches her hand out of the way reflexively, the curve of her brows eloquent of surprise. Then Shelby throws her fist at Chandini's face, and Chandini catches it and holds it, gentle but implacable. "Bas," she calls, loud enough for even Kerr and Freedom to register it. Then she lets Shelby's wrist go, and smiles at her.
If Shelby's strike to her wrist surprised Chandini, the Fury's catching her fist startles the Fang, and she spends a moment trying to pull her hand free before the 'halt' command registers. A last tug and she stops, nods at the other girl that yes, she's done, and she's not going to go all Jackie Chan once she's released.
Stunned from being taken down so easily, Kerr is unable to deflect either of Freedom's attacks. Thus she cries out in pain as the first fist hits her nose and brief flailing ensues as an elbow bites into her shoulder. It's enough that she lands a knee on the male Ragabash and sends him running. Of a mind to chase down the boy and further rough house with him, the Ahroun cub is just rolling to her knees and lurching after when Chandini calls a stop. She follows directions, however, face turning away from from the Fianna and eyes staying upon the ground as she stands fully.
Freedom scampers several yards away into that call to halt. He slows to come back around in a wide loop, only walking by the time he's near the boulder. He looks a touch bewildered, one hand pressed against his ribs.
Releasing Shelby's hand, Chandini motions the cubs to line up before her for debriefing. "Each of you, tell me about what happened. Shelby-behen - you had a different lesson from the other two. Say, about it. Each of you. This last, but also earlier, with the chalk."
Rubbing the knuckles of her once-trapped hand as she retreats a few steps to form the line, Shelby nods and checks about for the others. "Maybe they should shift to Glabro?" she suggests, but whether or not they do she goes on. "I don't know that there was a lesson, Chandini-rhya, except to spar, which we haven't really been doing much of. I think, maybe, that you changed the rules for our bout because you knew I wouldn't be able to hit you if we did it the usual way."
Kerr wipes at her nose as she steps in beside Shelby, wincing slightly. "Chalk thing was fun," she puts in quietly, hand lowering and head coming up slightly. "Going slow it's easier to act and react without relying in instinct. When you're going as fast as you can... you just act."
Freedom touches a hand gingerly to his face. "I guess I learned, in both fights, that when things get fast and exciting, or even just tense, I start losing track of the big picture. I get all focused on what's right in front of me, instead of, you know, what's coming at me from a weird angle." He frowns at the blood on his fingertips. "Also, I don't really like fighting when it hurts. I'm not sure if that's the right lesson."
Chandini smiles. "Shelby is correct. You two should take a healing form. The lesson is that you may not like it, but you can do it when you must, I think, bhai. Liking it is...not required, yeah? Doing it for fun is not required. Doing it often is not required - there are many other ways to give to the nation." She's speaking to Freedom, and casually, but her eyes flicker to Shelby for a moment before returning to the other Ragabash. "There will be times when you will have to fight, and those times, you will have to be able to win in one way or another - by defeating your opponent, or by learning about it and escaping to give your knowledge to others who will then destroy it. But liking fighting...nay. It is not required. I do not teach you to try to make you love it. I teach you because I want you to live, and to be able to do what matters most to you, and protect what you love, however you can do that best." She looks to the other ragabash more fully, now. "Shelby-behen, you might be able to hit me, now, but it would not be a fight you could learn very much from, yeah? But you just countered attack after attack, having only been shown how once each time, and you did it well each time." She regards all of them. "Today was hard, and you all did well. Questions hai?"
"It helps, though," Shelby murmurs, glancing sidelong at both the other cubs. As Chandini speaks to her she nods, just once and seriously, before folding her arms again. "Nothing springs to mind, Chandini-rhya. No questions from me."
Kerr shakes her head slowly. "No, ma'am. No questions." She takes in a breath then lets it out slowly, looking from Shelby to Freedom each briefly, then turning back to the Fostern. "I have something to tell you, though. Once class is over."
Freedom shakes his head, then winces, and shifts forms, a hand still on his ribs. "No questions, exactly. Though it's good to know I can still do this without being all gung-ho about it."
"TK." Chandini steps back. "Practice what you think you should, and be ready to tell me next week what that was, yeah? Namaste. Kerr, kya voh? What is it?"
Shelby nods for Chandini's instructions and steps back as well, likewise falling out of line. Rather than stick around she drifts back to the boulder and her gear, jerking her head at Freedom in an invitation to bring him along.
Kerr looks toward the two Ragabash, drifting a step or two away from the boulder. "I've been talking to KL-rhya," she says with a shrug, tone neither implying secrecy nor asking for privacy.
Freedom follows Shelby, picking up his water bottle on the way past for a deep swig of increasingly melted water.
A quick, fond, involuntary smile warms Chandini's features. "And?"
It's water for the Silver Fang as well, though she's neither breathing nor sweating as heavily as the Fianna. "Are you really eighteen?" she asks him quietly, her attention drifting past him to the others before drifting back.
Freedom nods to Shelby. "I turned 18 about a month before I ended up out here," he says quietly. "Life used to be a lot less...outdoorsy."
"And--" Kerr turns slightly, though not away from Chandini or the others. "We've been talking a lot." She lifts a hand to touch her nose again, flinching at her own action. "And I asked her if I could stay."
Free is a near-skinny teenager who's escaped that gangly all-elbows stage without hitting his full height yet. (Or at least he hopes 5'6 won't be it.) His hair's dyed blue and black, set in gelled spikes arranged carefully to look "wild". Intense green eyes, pale skin prone to freckling, a snub nose... It's the kind of face teenage girls call "cute" more often than "hot".
He wears black: black jeans, black shirt with something sarcastic on it, black sneakers, black-rimmed glasses, gray jacket when it's cold. It's not trendy enough to be goth or emo, but the intent is there.
"Accha," Chandini says, visibly pleased. She smiles down at Kerr, then puts an arm around her shoulder and tugs her closer gently, though what she actually says is, "Shift to glabro, little sister."
"Huh," Shelby murmurs, and studies his face. "I wouldn't have guessed that." She adds a moue, lips twisted wryly. "I don't care how much they say it's good to look younger, it still sucks. I'm eighteen, too. End of June."
"Yes'm," Kerr says as she does just that. "It... Deciding wasn't easy, and.. I went back and forth too many times. But I don't want to leave."
Freedom grins at Shelby, a slightly messy expression with the line of blood down his chin right now. "Really? That makes us, what, old fogies by local standards, doesn't it? But at least I don't have to feel like I'm later to the game than everyone, entirely."
Chandini's arm tightens briefly around the other ahroun's shoulders, then lets go. "You would have been my sister and welcome in that house, no matter what your tribe," she says seriously. "Every cub I teach is my family, yeah? Even ones I don't demand restitution for from the Shadow Lords. And Kaiyelji would never turn you away unless you chose to make her do so. But even so, I am glad."
The Silver Fang says, "You should wash," and gestures on her own face to his blood trail. "Yes, it's very unusual for cubs to change as late as that. You should ask Tim-rhya about his first change, sometime."
Kerr glances up at Chandini, grinning in her usual way. "Yes'm. I know. But it was my choice and... really, I ...it took a lot of thinking and questions before I decided."
Freedom scrubs at his chin. "Yeah, I'm going to go dunk my head in the water for a while. And the rest of me." He makes a face over the excess of sweatiness going on here. "I'll ask him some time. See you next week, right?"
"I'm glad," Chandini says again, simply. "Aur...now I must go. I told the women of the shelter I would be there, this evening. I am teaching some of them to fight," she adds mischievously.
Shelby nods and has some more water. "As far as I know. Gaia watch, Freedom."
"Yes, ma'am." Kerr stoops to gather up the waterskins she'd brought, offering one to Chandini. "Have fun, Chandini-rhya." There's a hint of a grin, maybe amusement, as she turns to look toward the pair of Ragabash.
Freedom turns to wave to the two he wasn't just speaking with, back to a cheery grin, before he goes trotting off towards a place with water. Enough for swimming in. "Until next week," he calls, as he goes.
"Yes, ma'am." Kerr stoops to gather up the waterskins she'd brought, offering one to Chandini. "Have fun, Chandini-rhya." There's a hint of a grin, maybe amusement, as she turns to look toward the pair of Ragabash. (repose)
Freedom turns to wave to the two he wasn't just speaking with, back to a cheery grin, before he goes trotting off towards a place with water. Enough for swimming in. "Until next week," he calls, as he goes. (repose)
Shelby sends Freedom off with another nod, though Chandini escapes while she's taking a long pull of water and not paying much attention. "--Out of curiosity, Kerr," she asks, once the Fianna is out of earshot, "How old would you have guessed him to be? Freedom, I mean?"
Kerr pops open the top to one of her remaining skins, the one she'd already started on, shoulders drawing into a shrug. "Sixteen, seventeen I guess," she replies to Shelby before taking a swallow of water. "Why do you ask?"
"Just curious, like I said," Shelby answers with another shrug. "That's about how old I'd thought he was too. I think most Garou--the ones who have been Garou for a while--tend to act older than they really are. Don't you?"
"Sometimes," Kerr answers after another drink of water. "But I think we have to, because... Look what's expected of us."
Shelby caps her bottle and lifts one shoulder at the other girl. "Yes, that's exactly what I meant." A dip and she's collected both jacket and book, though the former is folded over one arm while the latter merely held. "I'll see you next week? I've got to go meet up with Al."
Kerr nods, slinging the extra waterskins over her shoulder. "Yeah, I'll be here. And... Good job today, Shelby. And last week, too. Against the badgers."
"--Thanks," the Fang says, after a pleased moment. "You too. I wish that Talon had come back. It would make lessons more interesting, don't you think?" With a last nod she shrugs into her jacket and tucks her book into a pocket, then shifts into lupus and flicks an ear at the other girl. Gaia watch.
Kerr nods, offering a rare smile to the Ragabash. "See you later." With a small wave, she turns away and heads southwesternly, jogging toward the trees.