Passing The Knowledge... (Selena Please)

[Viskyia Crow]

TS: Morning, Late in the Second Cycle of Cryxatum, Spring of Era XIII (pf)

[Setting: A Large Clearing in the Nexus Prime Community Gardens, the one with the Satyr statue, bench, and large duck pond on the edge of the wild gardens]

It was a familiar place, a familiar sight... the little clearing where Viskyia had learned Shaasskah with Nydardomond. They still sparred there a bit, weekly, keeping up their skills. But now Viskyia had added her dagger to her Shaasskah and it blended together beautifully. She had her cousin Skylis to thank for that. He had been instrumental for her learning and blending. Without his help, she'd fought awkwardly trying to decide if she needed to use her dagger skill or her shaasskah skill, not recognizing the ability to blend both together would be essential.

She was a bit nervous. Vis had never had the chance to teach this artform to another living being, at least not one that wasn't learning along with her. She hoped she wouldn't be unclear or muddled in trying to pass on the knowledge. She knew Selena would be a competent student. Viskyia could tell just by the way the girl moved her body and walked. She only hoped she'd pick up on the finer details rapidly, and understand what Viskyia was waiting here to show her was far more than a simple self defense style of fighting. Instead, she was here to start teaching her what could ultimately be a way of life. Shaasskah would help her with a multitude of things.. her focus, concentration, balance, her way of thinking, and even help her control her emotions.

As Viskyia thought about all of this, she paced the clearing and finally settled on the bench overlooking the duck pond next to the Saytr statue. "Well hello again old friend.. hows the chipped rib fairing?" She asked, grinning at the life-like statue. She'd accidently chipped her dagger and his stone flesh once when she was being silly and sparring with him...

So she enjoyed her little joke and sat calmly, trying to drain the nervousness out of her and get ready mentally for passing the knowledge on to her very first student...

[Selena Ile Andra]

Selena couldn't hide her excitement as she walked to the Nexus Prime Community Gardens, where she would be learning Shaasskah. After initially getting over the annoyance of needing to be told that needed to learn it, she realized that Vis had been right and got herself excited about learning a new skill that someday may save her life.

It was a beautiful spring day for which Selena was glad for, learning how to fight in the rain wouldn't have been much fun, especially for a beginner like herself. Instead of her usual white dress, she wore her tan leather hunting garb, fighting in a dress seemed crazy to say the least and not at all lady like. She made it to the large clearing where Viskyia waited for her, she admired the chipped Satyr stature and the large duck pond, hopefully she wouldn't get thrown in there. She laughed to herself, hopefully Viskyia wasn't that rough on her.

She had to admit, even though she was excited, she was also very nervous, horse-back riding lessons where one thing, this was quite another, one thing, in horse lessons, she had been learning along with Viskiya and there had been others there learning as well, this was just her learning, so she would be the only one looking like a fool if she made a stupid mistake.

She mentally shook her head as she walked up to Viskyia with a smile on her face, masking the nervousness, Selena could be such a pessismist at times.

"It is good to see you again Viskyia, I must admit, I am quite nervous, yet completely excited about this lesson." She mostly hoped she didn't annoy or irritate Viskyia with lack of fighting skills, she was graceful when it came to riding and she was very fleet-footed, but fighting was one thing she wasn't any good at, which explained the many bruises and scratches she had as a child.

[Viskyia Crow]

Viskyia was glad to see Selena too. She hadn't been thoroughly convinced that the woman would go through with it. And Vis felt a little guilty that she'd bullied Selena into taking this training from her. But... it was important. Selena needed to learn to defend herself, and she was glad she could be the one to help teach her.

"Hey there...you made it. You dressed great for the day... thanks. I didn't even think to tell you not to wear your usual skirt." Viskyia grinned, and stood up from where she was sitting near the pond on the bench beside 'goatman'. "Selena, thanks for coming. I hope this won't be all work and no play for you. I had a great deal fun learning this, and hopefully so can we both as you learn. Now.. first things first. Why are you doing this exactly?" The question might take Selena off guard, but it was important for Viskyia to know that she was doing it for her own reasons, not just because Selena was bowing to pressure from her. So she waited for her answer before moving on.

"Shaasskah means 'things learned from wild animals', Selena....so in teaching and in learning this, we need to forget about our humanity for a bit, push it back into the background and learn another way." Viskyia reached out and took Selena's hand... and started circling her, watching the way she moved.

"Draw yourself upright, up on the balls of your feet. Shift your weight forward, spread your legs a big more. Feel like there is a cord attached to the top of your head supporting your entire skeleton... let it lift up your skeleton, allowing you to move lightly, gracefully, flexible. Breathe deeply, using all of your lungs, just not the top....." She coaxed gently, watching Selena's gait noticably change and her breath deepen. "Good.. how does that make you feel?" She asked, curious... glad the woman relaxed so easily.

[Selena Ile Andra]

Selena looked down at what she wore and grinned, she had figured out for herself that a dress would not be the best to learn how to fight in. "I thought out that much." She said with a smile.

So this would be fun, that was definitely a good thing to know, having never learned to fight, she thought it would be intense and all work. It was good to know that some elements of fun would be added.

Butterflies futtered in her stomach when Viskyia asked her the question, it caught her off guard. Why would Viskyia ask her that, she knew Selena had come because Viskyia had convinced her to seek her training so she could better protect herself in some of the more unforgivable cities she visited. But as Selena got to thinking, she figured that perhaps Viskyia didn't want Selena to do this because Viskyia wanted her to, Selena needed to do it for herself.

"I came because although I fought a bit against the idea of training, I realized that I need to learn to rely on myself and my skills for protection and learning to fight will help me do that better." She meant every word she spoke, but inwardly hoped it was good enough reason and didn't sound corny in any way to her friend.

Forget your humanity? That was quite an odd concept and smiled to herself as she thought of her elder brother Kaiser, he could certainly forget his humanity at times and take on a more wild animal persona. Viskyia took her hand and started circling her, which Selena took in stride and began moving along gracefully.

She obeyed Viskyia's instructions and drew herself up onto the balls of her feet, shifting her weight forward. She spread her legs a bit more, it all felt so strange, but then she remembered not to think as a human but as a graceful animal. She imagined that a strong cord was attached to the top of her and supported her entire being. She imagined the cord lifting her skeleton easier, allowing her to move with more grace and ease and letting her be more flexible as well.

She took long deep breathes, using her entire lungs as Viskyia instructed, slowly relaxing her muscles and putting her at ease in her new position. She looked at Viskyia with a relaxed smile on her face. "I feel much lighter and more relaxed, more relaxed then I have felt in a long while."

[Viskyia Crow]

Viskyia smiled. She knew Selena would be a natural at this. She nodded her approval and then released her hand, coming to stand beside her and slightly off to the right.

"Before you learn anything else in Shaasskah, you must perfect the breathing calm, the balanced upright posture, and the internal relaxation. Shaasskah is an artform. You will become an artist using this. You whole life should change. The way you move, the way you breath, and most importantly, the control of your emotions. These techniques can help you in all aspect of life... riding, sleeping fitfully, conversations with other people. You can control your body language with this artform and thus keep an upper hand in an important dialog where someone wants to read you.... And its superb for defending yourself. Shaasskah can be deadly for that. Don't forget any of it, alright Selena?" Viskyia asked, stretching and then assuming a forward stance besides Selena.

"There are three basic stances in Shaasskah. Lets learn them first, then move on to some of the more intense stuff. But like everything else in the artform, your breathing has to be right, your relaxation has to be genuine, and your stances must be perfect or all the rest of your technique can fall down fast and become flawed." She relaxed the stance, then took it again, indicating Selena should as well. Viskyia stood with her feet evenly spaced out, placing her right foot slightly in front of her left one. The stance left her more balance and the ability to move in a more fluid manner with her upper body.

"This is the forward stance... as you take it, tell me how it makes you feel and what advantages you can see in it?" Viskyia asked softly, her voice that of a teacher and less of a friend.

Once Selena had assumed the stance, and responded, Viskyia nodded and moved into a different position. She shifted her weight backwards, freeing the front part of her body to move about easier... enabling kicks and the ability to shift into different modes of fighting in an instant. Her right foot, in this case, was slightly behind her left one.

"This one is the backwards stance, once more answer why it could be advantageous.. and assume it." Viskyia said, relaxing out of her backwards stance and stepping into it automatically again... demonstrating for Selena.

The squat stance was the final stance Viskyia would show Selena today. It was designed to get all a persons energy collected and ready to spring. An artist could uses a tremendous upwelling to spring into the air and lash out with one or both of their legs. Viskyia assumed this position after Selena had finished with her answer in regards to the backwards stance.

"The final stance is the squat stance. Why do we squat?" She asked, amusement crossing her features.

[Selena Ile Andra]

Selena kept her focus on her breathing and keeping relaxed as Viskyia nodded her approval and let go of her hand, coming to stand next to her. She listened to Viskyia's instruction as she would Dhwae or Davit for although Viskya was her friend, she was also her teacher and Selena respected her teachers.

It seemed Shaasskah was a perfect form of defense to learn, it could be used in battle or just keeping yourself safe from other people reading your body language. She was now glad that she had given in rather quickly and sought training, she really did need the training and it would most likely save her life someday, in one case or another.

Selena did as Viskyia did, she relaxed her stance for a second before getting back into it, her feet were evenly spaced. She copied Viskyia's foot placement, placing her right foot ever so slightly in front of her left foot, she was slightly surprised at how balanced she felt now, she felt like she could move more fluidly should she have to.

She looked up at Viskyia, noticing the change in tone and smiled. "I feel more balanced in this stance, I feel as though I can move more fluidly should the situation call for it." She took a more respectful tone to let Viskyia know that she was taking this serious and saw her as her teacher.

After she spoke, Viskyia moved into a different position, it wasn't too different then her current one, her left foot was now the one in front and she shifted her body weight backwards. Selena soon copied the stance, finding it was more freeing on her upper body. After assuming the position that Viskyia had demonstrated, she looked up at Viskyia again. "This stance frees my upper body more and if I am correct, it would be advantageous for kicks and also dodging."

She looked at Viskyia in the squat position and had this been little more then an afternoon of fun, Selena may have laughed at her friend, but at the moment Selena knew it was some sort of stance. Never having seen it before, she wasn't quite sure what it was used for, but she could guess what it might be used for.

A squat stance, how odd. She did her best to imitate Viskyia's stance, she could imagine she looked quite a sight, but she ignored that and thought for a moment before answering. "This stance may be used for ducking or resting or perhaps it could be used to jump high over an opponents head after gathering enough leg strength, or maybe a high kick of some sort. I am not quite sure really." She had to be honest.

[Viskyia Crow]

Viskyia smiled, greatly pleased. "You get this. I think your going to do well with Shaasskah. Now, we move on to the blocks. There are three basic blocks. They are The Upper Block, Lower Block and Middle Block." Viskyia assumed a position, her body flowing into a forward stance, and her arms coming up, dancer-like and animalistic, never jerking, never awkward. "The upper block consists of bringing your arms up from below, and interfering with a punch or stab launched upon you. Go ahead and punch or pretend to stab me. I will demonstrate."

As soon as Selena did, Viskyia brought her arm up, using the force of her locked wrist and elbow to deflect Selena's punching motion, driving her arm upwards, and well over Viskyia's head.

"Now, the lower block....pretend to kick at me." Viskyia demonstrated bringing her arm down, as if to deflect a kick... drawing her body from the upper position to the lower position, knocking Selena's leg easily away, driving it straight down into the ground.

"The final block is the middle block. Its a sweeping gesture, from the center of your body outward, designed to deflect a blow off to the side and open your opponents torso up to your attack." She demonstrated the block first right handed then left handed, sweeping her right arm from her center upwards and outwards to the right. The left went the same way, upwards then deviated in that it swept to the left. "Do you see?"

When she'd demonstrated all of them, Viskyia turned to stand side by side with Selena and practice the stances and blocks, flowing first into one stance, then the other, then into one block then the next. It was almost meditative in nature, the way the girls moved together. "We will move on when the blocks and stances feel natural...." She said... leading Selena in the exercises the rest of the day. When the sun was starting to fade, she smiled and said...

"Lets call it a day. Tomorrow same time and place?"

[Selena Ile Andra]

Selena beamed with pride that she was doing well, she had been quite worried that she would give a wrong answer or a foolish answer that would cause Viskyia to regret deciding to train her. She stood to her feet out of the squat stance so she would be ready for the blocks. She was quite excited that things were going so well, she should have learned this earlier.

Upper Block, Lower Block, and Middle block, she commited those words into her memory before listening further to the instructions. She got in the same dancer-like stance as Viskyia, though her's wasn't as balanced or natural like, she then brought her hand down like she was going to stab Viskyia. As her arm came down, Viskyia brought her own arm up and deflected Selena's arm and put it well over her head. It was amazing how effective it was. "Wow." Was all Selena could say.

She took a step back and put herself in the same stance as before, the lower bloack now. She then went to kick Viskyia, knowing that she didn't have to worry about injuring Viskyia. Her kick was effectively blocked and her foot driven back to the ground. Yet another skill that may someday save her life one day.

And lastly the middle block, from what Viskyia said, it would be the most advantageous in a fight where she needed to get a good hit on her opponent. She watched Viskyia demonstrate the bloack twice, once right and once left and followed the way she did it, hoping she did it right when she tried. She nodded. "I think I get it."

After she practised them to herself, she then turned and practised blocking with Viskyia, taking it slow since she was just learning and she didn't want to go to fast and then mess up. It was a peaceful atmosphere and the blocking was calming as they moved, it was becoming more and more natural to Selena the more she did it. They continued the blocks the rest of the day until the sun sank low in the sky, painting the sky in a beautiful array of colors.

She was actually happy that Viskyia called it a day, Selena was sweaty and tired from the workout she had done and she couldn't wait to go home, take a soothing bath to relax her worked mucles and go to sleep. She smiled as she stopped. "Thank you so much Viskyia, I really appreciate this and I promise to work equally hard tomorrow. I will be back tomorrow, same time same place."

[Viskyia Crow]

The next brightening, Viskyia was there like she said she'd be. "Serale, Selena... hopefully things are going well today." Viskyia was glad to see the woman. She had a fun time teaching her the day before, and hoped this day would be as interesting. To start out, she decided warming up would be the best.

"Let's wake our muscles up and get them moving." She lead Selena through a quick workout that involved taking the stances they'd already ran through, and using the blocks they'd developed the day before. When both girls were sufficiently warmed up, she smiled and said.. "I'm ready for the next step, but before we go on, I want to hear your observations first... how is this training helping you so far now that you are a day or so into it?"

When Selena had a chance to answer, Viskyia moved on. "Today we are going to learn two punches. Punches are my favorite, because its the one attack the males never think are going to come from us. The Two Basic Punches are the Reverse Punch and the Jab. "

Viskyia assumed a forward stance, and lifted her arms, pulling her weight up on the balls of her feet and standing loose but ready to move. She brought her right hand up and demonstrated a jab, which was a simple closed fisted punch, palm down, knuckles up, fist forward. "Keep your arm next to your body... allow the energy in your entire body to lean into the punch, traveling up your torso and cresting at your shoulder and down your arm into your fist. Its like a wave of energy... up your body, breaking over your shoulder, out your fist.. stepping forward into your oponnent." She demonstrated repeatedly, gesturing for Selena to give it a shot.

"Always keep your eyes on the target, face protected by your arms.. never drop or lift your chin... face forward. Okay, you try... first with your right, then with your left.. chance your forward stances to lead with the side of your foot your punching with your fist... so left foot forward for a left punch.. right foot forward for a right punch initially... in higher abilities, you will switch feet to keep your body more fluid.. but this is just basic.. so keep it simple." With that Viskyia stood next to Selena, correcting her body movement, her arm position, her wrist position... asking her to attempt the punch over and over again.

"Next is the reverse punch. Thats when you start with your fist next to your body, tucked neatly above your breast... palm up, knuckles down, hand fisted. As you punch forward, twist your wrist and throw that energy outwards so that when you strike your opponent, your strike is very similar to a forward jab. However, all that twisting power will transform itself into your body's energy and it will add force to your punch. A great deal of force." Viskyia once more demonstrated and turned to start correcting Selena as she herself gave the punch a try, hoping to get her used to the awkward movement which should eventually become second nature to her.

"There... what do you think?" Viskyia asked, curious how comfortable Selena was with all this.

[Selena Ile Andra]

The next morning Selena made her way back to the Nexus Prime Community Gardens for another day of learning. She had returned "home" the evening after lessons had stopped and found herself to be quite sore, though she hadn't had such an intensive workout in such a long time, so being sore was understandable. She hoped that the longer she did these lessons and practiced what Viskyia taught her everyday, her body wouldn't get so sore.

She wore the same outfit as the day before, remembering that fighting in a dress would be quite difficult if not impossible. She tied her hair back so that it wouldn't get in her face and also it would be cooler on her neck. She wondered what Viskyia would teach her today, she ran the day before's lessons through her head so she would remember everything in case Viskyia wished to review.

She got to the clearning and smiled seeing Viskyia standing there waiting, she hoped she hadn't waited too long for her, she hated to keep people waiting. "Morning Viskyia." She was glad to see that she had made it all the way there without being out of breath. "Things are quite well this morning." She smiled. "I am no longer sore."

Selena went through the morning stretches and found that it felt good to loosen all her mucles and get them warmed up before they began the more intensive lessons. She remembered the blocks well and did them to the best of her ability, faultering a few times, though it was understandable for a new student. Once they finished warming up, Selena waited, expecting to begin a new part of training, but it seemed Viskyia wished to hear her observations and such and Selena had to think a few moments before answering her teacher's question. "Well Viskyia, at first I didn't notice anything but the soreness I felt after getting home." She wasn't kidding either, though she wore a smile. "It seemed I was more out of shape then I would have liked to admit and yesterday showed me that. Upon waking up this morning I found I moved more gracefully and fluidly, without even thinking about it really. Also when I walked here, I wasn't the least bit winded." She was honest, though she wasn't sure if that was what she wanted to hear.

Selena liked that they would be learning punches today, it was something she thought would be perfect for someone like her, since she didn't have much leg strength yet. She smiled and commited more moves to her memory.

Selena mimicked Viskyia's forward stance and watched what Viskyia did, knowing she would do exactly what she did after examining for a bit. She did as Viskyia told her, keeping her arm next to her body, letting the energy she gathered run up her shoulder and down int the curled fist she made, after letting all the enrgy gather in her fist, then stepped forward bringing her right hand forward in a jab, exactly as Viskyia did. She kept her eyes forward on an imaginary target, not dropping her chin for even as a second as she did the jab with her left fist. She did right jab and left jab a few dozen times, just getting into the flow of it.

When she finally stopped her jabs, she turned to Viskyia so she could demonstrate the reverse punch, it sounded like a great one to learn, the jab was good enough to know. She watched in her stance as Viskyia demonstrated the reverse punch. She then followed Viskyia's instructions carefully, bringing her right arm up close to her body, her palm up and the knucles down, fist clenched. She punched forward as she had before with the jab, but now she twisted her wrist and threw her energy outwards. She kept her eyes forward and imagined herself punching an imaginary opponent. She could feel the force behind her punch and could only imagine the damage it would bring to some unlucky opponent.

She practiced left and right reverse punches another couple dozen times and then her jabs some more, getting the complete feel of it. After she did that, she turned to Viskyia who had begun speaking again. Selena was sweating already, not much but enough. "I think these are great for defense, the force behind the reverse jab is amazing." She didn't know what else to say, plus she was breathing a bit hard.

[Viskyia Crow]

The next morning, Viskyia arrived early, making it her destination after her run. She was strangely looking forward to todays practice with Selena. She knew the girl would do well with punches. For all her external gentleness, Viskyia sensed Selena was a spitfire beneath the surface.

Viskyia nodded at Selena's progress through the punch work. She was pleased the girl was taking the training so seriously. "You know, if you wanted too, you could join me on my morning runs. I normally lap the city and head out to Windsteed farms to feed Mirrow her breakfast. You remember her right?" Viskyia grinned. She wasn't offering for the companionship. Viskyia was a loner by nature. But she knew the runs would strengthen Selena's body and encourage her stamina. One thing was for sure though, the girl had great upper body strength. She could find no fault at all in her punches and how easily she adapted to them.

While she waited for Selena to answer, Viskyia paused to pull something from her pack resting on the marble bench. She walked over, and showed it to Selena.. it was a spare pair of her pants. "I wanted to show you these. They are designed for zinnka artists. Each of us wears our pants made thusly." She held the crotch up and it was evident they had an additional piece of fabric there. Basically much like the military style, the pants would allow the artist to kick without worry of ripping out the crotch or feel confined by the tight fabric. "These are the kind of pants you are going to want to start wearing.. first for this and secondly for riding. I had mine made at Nexus Fine Clothing." With that she replaced her pants in the bag she had with her, and turned.

"Ready to learn kicks?" She asked, confident that Selena was. "Now there are three kicks you can learn at basic level... The Forward Kick, The Side Kick, and The Turning Kick. The first one is easy and straightforward." Viskyia took a backwards stance, then lashed out with her right foot. "The first thing you do is take a backwards stance, which frees up your front leg to kick forward. You plant your back leg, twist your hip, and kick forward, using the ball of your foot or heel to connect when you thrust your leg forward. I think the idea is to imagine the target in the air in front of you, lean you weight back, and strike forward." She did the move again, repeating it. Once Selena had given it a try, Viskyia moved on to the second kick.

"For the side kick, take a forward stance, then shift your weight on one leg, pivot your hips, and lash out with the opposite leg sideways, tilting your torso downward, your hips parallel to your opponent." Again, Viskyia demonstrated, lashing out with her leg sideways, pivoting her body into a perfect striking distance. Again she let Selena try it.

Then she demonstrated the final kick. It was an extremely powerful but slow kick thats she executed by using the momentum of turning her body and by concentrating the momentum in leg, focusing it on one target. "The key to this kick is adding in the twist in your leg and body, adding that much extra energy into the force of the kick." She coached, giving her friend a chance to try the kicks out herself.

[Selena Ile Andra]

Selena could tell that she pleased her teacher, but she didn't allow that to go to her head as she practiced her punches and blocks in a series of different combinations. They weren't very coordinated since she was a beginner and she didn't know how to do combinations very well, but she put a block here and a reseverse punch there at times, just to switch things up. She felt her body becoming more accustomed to moving in such ways, becoming more fluid as she moved each time. She was glad to have pulled her hair out of the way so she could see clearly.

Joining Viskyia on her morning runs seemed like a good idea, more to get in shape then companiship really, though running with Viskyia should be rather pleasant. She smiled when Viskyia mentioned Mirrow, she loved Viskyia's beautiful mare, plus Selena could feed Sania while they did that. "I believe that would be a good idea, I could feed Sania while you are feeding Mirrow and I would better get in shape." She hated the fact that she was so out of shape, she had always been so active as an adolescant, fighting with her brothers and working with the animals, she hated to think she may be becoming lazy in anyway.

Selena wiped her brow as she stopped punching, curious as to see what Viskyia was getting from the marble bench. She waited patiently as Viskyia pulled a pair of pants from the pack and walked back over to where Selena stood. Selena examined the pair of pants while Viskyia spoke, they seemed spacious and easy to move in, perfect for riding and training. Selena decided that when she could, she would go to a clothing sotre and get a pair of pants like the ones Vis held in her hands, would make things easier. After Vis gave her all the information she thought Selena needed, she put the pants back in the puch and turned to Selena again.

She nodded and took her stance, listening carefully to what Viskya told her. Kicks seemed pretty basic, though Selena was worried cause she didn't think she had as much lower body strength as she did upper body strength. forward kic, side kick, and turning kick, she memorized those words, took her backwards stance and watched as Viskyia demonstarted the first kick.

Once Viskyia demonstrated the kick, Selena tried for herself. She planted her back leg, twisted her hip and kicked forward. It felt odd at first being that she never did structured kicking before, but as she did it over and over a few times, she got accustomed to it and smiled, this was great. She turned to watch the next kick, which seemed interesting.

She shifted to a forward stance as Viskyia was speaking, shifting her weight onto her one leg. After Viskyia showed the kick, Selena followed. She pivoted her hips as Viskyia had and brought her opposite leg out in a sideways angle, and tilting her body downward a bit. She was such an odd kick yet she knew by the force she exerted behind the kick that it could do a good bit of damage if it landed on the intended target. As she did with every move she first learned, she did the move over and over again a few dozen times so her body could memorize the moves.

The final kick seemed to be the strongest, but also the slowest that she had learned. It also seemed bit complicated at first, she watced as Viskyia demonstrated the kick effortlessly, giving Selena more motivation to be as good as her friend someday. After Viskyia did her kick, Selena tried her hand at it or more appropriately put, her foot. She took her stance and copied Viskyia, though her move was clumsier and exaggerated, but she was able to land the kick without falling on her butt in embarrassment. Once she practiced a few times, she turned to Viskiya and waited patiently.

[Viskyia Crow]

Viskyia smiled. She didn't want to try and change her friend all in one day. What she wanted for Selena was for the woman to be safer, more prepared when bad things happened. "I'd like that...." She said when Selena thought running might be a good idea. She didn't mind the company, though in truth she ran alone a great deal because it was her best thinking time. She didn't muse about work as she ran, nor about who was out and about... she just ran for the quiet state it put her mind into.

She blinked back to the present, and corrected Selena's hip position slightly on the turning kick. "Much better." She commented, nodding her approval. Selena was a quick learner, and paid attention to what she said. She was the best student someone unaccustomed to teaching was likely to get.

"You know, the beautiful thing about Shaasskah is that you don't have to be the strongest. You can still break teeth with the gentlest of kicks made by the thinnest of legs. You just need to know how to use the force of your body correctly. Bending more at your waist... yes like that... and snapping the kick at the end will bring it home nicely as well." She added, moving to face Selena.

"Ready to spar?" She said, assuming a loose forward stance, and not giving Selena a chance to agree or voice a concern. Viskyia came at Selena full force, using both punches on her, though slowing her movements well and good enough for Selena t