"Grip", she offered, and he considered the word. He had been thinking more along the lines of grab but she had no way of knowing that and he had no way of explaining. Eventually, thinking about it, he cautiously nodded his head. For his purposes, "grip" was nearly as good a word as "grab".
Then they set to practice, and for a long while the only sounds in the little room were of the fancy metal dagger meeting the shield's metal and wood. Attacks that first started out a bit uncertain became stronger, quicker, more finessed. Quio began having to grip the shield harder, holding it steady against the onslaught, and even though she had seemed momentarily terrified of him just a few bits before --which he hoped had to do with the idea of fighting more than anything else?-- Lei'lira now worked into a steady rhythm, step-slash step-slash.
"Feet more out, like shoulders," he grunted out once, not having much other criticism to give. When it came to simple dagger work, the young woman, with a little practice just like this, would soon become just about as good at wielding the little blade as Quio was himself.
When she was ready to let up, Quio switched the shield from his left arm to his right, grimacing slightly and working the kinks out of his shoulder and hand. "Good," he told her, giving a smile...
...which then completely froze, stunned, as she mentioned his name.
"Thank you for helping me, Quio. Do you want to practice, too?"
Quio. She had said Quio. His real name.
He hadn't been thinking. He had given her the wrong name.
The freeze lasted probably only a trill or two before Quio unstuck himself and tried to regain his previous smile and ease. "U-Um, yes, practice," he said, perhaps coming across as flustered when he handed her over the shield. His heartstone was beating, beating, beating but he tried to ignore it. It was a little mistake. It was a little mistake.
It was a mistake that --as a child-- he had made, among others... and whether it was the name's fault or not, his mother had ended up killed.
Just a little mistake, he lied to himself.
Just don't think about it. Just focus on the lesson.
The Yludih took a calming breath. He reminded himself he had a sword in his hand, right now. He was safe as he could be. He was armed. He was not a child. He was with Lei'lira, whom he hoped would not want to hurt him. She seemed nice. He was okay.
"Sorry," he muttered if the woman looked like she had noticed. He rubbed at his face as if tired. "Long day." Quio worked his smile to something that felt more natural. Then nodded that she should lift the shield and prepare herself.
Then he readied the sword in his hand and got to work.
Like Lei'lira before him, his first few swings were that of a complete amateur, a mixture of inexperience and perhaps a bit of hesitation as well. The hesitation was twofold; he didn't want to frighten or overpower the young woman, but he couldn't help but let his eyes flick to her face, once and then again, again. Measuring her reaction. She had seemed frightened of him before, hadn't she? Was that because she knew-- she had figured out what he was?
Stupid. It was stupid to think like that, she couldn't possibly have guessed, but still he couldn't help but wonder. And fear. And perhaps it showed. Perhaps to Lei'lira's eyes Quio was suddenly looking a bit more pale.
He gritted his teeth and tried to focus more intently on what he was doing.
Within a few bits the sword in his hand felt a lot more natural, and a few bits after that he was striking with apparent ease, slashing forward at the shield much as Lei'lira had done with the dagger. The shield, which had been nearly perfect before they had started on it, was now scarred and pitted with hundreds of marks.
A few bits later yet and he started to feel the strain of the exercise in his shoulder. And after that he quickly began to breathe a bit harder. He tried to practice controlling his breath and swung on the exhale. Swing, retreat. Repeat. Swing, retreat. Repeat.
Eventually he gasped out, "Stop," to let the woman know he was finished and then bent at the waist, breathing hard. Hefting a sword could be hard work, and following a day of hauling ropes and adjusting sails... well, he may be crystal but his body still had its boundaries.
Still, "More practice?" he asked after he had his breath back, straightening up, just in case Lei'lira wanted another go. Or if she wanted to try something else, perhaps like a quick spar. He thought he might be up to that.
OOC: Oh my god I totally didn't realize that I accidentally gave Quio's real name until like, waaaaay too late. Oh well, makes things interesting, right? ^_^
Then they set to practice, and for a long while the only sounds in the little room were of the fancy metal dagger meeting the shield's metal and wood. Attacks that first started out a bit uncertain became stronger, quicker, more finessed. Quio began having to grip the shield harder, holding it steady against the onslaught, and even though she had seemed momentarily terrified of him just a few bits before --which he hoped had to do with the idea of fighting more than anything else?-- Lei'lira now worked into a steady rhythm, step-slash step-slash.
"Feet more out, like shoulders," he grunted out once, not having much other criticism to give. When it came to simple dagger work, the young woman, with a little practice just like this, would soon become just about as good at wielding the little blade as Quio was himself.
When she was ready to let up, Quio switched the shield from his left arm to his right, grimacing slightly and working the kinks out of his shoulder and hand. "Good," he told her, giving a smile...
...which then completely froze, stunned, as she mentioned his name.
"Thank you for helping me, Quio. Do you want to practice, too?"
Quio. She had said Quio. His real name.
He hadn't been thinking. He had given her the wrong name.
The freeze lasted probably only a trill or two before Quio unstuck himself and tried to regain his previous smile and ease. "U-Um, yes, practice," he said, perhaps coming across as flustered when he handed her over the shield. His heartstone was beating, beating, beating but he tried to ignore it. It was a little mistake. It was a little mistake.
It was a mistake that --as a child-- he had made, among others... and whether it was the name's fault or not, his mother had ended up killed.
Just a little mistake, he lied to himself.
Just don't think about it. Just focus on the lesson.
The Yludih took a calming breath. He reminded himself he had a sword in his hand, right now. He was safe as he could be. He was armed. He was not a child. He was with Lei'lira, whom he hoped would not want to hurt him. She seemed nice. He was okay.
"Sorry," he muttered if the woman looked like she had noticed. He rubbed at his face as if tired. "Long day." Quio worked his smile to something that felt more natural. Then nodded that she should lift the shield and prepare herself.
Then he readied the sword in his hand and got to work.
Like Lei'lira before him, his first few swings were that of a complete amateur, a mixture of inexperience and perhaps a bit of hesitation as well. The hesitation was twofold; he didn't want to frighten or overpower the young woman, but he couldn't help but let his eyes flick to her face, once and then again, again. Measuring her reaction. She had seemed frightened of him before, hadn't she? Was that because she knew-- she had figured out what he was?
Stupid. It was stupid to think like that, she couldn't possibly have guessed, but still he couldn't help but wonder. And fear. And perhaps it showed. Perhaps to Lei'lira's eyes Quio was suddenly looking a bit more pale.
He gritted his teeth and tried to focus more intently on what he was doing.
Within a few bits the sword in his hand felt a lot more natural, and a few bits after that he was striking with apparent ease, slashing forward at the shield much as Lei'lira had done with the dagger. The shield, which had been nearly perfect before they had started on it, was now scarred and pitted with hundreds of marks.
A few bits later yet and he started to feel the strain of the exercise in his shoulder. And after that he quickly began to breathe a bit harder. He tried to practice controlling his breath and swung on the exhale. Swing, retreat. Repeat. Swing, retreat. Repeat.
Eventually he gasped out, "Stop," to let the woman know he was finished and then bent at the waist, breathing hard. Hefting a sword could be hard work, and following a day of hauling ropes and adjusting sails... well, he may be crystal but his body still had its boundaries.
Still, "More practice?" he asked after he had his breath back, straightening up, just in case Lei'lira wanted another go. Or if she wanted to try something else, perhaps like a quick spar. He thought he might be up to that.
OOC: Oh my god I totally didn't realize that I accidentally gave Quio's real name until like, waaaaay too late. Oh well, makes things interesting, right? ^_^
"Speaking in Rakahi"
"Speaking in Common"
"Speaking in Ulehi"
"Speaking in Common"
"Speaking in Ulehi"
