Stand

[Vivian Shiryu]

Timestamp:30th of Zi'da, 717
Location:Rharne

Vivian yawned as she stepped out of her room, Pakse at her heels. It was good to have a day off, especially so soon after her cousin had arrived, but she had something special planned for the day. There was a slight problem in that she only had the one rapier, but she was fairly wealthy, well beyond her needs, and she figured she could take of that fairly easily. Wandering into her kitchen, Vivian started digging through her kitchen and pulled what she would need to make some simple scrambled eggs.

Fortunately, eggs were fairly simple to prepare, and she was able to get started cooking fairly easily. A bit of salt and pepper for seasoning, and she was able to get breakfast going pretty well. Her daughters were still in a training thing, so she only had to cook for herself and her guests. It didn't take long to get the eggs started, and the house soon filled with the smells of cooking eggs. She took a break once the eggs were cooking to feed Pakse, who had been looking pitifully at her while she prepped, then returned her focus to the eggs.

As breakfast got closer to being finished, she went and knocked on the doors to her guests room. "Breakfast is ready." she said, to both. Since both her guests were farmers, they were likely as used to early mornings as she was, as both farmers and soldiers tended to start their work day about the same time, either at sunrise or slightly before. Once her guests made it to the kitchen, she gave them their plates, accompanied by milk, which was readily available.

[Lei'lira]

The smell of eggs cooking greeted Lei'lira as she woke. She dressed quickly, thinking to offer her help in preparing the meal, but just as she was finished dressing, and seeing to her children, there was a knock followed by a call to breakfast. Teia greeted her in the hall, and Lei'lira realized that Vivian must have called her as well. Her friend took the twins, leaving her to carry Kaien as they headed towards the kitchen.

When they arrived, Teia set Tiran and Taerin on the floor. The twins immediately began crawling towards Pakse as quickly as they could manage. As young as they were, it was obvious that they had inherited their mother's love of animals. If Paske allowed it, they would clutch onto her fur gently, and chortle happily. Both Lei'lira and Teia kept an eye on the twins as they took their plates, and thanked Vivian for making breakfast for them. Lei'lira carefully balanced Kaien in one arm as she ate with the unoccupied hand. The baby fussed a bit, but settled fairly quickly when Lei'lira sang softly to him for a few bits.

"What are your plans for the trial?" Lei'lira asked curiously.

It seemed likely to her that Vivian would need to work. If that were the case, she would spend the time looking around to see if there was anything she could do to help out around the house. She wanted to pay her cousin back in some way for allowing them to stay there. It couldn't be easy for Vivian to suddenly find herself invaded by several small children and a complete stranger as well as her cousin, who had problems keeping track of reality at times if something frightened her...which was all too easy to do these trials. If there was something that she could do to make their visit less intrusive, then she wanted to do it. And she knew that Teia felt the same way.

[Vivian Shiryu]

As it turned out, Pakse was quite fond of children and she happily let the children pet her and crawl on her with no more than a sigh or reaching out to move one of them with her big head when they were doing something uncomfortable. Occasionally, she'd lick one of the twins, but she refrained from giving them a full tongue bath. As for Vivian, she nodded and smiled at Lira and Teia's thanks, then joined them at the table.

At Lira's question, Vivian swallowed, then smiled slightly. "I've got the day off. So after breakfast, I'm taking you out shopping." she said, pointing at her cousin. "I think I know way to help with this...well, helpless feeling you've been having trouble with. Honestly, I should have taken care of it before I left Rynmere, but I was, unfortunately, short on time." she said, grimacing slightly. Having been exiled from Rynmere still stung, but she had managed to accept that now. In truth, even if Cassander was overthrown, she wouldn't go back. There was nothing left for her in Rynmere.

"See, I think it's time I taught you how to fight, Lira." she said, grinning slightly. "Being able to defend yourself in some way will, I think, bring back some of that confidence you've been missing." she said, patting her cousin on the shoulder. There was a thumping noise from the floor and Vivian paused to check on the twins and her dog. As it turned out, Pakse had rolled onto her back with a happy dog grin and the thumping noise was her tail wagging against the floor. "I think your kids are going to be fond of large dogs." she said, grinning.

[Lei'lira]

The twins giggled wildly whenever Pakse licked them. Tiran responded by licking her back, and grimacing when he ended up with fur in his mouth. Taerin on the other hand, would hug the large dog, wrapping her tiny arms around the much larger creature as far as she could. Lei'lira smiled at their antics as she finished her meal.

"Shopping?" she asked softly, her tone cautious when Vivian told her what her plans were.

Lei'lira was nervous about facing the crowds that would be out in the city. But as she listened to her cousin's idea, she found herself nodding slowly. Vivian had a point. If she knew how to defend herself, she might not feel so helpless all the time. And that in turn might ease her fears about...well...everything. So rather than offer a protest the way she might have an arc ago, Lei'lira simply nodded, and thanked her cousin for the offer.

"I think you might be right. What would you recommend?" she asked.

Lei'lira had a hard time picturing herself wielding any kind of weapon. Despite that, she longed for the confidence she once had. Not strength as such, though she was coming to realize that that was necessary, too. But she longed to regain the confidence she once had in herself and her abilities that allowed her to get through each trial without the constant threat of a panic attack. If learning how to fight would help her with that, then she would happily learn anything her cousin was willing to teach her.

When Vivian mentioned that the twins seemed to love large dogs, she smiled softly.

"I think you're right about that, too. And it wouldn't hurt to have a large guard dog, either. Shinta and Maia are great farm dogs, but they aren't really much use when it comes to protection."

[Vivian Shiryu]

When Lei'lira agreed, Vivian nodded and thought for a moment about the kind of weapon Lei'lira might be best with. Then she paused a moment as something occurred to her. "Do you still have Drayas's katana? All things considered, for you to master his weapon might actually help even more than than learning any other. Drayas was someone you were afraid of, but he never learned to use that sword properly. If you learned to use it, you would have surpassed him in pretty much every way." she said, her tone serious.

When Lira commented on the guard dog, she nodded at Pakse. "Rottweilers like my Pakse are good dogs. They aren't violent to friends and family, they're good with kids, and they are pretty effective at deterring the unwelcome." she said, her tone cheerful. Pakse, for her part, was still happily playing with the kids. She'd taken to sticking her cold, wet nose against the backs of necks, the small of backs, and in small tummies. The whole time, her tail was thumping happily against the floor.

As the trio ate, Vivian pondered for a bit, then nodded to herself. "If you want, I can teach you some archery as well. It's not particularly useful close up, but it's helpful. I'll need to feed my snake before we head to shop or train, though." she said. The twins had their animals with them at school, but she still had Cornelius, Zvezdana's snake. She had moved the orphaned reptile from Zvez's room into her own room. Sadly, she had noticed that Cornelius had become less active since Zvezdana had died, but she supposed that she and the snake had that in common. Hopefully, both would come out of it sooner or later.

[Lei'lira]

Lei'lira flinched at the mention of Drayas's name. Even dead, the man's memory was more than enough to cause her pain. But her cousin's words made her think. Drayas had hurt her very deeply. She had been vulnerable to begin with when she was forced to marry him, and rather than work with her to overcome her trauma over the attack that had led to her marrying him in the first place, he had forced himself on her, conquering her in every way possible. In many ways, he had broken her. He had stolen a vital piece of her. One that even seasons after his death was still missing. Could she reclaim that missing piece of her if she mastered the blade that Drayas had failed to master, and in doing so conquer him? Would doing so break the hold he had on her even now?

It was worth a try. The problem was...she didn't have the katana with her. It hadn't even occurred to her to take the sword with her when she fled her farm back in Rynmere. She was about to admit as much when Teia spoke before she could.

"I brought it with us." she said simply.

Lei'lira turned to stare at her in surprise. How had her friend even known about the sword? They had only stayed at the farm for one night before it became obvious that Lei'lira couldn't stay there.

"Eri found it while you were...gone. She gave it to me the morning we left because she didn't like the idea of us traveling around unarmed. I'm glad that I didn't know that it used to be Drayas's sword, though. If I had, I might not have brought it with us."

The reason why she wouldn't have brought it was left unspoken, but Lei'lira realized it all the same; Teia would have been afraid of hurting her if she had seen the sword that belonged to the man that had broken her even before the bandits had destroyed what little had been left. Lei'lira felt guilty that Teia had to worry about her so much when she had issues of her own to deal with, but she knew that Teia had been right not to mention it to her. A chance sight of Drayas's sword before Vivian had given her the idea of conquering him through mastering his sword would have hurt her deeply.

"Neither of us know how to use it, though..."

"True. But sometimes just seeing a weapon is enough to make someone decide against attacking you. They think that if you're wearing a weapon, then you must know how to use it. Fortunately, no one on the ship looked suspicious, and I was able to keep the katana wrapped up, and safely hidden away."

Lei'lira turned back to Vivian.

"I think you might be right." she told her cousin, her eyes bright with a new found determination.

The talk turned briefly to dogs, and Lei'lira made a mental note about what Vivian told her about rottweilers. They sounded like exactly what she needed in a guard dog since she had several children to think of.

"I think I will want a rottweiler or two when I buy my farm here. Maybe you can help me pick them out once I'm here for good?"

She watched Paske play with the twins for a few bits, smiling when they squealed in delight any time the large dog would touch them with her wet nose. Vivian offered to teach her some archery as well, and Lei'lira accepted, thanking her sincerely.

"It seems to me that it is best to keep an enemy at a distance if you can, and archery would help with that. Then if they get too close, you still have the sword to defend yourself with?"

[Vivian Shiryu]

Vivian sat quietly as Lei'lira and Teia talked about Drayas's katana, and when the topic came up about wearing a sword fooling people into thinking you knew how to use it, Vivian laughed slightly. "Aye, sometimes has that effect on the one wearing the sword. Gives them a right big head, it does." she said, some slight amusement in her voice. Drayas hadn't known how to use that katana at all, but from his ego, he had clearly thought himself an expert with it. As the outcome of that fight would show, however, he really hadn't been.

When Lei'lira turned to her, Vivian looked up and nodded. "Aye, I can help you pick out some good Rottie's when you've moved her permanent-like. As for how your fighting style works, that'll be up to you. I use armor and shield, so I fight up close more than far away." she said, before she stood up. "Teia, could you get Lira's katana? I need to go feed my snake, then I'll be ready to go." she said, heading into her room. Cornelius still lived in the tank Zvezdana had gotten for him, and she feed the snake his usual breakfast, petting his pointed head briefly before she did so. There was a listlessness to the reptile she didn't like, but every good pet mourned its owner, and she knew Cornelius was no different. "I miss her too, mate." she said, before she grabbed her two bows and her rapier, heading back into the sitting room. When Lei'lira was ready to go, Vivian nodded and smiled at her cousin.

"We'll be going down to the Earth Quarter, they've a public training ground there. Unfortunately, I can't take you into the Knights training grounds. Regulations and such, you know?" she said, leading her cousin out of the house and towards the elevator to the Earth Quarter. The ride as as smooth and reliable as ever, though it was more crowded this time, so Vivian stood next to her cousin until they reached the Earth Quarter. From there, she led her to the Thunder Den. "So then, do you want to start with archery or swordsmanship?" she asked, her tone serious.

[Lei'lira]

When Vivian mentioned people getting a big head over carrying a sword, Teia chuckled.

"That, too. But I was thinking more of the fact that simply carrying a sword might make people second guess whether it is a good idea to attack you or not. Even if you don't know how to use it...the would be attacker doesn't know that, and has to assume that you can defend yourself. It won't stop someone who is determined to attack you, but it might stop some people. But it isn't something that we can count on."

Lei'lira nodded at what Teia didn't say as much as what she had said. It would be far better to learn how to defend herself and her family than to carry a useless sword around and hope that its presence alone was enough to scare any potential attackers off. The topic of conversation turned to fighting styles, and that gave Lei'lira more to think about. Would Vivian's choice of sword and shield work for her, too? Lei'lira did like the thought of some kind of protection.

"What would you recommend for me?" she asked at last.

Vivian was the warrior, after all. Maybe she would know what would be the best style for her to adopt. When Vivian asked Teia to go get Lei'lira's katana, she was quick to obey the request. While Vivian was feeding her snake, Lei'lira and Teia had a quick conversation. Both of them wanted to learn what Vivian could teach them, but they had the children to consider. It seemed likely that they would be going somewhere for their lesson, and a training ground or arena was no place for young children. With that in mind, it was decided that Teia would remain with the kids while Lei'lira had her lesson. It was possible that Vivian might be willing to give Teia a lesson later, and if not, Lei'lira would show Teia what she had learned.

"It wouldn't be fair to interrupt the twins' fun with Paske for this, and I don't think the training ground would be a good place for them." Lei'lira explained when Vivian returned, and told them what the plan was.

Her second ride in an elevator was as fascinating as the first, and Lei'lira thought she could really get to enjoy them. Once they arrived in the training ground, Vivian asked her which weapon she wanted to start with. Lei'lira gave the question some serious consideration. She truly wanted to learn how to use the katana. And she liked the idea of mastering the weapon, and in doing so, taking back the part of herself that Drayas had stolen from her. But none of that made her feel any less intimidated by the katana she was carrying. Perhaps working her way up to it by having a lesson in archery first would help.

"I think I would like to try learning archery first." she said softly.

[Vivian Shiryu]

When Lei'lira asked what style would be best for her, Vivian shrugged slightly. "Start with using the sword by itself. We'll see how that fits, and what your body naturally gravitates towards doing." she said, before she went to go feed Cornelius. When she returned, she nodded at Lira's explanation of the twins, then led her cousin down to the Thunder Den and asked what Lei'Lira wanted to start with.

Lei'Lira's response was expected, and Vivian nodded at it. "Very well. We'll start with the Katana, then." she said, before smiling slightly at her cousin's reaction to that. "A trick I learned from my own teacher. Always start what the student wants to learn the least, it's the one that makes them the most nervous and the one they need to conquer first." she said, her tone starting to resemble that of an instructor. Leading Lei'Lira over to an open spot of the training yard, Vivian set the bows aside, then gestured at Drayas's katana.

"All right, draw it, but don't start swinging it until I tell you. You're going to be starting the basics that the sword's previous wielder so very clearly missed. Such as how to stand properly with the bloody thing. Then we'll move on to basic strikes." she said. Truth be told, she was actually insulting Drayas's skill now, he had known the most basic of basics. But the weaker she made him in Lira's mind, the less of a continued hold he would have over her cousin's mind. For now though, she waited until her cousin had complied with this first instruction.

[Lei'lira]

Lei'lira started when Vivian told her that they would start with the katana. Her eyes widened in surprise, and she considered protesting, or at least asking why Vivian wanted to start with that weapon...and why she had asked her in the first place if she wasn't going to get a say in it. But before she could, her cousin explained the trick her own teacher had played on her, and the reasoning behind it. It did make a lot of sense to her, so even though she was very anxious about working with the katana, she nodded ruefully. She was also very determined, and that determination gave her the strength to ignore her anxiety.

"Your teacher might be right about that." she said simply.

When Vivian gestured at Drayas's katana, Lei'lira picked it up obediently. It was heavier than she had expected it to be. And although she didn't drop it, it was a near thing. After a few trills, she had the sheath strapped loosely around her waist as she'd seen members of the Iron Hand wear their swords. It felt awkward hanging by her side like that, and she had no idea how she would manage to walk without tripping and getting tangled up with it, but it was there. She tried tightening the strap, and that seemed to help a little.

Vivian told her to draw the katana, and it took her a few trills to realize that her cousin meant for her to pull...or draw the blade out of its sheath. Lei'lira tried to do what she was told, but the blade caught on the sheath when she failed to pull it out in one single movement. When it got stuck, she wasn't expecting the resistance, and she did drop the blade this time. But she quickly scrambled to pick it up, and slide it back into its sheathe. Or fumble her way into doing so, at least.

Without waiting to be told, she tried to draw the sword again. And this time, she had better luck with the attempt. She knew she probably was far worse than trainee her cousin might have seen, but she had managed the task. And at the very least, she hadn't dropped the katana this time. Lei'lira was more than happy to hear that she would be learning the basics such as how to stand with the weapon before she learned any real moves with it. Because simply pulling...no, drawing the blade out of its sheath was hard enough. So was trying to balance with the weight of the sword at her side. Learning how to master things like that would no doubt make learning the rest easier. Or possible. If she couldn't move with the blade well, then how could she fight with it, after all?