[D2: EA: Open] Too take up Bear Arms

[Shiba Raizo]

Okay Raizo, don't fuck this up.

"Okay, Aimi-san, the basics are all right..."

Raizo hit his own stance, which lacked anything like polish, but had a certain relaxed familiarity to it.

"... but you need to leave yourself room to relax into your movements, weird as that might sound. Your kenjutsu needs to be free to flow- even if you're not adopting a Water stance, the fluidity to make adjustments is key..."

[Kaikoga Koi]

Koi closed her eyes for a moment, silencing her breathing to bring calm. As she heard the Shiba begin to instruct Aimi, quietly Koi reached into sleeve and produced a small deck of tarot cards covered in symbols and markings placing it in front of her lap.

She draw a circle around it with her finger, infusing her intention into the cards looking at Aimi smiled.

"Circle of Power I draw you with my voice, around and around I infuse my voice to you Void. Past, Present and in the future. Our echoes reflect in our shadows, overlapping, infusing us with a connection that fuels the circle. Round and round I draw you. Reveal to me your sight." She whispered softly, not wanting to distract the two as the began to train.

D2: EA. Scrying into the future of Aimi. Divination Innovation. Void/Theology. Moth School ability. | TN: 2 | Success: 2 / Opportunity: 0 / Strife: 2

White Tiger: The next time the target (Aimi) uses a skill in the Martial skill group, they add a kept die showing strife and opportunity.

Koi held her hand delicately over the cards, infusing good intentions and hope. Drawing her fingers onto the card she pulled it back to glance at it.

Ahh Koi mused, and slipped the cards back into her sleeve mysteriously.You got this girl...

[Aimi]

Okay Raizo, don't fuck this up.

"Okay, Aimi-san, the basics are all right..."

Raizo hit his own stance, which lacked anything like polish, but had a certain relaxed familiarity to it.

"... but you need to leave yourself room to relax into your movements, weird as that might sound. Your kenjutsu needs to be free to flow- even if you're not adopting a Water stance, the fluidity to make adjustments is key..."

For all her banter and innuendo, Aimi truly is an attentive student, focusing on everything that Raizo says and doing her best to follow along. In this her background and eye for detail helps a great deal, as she is well used to picking up new skills and listening to what people mean to say in addition to what they do.

"I only have a dao, not a katana," she says at one point, while moving through a simple kata that Raizo just showed her, "Does that change the techniques any, Shiba-san?"

[Shiba Raizo]

"I only have a dao, not a katana," she says at one point, while moving through a simple kata that Raizo just showed her, "Does that change the techniques any, Shiba-san?"

"Actually... yeah, a bit. Your reach is lessened, and it doesn't take an edge as well- but it's a lot more durable, and can take a lot more, er... abuse. And hard chopping."

He set his bokken aside and went looking for an approximation of a dao.

"And most people I know who use them wield them in pairs, which is a whole different technique- you only have the one?"

[Kaikoga Koi]

Koi watched happily, a sly smile on her face and when Shiba walked away she mouthed to Aimi playfully.

Is he more Earth or Fire? She maimed to Aimi, quickly with a look that definitely was hinting that she meant a whole different kind of dojo.

[Aimi]

Hush, Vixen, Aimi mouthed back at her friend while Raizo's back was turned. Really, as though the question even needed to be asked. Raizo-san was clearly of an earthy temperament, being given to morose introspection and dry commentary over the more vigorous bursts of enthusiasm that Fire would induce.

"Only one, yes," she says as Raizo turns back towards her, an innocent expression on her face swiftly replaced by a brief grimace, "I should have a true blade, but... well, convincing a smith to make you a daisho is a tall order, when one holds no fealty to a lord or station with which to command it. In most cases, it is a crime."

[Kaikoga Koi]

Koi beamed an impish smile upon her face before the Phoenix turned around and went. Ahh, Earth. She mouthed, and winked chortling to herself.

All stone and no play, no wonder her friend was as frustrated as she was. Koi sighed. I really need to deal with that.

She spent the next few minutes imagining a playful scene with a Tortoise, a Deer and a little wandering Ronin. Sometimes Koi liked to treat herself with her playful thoughts.

"Go Aimi-chan!" She called out playfully. "Show him your passion...in your technique.." She added after a second beaming a smile on her face.

[Shiba Raizo]

"Only one, yes," she says as Raizo turns back towards her, an innocent expression on her face swiftly replaced by a brief grimace, "I should have a true blade, but... well, convincing a smith to make you a daisho is a tall order, when one holds no fealty to a lord or station with which to command it. In most cases, it is a crime."

"Well. We'll have to work on that, won't we?"

Did I just propose? Well. I made a proposition, it's not the same thing...

"I mean, most likely you'll be leaving Kyuden Shika with fealty of some kind or another... Well. Anyway. Yes. Sword stuff."

He used the practice dao to demonstrate a few key differences.

"You can still do a draw-cut if you get close enough, but it's a hell of a chopping blade."

He subconsciously moved into Striking as Water as he demonstrated with the shorter weapon.

"Hopefully, you never need to use any of this, but... until we can get you a katana, best you practice with what you've got."

He was, true to form, utterly oblivious to the exchanges between the Moth and the ronin.

"Go Aimi-chan!" She called out playfully. "Show him your passion...in your technique.." She added after a second beaming a smile on her face.

Don't threaten ME with a good time.

[Aimi]

"Hmm... you know, you're really quite good at this, Shiba-san," Aimi says thoughtfully, moving through a few of the motions he showed her. The movements aren't quite as fluid and consistent as Raizo makes them look, but she's clearly getting there. All that lies ahead is practice. Many, many hours worth of practice.

She turns to look at Koi for a moment, then rolls her eyes. "Passion, she says, while sitting there like a princess watching others work for her amusement," she says with a dramatic sigh, "Shall we indulge her, Shiba-san? Or would you rather move our lesson somewhere a little less public?"

Not that she has any ulterior motives there, of course. Perish the thought.

[Kaikoga Koi]

Koi hooted with a small laugh, and sighed. "Okay, Aimi-chan if you are going be like that - I shall indulge you in this passionate display of fine swordsmanship that I have little to not experience with! I am most definitely not a princess."

She looked at Aimi with a smile clearly playfully said. I'm a Queen, bitch.

She fetched herself a bokken as that was her preferred style of combat, and entered a water stance or at least what passed one - glancing at Aimi for guidance but not quite getting it. "Eh, i-is this right?" She asked, all her confidence gone because of course she was getting a nice healthy dose of humble pie.