Kyuden Shika

Like he could go a day without hitting the dojo.

For one thing, it was about the only even remotely familiar touchstone in Kyuden Shika.

So Raizo went through his usual naginata forms, and tried to banish the various thoughts racing through his mind.

Yeah, good luck with that.

Nesshin bows himself in to the dojo where he has spent so much time over so many years, although less in the past few days than ought to have been the case. He limbers up while Raizo works through forms, and, when the Phoenix is at a decent point, nods to him, asking "How's your head?"

He also goes to get a practice spear from the racks--and a few javelins. After yesterday, he is reminded that he must practice things diligently.

Raizo nodded back.

"Well. Better than anyone who had to listen to my voice as I butchered the very concept of music. I would apologize, but your clan brought that on themselves..."

"You're not the worst that's been heard," Nesshin replies, cracking a grin. "Last one I worked had one poor youth whose voice cracked on every other syllable--and into a different key each time. Another, well, there's a reason she went home with a deaf man."

He shakes his head.

"But I have to wonder what'll be said of me--of us, really--in years to come, when other miai happen and other young Deer find themselves swept up in it."

"I imagine we'd tax the sanity of the most absurd playwright. Maybe we can live on as cautionary tales..."

"That'd be a different theme that we've seen on stage here this go 'round," Nesshin notes.

"But I don't think either of us is here to compare theater notes," he adds. "Care for a spar?"

"Sure! Be nice to practice against a weapon with comparable reach... I've mostly seen kenjutsu and jiujutsu practice here..."

He gave the practice naginata an experimental spin.

"Fair warning though, I know more about marching than fighting..."

"Gotta get where you need to go," Nesshin says, and he sets the javelins aside for now.

Giving a short bow, he readies the practice tsunoyari, adopting a standard, centered stance.

~~~~~
Before I start rolling, do we want to dice it out, or do we want to make it narrative? And, if the former, best of three passes or what?

Raizo brought up the naginata, his own stance relaxed. Fluid.

[I'm all for narrative- I don't see either of our boys picking up strife from this, it's the very definition of a friendly spar. Raizo has a whopping 1 rank in Melee, his only kata either let him intercept attacks meant for others or ignore armor bonuses, so...]

As Raizo settles into his stance, Nesshin waits for the span of a heartbeat and explodes into motion, spinning like a cyclone and bringing the butt end of his spear towards the backs of the Phoenix's knees. Tripping attacks are a specialty of the cervid spearfighitng style, and they'd served Nesshin well enough the day before.

~~~~~
Narrative it is!