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Post by ivory on Jun 7, 2009 17:16:35 GMT -5
Marina bit her lower lip to keep from smiling. He didn't see her!
She kept extra still and waited amongst the weeds, wondering if she should creep around the bend and circle back behind him. She flicked her eyes to it and exhaled softly as she saw there was no way she'd be able to do so without him seeing.
She resisted the urge to shrug in case she made ripples on the water and gave her position away, instead opting for another small exhale. She'd wait.
And so she waited...
For thirty seconds tops before she had to fight extremely hard to keep herself under. She bit her lower lip as a thought came to her and acting on it, she searched the bottom for a good sized rock. She resisted the urge to leap out of the water when someone clearly alived moved across her foot. It was probably just a fish she told herself, or a toad.
She picked up a rock the size of her palm and brought it slowly to the surface. She moved her arm back, but kept it in the cover of the weeds before launching it toward him. She started to move as it plopped in the water in front of him, but froze as she saw that it hadn't been a fish or a toad, but a snake. She wasn't afraid of them, but respected them dearly after seeing one of Jordain's 'friends' get bitten by one. He hadn't died, but he'd been bedridden for weeks. She just hoped her mentor figured out a way to get her out of this situation. And fast. It looked quite mad and she doubted that it'd think before striking.
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 7, 2009 18:32:43 GMT -5
Monkuta saw the rock hit the water and the ripples that it made. He frowned and looked at her.
"Well, you didn't last long at all. I mean, if I had been an angry man with a sword, would you have thrown a rock at me?"
He stood up, shaking the water from his hands and hair. Either she was impatient or she didn't get how this worked. He would have to fix that.
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Post by ivory on Jun 7, 2009 19:47:26 GMT -5
She gave him her fiercest glare before darting her eyes back to the snake. She dind't want to say anything in case the reptile saw it as a chance to strike. He'd tracked her all through this stupid forest, why couldn't he see this little detail? Unless he was making her pay for being a jerk. In that case, she'd sit her all day. And when it came to stubbornness, she could outwait the sun.
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 7, 2009 20:33:36 GMT -5
Monkuta rolled his eyes, noticing the reason for her anger.
"It's not poisonous. Get out of the water."
He smirked, taking a few steps away from the pond.
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Post by ivory on Jun 7, 2009 20:43:01 GMT -5
She glared at him, but trusting him she did as he asked. It lunged and she twisted sideways, barly escaping its gaping mouth and extended fangs. She scrambled up the bank and lunged for a stick before swinging back to face the water. She swung at it, missed completely, and sighed in relief as it hissed and slithered away.
Her breath was coming in pants, but a smile touched her face. She'd always loved the rush of adrenaline, loved the feeling of coming out of danger alive. Her eyes shone truly for the first time in years as she looked back up at her mentor. "Now what?"
Her excitement was barely concealed.
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 7, 2009 21:07:44 GMT -5
Monkuta stroked his scruffy beard, humming as he did so. "Well," he began. "This was pretty much my plan for the day, but it suddenly occurs to me that you probably don't have much close combat training. We're gonna do that. Come with me. We're heading back to the cabin."
He didn't wait for her, turning and walking at a calm pace back towards the cabin and clearing. He would start her out on sticks. He had to know where she was starting out before trusting this girl with a saxe-knife.
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Post by ivory on Jun 8, 2009 11:14:54 GMT -5
"I beat the guys well enough," she mumbled. Most of the time anyways, but she didn't bother to add that.
She followed him back to the cabin in silence, searching the path for the signs of her passing he'd told her about. She wanted to see if she could spot them so maybe next time she could cover them back up...or not make them at all.
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 8, 2009 14:02:48 GMT -5
They were about half way to the cabin when Monkuta spoke, looking over his shoulder at her.
"I want you to think about something for the next time we do this," he began. "Both times, you chose to make distance between us before trying to cover your tracks. This made it very easy for me to follow the tracks and predict where you went from there. If you had been slow and quiet, you could have been hiding much closer and it would have been harder for me to find you. Hell, if you were quiet enough, you could manage just staying right behind me every time I turned."
He turned his head forward. The cabin was visible through the brush and Jaeado had already seen them coming. No doubt he would want a snack upon their arrival.
"Just remember, the object is to be unseen, not far away."
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Post by ivory on Jun 8, 2009 14:31:03 GMT -5
Let's see you try that when the odds are five to one, she thought acidily. You'd probably just want to get away too, especially if they're armed.
She didn't say anything though, knowing that the he wouldn't understand. She was supposed to be a 'Lady' after all, and Ladies didn't go around picking fights with boys. And they especially didn't NOT tell on them when they decided to use force to 'teach her' to stay on 'her side of the totem pole'.
She kicked a rock absent mindingly, wincing just slightly when it didn't bulge. She'd learned to ignore pain and she did so now, proud that there wasn't even a limp in her step. She wasn't stupid, so she'd check once she had time to make sure it wasn't too badly bruised, but that probably wouldn't be until nightfall if today was going to be a repeat of yesterday. Practice until even the sun dropped in exhaustion.
She half didn't want it to end though. He'd said they'd practice fighting and she was good, even if it was two-on-one, they were roughly around her age, and neither had sticks to beat her with. She managed to bloody Jordain's nose after all and he was a good two years older than she.
She was faster than most of them, and her sheer stubbornness had her retreating only when the opponents jumped up to three. It didn't matter that she wasn't as strong, she'd won more than lost.
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 8, 2009 14:52:32 GMT -5
Reaching the clearing, Monkuta quickly ran into the cabin, retrieving the two short sticks he'd whittled down for just this occasion. He had longer ones, but as long as they were training, they might as well simulate knives. He returned outside, tossing one to Marina and then proceeding to the middle of the clearing.
"Whenever you're ready," he said, raising an expectant brow at her.
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Post by ivory on Jun 8, 2009 15:07:59 GMT -5
Marina caught the wood in reflex with both hands but she didn't move to attack. She hated fighting with sticks. She shook off the memories, forcing herself to turn sideways to him, spread her legs shoulderwidth apart, and bend her knees. She'd be able to move quicker this way and make herself a smaller target besides.
Figuring that she was as ready as she'd ever get, she swung for his stomach - a place he could neither jump high enough over or duck fast enough under. She'd usually been able to win the one/two-on-one if she attacked her first and winded them. But it was a rare occassion that she used a stick, having learned that if she did, they usually did too to 'even the odds'. Of course that also meant, she was more than one person short on her 'team'.
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 8, 2009 15:12:38 GMT -5
Monkuta swatted her away with his own stick, barely moving any of his body past his shoulder.
He waited for her to ground herself and then said, "Try something else."
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Post by ivory on Jun 8, 2009 15:24:20 GMT -5
She glared at him, but took his words to heart and whipped it around her in an arc to crash heavily into his side. She planned to pull short at the last second though and aim for his shouder. And if that still didn't work, she'd kick him in the shins before dropping the stupid stick and using just her body which included nails, teeth, hands, feet, elbows, knees, ect.
She'd taken a high liking to that kind of 'fair play' and though she'd get hit more times that way, she usually came out the victor. Again, if it was one/two-on-one.
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 8, 2009 15:27:11 GMT -5
Monkuta shot her an amused smirk, taking a single step back. He watched as she continued the arc, completely missing him. He shrugged, looking up innocently.
"Try something else. Don't think sword. Think knife."
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Post by ivory on Jun 8, 2009 15:42:13 GMT -5
A slow grin curled around her lips as she took a step back after aiming for his shoulder and suddenly threw it at him. She came in a second after, ramming him in the stomach before turning to elbows, knees, and teeth. She'd never been in a fair fight before so hardly ever fought fair herself.
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