The Way of the Sword (Yaen/Valcrist)

[Valcrist]

((The morning after "A United Lycia"))


The breeze felt nice, but Valcrist felt tired. It was a mistake to stay up so late talking to Chelsea the night before, only to wind up even more confused by the end of it. Though... he was looking forward to this. He was scared out of his wits of course, but he was still looking forward to it.

Who was this Yaen? How was he? How could he help? Will this training be hard? Grueling? Or not even worthy to be called training?

What ever it was, he got the impression to be impressed by the Sacaen man. He stood by the caravan that tagged along their army like a bloodsucking leech, looking for the first moment to strike a profit. Their business sense was impeccable, if not a bit underhanded. He made small conversation with the head of it, recognizing him from the few times he stopped by his village. He always liked his uncle's glass work.

The reason he waited here was for Yaen, he got a note to say to wait for him here, and that's what he did. He fancied the thought of just calling it off and ignoring him, but that was mostly the workings of a half-awake mind. No, he pushed that thought away and forced his self to wait. Though... the breeze did feel nice.

[Yaen]

Yaen munched on an apple, savoring the sweet juices as they slid down his throat. He had another in his free hand, left untouched. It was a beautiful morning, just as last night had been a beautiful night. It made him ache for the open plains of Sacae.

Just as he reached the caravan, Yaen swallowed the last bit of his apple. He stopped a merchant, and after a short conversation, he was pointed in the direction of the wagonmaster. Giving the man a nod and a "Thank you." Yaen made his way towards the head of the caravan.

"Catch." He called, tossing the apple towards Valcrist. "You stayed up late last night." It wasn't a question. "A swordsman must take rest wherever he can find it, for he never knows when he will sleep next." he lectured, before passing by to speak to the wagon master. After a short conversation, he then walked around the back of the wagon, and pulled out a wooden beam, letting it drop to the ground with a loud thud. Taking a rope, he began to tie it up. "We're taking this with us." He said, tossing one end of the rope in Valcrist's location. As soon as his new apprentice took hold, they would begin dragging the beam away.

[Valcrist]

Valcrist had his eyes shut, feeling the breeze on his face and relaxing in the morning sun, waiting for his new teacher. He heard someone come up and talk to the caravan head, and he opened up the corner of his eye to see the Sacaen man he was waiting for. Now would be a good time to wake up...

He caught the apple tossed at him with minimal fumbling, though he was afraid he was going to drop it or something stupid like that which would make him look even more dumb. Thankfully, he kept a firm grip on it. "Erm..." He didn't know what to say about his sleeping habits. "Sorry." He apologized with a sheepish smile. "I'll keep that in mind."

He looked down at the apple, mostly untouched and clean. Was he... supposed to eat it? Or was it some super secret test of character? Next came the rope, and Yaen told him he was supposed help him drag the giant beam away. He put the apple in the pouch on his waist and gripped the rope with both hand. "Erm... why?" He asked.

[Yaen]

"You'll see." Yaen replied. "Now...One...two...three...Pull!" And with a little grunt, he yanked on the rope, and began dragging the beam away. "We'll be back by sundown!" he called back to the wagonmaster, who just shrugged and waved them goodbye before going off to do whatever it was 'sensible folk' did.

"Did you eat breakfast this morning?" he asked. He didn't check. It's not like he was the boys babysitter. He did bring him an apple, though. "You never do anything on an empty stomache, no matter how insignificant your plans for the day may seem. It makes the body weak, the mind slow, and the man miserable." he further explained, just in case the boy didn't get it.

[Valcrist]

He grunted and yanked on the rope as well. The wood was... it was really heavy. He was able to lift it, he's lifted heavier things in the forge, still it was surprising. "Erm... Y-Yes. Yaen. I ate this morning." He made sure to, not knowing what he was going in to. It was for the best, since he didn't even know if he'd eat again today, and he needed his strength for... erm... whatever was happening right now.

He dragged the wood by the rope behind him as he followed Yaen. Not knowing where he was going, or why they were lugging this log...

[Yaen]

"Calm down." Yaen instructed. "Deep breaths. A swordsman always keeps his wits about him. Nervousness breeds recklessness, and a reckless swordsman is a dead one." he warned. "Now, lets save our breath for when we start going up hill." he stated. Pulling the beam was good excersize, though that wasn't the reason they were pulling it with them.

[Valcrist]

He nodded silently, unsure if he should say anything. "Sorry, I'll try to calm down." Taking a deep breath he tried to calm down. It was harder then it sounded. He was tired, but full of nervous energy. Unsure of what to expect, he barely knew the first thing about his new teacher. This unknown made him nervous, and it wasn't something easily remedied. Still, he held the rope tied to the beam with both hands and listened to what he said. "Wait? Hill?" For a moment he thought he misheard, but sure enough, he could see a hill ahead of them. Aw crap, this is gonna suck...

[Yaen]

Yaen nodded. "Hill." he replied. Yes, this was gunna suck.

*One grueling uphill experience later*

Yaen released the rope and flexed his fingers, which were stinging from being locked for so long. "Allright, get the rope off that beam." he instructed, waiting for the boy to follow his instructions. "Now, give me your sword and scabbard." He ordered, holding out his hand expectantly.

[Valcrist]

His arms were sore with pain after that experience. He looked down at his hands, all red and raw from when the rope began to slide out of his hands and he had to regrab it to get a grip again. Atleast on the way back they're going DOWN the hill. Still... it would probably still be hard. He winced when he bent his fingers, it stung but not significantly enough to stop him.

"My... my sword?" As tame as a question that was... it was pretty big to him. He pulled the blade and sheath from the notch it held on his belt, holding it in his hand. Without it... he felt so naked. He hesitated for a moment, but closed his eyes and pushed his self to do it. He handed the finely crafted blade to the swordsman, hoping that he wouldn't regret that decision.

[Yaen]

Yaen took the sword from Valcrists hands. "Get up on that beam." he stated, walking away from Valcrist. "I want you to walk from one end to the other without falling off untill I tell you to stop." he stated, taking a seat against a tree. "Get to it." With that, he put his arms behind his head and closed his eyes.

[Valcrist]

That sounds... incredibly reasonable. Walking from one end of a beam to the other without falling. That sounded easy enough, he used to do stuff like that as a kid all the time. He'd line up a bunch of half-logs that were supposed to go into the forge, and try to walk across all of them without falling. Then again, this beam is quite a bit thinner then the logs he would always use, and longer as well. "Until you say stop?" He thought. A bit unsure of what this has to do with swordsmanship or getting stronger, he wouldn't start off questioning his methods though. Who knows? Maybe it would give him... erm... super beam walking skills?

He climbed up on it, swordless and feeling a bit bare. He held his arms out and stared down on his feet, paying close attention to where he was stepping at all times. It was easy, at first... But as he walked he became more and more unbalanced, until it got to a point he was hopping on one foot to try and not fall while he was taking a step.

Landed square on his keister he did. Oh yeah, that's right. I would always get sand in my hair when I tried to do this.. He frowned and got back up, wiping the grass stains off of his pants. Valcrist looked at Yaen, and noticed he wasn't even watching. Hopefully he didn't see that pathetic display.

He hopped back up and tried again, this time getting all the way across... but falling as he was coming off. After a while he would start to lose his balance and then he would speed up, as if it would help him somehow. Usually... it didn't, it was just a desperate ploy to try and get it over with before he failed. He got back up and tried again, doing a bit better and making mental notes on how to do it right. This time he didn't fall at all, but he almost did. So he tried again, he fell this time, probably because he was so self assured that he wouldn't since he made it the time before...

This repeated. Over and over. He got better at it, until he wasn't falling at all. But... he was getting very bored. Still he pushed on. Again. And Again. Until it got to a point he looked at Yaen expectantly every time he successfully made it across, hoping he'd finally say "That's enough." But he didn't. So he continued until his legs were sore, until he could do it without looking at his feet, until it became unbearably monotonous and boring.

[Yaen]

Yaen was watching. At first, anyways. He listened as Valcrist walked across the board, listened as he fell, listened as he stumbled, listened as he'd make it across. It was difficult, he knew. And he knew that after a while, the kid would get tired of it. It got old fast, walking back and forth on a beam.

After a little while, his mind drifted to other thoughts. Apples, swords, horses...Sacae. How he missed Sacae. He'd decided that he was going back after he'd finished this job. He wanted to see his home again. He wanted to feel the plains beneath his feet again, be amongst his own people. And Valcrist could decide if he wanted to come with him or not.

Valcrist...Speaking of Valcrist...Yaen finally opened his eyes and let out a yawn. How long was he out? Judging from how the sun was fully risen now, he figured maybe an hour or so. The boy was still at it, too. He had perseverance. "Okay, stop." he called. "Take a short break."

[Valcrist]

"O...kay..."He grunted and flopped off of the beam, not even bothering to finish his current balancing walk and fell to the grass underneath him. He wasn't exhausted, well he was just not in the usual sense. He didn't just run for an hour straight, he didn't need to catch his breath, but his legs did feel awfully sore. It's one thing to walk a long time, it's another to carefully control your legs so you stay as balanced as possible so you don't flop down on your but. Small controlled movements took a lot more out of you then you'd think.

He sat on the grass, enjoying the dirt that seemed so much softer then it was the last time he fell. He looked over to Yaen, and tried to force a smile. First it was lugging that log, then it was dragging it up hill, then an eternity of walking across the log. He felt really out of shape right about now. "So... what was that all about?"

[Yaen]

Yaen unsealed his waterskin and took a drink. Sealing it again, he tossed it towads the blonde. "Drink." he stated, not answering Valcrists question. He watched as the boy drank, and then held his hand out so the skin could be thrown back to him. The boy looked like he couldn't stand up again. He could understand that pain.

Finally, he answered Valcrist's question. "Balance." he stated. "In the middle of a battle, you can't afford to make a single slip up. You can't afford for your ankle to twist too far or for your leg to try and reach farther than it can, and believe me, it will happen. Swordsmanship is more than about your arms, it's also about your legs." he explained. "Now, do it again."

[Valcrist]

Valcrist drank the water happily, almost feeling gluttonous over it. His legs felt sore, the rest only compounding onto the pain. It was like, now that they've been given a moment to rest, they remembered just how tired they are. They didn't want to move, and he didn't want to force them. He sealed the water and tosses it back to him and listened to his description. "Balance..." He remembered back to the fight in the school, how he so badly missed the first time and nearly fell over. "Yeah... that makes sense..." He also remembered back to all the twisted ankles he's had in his life, wincing a bit in remembrance.

"A.. again? Right... right now?" He can't say he didn't see it coming, rather he pretended he couldn't. It's just as depressing though. He could tell that, indeed, he meant right now. With a grunt he pushed against the ground he was sitting on, and wobbly made it back to his feet. He could barely stand straight, this was gonna suck...

He got back on the beam, took a few steps and fell off. It seemed taking a rest threw him off his groove. Rubbing his bottom, he got back up with an exasperated groan. Val walked back to the end of the beam and got back up on it, taking a few steps and going a bit slower this time. His legs were still wobbly, but he pushed on. He fell a few more times, but eventually he started making it across more and more often.

His mind was blank, he didn't have time to think about anything except two things. The first was how to step just right, not to step on the side of the beam and slipping off like he had so many times when not paying attention. The other, well the other was just how mind crushingly bored he was.