fandomtownies | The Beach [Late Wednesday afternoon]

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The Beach [Late Wednesday afternoon]

Max thought he'd been very generous letting Karla have the summer off from training. And now summer was over. So.

The beach still made for a good space to work out in. It was open, had difficult terrain, and some nice scenery was always a good thing to have. So he was waiting, staring out over the water. He'd actually shown up early, so he wasn't going to get a chance to yell at Karla (and start the new round of training off on the right foot) unless she she took another twenty minutes to arrive.

It wasn't that he hated being kept waiting. Standing there on the beach looking out over the water wasn't something he often took the time to do, after all. No. It was just that yelling set the mood so well. With a slight smile Max shifted his grip on the pair of swords in his hand and settled in to wait.

Years of habit had him constructing the tirade he might use on Karla in his head. Maybe he'd actually get to bust it out...

[Expecting one, but the beach is open and Max doesn't mind company!]

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Ha! Sadly for Max, Lucivar had far more exciting ways to make sure his students showed up on time. Like dumping them into horse troughs or dumping buckets on their beds and whatnot. While the yelling wouldn't be so bad, comparatively, the desire to escape the training session without getting dunked into the closest body of water had Karla showing up right on time.

"I'm on time!" In case he was confused.

Which was too bad since there was a mighty convenient ocean right there that he wasn't going to get to use now. THANKS, KARLA!

"Why, so you are." He smiled. "Did you make good use of your time off?

"Depends on what you mean by 'good use,'" Karla admitted. "If you're asking if I enjoyed a summer of rest and relaxation...then, no. I kind of failed at that. I got more weapons practice in than I really might have liked, but I didn't acquit myself all that well, so...I'm going to have to say a resounding no all around."

Max quirked an eyebrow. "That bad, huh?"

He considered that. "Is there anything in particular you want to work on first, then?"

"Surprising levels of suck," Karla grumbled. "Even my first orgy was a disappointment."

Okay, sometimes she just like saying that for the shock value.

"Drills, perhaps?" she suggested. "I kept in practice a bit over the summer, but I could probably use a refresher."

"You should come to one of mine next time," Max suggested with a smirk. "I'll make sure you get an invitation." Or not.

"Drills. Not a bad place to start." Max held out the blade he'd brought for her, hilt first.

Karla snorted. "Not bloody likely. One the magic is gone, it's gone forever."

She glanced down at the sword that Max held out for her and grinned. "It's my Cinquedea!" she said, beaming. "You remembered!"

"You expected otherwise?" Max asked with a quirked eyebrow. Weapons were what he did.

Well, among other things.

"Let's see what you still remember after all this time off."

Karla nodded and moved into position. It was hard at first, remembering which drills were Max's and which were Lucivar's, but after a few minutes, her body took over, muscle memory replacing faulty personal memory.

It was obvious that she needed some real practice. Her moves weren't precise and her footing wasn't sure. But she moved with a comfort with a blade that she'd been lacking before, treating it more like an extension of her arm than something she was holding.

"I see you haven't forgotten everything over the summer." And she'd picked up a few things that weren't his. Some other trainer. Max made a note to watch for that. See if he could integrate the two styles for her.

"Told you my summer wasn't all swimming and sunning on the beach," Karla said. "There was too much going on for me to forget."

One day, Max and Lucivar would meet. And then the planet would explode.

"You've been working with someone else, I see. Was that this summer, too?"

"A little longer than just the summer, but yes. Lucivar, Jaenelle's older brother. He's teaching me Eyrien sticks."

Karla called one in to show it to him. "Eyrien warriors usually use bladed sticks, but these are formidable in their own right."

Max examined the weapon. "Effective-looking," he admitted. "But it seems a bit wrong for your build." Too big, for one thing.

"Still, not bad."

"I will let you bring that up to Lucivar," Karla snorted. "I'm not going to argue with him about it."

Please see previous pings about dumping into horse troughs.

"But I've been drilling with him, too, every time I go home."

"Good."

"Now go through it again. This time remember you've got a sword, and not those sticks."

Karla nodded once, tried not to sigh, and went through the moves again. This time her moves were much cleaner, her sword cutting through the air.

"Better," Max nodded in approval.

He reached out and tapped her elbow. "Keep your arm in a bit tighter. Keep your profile as small as possible, and don't leave anything sticking out to get cut off."

There was a joke there, right on the tip of her tongue. Karla, not being an idiot, swallowed it back and gave a quick nod.

"Yessir," she said, looking as innocent as the Darkness could let her.

"And you can lose that smirk," Max added, smiling a bit himself.

Okay, that order was a little more difficult. It wasn't until about halfway through the drill set that she was able to compose her face enough. Every time she got close, her mind would try to remind her about the joke and the smile would appear again.

It was like not thinking of pink elephants.

"Better?" she asked, when the traitorous grin was locked away.

"Somewhat," Max allowed. "It's not so much the grin as the distraction that's dangerous. You're handling a blade. And in a fight, chances are that someone else is, too."

Considering Karla had just been thinking, It's not like my smiling has any effect on my technique, finding out that it did indeed took a lot of wind out of her sails. "Oh," she said. "Good point. I'll try-- I'll do better at staying focused."

"It takes practice," Max pointed out. "But it is important. No matter how good you are, a moment of distraction can be dangerous." He raised an eyebrow. "But you knew that already."

Karla couldn't tell if this was one of those things she should just know--which she did--or if Max was about to take her to task for something. So she answered with a "Yeeeees," and tried not to sound too suspicious when she did.

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