- RP Date
- Early YE 41
- RP Location
- OIF Karakoram
OIF Karakoram-
Deck One, Recreation deck/Gym
Charles entered the Recreation deck with his water bottle to begin his daily exercises. Time of day was relative in space, but he had chosen to before his shift started, which meant it was early in what could be considered the morning. He had kept with his exercise regimen after leaving the NSN, and it had kept him remarkably fit and strong for someone of his stature. He grabbed a towel from a rack nearby and set it down on a ledge with his bottle. He had decided to start off by running the track today, but first, he'd had to stretch. He began his stretches off to the side of the track, so as not to disturb anyone who might be running the track.
The surprisingly quiet footfalls of the Lorath Ex-Queen would be tough to hear as she took her time in her lap around the track. The thick heavy white braid bounced and bobbed with each step as the woman known to the crew as Oracle made the turn at the far end of the track and began to head back to where Charles was. Her gaze was distant and unfocused as she kept a solid pace around the track, arms pumping and legs constantly moving. For a woman her size, she moved with quite a bit of grace and expected speed as she did her best to work out any morning energy she may have before her own shift started, which seemed to be the same as Charles.
Charles finished his stretches just as the Lorath woman passed by his position at the edge of the track. He fell in just behind her as they traversed the track, eventually catching up to her. "Good morning Oracle, I didn't expect to see anyone else up this early." He had not yet grown tired, and his voice seemed unhampered by strain, though his breathing was the measured breathing of someone with considerable athletic prowess.
Destiny, now known as Oracle to those around her, looked to her side as Charles caught up to her. Even though she had spent some time on the track now, her breath was still even and easy. It was clear to see the much larger woman was not pushing herself very hard by her shorter strides as she allowed the shorter man to catch up and keep pace. It was just a matter of physics that she could easily outpace him. Coupled with her normal body's physique and fitness, and well it was little consequence.
"Good morning Charles. How are you today?" She asked as she turned her gaze back to the track ahead of her and took a deep breath mid-stride.
“I’m well, it’s been a while since I did my exercises onboard a ship.” Charles said as he jogged alongside the Lorath woman. “You seem to be adapting well to shipboard life. Have you served on a warship before?”
"One, for a short time, but it was not a very good end. We lost the ship in a battle protecting UOC refugees, and I was lucky enough to get thrown into a cryopod and shoved into space." She offered up, which would be about as much as she would give into her personal little bit of backstory.
"We had not had a space force for very long, we only ventured into space a little over a decade ago after all." Destiny explained as she kept pace.
Charles bowed his head slightly in respect for the fallen. “I remember reading about the fall of the UOC while I was in school. It seemed so far away at the time, but I still couldn’t believe it.“ He stopped speaking for a moment, then continued in a measured voice. “I get the sense you’d rather not talk too much about it right now.”
"It was just a difficult time in my life. Perhaps one day I will speak on it, but for now I believe it is a subject best left to mystery for those aboard." Destiny offered in way of answer. "The UOC was a good idea, it was a good group of people just looking to eek out their own exsistence. But as cut off as they were, behind enemy lines, with little support besides the Lorath, it was a venture doomed from the start. We allied ourselves with them only because we were within their territory."
The two had done a full circuit of the large running track at this point, and Charles figured it would be a good point to get a sip of water from his bottle. After said dip, he cought back up with Oracle. “Well, I figure if you aren‘t ready to talk about it, I won’t press you.” He looked towards the boxing equipment before speaking again. “I remember hearing that the Lorath have a warrior culture, do you think you could give me a few pointers?”
"About?" Destiny asked as she began to walk to cool herself down. She had been running for long enough and was done for the moment as she began to even out her breath. Even in her light workout clothes, the definition to the Lorath woman was unmistakable. Thankfully she had lost her baby figure and the bit of weight she had put on during recuperation, but at that moment she could be confused for a Fyunnen warrior were it not for her tri-tipped ears.
“Boxing, hand to hand.“ Charles said as he made his way over to the boxing equipment. “I get the impression that you know your fair share about it, and it’s been a while since I’ve practiced. Normally in a space fighter you don’t need that particular set of skills.”
"This is true, but the skills is always useful. What if we have to board a ship? I suppose I can train you a bit in the ways of the Fyunnen. We tend to focus on hand-to-hand a lot more, though there are plenty of styles that use weapons as well, all dependent on what the individual prefer. I don't know that we do straight... boxing? But we do have styles that focus more on punches then kicks, and vice versa." Destiny offered as she stretched out her back as she came to a stop toward the interior of the track.
“Hmmm...” Charles thought for a moment. “ I’d hate to be put out of commission because whatever style I know doesn’t fit the situation. If there’s a fairly adaptable style that I can use both on the deck and in my Frame that might work best.”
Destiny tapped her chin with a finger for a moment as she pondered his request before she nodded. "It is a older Lorath style, though still practiced mostly as a base for our martial arts. Mostly punches and kicks, with a bit more focus on kicks. It shouldn't be tough to get, though I doubt we could spar much as it was." Destiny explained as she crossed her arms and looked down on the smaller male. It wasn't cruel or condescending, just a way of life for the giant of a woman. All her life she had been taller then any male she had come across, and that didn't seem to change much here.
"I really hope it's not too much to ask that you teach me one of your people's older styles. I don't know much about your customs, I'll be honest, so I don't know if this kind of thing is frowned upon or not." He fetched some of the boxing area's semi-elastic handwrap, looped it around his left thumb and then behind his hand. Three times around his wrist the wrapping material went before he looked to see if Destiny wanted to use some as well, and to offer to fetch a roll for her. "Do you want me to grab you some wrap for your fists?"
"My hands have long since scarred over. I do not need it, but I do appreciate the concern." She gave the man a small smile as they moved toward one of the more safer areas in the exercise room, a space with some mats on the floor. They seemed stiff, but it would help to cushion a fall at least a little.
"The age of the martial art doesn't matter. As a Tu-... As a Fyunnen, it is our responsibility to make sure that we teach any who wish to learn how to better defend themselves. That is part of protecting those we watch over." The smallest blush rose to her cheeks at her near slip up as she mentally chatised herself for the blunder.
All Charles heard of the slipup was what initially sounded like a bit of a hiccup in the middle of Oracle's sentence. Howver, after a split second's thought he realized that she had actually been speaking, and had cut herself off, likely as a result of some sort of slipup while she was describing her heritage. He didn't know wha to make of it at the moment, so he decided to wait until a later date to ask.
"Sounds like you've got a bit of a hiccup there. Here, have some water, it should help a bit." Mathias offered up his water bottle to her. It was, however, clear to "Oracle" that he knew something was up.
Icy blue eyes narrowed at the smaller man as she took the bottle with a small nod of appreciation. Her tone matched her eyes as she spoke. "Thank you. I've had a Daltok in my throat for a few days now..." She explained before she took a sip of water. As she let the bottle drop back to the floor she turned from him for a moment and began to set herself up to teach. She took a stance, her shoulders rolled forward a little, both hands out in front with her left hand staggered in front of her to protect her face, and her legs matching. She kept her right foot planted solidly while her left seemed to have less weight on it.
"This is the basic stance. Protection for your head and neck, more weight on your back foot then your front to give you a good spring to step in and attack."
Charles emulated the stance as best he could, following her instructions. He was a quick learner to be sure, but there were a couple of flaws in his stance. One of his hands was a bit too low, and he was resting his weight a bit too much on his front foot. "Like this?"
Destiny stood to her full height and came out of her stance as she walked closer. She knelt in front of him and pushed on his front leg for a second and shook her head. "To much weight on the front foot. It needs to be lighter. And this hand needs to be higher." She explained as she pushed his hand up. Both were roughly face high at that point while still giving him plenty of vision, before she pushed back on his stomach so his weight would push back to his rear foot.
She stood and took her stance again. "The reason you put more weight on your back foot, is so you can do this." She gave another demonstration, a simple step forward and mid section kick, yet as the Lorath woman did so, it was easy to see the ease of the move and practice she had put in. The fluidity as she transfered her weight forward, planting her left foot in the ground to give her a base to twist her body through into the kick that whistled through the air, her left hand up to protect her face, it was a simple move within the style, but it was easy to see how destructive it could be.
She set back into her original stance before she relaxed and looked back to Charles. "The hand protects your face against counter attacks, and the kick hits the midsection to wear at their stamina and breathing. Why don't you give it a try."
Charles settled into the correct stance now, and collected himself for a moment before attempting the same kick. It was fairly clear that he had never done too much in terms of practicing close combat with kicks before now. He brought his leg up fairly slowly, excecuting each motion of the kick seperately.
Destiny watched Charles as he practiced slowly and gave a nod, glad the boy wasn't so head strong and dumb as to think he could do it the same as her as quickly.
"Smart, take it slow and work through the movements. It all depends on how fluidly you can move from your back foot to your front, and keep the momentum through to the strike. Get the idea of the step a few times, then work to the twist and kick." Destiny explained as she kept back and continued to watch what he was doing.
Charles spoke, though he did not stop with his practicing. "Back in the navy, we were taught that slow is smooth, and smooth is fast. The saying is a little bit erroneous. What it's supposed to mean is that you start out practicing something slowly and smoothly, learning how to do it perfectly before you ever start to speed up the process, so that you don't miss any important details to what you're doing." He excecuted another slow, smooth kick. "That's not really communicated so well though, so I prefer a different saying. 'Perfect practice makes perfect.' "
"Learn to crawl before you walk. Our warriors are taught from the time they are children every day with little stop in their physical education." Destiny explained as she understood what he spoke about. Her arms crossed as she watched over him, she would help to correct him every so often. "This is the basic kick we teach as it serves as a good foundation for learning to kick and distribute your weight and understanding the basic motion of using your entire body to kick."
Charles nodded in understanding as he continued to practice. About 45 minutes later, he stopped, and checked a clock on the nearest wall. "It's almost time for my shift to start. I've got about twenty minutes left before I've got to have my stuff back in my room. Wanna have a quick sparring match before we run out of time?"
The look of pure disgust and anger that flashed across her face for even the briefest of seconds would have given a Mishhu a pause as she looked at Charles for a moment before she turned away to compose herself. She took a breath or two to calm herself before she nodded and turned around, her expression back under control and neutral for now.
"Would you like me to use what I taught you? Or something else?" She asked. Her icy blue eyes bore down on him as if to gauge if Charles were worthy of fighting her.
Though Destiny's facial slip was only a tiny fraction of a second in duration, Charles picked up on it."If that's what you're comfortable with." Charles said. "I hope I didn't offend you by asking, by the way." I'll have to play this carefully, both in terms of conversation and the upcoming fight. He thought, My only chance is to make sure she doesn't hit me, and not to push too hard about whatever's going on.
"It's fine. It's just been a while since anyone has challenged me to a fight. I suppose though this could work as a rite of welcoming." Destiny said as she half though to herself before she let out a small sigh. She chided herself again for her slip up, still getting used to the persona and mentallity she had to adopt of Oracle, who was not the queen. She took a step or two away from Charles before she squared up to him. Her left leg forward a little more and both knees bent to lower her body somewhat, she put her left hand out and down, her palm down, while her right raised up to just face level, palm facing Charles as she watched him.
Charles took up a different stance, one the Lorath woman was be completely unfamiliar with. He stayed light, resting on the balls of his feet. This was in sharp contrast to Destiny's far more stable stance. His first move was apparantly to probe his opponent's defenses, as he let out an out of place Jab, looking like he left himself open. In reality, he was trying to provoke a response for him to exploit.
Destiny's top hand came down with a quick bat to smack away the probing strike, not sure what the style or stance was. The confusion showed on her face as she tried to look over the stance as her top hand returned to it's position and she circled to the left. She never made to strike at him, not sure how he would react just yet.
As her hand was away from her face for just a split second, Charles capitalized on the opening. He brought the hand that had been slapped away around to protect both his upper chest and face as his other one lashed out, giving his opponent a blow to the side of the head strong enough to make her ear ring as if they had been boxed. Then he just as quickly brought his hand back, the actions snappy and swift compared to Destiny's more measured movements, though no less controlled. He was far more vulnerable during the opening that he had left than his opponent was during hers, but his was far shorter, only a fraction of a second.
Destiny took the shot, shocked by the quick response. She shook her head a little and failed to get in her attack as she clenched her eyes for a second and took a step back to hopefully get out of range. She repositioned herself into her stance as her eyes narrowed a little, but otherwise she waited still. It seemed quick punches and possibly counter attacks, but she hadn't tried any attacks just yet, so she still wanted to see just what he had.
Now Charles was the one waiting, quick on his feet and staying just out of arms reach of the larger Lorath woman. It was the only chance he had to stay in the fight, let alone win. His style was, as was growing increasingly clear, based around mobility above stability. Unsurprising for one who had been a fighter pilot, though Destiny was likely unaware of his full background. As he searched for an opening, Charles danced just out of reach whenever Destiny grew slightly closer.
Eventually, they began nearing the edge of the mat, and Charles attempted to reposition quickly, to put himself on the inside of the mat's perimiter and to have Destiny up against the border. However, he slipped slightly, having not worn socks designed for gripping the special mats (since he had not expected a sparring partner), and he had taken his shoes off to avoid damaging the sparring mats.
Destiny was quick to pounce on the opportunity, her front leg snaked out and kicked out at the slipped and unstable foot to attack it and hopefully make him lose his balance completely. If not she was already planted and swung another kick at his midsection. It was strange for her, not used to the smaller opponent, but she was well versed in leg kicks, and thats all this seemed like to her. She kept her hands ready regardless for a counter strike, ready now for the jab and hook.
The kick to his midsection connected. Coming from the taller, stronger and much more practiced woman, Destiny's kick would lift Charles up off his feet and toss him a small distance. It was more the follow through then anything and Destiny had forgotten to hold back a bit of her strength, but the damage would be felt for the rest of the day as the roughly size eighteen foot slammed into his ribcage the toes curling around to his kidney. She followed through the kick which is where most of his launch would come from as she used the momentum to carry her through a small spin before she squared back up with him back into her original stance.
Charles took a few moments to pick himself up, getting a few false starts and falling back down before managing to get fully back on his feet. His ribcage ached, and there was almost certainly a bruise, maybe even a fracture. He'd have to go to the ship's doctor before the day was out, that was for sure.
Once he was back on his feet, Charles was a little slower, his footwork sluggish as he approached the Lorath woman across the mat, and he seemed a little hunched over. His fists were raised though, and he looked willing to keep going, even if it might not be the wisest thing for him to do.
Destiny looked down at the smaller man, her opinion of him rising just a bit as he struggled and fought to regain his footing. She raised a eyebrow, but knew that her own pride dictated she make him either relent, or knock him out. And being that she couldn't have him with a concussion before his shift without her getting in trouble, she opted for a less... Kinetic knockout. Her longer legs allowed her to close the distance quickly as her right hand reached across her body to oddly enough grab for his right shoulder. Should she get a grip, her left hand would mirror the action to his left shoulder in an attempt at gaining control of him.
With her arms crossed as they were, her face would fairly protected save for a nice diamond shaped hole right under her chin, but with her arms where they were, a block could be easy enough to perform. It all came down to how much he was willing to risk.
Charles' opponent had him, and he was almost out of the fight, but he wasn't ready to give up yet. The lorath woman's notion of her own superiority had finally borne fruit in the form of several openings. He had to act fast though, before he was knocked out. First, he kneed Destiny in her groin, and using that moment of temporary shock, he brought his left arm up to box her ear, and finally, pushed away with his legs and followed up with an uppercut to her chin.
There was quite a bit of shock and pain as the knee first connected with her groin, then the box to her ear. But if he had been expecting her to let go, he would have been sorely mistaken. Something that Fate had constantly drilled into her head during training was that when she had a grip, to never let it go. To say that her grip tightened as she was hit would be the truth as she dug her fingers into his shoulders. Her arms suddenly jerked down and toward her legs as she took a step back as if she were trying to throw him to the ground past her, using a little more force then she would have liked just as the uppercut was thrown. She turned to the side as she attempted to throw him down, and if he went, his back would be open hopefully for her to return the attack.
Charles was spent. that last attack had used the last of his stamina, and he was thrown to the ground, back up. He tried to push himself back up, but collapsed back down onto the mats.
She had her pick of the litter with attacks, but thought of it otherwise and put her foot to his lower back. She pressed down a little harshly and frowned. "You showed promise, but you need to figure out a better way to fight someone twice your size if the need arises. Your style is quick, but relies to much on power. You may want to figure out a way to work in some submission style fighting."
Charles made his way up from the mats, shaking his head to clear his vision, which was spotty. "I'll put some thought into it." He felt up the injury to his torso, and winced as he touched it. He pulled up his shirt slightly, to reveal that it was already beginning to bruise, before letting the shirt fall back down. "I'll have to go see the doctor about this at some point."
"Sorry about that... My old instructor said I tend to forget about my strength sometimes." Destiny said as she reached out with a hand to touch the side gingerly. "I didn't feel anything break when I hit you, but you never know." She commented as she looked over the smaller man. Where as before there had been some form of disdain or outright contempt, there was a bit of recognition and dare she say warmth to her eyes now.
"Well, I need to go get ready for my shift. If you need anything, or want some more training, please don't hesitate to ask ok?"
"Sure thing." Charles said, as he began to collect his stuff. "I'm going to get my stuff together before the shift starts. Hopefully I'll have enough time to take a shower first." He half said, half mumbled as he turned away to begin collecting his belongings.
Destiny nodded a little and let out a little breath as she headed toward the showers. He balance was a little more shaky then she would have liked and she shut her eyes to rattle her head a little, trying to clear the cobwebs from her head. She rubbed the bridge of her nose and followed the noise of the showers with little attention paid to where she was actually going.
"He hit with more power then I thought. Seemed to get in a few good shots. I'll have to see about understanding his style a little better. It could be useful." Destiny thought to herself as she walked into the room and found a locker to put her things up. She began to disrobe as she did to show off her toned body that seemed to be riddled in rather recent scars that still showed the pink of healing. It seemed one of her ribs were pushed in a bit and her collar bone had a lump on it in the middle. Otherwise she seemed to hold a motherly look to her frame, hidden usualy in the somewhat baggy clothing and light armor she seemed to wear around the ship.
Charles himself now made his way into the men's changing room... and then stopped dead in his tracks. Right there was the woman who he knew as Oracle, finishing up with the process of disrobing. In the men's room. He stood like a deer in the headlights for a moment, processing the image.
Subconsiously, his brain did what any man's brain would do. "Wow, she's really nice looking underneath those baggy clothes!" Was what echoed in his head as a split second later, his mouth betrayed him and opened to let out a shocked "Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..."
Destiny stopped in her tracks as she heard the voice behind her. For a moment her eyes went wide as she faced away from the man, her body rigid in the sudden shock of realizing just where she was. But as she did her control came back over her emotions and she was able to fight down the expression of panic and replace it with the same coolness she usually held. She turned her head to look over toward Charles and raised an eyebrow to look down at him.
While she seemed to exude a aura of disdain or aloofness, inside she was screaming at herself. But her voice held as she spoke.
"A word of this, and I will make you wish I had broken something with that kick, understood?"
Without waiting for a reply and only covering herself with a towel, the tall Lorath woman began to head towards the women's side with her clothing under her arm.
Charles held his hands up as if to say "I'd never even think of it." as he walked past her. After she had left, he began setting his own belongings in a locker, and set about disrobing before entering the shower. As he showered, he thought about his opponent. He'd never seen her scars before. Charles knew she was a warrior, but the extent of her apparant experience was beyond what he had imagined.
"She's got to have been fighting ever since she was young." He thought, "She could have beaten me any time she wanted to, but she held back. I wonder why?" He didn't want to ask her any time soon, but Charles figured they'd talk again when Oracle was more comfortable with the idea of talking to someone who had seen her so... vulnerable.
Destiny growled and punched a locker as she finally made her way into the women's side, much to the shock of two that were at other lockers.
"Stupid stupid stupid. Open your damn eyes Harr'Ikke and watch where the hell you're going..." Destiny muttered to herself, cursing at herself and using her true name as she did. Her face was flush with the idea of the small and for all accounts weak male that had seen her. Few men had actually seen her in the nude, her brother and the one lover after her awakening, and even he only got a nights worth of viewing...
She growled and rubbed the bridge of her nose for a second before she turned and headed into the shower itself.
"He is so small and weak, why am I getting flustered he saw me. He's a maleling, nothing to get worked up over." But he had offered to fight her, to take part in her ritual even if he didn't know it. Was that why her heart was beating harder then normal? She just prayed to Voxphine that a good shower would clear her head before her shift.
Charles finished up with his shower relatively quickly, and as he shut off the water in his stall, he heard another shower start in the women's changing room; probably Oracle. He'd have to figure out later how to make this up to her, but that was something to think about later. For now, both of them had work they needed to be doing.
Deck One, Recreation deck/Gym
Charles entered the Recreation deck with his water bottle to begin his daily exercises. Time of day was relative in space, but he had chosen to before his shift started, which meant it was early in what could be considered the morning. He had kept with his exercise regimen after leaving the NSN, and it had kept him remarkably fit and strong for someone of his stature. He grabbed a towel from a rack nearby and set it down on a ledge with his bottle. He had decided to start off by running the track today, but first, he'd had to stretch. He began his stretches off to the side of the track, so as not to disturb anyone who might be running the track.
The surprisingly quiet footfalls of the Lorath Ex-Queen would be tough to hear as she took her time in her lap around the track. The thick heavy white braid bounced and bobbed with each step as the woman known to the crew as Oracle made the turn at the far end of the track and began to head back to where Charles was. Her gaze was distant and unfocused as she kept a solid pace around the track, arms pumping and legs constantly moving. For a woman her size, she moved with quite a bit of grace and expected speed as she did her best to work out any morning energy she may have before her own shift started, which seemed to be the same as Charles.
Charles finished his stretches just as the Lorath woman passed by his position at the edge of the track. He fell in just behind her as they traversed the track, eventually catching up to her. "Good morning Oracle, I didn't expect to see anyone else up this early." He had not yet grown tired, and his voice seemed unhampered by strain, though his breathing was the measured breathing of someone with considerable athletic prowess.
Destiny, now known as Oracle to those around her, looked to her side as Charles caught up to her. Even though she had spent some time on the track now, her breath was still even and easy. It was clear to see the much larger woman was not pushing herself very hard by her shorter strides as she allowed the shorter man to catch up and keep pace. It was just a matter of physics that she could easily outpace him. Coupled with her normal body's physique and fitness, and well it was little consequence.
"Good morning Charles. How are you today?" She asked as she turned her gaze back to the track ahead of her and took a deep breath mid-stride.
“I’m well, it’s been a while since I did my exercises onboard a ship.” Charles said as he jogged alongside the Lorath woman. “You seem to be adapting well to shipboard life. Have you served on a warship before?”
"One, for a short time, but it was not a very good end. We lost the ship in a battle protecting UOC refugees, and I was lucky enough to get thrown into a cryopod and shoved into space." She offered up, which would be about as much as she would give into her personal little bit of backstory.
"We had not had a space force for very long, we only ventured into space a little over a decade ago after all." Destiny explained as she kept pace.
Charles bowed his head slightly in respect for the fallen. “I remember reading about the fall of the UOC while I was in school. It seemed so far away at the time, but I still couldn’t believe it.“ He stopped speaking for a moment, then continued in a measured voice. “I get the sense you’d rather not talk too much about it right now.”
"It was just a difficult time in my life. Perhaps one day I will speak on it, but for now I believe it is a subject best left to mystery for those aboard." Destiny offered in way of answer. "The UOC was a good idea, it was a good group of people just looking to eek out their own exsistence. But as cut off as they were, behind enemy lines, with little support besides the Lorath, it was a venture doomed from the start. We allied ourselves with them only because we were within their territory."
The two had done a full circuit of the large running track at this point, and Charles figured it would be a good point to get a sip of water from his bottle. After said dip, he cought back up with Oracle. “Well, I figure if you aren‘t ready to talk about it, I won’t press you.” He looked towards the boxing equipment before speaking again. “I remember hearing that the Lorath have a warrior culture, do you think you could give me a few pointers?”
"About?" Destiny asked as she began to walk to cool herself down. She had been running for long enough and was done for the moment as she began to even out her breath. Even in her light workout clothes, the definition to the Lorath woman was unmistakable. Thankfully she had lost her baby figure and the bit of weight she had put on during recuperation, but at that moment she could be confused for a Fyunnen warrior were it not for her tri-tipped ears.
“Boxing, hand to hand.“ Charles said as he made his way over to the boxing equipment. “I get the impression that you know your fair share about it, and it’s been a while since I’ve practiced. Normally in a space fighter you don’t need that particular set of skills.”
"This is true, but the skills is always useful. What if we have to board a ship? I suppose I can train you a bit in the ways of the Fyunnen. We tend to focus on hand-to-hand a lot more, though there are plenty of styles that use weapons as well, all dependent on what the individual prefer. I don't know that we do straight... boxing? But we do have styles that focus more on punches then kicks, and vice versa." Destiny offered as she stretched out her back as she came to a stop toward the interior of the track.
“Hmmm...” Charles thought for a moment. “ I’d hate to be put out of commission because whatever style I know doesn’t fit the situation. If there’s a fairly adaptable style that I can use both on the deck and in my Frame that might work best.”
Destiny tapped her chin with a finger for a moment as she pondered his request before she nodded. "It is a older Lorath style, though still practiced mostly as a base for our martial arts. Mostly punches and kicks, with a bit more focus on kicks. It shouldn't be tough to get, though I doubt we could spar much as it was." Destiny explained as she crossed her arms and looked down on the smaller male. It wasn't cruel or condescending, just a way of life for the giant of a woman. All her life she had been taller then any male she had come across, and that didn't seem to change much here.
"I really hope it's not too much to ask that you teach me one of your people's older styles. I don't know much about your customs, I'll be honest, so I don't know if this kind of thing is frowned upon or not." He fetched some of the boxing area's semi-elastic handwrap, looped it around his left thumb and then behind his hand. Three times around his wrist the wrapping material went before he looked to see if Destiny wanted to use some as well, and to offer to fetch a roll for her. "Do you want me to grab you some wrap for your fists?"
"My hands have long since scarred over. I do not need it, but I do appreciate the concern." She gave the man a small smile as they moved toward one of the more safer areas in the exercise room, a space with some mats on the floor. They seemed stiff, but it would help to cushion a fall at least a little.
"The age of the martial art doesn't matter. As a Tu-... As a Fyunnen, it is our responsibility to make sure that we teach any who wish to learn how to better defend themselves. That is part of protecting those we watch over." The smallest blush rose to her cheeks at her near slip up as she mentally chatised herself for the blunder.
All Charles heard of the slipup was what initially sounded like a bit of a hiccup in the middle of Oracle's sentence. Howver, after a split second's thought he realized that she had actually been speaking, and had cut herself off, likely as a result of some sort of slipup while she was describing her heritage. He didn't know wha to make of it at the moment, so he decided to wait until a later date to ask.
"Sounds like you've got a bit of a hiccup there. Here, have some water, it should help a bit." Mathias offered up his water bottle to her. It was, however, clear to "Oracle" that he knew something was up.
Icy blue eyes narrowed at the smaller man as she took the bottle with a small nod of appreciation. Her tone matched her eyes as she spoke. "Thank you. I've had a Daltok in my throat for a few days now..." She explained before she took a sip of water. As she let the bottle drop back to the floor she turned from him for a moment and began to set herself up to teach. She took a stance, her shoulders rolled forward a little, both hands out in front with her left hand staggered in front of her to protect her face, and her legs matching. She kept her right foot planted solidly while her left seemed to have less weight on it.
"This is the basic stance. Protection for your head and neck, more weight on your back foot then your front to give you a good spring to step in and attack."
Charles emulated the stance as best he could, following her instructions. He was a quick learner to be sure, but there were a couple of flaws in his stance. One of his hands was a bit too low, and he was resting his weight a bit too much on his front foot. "Like this?"
Destiny stood to her full height and came out of her stance as she walked closer. She knelt in front of him and pushed on his front leg for a second and shook her head. "To much weight on the front foot. It needs to be lighter. And this hand needs to be higher." She explained as she pushed his hand up. Both were roughly face high at that point while still giving him plenty of vision, before she pushed back on his stomach so his weight would push back to his rear foot.
She stood and took her stance again. "The reason you put more weight on your back foot, is so you can do this." She gave another demonstration, a simple step forward and mid section kick, yet as the Lorath woman did so, it was easy to see the ease of the move and practice she had put in. The fluidity as she transfered her weight forward, planting her left foot in the ground to give her a base to twist her body through into the kick that whistled through the air, her left hand up to protect her face, it was a simple move within the style, but it was easy to see how destructive it could be.
She set back into her original stance before she relaxed and looked back to Charles. "The hand protects your face against counter attacks, and the kick hits the midsection to wear at their stamina and breathing. Why don't you give it a try."
Charles settled into the correct stance now, and collected himself for a moment before attempting the same kick. It was fairly clear that he had never done too much in terms of practicing close combat with kicks before now. He brought his leg up fairly slowly, excecuting each motion of the kick seperately.
Destiny watched Charles as he practiced slowly and gave a nod, glad the boy wasn't so head strong and dumb as to think he could do it the same as her as quickly.
"Smart, take it slow and work through the movements. It all depends on how fluidly you can move from your back foot to your front, and keep the momentum through to the strike. Get the idea of the step a few times, then work to the twist and kick." Destiny explained as she kept back and continued to watch what he was doing.
Charles spoke, though he did not stop with his practicing. "Back in the navy, we were taught that slow is smooth, and smooth is fast. The saying is a little bit erroneous. What it's supposed to mean is that you start out practicing something slowly and smoothly, learning how to do it perfectly before you ever start to speed up the process, so that you don't miss any important details to what you're doing." He excecuted another slow, smooth kick. "That's not really communicated so well though, so I prefer a different saying. 'Perfect practice makes perfect.' "
"Learn to crawl before you walk. Our warriors are taught from the time they are children every day with little stop in their physical education." Destiny explained as she understood what he spoke about. Her arms crossed as she watched over him, she would help to correct him every so often. "This is the basic kick we teach as it serves as a good foundation for learning to kick and distribute your weight and understanding the basic motion of using your entire body to kick."
Charles nodded in understanding as he continued to practice. About 45 minutes later, he stopped, and checked a clock on the nearest wall. "It's almost time for my shift to start. I've got about twenty minutes left before I've got to have my stuff back in my room. Wanna have a quick sparring match before we run out of time?"
The look of pure disgust and anger that flashed across her face for even the briefest of seconds would have given a Mishhu a pause as she looked at Charles for a moment before she turned away to compose herself. She took a breath or two to calm herself before she nodded and turned around, her expression back under control and neutral for now.
"Would you like me to use what I taught you? Or something else?" She asked. Her icy blue eyes bore down on him as if to gauge if Charles were worthy of fighting her.
Though Destiny's facial slip was only a tiny fraction of a second in duration, Charles picked up on it."If that's what you're comfortable with." Charles said. "I hope I didn't offend you by asking, by the way." I'll have to play this carefully, both in terms of conversation and the upcoming fight. He thought, My only chance is to make sure she doesn't hit me, and not to push too hard about whatever's going on.
"It's fine. It's just been a while since anyone has challenged me to a fight. I suppose though this could work as a rite of welcoming." Destiny said as she half though to herself before she let out a small sigh. She chided herself again for her slip up, still getting used to the persona and mentallity she had to adopt of Oracle, who was not the queen. She took a step or two away from Charles before she squared up to him. Her left leg forward a little more and both knees bent to lower her body somewhat, she put her left hand out and down, her palm down, while her right raised up to just face level, palm facing Charles as she watched him.
Charles took up a different stance, one the Lorath woman was be completely unfamiliar with. He stayed light, resting on the balls of his feet. This was in sharp contrast to Destiny's far more stable stance. His first move was apparantly to probe his opponent's defenses, as he let out an out of place Jab, looking like he left himself open. In reality, he was trying to provoke a response for him to exploit.
Destiny's top hand came down with a quick bat to smack away the probing strike, not sure what the style or stance was. The confusion showed on her face as she tried to look over the stance as her top hand returned to it's position and she circled to the left. She never made to strike at him, not sure how he would react just yet.
As her hand was away from her face for just a split second, Charles capitalized on the opening. He brought the hand that had been slapped away around to protect both his upper chest and face as his other one lashed out, giving his opponent a blow to the side of the head strong enough to make her ear ring as if they had been boxed. Then he just as quickly brought his hand back, the actions snappy and swift compared to Destiny's more measured movements, though no less controlled. He was far more vulnerable during the opening that he had left than his opponent was during hers, but his was far shorter, only a fraction of a second.
Destiny took the shot, shocked by the quick response. She shook her head a little and failed to get in her attack as she clenched her eyes for a second and took a step back to hopefully get out of range. She repositioned herself into her stance as her eyes narrowed a little, but otherwise she waited still. It seemed quick punches and possibly counter attacks, but she hadn't tried any attacks just yet, so she still wanted to see just what he had.
Now Charles was the one waiting, quick on his feet and staying just out of arms reach of the larger Lorath woman. It was the only chance he had to stay in the fight, let alone win. His style was, as was growing increasingly clear, based around mobility above stability. Unsurprising for one who had been a fighter pilot, though Destiny was likely unaware of his full background. As he searched for an opening, Charles danced just out of reach whenever Destiny grew slightly closer.
Eventually, they began nearing the edge of the mat, and Charles attempted to reposition quickly, to put himself on the inside of the mat's perimiter and to have Destiny up against the border. However, he slipped slightly, having not worn socks designed for gripping the special mats (since he had not expected a sparring partner), and he had taken his shoes off to avoid damaging the sparring mats.
Destiny was quick to pounce on the opportunity, her front leg snaked out and kicked out at the slipped and unstable foot to attack it and hopefully make him lose his balance completely. If not she was already planted and swung another kick at his midsection. It was strange for her, not used to the smaller opponent, but she was well versed in leg kicks, and thats all this seemed like to her. She kept her hands ready regardless for a counter strike, ready now for the jab and hook.
The kick to his midsection connected. Coming from the taller, stronger and much more practiced woman, Destiny's kick would lift Charles up off his feet and toss him a small distance. It was more the follow through then anything and Destiny had forgotten to hold back a bit of her strength, but the damage would be felt for the rest of the day as the roughly size eighteen foot slammed into his ribcage the toes curling around to his kidney. She followed through the kick which is where most of his launch would come from as she used the momentum to carry her through a small spin before she squared back up with him back into her original stance.
Charles took a few moments to pick himself up, getting a few false starts and falling back down before managing to get fully back on his feet. His ribcage ached, and there was almost certainly a bruise, maybe even a fracture. He'd have to go to the ship's doctor before the day was out, that was for sure.
Once he was back on his feet, Charles was a little slower, his footwork sluggish as he approached the Lorath woman across the mat, and he seemed a little hunched over. His fists were raised though, and he looked willing to keep going, even if it might not be the wisest thing for him to do.
Destiny looked down at the smaller man, her opinion of him rising just a bit as he struggled and fought to regain his footing. She raised a eyebrow, but knew that her own pride dictated she make him either relent, or knock him out. And being that she couldn't have him with a concussion before his shift without her getting in trouble, she opted for a less... Kinetic knockout. Her longer legs allowed her to close the distance quickly as her right hand reached across her body to oddly enough grab for his right shoulder. Should she get a grip, her left hand would mirror the action to his left shoulder in an attempt at gaining control of him.
With her arms crossed as they were, her face would fairly protected save for a nice diamond shaped hole right under her chin, but with her arms where they were, a block could be easy enough to perform. It all came down to how much he was willing to risk.
Charles' opponent had him, and he was almost out of the fight, but he wasn't ready to give up yet. The lorath woman's notion of her own superiority had finally borne fruit in the form of several openings. He had to act fast though, before he was knocked out. First, he kneed Destiny in her groin, and using that moment of temporary shock, he brought his left arm up to box her ear, and finally, pushed away with his legs and followed up with an uppercut to her chin.
There was quite a bit of shock and pain as the knee first connected with her groin, then the box to her ear. But if he had been expecting her to let go, he would have been sorely mistaken. Something that Fate had constantly drilled into her head during training was that when she had a grip, to never let it go. To say that her grip tightened as she was hit would be the truth as she dug her fingers into his shoulders. Her arms suddenly jerked down and toward her legs as she took a step back as if she were trying to throw him to the ground past her, using a little more force then she would have liked just as the uppercut was thrown. She turned to the side as she attempted to throw him down, and if he went, his back would be open hopefully for her to return the attack.
Charles was spent. that last attack had used the last of his stamina, and he was thrown to the ground, back up. He tried to push himself back up, but collapsed back down onto the mats.
She had her pick of the litter with attacks, but thought of it otherwise and put her foot to his lower back. She pressed down a little harshly and frowned. "You showed promise, but you need to figure out a better way to fight someone twice your size if the need arises. Your style is quick, but relies to much on power. You may want to figure out a way to work in some submission style fighting."
Charles made his way up from the mats, shaking his head to clear his vision, which was spotty. "I'll put some thought into it." He felt up the injury to his torso, and winced as he touched it. He pulled up his shirt slightly, to reveal that it was already beginning to bruise, before letting the shirt fall back down. "I'll have to go see the doctor about this at some point."
"Sorry about that... My old instructor said I tend to forget about my strength sometimes." Destiny said as she reached out with a hand to touch the side gingerly. "I didn't feel anything break when I hit you, but you never know." She commented as she looked over the smaller man. Where as before there had been some form of disdain or outright contempt, there was a bit of recognition and dare she say warmth to her eyes now.
"Well, I need to go get ready for my shift. If you need anything, or want some more training, please don't hesitate to ask ok?"
"Sure thing." Charles said, as he began to collect his stuff. "I'm going to get my stuff together before the shift starts. Hopefully I'll have enough time to take a shower first." He half said, half mumbled as he turned away to begin collecting his belongings.
Destiny nodded a little and let out a little breath as she headed toward the showers. He balance was a little more shaky then she would have liked and she shut her eyes to rattle her head a little, trying to clear the cobwebs from her head. She rubbed the bridge of her nose and followed the noise of the showers with little attention paid to where she was actually going.
"He hit with more power then I thought. Seemed to get in a few good shots. I'll have to see about understanding his style a little better. It could be useful." Destiny thought to herself as she walked into the room and found a locker to put her things up. She began to disrobe as she did to show off her toned body that seemed to be riddled in rather recent scars that still showed the pink of healing. It seemed one of her ribs were pushed in a bit and her collar bone had a lump on it in the middle. Otherwise she seemed to hold a motherly look to her frame, hidden usualy in the somewhat baggy clothing and light armor she seemed to wear around the ship.
Charles himself now made his way into the men's changing room... and then stopped dead in his tracks. Right there was the woman who he knew as Oracle, finishing up with the process of disrobing. In the men's room. He stood like a deer in the headlights for a moment, processing the image.
Subconsiously, his brain did what any man's brain would do. "Wow, she's really nice looking underneath those baggy clothes!" Was what echoed in his head as a split second later, his mouth betrayed him and opened to let out a shocked "Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..."
Destiny stopped in her tracks as she heard the voice behind her. For a moment her eyes went wide as she faced away from the man, her body rigid in the sudden shock of realizing just where she was. But as she did her control came back over her emotions and she was able to fight down the expression of panic and replace it with the same coolness she usually held. She turned her head to look over toward Charles and raised an eyebrow to look down at him.
While she seemed to exude a aura of disdain or aloofness, inside she was screaming at herself. But her voice held as she spoke.
"A word of this, and I will make you wish I had broken something with that kick, understood?"
Without waiting for a reply and only covering herself with a towel, the tall Lorath woman began to head towards the women's side with her clothing under her arm.
Charles held his hands up as if to say "I'd never even think of it." as he walked past her. After she had left, he began setting his own belongings in a locker, and set about disrobing before entering the shower. As he showered, he thought about his opponent. He'd never seen her scars before. Charles knew she was a warrior, but the extent of her apparant experience was beyond what he had imagined.
"She's got to have been fighting ever since she was young." He thought, "She could have beaten me any time she wanted to, but she held back. I wonder why?" He didn't want to ask her any time soon, but Charles figured they'd talk again when Oracle was more comfortable with the idea of talking to someone who had seen her so... vulnerable.
Destiny growled and punched a locker as she finally made her way into the women's side, much to the shock of two that were at other lockers.
"Stupid stupid stupid. Open your damn eyes Harr'Ikke and watch where the hell you're going..." Destiny muttered to herself, cursing at herself and using her true name as she did. Her face was flush with the idea of the small and for all accounts weak male that had seen her. Few men had actually seen her in the nude, her brother and the one lover after her awakening, and even he only got a nights worth of viewing...
She growled and rubbed the bridge of her nose for a second before she turned and headed into the shower itself.
"He is so small and weak, why am I getting flustered he saw me. He's a maleling, nothing to get worked up over." But he had offered to fight her, to take part in her ritual even if he didn't know it. Was that why her heart was beating harder then normal? She just prayed to Voxphine that a good shower would clear her head before her shift.
Charles finished up with his shower relatively quickly, and as he shut off the water in his stall, he heard another shower start in the women's changing room; probably Oracle. He'd have to figure out later how to make this up to her, but that was something to think about later. For now, both of them had work they needed to be doing.
