Life was simultaneously amazing and incredibly horrible at the same time right now. The amazing part had to be the delicious meat he had just devoured! The worst was well…everything else. The horrors that surrounded them were less horrific to think about with a full stomach luckily. Their duo had abandoned their shelter earlier that day due to well…it was pretty much ruined. They had found a much more secluded spot several rows of houses away. It was positive progress towards the castle so Gwin welcomed it wholeheartedly. It was about time they began making progress!
'Ah what a great day.'
Gwin sprawled out across the ground happily while sneaking a few glances at Elena.
'When should I ask? How should I ask? This is embarrassing…I turned her down before but now I really need her to teach me… I hate this.'
He was facing a dilemma as to how he should ask Lena to teach him her clan's unarmed martial style. He needed to lean into using his aspect more efficiently if he wanted to survive. Almost every…no…every battle he had been in by himself ended up with him getting very wounded after pulling an excessively reckless gamble. There was his first nightmare where he literally got digested, thinking about that still gave him chills! His first time killing a remnant feeder and going against the perforated hunter also ended up with him on death's door.
'I only know how to fight with swords, daggers, and spears. I have practically no structure when I fight with my aspect. I always end up just throwing myself at my enemy completely which is dangerous and reckless. I need to fight more like I did earlier, that way I can fight for longer without running out of essence.'
He looked at Lena who was scanning the dark streets below through a boarded window with a pensive look, or at least he thought it was since her face was nearly covered in her crimson hair. Sometimes he forgot that they had already spent over a month and a half here. His own hair had gotten quite long and unruly as well given its increased speed of growth. He needed to start wearing it in a bun soon if he didn't want it in his way. Anyways that was besides the point! He needed to find a way to ask her to train him without sounding like a complete loser.
'Wait…why do I even care?'
Filled with a sudden burst of confidence, Gwin abruptly stood and walked towards her. He passed the strange wind chime memory that Lena had summoned to conceal their noise with loud and heavy steps. She noticed his steps with a sidelong glance before turning to look at him fully.
"Do you want something?"
{Will you teach me Clan song's techniques?}
"Beg."
'Damnit i thought she forgot about that…am I really going to beg? Ah why not.'
He made a dramatic display of getting on his knees and signing "please" over and over again while making the most disgusting face he could. He was going to make her hate this as much as he did!
"Stop that. I said stop. Enough!"
Gwin had to dodge a kick from her as his plan had worked perfectly.
"Let's start our first lesson now."
She said while taking on a strange stance. It wasn't like any unarmed technique he had ever seen. She looked more like a human trying to imitate an animal. Her stance was wide and featured open hands ready to grab, swipe, and crush. Now that he thought about it, people with transformation aspects were rare but far more common in clan Song's territories so it made sense for it to look like that. It was probably designed by them since they were the main practitioners of using their bare hands to fight. The others must have been taught merely as a part of their education and not their main tool. He would do his best to learn as fast as he could.
"First lesson, block."
'Hu-'
Gwin reacted quickly as Lena's hand shot forward like a spear. Her attack didn't end there as she continued her stream of attacks becoming harsher and harsher with each second. Her attacks were aimed towards his weak points. They slipped through his sloppy guard and struck his clusters of nerves stunning him and dropping him to the ground. He recovered quickly on account of his greater constitution. Elena was not using her aspect and so they were much more evenly matched than their usual bouts however Lena still had the clear advantage due to her rigorous training. It really wasn't fair! How was he supposed to compete with someone who was raised to be a killer? Well complaining wouldn't do anything. He'd just have to endure and learn as best he could.
He was already a tiny bit familiar with her quick and precise fighting style after all since he had sparred with her so many times in the academy and with such an advantage he was beginning to adapt to her pace. He was actually blocking a few blows instead of just taking a beating.
Eventually her attacks subsided and she began to show him the katas for her style. Each one radiated bestial strength and a sense of elegance. He repeated them with diligence under her watchful eye as she corrected his stance harshly.
"Your knees are too bent. Lower your hips. Hands should remain tense and flexible."
'How am I supposed to be tense and flexible?!'
She made him practice until he was exhausted, which was quite difficult for him and took a very long time! He repeated that bestial cadence over a thousand times until Lena had finally been satisfied with his efforts. Gwin collapsed in a flood of relief as his aching muscles finally got a moment to rest. He hadn't been this tired since his rigorous training at the academy. He looked at Elena who was completing her own katas with her dual sabers. Each movement was graceful and poised with an underlying sense of deadliness. It was incredibly captivating to watch.
Gwin thought of his own movements and how they felt to perform…he couldn't help but feel something was missing. He had an idea as to what. Gwin dragged himself from the ground and got into his stance. He summoned his aspect to become the panther hybrid once again. He felt a surge of strength in his body and began performing the katas once again. His claws carved graceful arcs through the air his axe kicks had become deadly downward raking of claws. His spear strikes with his hands now truly had a sharp point.
'This feels…completed now…what a scary technique.'
He was extremely glad that Elena did not possess claws.