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Amethyst	Amethyst guides Salara to the sparring chamber somewhere within the manse-mansion that Silk owns, a place where she and Pearls can practice without risking any permenant injuries against one another. Useful for demenstrating the practical application of combat and dueling in general. But she's not here to duel Salara, she's here to teach her how to hold a weapon and how to move and strike with one. "So, this is the place." Amethyst says, gesturing to the walls of the chaamber, iconography of the various castes and exalted that have not been seen in many centuries. "First thing's first, if you're gonna do battle with a weapon, you need a weapon of some sort." She goes over to a rack of wooden weapons that may or may not have been moved here explicitly for such purposes. She grabs a training spear, "I myself prefer using a whip, but next I would choose a spear for its reach and its simplicity. Spears are not hard to make or find in a pinch and many things can be substituted for one. But I can't see you carrying a spear on a regular basis." Twirling the spear a few times before tapping it on the ground before her, "What I'd ask, is what kind of weapon you'd like to train with. Preferably something you would be comfortable keeping hidden on your person."
Black Pearl	Salara is dressed more simply than usual, instead of sheer silks and the like, and looks at the various weapons. "Let me see...something that can be hidden, or at least not attract attention..." She closes her eyes and her hide starts to shimmer as scales emerge with patterns of dark purple within the almost black. "A chain, sais. Those can be used to defend, tie up others' weapons, disarm..." A slight thuckle and she looks at the various weapons, "What do you think? Work on those, or try something else?"
Amethyst	"Well, Sais aren't a bad choice, but chains would be a little harder to master. Much easier would be a whip of any variety." Amethyst actually goes into one of her pockets and unfurls an old whip with a singular /crack/. "Reach almost as good as spear." She flicks the whip just so to grab a sai from the rack, grinning. "They can grab and entangle and disarm too. The down side is that they aren't great for actually harming folks, but they hurt like hell. Also folks'll think you're just a little nuts if you use a whip as your main weapon." She puts it away and then gestures at the sai. "Meanwhile sais are much better at, as you said, disarming folks. They're also quite lethal used in the right way, and a very defensive-oriented weapon. Proper use will leave your enemy defenseless and at your mercy. Much easier to control and make use of than a whip too." She summarizes. But then she goes and grabs a short sword, "There's one final weapon that might be helpful. Though not as easy to conceal as a dagger, a shorter sword is a formidable weapon in close quarters combat. Here you don't have any particular advantage one way or the other, but to make up for it the weapon is easily adaptable to a wide variety of circumstances." She finishes explaining.
Black Pearl	"True, but I am also learning to fight from shadows, not just to conceal what I do as harmless. And for those, the chains and sais work, but not a whip. So would it be good to master weapons for that art as well? Or use a completely different weapon not compatible with the style?" Pearl does nod at the use of the sword, "Very easy to aquire and obtain, but if you have one..." She ponders a moment, then shakes her head slightly. "I'll try it if you want, but I don't know that it will fit." A laughter, "Of course, I am learning something new, so of course it won't fit until I try it."
Amethyst	"Ah, I forgot." Amethyst says, putting the sword back and handing Peaarl the sai. "Well it'd be good to use similar weapons I'd think. Getting really good with a particular weapon tends to be better than being alright with several. Though my father had me train with just about everything he could throw at me." "I don't think I need to drill you so hard though." She says, grabbing a sai of her own. "I'll start off easy, with the practical basics. Once you have the basics down I think I can start to instruct you on how to put your essence into it, though we'll need something other than wood or we're liable to light them on fire." She giggles. "Anyway, hmm." She actually takes a moment to consider, "Tell you what, why don't you try taking some swings at me? That'll give me a good idea of what we should work on first."
Black Pearl	Salara takes the sais, and holds them. Interestingly, she appears left-side dominant, at least if her stance is any indication. And as the pints are long and sharp, she starts with flowing jabs. Which are not clumsy at all, but also not subtle at all. Telegraphig what she's doing in her stance. The motion is quick enough, but easily avoided or parried. "No awy to really slash with this, maybe can catch a weapon doing it that way?"
Amethyst	It's almost instinctive as Amethyst flows into her own stance, easily intercepting the motions in a well trained, practiced motion. She meant to try to be a little slower than usual to demonstrate the technique but it seems her muscles have a different idea. At least she didn't pour her essence into it. She breaths, then demonstrates. With her left hand she blocks Salara's left sai while stabbing with her right, slowly enough that Salara can take note. "They aren't really slashing weapons, no, they're piercing weapons with the ability to catch weapons. You can use one of them to create an opening with the other, especially if your opponent is wielding only a single weapon." "But if you want to practice parrying, that's a good a place to start as any. Try to catch my attacks as I do them." Amethyst says. It's funny, it seems she can go between lightning fast and almost comically slow. It's clear that it's hard for her to actively move slower to teach Salara after training so hard to move so quickly.
Black Pearl	It's...difficult to not simply flow out of the way, but to meet weapon with weapon. Her movements are...not awkward, but not withuot any particular urgency or slowness. Average. And each time, she tries to watch, to catch the weapons. The comically slow ones, she can meet--if not perfectly, at least solidly. The lightning fast, well, most of them get through her guard. The ones that doen't, she has to jerk quickly to try to meet. Still, there's no frustration, but her eyes gleam with intent and focus. "How is this?"
Amethyst	"It's good." Amethyst says, "Amazed you blocked any of my faster strikes." She's also focused, but focused on doing her damnest to hold back. The essence in her is burning for her to put it behind every block, every strike, and she has to keep the storm inside of her at bay if she's going to ensure she doesn't hurt Salara. "Now, let's see if you can get past my defense, maybe even disarm me." She slows down just enough to give Salara a fighting chance, and not an ounce more.
Black Pearl	"I...I can barely keep up, and if you had any strength behind them, I'd bet they'd've hit me anyway. I can feel my hands bruising already!" She laughs and the feel of water surrounds her. Flowing everywhere. Inexorable. Inevitable. And so , recalling one thing that was said earlier, she lunges forward, first with her left hand to try to tangle Amethyst's sai, but then a low jab coming in with her right hand. An open movement, but trying somethign with her off-hand at all? Ambitious. Possibly arrogant.
Amethyst	Amethyst was not expecting such a development. One can see the moment the jab goes through, it's like a switch fires in her mind. Her eyes narrow, ears pull back, her skin shifts just a few shades more translucent and her stance completely changes. All of her training and the full brunt of her essence surge at once, flowing out of the dragon's body and into her anima as her movement is practically blurred. A step back and an incredibly quick movement slams into the sai that was aimed right at her, causing a brilliant burst of light and flame, setting both of their weapons on fire, and leaving her glowing slightly in the blue-green she always does, her anima boiling slightly at the edges. It takes her a few moments to realize what she just did, cursing in high realm and waving her wooden sai to try to put out the fire. "Sorry!" She exclaims also in high realm.
Black Pearl	Salara jumps back fluidly after the crash, and the flame, and her own essence fills the room, water to calm fire. Her own weapon is doused easily enough before she reaches out towards Ametis with her power. The deep blue-black surrounds her, but also starts to tease at the clothing a bit--an occupational hazard of dragon-chosen! Still, as she calms down, she gives a slightly crooked smile. "It's all right. It's something I need to learn, after all. Just don't bruise me too badly or Rishi will be put out with us both." She chuckles slightly and then slides the pair of slightly charred sai back on the training rack. "I'll get better--and more predictable--I'm sure. And then start to be able to get through by skill, not just chance."
Amethyst	Amethyst takes a deep breath and manages to extinguish her own pair. "I'll just not use my essence and it'll be fine." She murmurs to herself. She goes and puts away her own weapons then goes and leans against Salara, "I guess sometimes I forget that I haven't really mastered my own essence fever yet, even as my power grows. It's a dangerous combo." She jokes with a little giggle before laying her head against Salara. "Nothin'll actually harm us for real in this room, that's why I brought us here. Rishi needn't worry (or know)" Salara can feel how Amethyst is put so much at ease with her, it's kinda sweet really. "In any case, you did great and I think it's the end of today's lesson. Next time we'll use real weapons so that I can teach you how to channel your dragon essence into them."
Black Pearl	"Indeed. For now..." she smiles and concentrates, and the scales slwoly fade back down to skin, though the subtle patterns remain, and she comes closer to Amethyst with a warm smile. Still at east, comfortable. /Happy/ seeing, being this close to her. "Maybe one day I'll be good enough for a legion...though there's no way they'd let me go into one." A hand reaches out to squeeze, and for a moent, she just satnds there, taking comfort from the contact.
Amethyst	"Heh, maybe I could end up somewhere in the Imperial Navy if I tried hard enough, but I'd rather just have command of my own ship." Amethyst mused. Happy. It's a good feeling. One she rarely gets to experience. Triumph? Sure. Victory? Certainly. Even setbacks and frustration and failure. But joy? She doesn't get to feel much joy. "I think you'd make for a beautiful talonlord." She chuckles.
Black Pearl	"Of course I would! But I've had enough of such things back in the Dreaming Sea..." She shivers slightly, and relaxes a bit. "For now, though...I think I need to do something...spectacular. For the city.. I think..a splendid party for all of the best people at the Chateau? It could only raise my stature here." Relaxing, and, for the moment, not needing the veils around her. To be who she is, and not the mask she shows to so many others. Trust. Acceptance. Delight.
Amethyst	"A brilliant gala would be interesting. I think the two of us together could put something together, invite all the important folks. But what would be the occasion?" Amethyst considers, "The city's also got so many celebration already. We'll need to make sure we stand out somehow." Amethyst doesn't normally wear a mask, not the way Salara might. But even here, she gets to be open and true to herself in a way that's hard to do elsewhere.
Black Pearl	"Well, there's always a low-grade party....ah. Hosting a god's reveal if he or she doesn't have a temple? With so many of them around here, it ought to be...interesting to find one who would want such a gala."