2 days after the Elemental Foxes concert:
The sound of
shinai rang out in the practice room as Audra and Ana matched off with Logan and Wayne, respectively. The boys had offered to give the girls some practice, to which Ana had agreed. Audra had agreed as well. She had admittedly been bit rusty in swordplay, which had precipitated the initial confrontation with Samuel.
Audra had never been great with melee combat. She had been scrawny in her youth, and while her father, Victarion and Uncle Jurgen had taught her the basics, it was her mother, Freyja, who had taught her how to fight dirty, striking at joints and other "vital" areas. "In real life, as long as you win," her mother had said, "it doesn't matter if the rules are broken. Because if you lose, you'll die...or worse." When she asked what could be worse, her mother described, in full graphic detail, what could and often did happen to women who were taken alive. Since then, Audra had promised her mother that she would never lose like that, which made her mom smile. "I know you won't." She had said proudly.
Returning to the here and now, Audra blocked Logan's strikes, if a bit clumsily, reminding herself this was just practice.
"Your stance is solid." Said Logan. "But your movements are still stiff. Try to loosen your form."
Audra did as she was told, trying to loosen up as they went again. Their spar would be interrupted by the arrival of four members of Audra and Ana's learning group.
"Oh, look who's here? Hey, roomie." It was Hua Chen, accompanied by her twin brother, Wei Chen, along with Daibhidh Zadov and Ishaan Ryuzoji. Audra had learned of Zadov's connections to Ana's Ichizoku and that Ryuzoji was the son of a militia commander.
"Is there room for the rest of us?" Wei asked.
"I don't see why not." Said Wayne. "Logan, girls, let's switch up the dueling pairs."
"Say," Audra whispered to Ana, "we should find out where these guys stand in regard to your "little problem". Especially Zadov, since he's sort of one of your people. And that Ryuzoji guy might be useful too. My uncle might actually work with his dad."
"Okay." Ana nodded. "We'll see if we can find a way to broach the subject during the sparring session."
OOG: shadhawk and eilidhdawn: OK, next chapter of the Audra story is up. Where do we go from here?
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