Montage! <montage!> (Iphigenia)

[Dusty Dawson]

It was a nice enough morning. The sun was up and a fee soldiers were making use of the Practice Grounds. Most, however, were attending to other duties. This meant that Dusty would have plenty of room to work with.

That didn't do anything about the cold weather, however. She wasn't sure if it was winter or not. All she knew was the temperature was almost unbearable. Bundled up, she drew a few odd looks and a the occaisional chuckle.

"I'd like to see if any these guys could last a mile down in the canyon." she grumbled.

Shrugging it off as best she could, reviewed the simple materials she had available. Two wooden training swords and a copy of her training manual. It should be more than enough for a simple lesson. Once Iphie had the basics down, she could get into some of the other tactics.

As she waited for her first student, Dusty flipped through a few pages of the manual. It had actually been quite a long time since she reviewed it. A quick refresher and she would be all set to go.

[iphigenia]

Iphie hurried toward the training grounds. She had returned to her room after her shift ended to change into something less bulky and far better suited for fighting. She ended up choosing a hide outfit that seemed well suited for either traveling or fighting. It certainly allowed for freedom of movement, though not much could stop her from moving anyway, at least this didn't rip. She finally came within sight and slowed down. As she saw people passing she realized her mistake, Most were dressed for the intense cold, she was dressed in what might as well have been a vest without sleeves. Another mistake on par with blinking. Still, it might not be too strange though many would take notice.

Iphie debated turning around and changing back in the room before she saw Dusty waiting for her on the fields. Whether or not she had been seen, Iphie shouldn't keep her waiting there. So she took a deep breath and marched onward. "Dusty, hey Dusty." She called as she approached.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, I hope it wasn't too long of a time."

[Dusty Dawson]

Dusty looked up from the old pages and grinned as Iphie approached. That grin quckly shifted to a more complex expression, once she noticed Iphie's attire. How she could even be standing like she was, was a feat unto itself.

"No..uh, no problem." she said, "But damn how can ya stand to be wearing that? I'm all wrapped up nice an' I'm still freezin' my ass off!"

As she waited for an answer, Dusty grabbed the training swords and tossed one to her student. She tucked the manual away in one of her coat's pockets before readying herself with her own wooden weapon.

[iphigenia]

"Well I used to live way up north so I guess I'm sort of used to it." Iphie tried to grab the sword out of the air but missed. She had to chase it a little bounced a few steps away before bending to pick it up. "Besides, we're about to work up a sweat right? Don't want to get too hot in this weather. You're body just gets confused." She grinned and brandished the sword awkwardly.

"This is definitely out of my experience level. Most of what I got taught boiled down to getting to the enemy as fast as I could and then hitting them. Or possibly throwing something at them so I could hit them. Defense wasn't on the curriculum I guess."

[Dusty Dawson]

"Yeah...s'pose your right." she shrugged with a sheepish grin. Confusing the body or not, it was still just too cold. Besides, if she fell under th weather she could just curl up in her apartment with a nice bottle of whiskey.

"Anyways, let's get started with some basics!" she turned out a more enthusiastic face, "We can start with your grip."

She gestured to the awkward hold, Iphie had on the wooden sword. Dust held up her own and demonstrated a proper grip. "Make sure ya got a firm grip, but try ta strangle the hilt. Once ya got the hang o that, let's work on your stance. Th folks taught ya to fight, right?"

[iphigenia]

Iphie looked at the way Dusty held the wooden sword and adjusted her own grip to match before switching the position of her hands. The grip certainly wouldn't be a problem. The thought nearly brought a smile to Iphie's face. As for the stance, Iphie wasn't standing much differently than she did normally.

"Well that's a tricky question. It really depends on the difference between fighting and killing. If there is a difference then they never taught me anything." As she spoke her eyes glanced around, looking at the people around the field who werer practicing swords. She tried to adjust her footing to match theirs and Dusty's.

[Dusty Dawson]

"Yeah, I suppose there ain't much difference." she nodded, "Though I'm talking much on your intent as I am about technique."

She rested the wooden sword on her shoulder as she adopted a more casual stance, "Technique ain't always about going in for the kill. It's also about how ya react to your opponent. How to fend 'em off 'fore they get to ya. Now there ain't no way ya can plan for every scenario, but ya can learn a few basic methods that'll help ya over all. And, seein' as how I haven't seen ya in an actual fight, I think it'd be good to know your background. Don't sound like it was a very formal sorta trainin' but that don't necissarily make it a bad thing."

Dusty grinned, though in the cold it was a short lived expression. As the guards continued their routines, the detective kept her focus on her student. She was an odd one, but her appearance was very decieving. The fact that she showed no ill effects to the temperature was enough of a hint for Dusty. But, she still needed to fish for more details, if she wanted to better help Iphigenia.

[iphigenia]

Iphie copied Dusty's stance again. "Well it wasn't much at all. It was all getting close enough to hit somebody or avoiding a fight completely.It turns out that most guards are incredibly lax to bloody, near naked women staggering about in a blizzard." She swung the sword a bit. "Once they figured out it was pig's blood I was already close enough to hit them, that's assuming they ever found out."

Iphie shrugged. "My training with or against swords was basically, 'don't get cut'. That training did me well enough until it failed me rather spectacularly. And now you know the most basic undetailed reason I asked for help." She kept from touching the scar on her shoulder, one of the several reminders of the unpleasant day where strength proved not to be the ultimate power that it had seemed.

[Dusty Dawson]

"Huh, it was that simplistic." she looked off for a moment. It seemed Iphie had some rather irresponsible teachers. To put it mildly. "Well, seems like ya learned somehow or another. Well, we got a lotta ground ta cover, don't we?"

Blue eyes drew back to Iphigenia. Her posture had changed to match her own. Odd. But she remembered that Iphie had a lot of strange quirks. Still...

She changed made a more subtle change to her stance, "Shouldnt be too bad though, if ya already have some field experience. Least your used to bein' in the thick of it. That can be the hardest part o' training. Gettin' them green fellas used ta the IDE of folks charging at 'em ready ta run 'em through with who knows what."

[iphigenia]

Iphie swung the sword around lightly, completely missing any subtle changes Dusty had made. "Well admittedly that isn't exact wording. I suppose they considered the idea of teaching me defense about as useful as giving the boulder on a trebuchet some armor. In any case nobody ever seems to charge at me." She briefly thought back to the bandits she had encountered a long while ago who seemed easily driven off with a quick waggle of a tree in their general direction.

Iphie awkwardly imitated another stance she saw someone using off to the side. "Personally I'd like to be a bit more useful than a rock pointed at something that needs breaking." She took a few more inept swings. Although in her mind, Iphie was becoming more enamored with the idea of swinging the sword instead of a fist, which would be a bit cleaner at least. She was quickly forgetting that the entire point of the exercise was to defend against attacks rather than learning how to hit things with something other than her hand.

[Dusty Dawson]

'Nope, ain't nothin's gonna be that easy.' Dusty thought to herself. While Iphie seemed capable of some imitation, she still needed a lot of work before she was combat ready with a sword.

This was highlighted as she took up the stance of a practicing soldier and took a few awkward swings.

"Remember your feet." Dusty chimed in, "You can't let the sword do all the work. Get some solid footing and you'll be more balanced. Balance means ya ain't getting knocked over so easily. And the more time ya spend upright th less a chance ya got at bein' skewered."

[iphigenia]

Iphie adjusted her stance, Dusty knew what she was doing hopefully, even if Iphie figured the chances of knocking her over were slim to none. Still, she had asked for help and had to follow through. Of course then she thought about the unfortunate time on the ground last time she had been in a fight and decided that it wouldn't hurt to be a lot more careful.

"Alright then." She took a few more swings on her surer footing and was pleased that they seemed more solid, though she still was swinging rather softly. She thought about her shield that would need paying for in a few days. "I've already invested a bit in a shield, Sort of the reason I'm penniless right now. Is that much different than using a sword?"

[Dusty Dawson]

"Shield, eh?" she smirked, "Well, that does make things a bit different. Hopefully you ain't plannin' on fightin' with just that. Never fought much with one m'self. Always been more equipped to move around as quickly as possible. Still, I can give ya a few pointers."

Dusty took a walk around Iphie, watching her swings improve. The force wasn't there, but she did have some better form. The progress was pretty good, considering the lack of prior training.

[iphigenia]

"Well I couldn't pay for a blade when all the specifications on the shield were done with. I figured I'd use that and my hands and it'd be a step up from hands alone." Iphie let her right hand fall from the hilt and swung the sword with just the one. She thought about the odd woman who had beaten her and started swinging harder. A sword meant a lot less power could do a lot more damage, and with all the power Iphie could put into it, she couldn't help but smile at the thought.

"I think the shield's going to come out nice though, nothing is going to get through it ever. I won't have to worry about arrows and such." She smiled and held up her right arm like it was a shield.

[Dusty Dawson]

"Huh...still, wish I could give ya a proper blade. Ah well, that's somethin' we can work on later." Dusty shrugged herself, "An' havin' a shield's better than nothin' I s'pose."

With little else to remark, Dusty decided to continue the lesson. Iphie still had a little ways to go. She pulled out her training manual and went through some of the basic motions and stances. Nothing was particularly complicated. It was filled with enough information that would (hopefully) prevent the recruit from being stabbed.

"I'll lend ya this." Dusty said, breaking away from the lessons, "Go over it a few times, get well acquainted with it. Sure there's some stuff in there 'bout survivin' out in the desert, but even that ya might find handy...if ya ever find yourself in a desert."

She half grinned. The number of guards and soldiers around them fluctuated as some came and went in between their daily routines.

"So, tell me...how comfortable ya findin' that there stick?" Dusty tapped her own practice sword on her shoulder as she asked her student.