damned_institute | Night 43: F21-30 Hall

Meche obediently stood up, arms at her sides. The heels made her a little taller than usual for here, but she remembered noticing that she and Alita had been about the same height in flats yesterday. Actually, their builds looked pretty similar too--although Meche had a feeling the girl probably had hidden reserves of muscle that she could only dream of, even now that she had muscles again. Still, she wasn't in bad shape. Maybe she could pull this off after all.

She said hi to Soma as the girl came in, looking a little more...nervous, maybe that was the word--than Meche would have liked. Well, walking around alone at night was a pretty nerve-wracking prospect, especially after the last couple of nights. That uncertain expression seemed sort of unusual for Soma, though. She always looked so calm.

Meche was glad when the little reaper pulled her over to talk. A little apprehensive herself now, but glad. Now they could really get started. She just hoped she wouldn't embarrass herself.

Falis' crimson gaze flickered to Soma as Senna let her in and lingered on the pale-haired girl a bit longer than necessary. There was something about her...

Stop looking at your girls' friends like they're your midnight pantry raid, she told herself, forcing her mind to focus on Meche's build and not the potential succulence of her flesh and that of So--

No. Something was off. Something was wrong. Something was making the hair on the back of her neck stand up and the urge to peel her lips back in a silent snarl almost too much to suppress. What the fuck? Stop being so fucking territorial. Get over it. Focus on the training. Focus NOW.

Shaking her head a little, Falis walked slowly around Meche, getting a good look at her. She noted the woman's heels, smirking a little at the sight. They weren't the best footwear to fight in, but Falis had learned to do it, having to until she managed to convince Jodou and Milano to let her use boots instead.

"Okay, let's just start with getting you familiar with the spear. There are two on my bed, so pick them both up and choose the one that feels better in your hands," she instructed.

Meche wondered if now was the time to point out that her ankle was injured, or if it even mattered. She decided it probably didn't. She couldn't be sure when Alita would have time to teach her again, so she'd better suck it up and do this.

She headed over to the bed and took a closer look at the spears. Originally Meche had been picturing something as tall as she was, maybe a throwing weapon, but now that she was up close she realized they were only about three feet long--the same size as the cane. That would really put her up close and personal with whatever she was fighting. Nothing like a gun, with which you could put a lot of distance between you and the target and take cover if you needed to. You'd have to stab from almost point-blank range. If she killed a monster with this, Meche thought, she'd get blood all over her.

She picked up the first one. It was heavier than she'd expected; she'd definitely need two hands to use it easily. Meche hefted it over her right shoulder and drove it forward experimentally. It hit the air in front of her a bit below eye level. Boy, she never thought she'd actually miss that sproutella gun, but she was coming close right now. Swinging a spear(!) at nothing felt silly.

After another thrust or two, she put the first spear down and repeated the process with the second one. Truthfully, she couldn't feel much of a difference between them, but maybe the wood felt a little smoother on the original one. Looking decisive seemed like a good idea, anyway. She picked the first spear up again and held it in front of her body with both hands, waiting for Alita's next set of instructions.

Falis watched Meche with a close eyes, analyzing her movements as she tested each spear. With a nod in agreement with Meche's choice, the hunter picked up the other spear.

"Okay, let's step a bit away from the bed to give us more room." She sent another glance over where the other two girls were in conversation before rolling her right shoulder in an attempt to alleviate the burning pain. Fucking zombies.

"Watch where my hands are," she told the woman, making sure Meche could see the placement. "With the right kind of leverage and skill, these can be wielded one-handed, but we're going to focus on the two-handed method. Two hands gives you more strength in your strikes and allows you to use it defensively as needed. They key, though, is where you put your hands. Too far forward and you leave them open to attack with little ability to protect them. Too far back and any strike will put you off-balance and you'll over-extend."

Falis took up a stance, feet apart just a bit more than her shoulder-width, and she bent at the knees to relax her feet. Holding her hands about a foot apart on the spear's shaft, one was at the midpoint and the other was a few inches from the end. "It's about balance, Meche. Your body will tell you when it's comfortable. Listen to it."

Meche followed Alita over into the open space, surprised again by another side of the girl she hadn't seen yet. All of a sudden she was professional, efficient--a serious teacher. She must really be in her element like this. Meche was impressed.

Alita's explanation made sense--hearing the reasoning behind what she was doing made her feel more comfortable, like she'd be less likely to slip up and do something wrong later. Meche nodded and tried to copy her teacher's stance. Once she thought her feet were set right and she wasn't holding her legs too tensely, Meche closed her eyes and brought the spear up, trying to let her hands come up with the right position without her over-thinking things. It took her a few moments to find something that felt sort of right. When she opened her eyes again, though, she was gratified to see that her hands had landed in about the same place as Alita's. She must be doing something right, at least.

"Okay," she said. "What next?"

A grin met the older woman's eyes when she looked over at Falis. She liked how Meche was actually listening to her. She normally didn't bother with teaching adults shit like this since they were so set in the way they thought things should be - the young were much more open and receptive - but it was good to see Meche being adaptable.

Maintaining her stance, Falis continued with the lesson. "This will be your core stance for anything regarding a spear. From here, you have a stable base that can absorb the shock of an incoming strike without losing your balance. It also allows you to contain power coiled in your leg muscles for a strike. When you attack, it's never just with your arms, but your whole body, and the strength originates from your base." She tilted her head a moment in thought. "Picture the power for a single strike coming from the ground, flowing up through your legs, through your torso and into your arms like a singular wave."

She demonstrated for effect, the spear's thrust controlled, powerful and smooth.

Meche understood that too. Just like throwing a punch. You wanted to have your legs in a good, solid stance so you could really put some weight into the hit--and be ready to move if the guy got up and hit back. Or, in Domino's case, if the guy barely even flinched to begin with. She should really get someone to teach her that.

All right, legs a bit wider than her shoulders, knees bent just a little, both hands on the spear like that, she could do those things. This was the easy part. Meche watched Alita demonstrate a clean, surprisingly elegant thrust and decided that the real problem would be delivering a blow that was both powerful and steady. It couldn't be as easy as it looked. She nodded to show she was following and waited for the next step.

"Got that?" Falis made sure Meche was listening and her lips twitched up at the accompanying nod. "Now, I'll do ti again, but slowly so you can see the details of my movement. Sorry for the hair blocking some of it. Can't do much about that," she added on with a bit of a grumble, as her long mane did indeed conceal some of her body.

Carefully, slowly, yet still fluidly, Falis went through the motion for Meche to watch. With every shift of the power through her body, she described it to the older woman.

"It's fine," Meche replied a little absently--she was busy watching the way Alita was moving. As she watched, she tried to copy what the girl was doing, but she could feel the awkwardness in the motions. Her stance seemed right; it was just hard to concentrate on looking and on power coming up from the ground at the same time.

When Alita finished the slower demonstration, Meche repeated it a few more times. All right, heels planted, energy coming up, just like a regular punch--was that it? She couldn't tell. She looked over at Alita, eyebrows raised. "Something sort of like that?"

Stepping out of her stance, Falis twirled her spear and then rest it on her right shoulder purely out of habit. At the contact, she had the tiniest of wince in reaction to the pain and hoped it'd go unnoticed. She approached Meche, her grip on the spear tightening just a fraction, and looked the woman's form over.

"Something like that. Go ahead and do it again. Then I'll adjust your stance."

"All right." Meche brought her arms back, gave herself a second to check her stance over in her mind and think about power moving upward, and thrust again. This time she froze in the position she ended up in--with the spear out in front of her and most of her weight balanced on the foot in front--so Alita could check it over. She felt, more than saw, the younger woman walking around her, and tried to focus on holding the spear and her body very steady.

This all felt so strange. She tried not to think about that either--just kept still and waited for what Alita had to say. Paying attention tonight might save someone's life later on, Meche told herself. She had to stay focused.

A keen eye analyzed the thrust and Falis nodded to herself. She stepped to Meche's side, having seen the two areas where she needed to improve her form if she wanted to be effective at all.

After dropping her own spear onto the bed (and casting a glance toward Senna when her roommate touched Soma), Falis put her hands on the older woman's arms and repositioned the spear so Meche wasn't overextended and far more level than it had been. "Feel how much more stable that is? You always need to keep a small bit of your muscle in reserve. Without it, disarming you will be child's play. The single coil of muscle held back is what allows you to hold onto your weapon and pull it back for a second strike if the first is not enough."

She then moved around behind Meche. She paused there and stared at the woman's back for a moment, steeling herself, before she moved quite close. Placing her hands on Meche, she guided her hips a couple inches down closer to the ground. "Keep your center of gravity lower, even when shifting your weight forward. Fighting is a dance, Meche, and if you aren't ready to move your feet at any given time, you'll only fall over and, if you're lucky, meet a clean death."

The hunter grit her teeth as the scent of the woman's flesh invaded her senses. So there... so easy. She was already in her grasp. One bite... just one to tide her over, blood to quench her thirst and flesh to sate her appetite.

Quickly, Falis let go and turned away, swallowing hard. She moved over to the bed and picked up her own spear. "Make sense?" Shit. Maybe these lessons aren't a good idea.

Meche let Alita guide her body to where it needed to be. Once her arms and hips were in the right places, it made sense--she'd been overextending herself. It would have been tough to get back from that position in a hurry. "You're right," she said appreciatively to the girl. "I can really feel the difference." She glanced back to make sure she wasn't going to hit Alita in the face, then tried thrusting again. It was still too far, but the next try seemed better.

"Yep, makes sense," she agreed. When she turned to look at the girl, though, something gave her pause. Meche couldn't put her finger on what it was, exactly--she just thought there was something about Alita's expression. A hint of pain, maybe? It did look like she'd taken some hits last night.

Then again, Meche could just be imagining things. Maybe projecting. "Is everything all right?" she asked just in case. She wasn't expecting much of an answer, whether something really was wrong or not. Alita seemed like the kind of person who'd say she was just fine on her deathbed.

"Yeah," she said gruffly as she kept her gaze away from Meche for the moment. "Just a little worried Hokuto's not here yet."

Which wasn't a lie. Considering her girl's room was right next door, she expected her to be there by now. Though, she kind of didn't want Hokuto around with as hungry as she was. She didn't think she could forgive herself if she bit Hokuto. Okay, she probably couldn't forgive herself if she bit either Senna or Meche either, but it'd hit her harder if it was her girlfriend.

Twirling the spear around, Falis slipped into a stance and demonstrated the thrust full speed again. "How about you do five of these in a row, starting our slow and then increasing your speed a little each time until you hit full power on the last one?"

That was right, this was supposed to be another full meeting of the LDGC, or something like that. "Well, it's still early yet," Meche said, trying to be reassuring. "Maybe she just got a late start." She'd never heard about any monsters appearing in the patient blocks, so Hokuto should have a pretty safe trip, Meche told herself. She might be moving a little slower than usual because of her injuries, or maybe she'd run into a friend on the way. There shouldn't be any reason to worry yet, right?

Or was tonight one of the nights when they kidnapped--

No, she just worried too much. It would be silly to panic this soon in the night, when there were still plenty of good reasons why Hokuto might not have gotten here yet. Meche decided the best thing for now would be to keep going, and if Hokuto still hadn't shown up in a little while, they would go out and look for her.

She raised the spear again and did the first thrust slowly, just like the last few. Power coming up from the ground. Don't overshoot. The next couple of reps got progressively faster. On the third one, Meche realized she'd driven too far out again and made a little noise of frustration as she pulled back. She slowed the next thrust down before speeding up again, and kept trying until she got five reps in a row that she felt pretty good about. By then she could really start to feel it in her back and shoulders. She'd have to get stronger if she wanted to be able to keep this up for long.

As Falis watched Meche's repetitions, she started partially listening to Soma and Senna's conversation. She hadn't been paying attention to it, but when she picked up the fire and passion in Senna's voice, even as her roommate kept it low, the hunter turned part of her attention to what she could hear. She didn't particularly like what she heard if only because it made her think of Namine and the question she had once asked Falis. The hunter still believed what she'd told the girl back then. If Senna wasn't going to give this a rest, she might have to step in. Senna was smart, though, so she shouldn't have to. Probably.

Her eyes narrowed as Meche finished her segment of thrusts. "Hmm. Okay drop the spear and stretch out. You're too tense. Relax."

Meche could hear the girls in the background, but she was making a real effort not to listen to them. Even when she carefully set--not dropped; even heels this good wouldn't prevent her from breaking a toe--the spear on the floor and started rolling her shoulders, she kept facing the other way. The conversation sounded like it was taking a serious turn, but it wasn't any of her business to eavesdrop or interrupt unless something really went wrong. Right now she had to keep focused.

She did a quick series of stretches, mostly with her arms and then a few with her legs. A couple of joints cracked audibly. Boy, between the foot races and the spear, she was well on her way to coming up with the definitive Landel's Institute fitness program here--for added aerobic benefits, just beat up a few zombies on your commute home. Maybe she should pitch it to Manny when he got back.

All right, time to get serious again. Meche did one last stretch and picked up the spear again to show that she was ready for Round Two. "Anything else I should fix about those?" she asked.

The hunter's brow furrowed a moment. Approaching, she moved behind Meche and put a finger between the woman's shoulder blades. "Do you carry your tension here?"

Did she? Meche had no idea. "I never really thought about it before," she admitted. "I think that's where I'm feeling most of it right now, though." Stretching had helped, but she still wasn't feeling very relaxed. As counterproductive as it would be to this kind of training, she thought suddenly that she could really use a cigarette right now.

"Huh."

Falis put her hand flat against the woman's back, concentrating on the feel of the muscles beneath the flesh and not the warmth of said flesh seeping through the Meche's shirt into her hand. "I think I can help. Don't fight me."

She then grasped the forearm of the arm that currently was not holding the spear and brought it back behind Meche's body. She kept her other hand flat against her back, creating proper resistance. "This is going to feel really fucking weird," she warned before she brought the arm back just beyond it's comfort zone and gave a quick push with her palm, feeling the upper vertebrae shift just a little. There, that should realign things.

"Better?"

When Hokuto woke up, she expected it to be morning. Seeing that it wasn't just confused her; what had happened?

After a moment, she remembered... Kakyou had come to her again. He'd been worried, and even though he had to be going through worse, he'd asked what was wrong... she really missed him.

At least being fashionably late is my usual style, she thought dryly. Because she felt like a change, anyway, she put on her sun dress; she hadn't managed to pick up a second pair of shoes, so she put her indoor slippers back on, and then ran next door.

Rather than knock, since they were expecting her anyway, she opened the door and peeked in. Yep, last. Oh well... she smiled at everyone and said, "What did I miss?"

[jumping down here]

"What are you goin--ay!" Meche yelped as Alita did something with her hands and something else moved somewhere along her own spine. By the time she could really process what had just happened, it was already over--and Alita was right; it did feel better. "Wow, thanks," she said, lifting the spear in both hands again to test it out. The twinges in her muscles had faded, at least for now.

She was about to suggest they get started again when she heard Hokuto's voice, and turned to see the girl standing at the door in a sundress. Meche's first thought was that she was glad Hokuto was all right, but the close second was: where was she getting that wardrobe? That dress would be a bit too bare for Meche, but she and Donna couldn't be the only ones who'd probably slog through another zombie apocalypse for a decent set of clothes.

"Evening, Hokuto," she said with a smile. "You haven't missed much. Alita's trying to teach me to slay dragons, but I think I'm a pretty slow student so far."

Letting go of Meche, Falis turned at the sound of her girlfriend's voice and then stopped and stared. That dress Hokuto was wearing...

Fuck me.

The hunter swallowed, licked her lips and continued to stare, too stunned to do anything else. Damn, did her girl look good in that.

Hokuto smirked the slightest bit; she hadn't expected that strong a reaction from her girl. "Can I be of any assistance?"

Since Soma and Meche were there, too, she doubted they were actually going to do anything tonight (and she'd better stop thinking about that before she got a nosebleed). Still... she could take a little pleasure from how Falis reacted just to how she looked in this dress.

She couldn't resist catching a glimpse of Senna, to see if she was reacting...

Meche, as the only one in the room immune to the raging teenage hormones that were practically rebounding off the walls all of a sudden, was quickly starting to feel like the fifth wheel here. Nothing like young love to make a girl feel old.

"Well, I could use all the help I can get," she said honestly. Then, trying to be tactful, she added, "But you know, we've already gotten a good start for tonight, so I could always head back to my room and work on my stance some more. You must both be tired after last night." Tired probably didn't have a lot to do with it, but Meche was remembering pulling the shades down on a train ride last week and feeling a little empathetic. Anyway, the children here had to grow up so fast. For all that she felt like their mom sometimes, it wasn't her place to stick her nose into the ways they supported each other.

Had that really been only last week?

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