Welcome to Gaia! ::

Earendil looked thoughtful. It was important to get a staff that suited her, but if she didn't know how it was supposed to feel, then how would they know for certain?

"Perhaps I can be of service," a voice came from behind them.

Earendil looked up to see a golden-haired elf approaching from the back of the shop. He was powerfully built, and though he was smiling there was still a no-nonsense sort of air about him. He was not as tall as Earendil, but still had a very commanding presence.

"We're looking for a staff for my daughter," he told the man. "The problem is, I'm not entirely sure how we can check which staff is the proper weight for her."

The man nodded and held his hand out to take the staff from Miyuki.

"It's a bit tricky to know how heavy a staff to use," he assured them, "even if you have used one before. Because what you can handle when you first begin to use it is different from what you will be able to handle once you have been using it for a while. Your body will adjust, become stronger. So oddly enough, it's usually best to start with a staff that's the slightest bit heavy for you."

"Thank you," the man smiled at Miyuki, taking the staff and leaning it against the wall. "Please, come with me. I have something that will help us to find the correct staff for you."

He motioned for everyone to follow him over to the back of the shop, where there were a few shelves of leather balls next to the door that led further into the building.

"By the way," he added, looking over his shoulder at Lin and Earendil, "has she already had training in any form at all?"

"Not everyone does," the man said as he reached for some of the leather balls.

They weren't large, about fist sized (though they were of all different sizes). He eyed Miyuki and handed her one that was about the size of her own fist.

"Take a few steps back and toss it to me," he told her with a nod.

The man caught the ball easily, though his eyes were on Miyuki. He shook his head and returned the ball to the shelf, picking another, slightly larger, one to try again.

"Same thing," he said, tossing it to her.

The man pursed his lips thoughtfully, then reached for still another ball that was ever so slightly bigger than the second one had been.

"Try this," he said, tossing it lightly to Miyuki. "And before you toss it back to me, toss it back and forth between your own two hands a few times."

The man caught the ball and held onto it, but he still wasn't satisfied.

"One more," he said, tossing her one final ball that was a little bit bigger than the last. "This should be the last one, but I need to be sure."

He kept the other ball in his hand rather than replacing it on the shelf like the others.

"Good." The man nodded and motioned for Miyuki to come back, holding one hand out to take the ball back from her. He looked at the ball that was still in his other hand, nodded to himself, and then put it back on the shelf as well.

"Good," he said again. "So now we know how heavy your staff should be."