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 Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2011 7:29 pm
Nodding mutely, she jumped in surprise when he closed his hands around her arms. Frowning, the Baku stared at him blankly, trying to wriggle free in what was probably the most pathetic attempt possible. "I...I would..." It was hard to gauge her reaction since the person before her right now was a friend, not a random attacker. Because of this, she didn't have the sense of panic or urgency that she usually would in such a situation.
It took her a while, but then she looked down at herself. "I would...kick them and try to get free?" She offered weakly. It made sense to her--her arms were occupied, but she could still kick. The only question was where was she supposed to aim?
A sudden horrified look passed over her face, and Xiu looked up at Roch with wide eyes. "I don't have to hurt you, do I?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2011 7:35 pm
"No, you don't got to hurt me. In fact, I'd prefer you didn't. But you're right. Kicking is a good option here. So is stomping. Look down," he said, stepping back slightly so she could. "What do you see?"
He was barefoot. He didn't bother to wear shoes in his own room. But it was more than just his feet that were vulnerable, which he would get to soon.
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Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2011 8:33 pm
Xiu was visibly relieved, her tense shoulders relaxing slightly. "G-good." She had been worried this would be one of those hand-on lessons, and that she would actually have to practice on someone. Now that that worry was cast out of the mind, she allowed herself to focus a little more on what the reaper was telling her.
She obeyed him and looked down, blinking as she took in his bare feet. The first thought that came to mind? "I need to get you some slippers, Roch." And finally, the second thought. "W-well...stomping. Your feet are...um, unprotected, so you would probably let go if I stomped on your foot, right?"
There was something else she was missing, but she couldn't put her finger on it.
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Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2011 8:45 pm
"That's right," Roch said, grinning slightly. "Especially the toes. Toes are sensitive. But there's nothing protecting the top of the foot, either. But don't just stomp, put your entire weight into it, when you do it. Next, let's work up. There's nothing really protecting the shin on most creatures, either," he told her. "But to get a really good kick in, bend your toes upward and hit with the ball of your foot, got it?"
He let go of her and looked around before motioning her to the wall. "Try kicking it. But don't forget to kick with the ball of your foot, otherwise you'll break something."
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Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2011 11:29 pm
Kick the wall. Okay. She could do it! She has kicked things before! Murmuring his tips quietly to herself, she took a stance in front of the wall--body angled and legs slightly bent--and breathed deeply. Just kick the wall with the ball of her foot! Got it!
Bringing her leg up and around, she slammed her heel into the wall with a satisfying smack. Beaming with pride, she turned to look at Roch, only to loose her balance last minute. After a bit of flailing and windmilling of her arms, the poor ghoul landed none-too-gently on her bottom.
"O-ow...Did I do well?"
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Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2011 7:50 am
"Up until the point you looked away... or maybe the point where you fell on your a**," Roch said, trying not to laugh as he offered to help her to her feet. "Keep your weight on your back foot, keep the knee slightly bent, and do it again." he ordered. These were all things she should have been taught when she was a little scareling in his opinion. He hadn't even gotten past the shins yet, he added with a sigh. "Hey, you know," he said abruptly, heading for the closet. "After a bit of thinking I went back to the wishing well," he said as he went through the door. A few seconds later he came back in, carrying (with a bit of effort) a rather large potted plant, which promptly turned and looked at Xiu. "And I decided he'd make a good sparring partner when he grew up a bit," Roch finished, putting the plant down.
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Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2011 9:21 am
"Y-yes!" She squeaked, taking his hand and heaving herself back to her feet. With a grimace, she eyed the wall again. "W-weight on the back foot," She murmured to herself, "Knee slightly bent, and--OH ROCH, NO."
She was distracted by her attempt when she heard her friend mention the wishing well. Straightening from her stance, the ghoul emitted a panicked whimper, pressing herself against the wall--the one she had been trying to kick a moment ago--when the plant was brought out. The man-eating plant. Sure, it was just a baby, but how long would that last?!
"H-how are you going to feed it?!" Xiu's tail was wrapped around her waist, and her ears seemed to have curled downwards slightly. From the way she was squishing herself flat against the wall, it was clear that she was trying to put as much distance between her and the plant as possible.
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Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2011 9:25 am
"Huh? So far he likes worms," Roch said, patting the plant on the head only to get snapped at. "Ain't he cute?" he added with a strange fondness. "He scares the hell out of Clef, and even Jackdammit goes someplace high when I bring him into the room. Haven't named him yet, though," he admitted. "But I figured him being in the room would make you more willing to discuss violence."
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Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2011 9:41 am
"C-cute." She echoed, though she looked a little doubtful. This was surprising considering how she was usually the one calling strange things cute, but...a plant whose family tried to devour her? At some point, she had to draw the line! The Baku couldn't help but be a little skittish around it.
Did it do as Roch hoped, though? Well, from the way Xiu suddenly instinctively dropped into tense stance--legs bent, arms up, and small hands curled into fists--it looked like the presence of the plant would definitely serve it's purpose. At the very least, she was no longer calm and relaxed--instead, Xiu appeared to be tense and wholly focused (and paranoid) of the plant.
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Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2011 9:52 am
"Good job, plant!" Roch said, seeing the change. "Now, let's speed this up. First off, what on the plant would you hit if you had the chance?" he asked her. "It's got less vulnerable spots than a humanoid, but they've got one big one in common."
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Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2011 10:03 am
"T...the head looks like the largest target," She answered shakily, though her eyes never faltered away from the plant, "Though with that mouth of it's...either a...a kick over the head or beneath, where the jaw is?" She wasn't just guessing wildly--this would probably be exactly what she would do in such a situation, so she left it up to Roch to correct her if she was wrong. Her logic was that, if faced with one of these things (again) the last thing Xiu would want to do is kick or punch straight forward and right into the plant's mouth.
Though that stem looked to be kind of fragile too. A kick to it wouldn't do much good though, she gathered. Besides, if she fought an adult plant, she just wanted to incapacitate it for a little bit, not mortally wound it (as breaking the stem would probably result in).
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Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2011 10:08 am
"You're right," Roch said. "The jaw is just sticking out there, waiting to be hit or kicked or beat in with a random object. You can hit it from the side as well, if you've got a weapon of some sort. But you wouldn't feel guilty about hitting one of these guys, would you," he said. "Because they're big and scary and they want to EAT you. Which is why whenever someone attacks you--if someone attacks you, I want you to picture one of these guys."
Appropriately, the plant opened his mouth in Xiu's direction, his tongue coming out and twisting, as if he wanted to lick her. Or drag her into his mouth and swallow her (which might be a bit hard, considering the size.)
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Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2011 10:21 am
At this rate, Xiu was going to develop a genuine phobia of these things, especially from the way Roch was describing them. However, when the tongue started to slither out towards her, the Baku stiffened and pointed a finger right at the plant.
"O-oh no you don't. Y-you keep that tongue away from me!" She warned it sternly. She managed to keep up this brave front for only so long before she crumbled and skittered behind Roch to hide.
...Well. It was a good start.
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Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2011 10:34 am
"Xiu," Roch said patiently. "Telling him off is a bit ruined when you run and hide behind the nearest buddy." He was trying not to laugh, though, because, well... seriously, she was afraid of a foot tall plant! "Okay, okay, the plant wasn't that great of an idea. I thought you'd be okay since we got out of there without a scratch on us," he said, thinking.
"Let's go back to vulnerable spots, okay? I'm going to show you another way to kick." He turned so he was facing her and took hold of her forearms this time. "Between the legs is sensitive, especially for guys. But to get a really good kick in you just need to bring up the knee."
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Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2011 10:58 am
"We got out without a scratch, but I was terrified, remember?" She shook her head at the memory, but there with a kind of exasperated smile on her face. She wasn't exasperated at Roch, mind you, but herself. Was she really cut out for this kind of stuff? It was important to learn how to defend oneself, but considering how much of a coward she really was?
"Between the legs?" She repeated, looking up at him for confirmation. Using him as a support, Xiu slowly raised her knee (while being very, very careful not to actually hit him), wobbling on the leg that she still had planted. "So just...like this, basically?"
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