Now, it could be said that Antiope was not the studious sort. Her grades were not what one would consider typical for a Chinese girl. However, it wasn't so much she didn't have the capacity to become a smart girl. It was just that she wasn't interested in becoming a smart girl.

However, all the focus she could have used to become smart, she instead used to focus upon her passion. The Martial Arts.

As promised, the girl had done her research, and now she sought out a particular young lady who had wanted to learn more about fighting. Antiope's stomping grounds were the park, but that didn't mean that it was Galena's stomping grounds too.

So that meant she had to bring out the big guns.

With a freshly prepared batch of Matcha Tea, the Mantis Senshi remained absolutely still, almost like the insect her fuku respresented.

Carneli
Promotion. Validation. Everything Elle had sought out in life she had managed to gain in the unexpected place of the Negaverse, which up until recently had been a source of turmoil for her.

And yet they had given her a promotion of power.

It was a surprising and freeing feeling as she strutted around in her new uniform. Even her boots, while still high heels, felt more firm and steady to walk in. She was used to walking in heels, and skirts and dresses. She was used to a demure housewife shuffle to quietly keep up with a date who was escorting her to seem unassuming and gentle.

But not in this uniform. She took proud, strong steps, feeling new power. And enjoying every second of it.

She hadn't even seen Antiope in her stillness, and she was too preoccupied to sense her as she investigated her new half gloves and the hidden blades that rested between her ring finger and middle finger when extended, feeling pride in their stealth and sharpness.


In her current position, she was able to see the figure that was approaching. However, it was familiar, yet it was not.

The facial structure seemed like Galena, but the uniform she wore seemed out of place.

Stating the first thing that came to mind, the senshi announced her presence with a question. "Do you have a twin sister or something?"

Carneli
Galena nearly stumbled, halting her strut to look at the mantis senshi she had nearly missed. At first her eyes went wide with the shock, and then narrowed under furrowed brow as she tried to figure out the confusing question, thinking she was missing something.

And then she realized she was not missing anything, and slapped a hand over her face. Normally such a rude physical display would have been repressed, but Galena wasn't feeling quite as repressed as typical tonight.

"I... no, Anti," She said, making a point to use the nickname she had been asked to use. She took a step back and turned full circle. "It's me, I just got a promotion!"


For a brief moment, the mantis senshi was able to see Galena under all that new exterior. Her impression that this girl was more of a lady, like how Minny was. Such brash and bold body language said otherwise at that moment.

So there was a curious tilt of her head as the promoted Galena did a turn around. "Promotion? Like graduating from white belt to any other color? Or at work? Or...?"

Antiope, as usual, seemed a bit behind on how things worked. She lifted a sleeved hand and scratched at her own head in puzzlement.

"I mean, your outfit looks a bit more training-ready... which is why I was looking for you in the first place. You just didn't look like you, Gal!"

Carneli
Galena adjusted her posture, holding one hand formally behind her and in front like a proper officer. "A promotion in the Negaverse. I am a captain now, and no longer at the bottom of the food chain. My uniform has upgrade, and," She pulled on hand away and summoned the hidden blade that came from her glove and released between her fingers like a claw.

"More useful tools as well."

She dropped her arm and smiled a rare smile. "You were looking for me for training?"


If there was a list that Antiope was keeping about things she didn't understand, the Negaverse would have probably been on the list. Sure she had been told by some about the Negaverse and their wrong-doings, maybe even a bit about their structure. That didn't mean the information had been fully absorbed.

Perhaps the Negaverse was like a military job...

The display of the weapons caused the senshi to clap her sleeve-covered hands together in a pleased manner. "Oh, those are lovely, and will actually be useful for what I plan to teach as well!"

Opening up her hands, she gestured to the spread before her. "I am pretty sure I explained it last time, but sit... drink! I can explain it again! Congratuations on the promotion though!"

With another enthusiastic gesture, the Mantis senshi beckoned the Captain to join her.

Carneli
"Oh?" Galena asked, looking at the blades in her hand and back to Antiope, trying to mask the burgeoning pride that she thought her blades were lovely. Galena herself had been fawning over their small and elegant shape since she summoned them. The fact that Antiope thought they were lovely too almost made her blush.

"OH! I'm sorry, things have been... it's been a bit hectic. Thank you, though, she said, gratefully sitting where she was told and accepting a cup of tea with a small bow of her head.


Now that Galena was settled in, Antiope took to explaining business as she had been planning before. "So, after I considered what seemed to be your strengths and weaknesses in our little spar the other day... I think you would be suited for Snake style Kung Fu. It relies on speed and sharp jabs aimed towards specific weak points."

She paused long enough to take a drawn out sip from her own cup before she continued.

"From what I have read, it is a fighting style that is actually very adept to having weaponry added to it... so your little blades would be effective once you got far enough into the training!"

Leaning back, she began to roll her sleeves up, making her hands visible for once. "Could I be so bold as it ask if I could borrow your blades?"

Carneli
"Snake style..." Galena mused before taking a thoughtful sip of tea and sitting quietly to ruminate on it. Speed was definitely her strength in battle. Smaller and typically agile, she knew she couldn't afford to take a hit from most powerhouses she encountered.

She ended up nodding in agreement. It seemed right enough, and Anitope was the expert.

At the request, she turned the knives over, holding the blade sharp side up and the small handle out towards Anti. She moved with enough finesse to show she had already been practicing with them, and she was comfortable with their weight and shape.


If Antiope had her way, her hands would have been wrapped up in typical bandages to keep them more sturdy. However, the fuku she wore did not come equipped with such things, so it meant that the Mantis Senshi had to work with what she had.

So her delicate, yet roughed up hands became visible as she rolled her sleeves up, shortly followed by her well toned arms. Mantis style, she could get away with less viewable hands. Snake style was not allowed such a luxury.

"Ah, thank you!" With a partial bow of her head, the petite senshi took up the knives. She was easily able to curl her fingers over the handles in the proper manner, as if she had done this sort of thing before.

"Now, mind you, I am a bit out of practice with Snake style..." Bounding back approximately 3 feet, the girl then set to a small demonstration.

With her arms to her sides, blades sticking out, she bowed forward once more before spreading her legs into a defensive stance. Her arms bent out to the side a bit, and for a moment one of her hands had the fingers straighten out. "Typically you fight with straight fingers, so that you can jab efficiently at key points like the eyes, groin, and the joints. However, I am sure that the blades will suffice as 'straight fingers' once you are far enough along."

Curling her fingers around the handle of the blade again, the small girl jabbed out several times in rapid succession. To show off, the girl threw in a rather fancy looking kick that kept her torso low, but the rest of her body up in the air briefly. A few more jabs and a couple defensive false-blocks, and the girl paused again.

"...so... something like that!"

Carneli
"I see," Galena said as she polished off her tea and stood up, holding out a hand to silently but politely request her blades back.

"That makes sense, I can definitely get a feel for what you mean," She said, holding both blades in one hand and testing the 'straight fingers' pose in the other.

"I would really appreciate any tutoring in this style you can offer. Of course, now that I know where to start I can do my own research as well. You've already done quite a bit, and I really appreciate the time you've spent with my so far, Anti."


Antiope was apparently trustworthy. When the gesture was made for the blades to be returned, she easily relinquished the weapons without a second thought. They were Galena's, and though they would have been nice to play around with, the Senshi had no right to them.

"I do have a couple exercises I remember from when I was initially learning the style when I was a kid!" It was ironic since Antiope still looked like a kid when it came to her physical stature.

"I know I saw a really good tree for one of the exercises nearby... though you may want to wrap up your hands... bark can mess up your hands if you aren't careful to have proper padding. Bones can be broken if you jab too hard. I mean, I have some wraps if you need to borrow..." With the back of a hand, she brought attention to a gym bag on the side. It wasn't glamorous, but it got the job done.

Carneli
"Oh..."

Galena admittedly paused at the thought of injuring her hands. Her hands were small and delicate and a lot of time and money was dedicated to keeping them soft and unmarred by strain, scar or blemish.

Having to ruin them in the name of learning how to fight was actually the biggest internal struggle she had encountered since becoming part of the Negaverse and she stared down at her knives for a long time before she answered.

"I would appreciate the wraps, yes, please."


Without hesitation, the senshi skittered to her gym bag, unzipping it to pull out a few pairs of gray colored wraps.

"If you are serious about this stuff, you should probably invest in your own set of wraps!" Her tone seemed rather easy going, despite what could have been considered scolding.

With one wrap at hand, the girl walked up to Galena, and without hesitation took up the girl's hand within her own. As she held it and lifted it up, a thumb smoothed over the girl's skin which felt rather silky when compared to her own.

"You must not work with your hands if they are this soft," she stated in her casual observation.

Turning the Captain's hand within her own so the palm was face-up, Antiope mentioned "Be sure to watch so you can take care of this for yourself in the future!" With that, the senshi unrolled the bundled wrap and began weaving the bandage-like-material about Galena's hand.

Carneli
"I sew, but... that's it," Galena responded, her pale complexion lighting up with an embarrassed flush.

Once her hands were wrapped, she held them out in front of her and flexed them into fists, seeming almost fascinated by the resistance. She nodded. "I will certainly look into getting my own set. Thank you for lending me these for the night, however. They are greatly appreciated."

She dipped her head in a small show of thanks.

"I'm watching."


Antiope had clearly planned her meeting spot with much care. It was a short walk away, but the short senshi turned about to face an odd tree that had branches sticking out in an assortment of places. Taking up a set of wraps of her own and wrapping up her own hands, she then began a slow steady pace of striking the various branches. It seemed like a random pattern initially, with her hands striking with straightened fingers at times, and at other times blocking with a portion of the forearm.

"Part of what you need to do is develop your muscle memory... train not just your brain into knowing how to defend yourself, but your muscles into acting defensively without conscious thought. To act upon instinct rather than fully think upon the matter."

As she continued to strike, the pattern slowly became apparent. Two or three strikes of this similar manner, then two blocks. Pausing with a smile, she faced Galena.

"Mind you, this is what it looks like when you put it to full speed." And with that the Mantis senshi began to relentlessly pummel the poor tree with a minute's worth of high speed jabs and blocks.

"...do you think you want to give it a try?"

Carneli
Galena nodded. She had always intended to put aside a portion of her time for training, once she had some exercises down. This would be the first step.

She observed the pattern, but her brow furrowed. "I... see... Could you repeat the first strikes again?" She asked, slowly mimicking the motions with her hands, trying to make it click.

After a second, she nodded, "I think I've got it," She said, slowly doing her best to imitate while whispering under her breath for the pattern shift from strike to block.


The Mantis senshi stood there, quietly watching the slow attempts of the Captain with the exercise. However, at one point the Mantis senshi rather suddenly seemed to strike out, hand latching onto Galena's hand.

"Straighten your fingers more. More effective strikes."

After a bit of a pause, the senshi used her fingers to press Galena's hand into a straightened position.

"You risk more injury if you keep your hands too bent..."

Carneli
"I see," Galena said with another flush and a girlish giggle at Antiope grabbing her again. Keeping her hands stiff and straight, she attempted a strike through the air at her top speed, just to show off.

Galena was not very strong, but speed was always her natural talent and one she tried to keep up with running every morning.

She hoped it was at least acceptable.

"And then the blocks go like... this..." She said, attempting the swift motion in itself, followed by a more solid and successful attempt at the pattern she had been attempting.


"Better! It is best to learn these things right the first time and all!" Since her hands were currently exposed, the senshi then held out one hand in front of Galena to see.

"See... Snake style is actually much easier to adapt to in all honesty. If you were learning Tiger style... the hand positioning alone is actually really difficult to pull off without strict training!"

With one hand she pressed her fingers and thumb back so they were pushed back further than the palm of the hand in what seemed almost like a painful display.

"You have to get it so that when you strike, that only your palm hits so you don't injure your fingers! Not many people can push their fingers back that far on a first try!"

It was probably a bit off-topic from the Snake-style, but Antiope lived and breathed the various styles used for Wushu. To her, it was simply one long topic.

"Once you think you've had enough, let me know and we can 'wrap up' for the day... or rather... you can give me back my wraps!"

Carneli
Galena laughed and tried a few more rounds, keeping special attention to he straight fingers.

But after a while, she felt like she had done all she could do. All that was really left to improve with the moves she learned tonight could only be done with time, and it was late besides.

The exercise felt good, and it was nice to laugh unrestrained at least in some space. Maybe it was because training with Anti was already so borderline troublesome that if anyone caught them, laughing out loud and losing face was going to be the least of her worries.

She started removing the wraps and handed them to the senshi with a bow of thanks. "I appreciate your time immensely, thank you. I should be taking my leave."


Antiope nodded her head, then paused a moment to consider something. She, as a senshi, was dedicated to training her body all days possible. She didn't make a special day or time to do such a thing.

However, Galena was not the same person as herself.

After some silent deliberation, the Mantis Senshi announced "I will see you again next week Thursday evening, about the same time!"

It wasn't a question or an inquiry if the Captain would be available. It was an outright bold statement.

Once she had her wraps in hand, the small senshi turned and walked back to where she had been seated before.

Galena would be there next week. Antiope just knew it.