Quietly and almost with reverence, Kurea shut the fine paper shoji screen of the dojo’s entrance behind her, pausing momentarily to slip out of her comfortable sneakers to tread barefoot. ‘Damn, it feels good to be back. When was the last time I’ve been here..?' She found herself sentimentally thinking as she hefted a green gym duffel bag over her shoulder. It had been a little over a month since she moved to Demaitre, and most of that time had been spent refurbishing the three bedroom apartment of her sky-rise apartment. She sighed while exiting the building to enter a courtyard, and she scanned the area out of pure instinct to find a decent, somewhat secluded spot to practice.
A section of mats were placed off to the side, most likely used for the ‘spars’ the dojo’s students participated in daily, and to the right laid a rack of multiple practice weapons accompanied by their respective protective gear. ‘Nice. This place seems to be the real deal.’ She walked a little ways in, walking around the occasional couple fighting here and there until she reached a corner in the far right. The area practically demanded privacy, semi-hidden by the thick vines that covered the courtyards stone walls.
“Perfect..” And with that, she settled into a literally perfect position- Feet flat and evenly spaced, shoulders squared and aligned with her lower region, and her arms infront of her and bent into a defensive stance. The kata’s she began to perform were advanced, but never the less basic as she flowed through the movements easily. They seemed natural, second nature almost, as her muscles stretched and retracted in a smooth tell-tale way indicating that she had spent many years hardening them. ‘Senswee..’
Godwyn had arrived about thirty minutes before Kurea had. When she entered he was in the middle of sparring with one of the other students. They where both completely dressed in black ninja armor. Kurea hadn't seen them because there practice fight had taken them out of the main room. However, the student Godwyn was dueling started to retreat due to Godwyn's furious attack.
The student fell back through the main room of the dojo and moved towards Kurea. The student tried one last attempt to defeat Godwyn but Godwyn parried the lunge and used his opponents momentum against him by knocking he students legs out from under him. Godwyn helped up the student and they bowed to each other.
The student walked away to take a hot bath but Godwyn sat down where he was and took the thin armor covering his head off and looked around. He saw a girl practicing farley advanced katas. He began to watch her and her nearly perfect form.
She continued with her warm-ups a little while longer, her skin glistening with sweat from her ministrations. 'Jab, punch, and block with your forearms,' the instructions floated in her mind, weightless, and unconsciously her body followed obediently. 'Keep your rhythm, and don't hesitate. A second could be the deciding factor between life and death.' Absently, she felt a few strands of silken hair fall from her ponytail and into her dual-colored eyes, and refusing to break her concentration she blinked. 'Raise your right leg and aim a round-house kick to the head, then follow through with a kick to the abdomen with your left. Make sure it's enough to make him fly back, you don't want him exploiting your position.'
She heard the sounds of a couple sparring to her right -- 'Most likely novices.' she thought, before the heavy weight of someone watching her made her pause. Grabbing a towel and drying her face, she began to loosen the collar of her shirt while looking around her. To say she was surprised would be an understatement, as her eyes settled on the inquisitive Godwyn removing layers of black ninja armor while observing her. “...May I help you?”
