Unearthed Legacy

[Shin]

The morning came rather quickly for Ryuku, despite being in an uncomfortable position the entire night, he slept rather good. When morning came, at the first peak of sunlight, Ryuku shed his blanket and quietly moved through the bushes, making sure to not make a noise and wake the other two.

Pulling the blanket out behind him he reached towards the sky, extending his arms above his head and standing on the tips of his toes. His back popped several times as he continued to stretch and loosen his muscles. He wouldn't wake Garv or Xibtrae, instead he folded the blanket and set it next to their blanket.

Then he would wander off into the forest a little ways, until he found a rather large boulder to sit on. Once there he continued his stretching, taking his body through several katas at a very slow pace. They were nothing more then a warm up, something to stretch his tensed muscles out.

[Nayt]

Xibtrae had woken up before Garv. Odd. Garv had woken up before her most of the time--before today. Groggily, she stretched out and yawned. Naturally, before climbing out from under the blanket, she checked to make sure if Garv was alive, and indeed, he was still breathing. Sometimes precautions had to be taken! He had a pretty hard hit to the head a little while back, and that sometimes that lead to bad happenings! Nonetheless, everything seemed fine, so she was able to crawl out from under the blanket, and greet the temporarily blinding sun with a disdainful frown.

Out from under the blanket, she was able to stretch her back a little better, which at least let her focus on something other than how badly her eyes her right about now. The sun could be a harsh little beast sometimes, there in the sky to greet you in the morning like a bulb of pure pain.

Luckily, that sensation wore off after about a minute, and Xibtrae was able to appreciate the feeling of being outside once again. So long as nothing was causing the woman pain, she was going to enjoy her time outside. Were it not for the feeling of guilt, knowing that she was enjoying this at Val's expense, she would have been fairly ecstatic for the entirety of each and every day.

Still a little groggy, Xibtrae noticed that something--or someone, rather--was missing. It seemed Ryuku Obsedian was nowhere to be seen, but she could still feel his presence. He was still somewhere around, but he had left his blanket, now folded up next to Garv and Xibtrae's blanket, behind. A silent, unconscious curiosity lead her to follow the feeling. She thought it was Ryuku Obsedian, at least . . .

And low and behold, just after he finished his stretched, Ryuku might catch a glimpse of the woman, leaning against the side of an oak on the south side of the clearing, watching him. Her arms were folded over her diaphragm, and she looked quite disheveled by sleep, but still fairly alert. She said nothing, of course, and wouldn't, unless he spoke to her first. It was simple curiosity that had driven her here, which only bred more curiosity when she saw him stretching. It wasn't like a normal stretch after someone woke up, by just stretching one's back out and groaning a little, it was more like he was warming up for something.

It was pleasantly familiar.

People do this here, too?

[Shin]

It was refreshing. The sounds on the wind, the feeling of the sun warming his skin, the light breeze gently soothing his skin as he moved. There was more too, more that Ryuku was aware of. His senses were not merely focused on himself, they stretched outward as well. The smells, the taste of the morning air, the sounds of the critters moving through the trees. It was a kind of beauty that had been robed from many places of the world.

Similar to Xibtrae, Ryuku could feel her approach as he neared the end of one of his katas. They weren't anything in particular, just a series of movements that brought his body through many different stretching and balancing techniques. A sort of warm up for the day. Ryuku lamented the fact that he rarely got to do them, but when he did he made sure to take his time and enjoy it.

When he finished, facing in the direction Xibtrae was leaning, eyes closed as he breathed slowly and deeply. "Good morning." He said, opening an eye and smiling in her direction. "I did not believe it at first, the purple blanket I mean. I am not surprised, but it is refreshing to have a reminder that there are many things I have yet to learn."

Ryuku stepped off the edge of the rock, landing softly on the ground below. "How did you sleep?"

[Nayt]

"Good morning," she replied with a slight bow of her head.

Xibtrae wasn't surprised that Ryuku saw her. She'd been standing close enough to the clearing to be seen, and expected him to notice her standing there. Still, she watched him with an inquisitive stare. It had been awhile since she had seen something like that--it had also been awhile since she had done something like that, too. It made her curious. Were there whole styles of fighting here on this world, too? Entire families of martial arts that denoted very specific morning stretches? That's what she was reminded of.

"I slept well."

It may have been common courtesy to return the question back to him, asking specifically if he slept well, too, but Xibtrae's curiosity was strong enough to break the need for such things.

"What art thou doing?" She asked with her head tilted to the side. Hopefully, he knew what she meant. Ryuku's stretching routine might have seemed like a nice every-day thing for him, but to others . . .

[Shin]

"That is good. I assume Garv made it through the night as well." He didn't drop his wide smile as he casually made his way to a tree across from Xibtrae, leaning against it in a similar fashion.

"Stretching, warming up for the day." Xibtrae was a curious person, Ryuku was just coming to understand that. He would quit call her a little kid, but she wasn't afraid to ask questions. Ryuku liked that. Feeling that he needed to elaborate more, he assumed she wouldn't be satisfied with such a simple answer.

He chewed over his words for a moment before speaking. "It is a series of movements, to familiarize the body and exercise ones muscles. Martial arts of various forms call them Katas or Forms." Ryuku offered a shrug. "I long ago gave up on any stylized form of fighting, so to me they are merely a routine to prepare my body for the day."

He hoped it was an in depth enough description for her, he could have gone into more detail but he was sure his own knowledge was lacking. It had been many years since he trained under a master, and over he past hundred years or so he hadn't been able to travel and broaden his own horizons.

"What is it that you do Xibtrae? Please dont be offended, but in physical appearance I have never see anyone like you before. And I always am interested in things I do not know. Knowledge is power, yes?"

[Nayt]

"I see."

It was a simple answer; nothing more than an acknowledgment of Ryuku's explanation. For a moment, she was completely silent. At first, it may have seemed as if she were ignoring Ryuku's question, but as soon as she started to speak again, such an assumption would be proven wrong--indefinitely.

"Where I come from . . ." Xibtrae trailed off.

Xibtrae thought about it. She didn't want to talk to anyone about where she came from exactly, as such would require her to lie to someone directly. She wasn't a bad liar, but that didn't mean she liked to do it very much. Someone knowing who--or what, rather--she really was would have been extremely problematic. She couldn't afford to let someone in on that information, so it was a question she was going to dodge, forever if she must. Nonetheless, she thought back about it, where she came from, and how there were daily routines like that.

"There were many a similar concept," she continued, "I was quite the fighter, then. Twas very similar. But . . . tis been a very long time since I have been practiced."

She almost sounded kind of sad, the way she said that. Truth be told, she liked it when she could be useful in combat scenarios. She could stretch well and was more physically fit than most of her fellows.

[Shin]

"Ah."

Ryuku could tell he wasn't going to get a straight answer out of her. That might have bothered a normal person, but everyone had their secrets and Ryuku was the type to respect that secrecy, so long as it did not cause any trouble for himself.

"I understand." Ryuku said, his smile still ever present. The man was always smiling. "Well it has been some time since I've used it as well. Though," His smile turned into a sly smirk, as if he was formulating a plot in his head, and by the way he was looking at Xibtrae it involved her. " they say that it is something you never truly forget."

The sadness was evident in her voice, Ryuku was an extremely empathetic person so much so that it was close to bordering on a sort of supernatural ability. Ryukus acted almost immediately, it wasn't a conscious act, and certainly one that he would not have allowed himself to make had he been paying attention.

Ryuku moved a couple steps then like a serpent his hand snatched out towards Xibtrae. The punch lacked any real power, but it was quick and aimed to do nothing more then brush the side of her left cheek before snapping back in front of him. The goal was simply really, to test her reflexes and how she reacted.

Ryuku was appalled at his own actions, though they truly weren't his. He didn't show it however, instead he kept the same sly smirk across his face.

'What are you doing?' Ryuku asked.

'She wanted you to do that.' The voice in his head answered back.

'Are you insane? You just don't go around punching at people you barely know!'

'Whats the worse that could happen, she will kill you?'

'Yes!' Ryuku screamed back in his head at the voice in his head.

[Nayt]

Xibtrae definitely did not expect Ryuku to throw a punch at her. She wasn't prepared for it in the slightest, yet as soon as he winded his arm back, however fast it was, Xibtrae's arms tensed up. Although she flinched when he threw the punch, she still moved her hand, throwing it to the side to bat Ryuku's hand with the back of her hand. It would inevitably knock his hand off course, and force it to come to a stop almost half a foot from her face, rather than less than an inch. Her eyes were half shut and her expression tense. Yes, she had flinched, and even shut her eyes for a fraction of a second as if bracing for damage.

But the fact remained: she could knock his hand off course. Xibtrae relaxed a little as she looked at Ryuku's face again, searching his expression accordingly.

Fortunately for Ryuku, Xibtrae didn't take this as a direct measure of aggression. In a way, she was kind of asking for him to do that. It was almost like he was obliging a silent request of hers. She hadn't put her own physical skills to use in a very, very long time, and she regretted that deeply. On one hand, Ryuku's sudden movement had been extremely surprising, even a little disconcerting, but on the other hand, it was gentlemanly in a way--like acknowledging a lady's hinted request, and obliging accordingly.

"Thou wouldst not mind?" Xibtrae asked softly.

It was perhaps a silly question to ask. Of course Ryuku wouldn't mind! He was the one that initiated it. But still, she wanted to make absolutely sure that it was okay if she counter-attacked, or anything of that sort.

[Shin]

Ryuku was surprised, to say in the least. He never would of thought of attacking on his own accord, he felt more then heard a small laugh echo inside his head. Yes, there was still much Ryuku had to learn. He might of been empathetic, but that didn't always mean he knew the proper ways to react.

Still, when she batted the attack aside, on nothing more then reflex he couldn't help but feel a little proud. The Soul had been right, and him wrong. Of course, it had done similar things before and only gotten him in trouble, so he was rightfully worried that the process was about to be repeated.

When she asked him though, he felt the need, the rush to attack again. This time he held it back, lessons could come latter. This wasn't a pupil master relationship he told himself, this was simply one warrior helping another rekindle that fighting spirit.

"At your leisure, m'lady." His half grin flattening out to more stoic features.

'Told you so.'

'Shut up.'

[Nayt]

"Okay," Xibtrae replied with a smile and a thankful nod.

At her leisure--that was best, perhaps. Xibtrae pushed away from the tree, and looked to the hand with which she had batted away Ryuku's attack. She twisted it at the wrist, stretching her fingers out and making sure the joint still worked properly. For a moment, she focused upon this arm, stretching it out and setting her left hand upon her right forearm and bicep to see if it was still working okay. The result, of course, was a bit of a frown. So much time without exercising her body had dulled her reflexes, and even farther than that: now that she was really focusing on it, it didn't feel like her muscles were working the same as before.

Even before, she was a slim young woman; shapely, but still no heavier than 120 pounds--just the same as she was now. Muscularly, she didn't possess anything excessive, she had a flat stomach, but no visible abs or anything like that. Her arms, shoulders, and legs, though . . . however thin they may have been, she made sure to keep them toned and strong. Her entire right arm felt off. Her muscles didn't feel all that powerful. It had been an extremely long time since she had been in a conflict where she used them, so it might have simply been a matter of her forgetting how strong they really were. However, the other night, when the dark creature attacked them, there had been a hint of this weakness, and that combined with many things made her flinch and recoil away from it--cower from it, for all intents and purposes. That still hurt, deep on the inside.

Nonetheless, as she experienced with her right arm, there was no sense loosening it up. It wasn't even that taught when she tensed it. Oh well. I shall make do with what I have.

And then, without warning, she threw out her left hand towards Ryuku's jaw. It was a conscious act for her, as she could see the man in her peripheral vision. It might have thrown him off, though. She hadn't taken a fighting stance, nor had she used her right arm, which she had been focusing on for the entire time. The attack, for all intents and purposes, came from left field.

[Shin]

Ryuku had lowered his own guard, dropping his hands to his side and taking a small step back as Xibtrae pushed herself off the tree. He had half expected her to launch off the tree into a series of blows. Instead it seemed she was going check over her muscles. Ryuku wondered, how long had it been since she last fought? By how she was acting it had to have been some time.

Xibtraes specific attack was not the one he had expected her to make, though he had suspected an attack of some sort. Ryuku reacted by shifting the weight into his right leg and shift his upper body in the same direction. Xibtraes hand would pass harmlessly over his left shoulder. As he shifted his weight he brought his right hand up to push against the outside of her elbow. It wasn't an attack, just something to send her left hand even farther wide of its mark and to make bringing it back or using the elbow as a follow up more difficult to do.

Still moving Ryuku brought his left leg behind his right and a little more then a shoulder with apart and behind allowing him to reposition his weight and center of gravity. But more importantly exposing the entire left side of Xibtraes body to him. Ryuku would continue to push at the elbow of her left hand in attempt to not only push her off balance but to force her bicep into her face and hopefully block her line of vision.

[Nayt]

Again, she flinched.

Were this a real fight, she would have been in serious trouble. Her left arm had been caught and pushed against her, and she even flinched while taking a step back, and not a skillful step back to brace herself. It was almost a stumble, one she fortunately stopped just as quick as it happened.

"A-ahn . . ." Xibtrae winced a little--it was barely audible, though.

What would have happened if she were in training, fighting like this? Another of the warriors would have probably hit her in the back as hard as possible (because hitting her in the back of the head was kind of difficult, what with the two long horns extending backwards from just behind her ears), floored her, and told her to shape up or quit trying, because she'd just wind up getting her friends killed by fighting sloppily. Yes, that is precisely what would have happened--and here she was, acting sloppy again.

Focus . . .

Yes, right! Xibtrae only needed to keep focused, and she wouldn't flinch, or at least flinch nearly as often. That was the first thing she needed to do, before she could even begin to work on anything else. She relaxed and loosened up her arm as she tried to step back. Xibtrae gave Ryuku a retreating glance in the process, to try and show to him she wasn't going to try and attack again, and instead try and return to a relaxed and static state.

"M-my apologies," Xibtrae declared with a slight hint of a nervous laugh, "I am rustier than I thought! Perchance we can try again?"

[Shin]

There was nothing more Ryuku would have liked then to continue sparing, but his sensibilities tugged at him. The sun was rising, there was more then enough light to see. Ryuku's stoic features cracked again into a small smirk, then a full blown at smile.

"Perhaps later?" He asked while walking towards Xibtrae, hands stuffed back into his pockets. "We should wake Garv, pack up camp and be on our way. We don't want to burn day light." His logic made sense of course, even if it was obvious the two of them would have rather sparred the day away.

Ryuku would continue past Xibtrae back towards camp to wake up Garv and get things moving today. There were answers Ryuku needed, things that were more important then sparring, and hopefully these ruins would tell him something about 'The End', if not then it was at least a step in the right direction.

[Nayt]

"All right," she replied with a slight bow of her head, before starting to walk as well, following Ryuku specifically.

Yes, it was perhaps best that they move on. Xibtrae didn't know exactly how long they had to walk. If Garv had mentioned it, she had probably long since forgotten it, which was a bit of a pity, all things considered. She didn't have an utterly detestable memory, but sometimes Xibtrae forgot a fact or two along the way, if it had been a day or so since she heard about it--like now, when thinking about how long they had left to walk. Hopefully, though, it would only entail a single day's journey until they reached their destination.

Hopefully.

In any case, Garv was . . . probably awake by now. Yes, yes--he had to be. Xibtrae could feel something. He sense, unlike Ryuku's, wasn't quite an unnatural sixth sense. It was a sixth sense, but it hadn't come with training and exercise. It was something she was born with, a sense for spirits. It was an abstract feeling, like a twinge that was lighter when a spirit was farther away, and stronger when it was closer. As something she was born with, it had ceased to annoy her whenever she stood directly by someone. When she was a little girl, she didn't play with other children in order to avoid that feeling, but all was fine once she was accustomed to it.

[Zach Kaiser]

Even as they were turning, they'd hear slow clapping. Garv was standing and watching, and behind him everything was packed and ready to go. "So, you two can fight, huh? Well, I mean, I figured you could throw a punch big guy, but I wasn't so sure about you Xibtrae. That's good. I like a girl who can take care of herself," he said with a grin.

"Well, let's get moving. Another day or so and we'll be there; oh, and you might want to watch how you initiate a spar, you know," he advised, patting Ryuku on the shoulder as he passed him. "Someone gets the wrong idea, you might wind up with something sharp flying at you, you know?"