route_1065 | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

Who:

soggypastry
Where: Olivine beach
When: Backdated to Sunday the 4th, about half past seven.
Summary: Xion's first training session with Lightning, and Leon decides to check it out.
Rating: PG at the most.
Log:
[ Leon makes his way down the steps, easily balancing a tray of breakfast sandwiches and milk. Plastic wrap had been thrown over the food to guard it against the sand the wind picked up, but when he sees the two figures he's doubly glad he'd been preventive.

He slowly makes his way up, admiring the easy grace with which Lightning dispatches Xion, commenting on specific points of improvement each time the younger girl misses or falls. When Lightning had told him she'd be training Xion, he'd known she was a good teacher; now he has the opportunity to see it first-hand. ]

Working hard, you two?

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[ Thud

Xion must have a thing for meeting the ground sometimes. Seriously. But this is different. This is training so she can be okay if the situation ever called for it. Her hands scuff at the sand as she almost unsteadily stands back up for the third time since she and Lightning began her lesson.

She's huffing a bit, but she's not showing much signs of backing down. Her hands go back up the position Lightning told her to do so, but she's temporarily distracted by Leon's presence. ]

Yeah! Morning, Leon.

[In comparison to Xion, Lightning isn't even winded or scuffed up, but instead standing easily in the shifting sands as the girl picks herself up again. She's making good progress for this being her first lesson, so the ex-Sergeant will just be nodding up at Leon both in greeting and in answer to his question.]

Yeah. She's doing well for her first time.

Were you two planning on taking a break?

[ He says 'you two', but he mostly means 'Lightning', since she's in charge. ] I brought breakfast. If not, I'll just leave it.

Later.

[ Here comes a charging Xion, trying to throw a fist out at Lightning. Gotta aim for what she can, since she's much shorter than the older woman, and is going for her stomach. ]

[After shrugging one shoulder at Leon's offer, Lightning easily sidesteps Xion's reckless charge and takes her arm, holding the girl for a moment before she flips her onto her back on the sand, shaking her head down at her student.]

Too reckless. What have I told you about leaving yourself so exposed if you can't take hits well?

Edited 2011-09-07 09:46 (UTC)

[ Realizing his timing is bad, Leon is tempted to leave the platter for them to go to later...but then decides instead to sit and watch.

There is a definite wince as Xion hits the sand. Audibly. ]

[ Oh, the landing sounds worse than it actually is. A bit. Xion's a bit winded when her back makes contact, but at least sand is soft and cushions her for the most part. She tries to wrack her brain as to what Lightning did say to her about that. ]

Haah... ahhh... Um... Try to work my way... around?

[ Nonetheless, Xion turns and pushes herself up again and meeting Lightning's gaze steadily. ]

[As soon as Xion comes up with the right answer, Lightning nods and steps back, watching her stand up again.]

That's right. Always try to get around your opponent instead of attacking from the front like that. You stand a better chance of not getting hurt and actually connecting your hit that way.

[A quick glance over at Leon; he should know this, considering the amount of times she's got him in the side after coming up from behind. Does he have any input on this, since he decided to stay and watch?]

[ He meets and holds Light's state, smiling a bit. He gives her a shrug, as if to say, 'you're the one doing the teaching here'. He does, however, turn to Xion. ]

Mind your weight, especially on the sand--and watch where you opponent's center of gravity is, too. Don't let her get you off-balance.

[ Xion takes that advice, absorbs it, then nods at Leon before looking back at Lightning. Her center of gravity... Xion briefly glances at Lightning's knees. Then she rewinds back to what Lightning says before going into a stance.

Takes a deep breath... then rushes in with a small cry. When she gets close enough, she stops and steps to the side, kicking out with her leg aimed at Lightning's knees. ]

Haah!

[Lightning raises one brow at the look on Leon's face, but only shakes her head and returns her attention to Xion as the girl goes back to her stance. She's learned that well, at least.

And she's also a fast learner; while that kick doesn't make Lightning's knees buckle, she feels the tip of Xion's foot graze across her knee as she jumps clear of the blow. She's fast, and if Lightning had been a moment slower...hard to say.]

Good. Keep that up and we'll get somewhere today.

[With that said, however, she moves forward and ducks low to the ground in a sweeping kick to knock Xion's feet from under her; it's a simple enough move to dodge since Lightning is going a little slower than normal for this first fight, but Xion will have to be on her toes to dodge it anyway.]

Better.

[ He likes how quick of a study she is. That sweep is going to send her ass over teakettle, he can sense it. By the time this is over Xion will have bruises in strange, foreign places; Light is doing a great job. His eyes seem half on the pupil and half on the teacher, taking in Lightning's fluid grace. It's strange to say, but Xion's fighting, in comparison, makes him think of a boy. ]

Stop leading with your shoulders so much.

Stop leading with my- whoa!

[ It is a simple enough dodge, but Lightning's still a fast lady, more experienced, and still sharp in her skills. Between Leon lecturing her, Xion only has a small window of opportunity to dodge the attack by jumping a bit.

Once her feet land back on the ground, she has to think even faster before Lightning recovers herself from the dodge. On half-instinct, half-thought, Xion dodge rolls to try and get on Lightning's side, then attempt to whack at the back of her head while Lightning's rising, a tactic she would use against Heartless to try and get past their defenses. The former soldier did want her to get around, right? ]

[Lightning did indeed want Xion to think on her feet and get around, and it isn't as if Xion's whack is as strong as some Lightning has taken over the years. But it's still enough to put her slightly off balance and force her into a roll so she doesn't faceplant on the sand, and it takes her a moment to stand up again. When she does, however, there's the faintest hint of a proud smile on her face as she nods at her pupil.]

Good. That's using your speed to your advantage.

[That being said, there was the shoulder-leading problem...how in the world could they deal with that?]

[ Leon's brows raise. He's impressed, to be honest--he wasn't expecting her to actually take Light out on the first go. The placement of the strike makes him frown, though. ]

In a real fight, do what you want. In a spar, don't hit someone in the back unless you're padded.

[ Lecture done with, he raises himself off the sand, dusting off his sweatpants and looking mournfully back at the breakfast tray. Hopefully, the plastic cover will keep...most of the sand out.

He walks calmly over to Xion and gently taps the back of her knees with his foot. ] Bend more. You really are a Keyblade wielder. [ She has Sora's muscles, he thinks--toned arms and comparatively weak legs. Legs that jump and not much else. ]

Show me a punch.

Oh, I... [ She turns back to Lightning and bows her head. ] I'm sorry.

[ She glances down at the tap and does as instructed. She bends her knees, spreading them a bit apart, and almost standing like she would if she was actually holding her Keyblade. ] Is that a good or bad thing?

[ Xion pauses at the command, a bit confused and worried. Well, Leon's a tough guy. He can handle a small punch from a small girl, right? So she cocks her arm back and tries to punch Leon at the chest. ]

Just don't do it again. [It was done, really. No harm this time, so as long as Xion remembered and didn't do it again, there was no point in lecturing her further about it.

The term Leon uses gets her, though. Keyblade wielder? She'll have to ask him about that later on, once this is over and they have some time to talk. For now, she just watches. She already taught Xion to never keep her thumb inside her hand when making a fist, and the girl seems to be following that well, but...Leon's a tough man. It's doubtful that small punch is going to do much more than make Xion's knuckles hurt.]

It means Lightning needs to train your legs.

[ The punch is caught easily in one powerful fist before it hits its target, though he commends her on her choice of going for the chest instead of the comparatively stronger abdominal region. He calmly readjusts her hips, which are out on synch with her shoulders. Without skipping a beat: ]

Hit with your whole body. Now where's your other arm?

[ Because if the answer is 'down next to my hip' and not 'up around rib-height to defend myself from a side attack', he's going to frown at you, Xion. ]

[ On instinct, Xion tries to jerk her hand out of Leon's fist, but stops when he moves to readjust her hips, to make sure they're more in line with her shoulders. What's wrong with her legs? They carried her pretty far when she really needed to jump.

At his question, she blinks, looking down at the arm not caught. She didn't think much into her attack, letting her body move on instinct for a moment there. When she threw the punch, her other arm curled, albeit, still pressed to her side.

Guess she failed that one? ]

Uh...

[There's nothing wrong with her legs, really, only the manner in which she's trained them before. They'll be doing a lot of running soon, that's for sure.

Right now, however, Lightning steps forward and takes Xion's other arm, raising it to a more defensive height. For her first lesson, Xion is making remarkable progress. There's just still a lot more to learn.]

Always know what your body is doing, no matter the situation. You can be aware of your opponents and your area, but that knowledge is useless if you can't defend yourself and you get hit.

[That having been said, Lightning steps back to give Xion a look over; she's more aligned now, so...]

Now try again. Feel the difference in your movements and tell me what feels more natural.

[ Leon nods approvingly at Lightning's interjections, settling back in front of the younger girl. ]

Remember: move with your hips and your shoulders. [ He mimes a hook, the motion of his entire torso giving power to his punch. ]

Now hit here. [ He points to a spot about two inches above his bellybutton. Target ready! ]

[ She's analyzing the motions of his body, rewinds it several times in her head and focusing on specific points when she does so. And Lightning's advice makes her pay attention to how she settles her legs, positions her hands... and then she refocuses onto Leon.

Stares at the spot he told her to hit. She tries another hook, making sure she puts as much force as she could in conjunction to her hips and shoulders moving together.

Smack!

Her tiny fist hits hard muscle and only stings slightly upon contact. She blinks. Did she do it right? She'll tell Lightning what feels more natural once she gets a verdict on this. But for now... ]

This does feel more... powerful.

[Better this time, that's for sure. It's not much of a hit in terms of power, but they can work on that at another time. Now it's just the form that they need to get down.]

That's because you're putting your entire body into it, not just your arms. It works, but you have to be careful you don't over-balance and fall, especially if your target moves. They're not going to wait for you to get your feet back under you.

[ He sees her wind back, the shifting of her body, better, smoother, and--

--oof. Harder.

He exhales as the strike falls, hardening the abdominals, but he can still feel the impact. He breathes. ]

Good. Now you're going to have to practice that until you can do it without thinking about it. [ He turns his attention back to Lightning. ]

Want to help her with her kick?

[ Because let's face it, the lady with the amazing ability to backflips mid-battle while shooting things was probably better equipped than he. ]

Edited 2011-09-08 11:04 (UTC)

[ She's practically grinning at the approval of them both, like a child showing good marks on a test to their parents. Hah. Hah. Well, she did notice something between the two, but more importantly... training! She nods eagerly. ]

Yeah. I'll practice really hard.

[ Then she looks between them both. ] Kicking?