Kathlayne of Pirate's Swoop walked out into the practice field, thinking Mithros, you really need to practice your skills, or you'll never become a knight, Kathlayne! She dropped her practice sword and her bow and began streching out her muscles. After finishing that, she set up a target and practiced her archery, something she needed work on. She missed a lot, and had to work very hard to avoid hitting other pages and squires.

Upon coming to the swordsmanship part of her practice, she realized she needed a partner to do mock-dules with. She did her basic movement and then went to look for someone to practice with.

Kataru walked out to the practice field with her bow in her hand and a quiver of arrows on her back. She spotted a young page at the field already. Maybe I shouldn't practice in this field today. She sighed. Oh well.

Seeing the girl aprouching, Kathlayne ran over to her and asked, "Would you like to practice with me?"

"Um...sure." She replied. "But may I ask your name first?"

Kathlayne laughted, "Yes, that might be helpful! Sorry for not introducing myself, I forget to sometimes. I'm Kathlayne of Pirate's Swoop. And you are?" As she said this, she began putting on the protective pads.

Kataru bowed to Kathlayne. "Nice to meet you, I'm Kataru Minamoto. Commander of the Yamani Warriors." She pulled off her quiver of arrows and set it aside and started streching.

"So what do you want to practice?"

Kathlayne bowed deeply, and gasped, "You're the commander of the Yamani Warriors! Mithros! Why are you here at the palace?"

Kataru smiled at Kathayne's reaction. "I might be pure Yamani but I was born in the village near Fief Goldenlake. I came to the palace because I needed to speak to the Queen of some matters of her home. But now that's over I'm here learning about my homeland. My Captain is covering for me until I travel back..." She smiled "But I think that's changed since I just recently became the Princess's bodyguard."

"Now how bout some training?" she asked

"Er...sorry..um...how about...more target practice or perhaps swordplay, I need practice in both,"Kathlayne said with a grin.

"If it's alright with you I think we should practice are sword skills." She smiled and picked up a practice sword. "You ready?"

Kathlayne secured the rest of the protective padding, and picked up her practice sword. "I agree on swordplay. I need a lot of practice on that. Alright, I'm ready." She assumed fighting stance and brought the blade out in front of her.

Kataru brought up her sword and took a fighting stance. She nodded to the young girl. "Come and show me what you know, then we will work on improving and teaching." She smiled

"Ok,"Kathlayne said. She looked at her apponent, trying to find a place to slash. She raises her sword in a quick motion and thrust.

Kataru moved to the side. "Your moving to slow. You have to be much quicker then that. And don't stand there analzying your opponent for so long. In a fight, that could easily cause your death." She backed up again. "Now try again."

"Alright," Kathlayne said. She raised her sword again, much quicker this time. She started to slash forward, but this time, she did an upward cut, her pracrice blade jaring against Kataru's.

"Was that better?" Kathlayne asked, "But, maybe I shouldn't attemp false moves yet."

"That was alittle bit better. Though your still a tad to slow." She tapped Kathlayne's head with her sword. "And my advice is don't do anything to complicated yet. We have to make sure you know the basics first."

She stood back in a stance once more. "Now try again with basic moves, and alittle more speed."

"Right," Kathlayne set her mouth determinedly. She swung and slashed at Kataru's mid-section quickly. "That better?" she asked.

Kataru quickly blocked her. "Yes that's much better." She said nodding. "Now try slashing then backing off, and then striking again. But mind this, don't slow down through any of it."

"Alright, I'll try," Kathlayne said. She lifted her sword and slashed quickly, then stepped back. She sifted her weight and thrust forward at Kataru's shoulder. "That good?"she asked.

Kataru quickly blocked Kathlayne's attacks. "That's very good. I almost wouldn't have been able to block your last attack." She smiled. "Now what else can you do?"

Kathlayne lowered her practice sword and took a breath. "Well, I know how to block alright, but I still have LOTS of room to improve. Hmmm....what else? I have done a little work on getting out of situation when you are cornered, but not much. Well, maybe we could work on those a bit."

"Alright, well stand in the corner right here. And then we'll see how you move, and then I'll give you some advice."

"Alright,"Kathlayne said, stepping into the corner, her back pressed against the wall. She didn't really know what to do, but she would try. Well, for a start, I can block her attack, and then try to creap out. Kathlayne thought. She soon put her thoughts into action when Kataru began her attack. But, Kathlayne's attempts were quite fruitless.

"Well, that certainly didn't work," Kathlayne said, "What should I do to escape a corner?"



ooc- hope the bit about Kataru attacking wasn't power playing, or whatever you call it. If so, tell me, and I will edit.

Arty, sweating after a short but intense sword practice, sheathed his weapon relievedly, then urged his sore, aching muscles over to the nearest bench, dropping tiredly onto the wooden planks.

I really need to do this more often, he thought. If he weren't so tired all the time... And there I go with excuses again. I knew being a knight wouldn't be so easy. Mithros, I even told my parents! He inspected his sleeves, numbly noting the ink stains even the most concentrated stain remover couldn't get out. He'd given up protecting his white shirts months, just let the inevitable happen.

He narrowed his eyes, trying to bring the figures beyond his outstretched arms into focus, and sighed aggravatedly. He rummaged into his pockets and grabbed his spectacles, jamming them onto his nose. The combatants slowly came into focus, and Arty watched them, noting that one of them was a page, a few years younger than himself. The other - well, he couldn't be sure...

A figure in the corner of Kathlayne's eye caused her to turn her head. Because of it, she recieved a painful blow from the practice sword. She swore under her breath. Arg! Kathlayne thought I shouldn't be so curious! But now that she had looked, she thought it would be rude not to say hello to the squire she had only briefly met. She struggled to remember his name. Alan? No, that wasn't it. Alex? No. Ah, Artemis! thats it! "Hello Artemis!" She said.

Kataru watched as Kathlayne looked towards the shadowy figure. "Don't turn your eyes away from an enemy." She told the young page giving her a quick hit with her sword. When she realized she wasn't going to get a respond, she backed out of the corner and allowed Kathlayne out.

She looked at the squire. She had seen him once before in the shadows, but never asked his name. She heard Kathlayne call his name. "Oh that's right." She turned back to Kathlayne. "You can call him over here if you want to."

Arty, realizing that he was being called over, stood up, trying to favor his sore legs as much as he could, and ambled quickly over.

"Katherine, right?" he asked, pushing his glasses up his nose. "I met you in the library. You're there a lot, almost all the time..." He smiled. "So am I, for that matter. How's sword practice going?"

"Acutally, I'm Kataru Minamoto, and this is Kathlayne of Pirate's Swoop." she said correcting the squire. "Katherine of Blackwater is a page, I believe."

"Your welcome to join us if you want to, Artemis I believe it is?" She asked.

[Does that make Kathlayne a squire?]

He nodded in affirmation.

"Nice to meet you," he said, shyly. "Um, so. How do you propose sword practice three-way? That is..." He shrugged, then remembered that his shoulders ached really badly, the rest of his body too. What was he doing, volunteering his participation now?

[No Kathlayne is a page.]

"Well let's see...I can battle more then one person. But that's probably because I've been drilled in it before."

She looked at Kathlayne, then at Artemis. "If you two are ready?"

"Well," Kathlayne said, uncertainly, "I guess I could try....but how do I do it? I mean, two people at once, I've never done that before, I will need some help and a lot of pointers."

"Shouldn't be too hard," said Artemis, shrugging, "You go for one side, and I go for the other, and we try not to hit each other." He ranged himself next to Kathlayne, feeling his stature of squiredom diminished by the preistess' offer to fight them both. He had been first in his year. Had been, he reminded himself. He seriously doubted he could do much damage now, being so tired and out of practice.

Wearily, he lifted his sword into ready position. "Ready."

[NOO! I DID IT AGAIN!!!]

Antony was on his way to ravage the kitchens 2 knights in training getting ready to fence against the Yamani warrior. Kataru, he remembered.

'This ought to be interesting' he said to himself

Adopting his war-cry voice he shouted over to Kataru, "Milady, if you don't mind, after these ones have had enough I'd like to have a go as long as I can use a battle axe."

"Alright , I'm ready when you are. " Kathlayne said, raising her sword. She looked up over to Kataru, and then to Artemis. She bit her lip and braced herself for the blows to come.

Kataru gripped her sword and took a stance. "Get ready..." but before she was about to lung at them she heard a man's voice.

She backed up, and looked at him. She smiled. "Milord if you wish to join us, I wouldn't mind fighting three of you. And your welcome to use your axe. Just jump in whenever your ready."

She turned back to Artemis, and Kathlayne. She took her stance again, and adjusted her sword on her waist, and then the one she held in her hands. "Now go!"

Arty brought his sword up above Kataru's head, surprised at how automatically the movement came to him, and let it fall towards her right shoulder. But the swing was not controlled at all, and it was with a feeling of trepidation that he allowed gravity to guide it to the ground, hoping fervently that the preistess didn't decide to strike back too hard.

Kataru was surpised by Artemis's movement. She brought up her sword to block him, but he guided it to the ground. Kataru swung her sword and stopped it before it hit his side. "I wouldn't try the move again. Specially if your just going to guide it to the ground because of the swift reaction to a fight." She said sternly. "Now try again."

Antony chuckled to himself at the severity with which Kataru spoke to the young man. The child lokked absoluely terrified. He grabbed a blunted weapon from the rack that lined the grounds and hopped the fence, ready to move in whenever the younger children decided to get tired.