Knowing (Invite Only)

[leslie]

Lin quickly gathered up her satchel and hat off of the piano from her latest music practice session, her voice still ringing through the halls as she sang a few verses of her song. The melody had been haunting her since early in the year but she hadn't had time to write it down, but now that she had it on paper it simply screamed for lyrics. But the lyrics were much slower in coming. Humming the tune to herself, she jogged out of the school and down the street with no destination in mind.

Left. Right. Left. Right. Left. Right... She counted out in her mind as she jogged along the road, her satchel gently flapping against her side while she simply ran along. Head turning to the side, Lin slowly paused and then stopped as she recognized the street. A little bit further down was the grocery store Kevin and Traytaine were training at the other day. Having barely broken a sweat from the quick run, she jogged up to the vending machines for a bottle of water. Sipping on the cool drink, she thought back over the day and grimaced.

Earlier that day, she'd been asked by one of the boys she'd become aquainted with on the roof if she wanted to go train and workout. Stupidly or nervously, she hadn't answered but then again - she was positive he was going to expect her. But she wasn't going to go... period. She couldn't. Not with him and not alone.

As the thought flitted through her mind, the familiar sounds of scuffling emerged from the alley to the side of the grocery store - an idea forming that would at least alleviate her fear of being alone with someone she didn't trust. That was, if Tray didn't mind being her escort and protection of sorts. Screwing on the cap of her bottle, she grabbed her satchel in one hand then went around the side of the building just in time to see Tray and Kevin square off. "Traytaine? Can I - Can I ask you a favor?"

[tray]

Traytaine was with Kevin again today. It was abit diffrent though, he was trying to teach him the difference between a blood choke, and an air choke. He had explained it several times, but when he practiced he could only manage to get that an air choke took longer. And couldn't perform the blood choke. Kevin gave up on the idea for the moment, and began to rub his neck from the several times he had tried.

Kevin then slid forward quickly, turned, and fell into stance. "I'll show you the difference first hand if you can't stop me.." He ducked half a foot and slid forward, stopping on Traytaine's left foot, making him back up a pace so he wouldn't be pinned, and then slid to the side, hitting his side. Traytaine dropped his hand to swipe the blow away, but had forgotten to correct his angle.

Kevin continued his momentum and locked his arm around Traytaine's neck, holding firmly, but placing pressures on the carotid artery instead of the windpipe or trachea. He was not applying it fully, as a full blood choke and he would be out within eleven seconds at best. As Traytaine had no wish to actually do allot of damage to Kevin he did not do as specifically instructed. Go for the eyes, hammer fist to the throat, etc.

Instead he placed a hand on his wrist, and forearm, pulling down and loosening the pressure. His vision retuning from the fading black he placed all his weight down and then pushed back, throwing his hip into him, pivoted and sent his elbow into his side. This loosened Kevin's grip, and he slid to the side in a crouch, one leg in front, and the back had the toe of the boot against the ground to ensure he didn't go too far.

Kevin stood, but didn't return to stance. He sat down where he had stopped sliding, and placed his palm in his lap. "Behind you." He motioned with the other. Traytaine blinked, and turned to look behind him. It was the Asian girl again, Leslie. The words from a moment earlier slid into his mind and he seemed to loosen a moment before he began to walk up with a small hint of calm, something he didn't normally possess around many. "A favor? What'd you need?"

[leslie]

As soon as Leslie turned the corner, she was immediate taken back with the ferocity the pair trained with despite their public setting. If anyone else had been watching and hadn’t known that the two were only training – the police would have been called immediately. Her eyes moved between Kevin then back to Traytaine as they seemed to clash into each other until Kevin grabbed Tray’s neck. While it looked rather intense to Lin, she could only assume that it wasn’t so bad as Tray didn’t seem to fight back at first. “Tray?”

She glanced at Kevin who had brought Tray’s attention back to the present, her eyes smiling as she nodded briefly while motioning to her bottled water, “Sorry to interrupt. Very sorry. But I have… have a rather large favor.” She watched him approach, holding out her barely-touched water, “See – I was asked today to go train in the forest. But I don’t want to go alone. Could you – you come with me? I’d feel better if you were there.”

[tray]

OOC: You're meant to come in at the forest. As per your previous post, you asked her, to go meet you at the forest under the guise of training. We will be there after Leslie's post. So you may want to delete yours and reply after her.

Traytaine walked forward after he recognized who it was. Kevin was resting, despite his skill, three hours of consistent training could take it out of him a bit. Traytaine on the other hand seemed to have a higher endurance. Probably just youth, and not enough food in Kevin's gut, to give him the same stamina. 'Although, he also has a full day of school before he comes out here normally too..' The thought made him pine for his youth.

Traytaine watched as she motioned down to a bottled water. He wonderd if it was jsut a nod, or if she was actually trying to give it to him. Either way he looked up into her eyes, which gave him the impression that she was glad about something, as she spoke. "A favor?" He repeated himself, curious as to what she would ask. As the bottle was held out he looked at it intently, realizing that he was thirsty.

His hand attentively reached out, his fingers holding onto the cap, pulled it upward out of her hands, and then brought it back to himself. Effectively this made it so he would not have to make contact, as he was unsure what would happen if he made purposeful contact with someone. It hadn't been tried with anyone but Kevin in recent memory, and he could defend himself. "I.." He paused, making it seem that he was thirsty and not deciding, by uncapping the water.

He took a quick drink, blinking at the odd flavor he was give. He pulled his lips back from it a bit, and looked at her with a raised brow. "It's sweeter than normal." His expression seemed undecided, but he mere continued his previous train of thought. "I can go, but I don't.. really know how to hold back. It would be best if I did not train.. but I wouldn't mind the walk."

[leslie]

(Sorry Victor, I thought I made it clear but obviously not. You invited her - thus the need for Tray. Otherwise she never would have agreed to ... well, anything.)

Lin carefully released the water as soon as his hand slid around the bottle and took it from her, his eyes speaking in the same way that her eyes did on occasion when she didn't want to be expressive. What she understood was that he wanted to be careful around her - whether that was for his sake or hers she still wasn't sure. She hadn't actually ever touched Traytaine, and he had made sure she hadn't. "Please? I don't want to go alone."

"You've - you've been working hard. It's bottled and cold." She shrugged slightly, blushing under his gaze until she finally dropped her own eyes and merely stared down at the ground while toying with the edge of her satchel. "You don't have to train. Just stay with me and him? I don't trust anyone around here." She slowly clasped her hands together, pleading as the thought of going alone was more than she could bare but as she had already given her word to be there - she really had no choice.

"Please Traytaine? As a favor?"

[tray]

Traytaine was still curious about the water. As he watched her blush and her eyes dropped, seemingly embarrassed, he heard a gruff laughter from behind him. Why was Kevin laughing? He shrugged and drank some more as he listened to her asking him to go. He didn't mind, so he just finished half the bottle, and moved back to look at Kevin. "I'll be back tomorrow." Kevin in return nodded.

Traytaine stepped up next to her, and looked down, the shade of his hat making his faded blue eyes seem a bit darker. "He is someone you don't trust. Why would you want to train with him?" He asked off handedly, and continued away. "Where is it we're going again?" He turned the corner, and stopped, looking back at her, waiting for her to lead to wherever she was headed originally.

[leslie]

Lin wasn’t so sure as to why he was so amazed by the water – it was plain and simple bottled water out of the vending machine. And the only thing she had only done was take a few sips from it. Still blushing slightly though she was comfortable enough to lift her head again, she nodded toward Kevin then frowned and her brows furrowed in confusion. What was he laughing about? Was it something she had done? Raising a single brow, she turned toward Tray who seemed to be just as confused as she was… which was comforting to say the least.

“Good-bye Kevin.” She gave him a slight wave for his trouble, her lips twitching upward slightly until she started walking toward the bus stop that would take them out across the bridge to the forest, “I don’t really want to train with him. But I promised that I would. I gave my word. And I don’t go back on my word.” She glanced upward, then over at her wrist where her watch was, “Over the bridge to the Golden Gate Park Forest.” Up ahead of them, she saw the bus pull in and began to jog to make sure they caught it, glancing behind her with a wave, “That’s our bus.”

[tray]

Traytaine placed his hands in his pockets, a small stretch of the muscles of his shoulders, and began to jog forward. He didn't get the point of placing a promise with someone he didn't trust, but it served the purpose well enough if she was actually wanting to train. But since she didn't, he just stopped trying. It was a bit difficult to think through completely, but he just jogged after the bus, keeping up with her.

Traytaine went up the stairway after her, she had paid for him, and he simply found an empty seat close to her and sat down. The ride itself went pretty quietly, and didn't take long. When they got off the bus he looked about the area, still wondering hwy she would want to go to such a remote place with someone she didn't trust. "So, lead the way, again, I suppose."

[leslie]

Even while she was listening to herself talk Lin couldn't help but shake her head in amazement that he was even willing to go along with her. For that matter, she was amazed she was going along with it. She didn't know this boy very well and despite her best instincts she had not simply told him outright 'no'. For that matter, the first time she had ever met him she ended up running in the opposite direction and down the stairs to escape his intimate statements. That was how uncomfortable she had gotten before and yet she was allowing him the opportunity to do it again. Sitting down on the bus with a small sigh, she gathered her thoughts together then began to meditate.

The meditation was peaceful - the bus ride too short in her own opinion. Finding out the schedule from the sheet just above the door, she figured they could either make the same bus in an hour or walk half a mile down the road in a half hour if things didn't go so well. That or the bus came every two hours after that. Stepping off and into the cool breeze, she glanced to her left and right then frowned thoughtfully. She couldn't remember where he was going to be - whether he was going to meet her... and, even though she had Tray at her back, she still didn't want to go wandering into the woods after him. "Umm... I don't know."

(Vic - your turn!)

[victor]

OOC: Sorry about the mix-up! ;D

Dressed in a white gi, Victor rested his body on a tree stump as endorphins rushed through his body. He had been training out here for most of the day and he felt fabulous.

He wondered when the girl would get here. He remembered his meeting with her on the roof and made a mental note to not say anything like that to her again. That had been a very stupid mistake on his part, and Victor did not like stupidity on his part. When he spoke with her this time he would be as casual and reserved as he could.

Victor went into a set of sixty push-ups without stopping, then laid on his back and performed fifty sit-ups also without stopping. He began to sweat a little. He stood up, went over to a tree, and began to perform subtle but powerful roundhouse kicks to the tree with both of his legs. When they began to grow tired, Victor switched to punches and elbow strikes.

After twenty straight minutes of strikes, kicks and grabs to the tree, Victor began to go into kata. He started out light with the Heain Shodan kata, then went into the Bassai Dai kata, snapping the moves with all of his speed, power, and technique. After a moment of rest, he performed the Bassai Sho kata, and finally the Kanku Dai kata. Sweat ran down his face and body and he laughed aloud. Lord that had felt great.

"I wonder when she'll get here." he thought. "Then again, it's completely up to her if she wants to come or not."

As he began to perform another kata, he saw her coming. Coming with her was an older boy who looked to be a year older then him. He wore a poncho and a hat, like something out of an action movie. He had blond hair and looked tough as nails. Victor got the impression that the guy probably put up a good fight.

He didn't say anything as they approached. He simply finished the kata and waved at them, signaling where he was.

[tray]

OOC: Short for lack of interaction.

Traytaine walked quietly along with Leslie, wondering why she didn't even ask where they were headed. "Just walk then, I guess.." But it didn't seem to matter much. After going in about thirty yards he could see white far to the left, and moving. He knew it wasn't an animal, so he simply assumed it was who they were meeting. Whither or not she saw he did, and viewed the figure moving for a few moments.

He had stopped next to one of the trees, expecting that Leslie would stop when she noticed him stopping, if nothing else. The male waved at him, and he could only assume that meant he was looking at the right person. "Leslie." He spoke up quietly, and pointed in his direction, wanting to confirm that it was him now that he had waved. If it wasn't he would suggest just giving up. He didn't want to get lost trying to find someone after all.

[leslie]

Leslie was beginning to feel extremely embarrassed for dragging Tray out into the middle of nowhere to meet a boy she trusted just about as far as she could throw him. Which in her case wasn’t very far at all. But then again that cliché had been expressed in so many ways it wasn’t even necessary to say anymore. Walking carefully next to Tray, she scanned the treeline for anyone who might have been waiting – whether it was the male she was supposed to be meeting, it didn’t look as though anyone was there.

Continuing to walk quietly, she missed the white among the trees at first but saw it upon closer investigation. The gi was clean to begin with, a surprise compared to her uncle who believed that a gi should only be washed if blood stained it. Carefully stopping as Tray did, she glanced through the trees then nodded hesitantly, “That’s Victor. You don’t have to come any further… if you don’t want to.” She carefully took a deep breath, walking into the modest clearing while stuffing her hands into her pockets, “Hi. I guess I’m here.”

[victor]

As Victor eyed the two companions, the Japanese girl spoke.

"Hello, I guess I'm here."

Victor turned to Leslie and met her eyes. She looked nervous, but he couldn't blame her. He had after all, accidentally embarrassed her awhile ago on the roof and she had a very demure air about her. He wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

It wasn't just that either. She didn't trust him very much, he could tell. Why else would she have brought along the blond haired boy? Victor had a feeling that if he so much as moved in a way that Leslie did not like, the other boy would step in. Again, he couldn't blame her.

"I'm glad you came." Victor said, his voice reserved and calm. "Now we can get down to business I guess." He considered apologizing for earlier, but that wouldn't be a good move. That would be close to being intimate, and he had no intention of letting that happen. So he kept his face neutral and said nothing more on the subject.

Victor turned towards the blond boy and said "Nice to meet you. My name is Victor." He punctuated this by bowing at waist level, keeping his head down out of respect. No sense starting on the wrong foot.

"I'm going to give you these options: we can practice combinations, practice kata, or we can practice kumite. If we do kumite, we shall not actually make contact. The idea will simply be to see who can get past the other's guard first without actually making contact." he said. "You two are the guests, so take your pick."

[tray]

Traytaine looked down to Leslie as she greeted the male in the white clothes, his head titled down a bit, hiding his eyes from the one in white for a moment as he sighed. "If you weren't here then you wouldn't need to say hello. Or do you not remember if this is the one your meeting?" Both of what he said were meant to tease, and ask if that was the right person. For all he knew it was someone else, and she would settle for his company.

He lifted his head again, and looked to the male. He couldn't place his race straight off, but that quickly slid to the back of his mind. He didn't need to know. It was just another person. But curiosity still lingered for a moment. Just as he was about to turn and lean himself up against a tree he watched as the male turned, and bowed in his direction. Cocking a brow he looked him over, and then looked off, resisting the urge to speak his mind for Leslie's sake. 'I didn't ask your name.'

Traytaine turned as he originally planned, and moved to the tree. He placed his back against the bark and slid down, letting the poncho raise a bit, scratch his back pleasantly, and then settled. He wouldn't need to speak it, Leslie would surely explain, but it would put her in an awkward position. But he didn't know the words to explain just how bad of an idea it would be to try to train with him.

He picked his choice of words, and looked up under the brim of his hat. "I doubt you are skilled enough to survive training with me. If that is actually what your talking about." Maybe not the most diplomatic words. But then again, it was fairly accurate, even if it did seem insulting and condescending.

[leslie]

Glancing back at Tray as Victor stepped forward to speak with a uncharacteristic frown at his sarcasm, she gently placed her hands on her thighs then bowed from the waist formally – her own canvas pants and shirt making her a sorry second compared to his white gi. “Business indeed. Mind if I stretch first?”

While she waited for his reply, she continued to look toward Victor even though he turned to speak to Tray. “He’s doing me a favor by staying with me… but he’s not here to train. It’s just me.” As soon as she had received his confirmation to stretch, she hurried over to a sheltered part of the trees then stripped off her overshirt and rolled up her pants to the knees. After she had placed her shirt close to Tray, she began to stretch – moving through her tai chi patterns that her uncle had taught her to warm up.

[victor]

Victor felt a bit insulted by Tray's sarcasm, but decided to be diplomatic. Tray had clearly not come here to train. He seemed to be serving as a bodyguard of sorts to Leslie. Nothing wrong with that-it was quite smart in fact-but he didn't need to be sarcastic.

"I doubt you are skilled enough to survive training with me. If that is actually what you're talking about."

Victor almost said "If only you knew." out loud, but he clamped down on it before it could come out. This guy was clearly a skilled fighter-very skilled from the look of it-but Victor knew some things of his own, a good deal of them utterly lethal. He wondered vaguely if this boy had the same training as he had. Probably had.

But that wasn't any of his business.

"Business indeed. Mind if I stretch first?"

Victor nodded to Leslie. "Good idea. I think I'll stretch a bit myself." he replied.

Victor sat down on the tree stump and went into a butterfly posture, pushing his legs up and down in a slow, steady rhythm, making sure to get his legs as low as possible. After five minutes of butterfly stretches, he stood up and arched his body backwards and held it there for another five minutes. After that he stood up again and did shoulder rolls and arm raises. With one final arch of his back, he stood up again and felt like a million bucks.

He watched Leslie perform her Tai Chi forms. He found it odd that a person from Japan would be using a Chinese form of meditation and exercise, but he wouldn't question it. Besides, the gentle movements were very relaxing for the observer as well as the practitioner.

"When you are done, perhaps we should start with basic techniques? If you choose basics, then I'll have to ask if you wish to learn regular techniques or more lethal ones. I offer the latter in case you come into a truly dangerous situation." Victor said. "Otherwise we can go over kata or practice kumite without making contact. The choice is yours."

[tray]

Traytaine watched as the two interacted. Finding it a bit out of his liking. He didn't see much reason to be there, now that he was actually there. He of course didn't trust the male int he white outfit. That's why he came in the first place. What he didn't quite understand was the fact that he should have brought something to do first. Even going home to get his dog first, or something of the like, seemed a decent idea.

His eyes moved from a paticularly interesting looking tree to Leslie, who walked closer to him and then a bit behind. She took off the t-shirt she always seemed to wear over her long sleeved shirt, and rolled her pants up so her thighs were free to move without restrictions. She walked back, placing the shirt against the tree he was leaning against, and then moved to the side to stretch. What good does that do?[/ii]

His head turned, his eyes stayed on Leslie for a few moments longer, and then his eyes too rested on the male, Vict something, as he was speaking. It didn't sit quite right with him, so he moved his head and eyes back to square with Leslie as he spoke. "I've seen you fight. I didn't think you needed training from someone weak." Again, not that diplomatic, but he had not placed Victor very high up the food chain yet.

[leslie]

Leslie saw rather than heard the biting sarcasm that was flung back and forth between the pair as she continued her patterns, the soothing motions allowing her to ease into exercise rather than simply jump in and expect to do well. Her hands moving over to the right while her fingers trailed the air that surrounded her, head turning toward Tray while a mild scathing look appeared on her face.

”Basic techniques? What kind of techniques are basic?” She frowned slightly, her expression neutral for the moment though her lips curled downward with her frown. “I’m fine with sparring. My uncle encouraged me to learn more from others…” While she wasn’t so sure she wanted to spar with Victor, sparring would be better than simple patterns, “I haven’t sparred in a while…”

[victor]

"I've seen you fight. I don't think you need training from someone weak."

Victor said nothing to that, nor did his expression change, but he was slightly annoyed inside. It was clear Tray distrusted him, but did he have to be rude about it? Even the samurai of old had treated their enemies with respect. Nevertheless, he wouldn't let it get to him. Tray was simply interested in protecting Leslie it seemed, so there was no reason to react to it. Not that he should anyway.

"Basic techniques? What kind of techniques are basic?"

"Well," Victor began, "basic techniques are exactly what they sound like. Simple techniques that would be used both in practice and in self defense. Examples would include a middle area punch or a front kick. They would also include combinations like a jab followed by a reverse punch and a kick."

Leslie mentioned that she was fine with sparring. It sounded good to him. They would have to avoid making actual contact, but by doing so he could also see how Leslie fought and where she needed to improve.

"If you wish to practice kumite, then I will gladly train with you. We aren't going to actually make contact however. Instead we will see who can pierce the other's guard first. The first one to do this three times shall be the winner." he said. "After that, I'd like to show you some techniques that aren't Karate based, but instead designed for pure combat situations."

He paused, then added: "However if you wish to learn techniques before kumite, then you may. It may be wiser to do so as you could test them to make sure you've learned correctly."

[tray]

Traytaine was still looking at Leslie as she turned toward him, giving him a look that expressly told him that he wasn't needed int he conversation. He partially thought about just leaving, but it was a favor, even if she did want him to be quiet. Sighing lightly he pulled his hat down, leaning further down the tree, and crossed his arms over his chest.

His mind began to wander quickly, again wishing he brought a source of entertainment. We'll I suppose I could always do that.. His mind wandered over his body training, he wasn't bound to resting against the tree, he might as well do that. For the first time he was glad that he wore a shirt under his poncho, as it would keep himself hidden from sight in a sense.

Taking off his hat, laying it down next to her shirt, and pulled the poncho off to drop over it. His body was covered in a white t-shirt, loose, but giving hints at how fit he was thanks to a few spots it clung to his body with sweat. Easing himself to the ground, pulling his knees closer to his body once he was laying down, and put his hands on the top of his head.

Sit ups with a twist. Each time he would pull himself up one, or both hands depending on the count, would come down in a hammer and hit his torso in various spots. Not soft hits either mind you, but full strength, and then lay back only to do it again. This was only one of the ways he would do it, because normally Kevin would be his partner across from him, and they would exchange blows instead, leaving him with the feeling his own blows were weak.