Waiting...(public)

"Now," I say after a few more demonstrations and a bit of training on her side(and only one resulting trip to the infirmiry ;) ), "what do you want to learn next. the choice is yours."

"that," i say, "could take months to teach. martial arts are far more complex than swordsmanship."

"very well," i say.
i spend the rest of the day going over stances and forms repeatedly.

"sure," i say back to her. she was a good pupil. so eager to learn.

I go to the spot where i choose to sleep and meditate, waiting for the next day.
When it comes i as always get up at dawn and practice. for 10 years i had maintained this ritual and i wasn't gonna give it up because of a change of venue.
When i complete that i walked calmly to the arena again. this place is pretty and i take the time to savor it.

"ah there you are," i say, "come sit down. i was just making some tea."

OOT: your reputation is -6?!

i finish the tea and pour two cups of tea. i drink mine slowly and ask her about herself.
OOC: yeah i dont know how i got those -6. they just showed up there one day.

OOT: I think it's when some people don't like you but I haven't figured out how you get a reputation yet it just appears.

BIC: "Well," I say. "So, It's last summer, you know? And all the sudden my mom just says, 'Hey did I forget to tell you that your father was the god Apollo?' Well, she didn't quite say it like that, but still. So then when I actually realized that I was a half blood, my scent got stronger, or something? And then I was walking home from the beach one day, I lived in New Jersey then, and these weird people started following me. It took me a minute to realize they were monsters, and I barely made it out of there. So then my mom sent me to Camp Half Blood, and here I am, I guess."

"interesting," i say as she finishes her tea. i pour her another cup and say. "come now the training begins," as i slash at her deliberately missing but probably surprising her quite a bit.

"no,"i say,"i really am interested, but your lesson must go on.todays lesson is balance. dont let the tea fall out of your cup."
i give her a chance to regroup.

i start slow, only a few slow slashes so she can adjust.

"i thought it was obvious. use your sword," i say and slice at her. my own tea was perfectly still inside the cup. i had gone through the exercise countless times with my sensei and now i had mastered it.

"In battle everything must be in perfect balance, mind,body, and spirit, if you cannot keep tea inside a cup how can you hope to fight." i say slashing at her a few more times.