The Grey Tower

Lirievin Tesiva Liri paused as Conor spoke to her. She understood where he was coming from, but she wasn’t ready to face it yet. Or am I just being too stubborn and I should just give in?. Liri watched interested as Conor took the sword from her hand and shuffled through a few wooden swords before pulling out one. Liri knew that these were the practice swords, as she had used them back in Kandor with Travin. She smiled fondly at the memory. She missed Travin dearly but after her Arches she did her best to not think of her life growing up, it was time for her to grow up and move on.

Liri followed Conor out of the weapon room giving one last look at the daggers. One day she would learn how to use them, she would defeat her own fears. Liri turned away, sure her emotions were showing on her face, but she didn’t care. She was taking steps to defend herself and that is what mattered. Liri was happy that Conor did offer her a hand, but some part of her was sad about it. She would never ask for help but she was started to appreciate his offers to assist her. Shaking her head gently as if to get the thoughts out of her head, Liri paid attention to where they were going. She had never been to this part of the Tower so she figured she should pay attention so she could get back after they were done.

A turn or two later, Conor and Liri entered the training yards. A few men were sparring, but it was surprisingly bare, which made Liri grateful. She figured she would make a fool out of herself, so the less people to witness it the better. After some prompting from Conor Liri stepped ahead a bit to show him what she did know. Thinking now, Liri remembered surprisingly little from what Travin had taught her, she stood tall and brought the sword up to her shoulder. Quickly she moved the sword horizontally, attempting to pivot on her foot, but being so focused on the form, Liri didn’t realized she was pivoting on her bad foot, and fell to the ground. Liri stood up quickly, using the sword to help her get up. Before Conor could say anything Liri started again, making sure she was pivoting on her good foot. Liri went through two more forms, The Falling Leaf and Wind and Rain before facing Conor holding the sword down.

“That’s really I know…” She said quietly. She almost felt ashamed at her lack of knowledge for wielding swords. She grew up in the Borderlands, she should know how to use a sword.

Conor Palfrey He had to admit that he was impressed with the girls arm. Her form was sloppy at best but if she had the balance they could be dead on. She deserved the credit for the work she had put into learning, and Conor wondered how best to help her. She will need a warder. At the very least. Unless Liri wanted to spend the rest of her life in the Library, she would need help. Although her persistence at being able to do things on her own was... brave. And he admired that.

"Not too bad. Your forms are slow, your footwork is obviously sloppy, but you show promise. Should I bother to teach you footwork? Or do you just want to work on upper body forms? I can only teach you so much without forcing you to build up strength in that leg of yours. We can work with the limp, but you will have to re adjust your balance." Taking a few moments to walk up, he moved behind her with a strange professionalism as he moved her arm through those forms and a few more to help her get the feel while forcing her to adjust her balance not with her legs but with her core. She had a cute bottom, but her life depended on him not being distracted.

Conor wasn't sure how he felt about that!

Lirievin Tesiva Liri felt strangely proud when Conor said that she was horrible. It had been a long time since she had used a sword, too long even and she was surprised at her ability to remember the sword forms. She knew from the beginning she would have things to work on and she hoped that if she got comfortable with a sword it would be easier to transition over to a dagger so she could get over that as well. Thinking of the dagger sent a shudder through her body so she was glad when Conor moved closer to her to assist her through the forms, including some new ones.

The closer Conor got the more relaxed Liri felt until he was right behind her. Liri was glad that he was helping her handle the sword, as otherwise she knew she would have been distracted by how close he and how his scent filled her nose. The forms went a lot easier as Conor walked her through them. She could tell she would be sore tomorrow, if had been a long time since she had gone through a real workout and Conor was forcing her to use a lot of core strength. As they finished the last form Conor stepped away from her and Liri brought the sword down fighting the urge to rest on it,the workout had taken more out of her then she expected.

Liri knew she had to get going to make her next class she part of her wanted to stay. Now that she had started working on the sword she wanted to continue until she had done her best to prefect the skill. “I think I would eventually like to learn at least some footwork.” She said answering Conor’s earlier question as she realized she had failed to reply. “Maybe one day this thing won’t be so useless and then footwork would came in handy” She finished gesturing to her ankle.

“I do have to leave now though, otherwise I will miss my next class and Shila Sedai hates when anyone is even seconds late.” She finished, sure that the irritation she felt was coming through in her voice. “I really did enjoy today. Would you be able to continue teaching me how to use this thing?”

Conor Palfrey "Then before you go, let me show you this." He stepped with his feet in a simple "v" movement, using both feet equally to set the pace. "It is like a dance, but if you can make that simple footwork part of your everyday in some way, then you will build up strength while falling naturally into that movement with enough practice." He gave her a bit of a quirky smile. "You might get some funny looks but you can always promise them a dance of spears or swords if they cause you problems."

He handed her the weapons she had not practiced with, "I will happily teach you. It might come with a price of honeybuns and perhaps a small favor some time. If you do not mind those terms?" He would do it for free because that's what he was suppose to do, but it is handy to have an Accepted in his pocket if he needed to let loose or gain access to information those outside the Tower could not. Small things. She did blush prettily, though. She might not be a red head, but she was certainly pretty enough.

enough for what, palfrey?

Lirievin Tesiva Liri couldn't help but smile as Conor showed her the movement and told her that if anyone bothered her to promise them a dance of spears if they caused her problems. She didn't think it's work on behalf of her obvious limp, but the thought of it working was enough to light up her face with a smile. Liri liked Conor, he seemed to be the one person she had met so far that made her actually forget all the bad stuff and focus on the good, and she felt sad to leave him. But since he had agreed to teach here Liri knew it wouldn't be that long before they met again.

"I'm sure I can handle getting some honeybuns and doing you some favors. I've given a lot more for a lot less" she said muttered the last sentence. Under any other circumstance Liri would have clarified what the favors might entail, but in this case she felt like she could trust the Conor wouldn't ask her to do anything she was uncomfortable with, or wouldn't force her into anything she didn't want, he just seemed very trustworthy and dependable.

With all the weapons gathered in her hands, Liri started back up to the Weapon room to put them back, she hoped she put them back correctly, she didn't want to get anyone angry on her first time at the Yards. After she walked a few steps Liri turned back to look at Conor giving him one last smile and a slight nod. She knew she would be waiting anxiously until her next lesson.