(Expecting)

Ayano picked up a bokken, she had worn her soldier's garb to come here...and hated it. Hated being in here and all the bad memories that brought. But demons had burst from people, seemed the Lioness should look past her old experiences.

To one casually observing the Lioness's form was perfect, plucked from the basic illustrations being made to demonstrate proper practice. To one who knew fighting, it was a mess. Ayano was keeping to stances and movements that had been taught to her in the most mechanical way possible. Her body was stiff and her movements from form to form jerky. If she had been called upon to do battle...well the results would be disastrous.

"Relax." A commanding voice called as the giant woman entered. In her hand, she didn't hold a bokken. No, this was a mock up of a massive Polearm, the 'blade' of it heavy. She cradled it in one arm as she stepped towards the training area. Her feet were bare, roughly calloused from a lifetime of running without sandals against hard ground.

Her training uniform was much more utilitarian that even her sturdy clothing, simple black hakama, with a white gi.

"You look like you're carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders as you move. Holding it all in your chest." Matsu stared down at the smaller woman. Her hair was tightly bound, though it still trailed down mid-back from the long ponytail.

Ayano shot the other woman a glare, "I was taught swordsmanship by the best Lady Makime could find." Then she let her stance drop with a sigh, "...and they said much the same." Her expression was still one of anger, but seemed self-directed.

"I am Makime Ayano, daughter of Lady Makime." She looks over the the Spider, "You are Hisomu Matsu, are you not?"

"I suppose I am." The training bisento was lofted, then moved to stretch across her back, over her shoulders. Arms draped on either end of the haft.

"It is an honor to meet you. Your wargame the other day. I enjoyed it, once it was the improvised scenario." She smiled, keeping her focus on Ayano.

"The weapon, it should be like inhaling breath. Or bathing. Natural, without thought. It's part of you."

"And that's the problem!" Ayano growls, "I was born weak of body...a weak hand is not going to get stronger just because it holds a weapon." She takes a breath and re-centers herself. "My apologies, Hisomu-san...the morning's troubles have me on edge."

She grips the wooden sword again and raises it, her eyes were fixed on it's tip. It only made her frown, so she tried to hide it with conversation. "It is something the Makime do to help practice planning. I had to revise it somewhat for individuals, normally it would be a group. Each there to cover for the weaknesses and bolster the strengths of the other."

She smirked. "There's nothing to apologize for. Least of all to me. I don't hold back my anger and disgust with things I find offense to." A small laugh, then focusing again on the woman.

"Use that anger. While strength of body has nothing to do with how you can strike. To give oneself fully to battle, even at the cost of oneself." Stepping closer, just beyond the tip of the bokken.

"My Pa told me, and I strive to emulate, how my ma fought. All her heart in the moment, giving it her all without thought of defense. That channeled anger can overcome what the body may limit."

"Mother...Lady Makime I mean...says that anger can be difficult to control and that it is best to remain calm, cold." Admittedly Ayano was anything but as she tried to swing again. "Our way is the path of careful planning and training." Another swing, still stiff...

"...your father means a lot to you." The Lioness stated it as if it were a fact...and given what she had seen of the formidable warrior woman, it probably was.

"Plans fall apart when they are tested against reality. Plan all you want, but in the end, it comes down to execution." She watxhed the woman practicing without comment. Her eyes closed when Ayano asked her question.

"He was all I had for a long time. After ma passed. It was just me and him. Even when the Kami fell. Even during their tournament to figure out who would lead... it was just me and Pa. Until we went to search for and rescue Lord Hisomu."

Opened again, her focus on Ayano. "He was my world for so long."

"Oh we are well aware of that." Ayano frowned again, "That is why you must have flexibility, however...even the greatest warrior is can be felled without food or unprepared or outnumbered. Planning helps with that."

She lowers the bokken breathing heavily, "...I see. My own experiences with mother are...different."

"He was one of the men that went into the pit. Held a barrier to shield the others?" Ayano added.

Makime Ayano wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 30, 2021 10:48 pm

"Oh we are well aware of that." Ayano frowned again, "That is why you must have flexibility, however...even the greatest warrior is can be felled without food or unprepared or outnumbered. Planning helps with that."

She lowers the bokken breathing heavily, "...I see. My own experiences with mother are...different."

"He was one of the men that went into the pit. Held a barrier to shield the others?" Ayano added.

"Then we will have to work together in battle. Your little wargame showed me that. My strengths aren't in the planning. But in being flexible." She replied, then watched the way she spoke of her mother.

"Yes. It cost him much of his life force. But he was willing to do it, recognizing his strengths, being blessed by Bishamon as he was." Matsu anwered, looking towards her. "He'd do it again, if it was necessary."

"That is precisely what my mother wishes to convey actually..." Ayano went on a short tangent, "If we had combined the strengths of everyone at the wargame it would have yielded at higher score then separate. Letting some handle the logistics, others the clearing of obstacles, others the politics, and those that well..." She swings the bokken around for effect, "Do their part too. A cohesive whole that is greater then its parts. What I recall of the stories from the rescue of Hisomu illustrates that point."

She lowers the bokken again, silent for a moment, "Sounds like he might be willing in spirit...but no longer in body. So then if it comes to that again, someone else will have to be ready to stand in his place." Her head inclines to the Spider, "Though I think it will not be in so open a manner. Given the events this morning."

The Lioness looks at her bokken, "I hate this. In a real battle no matter how good a warrior I was my body would fail me quickly. But the luxury of fighting from the map table may no longer be afforded."

"Then you rely on your unit." She replied to that, stepping beside the Makime heir. "This new enemy, they'll need to be defeated in the mind, before we take the field with them." She shook her head.

"Do not doubt your talents, or think that the battlefield might be as we already know it." Matsu's eyes looked to Ayano's own. "The maps and tables may prove just as vital. Especially as we learn more and more of this enemy."

"Oh...I know my talents will be needed, not just those for war..." Ayano's frown deepened as she raised the bokken again, "But I can't afford to be an easy target anymore." She made several stiff strikes, her breathing was heavier then it should be for the effort she had made so far.

"If these...creatures....make...it....to my....map table....I don...'t want....to just let...others....protect me." She has to stop for a moment and rest, for a moment Ayano looks ready to just keep striking until her heart just gives out.

Makime Ayano wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 02, 2021 11:36 pm

"Oh...I know my talents will be needed, not just those for war..." Ayano's frown deepened as she raised the bokken again, "But I can't afford to be an easy target anymore." She made several stiff strikes, her breathing was heavier then it should be for the effort she had made so far.

"If these...creatures....make...it....to my....map table....I don...'t want....to just let...others....protect me." She has to stop for a moment and rest, for a moment Ayano looks ready to just keep striking until her heart just gives out.

She listened closely. "Your courage is not in doubt, Makime-san." Matsu replied, no comments made on the strikes, or her heavy breathing. "Have you considered the bow?" An eyebrow raised. "An honorable a weapon as the sword. A different set of skills and exercises." There wasn't a judgement. "And just as deadly. When we went to find Lord Hisomu, my Father was pincushioned by some bandits. He may have been mighty, but he was slowed by the amount of arrows."

Ayano was breathing heavily, she waited for her heart to slow before responding. "I have thought about it...but I lack the natural talent for it..." She staggers a little, feeling unsteady she turned her wooden sword into a makeshift cane. "Perhaps the spear." Her voice was unsure.

"...but regardless, I can't continue practice for the moment." Anger returned briefly before slipping away. "Did you wish to speak to me?" Despite coming out sounding exhausted, her serious expression made it clear she was not mocking the Spider. "I haven't spoken to any of your clan. An oversight on my part given our clans border one another."