Monday, July 6, 4:41 PM EDT
Dressed in borrowed shorts and t-shirt, Raye Langley stood barefoot in ankle-high grass, eyes closed, her hands tight around the hilt of her weapon. In her mind's eye she formed the images of her opposition and sent them circling around their target -- her.
When the first one lunged for her, she slipped the blow and brought up her blade in a strike that lifted him from his feet and sent him flying across the yard. Before she could congratulate herself on the hit, though, she had to deal with the one behind her. with a flick of her wrist she turned the momentum of that first hit, diverting it to swing the sword in a complete circle about her as she leapt nearly head-high.
In her visualization, the tip of her blade sliced across his body, cleaving though his clothing to reveal bare flesh highlit by a line of bright, welling blood. Almost absently she noted that she had barely marked her opponent, instead of disemboweling as she'd intended. She took advantage of his moment of shock to spin on her heel, blade extended in a decapitation strike that took his heead and ended the fight.
Whoa, Bob declared in the back of her head. I don't even have an inner ear right now, and that left me dizzy.
Raye stopped moving almost instantly and evaluated her condition. Breathing, normal. Heartbeat, slow and steady. Sweat, none.
Darn.
Bob must have felt her disappointment, because he murmured, You've got to be kidding, Raye. That was amazing!
She opened her eyes to see Alistair perched in a wooden chair, one of four that surrounded the picnic table which dominated the patio behind the Schroecks' home. He was nodding approvingly. "Very good, Raye. It is hard to see any way in which you could improve."
Opus there is right. Trust your sensei, Raye.
Raye grunted an acknowledgment to both, but she knew better. This round of shadow-fighting hadn't been anything close to a test of her abilities. She'd have to imagine a larger mob of opponents next time. Two Council Leonis were hardly a workout for her, and she needed a good workout if she were to stay in proper fighting trim for the inevitable clashes with the Virtue-born villains she knew had to be out there.
At least she had a decent practice weapon. She looked down at the wooden broadsword she held and again admired the deep reds and browns of its stained and polished surface. Bob had offered its use as soon as Raye had pointed out that practicing swordsmanship in the yard with any of her usual blades would probably alarm the neighbors. She just had had to dig it out from the far reaches of the somewhat cluttered library -- actually a converted bedroom with paneled walls and faux-beams on the ceiling, filled with bookcases and the desk on which the Schroecks' desktop PC rested.
Which reminded her... she wanted to ask Bob about seeing what "City of Heroes" actually looked like.
She was startled out of her musings by a burst of unexpected applause. Blinking, she looked up to spot a girl of about her own age leaning on the chainlink fence that separated the left front corner of the back yard from the front yard. She was a little thinner than Raye, her blonde hair was far closer to an ash shade than Raye's own almost metallic gold, and at her feet was a rather relaxed-looking German Shepherd, whose leather leash she had looped around one arm as she clapped. "That was really cool -- you looked like you actually know how to fight with a sword!" she called out.
That's the girl who lives across the street, Bob offered helpfully. Can't remember her name, sorry. Peg and I don't really get much chance to socialize with our neighbors because of our work schedules.
"I do," Raye called back as she passed under the cedar tree which shaded that corner of the yard. "I started learning how to use a sword a couple years ago." As she came up to the fence she tilted her head and studied the other girl. "Have you been watching long?"
"Nah, just for that last bit. I spotted you while walking Geezer here." She turned slightly and waved vaguely behind her, and Raye immediately understood. There was a clear line-of-sight through the corner of the yard to the street and beyond to the intersection where it T'ed with another. Anyone on several hundred feet worth of sidewalk would have been able to see her. "I hope you don't mind that I came into your yard to watch."
Taking her cue from Bob's wordless dismissal of the girl's trespass as unimportant, Raye chuckled. "It's not really my yard, but I don't think my Uncle Bob would really care if he knew." She held out a hand. "Raye Langley. Hi."
"Hi! Dani Spicoli." She shook Raye's hand, eliciting a growl from the dog, who found his head tugged about by the leash that was still wrapped around her arm. "Shush, Geezer! So... you here for the summer, or have you, like, moved in permanently?"
Raye panicked momentarily, completely uncertain how to answer that. "Um... for at least part of the summer. Might change, though, kinda depends on how things turn out."
Dani nodded knowingly. "Parents on the splits, and wanted you somewhere out of the way while they work it out. Seen it a couple times."
Raye opened her mouth to contest Dani's assumptions, then snapped it shut again. "Yeah," she said. "Something like that." She grimaced a moment, then put on a smile that was only slightly strained. "So, what about you? Live around here, visitor, or what?"
With a toss of her head toward the two-story white house directly behind her, Dani said, "I live right there. That's how I knew you were new to the neighborhood. Your uncle and aunt don't really talk to anyone much, but I'm pretty sure I would have noticed a girl my own age across the street before now." She laughed. "Not to mention one swinging a sword."
Geezer started growling an instant before Alistair's voice came from just behind her. "Perhaps we should be more circumspect about your practice from now on, Raye," he said before barking "Silence, mutt!" at the German Shepherd.
"Mm," Raye grunted affirmatively, hoping that both Dani and Alistair would take it as her response to them. She added a smile, then asked, "So, what do you do for fun around here?"
Dani grimaced. "Here, in the neighborhood? Almost nothing. Closest movie theatre is like ten miles away. The closest mall is even farther." She shrugged. "Not a big issue if you can drive. And have a car. Geezer! Shut up!" She yanked -- gently -- on the growling dog's leash.
"And do you?" Raye asked as Alistair continued to spit imprecations at the dog.
"Oh, I have my my license, and my folks are cool," Dani stated matter-of-factly.
I definitely need a mall run, Raye thought. Three costumes, one set of civvies, and my cheerleading uniform aren't going to cut it. "Do you think..." she began.
"Oh, my. So that's why I was reassigned," Alistair suddenly said, and Raye swallowed the rest of her sentence in a fit of coughing. She took advantage of the moment by turning away from Dani and taking a look at Alistair as she covered her mouth and got control over her breathing again.
Alistair was staring at Dani. And Dani, Raye realized, was shooting quick, puzzled glances at Alistair's general location. She recognized that confused, slightly squinty look -- it was the same one some of the sensitives who couldn't quite see Alistair got when he was around them.
I'm not sure I like the sound of this, Bob commented.
You and me both, she thought back at him.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
Dressed in borrowed shorts and t-shirt, Raye Langley stood barefoot in ankle-high grass, eyes closed, her hands tight around the hilt of her weapon. In her mind's eye she formed the images of her opposition and sent them circling around their target -- her.
When the first one lunged for her, she slipped the blow and brought up her blade in a strike that lifted him from his feet and sent him flying across the yard. Before she could congratulate herself on the hit, though, she had to deal with the one behind her. with a flick of her wrist she turned the momentum of that first hit, diverting it to swing the sword in a complete circle about her as she leapt nearly head-high.
In her visualization, the tip of her blade sliced across his body, cleaving though his clothing to reveal bare flesh highlit by a line of bright, welling blood. Almost absently she noted that she had barely marked her opponent, instead of disemboweling as she'd intended. She took advantage of his moment of shock to spin on her heel, blade extended in a decapitation strike that took his heead and ended the fight.
Whoa, Bob declared in the back of her head. I don't even have an inner ear right now, and that left me dizzy.
Raye stopped moving almost instantly and evaluated her condition. Breathing, normal. Heartbeat, slow and steady. Sweat, none.
Darn.
Bob must have felt her disappointment, because he murmured, You've got to be kidding, Raye. That was amazing!
She opened her eyes to see Alistair perched in a wooden chair, one of four that surrounded the picnic table which dominated the patio behind the Schroecks' home. He was nodding approvingly. "Very good, Raye. It is hard to see any way in which you could improve."
Opus there is right. Trust your sensei, Raye.
Raye grunted an acknowledgment to both, but she knew better. This round of shadow-fighting hadn't been anything close to a test of her abilities. She'd have to imagine a larger mob of opponents next time. Two Council Leonis were hardly a workout for her, and she needed a good workout if she were to stay in proper fighting trim for the inevitable clashes with the Virtue-born villains she knew had to be out there.
At least she had a decent practice weapon. She looked down at the wooden broadsword she held and again admired the deep reds and browns of its stained and polished surface. Bob had offered its use as soon as Raye had pointed out that practicing swordsmanship in the yard with any of her usual blades would probably alarm the neighbors. She just had had to dig it out from the far reaches of the somewhat cluttered library -- actually a converted bedroom with paneled walls and faux-beams on the ceiling, filled with bookcases and the desk on which the Schroecks' desktop PC rested.
Which reminded her... she wanted to ask Bob about seeing what "City of Heroes" actually looked like.
She was startled out of her musings by a burst of unexpected applause. Blinking, she looked up to spot a girl of about her own age leaning on the chainlink fence that separated the left front corner of the back yard from the front yard. She was a little thinner than Raye, her blonde hair was far closer to an ash shade than Raye's own almost metallic gold, and at her feet was a rather relaxed-looking German Shepherd, whose leather leash she had looped around one arm as she clapped. "That was really cool -- you looked like you actually know how to fight with a sword!" she called out.
That's the girl who lives across the street, Bob offered helpfully. Can't remember her name, sorry. Peg and I don't really get much chance to socialize with our neighbors because of our work schedules.
"I do," Raye called back as she passed under the cedar tree which shaded that corner of the yard. "I started learning how to use a sword a couple years ago." As she came up to the fence she tilted her head and studied the other girl. "Have you been watching long?"
"Nah, just for that last bit. I spotted you while walking Geezer here." She turned slightly and waved vaguely behind her, and Raye immediately understood. There was a clear line-of-sight through the corner of the yard to the street and beyond to the intersection where it T'ed with another. Anyone on several hundred feet worth of sidewalk would have been able to see her. "I hope you don't mind that I came into your yard to watch."
Taking her cue from Bob's wordless dismissal of the girl's trespass as unimportant, Raye chuckled. "It's not really my yard, but I don't think my Uncle Bob would really care if he knew." She held out a hand. "Raye Langley. Hi."
"Hi! Dani Spicoli." She shook Raye's hand, eliciting a growl from the dog, who found his head tugged about by the leash that was still wrapped around her arm. "Shush, Geezer! So... you here for the summer, or have you, like, moved in permanently?"
Raye panicked momentarily, completely uncertain how to answer that. "Um... for at least part of the summer. Might change, though, kinda depends on how things turn out."
Dani nodded knowingly. "Parents on the splits, and wanted you somewhere out of the way while they work it out. Seen it a couple times."
Raye opened her mouth to contest Dani's assumptions, then snapped it shut again. "Yeah," she said. "Something like that." She grimaced a moment, then put on a smile that was only slightly strained. "So, what about you? Live around here, visitor, or what?"
With a toss of her head toward the two-story white house directly behind her, Dani said, "I live right there. That's how I knew you were new to the neighborhood. Your uncle and aunt don't really talk to anyone much, but I'm pretty sure I would have noticed a girl my own age across the street before now." She laughed. "Not to mention one swinging a sword."
Geezer started growling an instant before Alistair's voice came from just behind her. "Perhaps we should be more circumspect about your practice from now on, Raye," he said before barking "Silence, mutt!" at the German Shepherd.
"Mm," Raye grunted affirmatively, hoping that both Dani and Alistair would take it as her response to them. She added a smile, then asked, "So, what do you do for fun around here?"
Dani grimaced. "Here, in the neighborhood? Almost nothing. Closest movie theatre is like ten miles away. The closest mall is even farther." She shrugged. "Not a big issue if you can drive. And have a car. Geezer! Shut up!" She yanked -- gently -- on the growling dog's leash.
"And do you?" Raye asked as Alistair continued to spit imprecations at the dog.
"Oh, I have my my license, and my folks are cool," Dani stated matter-of-factly.
I definitely need a mall run, Raye thought. Three costumes, one set of civvies, and my cheerleading uniform aren't going to cut it. "Do you think..." she began.
"Oh, my. So that's why I was reassigned," Alistair suddenly said, and Raye swallowed the rest of her sentence in a fit of coughing. She took advantage of the moment by turning away from Dani and taking a look at Alistair as she covered her mouth and got control over her breathing again.
Alistair was staring at Dani. And Dani, Raye realized, was shooting quick, puzzled glances at Alistair's general location. She recognized that confused, slightly squinty look -- it was the same one some of the sensitives who couldn't quite see Alistair got when he was around them.
I'm not sure I like the sound of this, Bob commented.
You and me both, she thought back at him.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.