Is This Where You Wanna Be? Crawling On Your Hands and Knees?

[mayavericks]

[In a perfect world, Maya would have been able to isolate herself for the rest of the evening. It's not like her to wallow in her feelings, but it's also not like her to be trapped away in a murder school or part of an execution so... not like she has much choice there. Besides, between the influence of Janis, and the sight of her remaining dormmates, it's clear that Maya simply can't... let things go.

It's like she told the SQUIP. They look to her for hope. And so, hope she must be. It's her job to stand tall for the others. Thankfully help comes easier this time -- there's no need to scruff Discord, or try to keep Spongebob from making Hate Patties. Maybe that, in and of itself, is a good sign.

It's just another fluke. They'll be okay. They're together, after all. Even Salieri and Discord are getting along well enough to help.

Cutting potatoes proves to be an interesting task, considering the fact that most of the knives are missing. Maya has a few guesses as to how that happened, but she won't point fingers again today. She makes do with what she has -- two swords between her and Cassandra.

Potatoes, cakes, pies -- the arrangement is much the same. There's even cocoa (made by less experienced hands, unfortunately), and alcohol. It all feels like a repeat of last week, but she's trying to not think about it. She does her best to keep a smile on her face as she knocks on each door, inviting others to the cafeteria once more.]

Comments

[comeandfindme]

...No. Just knives. Why?

[feudalladyshandmaid]

Would... you like to?

[She pats the rapier at her side.]

Because... I could teach you a few moves.

[comeandfindme]

...You...and Maya both...

[ It's not a smile on her face. But maybe...there's the slightest bit of amusement? ]

You're kind of obsessed with your swords, huh?

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[Amusement, however slight, is good!]

Hey, it's not just my hobby, I want to put my sword to good use! I'll join the royal guard with my dad and do my kingdom proud... But first, I have to protect the princess I was assigned to.

[Nods to Peregrine.]

And before that, I have to keep you all safe.

[comeandfindme]

[ She almost asks more about that— the whole...protecting princesses thing, but that second thing, it throws her for a loop. ]

...You do?

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[It's a whole Thing, Per. Do you have all night?]

Yup. I'm... [She sighs, that takes a lot out of her, possibly more than she thought it would.] Look, I'm not big on this whole talking it out with people thing. But... I don't think anyone wants to see what happened these past few weeks happen again.

So... I want to help with that.

[comeandfindme]

There's a lot of us. You really wanna put that on yourself, the...idea of protecting us all?

[feudalladyshandmaid]

If I have to. [That's almost too immediate. she pauses herself.]

But I get it. It's hard. Probably impossible. So, maybe I'll start by helping everyone learn how to defend themselves.

I won't have to protect everyone if that's the case.

[comeandfindme]

...Well... I may not know how to use a sword, but I do know how to keep myself alive. You know. If I have to. So...

Why not add another skill to my list?

[feudalladyshandmaid]

That's the spirit.

[With one hand, she flips her sword around, hand carefully gripping the flat side of her blade to avoid being cut. She holds it out to Peregrine, offering it.]

Alright, everything begins with your stance, remember-

Keep your stance wide, keep your body lowered.
As you're moving forward balance is the key.

[comeandfindme]

[ Her hand trembles just slightly as she takes the sword. The weight of it isn't familiar to her, but it can be, eventually.

She wants to know how to defend herself, should she have to.

So she follows Cassandra's instructions, to a T. ]

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[The sword in her hands is surprisingly light. Yet there's obvious some impressive metal work going into it. The grip is well-worn, she'll feel the slightest imprint of another set of hands in the wood.

Cassandra continues,]

Right foot. Left foot.
Now go even faster.
And as you're moving forwards, keep your eyes on me.

[comeandfindme]

[ Peregrine follows along, somewhat clumsily, but she keeps trying, correcting the wayshe's standing. ]

Keep my stance wide—

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[Cassandra nods, stepping back, giving Peregrine room for obvious reasons. Her general state has changed; she's still a friend, trying to help, but she's also teaching.]

Good.

[comeandfindme]

[ And this? This Peregrine is used to. She’s in training mode. In prep mode. Even though her muscles ache from how much she’s pushed herself, she knows how to interact with this, channeling the anger into something productive. ]

Keep my body lowered—

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[Cassandra moves with her, giving her stances to mimic. An invisible sword is in her hand, cleaving the air. She's aware of how difficult it is to fight with yourself.]

Right.

[comeandfindme]

[ Watch Cassandra's movements. Imagine how she would fight. Channel it into her own performance. ]

As I'm moving forward—

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[Channel it. Focus it into your own strength. You can't be strong if all you do is rely on others.]

Concentrate. Don't you want them to live?

[comeandfindme]

[ Her muscles all tense, her jaw trembles, before she pushes it into her stance. ]

Right foot; left foot!

[feudalladyshandmaid]

--Yes, but put your whole body into it!
Everything you have, everything you ARE, you've got to give!

[Cassandra is locked in her own fierce struggle. She can picture it all in her mind's eye, even as she watches Peregrine.]

On the battlefield, when everything is chaos.
And you have nothing but the way you feel, your strategy, and a sword.
You just think about the life you'd have, together, after the war!

And then you do it for her.
That's how you know you can win!

You do it for her - That is to say... you do it for him.

[She catches herself, bluntly. Like a parried blow.]

They say, deep down, you weren't built for fighting.
But that doesn't mean you're not prepared to try.
What they don't know, is your real advantage; when you live for someone, you're prepared to die!

[comeandfindme]

[ It's like she's a different person— so intense, so fierce. But, Peregrine takes to a harsh philosophy or two pretty easily, doesn't she? That's all that Howl's about. She follows instruction, trying to move the sword as Cassandra says.

And, through all this... Peregrine's...starting to wonder... Who is Cassandra talking about? ]

Deep down, I know, that I'm just a human—

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[It's all about knowing your enemy, being able to psych them out on the battlefield, turn the strengths of your enemies into weaknesses. But it's not just that.

Focus on the practical things in life. Take responsibility. Earn your keep. Prove they can trust you.

Cassandra's... not all here. She's somewhere else, locked in an argument, or a fight. Or both. All she knows is that she wants to win.

But, just as quickly as she's in that zone, Cassandra returns to the gymnasium.]

True.
But you know that you can draw your sword--

[comeandfindme]

[ Gritting her teeth, turning the sword in her hands, wishing she had a real opponent to fight— ]

But I know that I can draw my sword and fight!
With my short existence—

[feudalladyshandmaid]

[If only she had a second sword. Cassandra would make that happen.]

Good-

[comeandfindme]

I can make a difference!

[ In this moment, she actually believes that. ]