capeandcowllogs | [completed]

[completed]

WHO: Sway and Scathach
WHERE: Dojo?
WHEN: Post-Joker plot.
WARNINGS: N/A
SUMMARY: Suzi needs to learn how to fight.
FORMAT: Paragraph? Whatever works

After almost sucking in poisonous gas, getting beaten by civilians, and spending way too much effort to find a gas mask in the stupid city, Suzi knew that she had to get better at hand-to-hand combat. The bruises along the side of her body reminded her every time she did any yoga or stretching that she didn't know how to fight that well. She also didn't really know what she should do after stopping villains in time. Any real life experience was based on island creatures that she didn't really need to worry about killing--since Gabriel or Petra would take care of take downs in that way.

Suzi sighed. The City was still rebuilding from all the damage Joker's gas caused. She sent a message to Scathach about going towards her dojo for some possible training. But Suzi wasn't sure if it was still standing though.

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If there was one thing the Warrior knew about this city, it was that people in it were certainly quick about recovering.

There had just been nothing short of an attack on the place, and already, the people were rebuilding, recovering, repairing. The buildings that had exploded were already in the process of being fixed, wooden frames going up to replace the shattered walls. She had never seen people work so efficiently, and it gave her something of a sense of hope for the future of mankind.

She was sitting on the dojo floor, cross-legged with her hands resting on her knees. She heard the footsteps of someone approaching, and cocked her head to the side. They were light, like a female's; she idly wondered who it could be. "Come in," she called, not knowing whether they would hear her, but halfway hoping they would.

Suzi tentatively walked into the building, hearing a familiar voice bidding her to enter. At least Scathach didn't seem to be hurt from the Joker calamity. Suzi wondered if she had gone out to fight the crazed civilians or if she (what Suzi now thought of as the smart thing) stayed in to wait out the whole mess.

"Umm, hello. Hi Scathach?" Suzi asked hesitatingly. She was still getting to learn who exactly lived in the city and what they did here most of the time. Suzi looked around and wondered if she should also sit down on the ground.

"Hey," Suzi greeted more confidently. "I'm here to train. Did you make it out of the whole Joker-mess unscathed?"

Grass-green eyes rose along a slender body and came to rest upon a slightly confused face. The redhead cocked an eyebrow, and then motioned for the young woman to join her on the floor. "You must be Suzi," she said gently, her voice calm and controlled. "Welcome."

She paused to think about the past week, blinking slowly a few times. "I managed to avoid being harmed, for the most part. I was hit by a few bombs, but none of the damage was permanent." She absently drummed her fingers on her knee, looking at her with something like concern. "Did you avoid harm yourself?"

Suzi nodded a greeting, "Thank you," and took a seat on the floor across from the redhead. Scathach was impressive with her presence--having that projection of authority so many of the X-Men seemed to have. Suzi knew she didn't carry herself like that. Which made her sigh softly.

And Scathach was hit by bombs? And still out and about? Wow, she was...impressive. Suzi winced slightly. She had usually had a better vocabulary. She looked around the dojo. "And the dojo doesn't seem worse for wear either. How did you deal with the bombs?"

Looking at the ground Suzi answered, "I wasn't really that harmed. Just a few bumps and bruises from dealing with drugged citizens."

The insecurity and uncertainty--Scatty could definitely feel it. A small smile curved her lips; it had been a while since anyone had given that particular reaction when first meeting her. She could tell that Suzi was young, even by human standards, and encountering one such as her was... refreshing.

"I destroyed the ones around it," she said absently. "Otherwise, I just took them away from the City, to a place where they would do no harm." That place might have been the middle of the woods, but it was better than nothing. There might have been a few less trees in the forest now, but it was worth it.

"I am sure you will fully recover soon enough," she replied lightly. "Humans are very resilient, I've noticed."

Feeling more comfortable, Suzi was less tense about conversing with someone she didn't know.

"Humans? So, does that mean you were never human? Where I came from, I'm considered a mutant. Even though...well, I guess I would call myself human."

Suzi paused, unsure about broaching the subject of training. Dealing with the drugged citizens, Suzi knew that she wasn't really qualified to be called much of an X-man. She wasn't really hurt after dealing with them but for a few minutes, she had been caught in a panic. She hadn't known what was happening, not really, and that always made her freeze.

"Yeah, resilient, I guess. Do you...well, considering that you're still recovering, are you still training people?"

"I am not human," the redhead confirmed. "The humani call me a vampire nowadays." She figured that if Suzi ran away after learning her species, then she wasn't worth training in the first place. A small part of her mind told her that this one would not be too afraid, but Scatty had never been an optimist. she'd rather be pleasantly surprised as a pessimist than disappointed.

Another small smile flicked over her face. She liked that Suzi got straight to the point after minimal smalltalk. "I am still giving lessons," she said absently.

Vampire? thought Suzi. She wasn't too frightened after hearing that, considering that Scathach hadn't hurt her during the time they were together...but her imagination couldn't stop calling up the myths she knew of vampires. Suzi tried to look anywhere but at Scathach in order not to offend her. Suzi focused on her need for training.

"Umm...I don't know any vampires," Suzi said, wanting to be honest. "I don't know anything about them. But really, I could use the training and I'll probably learn more if you're...willing to take me on."

"I'm pretty much a novice at this kind of thing," Suzi confessed.

Aversion of the eyes was a common reaction, and much better than some of the others. At least Suzi hadn't started chanting and reaching for wooden stakes. The witch hunts in Salem had been especially bad, because apparently, humani had a hard time telling the difference between a witch and a vampire. Then again, wandering around at night probably hadn't been a good idea.

One thin, red eyebrow raised at the other woman's remark. The Warrior's face darkened for a moment. "You know plenty about us, I am sure. It is best to remember that every myth and legend you have ever heard holds a grain of truth. Not all of the nightmarish stories about us are completely false."

The vampire sighed, and her expression softened. "I will teach you, worry not."

The news that Scathach was going to take her on as a student greatly relieved Suzi. She always felt somewhat awkward at first meetings even though she wasn't doing anything out of the norm. It was also good to know that things seemed to be going well.

"Really? That's great," Suzi answered enthusiastically. "I need the help."

"As for the vampire thing," she continued, "I don't think you're after my blood or anything, but feel free to correct my ignorance."

And then came the relief, and the redhead smiled slightly; it was such a comforting emotion, and she was pleased whenever she was the cause. It wasn't often that she could take away someone's fear with her words; usually, she simply increased it. After all, fright was one of the two great motivators in the world--the other was pain, but she preferred emotional and psychological motivations to physical ones.

"First of all, I am a vegetarian. So if you ever bring food here, be sure that it is either fruits or vegetables." Something like a grin flicked over her mouth, and her elongated incisors were visible for a split-second. "I do not drink blood, nor will I ever. Second," and her voice became more serious, her smile fading to a neutral expression, "you will not call me by any name except 'Sensei' or 'Master.' Inside these walls I am your teacher, and nothing else."

"Vegetarian?" Suzi asked in disbelief. "Isn't that some necessary part of your diet?" Suzi regretted the words as soon as they came out of her mouth. She sounded so...crass. But she couldn't stop herself from saying what she thought, at least if it wasn't supposed to be a secret.

Suzi straightened her posture. Once Scathach has started giving her some direction, Suzi felt like she had to snap into attention to be a good student. Ugh, it was going to make her shoulders stiff. She took a breath and put her energy into focusing.

"Uhhh," Suzi tried to say smoothly, "but you are different. Vegetarian. Okay. And 'Sensei' or 'Master'. Got it."

The Warrior smirked slightly, and gave a low chuckle. "I am not a blood-drinker," she said patiently. "They are the lowest of our species. I am something else, something... better. My sustenance is different, and much less fatal." As far as she knew, anyway. She had never tried to--what was the term she had used with Teddy? Ah--"suck someone dry."

"Good," she said once her student repeated her instructions. "Now. Would you prefer to start today, or tomorrow? I am impartial--I have no plans either day."

There were levels amongst the vampire? They were getting more complicated as Suzi started picking up more information. She wondered if there was a place she could read more about them. Just to be better informed. But she wasn't ready to ask Scathach about that yet. She seemed very orderly. Or proper. Well, it didn't seem polite to ask about it in this situation. Suzi nodded in response. All right, vegetarian vampire.

"Seems like you have many advantages as the better of the species," Suzi replied. "Does that help you as a warrior?" she asked.

Looking around her, Suzi answered tentatively, "I can start today. I don't have much to do either."

The redhead shrugged, blinking slowly a few times. "I cannot feel pain," she offered. "I suppose that could be considered an advantage." Except, to her, it truly wasn't. Sure, it may have been helpful during battle, but she wasn't always fighting. Right now, it would have been nice to feel... something on her own. The emotions she was experiencing were mere shadows of what they could be, and it saddened her. Well, it made her feel as if she were sad, anyway.

"Splendid," the young woman replied, clapping her hands once before standing with one fluid motion. She stretched her arms over her head, and her shirt lifted a bit to show a toned, flat abdomen. It was obvious that keeping in shape was important to her. "We will start with a few exercises, yes?"

[ooc; if you'd like, we can thread the actual training session--scatty will probably suggest a spar, just to gauge where suzi is at. otherwise, i think this'd be a decent place to end. it's up to you, i'm good either way (:]

[Works for me!]

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