The Salle, Thursday Afternoon, After Classes

[formerbrat]

Elspeth found the local oddities to be more intriguing than overwhelming, in general. Still, it was a relief to retreat to the salle and work through her sword exercises. It was one tiny spot of normal in a great sea of something else entirely.

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[cutsthestrings]

...someone did not enjoy class.

She stomped in, practically trailing a storm cloud behind her as she made her way to the practice equipment and pulled out one of the shorter practice swords. She was nearly to some of the dummies before she realized anyone else was even in here.

She winced before offering a halfhearted wave at the other girl. Then she went for the dummies with the body of the yo yo and a muffled snarl.

[formerbrat]

Elspeth paused for a moment in her own exercises to watch the other girl and her unusual weapon.

[cutsthestrings]

The steel body of the yo yo did nothing out of the ordinary; it thunked against the dummy heads and arms and legs with the expected sound of a heavy object hitting wood and stuffing.

A quick pull, however, looped the string around one of the dummy heads. With a grunt, Fiona tugged and the yo yo came back to her immediately. She was almost onto the next one when the head slid off.

The clatter startled her, since she wasn't looking that way, and it ended up with Fiona looking right at Elspeth.

...ah. Awkward moment.

[formerbrat]

"What sort of weapon is that?" Elspeth asked, never having seen a yo-yo of any kind before.

[cutsthestrings]

Mine she almost said before being very glad she'd had her teeth clenched. It would give her a headache later, but for now it was helpful.

"It's also sort of a toy," she said carefully, "or most people know it as one. They're called 'yo yos'."

They can say whatever they want. There is no way to make that sound better.

[formerbrat]

"It seems awfully dangerous for a toy," Elspeth said, eying the severed dummy's head.

[cutsthestrings]

She looked at the dummy head as well.

"Most people can't do that. It's just a cotton thread," and she pulled down the thread to show it.

The other girl had a sword and again, Fiona grumbled to herself alone about how unfair it was that everyone else seemed to be just fine with a sword. Of course, she knew, logically, that her weapon had greater flexibility and she even knew how to make it act as a sword.

She still felt weird and a little embarrassed, though.

[formerbrat]

"Is it magic?" Elspeth asked, intrigued.

[cutsthestrings]

She shook her head.

"No magic. It's a family skill."

Which seemed relatively harmless.

"I got it from my mother."

[formerbrat]

"It seems useful," Elspeth noted.

[cutsthestrings]

She nodded but didn't elaborate.

"What were you doing?" she asked, much more interested in the sword work than she was in her own business.

[formerbrat]

"Practicing my sword exercises," Elspeth said. "I need to keep in fighting shape while I'm here."

[cutsthestrings]

"I can certainly understand that. How long have you been learning the sword? Is it hard?"

All these people, Himura and her Uncle Aaron, telling her she'd be good at a sword but that she should stick to her yo yo didn't necessarily mean she wasn't going to ask about it.

[formerbrat]

"Since I was eight," Elspeth said. "The basics are simple, but some moves can be tricky. Really, it's your opponent that makes it hard or easy."

[cutsthestrings]

She nodded thoughtfully.

"And I suppose you've had a few difficult opponents?"

[formerbrat]

Elspeth smiled. "My weaponsmaster back home is the best in the land," she said. "If I can score a hit on him, I know I'm doing well."