The Salle, Monday Morning

[bitch_prince]

His bruises had faded to a point where he could train again, so Arthur was, as usual, back in the salle to go through his morning routine, and to deal with his regulars as they showed themselves

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[cutsthestrings]

Fiona was there bright and early as she'd wanted to both make a good impression and assure Arthur that she took this seriously. She had her yo-yos with her, as she'd realized from Friday that she probably wouldn't hurt herself if she practiced with two of them along with one and the tessen, but didn't go seeking out the warfan just yet.

[bitch_prince]

Well, that was a good sign, at the very least. Arthur paused in the midst of his own work (he was always ridiculously early; Father wasn't much fond of sloth) to turn, and to acknowledge her existence. "Ah, Fiona," he greeted. "I see you've chosen to turn up."

[cutsthestrings]

She had a snappish reply for that, but swallowed it down. She couldn't help the quick flash of irritation that flared in her eyes, though. Fiona could be respectful, but she wouldn't staunch the one emotion she could ever seem to get without trouble.

"Of course. It would be mildly ridiculous to request training and then fail to come for it."

She divested herself of the yo-yos, tucking them into her bag and leaving it on the ground for later.

[bitch_prince]

"You would be surprised," he said, not unkindly, then nodded in the direction of the practice swords. "Pick one that doesn't fall too heavy on your arms. We'll deal with straining you beyond your limits some other time."

[puppy_fair]

After arts and crafts class, which was a demonstration in the futility of handing beads to Zack and getting him to make things with them, Zack grabbed his sword and made a beeline for the salle.

At least swordplay was something that he could handle!

"Hey, Arthur! How are you doing today?"

[bitch_prince]

Watching part of your canon between pings.

"I'm fine, thank you," Arthur returned, idly, as he lowered his sword away from the dummy he'd been practicing on. "You're looking cheerful for once."

That was, in fact, a joke.

[puppy_fair]

Mwahahaha! It's pretty!

"Every now and then, I manage to do that," Zack replied, grinning. As per usual. "I guess I'm starting to get back into the swing of things after those monsters invaded."

The Pixie Stix had helped.

[bitch_prince]

Far be it from Arthur to come between a man and his live sugar.

"'Swing of things'," he echoed. "That's an optimistic phrase for it." Hey, he wasn't heading anywhere beyond his usual level of disdain for all things today. "Here I was afraid you were going to wind up like a bruised damsel."

[blondecanary]

Fortunately this week's spar with Ino had left Dinah in much better shape than last week's, hangovers dissipate when faced with Yakko, and goldfish bites heal fast. Plus, she had a maybe-date to look forward to today.

"Morning, Arthur." Dinah headed over to the practice swords and started her drill after a bright smile for Zack and a nod to Fiona.

[puppy_fair]

Zack returned that smile with a grin and a bounce and a wave hello!

It was an awesome morning.

[I start the new job today, so I'll be away and gone in probably about an hour, but Zack totally had to acknowledge that he was smiiiiiled at!]

[blondecanary]

[np ans awwww!]

A bounce back! And gleeeee! And then re-focus on the sword. First things first, Monday mornings.

[bitch_prince]

"Dinah, morning," he greeted in turn, and paused by her as she went to start her drills. "You've recuperated?"

He fretted about the girls. Hush.

[withoutverona]

It was a crowded salle by the time Romeo shut the shop for a break and made his way back through town. He flashed a slight smile at the activity, then took a place on the mats to stretch out.

"Good morning, Arthur."

[bitch_prince]

"Romeo. Good morning," Arthur replied. He sounded almost chipper. Not that he welcomed the busywork as a distraction, or anything (nevermind not that Romeo was easier to deal with than the flocks of women he seemed to be attracting in here, and not for the right reasons). "You've survived the alligators all right?"

And if they had time to spare, Romeo could maybe explain to him how this 'text' thing really worked. Reno did have to be kept informed.

[withoutverona]

"I didn't go out much, just shot a few around the grounds and entirely handwavily" Romeo admitted, sounding a little ashamed of himself. "So I survived through that clever route. Did your reserves get put to good use?"

[bitch_prince]

"We took care of the main assault on the park, and Zack took to the sewers," Arthur replied, throwing one grateful nod towards the man in question if he was still there and all. "Considering that we all survived, it wasn't that bad."

Of course, the odds in Fandom were always screwy. "You did venture outside of the school, though?"

[saikyou_no]

Kenshin nodded to Arthur (and Fiona) when he arrived, and made a bee-line for his sword.

After spending a few moments meditating, he got up, and started working through one of the basic kata common to almost all kenjutsu schools.

[bitch_prince]

"Himura," Arthur greeted, with a nod. He kept to his own business until the whole meditation part had ended; then eventually, professional curiosity drove him to approach the slightest bit, to get a better view of what he was up to.

He'd been fairly good with that sword last Friday, after all.

[saikyou_no]

His movements were quick. Efficient. Professional. Not the lightning-swift death he had been on Friday, but still very, very good.

((will be slow; Ikea delivery just arrived.))

[bitch_prince]

Arthur could tell after the first few blows, and so he lingered where usualy, he'd have taken off by now. He narrowed his eyes just slightly, but some appreciation was evident from his features.

He was also going to have to figure out how to beat Himura now, however, which made it a bit bitter on the edges.