The question is a good one, and Kalaya takes her time to reply. She leads Machi along by the leash, ostensibly to keep an eye out for any further trouble. Kalaya is resolute, she is pure, she is devoted to her beliefs and will not be steered from her chosen direction - so spending [i]one second more [/i]staring at those muscles is just trouble she doesn't need right now. "It really comes down to how you define a teacher I guess ..." she says, thinking back. ---===--- [i]"Again!" Kalaya tumbles to the hard flagstones, before rising on her elbows. The blow had hurt, though she tried her best to hide it from Captain Pann. In hindsight, she should've known better. "Stars above and Flowers below! Are you already feeling it? You'd think that after all the weeks begging 'dear daddy' to let me train you, you'd have a little more dedication to the bleedin' lesson!" he shakes his head. "Just give up and go home girl!" The words cause Kalaya's resolve to harden - as was no doubt their intent - and the young girl picks herself back up once again. Setting her stance and looking up at the helmeted man in front of her. "No. I'm ready."[/i] ---===--- "The most formal teacher I had was my father's master at arms; Captain Pann. He was a veteran of the fighting between Hyacinth and Dandelion and had come to Lilly looking for, and I quote, a 'quieter life'. He taught me the basics, the forms, the stances. But also knew a few tricks of his own that he was happy to share with an eager student." ---===--- [i]"And stay down, brat, or I'm gonna teach you a lesson you really won't forget; a pretty princess like you needs to know your place!" Kalaya grunts from the dirt, inwardly cursing her decision to wear a skirt that morning, as it made moving awkward. Above her, Prince Lin of Chrysanth smirks and crosses his arms. It was a result of her poor awareness that Lin had managed to get the drop on her, and the older boy had been quick to exact vengeance for their last encounter. She glanced down at where her legs were tangled in the pleats of her dress, and then tracked up to the midpoint of where the boy was standing. It turned out there was at least one upside to wearing this frilly getup - it helped hide the movement of her feet.[/i] ---===--- "I guess you could count Prince Lin one of my teachers too. Although he'd sooner chop of his braid than accept that title." she says, chuckling. "I'd stood up to him once when we'd first met, and he never forgave me for it - and took whatever chance he could to exact revenge. Unfortunately for him, I was a quick learner. His constant bullying taught me how to fight back when your opponent was stronger, taller and faster than you." "He was a bully, and also not afraid to bring his friends to the party. And if I had to learn how to fight 'dirty' to be able to stand a chance in return, then it's not really fighting dirty in my book." "I was also really lucky to have a friend of my own ..." she continues, smiling. ---===--- [i]"Nowhere to run now, princess." sneers Lin, as he and his friends bear down on the two girls. Kalaya and Ven had been running from them ever since they'd crossed paths at the edges of the trade summit, but their luck had seemingly run out as they ended up in a dead end alley. Kalaya glanced at Ven, who nodded. "Remember Kal, just like we practiced." she whispers. The two of them move in sync, dodging towards one of the bullies before ducking to the side. Kalaya turns and Ven plants her hands, letting the smaller girl vault upwards, stepping off the wall of the alley to land behind her attacker. He spins to follow her, but Kalaya ignores him in favour of the second bully. A thump from behind shows that Ven has made good use of the opening, while Kalaya puts her own kick into the knee of one of the other assailants. The two of them make a break for the alley's opening, only to find the way blocked by Lin. "You go high, I'll go low!" shouts Ven as they sprint towards him. For his part, Lin shifts his stance in response - and the girls take some satisfaction from the flicker of uncertainty on his face as they bear down on him. Ven jumps up, tackling Lin around the chest just as Kalaya slides down to sweep out his legs. The larger boy goes down to the dirt, hard, as the two girls pick themselves up before running off, laughing. [/i] ---===--- "Princess Ven of Snapdragon was one of my oldest friends and I'd count her amongst my teachers too. Apart from a bunch of tricks and tactics we'd worked out, she taught me alot about how to fight as part of a team, with someone you could trust to have your back in a fight." "There have been alot of other inspirations, stuff I've seen in tournies, stuff I've read in books and practiced. Too many to count. That training came with alot of bruises and a month with a broken arm in between." she finishes with a shrug. As for the gods, well, as she'd said to Giriel, they'd never seemed to answer her when she'd called. But that wasn't to say they might not also be involved.