Dancing in the Streets (attn: Cat/Johan)

[Locke]

Terric

After returning from the Citadel draped in a color shifting cloak, Terric did his best to wind down most of his old responsibilities as a Ji’Val. He spent the first few months with his most senior students making sure they would be able to handle teaching the younger generations. He did not wish to stop teaching, but he realized, as a Gaidin, he had to leave himself room to handle other duties.

Today he had a lesson with Johan Ablaer. The new Ji’val had taken to the spear like a duck to water, to borrow the Wetland phrase. He had a test of sorts planned for today. When the young man arrived for practice, he lead him on a run with spear and buckler in hand as usual. They only broke the sandbags out on occasion these days. Without any comment or preamble, Terric lead the way towards and then through the Tower gates into the city. Nobody stopped them, a Gaidin could nearly go where he pleased and Ji’Val had a deal of freedom on their own.

They jogged through crowded streets until Terric lead them down an alley he’d picked out the day before. Vaulting onto a pile of boxes, he climbed onto the low roof of one of the buildings. When Johan Ablaer had joined him on the roof, Terric simply said, “Same rules as always, land three hits,” before taking off across the roof in a run. He clambered up to the roof of the adjacent building before looking back to see if the young man was chasing him. He had heard the Ji’Val was an excellent climber. This should be fun if he was, if not, they would have to think of something else. When he saw the younger man following, he turned and ran, throwing himself from the roof. He landed in a tumble on the top of the next building and kept running. Hopefully Johan Ablaer wouldn’t splatter himself against the cobbles below. Terric did not want to have to explain that to the Master of Training.

[Cat]

Johan

The last time he had been in Hama Valon, Johan had ended up half-dead, perhaps even more than that, and as a result of that he couldn’t say that he was happy to be back within the city’s streets. Oh, he was glad to be away from the Grey Tower, but he had to wonder what use a spear would be within the confines of a city’s walls. He’d always thought a short sword, or even simply relying on your own two hands, would be the best way to fight in such closed quarters. He certainly hadn’t imagined that he would be jumping from rooftop to rooftop.

…especially because he had always imagined that sort of thing happening by moonlight, but it was very much the day.

He’d climbed plenty of roofs in his life, but there was something of a height difference between him and the Aiel, and that put him at an immediate disadvantage. Namely that Terric had a lot longer reach than him. Whilst the Aiel made climbing the boxes seem easy, like taking a stroll, it was harder for Johan, and he bit down on a curse as he wrestled his way up them, all the while trying to juggle with the spear and the buckler. His shoulders burnt at having to pull his weight up, and he scraped a knee as he finally clambered up and onto the roof with very little grace. He barely had time to draw a breath and actually get to his feet before the Aiel was off.

Bloody Aiel. Bloody stupid Aiel. Johan highly doubted he’d ever end up jumping around roofs with an Aes Sedai. Most were too prissy to get their feet dirty, for a start, so what was the point of this? But he’d learnt not to question Terric. It still ended up happening anyway.

He took a few steps back, giving himself some space, and then ran forward, and, without even a moment’s hesitation, jumped from the roof. He landed on his toes and immediately tucked himself up and into a roll to absorb the impact, before regaining his feet, the move fluid. It was slightly more awkward with the spear and the buckler, and he wasn’t as balanced as he normally was, but he had little time to think of it as he ran after Terric.

There was very little chance of him catching up with the Aiel, and so he simply threw his spear at the man’s legs, hoping to tangle and trip him.

“I’m not chasing you all bloody day!”

[Locke]

Terric

Terric turned as something clattered across the roof behind him. The boy had thrown his spear at him. Turning, back the way he had come, Terric picked up the training weapon. Stopping in front of the stubborn young man, Terric poked him with the spear. “Never,” he said poking him again, “Ever, throw your weapon away. Not unless you have another weapon. Now, I have two weapons and you only have one.” He flipped the spear in his hand and handed it back.

Walking to the edge of the roof he said, “I know, this whole scenario seems rather outlandish. Then again, how many fights will you have in nice perfect sparing arenas? It only makes sense to hone your other skills along with your spear. Besides,” Terric said with a nonchalant shrug, “I thought this would be fun.”

He looked back over his shoulder one more time, “You won’t have to chase me all day. Just hit me three times.” With that he stepped over the ledge dropping out of sight. He landed on a balcony below with a soft bump, rolling to break his fall. Straightening, he placed his back against the wall, to wait for Johan Ablaer to follow. Something in his peripheral vision caused him to glance down. A small face peered up at him from inside the house. He looked to see a small girl with her face pressed against the glass. Terric simply winked and put a finger up to his mouth.

[Cat]

Johan

Johan cursed as the spear missed, using words that would have had his mother washing his mouth out with soap, but he didn’t care. He shot a look at Terric instead, tempted to say that he did have another weapon. He’d spent much of his time growing up learning to use his fists and his feet to fight and get him out of scraps. In some ways, he had more faith in his ability to fight unarmed than he did with weapons. He’d have a much easier time of it than trying to juggle the spear and buckler whilst chasing after someone who was taller, stronger, and quicker than him. He had no idea how he was supposed to land these three blows, and that frustrated him. He couldn’t – wouldn’t – fail, but it seemed like that was going to happen.

Again, the temptation to strike back was strong –first he’d had to deal with his unarmed instructor tweaking his nose, and now he had to tolerate being poked by a spear! -, but he bit down on it and just took the spear back without a word.

With a one last calming breath, he broke into a run and dropped from the balcony, following after Terric. He tucked and rolled as he landed, pushing himself to his feet in the same move, though he had to thrust out an arm to keep his balance and stop himself from falling. The spear clipped against the wall, but he only tightened his grip on it and then struck out, aiming for the Aiel’s stomach, whilst driving the buckler up towards the man’s face. Three times, right, and then it would be over?

He didn’t notice the girl.

[Locke]

Terric

Terric was already dodging as his student came out of his roll with an all out attack. Nice aggression. He batted away the man's spear, but movement off to the side caught his attention. The buckler’s edge slammed into the bridge of his nose as the balcony doors were flung open. A woman on a flour covered apron came charging out swinging a rolling pin.

“Get off my deck, you hooligans,” she shrieked. The little girl he'd seen earlier giggling from the doorway. The little traitor.

Throwing himself between his student and this new attacker, he said, “Grey Tower business, good woman, we will be out of your hair soon.” Over his shoulder he shouted, “Run Johan Ablaer, I will catch up.”

The woman took a swipe at him and he caught it on his buckler. Terric couldn't help but laugh, that blow had some weight behind it. As he backed towards the edge of the balcony, he did his best to remember the location. He would return and sweep floors or beat rugs. Something to meet his toh. It was small, but he had disturbed the woman’s afternoon.

[Cat]

Johan

There was a moment of satisfaction as the buckler connected with Terric’s nose, but that swiftly disappeared as the balcony doors opened to reveal a woman with a rolling pin. Johan didn’t know how to react to the sudden change in circumstances. He was torn between laughter and shock, eyes wide whilst a grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. Now this was familiar. This was how he had spent a lot of his days in the Rahad, but to see Terric being so caught out was…was glorious. Clearly he hadn’t asked for permission to jump around the roofs.

Of course, the amusement was quickly smothered as the Aiel jumped in front of him, acting as if he couldn’t protect himself. Johan scowled, for a moment not moving, simply remaining where he was. Running didn’t seem in keeping with being a Gaidin, and a part of him was also just fed up of being ordered around. He could take care of himself, thank you very much!

But he did as he was told, not wanting to argue, and jumped over and off the balcony, landing below. He didn’t run, though, but waited for the Aiel, and he then he grinned, unable to stop himself from laughing as the image of the woman replayed in his mind, along with the moment the buckler struck Terric in the face.

“Does that count as my first strike? And does this count as my second?” He sent the spear shooting towards the Aiel’s face once more.

[Locke]

Terric

Having given the housewife the slip, Terric vaulted over the rail. He let his knees buckle as his feet hit the cobbles and he came out of his roll next to Johan Ablaer. His shoulders began to shake with laughter as he stood. A blunted spear point appeared in his vision and he batted it aside. He managed to stop laughing long enough to straighten and look his student in the eye. “Yes, Johan Ablaer, that was your first, and no that was not your second,” the moment hung in the air before the infectious nature of shared mirth caused him to erupt in another gale of laughter.

He slammed his knee into the younger man’s gut doubling him over before sprinting back down the street laughing all the while. Heads turned at the madly laughing Aielman as he ran by, but Terric did not care. They hadn’t been on that balcony, they hadn’t been chased by a woman with a rolling pin. This was turning out to be a rather interesting day so far. He came to a halt in front of an alley, and waited to see if Johan Ablaer was following before darting down it. Hopefully they’d rap this up soon. Terric just hopped they wouldn’t be too far from their destination.

[Cat]

Johan

Pain exploded as Terric drove his knee into Johan’s stomach with some force. Johan would have sworn, but the breath had been driven from his lungs and he could only wheeze instead. He collapsed, the pain still lingering and tears threatening, though he refused to give in. He dropped the spear and buckler, or, more pointedly, threw them to the side, and sat down, one hand to his stomach. There was going to be a bruise if he’d somehow not managed to rupture something.

Aiel, he decided, had a bloody stupid sense of humour. He’d made sure to check all his blows, but perhaps he shouldn’t have. Well, Terric could keep running around the city like a madman, but he was not. He, though he very rarely did, was going to get a bloody drink.

Leaving the spear and buckler behind, Johan walked off in the opposite direction, heading for the nearest tavern.

[Locke]

Terric

It didn’t take Terric long to realize Johan Ablaer was no longer following him. With a grunt of concern, Terric turned to retrace his steps. He didn’t think the man had gotten lost. He hadn’t gotten that far and he’d given him ample opportunity to see where he was going. Asking around, Terric found several people who had seen a man matching Johan Ablaer’s description entering a tavern called the Three Hens. The Gaidin found himself battling a weave of anger and maybe a little betrayal. He tried to tamp it down. The boy had made his choice had he not? He could choose whether or not he wished to continue training.

Countenance grim, he stormed back towards the tavern. He made a single detour. He had stashed a duffel bag with the employees of one of the shops. It was probably a moot point now and he didn’t need it, but he didn’t want to just leave it.

Finally, he found the Three Hens. It was a surprisingly bustling establishment. A rumble in his gut told the whole story. Of course, it was lunch time. He’d been so wrapped up in training that he forgot. He made his way inside. The place was packed with apprentices and shopkeepers taking lunch. He found Johan Ablaer’s grey clad form sitting hunched in a corner over a mug of ale. After purchasing his own Ale and a bowl of soup, Terric sat down across from the boy.

“Is this what you want, Johan Ablar? To sit in taverns and drink all day?” Terric didn’t yell, he simply spoke to his wayward student. “I won’t force you to pick up your spears and fight. I never have, I never will. That has to come from inside. You have complained all day. No, you have complained since I first started training you. What happens when you become a Gaidin? If your Aes Sedai wants to do something that you don’t want to, will you sit on the floor and cross your arms like a child?” At this rate, the boy who sat across from him wasn’t anywhere near ready for his test. “So, Johan Ablaer, do you have anything to say for yourself?” Terric punctuated his words with a sip of his own ale. He almost spat it back out, it was terrible.

[Cat]

Johan

In the end, good sense won out. Johan didn’t want to be his father, didn’t even want to come close; it didn’t matter how annoyed or irritated he felt, and so the proposed drink turned into a glass of water, apparently straight from the mountain springs. He’d certainly paid enough for it to come from the highest mountain.

The tavern was a little too crowded for what he would normally have chosen, a little too big and bustling. Normally he went to smaller, out of the way establishments, ones where he was less likely to be found, but good sense hadn’t triumphed on that aspect. He really had gone to the first tavern he’d come across. He still sat, though, in a place where he could see all the comings and goings in the tavern, his eyes alert, back straight, with a perfect path to the exit, ready to react and get out at a moment’s notice. Old habits died hard. It was death to let yourself get cornered in the Rahad with no plan of escape.

He saw Terric immediately and bit down on a sigh, watching as the Aiel sat down opposite him. Here was the chastisement, the disappointment, and the scolding. He didn’t react, but kept his face carefully blank. There would be no Aes Sedai telling him what to do, because there would be no Aes Sedai. He hadn’t even complained once before today; if he’d complained as much as he apparently had, he most definitely wouldn’t be here. It was a massive over-exaggeration on the part of the Aiel, and he really had to fight not to snap back at that one, disappointed with the Aiel for thinking such a thing. He’d said one thing today, and then accepted it, hunkered down and done as he had been told, as he did with most things. He’d followed and accepted everything Terric had thrown at him for weeks, for the love of the Light! If that was complaining, simply opening your mouth was whingeing.

Johan took a sip of water, using the moment to take some time and not fire off his first thoughts.

“It’s Albaer,” he finally said, staring coldly at the Aiel. “And I think I should be allowed five minutes when I’m injured.” His stomach still hurt. “I’m not an Aiel. I can’t take a kick from someone twice my size, that’s enough to double me over, and just get back up and chase you. I, at least, was pulling my punches. But if you think all I’ve done is complain since you started training me. Well,” and he nodded towards the exit, “there’s the door. You’re free to go through it and leave, because if all I’ve really done is complain, you’re bloody stupid to have carried on training me. But, if you’ll excuse me…”

He picked up his glass of water and moved to an empty table on the other side of the tavern.