Crash Course [Star]

Touya sighed, rubbing his face with his thumb and forefinger. He hadn't been at the Weyr for very long--basically just long enough for a tour and a couple days of settling into the routine. It was a little weird not waking up and immediately working on his craft, but whatever. It wasn't like he was complaining much about not spending his whole time hunched over a hot forge.

Today's afternoon experience seemed to be... self-defense. He wasn't sure how useful that was considering they were the only civilization left and if there was infighting bad enough to need to train for it, he couldn't figure they'd last all that long. But whatever, it wasn't like he was calling the shots. Besides, it might be useful if he ever needs to knock some teeth out. Not that he'd run into anybody too annoying yet.

Going through the stretches he'd been shown before as he listened to the Candidatemaster talk about what they'd be doing today, he finally meandered over to the area that he'd been assigned. Apparently he'd been assigned to work with someone named "Keigo," someone who was expected to help teach him the basics of the lesson. Probably someone who'd been here for a long time, but hopefully not some snot-nosed brat who thought they were better than him just because they'd been told to teach him something.

"Alright, let's get this over with," he said with a sigh as he pulled off his shirt and tossed it to the side to keep it from getting covered in sweat from the exercise. He only had so much to wear, and having to change his shirt every few hours because he was covered in sweat was a pain. Mostly because he actually had to bother with it or get looks from the other folk at the Weyr. Nobody had really cared back at the Hold, but that was probably because he was a Smith and it was expected that he'd be sweaty and dirty. Here, he didn't have that excuse.

Turning to peer back toward where he'd come from, he looked around for the other Candidate, trying not to come off as too disinterested.

It always tended to be... interesting when new Candidates came to the Weyr. The hustle and bustle of readying the Candidates’ quarters for new arrivals, the new faces, some nervous, some arrogant-those ones he knew would change their tone quickly-some humble, unsure how they were even chosen, the various walks of life and plethora of experiences they’d lived through.

As someone training to be a Harper if he wound up aging out-something that became more and more of a possibility with each Hatching he failed to impress-it was hard for Keigo not to find himself at least mildly curious about his new peers. And fortunate for him, his chosen field happened to put him in the perfect position to learn a thing or two.

Admittedly, that did play a part towards his tendency to volunteer to help them catch up on where they needed, lest they get thrown into far deeper waters than they already would be-especially those coming in so close to a Flight.

There was a lot to learn in a short amount of time, and in truth… Keigo couldn’t help but question if self-defense was really the right thing to focus on, in this case. But far be it from him to argue with the Candidatemaster when given a task.

Thus, while he thought it odd, he didn’t outwardly question, figuring that hopefully meant whoever he was to teach was already up to speed on the more important topics. Not that self-defense didn’t qualify as important, he supposed, but… while his archery could at least be used for hunting, even Keigo wasn't sure how much he saw himself putting his swordplay or hand-to-hand skills to genuine use.

Going through the typical routine of stretching, Keigo wasn’t really paying attention to what the Candidatemaster was saying-he’d been training long enough to know he’d almost certainly heard it all before-he instead looked around at the other candidates, mildly curious who he’d be teaching.

A new face around his age… this ‘Touya’ wasn’t very hard to spot.

Sharp eyes observed, watching the way he moved, how he went through the stretches-passable at least, though it was easy to see he wasn’t used to them yet-and following not far behind when he went to their assigned area.

He intended to greet him, introduce himself properly, but it was hard not to give a chuckle at the other’s comment and obvious disinterest. Oh, he was trying to hide it, but it still wasn’t hard to miss.

“Now, now, no need to sound so excited,” he said lightly, flashing a teasing grin, as his eyes darted briefly to the other’s bared torso. He was… more fit than Keigo expected-Keigo could easily recognize a build that likely came from a physically demanding craft-but that was hardly a bad thing. Least it meant he'd have the strength, even if he currently lacked the skill. “Much fun as it is playing in the dirt, how about an introduction first?”

Touya leaned his weight back on one leg a little, turning to face Keigo and folding his arms over his bare chest. From the rumors he'd heard in just the few days he'd been here, there was a Flight anticipated soon from one of the clutchlayers and there were more Candidates coming in now than ever. Not surprising he'd be shoehorned in with a senior Candidate. They probably didn't even bother with disrupting their usual lesson routine.

Apparently Keigo hadn't been paying attention. He was pretty sure that the Candidatemaster had said both of their names when pairing them off. "Touya," he replied after a few moments. Might as well comply for now. As much as he wanted to be an ass, he was supposed to be working with this guy. The man gave a weary sigh, rolling his shoulders.

"So, teach," he started, still watching Keigo. "We going to start this lesson before the Candidatemaster comes over and gives us double chores?" Touya made a gesture with one hand, indicating more for Keigo to demonstrate what it was he was supposed to be doing. After all, Touya really only knew like... punching. And hitting things with a hammer, but that wasn't all that useful right now.

“Nice to meet you, Touya. I’m Keigo. There, now was that so hard?” Keigo asked, the teasing tone not leaving his voice-nor the smile, his lips. Oh, he hadn’t missed the other’s name, but he still preferred having the other introduce himself… not to mention, he just enjoyed messing around sometimes.

And considering how much of the… no nonsense sort Touya seemed to be, Keigo had a feeling he’d have a hard time resisting that little tendency of his. Not that he was particularly inclined to try unless word made it back to someone that felt inclined to make him behave. Until then though… he may as well have a bit of fun where he could.

Though, for now at least, he supposed he should move on to what he was actually here for. There’d be plenty of time to mess with him later, Keigo was sure.

“Alright, alright, Sir Impatient,” Finally letting the teasing edge fade from his smile and voice, he sighed a bit before moving to pick up a pair of well-worn practice blades from the side, and moving to stand just a few feet in front of his new peer handing one off to the trainee. “How about to start you tell me what you do know? Save us a bit of time, unless I need to go over the basics with you.”

(Warning: Past injury/stabbing mention.)

"Yes." Touya didn't even skip a beat before deadpanning back at Keigo. No, it hadn't been difficult to repeat his name. No, he didn't exactly mind doing it. But he'd introduced himself more times in the last two days than he had his entire life back at either of the Holds and, frankly, only had so much in the way of patience. Faranth, he just wanted a nap. Or maybe to be sent to the smithy to do some more work and actually entertain himself. Even if said "entertainment" was mostly just--turning his brain off and hammering on some hot metal for a few hours.

Moving closer to the blond as he was offered the small hand knife, he looked over the wooden practice instrument for a moment. It was pretty obvious which end was supposed to be the blade and which was supposed to be the handle, but he didn't exactly spend a lot of time dealing with wood. He was a Smith, not a Carpenter. Pretty old-looking, smooth handle. Chipped here and there. Practically round with how blunt it was.

He looked at Keigo for a moment, frowning with one eyebrow quirked up. "You use the pointy end to stab people, and if it's freshly sharpened you won't feel it go through your hand," he replied plainly. The latter part of that statement was--well. Definitely from experience, and he had a pretty decent scar to prove it. Luckily, he hadn't actually damaged anything important in his hand when it happened, but he had bled a lot and it had been pretty alarming at the time. "Look, unless you give me a hammer, I know nothing actually useful about this."

"Charming," Keigo replied, the word caught somewhere between a huff of amusement and a scoff of incredulity as he casually tossed the practice blade from one hand to the other, eyes briefly darting to the other's own and... Heh. He suppressed the urge to snicker as he saw the scar that proved that that wasn't just common sense talking. "Speaking from experience, huh?"

Finally letting the blade come to rest properly in one hand, Keigo let an almost lazy shrug roll off of his shoulders. "While Warhammers are a thing, we should probably get you started on something a bit more basic, don't you think?" Despite phrasing it as a question, he didn't wait for an answer. Granted, based on the other's build, he'd be willing to bet he'd have the strength for that sort of weapon, but brute force could only get someone so far. "Least that'll help your grip. Luckily also looks like you've got descent enough upper body strength, but that won't get you too far with a blade if you don't know how to use it. Lets start with stance."

Drawing his left leg behind him, he kept his weight on the balls of his feet, arms coming up in front of him as though he were getting ready for a fistfight. "Let me see what we're working with and go from there."

Touya gave a noncommittal shrug. "You could say that." A pause. "Learned how to ignore distractions pretty fast thanks to it though." He seemed rather unbothered by the whole thing. By now it was just a life lesson, even if he'd been otherwise incapacitated for his education for a while afterwards. A pain at the time, but a necessary one. He had the scars to show his education.

"Mm." Touya studied the other's stance for a moment or two, looking him up and down and seeming to actually make note of how he held himself. If Keigo were to really look, he'd see the gears turning in the man's head, taking in the subtle nuances of where his weight was centered. Even if he didn't know how to fight, he knew how to read people. And honestly, it had probably saved him a few times with his own father when he'd gotten progressively worse over the Turns.

When he seemed satisfied that he had gotten the information he needed, he took a step up in front of him. He drew his left leg behind him and raised his arms, mimicking Keigo's stance. A slender brow quirked upward as he locked eyes with him, silently questioning whether he had achieved the goal appropriately.

"Guess that's one way to learn," Keigo snorted, unable to keep the amusement from entering his voice. "Important skill to have though, so guess it's not a horrible exchange." Though that likely just depended on how much pain it caused through the recovery process. It at least seemed like the other candidate hadn't had the use of his hand impacted as a result.

Keigo didn't straighten out of his stance until Touya began shifting into his own, arms coming up to cross over his chest as sharp eyes darted along his form. "Not bad," He said, sounding surprised and perhaps just a touch impressed as he circled the other candidate once before returning to stand in front of him. "You got most of it, but you're too flat-footed. You never want to be planted, it'll slow you down. Keep your weight on the balls of your feet. Now," Smirking, Keigo shifted just a little but still kept his arms crossed. "Come at me."