(cross posted http://rdi.dragonsmark.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=491 )
It had been a number of weeks since the smith had visited this particular tower on Twilight Island. As promised by its young keeper the doors opened for him. Her mannerisms stirred something strange inside of Kruger. He wasn?t surprised by the fact; after all it had been the oddities of S?jira that had attracted him. It was that crazy vibe from Raye that had his attention that first time he met her. Let?s not forget that enigma that was Taneth. Even the Keeper of the tower of Air had her quirks that drew him towards her.
Was he truly drawn to such frailties in the human condition, okay elven in some instances? If so, then why was he? Others took that strangeness with pity, or worse thought it a good reason for jokes. Kruger seemed to almost actively seek out those whose acts and actions singled them out in this strange melting pot called RhyDin. Perhaps he felt more kindred to them than to all those others who were rich, powerful, and not afraid to let a person know when they didn?t make muster. True Nayun was not from RhyDin, Kruger didn?t even know if she considered it as her home.
Regardless of what she thought, it was here that he had met her. Like so many of these meetings, he wasn?t really sure how to take the girl who was so formidable in the rings. Inside the duels she showed precision. He enjoyed watching her duel, even when it was he that she was fighting. She took that precision nearly to a flaw sometimes, but it was always beautiful to watch.
The idea of perfect self was strange to him. He had learned in the pits with the gladiators. To him the battle had always been life and death. One could be precise in oneself, but the problem comes in expecting it from others. Most of us are flawed. If it is with conservatism, precision lacks a step or an inch. We pull back just at the point our strike is most powerful.
Those of us afflicted with a more indulgent sense of precision tend to overstep the mark. In the interest of gaining power the strike is weakened. These were not what Kruger saw in Nayun. She knew where to step, and how. If there were any problem in Nayun?s consistency of precise footing, and perfect blows it resided not in her, but in her opponents. The perfect strike would rarely come to Nayun, because she had yet to find her perfect opposite.
Kruger had out thought her once using this as his basis. She had him read very well over the last several weeks. He had rechecked every move he made in that fight. If his instinct had been conservative he deliberately gave more. Where he had been tempted to try and finish her, he stepped back to defend. It was these gross adjustments that won him the day. It was certain to be a situation that could never repeat itself so perfectly though. The best he could hope for would be that Nayun no longer made the usual assumptions about Kruger in their matches.
All these thoughts were in his mind as he travelled the corridors of the tower. He traced the path of the music?s volume. The louder it got, the closer he was to finding her. From all he knew, which to be honest wasn?t much, she would be training. In her own words she had told him that the fight was everything.
Kruger didn?t marvel at the towers d?cor, he was in that cart horse frame of mind. The blinders were on to all but what he desired out in front of him. The door to the weight room stood open. The volume of the music changed to its loudest point as he turned into this room. Nayun was there, Kruger remained quiet as she worked through a set of squats. She wore a pair of loose black pants and a sports bra. Her back was to him, but he was sure that she could see him in the mirror that made up the entire wall. He thought he detected a small catch in her decent as she spotted him, but it was so brief that he could easily have been mistaken. Her expression had never seemed to change through that set her eyes never lost that what he would come to call a determined cast.
When she finished her set and placed the barbell back onto the rack she turned to regard him. Five feet of lean muscle greeted him almost expressionlessly, except for those focused eyes. Kruger took in her form calculatingly. Surely she was a warrior. He found himself measuring her with his eyes and outfitting her in different pieces of armor. Those sculpted abs had him thinking of creating a set that was uniquely her. He gave himself a mental shake to avoid being lost in possibilities.
?I was hoping that I could talk with you Keeper, if you have some spare time that is?? For once Kruger?s outfit didn?t make him feel ridiculous in a social environment. He enjoyed the t-shirts he had started wearing to the duels. It cost very little to have them made, and he could see that some were amused by them. This particular light brown shirt had a picture of a giant anvil crushing the duel rings, and a caption that read Let?s Get Ready to Rumble. This was tucked into some medium blue jeans whose pant legs hid his old work boots.
His eyes of grass burnt by the sun locked briefly with her red orbs, before she turned away towards another machine. ?Spot me!? were the words he thought he had heard from her. He moved to the bench press and into the spotter?s position.
She looked up at him, but he could tell it wasn?t the finger length hair she saw. It wasn?t that wolf consuming the All Seeing Eye branded into his left cheek either. He was fairly certain she saw the bar, and the struggle that the next few minutes would bring her. ?I was hoping to pick your brain a little with regards to fire and the adequate containing of it when temperatures become excessive.?
She pushed the bar up as he spoke, but set it down quickly. Now those eyes move to him, but her response had nothing to do with what he had said. ?More weight please!? Kruger nodded at the simple request. He moved to the weight rack and pulled another twenty pounds off of it in two ten pounders. These he added to her already laden bar and moved back into position. She gave a quick breath as she lifted the bar from its holders.
Her rhythmic cyclical breathing in through the nose on the way down, and out through the mouth in an explosion on the way up commenced. Kruger watched her for signs of struggle, waited to see if she would need a hand to give just enough to get her through. She seemed to have a handle on it though so he talked while she worked. ?I find myself falling behind the curve in town. Other places seem to be advancing with the times easier than I am able to.? Down goes the bar and back up, slow deliberate, still the eyes betray nothing. The girl is silent except for her breathing. The weights slow as she progresses; Kruger waits to continue watching her work through this repetition. When her elbows fully extend he helps her back into the cradle.
Nayun pulls herself to a seated position. ?Why come to me?? The question comes as she makes her way to another bench; this one has no weights at it. It sits in a declined state and Nayun seats herself on the top most part of it.
Kruger follows her across the room. The music is louder here because the speakers are closer. ?I am hoping to set up my own furnace, this place sits where no building should be able to. I want to understand why, and how.?
?Hold my feet.? Nayun put her feet up onto the bench and waited for Kruger to take her ankles. She began to do sit ups at this point. It was an improved position from what she would have had to do alone. The bench was rigged with a bar to hold her feet, but it took her out of the best position to do the job. She would twist at the top, or throw a punch past Kruger. He was amused by this, but he was also paying particular attention to her metal arm. He marveled at such a thing. He wanted to have one for study to see if he could possibly make something similar.
Nayun?s breath still came steady and strong, but now it brushed at his hair and kissed his skin. She worked at length on this piece of equipment. Kruger thought perhaps she was thinking over what he said. Then again maybe she was just making the most of having someone here to assist her training. When she finished she slid forward toward him and off the end of the bench. Kruger backed away for her and again followed her back to that first piece of equipment.
?Put another twenty five on that side please!? Kruger complied with her request again. The weight was placed as she was doing the same. When she stepped beneath the bar and took it up on her shoulders, he moved in behind her to that spot position. He could see her eyes in the mirrored wall, he couldn?t determine if she looked at him, or watched her own execution of the exercise.
He let her go for a little while, content to be watched if that were the case or just be there if she happened to need his help. Eventually the silence was broken by him. ?I know there are probably magical factors at work here that will be difficult enough to explain. This is why I wanted to talk to you.? Was that a grunt of effort, hard to tell with the music that was playing. He stopped talking and simply watched her go through the movements ready to lend her his own strength.
Nayun pushed through the final repetition, but Kruger felt that his hands on the bar might be necessary. When it went back into its cradle she turned to regard him across that single bar barrier. He didn?t shrink away from her gaze. ?The truth is Nayun, I need you.?
There was a laugh from the doorway, a decidedly feminine voice that he had heard before. ?Giving up your virginity so easily Nayun?? Seirichi stood there with an amused expression for her joke. Kruger stepped away from Nayun to look at Seiri. Her stature was closer to his; those brown tresses fell over a lean body. At once she was casual, and dangerous. The combination made her beautiful to look upon, like a tiger mid-leap.
It had been a number of weeks since the smith had visited this particular tower on Twilight Island. As promised by its young keeper the doors opened for him. Her mannerisms stirred something strange inside of Kruger. He wasn?t surprised by the fact; after all it had been the oddities of S?jira that had attracted him. It was that crazy vibe from Raye that had his attention that first time he met her. Let?s not forget that enigma that was Taneth. Even the Keeper of the tower of Air had her quirks that drew him towards her.
Was he truly drawn to such frailties in the human condition, okay elven in some instances? If so, then why was he? Others took that strangeness with pity, or worse thought it a good reason for jokes. Kruger seemed to almost actively seek out those whose acts and actions singled them out in this strange melting pot called RhyDin. Perhaps he felt more kindred to them than to all those others who were rich, powerful, and not afraid to let a person know when they didn?t make muster. True Nayun was not from RhyDin, Kruger didn?t even know if she considered it as her home.
Regardless of what she thought, it was here that he had met her. Like so many of these meetings, he wasn?t really sure how to take the girl who was so formidable in the rings. Inside the duels she showed precision. He enjoyed watching her duel, even when it was he that she was fighting. She took that precision nearly to a flaw sometimes, but it was always beautiful to watch.
The idea of perfect self was strange to him. He had learned in the pits with the gladiators. To him the battle had always been life and death. One could be precise in oneself, but the problem comes in expecting it from others. Most of us are flawed. If it is with conservatism, precision lacks a step or an inch. We pull back just at the point our strike is most powerful.
Those of us afflicted with a more indulgent sense of precision tend to overstep the mark. In the interest of gaining power the strike is weakened. These were not what Kruger saw in Nayun. She knew where to step, and how. If there were any problem in Nayun?s consistency of precise footing, and perfect blows it resided not in her, but in her opponents. The perfect strike would rarely come to Nayun, because she had yet to find her perfect opposite.
Kruger had out thought her once using this as his basis. She had him read very well over the last several weeks. He had rechecked every move he made in that fight. If his instinct had been conservative he deliberately gave more. Where he had been tempted to try and finish her, he stepped back to defend. It was these gross adjustments that won him the day. It was certain to be a situation that could never repeat itself so perfectly though. The best he could hope for would be that Nayun no longer made the usual assumptions about Kruger in their matches.
All these thoughts were in his mind as he travelled the corridors of the tower. He traced the path of the music?s volume. The louder it got, the closer he was to finding her. From all he knew, which to be honest wasn?t much, she would be training. In her own words she had told him that the fight was everything.
Kruger didn?t marvel at the towers d?cor, he was in that cart horse frame of mind. The blinders were on to all but what he desired out in front of him. The door to the weight room stood open. The volume of the music changed to its loudest point as he turned into this room. Nayun was there, Kruger remained quiet as she worked through a set of squats. She wore a pair of loose black pants and a sports bra. Her back was to him, but he was sure that she could see him in the mirror that made up the entire wall. He thought he detected a small catch in her decent as she spotted him, but it was so brief that he could easily have been mistaken. Her expression had never seemed to change through that set her eyes never lost that what he would come to call a determined cast.
When she finished her set and placed the barbell back onto the rack she turned to regard him. Five feet of lean muscle greeted him almost expressionlessly, except for those focused eyes. Kruger took in her form calculatingly. Surely she was a warrior. He found himself measuring her with his eyes and outfitting her in different pieces of armor. Those sculpted abs had him thinking of creating a set that was uniquely her. He gave himself a mental shake to avoid being lost in possibilities.
?I was hoping that I could talk with you Keeper, if you have some spare time that is?? For once Kruger?s outfit didn?t make him feel ridiculous in a social environment. He enjoyed the t-shirts he had started wearing to the duels. It cost very little to have them made, and he could see that some were amused by them. This particular light brown shirt had a picture of a giant anvil crushing the duel rings, and a caption that read Let?s Get Ready to Rumble. This was tucked into some medium blue jeans whose pant legs hid his old work boots.
His eyes of grass burnt by the sun locked briefly with her red orbs, before she turned away towards another machine. ?Spot me!? were the words he thought he had heard from her. He moved to the bench press and into the spotter?s position.
She looked up at him, but he could tell it wasn?t the finger length hair she saw. It wasn?t that wolf consuming the All Seeing Eye branded into his left cheek either. He was fairly certain she saw the bar, and the struggle that the next few minutes would bring her. ?I was hoping to pick your brain a little with regards to fire and the adequate containing of it when temperatures become excessive.?
She pushed the bar up as he spoke, but set it down quickly. Now those eyes move to him, but her response had nothing to do with what he had said. ?More weight please!? Kruger nodded at the simple request. He moved to the weight rack and pulled another twenty pounds off of it in two ten pounders. These he added to her already laden bar and moved back into position. She gave a quick breath as she lifted the bar from its holders.
Her rhythmic cyclical breathing in through the nose on the way down, and out through the mouth in an explosion on the way up commenced. Kruger watched her for signs of struggle, waited to see if she would need a hand to give just enough to get her through. She seemed to have a handle on it though so he talked while she worked. ?I find myself falling behind the curve in town. Other places seem to be advancing with the times easier than I am able to.? Down goes the bar and back up, slow deliberate, still the eyes betray nothing. The girl is silent except for her breathing. The weights slow as she progresses; Kruger waits to continue watching her work through this repetition. When her elbows fully extend he helps her back into the cradle.
Nayun pulls herself to a seated position. ?Why come to me?? The question comes as she makes her way to another bench; this one has no weights at it. It sits in a declined state and Nayun seats herself on the top most part of it.
Kruger follows her across the room. The music is louder here because the speakers are closer. ?I am hoping to set up my own furnace, this place sits where no building should be able to. I want to understand why, and how.?
?Hold my feet.? Nayun put her feet up onto the bench and waited for Kruger to take her ankles. She began to do sit ups at this point. It was an improved position from what she would have had to do alone. The bench was rigged with a bar to hold her feet, but it took her out of the best position to do the job. She would twist at the top, or throw a punch past Kruger. He was amused by this, but he was also paying particular attention to her metal arm. He marveled at such a thing. He wanted to have one for study to see if he could possibly make something similar.
Nayun?s breath still came steady and strong, but now it brushed at his hair and kissed his skin. She worked at length on this piece of equipment. Kruger thought perhaps she was thinking over what he said. Then again maybe she was just making the most of having someone here to assist her training. When she finished she slid forward toward him and off the end of the bench. Kruger backed away for her and again followed her back to that first piece of equipment.
?Put another twenty five on that side please!? Kruger complied with her request again. The weight was placed as she was doing the same. When she stepped beneath the bar and took it up on her shoulders, he moved in behind her to that spot position. He could see her eyes in the mirrored wall, he couldn?t determine if she looked at him, or watched her own execution of the exercise.
He let her go for a little while, content to be watched if that were the case or just be there if she happened to need his help. Eventually the silence was broken by him. ?I know there are probably magical factors at work here that will be difficult enough to explain. This is why I wanted to talk to you.? Was that a grunt of effort, hard to tell with the music that was playing. He stopped talking and simply watched her go through the movements ready to lend her his own strength.
Nayun pushed through the final repetition, but Kruger felt that his hands on the bar might be necessary. When it went back into its cradle she turned to regard him across that single bar barrier. He didn?t shrink away from her gaze. ?The truth is Nayun, I need you.?
There was a laugh from the doorway, a decidedly feminine voice that he had heard before. ?Giving up your virginity so easily Nayun?? Seirichi stood there with an amused expression for her joke. Kruger stepped away from Nayun to look at Seiri. Her stature was closer to his; those brown tresses fell over a lean body. At once she was casual, and dangerous. The combination made her beautiful to look upon, like a tiger mid-leap.