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Post by Kira & Lee Norris on Oct 1, 2007 18:51:13 GMT
[This is set tomorrow, to give Ailith and I time to work up to it...]
Where was Kira? Lee knew absolutely nothing of her wherabouts. She hadn't spoken to him properly today in lessons, nor did she really pay him much attention at lunch. He guessed that didn't matter though, because Chloe was better again, and claimed all of his times. She seemed particularly pleased that they could now kiss again without the fear that she would smear snot across his face- which Lee had to admit, was a pretty big turn-off. He hadn't really missed the kissing though. Nor her company. It had kind of been a break from their relationship, though of course the break had been interrupted by- Don't think about her. Don't think about the kiss. So he was back to this. Another girl had intruded his love life. Another girl had twisted his heart around his neck. A lot of guys mighn't understand why he was complaining, but then again, they hadn't felt what he had for Madeleine... Every other girl that kissed him robbed him of his breath; reduced him to a horrified state of guilt. Madeleine was before him now, on the stage, talking to her Warriors and himself and his fellow volunteers. What would she say if she knew what had happened between himself and Will? What would she say if she knew that she was the reason it was eating him up inside? She was the only girl he desired to wring his heart- to bend it and twist it out of shape... because then at least she'd still have it... It was worse to have it thrown back at him. Lee unsheathed his sword, but it felt strange in his hand. He was meant to be doing something; she was talking; but all he could hear was the beautiful melody of her voice... Some strange... wonderful confusion of sounds...
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Post by Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford on Oct 1, 2007 19:11:09 GMT
As a few of her Warriors started to draw their swords, Madeleine clapped her hands. "Before we begin, I have some news..." She looked down at them, feeling strangely jubilant. "Ollie Saunders had his leg treatment finished yesterday..." Now all their ears pricked up. Madeleine smiled. "I'm glad to say that he's made a full recovery, and he'll be back in a couple of days!" Cheers rang out throughout the room, and people started to relax and chat about Ollie excitedly. Madeleine watched them, smiling to herself. The news about Ollie had been such a relief, and it felt like a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. And suddenly, her faith in herself as a leader had been restored, if only by just a little. She felt confident. Maybe even confident enough to be in the same room as him and be able to breathe freely. Well, maybe. She cleared her throat, and they snapped to attention immediately. "We're doing swordwork today, because that's an area we really need to work on. If, for some reason, you can't use your powers - say, in a deprivation room, or if you became tired - you'll really need to rely on your sword. So, Warriors who have done this before with Levi, and non-Warriors and those who are new to fencing, with me." She looked at Levi darkly. So far, she'd avoided having to work with Lee, and had taken the more experienced, but - as he pointed out - it wasn't fair on Levi to take the newbies all the time. This new... reliance on him wasn't new - he was the best. So good that Madeleine was now worrying even more that Levi should have been Head. Just look at her. She'd gone to pieces over some boy - obviously she wasn't strong enough to do this. She was a walking disaster. "So, if you'd all... group..."
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Post by Kira & Lee Norris on Oct 1, 2007 19:57:09 GMT
"Lee..." A boy from the Spies he vaguely recognised was tugging on him. "You're with me. With us. We're getting some training from the Head today!" Lee blinked. "What, Kira?" The boy laughed. "No- Madeleine!" The sword slipped from his hand and fell to the floor with a clatter. The boy peered curiously at him as Lee scrambled to the floor, his cheeks burning. A look of sudden shock and comprehension was appearing on the boy's face. "Oh, yeah... Sorry." "It's fine," Lee mumbled, spinning his sword in his hands. "I... I dunno..." "Jude! You coming?" "Yeah sure!" the boy called back, turning around and beckoning to Lee. "C'mon, it'll be fine..." Lee nodded numbly, following his fellow Spy across the hall to where Madeleine was. Her sword was unsheathed; and she held it aloft like a shimmering trophy. Everything about her echoed power- authority. If there was anything he admired about her, this was it. Her strength. Blinking, he shook himself. Darn it! Think of Chloe... Think of your girlfriend...
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Post by Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford on Oct 2, 2007 16:15:53 GMT
Her heart started to flutter, and her brain immediately started to berate it. No, Madeleine, you have a boyfriend! This loud statement was covering up the gentle whisper of her common sense - Concentrate on your group. Group comes first... Funny, that. She sighed, and shook back her long mane of hair, smiling tentatively at her little group. "Alright, so you guys are the newbies then," she smiled, her confidence a little shakier. "We're going to do basic swordwork and fencing tecniques today. If you're a quick learner, then that's great - if not, well, that's fine." She held her sword up, watching it gleam as the stream of golden sunlight coming from the shaft in the ceiling bounced off it. "If, for some unknown reason, you were having trouble using your powers, this is your best friend," she said clearly, looking around the group, but carefully avoiding Lee's eye. "Chances are you'll be too tired to use physical force, and in any case, I wouldn't recommend that as anything other than a last resort." Stop looking towards him. Now. She lowered her sword. "Fencing is considered an art - but we don't have time for the art form," she said, the hint of a smile at the corners of her mouth. "I can teach you how to defend yourself - if you want to look elegant and graceful doing it, I suggest you find a Carer to teach you that." A few chuckles went across the group. There only were about fifteen or so - most Warriors knew how to use swords perfectly, and there only were four out of the five Spies here today. "So, if you'd all pair up," she said, mentally head-counting the group. "There's fifteen, so whoever doesn't have a partner will have to go with me, I'm afraid..."
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Post by Kira & Lee Norris on Oct 2, 2007 18:18:23 GMT
"Jude..." Lee began, but the guy was shaking his head at him a little miserably. "Sorry, I'm with her," he muttered, jerking his head at a petite brunette girl who was swinging her blade through the air like a toy. "Come on, bro!" "She's so bad at this," winced Jude, turning away. "If it turns out I'm infertile, I'll know who to blame..." "Stop telling people that," the girl grumbled, tugging on him. Lee waved at another Spy, but she too was already partnered up. An Academic stood to the side, a Carer muttering darkly beside him. "I need a partner!" "Pair up with that guy. In case you haven't noticed, this Head is pretty hot- " "I don't have a partner, Madeleine!" Lee called sharply, striding forth.
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Post by Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford on Oct 2, 2007 18:41:07 GMT
"I don't have a partner, Madeleine!" She didn't even have to turn to tell who that was. And she'd never felt the literallness of the phrase "heart sinking" as much as she did now. She turned to him, forcing a tentative smile on her face. "Alright, then..." Turning her back on him, she jumped up on top of a crate so that she was on a higher level. No one dared to laugh. "Alright, let's go back to basics - unsheath your sword and hold it as you would if you were beginning to fence." A few furtive looks, then the swords were drawn awkwardly, and held in exactly the wrong way. "Okay, stop," said Madeleine, frowning. "Hold it that way and pull it fast enough, you'll wreck your wrist. Quite literally, and very graphically, with lots of splintering noises, okay? Grip it like this..." Demonstrating, she put her hand around the hilt of her sword the correct way and pulled it out, slowly and deliberately. "Like this, see?"
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Post by Kira & Lee Norris on Oct 2, 2007 18:47:59 GMT
Nope! Lee grasped the hilt of his sword awkwardly, unused to its strange weight in his hand. He only knew one thing- and that was that sword banging was idiotic. If you kept clashing, it just became a power struggle. Blades slid. They were smooth after all... But how to put that to practice, let alone hold the darn thing... That was another story. He could read all he liked, but that wasn't going to get him far on the battle field. After all, in battles, people fought dirty. They cheated. It was one of the only sure things about it. It also didn't help that he couldn't actually look at Madeleine without feeling hot. He sort of regretted pairing up with her but... that Academic's eyes were still fixed firmly on her ass.
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Post by Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford on Oct 2, 2007 19:08:09 GMT
Madeleine watched them all. Well, almost. "It doesn't have to be so jerky," she said, her eyebrows contracting slightly. "You can draw it in one fluid movement; it's much easier, and it can put an enemy off because it looks like you know what you're doing. Like so-" She re-sheathed, before drawing it quickly and fluidly, well aware that his eyes were on her. The most irritating thing was that they weren't even going out anymore - and one look could still make her catch her breath. Mix that with that strange heat that came from embarrassment and heat, and... "It takes a bit of getting used to - I'll give you that, so we'll only do it one more time before we move on, but you'll need to come here and practice before the next session." Smiling encouragingly, she drew her sword once more, and called. "Once more." Her hand was trembling slightly. No, stop it!
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Post by Kira & Lee Norris on Oct 2, 2007 19:22:29 GMT
Furrowing his eyebrows, Lee mimed Madeleine a couple of times, trying to get a feel for what he was about to do. It wasn't really working, he knew that. Heaving a sigh, he gripped his sword, preparing for the worst... 5... 4... I'm gonna look so stupid in front of her...3... 2... stupid, heavy thing... 1... The following clatter as the sword skidded out of his grip and to the ground was louder than the last time, and this time, it was far worse. Madeleine had rounded on him, and he had the strangest feeling he'd disappointed her. He'd sure as hell disappointed himself. "Oops," he muttered darkly, bending to pick it up.
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Post by Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford on Oct 2, 2007 19:30:22 GMT
"It's fine," she muttered, lifting his sword and handing it to him without meeting his eye, before looking at the rest of the group. "Alright, maybe we do need to practice; I don't want anyone fracturing a wrist. Check with your partner that you're doing it right, and be sure to correct anything wrong, guys." Madeleine turned to Lee, meeting his eyes briefly, before glancing down at the sword again. She'd forgotten how blue his eyes were. "Alright," she murmured softly, sheathing her sword. "Watch carefully, okay?"
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Post by Kira & Lee Norris on Oct 2, 2007 19:34:34 GMT
Momentarily forgetting himself, and who he was talking to, Lee pulled a face. "I have, you're just better than me. A lot better. It's kind of insulting to my masculinity." Had he really just made a joke? More than that- had he really just highlighted his own inferiority to her? Something Levi would no doubt roll at if he only knew... Actually, Levi had laughed a few times, but he shut up at the glare he'd recieved from Kira. But Lee didn't care if Levi laughed at him. He knew it would hurt a lot more if Madeleine criticized him. He hated being bad at things. He hated feeling like a failure.
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Post by Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford on Oct 2, 2007 19:42:49 GMT
Surprised, Madeleine laughed nervously. "I insult a lot of guy's masculinity, don't worry about it," she said lightly, smiling shyly. This awkwardness felt weird. Even in their really awkward phases, she'd never felt this nervous around him. Couldn't they still be friends? Even as her brain processed that thought, she dismissed it. How could they still be friends when she felt this awkward? When she couldn't even look at him because every time she did, it sent shivers running through her? It just couldn't work. But ... she missed him. "Come on, show me once more - you will get it," she said, in a tentatively encouraging voice.
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Post by Kira & Lee Norris on Oct 2, 2007 20:05:00 GMT
He smiled weakly at her tone, and tried again. It was just as miserable attempt as the last couple of times. Sheathing his sword, he heaved a sigh. "Sorry." Boy, he sucked.
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Post by Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford on Oct 2, 2007 20:07:32 GMT
Madeleine smiled, just as weakly as he had. "It's fine, don't worry. You're not the worst I've seen, not by a longshot. Trust me." She needed to fix it. Because she was Head, dammit. Oh God. She walked around him, fixing her hands on his and putting them into place, ignoring the temptation to shiver. "Like this," she murmured in his ear, putting pressure on his hands and pulling them back slightly.
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Post by Kira & Lee Norris on Oct 2, 2007 20:13:01 GMT
Lee froze at this sudden contact with Madeleine; her breath strangely sweet against his neck, the palms of her hands deliriously smooth... Why weren't they battle-scarred; calloused and rough? Hand-cream must be some kind of miracle. And of course, he got it immediately now. The second she came close to him, the fluid movement of the sword worked itself out. Feeling a sudden urge to keep her close to him, he let his hand jerk awkwardly upwards, and he lost his grip on the sword again. But it was okay. Her hand still remained on his. "Darn it!" he cursed, silently screaming with joy.
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