A Much Needed Get Away

[Susan Matthews]

((ooc: coming from here- www.ragedsyphers.proboards100.com/index.cgi?board=lake&action=display&thread=1190978651&page=2))

Susan had practically flew up the stairs to the sixth floor. She had come across a few people on the way up, but ignored them completely. Finally on the sixth floor, she knew where she had been intending to go. She remembered that calm day when everything had seemed perfect. Dylan and herself had confessed to being each others elemental master and shadow warrior, then Dylan had shown Susan their element room.

Now that Susan thought about it, Dylan hadn't told her how to make the door to their special room appear. Frustrated and on the verge of tears, Susan began to pace, as she often did when distressed.

I need my element, I need my element, I need my element . . .

She pleaded with her self and the invisible room. Upon the sound of shifting stone, Susan looked up, wiping her eyes to see that a door was beginning to appear. Alarmed she looked around to see that the hall appeared to be deserted. Without thinking twice, Susan rushed through the door, quickly closing it behind her. She easily found the door that lead to the Earth room. As she placed her hand on the door knob, a surge of energy passed through her body. Susan closed her eyes, taking it in.

She slowly opened the door to a world of green and brown and simulated blue sky. Susan, who had not been wearing shoes in the first place, didn't worry about taking any off. She made her way to the center of the room and began to lie down. As she crouched over, flowers began to rapidly sprout out of the ground. As if in a faster motion, the stems quickly formed buds that bloomed into a plethora of brightly colored daffodils all around Susan.

Susan laid her head on to the soft ground. She closed her eyes from the bright greens, yellows, and oranges. She sobbed softly and a tear escaped. She wrapped her robed tighter around her and let the sweet smell of the flowers surrounding her soothe her aching head.

[D'rorah Philosophy]

D'rorah had been in the Elemental Wind room practicing her own martial arts when she heard the door to the Room of Requirement appear and open. She stepped into the main corridor just in time to see the door to the Elemental Earth room close. Thinking perhaps Dylan had come to use the Elemental Earth room, she figured she could do with a sparring partner, if he was interested. Besides, there was always something to teach. Allowing the door to close behind her, she crossed the corridor to the Earth Room and slowly turned the doorknob.

She looked around, expecting to see Dylan diligently practicing the forms she had first showed him that day in this very chamber. Not seeing anyone immediately, a sobbing sound drew her eyes to a patch of flowers not far away. She came closer, and beheld the sight of Susan crying. "Oh, I bed your pardon Miss Matthews. I did not intend to intrude," she replied hastily, backing away a bit. Then, thinking better of her actions, paused. "Whatever is the matter?" she asked, her voice warming a bit from her usual cold demeanor.

[Susan Matthews]

The twist of the door knob and the door opening was evident over Susan's sob. She propped herself up to see it was D'rorah. Thoroughly embarrassed to be caught in such a state, Susan sniffled and hurriedly wiped the stray tears from her face. She knew for a fact that she was not the most attractive being when she cried. Her face tended to be come blotchy and red very quickly.

It was a change to hear that D'rorah was interested in what was bothering her. D'rorah seemed to be one of those people who liked to mind their own business. Decided it might not hurt to confide she declared, "It's nothing," then on second thought, she added, "or actually everything." The truth was, things had been catching up with her. It was hard to keep control of everything. It wasn't often that Susan cried, but when she did it was usually a slew of things that formed the catalyst.

She wiped her eyes again, and hugged her knees a moment before standing up. She took deep breaths, trying to level her sobbing. "I'm sorry I've bothered you," Susan noticed D'rorah was wearing clothes for training. She hadn't meant to disturb any one. She shifted uncomfortably, not quite sure herself why she needed to cry and not sure she was ready to figure it out. She breathed again, her sobbing gone.

[D'rorah Philosophy]

D'rorah watched as Susan seemed to open up and then closed again. Feeling one of her rare attempts at warmth and understanding rejected, she backed away slightly. "You did not bother me," she replied quietly. "I simply thought..." she trailed off. "Oh, it is no consequence," she finished quietly. "Pardon my intrusion, Miss Matthews." With that, she turned to head from the Room of Requirement. She wasn't really sure what had possessed her to ask in the first place, only that she felt some sort of duty to see to the well-being of the others. She began to realize, as she thought more about it, that she had been more emotionally open than she was accustomed to of late. That peculiar openness seemed to coincide with the disappearance of her own Elemental Master.

The strain had crept upon her so slowly that she had not recognized it at the start. But, upon reflection, it was certainly there. She knew the texts quite well. Absence from one's Elemental Master often led to a weakening of the emotional anchoring provided by the Elemental Master. If such weakening had begun already, D'rorah wondered how long she might manage to hold things together. Quite possibly, there were months still left. Months in which he might perhaps return. Months in which they would need to step up to face the Mage herself... in which she would need to put more effort into training the other Shadow Warriors. Thankful she had sent Keaira off to train, she was somewhat relieved to know that the wheels had been set into motion.

Her hand grasped the doorknob as all these thoughts moved through her head and she prepared to return to her own training.

[Susan Matthews]

"D'rorah, wait!" Susan called as D'rorah attempted to leave the Earth Room. Her thoughts returned to the fact that she'd hardly had any training in preparation for her role as a Shadow Warrior.
She left her place by the daffodils, hardly noticing as they sunk back into the Earth, in reverse growth.

"I've been meaning to talk to you," Susan changed the subject as she followed D'rorah to her place at the door. "Dylan has taught me a few things with hand-to-hand combat," Susan explained gesturing with her hands, a part of the form she'd practiced days prior. "I haven't spoken with you in while," Susan continued, "and I was wondering if there was anything in particular that I need to know or to learn?"

She pushed her previous thoughts of sadness to the back of her head. She would deal with them later, Susan decided for herself. Susan focused her attention on D'rorah, curious to know what she intended for Susan do.

[D'rorah Philosophy]

D'rorah paused. Of course there were things to learn--many things, in fact. She was sending Keaira to China for training specifically because there was so much to learn. She turned from the door to face Susan, her facial expression indiscernible. "Yes, there is much to lean, Miss Matthews. There are Shadow Chants to learn, combat, weaponry. If you have time now, I could train you further," she offered. "You have been practicing with Mister Cooper..." she trailed off, thinking for a moment. "If you have absorbed the lessons we began with, I could teach you the next level of forms. But first," she stepped back, "I would like to spar with you. We shall evaluate your ability to put what you have learned into action before moving you on. I should like to do the same with Mister Cooper as well," she added thoughtfully. She realized she would need to begin offering group training sessions for the others so that she would not have to repeat lessons and so that she would be able to assess their abilities and modify the training to suit each learner. She pursed her lips for a moment before coming up with a question. "What weapon would you like to learn... as your primary weapon?"

[Susan Matthews]

Susan was happy that D'rorah had said that she would train with her, happy to get things off her mind. Although she was a little nervous at sparring with D'rorah, who was obviously more advanced than herself, she accepted anyway. "Okay, I'll spar with you," Susan agreed, going through the movements she'd learned with Dylan in her head.

It was when D'rorah mentioned weapons that Susan became utterly puzzled. "I've never really thought about it," Susan said in response. The only weapon she'd actually had experience with in the past was a sling shot, and Susan didn't think those skills would come in handy at a time like this. There was always the Tonfa, Susan remembered from her brief history with Tae Kwon Do. The Tonfa was more of a self-defense object though, Susan argued with herself.

She was also familiar with archery from summer camps, she hadn't been very good at the sport, though. Susan remembered how most of the arrows often ended up littering the ground between the target and where she stood. Susan had also always admired swordsmanship, though it usually seemed next to impossible to master. She tried to imagine herself wielding a sword and couldn't.

Her mind went through the other weaponry terms she knew, ending up with sais. Sais seemed like a reasonable weapon, she smirked at her own oxymoron. "Sais?" Susan asked, her voice more doubtful than confident. Peace-making-Susan wasn't exactly an expert when it came to weapons.

[D'rorah Philosophy]

"Sais..." D'rorah repeated the word thoughtfully, turning it over in her head. It was not her own weapon of choice, but was a fitting instrument nonetheless. "Very well. Are you certain?" she asked, hearing the doubt in Susan's voice. "I am much more skilled with swords, personally, but I can certainly teach you to wield sais if that is your preference." She thought of her own katanas... the original pair had been lost during the battle in the Forbidden Forest the night she had been captured. She now had a rather ornate pair that Dien had made for her. Though they were a bit less utilitarian than she usually preferred, they were certainly magnificent weapons.

"You will want to change into clothing more conducive to training, I suspect," she added after a moment's thought. "I will meet you here in fifteen minutes. That will give me time to retrieve my own swords and perhaps see to a pair of sais for you to practice with."

She tightened her grip on the handle of the door and opened it to proceed through. While she relished the thought of having someone to practice with, she wished for someone who would really challenge her. She wondered if she might be able to arrange a weekend trip to China... if she did, she would be able to check in on Keaira and perhaps having a training session with Master Xiu at the same time. The thought was in her mind as she ventured to her dormitory to retrieve weaponry and conceal it beneath her robes for the upcoming sparring match.

[Susan Matthews]

Before D'rorah left, Susan explained, "I haven't much experience with weapons. Sais seemed like the most interesting to learn to use. If you have something that might be easier or more useful, I'll definitely be willing to try." At the mention of changing clothes, Susan looked down at herself. While her sweats and t-shirt were easy to move in, they were rather baggy. Susan didn't want to risk tripping over herself.

In her mind, she envisioned the perfect pair of leggings and wife-beater for training. She also considered picking up a pair of shoes. The Gryffindor tower was only a floor up and it would take a few quick moments to change. "I'll go to my dormitory to change real quick. I'll be back as soon as possible," she explained as she followed D'rorah out of the Earth Room, closing the door softly behind her.

Leaving the Room of Requirement, Susan sprinted toward the stairs, desperate not to waste time. She flew up the stairs. Her cold bare feet made dull pattering sounds all the way up, pausing only to skip the trick step in the middle.

Upon reaching her dormitory, without stopping she supplied the password allowed her into the Gryffindor Common Room. She quickly continued up another set of stairs to her dormitory. She quickly slipped into her black leggings, a little snug than they should be and replaced her t-shirt with a smooth wife-beater. She hung her robe on her bed post, but kept her wand in the space between her ship and the waist band of her leggings. She slipped some socks, and as much as she despised them, she retrieved her only pair of running shoes. Her Aunt had mailed them to her about a week after her arrival at Hogwarts. She'd "forgotten" them back at the apartment. How convenient that Aunt Kristy had found them in the shoe box under her bed.

Cursing her Aunt and thanking her at the same time, Susan slipped the sneakers on without tying them Before leaving, she grabbed a hair tie and messily up-did her hair in a bun as she clunked down the stairs heading back to the sixth floor. Her previous thoughts of misery were completely gone now, D'rorah had provided the perfect distraction of Susan's depression. Eager to practice, Susan sped up, occasionally tripping on her untied laces she headed back to the Room of Requirement.

(ooc: are we starting a new thread or keeping this one?)

[D'rorah Philosophy]

(ooc: We'll just stay here, I think.)

She headed off to gather her things as Susan went to change. Meeting Susan back in the Elemental Earth chamber, the first thing she noticed was her shoes. "You will wish to tie your laces, Miss Matthews. It is difficult enough to learn to fight without such a distraction."

She placed a pair of sais and her swords aside, not wanting them to hinder their warm-up and her assessment of Susan's abilities. Sais and katanas rested next to one-another on a small cloth that was out of the way.

D'rorah took a defensive stance in a small clearing in the room, waiting for Susan to approach before bowing. "You will attack first. Once I have assessed how well you have learned the first sets of forms, we will move on to the next," she instructed as she waited for Susan's attack to begin. She knew that Dylan had learned the forms very quickly and very well, she she was quite hopeful that Susan would demonstrate acceptable proficiency and be able to progress.

[Susan Matthews]

After check to see that the hallway was clear, Susan repeated her motion in asking for her element until the room appeared. She proceeded into the Earth Room to find D'rorah waiting for her. D'rorah immediately directed her attention to Susan's shoes.

"Oh thanks," Susan muttered as she knelt down to carefully tie her toes, and then double knot them. She had forgotten about the loose laces on the way down the stairs. With her shoes in good order, Susan moved to the area where D'rorah was. She bowed and assumed her position of balance. Her legs were even with her shoulders. She kept most of her body weight on the balls of her feet for more give to move. Before beginning, Susan's eyes caught sight of the weapons that D'rorah had placed to the side. Her stomach shifted in anticipation. She wasn't exactly sure about she felt about the weapons, but knew that this would be a new experience for her.

Susan realized that D'rorah was waiting for her to begin the attack. After D'rorah's bow in response to Susan's, she quickly began her first attack, moving as quickly as possible to try to make an impression on D'rorah. Susan let the moves from the forms she'd practiced with Dylan work their way into the fight. The attacks and blocks came fluidly, and soon they were deep into the spar.

[D'rorah Philosophy]

D'rorah matched Susan's level and found herself happily surprised that she had apparently absorbed the lesson she had had with Dylan. "Now then, do not drop your upper defenses when you are focusing on an attack in the lower region," she directed. She continued, offering constructive criticisms as they came up, intent on perfecting Susan's execution of the moves in her fighting.

Finally, she began reciprocating the attack, forcing Susan to both attack and defend at the same time. She was quite pleased with her performance. Her newfound skills were certainly befitting a Shadow Warrior. She would do quite well.

After a moment, she stepped back and bowed, signaling the end of that particular round. "Now then, Miss Matthews, I would like to teach you the next set of forms. They are a good bit more difficult that what you have learned so far, but I believe you are ready to begin learning them.

[Susan Matthews]

Susan had taken in the tips and criticism given by D'rorah and applied it as they continued on in the fight. She was caught by surprise only once, when D'rorah began attacking back. After the initial surprise, Susan adjusted her thinking to not only attack but to defend as well. She moved quickly and soon had the hang of defending just as well as attacking.

Susan stepped back and returned D'rorah's bow when she had ended the spar. Susan was excited to hear D'rorah say that Susan's previous training with Dylan had been sufficient and that she was even ready for the next step! Susan rolled her shoulders, loosening up, and preparing for learning a new set of forms. Susan took a place next to D'rorah to learn the new form. By standing next to D'rorah, she would be less likely confuse her left with her right, which could be problematic if that did occur. Eager to get started Susan gave D'rorah the okay, "I'm ready when you are."

[D'rorah Philosophy]

"Very well," she remarked with a nod, positioning herself in beginning stance. "Watch me the first time through. Then follow me the second time. Then I will watch you the third time so that I may observe and correct." She worked through the forms slowly, wanting to make sure Susan had a full view of them. Her moves were economical and deliberate. Most of them built on movements from the previous set of forms. Though some were entirely new. She kept her movements slow and deliberate throughout. Having practiced all of this for years, she hardly had to think of the motions her body went though. Though, she was absolutely focused on every move she made. It was an interesting balance that one achieved after much practice and practical application.

When she had finished, she waited for Susan to nod that she was prepared to commence, to follow along before beginning a second run-through of the forms. Once again, she went through them slowly, tediously. Given Susan's performance on the first sets, she was quite confident that she would absorb the lessons quickly. When she had finished, she bowed and stepped back to observe, to see how Susan would do on her own and make corections as she proceeded.

[Susan Matthews]

Susan furrowed her brow, doing her best to pay attention to every aspect of the new form to be learned. Susan applied the movements to her mind as if they were a dance. She invented a beat in her head and was ready to join in the the second time with D'rorah. She nodded and together they slowly went through the forms. Susan watched D'rorah as they moved, she got most of the movements right and made mental notes for herself to fix the mistakes for the third time around.

After going through the movements twice, it was time for D'rorah to observe. Susan stepped back from D'rorah some to show that she was ready to perform on her own. She closed her eyes and with a deep breath, ran through the movements in her head once before beginning again on her own. She moved a little faster, at her own pace, with the personal beat going in her mind as she tried to hit the right movements.