Noya:"Hit Zani?"
Noya hesitated, the only time she's seen a hit was when Zani punched her. She didn't get a good look and it startled her on top of that. Regardless Noya doesn't want to pass up an opportunity to earn more food or to be more useless, so she stands up. Rising to stand two feet taller than the short old Momgu women. Then throws an open sloppy palm at Zani nearly throwing herself to the floor in the process. Zani touches her cheek where she was slapped. Thinking about how didn't even make her move her head, that she barley even felt it. Zani didn't even know someone could hit someone that terribly. Zani then shakes her head and speaks venomously.
Zani:"Noya terrible, terrible and weak. Weaker than small runt. Like Noya hand is leaf."
Noya looks at her feet feeling discontent at her evaluation. About to speak when Zani hit the top of her head with her staff.
Zani:"Shut up. You too weak, Noya could be killed by small runt. Stay quiet, Zani is thinking."
Zani pauses wondering how to start teaching Noya. From what she can understand Noya doesn't know the concept of fighting. Noya needs to at LEAST grasp the concept first, somthing Zani thoughy all Mongu would know by just existint. So how could she show what it is before she starts actually teaching Noya. Zani then gets an idea, walking up to Jukku's sleeping form in a corner of the hut. Then using her tail to slap him in the face waking him up with a groan.
Jukku:"What Gran? Jukku didn't do anything!"
He says pouting and rubbing his cheek. Then as Zani starts to speak Jukku notices Noya and ignores Zani. Walking up to Noya and circling her looking amazed at, startling Noya and annoying Zani.
Jukku:"You better already?"
Jukku says grabbing Noya's arm, running his fingers over her skin. Making Noya stiffen before relaxing, her heart pounding at his touch. Then speaks quietly.
Noya:"Yes Noya is better..You brought Noya here... Noya is happy Jukku did. Is better than Noya's cage. Noya weak."
Noya pauses trying to find the right words to describe her thoughts as Jukku stares at her not sure how to respond. Clasping her hands around Jukku's making the Mongu boy grimace before going ridged, now cautious at what Noya is trying to do. After all Mongu touching each other was usually for violent reasons.
Jukku:"What Noya doing?"
Noya moves her lips but no words come out, flapping her lips several times before worss come out.
Noya:"NOYA NO STAY WEAK! WILL BE STRONGER FOR ZANI AND JUKKU!"
Noya says with a look of determination for the first time in her life. Beyond grateful for having a chance to actually do anything and to earn food in top it. A sensation that a Mongu shouldn't be able to feel.
Jukku stares at Noya then to the side, then back to Noya and slowly nods. Slipping his hands from Noya's with a confused expression Jukku takes a step back.
Jukku:"Okay?..."
Zani hits the Mongu children on their thighs with her staff, making Jukku wince and Noya fall over.
Zani:"Zani wasn't done! Jukku will help Zani. Noya weak, Noya stupid don't know what spar is. Jukku will spar with Zani, show Noya what spar is. Then Zani teach."
Jukku nods and pushs Moya onto her rear when she starts to stand from being hit on her thigh.
Jukku:"Sit, watch. Learn Noya."
Jukku then turns around to face Zani. Then rushes to her before stopping a foot away from Zani by stomping his foot. Taking his stance with fluidity, putting his feet a shoulder width apart, pointing his back foot slightly to the side, his knees bent slight, arms in front of him, his elbow tucked, and fist near his eye leve with knuckles pointing at Zani. Then he ducks as Zani swings her staff at his head. Zani quickly takes her stance just as quickly, pivoting on her feet and having onyl the left side of her body face Jukku before she crouces slightand thrusts her staff at Jukku's lead leg. Jukku raises his leg and points his toes at the floor befor snapping his leg and kicking at Zani's head. Then with more agility a woman her age should have Zani spreads out her grip on her staff, leaning back befote catching Jukku's achilles heel and pushing her staff upwards. Sending Jukku's leg off couurse and using the opertunitl to thrust her staff at his real leg. But Jukku jumps over her thrus and corrects his stance mid-air then lands. Throwing a slow Jab that almost made Zani confused on why he had thrown such a weak attack before she feels a tug on her staff. Seeing Jukku's tail gripping it and holding it in place like a white snake.Before she can retaliate Jukku throes a hook to her liver sending the old woman into a wall. Zani grunts a gets back into stance as Jukku rushes once more, but Zani isn't defenseless. Using her tail to sweep up dirt from the floor and throwing it in front of her. Confusing Jukku for a second before he remembers Zani's lessons and listens to the faint almost non-esistant sound of Zani's feet moving. Throwing a roundhouse kick at Zani who sways backwards and under his leg. Using her tail to grip his grounded leg and pulling it to make him fall. Causing Jukku to grunt then turn around only to get hit in his nose by Zani's staff making it bleed. Jukku grunts in excitment as he sees the grin on Zani's face. Trying to move forward but only getting slowly pushed back as Zani starts swinging at his limbs. Jukku is only able to sway and slap away a majority of Zani's blows. Then after being pelted for ten more seconds Jukku take several steps back before inhaling and squaring up his body. Slowly focused on swaying getting closer and closer to Zani before she pivots to his side. Then to his other side, then another untill she's a blur sending thrusts to every part of his body. Until Jukku sways once more and gets an opening. Feinting a jab before spitting in Zani's eye, then using his tail to wrap around her staff and keep it still. But Zani expected this amd twisted her stafg out the way while wiping her eye. Only to feel a pair of arms wrap around her stomach as Jukku lifts her up into the air and gives Zani a suplex. Then another, and another after that. Flipping whenever Zani bits the ground causing the ground to crack and slightly crater. Before Zani coughs and wraps her tail around Jukku's throat while elbowing him in the ribs. Causing Jukku to drop her instantly. Pushing her on the floor before pinning her on the floor by wrapping his legs around her neck, his ankles around her shoulder joint applying pressure and aching his back. Before leaning backwards making Zani tap his legs several times before he lets go. Zani then grumbles as Jukku helps her up and hand. While Noya just stares in amazement, she felt a forigen but familiar tug while she watched. Begging her to join in the spar she just witnessed as if she was denying herself oxygen.
Zani:"That is spar. But real spar Mongu no be gentle."
Zani says casually shocking Noya more. What she just saw was them being gentle? Unable to contain her curiosity Noya speaks.
Noya:"Zani if that gentle, what normal spar look like?"
Zani:"Look like not gentle. Zani will show.",
Noya flinches as Zani takes a step towards her. Zani pauses then pulls Noya by her hand to the window of the hut, a hole that has two sticks blocking it. (Think like bars for a jail cell) Then points to the random Mongu woman with a broken jaw, a cut in her shoulder and the bone of her leg sticking out. Before the woman collapes and badger wolves rush from hidden tunnels in the shadows drag off the corpse back into the shadows with them.
Zani:"That is what happen when you weak in real spar. But Zani make Noya strong."
Zani says not at all botherd by the sight she made Noya witness. Then before Noya can asks more questions Zani pulls her to the middle of the hut and makes her sit down.
Zani:"you see how Jukku spar? That not how Noya will. Jukku man, Noya woman. Man stiff, strong, ridged like stone. Woman not. Woman fluid, and swift like river. Mongu strong but man still man, woman still woman. Noya try to not spar male...but break male before male break Noya. If Noya need, Zani make Noya strong like Jukku. Jukku never lose."
Noya nods absorbing information like a sponge. Zani's words imprinting on her easily with her complete trust and growing understanding of things. A little disappointed she wouldn't be able to do the things she say Jukku do.,
Noya"What Noya do? How Noya get strong?"
Zani stands up and walks over to Jukku who just laid back down. Then acter sending him outside she digs into the ground floor and pulls out several vines wrapped around rocks. Some of the stones bwing threr times the woman's size.
Zani"Noya stand, come."
Noya does as she's told and walks up to Zani. Zani then flexed her arm and gestures for Noya to do the same. Then after Noya does so Zani squeezes Noya on her arm and looks extremely disappointed at the skin and bones that is Noya. Then after making Noya pug her arm down Zani holds up one of the vines.
Zani:"This is training rope. When Noya strong Stone get bigger, heavier."
With that Zani ties a training rope on Noya's thigh, calves, torso, biceps, and forearms. Making the girl wobble and sway. Noya nods wimpering as she tries to keep her balance long enough for Zani to finish talking, gravity had other plans and she falls over flat on her face.Zani wraps her tail around Noya and pulls Noya back to her feet. Then tugs Noya's tail.
Zani:"Noya arm soft soft, bad for spar. Noya not take training rope off. Zani will take off when Npya ready. Keep tail out or Noya fall. Noya no fall."
Zani says the last sentence sternly, expecting Noya to understand she is ordering her to stay up.
Noya nods in understanding and lifts her tail up and stiff. Zani then looks like she's remembered something and puts a rope around the emd of Noya's tail. Making the girl start shaking from the strain, then Zani puts her staff on the ground before taking a sideways stance with her palms facing each other and in front of her at shoulder level. Then starts moving around in a circle with fluid rounded movements that don't require much effort put into them. Every time she drops her knees or shuffles her feet, never taking a pause as she starts to repate the actikns several times before turning to Noya.
Zani:"Now Noya do. Move slow, Noya too weak for fast."
Then for four hours straight Zani starts teaching the basics of woman style. Making sure the importance of balance and smooth movements are drilled into Noya's mind and body. At first Noya fell after a few steps forward and getting into stance. But then each time she got up her body emmited the heat from before when she was first being looked at by Zani. Noya's body was healing just fast enough to where each time her muscles where overwhelmed and torn, she could recover with stronger muscle fibers without pause. Zani watched in intrest and annoyance at this. Interested that Noya's healing was even more convenient then she thought and how Noya's muscles seemed to glow faintly with each movement and ripple. But annoyed at how the hut was slowly getting hotter because of it.
By the end of another hour Zani had already replaced each of the training ropes on Noya with the heaviest she had until there was nothing heavier. At that point Zani took the last training rope off Noya and squeezed her arm after telling Noya to flex. Pleased with how more solid and muscular Noya's arm was, Zani nods and yawns.
Noya:"Is Noya strong now?"
Zani:"No, Noya spar with Zani first. Then Noya will see. But later, later. Zani tired."
Zani then poines to Jukku who hasn't woken up despite how hot the hut was.
Zani:"Noya is pair with Jukku. Sleep mext to Jukku."
Noya feels a tug on her chest as the idea sends a uneasy weight in Noya's stomach that was uncomfortable but not entirely unpleasant as a warmth traveled up her spine to her cheeks. Noya opens her mouth to ask the older more knowledgeable Mongu what these feelings mean but.....
Zani immediately lays on the floor with her tail around her stagg and falls asleep yawning. Making Nota flinch at the sudden movement then stand staring at Zani with unanswered questions like, what does being a pair mean? Why does her stomach feel like there is something inside it? Why does she want to kick Zani acriss the hut? And how did Zani fall asleep so quickly?
After a few more seconds Noya walks to the sleeping Jukku and lays on the floor next to him, facing the opposite direction closing her eyes. Feeling a strange sensation as she falls asleep, unknowingly wrapping her tail around his leg.
*The next Day*
Jukku turns to his back in his sleep, slapping Noya awake with an eep in the process. Noya rubs her face pouting and moves his surprisingly heavy hand to the side. Then looks around to check if Zani was awake, o ly to see a Mongu child around the age of seven crouched over the pile of fruit Jukku brought last night. Zani had told Noya that is what she needed to do if she saw this happening. Before she knew what she was doing Noya uncoiled her tail from Jukku's leg and jumped on the back of the Mongu child. Instinctively bringing her fist down on their throat and skull. Using her rail to keep their hands still.
Noya:"NO TAKE FRUIT! BAD BAD!"
Noya says then stops once the child hoes limp. Then getting off them ready to watch them move or run away. But they didn't, they just lay still and leaked a red liquid.