Like an oak, you must stand firm.

[nymeriarya]

Who: Arya and Bunnymund
When: [BACKDATED] June 11, 5 AM
Where: Sharpshooter Bucks cabin.
What: TAI CHI AND WOLF BONDING.
Warnings: Here there be extreme cuteness.



Arya's heard about martial arts before, but she'd never have considered Tai Chi to be one of them. From what she understood about it, it wasn't fighting at all. It seemed to be a lot of poses, stretching, and standing very still, like that other one. Yogurt, was it called? No, yoga. That was it. Cersei liked to do that in the morning, which completely ruled that out.

But Bun did Tai Chi, and that stuff was supposed to help clear your mind. It might even help her with mediumship.

What she didn't get was why Bun felt the need to do it so early in the morning.

Still, Arya's up with the alarms, ready to go. She's knocking on the Bucks' cabin door early, and a still-sleepy Nymeria's not far behind.

Comments

SHHHHHH NO WORRIES JUST TAGS

[pooka]

Bunny can't help but straighten up at Nymeria's nose, but holding his breath, he manages to stifle down the panic that attempts to rise up his spine and into his chest.

She's not a threat, she's not a threat, she's not a threat.

Swallowing down his fears, he moves his leg back a little and concentrates on Arya. "Well, first, we need to get some space! Y' wanna get down to the shore?"

[nymeriarya]

Arya sees that, again, Bunny's still nervous around Arya. She clicks her tongue a few times at the wolf, and gives her another command.

"Nymeria, heel."

The wolf tilts her head to the side, and Arya realizes she forgot the hand signal. She points with one finger towards her feet.

"Nymeria, heel!"

When Nymeria finally follows the command, she smiles and gives the wolf a little scratch behind the ear.

"By the lake? That's the best place in the whole camp. Let's go!"

She looks down at Nymeria, getting down to eye level with her friend (which isn't hard).

"Nymeria, follow."

And once she's said that, she's off to the lake, grabbing Bun's hand.

"Come on, Bun!"

[pooka]

Bunny at least relaxes when Nymeria finally heels. He has to raise his brows; he's a bit impressed at how well Arya's doing with her.

...That, and it's pretty damn cute when she kneels to talk to the wolf. Bunny tails along behind Arya, grinning at her enthusiasm.

"Well, at least you aren't hatin' me for all this."

[nymeriarya]

They finally get to the lake, and Arya lets go of Bun's hand to walk closer to Nymeria. She scratches the wolf's ears - she did a good job, this time; and leads her over to the shade of a tree. Crouching down again, she looks to her wolf and pats her gently on the head while talking.

"Stay, girl."

Then, Arya walks back over to Bunny and asks him a question she's been meaning to since they left the Bucks' cabin.

"Why would I be hating you?"

[pooka]

"It's a joke, promise," Bunny laughs, shaking his head. "For makin' you get up early and all. Kick off your shoes, alright?"

He takes off his own, kicking them aside and starting to fix up his ponytail, before reaching his arms up to stretch. "We're just gonna stick to the basics, so it shouldn't be too hard. You just let me know if you need me to repeat, or whatever."

He's sure he won't have to very much, though. Arya's always been a smart, quick student.

[nymeriarya]

"I can do that sort of thing if I really want to."

Arya toes off her little sneakers, watching as Bunn raises his arms up into the air in a stretch. Arya follows suit, letting out a little yawn as she does so.

"Do we do other things besides stretching?"

[pooka]

"Forms aren't like stretching. It's... Kind of like ah, simulated fightin' a little. But more so just, chi flow an' all that."

Bunny found it just a little hard to explain-- it was sort of a mix in the middle. "Just wait an' see, you'll get it. An' maybe later on I'll teach ya some stuff you can use."

He then stands, shoulders square, and feet apart. Casting a look Arya's way, he points to the spot beside him to beckon her silently. "Stand sorta like this. Get a good balance."

[nymeriarya]

"Simulated fighting?!"

Oh, Arya likes the sound of that. She's already running to Bun's side, trying to perfect the stance that Bun's doing. It's not hard - just a basic standing pose, with squared off joints.

She scratches at the back of her head, looking over at Bun for the next move.

"Chi's like a big energy in your body, right?"

THIS IS GONNA SHOW HOW LITTLE I KNOW ABOUT TAI CHI

[pooka]

"Exactly. That's why you've gotta pay close attention to your breathin' an' all that," Bunny explains. Seeing that Arya's properly squared off, he smiles approvingly, and continues.

"We're gonna do somethin' called the cat stance, an' then a balance, an' I'll tell ya what comes next after that," he tells her, "so place the edges of your hands against your abdomen."

He demonstrates, speaking rather gently as he attempts to lead her. "You'll raise your foot to the heel to plant it down, then slide your other foot--" Bunny uses one hand to demonstrate as he moves, "--and bring it up to the toe. Cat stance."

I DONT KNOW /ANYTHING/ ABOUT IT SO YOU'RE FARTHER ALONG THAN ME

[nymeriarya]

Gently, she forms her hands into little flat paddle shapes, and pushes them against her midsection. Bun's a really good teacher, and he explains things well and calmly. She wishes more of her teachers at school were like him.

Her movements aren't quite as fluid as Bun's yet, but they'll get there. She finishes the cat stance, looking at Bun for the next pose. "It's like a cat waiting to jump on something, I think."

[pooka]

"Alright. With this one you're gonna want to balance, so if ya need to, just hold out yer arms, alright?"

Bunny demonstrates, hands still against his midriff, as he raises his leg into a balance. He then steps forward, pressing his heel against the grass slowly. "Just like that. Keep it slow an' smooth."

[nymeriarya]

[Oh, she was good at this. Her fencing teacher actually made her do this back home, but on only one toe. Arya raises her leg from the knee up into the air, holds for a second, and then brings it down heel-toe, just like Bun. She's pretty proud of herself for that, and beams.

In the grass over by the tree, Nymeria pads over to a sunnier spot and makes a happy wolf noise.]