A Dagger By Any Other Name

[Sonnie Wu]

It wasn't the most creatively named martial arts school she'd ever seen, but Sactown Dojo was a decent place with a modern facilities, skilled staff and plenty of students. Sonnie Wu had been working here for some months now, teaching beginners classes for kung fu. This mostly consisted of keeping kids and teenagers from hurting each other, or themselves, while occasionally teaching them something.

It was better job security than her previous delivery job, at least.

It was after hours. Sonnie sometimes stayed after closing to work out in private. It was a privilege for the teaching staff. A job perk. This night, though, the Beast was giving a special class for a single student.

Dressed in a black kung fu gi (a staff uniform with the dojo name on the back), Sonnie awaited Seraphina . She passed the time by watching videos on her phone and snacking on a Snickers bar.

[Seraphina]

Sera had been over the moon excited when Sonnie invited her for some dagger training! While she had taken a class before, she knew she would learn more from her best friend. Cause it was Sonnie and Sonnie was amazing! So a note was left for Rhodes, letting him know she was training with her.

Pulling up, she grabs her bag and hops out, eager to get started. She wasn’t sure what you wore to this type of training, so she went with yoga pants and a tank top. Seemed like a good way to go. Her dagger was in her duffle bag, tucked safely away.

Spotting Sonnie, she raises her arm and waves, “Hey girl!” greets the Nix, “Thanks for this! How’ve you been?”

[Sonnie Wu]

"Sera! You made it!" Sonnie excitedly stated the obvious as she hopped to her feet and put her phone away in her bag, which lay nearby. "Have any trouble finding the place?"

The last of her candy bar was consumed, and the wrapped wadded up and tossed into a trash can. "I'm good. Just chillin' till you got here! You ready to become and expert knife fighter?" Hands clapped together and rubbed vigorously.

The dojo looked about as one would expect a dojo to look. Lots of blue floor mats and track lightning. The walls decorated with martial arts weapons, mirrors, and championship banners from competitions. They ranged from local to state, from karate to kung fu to jujitsu.

[Seraphina]

Beaming, “Of course I made it! A chance to learn from the all mighty Sonnie?! Wouldn’t miss it for the world!” and she meant it. “Nope, your directions were spot on!” plus the SUV had a built in GPS.

“Ready!” she declares. Though she knew it was going to take a lot of practice. But at least she hadn’t stabbed herself with it yet. So that was a bonus.

Sapphires take in the dojo, “This is a good-looking dojo! Are you enjoying working here?” she asks.

[Sonnie Wu]

"I do!" Sonnie nodded vigorously, "Kids call me Sifu and everything!" She had her hair up in a bun, probably to keep it out of her face while teaching.

"So, just so I know, how much close combat training do you have? Any at all?" The Beast walked over to a rack of training weapons and looked them over as she spoke.

[Seraphina]

“Really? Then I shall have to call you that as well!” cause why not? This was Sonnies work, and she was teaching her.

“Well, define close combat training. I took some self-defense classes with a focus on weapons, so I have a bit under my belt. As to combat training with someone else? It’s been a while, and you know all about that.” A shrug. Still a sore spot for her ego. “But I have learned how to not stab myself,” a laugh, “but that’s about it.”

[Sonnie Wu]

"Well," her smile was a little smug, "If you insist, then Sifu Wu, it is!"

"I just want to have a picture of what I'm working with, that's all. Having some basic training is good. It means I can skip that part and get straight to the meat!" Sonnie picked out two wooden training knives from the rack, and twirled them in her hands before walking back over to Sera.

"Now, first thing to understand about knife fighting. The most important rule?" She paused a moment before speaking again. "Don't do it! It's stupid dangerous! You could get stabbed and die!"

"That said," she smiled, "if you have to fight with knives, if you got no other choice, I'll tell you the other important rule: Don't be afraid of getting cut. Usually, people are so terrified of their opponent's blade, their own offense is ineffective. They flinch, get afraid to close in, that sort of thing. Yeah, you'll bleed. Maybe a lot. But the goal is to make the other guy bleed more. So much that he passes out or just dies."

The Beast shrugged, "Knife fighting ain't for the faint of heart, you know?"

[Seraphina]

A nod, “Sifi Wu!” it did have a nice sound to it.

The twirl was caught, and the Nix was proud of her friend. Who clearly knew what she was doing.

Eyebrow quirks at the statement. “Kinda figured that went with fighting in general. But I can see the added warning cause knife.” Which was bad.

There was a solemn nod, “I’m not afraid to bleed or get hurt.” She was pretty sure she showed that with the Briar Wolves. She had spent years of her life bleeding; it was just one of those things she had gotten used to. It didn’t bother her anymore. You wipe it off and keep going.

“I get it.” And she did. “I just don’t want to be a burden in a dangerous situation anymore. Adding a knife seems the like best way to increase my chances of helping.” She didn’t want to rely on others to protect herself. Not anymore.

[Sonnie Wu]

"Well, sure, all fighting in dangerous. You can still die in a fist fight. It's just... less likely." Sonnie shrugged.

She smiled and nodded to Sera, "I know you're not afraid. I've seen the Queen in action!" That Briarwolf fight was a heck of a day. "You were never a burden. That was Titania."

The Beast grinned. "Like, literally. I had to carry her ass."

[Seraphina]

There was a nod of understanding, “I was made very aware of that when I got injured.” A shrug added. She clearly didn’t think it was a big deal. Still didn’t.

Laughing, “But I can be better, I can improve, and that’s what I want to do. You and Circe won’t always be there.” Truth was the truth. “Though I am one for avoiding a fight if I can. I’d rather sweet talk my way out of a situation.” Unless it was Briar Wolves, and then they just didn’t want to talk. Another laugh, “To be fair, I don’t think she had ever been in a situation like that. But you got to show off how strong you are and that you are willing to do whatever it takes to keep friends safe.” So a benefit? While she had her personal issues with Titania, she didn’t want to talk bad about her, even if it was joking.

“Sifu Wu, this is your class, you direct me, and I will do my best.” She was ready.