Sword in the Dark [Lukas/Cala]

THE CITY OF LIGHT
Lukas would stand back and take the opportunity to watch as Cala... Attempted, to repeat the action. 'Practice', a more generous man might call it. Amateur hour. The words unsaid, yet despite that, one could take enough time to delve behind his eyes and find judgement to last a lifetime. A slow blink overtook as the movement became better, step by step. Eventually, they'd stop, a faint nod from the man with begrudging acceptance.

The fuck was I expecting, again? Lukas couldn't bother to answer his own question, narrowed eyes saying more in turn to Cala's question than any words could speak. Annoyance? Dejection? No - disdain.

"It's not a where, that matters." He was nothing if not blunt, after all. "When. Who. How. And none of that is anything you need to know. It's something you have to do, over and over." The foil circled in the air, following his last - incredibly prickly - words. "Footwork or otherwise, your head is the only place to learn."

Shaking his head, he moved the subject back to the matter at hand.

"Anyway, your footwork is acceptable enough. Next is a little anatomy lesson." He'd clap, muffled by the hilt between his hands. A poor attempt to lighten the mood. "Now, I know I said the head instead of the chest, but tell me - where else do you think is a good place to attack?"

THE CITY OF LIGHT
Lukas' eyes did light up some at her response, an incredibly faint nod in turn. "Context is important." Not quite praise, but a definite shift in tone.

"The wrist can be a high priority target, true, but it's hard to hit." His free arm raised, waving quickly. "Same with the head, someone ducks, bobs, weaves - easy to miss. The heart, on the other hand, not a very good target at all." Continuing, his hand shifted downward, tapping the front of his chest.

"Usually getting past the ribs is more effort than it's worth. A foil like this might be able to slip through, but it's far from the best." Raising his sword arm, the opposite hand tucked underneath, pointing towards his armpit. "Here," it shifted downwards, tracing by his liver - "and here are much more suitable spots to aim for. Immediately debilitating regardless of angle, stab, or slash." Lukas mimicked a knife with his free hand, the charade ending as it began.

"The neck and joints are also viable, but they serve better for sneak attacks." He blinked, realizing for a moment - This is the most I've talked to someone in months. It was not a thought that settled well. Shrugging it off, he leveled the weapon towards Cala, ignoring the stammering of their response.

"Got that?"

Cala would seem a bit enlivened as Lukas seemed to respond positively to their initial response and nodded in time with appropriate pauses in Lukas's instruction. Their head gave a curious tilt at Lukas's mention of issues getting through rib cages, as Cala mused silently that not every being had a Hierro, and so maybe to others the difference between muscle and ribs was more worthwhile considering. Regardless Lukas was right, in that the liver and armpit had no protection outside of defensive abilities anyways so they nodded, twice more,

When Lukas mentioned sneak attacks via the neck, however, Cala blinked. That was something Cala had a lot more experience with as that had been their main form of hunting for almost all of their time as a Gillian and Adjuchas. They were not, after all, very strong and so Cala seemed a bit slower to respond to the comment about those. They didn't like admitting to or acknowledging how they acted out of necessity to hunt in this form, and even averted their eyes as Likas asked for confirmation, giving a distracted nod that was a bit too quick to be simple recognition. Taking a short moment to gather themselves Cala would gently remove their helmet and cradle it in front of them, lavender eyes looking up at Lukas curiously.

"Umm S-Sensei? I did want to ask.... about maybe some techniques? L-Like for getting to the places you showed."

Cala would raise their arm a little bit, holding the training helmet in it, while their now free hand touched their armpit through their clothing, before they dropped their arms and shrugged their shoulders.

"The... The neck and liver are all r-right there but... I dunno how you would get under someone's arm like that...."

THE CITY OF LIGHT
"First off, cut the sensei crap." Lukas chided, a half scowl retching the words. "Second, there's not a real answer for that." Lowering himself on his knees, the man crouched, gesturing vaguely upward.

"You just want to be beneath someone if you're going for it. It also makes it easier to generate force, not that the point is particularly difficult to pierce." Standing back up, he'd lift his arm, guiding the opposite hand underneath the arc of his pit. "When you're shorter, or just plain lower than someone, it's a lot easier to imagine. From the side you can hit several major organs, or -" The hand slid up, a chopping motion following.

"You can get rid of the arm. From there, most people will usually bleed out. Fatal as it gets." Lukas might question the point of teaching this kind of stuff to a newbie, had it not been much the same lessons he had been taught at that stage. It didn't sit quite right with him to do anything else, any textbook work could be done with just that - a textbook. And if someone wanted to read, they didn't need him for it.

"But if you want to see technique, put the helmet back on." Lukas turned away, stepping much of the room's distance in a moment. "We're about to really begin."