A Long Awaited Start [PRIVATE: Arianda/Fuurinji]

Frankly speaking, Arianda was unsure how to feel about Fuurinji at this point in time. Some of her more racist tendencies had certainly lessened thanks to Ari’s insistence, persistence, and general capability of beating something into someone’s head. Stubborn as she was, Fuu has her own adorable quirks; and Ari loved petting the girl’s ears when she would allow it.

However, one couldn’t simply just stay at home all the time and learn under a demon. Fuu had made her own excursions, after all, sometimes you just needed to get out. Regardless of this, Arianda was still worried about Fuu, and insisted on regular discussions, attempts to help Fuu figure out her past pains; and how she might best do her mother and her old captain proud. Not to mention, Arianda had taken a liking to the cat woman, and she wanted her to succeed; before it was too late.

As such, Arianda had approached Fuu while she was in her room, gently ruffling the girl’s head as she approached; caressing those soft ears with gentle fingers.

“Fuu, I’ve been thinking about something… and I think it’s about time you got some training in. What do you think?”

Arianda kept gently caressing Fuu’s as she spoke, and afterwards, but she did her best not to distract Fuu from answering. After all, this would be an important moment. Well, hopefully.

Someone was certainly well distracted, that was for sure... Arianda blinked at the woman, and her rather lack luster response. Normally, she at least purred from these particular pets. However, with Arianda increasing the petting just enough to be noticeable, Arianda smiled and gently ruffled Fuu's hair in the process.

"Get up and come with me then, hun~ Get your Zanpakuto and we can go outside and do a little training. But, Fuu..."

Arianda looked at the woman breifly, quietly contemplating the issue of her eyes, before Arianda simply knelt down and hugged Fuu from behind, a warm and loving embrace; lasting only long enough for Fuu to ready herself, and potentially return it if she wished, before Arianda squeezed the woman gently, stood up, and walked to the door.

"When you're ready, follow me, Fuu~"

Truly, Fuu still was quite lost. Even if Fuu had responded some to the affection she had given to the woman, Arianda knew it was just to appease the woman. Ari knew that Fuu was capable of the emotion, but perhaps she needed to get used to Ari a bit more… Arianda simply smiled gently, making a mental note to hug Fuu a bit more later. Afterwards, however, Arianda waited for Fuu to catch up at the door; where Arianda gently took the woman’s hand. This wasn’t an attempt to guide her, not truly, more of Ari’s own desire to allow Fuu to relax a bit; to keep up with Ari without trying.

As Arianda lead the way to where she wished to go, which was outside the house, by the lake, she considered Fuu carefully. The whole while, the demon considered Fuu somewhat, focusing particularly on her emotions; attempting to pick up on the tiny things in her emotional turmoil, to find the specifics. After a bit of time, Arianda smiled somewhat, squeezing Fuu’s hand gently.

“Fuu… I know everything’s been quite confusing lately, but… I’m here for you. Don’t forget that. You can talk to me. And don’t forget one last thing, you don’t need to join up somewhere to feel fulfillment. Besides, I find it preferable to make up for my past wrongdoings on my own terms; not them being demanded by someone who doesn’t know me like I know me. Give it time, okay~? And stick with me~”

After a period of walking through the surprisingly large house, Arianda had finally led them outside; into fresh air. With a lovely smell of fresh water, wet dirt, and that of what smelled to be the after effects of rain in the mounts, Arianda smiled and turns to Fuu; seemingly reluctant to release her hand. For now at least.

“So. What would you like to start with?”

Arianda couldn't help but smile gently as she looked and listened to Fuu, moving forward to gently boop the woman upon her nose before she began to pet her carefully; an attempt to sooth her just a little bit. Frankly speaking, what Fuu needed wasn't training, not in reality, she needed time to properly readjust herself to the harsh reality of her situation; that everything she had been doing for years was wrong. The simple fact that she still stuck around, even if it was only because of Ari at some points, and still tried was a good sign of its own. Arianda smiled, even if Fuu couldn't exactly see it, and gave the woman a big hug, the last one before the properly started some training and sparring. With a gentle caress of Fuu's ears, Arianda slipped away, even if Fuu did return the hug, and gave Fuu the space she likely desired and needed.

"Fuu, I hope to, one day, become someone you can come to and talk to; even if that day takes a while to arrive. But, in the meantime, we can try and work a few of those demons out of you physically~"

Arianda grinned, cracking her knuckles as she drew a pair of scissors out of her pocket, which grew into a genuinely oversized pair of scissors that Arianda shoved into the ground. After leaning against the scissors, her back pressed against the cold metal of the weapon, Arianda considered Fuu's words. The wind may not have a start or a stop, this was true, but Fuu did have a start and a stop. She could only compare herself to wind so much, especially in her current state.

"Instead of everywhere, let’s try to start with one thing at a time. Otherwise, you will not gain mastery, you will simply be alright at everything. If your intention is to be the same wind that you have control over, my dear Fuu, you must first gain mastery of yourself. Inward reflection, resolving your past, and figuring out what truly happened will be important steps. Like the wind, you must be flexible, ever-changing. However, you must not let go of who you are. You are not wind, you are Fuurinji; that is the important first conclusion you must make. Otherwise, no matter how much you synchronize with wind, it is likely your power will never truly listen to you. Never forget who you are, where you came from, and who made you what you are today; otherwise, you will truly be lost. Now..."

Arianda grinned and beckoned to Fuu, not moving from her position leaning against her scissors; a gentle musical hum coming from the demon's throat.

"Come at me, Fuu~ Use everything you have, burn away your emotions, fall not into a haze of rage and anger; but still come at me with all you have, because I wouldn't have it any other way~"

Frankly speaking, Arianda could beg to differ about that. It was always worth fighting ones inner demons. But, the method of doing so was important. Arianda believed that the best method of fighting one's personal demons was to fight them with someone. Either with their help, or simply because they are there with you every step of the way. Arianda simply gave Fuu a tiny smile as she watched the woman prepare herself for combat.

"Perhaps, but it is better to fight, especially when you have someone to help, than to never fight at all~ But yes, you are right. One still needs the chance to live, to experience life in full; and especially to spend time with those they care for~"

As Fuu released her Shikai, Arianda hummed pleasantly, glad to see the woman was doing so much for Ari. The demon purred softly now, carefully taking a pair of scissors out of her pocket, spinning them around her index finger as she watched Fuu closely. Her Zanpakuto were certainly something to behold, and their Shikai was interesting to Ari. She certainly hadn't seen many turn into gauntlets intended for punching. She shrugged mentally, figuring it was just another thing to make Fuu unique. One last statement, one last exchange of words before the combat begun.

"But to ignore your demons, and your emotions, is just as much folly, my dear Fuu~"

Arianda grinned as Fuu closed the distance between them, clearly aiming to throw a flurry of blows at Arianda. The demon hummed softly, wondering how much she should use this as a teaching moment, or simply to enjoy herself alongside Fuu... She wasn't sure yet. However, one thing was abundantly clear, Arianda was likely going to play with Fuu a little bit; at least until the woman got a good hit in because Ari was screwing around too much.

With a practiced air, perhaps alluring in an odd way, Arianda danced around Fuu's ferocious assault, using her superior speed to avoid the fierce strikes. True, Fuu was boosted in comparison to her normal state, which meant Ari couldn't be too silly; but she could be just a little silly. So much so, during one of Fuu's punches, the demon spun around the woman, kissed her on the cheek swiftly before avoiding the fierce retort that was to come; but of course the reward for such a brazen act was getting clipped by one of those claws on her right hand. To which, Arianda responded with a swift open palm strike to the middle of Fuu's sternum; intended to knock her back and unbalance her. However, Arianda didn't capitalize on the moment if her maneuver was successful. She may enjoy playing around, but this was a spar, not an actual fight. Albeit, she didn't mind roughing up Fuu just a little bit in order to help the woman get stronger.

"Excellent~ More, Fuu~"