It was early morning and the sun was just rising. There were no classes today, so Michelle grabbed her practice swords and went out to practice. She was in her white martial arts robe and pants, her long red hair trailing behind her, rippling against the soft morning breeze. She had found a new spot to practice. A clearing in the forest. She had found it while she had been running a few days ago. She stood and watched the sun rise, the pinks and oranges of the sky very pleasing to her eyes. After she watched, she walked into the forest.

The clearing was a fairly obvious place to see, but it wasn't too easy to not miss. You'd have to be looking for it. It was a good size. Lots of room to move. A few patches of bushes skirted the outside of the clearing, allowing any onlookers to see her without risking being seen themselves. Michelle jabbed one of the wooden swords into the ground, lest she use it later. She began to warm up, a dance with the well-crafted wooden weapon. It looked like a beautiful dance, her red hair trailing and with the breeze blowing at it softly, it almost seemed that her hair had a mind of it's own.

While Michelle was training with her wooden sword, Saira had been exploring the forest, as she usually did. She was clad in her fairly typical exploring gear, from the simple vest, to the high boots, to a light (yellow in this case) blouse underneath with a small khaki skirt... Saira was fairly well equipped for the wilderness. Though the Egyptian girl knew that often, monsters lurked out in these woods... in a way, that's why she was out here. It was simple, in a way. If she knew where they hid, what trails they might use, she'd be better aware of their movement, and be better equipped to fight them. Or... something like that.

But when she saw the girl training out in the clearing, Saira got the sense that this was... unusual. Noting the ability to hide easily, that's exactly what she did. The training seemed to go on for an unknown length of time - likely just minutes - while Saira watched. But... a rogue flower blew around in a gust of wind, taunting her. For this was not just any flower. This was a flower in bloom, ready to spread pollen all over the place...

...Saira had a (small amount of) pollen allergies! She tried to hold it back as long as she could, but eventually the tan-skinned girl couldn't help but sneeze!... She hoped that not being in sight would be enough to keep her hidden from the mysterious girl...

Michelle had been practicing for at least an hour when she heard a noise that wasn't a sound you hear in the woods. It was faint, almost like an imaginary noise. Regardless, she stopped mid-stroke and glanced around, not seeing the well-hidden Egyptian girl hiding in the nearby bushes. She shrugged it off as something in her mind and once again resumed her practice, giving Saira a different show as she started a whole new set of motions. The last set that Saira had seen was a little more middle eastern, a style made by the Arabs. The dance she used now, Saira had not seen since she left home. This descended from Egypt.

(feel free to let the creative writing juices flow on this one. Write her motions as vague or as detailed as you desire. )

As she began, the wind increased slightly, causing the red locks to flutter more determined in the breeze.

For a moment, Saira took pause. The... smooth movements, gliding around and... the gentle waves of the arms? She... she hadn't seen this kind of thing much, but realized that it was in some way resonant to her. Born in the US though she may have been, she was only second-generation. Her original culture still had... some sway.

Sway. Somewhat like what this girl was doing! But... Saira tried to pinch her nose shut, not wanting to interrupt again. She'd wait until the girl was finished, hopefully. Though... unfortunately? Another loud, jarring sneeze brought Saira out of her brief reverie, and she frantically ducked back into the brush!

The sneeze was louder this time. Loud enough that Michelle knew that someone was watching her. She whipped around just in time to see the brush stop moving.

Who's there?! Come out or I'm coming in. She yelled, standing ready to defend herself if she had to. She hadn't encountered any "wildlife" yet.

Blushing profusely, and slightly shaking in fear that the girl might just suddenly flip out and beat her down with that big training sword, Saira slowly, sheepishly made her way out into the clearing.

"Sorry! I... I just saw you practicing, and was surprised. I wanted to watch a bit... But, er. I... I didn't know the kind of pollen I was allergic too was in that bush! I should've been more careful so I wouldn't interrupt you..."

For now, the tanned girl just stood there, unsure what else to do or say.

Michelle could feel her heart racing as the bushes rustled in response to her calling out whatever was in there. She wasn't sure what to expect, but she was happy to see a pretty girl peek her head out of the bushes.

"Sorry! I... I just saw you practicing, and was surprised. I wanted to watch a bit... But, er. I... I didn't know the kind of pollen I was allergic too was in that bush! I should've been more careful so I wouldn't interrupt you..."

Michelle chuckled as she stabbed the sword replica into the ground. She smiled at the young woman.

It's quite all right. I'm actually a little flattered that someone would actually take time out of their schedule to watch me practice. I'm Michelle. It's a pleasure. If you wish to continue watching, please feel free. I feel more comfortable around people anyway. If you are interested, I can teach you some techniques. She said, with a polite bow.

Saira took pause as she entered the clearing, rubbing her nose slightly and pushing up on her glasses. Teach her something? That sounded... interesting.

"...Oh? What kinds of things could you teach me? I mean it might be pretty hard to do because... I er... I don't really know any martial arts at all! I've only sometimes fought people off with a walking stick..."

She blushed sheepishly at the last part, assuming someone who somehow had a wooden sword might have higher standards or something!

You've used a walking stick to fight people off? Believe it or not, that's actually fairly useful. That's what my original teacher had me use at first. And I'm sure you're asking why I'm offering to help you learn. I'm just a nice girl. She said with a smile, offering the spare wooden blade to the Egyptian girl.

Michelle took the opportunity to get a fairly good look at the body of the beautiful girl.

She's so pretty. Michelle may have been staring, but it was far from discreet, as she was blushing and her focus was obviously wandering elsewhere.

Saira blinked slightly, accepting the wooden blade in her hands, holding it a bit. She noted how it was weighted different from that very walking stick, but didn't swing it around any. Yet. Instead, she glanced to Michelle, sheepishly.

"Ah, thanks... er... so now what?"

Michelle pondered for a moment, trying to figure out how best to teach her how to use this as an effective weapon.

First, I'll show you how to properly hold this and we'll go from there. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. She grasped the handle of the sword firmly, but not too tightly and held it at a 45 degree angle in front of her.

First, I'll show you Kendo. It's actually the easiest to learn. You never told me your name.

(I've had a lot of things fall on me in the last week, so I apologize for my extended absence)

Saira gingerly grasped the weapon and tried to hold it like Michelle did, managing to do so with relative ease. She was just holding it still after all! Then... She nodded slightly.

"So, ah, Kendo. Okay... And, uh, my name's Saira."

Saira. That's beautiful name. My name seems so plain. Kendo is manly for defending yourself. It's mainly defensive, so it's good for protecting yourself and getting your opponent off-guard.

Michelle offered a smile to her new student, happy to be teaching someone else how to protect themselves. That always made her happy.

Now, Saira. I'll demonstrate the defensive abilities of Kendo. Attack in anyway you choose. Don't worry about hurting me. If you hurt me, that means I did something wrong. Focus yourself on your movement and attack where you believe is an opening.

She offered an encouraging wink and smile and readied herself.

Saira swung the blade once in the distant air, as if to get a feel for it. Then, she nodded, with a matching - if a bit nervous - smile.

"Alright... Here goes!"

One thing Saira thought to do was to be tricky. If it was defensive, she reasoned, then Michelle would be able to easily handle a direct assault. So with a slight grin, the Egyptian girl came crashing down with the blade...

...then suddenly let herself fall on one knee, shifting the blade to the side and going for Michelle's torso, instead. Though her handiwork may have been a bit sloppy...

Michelle watched as the Saira waved the sword around a little to get a feel for it. Perfectly natural. Then out of the blue, Saira charged! Michelle had been expecting this. Saira charged at Michelle with a full head of steam and Michelle had prepared for this. When Saira dropped to a knee, she recognized this technique. She had learned this once before.

NO WAY! THAT'S JIGEN! Her thoughts raced to find a defensive measure and she managed to dodge and evade the attack.

She looked at her new student with a shocked look on her face. Very good, Saira. I didn't see that coming. She said, her eyes still a little wide.