Training in the Closet

Blue eyes followed Madison's footwork this time, only scarcely glancing up to check her grasp around the bokken again at the end of her swing. Clumsy. Completely, absolutely clumsy. That was too bad as well since the technique wasn't completely gag-worthy this time. D'Angelo laughing only reminded Nicola that she had to sugar-coat even further. It really sucked trying not to be judgmental and just outright tell someone they sucked. Well, not like Madison did terribly this time, but if she got a magnifying glass to nitpick everything, then there'd be a lot more she would point out that could be improved. Adjusting her own blade between her fingers, shoving the sling off her shoulders with one swift movement, she held it out in front of her before performing the same basic swing that the dark-haired girl had done, only she didn't show any signs of tripping on her own two feet.

"Lucky guess on the comparison. I didn't play sports that much as a kid," Nicola replied back with a huff, lowering the blade. Just needed a quick review to make sure that she explained the footwork properly. "Start with your left foot in front and step forward as you swing. Once you're done with the technique, you should be leaning forward a bit but placing all the weight on your left leg."

Madison moved as she explained. When Nicola said 'left foot forward,' she put her left foot forward. Though she didn't stress that she had to do it right then, she leaned on her right foot, and brought her chest forward. With an exhalation, she raised her sword in silence. Her arm was hurting from doing this task over and over again, but she didn't care. This was going to be the time. Raising both her hands sturdily, she cut cleanly. Her weight distributed to her other foot, and it came off well.

Madison decided to get cocky and follow through, slashing the opposite way. Though it was unrehearsed, the movements in between not as smooth, it came across nicely. She beamed, keeping her eyes forward. She did it. Hopefully Nicola liked that.

He crossed his arms in front of him, eyes still on Maddison as she listened to Nicola once more. She began to mimic the movements as Nicola spoke. D'angelo could see the determination in her eyes. One of the best sights to see; the focus of one person doing work. A smile came across his face as she executed it perfectly. Perfectly to him that is. He wasn't exactly the one teaching but it looked like her best one so far. Madison took one extra swing afterword, which looked a bit off from her first swing. Madison was sure looking confident during that extra strike. He slowly clapped his hands together, "Hey, not bad. You're starting to look like A natural swordsman. Right Nicola?" He glanced over at Nicola, still clapping. He knew by saying that she would have to hold back plenty of  judgmental things to respond to that.

Her mouth twitched awkwardly into a smile, and she glanced over at the side, crossing her arms and trying to focus her attention elsewhere. They weren't giving her a choice on whether she got to be blunt about this or not, were they? Nicola bit her lip, hoping to keep a bit of control of herself. Time seemed to stretch for a longer time than normal, never ending and completely frozen. That or it was traveling at the pace of a sloth. She let out a sigh, conceding defeat, as she turned her focus back towards the two. "You guys are mean." It was an overstatement. Or maybe she was just exaggerating or overreacting. "But that swing looked pretty good. The second one, not so much."

"If you're going to try and make a second strike, lift the sword above your head first and put it into a position where you can block any upper strikes." With a quick demo, her foot shifted and she made the first swing. When she blocked, she moved to the side a little. "Moving to the side disrupts their momentum and puts you into a position of power. After that, do a sorta half-circle swing to get a second hit in, if you're fast enough."

Madison watched Nicola, and bit her lip. Man, she'd just learned to do one swing, she didn't exactly want to move on to two. The sun was setting outside, the mirror reflecting its orange light back at them. Her arms were sore from raising the sword for so long. She felt pathetic, but gave a weak smile, preparing for a recoil from Nicola in some shape or form. "How about we do that tomorrow. Do you guys want to get some coffee or...something?"

D'angelo let out a small laugh at Nicola's response. He was surprised Nicola hadn't given in to her temptations and just be blunt toward Madison. His eyes caught glance of the sun slowly setting off the mirror. Damn, time sure flew by didn't it? Letting out a big yawn before directing his attention at Madison. Coffee? Right now? He looked at her puzzled before speaking. "Sure, I'm up for it."

"You guys can have fun with the coffee." The response was almost too quick on her part, almost a little bit forced. Nicola rolled her eyes, sticking her tongue out at D'Angelo. Putting her sling back into place, she threw her own sword back into the rack, the blade settling itself in after vibrating in its spot for a few seconds. "I have to go to the infirmary... or face my brother later. He's not going to be very pleased when he finds out I was using my arm again." With a wave to the two, she didn't wait for them or request that they leave together before departing on their own paths, walking out without them and closing the door behind her.