Aki gives you a confused look. "I have dreams that guide me, things I want to do and achieve. My values are based on what I think is good and proper. I always figured that was enough..."
During the training Aki's clearly not focused on what you're trying to teach her. Her thoughts seem to linger elsewhere. Your teaching itself isn't making the situation any better. Due to the way Aki handled herself so well last time, you decide to step up the pace of your attacks, but this time she doesn't seem able to block anything at all. Your attacks don't hit Aki hard, but after fifteen consecutive times Aki throws her naginata on the ground and walks off.
"I need a moment," she says emotionally, and sits down on the other side of a tree at the edge of your camp.
Rixin eyes the frustrated young woman. He recalls his own constant physical failures at the hands of the monks. A soft, merchant prince thrown into the hard and cold world of the monastery, it had been difficult.
Endlessly falling during exercises, slipping water buckets, tripping on the rocky trails, he had done it all countless times. Many times he wilted under the stern gaze of a monk, who dismissed him. Even later,w hen he began his martial training, he recalled hitting the hard stone floor day in and day out, thrown by young acolytes and ancient experts alike.
But even then he had his faith, his belief. Aki seemed to lack that. Rixin's own faith was like iron, unstoppable, unbreakable but also constraining at times. Had he been close minded? He had no qualms with those who followed other gods. As he told Aki, he had seen many gods worshiped in Goka, even those of Avistan or Vudra. Perhaps he should let Aki grow more naturally.
He moved to a small clearing in the camp and, slowly, began moving through the elaborate exercises the monks had taught him long ago. Fluid, steady, graceful.
He caught Aki's eye and inclined his head, inviting her to join him in silence, if she wished.
You notice Aki looks at you when you start doing the exercises, but she looks away when your eyes meet. After she's spent a minute or ten staring at the sky and tree tops, Aki gets up and heads toward you.
"Well, hello there," says a male voice, coming from the direction where you found the boar.
The source of the voice turns out to be a man in his thirties, with long, black hair and a longbow in one hand. "It's not often that I find other humans in the forest."
The man wears an old, patched up cold weather outfit. His expression's unreadable as he looks at you and Aki, and enters your camp.
Carefully Rixin finishes the last form, then turns to the man. He bows, but shortly, keeping his eyes on the man. The monk guessed it was the man they had been following, but you could never be sure.
'Master Huan, I presume?" Rixin offers, keeping his guard up.
"If I say yes, how would you know?" the man replies.
He walks up to your fire, sits down next to it, and grabs some of the pork you hadn't cooked yet.
"I was tracking this one down," he says as he holds up the meat, then places it next to the fire so it'll cook. "Saw two people beat me to it and decided to track you down instead."
Rixin schools himself. The man was rude, insolent. But he was in 'his' woods, and men who lived in the wild were not known for manners. patience..
"I would know because of Aki." the monk turns to her, 'Is this Huan or has a bandit just wandered into camp and stolen some of our hard-won meat?" The monk flexes a hand, barely noticeable.
"That's Huan," Aki confirms, looking at the man with a raised eyebrow.
Huan snickers, but otherwise doesn't respond. He places his bow on the ground next to him and makes himself comfortable as the meat cooks.
Something about the man rubbed Rixin the wrong way. He stifles it, on last time and gets to business.
"We were out here looking for you, actually. The boar was minor bonus. My name is Zeng Rixin and I am seeking someone to train Aki here, to shoot a bow. Your name has been mentioned. Are you interested?" he attempts to be blunt, and hopefully interest the rather anti-social woodsman.
Huan turns to briefly look at Aki, then turns back to watch the meat cook.
"I'm here now. Might as well do it, considering you went through the effort to catch my meal."
Aki shakes her head while looking at Huan's back. She turns to look at you with an expression that says "What's wrong with him?"
Aki's nod worries him. Rixin had assumed the trapper was always like this, a brusque, rather rude woodsman. It was common enough for these isolated, iterate people to be so. But Aki's nod...maybe something was wrong?
Rixin nods to Huan and bows, adding, 'Thank you friend. But this meat is not payment enough, is there anything I can do to repay you? I am your humble servant." the formal language is a bit much but maybe it will jar something out of the man.
"Nah, this is fine," Huan responds with a shrug. "I'll teach the girl to shoot a couple of arrows afterward, no problem. Not like I have much else to do."
Rixin frowns slightly, "Other plans cut short? Other then us finding this boar, I mean?" Rixin throws another branch on t e fire. "I am told you know these woods well?"
"I do," Huan responds, obviously intentionally replying to just the last question.
He checks to see if the meat's almost ready before he asks, "What for, you want to go somewhere?"
Rixin shrugs slightly, 'I have traveled far, although not with as much skill as you. I have seen many woods and mountains. Do these contain anything of interest to a man bound for the Crown? It is for that reason I wish for Aki to be trained with a bow."
He feeds out some info, wondering if the taciturn man will add anything more.
"The Crown?" Huan asks and turns his head away from the meat, to look at you as he speaks. "That's a s%%$ty place to go..."
Huan turns back to look at the cooking meat. "The Forest of Spirits holds many kami and animals. You've not gone very deep into the forest yet. You'll meet a lot of kami if you choose to venture deeper."
He grabs the meat and takes a bite, then shrugs as he speaks with his mouth full of meat, "No sjense gwoin deepe if youw gwoin fo Cwown."
Rixin smiles, "Only way to Avistan I know of. You ever been north, to the Crown?"
He lets the man eat a bit then asks, 'What are the kami like? Aki mentioned them, as beneficial spirits. Do you agree?"
"No," Huan replies to the first question, after swallowing the meat.
He takes another bite and, when you ask him a question after he's swallowed again, says, "Some are good, some are neutral. They protect things that can't protect themselves. They allow you to kill what you need to survive, but you shouldn't cross them by killing more than you need. They get ugly if you do."
Rixin shurgs, giving up. If the guide had golarion-shattering news, he was holding it close to his chest. The monk merely waits until the man is done eating and he can begin teaching Aki.
Huan takes his sweet time eating the meat, but eventually gets up and walks over to Aki.
"'Kay... You hold it like this, and you pulls the string back. Got it so far? Well, that's it."
Huan then walks back to the fire and sits down again.
"Try to shoot that dead tree over there," he says while pointing at said tree, not bothering to even look at Aki.
Aki's clearly annoyed by Huan's rude behavior, but stays quiet. She takes her bow and tries to shoot the dead tree, figuring she may as well try to improve her archery by trying to hit it, even if Huan's not being cooperative.
Aki shoots one arrow after the other into the dead tree's soft bark, creating a perfectly symmetric smiley face with the arrows. When she's done shooting, Aki gives Huan a triumphant look. She then turns to you and smiles proudly.
Huan actually looks up from where he sits and notices the smiley face. He turns to look at Aki with a hint of surprise on his face, then turns to you.
"Sooo... why did she need someone to train her...?"
Rixin smiles at Aki's skill. "She is very new at the skill. Apparently she has a natural gift for it." Rixin ponders the woodsman. "Imagine what she can do under your tutelage? How does a silver for a real lesson strike you? It beats sitting here chewing on boar fat all day." He doubts money will really tempt Huan, but it is worth a try. He'd hate to come all the way out here and not even get Aki a decent lesson out of it.
Her skill pleased him though, and he is glad she is getting out of her funk from before. The monk stands up, stretching. "Unless you have other plans?"
Huan shrugs and gets up. "Don't need the money, but she's got me interested."
He smiles at Aki, his attitude completely different from before. "Well alright, dear. Let's retrieve those arrows and see what can be improved."
This time Huan does an honest attempt to train Aki, but Aki lacks the concentration to focus on the challenge he sets her.
"You hit stationary targets just fine, but not all targets are stationary," Huan tells Aki as he throws a branch in the air. She shoots an arrow at the branch, but misses.
Aki continues to try shooting the branches Huan throws up, and continues to miss. After half an hour, she lowers her bow and shakes her head. "This is a lot harder..."
Meanwhile Huan looks a bit puzzled, because there's quite a contrast with how well Aki performed a little earlier.
"Maybe you're tired?" he responds to Aki, then goes to retrieve the arrows again.
Rixin watches, a bit frustrated himself. He had finally interested the guide and now Aki is off. He walks over, waving a hand to Huan. 'Give us a minute."
He turns to Aki, and nods his head. "You are having trouble focusing. I have a possible answer."
He sits down, cross-legged, in front of Aki and gestures for her to do the same. They are sitting closely now, knees almost touching. The ground is cold, hard, not very comfortable.
Once they are seated, Rixin speaks in a low, calm voice. "I had much the same problem, when I first encountered the monks. I was a young man from Goka, used to the sights and sounds of a busy city. The monks were patient however, and taught me this trick, to concrete, settle my mind."
He sits up straight and says, "Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Hold it for two heartbeats, then let it out. Do this ten times, then re-start the count. Do not try to make your mind blank. Let it become blank. Let us try it together."
Aki sits down across of you and closes her eyes. You notice her breathing's quite controlled, but after a while she opens her eyes and asks, "What do you do when you keep thinking of things...?"
Huan walks over and taps your shoulder. "Mind if we try it my way?"
He doesn't wait for your answer and sits down next to you and Aki. "Just sit however the heck you want, close your freaking eyes, and listen to the darn forest sounds. Got it, lass?"
Huan burps, lets out a soft laugh, then lays down on his back and closes his eyes. He raises his index and middle finger, making a v in your direction. "Peace."
Aki casts an annoyed look at Huan, shakes her head in disdain, and turns back to you. She takes a deep breath in while closing her eyes again, holds it for two heartbeats, and lets it out.
You notice Aki's breath is fully controlled this time, and after nearly a quarter of an hour she opens her eyes again. She smiles as she nods, letting you know she was able to do it this time.
Rixin hadn't even opened an eye at the woodguide. The monk had done these exercises in the teeth of a mountain blizzard. It would take more then a burping man to upset his balance. But for Aki to do it.
He was proud of her.
The monk nods and smiles, 'You see? It can work. We can practice it, if you like. Later, you will be able to do it with eyes open, with heart pounding, while running, fighting. The inner peace..." Rixin stands up, helping Aki ascend gracefully.
'Shall we try the arrows again, Huan? Or are you too busy listening to the birds nest?" The monk says it without rancor but so far the guide has not been very helpful. Then again, the caravan is unlikely to be filled with scholars and well-spoken men either. Aki, and himself, had better get used to it.
Huan opens one eye, pretending to wake up. "Huh, what...? I was just about to fall asleep..."
He shrugs and gets back on his feet. "Okay, lass... Let's try to shoot moving objects again. It's probably best if I show you how it's done this time."
Huan asks you to throw up a branch, so Aki can watch him shoot it. After shooting the branch he explains, "It's important to aim where the target's going, instead of where it currently is. Your arrow won't hit the target the moment you release your string, as it takes time for the arrow to reach the target."
"Rix, another branch?" he asks you.
Assuming you throw another branch up, Huan aims his longbow again. "Take your time to aim... and aim just ahead of where it's going..."
Huan's arrow hits the branch and he continues, "Now you try."
Aki takes your hand when you help her stand, then takes her bow again. She listens to Huan's explanation while watching his example, after which she tries to shoot the branches he throws up.
This time, Aki nails it. She's able to shoot every branch Huan throws up, even the ones he throws a bit silly to catch her by surprise.
Rixin coughs, and says, 'Rixin, master woodsman."
After Aki hits the branches, Rixin smiles. "Very good, very good! I knew you could do it."
He turns and bows to Huan, "And thank you being such a good teacher? I think you have brought out a new skill in Aki."
"She's quite talented," Huan replies, "she just needed some explanation, I guess."
He points at the naginata, which is where Aki left it, and asks you, "That yours?"
"No, it's mine. I was having a bit of a hard time with that as well..."
"I could help?" Huan asks as he looks from you, to Aki, and back.
Rixin picks up the naginata, and hefts the heavy weight. Then he glances at the guide, "Do you know how to handle it?" Without warning he tosses it at Huan, not hard enough to hurt but quick enough to startle.
Huan catches the naginata with one hand, still holding his bow in the other. He puts his bow on his back, then spins the polearm around.
"I'm know how to handle anything that's not too exotic," Huan comments.
The hunter shows a sudden grin. "Talking about weapons here."
"What have you been doing so far, with polearm training?" he asks Aki, his eyes glancing over to you.
"Dodging and blocking, mostly," Aki responds, "and keeping a proper distance to an attacker."
"No actual attacking yet, just defense?" Huan asks.
"Maybe we could use a somewhat straight branch to practice attacking with it? If that goes well, Rix can stand between us and we can practice how to use the weapon's reach by fighting over his shoulders."
"Guess we can," Aki replies to Huan.
She looks at you. "You think that's a good idea?"
Rixin nods, but looks closely at Huan. 'Just keep from slashing me, all right? Let us start with the stick."
The monk finds a straight stick and hands it to Aki. "Use it well. It is a good bit lighter, but it is a place to start."
As the two spar, Rixin wonders how he can help. After Huan does his bit explainign and they are silently attacking/defending, the monk pops in, attemping to distract Aki. "What do you think the most dangerous part of the Crown will be? What do you think Avistan will be like?" he peppers her with questions about their journey. After a moment he explains, as she still spars, 'You can't be distracted during a fight. If you can hold a conversation and fight, we will have made progress."
After that, the monk stands between them, facing whoever is holding the bladed weapon.
"Alrighty then," Huan says as he takes up position in front of Aki, holding a stick. "You try to hit me, while I try to dodge or block. Let's first see what you can already do."
During the training Huan uses the stick he's picked up to block Aki's attacks, while also dodging some. After he's observed the way Aki moves and attacks, he starts giving her advice. "You want to hold your hands a bit more apart, lass. Otherwise, you're doing fine. I'll now start advancing toward you and will try to gently tap you with this stick, so try to keep a proper distance to avoid that."
Aki adjusts her grip on the stick you handed her according to Huan's advice, and does an excellent job in keeping her distance from him. While Huan gets a couple of taps in, most of his attempt to tap her do fail. What's more, she even even manages to counter and tap Huan twice during the training.
Your distractions throw Aki off when you first start talking to her, as she wasn't expecting you to start a conversation mid-training. She adjust quickly, though, and soon is talking to you without letting this affect her training.
"I expect the most dangerous part of the Crown will be the High Ice," Aki responds to you, meanwhile dodging one of Huan's attempts to tap her shoulder with his stick. "It's a huge plateau where many dangerous creatures live, and it's as north and cold as you can get. I don't really know what to expect from Avistan. I've heard there are many different cultures and, like within Tian Xia, many different nations."
Rixin nods as Aki trains. She is solid, steady and Huan has given her good advice. He seems to actually be trying, despite his gruff exterior.
"Very good!" The monk says then looks at the sky. 'Are you headed back tonight, Huan? As much as I love the outdoors, a warmer night inside would be nice. We have many cold nights ahead of us."
"Thanks, Rixin!" Aki tells you, smiling broadly.
She beams with confidence after the training, but you have a feeling she tries to avoid overconfidence this time.
Huan shrugs. "Hadn't planned to."
He looks at the sky. "Getting a bit late anyway. It'll be the middle of the night when we reach my house. For tonight I'd planned to hang around, here."