[Afternoon, Moon 8, Armory] Pony Practice - Open

[Iuchi Rinzuki]

The Iuchi takes a deep breath as she leans back into Qulan, even as the other woman adjusts her grip. She turns her head to look back over her shoulder at Qulan, putting their faces here inches apart. "We wouldn't want that," she whispers, her eyes meeting those of the other woman. "...right?"

[Shinjo Qulan]

"I... Ummm..." There was no mistaking the intimate atmosphere that the Iuchi had just created. Even Qulan noticed it. And blushed. "No, that would be bad, Rinzuki-chan."

[Iuchi Rinzuki]

"Okay," Rinzuki replies, her voice no more than a soft whisper. "Was there anything else you wanted me to do?"

Her brown eyes never break away from Qulan's gaze.

[Shinjo Qulan]

Qulan's own brown eyes quickly averted the Iuchi's gaze in a most flustered fashion. "I'd like to see you swing a few more times, Rinzuki-chan."

[Iuchi Rinzuki]

"Of course," she giggles, before turning her attention back to bokken in her hands. She makes two strikes with it, the first one showing some promise. With her arms still guiding her, it would not have been difficult for Qulan to feel the muscles moving beneath Rinzuki's kimono.

[Shinjo Qulan]

"Your first swing was good, but your stance changed in the following swing." She adjusted Rinzuki's arms again to show her what it's supposed to look like the entire way through. Qulan scanned Rinzuki's body for any other needed adjustments, but not even she would go down and touch the Iuchi's legs. "Rinzuki-chan... Your legs need to be slightly more apart."

[Iuchi Rinzuki]

Rinzuki smirks at some private joke, and shifts her feel another inch apart. "I feel like I am going to fall over...or that I would, if you weren't holding me."

[Shinjo Qulan]

"Oh, then move one leg slightly back." Qulan again, watched Rinzuki's legs for any further adjustments.

[Iuchi Rinzuki]

Rinzuki shifts her weight onto her left leg as she moves her right back, only to feel the ship roll beneath her. With a chirp of surprise, she falls forward into a heap on the floor.

[Shinjo Qulan]

Being so close to Rinzuki was a bit of a disadvantage this time, as Qulan found out the hard way. It was half trying to catch the Iuchi and half having shins hit by a foot made Qulan also take a tumble. And things got awkward, position and all. "Dear Lady Shinjo! Are you okay, Rinzuki-chan?"

[Iuchi Rinzuki]

The shugenja groans as she rolls over onto her back, her response cut short as she realizes that the extra weight atop her was Qulan. "Just a little embarrassed," she admits, her cheeks flushing a light pink. "My apologies for bringing you down with me."

[Shinjo Qulan]

When Qulan realized she was pinning Rinzuki down, she quickly got off (albeit in an awkward fashion) and offered her hand to help the poor girl up. "It's okay... Maybe this kind of practice isn't good on a boat when it's rocking..."

[Iuchi Rinzuki]

The hand is accepted, and Rinzuki allows herself to be helped back up to her feet. "If you believe that to be the case, Qulan-chan..." She lowers her gaze to the floor and lifts a hand to push an unseen strand of hair back behind her ear. "Thank you for your instruction, however. It has given me much to think about."

[Shinjo Qulan]

"Maybe we can try again when we're on calmer seas?" Qulan asked a bit shyly. "Maybe then we won't fall down and make fools of ourselves."

[Iuchi Rinzuki]

"I thought that Qulan-chan handled things very well." Rinzuki looks up with a playful smile. "I certainly would not call her foolish because of a mistake that I made."

[Shinjo Qulan]

"Well, we both still looked like fools. Imagine if someone came in to see us fall." An amusing sight indeed. "We'd be laughed at."

[Iuchi Rinzuki]

"I would be laughed at, you mean." She taps her chest with the tip of her bokken. "You could blame my clumsiness for your own fall."

[Shinjo Qulan]

The young Shinjo watched Rinzuki tap her chest with the bokken and spaced off a little bit. But only for a few seconds. "Ah, well... We both fell. It'd be laughing at both of our misfortunes."

[Iuchi Rinzuki]

"I disagree," she says with a playful smirk, before lifting her bokken again. "Did you just want to work on the arm part for now? I rather enjoy that part of your lessons."

[Shinjo Qulan]

"Oh, you did?" Qulan looked back up at Rinzuki's face, still about spacey. "What would you like to work on exactly?"