7570/Hand-to-Hand with Sib and Cap

Hand-to-Hand with Sib and Cap
Date of Scene:	21 May 2019
Location:	Gymnasium - The Triskelion
Synopsis:	Sibilance asks for some hand-to-hand training from Steve Rogers. He recommends a few other avenues of training during the session! Including socializing, oh no
Cast of Characters:	Captain America, Sibilance

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Captain America has posed:
Shockingly at his desk in the wee hours of the morning rather than out and jogging through the quiet of the city, Steve had been penning down new notes about the latest recruits when lo and behold, ping: a new email had popped up on the flat screen of his computer. With exacting gestures of his fingers, he'd opened it, read it with brows flicked high, shrugged, and then settled his hands on his keyboard to reply.

Now, at the time suggested, he's standing off to one side in the Triskelion gymnasium, dressed in SHIELD sweats and a plain grey t-shirt; sneakers came from his locker in the men's shower room and are put off to one side, leaving him in white socks. The mats appear to be of interest since he's looking down at them, toeing at them with a testing pressure. "Gotta replace these," he mutters to himself.

Sibilance has posed:
Sibilance had some trepidation about sending Steve Rogers an email for any reason. How do you address Captain America? She isn't even from the country and she knows how much of a hero and role model he is. But she decided that, because he was so skilled and strong, she has no reason to think she could accidentally hurt him. She said as much in the email; there aren't a ton of candidates to train with among the Triskelion day to day.

Sibil shows up on time, wearing the standard issue sweatpants and t-shirt. The pants had to be modified for her tail, though, by the looks of things. She mosies on up to Steve, and she stops in front of him to smile up at him, the snake-like woman looking pretty happy. "Hello, Captain," she says, with a salute just for the fun of it.

Captain America has posed:
Movement at the edge of the blue matting has Steve glancing up. Sibilance is still a bit of a visual shock to him as a whole, but given he's already been through the priliminaries of meeting her not a day or two back, it's far less apparent in him. Instead of the low-key wide-eyed and solemn once-over, she gets a small and professional smile this time from the soldier.

"Miss Garcia. No need to salute, I'm just Agent Rogers today," he replies mildly. "So." He spans his hands on his hips, equal parts alert and comfortable in his stance. "You wanted some training in hand-to-hand combat. Anything in particular you want addressed? I don't know everything, but I probably know who to refer you to if I can't help you with all you need." The Captain delivers the addendum with a natural humility.

Sibilance has posed:
Sibil looks at Steve with amusement, the way her eyes squint in that mirthful way telling of how little she believes his humility. But she lets it go instead of prodding him for it, and lets a more serious look flow into place of her fangirlish excitement at standing near CAPTAIN AMERICA. "I don't know anything about hand-to-hand combat," she admits, making a goofy karate chop motion with her right hand. "I got brought on for my natural abilities as a mutant, I'm fast and strong, but someone with proper training in how to hit someone can probably take me out easily. That can't happen, right? So... here we are." And she spreads her arms.

"So... how do we start?" she wonders, awkwardly.

Captain America has posed:
Still sporting that mild little smile, Steve hums in the back of his throat consideringly. "If you don't know anything, we start with the form. Can't go swinging at someone if you can't keep your balance when you do it. Bear in mind that someone with enough training can hit me too. No one's infallible -- 'nd if they think they are, they're wrong. It'll bite 'em later."

A tilt of the Captain's head to one side. "Unless..." With a series of subtle motions, he's gone from the personable stance to a balanced shallow standing-squat. His hands are upraised in loose cuppings before himself and he eyes Sibilance now with a keener attention. "Go on. Swing at me. We'll see what you've got naturally."

Sibilance has posed:
Sibil knows this much, but listens anyways. The lesson is catalogued in her mind, her inhuman eyes soaking it up as he speaks like every word is chiseled directly into her brain. She flashes a smile at him. Then she gets into a rough stance of her own when he indicates he's ready. She's obviously an amateur, not sure where her feet should be, her confidence is lacking because of her hesitation. She even seems afraid of hitting him for a second... which is explained by what happens next.

A hand goes out like a piston, and Steve would feel the air behind the strike. It's clear part of her mutant abilities is raw reflexive speed because of this, and he'd discover she's as solid as concrete, her lithe form built of naturally compact superhuman muscle. Not nearly to the degree of some metahuman types, but she's clearly got some advantages. But that's where it ends. She is as sloppy as a toddler with her first attempt to hit him, and he can probably parry it with ease.

At any rate, her request for training will make sense at that moment.

Captain America has posed:
Super-soldier reflexes have Steve diverting the swift punch to one side rather than grabbing at Sibilance. It's a deflection where if she'd continued forwards with the motion through her body, she would have popped right off his waiting fist -- or been open for any number of body blows.

Still, the speed is enough to garner an impressed flick of his brows upwards, his impression translucent. "Not half-bad. You've got potential with that quickness. I figure that'd be a sturdy hit if you landed it," he comments, resuming an upright stance again. "Still, gotta start somewhere." He then walks to stand beside her to act as a living mirror.

"Alright, stance. Like this," and he sets up again in the shallow parti-crouch, " - with whichever front foot facing forwards and back foot rotated to whatever side's open. Right to right, left to left." He waits. "Good. Basic katas."

Captain Rogers is a concise, precise teacher. While not unkind, he is demanding in his way, making little notes here and there about form and shaking his head when the movements aren't correct (at least, relative to 'proper' form). Still, Sibilance is a quick learner and clearly aware of her physical capabilities, so it isn't long before Steve's able to run her through a basic sequence of about a dozen katas strung in a row. They travel across the mat in mirrored exacting motions and at the end of the string, Steve pauses, breathing lightly. He glances over at Sibilance and nods to himself as he smiles that little smile again. "Not half bad," comes the comment, true compliment within it.

Sibilance has posed:
Sibil is impressed by Steve's ability to parry her, which she feels could've easily ended in a bloody nose on her part if he were an enemy combatant. She flicks her own brows up in a similar way, realizing she wouldn't have time to react even after noticing.

She silently watches him, and carefully mirrors his stance. She tries to find a way to situate her tail to help her balance during it. She moves through katas with an increasing precision, catching on quickly where to shift her weight and put her limbs, and is flicking her gaze to him for approval or adjustment between each one. By the time they've hammered out a dozen katas in a combined string, a fair amount of time has passed and it's showing that she may have strength but she lacks some in stamina. She puffs a breath and takes a moment after his assessment, smiling tiredly. Her eyes close for a second. "Thank you," she says, shyly dipping her gaze down to his feet.

She sniffs and she resumes her stance, and starts practicing the katas, trying to string them together in different orders wherever that makes sense. At least until he gives her more instructions, if needed. "Get a lot of trainees asking for help?" she wonders.

Captain America has posed:
"Yes and no." Steve now stands off to one side, his arms lightly folded, as he watches the trainee go through the motions of the katas. An ability to reorganize the stances and motions is a boon, and if Sibilance has it, it will grant an edge on the battlefield. Sticking to rote repetition will mean death against an earnest opponent.

"I send some of the trainees to other agents when necessary. I don't know everything," he repeats once more. "Sometimes I send 'em to Agent Romanov, sometimes over to Agent Barton." He drops the names easily. "Depends on where the trainee's strengths lie. You might want to speak with Agent Romanov at one point," the Captain decides with a little nod of approval as to his own idea. "I'd hazard you might find her own take on hand-to-hand a natural thing."

He steps over briefly to call pause to Sibilance and tap at her wrist lightly. "A little lower. Too high and you give your enemy a free shot at your ribs. Kind of important, those," he jokes drily. Then, taking a few steps back, he sets up into that loose and readied demi-crouch again. "Here, run through the katas. You gotta get used to hitting someone with 'em. Can't hurt me," he reassures her with a little smile. "Won't let you." By that, he means he'll carefully deflect the blows without making Sibilance lose balance.

Sibilance has posed:
Sibilance makes a mental note to look up any available documentation on Agent Romanov, and get into contact with her later. The training opportunity cannot be overlooked. While she does this, she quietly listens and smiles, nodding to show she's paying attention.

She adjusts her hand placement when indicated, and briefly looks down at her ribs, thinking about how they're likely to get dislocated if she gets hit too hard because of her physiology. That'd be bad. She sniffs and gets into place to try and use the katas on Steve. This time it's more precise, but her lack of confidence makes it hard for her to seem professional about it. She does seem determined to learn even though she hesitates a few times, second guessing her stance here and there and requiring correction. It isn't yet muscle memory, not by a longshot. She'll need a lot of practice even if she's a quick learner.

"Anyone else I should talk to?"

Captain America has posed:
With practiced ease, the Captain deflects the katas aimed at him. He never disrupts Sibilance's balance or makes her falter. Corrections come in quiet murmured words throughout the run of stances and blurred hands. He does nod sharply to himself once she's completed the list of moves taught.

"Practice makes perfect," comes the thought aloud as he thumbs his fingers into his pants pockets. "Any of the agents here should be able to teach you something. Doesn't matter if you've seen it before: everyone's experienced life differently. You asked me." A shrug. "Ask around more. Practice in the meanwhile. Join in with the other recruits when they organize group sessions. They might be behind or ahead of your learning curve, but you can either sharpen what you know or learn something new. Every little bit helps. You keep practicing and I'll spar with you at one point."

Sibilance has posed:
Sibil's uncertainty is easy to read on her face. She isn't the most social of creatures, and she says, "I'll try..." at the idea of group sessions. It's funny, the contrast between meeting Captain America and with meeting the everyday people that aren't particularly special, save for being agents.

The rest of the session is practicing those katas, since she doesn't have much else to discuss. They'll go their separate ways after she realizes she has other responsibilities to look into.