7724/How to Train your Pippi

How to Train your Pippi
Date of Scene:	03 June 2019
Location:	Westchester, The Bronx
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Pippi, Alopex

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Pippi has posed:
    It was a wonderfully mild late spring evening in the city. There is a breeze carrying the scents of all the Puerto Rican, small Italian and the odd Pizza and Chinese place wafting through hte area, along with the normal sounds of the city. Someone's coop of pidgeons coos on the wind, the horns honk and traffic hums around them.

    Pippi has taken to roof-running easily, finding freedom in leaping alleyways and climbing fire escapes, and learning better to not start yelling back at whatever dog catches her scent and starts to bark.

    Currently, the canine in question is sitting on the top of a roof access hut, her nose to the wind, soaking in sunlight, ears relaxed, tail up. She's taken to wearing T-shirts and cutoffs, having found pockets amazingly handy for storing things.

Alopex has posed:
    In all honesty, Alopex would have to agree. Pockets -are- incredible. They can hold a lot of different things! Not just weapons, either. For a ninja, the more they can carry, the better. For a regular person, having a lot of room to carry things had its benefits as well as technology continues to evolve. Phones, watches, keys, pens, and on and on it goes.

    With the scents and smells of dinner wafting across the rooftops, it's easy to be distracted and think about food. That, however, wasn't on the menu yet. Today, after a short patrol, Alopex decided it was time for Pippi to work on a few stance-patterns. Just some simple katas that Alopex hoped would help Pippi hone her control over the immense amount of strength her small frame seemed to posses. "Comfortable?" she asks from outside the hut, gazing across the skyline, eyeing the pidgeon coop across the way. Why did that make her uncomfortable? Who knows..

Pippi has posed:
    "Uh-huh." Pippi replies, her tail giving a bit of a wag as she registers Pex's smell (fox, mats, weapon oil) above the rest of the scents on the wind, and she turns, her amber eyes opening as she gives a grin.

    "I figure if I can smell anything familiar, it'll help. And if I smell anything *unfamiliar* it'll help!" she states as she hops off the access hut. She stretches her shoulders a bit, her last slip-up during a solo patrol might have contriubuted to being grounded (she'd explained she was seen by a human, and they had a conversation), but she's eager to make complete ammends. Even if it was a self-imposed grounding.

Alopex has posed:
    The pup was still new to all of this. To being a fighter at all, let alone a ninja. At least, that's as far as Alopex is concerned. She wouldn't punish her, but if she did it to herself, so be it. "Well, as I mentioned earlier, I'd like to go through a few sets of poses for you. They're formally known as katas. A series of movements that if followed can help with your control over strength. Some are a little harder than others, and that's where the control comes from."

Pippi has posed:
    "Ka-tas?" Pippi lets the weird word roll around in her mouth a moment as her head tilts, and her ears draw up. Her attention is pretty well focused on Alopex, and she taps her fingers against her sides a moment, and gives a nod. "All right, so, poses? For fighting?"

Alopex has posed:
The fox gives a nod, "Eventually, yes. The issue with most martial arts are that they are made for human beings and aren't really developed for people like us. In my case, because of my agility, and in your case because of your immense strength. I imagine you'll find a stance that will be ideal for you just like I found one that's ideal for me. That, however, will come in time. For now? Stretch out a little bit, make sure you're ready to do a little work out. It won't be intense, more like.. yoga." She won't know what that is. "I'll explain exactly what that is another time. It is really similar to what we will be doing."

Pippi has posed:
    "... like, strawberry-banana yoga?" the dog asks, but Pippi procedes to get on with some stretches. She brings her arm up and across, stretching her shoulder, and then does the other one. Then up and behind her head, stretching the triceps, one after the other as she considers things.

    "Or more like blueberry yoga?"

    She then bends down, reaching to put her palms flat on the rooftop.

    "Orange yoga?"

Alopex has posed:
    She can't help it. That actually gets a little laugh out of Alopex. She can't be a super stern, glowering teacher. It just isn't in her, "Ah, no no, no. That's called Yogurt, Pippi. Yoga is a form of exercise where you create your own resistance as you move into certain positions. Kata's don't require that self-imposed tension." And honestly, with how strong Pippi is, learning control over her strength may be really important considering just how yoga works. . . Yeah control first.

    "Alright, with us stretched out, there's a series of motions I'm going to start moving through. You can watch and try to follow, or I can do it twice, which ever you prefer. I usually do these at dawn and at dusk, and once in a while before I do the cleanup work in the dojo. I think you may have actually seen me doing it the other day. Maybe." Possibly. Depends on if Pip did sneak a peek or not. She wouldn't be upset either way.

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi snaps back up at the laughter, her ears going back thinking she said something wrong, but seems releived once Pex explains. "Oooh. Yo/gurt/. Yeah, that sounds different. They weren't big on teaching me words." she states with a shrug, and then at the question of if she's seen Pex practice her kata:

    "I saw. It looked like you were fighting invisible people, and I don't know if you can actually SEE invisible people so I stayed behind the door just in case." Pippi replies, and she assumes a spot nearby Alopex, facing the same direction. Her tail is giving a lazy sort of wag. "In case I had to throw a couch at them or something."

Alopex has posed:
"Ah, I was doing one of my faster katas, then. It does look like that, I'll admit, but no there wasn't anyone invisible there. This will be a bit slower until you can keep up. Eventually you'll even have it memorized and will be able to do these on your own. Eventually, you can even come up with your own if you like," Alopex explains as she assumes a martial stance. "Again, this will seem slow, and pretty easy, but as you speed up it will become more like a work out," she tells as she starts moving through the early motions. "And remember, mistakes are allowed. It is how you learn."

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi gives a nod, and she turns to watch Pex. She ruber necks, a little bit, and she draws herself up, echoing the motions. She adjusts her feet, rebalancing herself as she finds a place that's comfortable for her.

    "So, you learned these in the Foot Clan?" she questions quietly, as if saying their name might summon the ninjas themselves from the darkness of the alleyways.

Alopex has posed:
    "Partially," Alopex responds at first, moving from the earlier motions into some slightly more difficult ones. "Remember, a lot of these were created with the human body in mind. I've adapted them to suit my needs, and you can do the same," she tells, occasionally glancing over to see how Pippi is doing, slowing as needed, proceeding to the next motion when she feels the timing is right. "I may not be with them any more, but they still stand as the foundation of my training. That can't be taken away from them."

Pippi has posed:
    "No, but... you change them. Like you said, they're made for humans, not people like us." Pippi replies, shifting one foot in front of the other to match Alopex's. She teeters a moment, and then breathes out, and follows with the arms, drawing up to 'part the horse's mane'.

    "I mean, we're basically human shaped, minus the ears. Tail. Weird twisty legs."

Alopex has posed:
"It's the legs and tail that are the big differences, Pippi. Our balance works very differently because our base is different. And that's why these movements had to be changed," Pex continues to explain, moving to a rather long movement that turns her around, but gives her a good looking over of Pippi's form as she works. "You're doing well for a first time through the routine, Pippi."

Pippi has posed:
    "... I used to do training kinda like this Before." she states quietly, drawing herself up. "Left arm in, left arm out, left arm in, roll over, turn in a circle... it was one of my tricks." she gives a little bit of a smile. "Guess I was pretty smart for a dog, huh?"

Alopex has posed:
    That causes Alopex to blink. She hadn't even thought about those things people train their dogs to do. "Huh. I hadn't thought of that, Pippi. You're right, though. You sounded like you were a great dog, and very smart. Smarter now, with how well you're taking on these movements. I'm proud of you." Pippi had earned that compliment in every way. It's one Pex is happy to give.

Pippi has posed:
    "They taught me all sorts of stuff. I think because I was really, really energetic, so I learned all about how to turn switches on and off. I could run the full agility course without being guided. I bet you I could go to the park and even beat my time now!" she states, tapping her hand a moment against her other hand, before resuming the poses, echoing Pex's movements.

    "I used to get myself ice from the cold box. I just pushed the paddle with my nose and then woo, ice!"

Alopex has posed:
    Wow. She was a REALLY smart dog! "Wow, Pippi, I'm impressed," and Alopex means it. She wasn't just a dog, she was able to do all KINDS of things. Blasted Delta, how awful of you to steal her away. Grr. That thought, however, is not reflected in her expression or her movements. There's nothing but the kata and her genuine pride in how well Pippi is doing.

        So she speeds up a little.

    "Alright, back to the start, and through everything a little faster now. I think you will manage." Or surpass her expectations again. That would be awesome.

Pippi has posed:
    Huff. Pippi shifts her weight and returns to the start position.
    She brings herself through the kata, stumbling in a couple of places. Her memory seems somewhat elsewhere at just this moment (maybe crunching ice in a kitchen), but her focus comes back. Shift the leg, bring her hands up. Part the horse's mane. General, basic kata, and she's doing as well as can be expected!

Alopex has posed:
    "Good, good! Keep it up," Alopex offers as she turns her gaze straight ahead. She can hear each of Pippi's movements, know if she's keeping up. As such, she'll keep trying to increase pace, only slowing when she can tell Pippi may be having trouble keeping up. She'll reach the end of the series, and then start again. Through the whole thing she's just smiling. Pippi was turning about to be something special. She was sure of it.

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi follows through the movements, her tail -- though no where near as glorious or floofy as Pex's -- shifts around, helping to correct her balance as she's put through the kata. Step. Shift. Turn, part the mane, breathe out. She feels encouragement at the movements and the praise from Alopex as she moves, until she mis-steps, her tail overcorrects, and she twists her legs a little more than she needs to and trips, bhouncing on one leg for three hops before falling forward!

Alopex has posed:
     To be fair, Alopex was pushing -pretty fast-. She was giving Pippi every opportunity to catch up, but she also wanted to see where the limit is. She found it. She goes through another motion, ending in a step forward, and then comes to a halt and offers a hand up to Pippi, admitting to what she was doing.

    "I was pushing you pretty hard there, Pippi, you kept up pretty well, but I also wanted to see where your limit is. Now we have a place to work toward and get you beyond," she says, still smiling. "For your first time that was -very- good."

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi looks dizzy a moment before she gives a breath out, and accepts a hand from Alopex, hopping back up to her feet.

    "I... thanks, Pex." Pippi replies, rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment a moment. "You were going pretty fast, and I think I turned too hard, and over... over-corrected." she stumbles over the word a moment. "BUt I think I've got the hang of the kata."

Alopex has posed:
    "Good, good, with practice I'm sure you'll figure it out and be able to go pretty quick. Just give yourself some time," Alopex instructs as she helps haul Pippi back up onto her feet. "I think that's enough for now. ... So.. I'll ask you this. Which one of those smells earlier smelled the tastiest?"

Pippi has posed:
    "Cheddarbrats that were slightly burnt, smothered in hot mustard and a wheat roll." Pippi replies, and points down the street. "In that building, but I'm pretty sure that was someone's actual dinner. So..." she trails off, and she gives a little wag of her tail. "Burgers?"

Alopex has posed:
    Pippi's suggestion perks Alopex right up, "Now -that- is the absolute right choice. I'll follow after you. Onward to dinner, Pippi."