Owner	Pose
Lady Shiva	The battle was over. Nightwing was dead.     Shiva stood over his fallen form, legs bent as she held a horse stance above him. Her left arm hung at her side, useless. He'd broken her elbow before he fell. It was something no one had been able to do in many years. She respected that. It didn't change that he had to die though. That was the agreement, although it had not been her choice. A fight to the death.     She looked at his prone form, his heart no longer beating after a powerful strike to his chest. He could almost be sleeping, the color not having faded from his skin yet.     But this battle had been about more than death. It was about learning to become more, embracing what one had inside. He had done that.     She raised her right hand above her shoulder again, breathing in through her nose the releasing slowly as she centered herself. All her muscles were tense as she drew in air then released, slowly lowering her open palm to the center of his chest. Raising and lowering a second time, just as she had done when she stopped his heart.     Fully focused, she drove her palm down at speed, the cry this time even louder than the first. "KKIIIYYYYYYAAAAA!"     The blow struck true. She held her palm there as his heart began to beat again. Only then did she stand, stepping away from him and walking toward the door. Sometime later...     The dojo was quiet, peaceful. It had been abandoned long ago, the windows boarded over, black paint covering the door. Yet inside it was kept pristine by the woman who used this as her refuge from time to time. There were various pieces of equipment around the outer edges of the room but the center was left for mats. The mats had been pulled out from the walls and Nightwing lay in the middle of them. He wore the same bodysuit he'd had on for the battle but his equipment was nearby on a bench near the back.     Shiva sat with her legs crossed, eyes closed, lost in meditation as she awaited his return to consciousness.
Dick Grayson	The youth's heart had resumed its rhythm, life having been restored though the abyss had beckoned. Perhaps he had been dead those handfuls of seconds that had passed though he would remember nothing of the experience. But even with that return, consciousness eluded him for a fair amount of time. How much was difficult to say. Minutes? Hours? Hard to tell as he came to in that darkened dojo.     She assuredly could tell he was recovered for when he woke his eyes opened abruptly and his breath was drawn in with a sharp ragged sound.     Sitting up slowly, rising with one elbow holding him up and braced. He turned his head to the side, quickly gauging his surroundings. A series of emotions flitted over his features, coming unbidden to him as he realized what must have passed, and what must have happened. There was a burst of confusion, then his hand coming across to touch at his chest and gingerly feel the massive bruise upon his sternum. His eyes widened as a small smile became evident...     And then his brow furrowed as he realized that the danger had not yet passed. He saw her there, the deceptive serenity of her meditation. He frowned and lifted his chin slightly, then his voice as he says in a ragged raspy tone. "Alright... we'll call it a draw."
Lady Shiva	Shiva opens her eyes, a hint of a smile coming to her lips. "We will not. You lost. You died. But you are better now." As though such things are simple. They are not. They require years of training and the techniques are something that are rarely ever shared.     She knew a handful of them, including one she'd learned from the God of War himself. This was the one she preferred should she want to return someone to the world of the living.     "Welcome back, Nightwing." Not her nickname for him. No more Little Bat. He had earned his own name which was a moment of respect from her.     "I have water on for tea if you wish to partake?" In a flowing motion, she rose to her bare feet an padded across the mats toward the small kitchen area she had set up in the back. The mat compressed slightly with each step as she moved. She stepped around the screen to the kitchen. It was a few moments later she reappeared with a small tray. Atop it was a teapot and two small cups. She carried the tray with her right hand. Her left remained still at her side.
Dick Grayson	Once she was looking away he slowly leaned forwards, cringing along the curve of his spine as he holds a hand to his chest. One eye scrunches closed and he mouthes a single word to himself even as he lets himself feel the pain from the places she struck so powerfully. That one word, was 'Owwww.'     But when she turned back his jaw set and he met her gaze, nodding slowly at her offer as he pulled himself forwards into a sitting posture, drawing his bare foot up so he could sit cross-legged, one leg over the other. "Please." He says, though his eyes followed her movements and he says quietly. "You uh," He starts to try to form the thought, but the right words aren't there.     Should he say, 'You should get your arm that I broke looked at by a doctor?' No. Should he say, 'Here let me do that for you?' No. Instead silence lingers after he says naught more...     Until he decides to say, "What now?"
Lady Shiva	Moving to a spot in front of him, Shiva knelt the lowered the tray to the floor between them. She used her good arm to pick up the teapot, carefully pouring the tea into each cup then setting the pot down. She sets his cup on the tray in front of him then does the same with her own, setting it down in front of her. Normally she might have him choose his own cup but if she wanted him dead, he would be.     "We talk and you have decisions to make. Do you know why I challenged you now?" She picks up her cup, curving her hand carefully around it then lifts it to sip.
Dick Grayson	Gingerly he'll lean forwards and take up the cup in his hands, cradling it with both and giving a small nod of thanks to her at the offering. He won't drink. Not yet at the least, but he holds it before hi as he peers across the way at her through the small wisp of steam that lifts from his cup. "I suspect, but I do not know if I can ever be truly sure of your motives, Lady Shiva."     Silence will reign between them for a time as she looks at him and he looks at her, the warm tea held in his hands lending a deceptively... homey feel to the moment. His eyes hold her gaze as he says, "I still haven't had time to mentally go over our bout." Another pause, just a few gifted heartbeats in passing before he adds, "I still do not entirely know what happened to me."
Lady Shiva	"Ah." A simple sound that carries so many things in a single syllable. Shiva takes a moment to set down her teacup then rests her hand on her right thigh before she speaks. All movements are casual, as though they are friends sharing a moment of hospitality instead of combatants, even enemies. It would be difficult likely to see her as anything else, but he had already proven himself capable of learning and understanding more. Perhaps he would be able to learn this as well.     "You died. It was for moments, but your heart stopped, and you lost consciousness as the blood flow to your brain ceased." She moves her left arm, slowly, carefully, bringing it to rest on her left leg but the tension isn't there. It's loose, the muscles not working quite as they should due to the break and pain. "Then I used the same strike to restart your heart, bringing you back. You have been reborn, now the man you should have been long ago, instead of the shadow of your mentor."     She picks up her tea again. "And the reason you lost is you hesitated. Had you taken that opportunity when you had it, there would have been no tea." During her meditation, she had realized he had an opening when she was down. He could've killed her. Yet, he had not.
Dick Grayson	There's a faint rustle of the fabric of those mats beneath him as he shifts his leg closer and sits up. Cross-legged and with his back straight, he turns his head to the side, letting his thoughts drift to that time, the blur of intensity that had been their bout between them. She can likely see him going over those thoughts, examining those moments even though some of them are tinged with the cloudiness of memory loss. His brow comes together.     "I had tried to make my peace with it..." He looks back up meeting her eyes, "That I was not going to hold back, that if something happened it would not be my fault?" He's telling her this curiously, these half-formed thoughts about why he was acting as he did. "Which is foolish, but I knew if I had a moment of advantage I couldn't consciously make that decision."     It's then that he takes the sip of tea, holding it in his mouth for a time to experience the warmth and then swallowing though the act pains him. He takes a deep breath, then exhales slowly as he says. "I knew I couldn't hold back, and if I stopped to think that..." Well she was there, she knew what happened.
Lady Shiva	"Precisely." Shiva lets him continue to think about it, to focus on it. "I know you have been trained not to kill. That is ingrained in you. Batman has made certain that you all follow that path. It is your choice if you remain on it but there are times when death is necessary." She gives a faint shrug, knowing this is not an argument that will be won or lost today. It is simply set aside as she continues.     "I challenge people for many reasons. This time it was because you hold back. You mirrored what you were taught without using it to become." She doesn't say become what, apparently thinking he will understand. "During our fight, there was a time when your blows could have caused great injury or even death, had they struck true. I was unsure if it was because you were giving in to that need for this fight, or if it was because you felt I would be able to stop them. It was...exhilarating to be unsure." She picks up her cup. "Now, I suspect it was the latter. Still, I could not be more pleased with your progress. Which brings us to your decision making." She sips her tea, watching him with her dark brown eyes as she lets the warm tea slide down her throat. Then she sets the cup down, back stiffening as she takes on a more formal tone.     "I am offering to teach you, if you wish. It will not be easy. Nor pleasant. There will be pain, agony, suffering as you have never known. You will be torn apart utterly then remade. This is what I did for Batman. It is what I now offer to you."
Dick Grayson	A fingertip lightly taps against the rim of the tea cup, but he seems to realize he is doing that and stops himself after a moment. He watches Shiva closely, the bright blue eyes following her lips and her gaze as she speaks, as if trying to pick up on each subtle shift in intonation and any possible clue that might be hidden behind her so serene manner.     It's only when she finishes speaking that he gives thought to his reply. She'll see him somewhat mirror her manner, the language of her body as his back straightens and he rests his palms upon his knees so he can meet her gaze. Slowly his voice lifts as he tells her, "I know... what a commitment this would be, Lady Shiva."     His eyes lower for a moment, then return to hers as he says. "I have obligations. I would need to speak to the others before I can commit whole-heartedly to the time and the focus that would be required." A breath is drawn, controlled, expelled. "If I am released from my obligations, then I would agree to learn as I can from you. Is this... acceptable?"
Lady Shiva	As he speaks, Shiva is watching him closely. His formality of posture and tone. All things that show respect. She is very much one to appreciate respect given and thus it is earned in return. Though, he had done that by keeping his word and meeting her tonight after a year of anticipation. He had not run, he had not used his family to help him.     He had faced her as a warrior with great honor.     "This is acceptable. Such a commitment could take months. It is all dependent on the student." Some break sooner than others. Some have such willpower, it begins to seem they will never let go of their old selves and embrace the new.     With that attended to, she considers him a moment then that little Mona Lisa smile is back. "Would you like some salve for your chest? It will speed the healing process." She finishes off her cup of tea and considers a moment then offers. "More tea or is it time for you to report that you have survived?"
Dick Grayson	"No, thank you." Nightwing leans forwards after he finishes the last of the tea and sets the cup down in its saucer. He looks back up to her, meeting her eyes, that smile. Why doesn't it set him at ease? He takes another breath and then places his hands flat upon the ground and slowly pushes himself to his feet. Everything aches, everything hurts. Not just the places where she struck, but the soreness and weakness from the strike to his heart... it left echoes of pain that he would still feel for a time to come.     "I told them our duel was..." He turns his wrist but then realizes his display is not there. Nightwing shifts his gaze away but it takes little time for him to find his equipment where she had set it. "Was for later." He finishes the thought and then moves to step towards his gear.     Over his shoulder he tells her, "How shall I get in touch with you?"
Lady Shiva	She remains for a moment the rises carefully to her feet, letting her left arm swing back down to her side. Shiva picks up the tray with the right then heads toward the kitchen, setting down the items before returning. She was likely gone long enough for him to have his gear mostly on, if he was dressing.     "That explains their lack of presence. I wondered why the did not arrive to interfere. Well done." He deceived his family in order to be sure things were done properly. Or because he wnted them safe. Either way, it was appreciated. They never would've had this talk had they arrived to help him.     "This place," she waves her hand vaguely toward the room. "You can leave a message here to let me know you wish to speak. It is my refuge when I am in town." He will have information that he can use if he wishes, knowing a place she uses. It isn't as though she is utterly secretive about it. Yet, it is a spot she has used for privacy so she is giving him a tidbit by sharing its location this way.
Dick Grayson	A glance outside is taken, then he looks back to her and nods. "Until then." That said he'll start to pull on his boots and his gear, taking his time to affix everything into its proper place. It doesn't take long, the movements almost pure muscle memory by this point in his life. But once he's done he'll pause long enough to give her a nod. Following that there's the crack and whisper of the grapple line firing as he aims it towards the skylight. The line draws taut... and then in the next moment she's alone.