(no subject)
Dressed in comfortable clothing, Natalia reaches for the morning sun, stretching idly as her students begin filing into the clearing outside the school. It’s early yet, but she’s been up for hours, her casual movements now solely to instill an sense of normality and calm in what will surely be a few nervous bodies.
She knows her pupils already, of course. She’s observed each of them in the last few days, and all with equal interest. A few of their number possess a fighter’s heart already, which will help, even if it’s not required. Natalia means to make survivors of them, not warriors, but she won’t shy from any that don’t shy from her. Her eyes catch briefly on the dark haired girl she watched practise her swords, then pass to the sweet faced redhead.
Most of the girls are young, not yet twenty, though a few are older, and then there are the handful that aren’t female at all. Natalia shows the youngest male a smile, catching both a flare of excitement and nerves on his face. Nathan receives a blank look, and the man with little youth left to excuse his actions receives something much more calculating.
When all are present, Natalia motions for them to fall into a loose circle around her. "Good morning, class," she says, "I am Natalia Romanova, Avenger and agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Welcome to Women's Self Defense. Over the course of this class, much will be asked of you, but it will never be more than any of you should wish to ask of yourselves. You will learn to recognize potential danger and threatening persons. You will learn to evaluate dangerous situations, prepare for them, and you will learn how to respond to them accordingly. This will include learning physically to defend yourself.
"It will not be easy. Many of you are inclined to believe the best of people, and I have no wish to discourage you from that. Neither do I want to teach you to fear others, or more specifically, men. This class is not about fearing other people, nor is it even about harming them. This class is about learning to defend against powerful enemies regardless of your size. It is about believing that you are not only capable of it, but worthy."
Her eyes fall on Nathan, and then, more darkly, on Hank. "Not every difficulty will come from the physical aspects of the class. There will be people who will not extend to you the respect you deserve. There will be people who will mock your desire to feel comfortable, who will seek to invade the places you occupy to feel safe. By the end of this class, you will be more than capable of putting them in their place, but for now, be assured I will tolerate no interference in this class. This is to be a place of mutual respect and learning. Mr. Moody, step forward, please."
"Respect is my middle name, sensai," Hank pipes up, and Natalia waits out his look of mock offense, still and silent when he goes again to speak. "Just to clarify, what’s your position on private interference and invading places after class? I’m all for doing my bit to strengthen student-teacher relations."
"Find me after class and I'll be only too glad to show you," Natalia answers and reaches for him, her voice changing not a whit as she takes both his wrists and twists them behind his back. "Now, you've heard what the students are to learn here and have chosen to remain, so I can only assume you wish to help me teach by example. I’m glad.” She smiles, not her Widow’s smile, though the expression is anything but kind. "I had hoped to make a lingering impression on my students. Ladies," she says over his shoulder, "what I'm about to do won't be taught until at least halfway through the semester, but I want you to understand that not all your defenses must be violent ones. Sometimes you simply need know where to grip."
Natalia closes her fingers sharply at the base of Hank's neck, stepping back to let him fall, boneless, to the ground. Kneeling at his side, she lets the girls see her fingers at his pulse, though she herself needs no reassurance that he’ll be fine. "The human body is a fascinating network of nerves. Touch the right one and you can stop a heart. Touch another and render a fully grown man paralyzed." Standing, she turns her attention to Nathan, eyebrows lifting until he takes her meaning.
"Okay, okay," he says, "so I'm not a woman. But really, really, can you deny someone the chance to better prepare themselves for the world's dangers? Look at this face. Do you know how frightening it is to think that day after day, you'll potentially be sexually assaulted? Well, of course you do. We're the beautiful people. Not like that twat," he says, thumbing at Hank.
"I don't know," replies Natalia, "because I've made myself a person who has nothing to fear from an assailant, but I recall it well enough to find a use for you, too." She seizes him as well, catching a shrieked, "You're sure? Usually, I'm not one for all of that voyeurism shit, but if you insist..." in her ear for her trouble. "Beware, though: I'm wiry and I'm quick."
Natalia points her first two fingers and delivers a short jab to his jaw. "Easier when a practice dummy doesn’t talk," she says, summarily sweeping the feet from under the suddenly silent boy in front of her. "Now behave, or I'll skip to the pressure points portion of my lesson plan early."
Quickly, Natalia uses Nathan to show her pupils a number of defensive maneuvers they'll be learning throughout the course, finally dragging him away to ice his jaw. "You’ll be able to speak again when the swelling's down," she promises, pressing an icepack into his hand.
Content now that neither man will pop into future classes - and hoping for their own sake that she's correct - Natalia uses the remainder of the class to run her pupils through preparatory strength training, passing through them as they work and correcting forms.
When the sun climbs higher in the sky, Natalia stops them. "I think that will be sufficient for today. Training of any kind is achieved by repetition, so I will ask you to exercise in your own time, not merely in this class. Becoming strong and healthy will improve your lives in many ways, and will assist you in the defensive postures you will learn later in the course. For now," Natalia smiles, "you are released."
[ooc: please see this post before tagging in!]
She knows her pupils already, of course. She’s observed each of them in the last few days, and all with equal interest. A few of their number possess a fighter’s heart already, which will help, even if it’s not required. Natalia means to make survivors of them, not warriors, but she won’t shy from any that don’t shy from her. Her eyes catch briefly on the dark haired girl she watched practise her swords, then pass to the sweet faced redhead.
Most of the girls are young, not yet twenty, though a few are older, and then there are the handful that aren’t female at all. Natalia shows the youngest male a smile, catching both a flare of excitement and nerves on his face. Nathan receives a blank look, and the man with little youth left to excuse his actions receives something much more calculating.
When all are present, Natalia motions for them to fall into a loose circle around her. "Good morning, class," she says, "I am Natalia Romanova, Avenger and agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Welcome to Women's Self Defense. Over the course of this class, much will be asked of you, but it will never be more than any of you should wish to ask of yourselves. You will learn to recognize potential danger and threatening persons. You will learn to evaluate dangerous situations, prepare for them, and you will learn how to respond to them accordingly. This will include learning physically to defend yourself.
"It will not be easy. Many of you are inclined to believe the best of people, and I have no wish to discourage you from that. Neither do I want to teach you to fear others, or more specifically, men. This class is not about fearing other people, nor is it even about harming them. This class is about learning to defend against powerful enemies regardless of your size. It is about believing that you are not only capable of it, but worthy."
Her eyes fall on Nathan, and then, more darkly, on Hank. "Not every difficulty will come from the physical aspects of the class. There will be people who will not extend to you the respect you deserve. There will be people who will mock your desire to feel comfortable, who will seek to invade the places you occupy to feel safe. By the end of this class, you will be more than capable of putting them in their place, but for now, be assured I will tolerate no interference in this class. This is to be a place of mutual respect and learning. Mr. Moody, step forward, please."
"Respect is my middle name, sensai," Hank pipes up, and Natalia waits out his look of mock offense, still and silent when he goes again to speak. "Just to clarify, what’s your position on private interference and invading places after class? I’m all for doing my bit to strengthen student-teacher relations."
"Find me after class and I'll be only too glad to show you," Natalia answers and reaches for him, her voice changing not a whit as she takes both his wrists and twists them behind his back. "Now, you've heard what the students are to learn here and have chosen to remain, so I can only assume you wish to help me teach by example. I’m glad.” She smiles, not her Widow’s smile, though the expression is anything but kind. "I had hoped to make a lingering impression on my students. Ladies," she says over his shoulder, "what I'm about to do won't be taught until at least halfway through the semester, but I want you to understand that not all your defenses must be violent ones. Sometimes you simply need know where to grip."
Natalia closes her fingers sharply at the base of Hank's neck, stepping back to let him fall, boneless, to the ground. Kneeling at his side, she lets the girls see her fingers at his pulse, though she herself needs no reassurance that he’ll be fine. "The human body is a fascinating network of nerves. Touch the right one and you can stop a heart. Touch another and render a fully grown man paralyzed." Standing, she turns her attention to Nathan, eyebrows lifting until he takes her meaning.
"Okay, okay," he says, "so I'm not a woman. But really, really, can you deny someone the chance to better prepare themselves for the world's dangers? Look at this face. Do you know how frightening it is to think that day after day, you'll potentially be sexually assaulted? Well, of course you do. We're the beautiful people. Not like that twat," he says, thumbing at Hank.
"I don't know," replies Natalia, "because I've made myself a person who has nothing to fear from an assailant, but I recall it well enough to find a use for you, too." She seizes him as well, catching a shrieked, "You're sure? Usually, I'm not one for all of that voyeurism shit, but if you insist..." in her ear for her trouble. "Beware, though: I'm wiry and I'm quick."
Natalia points her first two fingers and delivers a short jab to his jaw. "Easier when a practice dummy doesn’t talk," she says, summarily sweeping the feet from under the suddenly silent boy in front of her. "Now behave, or I'll skip to the pressure points portion of my lesson plan early."
Quickly, Natalia uses Nathan to show her pupils a number of defensive maneuvers they'll be learning throughout the course, finally dragging him away to ice his jaw. "You’ll be able to speak again when the swelling's down," she promises, pressing an icepack into his hand.
Content now that neither man will pop into future classes - and hoping for their own sake that she's correct - Natalia uses the remainder of the class to run her pupils through preparatory strength training, passing through them as they work and correcting forms.
When the sun climbs higher in the sky, Natalia stops them. "I think that will be sufficient for today. Training of any kind is achieved by repetition, so I will ask you to exercise in your own time, not merely in this class. Becoming strong and healthy will improve your lives in many ways, and will assist you in the defensive postures you will learn later in the course. For now," Natalia smiles, "you are released."
[ooc: please see this post before tagging in!]