2012-09-02 - It's Magic

Honestly, last time Kitty was speaking to a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent that was calling her in for a mission. And one that made her a very unhappy camper. Not only was she sent into a hell hole, but it was one owned by Kobra. Luckily the bite mark on her left buttock was from an unpoisonous snake. Her left cheek has a bandage on it, but the swelling has gone down. Needless to say, she hasn't shown Captain America her war wounds yet, she's afraid she would cry, and she thinks she is developing a fear of snakes now!

But when Kitty steps into Richard's dojo this late evening, it's with her back straight and stubborness in her eyes. The threat from Fury on sending her on another mission like this one, was enough for her to take this task very, very, very, very, very seriously.

Richard is currently sitting in the only chair in the building, up in the loft compartment of his building he's got the radio on, some apparently half listened news report is playing while he reads a book. He rises from his seat as the door chimes. His motions are as always, graceful, precise and quick. There's an alertness to him as he decends the stairs, though his features go from a warm smile to a concerned frown as he spots Kitty. He looks at her for a moment before speaking. "Good evening. Are you ok?"

Kitty is looking around, carrying the same duffle bag as before and wearing grey sweats and a grey sweatshirt this time. Her red hair is pulled up into a loose ponytail. Her eyes flash toward you when you come down the stairs, and a wide grin appears across her face. She waves her free hand, the other holding the duffle bag steady. "Hi! Sure, sure, could be worse. Punks jumped me at once when I told them they couldn't break my friend's legs. I wonder if I should have let them after all."

Richard nods moving back up the stairs. "I see, well please come in and make yourself comfortable. "I may have some Dit da jow that would help the healing." He smiles faintly as he looks down the stairs to Kitty. "My master taught me the recipe when I was a boy, it's very effective." He notes the bag and outfit. "You're looking to train?"

"Well, duffle bag has everything I own right now," Kitty says with an impish grin, "And not known for my stylish clothes." The funny thing...the opposite is true, but she isn't C.A.T. or Katrinka the magician right now. She is Kitty, traveling martial artist. "But I wouldn't say no to some training, it would surely cheer me up if you had the energy. The meds be nice too. The clinic shot me up with some pain killer stuff, but it's starting to wear off." And honestly, it is, stupid S.H.I.E.L.D. medics! The liars! It is not keeping her check from hurting! And this grin is killing her, but she lets it slip to work her jaw a bit. And Kitty tilts her head slightly, wandering further into the dojo, assuming that is what you meant by 'come in,' kicking her sneakers off as she does so, and dropping her duffle bag off.

Richard returns quickly enough with a slow nod. "I could possibly offer you some pointers. Unfortunately the Dit da jow is a liniment, it got a faint smell and it won't do a great deal for the pain immediately, but it will help the healing process." He offers a small tub to Kitty.

"Alas," Kitty says with a sigh. But she moves over to join you, and when she chooses not to sit down if she can help it. Ooooh, she's going to pay in this fight as she pushes her pain aside. Hopefully, the martial artist master will go easy on her! She reaches up to the patch, then gives up and shrugs. Bandages are apparently not her strong point. "Well, anything to help me heal be good, can't afraid plastic surgery," making a jest. She accepts the small tub and goes to open it, giving it a sniff. "You weren't kidding, were you? And think you can help me lift the bandage to put this stuff on?" She eyes the stuff warily, the girl can't help it. She's still a girl!

Nodding Richard moves forward. "Of course." He's apparently more familiar with bandages than Kitty is, quickly and carefully peeling back the bandage in question. "This is a fairly thin mixture, it'll soak in pretty well and won't require anything to hold it in place. You should start to notice an improvement in a few hours." He then offers a frown to Kitty. "I'll admit I'm curious, if not for lessons what exactly brought you by?"

Kitty's cheek has been cut open by something very sharp, Richard would recognize that. It was deep, but whoever worked on her cheek with the minute stitches should prevent all but the faintest of scars. They were damn good. It is still red and nasty looking. She holds the jar up toward you to help put it on since she can't see her own face. "Wow," and she chuckles, "Why you asking something like that? Course I hoped for a sparring match and some lessons, but I came to see you." Her eyes seem alit with amusement. "You made a good impression on me."

Richard applys the ointment with a glance at the work. "Knives are never good to fight against. Generally speaking my suggestion in regards of defense against knives is run away." Richard chuckles. "As for the matter of visitors? I'm not used to them, at least not for simple social calls. For some reason few people other than former students seem to find reason to visit."

A blink at that, "That sucks!" But actually, Kitty kinda understands. "Hehehe, guess we both spend too much time alone, huh?" She doesn't comment about the knives, cause she was! They were coming out of the damn walls! She hates ruin-like secret bases now too along with snakes. She does pretty good at not wincing when you put on the ointment, just a twitch of her eyes mostly to reveal the sensation of pain.

"Honestly? I can't say I mind too much. I like company when I get it, I have my friends and my students." Richard has a surprisingly gentle touch, considering the calloused hands. It would be easy to guess he's done this before. "But then I've spent a lot of time living in places where people don't usually go. I suspect I wouldn't have been much good at it if I was prone to lonliness."

Even with how social obviously Kitty is, she seems the loner type. "True, true. If you get lonely, how can you travel far and wide? Though I'm more into the crowded places than the isolated ones." She mmmms softly then, "You are really good at this. The clinic lady was meaaaan. It hurt a loooot," actually pouting. A chance to complain about S.H.I.E.L.D. no matter how subterfuge? Taken.

"Should I put the bandage back on, or leave it off? You said it will stay on, but we will be moving around a bunch, right?"

"You can put the bandage back on. Though it looks as though the cuts are pretty safe without them." He nods slowly. "Clinic staff have to be quick, they're worked hard. It means they can't afford the extra time to be gentle." He shrugs a shoulder as he looks at Kitty. "It'll soak into the skin, you shouldn't need to worry about it coming off." He shrugs a shoulder. "Just apply more a couple of times a day until you're healed."

Kitty recaps the container. "Thanks. Seriously," and it sounds sincere. She was a bit worried about her cheek. She moves to take the bandage and throw it away, before putting the jar into her duffle bag. Course it will be scanned later for bugs before she will be allowed to take it home with her, but she has a feeling it isn't bugged...not that she is the trusting type! Richard just brings the trust out in people.

Richard smiles faintly as he takes a step onto the mat. He motions for Kitty to join him. "For now, why don't you just show me what you already know? I will offer pointers from there." He rolls his shoulders as he loosens up a touch for the fight.

Kitty walks over toward you, rolling her shoulders and neck as she does so. There is a flick of her hands to loosen up. She smiles lop-sidedly, impishness appearing in her eyes. "Oh goodie," in the carefully neutral American accent. She doesn't bother with a stance, as the confident stride fades and slides into something smoother and more feral. When she moves, it is with sudden movement, and not a power strike either. When she leaps forward, she lashes out with an elbow, working to spin her body to also slip a foot behind one of your own to trip you back. Even then, she's still in constant motion as her next will be to respond to your block or follow up with a palm strike toward your chest. None are extremely difficult moves and actually basic martial arts moves.

Richard bows as you step onto the mat, his own stance shifts only slightly, his weight shifting to rest on the balls of his feet, attention resting completely on Kitty, when the elbow comes towards him, Richard leans back a touch, his hand catching the blow and diverting it. The foot manages to reach behind his own, yet he doesn't trip, instead he works to catch the palm strike and use the grip to turn the attempted trip into a hip throw. His own motions are quick, fluid and powerful, yet there's no aggression to the man, no sign of doubt nor confidence, in fact he seems as serene as ever.

Which throws Kitty off, cause her eyes widen. Her precognition feels...off, she did not sense Richard's defensive moves at all! Then again, Richard is not trying to harm her and is on the defensive, but...her precognition registers no 'danger'. Though her pride is about to be stomped in a second as she goes flying over his hip. But last moment, Kitty gets a grip and one hand catches her, the elbow bending to absorb the shock as her body continues to fly over - head tucking so she doesn't injure her neck - and her legs stiffening to get more control. She is going to try and spring if she can twist her wrist free of your grip - the one you used to hip throw her.

Richard moves back as the hip throw is completed. He rolls back coming to a low wide legged stance, he nods slowly to you. "You move well, you're quick, strong and seem tactically sound." He smiles faintly. "You might benefit from targetting areas designed to more quickly neautralize the opponent though. Honestly in self defense situations you want to be able to end the fight quickly and safely."

The hand flip or spring is completed, and with a thrust of her legs in the air she soon gets back to her feet and spins to face you, also low to the floor. A nod comes from Kitty at your words. She appears thoughtful, should she really take this seriously? She could learn and grow. Normally she doesn't care, but something about Richard makes her want to. But her brows are knotted with deep thought, and then her smile is quick. "Very well." She ignores the burn in her left buttock, stupid snake bite!

Kitty actually rolls toward you, seemingly to come in low, but she then pushes with her hands off the floor to thrust her feet toward your head for a strike. That is...not traditional. Maybe something similar in Tai Boxing, but honestly, Kitty just created it on the fly. The strike with her legs gives her a long strike range and a more powerful contact, while it also permits her to roll away quickly if need be.

Richard seems almost to be working almost purely defensively. He jumps back to avoid the feet, they make contact though the force seems to have been spent by the time they do. "You're creative, that's good." He finally counters, waiting for the moment Kat lands to lead in with a series of quick jabs, designed to prevent Kat from getting her balance. "Acrobatics are good against multiple opponents, but against a single opponent, you should work to control the balance and pace of the fight."

Kitty rolls away, and again. Now that Richard is aggressive, her precognition is starting to spike. She actually twists away from the fists as if instictively knowing the general area of them. She isn't aggressive instictively though, and she has to stop retreating and force herself to attack. She comes up to her left knee, and raises her own arms to block even as her right like snaps out from the side. Not good balance, but again, a way to attack when backed into a corner. An attack like that if successfully doesn't do much damange, but is meant to back the person off or if really, really lucky to trip them off balance.

Richard doesn't have precognition, but he does know how to read body language, he seems to move before the blows are thrown. His blocks strong and precise, then he steps back seeming not to be concerned about getting struck as he offers a quick bow. "Well, it looks like you can handle yourself well enough. You read people's actions well and you have the skills needed to look after yourself. My main suggestion would be avoid knives where possible and work on improving your speed, you can never be too quick, or too accurate."

Kitty moves to stand, wincing slightly. She refuses to touch her bum! Ugh, stretching that muscle hurt! "Quicker and more accurate, what sort of training do you suggest for that?" She then eyes you warily after she says that. Apparently, she has been given some very unpleasent suggestions for her training in the past. "And you are really good." She would be dead if Sin was even closer to as good as Richard. Precognition only makes up for so much of her lacking.

Richard seems to think on that for a long moment. "The wooden man's good, regular sparring is better. Repetiton is the best solution, you train until your body knows what to do without thought, without hesitation or delay." Richard shrugs a shoulder. "That frees your mind for other things, tactical evaluation, focusing your breathing, awareness and on keeping yourself centered."

Maybe she can beat up on Cap! And as Richard lists those things, Kitty thinks about better training her precognition. It isn't always...predictable in how it operates. "I see. You must have a lot of patience, to teach this." A light smile appears on her lips, though she certainly loses cuteness factor with the angry red cut on her cheek, stitched up or no. "Do you know much acrobatics?" Perhaps not an unusual change of topic.

Nodding Richard smiles. "Patience is something I struggled with to begin with, but now I think patience makes life easier in most ways." Richard shrugs a shoulder with an amused grin. "Actually yes, I've studied acrobatics extensively. It's vital to martial arts and an incredible means of exercise."

Kitty tilts her head slightly, then asks, "I'd like to learn more. I know I make good use of the basics, sometimes in surprising ways. My body just...moves, instinctively." That's one way to explain it. "But I know there is much more I'm capable of." And that is when Kitty makes the decision to improve. It might save her life someday, especially after the last epic fail of a mission. Wooden dummy, welcome to a new home! "I want to improve, for myself. I don't want to get hurt like this again, and I can't always run. I do always favor running," she isn't ashamed of admitting. She then mmms softly, "Though I suppose in this case, there should be some sort of exchange if you are willing, huh?" Hands on her hips, Kitty appears thoughtful.

"You know enough to defend yourself. You are as good as most, better than many." Richard seems to be weighing Kitty, his usual smile faded, his expression more serious and focused as he meets her eyes. "The question becomes why you'd want to know more?" Richard seems thoughtful for a moment.

Well, that's simple enough, "So I don't die," a roll of her eyes. "I'm not exactly always in safe places. I also like acrobatics, though not fighting even if I can really enjoy sparring. Like sparring with you was fun and challenging, and no one had to get hurt. I'm actually normally very passive and non-aggressive; just playful." Again, all true words. Though maybe thrill-seeker would be better than 'just playful'. "Just not sure what I can really do for you." She then grins playfully, "I give mean massages;" though it stretches the scar when she grins like that. She doesn't seriously expect you to accept the playful offer.

"I rarely ask payment from my students." Richard frowns thoughtfully as he looks at you. "It's my experience that both the student and teacher gain the from the relationship. Mostly I just ask that my students be honest, try not to use their skills if it can be avoided and do no harm with what I teach them." He shrugs a shoulder. "You know enough not to die. You know enough to defend yourself against all but dedicated killers. But if you wish to know more I shall spar with you, give you pointers and see what happens from there." He shakes his head slowly. "What I teach isn't the path for those simply hoping to defend themselves." Being a true student of Richard's is a good way to draw a lot of attention to oneself.

Oh, well, there is SIN! Like THE SIN, as in RED SKULL'S daughter. But no panic attack here, none at all at the thought! Ya right. C.A.T. trembles at the thought of physical combat with Sin. Verbal, she can win, but not the physical without compromising Sin's emotions first...and how often will that work out? And even Kitty can't hide the spark of fear in her eyes that briefly appears when you mention dedicated killers. "Thanks, I appreciate that." She then says with curousity, "Heeeey, if you never get payment, how do you make ends meet?"

Shrugging Richard smiles. "I have a few investments, a very low cost of living and I said /rarely/. You'd be amazed how many people won't take something without paying for it. Even if the exchange is a fair one." He shrugs a shoulder. "Many of the locals pay, they think when I offered to teach their children for free they thought it some scam."

A nod at that, "Good things don't happen to people on the street," she states as if speaking from experience. "If it does, it's evil intentions wrapped up in sickening sweetness of temptation. This is something learned at a young age. If it is too good to be true, it isn't. Those that refuse to learn, die young." Kitty then wears a quirky smile, "That's why you need people like me! Bringing joy to the world through laughter and quirkiness!" She then says, "Here, I'll show you a cute trick. You likely figure it out, but we will see." She goes to get her wallet from her duffle bag and pulls out a coin. It's a quarter. She puts the wallet away and returns to you. She holds it up in front of you. "I can make this disappear and reappear someone interesting." It's going to be tough to pull this off on Richard, but she's going to try!

"I know what it's like to grow up on the streets. I can say from personal experience that good things /do/ happen on the streets. You just need to be ready to notice the oppertunites when they present themselves. It's hard amongst all the bad." He shrugs a shoulder. "We are what make the good or bad in this world. Doing good brings about more good, doing bad the same." He smiles as he looks at Kat. "Oh, I can't say I've seen a magic trick in a long time."

"Then you will love this, it's really cute!" Kitty doesn't talk about good things on the street. Instead, she flips the coin up into the air and catches it, flipping it again and catching it again, alternating hands. That's when she really starts spinning it, juggling with one coin, getting your eye trained on it. It is a blur of motion before it stops, but which hand? Right or left? Both hands open though, lighning quick! Nothing! She then claps her hands together, nothing at their back!

Arching an eyebrow Richard laughs. "Impressive. Sleight of hand's a real skill, I used to be good at such things, but I haven't tried anything major in a very long time." He looks at Kat. "Where's the coin?"

Kitty steps toward you, and stops close by. Personal space lady! But she's non-threatening, but her body language shifted to something more coy as if it is instictive. She reaches up and goes to flick her fingers against your red hair and behind an ear to pull it out. "Behind your ear of course silly!" Predictable, but that was the point, just silliness. She's a natural at the slight of hand, having switched it easily behind hands, between fingers, back to front, her fingers never actually fully parted to show nothing behind partially held between them. She then twirls the coin at the tip of her finger for about two seconds before catching it. "There is magic everyday, if you know how to look for it. You believe in goodness, I believe in magic."

"You think the two are mutually exclusive?" Richard laughs with a shrug of his shoulders. "Magic is where one chooses to see wonder in the world. Even those parts of it we understand." He smiles with a slow shake of his head. "I fear too few people understand that just because we can explain the science behind a thing doesn't mean it's no longer magic." He sighs. "But you'll have to excuse me. I'm afraid I've got to be heading out to deal with some business."

"No, no, not a problem. Thanks for looking after me." Kitty mmms, "I'm not used to treatment like that. It was kinda nice," she admits. She then goes to put the coin away and pick up her duffle bag. "I'll stop by again sometime soon, promise. And I'll be better prepared, watch out!" Playful words again. But she likes your view on magic, approval in her demeanor and expression.