Dragon and Cherry blossom of the West Wind dojo

[Vanor]

Vanor put the final bit of polish on the blue dragon, and placed on the archway above the dojo gates. It had taken him and Diamond some time to get the dojo grounds back into shape, but it was enjoyable working so close to her.

The koei pond needed major cleaning, and the stables needed to be repaired. The training halls needed to be swept and cleaned, and new bedding found for the returning students. Finaly the towers that were put up before, needed some minor repaires and finishing touches.

The two of them had left the dojo for some time, to visit his parents after the tea ceremony, the dojo grounds had naturaly fell into a state of disrepair over that time.

But now that was all done, and the dojo was once more ready to take on students and Vanor was ready to teach again.

He smiled at his bethrothed and kisses her softly

Well my love, looks like we're all ready, tomorrow we can start with your lesons once again?

 

[Lady Diamond]

Diamond's heart is so full at this joyous event. She kneels gracefully and asks:

Master Vanor I respectfully request admittance to your dojo. My lessons can begin whenever you feel the need to teach, and I will faithfully pass your lessons on to the white belts.

 

[Vanor]

Vanor bows to Diamond, then helps her back up onto her feet

I would be honored to have you be the first student of the dojo. As you have proven yourself already in combat, you will also be the first advanced student of the dojo, and help me teach the white belts.

 

[Lady Diamond]

After her match with Dalamar, Diamond slides Striker to a stop inside the dojo gates and searches for Vanor excitedly. She finds him helping to regroup the volunteers and servants. They had come once word had been passed to neighboring villages that the Dragon and the West Wind dojo was once again in service. Fires burned at the smithy again, and smoke curled from the kitchen house. She motioned to Vanor and waited for him to finish.

"Beloved, I have won a match. My opponent Dalamar fought honorably and well, but in the end your dojo gains honor!" She stumbled over the next part.

"And.. and I have a winning record for once! Woohoo!" she danced excitedly, thanking the gods that Vanor didn't mind her occasional little outbursts. "I am a Yellow Belt 2, the highest I have ever attained!".

Vanor hugged her tightly and smiled. "Congratulations beloved. Let's have a party! Banquet, feasting, fireworks, the works!"

Diamond smiled a little impishly. "That would be excellent beloved.. I had in mind a somewhat quieter celebration though." She waggled her eyebrows at Vanor and smiled suggestively and blushed a bit, thank the gods they were out of sight of the dojo workers... but oh the excitement, she didn't know if she could sit still for dinner, she had too much energy".

"Well... we can do both!", he exclaimed, smiling.

Diamond grinned, but she remembered the thing that Dalamar had dropped before he vanished from sight. "I.. picked up something after the fight, Dalamar left it, and he said 'say hello to Vanor for me'. It was very strange..."

 

[Vanor]

Vanor smiles and hugs his betrothed once more.

I am very proud of you my love, you have won a great honor for both yourself and the dojo. The celebration this night, my not be as large as some in the past have been, due to the few students we have now. But it will mean as much if not more then any of the rest.

You have won our first victory, and have advanced on your path to a new height. You have every reason to be excited about this. And the fireworks will not be only in the night sky this night. He grins at her and sees her blushing a bit again.

As to his message... I know of him, perhaps he was simply being polite? I do not remember ever meeting him in person however.

Later that evening, Vanor calls in the students that have come to learn from him into the main hall. He bows to them then calls Lady Diamond to the front

Even though we have not been actively teaching here for very long. This dojo has already won its first fight. The traditions for this have been part of my family for years, and I am proud to carry on those traditions.

He then hangs a silver trimmed blue dragon banner on the wall, and bows to Lady Diamond

You have tasted victory and gained honor for both yourself and your dojo. This is something to be very proud of. This also proves that you are ready to be a senior student in this dojo. Starting now you will need to spend more time teaching the younger students to prepare you for when you open your own dojo and have students of your own.

Vanor then turns and bows to the rest of the students.

Tonight is a night of celebration, you are all free to go, enjoy this nights feast and the fireworks after. But remember that you will be expected to train as hard tomorrow as you would any other day.

With that he dismisses the students, and takes Diamonds hand, he smiles at her and kisses her softly after the students have left, then leads her out of the hall and to the tables set up for this nights feast.

 

[Lady Diamond]

Diamond had had too much feasting and too much drinking. "Ohhh", she groaned, rubbing her forehead and her tight tummy at the same time. "Me", she mumbled, "own dojo.. no no no, don't wanna". She giggled a bit drunkenly and sagged against Vanor. He had quite chivalrously given her his arm to lean against, smiling at her overindulgence yet not reprimanding her for doing so.

Vanor had wisely chosen not to go overboard at the feast and gazed into her eyes, sensing that her legs were about to give out and scooping her up into his arms at just the right moment. Diamond smiled up at him, not really as drunk as he thought she was, but giggling instead. "I'm not as think as you drunk I am", she said laughing.

"Uh, sure beloved" he said, kissing her forehead lightly and setting her back on the ground. "You're going to miss the fireworks I have planned", he chided her gently.

"Oh possibly. But I doubt I miss the ones afterwards", she said smiling. Oh my. "Phew... I feel a bit fuzzy. How about some strong tea beloved?" she asked.

"Tea sounds good". He motioned to one of the servants who had been watching and waiting for just that particular moment. "Tea for two please. Very strong, no sugar, no milk". The servant smiled and hastened off. Soon they had two cups of steaming hot cha, one sip and Diamond was more alert, cradling the cup in her hands and gazing up at the sky lit by booming, blooming firestars.

"So beautiful beloved. You've outdone yourself this time", she smiled at Vanor and sipped hot tea, grateful for the warmth the tea provided, and the stimulant waking her up from the grogginess the sake' had instilled in her. "I thought about what you said, about preparing myself for the day that I have a dojo of my own. I don't think I want that", she said quietly.

Vanor gazed at her in surprise. "Why not?"

Diamond lowered her eyes. "Because I don't want to leave here. This is my home. How can I have a dojo of my own? It won't feel like home".

She sipped more tea and leaned into Vanor's shoulder, gazing up at hot fire, lighting the night sky with brilliance.

 

[Vanor]

Vanor hugs Diamond tightly as they watch the night sky light up with the fireworks.

We will talk about this in a bit beloved, let us enjoy the fireworks first.

A bit later after the show was over and most of the students had returned to their rooms. Vanor leads Diamond back to their room.

Before we contiune the nights celebration love, I think we need to talk about what you said.

She sighs softly before speaking

"Look love, I'm not leaving the dojo I don't care what happens. If it means I don't fight anymore then so be it."

Vanor smiles and caresses her cheek softly, gazing into her eyes with love

Nor do you have to leave the dojo, not ever, if you don't wish it. But adventualy if you keep on training and fighting, you will find students coming here to learn from you. I feel that I misspoke before. In time you should and will take on students of your own, but that doesn't mean you have to leave this place to do it.

This dojo is big enough to house two masters, or in this case a master and mistress. You have and will master styles that I haven't, and there will be people who wish to learn a style that you know... One that I can't teach them.

But that can be done here, when the time comes, we will simply let people know that this dojo has to masters, and they will need to pick which one of us they favor. They will be our students, but will spend more time learning from one of the two of us.

This is how things have worked in my family since Sento opened his first dojo. It is common, almost required that a spouse in my family be a kung-fu master or mistress and have students of his or her own. To force or expect someone to hold back, and stay their husband or wifes student would cause to many problems in the marriage. A relationship that deep, will suffer if it has such a unequality at it's base.

Does this set your mind at ease about things beloved?

He gazes into her eyes with love and slient support waiting for her answer or further questions

ooc: What I'm proposing, is that we have a 'joint' dojo. It could be something like Dragon of the westwind and chery blosome dojo or something... So we'd share a IC Dojo thread, but keep seperate dojo records. A real person who wanted to join the dojo would have to say who's dojo they were joining.

 

[Lady Diamond]

"Alright beloved, what you propose sounds fine," Diamond responds quietly. "I won't stop fighting, and when I reach green belt I will open my own dojo but use some of the same facilities that you have. It seems your ancestors demand it, and who am I to disappoint them?"

She yawns a bit, the excitement of today and the feasting and celebration has taken its toll and she rubs her eyes a bit tiredly.

 

[KDLadage]

The Vagabond joins the dojo...

The Vagabond joins the dojo -- his first thoughts are towards making himself presentable as a student...

 

[Darkness]

ooc: Vanor, how about adding a link to this thread to the corresponding post in the dojo registration thread?