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Post by Nathan Parker on Aug 8, 2008 18:00:32 GMT -5
As usual, James stood outside his classroom, waiting for students to arrive. It had been a couple days since he had completely erased the devil's trap from his floor without anybody but he and Mack seeing it there. His athletic and rather large build was dressed up in a suit, minus the jacket, which rested on the back of the chair behind his desk. This was a habit for him, the removal of his suit jacket to the chair while he taught. However, there was something different about him...
He had allowed his five o'clock shadow - which gave him a slightly rugged appearance - to survive the morning, rather than shave it off after his shower. That was also nothing new, for he sometimes let it stay, though he preferred to be clean shaven. It was mostly after long hunts that he didn't bother shaving. The dark black and blue bruising that had previously ringed his lower neck in the increasingly vague pattern of a thick chain had faded completely within the past couple days. It had disappeared almost too quickly. Luckily, he, Mack, and Pandora were the only ones who knew about it, and his shirt collar usually concealed it. This also wasn't it.
The change was barely noticeable as he leaned against the door, pinning it to the wall, with his arms folded behind his back. The only visible sign of him being preoccupied, was his distant gaze. Although he was waiting for students, whom he normally greeted at the door, he was not paying attention.
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Post by Alex Attkins on Aug 8, 2008 18:20:45 GMT -5
"Shutup!" she was sure the scream was loud enough to wake the entire school, of those that weren't already awake of course. Her head hit the pillow in irritance as the alarm continued to ring. Why had she been so stupid to put it on the other side of the room where she couldn't break it in half? Oh...that was why. With a sigh she dragged herself out of her bed and turned the thing off before agonizingly going through her routine of getting dressed and whatnot. Safe to say, it had not been a very good start to her day.
She was dressed in short, pink, dance shorts and a black camisole top as she headed down the hall towards her class. While she never knew exactly if the lesson was going to be verbal or physical she always felt it best to be prepared and wear something she could comfortably move in, even if that wasn't always the case when on the job. Still, she wanted to be as comfortable as possible today since she had already had a rough start.
Green eyes flickered over the tall - at least to her - form of Mr. D in the doorway. He seemed to have an intense look in his eyes, like he was focusing somewhere else, but it didn't stop her from greeting him. "Hey Mr. Devereaux" The french name rolled off her tongue with traces of her French accent. She had been working to tone it down, but couldn't help it when saying something like 'Devereaux'. Honestly.
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Post by Nathan Parker on Aug 8, 2008 18:51:57 GMT -5
James was looking forward, half paying attention to passing students, when his thoughts were interrupted by a girl's voice with an easily recognizable accent, which made it even easier to identify its owner. He turned his head to look sideways at Alex Attkins, one of his many students, but the only one with a French accent. Despite her efforts to correct it, he had picked up on it. It was not something he had heard since he was very young, when he had lived with his mother, and her side of the family, French themselves, had still accepted the single mother and her fatherless son.
Although it was a reminder of that, he still welcomed her familiar accent. He noticed how she addressed him formally, and normally he would remind students to call him James, but today he didn't bother. "Good morning, Alex. Or should I say bonjour?" He smiled a little.
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Post by Alex Attkins on Aug 8, 2008 20:40:32 GMT -5
Alex didn't get the oppurtunity to speak much French outside of the actual country, mostly because there was the fact that she knew no one else, at least student wise, on campus capable of the language. A smile tilted on her lips at his use of both the English and French greeting and she gave a little shrug of her shoulders. Why not go back to the home language for a second? Just to give her ongoing struggle with an American accent a break. "L'un ou l'autre est parfait avec moi Mr. Devereaux." she stated simply, a smile still on her lips.
"Et puis-je demander que nous apprenons aujourd'hui ?" she questioned, just curious for the fact. She liked to know what she was up against before she actually was faced with it. Whether it be something like learning or more physical. Besides, wasn't knowing what you were up against one of the core rules of being a hunter?
[ooc: Just incase someone on here does actually speak French, I got these translations online so if they're wrong sorry xD. Translation 1: Either is fine with me Mr. Devereaux Translation 2: And may I ask what we are learning today?]
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Post by Nathan Parker on Aug 8, 2008 21:26:40 GMT -5
Like he suspected with Alex, it had been a while since James had held a conversation in French, not that he preferred to. He wasn't sure which language he preferred, mostly because he rarely had the chance to speak it, and he didn't know anyone he could. Besides Alex, that is.
"Avez-vous une préférence?" He asked her curiously, his deep blue eyes meeting her green ones as he turned more to face her, slightly leaning off the door. "Il doit être gentil de rencontrer finalement quelqu'un qui parle votre langue." He looked down at her, continuing to answer her question regarding class. "Nous serons combat de couteau. Êtes-vous prêt ?
OOC: I'm stealing your French speaking process by using a translator and providing the translations below. ;D
Translation 1: Do you have a preference? Translation 2: It must be nice to finally meet someone who speaks your language. Translation 3: We will be knife fighting. Are you ready?
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Post by Alex Attkins on Aug 8, 2008 21:49:28 GMT -5
Alex's shoulders gave another little shrug as she thought about it. Did she have a preference? She supposed that her preference was in French, since she had so little connection now with the home language it would be nice to have a constant little tie to it. "Bonjour est parfait avec moi monsieur" she answered politely, using his title of 'sir' instead of his surname this time around.
"Oui, cela a été si depuis longtemps j'ai eu une conversation française. Je suis un peu submergé même." she chuckled, running a hand through some blonde locks that had drifted over her shoulder. Her eyes lit up at the thought of knives. Not exactly from excitement, but anxiousness. She was always up for a little bit of physical combat, but sharp pointy objects had a way to make her a bit more on her toes. "Un chasseur doit toujours être prêt." she grinned in response.
[ooc: Translation 1: Bonjour is fine with me sir. Translation 2: Yes, it has been so long since I have had a French conversation. I'm a little overwhelmed even. Translation 3: A hunter must always be ready.
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Post by Nathan Parker on Aug 8, 2008 23:39:22 GMT -5
James watched her as he listened, occasionally seeing other students pass behind Alex into the classroom. He smiled at her response, and then a little more, almost grinning, at her last statement. He noticed her reaction to his answer and understood, knife fighting was not the most popular lesson.
"J'ai voulu dire, qui langue?" He informed her with a small smile, still smiling at her comment about being overwhelmed. "J'améliore vous ai laissé se concentrer sur la leçon." He finally grinned as he leaned off the door, preparing to follow her into the classroom.
OOC: Translation 1: I meant, which language? Translation 2: I better let you focus on the lesson.
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Post by Alex Attkins on Aug 8, 2008 23:58:43 GMT -5
Of course he had meant what language. Wow was she an idiot. Still, she managed to laugh at herself despite her lack of realization. "Désolé, commencez mal ce matin, ralentissez peu sur la consommation." What? She had to at least make her mistake seem a bit smaller. She couldn't have him thinking she was truly that slow on the draw or else who knows what he would think of her as a hunter. "Je préfère le français, je suppose. Pourtant, l'anglais j'utilise le plus souvent évidemment."
She gave a huff of air as he refocused on the lesson. She really wasn't that keen on the idea of dealing with knives. She knew that as a hunter in training she would need to become accustomed with the sharp instruments, but that didn't mean she wanted to be so knowledgeable. "Fiez-vous oh à moi monsieur, je me concentrerai attentivement." There was now way Alex would be able to focus on anything but those knives.
[ooc: Translation 1: Sorry, bad start this morning, little slow on the intake. Translation 2: I prefer French, I suppose. However, English I use most frequently of course. Translation 3: Oh trust me sir, I'll be focusing intently.
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Post by Nathan Parker on Aug 9, 2008 0:23:38 GMT -5
James continued watching her, amusement in both his deep blue eyes and his smile. He listened to her explanation for her midunderstanding, though it was an easy one to make, and guessed that he might have made her slightly self-conscious, or just slightly embarrassed. Either way, it kept him smiling. "Ou était-ce un moment blond?" He questioned with a grin, clearly joking since she was a blonde.
While she answered, he moved farther away from the door, and to one side of Alex, so that she was in between him in the door. Now that he stood straight, he was a couple inches taller, but he had already been looking down at her. He now fully faced her. "Je sais vous excited êtes." He smirked, replying to her assurance about focusing. He moved towards her, ushering her into the room.
OOC: Translation 1: Or was it a blonde moment? Translation 2: I know how excited you are.
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Post by Alex Attkins on Aug 9, 2008 0:38:45 GMT -5
She had never admitted this to anyone, barely to herself, but man she loved it when he smiled. It didn't help that he spoke French as well, after all, it was the language of love. Personally, the last thing she needed was to be crushing on a teacher. Still...the thoughts couldn't help themselves as they plagued her brain, all the while she was trying to keep the dreamy look out of her eyes. She didn't need to dig herself into anymore of an embarrassing whole here.
At his 'blonde' comment she gave a open mouthed look of shock, but the look was still light-hearted. "Pourquoi monsieur vous ne devriez jamais taquiner une fille pour sa couleur de cheveux." she exclaimed, though her laugh afterwards clearly showed that her mock shock had been a joke.
She couldn't help it as her heart skipped a beat with his words. Hello, he had her placed between him and a door, mind so not on knives. Quickly she shook the thoughts away, telling her mind to clear the ideas pronto or else she'd brainwash herself with bad movies later. "Ah oui, si très excité." she finally managed to get out, smiling.
[ooc: Translation 1: Why sir you should never tease a girl for her hair color. Translation 2: Oh yes, so very excited.
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Post by Nathan Parker on Aug 9, 2008 0:54:12 GMT -5
James just smiled knowingly at her reaction, but it grew more when she finally laughed to reveal it was a joke, though he knew all along. "Je ne fais pas, à moins que je sache qu'elle peut prendre une plaisanterie."
He returned her smile as she agreed, "Laissez alors la leçon commencer." Having paused to listen to her, he now moved forward again to enter the classroom, letting Alex go ahead of him. He pulled the door shut behind them, since any distractions could increase the risks of knife fighting, which was dangerous enough to begin with. Once inside the room, he headed towards his desk to give her time to sit down.
OOC: Translation 1: I do not, unless I know she can take a joke. Translation 2: Then let the lesson begin.
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Post by Alex Attkins on Aug 9, 2008 1:04:19 GMT -5
He knew she could take a joke? Huh, last time she had checked she didn't make much humor in his class, so how would he know? She had heard little tidbits about him being a bit of an empath-seeming guy. Knowing what your feeling. "Oh crap! I hope he doesn't know that he's like...so ho-" she cut herself off before she could give any more of her mind potentially away, smiling to cover up the butterflies in her stomach. "Vous me connaissez mieux que j'ai pensé que." she eventually replied, still smiling away.
"ici ne va rien" she muttered under her breath as he gave her room to walk. She made her way quickly to her seat, moving to sit down in a fluid movement, one leg crossing over the other as she took on an attentive yet still somewhat lounged position.
[ooc: Translation 1: You know me better than I thought then. Translation 2: here goes nothing
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Post by Nathan Parker on Aug 9, 2008 1:21:03 GMT -5
James noticed a slight hesitation in Alex's response, and looked to her eyes for the reason. He couldn't tell what it was, but he shrugged it off. He had too many thoughts shoved in the back of his mind, threatening to break free at any moment, to worry about hers. It didn't seem important since her smile never faltered, and neither did his until he entered the room with her.
He stood by his desk, which had been cleared to make room for a large, unraveled black cloth with numerous look straps and pockets. The row of loops closest to the class sported smaller knives, and the knives grew bigger and seemingly sharper as they grew farther, closer to his chair. All of them were spotless, glinting with the light of the room, and sharpened.
James looked up at the class, standing to the side of the knives. "Today we begin knife fighting, but we're going to start off with some defensive techniques. Every part of this lesson and the ones to follow require your full attention. These knives," he paused for a second to glance at them, "are real, and they are sharpened. The ones we will be using are the dullest in the set, but they can still draw blood, so I cannot stress how important it is that you be careful. As your skills progress - hopefully - we'll move onto to larger, sharper knives, and different blades. I'm sure there will be some cuts along the way, but that doesn't mean we can't try to avoid them. Now, the beginning knives are about four inches, and they're all exactly the same, so when you come up, just grab any one."
He finally stepped back, moving slightly behind his desk, and glancing at the knife set again. "You can come and get them now." As he waited for them to do so, he looked back down at the knives, assuming a slightly preoccupied look in his eyes, similar to the one they had in the hallway before.
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Post by Alex Attkins on Aug 9, 2008 1:31:20 GMT -5
Only once she was sitting at her desk did she realize she had missed most of the class coming in, as well as had yet to fully grasp just what they were doing. She had been a little too preoccupied with the fact her teacher was more attractive than ninety-percent of the student body. Great for him. Whoopee. Her eyes were completely focused on her desk, staring at the little scribbles etched into the wood. She was still having trouble pushing the thoughts back, so all she figured she needed, was to give her eyes a little break from James. She spent her time instead letting her fingers graze over the markings on the desk, feeling the grooves cut into the wood beneath her flesh. Someone had obviously been bored one day, they were pretty detailed depictions off...something. They looked like clouds, really swirly. Wow, someone had drawn clouds on her desk, nice.
She told her mind to focus on the lesson as she stopped her finger tracing and settled on tapping the desk with her nails instead. Between each light -tap- the image of a knife came into view. She had a bad experience with a knife once, she was six, accidently cut herself. It had been super small, like a paper cut. But paper cuts hurt like hell! The last thing she needed was to be put in a situation where she could get worse ones. Couldn't they be doing hand-to-hand instead? She would feel so much more comfortable punching someone in the face then dealing with a blade.
She didn't look up until she heard the many scrapings of chairs along the floor, and still she didn't look up for a few seconds until after that. Her green eyes peered up at the group of her peers getting their knives and with a sigh she dragged herself from her chair. She gave a smile upon approaching James, not wanting him to see her anxiousness or hidden fear and took her own knife before quickly re-seating herself, eyes immediately going back down to her desk.
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Post by Nathan Parker on Aug 9, 2008 13:27:40 GMT -5
The effect of having a refreshing conversation in French with Alex had quickly worn off, and James now stared down at the knife set, watching the bottom row, also the smallest, disappear into the hands of his many students. He glanced up in time to see Alex get up kind of late, knowing she wasn't as excited as she pretended to be. He looked at her as she approached, seeing her smile, but this time he did not return it. Even after warning them to be careful and pay attention while they worked with knives, he himself was not full attentive, though he knew he had to be. He looked down again, doing his best clear his thoughts, before picking up a knife he had kept for himself.
"The first thing you need to know are the grips. There are several preferred types, but, ultimately, the one you choose is up to you. We'll be using forward grips to start with, since they're easier." James moved forward, several feet in front of his desk, and faced them, holding up the knife so they could see him demonstrating the main types of forward grips. "The hammer grip, which is basically the handle enclosed in a fist, and the saber grip, which is the same, with your thumb up, are probably the two most popular. They're also the easiest. Here are some others you can try..." He demonstrated those as well, and then looked at the class. "Take a few minutes to find out which one is most comfortable for you. If you couldn't see one of the grips and you'd like to try it, just call me over." James turned around and walked over to his desk, setting it down, and sitting on the edge of the desk, facing them.
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