[Open] The Silver Wind Needs Practice

So here he was again, out on the field with his blade in hand. Jacob wondered if the Academy was going to bill him for some of the damages he had done the last time he was out there, practicing his sword for the first time. A tree some distance away was just a trunk, with the top half cleanly cut off leaving nothing but a really tall stump. There were several grooves in the ground where his slashes had cut, and one long trench where a shockwave had also cut a much larger swath of damage. Those were the kind of things he aimed to learn to avoid.

Instead of his usual dapper attire of dress pants and vest, Jacob was dressed for physical activity: martial arts-type pants and a tight tank top. He even bought himself some fingerless gloves for the occasion. And of course, he had his sword in his hand. He had yet to name it, and he did not think it would need one any time soon.

Some of the students in the area had heard of Mr. Cunningham's fancy new sword arts and some probably witnessed his first duel with Einar. So there were a few gathered at a safe distance to watch him work, and more than a few were the typical schoolgirls with a crush he had even before he knew how to use a sword.

"Heh. Just take a few big steps back, alright, kids? I'm still getting the hang of this thing."

Their phones were already out and recorded before Jacob even took up a stance. His style, the Silver Wind style, did not emphasize attaching his sheathe to his belt. But he still held it at his left hip like it was. His eyes closed and he slowed his breathing to bring himself into that sweet spot in his mind where he could actually use the blade. It took but a few seconds, and he felt the peaceful quiet envelope his mind.

Jacob's eyes opened and he unsheathe his blade with one hand, glinting in the sunlight and causing a breeze top blow outward from him. He was careful to control his swings and swipes, aware of the possibility of letting lose an air cutter with students around. It was just the kind of tempering limit he needed and he gracefully began practicing with his sword.

The attention of the students did not go unnoticed by Jacob. It proved somewhat difficult to ignore all the phone cameras going off or the young people talking as his sword split the air with every swing. But Jacob was in the Zone, and his acknowledgement of the students stopped right there, refusing to let them distract him or enter his quiet little space in his head. A mistakenly-turned-on flash might go off, a digital shutter noise might click too loudly, or an excited cheer might get a little too loud; but he remained focused on his task and his movements.

His sense of control was growing in time with a sense of how much power he possessed with his sword. The amount of times he let off a faint air cutter or wind shockwave increased as he went on, but he never allowed it to get to dangerous levels. The students would be hit in the face with a stiff breeze or gentle gale, but it was only enough to ruffle some skirts and not, say, cut them in half. More and more, Jacob bumped up against his limit, gradually figuring out at what angle and at what speed he could produce them.

Maybe his confidence in his own control was what made him susceptible to that little voice in his head encouraging him to do a thrust. Jacob often worked out situations by talking in his own head, and he never second guessed it. So he went along with it.

After a graceful slash, he drew back his sword and made it parallel to the ground, close to his head. He stayed still for a moment, adjusting his angle. Then his muscles visibly tensed and he thrust straight forward, sending a sizable blast of wind that caused some of the students to brace themselves and a few skirts to fly up too.

During his first duel with Einar, Jacob had felt the pangs of enjoyment and pleasure derived from battle and using one's own sword. Had Einar just told Jacob that there was a certain, unmistakable and visceral thrill to fighting then Jacob would not have believed him. But showing him, and actually allowing Jacob to get that adrenaline rush? He was against violence and killing, but there was no denying that amazing feeling of the fight.

As Jacob showed off for the students, he felt something quite similar to the feeling. It was not quite the same thing though. Nothing short of another duel or fight or battleground skirmish would make him feel that again. What he was starting to feel was something from before: the high of being an entertainer. He wanted to show off a bit more and see how much he could impress.

His movements became a little more extravagant as he slowly spun around while twirling his sword. A flowing breeze encircled him in time with the acceleration of his blade that caused some of the dirt and loose leafs to circle around him. Then the breeze became stiffer, and cuts in the ground began to appear as his sword grazed above it. With on last upward slash, he sent a little cyclone in the air, leaving himself in a bit of pose.

There was an odd-looking girl a little beyond the crowd that caught his eye with her bright orange hair. She was adorable looking in a way, and he threw her a smile and a wink.

Jacob felt that he had put himself through enough training for the time being. His sword was returned to its sheathe with a little flourish, emitting a sharp cutting sound as it slid into place and finished with a click as the lock engaged. He held a classic "samurai" pose for a moment as he let his sword settle in the sheathe, and let his own mind gradually slip out of the Zone and back into real life.

Looking back up at the students around him, Jacob felt young again. All those eyes on him again, admiring him for both his abilities AND his looks, no doubt. All those young eyes taking him in, probably none-too-lasciviously. He was well aware that he should not let himself indulge the schoolgirl(or schoolboy) crushes out there, but the attention was as addictive as it ever was. It was the reason entertainer and actors existed, after all. He should also knew that he should not let himself get caught up in the moment either. Ania had proven how much of a hassle that was.

Still, he felt compelled to put on a few airs as he walked away from the crowd, waving and smiling as the students finished their phone recordings and catcalled him. Maybe that was why he stopped when he got near the odd, orange-haired girl and gave her a particularly warm smile.

"Hey there. Saw you watchin' me back here. So what did you think?"

"Well, thank you very much for the compliments! But I'm still just startin' out actually. I hardly know what I'm doing, and I just let my body take over.."

For all the apparent mastery he showed over his blade and wind abilities, Jacob still thought of himself as a novice with an unnatural predisposition to swords and wind powers. So he liked to appear humble about all the cool stuff, even if he did show off while actually DOING the cool stuff.

Looking down at the girl, Jacob found himself somewhat intrigued by what she could be. To start, she was really really short. She was maybe just over half his height and barely came up to his belly button. He had never met someone so short who was not also a very young child. Then there was her skin color, ears, and the shape of her head. There was a clash between her oddness and a strange attraction he felt toward her. She was so tiny and he started to wonder what he could with--

And the friction began. Jacob caught some scandalous thoughts sneaking into his mindspace and he became acutely aware of his own thoughts. He visibly froze up for a second as he was surprised by his own wandering thoughts. It wasn't her appearance and his naughty thoughts that got him. It was the fact that he was having them for a possible student. He already had one nasty experience going down that route and now he always caught himself going back down it and stopping himself.

"Um, yeah. I'm Mr. Cunningham, math teacher. And what grade might you be?"

Although he wondered how she could have a name like Dorito and also have strangely enthralling hips, Jacob was still polite and gave her a handshake when she offered one. Inside, he was wondering if he was finally reaching the outer limits of not-getting-any-in-a-long-time considering that he had to fight back some of the... thoughts he was getting.