Death Frost | Deathsworn #2

Chapter 12 ❆ Dance of the Dragons

Eren was a determined learner. I could not give her credit for talent, but she was definitely a willing and a hard worker.

As I showed her my understandings of the Movement of the Seven Dragons, she slowly but surely became more aware of her mistakes. Eren did not have an eye for techniques—she didn't know where or why she was failing at all. Simply put, she lacked self-awareness for this stuff. She needed someone else to help point out why she was failing.

"See, Eren, you must first stabilize yourself before you make that turn," I said. "If you misstep, you really will fall flat on your face!"

She looked at me from the ground, pained. "I...I'm okay."

Maun sat on the side, watching us two cluelessly.

At some point, the boy had probably gotten bored with the redundancy of Eren's failed attempts that he took out a small carving knife from his pocket and plucked a twig from the floor. He started chipping away on the piece of wood and slowly got absorbed into the repetition.

I crossed my arms and sighed, waiting for Eren to pick herself up. "How do you keep falling anyway?" I asked. "After all, you make those really hard turns when you..."

An idea popped into my head.

Maybe Eren was just one of those kids who had really bad trouble doing the things they didn't like? Perhaps it wasn't her lack of self-awareness, but her subconscious low-key resisting the training and comprehension?

I scratched my head and thought for a moment.

I wasn't an expert so I wouldn't know how to integrate the two disciplines together. Martial arts and dancing could be two wholly different things...but the difference between them shouldn't be black and white. Rather, there were gradients in between. They would have this Venn diagram going on with the similarities.

I suppose it would have already been established that they were both a form of expression. Nonetheless, the core difference would rely on the purpose—dancing was meant for performance and entertainment and martial arts, though it could be used for performance as well, was more interactive and tailored with a partner.

But wasn't that what dancing also was?

So, was it safe to assume there really wasn't that big of a difference? Then, it wouldn't be impossible to figure out just how to make Eren think the two were the same.

Do I do those viral Taekwondo videos like back on Earth where they do choreography with technique execution?

I did train a good few years under Mistress Neilly. I wouldn't say I was graceful with the execution part...but I still learned a good chunk. I rarely put things to use anyhow, so I wasn't sure if I would be able to do this well. To blend two disciplines together, one had to have enough knowledge of the two.

I didn't think I had that sort of ability.

It was better to try though, wasn't it?

"I have an idea," I told Eren.

"What is it?" she asked, looking depressed.

"Don't look so down. I think there' might be a way to go about this. You just...have to think that the Movement of the Seven Dragons as a dance!" I said, smiling at her sheepishly and shrugged.

"A dance?"

"That's right. Martial arts and dancing."

"I don't know, Evy. I'm getting even more confused now."

"Look, Eren," I began. "I'm not as good as you when it comes to dancing."

"How can you say that? Mistress Neilly always talks about you when she teaches me," she said.