01.12.09 - Little Kid Punch

Location: Redwall Bell Tower

Characters Involved: Ender, Tameus

Ender's pulling the old not-old routine! This is a rare sight indeed. He's in the dusty belltower, a punching bag swaying in front of him. Or...some kind of bag, filled with something. Probably made by him. Sweating profusely, the rabbit's coat /and/ shirt lie folded to the side. Yup - a very rare sight. Shirtless Ender, tattoos revealed in all their glory. He places his stump on the bag, ceasing its swaying. Okay, one more quick breather. Just one.

Tameus peeks in from outside. He's come into the bell tower on occasion but it's never been occupied before - though now some sort of noise has piqued his curiosity, and the leveret stands in the doorway, watching, his ears up and twitching a little. This is not his grandfather. This is ... something completely bewildering. He blinks a little in the relative gloom of the tower and steps further in. "... gran'da'?"

Caught! Or, well, something like it. Ender's initial reaction is to bound over to his shirt and make himself decent, but after turning and seeing it's Tam. Eh. The leveret may be scarred, but he'll survive. "...that's what they call me." Small smile.

Tameus gets a sort of curious smile as he steps over, no longer in danger of getting accidentally whacked. "What're y' doin'? .. what's that?" he gestures at the punching bag, which sways slightly. He steps toward it, hands raising, touching the bag and making it stop.

Ender turns as Tameus walks, smile wiped away, replaced with an all-business expression. "Something to practice with, eh? Made it m'self out of some old scraps. And your gran'ma's laundry." He places a paw on it as well, much higher. "One of th' things I /can/ still do."

"Practice what?" Tam asks, sidestepping a little, looking up at the rabbit. His eyes are a little wide with fascination.

Ender considers a demonstration, but this is giving him a much-needed break. Maybe that will come later. "Sparring. Boxing. I can't shoot an arrow or throw a spear, but I can do these sorta brute force things." Sort of. "Tryin' t' stay healthy."

Tameus tilts his head. "So y' .. punch th' .. thing? Th' bag thing? F' practice?" He sort of gets it. The leveret backs up a step, eyeing the bag, then curls up his fist and /wham/. Little kid punch. It kind of makes him cringe. "Hh."

Ender says, "Jus' like that. There's better ones back home, but this one will do." Ender walks back up to the bag, putting his feet in a ready stance, paws (or paw and stump) hovering near his face. "Stand like this, eh?"

Tameus looks over to Ender and tries to imitate him, hands coming up. He doesn't pay much attention to the position of his feet, though. "Okay.."

No grandson of his will go without a proper lesson here. Ender reaches down and tugs on the leveret's foot. "Put this one further back. Y'r stance is the mos' important part." Once he's satisfied he goes back to the same. "Now y'can warm up with a little..." He's not an instructor. "One-two punch." He accentuates this with two small jabs towards the bag. The rabbit's so caught up in expressing his love for this particular sport...he's not paying /much/ attention to whether or not the leveret is enjoying himself.

Tameus adjusts his footing, glancing down at it and then up at Ender. His eyes are narrowed, taking in the motions carefully as his grandfather does it, then Tam imitates. One-two, one fist and then the other thump into the bag.

Ender says, "Exactly right. Now I just do that...many times. Then I start in on hooks, uppercuts, that sort of thing. ...good way to spend time. And impress does, eh?"

".. hooks?" Tam asks, looking puzzled. Terminology! ".. upp'rcuts?" He's on the balls of his feet naturally, eyeing the bag, then punching it again. Quick, light jabs, nothing that'll do much damage.

Ender nods, folding his arms across his chest as he watches. "A hook's where you come across from the side." He demonstrates, whumping his right into the bag. "An uppercut can r'ly hurt someone. We don't use 'em, or any of these, against other beasts." Sudden safety remembrance! "Jus' for practicing or for matches." But anyway. "An uppercut comes from below." Another demonstration, harder and with more emphasis, making the bag bounce noticeably.

Tameus has already been taught the 'don't practice on people' concept. He nods, and attempts a right-hook. Bumf. The bag sways a little under the collision of his small fist into it. Then he adjusts the angle of his other arm for an uppercut. Gradually a concentrative smile shows on his muzzle. ".. this 's fun!"

This is a non-violent, non-destructive habit. So Ender thinks. Thus he decides there's no reason not to reinforce it. "One of m' favorite things. Haven't gotten to it in a while. Too busy gettin' older, eh?" His breathing is more regular - ready for another go. But let the leveret have fun. "Show me a jab, then a hook, then an upp'rcut, eh? Do that three times if y'can."

Tameus grunts out a soft noise. Like an 'okay' but not vocalized, he's concentrating so hard. He jabs one, firm but slowly, then a right-hook, then an uppercup. Then he repeats, going through the motion faster, and repeats again. By the third time he's on the verge of a good rhythm.

Ender isn't going to allow himself a smile, but he wants to. But instructors don't smile. "You done this before? You've got a real knack, eh? Better'n me when I was y'r age."

Tameus shakes his head. "No. 'm jus' doin' like y' showed me 'ow," he says. Bumf, bumf, jab jab. Looks like the kid has found a much-needed outlet.

Ready for more, Ender looks around for anything else to work with. Hm. Something heavy in here would be pretty helpful. Like the training room. Homesickness! "Well if y'want to do it real y'should start out like I said. Try with 50 jabs. But I don't want you gettin' too tired before your play, eh? And, if you're too hot or don't want to ruin your clothes, y'can take off your shirt." Eep! Tattoo! Ender wonders if Tam would mind the thing on his back. Best not to find out. He walks towards his shirt, allowing himself /one/ smile.

Of course, as Ender walks to get his shirt Tam pauses to glance at him, and sees the .. interesting image on his back. "Huh," he says, resting one hand against the punching bag. "Y' 'ave a drawin' on y'r back, gran'da'." He grins - he likes it! And then the leveret looks at the swaying punching bag, curls his fists again, and gets in stance. Following this is the start of jab reps, and he counts aloud. "One-t'-three-f'r-five.."

Ender pulls his white tunic on, fumbling with one paw to get the buttons fastened. He leans against the wall, then. Not too far away, the bell tower's small. "Those drawings get old, Tam." And that's all he'll say about that. "Keep your feet the way I showed - knees bent!"

Tameus bends his knees a little. More than he needs to. He wobbles, grunts, and stops at 'twelve'. Takes a breath, looks at Ender. "I d'nno 'ow t' stan' righ'."

Ender paces over, and kneels down. He places one of the leveret's footpaws firmly in front, the other a bit behind. "Now bend y'knees just a little...like a springboard." He stands, giving another example. "Like me." But not as old. "Remember, form is th' most important thing to remember."

Tameus does as he's directed, knees bent a little, arms still up with his hands in a 'guard' position. "Righ'. Form. 'member form," he says, and nods. Then jabs.

Ender's proud, this kid's turning out well. Must be because they just met - he hasn't had a chance to ruin him yet. His face falls for a moment at this thought. Maybe he should ask Zoe about this. "Jus' right, jus' right. Try that combination I showed you, eh?" Sudden awesome thought! "Y'can surprise your gran'ma at the play with y'r new moves." Oh, he's a bad, bad rabbit.

"Yeah! Yeah I will! 'll show e'eryone!" Jab jab. Hook, uppercup. Jab, hook, uppercup, and the leveret repeats the three, over and over, speaking with little grunts of effort. "What.. di' y' say.. this 's .. called? .. Boxin'?"

Ender says, "Boxin' it is. There's a whole room for it back at the mountain." Had he already said that? Well. Too late now. "Don't go and hurt anyone...just maybe surprise 'em."

Tameus releases a short giggle and nods. He's getting into it! The leveret bounces a little on the balls of his feet and hop-skips sideways, giving a few jabs with the opposite arm and then settling back into the quick, slightly jerky rhythm. Jab, hook, uppercut - over and over.

Ender has a project now! Small punching bag! And a companion to keep him going isn't a bad bonus. "Y'r a real natural, Tam. I didn't do this sort o' thing when I was y'r age. Good to learn young - grow up to be very good at it, eh?"

Tameus pants a little. He's used to running around but this is more exertion - besides, he's fairly tired all the time for reasons of The Sick Father. But he's grinning, just a little, an intent expression on his face. "Heh! Gonn' be good 't e'erythin' I can be!" he says, and goes back to just the jabs. "Twen'y, twen'y-one, twen'y-t'.."

"That's good, Tam. That's the way to live a good life, eh?" He walks back to the wall, exhausted now. Resting his back for a second, he slowly falls down to a sitting position.

Tameus is determined! He grunts a sound but doesn't reply, switching to the other arm once his first one gets tired - about halfway through - and completing the fifty reps he was directed to do. "F'rty-eigh'.. nn. F'rty-nine. Fifty!" He says it triumphantly and hugs his arms around the base of the punching back, giving a soft groan of tiredness and leaning into it. ".. y' see gran'da'? 'm doin'.. good.." Huff.

Ender pats the stairway that coils up near him. "Take a seat, son. You've done well." He shifts a little, getting comfortable - starting to feel a tad cold. "Breaks are important too."

Tameus is breathing a little heavily, the way he does after running around for a while. He goes toward Ender, huffing and smiling, to sit down next to him and lean against his side. "Oof. Heheheh. Let's .. do 't more, okay, gran'da'? I like 't, I do!"

Ender reeeaches for his coat, knowing he'll be freezing in a few minutes. "If y' can't find me, I'm usually in here or out running. Y'r welcome to join me, eh? I like the company, even if you will be better'n me soon."

"I won' e'er be better'n y'!" Tam argues, smiling. He snakes his arms around Ender once the rabbit has his jacket on. "I 'ope 'm 's good /'s/ y', though, some day. When 'm bigger."

Ender allows the mildly sweaty hug. It's not gross while he's still little. "I'll make sure y'are, then. So." He thinks for a topic of conversation. Something on-sick. "Seen any pretty does?" Ugh. That was poor.

Tameus considers the question while leaning into the hug, nuzzling tiredly at Ender's upper arm. "Uhm. There's n' many does 'round. I guess miss Darcy's pretty. An' Dar'lett's mate, Selene."

Well, it was a stupid topic anyway. Ender pulls his arm out from between them and rests it over the dibbun, pulling him close. "So'd I ever tell you about the time I got this?" He extends his left leg, pulling up the pant to reveal a horrible-looking scar on his calf.

Tameus leans forward, staying in the hug and peering at the scar as it's revealed. "No y' didn'! Tell m' now?"

Ender says, "I was takin' a trip from the mountain to Halyard. Or maybe I was runnin' away, I don't remember." He fixes his pant leg. "These two gulls appeared out of the blue! They started circlin' hiiiigh overhead, makin' an awful racket. I was scared and ran towards this bridge I saw - didn't have any weapons on me."

Tameus leans in, his ears stuck up while he listens intently. "'ve seen gulls b'fore," he says, eyes a little wide. He knows how dangerous they are. This leveret has had one or two bad encounters with birds, yes he has.

Ender says, "So they start swooping down, and I think I /may/ make it under the bridge in time. But the female came down and hit me, hard, and I fell." Dramatic pause. "I was trying to get up when they both landed."

Tameus is tense, on edge. "An' then, an' then?" he prompts eagerly.

Ender pulls his arm off of Tam, stretching slightly. He definitely forgot to cooldown. Oops. "The female came at me first. I whacked her with a rock...took her back for a second. But when I was turned the male came up and SMACK!" He hits his leg for emphasis. "Hit m'leg with his beak. I thought it had broken right off. But he wasn't done yet, eh? The female hopped around while I tried to keep an eye on 'em both, and I knew I didn't have a chance. Then - who do you think I saw?"

Tameus's ears quiver in their upright position. He thinks, then grins a little. "Gran'mum? Th' Colonel?"

Ender smiles a tad. "Welll. Close. We had just had a fight, so she wasn't in th' savin' mood. But she did send out a brave young buck named Gregorian. So /he/ comes running up and attacks the female, who flies off. But while he's doing that the damn gull-" Whoops! "Sorry. Don't use words like that. But the gull pecked me a couple times - I couldn't move 'tall because of th' pain. And he almost took half my leg clean off."

Tameus tilts his head, distracted from the story by .. the potential for another story. "Y' 'ad a figh' wit' gran'mum? Whadda 'bout?"

Ender says, "We just. Had fights. Back then." Cough, blush. "So Greg attacks the other gull, breaks its beak and off it goes. Dragged me back to the mountain...and I ended up in the infirmary for the thousandth time. Practically lived there for a few seasons."

Tameus releases a low chuckle at this, nodding, absently playing with the edge of Ender's jacket while he still leans into the rabbit. "Sounds awful 'xcitin', gran'da'. What'd y' an' th' Colonel figh' 'bout then?"

Secrets aren't revealed quite that easily. Plus there here and now is so much better then those days. "Not somethin' I'd like t' talk about, eh? Those were hard times for us both." Ender looks down at Tam and pats his shoulder. "What say we find somewhere a bit cozier to sit?"

Tameus nods at this suggestion. "Yess'r, we sh' go 'nside, I think. Jus' gonn' leave 't 'ere?" he asks of the punching bag, pointing at it.

Ender looks at it. "Well. Yes. Isn't hurting anyone, and hasn't gotten stolen yet." He stands, a bit more agile than normal, and walks towards the door, extending his paw behind him for Tam to latch onto.

Tameus has enough energy to bound upright and follow, hand going out to clasp onto Ender's larger one as they go out. "Y' wann' go fin' some food? 'm n' s'posed t' go in th' kitchen really, 'cause'a bein' sick b'fore. They's say 't migh' still be sleepin' in me. Th' sick."

Ender furrows his brows at that. But he's not going to undermine the 'authorities'. "I c'n get somethin', then. You just find a warm, quiet place to sit."

Tameus nods firmly. An assignment! "Will do. Th' warmes', quietes' place in' th' cavern 'ole, aye?"

Ender nods his agreement, and pushes the door open. "Jus' do the best you can, eh? You know how to pick nice spots." Flattery. Aw.

"I know all th' bes' ones," Tam says with a bit of a grin as they go out.