Sendewi Nahai stood in an open space that was not too far from the fighting ring; she wanted to be sure she was within challenging distance. She was here at the Ku Kar to watch duels mostly, but also because dueling tired people had a habit of liking sweet cakes and fruit. All the fighting got them hungry, and little Sen would be right there to make a profit from that.

Though she was here to trade cakes, she also liked the idea of being challenged to a duel; it had been just a little too long since her last wrestling match, and she had some frustrations to get out.

The girl leaned in to get a closer view of an ongoing match, and almost didn’t notice when someone was trying to get her attention. She mumbled an apology and traded an apple to a young man for a few glass beads. She planed to sting the beads and wear them as a bracelet, even though her already full wrists probably wouldn’t hold another one; she would find a way.

After making her second trade of the day, she looked back up to find a new pair dueling and wondered who had won the last. She sighed and brushed her hair behind her ears, then shifted her handled tray in her hands to get a more comfortable grip. She watched the current duel, wondering who would win this one and telling herself she wouldn’t miss it this time.

Sabu had finished a match in the morning against a younger fellow from his tribe, a young nephew of his old friend Anan Seti. One really couldn't even have considered it a match. Anan had always been a graceful fighter, but her nephew, already a head taller than his peers and broad as well, wasn't apt to wrestle in the same manner of his aunt. Sabu was happy to show the little bull calf a few techniques best utilized by larger fighters, focused on breaking the balance and rhythm of his more nimble opponents. Sabu, always tall and gangly but surprisingly quick, one most of his matches by breaking up the flow of attack his foe would launch.

But the teaching match finished, Sabu had spent the hour working on his dancing. His father had taught him how to do the eagle dance, and said that the same steps had been used by many wrestlers, and by almost every Imani since Anhau had been first settled. Deceptively simple, the dance was all about balance, Sabu alternating between legs and he bent, crouched, and whirled around in step to the same moves he had practiced countless times. His eyes were closed and he only focused on the position of his hands, slowly bringing them up and down, almost out of time with his whirling feet. When done by a master, the eagle dance made the wrestler look like the great bird of prey, wheeling through the sky with only the slightest tipping of the wings.

At long last, he finished his last repetition of the moves and slumped down, panting. Quickly heading to the water hole near the edge of the battalon to rinse the sweat from his eyes, he saw... well what was this little painted thing?

"Hello little one!" he grinned, looking down. He seemed to remember her vaguely, he knew she was at least of his tribe. "Have you come to wrestle yourself?"

Sendewi looked up at the voice and the shadow that passed the ground in front of her. Like the shadow, the man was tall and lanky and just all around really big to such a little girl.



She recognized the man as one of the wrestlers from earlier matches, and even kind of knew who he was. The girl knew that she didn’t know his family, where he lived, or how old he was. She did, however, know that he was of her tribe.

She wasn’t sure how to respond to him, either. She didn’t talk often, and it had been a while since she had been smiled at so largely by anyone other than her siblings. If she stayed quiet much longer, though, she was afraid he might think she was being rude and ignoring him. The girl took a breath and knit her brows.

"Yes..." She paused for a moment and glanced back at the ring. "Wrestle and sell..." She looked down at her tray as if confused, then raised it for a moment before lowering it and looking back up at him with a blank expression.

Sabu looked at the basket and lit up at its contents! "Ahhh, Cake! Oh what I would give to have one or two of such morsels!" Sabu, never one who was ever full, was feeling exceptionally hungry after this morning's exercises. His face fell a bit into a defeated grimace though. "However... as it is... I have nothing to trade."

He scratched his beard, trying to figure out a way around this predicament. Did he have anything to offer? Nothing he could think of- OH! "I think I might have something you would like!" He looked at the little girl, his grin broad. Today seemed to be his day for teaching. "Tell me, have you ever heard of the eagle dance?"

For a few moments while Sabu was speaking, Sen thought she was going to make a sale, but then he said he didn’t have anything and the girl couldn’t help but feel disappointed. She glanced back over at the ring, thinking the man would just wander away to make his own food.

[="Sabu Imani"quote]"I think I might have something you would like!" He looked at the little girl, his grin broad. Today seemed to be his day for teaching. "Tell me, have you ever heard of the eagle dance?"[/quote]

The girl thought for a moment, her face blank except for her eyes widening slightly. Sure, she had heard of it, but she hadn't paid attention. She knew it was supposed to give you balance and help you win, or something like that because her brother had said he was going to teach her. She remembered the two of them, and another of her brothers, sitting around a fire. Jodri had been hunched over and gesturing with his hands as he spoke. He had told them that he was going to make sure that they learned it, and they had both been excited.

She looked a little sad as she nodded to answer Sabu's question, but she tried to hide it. Jodri's death had been a while ago, she would have to get over it sometime.

"I haven’t had the chance to learn it yet..." She wasn’t sure what else to say, so she just held out a cake to him. "You can... You can teach me? If you like. But first have cake." She blinked a few times, not used to speaking so much at one time.

"The dance can be payment for the cake… Deal?"

Sabu reverentially took the cake with one hand. Food was so hard to come by late in the lean seasons for him. It was one of the few times that his padded stomach was not so present. He smiled and downed the cake in two bites. Let the sweetness linger in his mouth before washing it down with more water from the cistern.

"That was excellent young one! I thank you again! Now for my part of the deal," with a smile, he breathed deeply and got himself back into the mindset of the dance. In his mind, his father was beside him again, pointing out his weak points and doing the dance flawlessly beside him. In his day, Sulda Imani was a terror of the Ku Kar, there were few in his tribe who could stand up to the tough carpenter. He always laughed and said that both his children surpassed him in skill though, and insisted they have children, in case they were better then their parents. Sabu didn't like to think about that promise he made to him. He sometimes felt like the spirit of his father still walked with him, chiding him the entire time.

Well, the first thing that should be shown is... the most basic of the steps." He spread his legs to the width of his shoulders, brought one up, and shifted his weight to the next, staying on the balls of his feet. His hands made the same motion, out spread, slowly going up and down. Again and again he hopped lightly from one foot to the other. "This is that step at its most basic. It helps promote balance. When you get more skillful, you can turn, like this." On the next hop, Sabu pivoted away, slightly angling his arms towards his pivoting foot, like a wheeling bird. "As you get better, you can take the turns more quickly, more sharply." He took three big leaps, each time turning the same way, and crouched lower with each one, a spiral dive towards the ground. He took another deep breath and grinned. This was the first sub routine he had learned as a child, and still his best. "Well, for today, we shall work on this one! Now it's your turn..." Sabu realized he didn't even know the name of this youth. "Umm, young one? What is your name, again?"

Once; she would have smiled at his enjoyment of her cakes. She certainly worked hard on them these days, selling them kept her mind off of things, kept her busy. The more someone liked them, the more they would buy them, and the more they would keep her distracted from her past. Yes, once she would have smiled on the outside, instead of just on the inside, but today she only stared as Sabu ate.

When he had finished the cake and gotten some water; she leaned forward slightly and paid close attention to the movement of his feet. She focused on the way he was only on his toes, how he switched feet so easily, and how he was even able to move his arms, too.



She was on her toes as he spoke, already copying his steps with her feet. She was doing pretty well with her feet, but having a little trouble when she went to switch them. She had even managed to make her arms move, though they were more out at her sides than they were moving the way Sabu had moved his. She watched him turn; amazed that he hadn’t fallen over, and then she slowly did her own little turn. She had tried to look as graceful as he had, but she stumbled out of the turn and messed up her footing.



She blinked up at him, her eyes widening a little as she tried again. This time she got through the spin, even managed to make her feet work mostly the right way, but her arms were still sticking way out in an attempt to keep her balanced.

She finished the turn and stood up straight, nodding a little bow as she spoke, "I am Sendewi Nahai. It- It is nice to meet you, ...?"

She realized she had yet to learn his name, either.