[0800 Embassy Arena Training Grounds Several months earlier]
"Well... at least your handsome." The ugly old woman extended a hand to help him up; both were shirtless and wore matching brown leather leggings. The woman's chest was flat as a board, and her thin, bony build gave no indication of the speed and agility of her movements.
Nix scowled at her and accepted the towel she had already wiped herself down with. "That form has fifty-something different steps that you showed me one time. I'd have to be a savant to remember all of them."
Chiba didn't bother to hide her gaze while she watched her apprentice wipe the sweat and sand off his well-muscled frame. She leered shamelessly while playing with a strand of her oily gray hair. "Perhaps we should take a sex break to recharge your mental focus."
"Pass." Nix moved back into position.
