It's Parent-Teacher Midafternoon At The Ol' Secret Training Grounds [closed]

[summerdude]

Magnus, who now definitely knows that many mansion residents keep specific daily schedules (thanks Galahad!), can reliably find Hanguang-jun whenever he needs him. (Unless it's the part of the schedule when Hanguang-jun is alone with Wei Wuxian, in which case Magnus can find him but, for the sake of his own mental peace, elects to never ever do that unless it's a genuine emergency.) He can also reliably find Galahad, Sunny, at least one of their shared fathers, Tress, and sometimes Claudius, except Claudius's unpredictability is genuinely unpredictable, as opposed to, say, Tally's unpredictability, which is predictably unpredictable.

Lancelot is definitely a regular schedule kind of guy, but outside of their training sessions, Magnus has no idea what it is. Magnus asks Galahad since Galahad is his go-to calendar and schedules guy; Galahad's brow wrinkles infinitesimally in the way that, on someone else, would be an incredulous, laughing 'what are you up to?' and his lips quirk when Magnus clarifies that he has really reasonable regular normal reasons for wanting to know. (Then Galahad tells him Susan's schedule, which is helpful, because Magnus is generally interested in avoiding her.)

All of this to say that Magnus doesn't actually manage to track Lancelot down and give him a heads up on the same morning he non-randomly encounters Hanguang-jun after dropping Sunny back with their dads, and impulsively asks "So, wanna do parent-teacher conference day? Me and Lancelot train after lunch in that clearing way out past Dads' house."

Whatever. He'd cleared that it was okay with Lancelot at, like, some point, so it shouldn't be too much of a surprise.

So in the end, Lancelot gets about thirty seconds' warning that Hanguang-jun will be joining, between when Magnus rocks up, practice sword in one hand, shield in the other, and Jack flying around behind him, calling, "How's it going, Swordmaster Dickface^*? We've got company today," and when Hanguang-jun alights from Bichen.


*He's still workshopping appropriate nicknames

Comments

[lightbearinglord]

For the purposes of sparring with Lancelot, Lan Wangji means, generally, to avoid anything that Gideon might accusingly call cheating. Bichen's blade gleams, but he will not release its qi; he will not wield it without the use of his hands. That said, there is a certain lightness of movement that he cannot avoid as he whirls away from Lancelot's attempted blow, gravity's hold on him laxer than its hold on most. Without missing a beat, he ducks into a lower stance, Bichen's next arc through the air aimed toward Lancelot's legs.

[lanselos_du_lac]

Lan Wangji's fluidity of movement is impressive; it's not quite telegraphing his next move, but there's something dancelike about it that makes Lancelot think they could easily get into the flow of sparring. They've sparred several times now, and Lancelot is starting to think he might understand Lan Wangji's forms and how they may differ from those he has learned. Bichen's sweeping arc does make him have to recalibrate and dodge backward, chuckling a little as he puts some space between them to reset his own stance.

[summerdude]

"Yeah!" Magnus cheers, fully expecting them both to ignore him. "Fuck him up, Hanguang-jun!"

[lightbearinglord]

As anticipated, Lan Wangji ignores Magnus, which might be for the best. Magnus might not have enjoyed his quelling expression at the use of profanity around his teacher, who is, so far as Lan Wangji can tell, a perfectly competent one.

Since they are sparring, and Lan Wangji is not attempting to defeat Lancelot in any meaningful way, he gives him the space to recover. Once he can see that he has his feet back under him, though, he descends on him anew, this time in a whirl of robes from the outset, Bichen's swing bringing it from low, near the ground, up toward Lancelot through the air.

[lanselos_du_lac]

Lancelot does cast the quickest glance at Magnus -- it's much closer to the expression he used to wear when Magnus was contrary with him in ways he didn't understand. But he's not so easily distracted. He is starting to learn, better, how to track Lan Wangji's blade among the movement of his robes. They have the advantage, as well, of throwing off Lancelot's read of Lan Wangji's stance, but he's learning to compensate for that as well.

He shifts to the side, away from the direction of Lan Wangji's swing, and deflects Bichen neatly.

[summerdude]

Magnus leans forward, falling silent, captivated. Obviously Hanguang-jun and Lancelot are still getting a sense of each other's moves, but they're both good. Sometimes Magnus forgets just how good they both are at this. He wonders if maybe he should ask to watch them spar again, here and there -- he's already putting together new ideas of things to try during his next lesson.

[lightbearinglord]

The tidiness of Lancelot's parry prompts a single glance of understated appreciation from Lan Wangji, whose response is to backflip, with equal tidiness, away from him to regain his footing and to find a moment to consider strategy. The landing is soft, muffled footfalls on the grass. When he swoops back in, he does it more quickly, with a more precise flick of his blade, testing Lancelot's speed.

[lanselos_du_lac]

Speed is one of Lancelot's strong suits, and his own gaze is keenly sharp on Lan Wangji's movements. He parries Bichen with what deceptively looks like ease. Then he switches his grip, shifting to one hand in order to bring his blade rapidly around and strike at Lan Wangji's legs.

[summerdude]

Whoa. That was actually so fluid. It looked almost like dancing? Enthused, and to his own surprise, Magnus hollers, "Yeah! School him, teach!"

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji executes another neat backwards flip, a flurry of robes and a brief defiance of gravity in it, to avoid Lancelot's sword. Rather than giving Magnus the satisfaction of reacting to his heckling, Lan Wangji meets Lancelot's gaze with a little well done nod. He wastes no further time before pressing back in on him with Bichen, a flurry of crisp swings of the blade to match those voluminous robes of his.

[lanselos_du_lac]

As it happens -- as Lancelot probably should have guessed -- it is much easier for him to keep pace with Lan Wangji when wielding his blade one-handed. It also gives him more opportunity to attempt to telegraph his own moves less clearly. He does not have the sort of maneuverability that Lan Wangji's cultivation allows, but he certainly can act with a little less of the expected discipline and more creativity.

It is a very rewarding challenge.

He parries several of those swings, then twists to present his unarmed side while bringing his own blade in with a swing from above.

[summerdude]

Magnus is definitely enthralled, by now. He feels like he should be taking notes or something. Mental notes will have to do. Hanguang-jun and Lancelot are moving really fast, but even as he's watching them, he's running what he can understand of their moves through his mind, step by step, trying to figure out how he could replicate them or counter them.

[lightbearinglord]

The rhythm of their sparring is a satisfying one, at once predictable and intermittently surprising. This is not a battle; it is a conversation, and perhaps an easier conversation than any he and Lancelot have ever tried to have with their words. They don't know one another well, but Lan Wangji has seen the glimpses of their surprising commonalities.

He nearly takes the bait, and it is only through a practiced twist of his own blade, upward rather than sideways, that he meets Lancelot's swing to block it.

[lanselos_du_lac]

"Christ, I could wish for a shield," Lancelot breathes, laughing as he backs up enough to reset his stance.

[summerdude]

For a brief, thrilling second, Magnus considers what would happen if he flung a shield at Lancelot's face in that moment. Ultimately, though, he decides to just sit and watch.

[lightbearinglord]

"You may have a shield if I may use my cultivation more heavily," Lan Wangji suggests, lightly. It is difficult to tell whether he is or is not serious.

[lanselos_du_lac]

Lancelot grins, "I hesitate to agree to that, as I've seen some of what thou'rt capable of. I doubt I am a match for thee, under those circumstances."

[summerdude]

"You should both go ham," Magnus suggests from the sidelines. "And throw Jack in the mix, too. He could use a workout."

[lightbearinglord]

"That is a very bad idea," Lan Wangji says, although he still sounds relatively lighthearted by his standards.

[lanselos_du_lac]

"I would agree," fairly jovially.

[summerdude]

"Suit yourselves," with an exaggerated eyeroll.

[lightbearinglord]

Lan Wangji is too polite to say outright that, no matter how disrespectfully he speaks to his teacher, he doubts Magnus wants to see Lancelot so utterly defeated. And thus he merely bows to Lancelot, who was nonetheless a worthy opponent and partner in this. "Thank you."

[lanselos_du_lac]

Lancelot returns the bow with one of his own, more formal bows. "As I thank thee. I would gladly spare again."

[summerdude]

Magnus looks between the two of them. "Wait, you're done? Who won?"

[lightbearinglord]

"Neither of us. As I said: learning was the objective."