(2025-09-26) Tian Conversation

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Author:	Alli
Summary:	Dane and Erixa encounter Estel and Shun in the training yard of the Tian Monastery. They discuss White Squad's time there. ~1900 words
Rating:	T for Teen

Atley's bracers and helm hang from his belt, next to the Lion Horn. He stands before The Clarion Bell, peeling an orange with his bare hands. "Wot' do you wager they'll ring that for, then?" he growls, mouthing a slice.

Erixa, who is curling off the peel of another orange, steps up next to him. "I do not know. Maybe a very impressive combatant? Or maybe something that would make no sense to us. Ring to celebrate beautiful clouds, maybe."

Shun is currently sparring with one of the pupils at the monastery in hand to hand combat.

Erixa nods towards Shun, noting the Cobalt amongst the students.

Atley glances over his shoulder and double-takes Erixa before he scoffs with amusement, and even growls, a sound bordering on laughter. He looks back to Shun and grunts in acknowledgement. "One of ours."

"One of ours who knows the monks here better than we do," Erixa says. "Though they are very friendly. Fond of brew, but friendly."

Atley produces a contemplative frown and leans to the side to observe the fighting technique in between bites of oranges.

"It is a good place to exercise," Erixa says, watching the sparring partners. "The Jinyu are willing sparring partners as well, but they are less enthusiastic."

Shun ducks under a kick and dodges to the side at the followup. He swiftly retaliates with a punch towards the pandaren's side.

"Hardy training as well, I suspect," Atley says off to the side to Erixa. "I doubt all these bloody stairs are mere decoration."

"Hey," Estel says to Dane and Erixa as she approaches. "The stairs are awful."

Atley grunts and turns to incline his head to Estel. He shows her his half eaten, fully peeled orange. "We pillaged the trees, yonder," he says, nodding behind them.

"Good hit," Erixa murmurs, her gaze shifting to Shun, and then she turns to Estel. "They seem like more than they need, really. Extra stairs. Do you want an orange?"

"Sure," Estel says, not about to turn down food. "They're good."

"I understand the lot've you have taken to training," Atley says, eyes still on Shun. "Wot' do you make of it?"

Erixa rummages in her bag and then offers an unpeeled orange to Estel, waiting to hear her answer.

Estel puts the orange in her own bag. "Thanks. Make of the… fighting techniques? Or the way they train folks?"

"Why not both?" Erixa says.

"All of it." Atley says, briefly raising his gaze to take in the Monastery as a whole.

"Eh," Estel says. "Ask Shun when he's done. He's good at it."

Atley grunts and eats some more pieces of his orange.

As she says this, Shun grunts as he takes a hit directly to the midsection. He staggers back.

Erixa grimaces in sympathy, then adds, "If you head down south, by Serpent's Heart, they have more orange trees. Free with those, too, if you ask."

"Great serpent statue," Atley adds, passively observing the landed blow.

"I've had a lotta oranges by now," Estel says. "The food ain't free if you stay here, you have to do chores."

Atley pauses and looks down at the quarter-orange left in his hand. After a single heartbeat of contemplation, he finishes it off.

Erixa shrugs. "Some physical labor is welcome. Like exercise, but helps people." She peels out a piece of orange and munches, unbothered by future chores.

Atley glances over Estel's head and grunts at Erixa. "You have anything of this sort, on Draenor?" he asks, waving the orange peels.

Shun shakes his head as he straightens back up. He lets out a slow breath while waiting for the next attack. As the pupil goes in to strike, he swiftly steps out the line and counters. The pupil goes down.

Estel cheers, bouncing on her heels. "Nice!"

"Oh, yes," Erixa says with a smile. "Some of fruit is very similar. Probably not same flavor, but with waxy peel and sweet inside." Then she turns at Estel's cheer, and claps.

Atley nods slowly in celebration of Shun.

Shun helps the pupil back to his feet, then bows. He turns towards his allies on the sidelines.

Erixa waves to Shun, gesturing him over.

Estel waves him over. "Hey. Dane wanted to know your opinion."

"Well fought," Atley greets.

"Yes, you have good form," Erixa says with a smile.

Shun grunts, "Decided to come see the monastery for yourself?"

"Aye. Gwen's kept me up to date on your affairs, here. Wot' do you make of the training?" Atley asks.

"Some of it makes more sense than others. We had to drag giant !@# cauldrons of stew uphill," Shun replies.

"That was chores, not training," Estel objects.

Atley scoffs with amusement. "I knew they'd put the terrain to work. How've Azizia and Ralaea taken to it?"

"Seems it would build strength though," Erixa offers.

"Chores are an opportunity for training in some cases," Shun notes before looking at Dane, "Azizia was often annoyed with the tasks I believe."

Erixa considers. "Sometimes with her it is hard to tell a difference between 'annoyed' and 'usual'."

Atley grunts, unsurprised. "The hand-to-hand, unarmed nature of this … style, ought to suit her."

"Rae did good," Estel says, sticking her hands in her pockets. "Azizia was bored. I think she wanted more advanced stuff. She came in here already knowing all the basics they had to teach me'n Gwen."

Shun shrugs, "We were not going to be touching advanced techniques in two weeks."

"Ah, yes," Erixa says. "For new person, first you have to start at foundation to see what they know. That takes time. There seem to be good sparrers here."

Atley shakes his head. "I've never seen its like. I was trained in unarmed combat with the army, but an entire temple dedicated to its mastery?"

Shun nods.

"Seems reasonable to me," Estel says. "Like, you've got hunting lodges devoted to hunting."

"And here it must be big thing, hand-to-hand fighting," Erixa nods. "A culture thing, at least, because we have not seen much war here."

"Neither have they," Atley says, voice lowered. "Still. It's heartening to see so many martial fighters native to this land. The Horde'll not find it as easy a conquest as I expected."

"Their former overlord forbade the use of weapons. So they had to make do," Shun explains.

Erixa nods to Atley, and considers Shun's words. "So they… did have a war with hand-to-hand. That is impressive."

Atley looks to Shun and furrows his brow inquiringly.

"Hand-to-hand and improved weapons made from farming implements," Shun nods.

"Resourceful people, then. Good friends to have in uncertain times," Erixa smiles.

"That's the start of all this then, is it? There's a necessity for unarmed training, but if I'm venturing into a battle, there'll be steel in my hand." Atley says.

"I can throw a better punch now, but it still ain't my thing," Estel says.

"Still, you can only ever use the tools you have," Erixa says. "Having a better punch is better than not having one at all."

Shun nods.

"Yep. I doubt any of it'll ever see real combat use for me, but that's fine. I'm a caster." Estel shrugs.

Atley grunts. "Especially if it's to resist tyranny." He sets his hands on his hips and glances around, tonguing the inside of his cheek. "We'll be making for the Temple soon enough. P'raps they've more of a casting school there."

"Ah yes!" Erixa brightens. "I should have mentioned, we were invited to the Jade Serpent temple. Maybe they will invite all Cobalt there soon."

Shun lifts his head at that, "Oh? Interesting…"

"That's the place with the big statue, yeah? We went by." Estel scratches her head. "Didn't really stop and ask questions, though. Is there an actual Jade Serpent?"

Atley says, "Seems to be. A great one, by the sound of it." He glances around. "There a bin about we can toss these?" Atley asks, raising the peels.

"They said maybe we meet big serpent at the temple," Erixa says, eating another orange slice. She's slower at this. "So maybe we can say soon."

"By the dining area, yeah," Estel says, flapping a hand at one of the staircases.

Shun folds his arms over his chest, tilting his head in thought. "Great serpent… A protector of sorts perhaps?"

Atley looks to Shun. "P'raps. It's certainly revered. I warrant it's not unlike the kind we saw that Shado-Pan ride." Atley looks from Estel to the dining area. "Let's have a look about, then."

Erixa tilts her head to the others to see if they're going to follow. "After the Shado-Pan, I thought they were… like protodrakes?"

Shun casually checks if Xiao is there with his five bowls of food.

Atley frowns in thought and glances back at Erixa. "Ah — another form of dragon, then?"

"But then," Erixa continues, "They speak of the serpent at the temple with great respect."

Atley totally marches up to an ornate garbage receptacle and tosses the peels in.

"They seem dragon-like, to me. A little different shape, but dragon-ish," Erixa says.

"Like noodle dragons." Estel grins.

"Aye. To me as well. I warrant the Jade Serpent's closer to one of the Aspects than one of the proto-drakes," Atley says, as he starts tugging his gauntlets back on.

Erixa laughs. "Noodle dragons, yes. I like this."

Shun leans in to whisper to Estel, "… He has six bowls now."

Estel mutters, "As long as he actually eats his food…"

Atley observes the gigantic pandaren and grunts at the others.

Erixa raises her eyebrows. "He looks very strong."

"A pupil or a mentor?" Atley asks.

"Pupil. One of the stronger ones. We were the first to defeat him in a long time," Shun explains.

Erixa nods with pride in White Squad. "Cobalt is strong as well."

"Largest I've seen," Atley observes before he spots a hozen a few tables down. "Hozen about. How do they behave?"

"Eh, fine? They're very vertical." Estel shrugs. "They go up a lot."

"The ones training here are arrogant and noisy but do not cause trouble," Shun says.

"Go up… in trees?" Erixa asks. "We have mostly seen them as enemies, the ones down by Pearlfin. Interesting to see some here as fellow students."

Estel gestures to a nearby tree. "Yep. Up."

Atley looks from the sitting Hozen, to Erixa, and then to Shun and Estel. "P'raps from another tribe."

Estel shrugs. "They take in whoever. The monastery, I mean. Anybody who wants to learn."

"It is admirable, to be so open," Erixa says, glancing around with a touch of wariness. "I hope it will always go well for them."

Atley grunts, echoing Erixa's wariness. "These mountains would be a fine place to defend. Set up choke points with skilled fighters."

Shun grunts.

Estel sighs. "Have you heard anything that we haven't? About Horde movements?"

"Not since the ones on the south coast," Erixa says.

Atley shakes his head. "Whispers of them north, north-west of here. Little more than that." Atley says, lowering his voice. "Fallon's fleet's scanning the coast. They'll find them, soon enough."

"Hm. Noted," Shun says.

"Well, and they are working with Hozen," Erixa adds. "Arming them. So be careful." Erixa finishes her orange, and heads over to put the peel in the same decorative trash can Dane used earlier. "I may go speak to monks, see about what chores I should give for oranges."

Atley nods at Erixa. "I'll be right behind you."

Estel waves cheerfully. "Later, later."

Erixa waves back cheerily, and gestures for Dane to join her, as she goes to find the leader.