attack like the fire and be still as the mountain

Callie's stance was passable. She moved a bit, but adjusted well in response. She did start squirming and laughing when Avantika poked one spot -- probably just ticklish -- but she was done anyway and pulled back soon, smiling. "Good," she said, before adding, with an obviously fake stern look, "Other than the laughing, of course."

"Now," Her tail wagged gently behind her. "do you want to try a spar?" It was important to learn by doing. You could practice all the stances and attacks in the world, and never do a single one right in a true fight if you never learned to keep up with the speed of real action. Technique was good, but so was honing your instincts and that couldn't be taught in any other way.

"Speech"