Key to the Dragons gate, Way of Winding Dragon [ST, R]

[Arantima Kawada]

[Training for TTP]

Arantima Walked through the Forest on the outer Rukongai outskirts, somewhere he has not traveled often as the stories of hollows hunting and eating plus souls spreads rampant throughout the Rukongai. He kept a hand on his Zanpakuto just in case he was attacked, though he would likely flee from such an attack he needed to be prepared to defend himself. His mind was on edge, All of his recent encounters running through him and shaking him to the core.

His encounter with Gracie was pleasant though sobering that a Cat could have killed him with little thought if she had any wickedness in her at all. Luckily Gracie was just an adorable Fluff ball of joy who just wanted to help others. Then there was Keira.. Kiera Bright and her Asylum frightened him still, though the fear was not crippling, merely the fear one might feel after discovering something frightening about a building. His Captain Hotaru's Test also weighed heavily on him.

He looked down to his right arm and hand and the image of the Blown open and bloody wounds flashed in his vision before he blinked it away and shook his arm a bit to make sure it was still healed. His Body was not weak, but compared to true might he was torn apart like Wheat under a grinder and it was not only humbling but frightening. Even just grazing her lightly had nearly destroyed his arm and Blade on blade contact had ruptured most of his internal organs. Hotaru-Sama is not much older than myself is she?.. And yet She is so much more.. Just more. What did I do wrong?

The thought reeled through his mind as he continued through the forest and just as he heard a loud growl start to enter his mind again another sound overtook it from the real world. He Tilted his head to see if the sound would repeat and he was greeted with a Shrieking sound, A loud and guttural noise so feral only the truly insane mind of a Hollow could produce it. The problem was however that it wasn't just one voice shrieking, it was two, three.. No Four?

Arantima Ran Towards the sound, being slow he more lumbered through the forest, utilizing shunpo to get to the sound source faster but stopped short of the clearing. What Met Arantima's Eyes was shocking. A lone Shinigami standing there a Broken Zanpakuto hilt in his hand resting at his side surrounded by four hollows. The Strange thing was that this Shinigami seemed to be completely Calm as if he was not in any danger at all, even as he was surrounded by hollows with no weapon.

Arantima was frozen, He Wasn't certain if he could even assist this man standing in the clearing but before Arantima could make a decisions on weather to move oor not the Shinigami in the clearing moved. He was fast, Too fast for Arantima to follow and before he knew it Arantima was staring at a Hollow cleaved in half with the Shinigami standing in the center of the bifurcated Hollow now with some form of Shimmering Blade erupting out of his Zanpakuto's broken Hilt.

"Soul Reaper, Do not Flee. Stand and Watch as these Hollows learn the Strength of a pure Soul." The Shinigami spoke, and his voice boomed out like thunder before he disappeared again and this time his target was closer to Arantima. The Hollow erupted in a gout of blood and energy, not being taken by one blow like the other had been. The Shinigami Appeared and disappeared in a series of Strikes and cuts before Driving the Shimmering Blade into the Mask and twisting to shatter it. The Shinigami Looked towards Arantima at this point, But there were no eyes, just orbs of Crystalline glass, this Shinigami was blind.

Arantima Took a Step out into the clearing, drawing the attention of the Two hollows which broke off from the Lone mysterious Shinigami and rushed for Arantima, he being the easier food item of those present currently. He Raised his Arm and Began to speak softly, the volume of his voice raising into a Booming shout as he finished "Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini! Look upon yourself with horror and then seize your own throat!"

As he finishes the Incantation A Golden Shield Sprouts out from his wrist and Catches the first Hollow, Cracking slightly as the creature rebounds off of its surface and crackles with golden lightning twitching on the floor. The Second Hollow Sees this and stays back a bit from Arantima who draws his sword and squares off with the new threat. "i Could not sit on the side.. Though it would have perhaps been smartest to do so. Even if I am only a slight distraction it is better than allowing you to risk all of this on your own."

There was suddenly a Hand on his shoulder and a hand entered his peripheral vision. A Shimmering Sword Formed in this hand that pointed at the Hollow Squaring off with Arantima. A Subtle Whisper caressed Arantima's ear "Good. You Will need Heart if you are going to continue as you are.. " The Sword Draws back and slices the air casually, light enough that it may have just been playful but a Gout of pressure comes off the blade and slices the hollow in the distance clean in half.

[Arantima Kawada]

Arantima Turns his head just slightly before he is suddenly Blasted forward swiftly, Sliding along the ground in the single strengest sensation he has felt ever. He turns to look at where he had just been to see that a Hollow in standing where he had just been, chewing on the earth as if it was prey. The blind shinigami is standing beside him and looks over as Arantima's Shield dissipates "That was Denden. A Technique That will launch a Foe straight back from yourself, it is Less of a Damaging skill than it is a Way of shifting a Combat in your favor. And this.. is Rasengeki.."

The blind one smiles and Darts Away towards the Hollow who just now realizes he hasn't actually devoured anything. The Shinigami ducks down and lands a spiraling Up thrust with him palm on the Hollow Sending it Spiraling off into the sky "Carriage of Thunder. Bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six. Bakudo Number 61 Rikujokoro." Unlike Arantima's incantations This shinigami speaks them with a calm and level voice. When he has finished the Hollow stops midair and is slammed on all sides by beams of light locking the hollow about Forty feet up.

The Shinigami runs a hand through his hair before turning to face Arantima "I am Vahleru.. once of the Gotei Thirteen.. Now I Stay in these Woods." He looks around the area and nods before sitting down and gesturing before himself "Please Sit.. It has been a long time since i have felt another Soul reapers presence.. Though Never one as troubled." He smiled warmly to Tima and laid the broken hilt across his lap.

Arantima Looked around and rubbed his wrist which had a slight burn mark on it from the clash with the hollow. Another Shinigami whose power is leagues beyond mine.. Am I some kind of resident joke? Arantima Sees no harm in sitting down for a moment though he does look up to the hollow struggling mid air. "Are we safe to let our guard down Beneath that? It Does look secure but I am merely concerned for the duration of such a Kido."

Vahleru Nods and chuckles a bit waving a dismissing hand towards Arantima "Do not Worry. It is trapped there for as long as i wish it to be, it can not break my Kido no more than you could cut me with your Zanpakuto" the way he says it so calmly takes Arantima back a moment. Can he really be so confident? Before Arantima can speak again Vahleru chuckles "I may be Blind in sight, but I have other senses.. I know that you are Shaken and troubled by something, that you are currently one of if not the weakest Shinigami I have ever met. But that Your Zanpakuto Spirit is yelling at me for saying that."

Arantima tilts his head a moment, Trying to process this information. Why is he saying this? What is his reasoning behind this? When he Told me those technique names it was almost like.. "Like I was trying to teach you." Vahleru's voice breaks through the Rushing torrent of thoughts in Arantima's head and snaps him back to reality. "How did you...?" Arantima's Expression is one of pure confusion and curiosity. Vahleru nods and clicks his tongue once before smiling brightly "You Felt the Same way that Sabotai Felt All Those years ago when I trained him."

Arantima Tilted his head, he knew that name from somewhere.. He looked hard at Vahleru a moment before his jaw went slack and his mouth opened slightly "But Sabotai Was So much older than you are I.. How is it that you Trained him?" Arantima was unsettled now.. He was talking to a man who obviously knew Sabotai but had also apparently trained him? Arantima's shoulders tensed and flexed with the tension and stress of these thoughts.

Vahleru nods and leans back, his face casting towards the sky as he speaks " i am Almost One thousand years old if I haven't lost count." He Just lets out a gentle breath and chuckles as he looks towards Arantima once more "Sabotai Told me he was helping a boy train.. But he Felt it was Cruel to allow them to think they could become a Shingami. They Said the Same things about me, though that was before My Zanpakuto was shattered.." His voice floods with sadness at that statement and he caresses the hilt of the broken blade.

Arantima Looks down in a moment of respect for the Broken blade before looking across to Vahleru once more curiously "When You showed up in the clearing.. I knew it had to be you, I can Feel Sabotai in you, that same up welling of Conviction in your kido that he had." Arantima smiles and nods, taking the scroll out of his robes that sabotai had left him soo long ago."It's how he told me to channel my energy.. Start out with a calm river and surge in stages until you Flood the world with your power."

Vahleru nods and chuckles as he shakes his head "That is Sabotai.. Always pushing himself into things headlong. Save you, he kept his distance with you. He didn't want to show you the difference between someone like himself and you." He Sighs gently and looks Tima over nodding and holding his hand up to Cut Arantima off as he moves to speak. "Do not lie to yourself and say that you would not have been discouraged.. Had you known you would not have had the heart you have today."

[Arantima Kawada]

Arantima looks to Vahleru a Moment before looking down and nodding. He knew what Vahleru said was true, if he had known that the gap between himself and even a low tier Shinigami was so vast he would have been disheartened. He looks Around and then Towards Vahleru once more "And why would You train someone As Low as I then?" his voice was Calm, But sad. He let out a gentle sigh and even deep within him a Low rumbling sound of depression rolled within his soul.

Vahleru nodded once before looking around "Before I answer that question.. I will ask you Why should I not?" He Stands and walks around Arantima for a moment "Should i not Aid a Man who has attempted to aid me even risking his life in order to do so? Should I just allow a Man with such a great heart to wallow in the Depths of weakness when he demands the power to Aid others.. And Forces himself into danger even knowing he doesnt command the power to do so safely?"

Vahleru casts his Gaze up to the hollow that is suspended up in the air by his Bakudo and clicks his tongue before looking back to Arantima expecting an answer to his own question. Arantima Takes a good minute to come up with a reply to Vahleru's questions "Becuase there is a Chance That i can not Benefit from your training.. the chance that i am Doomed to this fate of weakness." The voice behind that reason is not filled with conviction but anger, Anger and hatred at even the possibility of that being true.

Vahleru nodded softly and smirked to himself as he cast his face back up to the Blank blue sky and just breathed softly before turning to Arantima and kneeling down in-front of him now once more. "I Was once as you.. Sealed and Angry at myself. Wondering where i had gone wrong or if i was destined to be weak forever." He Places his Zanpakuto on the ground between them and looks up to Tima and his voice grows more stern "i Was angry at myself.. And When I discovered the voice of my sword, Calling out to me. Breaking my mind with pained Yowls and wailing about my inner strength I shattered it.. At first."

"Zurynoryu has been Reforged Twice in her life.. Once when I foolishly broke her out of spite, And the second When I unknowingly Tried to force her to give her power to me." He Looks to the side now and whispers "The Third time I broke her when I Released Too much of our power.. I Can Still commune with her and She is Tired.. I am tired.. We Are out here now Because we are tired of life, waiting until we both fade back into the Seireitei."

Arantima Looks down to the broken blade and nods "I Can understand wishing to break the source of pain in your soul and mind.. But Even though I am Angry at the voice, I only Am angry because I agree with it." Arantima touches the broken hilt Softly once before looking up to Vahleru's face with a soft gaze and smile, even though the blind Shinigami could not see it he felt it would help. "I Don't think You did anything wrong."

Vahleru looks up to Arantima with a surprised Expression before smiling himself and chuckling "Even Zorynoryu Says that you are a strange one.. And that is why we will train you Soul Specialist.. You will not make our Mistake." He Stands and takes up the Hilt of Zorynoryu and the Shimmering blade appears along where a swords blade should. "Your Zanpakuto Should be your last resort, Especially Before You Release it. I am certain you have already experienced Cutback.. and if you were unlucky it was fairly Harsh."

Arantima Nodded once before shuddering at the memory of the Hospital time spent after his Test with Hotaru. He Looked up to Vahleru with a knowing and pained gaze before standing "Yes.. I have Experienced it while training with my Captain.." his voice trailed off with the memory of the pain and Vahleru cringed. "Then You will know the Desire to be able to fight without Worrying about that.. I have, with the aid of my Blade Discovered such a method."

Vahleru brandishes his shimmering blade in front of Tima Gently before Suddenly letting it dissipate next to Arantima's shoulder and suddenly Arantima feels a Crushing weight coming down onto him that makes him hit his knees once more, Holding himself up by his hands and knees. "Wh.. what is this pressure?!?" Arantima Gasps and tries to catch his breath before the feeling is suddenly gone as the blade Reforms itself.

"This is What happens when someone Stronger than you Enforces their will.. Gravitational pressure. All Spiritual beings and beings with spiritual power can exert it, but only felt by those beneath them. And do not take that as derogatory.. it is the difference between a Captain and a Rank shinigami." Arantima listens to the explanation as he recovers from that heavy weight that was just on him and stands shakily once more.

[Arantima Kawada]

Arantima Pants and shakes his shoulders out a bit before simply nodding, clearing his throat gently as well. "So.. That is what Power feels like When.." he lets the sentence trail off before holding his hand up to hold off any replies from Vahleru for the moment as he complies his thoughts. "Apologies But I would like to talk this out for a moment. To aid my understanding." He Makes a Gesture asking Vahleru for his permission almost to continue and Vahleru nods with a soft smile.

"There was once a Time when you were Much as I am now. Seemingly held back by something.. And You Mistook that something to be your Zanpakuto.." He pauses a moment before beginning to pace back and forth, his hand on his blade in thought as he does so. "So in a Fit, you Broke you blade.. And in doing so in a round about way discovered the source of your own power. Having the blade reforged and Continuing to train.. As you were, Sealed and limited with a secret power only you truly knew of." He Gives Vahleru a Questioning look to make certain he hasn't been mistaken Anywhere along the line.

Vahleru nods with a brighter Smile "So you do Listen.. Yes That is a Passable Explanation for what occurred." He Gestures then for Arantima to continue. "So Continuing from there.. Eventually you Reached a point in a battle where you stressed you and your Zanpakuto too far, and it broke in your stead.. " Arantima looks towards Vahleru once again and tilts his head softly "And now you wish to prevent that from happening again.. in me?"

Vahleru nods and claps three times gently with a chuckle "Precisly.. For someone to master this sort of power, I have not seen it done. It is a hard path I would not wish or force on anyone but I want to see one of our.. Well your kind now Go far in this world." Vahleru Looks back up to the Hollow Suspended in the air "At the end of all of this, you will be able to Cut that Creature without Harming yourself. While you may not be able to kill it on your own, you will Cut it."

Arantima Smirks at the sound of that and a Rumble echoes through his mind Listen to this one Sleeping Dragon.. His soul is sincere. Arantima Tilts his head at the sound before shaking his head lightly and nodding to Vahleru "Then I will be a attentive Student. Where do we Begin Sensei?" He Bows at the hips respectfully before kneeling as Vahleru smiles and kneels with him. "We start Small. You Have your own pressure that you exert, You must learn how to compress it into your hand, Much like this."

Arantima watches as Vahleru Places one hand above the other in his lap and concentrates, Creating a Shimmering Orb of pressure. "Think of this stage as the gathering Stage, We are in essence building a Sword out of your own Energy. So like any Sword maker we must first Gather our material." Vahleru nods To Arantima for him To take to it and begin. Arantima looks down at the ground and rolls his shoulder before closing his eyes and Following Vahleru's instruction thus far.

He places his hands above one another and focuses on Drawing all of his ambient pressure and energy into his Hands. After a period of about Two or three minutes the smalest orb begins to form, still to small for Tima to even sense or see but Vahleru can sense it. He Says nothing however, knowing that the sound of his voice could break Arantima's concentration. After another minute Arantima opens his eyes to stare down at the marble Sized orb of shimmering energy and Smiles.

"It is Small, But it is mine.. That is enough for me To be proud of." Vahleru dismisses his own orb and nods to Tima proudly. "It is that Attitude that will Ensure you and Your Blade Live for a Very long time in harmony. Now, that is not enough material for a blade, So We Will Have to continue on with this until you can collect enough understood?" Arantima Nods gently and closes his eyes without a word to continue his gathering of Energy.

Vahleru Gets up every so often to stretch and to reinforce his Kido Holding the hollow as Arantima Sits Still, Sweat Beading off of his brow with the effort he is putting into this exercise. After Three or four hours, Arantima had lost track of all time since he began, There was a Melon sized orb in his hands as he opened his eyes and felt the weight of the orb in his palm. He was panting and sweating, this was obviously Difficult for him to perform but he would not give up or falter.

Vahleru kneels back down in front of Arantima with a smile "Good. Now that we have the materials." He Smiles And Creates his own orb in both hands as well so he can show Tima visually the next step. "Now we take our materials and Forge them into a Blade. We do this By Stretching out the orb first into a pole." He Moves his hands out in opposite directions horizontally creating a Rigid Pole of Shimmering energy about 5 feet in length, just holding that where it was.

[Arantima Kawada]

"This is Difficult. The first time you try to do this Your Materials will Rupture and you will have to reform them. But You must learn what it feels like to manipulate Gravitational pressure like a Liquid and a solid at once. Do not Rush yourself, Take your Time with it Arantima." Vahleru Dismisses his rod and Stands, Leaving Arantima to his devices for a bit. Arantima Takes a Deep breath and Tries to keep his orb Condensed while Stretching it.

Arantima gets his palms about two inches away from each other before the Energy explodes out around himself, knocking him in the chest hard enough to knock the wind out of him. He lays on the ground wheezing for a minute or two before getting back up and Looking around, Vahleru is nowhere to be found. The Hollow is still there however, staring at him hungrily and struggling soundlessly above the ground.

Somehow being left here alone with this hollow puts a fear inside of his belly, not a panicked fear but a sense of urgency. The thought of If that kido breaks and I am alone with that hollow.. I may die.. creeps in to the back of his head before his adrenaline surges to give him a better sense of urgency. He looks Around again and sees no sign of Vahleru or the Broken Blade of Zoronoryu. He Closes his eyes and Listens to his thoughts, Diving deeper into himself.

As he dives inside of himself he hears a Gentle rolling thunder ( Start this song now Loreena Mckennit ). He looks around and opens his eyes and finds himself not sitting on the grass as he was but instead in the midst of a gently raining lake. The surface of the water was to him as a solid footing that did not wet his Hakama or his skin as he sat upon it. instead the Rain soothed his fear and his flesh from the heat of exhaustion and strain and a Voice Pierced through the Thunder, more gently than when it shouted at him before.

"Arantima My boy. The Rage of Seven Hundred Yeaars Sits withing your belly, This is why i call you sleeping Dragon. When You Are Able to call my name There will be nothing that will Sate your rage but Victory over weakness. Fear will roll from your mind like Water off of a Dragons Scales. The Air will shake with your Very Steps and the Sky will open in a Firey Torrent With your rage." As the voice speaks, in the distance Several storms Appear before he Closes his eyes again and opens them to see the grass at his feet and the Sky blue and clear again.

He Takes another breath and looks up to the Hollow, placing his hands in position to focus his energy into that orb and relaxes enough to Condense his energy. it still takes him a few hours to form the ball but When he has it, He begins to slowly twist and form the energy into a pole. He Allows the energy to dissipate at this moment and Repeats the process over and over until he can Complete the pole in fifteen minutes, He stays down there over the course of several days to achieve this, Vahleru Coming back on the third day with a Large Basket of food.

"I see you have not stopped training, that is good. Apologies for leaving you alone without a word, I just Thought it would be best to gather up some food before we started the next part of the training. Arantima Nods wordlessly as he has already begun eating, His Energy levels were very very low from the exertion and the food was sorely needed. Vahleru had in truth been watching him train For those three days, knowing that He would need to be able to gather his energy more quickly than when he had started to truly progress.

Vahleru eats very Little But eventually the entire basket is depleted and he chuckles as Arantima Lays back and just stares at the Sky ".. For the first Time in Several Weeks Since I have become a Fully fledged Shingami.. I have a Bit of confidence Back, Thank you Vahleru." he Sits up on his shoulders and smiles to Arantima a moment before getting back up into a kneeling position "I Am ready to continue on to the next stage whenever you are Sensei."

Vahleru nods and looks To Arantima, Creating his own Pole of energy in a Split second with a serious gaze "Good, Because After You learn this Technique The real Training begins." Arantima Tilts his head as Vahleru chuckles and gestures for Arantima to look down at the Technique "Now, The Safest Length for a blade is a Three foot Blade with a Seven or Eight inch Handle.. But You Don't want safe Do you?" Vahleru smirks at Arantima and Stretches the pole out just a bit more before Grabbing it.

Vahleru holds the pole by one end only before running his now free hand over the Pole slowly, and in the hands wake a blade forms. Simple and Elegant a Four foot long Katana Blade with a Twelve inch Handle Appears in Vahleru's hand. "Now, When you create the Blade, Be careful not to crush your own spiritual pressure, the blades edge is as sharp as any razor." Arantima Nods and looks Towards the Blade He just witnessed being Created and Models his own off of it.

[Arantima Kawada]

Arantim'as blade has a Few Jagged Sections of its Edge, and the other pasts of the blades edge are waved and unstable, but it is a solid blade when it is finished. Vahleru Nods appreciatively over the blade "When We are finished with this training Your blade will be more easily controlled when you Form it. But for a first blade, That is a fine work." Arantima Weilds the blade and stands with it to give a few test swings off to the side ".. There is a Strange Sense of weight to it, Not like a Momentum built from a Steel blade. But more like the weight is Already Where I want to strike."

Vahleru stands and nods "And it is Precisely that effect that makes this blade so Hard to use, but if you master it, you only need to fear an opponents Released State, and even then.. When you achieve a release of your own I will watch the world quake in fear." Vahleru smirks and Takes a battle ready Stance "With that blade, Even if you somewhow manage to strike me, you will not injure yourself. So come at me with all you have. If you can Keep that Blade Active For Five Strikes You can walk away knowing you have learned Pressurized Gravitation."

Arantima Nods and Takes The blade he has made into a Back handed Stance, placing his right palm flat over butt of the Katana Handle with his left hand against the very upper end of the Handle, Where it should meet a Tsuba but this Blade lacks one. He Lets out a Single breath, and before His intake of air he Flashes, Shunpo Thrusting him forward and then to the side and around Vahleru so they are now back to back. Vahleru's blade length however is used to it's advantage, his blade angled up and behind him to stab up through Vahleru's neck and head from behind.

Vahleru brings his blade up to Block a Straight forward slash at his chest, expecting him to be a Simpler Fighter with basic Skills but his expression goes from one of relaxed concentration to fear as he ducks and rolls away from the reverse Thrusting blade of Arantima Who just turns and slashes his blade through the air as he turns to face Vahleru changing the hand from his left to his right, Still reversed.

"Someone With My level of strength Can not Fight as one would Expect. i Come at you head on, And change direction.. I hold my Blade at an angle that seems useless.. Becuase if I do not, And if were to fight as a Man head on I would be killed. But To fight as a Dragon and turn in on yourself as the great serpent does Will lead to victory." He Goes down into a different Stance, still holding the blade backwards but his right hand is reaching all the way across his body to his left side with his left hand crossed over to his right holding the back of his blade.

Vahleru nods and taps his shoulder with his blade a moment thinking about what once could do from such a stance, coming up with veryy little of any danger so he decides to feint a Thrusting Blow at the center mass of Arantima before breaking to the side to cut at his ribs. Arantima grabs the Flat of his Blade with his left hand and raises the Right hand to angle off the thrusting blow, but instead of catching the tursht as he saw coming he caught the slash aimed for his ribs and held the block there.

Vahleru kept up the pressure of the slash, Just to see what Arantima Would do next, to see if he could come up with a way to move this blade that threatened to cut him in half. Arantima Let out a Single Rough breath from his nostrils and with a rolling wave of motion threw Vahleru's slash up over Arantima's own head. He Was not fast or strong enough to do much else but roll back to a safe distance after that deflection. Vahleru Stood there, His Guard left wide open, expecting a slash or retribution from Arantima.

When He Rolled Away however Vahleru just stared at Arantima Wondering why he had done that, before he say that he was panting. the energy drain from having formed the blade, And The Drain of using Shunpo like he had for his first strike was wearing on him now. Vahleru nodded once and dismissed his blade "I Had forgotten how tiring this technique can be on the body after first learning it. We are done for Now Arantima."

Arantima lets his blade disperse as he breathes a sigh of relief "Good, I thought for a moment there that I may collapse if I had to block another blow like that. But this Blade is.. Something Amazing, Thank you for Teach this to me Vahleru." He Bows Low and almost stumbles from the fatigue he is feeling, catching himself thankfully but only just barely. Vahleru comes over to Arantima and Helps him stand steadily.

He Walks Arantima Wordlessly To the edge of the Forest and points him towards the soul society. "Don't Thank me Friend.. it is what you would have done in my position. We All need Assistance from others sometimes, and in this life those who do not accept it often suffer at their own hands." He Smiles To Arantima one last time as he waves him off, watching him sink off into the distance, before returning to that hollow Suspended in the air to finish off the creature.

[Zeich Yajuu]

60 Paragraphs = 300 TTP.

One thing to note: this ended up being a little conversation-heavy, and unfortunately conversation isn't really training. I'm not detracting or anything, but more of the thread should probably be devoted to the actual training than the conversations. Just something for the future.