LtCol Wes Greaves - Balance

[Jacob Rittenhouse]

LtCol Wes Greaves - Balance

 

((Gator Deck Holodeck  , USS OEB))

 

OOC – Sorry for the delay! The weekend was so much busier than I expected!

 

Greaves: Good. Now relax your shoulders.

 

He watched the tension bleed out of her frame in small increments rather than all at once. The lift was deliberate; the drop less so. Her shoulders settled, but not fully. There was still a line of readiness running through her upper body, like a wire pulled just a fraction too tight. Good. Tension could be refined. Slack could not.

 

With a glance at each of her shoulders, Peri lifted them, then let them fall into a rested, natural position. She looked at them again, as if to be sure they were where they should be, then looked up at Wes expectantly.

 

Greaves: Better. Don’t check them. Feel it. If you have to look, you’re already behind.

 

He shifted his own weight subtly to demonstrate, rolling through the balls of his feet without moving position. The mat compressed under him with a soft whisper of fibers shifting against skin. His breathing stayed even, unforced. He wanted her watching that as much as anything else, economy, not effort.

 

She did as she was told, but unlike him, found herself falling back into a more typical motion. Rather than letting her feet glide, she lifted a foot, which shifted her balance to the other. Without realizing it, she’d put herself in a vulnerable position, but Wes was quick to address it.

 

He saw it before the movement completed, the slight rise in her centerline, the weight dumping into the planted foot. For half a second, she was committed in only one direction.

 

Greaves: Stop.

 

The word wasn’t sharp, but it was immediate. He stepped in at the same time, closing the distance just enough to demonstrate the opening without exploiting it. One hand hovered near her shoulder, not striking, just marking the line where someone else could have driven forward.

 

Greaves: When you pick your foot up like that, you give me this.

 

He shifted his stance a fraction, angling his hip to show how easily her balance could be turned. He didn’t push. Didn’t need to. The geometry spoke for itself. From her perch, Echo watched, her head bobbing up and down in curiosity, but the dragonet was not enough to distract Peri. 

 

He stepped back half a pace to give her space to reset. He could see the recalibration happening, attention narrowing, shoulders settling again, feet pressing more deliberately into the mat.

 

Katsim: Like this?  

 

Her adjustment was smaller this time. Less lift. More slide. Not perfect, but closer.

 

Greaves: Closer.

 

He moved laterally without warning, testing whether she maintained the glide or reverted. His own feet barely left the surface, friction controlled, center steady.

 

Greaves: Keep both feet alive. Even when one moves, the other is ready.

 

He slowed just enough for her to see the transfer of weight rather than guess at it. No wasted motion. No vertical bounce.

Katsim: Response  

 

He watched her attempt again. The hesitation was still there, the instinct to step instead of slide, but it was diminishing.

Greaves: Not bad, but remember, you don’t need speed yet. You need consistency.

 

He shifted direction abruptly, reversing the circle. The banners along the wall stirred faintly in the simulated airflow, but the only sound on the mat was the muted brush of skin against woven fibers.

 

Greaves: Speed comes after your base stops collapsing every time you think about it.

 

Katsim: Response  

 

A faint exhale left him along with a smile. This time, she corrected mid-motion without needing the verbal cue.

 

Greaves: That’s it!

 

He closed distance again, not invading, just enough that she had to account for him in her peripheral vision.

 

Greaves: If someone crowds you, your feet solve the problem before your hands do.

 

He shifted his weight forward slightly, enough to test whether she compensated backward or grounded herself. Watching. Measuring.

Katsim: Response  

 

Greaves: Good. We’ll keep working on that in everything we do, because stance is the base of every motion. Let’s see how you can strike now.

Katsim: Response  

 

 

Tags / TBC

 

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Lieutenant Colonel Wes Greaves

Marine Detachment Commander

USS Octavia E. Butler NCC-82850

E239702WG0

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