Leo and Causper, now with 100% more training.

Leo was sitting on a stump, reading for Causper to come by. It had been 2 days since their day at the ice cream parlor, and they set up a time to train the day after. He got here about 3 hours early to set up a bunch of dummies, and even bought a whip to practice with. He didn't really practice, though, since he also had a book with him. He took a quick look at his watch, seeing that he was still 40 minutes early. He gave a small sigh, then turned back to his book.

Causper grinned, eager to start her first day of training with a person whose mind wasn't a torture room for her. There was still time before she was due to arrive at the training grounds so she bought two dozen fresh baked cookies on her way. Leo might not have much experience with a whip but he had a sort of wall protecting his innermost thoughts which was more of a benefit than a problem.
Causper entered the training grounds and found Leo easily. As expected he was the one with the book. There was still thirty minutes before the designated time but Leo already had a large number of practice dummies set up. She set down the cookies and walked over to Leo.

"You've been busy. How long have you been here?"

Leo was deep into his book, then looked up suddenly.

Leo: What, who? Oh, Hi Causper. Your a little early, aren't you. And cookies. . . No, I don't care. And me some.

He got up and walked over to them, grabbing one and letting it land on his mouth. He closed his eyes, savoring the flavor.

Causper smiled. Leo hadn't answered her question but she supposed it didn't matter. Cookies were much more important apparently, and with the reputation of the bakery she'd bought them from it was no doubt that the cookies were more attractive then training. She took a cookie and started munching on it, the bakery had been highly praised and for good reason.

"So what were you planning with all these training dummies? Are we decapitating them? Perhaps just hitting them in the weaker points would be easier."
Causper said jokingly, she'd no desire to decapitate things. Decapitations were challenging and messy.

Leo grabbed another cookie, but tossed it between his hands.

Leo: Yeah, sure. But, only after we dance with them. We have to make the lifeless dummies feel special before we rip their head off. It's only common courtesy, Causper. Though, I'm not sure if I can do much with a normal whip?

He took out his new whip and rested it on his shoulder.

Causper reached over and took the whip from Leo with a smile. It seemed to be good quality. She tested it with a few expert flicks of her wrist, sending the whip lashing into a dummy and slicing it's arm off. Definitely a better quality whip.

"I don't think i'll be very good at dancing with them. Normal whips need more practice then whips with a mind. How about I teach you to chop their heads off with a whip and you teach me to dance with training dummies?"

Leo: Alright, hand me whip first, then we can get started.

Leo felt a little insulted that she just took the whip from his hands, but he understood and hid it from her. He ate another 3 cookies, then took off his scarf. He gave it a flicking motion, with his whole arm shaking as he did it, somewhat similar to what Causper did. It was pretty sloppy, though, and Leo was pretty sure he was doing something wrong.

Causper watched Leo try to imitate her movements with her scarf, holding back a laugh effortlessly. She handed him back his whip.

"Sorry Leo, here. You're scarf is a horrible thing to practice with. This is more dangerous, but it'll react much better. Find the most comfortable place to hold the handle of the whip and just flick your wrist like you're throwing a frisbee for now. Aim for the dummie i took the arm off of, it's within the whip's range. Good luck!"

Causper backed away and let Leo practice with the whip. He had to get used to an actual whip, although if she'd transformed and practiced with him he'd probably master it quicker. Even if it took all day to train, she was sure Leo had it in him to master the whip.

Leo grabbed the whip, and nodded at her comment. He started flicking his wrist, sending the whip at the dummy. He continued this for a couple of hours, trying out some different techniques. At eleven, Leo was leaning up against a dummy, panting and drenched in sweat.

Causper gave Leo a small smile,and tossed him a towel. After the first hour Causper had slunk off to find some ice water and some towels, expecting the training to take a while.

"You really are taking this seriously. Take a break, and you can try using a whip that guides itself after."

Leo gave her a small nod, then slumped to the ground. He took the towel, and started wiping his forehead.

Leo: You can guide yourself? Wow, that's pretty impressive. At least aiming will be easier, I guess. Anyway, let's get some lunch, then I can try using you.

Causper grinned and held up her small green cellphone. She'd already arranged a picnic lunch earlier in the morning so all she had to do was call to have it delivered to them.

"The advantages of being the some-what spoiled niece of a hotel owner. I've already asked the hotel restaurant staff to make us a lunch. No idea what they decided to make though, it could be any number of foods. All I have to do is tell them where I am."

Leo took a big gulp of water, then gave her a small smile.

Leo: Right, well, that makes things a lot more convenient for me.

He sat down on the stump, taking his scarf and wrapping it around his left arm.

Leo: So, how long will it take for the picnic to come?

Causper texted the Hotel staff's errand boy, giving him the directions to the training ground. With any luck, the restaurant staff had already finished with the lunch and could hand it off to one of the chauffeurs who could drive over to the grounds in minutes.

"It should be here any where between ten and twenty minutes if we're lucky. If we're unlucky it'll take more than half an hour. I'm feeling lucky today."

Leo: Alright, I don't mind waiting for that long.

He took a water bottle from his bag, and started gulping it down. He wiped the sweat from his brow, and fell to the ground, relaxing.

Causper took off her sweater and laid it down on the ground underneath her as she sat down. The chauffers came fifteen minutes after she had texted the errand boy. The picnic basket they brought smelled suspiciously of garlic and tomato sauce. Italian food must be today's special.

"Food's here Leo. Smells like Italian."

Causper thanked the chauffeur and dismissed him to return to the hotel.

Leo rolled on the ground, and let out a slight yawn. He resumed to now snore again. He clutched his scarf close to him, curling up into a ball.

Causper laughed. She hadn't expected Leo to fall asleep. She ruffled his hair before shaking his shoulder.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty! I thought you were hungry? If you don't wake up the food will get cold!"

Leo was shook awake, but just rolled over.

Leo: Ugh. . . 5 more minutes, Copper. . .

He put his scarf over his head, hoping to block out the world.

Causper sat back with a laugh, but soon calmed down and just pulled the basket of food towards her. She found a freshly baked length of garlic bread inside, and after tearing off a piece she sat back and munched on the crisp warm bread. It was the best she'd tasted from the hotel restaurant, perhaps the baker had found a new recipe.

Causper tore off another piece and waved it in front of Leo's nose.

Leo laid still for a couple of seconds, then rolled around.

Leo: Alright, alright, I'm up.

He grabbed the piece of bread from her, and ate it in a gulp. He rubbed his eyes, and moved closer to the food.

Leo: Alright, what do we have for lunch, then?

"Italian. Other than the smell of tomatoes and my discovery of the garlic bread I'm not sure. Take a look, I'm sure there's plenty."

Causper slid the basket towards him after taking out a medium sized container, the staff had packed it almost to the brim and she couldn't easily lift the basket above the ground. They knew how much Causper ate exactly so they had already separated out a portion for her in the container she had grabbed. Except for the garlic bread which they would share Leo could eat as much as he wanted.

Leo grabbed at the garlic bread, plotting some into his mouth.

Leo: So, with your aunt's hotel. Is it family owned, like passed down generation to generation, or did she build it from the ground up?

"I'm not sure. I think the building was a gift from someone, and a lot of the staff were distant relatives at first. She built up the reputation but the rest of it was only 'some assembly required'. The staff have expanded to include a lot of part-time workers that are here as students. I think that's what the story is anyways. My aunt gets distracted everytime I ask her."

Causper opened the container of food and was graced with the warm cheesy smell of lasagna along with a crisp scent of salad. She found a fork in the basket of food and started eating.

Leo opened up a box of Ravioli, then started pouring tomato sauce in the box.

Leo: Alright, fair enough. So, with all of the students working in the hotel, did you make a lot of friends? Or did you usually keep to yourself?