"This is NOT gonna be easy is it... Oh well, guess I've got no option"
Zane holds his sword, looking to the cup. He focuses on the tip of the sword, watching the cup. He slows his breathing and heart rate, and then strikes. And again. And again. Keeping the cup moving, barely hitting it, but glancing it and keeping it going. As he works, he eventually gets more confident and begins hitting it more full-on each time.
Grayell smiles as he watches Zane and gets to cooking something for a late meal. They had hours before night fall, but it wasn't likely that Zane was about to be done anytime soon...
Zane keeps at it, watching the way the cup swings. As he goes, he get even better at seeing the patterns of the cup's swing. As he becomes more familiar with it, he finds it easier and easier to stab the stick right to where the cup will be.
Grayell had finished cooking. He sat by the fire though, wondering when Zane would take a break. This exercise was not as physically taxing as the last two, but it still caused strain. His eyes would blur if not careful.
Zane begins to feel his arm getting heavy, and his eyes watering, but he still doggedly tries to go on, until suddenly his eyes cross and he falls down onto his face. Pulling himself up, he decides that enough is enough and slides the stick into his belt. He goes back to the clearing and sees Grayell by the fire
"Got dizzy and fell on my face after the first 100 or so. It was starting to get easier though... I was starting to be able to predict the cup's path..."
Predictable huh? Well then, we'll have to do something about that. Combat isn't predictable. Eat up though and get some rest. We'll change it up a little in the morning.
(Sorry, having a mother headache and not doing well with the small talk.)
Zane wakes the next morning to see Grayell sitting by the fire. He nods and the two have some tea, exchange a few words. After he's awake and refreshed, Zane gets back to the exercise.
However, as he makes his first blow, the cup jerks erratically and he misses. It is then he spies a second line... and follows it to a long stick Grayell is holding.
Don't mind me, just making things a little more interesting.
Zane sighs, but persists in trying. He tries to judge which direction Grayell will pull the cup, and as time goes on, starts to get better at it, but only just. The going is much slower then before, because Grayell is a big meanie
Grayell occasionally tugged on the string, having Zane judge patterns would defeat the purpose of the activity. He was noticing Zane's improvement though and finally, his strikes were becoming less premeditated and more instinctive. Grayell smiled and simply sipped his tea, watching the fire and counting each hit quietly.
Zane starts actually hitting the cup more and more often. He stops noticing when Grayell tugs on the string, just going with the flow, and moving when he sees the secondary string tighten. He's approaching the 250 mark, and is barely even conscious of the strikes at this point
Grayell continues to relax and starts moving the string a little more erratically, changing the force with which he is pulling on the string. He also jerks it outwards from time to time, changing the direction of it's swing.
Grayell trips Zane up a few times, nearly sending his sprawling, but he manages to regain his composure, and continues as before, hitting those that he can, and doing his best to hit the ones that Grayell decides to mess with