[FIN] LESSON ONE!

[BlackFireKitsune]

The brunette was obviously about to argue; her mouth opened, a hand raised to point indignantly, but surprisingly she didn't speak, just held the pose before she forced herself to relax. Instead, she crossed her arms with a huff and averted her gaze. She did not, in fact, know her pokemon nearly as well as she thought she did, and had decided against trying to argue otherwise. She didn't know them in the way Ray was talking to her about them, and apparently that was the only way that mattered.

"I was watching the battle," she finally said to counter the argument, although it wasn't nearly as heated or defiant as it could have been. She had been watching, yes; she just wasn't sure what she was supposed to be looking at. They were battling - what was she supposed to notice and tell Isabella?  

[Blood_Goddess]

"Yes, you were, and you were doing an excellent job. But I've told you, you need to be the leader, you are the one that needs to see what you're pokemon cannot, and guide from there. And in that aspect, you were failing dismally"
Ray pointed out, her eyelids drooping a little.
"You have to actively participate."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"But you told me that right now I'm not the leader," Sera didn't hesitate to point out, grasping at anything - anything - to direct the conversation away from her own shortcomings. "You told me I'm an equal." How could she be a leader when she was supposed to be an equal? Leaders only had equals in other leaders - was Ray about to tell her that Isabella and Jacques were also leaders?  

[Blood_Goddess]

Ray stared at her for a couple of seconds, going over what she had said before. her steady expression changed to one of honest confusion.
"You are equal, the position you have to play in a battle is a leading position." Ray tried to explain again. "... does that make sense?"
In all honesty she could see how that might have been a bit confusing, but it made sense to Ray, so maybe Sera could get it..  

[BlackFireKitsune]

The brunette leveled an equally confused look on Ray. "But how can leaders be equal to who they're leading? That makes no sense. At all."  

[Blood_Goddess]

Ray signed, "This is how." Ray lifted her head, looking over to Isabella and gesturing her forward.
"You see that tree over there? go use your horn and see what you can do about redecorating the face of that trunk."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Isabella hesitated briefly as Ray called her over, but she complied and stood in front of the tall woman with some level of apprehension. When instructed, the dark-type first looked to Sera for confirmation of the strange command - which she received in the form of a confused nod from the girl - before the Absol turned with a dubious expression and loped off to carry out her request.

Sera, meanwhile, was still confused. "The hell does that prove?"  

[Blood_Goddess]

Ray had her hands on her hips as she watched the Absol, true to its breed rip into the tree as easily as tearing bread.
"alright." she told the pokemon, then looked over to Sera, gesturing to the tree "Now you go do it."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

When Ray gave the okay to stop, Isabella did so and trotted back over to them.

Sera just gave the taller woman a look that clearly said what she thought this chick was smoking. "Um, excuse me? You want me to what?"  

[Blood_Goddess]

"I want you to use your claws, and I want you to tear a chunk out of that tree."
Ray repeated, though this time with a more clear explanation. holding up her own hand and curling the fingers as if to emphasis.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Slowly, very slowly, the brunette raised her own hands - and as she did, one of her eyebrows rose just as slowly. Once fully raised, she curled her fingers in a bit to mimic Ray's, then flexed them a bit and as she did so, raised both eyebrows and half-lidded her eyes, giving Ray a look that very obviously said what the hell are you smoking. "Seriously?"  

[Blood_Goddess]

Ray had to admit, she was having way way too much fun watching the girl's very clear thought process.
The look Sera gave her was met with the return of her wide grin.
"Yeah, seriously. Go ahead."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Sera didn't move nor change her expression in the slightest, still giving Ray the exact same look of clear the-hell-are-you-on. "You seriously want me to go 'claw' that tree," she said, eyebrows still raised in an extremely dubious look. She was seriously starting to question this chick's teaching methods. Was she high or something? Because this was ridiculous.

Isabella stood beside the pair, gold eyes shifting from one to the other in clear confusion.  

[Blood_Goddess]

Ray crossed her arms, her smirk still on her face. "I think, I've been pretty clear up to this point." Ray gave a thoughtful nod, confirming to herself what she had instructed Sera to do. "Yup."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

The girl dropped her hands when Ray affirmed her suspicions. "Okay that is seriously the stupidest thing I have ever had the displeasure of hearing as a serious instruction," she said with a very flat, unimpressed look. "What in the freaking hell good will this do? How is this even part of training or anything? I can't ******** claw a tree."