Oh yes another shocked figure from Alexandra as Luke spoke. Alexandra let her shoulders down a bit more then suddenly raised her head with a fresh figure. She got up as well and followed Luke, replicating his moves. When she was next to him, she was sure of herself and convincing.

“Luke, really, I want self-defense classes. And yeah, I might have pretended for a bit that I don’t have a reason for not wanting to be near Sam… well, I do have and… I’m kind of embarrassed after he saw me half naked.” she confessed with a half smile. “But I probably have to get over it and I have to start somewhere, no? I can’t afford to have my head turn into a tomato every time I see him…” she added with a shrug. If that wasn’t convincing (for both her and Luke) then she didn’t know what else to do.

"Now that makes more sense than what you were saying before." Luke admitted with a smile as he picked up his bottle of water and took another swig of the cool liquid. Already his mind was working over the situation that had been laid out, seeing if there was any way he could help Alexandra. "I'm going to guess that you also want to show Sam that you're more than just a partially naked woman for him to rescue all the time."

Right then an idea struck and Luke's smile widened ever so slightly. "What if I taught you a few things before you went to his class? Some stuff that maybe you could surprise Sam with and prove there's more to you than meets the eye?"

On the one hand the idea was a little bit silly but on the other hand it made perfect sense. If Luke's assumptions were correct than this would give Alexandra the perfect chance to show off and make Sam look at her in a different light than he already was. Of course, Alexandra didn't know exactly how Sam was currently looking at her, but that was beside the point.

A half pout appeared on her face as she hard Luke’s first comment. Her arms folded in front of her as the young woman was thinking. “I wasn’t aware I was seen as a half naked woman that needed to be saved.” she muttered under her breath, a disapproving look completing the pout. Oh well, if Sam thought that she was that kind of girl then he would certainly be proved wrong. It wasn’t her fault he pulled the damn bra off her, her mind shouted in protest.

Yes there was more than met the eye when it came to her, she approved Luke in her thoughts. Would Luke or Sam or everyone that knew her around here even suspect that this fragile looking girl in front of their eyes had killed in cold blood? And not one or two but many. Of course not. No one would consider her a half naked woman needing saving then, she thought with smugness.

But you’re a spy, told her another part of her mind. Yes, she was, and if she kept people really far away from her real self it only meant she was doing a good job. But that didn’t mean that she couldn’t show everyone that she wasn’t a silly airhead either. “I would love to teach some of the moves first.” she said with a grin, accentuating every word of the sentence she had spoken. Alexandra jumped up to her feet in an excited manner. “So, where do we start?”

"I don't think anyone sees you in that light, except maybe for yourself." Luke replied with a smile as he climbed to his feet, "Or maybe it's more you worry about that being how people see you instead of actually thinking that about yourself."

The blind man was still trying to get a clear idea about what this young woman was really about but it was difficult when even she seemed to be somewhat confused by herself. Sure, she was confident and outgoing but at the same time there were parts of her personality that just didn't mesh. Deciding that it really wasn't all that important, Luke laid aside the previous subject matter to get down to teaching.

"I practice a martial arts that you've probably never heard of called Bartitsu. it is a combination of some of the beast moves from jujitsu, boxing, and several other martial arts. Though it does teach about close quarter combat, it also teacher about mid-range combat using kicks or the staff or walking stick." Luke offered as he stood a few feet away from Alexandra and took a basic defensive posture. The man's feet were spread about a shoulder width apart and both of his hands were held up in the classic boxing position.

"Now, you keep your primary hand pulled in tight, near your chin, while your left hand is more out in front. This is probably the easiest and most well known ready stance around."

Turning so that he and Alexandra would basically be facing the same direction, Luke took a few minutes to talk to her and run through just a few basic combinations. The jab, cross, hook, and upercut punches followed by front, snap, and roundhouse kicks.

"These are just the basic moves but they can be employed in any combination you think will work for the situation you find yourself in." Luke said after they had been doing it for a few minutes, "Any questions so far?"

Oh. He heard that. And Alexandra decided that skipping the counselor part Luke was playing, and which she certainly didn’t need, was the best she could do. She wasn’t seeing herself in any light, except the good old Circe, molecular manipulator, here on a mission. Yeah, she had been experiencing some odd feelings, especially when she was around ‘everyone’s favorite ice mancer’ but she firmly put the ‘mindless flirting’ tab all over it again. So what if her cheeks will change colors when he was mentioned around?

Instead her attention focused on the self defence techniques lessons. Of course she hadn’t heard about Bartitsu, she had hardly heard about anything else than jujitsu, karate and kung fu. And those, she had just heard of them and never practiced them. Looking back in her past she realized just how wrong she was. When she had discovered her powers she practically began to depend on them and never though she would need anything else. Only when the Registration Act was up and running and mutant powers suppressing methods were brought up she thought with regret about all those years she had spent in the Underground without using… er… asking one of the physically skilled members to teach her.

She followed Luke’s every instruction, her head slightly turning from him to the grounds as she was trying to do everything in her usual perfect manner. Of course, from her point of view she had managed but it was up to Luke to give the final grade. The basic moves weren’t that hard and most of them if not all she had witnessed in movies or real fights. She was what someone could call excited about this. After minutes of practice, when Luke had stopped to ask her if she had any questions so far, she used the spare moment to take off her hoodie as it wasn’t needed anymore and threw it on the ground. “No, no question.” she said with a smile as she was turning back to him. “Although I should practice on the basics a bit more to perfect them.” she added with a grin. Yes, she wanted to be perfect in everything she did. “You know, you were right about agility.” she continued and bent down to retrieve one of the water bottles. Luke surely wouldn’t mind. She took a small sip then her eyes turned back to her new teacher. “But I should work more on stamina.” she said noticing her slightly labored breath. Yoga certainly didn’t require that much of an effort. Scratching her chin Alexandra put on a thoughtful look.

Luke's latest trainee was picking up the basics rather quickly but he really wasn't all that surprised. Most people that practiced either Yoga or Tai Chi could pick up the martial arts relatively quickly because of the balance and flexibility they had to learn in their much more sedate art forms.

"Take up running or swimming." Luke advised with a smile as he walked over and picked up his own bottle of water. "Practicing punches and kicks isn't always the easiest depending on who's around, but you can almost always find somewhere to either run or swim. Not only will it help you build up the stamina but it'll also let you keep your fighting ability hidden behind closed doors until you really need it."

Taking a swig of water, Luke swished it around in his mouth to keep up the water before swallowing the small amount. Closing up the bottle he tossed it down and then walked a few feet away from where his stuff was laid out. "You did pretty good on those kicked and punches but you need to remember to draw back a little faster. You're leaving your arms and legs extended to long so they would be easy to grab." Luke said as he took up his ready stance, "Try to imagine that whenever you reach full extention with your punch or kick, you're touching a hot stove. As soon as you make contact you have to pull back otherwise you'll get burned. OK?"

Feeling like she was in highschool again, Alexandra took mental notes to what Luke was saying. She had been considering running for quite some time but never found a motivation good enough to actually start doing it. Now that she had it, a rigorous schedule was forming in her mind, one that included yoga, running and swimming. She never thought of swimming as a form of training, more like a relaxing method and one that she didn’t do very often considering her fear of deep waters. But a pool wasn’t going to engulf her figure that was certain and if any danger would come then her powers would allow her to manipulate an impressive quantity of water away.

Nodding to Luke’s comment of the slowness of her movements, Alexandra dropped the water bottle and got back to the fighting stance. Before starting to exercise again, she turned to Luke. “Do you think we can make a habit out of this fighting classes?” she asked with a short smile then her face was turned away as hse concentrated.

Okay, hot stove. Alexandra pictured the image in her head as she repeated some of the moves she learned minutes earlier, this time moving faster. Hot stove, she reminded herself as her hand or leg was extended. “You think this is better?” she asked still moving, a drop of sweat forming on her temple from the intense concentration. Hot stove. Her hand was pulled back in a quick motion and she stood, eyes turning to Luke expectant.

"Good Alexandra... very good." Luke said as he nodded his head in approval. It wasn't yet perfect but she was most certainly moving faster and focusing more on what she was doing. "And I guess we can do this until you think you're ready to face Sam in his self defense class." He continued, a slight smile toying over his lips.

Moving toward Alexandra, he took up a position about three or four feet in front of her and stood with his hands up in the classic defensive position. "Hit me. Or at least try to." He instructed, his voice completely serious as he focused his sonar on the young woman, watching for any muscle twitch that would broadcast her next move. It was doubtful that she could actually land a blow on him even if he wasn't completely focused but he didn't want to take that chance. He wasn't particularly fond of bruises and he also didn't want the student to show up the teacher on her first day.

The sole mentioning of Sam and his self defense classes brought fresh strength to the young woman’s body. Although her breath was slightly labored, her mind was pushing away the exhaustion from her muscles. Alexandra straightened up frowning. Again, the smile on Luke’s face gave her the impression that he knew more than he was telling. “That’s great.” she said in a determined tone.

She watched the man taking his fighting stance with slight hesitation. She was expecting that this would come but she certainly didn’t expect it this soon. In her opinion, she hadn’t practiced the basic moves long enough to even manage to scratch Luke. And he had a sonar too so basically her every move would be registered soon enough to have him warned.

So… She stood for a moment, quickly analyzing the situation. Then, all of a sudden she charged forward, aiming for the man’s face but as soon as she was close enough the target changed to his stomach. If not trained enough, at least try to be sneaky, she told herself with a mental chuckle. She knew that her trick had low chances of being successful but she wasn’t the give-up type either. Hot stove, she remembered herself, as her hands moved in fast motion.

Alexandra obviously hadn't mastered the basics quite yet but by mixing in surprise and speed she was still coming across as a formidable fighter. As Luke moved on arm across his body to effectively block the punches that the young woman was throwing, he had to admit that if he hadn't been as focused on her movements she might have actually been able to hit him.

For the moment, Luke stayed on the defensive, blocking and parrying the blows that came his way while carefully watching the young woman. The slight quiver behind each breath told him that her body was straining but somehow she was pushing past it to try and get him. It made sense that she would be able to focus her mind enough to ignore weariness for at least a short time. Yoga was all about centering yourself and allowing the mind to have complete control... or at least, that's what yoga was all about if you were doing it right.

Moving quickly, Luke suddenly grabbed onto Alexandra's wrists, holding her arms immobilized as he gave her a quick smile. "Good enough Alexandra. You almost had me a couple of times there. I'm gonna have to be careful how much I teach you otherwise you might master everything far to quickly." His voice was teasing but there was still a touch of admiration in his tone. Sure, he was joking about Alexandra's being better than him in such a short time but he was still impressed by exactly how quickly she was picking everything up.

"Just practice the parts you learned today and we'll see about getting together in a few days for another sessions. That work for you?"

Alexandra found herself immobilized after quite a struggle with Luke. She didn’t manage to land any hit on the actual target, a fact that made her frown but it wasn’t much of a shock anyway. She smiled silently at Luke teasing her about mastering this technique too soon. She knew that martial arts supposed lots of intensive trainings in order to become effective in a real situation.

Taking a step back after being released she rotated her neck and finally let exhaustion take over her. She picked up the water bottle and took a large sip while Luke was giving her advices. “Many thanks for this Luke.” she said with a bright smile after he finished talking. “I’ll practice of course and I’ll work on building stamina too.” Alexandra let out a deep breath and bent down to pick up her hoodie. “I’m looking forward to hearing from you.”

"Your welcome Alexandra." Luke said with a grin as he retrieved his own water bottle and quickly drained it with one or two swallows, "I'll get in touch in a few days to see about scheduling our next sessions."

Picking up his sunglasses, Luke put them firmly in place and then retrieved his towel as well. Looping the fabric around his neck Luke began to walk along with Alexandra toward the mansion. "After you've got some training I'm gonna put you in Sam's class though." Luke said with a smile as they walked, "I'd love to see the surprise on his face!"

A grin appeared on Alexandra’s face as she heard Luke talking about Sam’s training classes. “I like the way you are thinking Luke.” she said with a wink. She was anxious to see Sam’s face too, of course. The grin turned into a smile as they were approaching the Mansion. “We have to do something to make sure you are there on my first class.” she added with a wink.

Alexandra stopped at the Mansion’s doors for a second and turned to see Luke. “It turned out to be a quite good meeting, master.” she teased and pushed them open.