My newest student

[Willie Long]

A shy young woman, barely out of high-school, showed up at the temple for a Saturday evening class. She introduced herself and I invited her in.

I began with Buddhism:

Before I was born, who was I?
After I am born, who am I?
Respect yourself, and everyone will respect you.
Understand yourself, and everyone will understand you.
There are mirrors all around you:
Strive to see and understand yourself.
Strive to have the heart of a Buddha.
Stop doing bad things, only do good.
Do whatever you can to help others.
In these ways you help yourself.
Help yourself, and you help the world.

She had a ton of questions, and we discussed philosophy for hours. She'd been sorta subdued when she first walked in but was practically bouncing by the end of our talk. It was late, and I figured I'd end the class then, but she was ready for martial arts training.

Who'da guessed a dead girl could be so lively?

[Bert_the_Turtle]

Interesting.

So, should I start guessing at the identity of your new student?

[Willie Long]

I'm sure she'll be along to add her point of view, Jack.

***
She told me she'd learned tae kwon do, and was interested in learning new fighting styles. I suggested a sparring session, so I could feel out areas she needed to improve. Normally I'd have the students warm up first, but that would've required a microwave, so I skipped it.

We stood about ten feet apart and faced each other. I said, "Full speed, but light contact only, cool?"

We bowed to each other and dropped into fighting stances. I stepped in, provoking a roundhouse kick to the head. I bobbed back and weaved in, launching a palm strike before her leg got back to the ground, but it was parried.

She was quick.

She threw a flurry of punches, but I parried and drove her back with a couple of snap kicks. I followed up with a thrust kick that she knocked away. We were at her favorite range and she launched another roundhouse kick.

I dodged underneath with a dragon-tail sweep kick that put her on her ass. "The problem with high kicks," I said, as she hopped up, "is that they compromise your balance. Let your legs get you into position to attack with your hands, or to disrupt your opponent's positioning."

Once she, uh, calmed down, I continued the lesson.

"There are four hand strikes you need to know: Jab, Hook, Cross, Uppercut. The first two are performed with your lead hand, the last two with your rear hand..."

And that's how I started teaching boxing to a vampire.

[Bert_the_Turtle]

That's crazy man, I love it. I can't wait to see her in action again.

Although I know Ron is gonna be around sooner or later questioning the intelligence in teaching a vamp how to be deadlier.

[KonThaak]

If he does, we can talk it out. I had serious misgivings about her before I met her; I told her outright I wouldn't invite her into my home before she even came down to help me; I wouldn't let her meet my wife or child.

Despite this, she still stuck around and saved all our asses. That said a lot to me, and as I'm gonna get to in the other thread, I eventually did introduce her to my wife and baby, though I still did so guardedly.

I'll keep a lot of my thoughts about her to myself for now, but I will say that I saw a great deal of humanity in her, moreso than even a lot of people I've known. Despite my prejudices and precautions *against her*, she was still willing to help me without reward or compunction.

And so, if we can cultivate that humanity in any number of ways (and martial arts training under any true master will do that; Willie doubly so, since he knows and understands the condition of his new pupil), then that would help squash many of the rest of my fears about her.

[Bert_the_Turtle]

My concerns were allayed after meeting up with her to eliminate that cult.

[Willie Long]

Although I know Ron is gonna be around sooner or later questioning the intelligence in teaching a vamp how to be deadlier.

Luckily for all of us, Jack, I'm not.

I'm guiding a teenager along the bazhengdao:

1. Right understanding
2. Right intention
3. Right speech
4. Right action
5. Right livelihood
6. Right effort
7. Right mindfulness
8. Right concentration

Just like I have for years. All I had to do was make a few minor curriculum changes like eliminating breathing exercises, physical conditioning, and warm-up/cool-down stretches from the martial arts training.

***
It was getting early, and I knew she had to leave for home soon, so I ended the martial arts training and we spent the rest of her class time on meditation. We scheduled her next class before she left.

(Which reminds me, KT, you and the Mrs. still haven't made an appointment.)

[Bert_the_Turtle]

Willie, when you made that comment about teaching a Vampire how to box you got me thinking down that road heh.

Well I'm glad you can help her out. And while I'm thinking about it, I'll extend an offer to teach anyone any of the skills I know if they're willing to pay for any materials involved. I'd do it for free but I lost a ton of money on resources from those last two Lazlo Outings.

[Willie Long]

That's one advantage of hunting my way, Jack. Elbow grease is cheaper than bullets, silver or otherwise.

[Bert_the_Turtle]

Very true. Although I like to keep out of range of things that can rip me apart with their bare hands.

[KonThaak]

(Which reminds me, KT, you and the Mrs. still haven't made an appointment.)

When we don't have a baby that needs our immediate attention every 1-4 hours, making it impossible for either of us to sleep for more than that period of time, we'll set up our appointments.

Otherwise, trust me, we'd be there already.

[Ron Caliburn]

The requisite parties have their Private Messages to check.

What is with this place? Why do you all think the Wolf can lay with the Sheep without getting the urge for a snack?

A vampire or a werewolf, even if not blatantly evil is still a predator. It's a predator with an eternity of appetites to deal with.

On that kind of timescale, a slip up is an eventuality. An innocent or many innocents will be harmed or killed by them.

Even if they feel sorry afterwards, it is still innocent blood that is spilt or slurped.

[Bert_the_Turtle]

If Predator A over the course of a Century Kills 1,000 Evils (Human, Demonic, Supernatural, whatever.) Saves 1,000 Innocents, and loses control a couple times and takes out a handful of innocent people. Isn't that still a huge + in the Good column?

Is something other than human that accidentally kills an innocent any worse than a human that guns down a fellow soldier in a friendly fire accident? Hell Ron you tazered someone, what if you'd shot 'em instead?

[Celeste Darken]

The requisite parties have their Private Messages to check.

What is with this place? Why do you all think the Wolf can lay with the Sheep without getting the urge for a snack?

A vampire or a werewolf, even if not blatantly evil is still a predator. It's a predator with an eternity of appetites to deal with.

On that kind of timescale, a slip up is an eventuality. An innocent or many innocents will be harmed or killed by them.

Even if they feel sorry afterwards, it is still innocent blood that is spilt or slurped.

"Slurped" sounds so uncultured. But if you must know, I did refuse to give one young man a hickey when he begged for just that on bended knee. As a part of the “goth” group I made mention to earlier, he knows of my vampiric nature. He knows I have sworn an oath not to turn any to the dark. He continually pesters me to take small amounts of his blood, and I continue to refuse.

I look at it like this, Ron. You say there is no such thing as a “tame” vampire: I quite agree. Now for a comparison you will have to forgive, which expresses my point well:

In C.S. Lewis’s books, Aslan was one of the premier “good” guys. When asked if he was good, the Pensevie children were assured that he was.

But as to his “tameness” during the books . . . that was never questioned, either. He was not a tame lion. Nor am I a tame lion. While I do not claim to be Aslan, in form or metaphor, I find myself in similar straits. I am not a tame vampire, so get to know me at your own risk. There is no contradiction in my belief in taming vampires. I haven’t sworn off blood. Might as well ask humanity to swear off air.

So take the risk. Life is full of risks. Is driving in New York risky? Yes. Is getting into a racecar dangerous? Absolutely. But humans risk it, for whatever reason. I am not asking you, or anyone, to ask vampires where their loyalties lie. In fact, I’m not even asking you to ask me. All I am doing is giving my side of the story. I have powers that set me above humanity. Why shouldn’t I use them for humanity’s benefit?

[Ron Caliburn]

Those who seek to do harm to innocent humans should be stopped and punished accordingly. I usually pass ifnormation about humans who do such things to the proper auhtorities because I'm a specialist in things un-human.

A vampire, by it's very nature, will eventually seek to do harm to a human, and if an innocent human is the human available they will seek to harm that human.

Just because a Lion will kill a Hyena on sight doesn't mean that we should trust the Lion in our house.

A vampire is inherently predatory, dangerous and untrustworthy. Celeste may be new enough turned that a memory of its humanity remains ... but a century from now when we have all passed on, it will remain, and be that much more aware of that which has sperated it from the human condition. It will be that much more aware that it is stronger, tougher and, in effect, a god walking amoung mortals. How long until that otherness corrupts it into the monster that it is destined to be?

[Celeste Darken]

Destiny is for those too weak to admit their own failure and go on. Fate is for those bigots who don't have the courage to make their own way. I have never believed in such nonsense as predestination. Do you, Ron? Self control and noble ambition is what sets Humanity above the chimpanzee. Why should I deny myself such schools of thought?

[KonThaak]

Ron...Given any form of eternity, anything is possible. The greater the eternity, the greater the chances of it happening.

Celeste is not a god, and it's been my experience that while yes, power does, indeed, corrupt, those it corrupts are summarily taken down, one way or another.

Even the mighty Vlad Teppish was killed by an unknown person(s). If (or when) the undesirable happens, and Celeste becomes our enemy (or the enemy of my son, or his children, etc), she, too, will be taken down, if she hasn't already.

She may be killed long before then. That's a risk we all take.

I've already said I don't trust her 100%, but as I said, the more human she remains for now, the longer she will remain humane in the future.

[Ron Caliburn]

Self control and noble ambition is what sets Humanity above the chimpanzee. Why should I deny myself such schools of thought?

Except you ain't, and won't be human, no matter how hard you try.

You're a vampire. You have a direct pipeline to a greater evil flowing into you in the place your soul used to be.

If you really do want to free yourself from this, I suggest you go and watch the sunrise.

[Willie Long]

A vampire or a werewolf, even if not blatantly evil is still a predator.

So to is man; yet the Buddha refrained from killing.

With the right effort, Celeste can do the same.

[KonThaak]

Willie's right... Elliot was most certainly what I would term a "predator of innocents". For whatever purposes, he was summoning the undead into this plane, and he was, by all definitions, a "normal human".

If Celeste can rise above all that, then I condone it.

Besides, as I mentioned previously, martial arts teaches self control as part of its standard rigmarole, so she might actually be able to effectively kill more of her undead targets (so to speak), and when bad temptations rise up, she'll be able to resist it more easily.

Besides, hearing about and seeing what she's capable of, I seriously don't see what the harm is. It's like teaching someone whose a master of heavy weapons and missilery how to shoot a sidearm. Rather than make her deadlier in general, this is likely just going to teach her how to be better at hunting vampires in specific.

[Bert_the_Turtle]

That is an excellant point KT. Speaking of which I still wanna get Ron to train me in the use of Shotguns at some point.

[Willie Long]

Maybe my earlier posts weren't that clear. Celeste is stronger than I am, trained in taekwondo, and invulnerable to normal weapons. She can already kill effectively.

Now she's studying how to live effectively.

[Bert_the_Turtle]

Well I got it but I'm still wondering if people are hung up on your earlier comments about teaching a vamp to box and references to sparring hehe.

[Ron Caliburn]

You're still improving her fighting technique WIllie.

I'm not so worried about her getting deadlier as I am worried about her being harder to kill when somebody needs to take her down to protect an innocent. Considering the likelihood that it will be an Agency or Society member who has that task some people here should be a little more concerned.

[Celeste Darken]

Except you ain't, and won't be human, no matter how hard you try.

I realize I set myself up for that one, but why shouldn’t I use faculties I still retain to help humanity? After your incarceration in a mental health institute, did you quit any practices or skills that otherwise might have aided your fellow human beings?

Celeste may be new enough turned that a memory of its humanity remains ... but a century from now when we have all passed on, it will remain, and be that much more aware of that which has sperated it from the human condition. It will be that much more aware that it is stronger, tougher and, in effect, a god walking amoung mortals.

Honestly, Mr. Caliburn . . . now you’re referring to me as an “it.” Even a cadaver is still set apart by her sex! However, I am flattered that I could be considered by you “in effect, a god.” And you also point out what could happen when the others on this forum are dead, by natural causes or otherwise. Do you then admit that they do help in reining in my predatory instincts? Then what is to keep me from making new friends that will help in recalling my previous life as a human?

[Ron Caliburn]

faculties I still retain to help humanity? After your incarceration in a mental health institute, did you quit any practices or skills that otherwise might have aided your fellow human beings?

That's different. My time in a mental insitution was caused by a fortunate misunderstanding of a judge. I didn't die and turn into a monster.

Honestly, Mr. Caliburn . . . now you’re referring to me as an “it.” Even a cadaver is still set apart by her sex! However, I am flattered that I could be considered by you “in effect, a god.” And you also point out what could happen when the others on this forum are dead, by natural causes or otherwise. Do you then admit that they do help in reining in my predatory instincts? Then what is to keep me from making new friends that will help in recalling my previous life as a human?

I think it's more useful for us to remember what you are, not what you were before your tragic death.

[Celeste Darken]

I think it's more useful for us to remember what you are, not what you were before your tragic death.

Good point, even if you avoided my question. However, I think it equally important to remember what I was before in order to not become what I could be if the dark path was taken. And I prefer to remember what you were before I was killed: a champion of humanity and a staunch defender of the weak. It’s not exactly useful to think of what you are to my species now: a violent milkshake.

Therefore, I think of you as many grateful humans do: an individual. Along with my previous question, may I ask you to address me with the same courtesy?

[Shadowstalker]

I think it it time I should speak up Ron I know we haven't met in person yet, and you may have resevations about trusting me or my opinion, but others here have and I would like to think I made a good impresion. As you know I to have had the chance to meet and work with Celeste this gave me a chance to observe her not only in quiet situations but combat as well. As I have stated before I'm a PSI sensitive so I can make a few statements of observations that others are unable to, the first and formost is that Celeste is not evil the next is that she does have a Soul. I will not Lie to you she is Dangerous and a predator but the same could be said of many of us on this board as well.

[Celeste Darken]

Before I was born, who was I?
After I am born, who am I?
Respect yourself, and everyone will respect you.
Understand yourself, and everyone will understand you.
There are mirrors all around you:
Strive to see and understand yourself.

That was the hardest part, as any mirrors I used to see myself would have to be mental. I was keenly interested in all the aspects of training Willie offered me, but meditation and philosophy have a special place in my . . . heart. My mother used to get into all sorts of the “New Age” treatments. She meditated, she did yoga, she refused all medications and treatments that weren’t herbal in nature, and had never visited the hospital. Before my death, I disdained her habits and thought she was just as weird as the group of kids that smoked pot down the street corner.

But now . . . I search for everything I can that remind me of my family. And Willie Long has helped find a tangent in meditation and philosophy. I was more than grateful for his pointers in closing the gaps of my defenses. But between his knocking me on my . . . behind and his insistence I refer to him as Sifu Long while in training, I wasn’t sure where he was coming from. I suppose, like many attacks, he was coming from all directions.

I won't be dragged into a discussion on whether or not I have a "soul." I appreciate the vote of confidence to all those that have spoken out on my behalf, but I must not forget that I am a vampire. I must be careful. While Willie can smack someone alongside the head and get away with giving them a concussion (having the size of Shaquille O'Niell gives such liberties), I cannot. A skinny girl with pointed ears, teeth, and eyes of fire would not be given the benefit of the doubt.

To his credit, Willie never did anything that might have triggered any of my . . . predatory instincts. He was patient, professional, and very cautious in taking me through the steps of Buddhism under his tutelage. He was restrained in our sparring and never gave me cause to be unduly alarmed. And under that careful guidance, I have grown in new ways unknown to me before. He has shown me respect for myself as well as others and a new insight into this thing called “life.”