[Nessani Kemenlo]

"Tell me three things that you know today that you did not when you left me yesterday," Nahara said by way of greeting when the pair assembled the next morning. Nessani paused only briefly to gather her thoughts before responding. She had prepared herself for the question beforehand.

"I learned that you are a thief," she stated simply, without any hint of accusation in her tone. "I noticed the way you used your dance to case out the man's body before plucking the purse from his person."

Nahara considered the younger 'sister' with a smile, amusement dancing in her chocolate eyes. "You saw that, hmm? I must be getting rusty.

"What you think you saw, you did not see. I am a thief, of course - I work for Musif, after all - but I wasn't stealing from that man. He was an informant, passing along information to me in much the same way as Khalid first passed the summons to you, though you did not know it at the time."

Nessani nodded her understanding.

"You could do just as you said, feel up a man unawares and slip what you find from him before he gets over the euphoria of your perfume, but I would not do it in Musif's city," she added cautiously. "Perhaps in your travels if you're desperately low on coin... Here, let me show you how it is done."

The smaller woman took up a position behind her student, her hands coming to rest on the gypsy's ample hips. Her knees bent, taking Nahara down until she rested on her ankles. Her legs then reversed course, pushing her up, her feet twisting her legs and hips as she rose. Her body pressed the length of the gypsy girl.

"The key is complete contact," she said over the girl's shoulder. Her breath smelled of peaches and vanilla. "Use the senses of your skin to tell you what is beneath, from belly and bosom. Especially one such as yours. Rare is the man whose attention will be on your hands when your 'assets' are pressed against him, though they do exist."

Pushing herself away from the gypsy, she moved again to face her. "So that is one, you owe me two more."

"I learned that a bit of charm and wit can go further than tactlessness and force." A major breakthrough for the gypsy girl, if truth be told. Forcefulness was her nature, but she was learning that subtle can be more effective.

Nahara nodded in approval. She hadn't said that every learned item must pertain to dance, though this one definitely had its uses for ones such as they. "And third?"

"Third, I learned this... though I do not know its name..."

She stood up straight, her arms floating out at her sides, as if a she were a marionette and some grander person held her strings. She attempted to move her torso, rotating it around in a circle. Her teacher nodded, watching the girl thoughtfully.

"That is called a 'rib circle' and leads us into what we should learn today. You move too much of the rest of your body. Granted, you will be doing many moves at once, but when isolated, this should move the barrel of your chest only. Try again."

Nahara moved along with the girl this time, showing her how to maneuver it properly, but frowned when Nessani still didn't get it right.

"Come with me," she said shortly.

The gypsy followed her mentor into the hallway and into a larger room that she'd never entered before. She didn't get much of a glimpse of the new surroundings before Nahara was pressing a large clay urn into her arms. The smaller woman took a clay pitcher into her own hands.

The women walked together out into the dusty streets of Arakmat. It seemed strange for Nessani to see her mentor outside of the filtered light of Musif's bar - the mundaneness of the location and their errand seemed out of place for Nahara.

A cluster of women stood gossiping around a communal well, their whispers hissed more furiously at the approach of the dancer and the gypsy. As they approached, the women scattered like geese, with looks ranging from jealousy to outright hatred. Nahara seemed unphased by the reactions, blatantly ignoring the existance of the other women. As an Air'riela, Nessani was used to it, but took her cue from the smaller woman, biting off a flippant remark and approaching the well with dignity.

Both the jar and pitcher were filled to the brim. Nahara placed the pitcher of water gingerly on her head. Holding it in place with one hand, she motioned for Nessani to do the same with her somewhat larger urn. The container was filled to the brim and using both hands, Ness barely managed to land it on her crown.

"Water is precious here. Do not spill a drop, little sister, or we will have to come back and do it over again," Nahara warned in a steely tone.

She moved to take the lead, both of her hands dropping to her sides as she balanced her pitcher perfectly. Her form still seemed to sway hypnotically, but the pitcher and its contents remained intact. Nessani had to hold onto hers, with both hands at first, but managed to drop one arm after a handful of practice steps.

They once again entered the relative coolness of the bar, returning to the room set aside for their lessons. Nahara lowered the pitcher of water to the ground, but shook her head as Nessani moved to follow.

"Keep it where it is and show me a rib circle again. If you move the rest of your body, you will know it without me having to tell you."

Nessani's face fell. Not only was the water getting heavy, but she would have a shower if it wasn't done right. Taking a deep breath, she started again, but didn't get halfway around her circle before a fat drop of water landed in her hair.

"Amria!" she muttered darkly.

Nahara lifted her pitcher and poured more water into the urn atop Nessani's head until it was full to the brim. "Again."

The gypsy shifted her ribs again, this time making almost three quarters of a circle before her head was doused with the cool water. Dark raven locks clung wetly to Nessani's face and she sputtered to keep the liquid from entering her nose.

"You're wasting precious water, little sister. You do not need a bath so badly."

Again the urn was filled to the top. Before Nahara had a chance to tell her, Nessani was starting another round. She moved much more slowly and deliberately this time, sliding just her rib cage to the right, then rolling it toward her front and on to the other side. By the time she reached the back, she saw a nod of approval from her mentor.

"Now you may take it down."

A towel was tossed at her in much the same way as the rag had been the darkening before.

"Dry off. We will do the vertical rib circles without the use of the water urn. They are harder than what you just did, but I believe you have an understanding now."