Valdis inclined her head at X's joke, moving counter to him, keeping the tip between her and him. The point of the exercise was to teach, not to keep him from a weapon. She smiled at him, but her amusement faded to a sort of aloof seriousness.

"I'll admit there's much I don't understand about your ability or your world," she said, letting the sword drop to her side, "But you told me that you regretted sleeping, that you were sorry, and you didn't mean to. If all that is true, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to learn this."

She took two steps back, lifting the blade again, "If you don't want to read people, to tread upon what is sacred to them, then learning to protect yourself is logical. You won't necessarily need to read others to save your own life."