[Open]

[rose_of_battle]

Who: Sheena Fujibayashi rose_of_battle & Everyone!
What: A little release of tension and aggravation through training.
When: July 12
Where: The Gym in the castle
Rating: PG-13?

Thud. Thud. Smack. Thud.

Anyone passing by the Gym--or what Sheena called the "Training Room"--would be treated to the sounds of several rapid punches and kicks landing on one of the larger punching bags. And if they peeked in--or even entered, they'd see Sheena letting both fists and feet fly towards her target. If only enemies were this nice and remained still, she thought to herself with a chuckle. But then again, where was the challenge if they didn't move? Still, they came in handy for training when no sparring partners were around, and Sheena hoped she'd remember these things when she went back home to help with training.

After several hits, she stopped and grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat from her eyes. She had been at this for a while, but she was far from over. She had a lot of pent-up anger towards the castle that she needed to get out, and what better way than by using something of the castle's? True, she could have hit a wall or something similar, but she wasn't about to injure herself in the process. In her mind, that would have meant the castle won. It was still winning, considering the energy she was expending, but she was also getting her training in, so it was a win-win situation.

Tossing aside the towel, she resumed her training with renewed vigor, the punches and kicks coming even faster than before.

Care to join her?

Comments

[rose_of_battle]

Sheena had just given the bag one more kick before taking another break--this time, complete with several swallows of cool water from a bottle. Duke is so quiet when he enters that she has no idea he's there until he says her name, causing her to flinch and start coughing mid-drink.

Turning, she composes herself, and with a self-deprecating chuckle, greets her friend. "Hi, Duke! How have you been?"

[radiantwingedone]

Just what he does best - startling people by quietly walking up.

"... Well enough, if slightly embarrassed." He didn't enjoy being younger and... not-himself. It was odd.

"... A room for practicing combat?" He was helping Vanyel build one sort, but this didn't quite seem to fit what the other mage had in mind.

[rose_of_battle]

Her brows knitting in confusion, she makes her way over to her friend. "Embarrassed? Why? For startling me?" She waves it away with both her words and a hand. "Don't worry about it. It just means I have to train some more,: she says with another chuckle.

Looking over her shoulder, she nods before responding. "Yeah, they call it a 'gym'. It's not really something I'm used to, but there are these bags you can practice your hits on; that's what I was using right before you came in. Do you want to check it out?"

[radiantwingedone]

"It has been mentioned that I am, perhaps, too good at passing quietly." He just won't bother to correct that assumption about embarrassed.

"Perhaps unsurprisingly, my focus was upon sword, in terms of non-magical combat..." But he's carefully picking his way over. "I think I know a little of... how not to break yourself with unarmed..." But much more? Chancy.

[rose_of_battle]

"You'll get no argument from me," she said with a smile. He would make any ninja jealous with his ability to move so quietly, and in fact, one particular ninja was, but it was more along the lines of a friendly rivalry than true envy.

"No, that doesn't surprise me at all," Sheena said, watching as he made his way over. "I'm guessing you used some kind of target dummy for that? Well, this thing is a lot like that for hitting." She stopped and looked at him, her brows knitting in thought.

"If you'd like, I can show you some hand-to-hand moves for those times you don't have your sword--or want to add to your attacks."

[radiantwingedone]

"During early practice. Later, it would be against someone, with blunted weapons, usually, for the idea of how to go against something moving and roughly the same size." Anything larger or smaller would take some thinking and in-the-moment alterations.

"I know the basic idea. Mostly..." He curls one hand in the proper way to make a fist without breaking any fingers on impact - or perhaps impact with most things - and shifts his weight to something a little more balanced for fighting.

"... but more than flailing at something until a weapon is found again would be appreciated." If its said a little stiffly, its because Duke realizes that with him not being able to see, this might involve a bit more contact than he really likes. Oh well.

[rose_of_battle]

She nodded again. "Yeah, we did the same thing back home for the same reason. People tend not to stand still in a fight," she chuckled, thinking of how quick some of the enemies on her world are.

She watched as he took up a classic battle-stance, her expression one of approval as she walked somewhat noisily around him, not realizing that she probably bore a resemblance to her own teachers as she did so. "Yeah, you pretty much got it," she told him, stopping in front of him.

"Sure, I can do that," she told him. Seeing his hesitation, she remembered how ill-at-ease he had been about touching, so, hoping to help relax him, she asked him, "But, how about showing me your fighting style with a sword first?"

[radiantwingedone]

"Ah...." Well, this is a slightly self-conscious look. Duke shifts his weight, and absently flares his magic, trying to tell where the clearest space is.

"You may wish to stay back. The control of where everything is will be... imprecise." He carefully makes his way over, then pauses again.

"... Is there something blunt that I can use, in case?" This not being able to see thing bothers him quite a bit, that he's not sure if he should practice with something sharp. Well, Dein Nomos was perhaps astonishingly sharp in his hands, so maybe it was founded.

[rose_of_battle]

At the flare-up of his magic, Sheena was already taking a step back to give him the room he needed. She didn't even think about being harmed until he brought it up, but she could see the reasoning behind it.

"Something blunt? You mean like a stick or rod?" She had seen something like that around here, but she couldn't remember where. "Give me a sec; I'll see if I can find one." Her voice fades slightly as she moves off in her search, heading towards the other side of the room. She can see the reasoning behind that as well, since it was pretty customary to use wooden swords when practicing anyway--it saved on practice dummies and people at the same time.

[radiantwingedone]

"Yes, please. Something sword-sized would always be preferred, but other than that..." Duke doesn't actually do any full stretching, but there is definitely a posture change. A bit odd, but it might be a bit clear how militant-formal he normally stood, as he did minor preparations. A bit of shoulder movement, but he's leaving his coat and hair as they are, a few arm swings.

[rose_of_battle]

Duke will hear the distinct sounds of rummaging as Sheena continues her search--along with some muttering. Finally, she lets out a triumphant cry and returns with not one, but two items. She notes his stance and remembers a certain nightmare they shared and looks at the objects she's carrying. Both of them are metal, but one is longer than the other. She has no clue that the shorter one is a bar that can be put into a doorway so a person can do pull-ups, but she has an idea what the longer one's for, since she's seen weights attached on either end of a similar one. She has a feeling that he might be able to handle both as a sword equally well.

Holding her hands out, she tells him what she has, adding, "Which one would you like to use?"

[radiantwingedone]

Its a bit of a choice. Either would work, as Dein Nomos was something of an odd blade, but the shorter one was closer to the length he was familiar with - something just about as long as his arm.

"The shorter." Mostly because he's not comfortable with something he isn't particularly sure how long it is at the moment. Once he has the imitation of a sword, he spends a moment turning it over until he gets an idea of it, then finds the point he'd have held onto a hilt. There's a bit of room for a second hand, even if the 'sword' wouldn't have been as heavy as to need it.

"I think I may.. cheat a little." There's a bit of flickering magic, and a rough human-shape appears. This, since its magic, he knows where it is, where it will be. He's not quite comfortable in his blindness to practice without doing that.

[rose_of_battle]

"All right," she said, handing the bar to him, actually not too surprised that was the one he chose. She stepped out of the way to give him some room, and propping herself up with the longer bar, she leaned against it, he expression curious.

"What do you mean by 'cheat'?" The question was no sooner out of her mouth when she got her answer, and she had to laugh after a moment of looking at the form in shocked dismay. "Practice dummies like that would have been a lot easier to keep up," she said with a chuckle. After a moment of studying the figure, she turned to him.

"Will it move like an opponent, or is it stationary like a normal dummy?"

/drops a textbrick on

[radiantwingedone]

"Stationary for now. If I move it, I would know where it would be moving. It may work for aiding other people in practice, but... not so much for own practicing." He'd be able to anticipate its moves, and that wouldn't really be helpful for practice. But she's distracted him a little.

" ... I'll have to think on that. Perhaps for beginners, having it move into basics of blocks so they can strike at them..." But an absent blink later, and Duke shifts to attack the dummy. For now, blade in hand. Heavy strikes meant to knock that opponent flying, even if the magic he used seemed to keep it tethered to that spot. He starts out a little slow, but pretty soon he's moving fairly fast. Well. The faster he moves about the dummy, the more he pauses, somewhat disoriented as to which way he's facing in terms of his target.

He does get a bit more steady about it, still with heavy blows, but not too long after he evens out on how he's moving and where the dummy is, he drops the bar. As odd as that is, its a little odder when the false sword doesn't fall to the floor, but floats a foot or so from the hand that released it.

This way, Duke is somehow better at fighting. The bar responds to short hand-sweeps, finger twirls, arcing and slashing through the air before him with minimal movement on his part.

/is brick'd

[rose_of_battle]

"Oh. Well that makes sense. But, like you said, it just might be perfect for others." Sheena takes a few more steps back to get a better view and settles on the floor a few feet away to watch, her chin resting on her raised knee.

She really isn't surprised by the strength of the attacks--most sword users were pretty strong in order to use the weapons. Nor is she surprised by the initially slow speed that gradually increases. Even the pauses in between some of the strikes he makes don't startle her (because really, a dummy doesn't make any noise, so how can someone tell where it is without stopping?).

What does surprise her and causes her to make a startled sound is the next step of his training. Thinking he's dropping his weapon, Sheena moves to intercept it in case it rolls towards her--only to be brought up short by the lack of a clatter and just where the "sword" ends up.

Then she's falling back on her heels, her jaw dropping at the sight before closing and opening again several times before she finally speaks.

"Uhhh, Duke....?"

[radiantwingedone]

Duke pauses when he hears his name, the "blade" staying put in the air before moving back toward him when his hand closes and... sort of self-conciously tucks toward his side.

"... Yes?"

[rose_of_battle]

It takes Sheena moment to find her voice; she's still staring at the rod floating in mid-air. She'd never seen anything be that precise even when held--including her own cards.

"How...? How did you do that? Isn't it hard to control when you're not holding it?"

[radiantwingedone]

"... Its a variation of the formula Levitation." Duke shifts like he was going to lean against a wall - one that he should be very aware is not behind him - and floats there for a moment or two, feet off the ground. He looks uneasy about it and stands again fairly quickly.

"I fix it to my hand, and it... moves the way it does. There are safeties built in - if I am knocked down, it will remain floating like... " Duke absently indicates the rod, which had been floating "point down", but it stirs a little with his hand motion. ".... I forget how I started it, sorry."

[rose_of_battle]

"Levitation?" she repeats, her gaze passing from him back to the rod. That's momentarily forgotten when he leans back, and she nearly calls out to him to be careful when she realizes his intention. Sometimes, she wished he'd give her a warning when he's about to do something like that... But, then again, if he does, he wouldn't be who he is.

However, that doesn't erase her concern at his expression before he stands again, and she wonders if there's something that can be done to help him know what's around him without him seeing it, or learning about it first.

Her attention is grabbed by his explanation, and she watches as the rod moves as he wishes--reminding her a little of how her own cards work--a thought occurring to her when he finishes. "Is it possible you created it when you were down? Or your weapon was knocked from your hand?

THIS IS A THING I THOUGHT I HAD SENT

[radiantwingedone]

"... to regain a weapon that I had dropped?" Duke blinks at her, a habit he hadn't quite lost yet. That would make sense. "... In a time where it is hard to regain a weapon, keeping it.... Possibly." It sounded like something he might do - reach out with a spell for one purpose and try to use it for another.

"... Apologies for.. startling..." Awkwardly. That's what he did, right?

*hugs* It's okay!

[rose_of_battle]

She nods. "Exactly! I can control which way my cards go after releasing them when fighting using my mana. And that looked like the same thing--only not as precise." She can theoretically pick them up the same way when she drops them, but unless it's a dire situation, that's a waste of mana, in her opinion.

"There's no need to apologize, Duke. You only surprised me, that's all. Nothing to worry about."

[radiantwingedone]

"... cards?" From his blank expression, he's imagining playing cards. Then again, a great deal of mages use sashes (or belts...) so he probably shouldn't be that surprised.

... Okay, he's trying to figure it out by his confused expression and all he's getting is particularly nasty papercuts.

[rose_of_battle]

"Yeah. I use cards and seals in battle." And sometimes Summons. "Let me show you." She stands and goes over to him, fishing out one of her Water Cards. Once she gets there, she says, "Here," while holding the card in front of his free hand.