PIPE WRENCH FIGHT [Open]

[unrecovered]

Who: Wash and anyone who wants to join
Where: Network and fighting ring
When: Early November, a few days before the Akvos world jump
Rating: TBD depending on thread content
What: Wash starts the Circle's first fight club. Kind of.

[This will be poster's choice - I'll put the network invitation in Wash's toplevel, but the long and short of it is, he'll be holding combat training for those who want to learn how to fight, and those who want to help teach are open as well. Feel free to make toplevels learning and/or teaching, and let me know if you need anything more or want prompt ideas!]

Comments

[dipolar]

(ohhh boy, someone took him out of context. now that he reflects on what he said, however, hei realizes how tactless it sounds. he should apologize to her, reassert what he meant, and start over.

but he doesn't. instead, he takes another pull of that wine.)

Not interested. You seem to have a handle on yourself. (credit where credit's due, her adroit stances are the most refreshing thing he's seen this afternoon.) Self-taught, or did you attend a dojo?

[queensides]

[ ...Well, that's a different tune than he was singing a moment ago, and though she isn't entirely mollified with this change in tact, her jaw relaxes, and she exhales a tempered breath. Maybe she was a little too quick to confront him like that, but ever since she arrived in this world, her fuse has been a bit shorter than usual. It's not surprising that blowing off steam like this exposed a few nerves. ]

...It depends on what you'd consider "self-taught". [ And that's all she'll concede on that matter for now, before turning to: ] I did attend a dojo when I was younger, however. Are you familiar with aikido?

[ What she was just doing was definitely not aikido, but it's a simpler talking point for now. ]

[dipolar]

(hei studies her a moment, wondering if she's the type for the educated guesses that vague statement gives him. she comes off well-to-do, precocious, maybe a little pretentious, but those aren't traits to nitpick. so he listens to her little story and her question and gives it some thought.

aikido's twentieth century stuff, pretty modern for a martial art, but he knows it. that knowledge has been literally beaten into him.)

I'm aware of it. (his turn to be flighty on an answer, tilting his bottle to motion out the tekko she's gripping.) I know it doesn't take blunt force into account in its teachings, so what are you doing with those?

[queensides]

[ Ah, so he knows it well enough to understand that her weaponry isn't exactly compliant with those forms. Rather than look annoyed, however, she looks pleased. Maybe he knows what he's talking about after all. ]

These are more of a...different specialty of mine. Needless to say, I didn't learn both in tandem.

[ She hesitates a moment. Akira and the others had decided not to keep their powers a secret here, but it's still not her first instinct to rush out and talk about fighting Shadows. ]

I've become more familiar with these recently, so it seemed practical to keep myself sharp. If you don't mind my asking, what brought you here today?

[dipolar]

(she'd benefit from training in muay thai, hei thinks as he considers the tekko. it's not a weapon he's ever used, but he's been struck with brass knuckles enough times to get the gist of the damage they can cause. all of it reliant on how high-grade her punches are.)

You can ask whatever you like, whether you'll get an answer is determinant. As for what brought me here... (hei raises his eyes, distracted.) ... Balance.

(the wine's beginning to do its job.)

Ah. The balance between trained fighters and the rest. In your Circle.

[queensides]

[ Balance... ]

I...see. [ She crosses her arms as she gives him a scrutinizing look, head tilting to one side, her mouth firmly between a smile and a frown. ] You don't consider yourself a part of the Circle?

[ As far as she is concerned, they have little choice in the matter, whether they cooperate with Astoria or not. Their willingness to be in the Circle has woefully little to do with their inclusion. ]

[dipolar]

No, I don't.

(and they can keep it. hei'll just consider himself a tagalong for however long it takes for someone to give him answers — he's not too concerned that he's wound up here and won't be applying much effort either way. regrettable, when he could provide so much support.

makoto, on the other hand...)

It wasn't my choice to come here. It wasn't yours either. Considering myself a part of it would be condoning that witch's actions. I had... (well.) I had things to do.

[queensides]

And you think the rest of us didn't?

[ Her words come out barbed, sharper than she intends, because unintentional though it may have been, Hei has stumbled onto a very, very sore spot. Makoto hadn't been sitting idly by when she had been taken, mere hours away from stealing her sister's heart. From...saving Akira's life, too. To say Astoria's timing was inconvenient would be a laughable understatement.

She smooths over her scowl with a more reserved glare, a short exhale preceding her words. ]

One might suggest that cooperating will get all of us out here and back home more quickly, but I'm sure you've already considered that. Right?

[dipolar]

(there's a temper on this one. hei reaches up to scratch at his head, hair a disorderly nest.)

When did I say that? (he didn't and he protests it despite knowing damn well what she means.

to be verbally combative is an oddity for hei, usually the tactic is to speak little and listen a lot, but he doesn't know who the hell he is anymore. everyone who was familiar with his mind's dualism is gone, leaving him scrabbling — again — for purchase on a personality. this one comes out stark and unfeeling.

maybe it was like that all along.

navy eyes aim down the stands at the girl in the coliseum pit, only narrowing when he's found something to add.)

I don't owe any of you my services and you're mistaken. Here or back home, it doesn't matter to me where we are. All I want back is what she took from me.

[queensides]

[ Unsurprisingly, that isn't a satisfactory answer for her. To Makoto, it's very cut and dry, though perhaps that's helped by the fact that she already had teammates here, following the same course. But intuitively, it makes sense, too — work with Astoria, finish the job she sets them on, and then they will be able to return to their worlds. It assumes a lot of trust in the witch, trust that Makoto herself doesn't have, but Akira trusts Astoria, and that's enough for her.

She huffs, hands moving to rest on her hips, the tekko still grasped in her palms. ]

My mistake, then. I thought Astoria had summoned warriors to her cause, but it would seem she's brought in a child by accident.

[ Her mouth slants sharply. As far as as she is concerned, there's nothing more to say, so she turns back to the training dummy. ]

[dipolar]

(actually cracks a smirk, manifesting as a fleeting tug at the corner of his mouth.

clearly she's not the only one who's called him childish.)

That witch has brought in a varied mix. So if you can point those warriors out to me, I'll concede to your point.

(while she works her ass off like everyone should be doing, hei's going to continue drinking and judging the new crop of learners taking root at unused dummies.)