[1v1] Tutorial stage (Jordan & Reine) [FIN]

[prolixity]

Overcast, damp, and foggy - actually a pretty nice day, Jordan mused. At least, it wasn't raining. Occasionally he thought wistfully about clear blue sky stretching over ocean that deepened to a shade that the Greeks had called "wine-dark;" however, Ferros remained skeptical about the image, firmly asserting that skies were not blue and that that was an unnatural color for a sky to be. Never mind that the weapon could poke into Jordan's memories and see for himself. He insisted nevertheless that that was just wrong.

It IS, the dragon said, continuing the familiar argument.

You're just weird.

I know you are, but what am I?

What are you, five?

Two and a half. Hundred, Ferros answered haughtily.

Says something about your level of maturity. They'd reached the training grounds; Jordan came to a stop and turned to smile at Reine. "Okay, here we are. This is where group training sessions and individual sparring happen. I'll show you where the training course portals are later, but I wanted to give you a rundown on how to fight with your weapon before anything else." He ignored Ferros's faint grumbling about how he was only letting Jordan have the last word because Jordan had a hatchling to instruct now. It wasn't likely that the new trainees were going to get a session like the one Aria had held to train the Strays; Jordan could, at least, repeat the basics.  

[danse-hexe]

She followed behind Jordan somewhat skittishly, like a puppy that just couldn't stick to heel, but went chasing every butterfly. Except there weren't many butterflies- or any at all- it was just her first time outdoors, and that was somehow exciting. While it wasn't much of a sense of freedom, it was still one, and that was enough for now. The weather was cool, too, but not overly humid, which she could appreciate.

The walk didn't take long, but she'd gotten distracted, and when Jordan stopped walking she almost crashed into him- though luckily she'd noticed in time to avoid potential embarrassment. There would be more opportunities for that, later- she was fully expecting to get thrashed.

"Yes, Boss!" It was extremely lucky, wasn't it, that A1 was so calm and collected and bosslike all the time? Without him, she might be floundering around helplessly. Beaming up at Jordan, Reine summoned her weapon again, running her hand experimentally down the flat of the blade.

"Ready to start!"  

[prolixity]

Jordan summoned Ferros and swung the hammer up to rest across his shoulder. He smiled at Reine. "Okay, lecture time before fun. The first thing you need to know is that your weapon automatically generates a FEAR shield during a fight. This will keep you from being seriously injured until the shield itself is destroyed." He patted Ferros's handle. "They can't keep it up forever. You'll learn to get a sense of how much energy she has left once you have a bit more experience. Also, as the shield erodes, you may start getting bruised and scratched up. I'm not going to tell you you're not going to get hurt, because you will. It's part of what we do. But Alynthe will help protect you."

He paused. "The demonstration we got started with our instructor producing a knife and stabbing Gale," he told Reine. "It was an effective visual aid, but pretty startling. No blood or wound. Don't let the shield fool you into thinking you can't be hurt, though. You'll start to feel it as the shield goes down, and once it's gone ... " Jordan flipped the end of his scarf out of the way and tugged the collar of his shirt down to show Reine the top end of a long, still faintly red line that suggested he'd recently gotten a pretty serious slice. "Hurts a lot more," he said seriously, and pulled the scarf back into place.

"Next point - the weapons feed on FEAR, which is the substance - or energy, still not totally clear on that - that the shadows and monsters are made out of. So every time you get a hit in on a freak, your weapon will gain more energy. When she's fed enough, she'll be able to produce a more powerful attack. You'll know when she's ready. She'll probably be letting you know. Loudly. And whining about being hungry the rest of the time." He grinned.

I'm huuuuungry, Ferros said, right on cue, his tone bone-dry.

"Thanks, Ferros, I really needed to hear that. Yeah. The charged attacks work here, also, though nobody's bothered to explain why. At least to us. Someone might know, but I couldn't tell you. That's about it, I think," Jordan finished. "Clear enough? If I'm confusing you, tell me so I can clear it up. Otherwise, if you've got it all -" he swung Ferros down off his shoulder and out to the side, slightly behind himself - "first hit's yours."  

[danse-hexe]

Reine was visibly unnerved the moment Jordan summoned Ferros again- she'd almost managed to forget how heavy, and.. actually, kind of terrifying the weapon looked.

When he explained about the FEAR shield, though, she calmed down a little- that thing looked as if it could smash her head right off her body. Jordan's scar made her wince a little, again. She'd known, of course, that she would have to be fighting- why else the weapon? But even if she'd been excited about practicing, it seemed almost surreal to think about actually being in a battle- though, that was where Jordan's experience came in, didn't it?

"FEAR..." she was more interested in this, really. Substance, or energy? That manifested physically as monsters? Perhaps there was research being done on this, in the labs- Reine briefly wondered if you could create monsters as weapons, or the like. "I'll be waiting for that, then," she laughed. "More powerful attack, huh.. so- wait, I was going to ask. Our weapons... feed on FEAR, and they're sentient."

"What are they really?" Reine sounded worried- as if she'd guessed at something, but was hoping it wouldn't be confirmed.

such a smart little girl, aren't you?

"I think I've got it," she replied, trying to pull herself together. Don't let that fear shield go down too much, try to get a hit in.... Yeah. She could do this.

Swinging the swordbreaker, she barely managed to hit him. Even though he was standing right in front of her...

HP: 40/40
Damage: 1
Charge: 1/3  

[prolixity]

A nick to his shoulder - not much of a hit, but a hit anyway. "Good start," he told her, and moved a step back, circling carefully sideways and studying the way she held her weapon. "Alynthe will give you some degree of help with fighting - I'm betting you've never picked up a sword in your life, but you got a hit on me your first try. That's part you and part her. Ferros - well, blunt objects are more straightforward, but he's lighter for me than he actually is. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to pick him up. Pretty sure nobody else could manage. He'd be pissed at me for letting anyone try, anyway. That's another thing," he added. "Don't touch anyone else's weapon if you can help it. Neither yours nor theirs will like it, and handling a weapon that's not yours for a while can do funny things to your head." He lifted his free hand to make the little circle motion next to his temple that indicated crazy.

Her question ... she sounded apprehensive, like she wasn't sure she wanted to hear the answer. That probably meant that she'd already guessed the truth. There was no sense trying to talk around it anyway. "They were once Halloween creatures themselves," Jordan said. It was likely that the answer would distract her; he stepped in and brought Ferros around in a wide arc. Not enough, apparently, and the stroke missed.

HP: 39/40
Damage: -
Charge: 0/3  

[danse-hexe]

Reine beamed at his compliments. "Yep, never so much as touched a weapon before.. and I'll keep that in mind. I'm glad she picked me, anyway."

His next statement, however made her almost choke in surprise. "She's a... what?"

oh, don't act so surprised, darling, is it that strange?

"B..but.. what-- you mean--" Jordan's answer, mid-strike, caught her off-guard, and she skittered backwards, staring at the blade in her hand. How was it that something so pretty... could have been something so revolting, in the past?

Enough of that, Alynthe hissed. I am on your side now, do you understand me? Even so, I will not tolerate insults, so be careful with your words.

There was an awkward pause, neither one knowing what to say.

Those days are over, the apophis whispered, her voice tinged with wistfulness.

There were questions she wanted answers to- how, and why, but she took the weapon's hint to not breach that particular subject. Meekly she thought an apology at the weapon, who returned that with a soft 'hrmm'.

Instead, she focused on the fight, hoping it would soothe her. "I'm okay!" she called out, with a grin, then dived at Jordan again, slashing at him. She was going just for the limbs, right now- while it wouldn't leave a physical injury, she didn't want to hurt him- after all, it was just a practice fight.

we make a pretty good team, huh?

if you say so, darling.

Clearly Alynthe hadn't quite forgiven her for that comment...

HP: 40/40
Damage: 4
Charge: 2/3
 

[prolixity]

Jordan nodded. "What they remember can help us. They're no longer what they were." He left it at that; it was clearly an uncomfortable subject, and the idea was one that would take some getting used to.

The sense of towering, weighty presence in the back of his mind stirred, warmed. I'm yours now, Ferros said.

I know. If Ferros had once been unhappy to find himself changed, the dragon had apparently made his peace with it in silence. Jordan hadn't asked, and Ferros hadn't volunteered any opinion on the matter.

Reine wasn't letting it shake her for long, though. That was good. She was fast, too. "You're keeping focus well," Jordan said. "Don't be too polite - remember, you can't seriously hurt me right now."

HP: 35/40
Damage: -
Charge: 0/3  

[danse-hexe]

"Gotta do my best," she replied quickly. He'd offered her the opportunity to train with him- she had to make the best use of that as she could. Almost suspiciously, though, he hadn't landed a single hit yet- perhaps he was saving his energy for later?

"Don't hold back either," Reine grinned, waving the swordbreaker at him. "I mean, it's going to be worse in an actual fight- I guess? Not that I really know what we're up against. Gotta do more reading up, sometime.."

or you could just ask, precious~

HP: 40/40
Damage: 0
Charge: 2/3  

[prolixity]

"It will," Jordan replied. "Reading up is a good idea. The more you know about what we're up against, the better you'll be able to use that knowledge against them. Anyway," he added wryly, "there's not a whole lot of recreation options around here. Reading's a good way to pass the time."

His grin went predatory then, his usual amiable expression turning feral. "You sure?" he asked, stepped in, and with a quick twist brought the hammer around in a circle, hitting her full force.

HP: 35/40
Damage: 10
Charge: 1/3  

[danse-hexe]

"Oooh, you're into books, too---------"

*BASH*

The hit left her reeling, Ferros slamming into the side of her head and knocking her off her feet. Jordan wasn't lying when he said it would hurt, even if it didn't leave much of a mark on her physically; she was practically seeing stars.

Then again, she'd asked for it. Was this what he was like, when he was serious? Some part of her fangirled slightly- he was so cool- and the other part...

Get up, and hit him back, Alynthe demanded. You're not going to take this.. lying down, are you?

Someone's getting my sense of humour...

Quiet, princess, not while we're in a fight- even a pretend one.

Stirring, she propped herself off the ground, her hand running along the ground until it found Alynthe. Gripping the hilt of the swordbreaker, she stood up, somewhat shakily.

"I'm fine!"

Wait.. why were there two Jordans? Which should she aim for? Blinking confusedly, she hit out at him- only to slice through air.

HP: 30/40
Damage: 0
Charge: 2/3  

[prolixity]

"Sorry," Jordan said, though the slight tilt of the corner of his mouth suggested that he wasn't completely sorry. Her apparent dizziness sparked a bit of guilt in him, though, and he paused, studying her face with a frown. "All right there?" he asked, concern in his voice.

HP: 35/40
Damage: -
Charge: 1/3  

[danse-hexe]

"'m okay!!" She called out reassuringly, spinning around again to finally land a hit- the two Jordans had merged back into one, even though he was still a little blurry.

"That was awesome, though! I mean, it hurt like a *****, but that's the point, right?"

So that was what Boss looked like when he was serious.. she was just mostly thinking, though, how much more impressive he'd look attacking a monster.. than herself.

HP: 30/40
Damage: 3
Charge: 3/3  

[prolixity]

"I'll watch my aim a bit better next time," Jordan answered lightly, relief letting him breathe again properly as she proved that she was, in fact, okay. He brought Ferros back up and grinned at her. "Gotta make the demonstration convincing, right?"

Nevertheless, when he moved to strike at her again, his swing was almost lazy, lacking the muscle and momentum he'd put into the previous blow.

HP: 32/40
Damage: 1
Charge: 2/3  

[danse-hexe]

"I'd say your aim's pretty good," she teased. "But yep! Have I told you yet how glad I am that you're my first battle here?"

Though really, she felt like.. if they were a woodcutter with a tree, she was just chipping away at him- and he'd managed to completely saw through her in one swing.

That just reminded her of how much more she needed to improve. His next hit was lighter, as if he was back to toying with her- like a cat playing with a mouse.

She'd just have to prove she wasn't a mouse..

yesssssss, show him....

Reine swung out at him again, feeling the blade slash through him, as small discs of ice materialised, flying towards Jordan. Surprised, she almost dropped the blade, concernedly peering at him as the ice clustered around where she'd cut him, before breaking off and falling to the ground.

"Wh...what.. was that?"

HP: 30/40
Damage: 14
Charge: 0/3 l Attack: 1/2  

[prolixity]

"You make it sound so momentous," Jordan teased back. "Like a special occasion. Your first." The glint in his grin implied that yeah, he'd meant that.

The sweep of the blade itself was only a minor twinge, the shock of impact worse than the blade's effect, as always; but the ice crystals that followed, driving into him and clinging, were considerably more painful. The chill bit deep, and he couldn't help a brief, involuntary shudder as the ice began to fall away. Ferros snarled in his head, flaring with heat in response to the cold.

"That," he said, shaking off the fading chill, "was a charged attack. Her specialty is ice, I see. Did you notice what she felt like just before you did that? That'll help you tell when she's ready to do some extra damage. I see I'm going to have to be careful. That was a really good shot."

On the tail of his sentence, he brought the hammer around again; not much of a hit, but he could feel Ferros's anticipatory glee. "Wanna see ours?" he laughed, the evil grin returning.

HP: 18/40
Damage: 3
Charge: 3/3