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 Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2016 9:26 am
Sylvite was pretty early. It was mostly because that was when she had been able to get a ride to Negaspace, but it was a little because she was trying to do the good soldier thing, and it was a little bit because she was excited. It wasn't so much that she was excited about the actual having to practice fighting thing. Fighting, in her experience, was pretty much the worst, but since she was here to get help with it, maybe she'd get better at it, and then she'd stop almost dying all the time. That would be great. It didn't take her too long to find the room where she'd been assigned to meet with the General and settle in, doing some basic stretches to prepare. After finishing those, she tried to wait patiently, but without her phone or anything to keep her attention, she quickly got bored and started doing front walkovers across the floor to pass the time. Whimsical Blue Here's the start! Let me know if it works!
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Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2016 12:53 pm
The general next door felt the lieutenant arrive, but a glance at the clock put her early. Feeling no need to rush, Cinnabar took her time finishing the last of the whiskey she had poured herself and the chapter she had been reading in her book.
Just because she lived in Negaspace didn't mean she had to always be available. Not having a civilian life didn't mean she had to be on duty 24/7.
Five minutes to, Cin dog eared the page and set down her book next to her glass on the table and rose. A she strode to the door, she summoned her coat and it settled heavy around her shoulders, the long ends brushing her thighs as she left her room and headed down the hall to the next over.
The door was open when she arrived and there she paused, looking over the lieutenant that had been sent to her for training, doing her own workout in the room Cin had claimed, cleared out, and set up as a space for exactly this. Mats softened the floor in preparation for falls while a cabinet held a few hand towels and bottles of water. And a first aid kit. It was best to be prepared.
The general watched for a moment before she stepped inside and approached, her face open and pleasant.
"Lieutenant Sylvite? General Cinnabar. I'm glad you came." She said, her tail swinging behind her with each step. She offered out her hand, the claws carefully retracted into her fingers.
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Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2016 10:37 am
Sylvite stopped short and turned as soon as she heard the voice. It had been awhile. She had forgotten just how intimidating Generals were, how much presence they had. They were awesome. She'd remembered that, but now she was remembering how they could be kinda scary, too. And this one had horns and stuff and didn't look quite human, which, despite the recommendation, she hadn't been warned about, and she found herself staring. Instead of getting freaked out, she decided that it was cool that she was getting combat training from someone who looked like she could literally rip the faces off of ten people at once. She walked over to give the woman a quick handshake and a grin. "Yeah, hi! I'm Sylvite. I mean... Lieutenant Sylvite, reporting for duty! ...That's how you say it, right?" The fifteen year old knew next to nothing about the whole soldier thing, but now seemed like a good time to start trying.
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Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2016 12:10 pm
There was a bit of satisfaction in seeing the look on the lieutenant's face at her first look at the general, but only a little. As much as Cinnabar enjoyed the shock value of her intimidating appearance, after so long the shine had begun to wear off. Now, there were times where it was almost more of a hindrance... holding people at a distance with wary caution.
Cinnabar had been contented to play the monster, but there was a loneliness to being isolated that way that she work hard to deny feeling.
The general's features softened as she smiled and stepped forward, taking the offered hand with her claws carefully retracted. Rather than shy away, the young woman seemed enthused and it was like a breath of fresh air sweeping through the room, easing tension between Cin's shoulders. Things would be easier if she didn't have to worry about scaring the lieutenant off.
"Good to meet you." She said as she shook and gently released, tucking her hands back into her pockets to finger the collection of starseeds she kept. She chuckled at the enthusiasm, rolling her shoulders to shrug off the phrasing.
"I don't know how you're supposed to say it. I was never taught anything about it. So I guess you can say it if it makes you feel better, but I'm fine if you just want to talk to me normally. Or like how you'd talk to a supervisor at work, I guess."
Or... how she assumed people did that. It wasn't like she'd ever had one to deal with, but there was an assumption you didn't go about snapping salutes and speaking in special phrases.
"Since we'll be doing some training today... why don't you start by filling me in on what sort of combat, fighting or self-defense training you've had before. Played any sports? Dance? Martial arts? It would be good to know your baseline and what sort of styles you lean towards, if any."
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Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2016 2:14 pm
Sylvite nodded at the permission to be more casual, although she was still buzzing with excitement and nervous energy. "Okay! Okay. Well, it's nice to meet you! Um..." there was a brief moment of hesitation, but the general lack of formality gave her the courage to ask, "Is is okay if I ask about the horns and your eyes and stuff? Is that a General thing? Am I gonna get horns?" Then, it was time for the practical questions. "I don't have a lot of like... fighting experience. Not even martial arts or that kinda thing... well, we did tai chi one day in gym, but I don't think that counts. When I've had to fight for the Negaverse, I've pretty much just been trying to hit people, and..." she gave a surprisingly heavy sigh for a girl who had been wearing a full grin just a moment before and shook her head. "Yeah, it's been going... really, really bad. Like, it's lucky I'm even alive. That's why I'm here." She smiled again, her face full of hope. This, she was sure, was going to be the turning point. "I do do cheerleading, though! A lot of people like to say it's not a real sport, but we work out and stuff. I can do some acrobatic stuff, too. I don't know if that'll help. Oh-" She held her hands out, concentrating, and a moment later was proudly holding her lollipops. "And these are my weapons."
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Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2016 7:20 pm
The questions were inevitable, she supposed. Half youma were not common in their ranks and after all this time, her appearance was still a subject of curiosity. It wasn't really a bother, but the idea that just a promotion cause it was amusing.
"No, its not a General thing." She laughed as she waved a hand. "Have you seen any other Generals with them?"
The questions were returned with raised eyebrows and she displayed her claws, giving the girl a good view.
"I look like this because I'm not completely human any more." She said, her tail flicking behind her. "When I was a lieutenant, I tried to tame a youma partner, and I failed because I wasn't strong enough. Its why only captains can have them. The youma tried to eat me, but the General-Queen came and gave me a boost of energy to fight it off. Our bodies merged together and left me like this... half officer and half youma. I can't power down any more and I don't have a weapon, just my claws and the ability to eat other youma."
It was a familiar story by now, almost recited by rote. It had been over a year since then... it felt like forever, some days.
Cin considered Sylvite's lack of knowledge and filed it away. They'd have to start with the very basics, but at least the girl had some physical ability. A sense of co-ordination was a big plus, and being able to perform structured moves. The weapon, as always, was a joke, but she hadn't expected anything more. She waved it off with a hand and then gestured for the girl to take a stance across from her.
"I'm going to start with basic blocking and dodging. I'll show you how to throw a punch and then we'll move onto how to break a hold if someone grabs onto you." She said, settling down into a defensive stance.
"Stand across from me and copy how I'm holding myself. Feet apart... hands up, but loose. This is where you start from, so you can move to react to your opponent."
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Posted: Thu May 12, 2016 3:53 pm
"Well, I haven't really seen that many Generals..." she replied, searching her memory banks, and... yep, it was just this lady and Umber. "And I don't really know what you guys can do. Like, teleporting, yeah, and helping people join the Negaverse... but maybe you guys have animal powers, too? That'd be cool." She nodded at the actual explanation with just a hint of disappointment in her eyes. "Oh, ok. I won't get too close to youma, then." Not that that was going to be a challenge. Sylvite knew that youma were supposed to be friends of the Negaverse or whatever, but they still really rubbed her the wrong way. And apparently they even tried to eat agents? Yeah, that wasn't good. She went ahead and dismissed her weapons and did her best to copy the fighting stance, although it felt a bit unnatural. "Like this?" Whimsical Blue Ahh sorry this took forever
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Posted: Wed May 18, 2016 12:26 pm
Cinnabar chuckled roughly, gesturing at Sylvite's hands.
"Higher, and put your feet a little closer together. You want a wide stance, but not so wide it gets in the way. Hands up a bit... you want to be able to quickly shield your face. You don't know what direction your opponent is going to attack from, so you need to be balanced in just the right spot that you can react to anything without being hindered because you were too far one way or the other." She said as she settled herself again, giving the lieutenant an example in herself to work from.
"Generals and Captains can both teleport and command Youma. They're useful servants of Metallia, as we are, but less human and more vicious. They just have different views of things than we do, so you have to be tried and tested and strong before they will bow to you. Lift your arm up and block this." Cin said as she threw a slow moving punch. "Bring your arm up like you're trying to knock it towards the side, rather than just stop it with your arm. Generals are the only ones who can safely recruit new officers... It takes a level of control over their own chaos energy that Captains don't have yet, and even then, a General can't corrupt a knight that has awakened to their own power, or a senshi or cat at any point. Now, other side."
The general threw another slow punch, walking Sylvite through the motions before she increased the tempo. It was important she knew the how and why, before she was forced to react. "The power that is needed for that kind of corruption can only be wielded by a General Sovereign. I've heard stories of that... the senshi the general was trying to recruit turned into a youma instead. I've heard a General tried to promote a Captain once, to the same effect. That is another thing only a General-Sovereign can do."
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Posted: Fri May 20, 2016 11:29 am
Sylvite stopped talking, nodded at the stance advice and began to adjust, keeping an eye on Cinnabar. It seemed that she knew how to take instructions, at least. She still probably wasn't at balanced and protected as she could be, but... at least she felt like she looked pretty cool. Even with the verbal warning, the first punch came as a bit of a surprise and Sylvite half stepped out of the way, half deflected it at the last second. She actually managed to block the second, though, and then the next, and then the next. "Can you tell me more about youma?" She asked, once they'd settled into a fairly steady rhythm. "'Cause I was talking to this Order senshi- and I know Order's really bad, like, trust me, I know, and we have to stop them, but she wasn't getting it because all she saw the youma doing was eating people and messing things up? And..." she was still focused and less expressive than usual, but there was a hint of worry in her eyes. "Well... I haven't really seen them do anything else either. So I was wondering- what do they do, exactly? Also..." the hint of worry turned to confusion as she brought her arm up just in time to stop the next blow, "She said we eat souls?"
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Posted: Sun May 29, 2016 2:20 pm
Their motions began to gain fluidity, and as soon as they did and Cin felt Sylvite had a grasp on it, she switched to something else. Her punches changed angle with more explanations of what to do, and other ways of dealing with it. Like grasping the wrist and pulling to use their momentum against them and drive an elbow into their face.
"Youma?" Cin said as she mimed a punch, keeping it slow paced so Sylvite could catch it. "They're like really intelligent animals, at least the feral ones. The humanoid ones are like... less than average humans, for the most part. They're manifestations of Metallia's overwhelming power... when a starseed can't handle all the chaos poured into it, the person becomes a youma, rather than an officer. Some officers in the past, or so I've been told, have even made that sacrifice willingly, to better serve our queen. They're not toys... they're as much soldiers as we are, but steeped in Metallia's chaos. And they don't die, even if they're dusted, unless its by a Royal. It makes them better equipped to attack en masse, as they'll just regenerate where a human would die..."
The questions about the less savory parts of youma was a more delicate subject, but not one Cinnabar felt should be danced around. Better to explain it and soothe the worries, than to have her find out the truth from an order senshi like she had, and have it twisted to suit their purposes.
"Youma do not see the world the way we do... like animals, they understand only limited things. Feeding. Fighting against a threat. Obeying officers with rank. If you turned a wild tiger loose in the middle of the city, do you think it wouldn't attack people and cause damages? Its why we are above them and why we control them. The ones that get loose in the city can be as much a danger to lieutenants like you as to any order person. They need to be caught and taken back to the rift."
Finishing up her latest swing, Cinnabar shifted back and dropped out of her defensive stance.
"Come on, lets take a break and get some water." She said as she waved for the girl to follow her and made their way towards the towels and bottles she had against the wall. The general tossed one to the lieutenant and turned to lean against the wall, her heel braced against it.
"When she said souls, she meant Starseeds. You've seen those, right? Its what the General touched when they reached inside your chest and gave you power. You could call it a soul, if that's what you believe in, but its just a glowing gem that powers someone's life force. Remove it and the body will stop functioning. There is an incredible amount of power in them, obviously, and its possible for us as officers to eat them. They can give us a huge boost to our abilities, or restore lost energy, or heal terrible wounds. They're useful tools." Cin tilted her head as she eyed the girl, her red eyes sharp to catch every nuance of her expression. Did the news shock her? Disgust her? How did she handle it? "What you need to keep in mind is that... we are fighting a war. When you fight someone, how you do it, in the end, doesn't really matter. What matters is if you survive, or if your opponent does. If you're dead, does it really matter that you played fair? You're still dead... So what we do to them, it's what we need to do, not because we enjoy it, but because we need to survive. Metallia needs to survive, and triumph. Sometimes, that will mean killing. Sometimes, that will mean you have to eat the star from someone's chest to keep yourself alive... but it shouldn't happen often. Not if you're smart and you fight well. That's why training like this is important."
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