|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 8:51 am
Iorek smiled as Shepard saw the improvement but worry set in once more as the compliment drew into something else. Critique? He glanced quickly over to Tyson, hoping for some encouragement, but only to find the lad not paying attention as he built miniature snowmen in the snow. Reks sighed when he knew Tyson had no clue his support was needed and leaned forward to see what Shepard would show him.
He gulped at the sight of the scars that littered Shepard's hand. Jeez...it was quite the sight. Perhaps Shepard had been a hero too? He was just keeping it a secret?
Reks winced as he imagined the pain that Shepard must of felt as he reflected on the past injury. The raevan reached for the man's hand and rested it in his own. His claw lightly traced the scar for a brief moment as the raevan pondered. The thought of how he would heal if hurt so terribly never crossed his mind before. Reks wondered if his body would repair in the same manner or if it would concave and leave an indent in his skin. So far the little injuries he maintained just left faint white scratches here and there across his gray form. They were nothing to be concerned about. But what would a real injury leave behind?
"Wow....you're strong to be able to handle that..." Iorek frowned as he questioned how Shepard could of hit a chair, but in the midst of a fight it would probably be difficult to keep track of everything in the room.
He set Shepard's hand down so the man could put it back in his glove and listened carefully. A hero was willing to do anything for the greater good and he couldn't be afraid of getting hurt. "O-Okay..." Iorek whispered. But his voice was too soft for his liking and the raevan scowled. He knew this was something serious and he didn't want to sound like a mouse confirming his understanding.
The raevan swallowed and looked at Shepard with a firm face, "Okay. I understand." His voice was much stronger the second time around, firm and with power, just the way Iorek sought to be.
The strength in his pose and voice melted away when Shepard took his hand and examined it. The brave lion had fled and in it's place was a little cub once more looking for guidance from his teacher. "I'll try not to, heh, I haven't gotten into any fights yet so I'm just a little nervous, ya know?" His fingers drew in to create a fist, "I just don't know how much I can take or how I would heal. It's a little unnerving. But you're right. I-I can't be afraid."
Iorek drew his hands close and rubbed the palms when Shepard released them. He listened to the man think outloud and gave a shrug at his question. "Yeah, I wouldn't mind at all." He smiled gently, "Do whatever you think is best?"
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2012 5:54 am
Whatever else was learned today, Shepard knew there was one thing he would certainly take away with him: Iorek was young. When Shepard had driven up to the Maevin house for the first time, he wondered about the Maevin parents and what good their presence may or may not have had. Now, Shepard reflected that it must have been difficult for the kids -- difficult for Iorek -- to grow into self-assurance and maturity without anyone to have taught it to them. How could Iorek be brave and resilient? Everyone, Shepard thought with some despondence, seemed to have to raise themselves here.
So Iorek seemed uncertain, afraid of what he had not tested. But he was trying, and he had a firm willpower that lay beneath all his uncertainty. That much was obvious in everything he did, from his desire to train to his desire to say 'okay' in a suitably firm voice. Listening to Iorek, Shepard knew that he would help the Raevan in any way he could.
"Listen," said the Aussie, rocking back on his heels as he thought. "I saw there's some frozen pond or somethin' back that way near the house. I borrowed my mate's truck up here, and we play a bit of hockey. I got some gear in there that might fit yeh, keep yeh safe, and a big glove blocker that might work for one of yer hands. What I'm thinkin' is this: let's say we go down to the pond, me 'n' Ty, and we get you to hover in the middle. We'll toss a couple of pucks at yeh, and you try to catch 'em in yer hands. Strengthen your reflexes a bit, maybe get you a bit used to hits without worrying too much about 'em. Time goes on, we'll hit the pucks a little harder until one day you'll be so confident about takin' and blockin' hits that you'll laugh y'ever worried about it in the first place. Meanwhile, we'll find a way to get yeh some boxing gloves so you can really throw a punch, yeh?"
He turned slightly to face Ty, who had lost interest enough interest apparently that he was making a small army of snowmen. Shepard couldn't help but grin, giving a soft snort of a laugh -- well, at least this way would involve the boy, give him something to do other than cheer his Raevan on.
"Whaddya say, Ty? Want to hurl a puck or two at Reks here?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2012 11:36 pm
"Um...." Iorek thought about what Shepard was suggesting. He wasn't sure how he felt about being a moving target but his new coach was making a valid point. If he wanted to improve this was one way to do it. So what if they he wasn't very good at the punching bags? Maybe he'd be better at this? Or he could fail miserably but that was a thought Iorek quickly sought to push far away from his immediate ponderings.
The raevan nodded his head and moved his arms back and puffed out his chest. "Alright. I'm willing to try it. I-I want to get better and conquer this. As long as I can fit into the gear I'll do it."
Okay, sure he was trying to stop being afraid of getting hurt but come on! It was his first day. If he was going to be pummeled it would be nice to have a wee bit of cushioning to soften the first few blows. The second day he'd opt out of the gear to see how much his skin could take. But for now...padding was the right answer.
Tyson looked up from sculpting a cannon for his little army with the biggest grin on his face. Sure he had been building some cronies but that didn't mean he wasn't listening. "Oh yeah. I think that'll be the best training for him right now." Also he really just wanted to hurl a few pucks at Iorek and see how well he could dodge. Maybe he could avoid hockey pucks better than pillows?
The lad hopped up from his frozen throne and clomped over the snow to rejoin Shepard and Iorek. "The ice over the pond should be strong enough to hold us so lets get everything and go!"
Iorek arched a brow at Tyson's eagerness over this whole thing. "You seem awfully happy about pelting me with pucks..."
"Well that's what you get for choosing Captain America over Iron Man." Tyson said matter-of-factly and with a carefree shrug. "Plus it'll just be fun. I'm a kid, I'm supposed to do as many fun things as possible before I get old. This is just something I have to do."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 6:38 pm
Shepard listened in silence, his hands in his pockets and his mouth tipped up in a smile, as Reks questioned Tyson's eagerness regarding the situation. It was true -- it certainly wasn't very often that Shepard could suggest repeatedly pelting someone in the chest with a puck and have their loved ones so immediately and cheerily agree to it. But Tyson was a good kid (and a young one, without the arm strength to do any significant damage, presumably), so Shepard only shook his head and let out a white breath of quiet laughter as he began the trek back to the truck. At any rate, maybe Ty had more faith in what Reks was made of than Reks himself did.
Shepard's footsteps were quick, crunching softly in the snow, but he made certain his pace matched Iorek's, staying beside the Frei in a silent show of continued support. For a little while he was quiet, thoughtful, his face soon pulled in the faint frown that almost always made its home there, his relative youth suddenly more apparent in the stark winter cold. He was listening to the boys, but he was thinking of a niggling thought that would not leave him -- about Reks' possible loneliness, his innocence as a byproduct of his being left with kids, all to fend for themselves. And while his thoughts were not apparent, his distant expression was, and with his bright hair tucked inside his dark beanie, and his grey scarf covering his throat, his face was framed, highlighted, a cold-pink nose and eyes made startlingly bright by the contrast. He slowed as they reached the beat-up pickup, and he smiled briefly at Reks, the expression making him suddenly and inexplicably different.
"Yer gonna be fine," he said shortly as he angled toward the truck bed -- and then he was himself again, digging in his pockets for the keys and opening the bed cover, flipping it open so the boys could see what lay inside. Hockey gear -- pads, gloves, sticks, pucks, blockers, skates -- was littered in disarray within, a jumble of colors and textures and materials. Shepard shot a quick glance at Iorek's chest and began to rummage through the gear, leaning over the now-open bed to reach as deeply as he could within.
A skate came out first, tied by its laces to another that soon followed, which Shepard dropped onto the snow beside them. Then out came a stick, and another -- one quite long and wrapped in tape, scuff marks lining it, and the other quite shorter and newer-looking. Then a large -- impossibly large -- absolutely giant padded glove came out, its pad large, white, and rectangular. It seemed big enough even for Iorek's massive claw.
With a grunt, Shepard finally pulled himself back, one last piece of equipment in his hands. It was a strange plastic padded thing, resembling a strange sort of chest and shoulder armor. Something for a new-age samurai.
"Here we go," the Aussie said finally, turning to Iorek with the chest protector in hand, holding it up as though to measure it against the frei. "Yeh, I think this'll work. C'mere, let's get it on yeh."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2012 12:06 pm
Even if the boys were busy joking between themselves, Iorek's eyes had rested on Shepard long enough to catch the unusual look. Shepard was wearing that perfect look comic heroes possessed on splash pages as they delved into their deepest thoughts. Was something troubling the usual jovial man? Whenever they were together Shepard was always in a cheery mood, but Iorek knew the bear of a man had other things going on in his life. Perhaps something was troubling him?
But before he could pester Shepard the man seemed back to his old encouraging self. Iorek drifted close to the truck and peeked in to see the rat's nest of hockey equipment. "So...we're going to use all of this?" That was an awful lot of stuff to lug around or to be pelted with or whatever Shepard wanted to do with it.
Reks gulped and drifted away from the trunk to let Tyson have a better view. Although Ty was getting taller he had to use his arms to heft himself up over the edge of the car to see. The lad whistled when he had balanced himself long enough to see the hockey treasure trove. When Shepard started to take out skates and sticks, Tyson jumped off and scampered to pick them up. If these were bread crumbs than he'd be the hungry pigeon trying to stuff its belly. "This is awesome! We get to use all this stuff?" The boy cheered as he tried to pick up the huge glove only to drop the sticks in the process.
As Tyson busied himself with trying to hold the goodies Iorek was busy wondering what else Shepard could pull out of this truck. His brow arched when Shepard pulled out the gear. "What is this?" He obediently drifted closer to his friend and reached out to run his hand over the chest plate. It felt sturdy enough but could it give him the protection he needed. "It looks like armor. I like it. Do you use it a lot?" If he had then it must of been good since Shepard was still in one piece.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 27, 2013 9:59 pm
Shepard grinned faintly as he motioned for Iorek to come closer, unhooking the straps on the chest protector and then pulling it up over Iorek's head and down.
"It's kind of like armor," he said as he worked, hooking the straps back together under Iorek's shoulders and over his half-formed chest. The end of the pads came just under the end of... well, Iorek, and Shepard could only shake his head at the perfect length of the piece. He snorted, impressed. "Well, I guess for you it's more like full armor, eh?"
He knocked on the shoulder piece, showing Iorek the steadiness of it. "It's not exactly for battle, but it's good for practice." Shepard looked over his shoulder at Tyson then, sending the boy a grin. "Ty, pull some skates on and yank yerself out a stick and some pucks, while we're at it, alright? Gonna play some pond hockey and make Reks here the goalie."
Turning, Shepard pulled the blocker and glove out of the truck bed, pulling the oversized pieces onto Iorek's hands. It would make movement slightly cumbersome for the Raevan, but it would protect his stone hands as well as possible. "Arright, then. These feel good? Or do you want a mask, too?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 15, 2013 10:43 pm
"Yeah, it really is." Iorek floated as still as he could for Shepard. The gargoyle raevan didn't even realize he was holding his breath until he exhaled and noticed how it was a wee bit tight. Shepard strapping him up in this makeshift armor felt like one of those golden comic book moments. The friendly human was his Master Splinter, and he the teenage mutant ninja raevan. He was off to battle!
Okay, he had to agree with Shep, this wasn't exactly a battle but boy for a moment there he was ready to charge.
"Thanks, Shep. Lemme just..." He worked the straps so they were a tiny bit looser around his partial chest.
As Reks fiddled to get his large fingers to cooperate with the buckles, Tyson had scampered off and returned with the needed stick and as many pucks as he could carry slash tuck into his clothes pockets.
[b"Got these! Just need my skates and we can see if Reks is NHL material!" The boy called to the two before nabbing his skates and sitting in the snow to get them on.
"Okay. I'm good to go...or," Reks' ears perked and twitched as he curiously looked on at the new pieces to his already cool ensemble. He moved his arms around to not only feel the new weight but to get a good look at the added protection. Many teens would grumble at all the layers but Reks was grinning ear to ear. He could even have a mask?! "Why not both? These and the mask?"
Tyson laughed as he rejoined them, all set for the game to commence. "Lil would want you to protect your face. It's a lot squishier than your arms. Plus, with all that your wearing, you'll be too slow to block anything I toss your way. It's a win win!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
