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 Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 6:45 pm
Dalcon frowns at the lunar question, looking up at the sky fearfully.
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Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 7:58 pm
Iri doesn't miss Dalcon's expression. But she doesn't say anything, either. He'll face this changing business when he comes to it. Though he does tend to freak out pretty well in the face of new problems, he adapts just as well.
Looking back to Kwubara, she says, "I don't know when the new moon is. I haven't paid any attention to it lately. Guess you'll just have to wait until a clear night to see. You into astronomy or something?"
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Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 6:28 am
Kwubara sat down on the grass and looked at Iri with a calm look on his face. He didn't want her to know there was anything wrong until he was ready to tell her.
"I have a condition that gets worse when the new moon comes around. I don't want to talk about it in front of him."
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Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 11:31 am
"Ah, gotcha. That can be addressed later. Well..."
Iri looks between Dalcon and Kwubara. Her hands are on her hips as she thinks. Kwubara will have to have to be taught a little differently than Dalcon. Partly for the reason that she wants to make an attempt at getting Kwubara started on Mizu. She really doesn't know anything about using that element, but she could find ways to manipulate it using Kaze. That'll be a neat challenge, and she might learn a few useful techniques along the way. In Dalcon's case, she has to figure out how to get his chakra to work. And she'd love to get him started in the use of foxfire. Provided they figure out how it works. Another challenge.
I think I'm gonna like being a teacher. All the new brain teasers will do wonders for me.
"Okay, I'd like to finish what I started earlier." Violet eyes focus on Dalcon again. "Whatcha say, buddy? If you can stand to try out the air technique, I really think it would speed up your education. Did wonders for Jin."
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Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 5:45 pm
"You're a Sensei. Do I really have a choice?"
Dalcon looks up at her, a feigned look of resignation on his cute little features.
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Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 9:20 pm
A chuckle is Iri's response. She puts a hand on his head and messes with his hair. "Maybe I should say 'no'. You may freak out less often that way, if you think you don't have a choice."
Iri begins to glow again. After a few seconds, she's standing in front of Dalcon as something ethereal. Under her hand, his hair stirs and the air feels a little warmer than the surrounding air.
"Ready? I promise no one's gonna breathe you in. I'm just gonna show you how it feels to use chakra, so it might be a little easier for you to do so later. After that, we'll go through a few Kaze techniques as the techniques themselves."
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Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 9:52 pm
"Umm...o-okay..." Dalcon tenses, closing his eyes hard.
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Posted: Thu Aug 13, 2009 10:01 pm
Iri just grins and lets the technique go. Chakra floods Dalcon's body starting at the top of his head. Once it's flooded his body, it permeates his clothes and anything else he might be carrying, including his sword. Then his body dissolves like Iri's. To keep the initial shock from being too bad, she keeps his form in an ethereal likeness of his real self.
"Did you feel that energy starting at my hand? That was chakra. There are a number of other things you might call it, but that's the most commonly used term around here. It would actually start from somewhere in the pit of your stomach and flow to whatever point you choose, but this should give you an idea of what it feels like. And to feel it helps in learning how to use it."
She steps away from Dalcon and lets her hands fall to her side. The avian gives her head a tilt and smiles.
"You can move now. It's just like moving your real body. Give it a shot. After that, we'll move on to something more complicated."
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 12:12 pm
Dalcon opens his eyes slowly, waving his hands in front of his face. Gathering courage, he starts to walk around a little, and swing his sword a bit.
"This is still weird," he says.
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 6:52 pm
Another chuckle emits from Iri's ethereal form. She's standing there with hands on hips. For now, she's just letting Dalcon get used to the feeling of being without a true body. In a few minutes, she's going to start teaching him the basics.
"Weird is one way to describe it. But it's very useful. Can you think of a few things we could use it for right off hand?"
Iri knows the boy is intelligent, but she knows it's good to make him think every once in a while, too.
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Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2009 6:18 pm
"Umm...sneaking," Dalcon says thoughtfully. "I bet in this form, a nightingale floor is no trouble."
Referring to the Japanese style floors that are designed to chirp when stepped on, Dalcon taps his temple thoughtfully. "Though I guess in a more modern setting you could use it to pass through barriers and traps, maybe dodge bullets."
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Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2009 9:52 pm
The avian nods in approval. When he's done, she makes an addition to his list of uses. "Also think of things like travel. You're fast and agile on your own, but think of how quickly you could travel as a patch of mist on the wind. The jetstream would be more fun than an entire theme park. And think about carrying supplies. I've been hiding my naginata as a ball of air since I got up this morning. Keeping something in that form without losing takes a lot of concentration, though."
Iri thinks about something else. Eventually, she'll have to start teaching Dalcon about more than self-control. Much of what she does in a fight is mental multi-tasking. It's not easy, but it's often necessary. The necessity of concentrating on flight, hand-to-hand combat, stabilizing an arsenal of hidden air bombs, and sometimes more is both stressful and tiring. After a fight, her brain usually hurts more than anything. She'll have to develop a multi-tasking exercise for the boy. That can wait for later, though. It's just a mental note for now.
"Anyway, on to the next demonstration." Iri's misty form walks over to Dalcon and puts a hand on what looks like his shoulder. "This next part is going to be a little more disorientating. We're pretty much going to disperse and become one cloud. You won't have a definite form after that, and I'm going to take over your movement so I can show you how these Kaze techniques work. You'll still be able to talk to me, you just won't have a mouth to use, and your voice will kind of sound like it's coming from all directions. Just think like you're talking, and it'll happen. Any questions? Or are you ready?"
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Posted: Sun Aug 16, 2009 5:38 pm
"Guess I'm ready..." Dalcon says with a total lack of confidence. "You know how weird this all sounds, right?"
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Posted: Sun Aug 16, 2009 7:31 pm
Another laugh issues from the avian, who is starting to fade away like morning mist. "It is, but you'll get over that once you've found out how fun this is."
Now Dalcon's beginning to fade. If he tries to move, he'll find that he can't do so. It's like he's paralyzed. What's really happened is that Iri has taken control of the air of which his body is now comprised. The two of them disappear to the world. For a moment, nothing happens. Then the air stirs and two clouds form. Each cloud hangs about ten feet off the ground, and cover about 1500 square feet a piece.
"Gumby, you might want to pay attention! You're going to learn a little differently, but you can still gain from this lesson." Iri's voice echoes from one of the clouds. "Your basic technique is a tornado. For now, you want to keep a tornado to your size or smaller. This is because larger tornadoes are harder to handle and require more chakra."
Dalcon's cloud starts to heat up, the temperature rising to about 90 degrees Fahrenheit. At the same time, Iri's cloud cools to about 30 degrees Fahrenheit. The two clouds move toward one another in a line. When they hit, the warm front and cool front begin to simulate the formation of a tornado.
"This is how a tornado forms in nature. A warm weather front meets a cool weather front, or vise versa. The warm air rises and the cool air descends, and rotation occurs. Under the right conditions, you get a funnel cloud. You've probably learned this in school. Luckily, we don't have to worry about the off chance of two fronts forming a tornado."
The simulated tornado collapses, and the two clouds adjust their temperatures to be the same as that of the surrounding air. Now, Iri allows her own tornado to form. It rises about ten feet into the air and is five feet across at its top. The cyclone picks up grass and dirt, but isn't strong enough to sling rocks around.
"This is what your goal is. All you have to do is encourage the air to rotate toward the sky in a corkscrew manner. Your chakra is like bait and a mold for the air. Just release your energy and picture the result. It's easy. Concentration is the hardest part of this exercise. Any questions from the two of you?"
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Posted: Sun Aug 16, 2009 7:45 pm
"What if one of the clouds was a storm cloud?" He asked.
He turns himself in to a cloud and runs some of his electricity through in and made a mini thunder storm with his body to prove it could happen.
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