[Spar/Fin] How to Train Your Trainee [Stormy/Evan]

[medigel]

The Book of Pride fascinated her. Despite being completely blank of words, its very presence and soft glimmer attracted both her mind and her eyes. On the training field Stormy was crouched over it, her hair up and her coat left behind in her room; it was a warmer day than usual outside, but she didn't mind catching a few extra rays for this, extra sweaty or not.

The book was more than just an artifact with a title. It gave her a sense of confidence she thoroughly lacked. Though tainted with the memories of her time as a lowly peasant-turned-noble in Regalia, she felt it was fate to have come into possession to this book.

Thane exuded an air of thinning patience as his partner remained engrossed in a book when training was supposed to happen. < < I am intrigued as well, but out in the open is not the place to be investigating it. Do so in the library after you have done the alloted time for sword practice. > >

Stormy hummed lightly to show she was listening, setting the book on the ground as she began to stretch.  

[Inle-roo]

/Outside outside outside I wanna go outside I'm bored you're boring me let's go playyyyyyyyy--/

Evan rubbed his temple, feeling a partner-induced headache coming on. "If we go do some training, will you promise to stop talking?"

/YES yes yes yes yes no but I promise to try really hard to remember to talk a little less./

Evan huffed a sigh, but put his boots on. He had been stuck with Gir long enough to know that that was as good as he could hope for. "Least you're honest."

/YAAAAAyyyyyayayayyy oh right I forgot training time gogogoGO./

With a shake of his head, Evan made his way to the training field, intent on putting his partner's boundless energy to better use. He slowed when he saw it already occupied, but grinned as he recognized the person occupying it. He didn't know her name, but she had been on the mission to the library from hell. He approached quietly, finally stopping behind her and leaning over her shoulder to see what she was reading. "Good book?"

Ol-j-man

 

[medigel]

She felt rather than heard the hunter first, the hairs at the back of her neck rising a split second before she spoke. "Sort of . . ." Stormy turned her head, thinking she recognized the voice and indeed noting the familiar face of - "Hi there, Mr. Hercules~"

The sun hunter had apparently gotten his approved Disney nickname after strong arming the Codex and showing a generally heroic disposition. And also because sunnnnn.

"It's blank, though," she went on softly, picking up the book and flipping some of the pages as an example. "Odd artifact really . . . How've you been since the mission?"

Inle-roo

 

[Inle-roo]

Mr. Hercules? Stormy got a tilt of the head and a quizzical grin for the nickname she bestowed upon him. Maybe she didn't know his name, either. There hadn't been a whole lot of time for pleasantries during the mission, and afterwards he hadn't been interested in anything that wasn't a shower. Well, better late than never, he supposed. "It's Evan, actually," he corrected gently.

Evan glanced at the blank pages she showed him, puzzling over the empty tome. "I've been okay, I guess, considering I got shot, blown up, and drugged my first time out. How about you?" And then, because he couldn't not ask, "And why are you reading a book with nothing in it? Is it from that library?"

Ol-j-man

 

[medigel]

"Oh. Do you like that better?" she asked curiously. "Evan doesn't sound as good as Mr. Hercules, I think. Or something brave. 'Cause you're sun, right? And you were hero-y back there with the bullets and the Codex. Wait. Heroic. That's the word." Stormy gave him a sagely nod.

She paused when he asked after the book, debating mentioning anything at all. "Nah. Just another funny artifact and stuff," she answered simply, patting the runic binding before letting it dissipate. Without an explanation she did the last of her stretches before turning to look up at Evan. "You look good for being shot and stuff. Fear shields are great like that, huh~?"

The trainee herself had signs of healing burns around her hands and arms that tingled uncomfortably as she stretched her arms out before her. "How's trainee life for you? If it helps any, I peed my pants and cried and nearly got stomped on by a dracolich--bone dragon--and torn apart by a stitchy dog." Stormy had no real shame in admitting it now that she knew not everyone was adept on their first mission.

Inle-roo

 

[Inle-roo]

"Oh, I'm sure it was a toss-up between Evan and Mr. Hercules for my parents, too," Evan replied, returning her nod with mock solemnity before breaking into a smile. "Really, though, I was just doing my job." It was no big deal, putting himself in harm's way for the good of the mission; he had done it even before he had come to the island, when bullets would have pierced his skin like paper and stepping on a landmine had a greater chance than not of sending him home in a casket.

It didn't bear thinking about, not now. "They are," he agreed instead, watching with interest as the book suddenly disappeared. Evan's easy grin dimmed a little as he took in her healing wounds as she stretched and heard how she may have come by them. "Jesus," he swore softly as she recounted her experiences. "I'd say I've gotten off lucky so far, in comparison. Getting shot's not fun or anything, but..." he trailed off with a shake of his head. "How long have you been a trainee, exactly? Is that kind of thing pretty common?"

And then, because he didn't want to resort to calling her 'hey you' or 'that other book girl,' even in his head, he added, "And, sorry, what's your name again?"

Ol-j-man

 

[medigel]

The problem with indulging Stormy was that she took things literally. Her eyes went wide. "They wanted to call you that too?" she asked with awe. His parents were officially awesome.

"How long? Well, um, I guess it has to do with how much effort you put into it," Stormy answered with another nod. "I'm a little slow; I woke up a little after Thanksgiving. But I think I'm almost ready to try and get a test for the next level; they get nicer coats and don't have to share a shower with so many people . . ." It was her first and only experience remotely like college life, seeing as she had never made it past high school.

Thane cleared his throat impatiently. The trainee giggled.

"My name? It's really long and boring, but you can call me Stormy~ So how about this, Mr. Hercules: we can talk a bit while we get some practice?" she suggested, summoning the greatsword to her hands, a thing about as tall as she was. "That way if more bullets come our way, we'll be ready!"

xInle-roo

mood whiplashhhhh

 

[Inle-roo]

Evan opened his mouth to clarify that no, he was just teasing a little bit, but thought better of it and shook his head, instead. He was beginning to understand, he thought. Stormy was much like his own weapon: well-intentioned, but not entirely all there.

"A promotion after, what, six months? That doesn't sound too slow. I'm sure if you can survive bone dragons and stitch dogs and booby-trapped libraries, a test should be no problem," he said reassuringly instead.

Evan grinned in response to her giggle. "Stormy it is, then." It was fitting. Although Evan didn't know Stormy much at all, she seemed like she had the potential to be a force of nature in her own right--and it looked like Evan was going to get a first-hand look. He hesitated before nodding in agreement with her suggestion and summoning his own weapon. Even though he had meant plenty of women in the service who could kick his a**, all of the girls he had met on the island seemed so...tiny. It was difficult to reconcile the fact that they all had some modicum of invulnerability, however small, with the ingrained knowledge that hitting girls was wrong.

"Sure, sounds good," Evan said, his grin only a little forced. "You ready?"

Ol-j-man

 

[Inle-roo]

Evan hadn't actually used Gir against a live opponent before. More accurately, he'd never fought anyone with a sword before, so he was a little clumsy as he lunged at Stormy, aiming for her arm with the toothed edge of the blade. He felt it connect, but there was something more, a kind of jolt in his mind that had Gir wagging his mental tail like a happy puppy.

/What what what what what? Do that again!/ Gir demanded.

"Ah--sorry," Evan said, trying to ignore the voice inside his head, "are you okay? Let me know if I'm doing it wrong, I've never done this before," he admitted sheepishly.

HP: 40/40
Damage: 4
Charge:1/3

Ol-j-man

all the awks all of them

 

[medigel]

She passed Evan a bittersweet smile. "I got told once some Hunters don't really live past, like . . . two or three years after waking up. So six months in a way is kind of slow," she told him as a matter of factly. But Stormy brightened a little at the compliment, always hungry for praise; even if she didn't always believe those words.

She cooed over the fact that he had a pretty neat looking sword, clashing it against hers so that it only scratched at her shield. "Yeah, you're good! They told me in the labs that bonding with them makes you decent with the weapon at the start, so practice just makes it better~" Pushing him back, Stormy aimed a slash at his legs, looking all the world like an innocent teen . . . with a pointy object. "Have you ever fought before?"

HP: 36
Damage: 6
Charge: 1/3

xInle-roo

o/

 

[Inle-roo]

Two to three years. That was a little longer than Evan had been expecting when he'd agreed to join Deus. To have an expiration date was all well and good for someone like him, who was used to putting his life on the line--even though this was a very different sort of war--but Stormy looked so young, despite the massive sword in her hands. "Don't count the days," he said quietly. "If some of them only live two to three years, then that must mean most of them live longer, right?" The alternative didn't bear thinking about.

The moment of distraction cost Evan in the form of a solid blow to the shin. It hurt, but it didn't cut him the way that it probably would have if he had still been completely human--hell, a sword that big probably would have taken his leg clean off. As it was, it just felt like he had gotten smacked with a lead pipe. He grimaced as he staggered back, surprising himself as new reflexes made him lash out with his own sword to retaliate. "I think I'm starting to see what you mean," he said. "I've never fought with a sword before. Hand to hand, definitely. Not bad with a knife, either, but...I mean, I'm trained to fight, for sh--stuff--like this. What are you doing here?"

HP: 34/40
Damage: 8
Charge: 2/3

Ol-j-man

o7

 

[medigel]

She had to admire his optimism, something she didn't quite have even before arriving to Deus. People like that made the trainee smile, even if it was just a little, and a little smile indeed was sent Evan's way at his words. "Yes, sir! I know a couple of people who have," she told him with a nod. "One of them's my age! His name's Gale and he's already a full Death hunter and everything, so . . . that's hopeful, right?"

It was definitely clear, though, that first time with a sword or not, he knew what he was doing. Stormy winced as she caught the blow and staggered back, mostly used to the shield blunting the force but still able to be affected by it. The greatsword stuck in the ground before she fell over and was yanked out in seconds to try at a stab; though these particular weapons weren't known for their piercing ability . . . So much for reacting well in combat. "There we go!" Stormy cheered him. "See, you're a natural." But if he was taught to fight, did that mean . . . "Were you in the army, Mr. Hercules?"

His question was blissfully ignored.

HP: 28
Damage: 3
Charge: 2/3

xInle-roo

o u o

 

[Inle-roo]

Stormy's words were hopeful--and a little sad. Kids Stormy's age shouldn't have to consider surviving long enough to become a full Hunter an accomplishment. They should be deciding what they want to do with their lives, not burdened by the likelihood of an early death. "Sure is," he agreed, trying for encouraging and hoping he succeeded. "Making Hunter's a good goal to have."

Evan really had no idea what he was doing, and he pulled back in alarm as Stormy stumbled. "Yeah, looks like," he muttered, a little confused. While he could kick some training dummy a** without breaking a sweat, he hadn't expected to fare so well against an actual moving target.

Are you doing this?

/No, maybe, a little, yes, kind of,/ Gir whined frantically. /I want more, you have to give me more!/

Evan took the stab to the side and let the force push him back. "Army," he scoffed, mostly good naturedly, "no, I'm a Marine. Big difference." He lunged for Stormy, keeping Gir's teeth turned towards her. "Sh--shoot," he kind-of-cursed, forgetting for a moment to keep himself in check, "I'm sorry, I'm trying to hold back but Gir's, uh, going kind of nuts. Is that normal? Let me know if you want me to stop, okay? I don't want to hurt you."

HP: 31/40
Damage: 7 evan stop that you jerk
Charge: 3/3

Ol-j-man

mOnOm

 

[medigel]

Marine!

< < Is that elite? > >

I think so . . . The way Evan scoffed said as much anyway. Thane made a sound that might have been approval.

< < Would you have fought him still, knowing that before? > >

Stormy couldn't answer because the sun hunter's strike came back as hard as ever. She tried to parry the blow with the addition of her hand against the flat of the blade, but the trainee remembered belatedly that a heavy weapon in one hand was . . . not easy to handle at this point. His sword crashed against her shield and made her grimace and softly whine, but she hoped to God he didn't hear it. "I-It's fine, I'm fine, I'm good," Stormy hastily told him, shaking her hand out as uncomfortable tingles went up to her elbow. "Definitely see why you're in Sun now! And look."

She indicated the glowing runes on his weapon. "Our partners et hungry for this Fear stuff, see; that's probably why yours was getting all excited. Now you have a charged attack! They told you about those, right? Don't worry about me, my shield's still good, so if you want to use it you can."

< < Toss in a warning about mine, > > the dracolich purred.

Stormy instead gave him a better smile to try and encourage him as he had done for her, gripping the handle of the greatsword. "I might be small, but I'm not half bad!" she announced, rushing Evan with another slash. The hunter's words were having an effect all right: temporarily giving her confidence where she normally would have slipped up.

HP: 21
Damage: 8 well I guess she does too XDDDD
Charge: 3/3

xInle-roo

fouof

 

[Inle-roo]

It was a good thing Evan hadn't heard Stormy whimper; despite her reassurances, he still wasn't at all comfortable taking a sword to a girl, no matter how much bigger her own weapon was. "Well, as long as you're sure," he said, doubtful, but trusting her to know better.

Evan glanced at his sword when Stormy drew his attention to it, surprised to see that the runes inscribed on the blade were glowing a lurid red. Wisps of crimson light escaped the confines of the lettering, flickering down to encase the protruding teeth, making them longer, sharper. The vicious snarl that reverberated through his mind was not the hyperactive, overly exuberant puppy Evan had grown to tolerate; this was a hunter, just as much as Evan was.

Badass.

Gir replied with a wordless growl that raised the hair on the back of Evan's neck, communicating need and want and repressed violence. Evan wouldn't have been able to stop even if Stormy hadn't given him permission to use the charge. The sword raised in his hands, pausing for a moment in the air before coming down on Stormy in an overhead slash. The rush of the charge being unleashed made both hunter and weapon still in a combination of surprise and relief.

It also made him an easy target for Stormy's attack, which knocked him back into awareness and nearly off his feet. "Nah, you're not bad at all. Small, maybe," he joked as he regained his footing, "but you make up for it in spirit."

HP: 23/40
Damage: 17 emotion_facepalm
Charge: 0/3; using BC 1/2

Ol-j-man

o^_^o