Welcome to Gaia! ::

While the practice fields behind the auditorium were open to the public, there was another set of two informal fields further down the road and mostly hidden by a wall of trees. This made them much more ideal to a certain self-conscious and lanky orange haired young man. A satchel on the ground held two books on the rules and procedures of tackleball, plus a roll of bandages and a jar of ointment; just in case. He stood at the sideline of one field trying to not look as awkward as he felt as he cautiously toed the ball along the ground. The ball wasn’t all that large, but it was hefty, especially for him. The players made throwing the thing around look so easy.

Similar to the last time he had been waiting to meet Aerexa, Lioe felt the urge to just run home to keep from embarrassing himself. He just had to keep reminding himself that while he wouldn’t be much use physically, he would definitely be able to help with the verbal lessons. He had read those books cover to cover to make sure he had everything right to teach Aerexa what he could.

The voice nearly made Lioe jump with surprise. When he turned and confirmed the owner of that voice, his expression lit with a pleased smile. It still caught him off guard that the blind date had turned into such an unexpected friendship where he was simply happy to see the woman so opposite from himself. He raised his hand and waved back, though the note about the pamphlet made him duck his head slightly. "Oh, sorry. I didn't think about that. You won't have to worry about any more reading though!" He perked up again and tapped at his head. "I can tell you all about what I read."

He squatted down to pick up the ball with a soft huff. Ah, this sport thing was fun to watch, but just too much work for a couch bum like him. "I should have had you bring someone to practice with. It'll be a little tougher with you pretending to play against someone."

He gratefully handed the ball over and took a step back. In Aerexa's hands, the ball looked like it wasn't going to be any trouble to throw around. No surprise there. Her question was a surprise though! Lioe managed to chuckle lightly and stepped closer so that he had to crane his neck fully to look up at her face. When he did though, the amused smile fell a little. He didn't want to disappoint her, but he was no athlete. "I mean.. I could probably show a couple things, but actually practicing with you? I'm pretty sure you would crush me into a pulp without even trying." He stepped back quickly to open up the space again. "I hope that doesn't ruin it..?"

Lioe lowered his gaze. He really didn't want to go home with any broken bones, but if she was really going to try hard to keep from breaking him in half... He felt himself start to lean toward the line of willingness to try, but a sharp voice yanked him right back away again. Immense strangers who did not look or sound happy in the slightest? He stood rooted in place, eyes shifting between the four women.

The date had been a joke? ..Well, who was he to be upset? He was pretty sure it had been the same on his end. Besides, did that really matter when it had resulting in a pair that enjoyed each other's company? Instinct told him to stay out of the disagreement, so he just remained quietly observant and let Aerexa handle things herself for the moment.

Lioe had been content enough to keep to himself. Just having the irritated women near him was intimidating enough to keep him quiet. Oh gods, now they were actually looking at him. Well, he thought they were looking at him. It was hard to tell without pupils... How had those Aishans grown to be so large, anyway? That would be something worth looking up later.

Ohhoho! Insulting his friend, were they? He was growing enough to be unwilling to tolerate that. Plus, it was easier to pipe up when Aerexa was standing between him and the scary ladies. "Tackleball actually requires a lot of strength to play. And smarts. She's perfect for it."

With his stomach telling him that his best course of action would be to simply leave, Lioe couldn't help his surprise at Aerexa's suggestion. She wanted to try cooperating with those bullies? It.. would certainly make a point if she were to wipe the floor with them. Of course, one of them would have to be on her team for even numbers... Talk about too much work. "If they really think they can handle it," he said with a small shrug. He looked to the others and frowned as firmly as he could manage. "Any cheating and Aerexa wins by default. Aerexa and I will be held to the same standards, of course."

Lioe didn't look particularly convinced by Nieva's assurance, but there was no point in saying anything. He was putting himself out there enough as it was. Teaching one person had been intimidating enough, but now there were three more! Aerexa's question made him snort with amusement. "There's... actually no specific rule about it," he admitted under his breath. That Nieve in particular could use a good hit to the face...

With a deep breath, he walked out to the center of the field and gestured for the ball. "Okay, it starts here in the center., each team on either side. It starts when the referee calls it, and the chosen forwards try to grab the ball first... " He went over the guidelines in unnecessary detail for the sake of details. He had been determined to make sure he gave Aerexa all the information that he could, so now everyone was getting the lecture. "Okay. Everyone got it?"

Lioe shook his head and pointed at the lines painted onto the uneven grass. The field was broken into roughly four equal parts by the paint, and each end had two posts with some ratty netting slung between them that hung loose enough to catch any ball that hit it. "Here in these two central parts, hands are good. The two far parts are feet only. Too many people hurt themselves or other players tackling into those goal posts. Same with outright tackles. Middle only."

He looked to the other women and nodded. "Ready?" He centered the ball on the middle line and hurried over to the sideline to watch. He wanted to be as far from this action as possible! "Set up. ....Begin!"