October Training

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone
What: Information and Training
When: September 4th
Where: Meeting Hall, the Far Shore
Summary: Training and informational sessions for newly arrived gods and shinki



In anticipation of the latest round of new arrivals, Heaven has partnered with the new gods and shinki to organize a very helpful informational reception.

It seems Bishamon's temple is unavailable this week due to business, although she has generously allowed a number of her shinki to go on with their usual tasks of passing out pamphlets and assisting the newcomers to settle in.

Gods and shinki arriving at heaven's meeting hall are, should they allow it, guided kindly towards a traditional-style dojo and banquet hall towards the back of the meeting hall itself. The gods and shinki are free to take their time during this day to learn about the details of their new life from Amaterasu's shinki or from the many veteran new god and shinki volunteers.




God Training

Newly arrived gods are escorted into a banquet hall for an informational meeting covering the basics of proper god behavior, although the minor deity conducting the meeting is in too much of a rush to take questions afterwards. They are encouraged to discuss the information with each other and ask questions of more experienced gods, as well as instructed to guide their new shinki appropriately.

Shinki Training

Various volunteers are stationed around the dojo, passing out helpful informational pamphlets. There are many shinki, including Bishamon's and Amaterasu's, who will be more than happy to train in using the borderline as well as offering a lecture on the basics of what is expected of a shinki and the importance of teamwork with other shinki and with gods. Shinki are encouraged to work together to practice what they've learned and discuss their perspectives.

The garden is available for borderline practice, and a few of the last training's slightly tattered crayon-drawn borderline targets have been brought back out and pinned to bales of straw to make a practice area. One of Amaterasu's shinki is drawing replacements with a large inked calligraphy brush. His targets are simple but elegant, but somehow, before they make it over to the target bales, they're ending up crayon-scribbled into much brighter colors. Maybe it's the child shinki who are in charge of putting them up? They do seem to be giggling a lot, and Amaterasu's artist shinki is looking more and more annoyed...

Physical Training

The dojo is stocked with a wide variety of practice weapons, traditional and modern, to offer some practice opportunity to gods who, for example, find themselves with a sword shinki but are at risk of cutting off their own toes. It's also useful for veteran new gods wishing to train with their current partner shinki.

There's an additional task that the hosts are more than willing to ask for help with. The Meeting Hall seems to be suffering an invasion of cute soot sprites. Although they're harmless little spirits, they leave smears of ash and soot wherever they go, and the shinki are running themselves ragged trying to keep the hardwood floors and white walls clean! They're handing out cleaning rags and flyswatters to squash the soot sprites flat and scrub the resulting smears away -- and, for the softhearted, butterfly nets: although they implore anyone with a net to be sure they let the soot sprites out again far, far away.

Rest and Refreshments

The meeting hall's facilities are less modernized than Bishamon's: there are rainwater barrels set out by the dojo with fresh towels for hardworking gods and shinki to wash their face and hands. The water is ice cold, so it's very refreshing, too-- brr!

By lunchtime, the banquet hall where the gods' informational session was held has been cleaned out and re-set with cushions to sit on around long, low tables. Gods and shinki who come inside for lunch will be served a plain but hearty meal, with soup, rice, fish and pickled vegetables to refresh them for the afternoon's training.

The hall will stay open even after the lunches and tables have been cleared away, so that those who want a quieter space to talk with their new partners can find somewhere in the room. Hopefully the occasional stampede of soot sprites won't be too distracting.

In Summary:

• Get all the information you can handle
• Veteran new gods and shinki are welcome to volunteer showing the ropes
• Get in some training
• Help catch soot sprite pests
• Spectate if you want
• Have fun~

Comments

Physical Training

[replicatedform]

[Unlike Nephenee, Yamanbagiri have opted for a flyswatter. Once he heard about this task, he joined in and pushed himself right into it. His temporary makeshift cloak is getting dirty from all the soot and ash, leaving noticeable blotches on the white cloth.

It feels pretty good, getting involved and really smacking things. And it does help him vent a little.]

I heard you! But they're still pests!

[One of the soot sprites land on top of his head.]

[mylanceisbiggerthanyours]

[And she spots that!]

They're jus' makin' things a lil' dirty...uh...hold still.

[She's just going to slide up beside you real fast, without her normal timidness.]

Ya got one on your head...lemme get it off so ya don't get more stuff on ya.

[squished bug in hair or cloth doesn't sound fun.]

[replicatedform]

Eh?

[He freezes for a moment and starts to feel self-conscious once she get nearer. He's tempted to step away, until he heard what she said.]

Ah, go... go ahead.

[Not that he minds getting dirty. But... she's close enough that she might see his face under his hood.]

[mylanceisbiggerthanyours]

[Funny, she worries the same thing about herself! But she's a bit more worried he's going to jerk around or get more dirty, so she tilts the net and slowly, steadily, swipes the soot sprite off his hood, before using a damp rag to clean what little soot is there off.]

There we go. Didn't get ya too messy.

[She glances at the sprite in her net with a small smile.]

You're a mite braver than your brothers an' sisters if you're hoppin' up on folks. Lil' bit rude, though.

[Then she looks to the hooded figure, still smiling.]

Name's Nephenee. What's yours?

[replicatedform]

[He stand still, letting her do the work. Once she's done, he step backward from her to put some space between them. And to calm his beating, self conscious heart.]

Ah... thanks. You didn't need to, but...

[He mumbles for a bit, before he speaks up, looking at her.]

I'm Yamanbagiri Kunihiro. It's nice to meet you, Nephenee.