thenearshore | December Training

Entry tags:

December Training

Who: Everyone
What: Information and Training
When: September 25th
Where: Bishamon's temple, the Far Shore
Summary: Training and informational sessions for newly arrived gods and shinki

Gods and shinki arriving at heaven's meeting hall are, should they allow it, guided to Bishamon's temple, where a reception area and a traditionally styled dojo and training ground have been made available for the day. 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

the basics of proper god behavior

Shinki Training

informational pamphlets

borderline

From Ama,

Physical Training

Rest and Refreshments

Twister

Kubb

lawn Jenga

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
Play some games
Spectate if you want
Have fun~

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Oh it's fine that you did! Not everyone takes one from strangers, so I try to talk to people first.

[She points to the pamphlet, in approximately the place where her name is located.]

That's me. I'm Kairi.

Oh. Well, it's not usually a good practice but I'm a stranger in a strange place surrounded by strangers. Best to take the risk. It's good of you to be so helpful though.

[Adrien really does think that. It's nice to see a friendly warm face. Not that he had seen anything of the opposite though. He's glancing to the folded booklet then smiles. Turning to her he's extending a hand.]

Nice to meet you, I'm Adrien Agreste.

[Her mind is swimming with memories of other sweet blond boys she's known here and aren't around anymore - Roxas and Yukine namely.]

Adrien. Alright. Can I ask... if they handed you that pamphlet, does that mean you're a shinki like me?

[It means they'd have more in common and, in her experience, shinki need far more guidance and reassurance early on.]

Edited 2017-12-21 15:22 (UTC)

[Mentally, he's going to do his best to make certain he remembers her since he's seeming to have to start over when it comes to that.]

Sure and yep. That's what they told me. So I'm supposed to find a god to help right?

[His head tilts to the side as he looks at her.]

Well, some shinki go looking for gods to help out, but most of us get assigned the first time. When that happens, it's kind of hard to know who your god or goddess is supposed to be. I think most of us get found instead.

[She makes a shape with her hand and moves it back and forth between herself and the crowd, trying to indicate a kind of string connecting hearts.]

Our gods can feel how we're doing. If we're in trouble, they know about it. That's how they call our names and turn us into vessels too - with that same connection.

So I should just move around here and see if someone comes to me then? How will we know?

[He's watching her movements before nodding, some of the worry that had crept up easing out.]

So it's like we're linked in an emotional way?

[Kairi nods.]

Exactly. I get that it's kind of personal, but - at least for me - my goddess is one of my best friends, so I don't mind that she knows when I'm down or when I'm happy.

[But the flip side is she has a boyfriend, who she's not bonded to and they decided that on purpose.]

I hope that makes sense. It's hard to give much advice before you've met your god without scaring people with how much I could talk about and overwhelm them.

I don't think I would mind my god or goddess knowing that. I mean we're supposed to be a team. It'd make sense for us to be able to share stuff so nothing gets in the way of us working together.

[That makes sense right? He hope it makes sense. It just seems kind of silly to want to hide something that might get in the way of things. Adrien smiles gently.]

It's fine. I'd rather go in a bit overwhelmed and scared than blind and anxious.

[He's turning to face her reaching out gently for her hand. He can't help himself Adrien has always been fiercely determined to do his best.]

Please? I know it's asking a lot and maybe it'll leave me more confused than not but - but the more I know the better and faster I'll be able to adjust so I be properly of service to my partner.

[Kairi smiles - he's a lot like her, then.]

You're a great person, Adrien. I hope your god or goddess appreciates you. Most shinki don't think like you do. I don't blame them, of course, but they're so frustrated by what's going on that they can't think about helping anyone else out at the same time.

[Then she nods, okay a few more tips.]

Has anyone explained blight to you then? And how to get rid of it when it first crops up?

I try?

[He rubs at the back off his neck offering a shy smile. The boy isn't good at knowing how to handle compliments.]

I'm sure my goddess or god will be a good person, too! That way we get along and work together really well. I mean how could the assign me to someone I wouldn't be able to get along with? Seems kind of a bad idea to me.

[He's glancing down at his hands toying with the silver ring on his right ring finger.]

They're all just cared and unsure. I'm sure once they settle in it will be better for them. Their mindset will have changed.

[He gestures to the pamphlet.]

It says guilt and those monster things - the ayakashi? - make it happen. But I'm not sure what it is exactly? What does it look like? How would I know if my god or goddess had it?

[Adrien shakes his head.] I didn't get that far.

[Kairi shakes her head.]

It's not something that starts with our gods, not really. I've only ever heard of it happening in one of two ways - transferring from one person to another, or from touching an ayakashi. That's one way. Another is feeling bad about things and hiding it, without washing it off.

[She gestures to the back of her hand by way of explaining, even though nothing's there.]

A little blight... that kind of thing can happen. One time, one of my friends got hurt and I felt like it was my fault. A little blight cropped up and my god could feel it. It was bad, but it wasn't incurable. I had to wash the area as soon as possible so I didn't transfer it to someone else.

[That story used to make her feel the guilt crop up again. Now she's dealt with it a little better.]

The important thing is to not cover it up or ignore it, especially to your god or goddess since they can feel it anyway. For all we know, the blight could be on our backs where it's harder to see, so we shouldn't be ashamed of washing in holy water just to be safe sometimes.

[Then she shifts her tone.]

But you're right, ayakashi are something we have to fight sometimes. We just have to be careful when we do. We don't actually have to get up close most of the time to use our Rend spell, at least not until the last second. The longer we stay away from the ayakashi, the less likely it is we'll accidentally touch them and catch the blight that way.

Well, that's good but if I get it I could give it to them right? I don't want that. So I need to understand a little better.

[Confused Adrien is watching her hand peering at well it's just her hand so he's not sure what he's supposed to be seeing here.]

Oh. Oh! That's not good. But it couldn't have been your fault. You must have done your best to help.

[But he's biting his lower lip. His god or goddess would feel anytime he gave himself blight? Well, he'll just have to be extra careful.]

Right. Be open and honest about it. It seems kind of pointless to try and hide something like that. So even if we doing have the blight we should do that? The holy water bath?

[He rubs at his shoulder gently.]

So keep a foot or two between myself and the ayakashi if it's at all possible. Ranged attack - nothing like hand to hand combat. I think I can follow that. I seem to like staffs and swords better than anything at a close hand-to-hand range.

[Kairi nods.]

See, you've got this no problem! I kind of wish I'd been as adept as you seem to be.

[But she can't be jealous.]

Here I was just a normal girl being asked to learn how to fight when I didn't know a thing about it! That's why I focused on spells early on. Do you have any more questions for me, Adrien?

[She doesn't mind them. She's just looking for direction since he seemed to grasp that topic and she didn't like making a habit of repeating herself to someone who understood. If it was someone like Goten or Nanako, very young, then that was different.]

I'm kind of stubborn and a quick learner. Either it sticks or I work at it til I'm confident with it.

[He shrugs a little.]

I think I know how to fight at least a little but I don't know anything about magic or spells. At least I don't think. Do they have classes or something for that kind of thing? The better I am at it and the more I learn of it the better I'll be able to protect my partner right?

[His head tilts to the side and he's peering up at her.]

I'll start to remember things right? I don't like not really knowing much about myself. It feels a bit like I'm lost or something is missing I can't put a finger on.

[Kairi gestures around them.]

We do something like this pretty often, where we all get together at Lady Bishamon's temple to train together. This is your best bet to train with a lot of different kinds of people, but we also have a school for shinki who want to catch up on things and learn new stuff. The yard is where I'll sometimes practice spellwork with other shinki when it's not here, but you're right that better practice with Borderlines especially will help you protect your partner. It's the #1 most versatile tool in a shinki's arsenal.

[But she puts her hand on his shoulder at his other question.]

It might take some time - it was over a month before I remembered anything. Even then I thought it was just a dream, since it came to me while I was sleeping and included the two gods I was living with at the time. But I can tell you this much - you don't want to push it. I know it's hard. Bad things happen to shinki who go looking for answers, though - some of them have become ayakashi themselves.

[Adrien nods listening intently.]

So people always get together to train? I'll have to just come to all of those. Because you do have a good point. A very good one. I can't improve if I don't work hard at it.

[He's glancing to her before touching the tips of his fingers together.] Can you let me know the next time you come out for practicing spellwork? Magic isn't really in my bag of tricks I don't think and I'd hate to flub it up when my partner needs it the most.

[That hand on his shoulder tells him to brace himself. Or at least that's the instant signal that goes to his brain and he does so inhaling softly.]

So I can expect little bits after sometime passes? That's good. I mean That's better than what I was thinking. I'll just have to wait - something tells me I can be very patient so I'm not worried. I just - I don't want to be a burden to whoever takes me as their Shinki. [Adrien gives a little roll of his shoulders at this, his usual cherry expression grim.] Right. I don't want to become one of those. Best to let it all just be natural.

[Just like that the seriousness is gone the grim air that had settled vanishing like a rain cloud dries out on a sunny day.] Thanks, Kairi.

[She has to laugh a little.]

Come out for practicing? If you don't want to be a burden, then let's work on spells now!

[She grabs both of his hands and drags him to his feet before jogging over to a training area with dummies set up.]

Come on, we'll do Rend first. That's the one that gods need us to do the most often. There's three ways you can cast this.

[She holds up her hand like a blade, angled upwards across her chest towards the opposite shoulder.]

Do you know any of them already?

Well, I didn't want to assume you were going to do it now. That's kind of rude so...

[He gives a little squeak but he's used to this kind of treatment he thinks because it's instinct to come to his feet and fall into step with her.]

Let's then. [He gives a little nod at that.] That's the one that gets rid of the bad spirits, right?

[He's taking in her stance then moves to mimic it.]

Not yet. I haven't tried anything like this yet.

Oh no, listen to me! I said Rend when I meant Line, I'm sorry! I can tell you a little bit what Rend feels like, but we can't practice it without your god around, so Line it is.

Anyway, three ways: as a wall, as a long-ranged attack, and as a kind of weapon you keep in your hand to attack with. If that doesn't make sense, I can try to explain more.

[Adrien seems nice and is picking up a lot, but maybe - like her - he's just a normal boy, so saying something like long-ranged attack and weapon may not make sense yet. Okay maybe if he's played a lot of video games in his old life, or watched a lot of TV... never mind, this is why she had to just ask and see.]

It's okay. Don't worry too much about specifics. It's all new to me anyway.

[He's listening and nodding. Blinking green eyes at her as he rubs at the back of his neck. Mulling it over and breaking the words down to their barest basics all he's coming to is -]

So it can be used like a shield, a blast, and er a sword? Is that right?

[Kairi nods.]

That's right. It all comes down to what you need - the shinki saying the words. I've used the wall as offense before too, though. So it's just a form, not a requirement for how you're going to use it.

[She starts moving her hands, one to represent herself and one for her opponent in a mock battle as she recounts how it went down.]

One time, I was fighting a friend who can fly, right? So I was closer to the ground and he was above me. [One of her hands rises higher above the ground than the other.] And so I threw out a wall-like Line in front of me--

[Her hand representing herself turns sideways, perpendicular to the ground, and comes racing upwards towards her balled hand, right up under it and knocking it to the side.]

That ended up hitting him because I made it so fast. He said it felt like a major uppercut! [And she grins proudly at that.]

Oh good!

[Clearly he's pleased that he's understanding this properly. It shows in his face as he listens to her story. Green eyes following the movements of her hands intently.]

So if you make it fast enough it can be used as a weapon instead of just a barrier shield. [Makes sense and that's more Adrien's style - he'd want to take care of whatever problem he crossed before it became a threat to his partner.

That's just how it he is though. He's a Shinki and it's his duty. Protect. But it's more than that. It's almost an instinct that settles deep down in his chest.]

That's really impressive, Kairi! I best you were thrilled.

Ah... you know me that well already, Adrien.

[She flushes and smiles happily at the compliment.]

I'm just a normal girl but I've been able to pick all of this up on the fly. It doesn't feel all that impressive sometimes, but then when I talk to newer shinki, I get all excited about how far I've come all over again.

[Which she hopes he doesn't take as a slight. It's just when you're going up against people like Lavi or Goten in practice all the time, you feel pretty easily outmatched.]

And of course making it fast enough just comes down to muscle memory, I think. So getting a start on practice now should really help that!

Haha, Not really? It's just that would be how I felt if I managed something like that. It's only natural to assume you'd be the same way.

[He smiles giving a little nod.]

Yeah. We all start off like that but it's really encouraging to know what we can do with a lot of hardwork. I mean knowing it can be accomplished is a pretty good motivator.

[Nope. He doesn't and even if she had intended it to be it would have likely had to have been much more aggressive and in your face. The boy is kind of oblivious.]

So get the basics down then work on speed. Makes sense. [He pauses rubbing at his chin.] So what about weapons? How exactly does that work if you're using say a sword or something?

[She smiles and nods back at his observations. Him feeling similarly makes sense, as does the motivation getting driven by the knowledge someone else has done it.]

About weapons... hmm... I haven't done nearly as much with that. Normal weapons don't work that well against ayakashi. Even special weapons don't always help do more than drive them back. But, just to double-check...

[She summons her keyblade in her right hand and just holds it prepped there in a normal stance.]

Okay, so now if I make a Line...

[Using her left hand, she tries to put up a border to one side, leaving the both of them on the same side of the Borderline.]

BORDERLINE!

[... And lo, it works. Kairi looks satisfied.]

December Training

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Wrap for me

End