July Training

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone
What: Information and Training
When: December 22nd
Where: Outside the Meeting Hall, 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 the rear of the Meeting Hall, where 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 more experienced god and shinki volunteers.




Meeting Hall

God Training

Newly arrived gods are escorted into a small meeting room, with tatami floors and a stage at the front of the room where the speaker stands. A minor deity is giving the speech, and none of the white-robed shinki enter. Paper and pens are provided to all the attendees as an unsubtle suggestion to take notes on the information they're given.

The speaker delivers his welcome speech in a rather bored tone, occasionally stumbling and checking his own notecards. He particularly dwells, towards the end of the speech, on the fact that an unauthorized god has recently tried to access the Heavens, and any contact from other gods asking to access the Heavens through their temples should be immediately reported. Newly arrived gods 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. They are allowed to remain in the room as long as they wish, should they want to discuss questions with each other or with more experienced gods who are here to help out.

Shinki Training

Various shinki in the white-and-gold of Amaterasu's hosuehold are stationed around the dojo, passing out informational pamphlets that have been freshly printed. They will be happy to answer any questions or instruct the newcomers in the use of the borderline. They also accompany their answers, or lessons, with an explanation 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.

A variety of weapons are available in the dojo for shinki and their gods to practice with, and a row of straw targets are set up along one wall. Outside, in an area carefully roped off with red ribbons, are six animated training dummies, also made of straw and dressed in plain cotton jackets and trousers. They will immediately engage anyone who enters the area marked with the ribbon, but will not pursue opponents outside it. A white-robed shinki nearby keeps a sharp eye on the animated dummies, and will intervene if anyone tries to destroy one.

Physical Training

A race track has been laid out, winding through the gardens to a towering pole, 9 meters in height, planted in the center of a pond with a cluster of pretty ribbons tied at the top. White-robed shinki are standing by with stopwatches: anyone who wants can race their friends along the path, with the first one to return to the starting point with a ribbon winning the challenge, or solitary racers can recruit a shinki to time them and try to beat their own speed. But be careful not to fall off the pole! The pond isn't dangerously deep, but the bottom is very muddy, and in late December, it's also very, very cold.

On the lawn near the dojo, a wide circle has been marked out in white paint, and big baskets set around the circle are filled with sachets full of chalk dust in a rainbow of colors. Pick your color, grab a handful of sachets, and join the fray! Anyone inside the circle is a fair target to have one of the sachets thrown at them, and on impact, they splash out enough brightly colored dust to mark the spot they strike. Head or torso hits are an automatic out, leg hits mean the target isn't allowed to move from their position, and arm hits mean they can't use that arm. Borderlines -- and any other magic -- are allowed, and the game can get intense.

Rest and Refreshments

The weather outside, although not freezing, is quite chilly, and in the middle of the afternoon, the shinki will invite everyone into a prepared banquet hall for food and to warm back up. Charcoal braziers set in the center of square tables radiate warmth, and are covered by grates; other shinki bring trays of fresh ingredients, both meat and vegetable, that can be grilled over the hot coals.

After the meal is finished, one of the white-robed shinki, a middle-aged woman with her hair cut in a fashionable modern bob, enters the room with an expression of great, if restrained, delight, pushing a cart with a portable karaoke machine and speaker on it. She sets up the karaoke machine at one end of the room, and begins encouraging others -- both her fellow shinki and the newcomer guests -- to join in with a song. Whenever there's a break, she puts in music selections of her own; she has a trained, jazzy voice and a great fondness for midcentury enka.

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
• Relax, sing and barbecue
• Have fun~

Comments

[gentilitea]

He…He has regrets.

“Point taken,” he mutters, looking away as Ain is, hopefully, putting himself back in order. He can’t help seething in the meantime—after all, there’s only one person who could do such a thing to someone else, and Jakob wonders if he would have ended up as Add’s guinea pig like this one clearly is.

He wants to ask, but that might come across as rude given that it’s only their first meeting. So instead, Jakob settles with a sigh and a, “And you needn’t bother yourself on my account. I wish to remain inside and inspect the premises further for any…anomalies.”

[abgrund]

It's for another reason, but that reason is a story for another day.

If Jakob wishes to stay, then that's fine too. Ain has time; he's not in a rush, so he can spend it being acquainted with the newest member of their household. So he nods, his body reforming quickly as to not cause Jakob undue distress.

"Call for me when you wish to leave. I will come."

Because mortals can never navigate the maze of illusions as easily as he does.

"What is your name?"

[gentilitea]

“It’s Jakob. And thank you. I’ll be sure to…keep that in mind.” Yep, he really needs to find Apocalypse soon. The way this guy’s body is barely put together is making his skin crawl.

Not to mention that his healing staff isn’t anywhere he can find just yet, so he can’t even begin to attempt fixing…whatever this is.

He really is going to give Add a piece of his mind later on.

[abgrund]

It's easy to tell Jakob's discomfort - it's something that he's witnessed from many people before, so it' doesn't perturb him.

"You can call me Ain."

This he offers before letting the silence reform between them. He's content to watch Jakob poke around like some sort of oversized jellyfish; perhaps a little creepy, but it doesn't occur to him to go away.

Instead he'll just float in the space inside the illusion, his hair and loose tendrils rippling without a breeze.

[gentilitea]

“Very good then, Ain.” He doesn’t strike Jakob as a bad guy, at least, despite that freaky void-corrupted look he’s sporting. He’s pretty sure no magic can possibly heal all that, and yet he’s already wondering if the likes of Lady Sakura wouldn’t mind giving him a look anyway…

But he shakes his mind clear of those thoughts for the moment, instead focusing on his new companion with a frown. He…really should get to know this guy a bit better, but small talk isn’t exactly something he enjoys, and Ain seems quite content with a companionable silence.

At least, he thinks it’s companionable…

“All right, Ain. I have a very important question to ask of you, and I need you to be absolutely honest when you reply: have you done any housework before?”

[abgrund]

It's companionable, very much so. Ain is a patient one, made even more so by his perception of time. He's content to wait and watch, like he always has. Time ceases to have any meaning in the void, and he cannot die - so he lacks the impulsiveness that comes with mortal perception.

That question, though - it's rather out of left field, prompting him to tilt his head before replying.

"I have. I learned how to cook... I can clean, but the temple doesn't need much of it.

The illusions are always changing, so there isn't much point to it.

[gentilitea]

Slow and ponderous like the cosmos. Potentially as deadly too. He’d almost expected an answer in the negative and feels more relieved than he cares to admit at that…actually pretty ordinary reply.

So Ain is still not without his more pedestrian, more human qualities, then.

“Never mind the cleaning, then.” He’s more or less been forced to accept that Add’s technology is necessary in cleaning some of the impossible areas, such as that endless spiral staircase. Still. This is a start.

“All that I can manage on my own, but I could use some help with making dinner.” Not really, he thinks, but it’s as good a way as any for him to see how well Ain can manage himself as a shinki here.

Be…sides…can he even eat? With the damn hole in his chest? Does Jakob really want to know?!

[abgrund]

There's a lot to be said about a void horror becoming some sort of temple cleaner, but if anything it reflects that he still retains some vestige of his original personality.

"I can do that."

Ain doesn't know of Jakob, but someone else who cooks probably has some kindness in his heart.

"What time?"

[gentilitea]

Hey, if void horrors don’t help with the chores then they don’t get to have any dessert. Or something. In any case, Jakob is blissfully unaware of Ain’s disgustingly pure thoughts about him, fortunately, and the thought of jumping to his chores immediately fills him with a newfound sense of purpose.

It’s sort of like he never left.

“In an hour. We haven’t much time, and—” Okay, he guesses that he can’t put the question off any longer—“er, what do you even eat?”

[abgrund]

To which Ain just tilts his head, his voice soft and empty:

"I don't eat. It's okay."

He could of course sort of eat people's souls by reaping them, but that wasn't necessary here.

[gentilitea]

“Oh.” What does he even say to that? “What a pi—er, that is, my apologies if I’ve offended you.”

You’ve gotta admit it’s kind of hard to tell with Ain.

[abgrund]

Hopefully Jakob soon learns that Ain is not offended by practically everything.

"Don't worry about it," is all he says, lifting his shoulders in a very slight shrug.

And then there's silence. Jakob might need to get used to it.

[gentilitea]

Then there’s nothing more to be said. It’s almost a relief, really. Peace and quiet seems like such a rare thing these days, that he’ll cherish what he can get, even if it’s from someone as strange as Ain. When they reach one of the illusory kitchens, Jakob makes a quick inspection of the pantries. He still remembers the particular tastes of Add and Roxas, at the very least, though he’ll have to figure out the rest of their housemates’ at another time.

“I suppose these will have to do,” he sighs. “Ain, can I trust you to cut the vegetables?”

[abgrund]

Should they appear to take a bit too long to leave this illusion, Ain would take Jakob's hand without warning. His skin feels cold and smooth to the touch, like plastic - and a second later, the floor of the illusion falls away from them, giving the sensation of cold water.

After two more seconds, they land in the kitchen; with Ain letting go immediately. Time to cook.

"I can do that."

Jakob will have to contend with Ain not using his broken hands, but his shadow tendrils to pull open drawers and inspect for tools. He doesn't seem inclined to use his (human) limbs, preferring the fog for cleanliness.

[gentilitea]

The handholding definitely feels funny, even with the protection of Jakob’s gloves to mitigate the effects of it. Every interaction of theirs makes Jakob all the more curious, but still he decides to embark on a more indirect means of puzzling Ain out.

“Where did you learn to cook, exactly?” he asks, watching Ain bustle about with some apprehension. Maybe asking him to help is a terrible idea…

[abgrund]

While they talk, Ain pulls out a chopping board and starts to look through the fridge. Maybe he should buy more carrots next time...

"I asked some people for help. They said I should look up some recipes, so I followed them."

Strange as he is, he's very good at following instructions; often to the exact. Though, another thing occurs to him, since Rin mentioned it before:

"I can't really taste things. I need you to help me check the food later."

[gentilitea]

Not only missing bits and pieces of himself, but also missing a sense? You just keep getting better and better, don’t you, Ain.

“Surely you are capable of at least smelling?” All this seems a tad too unbelievable, even for a guy who’s lived with Add for as long as he has.

[abgrund]

"I can. But taste and smell are different for humans."

Surely they are? He can tell that Jakob is dancing around a certain topic, but he finds it hard to care about cooperating. There is no changing who he is, after all.

[gentilitea]

The fact that he isn’t human has already been long established, at least, but still, to hear him admit to it so plainly…it certainly does take all kinds, here at the Far Shore…

“I’m not sure how to answer that,” he admits. “But as long as you’re willing to learn, then I will help you.”

[abgrund]

Ain hums as acknowledgement, letting the silence reform again while he works.

Jakob can watch him finish dicing the vegetables while getting a pot on the fire. He works with precision, if anything else - following a memorized set of instructions to exact. All the while the work is done by his projections; his body remaining hovering in the centre of the kitchen so that he can reach everything.

[gentilitea]

There’s definitely a certain something…mechanical? about these proceedings. It’s quite vexing, really, and Jakob finds that he can’t quite focus on his own work.

“Er, that will be all, Ain,” he says at last, gathering up the diced vegetables. Honestly, he should be impressed at such precise work, but…geez. Hesitating a little, he adds, “Good work.”

[abgrund]

It's definitely not enough to finish making a decent serving of food, so he has to wonder why Jakob asked him to stop. Was he feeling uncomfortable at having his role of cooking intruded upon?

"I can do other things too," he offers.

[gentilitea]

Hardly anything so petty as that—though while he would have been jealous under normal circumstances, Ain is simply…too Ain for him to feel that way. Besides…

“I am sure you can,” Jakob reassures him. “This should be enough to flavor the stock to start with. Anything else will need to be sliced with more care.”

[abgrund]

That works. Often he's only made simple food for convenience of time... maybe Jakob had other ideas.

"What exactly are we making?"

If it's something new, he could memorize it for later.

[gentilitea]

“A simple chicken soup, to start with.” Gotta look after everyone’s health first of all—plus, it’s a decent starting course as any.

“Though we’ll need something heartier for the main course…” He huffs, a little indignant. “Has Add been eating properly at all? He’s shrunken considerably since the last time I’ve seen him.”