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

[letteropener]

I don't doubt that, but that isn't the purpose of a gift, after all.

[Celestia is very skilled at gentle deflections.]

[yasei]

Uh. [ Seriously though. ] Uh. [ How do you respond. ] Uuuuuhhh..... [ Yeah, he has no clue. ]

[letteropener]

[Well, this isn't exactly ideal, but she'll take it. Celestia gently drops the package down to the table in front of him, then releases it from her magic as she gestures to it with a hoof.]

[yasei]

[ Obi looks between her, and the package, and back at her. ]

Thanks I...guess...

[ Is he supposed to, like, open this right now? ]

[letteropener]

You're very welcome. I hope you like it.

[She isn't telling him to. But she isn't going away yet either.]

[yasei]

[ She's going to be patient if she wants to see him open it here. Because he'll be looking at it like it's going to bite him, or disappear if he reach out to touch it, and it's going to take a while until he actually does pick ut up to have a peek. ]

[letteropener]

[Celestia is two thousand years old. A little patience is nothing to her.]

[She even does him the courtesy of paying attention to the karaoke instead, and letting him come to terms with the package in his own time without her watching him.]

[yasei]

[ So weird. This horse is so weird.

While she's focusing on the karaoke, he's a wounded animal wary to be hurt again. Like one. Well. He's cat-like enough.

Eventually he does turn the package over in his hands, slowly, with only the tips of his fingers, just in case. ]

[letteropener]

It's soft beneath a layer of hardness, probably some yielding package holding contents beneath, and a little heavy but solid.]

[It doesn't rattle either!]

[yasei]

[ He's heard about bombs by now! He wouldn't be so stupid as to shake it!

Instead he's carefully going to peel it apart. ]

[letteropener]

[Inside: a sturdy, clear plastic travel case that holds one large, thick, zigzag-patterned afghan blanket.]

[Celestia isn't even looking, because she is just that amazing.]

[yasei]

[ Somebody did say that patience is a virtue, after all.

Obi squints at the plastic bag for some time. Plastic is still so weird. It feels weird. It sounds weird. It doesn't crinkle right.

The blanket is useful, he supposes. He does prefer sleeping outside where he can hole up in a tree or something, after all. ]

[letteropener]

[All she knows about where he's staying is, it isn't in her temple. But he does strike her as the sort to sit in trees or outside in general. And even if he's finding places to stay, well... a blanket of his own can make it more comfortable and familiar no matter where it is.]

[As for Celestia herself, well. She doesn't know what he'll do now that he's seen it.]

[yasei]

[ Well, see, he doesn't know what he'll do either.

Give him a moment or some hundred of them.

He lifts it up to look at the pattern. ]

[letteropener]

[It's nothing fancy. Lines of color, orange and yellow and black, darting back and forth in rows of Vs across its width. Celestia had sought out something sturdy and resilient and comfy and warm, not exactly beautiful or fine.]

[yasei]

[ That it's not fancy is a good thing. Obi doesn't feel comfortable with fancy. (Which is something that makes it a little more difficult for him to deal withCelestia as his Mistress.) That it's chosen more for its use than its appearance also helps. ]

Um.... [ So awkward. ] Thanks...

[letteropener]

[Celestia at last turns her attention to him, though her pretense of paying no heed at all falls through just a bit: she relaxes, just slightly, enough to subtly shift her fur, her feathers, the set of her ears. Her warm smile comes out again, genuine and delighted.]

You're very welcome. I hope it serves you well.

[yasei]

[ He can read the subtle shifts in body language of humans (and humanoids), and he can read the subtle body language of animals, including horses-- normal horses. He would have to learn, so he can feel a bit more confident around her. ]

Yeah it, [ He starts folding it up. ] I suppose it might...

[letteropener]

The holidays are no time to spend cold. [Or alone, but she won't say that out loud. It won't do any good.]

[yasei]

Well, it's not that cold. [ At least he thinks it's not very cold. A little chilly, maybe. ]

[letteropener]

No, but it is likely to get colder before it gets warmer. I'm still learning how the seasons change here, but I think that is how it is supposed to go?

[She has noted, in the past, that this randomness is quite inconvenient for all concerned.]

[yasei]

Aah, supposedly, at least.

[ Not that he knows it, but he's born in a country where it gets much, much colder than this. It's a wonder his death wasn't caused by said cold. ]