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

[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.”

[abgrund]

Shrunk. So, Add didn't really tell Jakob the full details, did he?

Ain has two options. Tell the truth, or not. It'll affect Jakob's judgment of Add, and he's not sure which would be the better option off the bat. But then again, lying only prolongs the pain.

"I've been cooking for him." That's the truth, to set context. "Then he went home and came back. He changed his form now. Maybe he's more comfortable looking younger."

He shrugs, though the gesture is combined with a shake of his head to make a composite motion. He doesn't remember the reason why Add is so cagey about it, and hasn't earned the reason why, but it has to exist. People don't do things for no reason.

"From what I can tell, he's not a proper human anymore. And he seems hurt. Please be gentle with him."

Add still has a human heart, he can't expect him to just let go of everything and live as a entity of the void. The god he is bonded to is weak in this way, but it can't be helped. There's no point denying the futile.

Or is there?

[gentilitea]

He’ll see about that.

“That raises more questions than answers,” Jakob scoffs, trying to hide how shaken he feels about hearing all that. It’s…certainly been quite eventful here since he’s left, hasn’t it? But Ain cooking for him doesn’t concern Jakob so much as all the rest, at least.

“In any case,” he huffs, as he preps the chicken, “The more pressing issue is really that he can’t seem to be more gentle with himself.”

[abgrund]

Ain pauses in his work, a silence that seems to seep into the very air around him, a picture of stillness.

Then he says, his voice soft with a strange emptiness, "I don't think you will understand, even if he explained it to you."

[gentilitea]

Jakob looks up at that, and stares at him. Like, really staring, as if he’s trying his best to see through a ghost—and Ain certainly is, to him. The eerie shifts of movement, the hollow voice, the cryptic replies…if he’s not ayakashi, he’s verging close enough that it might matter. Worse, he’s…

“Has he ever bothered to explain anything to me at all?” Jakob demands, feeling all that pent-up frustration of his coming loose. “I don’t suppose he has a very good reason for why you’ve ended up the way you are as well!”

[abgrund]

What a shame that this is how humans are. Ever so impatient - not that Ain's slow, methodical manner is helping, but he sees no reason to change it. Jakob will just have to wait.

He turns so that they can see eye to eye. The circular ring pattern in his iris becomes apparent - not a gesture of hostility, but one that indicates he is giving Jakob is full (and slightly terrifying) attention.

"For you to understand it, your mind will have to be broken. I don't think you would want that."

There's a part of Add's despair that roots from the void and the unnatural deviation in his presence. Even if Ain wanted to, he couldn't quite put it into words. It's hard to explain to a untouched human what their brain is not prepared to contain.

[gentilitea]

It’s definitely terrifying, but Jakob certainly isn’t going to look away. In all honesty he’s kind of seen worse, anyway…

“No, I don’t,” he admits, still keeping his voice stern. “But he has shinki to guide him now. I certainly hope you haven’t been letting him do as he pleases while I’ve been away.”

[abgrund]

"I try to prevent him from deteriorating. But to heal him is something beyond my ability."

Ain's expression returns to his usual half-distant blankness, now that he can be sure Jakob won't take offense at something that no one can change.

"He has other people to do that. Zelda, maybe. She's trying her best. Sakura too."

Though, whether Add still talks to them right now is another question altogether.

[gentilitea]

The first name’s unfamiliar, but he quickly latches on to the second one.

“The Lady Sakura, eh?” She really has gone above and beyond to help them…though it seems even Add’s current condition is beyond her powers. It’s just as well, he supposes. No magic can comprehend the fathomless existence of the Void.

Or Add in general.

“Regardless, he has more people to assist him now.” He remembers the time when Add had been blighted and shudders. “Loathe as I am to admit to it, I truly do require your cooperation.”

[abgrund]

Maybe, to Jakob, it's like going back to the old days. Ain can't help but envy that a little, though the emotion is quickly extinguished. No use lamenting over what you can't have, after all.

"I'll do what I can," he offers quietly, letting his eyes close.

I think this is a good place to end?

[gentilitea]

He fails to really notice any change in Ain’s emotions, at any rate. He’s not even sure that the guy has any to begin with…

“Well, I’ll look forward to it.” He thinks. “He’ll be keeping us busy for quite some time, I’m sure.”

sounds good \o/

[abgrund]

"Mm."

He gives a hum of acknowledgement and returns his attention to the food. They have a lot to do still, and working will hopefully set Jakob more at ease.