December Training

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone
What: Information and Training
When: March 8, 2017
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 brought into small one-on-one meeting rooms as they appear, with a white-robed shinki offering them an explanation of their current role, the name of the god they will represent or the god they will serve, and directions to the temple that will be their new home.

They are cordially invited to a training session beginning in midafternoon, once they've had the chance to return to their homes, meet their new partners, and have their questions answered.



Morning/On the Road

New gods and shinki are being packed off to their new temples for the morning to settle in and meet their partners -- this is also a good time to visit with new neighbors or explore the area! What does your new temple look like? Are you headed straight there, or taking the scenic route to get a better sense of your new surroundings? The Western District is still scarred from the aftereffects of a recent volcanic eruption and earthquake, with fissures in some of the roads and burn scars in the wild landscape. The volcanic ash, though, seems to be serving as fertilizer for vast swaths of unfamiliar and colorful wildflowers, which are spreading out even further with the onset of Spring. Strangely, there are many fewer flowering trees than might be expected.

Shinki Training

A well-appointed dojo has been prepared for newcomers to practice the physical or magical arts. Outside, there are two impromptu target practice areas: one is for long-range weapons, with targets set up against hay bales at the other side of a wide, grassy area and a line drawn for the weapons' wielders to stand behind. The other is for borderlines, and a number of young children wearing short coats marked with Amaterasu's golden chrysanthemum on white are dashing around practicing their own borderlines against what look like old clothes and sheets rescued from the rag pile and hung from trees or stuffed with straw to serve as targets. Some of the children are trapping their straw-stuffed targets by dancing in circles around them, hands held as they sing the Kagome song; others are using cutting borderlines to bring sheets fluttering down.

Inside the dojo, there's room for several pairs to spar, and weapons are set up all along one wall, everything from polearms to rifles, chakrams to broadswords. They're all meant for practice, with edges dulled or padded to avoid any accidental deaths, but sparring partners will still have to be careful to avoid injury. Although there are many fewer white-robed shinki here than usual, except for the children, there is one adult shinki keeping an eye on things inside the dojo and one keeping an eye on things in the yard. They are willing to answer questions, help with borderlines or teach shinki new spells on request. Comment to the NPC REQUEST form to interact with one of them or if you have any questions about handwaving an interaction.

Physical Training

The cherry blossoms that had begun to bloom across the Meeting Hall grounds seem to have experienced a mysterious mishap. Buds and half-opened blossoms alike have rained down from the branches, carpeting the fresh spring grass below with soggy brown and black rot. Several gardener shinki, with their sleeves tied back and sensible heavy aprons to protect their white uniforms, are raking up the fallen blossoms and trying to coax the trees back to health with powders and straw wraps to protect the trees' trunks from nightly chill. They need help: climb the trees and sprinkle the knots along the branches with invigorating powders to encourage fresh buds, or help the gardeners hold the straw in place around the tree trunks while it's wrapped with cloth, or just help rake up the dead flowers.

Besides the cherry problems, the gardens are beautiful and just beginning to burst into spring bloom. Tulips, crocuses and daffodils are sprouting everywhere, and once the borderline game is done, the child shinki are quickly organizing a garden-wide game of hide-and-go-seek. Find the best hiding spot you can, and make a break for home base as soon as you're sure the seeker is too far away to catch you! But don't run into anyone on the way.

Rest and Refreshments

Gods and shinki who are finished with their training can step into a large room in the Meeting Hall that has been set up with comfortable cushions and low tables. A fresh springtime menu is available: lightly flower-scented teas, plum wine, and a variety of little savory or sweet snacks to nibble on while waiting for dinner. Dinner turns out to be okonomiyaki: bowls with mixed batter and a plate full of tasty add-ins are brought out, and griddles at the center of the table heated to let every guest set out their own favorite add-ins, pour batter over, and make a savory pancake. It's a little tricky to flip with the tiny spatulas provided, but it should only take a few pancake disasters to get the hang of it, probably!

After eating, a few doves will flutter into the room, dropping off scrolls to certain people, and the frazzled-looking adult shinki from the earlier training session dashes to the front of the room to try to keep everyone occupied. He's reading from a handful of printouts with corporate icebreaker ideas: pin a secret card to the back of everyone's shirt and ask whoever you meet for clues to figure out what it says! Fill out a bingo card with different skills or experiences your fellow gods and shinki have! Figure out how to stack every piece of furniture in the room onto just one table... play a game where you're only allowed to reply with questions... switch tables every five minutes and see how well you can get to know the other person there before your five minutes are up. Wait, isn't that speed dating? He seems to be running out of ideas.

In Summary:

• Get all the information you can handle
• Veteran new gods and shinki are welcome to volunteer showing the ropes
• Practice sparring or shinki magic
• Enjoy a buffet dinner and some icebreakers
• Have fun~

Comments

[blahblahblah]

I still don't like standing around waiting for something to go wrong. But yeah, better not to pick fights we're not going to win.

[The pregnant pause after Tsubasa mentions their bond gets Rita's attention, and she tenses just a little.]

...That's a thought, sure. I don't really know what's involved in that, but is it something we should get out of the way? Are you- [A mild grimace.] -okay with it being me? I know we're officially stuck with each other, but I'm sure there's some way out of it if you didn't want to.

[beyondtheblade]

It's not necessarily waiting for something to go wrong, but I just need to ... know more before I do anything, at all.

[She frowns during the pause.]

I ... believe I have an idea of what to do, but... [She holds up a hand.] While I do not know you, I also don't really have any reason to think you mean anything ill.

That said, if you would like to wait until such a moment you're more comfortable, I could understand. By that same token, I don't wish either of us to be defenseless should something happen.

[blahblahblah]

Right... I can't just go off and shoot at stuff, and I have no idea what you do either. Okay, we'll wait to get into trouble.

So that leaves... yeah. I don't want to wait too long, or something will happen. Some combination of the law of averages and Murphy's. I don't know you, and you don't know me, but the fact that you're asking first means a lot. I'm willing to take that risk if it means I have a chance of not being dead when everything goes to hell. And given some time... maybe I'll want to protect someone else, too. But right I just have me and you, so it's a short list.

[beyondtheblade]

If there is one thing I have learned, it is that going it alone is rarely the correct answer. Being forearmed can also be nothing but beneficial.

[She gives a small nod, and begins to move further onto her temple's grounds.] If you'll forgive my paranoia, doing anything more out in the open feels like asking for trouble, even around here.

[She stares at the temple again and resists a slight sigh.] Follow me inside, then?

[blahblahblah]

Together it is, then. It might take me a little while to figure everything out, but I won't let you down. I agree it's kinda paranoid when we're already in Heaven to worry about something going wrong, but, well, Murphy. So yeah, right behind you.

[The temple may take some getting used to for her, but she'll manage. If the introduction is to believed, it's home, and that's more than enough for her.]

[beyondtheblade]

If anything, that feels like precisely the reason to be paranoid. None of us exactly have any choice in this, do we?

I will do as needed here, but I am going to do so cautiously.

[She crosses her arms and lets out a long breath as the come inside. Her eyes shift around making sure of a few things. Particularly, that they're not being watched or followed, or that there's nothing lurking around any particular corner or another.]

[blahblahblah]

We don't. Some of us even less than others. What's a caution, though? Sounds dumb. [She grins, a bit uneasily, at Tsubasa as she says it, but dutifully follows behind her into the temple, looking around.

She's quiet for a long moment, expression pensive; this is home now, huh? Whatever her feelings on this place, can't let anything happen to home base. It'd be a problem for Tsubasa too, she supposes, but... as soon as she can, she'll help keep an eye out.]

[beyondtheblade]

[Tsubasa lets out a huff of a breath as she turns back to face Rita, flashing a smile.]

Words like that remind me of a few of my friends. [Most of them, honestly. Most of them were pretty reckless - even Maria, who you'd think SHOULD be one of the more responsible ones.

She takes in a breath and lets out another one.]

...I suppose I have not really introduced myself properly, have I? My real name, anyway.

My name is Kazanari Tsubasa. I'd much prefer you call my by any variation of that than what this place has given me.

So... You are agreeable to this, then? To make sure one final time, before I proceed.

[blahblahblah]

[Rita's not prepared to make a further comment on her mental state at the moment; the exchange of names is a nice, easy shot to take instead.]

Tsubasa... Yeah, sure. That sounds less stuffy than Susanoo anyway.

[After a small smile, she nods, focusing again.]

But... yeah. There's no reason to hesitate right now. If something goes wrong, sure, we'll figure it out then. But I'm not gonna just sit around and do nothing. That's not an option. That's never going to be an option. Let's do this.

[beyondtheblade]

Far less.

[Tsubasa isn't a stuffy person! ...

Well, actually that's a lie. She absolutely is, but she wouldn't really know that.

She stares at her another moment, and then draws in a long, deep breath.]

Alright, then.

[It's instinctive to her. The fact that it is will, undoubtedly, bother her later, but she begins to recite an incantation:] "My name is Susanoo. Grasping thy true name, I bind thee here. With borrowed name, I dub thee my servant. The name answers, the vessel to sound. I call thee as my divine instrument. The name, fu. The vessel, ka. Come, Kaki!"

[blahblahblah]

[The sense of something happening is immediate and pressing; as soon as her God begins to chant, she stops, waiting to see what happens. The language - specifically the things relating to her, defining who she is - are new and familiar and foreign all at once. She feels something at her throat, but before she can examine it, she feels what she can only characterize as a pull before she disappears in a flash of light.

The next thing she knows, she feels... like she's wrapped around something? Her perception is strange, and when she starts to reach to touch something, she realizes she doesn't presently have hands. Taking another second, she recognizes the structure of her god where she's perched. Then is she...?]

Tsubasa? Did it work?

[She realizes, a second after she speaks, that she didn't vocalize the question - maybe she should have listened a little closer to the explanation.

She doesn't trust her perception of herself to understand what she is; Tsubasa will find herself wearing a blue scarf with a stylish wing motif, but Rita isn't prepared to assume that's actually what happened - much too strange.]

[beyondtheblade]

[Tsubasa isn't even able to really process what happens next, for a moment. Because what she sees in her mind's eye chills her to the bone, almost literally.

She sees... what can only be this girl's death. The mistake, the cold...

As Rita's vessel form takes its place around her shoulders, Tsubasa falls down to one knee, gripping her forehead. Moments later, she hears Rita's voice in her ears, and her head jerks up abruptly.]

Ah-- Mordio, it...

[She looks down at the scarf. Blinking rapidly.]

It... it appears to have worked...

[blahblahblah]

[In the brief moment after the shift, Rita almost feels more than sees Tsubasa's expression shift and feels the movement as her new partner goes to a knee. Ordinarily she wouldn't really care right now, but given Tsubasa actually bothered to give her the time of day in their absurd situation, she feels compelled to hover just a tiny bit. In the few minutes Rita's known her, this seems kind of unusual.]

Hey! You all right? [A pause as Tsubasa seems to recover a bit; Rita's tone turns softer.] Did it hurt or something? Am, uh, am I too heavy?

[...not that she can exactly diet as the scarf she sure seems to be, but hey, anything could happen.]

[beyondtheblade]

[Before thinking of it, something comes to mind to say, and immediately she finds it caught in her throat. Because of course, she can't say what she saw.

She grinds her teeth for a moment, before rising back to her feet.]

You're... fine. I was just taken off guard.

[Not untrue, but saying it like that still twists her stomach.]

[blahblahblah]

[Somehow that doesn't sound entirely convincing, and there's an undercurrent of worry through Rita for a moment, but she presses on all the same.]

If you say so. I'm already depending on you for a lot, I don't want to hurt you too. That'd be too much.

[beyondtheblade]

[Tsubasa forces a smile, shaking her head.]

No, no - you needn't worry about that. I'm not quite that fragile, I'm afraid.

[blahblahblah]

[Something still feels off, but... if Tsubasa wants to tell her, she will. Rita will just have to count on that. So, plan B: glide past the issue without stopping.]

Good! No partner of mine is gonna break after just that. So, uh. I don't know if practicing is a thing like this, or if we just go for it when the time comes? We know it works, so what now?

[beyondtheblade]

[WANTING to tell her and ABLE to tell her are two drastically different things, not that she can really elaborate on that.]

That... I am not sure of. It may be prudent to look around and converse with others here, to get an idea of just what one needs to be doing.

[She feels some level of instinct towards it, but... she'd rather make sure.]

[blahblahblah]

Do you want to stay paired up like this for that, or split back apart? I can deal, but I might do better with a mouth of my own to ask questions.

[It's only a little sarcastic; it's meant as a serious question, but there's no way for the snark to entirely come out of it.]

[beyondtheblade]

[Tsubasa closes her eyes a moment, thinking, and then instinctively utters:] Release, Kaki.

[Which will revert Rita back to her regular body, at which point Tsubasa crosses her arms.]

Better to move with two sets of legs, I would say.

[blahblahblah]

[Rita doesn't quite stick the dismount as she finds she does indeed have legs again: she stumbles one step as she lands, then two, before she catches herself.]

As long as both sets work! That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, though.

[beyondtheblade]

[Tsubasa reaches after her as she stumbles, but lets out a relieved breath when she manages.]

...I suppose not. At least we know what we do need to do.

[You know. Besides watching you die.]

[blahblahblah]

Mm. It's quick, it's easy, and there are definite advantages... even without the whole rending thing.

It's a good thing there's a lot of us - there'll be a lot more brains to pick. I'm okay if I need to look something up, but it'll be faster to just ask, right?

[beyondtheblade]

Well, that just means that we need to practice on that one. If you're willing, at least.

[She certainly is.] ...it would be silly to keep things from you, if we are to be working together, so you should know: fighting monsters is something that I am very adept at.

If you're willing to listen, tonight I can give you a much more elaborate explanation of all that.

[blahblahblah]

We'll practice, sure. I don't know what all I can do, but there's no other way to find out, right?

[The prospect of hearing about Tsubasa's powers - let alone what else is going on there - is interesting, and she nods, smiling.]

Sure. Tonight, then. We'll have to see if we can scare up some popcorn from somewhere, it sounds like it'll be eventful.