May Training

[brynwieldr]

Who: Everyone
What: Information and Training
When: May 23rd 2017
Where: Odin’s Temple
Summary: Training and informational sessions for newly arrived gods and shinki; bonding opportunities for all other gods and shinki

Gods and shinki who arrive at the meeting hall are, for once, not led to the back for an introduction to their new roles. They’re instead rounded up and shown the way to Odin’s Temple, where "Odin" is waiting for them. Hopefully the sight of a twenty-something in loose pants and a t-shirt isn’t too shocking compared to the formally dressed old gods.

Basic Information

Unlike previous introductions, Leo has all the newcomers meet in the front room. There’s chairs and a sofa and ottomans for anyone who wants to sit, and they’ve brought in a dais of sorts for Leo and Kairi to stand on.

"Welcome to Heaven, or the Far Shore as some of the older gods call it. I am Leo de Borel, formerly a prince of the Kingdom of Nohr and currently the god Odin. This is my shinki, Kairi. The old gods have asked me to host training this time, but before we do that, you should know what you’re getting into. Some of this information is not my own, but was gathered by my husband, Aymeric de Borel. Unfortunately he's currently down with a sleeping sickness and couldn't join us today."

Leo then launches into basic rundown of Heaven and how things work here--the gods answer prayers, the shinki assist them, ayakashi are the monsters they fight and are generally the main thing causing the people on the Near Shore grief, and a brief summary of the greatly diminished cult--and asks for the gods and the shinki to follow either him or Kairi, depending on which they are. He’ll help anyone who’s not sure which they are figure it out, and then he and Kairi take their groups outside where Leo has set up some training grounds.

God Information

As they head outside, Leo explains a god’s role a bit more in depth to any newcomers and will answer questions should anyone else ask them. Once they get outside and most of the important questions are answered, Leo hands out pamphlets he had made that summarize most of the important information shared today, with an emphasis on not telling a shinki about their past no matter what, and tells them that today is mostly going to be about them figuring out their powers and perhaps finding a shinki or two they work well with, should they not already have one. If they have any other questions, they’re welcome to come find him and ask.

Shinki Information

All of the shinki, no matter how recently they arrived, are treated to a parallel speech by Kairi, but it’s with a bit of passion focusing on god-shinki bonds and what they could be, which she hopes applies to brand new shinki as well as shinki who are only as "new" as she is. She cites a shinki’s ability to help their god/dess with prayers in more ways than as a vessel, for one thing, and that temple structures will vary with the gods themselves. Some become families, for instance - here she looks to both Raichi and D2 - and deep friendships that can last beyond any struggle you can imagine - she looks at Lance and Dust. She explains how there was a time when just being attached to the same pantheon as your god meant that another temple might help you, and some of the new gods may still feel that way. Her point remains that if there’s a specific sort of bond you’re looking for, that god might be out there waiting for them, and she encourages them to ask an older shinki for advice if they’re uncomfortable in their current temple setup. "No one will understand better than your fellow shinki," she insists with a smile.

Speech over, she offers pamphlets to those who might not have received one previously and directs any shinki still struggling with spellwork to where Leo has arranged for a few of Amateratsu’s shinki to teach them how to cast a borderline. More experienced shinki are welcome to assist, but once you think you’ve got it the shinki are welcome to join the gods in the training grounds. Kairi tells the newbies the same thing Leo told the gods: their main goal for today is to get in some practice and maybe find a god they work well with.

Physical Training and Pair Ups

It’s a simple set up this month, since Leo’s yard isn’t really built for this sort of thing, but the basic set up is what you’d expect; there’s dummies for more solo practice, a sparring circle for some one-on-one training, and food laid out for anyone who gets hungry. (And if anyone asks who did the cooking or otherwise thanks Leo, he will direct them to Yoon because he did all the cooking, except for the pizzas. Praise him.)

Once everyone is more or less at the training area, Leo asks everyone to hold a moment so he can explain one last thing.

“The Heavens have asked that my shinki and I do our best to pair unpartnered gods and shinki up, be they new or old, in hopes of making stronger, more lasting bonds. If you meet someone you think you might work well with in the long term, please let either Kairi or I know and we’ll make a note of it.”

And that’s the last you’ll hear from Leo officially, unless you have questions.

Battle Tactics

Or maybe not. For those of you with a partner or who are just interested in learning new techniques, Leo’s arranged for something a little unique this month.

Perhaps you and your partner aren’t really fighting optimally, no matter what you do, or are just getting outmatched by some of the more intelligent ayakashi and have to resort to brute forcing your way through them. Leo has offered to spar against those who want to work on their teamwork (with or without his own shinki) or otherwise observe a fight so he can offer advice afterwards on how you might improve your teamwork.

If you don’t have a partner or are just interested in something not physical (which Leo totally gets), Leo’s also set up a few things inside. There’s a couple of chess sets out (always a good option) as well as, oddly, a few video games. Leo found a game that allowed him to set up simulated large scale battles if you want to try your hand at that sort of thing, as well as games to encourage cooperation between a god and their shinki. This includes a game where up to four people are trying to run a restaurant and one game that has one person reading from a manual and the other trying to defuse a bomb.

Have fun!

In Summary:

• Be baffled by this millennial looking god
• Attend the information meeting
• Train
• Eat, meet people, maybe find a partner
• Play video games
• Have fun~

Comments

[dredefulchilde]

Figures as much. He smirks, leaning ever closer.

“Are you a shinki I know?”

[unlucky7]

Ginia puffs up a little at the continued invasion of personal space. There are only so many expressions a bird can have, but she manages to look a indignant. There's another chirp, a bit sharper this time.

[dredefulchilde]

His first thought is Romeo but no...Romeo’s still swinging his spear around like an idiot over there and he’d never become a Nora anyway. Not when he’s so attached to his goddess. Plus the way the bird had reacted...

“God’s teeth. You can’t be...Ginia?”

[unlucky7]

There's a single chirp of confirmation as Ginia finally taps the tip of Joscelin's nose with her beak. Space please? She spreads her wings and struts around showing off her new vessel form with pride. Well? What do you think?

[dredefulchilde]

That's all it takes.

Joscelin bursts out laughing. "Looks like I'm the taller one again," he says, snorting. "How did you--right, yes or no questions. Did you get named by another god?"

Ginia, one of the most competent and generally terrifying adult women he knows, is now a little blue sparrow. And she's meant to be a weapon to fight ayakashi with. It's hilarious.

He giggles a little longer before stopping abruptly as horrified realization kicks in.

"You're not...you're not still cross with me about the bow, are you? I paid them back. I really did mean it when I said I was sorry...Please don't peck me."

[unlucky7]

There's another single chirp as Ginia finishes her catwalk-worthy turn and faces Joscelin again. If this weren't a vessel form from a god of her choosing, there'd be a lot less chipper chirping and a lot more bloody tearing with borderlines and swords. As it stands, it's a pretty good deal.

At his next question, there's a tiny turn of her head as she listens. She hasn't followed up on whether he truly replaced the bow or not, but she'll take his word on this. Frankly, if he turned out he lied to her about it, it's a poorer reflection back on him. There's been time and Ginia wants to believe he learned his lesson about not calling her a bitch and making fun of her disability. Two chirps follow as she flaps her wings and flies into the air. 

She swoops around, chirping a few times to make sure she has his attention. Once he's watching, she flies into the air and comes down at a sharp dive. Materializing seemingly from her tiny body, a large wing-shaped sword flies out and stabs into the ground as Ginia pulls up on the dive. Flying back around, she lands on the pommel of the feathery sword and spreads her wings proudly. Ta-dah.

[dredefulchilde]

Joscelin's mouth drops open as he watches the bird--Ginia--show off her new tricks.

"Shit," he breathes appreciatively, eyeing the blades. Once he's confident she isn't about to shoot more steal at him, he approaches the sword and nods at the bird, asking for permission to touch the blade. It certainly looks real. The blade has buried itself several inches into the dirt, and looks deadly sharp from his perspective standing a few feet away.

"That's...an interesting trick you have there."

It certainly answers the question of what a good a sparrow can do in open combat.

[unlucky7]

It's very much a real sword, though it does look a bit more ornate and decorative than a real sword. It keeps the same colors as Ginia's current form: the feathery blade is a stark white while the hilt, grip, and pommel are the same rich blue as Ginia's form. It's also concentrically the same colors as the god the form is for. Honestly, there are a lot of themes running about with this form and while Ginia finds it amusing, there's a bit she has to roll her eyes at slightly.

Mostly the fact her shinki name means "bird" and her vessel form happened to be a bird. Nothing wrong with literal names and she's not really complaining, but it feels a bit much too.

Ginia bobs her head and flies over to land on his shoulder. Joscelin can certainly pull the blade out of the ground; it's far lighter than it seems. He can even give it a few swings if he wants to, though there isn't an opportunity for too much fun either. A few minutes after summoning it, it disappears in a flash. There's a tiny chirp from Ginia that almost sounds disgruntled. She's noticed herself the single sword and smaller feather blades don't last as long when she's not around Tsubasa. Weaker too. It's something she remembers from her snow leopard form, the ice effect weaker when she was away from Caster.

Probably for the best anyway. Leaving feathers blades around Leo's temple lawn feels a bit rude.

[dredefulchilde]

Joss knows all about literal names: he has "child" written on his stomach. Not the most creative of names, but descriptive enough.

The feather sword is a thing of beauty. It's light enough to feel like nothing, but a few practice swings tell him just how strong it is. Sharp, too. Once the blade disappears out of his hands, he's left sucking on an accidentally sliced fingertip.

"This could be very useful. Would your god be using the sword to fight, or is more of a ranged attack?" Damn it. Yes or no questions, Joscelin. He changes track. "Have you tried this in battle yet?"

[unlucky7]

There's a light disapproving trill as Joscelin nicks himself. His fault entirely, he should know better. But it's not a serious injury, else she'd find Tsubasa to change back and return with a mend spell. Now, she flies off his shoulder and back on the ground, ruminating on the three questions. The first and third question are at least enough of a yes/no question she can easily answer them.

Ginia scratches three spaced lines in the ground. She hops onto the first line and chirps an affirmation. Hopping onto the second line, there's another vague gesture with her wings that could almost be a shrug. With the velocity she can drop that sword or her blade feathers onto an ayakashi, it would work well as a ranged attack. With the sword, it's definitely better served in Tsubasa's hands.

Hoping to the third line, Ginia chirps yes again, puffing up proudly.

[dredefulchilde]

Sloppy. So very sloppy. Ayumu's not going to be pleased. He had misjudged where the blade met the hilt, leaving a stinging, embarrassing reminder of his own incompetence.

He nods at the three lines, finding the twenty questions format surprisingly useful. It's a sword for her god to use. It's not a ranged attack. And she's already used it in battle.

"Did you get named by another new god?"

[unlucky7]

There's a quick affirmative chirp. Honestly, who else would it be? Few of the old gods talk to them and even fewer would accept an open nora. Perhaps even accepting a new shinki is as frowned upon as a nora, given the many differences between the two groups of shinki. A nora is untrustworthy, but a new shinki could very well be a danger to them all.

Ginia hops about a bit, wondering if there's a way she could mention her new god's name. Has Joscelin even met Chris or Tsubasa? Maybe they've crossed paths in some way. They do all work at Ebisu's office so it's a possibility. 

Scratching her claws in the dirt, Ginia very slowly and carefully writes out three characters. It's crooked and sloppy, but there's only so much her tiny claws can do. つばさ

Far easier than writing out kanji, that's for sure.

[dredefulchilde]

"That girl from the office?" Her name had been Tsubasa, hadn't it?

Joscelin doesn't know anything other than that about the god. In fact, he's rather surprised that that she's a god at all; generally he's used to working with his fellow shinki and he'd sort of all lumped them in together.

He watches Ginia for another moment, admiring the fact that she'd managed to write at all with her bird toes.

"When you're human again, you really must tell me what it feels like to be a bird. The flying especially. Is it as fun as it looks?"

[unlucky7]

There's a flat, disapproving chirp of affirmation. Excuse me, 'that girl from the office' is her god and friend. Also inhabiting the role of Susanoo which also adds an interesting layer on things. Also with Tsubasa's long dark blue hair, she definitely stands out in the office when she's around. Everyone does their share of office work, but Tsubasa and Chris get a bit more leeway in field work.

Given Joscelin's next question, Ginia flaps her wings and launches herself back into the air, she flies in a circle before darting off at an impressive fast speed. Joscelin doesn't have long to wait; a few minutes later, Ginia is walking back to where they were.

"It's absolutely as fun as you expect. A little bit dizzying at times, but it's excellent." She grins a little, arms crossing her arms over her chest. If he's looking for another name, he won't see it; hew newest name is on her shoulder blade, hidden under her t-shirt. Her arms drop after a few seconds. "You don't pay much attention to the people around you in the office, do you."