re_alignment_logs | [open] ooh, marvelous-sensei

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[open] ooh, marvelous-sensei

WHO: Captain Marvelous, Kay, anyone else who wants to come around (he'd love a sparring partner!)
WHERE: The junk pile's new shooting range
WHEN: Three days after this!
WHAT: Marvelous teaches Kay some self-defense.
WARNINGS: Violence against practice dummies!

Marvelous arrives in the junk pile early, after a night of poking around the ship looking for Tuck--looked like he really was gone. If that has any effect on the way he stomps around putting together makeshift target-stands and a makeshift dummy or two, he would never admit it. When he's done stacking materials and slapping sloppy paper targets on them, he draws his sword and works through a couple of drills, though it probably looks a lot more like 'angry guy banging on a bucket tipped over the top of a short I-beam wrapped in sailcloth' to anyone observing. By the time Kay arrives he'll have been at things for some time, ducking between the dummies and making sure his aim's not off. (It isn't.)

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It doesn't take long for Kay to arrive. The proposition of learning how to fight in a world where it was needed? Kind of high priority for the girl. She had to sneak out of the nest, as Kagerou probably had other duties to attend to, but it was worth it. Upon her arrival, she notices Marvelous during training, and...

Wow. Those eyes get as big as dinner plates. She was going to learn how to fight like that? Sign her up. She's ready.

She watches for a few seconds longer before jumping in, fists at the ready.

"BRING IT ON!"

Marvelous jerks toward her in surprise, and nearly lops off her head before he skids to a stop. He stands, then, tipping the flat of the sword against his right shoulder and holding the pistol up with his left hand.

Then he holsters the pistol, and holds out his hand. "First things first," he says, "we trade names, and I get my payment."

Then he jerks his head toward the shooting range. "And then we get started."

Her hands instinctively go up in defense when he holds himself back, peeking over her arms once he's at ease. Don't mind if she hits your shoulder for that. You scared her, Marv!

When that hand's extended, however, she seems to mood change back to her default pretty easily, taking that hand in a shake. "Sounds good to me! I'm Kay Faraday, but you can call me Kay, kay?"

She giggles at her own stupid joke as she starts fiddling in her little fannypack for the Swiss Roll.

He's reminded painfully of Luka at the punch, but he's recovered well by the time she's shaking his hand and looking for his Swiss Roll. "Captain Marvelous," he says, in case she somehow missed that. (Hey, it was possible she lived under a rock, right?)

He's already got the day's work planned: first, survival instincts 101. Then maybe he's start teaching her how handle a flintlock. She wouldn't be able to shoot without going ass-over-teakettle for a week or two, anyway.

"Are you as Marvelous as your name lets on?" She's still digging in that pouch for a few more moments, before pulling out a package, a chocolate Swiss Roll safely sealed inside. She hands it to him, a wide grin on her face as she puts her hands behind her back afterward.

"Be careful! It's almost TOO good."

"Twice as marvelous, actually," he says, and swings his sword into the loop at his hip before he tears open the wrapper.

Two seconds and a big bite later, it's all in his mouth. He chews on it, face considering taste and texture, and then he swallows.

He smiles. "Worth it," he says, before abruptly turning and walking toward the pair of practice dummies. "C'mere," he calls over his shoulder.

Well, always good to make a person happy with the joy of chocolate cake! She giggles as he stuffs it in his face, clapping her hands.

"Right! Time to get to work!"

She follows along, arms moving behind her back as she skips along.

"Where do we start?"

Marvelous stills, taking a deep breath, and turns toward her. "We're starting with survival instincts," he tells her, "that's what's gonna keep you alive, not fancy moves or weapons. You've gotta know when to pull out, and when to push ahead. And before that, you've gotta know how to take a hit--and how to lay one out. Now, put up your dukes."

He rolls his shoulders, and then lifts his own. He's weighed down in his coat, of course, but if he needs to take it off in their first training session, she'll be twice as good as he expects her to be.

Oh, that was a very good start indeed. She'd like to remain alive anyway, so any help with that would be greatly appreciated. She stiffens up, as if standing at attention, eyes wide and ready to listen to what he has to say. She was just one gesture short of a salute, really. She gives a nod in affirmation, and when seeing his fists raise up, her eyes harden and she raises her own, bouncing on her feet a little.

"Like this?"

"Nice eyes," he says, first, and then he regards her stance. "widen your stance, you should be around shoulder-width apart. You're small, so you wanna keep your feet light. The best way for you to fight is to not get hit."

He tightens up his fists. "Now, hit me," he says.

At his advice, she adjusts herself as necessary, nodding. Light on her feet. Check. Keep size in check. Don't get hit.

And when he says to hit him....well, she automatically goes for a jab.

Oh, good, she's not scared to hit somebody. He takes the punch square on his forearm, and it stings a little as he reaches for her wrist with his free hand. "Don't tighten your fists so much," he instructs, easily, "keep your thumb tucked along the front. You lead with your top two knuckles--" he taps second knuckles of her pointer and middle fingers briskly-- "and you rotate your wrist to get as much power at the impact as you can."

She's fast. Kicks are probably going to be her best weapon, but punching basics would help her grip, and eventually her shooting.

Edited 2012-12-07 08:26 (UTC)

Nope. In fact, she kicked a grown man in the shin when she was 10. Violence doesn't phase her as much as some might think. When her fist is grabbed, her eyes widen, but instantly relax when he shows her how to keep her fists aligned.

"So you twist to do more damage...?" She demonstrates by rotating her wrist in an air jab.

He pulls back to watch her. "Not quite so dramatic," he says, "if you over-twist, you'll just hurt yourself."

He does one into the air, slowly, to show her what he means. "When you're looking to punch somebody," he continues, "you aim for the vulnerable spots. Throat, solar plexus--" he pauses to tap his own, which is conveniently hidden by his medallion-- "nads on a dude, chest on a chick. Thumb to the eye's a good one, too. You're not boxing, you're surviving."

"Weak points...got it..."

She took a few more quick air jabs before looking at her fists.

"Surviving..."

With a nod, she looks at him, before putting her fists up in position again. "Lemme try again! Put em up!"

Oh, she'd better not be thinking she's going to punch him in the throat. His hands come up, and he grins. "Come on, then," he says.

She's most certainly going to try. There wasn't any way to get better than to do that. She bounces excitedly, looking for any and all openings she could take.

And when she feels like there's one, she goes right for it.

She definitely gets very close, but he's been on the receiving end of a few of those in his day, and he leans away long enough to knock her fist off-course enough that he's not, well, wheezing. "Nice," he says, "you're pickin' it up fast. Wanna try for kicks next?"

She...she would have landed it. Not exactly but..with a little practice...

"I almost got it! I almost got it!"

The way she's hopping, you'd think she was a bunny.

"Oh man, I'm going to be the greatest thief warrior ever!" She only catches that last part just after her rant. "Kicks? Now THERE'S something I'm good with."

"Thief warrior--you're practically a pirate already, aren't you?" he asks, fighting back laughter as she gets more and more enthused.

"Oh, are you?" he asks, "show me."

"Pirate? Well, I'm more close to a ninja I think! I have the boots and everything!" She gives a laugh as well, readying herself.

Kicks? Oh yes, she was good at kicks. Time to put her efforts to work. She wastes no time in slamming that foot into his shin.

"Ow," he hisses, "yeah, you're definitely a kick specialist. Low's the best place to start, too, unless you're fighting a dude--then go for the nads as soon as you can, and run like hell."

That was a good kick, strong and well-aimed. "How high can you go?" he asks, gesturing at his elbow. "Elbows, knees, and ankles are good spots for kicking. Joints are weaker than we think, and you're gonna get a lot more power out of a kick, especially if you've got a running start."

"Thanks! I used to kick people in the back of the knees when I was a kid, if I really wanted to show them who's boss!"

She takes a few steps back, making sure to keep some distance between her and Marvelous Once she's a good enough distance, she kicks up high, to test how far up she can execute a kick with power. It goes up to about shoulder height, twisting her body to do it before spinning down to return it.

"How was that?"

"Nice," he says, "showy. I like it. If you're working hand-to-hand, no weapons, you wanna end things as soon as you can. A bad punch or kick can hurt you, and that's pretty much the opposite of the point. You look for a weak spot, and you push your advantage as soon and as hard as you can."

There's a shift in his movements as his hands come up this time, and his eyes have narrowed. He's lifted his left fist too high, to see if she picks up on it. "Let's see about your instincts," he says, "come at me."

The compliments are only fueling the girl's enthusiasm even more, and nods at the advice.

"Weak spots, got it."

And like a flash of light (mentally), she notices the opening, and goes right for it, attempting to get a jab in the spot right below the fist. Fast and hard.

He takes the hit soundly along his side, and he grunts. Good, he could work with this. He's not just going to take the hits, though--the knee he aims under her arms at her hip is mostly probing, but if it connects he intends on following through with a grapple. The best way to teach getting out of a grapple was to just do it, after all.

Of course, she's not fight-expert, but she does see that opening, although a little too late.

Congratulations, Marvelous, you get to teach her just how to get out of a grapple.

"AH!"

"All right," he says, loudly enough to cover any more shrieking, "let's teach you how to get out of a grapple. You've got a couple of options, but here's the easiest. You're a girl--you've got a lower center of gravity. That means, if you bend your knees, bend over, and tumble, your new coat'll go falling first. You're not doin' that to me, though, you're gonna bring your foot up as high as you can and stomp on my foot as hard as you can."

A beat, then, "do it with your left, though." That time he stabbed through his right foot means it still aches sometimes.

She mentally took notes on this. Okay. So tumble if this ever happens. She could do that. Tumbling was something she'd learned to do when sneaking into buildings. Her thief training was definitely paying off in the long run. She's actually just about to do that, except she pulls away when he starts explaining the alternate method.

"Why do I have to do it different?"

Not that she minded. She'll just take the time to raise her left foot to practically curb stomp that foot.

"I'll tell you after," he answers, in her ear, and grits his teeth waiting for her to bring her foot down. He considers, momentarily, getting out of the way, but it'll be easier to gauge her aim if he has an actually aching foot.

And that foot makes contact, hoping to get the hard sole part of her shoe into that foot. It had a hard bottom, which helped a lot when running, and with Kay's natural leg muscle, she's going to have a little bit of an impact when it slams into his foot.

She'll apologize after, really!

Marvelous whimpers, which is all she gets besides her sudden release, and he lifts his boot to keep his weight off that foot for a minute.

"Yeah, that was good," he says, voice tight. "Damn."

A normal person would ask if he's okay. See if anything's broken. But no, not her. In fact, the first thing she does is jump in victory, fist pumping into the air.

"I did it! And you let go, just like you said..."

Wow. Now she was getting somewhere.

Thankfully for her, noting was broken, or she'd be getting tackled right about now. Instead he's busy gingerly testing his weight on his toes.

"I'm not wrong about this stuff," he answers, especially glad, now, that he called for her to swap feet.

"Enough beating the hell outta me. You wanna try the flintlock?"

It might be nice to see her get blown on her ass by the kickback. (In a friendly way.)

"A flintlock...like...a real one? Like pirates use?"

Consider her a mix of both nervous and intrigued...

"Wasn't that part of the deal?" he asks, and reaches into an inner pocket on his coat for the extra pistol. He offers it to her butt-first, barrel pointed toward the ground because he wasn't stupid, thank you."

"We're goin' over there." He gestures to the opposite end of the little clearing.

A gun. A real gun. She's holding a real gun in her hand. To be honest...it was a bit frightening. Her hand gingerly wraps around the handle, and...she's lost all ability too move.

You might have to shove her along.

And shoved she is, with a hand between her shoulderblades. "Don't look at it like it's gonna kill you," he says, "guns aren't alive. Don't be afraid of it--be careful, sure, but you're the boss here, not it."

"Right. I'M the boss. I am."

She seems to be almost reassuring herself as she holds the gun out, focusing on it for a moment and then holding it firmly in her hands.

"Okay, now what?"

"You stand like that, you're gonna go tumbling ass over teakettle, and that'd be hilarious but it's not quite the point, is it?" He nudges her feet with the toe of his right boot. "Widen your stance, just a little, and settle your weight. Once you get the hang of it, you can work on moving around, but for now let's just learn to aim, shall we?"

He lifts his gun one-handed, and aims at the crudely drawn targets across the clearing. "Heads, knees, stomachs," he says, and fires four shots in quick succession to hit each spot. "You aim with both eyes open, or you lose depth perception. If it comes down to you havin' to use a gun, you use it."

There's a deep inhale as she gets herself ready, widening her stands exactly as he instructs. After finding and centering her weight, she grips the gun more tightly, never taking her eyes off that target. When the shots are fired, she winces slightly. It was...still too soon.

But...she raises it, aiming for the head first.

"Okay. Okay..."

Why did her legs feel like JELL-O?

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[open] ooh, marvelous-sensei

SORRY IM SUPER LATE FOR THIS

no you're totally fine i was late posting

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jesus this took forever, sorry!

It's okay!

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