[ We find some of the crew up and about on the day after the last day! I should really keep better track of the days. ] [ I believe it is... five days until departure? ] [ Anyway, let's see what wacky hijinx Our Heros will be up to today! ] [ Max tapes a calandar to the GM's forehead. ] [ It does me no good there, you know. ] ( It'll help when you shave in the mornings. Promise. ) [ Session Start! ] * Max, now that the session's actually started, has a folder full of papers with him at the table in the main room, and sits on his Book - which is actually touching the floor for once - grading them. * Tia sits by a window, devouring a sandwich of a size that could only be described as monstrous. * Seylin heads downstairs and enters the main room. She waves to Max and Tia. "Hi, everyone!" * Tia waves emphatically to Seylin, but she doesn't say anything due to her very full mouth. Good morning, Seylin. ^_^ *doesn't look up from grading, but the glare of his glasses seems content* * Tia wags her tail obliviously as mayonnaise and ten different kinds of mismatching sandwich ingredients drip out from between the bread and onto the floor. * HKenji screams sharply and makes a loud thump just outside the front windows. * Tia abruptly jumps to her feet and drops her sandwich. * Seylin jumps. "What was that?" * Max leaps to his feat. "Yes, what?" [ ...what WAS that? ] * Will is sitting comfortably on a sofa. He starts to wave hi to Seylin and freezes when he heard Kenji scream. * Will jumps to open the front door to see what's wrong. * Max 's book flies up and carries Max over to the window, which he promptly looks out. * Tia runs to the door as she swallows the humongous mouthful of chewed sandwich. * HKenji is laying flat on his back in Seylin's flowers, staring up at the roof. * Will rushes over to Kenji to look him over. "You okay there, Kenji?" * Seylin runs outside and sees Kenji. "Kenji? Are you okay? What happened?" * Tia wipes her hands off hastily on her shirt and looks around frantically for a moment before looking to the ground and shrieking. I'm fine. Uh, I apologize for crushing your flowers, Seylin. * Max watches worriedly from the safety of the window. Nevermind that glass is not much of a barrier. Kenji! * Istvan looks down from the roof. "Gotta watch your footing if we're gonna train on the roof, Kenji!" It's not my fault you're freakishly strong. * Tia blinks in disbelief for a few moments. "You fell off the roof?!" * Will checks up on Kenji. "You sure you're Oh-k...You fell down from the roof?" They'll grow back, Kenji. You, on the other hand... Me? I'm fine. * HKenji flips back to his feet, moving so smoothly you'd never know he'd just fallen several floors. * Max blinks a moment, then starts snickering behind his hand. * Seylin shakes her head. "Honestly..." She smiles a little. A fall like this I would make just to make certain I could. * Tia 's face regains a bit of its original color. "You scared us, Kenji!" * Will blinks. "You fell down just to see if you can?" * Istvan cups a hand over his mouth and calls down. "No, but it is your fault that my technique is improving!" You're not broken? * HKenji reaches down and collects his bokken and bonks Tia lightly on the head with it. "You should know better, I am not one to die so easily." * Tia glances up and waves at Istvan. "Oh, hi, Isty!" Hey Tia. * Seylin waves up to Istvan. * Tia giggles as the bokken taps her on the head. You coming back up, Kenji, or should I come down? * Max floats back over to the table, shaking his head ruefully, and returns to grading. Hey, Istvan, try not to knock him off the roof next time! Would ya like some help up, Kenji? I'll be back up in a moment, Istvan. * Tia unfurls her wings and shakes them out. I have yet to teach you the weakness of this technique. * Istvan shrugs at Seylin. "I was just attacking. He was the one who circled himself with his back to the edge." Well, hopefully he'll learn from it, then! * Tia stretches out a hand and offers it to Kenji. "Here, I can give ya a lift." To the roof? * Tia nods. * Will smiles as he determines that nothing of Kenji is broken. "Glad that you're ok, Kenji." Thank you, but it is better to get practice by doing it the hard way. * Tia nods. "Okay!" * HKenji turns and levels the bokken at Seylin's chest. "I will expect you on the roof shortly. You have much training to do, and I shall allow you to delay no longer." * Seylin salutes. "That I shall." * Seylin grins. Ooh! Ooh! Do I get to train? I want to train too! I'm good at training! * Seylin giggles. * Istvan calls down to Tia. "I'll train with ya when Kenji's done with me, okay?" * Tia nods as she looks up. "Okay!" * Max snickers again. * HKenji looks down at the ground, taps a bit of dirt off one sandal, then flicks his ankle, launching himself into the air. He adheres briefly to the wall halfway up, then kicks off, does a somersault in midair, and comes to rest on the edge of the roof, landing in a crouch, bokken at the ready. * Seylin flies up to the roof to watch, making sure to stay out of the way. * Will smiles. "Show off." On guard, Istvan! ...he's scary. [ Some of the Seylin Fan Club gathers to watch her hover above the sparring match. ] * Istvan drops into a ready stance. "I think I can guess at least part of the weakness of this thing you're teaching me..." * Will goes over to comfort Max. "He's not too bad once you get to know him." *cranks his neck up* "Now how do I get up onto the roof?" Good. [ Well, there is the stairs. ] Wanna hear it? I already know it. * HKenji walks over to the center of the roof. Now, come at me. You haven't mastered the form yet. It will take at least a week of constant practice. ...if the stairs don't go up, I could loan you my Book... ( There are stairs? ^^; Kenji really did show off then. ) ( Yes, there are stairs. Sane people use them. ) I've not explored this house completely, yet. ^^; *puts a number on the first page* * Istvan nods, takes a deep breath, exhales, adjusts his stance slightly, then charges, coming full-on at Kenji with a flurry of blows from various angles. * Tia 's leg muscles bunch, and she pushes off into the air, making for the roof. * HKenji disappears as Istvan comes just within reach, then reappears a fraction of a second later, right behind him, and plants his food squarely on Istvan's ass. * Will blinks as he notices that there are stairs going up to the roof for the first time. "Oh. Right. How come I never noticed it being there before." ...wait, did Patrick's mother build this house? * Istvan stumbles forward a couple of steps, but then plants his foot to stop himself, pivots, and swings high at Kenji. * Tia lands on the edge of the roof and watches the fight for a moment...but begins pacing around distractedly as she catches sight of a butterfly in the distance. * Seylin watches the fight intently. * HKenji takes a step to Istvan's swinging side, hooking his bokken behind the pick as he turns. An instant later, he's almost entirely behind Istvan, their weapons thrust out to one side in a tangle, and he reaches back with one foot, hooks Istvan's ankle, and pushes him forward while pulling that foot in. * Will climbs the stairs and watches the training, wincing every now and then as Kenji and Istvan smacks each other down. * Max puts down his pen, and notices he's all by himself. "...Suppose there's no point to being here if I'm going to avoid people." He floats up the stairs after Will, and hovers a bit away from the ruckus on the roof, watching. * Istvan teeters a bit, but his superior bulk allows him to stay upright and maintain enough leverage to swing Kenji around by the entangled weapons, and then advance on him with a couple of strikes while he's off balance. * Will turns and waves hi to Max before focusing his attention on Kenji and Istvan again. * HKenji takes a pair of solid strikes on his sword as he backs furiously around the roof, only barely avoiding being knocked off the roof again. * Max waves back, peering over his Book at the fight. * Istvan rotates slightly to keep from pushing Kenji off the room again, and then presses his attack, concentrating on using each strike to set up the next. * HKenji pulls his shorter wooden wakizashi from his obi and lashes out in a blindingly fast series of strikes, so quickly you'd have to have multiple arms to deflect them all. * Istvan takes several shots to the arms and side, and winces as bruises are layered on bruises, but keeps pressing forward with more attacks, since he's not gonna get anywhere against Kenji by going on the defensive. * Seylin continues to be oblivious to her fanboys and devote all her attention to Kenji and Istvan. Stop hesitating. You must accept that you are going to be hit and flow on, like the river. [ The fanboys continue to wish Seylin would look at them, but also worry that things would get weird if she did. ] * HKenji brings both swords together to block still more overpowering swings, but can't seem to get them back in position to attack again. If you kill your opponent before he can attack, all his preparation is useless. If he prepares to defend, he is not preparing to attack, and you will win anyway. * Istvan nods slightly, and speeds up his attacks just a bit, trying to push the pain of the last few days aside and get every last bit of juice from his tired muscles. * HKenji takes two hits, staggering beneath the power, and then a final hit slams into his gut so hard it doubles him over, leaving him kneeling on the ground with his forehead against the roof. * Max winces, and then pushes his glasses back up his nose. Ow. * Istvan pauses his followup swing, then reaches down and offers Kenji a hand up. * Tia suddenly jumps, realizing that people have been fighting. Are you okay? * Will stands up and rushes over to see if Kenji's alright. * Tia looks fretful. * Seylin lands on the roof and checks on Kenji. I'm fine. Are you sure? * Max moves closer, still carefully staying out of weapon-reach. I am not good enough that I can hold back and still win. And I ain't good enough to win if I don't stay on the offensive. This.. *hefts his war pick* ... is not a weapon built for defense. * Will checks Kenji over and frowns. "Would you mind if I healed you? You've taken two horrible hits today already." I'm quite all right, Will. This is training. * Tia seems to be unsure about the notion of not holding back. * HKenji slowly gets to his feet. The weapon masters always tell me to hold back. People might get hurt... But...But we need you to be in top shape Kenji. He just got the wind knocked outta him, Will. These things sting like hell, but it's almost impossible to do serious damage with them. You sure? * HKenji reaches out and taps Tia on the head gently. I am fine, Tia. * Tia smiles a little. "Well, okay. I don't want anyone to get hurt." * Tia wags her tail slightly and sits back down to watch the butterflies. * Will looks at Kenji. "But that hit PLUS the fall..." * Istvan turns to Tia. "In training, it's okay to hold back sometimes. In real battle..." * HKenji glares at Will. "Do you question my knowledge of my own limits, priest?" * Tia nods. "Don't hold back in battle!" She nods solemnly. * Max eyes Kenji, and floats closer to Tia. Which puts her between him and Kenji, coincidentally. "Right, Tia. In battle, hit as hard as possible, as often as possible." ^_^ * Will gulps and shakes his head. "No Kenji." Good. * Will speaks softly. "But I will always ask you everytime you are hurt, since you seem reluctant to ask for help sometimes Kenji." ... ... right. So I think I'm starting to get the hang of this. I do not dispute your right to ask... once. * Max pushes his glasses up his nose. "That was impressive to watch." I wish Alcinoe was here. * Will smiles. "That's good enough for me." (Is that a spell?) (Summon Alcinoe?) ( YES. ) ( Level 9 spell. ) Are you okay, Istvan? Seylin? Sore, but nothin' that needs healing. ...good. * Istvan steps aside, as it seems he and Kenji are done for the moment, and lays back on the roof. * Will sits back down near Max since both Kenji and Istvan seems to be fine. Don't let yourself cool down, Istvan. As soon as Alcinoe wakes up, you'll be sparring with her. She needs to practice the Sword of the Sun. ... [ Alcinoe and Kardos come up the stairs, glancing around. Kardos looks from Kenji to Istvan and says, "Ah." ] * Max waves at the new arrivals. Gotcha. *pauses* Which one is that again? * Seylin waves to Alcinoe and Kardos. * Alcinoe waves from behind Kardos. "Howdy." * Will waves hi to Alci and Kardos. Alcinoe, excellent timing. Come and practice your bladework on Istvan. * Alcinoe grins at Kenji. "Up ta no good again?" * Tia springs from her haunches and tackles Kardos. "Kard!" (What's the situation?) * Tia 's tail wags wildly. * Max smiles at Tia's exuberance. And then floats backwards a bit. (We are all plotting to kill you.) [ Kardos eeps and is tackled, but he quickly squirms out of Tia's grasp. ] * Tia blinks and smiles somewhat bemusedly. [ "It is good to see you as well, Tia," he manages. ] Good to see you too! * Tia goes up to Kardos and gives him another hearty squeeze. Unless you would prefer not to, Alcinoe. In which case Kardos can try his luck against Istvan's new technique. [ Kardos urks. ] (Heck if I know. Someone answer my question in OOC? ^^;) Heehee! * Alcinoe nods. "Yeah, sure. Gimme a sec ta get mah trainin' sword." She heads back down. * Robin blinks. "Try my luck?" (Kardos did that.) [ Kardos did that. ] [ In fact... ] * Robin is now known as Kardos The technique I am teaching him is... formidible. (Eep! Kardos is our DM!) * Istvan sits up, and, with a grunt, pushes himself up to his feet. * Tia is still hugging Kardos and wagging her tail joyfully. Technique? * Kardos allows himself to be hugged, since there's no sense in avoiding it, really. Yes, I am teaching him a... way of fighting that we have in Rokugan. I had always wondered why none of the fighting instructors here used forms. * Patrick flives down from above and lands silently behind Seylin. He taps her on the shoulder, smiling. Forms? Those are the weapon-dances you do? * Tia supplies helpfully, "Kata!" * Seylin turns around and gives Patrick a quick hug. We might have. I'm not sure. I have been teaching those who are willing to learn some of the simpler forms. s'pretty interesting. * Max pushes his glasses up his nose. * Patrick hugs Seylin back. "Hey Sey, what's up?" ^_^ * Tia wags her tail some more. Istvan and Kenji were sparring, and Kenji fell off the roof! He's okay, though. And it's gonna be my turn in a second! To spar, not to fall of the roof. * Alcinoe comes back up to the roof, heavy training sword and wooden shield in hands. * HKenji thwacks Pat lightly on the head with his wooden sword. "What's up" is that Seylin has training to do, knave. Well, if Istvan needs someone to spar against, I'd be happy to help? Nah, I gotta play practice dummy for Alci. * Kardos nods. Actually, I would prefer for Alcinoe to help me with Seylin. Or better, to keep Patrick occupied while I train Seylin. He needs someplace to put his hands. * Istvan walks over to Alci, smirking slightly. "Ready to try to find a gap in my completely penetrable def- or not." * Max blinks at Kenji's comment about Patrick's hands, and then turns a bit red as he comprehends it. * Seylin giggles. * Tia giggles. She is still hugging Kard. * Kardos blinks, and turns VERY red. * Patrick snerks. "Now now, why would you think that Kenji?" * Will blinks in noncomprehension. (Haha, Will.) Uh-- um. If Patrick needs something to do, I could let him grade the last few papers I've got... Well, some of them. THey're mostly just problem sets... * Istvan wanders over to Kardos and Tia. "If Alci's gonna be busy... handling Patrick, would you mind sparring with me for a bit, Kardos?" * Alcinoe raises an eyebrow, then looks to Patrick. "Ain't lookin' ta steal another girl's guy," she says with a grin. * HKenji grabs a pair of long wooden staves with one slightly weighted end and tosses one to Seylin. * Seylin grins back. "I'm not worried about that." * Seylin catches the staff. Certainly, Istvan. * Tia blinks. "Oh, uh, oops!" * Tia quickly lets go of Kardos. "Sorry, Kardos," she says sheepishly. * Kardos walks over to where Istvan is standing. He does not draw his sword. * Patrick raises an eyebrow, then grins. * Max just kinda hovers outside the periphery of the group, watching the exchanges. * Istvan moves somewhere off-camera to spar with Kardos, to save the GM some hassle. Seylin, your wings will complicate matters somewhat, until you know the form well enough to adapt it. So I'll keep at it until I do. Good. * HKenji holds the staff at attention. Then follow my lead. * Seylin imitates Kenji's stance and gets ready. * Patrick shrugs and watches. * Alcinoe stands aside and watches as well! * Max is also watching. But mostly only his glasses are visible above his Book. * HKenji begins slowly leading Seylin through a long series of sweeps that grasp the long staff nearly at the end, while pivoting strongly to whip the weapon around to easily bring the head into close striking distance. * Will is still watching from his perch next to the stairs. * Seylin follows Kenji's lead. Her strikes don't quite have the proper reach yet, and she stumbles a few times. Once she manages to bump the end of her weapon against the roof. She doesn't look upset or frustrated, though, but rather very determined. * HKenji leads Seylin slowly through the movements again, and without breaking his concentration at all, yells "ISTVAN! BACK TO WORK." * Max flinches at the yell, and briefly dissappears behind his Book. * Seylin continues to go through the kata. Her movements still aren't as precise as Kenji's, but she seems to be analyzing both his movements and her own mistakes, and she's already beginning to improve a bit. Better. * HKenji continues one more through the slow, methodic movements beside Seylin. * Istvan calls back. "I'm sparring with Kardos, not making tea! Worry abou-" *gets whapped lightly in the gut* "... yourself!" *turns back to Kardos, grins, and resumses the sparring* * Seylin has another go at it. Her movements are beginning to become a bit less hesitant, a bit more fluid. * Max watches Istvan spar for a bit, then looks back at Seylin's training. And alternates his attention thusly for a while. * Max cheers for both Kardos and Istvan, as the former dodges and the latter occasionally lands solid blows. And then seems to remember himself and clams up, going back to watching quietly. Keep doing that. Alcinoe, watch her and make certain Istvan doesn't slack off. * HKenji tosses the staff to Alcinoe. * Tia alternates between watching the sparring matches and staring off at the moving clouds, birds, or butterflies. * HKenji walks over to the edge of the roof and claps a hand gently down on Max's shoulder. * Patrick glances at this out of the corner of his eyes. * Max 's hair practically stands on end, and he BOLTS out of Kenji's reach, hovering a good eight feet away. * Tia blinks and glances over. Huh? * Max blinks from behind his Book. "Uh. Hi. Um, Hi Kenji." * HKenji watches Max coolly and calmly says, "I think you and I need to talk, Max." ...t-tal-- talk ab-about wh-what? I think you know. * Seylin continues to practice. * Max shakes his head back and forth firmly. * HKenji turns and walks down the stairs into FC, obviously expecting Max to follow. * Max watches him go, and sighs relievedly when he's out of sight. He most definitely does -not- follow. But he moves closer to the roof and the others, now that Kenji's gone. Max, you really should follow Kenji. ...um, why? * Will is watching the practice fights attentively and didn't notice the exchange between Max and Kenji. * Tia has a quizzical expression on her face. What does he want to talk to you about, Max? You're obviously scared of him. You're never going to get over it unless you talk about it. ^_^ I, uh, I don't know, Tia. * Tia wags her tail. "Kenji's not scary, Max." * Tia smiles. And, um, I just, um, d-don't w-want t-to-- um. Um. He is! He threatened to kill Istvan! * Tia blinks. "I'll go with you if you're scared!" He's as b-bad as th-the drow! * Tia frowns. "Drow are bad men. Kenji's not." * Patrick raises an eyebrow. "You're very mistaken." ... *looks away* * Tia blinks again. "What's wrong, Max?" N-noth-- er, nothing. C'mon! I'll go with ya! B-but... if y-you guys th-think I sh-should t-talk t-to him. A- about whatever h-he w-wants to t-talk to m-me about... * Tia takes Max by the hand and begins trotting after the way Kenji went. Ok-kay. *huddles kinda close to his Book, and --* Urk! *is dragged along behind Tia* [ And so they trained some more, and Kenji and Max had a Talk. Session End! ]