let's get down to business

[whattaprick]

Who: Nightrunners and whoever wants to make use of the training yard for whatever reason.
When: S2 D1-D5
Where: The Training Yard
What: Training, or pointing and laughing at people training.
Warnings: Explosions and swearing, probably.

Though it's never really been off-limits, once they're down off the moon, Lambert wastes little time informing the nightrunners he officially expects them to get back to training and getting in shape. They can make ample use of the training yard facilities to learn how to work with each other after their extended vacation, or just get to know their newer coworkers in an environment closer to what their actual working conditions will actually be like.

The yard, as usual, isn't limited solely to nightrunners. Anyone who wants to work on their physical or magical skills are welcome, as well as anyone from the other departments who have anything they might want to test out that requires a combatant, for some reason.

Lambert's generally a constant presence at the fringes, sometimes participating in exercise or sparring himself, but mostly just watching and making sure no one's about to put someone's eye out or break the equipment, because that would be bad for obvious reasons.

[ ooc; this is an open log, so bring your own toplevel! ]

Comments

[hippocarnival]

Testing the limits? He'd tried before against snow, and he's been practicing his stamina, but there hasn't been a lot of chances to practice how well it stands against actual danger.

"Yeah, sure." Yuya straightens up, holding his staff in front of him with both his hands. It does seem to be easier to keep his barrier up this time.

"Okay, I'm ready! Give me your best shot!"

[anti_nonsense]

Good. Looks like he's serious about this.

Rita turns and takes several steps away, creating some extra space between then. "All right..." She sweeps her arms out, one at a time, conjuring a total of eight fireballs, all larger than that first one she threw. "Here it comes!"

She points one hand out at him and launches the flames at his shield, one after the other. They burst as they slam into it.

[hippocarnival]

Yuya flinches when the first fireball connects, but the shield doesn't waver. Nor does it for the second, or third. At the fourth, however, Yuya tightens his grip and just barely keeps the shield from collapsing in, though it wavers. It's almost a battle of will, where Yuya's strength needs to be stronger than the force that wants to get through.

The quick succession is more than he can do to reinforce it, however, and the seventh fireball cracks the shield and disperses it. Yuya immediately throws himself to the floor, his face smacking into his staff while he shields his head from the flames exploding above him. At least he can dodge.

[anti_nonsense]

As forceful as Rita's attack is, she keeps an eye on Yuya's barrier all the while, her magic perception active and amplified. When the barrier gives, she focuses on the bursting flames, exerting just enough control over them to ensure that they don't quite reach Yuya. Fortunately, he's smart enough to dodge, rendering that safety measure almost unnecessary.

"You've still got a long way to go," she observes in a nonchalant tone, taking a few steps closer and glancing to make sure Yuya didn't actually catch fire. "A real enemy will come at you with a lot more than a few measly fireballs."

Some might argue that eight is a bit more than a few, and their size and force don't exactly qualify as measly, but her point still stands, she's pretty sure.

[hippocarnival]

Yuya sits back on his feet, rubbing his nose with a pained sound. He looks up as Rita as she speaks, frowning a bit.

He won't argue she's wrong. He's seen what exactly they go up against, and if he wants to actually be able to do anything for his friends, he needs to be strong enough to stand against that. It'd be shameful to commit to all this work and then fail to actually make it useful.

"I know." He grabs his staff and pushes himself to his feet. "I won't stop here. I'll keep practicing, so next time we're in trouble I can protect people too."

He doesn't have a lot of hope they won't be in danger ever again.

[anti_nonsense]

Rita meets his eyes as he speaks, then nods approvingly. "Good."

That's just the kind of resolve he'll need to have if he wants to get anywhere with this.

"I've still got some time to kill, so if you're up for the challenge, I'll help you test that barrier some more."

Insert training montage here

[hippocarnival]

That gets Yuya to grin, and he nods enthusiastically. He's so lucky, having friends who are so willing to help him improve. So he bounces back and prepares the barrier again. "All right, I'm ready!"

At least, the barrier not being very physically demanding means he can go at it for quite a while. It's good, having to deflect stronger forces, and as the hours wear on it starts to stand more consistently and confidently, until Yuya only drops it between assaults to recharge. Occasionally he interrupts to ask Rita about her magic, and the similar sort of spells she has for this.

It's at least a couple hours of the one way assault before Yuya holds a hand up to stay here, crouching to sits down and flop his legs out with a weary sigh. "What a work out... it's getting stronger, right?"

[anti_nonsense]

"Better than what you started with," Rita agrees, then walks over and slumps down, sitting cross-legged on the ground next to him. Yuya's not the only one to get a workout; Rita's constant magic use has left her tired and sweaty. Despite her earlier slacking, it looks like Lambert got his wish of Rita actually exercising in some form here.

"Thought you would've given up an hour ago," she adds. It sounds like a complaint, but Rita was plenty eager to keep going, too. It was worth it; Yuya improved a lot in just one day.

[hippocarnival]

Yuya scoffs, looking sideways at Rita. "I've definitely trained harder than this before! I'll stay up all night practicing if that's what it takes."

He absently swings his fist in the air for emphasis. That's dedication, right? Admirable, and totally not obsessively focused.

He leans back on his hands. "Besides, this is really important to me." Rita knows that already, how much he wants to protect his friends. It's no less earnest in his tone even after their vacation. He told himself he wouldn't be so weak anymore, and now he's seeing it through. He just has a lot of catching up to do.

"You still have to practice magic to stay good at it, right?" That's how every other skill works.

[anti_nonsense]

"Well... I guess so." Rita doesn't care much for repetitive training, but she has to admit, it doesn't hurt to take time to practice.

"It's not exactly the same as practicing a physical activity, though. For me, at least half of it is about refreshing and improving my understanding of magic. Reading books and observing magic are good ways to keep my skills sharp... and it can inspire me to come up with new spells, too."

[hippocarnival]

"I think it's a lot easier to learn when you're actually doing it." Books have done him little comparative good to throwing himself headfirst in attempt after attempt, but he's sure it's not the same for Rita or else she wouldn't read books so much, or like reading.

Which reminds him of something. Yuya perks up and turns to Rita with a wide grin. "Oh, I got your present! Thanks!" He doesn't think he's told her yet, so now's as good a time as any. "Is it that someplace you've been? Kor... Kogorh?"

[anti_nonsense]

Rita stiffens a little at the sudden thanks, and she nods to acknowledge it.

"Y, yeah... It's pretty far from Aspio, but my travels took me there a couple of times." For a moment, there's a distant, nostalgic look in her eyes. "I learned a lot about the nature of blastia while I was there... Can't say I'd ever want to make that trek through the desert again, though."

[hippocarnival]

"I've never been to a desert..." Yuya muses over that briefly. It's probably not his first choice of a vacation spot, either. Despite that, though, it seems like it holds fond memories for Rita.

"Is that when you decided to turn the blastia into spirits?" It's completely random guessing, but Yuya doesn't know the context that led Rita from researching blastia to creating spirits.

[anti_nonsense]

Shaking her head, Rita replies, "No, that was much later. But it is where I first learned about what blastia cores are really made of... and about the effects blastia use was having on the environment." It was a grim lesson, but an important one.

But hearing that Yuya's never been to a desert makes Rita realize she hardly knows anything about his world. "What is your home like, anyway?"

[hippocarnival]

Ah, yes. The other important thing that drove her to needing to find an alternative to blastia. Yuya nods, pausing when Rita asks him more about his home. It's so normal to him, he doesn't usually think of describing it.

"I'm from Maiami City, which is on the coast of Japan. It's on Earth, like Portland! The year is pretty close too, actually, and the technology is similar... except there wasn't Duel Monsters or solid vision, and we don't have angels or fae so it wasn't the same place."

He shrugs. "The culture's different, but otherwise it's a lot like that. There's no magic like what you and Mr. Strange have, though."

[anti_nonsense]

"A coastal city, huh..." With the same technology level as Portland. That's enough to try and picture it, at least.

"You have no magic, but you have spirits, right? I've been reading about them in those books you gave me. That's... some sort of magic, right?" At least, there's always been an association between magic and spirits whenever Rita's encountered them.

[hippocarnival]

Yuya nods. "The spirits have magic, but humans don't... uh, but spirits can share their magic if they want to." He shakes his head. "Most don't."

The book from Japan definitely touched upon that, depending how much of it Rita's read. Not in the context of the cards, but the benefits and follies of spirits and gods sharing their power with humans. Proper respect is usually a common theme.