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Post by Arihant on Mar 28, 2008 17:18:03 GMT
This really wasn’t going to work out well. Sure, Arihant had been training in – well, it wasn’t battle training, but he’d been taught to wield a sword from a fairly early age. Sure, he had technically become an ‘expert’ in swordfighting at the age of thirteen (though he hadn’t practised since then…). Sure, he’d spent ages – four years – running from the police. Sure, he had these powers (if that was what you could call them), and he guessed they’d probably be useful in a combat-type situation. But he wasn’t a warrior. He just wasn’t. The thought of hurting someone else… Of killing them… He wouldn’t be able to do it. However, with his decision – his long, painstaking decision – made to stay at Orchid, what else could he do? He was fairly sure he wouldn’t be allowed to change groups… … but maybe… Well, in the end, it was really neither here nor there whether he would be happier in the Spies, with – with friends. (That was what they were now, wasn’t it?) His body was built like a bloody killing machine. It was really no matter whether he had any moral qualms about this fact or not, that was what he was. Still… He was fairly sure that the powers that were wouldn’t be impressed to find out that he had very little in-depth knowledge of the war they were fighting and little or no cares as to what side they were – But did it matter? Maybe he didn’t know whether he wanted to be pro-Major or pro-Marius, but… wasn’t it enough for him to just fight for Orchid? He had no option. Battle training was the first class on his timetable. He’d have to go in here… Have to… Maybe it would be easier if he would stop obsessing over it. He pushed through the doors (God, but he seemed to be spending an inordinate amount of time hovering in hallways like a freak now, didn’t he?) and then he was back in the arena. He could only pray that someone – anyone – would tell him what to do. ((Is it OK with you if we set this the morning after the Valentine’s dance? )
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Post by Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford on Mar 28, 2008 21:04:49 GMT
ooc: that's perfectly fine =) And about the ending... sorry, I couldn't resist Okay, mental checklist time. Helmets? Yes. Fire extinguishers? Check. First aid kits? Uh huh... Water? Yep. Phone books? Check.Today, Madeleine was hoping to start some work on training using magical means, as this was possibly the most likely type they would encounter. So far, they hadn't done very much of this at all, seeing as they were learning Combat as another subject with all the non-Warriors, but it was blatantly obvious to Madeleine that that training wasn't as good as it should be for people going out to fight. For Spies and Academics - and even for the defence the field Carers may need, it was fine; but for Warriors, it fell sadly short of the mark. So after a hopefully quick warm-up, they were going to get into groups and try using the things they had learned in Combat and their other classes properly. So Madeleine had all the necessary things here (the phone books were to ground electric charge coming from the electricity benders. It was something that the receptionists were happy to give in abundace, to make some space in the cluttered office), hoping that she wouldn't have to use the emergency items. Of course, she had a lot of rules for this session. An awful lot of rules. They had all been taught these at the start of this year, and for the people who had arrived after this, she'd given them copies, but it would be a good thing if she ran over them once more. Sadly, because of these rules, there was one important part of battle that she couldn't teach them here. People cheat. Here, everything had to be played by the rules. No cheating allowed - there was only going to be fair play in here. They didn't want anyone being hurt before a battle... however, though they might be fairly well-disciplined, they were only teenagers, and Madeleine knew perfectly well that there would be a fair bit of foolery going on that day. Madeleine ran over the other things that she needed for this session, and satisfied that she had them all, perched on the edge of the stage, as was her habit, and pulled her hair back in a low ponytail away from her face. This session would be good for everybody involved. People with offensives would learn how to use them, and those without, learn how to dodge them and retaliate by other means. So hopefully it would work without too many injuries taking place. Hopefully. Choosing today for this could be a bit risky, seeing as how everybody had been either at the formal or "After Dark". The formal would simply tire people out - even though it had ended at ten o'clock, it left a bit of a buzz that meant sleep was a little hard to achieve for a while. Combine that with removing the heavy make-up a lot of girls seemed to have been wearing... And needless to say, if any of her Warriors came in here today with a hangover from After Dark, when they knew that there was a session today ... well, let's just say they'd have an even bigger headache by the time Madeleine was through with them. And she could tell that this might have to happen a few times... Like she'd said, they may be an army, but they were just teenagers. The doors to the arena opened, and Madeleine hopped down from the stage as she saw Arihant, the new Warrior whom she had met the night before. "Hey, Arihant," she smiled. "Welcome to the nursery."
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Post by Arihant on Mar 29, 2008 12:13:56 GMT
This place really did look different now. He knew it was a... a couple of weeks, or thereabouts, since the eventful race he'd had with Misa, but was that long enough for it to change so... Where was the wall? The maze- Ahh. It was hard for Arihant to remember what people here could do. Maybe that girl had had the power of... of manipulating stone or something. That fact made him feel a little better, actually - when he'd remembered to, he had felt rather guilty about breaking their wall. He looked around for a brief moment, a little dazed by the sheer size of it all, but then was brought swiftly back to earth by someone calling his name. "Hey, Arihant. Welcome to the nursery." Madeleine Baudelaire, he realised. Head of the Warriors. She looked different compared to his memory, too... Of course, that made sense. Last night had been a dance. She was hardly going to look the same for combat training, or whatever it was they were going to be doing. "Hi," he answered, smiling at what she'd just said. He walked over to her. Well, if anyone was going to be able to tell him what do to, it would be her. His eyes strayed to a pile of equipment beside her - a fairly intimidating pile of equipment - helmets, fire extinguishers, water, first aid kits... Phone books? Don't question them, Arihant. He looked back at her. "Sorry," he said, bashfully. "I'm zoning out, aren't I? It's just... well, pretty scary, for a first-time nursery-goer."
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Post by Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford on Apr 9, 2008 18:01:09 GMT
Madeleine laughed, nodding. "I know the feeling, but it gets better, don't worry." Her gaze subtly hovered on the gloves on Arihant's hands for a brief second; the same tan suede that he had been wearing the night before at the dance. Obviously, there had to be a reason for them. Gloves weren't just worn for no reason. And Madeleine wanted - well, needed to know what that reason was. Still, she left that question unanswered for the time being, instead running an eye over her pile of equipment, once more mentally checking that she had everything ready. "I'm sorry that I didn't speak to you about training last night, but seeing as it was a dance, talking about training was probably the last thing on everyone's mind," she said, turning her gaze back to him and smiling. "So, first question - have you any experience with this sort of thing before? Weapons, explosives, hand-to-hand combat - or even things like self-defence?"
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Post by Arihant on Apr 10, 2008 16:29:38 GMT
Last night... No. No, don't zone out again. This is getting ridiculous. But, to tell the truth, since then, Arihant had barely been able to think of anything else. It was almost... almost too good to be true. He'd been sure it'd been a dream when he woke up this morning - that was, until he saw the sodden remains of what had been his suit balled up at the bottom of his bed. He bit back a smile and tried to focus on her question. This was serious, and in accordance with that fact, he'd figured out his answer to this fairly predictable question in advance. "I don't know anything about guns or explosives or anything like... well, really any kind of fighting that involves technology," he said, forcing himself to keep eye contact. It was disquieting, talking about his fighting skills with someone he barely knew. "But I was trained fairly extensively in swordfighting from the moment I was able to hold one. I started with the basic broadsword when I was three, then moved on to the khandra - which is pretty violent, it's like a cross between a sword and an axe - when I was seven, and I learned how to use an urumi - a coiled sword - when I was ten." He paused for breath, then moved on to the second part of his speech. "I haven't used any sword since I was thirteen, though. And as for self-defence that doesn't involve any weaponry at all... Well. I haven't been trained in that, but..." He swallowed. "I'm pretty well covered by my... by my 'powers' " - he couldn't make that word sound sincere, he just couldn't - "in that respect."
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Post by Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford on Apr 18, 2008 15:30:02 GMT
Madeleine nodded slowly, silently committing every piece of information that Arihant had given her to memory. An urumi? Madeleine hadn't even seen a real one of those, never mind used one. "Well, you won't be using anything like an urumi here, but you never forget how to use a sword, especially if you've been using one from an early age." But as for being covered by his 'powers'... Madeleine guessed that, judging from how he had gulped before he had said that, that there was something that made him nervous... probably something with a long story behind it. "And as for your powers: what would they be?" she asked, briskly.
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Post by Arihant on Apr 19, 2008 16:31:25 GMT
OK. You prepared for this. Just keep going. Don't think. His accent thickened slightly and his words tumbled together, but he managed to stay fairly calm. "I'm physically enhanced - not just in speed or strength, but in... Well, in everything. I'm not powerful to the extent of super speed or super strength, but my speed, strength and stamina are all above what is normal. "And as far as I know, I can't be hurt physically. At least, not easily." He smiled slightly. "Once I ran into a stone wall at top speed, and the wall lost." There was really no need to tell her that that wall had been in here. After all, the maze was gone now, so presumably the crack in the wall could have been just as easily remedied... He hoped so, anyway. He swallowed, and broke eye contact. This part was going to be more difficult. Not as difficult as it had been last night - he'd actually thought about what he was going to say this time - but still. "And my- my second... ability. It's kind of hard to explain. Basically, any..." He gulped again. "If any living thing - plants, animals, whatever - if any of them touch my skin, it's fatal. They get... some kind of... I think it's a disease, I don't know." He blinked, and looked back at her. He didn't really need to say any more. Which was good, because, honestly, he didn't think he could. "I only have two powers," he said, and tried to clear all traces of any weak emotions from his face. The last thing he wanted was anybody's pity.
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Post by Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford on Apr 26, 2008 12:50:54 GMT
If you looked at Madeleine's outer countenance, you would assume that she heard things like this all the time. The only acknowledgment of hearing something out of the ordinary was the arch of an eyebrow that lasted only a nanosecond, so quick it was practically undetectable. The second he'd broken eye contact, her suspicions were increased sharply. And then he'd told her that... God, that must be terrible to live with. Not being able to touch any living thing... any one... never to be able to hug someone, to hold them without ensuring protection was there first, never to be able... the list was endless. Madeleine had never heard of anything like this. At first, of course, her reaction was concern - both for Arihant and her troops. If Arihant could kill someone at a touch... surely that posed a danger? But of course, even by looking at him, Madeleine could tell that he took every precaution. Long sleeves, gloves, every inch of skin aside from his face was covered. The next thought was more like thanks. Because here, Madeleine wouldn't use this power of Arihant's as a weapon. But say if Orla had known... "Okay," she said, her tone still brisk. "I know I don't need to ask you this, because you seem to be very careful; but I'm going to need you to keep gloves on at all times - even in battle. I know that might make some things awkward, but... I don't even need to give you reasons, I'm sure you've been through them enough times in your own mind." To save Arihant any further awkwardness, she changed the subject, gesturing around at the room. "So, have you wandered in here at any point since you arrived, or is this your first time?" Maybe that seemed insensitive; to brush away such a topic. But Madeleine was guessing that 'talking about it' wasn't really going to help at all - and besides, there was no reason to bring it up again.
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Post by Arihant on Apr 29, 2008 20:06:29 GMT
Thank you. He didn't speak the words out loud, of course. That would have been inappropriate, considering the brisk, matter-of-fact way that she had dealt with the problem. But still... He was so grateful. That was the second person here - the second Head, as a matter of fact... Two people had accepted who he was. Two people with authority, two people whose opinions probably mattered more than most of the rest of the school combined. And she wasn't going to force him to... to use... He'd been certain she would. Or someone would, at least. He'd been sure that there'd have been at least some pressure on him to use this curse to hurt someone else. And... If they had, he doubted he'd have been able to stay. He could tell he was going to be happy working under Madeleine. Maybe he could even... even fit in here.... Even if it was just a little bit. "Em, yeah," he said, smiling now - even though he was about to lie. Well, half-lie. He had to; he was perfectly aware that coming and training - if you could call it that - here with Misa in the middle of the night was against the rules. "But it was only for a bit. I didn't really get a chance to practise with anything." He hesitated, his smile faltering. "I should probably tell you... I'm - I have some... misgivings about doing that. I don't really know the boundaries of my physical powers yet, and they're quite hard to- to control. I might... hurt someone."
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Post by Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford on May 5, 2008 19:28:38 GMT
Madeleine paused for a second, worrying her lip for a second. "Well, we're doing elemental training today, so that won't really affect you..." It was a fair point, that he could injure someone, and Madeleine didn't want any of her Warriors hurt. However, even without a long thought, Madeleine knew that this problem, at least, was easily solved. "If you like, you can watch today, to get a feel for the whole thing - or go over swordwork; there will be people doing that over there," she added, with a quick gesture towards the other side of the room. "And if you have a free period sometime this week, I can set up a couple of things to test out your maximum strength potential, and that way you'll know at least some of your limits..."
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Post by Arihant on May 11, 2008 7:50:22 GMT
"Yeah, that'd be great," he answered immediately. And it would be, too. God only knew he'd gone long enough without knowing his limits. It wasn't really the best idea... So they'd be testing elemental powers today. Clearly a great first time for Arihant, then. He knew it was stupid, but he was really starting to dislike those kinds of powers - it didn't matter, of course, that they were the real magic. He just felt left out because he didn't have one. Really, he could be such a child sometimes. But still, he didn't exactly feel like watching them. Not just now. And after all, he could... probably control himself with a sword, couldn't he? That was the sort of thing you needed control for. Running, climbing, fighting, it didn't matter so much if you stopped thinking, but swordfighting... Yeah, he could probably do that. "I think I'll... use the sword today, if that's all right?" He smiled. "I kind of want to get started."
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Post by Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford on May 20, 2008 20:04:49 GMT
"That's what I wanted to hear," Madeleine laughed. "Alright, not everyone is here yet, so I can give you your stuff." Beckoning him over the the store, she glanced about the room, that was now filling up with people, and smirked at the discussion she could hear about phonebooks. She loved her warriors, but Academics they were not. "So I take it you haven't brought any weapons or armour with you?" she asked, placing the key in the lock and hearing the familiar click. It wasn't a very safe protection, she knew. After all, any decent metal bender could make a duplicate of the key without any effort. Still, she trusted her Warriors, but she'd been asking Professor Hoodham for a more efficient way of sealing the doors for a while now. It wasn't even as though there was only one key, and if something happened to her and she had the key, no one could get in; Professor Raven had one. But still, now was not the time to be thinking about the pitfalls of a simple key and lock door.
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Post by Arihant on May 23, 2008 19:22:41 GMT
He grinned, watching Madeleine twist the key in the door of what he assumed must be some kind of storage room. "Somehow I don't think airport security would be too keen on my urumi." Right, another lie. Or... another omission, but still. He'd have to get used to that. He was staying here, so obviously he'd have to keep lying to them. He doubted things would go well if he didn't. "I guess that must seem kind of... lax of me, leaving my weapon at home," he went on. "But I'm really not used to this warrior stuff at all. I have a feeling I'm going to need a lot of training."
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Post by Madeleine Baudelaire&Russ Ford on Jun 2, 2008 19:49:50 GMT
"Oh, don't worry about it," Madeleine said breezily as she pressed the numbers for the combination to unlock the door. It swung open, and she caught it. "I wouldn't want you to get arrested, and hardly anyone brings any wepaon at all. Saying that, it would have been brilliant to see the look on the security's faces if you brought that out of your bag..." She went to the swords, and picked out one she judged would be the right size for Arihant. "This should be the right size... and I wouldn't worry about the training. Most people arrive telling me that their "experience" is playing with some toy... I think they're called light sticks? They're from some movie... Star Wars, I think. But trust me, don't worry about training."
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Post by Arihant on Jun 7, 2008 10:49:38 GMT
He laughed. "OK, I won't." Lies again, all lies. Arihant made it his business to worry about things like that - or everything, really. Of course, he was fairly sure he'd be the only warrior who would go into battle worrying about killing someone else rather than being killed himself... Well. That was all just part of what made him so special. He took the sword from Madeleine and tested the weight for a moment or two. He guessed it was probably a little heavier than the sword he'd had before, but considering his powers that probably wouldn't be much of a burden - in fact, it would probably be better. Wielding his old sword with this power would probably feel roughly equivalent to swinging a bulrush around. He didn't experiment with the sword any further, though. He didn't want to seem like one of those prats who thinks that swinging a sword around with gay abandon automatically upgrades him to the status of Big Manly Man. Af ter all, there was a Time and Place for these kinds of things. He looked back to Madeleine. "Would there... I mean, is this kind of thing" - he gestured to the sword - "the sort of combat we get in battle, or is it mostly power-related?" He realised fairly quickly what a stupid question that was, but it wasn't as if he could stuff it back into his mouth.
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