witchesreign | The Commander in the Training Center [Open]

["Commander" may seem a prestigious title or one that requires a great deal of skill as a warrior to lead. In reality, it is a great deal of paperwork, particularly when one has the Garden Master specifically auditing your finances to make sure you are bringing in all profit possible.]

[And sometimes a Commander just needs to relax, and make sure her skills haven't gone rusty.]

[So today finds Zabala in the Training Center. She has four weapons in total -- three curved swords of varying length hanging at her sides, and one two-handed curved sword of the same style slung over her back. As a grat approaches, she casually grips the hilt of the largest single-handed swords, then draws and cuts in the same motion.]

[The grat falls, sliced. Satisfied, Zabala spins her sword in a flashy gesture that seems excessive, but actually serves to clean the blade of fluids left on her her foes, then sheathes it as part of the same gesture.]

[Perhaps not surprisingly, she's really looking for a T-Rexaur.]

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

[Tseng knows the feeling of being trapped behind a desk, Director isn't far from Commander. He's stowing a handgun back in to it's holster at his side as the grat falls. He'd been stalking that particular one for practice but there were always more.]

Commander.

[There's a moment's loss before he snaps out the salute, he's still not completely used to having one let alone needing to use it.]

Instructor. [She returns the salute casually.] You're settling back in well, I hope?

As well as to be expected.

[He makes a small gesture.]

May I join you?

I don't think it could become less of a challenge than it already is, so by all means.

[She motions along the path like an offering, even as she begins following it herself.]

What would you think of building an annex, at some point, to hold stronger monsters?

[He gives a soft laugh, falling in step silently beside her.]

The difficulty depends on your goal, if your goal is something like practice evading notice while tracking something it becomes trickier. The same holds true if you're using a different weapon than the norm or your off hand.

[Sometimes it's more about the process than the goal.]

With the proper security and clearance checks I don't think it would be a bad idea, people would be less inclined to go outside of Garden for the opportunity of change.

I don't think that's an advantage. A necessity, perhaps, as times darken, but not an advantage. The less we go out, the more insular we become. Bad for Garden, both inside and out.

[A rustle in the grass of a grat. Without words, she chooses to make it a contest, smoothly drawing a knife from the side of one of her sheaths in an effort to flip it into the grat before her companion can fire.]

Depends on how you look at it.

[He fires twice, first aiming to knock her knife off course and the second for the grat. The knife shot more to see if he could rather than make a point about something. The good thing about revolvers was that they didn't need a safety to turn on or off as it was difficult to fire unintentionally.]

Having it as an option for those who prefer the reliability of Garden is not a bad thing. Just because some of us are crazy enough to consider malboro wrestling doesn't mean we all are.

[She heads to the brush to pick up her knife, assesses the damage to it, then tucks it into her belt. The dying grat doesn't get a second look.]

Putting it that way inspires me to do just the opposite, and have Garden proper steered out to one of the more dangerous locales we have. Complacence is one of the worst enemies we have, and if people are viewing this as an alternative at all times...

I agree, though I'm sure the students would compain that it's impossible or too difficult.

[He was sure she'd heard the complaints about his class, and had probably formed some idea about his background.]

'Prepare for the impossible, plan for the improbable and pray for the odds to stay your way.' I find it a good philosophy for survival.

[He quirks a half smile.]

Feel free to use it.

Oh, we'd have SeeD accompaniment, full teams, and everyone would have a GF Junctioned. They'd have every guarantee of no fatalities. Given that, they could benefit from being in a desperate situation.

[She quirked a smile his way.]

I prefer shorter sayings, suitable for battle cries, but thank you.

That doesn't mean they won't complain, I get it regularly when I dismantle their firearms and expect them to be able to reassemble them. I even let them have a manual.

[He gives a short, dry laugh at that though.]

Ah, I prefer the quiet attack personally if given the option. Thoug there is something to be said for blatent intimidation.

If I was concerned about being popular and keeping everyone happy, I wouldn't have taken the job.

[About half a dozen grats are now crawling towards the pair, long tentacles waving eagerly at the prospect of a meal. The Commander casually draws one of her swords.]

Quiet attacks are rarely an option for the person leading from the front, though.

[Tseng is reloading and shifting as he watches the circling grats. More than he'd planned on enountering today, he'd have to be conservative with ammunition.

He wished he'd brought something to hit with, but he could use the movement of a fistfight anyway.]

That depends on who you're leading and how many there are. I've seen a team of a dozen or so retake a city when a full army couldn't.

SeeDs have played that role on more than one occasion.

[She contemplates a summon for a moment, but elects against it; that would remove all challenge whatsoever. Instead, she casually casts Aura on herself, even as a few of the grats lunge forward to begin whipping at the pair of them.]

If it were a stealth mission, I would not be on it, given the choice of participants. A more direct mission, certainly.

True, one doesn't generally send out the big guns for subtlety.

[It's not meant as an insult, but he's short as he's moving to dodge the grats. He's also rather noticeably not using magic as he grapples with one, ignoring the bruising blows he gets for being so close. ]

Just so. If it wouldn't undermine what little authority I have, I'd audit a class or two to brush up on my weaker skills, but until that time coverts ops will remain an area I ought not to dabble in.

[She moves to defend his back as he enters melee, but is still not attacking herself. She's merely waiting for the right time, and access to her Limit Break...]

I learned from the same people as Reno and helped teach him, if you're really looking to brush up I'm sure i'd be able to find room in my day to help.

[He sends a heel in to the grat's abdomen, twisting and grabbing a flailing tentacle aimed for his neck. He wasn't fond of the things, not enough bones and joints to take apart.]

I'm convinced that if I found more room in my own day, my paperwork would expand to fill it.

[She lifts a hand, drawing it into a fist as the white light of her own energy shines around her. Lightning-quick, she draws four knives from her belts, fans them out, then flicks her wrist forward. Four grats freeze in place, then slump to the ground.]

I think the senior staff and Instructors could all benefit from some action.

The key is not letting them catch on to the extra time you found.

[There's a squelching sound as the one he was wrestling falls, something horribly dislocated within it.]

This would be easier if they had proper spines.

Weren't we just talking about things not being too easy?

[She isn't about to interfere, though she does cast a Cure on herself as the last grat suicidally charges in.]

The Commander in the Training Center [Open]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject