Natural Strength [Action/Open]

[gunbladegrrl]

[Maria hadn't done quite as well during the Tears Point mission as she might have liked. Aside from grossly underestimating the volume of monsters in a Lunar Cry, and getting turned into a dragon -- both of those completely understandable problems -- she hadn't turned in the combat performance she expected of herself. After some thinking and reflection, she'd concluded that a year of classes meant she'd neglected basic physical training for skill acquisition.]

[Time to change that.]

[So early mornings find her jogging around the outside of Garden, working up a sweat. Later mornings are her time for strength and endurance training, meaning she can be found lifting weights in volumes that would be weird anywhere but here in Garden. And afternoons are agility training, in the only real way she can think of -- going into the Training Center without weapons, and coming out with as few injuries as possible.]

[Care to talk to her at any point during this?]

Comments

[gunbladegrrl]

I've been training to become a SeeD for years now. It's all I've wanted to do since I was six years old.

[She might have achieved her goal very young, but SeeDs generally tended to be young, after all...]

Elemental Junctioning is just like the other Junctions, except you pick an elemental magic and Junction it using Ifrit's ablity.

[om_nom_namur]

Sheheh, came inta yer callin' early, huh?

[He holds his wrist out so she can see the interface.]

So like y'd take this here an' move it t' there?

[Protip: he probably did it wrong. All the stats and things look the same to him.]

[gunbladegrrl]

No, no, here. [She grabs the Junction device to demonstrate, slow enough for him to watch.]

You've taken history courses and stuff, right? You've heard about the Dollet field exam that the Commander -- uh, Commander Leonhart, and his friends, took that pretty much started the entire Ultimecia incident?

[om_nom_namur]

Y e a h . . . No, wait! That's where they found out 'bout the sorceress, right?

[Man he tried to follow what she did. It just looked like a bunch of numbers and letters to him. But maybe if he can remember the place she moved it to that'll be good enough.]

[gunbladegrrl]

No, not quite that early. It was related, though. Galbadia invaded Dollet to gain access to the Communications Tower, in order to conduct a television broadcast. SeeD was hired to repel the invasion.

[om_nom_namur]

Ain't got much of a head for history, but that sounds familiar. What 'bout it?

[gunbladegrrl]

I saw it. I was there. That's when I decided I wanted to be a SeeD when I grew up.

[om_nom_namur]

Little kid stuck in the middle of a war, huh?

[He shakes his head, frowning.]

Well, least y' turned it inta somethin' good. Ain't jus' anyone's goin' t' see shit like that as a kid an' think, "I'm goin' t' work hard an' get strong". Shows ambition. I like it.

[But oh yes there's wildlife around here. A couple of grats come out of the underbrush, and Namur claps his fists together, looking both pleased and surprised when tendrils of fire skirt along his fists. It reminds him of Ace. Namur smiles.]

Time t' see how this shit works. Sheheheh.

[gunbladegrrl]

Oh, it's not quite as bad as all that. [Maria turns to walk forwards along the path again, in search of more monsters to let Namur strut his stuff.] Galbadia was only interested in the radio tower. There was really no fighting inside town -- we stayed indoors and rode it out. I don't feel like we were ever in any danger.

[om_nom_namur]

Yer damn lucky, Maria. Prob'ly don't need t' tell y' by now, but war's a shitty mess. Mean, fightin's fun an' all, but ain't no one really winnin' when y' get t' goin' t' war.

[Namur's quiet a moment after that, staring at the faint scorch marks on his hands that had been left by junctioning Ifrit. His mouth flattens into a determined line, then he rushes the grats that were stupid enough to come closer. He slams his fists into what might have constituted their faces, one fist per grat, hitting both at the same time. Jets of flame streak out along his arms and engulf the creatures, and Namur does a back handspring to get out of their way.

That was pretty cool, actually... Namur could definitely get used to being able to do something like that all the time, even if he can feel his core temperature slowly rising.]

[gunbladegrrl]

[She's... just gonna let him do his thing. He seems to be having so much fun punching the grats, she hates to jump in.]

Yeah, but one of the things I learned that day... which was probably a strange thing to learn from a group of mercenaries running like hell from a spider tank, but nevertheless, there are two kinds of people in the world. There's the people that can fight for themselves, and there's the people who have to get others to fight for them. If fighting's inevitable at some point, then I don't think there's any choice at all about which to be.

[om_nom_namur]

Sheheheh, couldn't agree more.

[The grats are not more than withered lumps on the ground now. Namur straightens up from a fighting stance.]

Hey, so that thing y' did where y' turned inta... the thing. With fur. How d' y' set that up?

[gunbladegrrl]

That was just my Limit Break... you're not familiar with them yet?

[He can argue all he wants about her own strength and capability, but... it's really hard to argue with his own battle efficacy.]

[om_nom_namur]

Naw. Folks up in Trabia don't really talk 'bout this kind a shit much. Creeps 'em out 'r somethin'.

[Namur shrugs. He doesn't get why they're forcing all their Instructors to learn para-magic when at the same time it isn't something they are comfortable talking about or being around. But they are humans, so maybe it's just one of those things.]

Ain't they got a whole class on them things? Damn. Prob'ly complicated as hell.

[His mouth closes to a thin, straight line. Figures.]

[gunbladegrrl]

[She looks him over, then turns to survey the devastation he'd wreaked on the monster population of the Training Center with a smirk.]

I'd say you ought to learn one, but I'm afraid yours would cause earthquakes.

[om_nom_namur]

[Maria has no way of knowing how big a compliment that is, but Namur suddenly going a little red around the gills and over his nose might clue her in. He runs his hand over the back of his head.]

Y' really think so?

[He considers it for a second, then shakes his head.]

Naw, not earthquakes. That's the Old Man's thing.

[Think, think.]

Maybe somethin' born a earthquakes though. Like a tsunami.

[Namur starts grinning. Yeahhhhhh this might be a problem later. >.>]

[gunbladegrrl]

Oh no, I don't mean it would directly cause earthquakes, I mean earthquakes would be the side-effects from you hitting something that hard. [She swings her fist in a broad right hook demonstratively.]

[om_nom_namur]

[Too late, damage done. Namur's already making plans to re-take Geology next term. Said plans get mentally cut short at Maria's demonstration, however. She probably didn't mean for it to come off as borderline adorable, but it was. Namur snorts, then starts laughing.]

Yeah, somethin' like that's the idea.

[And then he gets another one.]

Hey, if y' junction up Ifrit the way y' did for me, d' y' turn int' a fire critter? Cuz that'd be cool as hell.

[gunbladegrrl]

What, in my Limit Break? No, Junctions have nothing to do with that.

[She is not adorable. She is an awesome badass. Don't think of her as adorable at ALL damn it.]

What's so funny, anyway?

[om_nom_namur]

[She is an awesome adorable hot badass babe, yes. Namur rests his hands behind his head and starts walking into the underbrush where he can taste some more rexaurs being drawn by the smell of blood.]

Y' got a boyfriend, Maria?

[gunbladegrrl]

[The question surprises her so much she bursts into laughter.]

No, of course not!

[om_nom_namur]

Yeah.... Figured them boys 'round here for a bunch a guppyshits.

[Buuut he smiles anyway, still meandering through the jungled terrain. Man, for an indoor facility, they did a good job of making it feel real.]

Sheheh. Got another rexaur comin'. Want t' bet on how many fire punches it'll take 'fore it falls over?

[gunbladegrrl]

Not that I'm really looking, but clearly you haven't seen my peer group.

[And really, she hasn't been looking -- her tastes are entirely inappropriate anyway, running as they apparently do to tall, older men in positions of authority, not that she'll ever acknowledge that -- but she knows perfectly well why guys would rather go for Kory or Mikuru...]

If you take more than two, I'll be surprised.

[om_nom_namur]

What y' want if y' win?

[He splays his hands in front of himself, to show he's being fair.] Jus' punchin' it. Not jumpin' or nothin'.

[gunbladegrrl]

If I'm right, I get the satisfaction of seeing someone two-shot a T-Rexaur with brute strength, don't I? I'm not sure what more you could offer me...