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

[om_nom_namur]

Show me yer second one then so I can get a better idea what yer talkin' 'bout, then maybe y' can talk it through at me while we're eatin' an' maybe I'll ask y' that dumbass question that makes y' realize the answer or somethin'.

[He will probably just wind up asking dumbass questions. A guy can dream, though.]

Come on.

[Namur starts slowly heading toward the waterhole where he smelled some earlier.]

[gunbladegrrl]

Shouldn't have Cured myself.

[She says this downright cheerfully as she walks with him, glancing around for any sign of their would-be goes.]

[om_nom_namur]

[Namur cringes a little.]

Naw, 's good y' did. [He gestures to himself with his thumb.] Blood gets me kind a crazy. Got better when y' split the dino all t' pieces cuz then I jus' smelled his 'stead a yers but it's not really a good idea t' leave yerself drippin' 'round a shark.

[gunbladegrrl]

I suppose that's best for your sanity, though don't think for a minute I'm actually worried about you hurting me.

[om_nom_namur]

[He grins.]

Think y' can do yer badass lion thing with only one arm or part of a leg, huh?

[He chuckles.]

Well, y' know what y' got better'n anyone. Only thing I can do is stand back an' let y' show off as much as y' want.

[gunbladegrrl]

You wouldn't have gotten that close. Now, let me know when you learn to junction status-resistances and then I'll worry a little more.

[She winks broadly at him, casually unslinging her gunblades as they go. No sense keeping them holstered when they're looking for a fight.]

[om_nom_namur]

Show me when we go t' dinner an' y' can say that's why thinkin' 'bout me keeps y' up at night.

[Yep, he really did just say that.]

[gunbladegrrl]

[Well, he certainly gets some laughter out of her for that. She actually has to stop and lean on a gunblade, she's laughing so hard.]

[Conveniently, this noise appears to be exactly what a T-Rexaur needed to track them, because about a minute in to her gigglefit, one of them lurches on down the path, snarling and slavering as it stomps towards them.]

[om_nom_namur]

[Wow it wasn't that funny was it? Namur feels a bit of heat under his eyes that isn't Ifrit's doing, but there isn't much time to worry about it. That Rexaur's coming down fast.]

Company comin' off yer port. Want me t' distract him while y' get yer shit together?

[gunbladegrrl]

[Just the way he delivered it out of nowhere caught her off guard. Still giggling, she waves him off as she straightens up, then yanks her gunblade out of the ground.]

No, s'okay. It's gotta bite me anyway.

[She flips one gunblade back into its holster just long enough to cast Aura on herself, before advancing forward to practically beg the T-Rexaur to attack. It obliges, gnashing its teeth shut on her and shaking before it hurls her into a bush. She thrashes out of it a moment later, teeth clenched.]

OW! Damn it, I think got a splinter in my ass!

[om_nom_namur]

[This time around he's a lot more chill about watching her just walk up and get nearly bitten in half. He leans back casually, hands in his pants pockets, moving around to stay close enough to see but not get involved in the fight himself.

When she comes out of the bushes whining about the splinter it's Namur's turn to laugh.]

Glad t' check for y' sweetheart. Eyes're shit though so I'd have t' use my hands...

[gunbladegrrl]

Take a cold shower, man.

[Maria twists her neck left, then right, then rolls it. Then, in an explosion of light, she leaps forward into explosive action, flipping around the T-Rexaur in a flurry of motion and explosive strikes just as she had before. This time, though, when she lands in front of it after about the twelfth strike, she turns to face it with not a roar, but a snarl that becomes a sibilant hissing as her form launches upwards into nine different projections of that same blue-white energy. Nine hydra heads with searing blue eyes stare at the T-Rexaur for a baleful second, before they each plunge down to seize it and rip flesh from its body in their long teeth. The T-Rexaur practically explodes into gibs as the heads rend it -- then they disappear, leaving only the gunblade girl to rise from her kneel with a grin.]

[om_nom_namur]

[It's Namur's turn to laugh outright. Oh damn but he likes this maid. Enough to bite back the first thing that goes through his mind ("Join me, Sweetheart. I'll make sure y' stay warm.") in favor of just letting her get on with her attack. And he is not disappointed that he did. Namur has some idea what to expect this time so it doesn't leave him quite as speechless as before. But the hydra makes him think of a particularly nasty Sea King, and he grins almost a match to hers.]

Thing a beauty, that is. Don't even know how t' count it for the bet. Still owe y' dinner though, if y' ain't too full a rexaur t' 'preciate a bit a fish. What y' say?

[gunbladegrrl]

Hey, I don't actually eat it! That would be weird and implausible.

[Says the girl who just turned her inner energy into an enemy-devouring hydra to the fishman.]

And I'm starved after that.

[om_nom_namur]

Well if y' didn't eat it where the hell'd the rexaur go?

[Namur turns to lead the way out. He considers ever so casually dropping an arm around her waist- but the gunblades locked onto her back are an ample deterrent. Besides, she's still a damn smolt, even if she acts older for the most part. So he puts his hands in his pockets and tries to think of something else so the shitty blush will fade away.]

Mean, all that meat an' blood jus' disappeared, an' that ain't right.

[gunbladegrrl]

What am I, a Limit Break physicist? [She elbows him in the arm, just because he looks so flustered and pouty.] Don't overthink it, just run with it.

[om_nom_namur]

[Namur guesses from her tone that the correct answer is no, she is not in fact a Limit Break physicist. Whatever the hell that is. He smiles unevenly when she elbows him, then chuckles as he wipes his face along the sleeve of his shirt.]

A'ight, fine. Jus' swim with it. Damn I ain't kiddin' though. Someone turned up the heat in here or somethin', an' I ain't usually the one complainin' 'bout temperature. How the hell're y' not dyin'?

[Protip: He still has Ifrit junctioned to his elemental attack- and therefore himself. And Ifrit's still kind of a turd to Namur at this point.]

[gunbladegrrl]

[By this point Maria is finally catching on that it might have causes other than terrible flirting, and frowns his direction.]

You might be reacting to the Fire junction. It's not normal, but these devices were intended for humans...

[om_nom_namur]

[Namur blinks, then fiddles with the device he strapped to his wrist, trying to remember what Maria had done to get the effect working in the first place. He only has to cancel out twice before finally finding it. The second he unjunctions from Ifrit, he feels like he's jumped into cold water.]

Damn bastard, Ifrit. Prob'ly tryin' t' fry me cuz he can. Have t' have a li'l chat later, sheheheh!

[But maaan does he feel better. He puts his hands behind his head and saunters casually again, like he hasn't just had a Guardian Force slowly giving him a fever.]

Me an' him don't get 'long very much, both for fightin' an' when we're jus' chattin'. Damn cocky son of a bitch, forgets I kicked his ass in the Fire Cave. How 'bout yers? They the same GFs or they different ones jus' the same type?

[gunbladegrrl]

You gotta cast more fire spells and Summon Ifrit more often. That'll help. We all use the same GFs, though. I've never managed to get to go on a capture mission...

[She grouses under her breath for a moment.]

Me, I really want to get Bahamut. Now that's the GF of SeeDs.

[om_nom_namur]

Damn, still ain't learned 'bout all the GFs, either.

[Namur drops his arms, curious.]

A'ight, I'll bite. Tell me all 'bout what makes Bahamut such a hot dish.

[gunbladegrrl]

Dragon god, Namur.

[She lifts her hands for emphasis, fingers splayed.]

Dragon. God.

[om_nom_namur]

[Namur acts like he's thinking it over, running his finger over the bottom of his mouth pensively.]

Hmm... Think I might be gettin' the idea.

[Oh look, grats. Namur's not junctioning any elemental attacks at the moment, but even then they pose only a minor distraction.]

A'ight, I'm convinced. Where d' y' find him, d' y' know?

[gunbladegrrl]

According to the reports, he used to be in the Deep Sea Research Facility. But I'm not even sure that's there any more.

[She doesn't even bother to pull her blades.]

[om_nom_namur]

A deep sea facility y' say?

[Namur grins, catches her eye, and winks.]

Talkin' t' the right man for that. Gimme a few days an' a general idea where it ought t' be an' I'll find out if it's still there or not.