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'd guess it did, if I could taste it under spiciness. Maybe if I was sick... but I guess -- how does that work for you? Do you even get congested?

[Questions she had not envisioned asking when she woke up this morning, really.]

[om_nom_namur]

[She probably hadn't envisioned herself going to dinner with a fishman either, being fair.]

What, when I get sick? Sure. Don't change my taste none, jus' makes it hard t' smell. But I think we're tastin' different things. Like y'all sense, whaddy' call it? Flavor, right? Me, I'm tastin' other shit. People an' things is always sheddin' shit 'round 'em, y' know? Pheromones, chemicals, dead skin, shit like that. An' everybody's got a charge, like 'lectricity. An' all that shit yer tossin' out in the world 'round y's got a bit a yer charge. Once it's off y' it starts losin' that charge, so dependin' on how much there is makes shit fresher or deader. That's what I'm tastin'. Life, kind a. 'S how I think 'bout it anyway.

[gunbladegrrl]

Scents in the chemical sense are just freed molecules that whatever's making the scent shed, so that's not different, but the electrical charge idea's something new. Sounds kinda mystical when you put it that way.

[om_nom_namur]

[Namur shrugs, another roll of sushi in his hand.]

Bein' honest I ain't really sure how it all works cuz magnets is mixed up in there too. Jus' know it's different.

[He looks down at the sushi roll, then grabs one of the broiled fish in his other hand, waving it at Maria.]

This here tastes like dead an' burned up some.

[Then he waves the sushi around.]

This tastes a dead fish with dead grass an' seaweed an' hell if I know what all else.

[He tosses it into his mouth with a chuckle.]

What's yers taste like t' y'?

[gunbladegrrl]

[She pauses midbite, swallows, then looks down at her food as if seeing it in an entirely different light. After a moment, she smirks.]

You know, I was thinking that 'dead fish' was a pretty gross way to describe anything, but then I realized that any fish I've ever eaten was dead by definition. It tastes like fish and spice, I'm not sure how better to describe it.

[om_nom_namur]

[Namur chuckles, low and deep in his chest, broad shoulders shaking.]

Most humans I met got a thing 'bout eatin' shit still 'live, 'less it's plants. 'S all good though. Everyone eats whats best for 'em, y' know? 'S okay if it's different.

[gunbladegrrl]

Oh, I know, it's just 'dead fish' is a pretty unappetizing way to put things. Dead anything is pretty unappetizing. Even if it's true.

[om_nom_namur]

Well I ain't really known for usin' pretty words, 'fraid t' say. When the best compliment I can think up off the top a my head goes 'long the lines a damn girl that is some serious shit, y' know I ain't gonna be the one writin' the fancy holiday cards. Jus' call shit the way I see it. Or taste it. Sheheheh.

[He nudges the plate of sushi towards her a little.]

Wanna try some sushi? They pull 'em up fresh when I ask for it so it's got almost as much life in it as a livin' fish.

[gunbladegrrl]

[Taking him up on his offer, she grabs a couple of pieces and pops them in her mouth, chewing thoughtfully.]

Hmm, that's not bad. Doesn't make me want to hurry up and swallow a whole live fish but I could get in the habit of eating this.

[om_nom_namur]

[Namur smiles. It had been kind of a Big Deal when he'd learned about sushi, as it was something he could appreciate and also share with his human family. Now if only he could find someone who knows what the hell ceviche is...]

Well, help yerself. Got it t' share anyway so, glad y' like it.

[He lets himself lapse into silence for a few minutes, taking up a pair of chopsticks to eat the fish and sushi now that he's not busy being as in-your-face different as possible.]

[gunbladegrrl]

[Maria, for her part, is contemplative as she munches her meal. Namur's words have her thinking about food, and its tastes and scents, in ways that she ordinarily didn't consider, and it's... well, food for thought.]

So tell me some more about your people? If it's not a secret or something.

[om_nom_namur]

[Namur smiles.]

Naw, ain't no secret. Jus' ain't a lot a us that's brave 'nuff t' actually live on the surface. Those that do usually end up pirates or livin' in disguise. 'S rough but... I dunno. Maybe some day all this shit'll pay off.

[gunbladegrrl]

Still shocks me that someone as strong as you has anything to fear... but do you guys have underwater cities and the like? I'll avoid the obvious school joke. I'm just curious what it's like as a society?

[om_nom_namur]

Yeah, we got a whole underwater kingdom. King, Queen, Princes an' a Princess... no wait but the Queen's dead. Keep forgettin' that even though it's been near ten years. Shit. Been awhile since I lived there, since I hooked up with my nakama. Grew up in the District, too. The ghetto, see? So I ain't super sure what it's like livin' in the Kingdom itself. Fishman District used t' be an orphanage, hell I don't even know how long ago. But there was too many spawn an not 'nuff money so 'ventually the orphanage shut down, but all the spawn stayed. An' people kept bringin' more an' more. Spawn without parents, spawn the parents didn't want. Ma's one a them orphans grew up in the gutter. Spawned me without even knowin' who I mighta come from. She's a looker, y' know? Gets 'round a fair bit more'n I do, sheheheh!

[gunbladegrrl]

[Maria can't help but laugh, even if it's a bit sad.] When you picture a magical underwater kingdom full of mermaids and undersea wonders, crippling poverty sure doesn't enter into the picture. And people wonder why I'm not a romantic.

[om_nom_namur]

[Namur shrugs.]

Hell, every golden ship's got an underbelly. Don't make it any less valuable.

[gunbladegrrl]

Even so, I can see now why you weren't in a hurry to stay down there. I guess even the unpleasantness of the surface had to be better.

[om_nom_namur]

Tch, y' shittin' me? If I'd a had a choice back then, I never would a left. But I was jus' a cocky li'l shit playin' 'gainst a bunch a experienced bottom feeders. Weren't no way I was gonna win...

[His tone was pleasant enough, but Namur picks up a fish and bites down on it with a little more vehemence than usual, shearing both chopsticks in half. He blinks at the stubs left in his hand as he swallows.]

Shit.

[He sets the stubs down next to the plate and rubs the back of his head, taking a deep breath.]

Hadn't gone up I never would a met Pops, so shit worked out in the end.

[gunbladegrrl]

Don't eat the chopsticks, Namur.

[She doesn't understand. He describes the place like a festering hive of villainy and scum, but never would have left it? Go figure. ]

And then you ended up here. I'm not sure that's a perfect way of working out in the end...

[om_nom_namur]

Ain't nothin' in the world that's perfect. Pops was killed 'fore I came here, so it ain't like shit wasn't piled up t' my gills one way or the other. Hell, comin' here's prob'ly easier'n stayin' there. Imagine there's a whole shitload a pirates comin' after us now we been fractured, tryin' t' finish off what the Marines started. Might be dead now if I'd stayed there.

[He shrugs.]

[gunbladegrrl]

Your world sounds... rough.

[She's sympathetic at the same time she's incredulous, because everything seems to be one giant ball of trauma and suffering, the way he describes it.]

[om_nom_namur]

Shit, compared t' this place?

[He laughs.]

Got a whole series a damn mercenary schools teachin' smolts how t' fight battles an' wars adults don't wanna bother with. How's that any smoother? Got sabotage an' uprisin's an' all kinds a shit goin' on. Only reason it's prob'ly easier I came here's cuz there ain't anyone lookin' t' kill me specifically. Sure, people don't like outsiders, or monsters, an' there sure as hell's gonna be people that don't like Garden. But they ain't lookin' for Namur's head t' mount on the mast as a trophy, or t' cash in on Namur's bounty an' live like shitty kings 'til their grandspawn die, catch me? The hell kind a world y' think this one is? Sheheheheh!

[gunbladegrrl]

[Talking smack about SeeD? Maria won't have that!] The original purpose of the SeeD program was to defeat the Sorceress. Service as mercenaries only came about in order to keep the program going to fund it. And I know this world is a world where you can have a dream, work towards it, and succeed in achieving it! Whether or not your world is like that, I don't know, but I'm proof that you can make your dreams come true here!

[She's not angry, but she certainly is animated as she makes this claim.]

[om_nom_namur]

Light shines brightest in the dark, babe.

[He's amused, and he likes her energy.]

Think that's true for us outsiders, too?

[gunbladegrrl]

Sure, so long as your dream isn't oriented to something specific to your world. You'd have a hard time becoming Shark King of the Fishman Kingdom, after all!