[Open, Major Event] Drag My Feet Along the Floor

[geistnet]

Class Log #001, 14 June 2066 (Monday)

School's in, guys! Welcome to the class log for Balamb, Netsach's premier hunting academy situated in the Falner Estate's North District. All the information you need concerning the school, it's programs and available courses, class schedules, list of faculty, and uniforms can be accessed from the navigation to your right.

NAVIGATION WHAT IS BALAMB ACADEMY? FACULTY & STUDENTS CLASS SCHEDULES UNIFORMS & DRESS CODE

OOC NOTES FOR PLAYERS. Placeholders are available for the individual classes + breaks + other relevant things in Balamb! Don't forget to mention in the subject heading if your threads are OTA (Open to All) or Closed, and the time in which the exchange takes place. Feel free to make your own top-level comment for other in-school shenanigans. Balamb Academy is located in the North District of Falner. For the other locations specific to this area, you can refer to this link!

Comments

[lyall]

[ She nods, albeit stiffly -- but it's only because she's a little conscious over the amount of attention you're giving her ( she really, really isn't used to it, she is happy to go unnoticed, thank you very much ) but you're her King's brother and you have offered her a choice of such beautiful weaponry.

She passes the swords for obvious reasons ( she is too short, also they seem unwieldy, what if she drops it, what then? ) and contemplates a little on the knives because she has seen how well they can be used when the right person uses them, but in the end they feel too delicate for her.

The thing that finally catches her eye though is something that is familiar because she had once glimpsed one of the Masters carrying one at his side. This is smaller though, more... her size.

And oh! They come in a... pair?

Glancing back at you now, Lord Taning, and pointing towards a pair of what you'd recognize as tomahawks the way another child might a toy or pet behind a store window. ] What are these called?

[bladeweaver]

[Hey to be fair, if you looked up, there are, like, five of him doing the rounds with other people. You wouldn't know, though, but this is actually him in person.

In due time, he hears you pipe up, and to your question:]

Those are called tomahawks. They do look nice, don't they? Pick them up, see how they feel in your hand.

[lyall]

[ Have a shy nod then, before she's turning back to those beautiful weapons and reaching for them with both hands.

Testing the grip and weight of them now. They feel... right. ]

[bladeweaver]

[He's stopped hovering around you now, and is watching the rest of the room while people hack and slash and smack their respective dummies. As he expected, it's a good mix of really good people and... not quite that good people.

Well, that's what he's here for.

When he looks back, you're clutching the small axes in your hands.

He crouches down, gently takes your hands around the axes, and with a slight humming of power, crafts two tomahawks with the same shape and make of the ones you were holding, but with a blade and poll of meteorite metal (making the metal shiny black) and a handle of Fae mahogany, inlaid with silvery patterns of thaumium.]

Those are yours now. Use them well, and when you're stronger, you can make them do special things. Ask the Blade King; he would know.

[Your asking on your own is also a test in itself, but you don't need to know that yet.]

[lyall]

[ What did you-- oh. Oh. They are beautiful.

.______. But why would you -- she does not know how to use them yet.

Is this normal? That people offer gifts in Falner? What is the price? ]

What... what can I do to earn the honor of such a gift?

[ If she looks a little lost, it's because she feels a little overwhelmed. ]

[bladeweaver]

It isn't a gift, nor an honor, Lyall. It's me trusting you to do your best to care for your liege, who is my brother. It's me making sure you are able to help to the best of your ability. It's me believing in you.

[And then he smiles at you.]

It's also me helping to make sure that my brother's ward is provided for. He cares about you a lot, you see. And if you don't, you'll see.

[He gets up, and steps once backward.]

Want to know how to earn them? Be really good at them, be good enough at them to hit me before the year ends. Do you think you can do that?

[He has ample faith that you can, anyway.]

[lyall]

[ She's taking all of that in. It's a really big responsibility and a challenge she's willing to meet, so the way she responds is with a firm nod and her fingers curling around each handle.

She doesn't know if she'll be able to hit you before the year ends, and she is not sure if she wants to hit the brother of her King, but if you say that this is what she must do to earn such beautiful gifts then she will rise to it and do her very best.

Glancing over now to where the others are hitting their respective dummies. ]

I should go and practice.

[ Have another nod your way now, sir, before she heads off to do just that. ]

timeskip!

[bladeweaver]

[He could have assisted you with your training, but he decides not to. You strike him as the kind of fighter who learns better with her body. So she leaves you to your devices (he is pleased to see, however, that you seemed to have made a good choice; those axes love you) while he attends to the business of teaching.

Soon enough, the time comes for the end of the class, and with it, the special activity. He heads for the head of the hall, and claps his hands twice.]

Well then! I think by now you're all either familiar with your weapon, or have re-familiarized yourselves with it. Now for that special assignment.

[As he says this, you see his skin become covered with what seems like an overlay of the human musculature, except that it is somehow all of silvery and black and reddish at the same time, and that it fairly hums with power. His face also becomes covered with a mask: a battle-scarred golden komainu.

He draws one of his swords, and as you watch, it lengthens into a sword almost as long as a preteen child is tall. He holds it horizontally across his chest.]

You have nine and a quarter minutes to try and hit me, whether all at once or one at a time, from the moment I say go. Be warned: I will defend myself to the best of my ability. Any injuries you sustain, I will heal after class. Your performance here has a direct impact on your final grade, so I suggest that you bring your A-game. Got it? Okay... go!

[lyall]

[ The weight of the axes in either hand is comforting in a way she did not expect. She knows though, that she has no finesse where it comes to fighting, so she did her best and do where she could as she practiced for the length of that class.

She took breaks. This is not the Pit. Her life is not on the line and there is a house with warm lights and a place for her waiting back in the West District. Here, all she needs is to do well, to learn, to keep a promise she made to herself that she would honor her King's wishes.

When the others charge at you, she waits. She waits and watches as she had before, when she was brought to the Pit to watch the other fighters.

She will not strike today. You advised them all that they would have a year. She can wait. ]