The Focused Mind, Can Pierce Through Stone [Monk]

[Hirosame]

"Huaaa-yah!" A fist planted into the target of a dummy, followed by an echoing voice that filled the enclosed opening of the outdoor dojo. Recoiling back slowly, Hiro regained his battle stance, one that he had learned from the Elder of the village, Elder Yamamoto. An ancient style that he was very slowly learning, but coming through to full effect with each step he took. Hiro had to read many a scroll, in his native language of Japanese, about the trials and tribulations that one would need to undergo, should they strive to be considered a warrior under the context of the land where the people of Moon Dance Village originated from. The warriors of the era and location were regarded as highly honorable men and women of the land, even those who had learned from outside their culture. They were welcomed as family to the people of their land, something that Hiro wished very deeply to be considered as. He loved every part of this village. This forest. The peace that was shared between nature, spirits, and humans. The harmony that flowed from one creature to the next was, without any other way to explain it, beautiful.

Thrusting his fist into the dummy once again, he followed it up with another quick jab from his other hand, which was also followed by a quick kick from his right leg. Physical strength comes from the mind. In order to fight with all your strength, you put your mind behind every blow, examining the enemy as you strike. Once you learn their weaknesses, you pair that with your strengths. With your strengths, and their weaknesses exposed, you are sure to win without killing your foe. Avoiding any needless death is always looked up upon, as showing mercy on the battlefield is a sign of a true warrior. One who is strong in mind, in body, and in heart. This is the warrior that Hiro wanted to become. He wanted to be strong enough to fight, and prevent death of another human wherever possible. Of course, there are some exceptions to this rule, when the enemy is fully intent on killing you, or they are threatening your allies. In a fight between two warriors, they should be tested by their strength, not by how well they kill. If the opponent dies, neither the victor nor the defeated learn anything from the battle. Nothing is gained, and all is lost in such a fight.

Just as the thought finished crossing his mind, a ladle was flung directly for the back of his head. Without enough time to dodge it, Hiro was suddenly hit by the metal utensil, causing him to fall forward. Rubbing the back of his head, he stood back up and turned around, to see the blind Elder Yamamoto standing there. "Lazy-ass boy! What're you doing there, standing and thinking about!? You're not going to get any stronger if you just stand there!!" With that said, she shuffled off, mumbling. "The dirt below you will get stronger from your dead-weight on it." Looking at her for a moment, his hand still atop his head where the ladle hit, Hiro couldn't help but smile. Bringing his hand back down, and regaining his fighting stance, Hiro began to attack away at the dummy once again. Elder Yamamoto was right, after all. Getting distracted in such a silly manner while he should be focusing on his training isn't something he should be doing. Taking another swing at the dummy, Hiro focused his mind and body into the target, delivering a powerful blow to the center of mass. This attack caused the dummy's base to be shifted back a little bit, and as he turned around, facing away from it, the dummy slumped to the ground.

There was more than just dummy-punching to be done today. Hiro had orchestrated a get-together with any and all Monks that wanted to hone their skills. Not to be condescending, though, he didn't mention his own level, and would likely keep that under wraps as much as possible. He wouldn't let anybody get discouraged, just by a few numbers. The strongest warriors are often the least experienced, but their hearts and minds are completely in-sync. However, the strongest warriors are also often the oldest, and therefore the wisest, with their expansive battle knowledge. So, that analogy doesn't really work out well in his favor. All this aside, though, he offered for everybody to come to the Dojo in Moon Dance Village, where the warriors are trained and where they come to maintain their forms. But, Hiro asked that he would be able to use it today, so that others can come and not feel intimidated by other warriors, using spears, swords, knives, you name it. As he walked to the entrance, Hiro took a seat on the ground in front of the door, to greet people as they arrived. Their "sensei" for the day would likely be better received if he greeted everybody as they showed up, as well as they know who exactly was to be there to learn with. Besides, it's easier to make friends and allies, when everybody knows that they are all equals. Calming the mind, and soothing the spirit, Hiro sat and waited for others to arrive.


[883 Words]
Muse: aKu - The Final Blow
Tag: All Monks!

[Bei Fong]

Sometimes the only pay-off for having any faith
Is when it's tested again and again everyday
I'm still comparing your past to my future
It might be your wound but they're my sutures

Everything seemed to be happening fast in this world- much faster than in real life. Already she had fought in a swamp against the wild life there, met another monk/chef combo and now she was off on some whimsical adventure in a place known as Moondance Village. Although she didn't know the guy personally she noticed some sort of invitation for those with her class to meet here at these coordinates. Bei Fong was skeptical at first but having almost nothing to lose by showing up she decided it might be worth her time. Even if it wasn't then oh well- she filled out her map in the mean time as well which was never a bad thing.

Approaching the dojo at a rather slow walk she took in the sight before her though was undecided how she felt about it. The long fabric of her shirt blew in the wind as she came to a halt before it's doors. The place seemed quite old which she was sure the designers had intended for it to appear that way. It was strange, even for being a game enviroment it had a rather calming and mystic vice to it. It was as if there was some strange ancestral call that drew her to a place like this- a voice that cried out for her to hone not just her physical self but her spiritual self.

Snapping back to reality, Bei Fong noticed there was a man with wild red hair sitting down before the doors. A student as well perhaps? Maybe he was even the master of this place which would seem odd due to his appearance. Then again not everything was as it seemed- especially not in places like this where there was great spiritual energy. Making her way over with light steps, she came up just short of him by a few feet and looked down at him.

"Is this Moondance Forest? My sense of direction is rubbish." she said with short laugh. Her smirk was present showing that her intentions were good and she was in high spirit. Honestly after her last encounter with that other monk she was eager to hone her skills so that she did not embarass herself any further than she had. While it was unspoken, she wished to be the strongest hand to hand fighter in the world of elder tale. It was no easy goal to accomplish but she was sure with the right mentor she could attain that power.

"I was invited here to train with other monks. Have I arrived on time?" she asked. Out of all of this she hoped that she might make herself noticed. She sought a strong hand to help guide her down the path she had chosen- someone who could shape her into a true force to be reckoned with. Why did she desire the strength? Her reasons were her own and only those she trusted would know her secret.

Hirosame - 496 

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Spades]

Hp- 100% Mp-100%     Walking through the forest yet again, Spade was following a message about a village of landers dedicated to the older martial arts. This village was a good distance away from Londinium and a decent walk away from Sarum so he had to catch a ride from his guild leader to Sarum and he decided to walk the rest of the way on foot, he assumed since he had much longer legs than most adventurers and landers he should be able to reach his destination at a quicker rate than others. Even though he knew his stride was longer than others it was still a good walk to the village, he began to think about his own experience with fighting in real life.     He remembers that at someone of his size many people would show off by trying to challenge him so since he hit his first growth spurt he had always been street fighting in the inner cities, even when he had to start intimidating for a living he had always preferred to settle everything in a fight. At that point in his life he had began to enjoy fighting and would always resort to it if he could, he still remembers what one of the computer kids he was “friends” with told him, “If violence did not solve your problem yet you’re not using it enough!” he chuckled to himself about it since that became one of his policies when it came to his work, use violence when the solution is hard to come by. He would have continued to press his ideals on anyone that crossed him until one time he was jumped by a group of men and the resulting injuries were so bad he was incapacitated in a make doctors house for 3 days, the results left him with being chewed out by his younger siblings and a very nasty scar on his left shoulder blade, it even shows up on his in game self but it’s a few inches smaller than the real thing. When he recovered he took up boxing to make sure he’s never put in that state again, when he first stepped in to the ring he stood no chance against their average member.      This lit a fire in Spade as he tirelessly worked on his body just so he won’t be beaten by anybody, after a month a few things happened to Spade that he now enjoys; he calmed down and began to mature more as a person and he was one of the better boxers in the gym even giving the best members in the gym a run for their money. He would have continued this but his boss did not want him to look weak by taking lessons in fighting so Spade was forced to withdraw from the gym, he still worked on his body and form but he did it in his room where only two people would see him and he would not look weaker. Spade still settled major disputes with fighting but he was not looking for them actively now, unfortunately that is one of the few changes to happen to him. He could not get better at boxing for two reasons, for one thing self teaching can only bring you so far, and for another he has to be calm when a fight starts so that he can get a good train of thought going and fix himself to get in his stance. This is not easy to do since every fight he’s ever in begins, continues, and ends with the same style... Let the tension build up until the boiling point, put in a few test swings, and when an opening presents itself incapacitate the opponent with any means available be it a nearby item or by striking a vital organ and then releasing your full aggression for as long as possible. Since he took up boxing the only things he could really use at any time was knowing how to hit without putting your weight in to it and switching from offense to defense quickly.     Spade continued to think of his past life, once more when he entered this train of thought he became depressed a little and it shown in his body language. He walked a little slower and his ears slumped to his body as well as his emerald eyes growing a tiny bit duller, this only happened for a short while because a minute later his vision was filled with pink and brown, it was and entire grove of trees with pink leaves! This took the werecat from a state of depression to a state of pure wonderment as he was immensely impressed once more by the games ability to create things like this. He saw a village surrounding a large brown tree, Spade took a closer look and he saw it was a giant tree with pink leaves; strangely enough there was also a large ball of light floating just under the trees barely lighting the trees creating the atmosphere that the moon is shines on this place specifically. He continued up the hill towards the nearest entrance when he saw a man with red hair and green eyes, Spade had a feeling he’s the one that posted the message on the bulletin board since he looks like a fist fighter, Spade approached the man still in awe of his surroundings and with a great smile on his face he said to the man “This place is amazing, I’m glad I took your request.” Word Count: [925] Tags: Hirosame made by kiwii at btn!

[Shuwen]

Words: 540

Shuwen trudged through Moon Dance Forest, fighting only when attacked, in an effort to get through the forest as quickly as possible, in order to make it to a prespecified location in time. Apparently, someone named Hirosame had called for a gathering of Monk class players, for some kind of training session camp thing in Moon Dance forest. He hadn’t done a good job calculating when he’d need to leave in order to reach the location on time, and as a result, was running late. He would have liked to use the fights on the way to bag a little extra experience and items, but he simply didn’t have enough time to spare to do so, hence the rush. Fortunately, his hurried pace allowed him to make it on time. He wasn’t exactly early, but he wasn’t really late either.

There were four other people already present. As expected, just about all of them were monks, sans one. To Shuwen’s not surprise, he already knew one of the people there, and recognized one other; Bei Fong, a fellow monk and chef he’d partied up with while searching for that tea ingredient. Another, the werecat named Spades, he didn’t really know, but they’d run into each other during that fiasco in Sarum shortly after the bombings. There was also an old woman, presumably one of the elders of the nearby village, if not the village elder, who was apparently supervising the red haired student’s practice.

As he came closer, the status windows of the other people came into view. The red haired monk was apparently Hirosame, he was also much higher leveled then anyone else there, his main class was all the way up in the eighties, which was a slight surprise. However, he looked more focused on his training then the arrival of the other adventurers. Shuwen wasn’t sure whether to be impressed or annoyed. Spades looked energetic, excited to be there. Bei Fong just looked a tad confused. Maybe she was lost? As for Shuwen, his appearance was more neutral. Sure, a gather of people of his own class was somewhat interesting, but he had a few misgivings, and reasons to be hesitant. He wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from the old man or, quite frankly, a bunch of gamers like himself. The value of martial arts was… somewhat limited in the game of Elder Tale. Before the apocalypse, they were of no use whatsoever, and even afterwards, the prevalence of the original game’s mechanics made their usefulness somewhat conditional. He’d been making efforts to deal with the latter problem with Eleri, but they weren’t making a whole lot of progress. Getting in touch with the Foxtail had been getting harder and harder lately, and the fact that the boy had taken the Sorcerer class was really making things harder for him.

Waving at Bei Fong, and nodding curtly at Spades, he approached them slowly and once he was close enough, stood next to them. “So… hello.” Shuwen said to no one in particular, not really sure what to say or do from there. Most likely, the Elder or Hirosame was going to be in charge of the training session, as they were the oldest and highest leveled, respectively.

[Hirosame]

Hiro had closed his eyes, focusing on the peaceful wind for a little while. The breeze brushed his hair ever so slightly forward, as the source of the wind blew from behind him. In his mind, he took in the surrounding area, examining it all within his thoughts. The open-dojo behind him, the trees on either side of the entrance, Elder Yamamoto in the inner portion of the dojo, and the petals as they fluttered around him with the wind. Instinctively, he reached out his hand for just a moment, and grabbed at the air. Placing his hands back onto his folded lap, he slowly opened his eyes, to see the petal that he had grabbed from the air. A skill that was necessary for passing one of the tests to becoming a warrior in the village: Being able to tell when and where even the slightest petal will fall. His inner mantra was cut short, however, as the first of the other Monks had just arrived. Taking a deep breath, releasing the petal back into the wind, Hiro looked at the woman who had arrived, greeting her with a smile and a nod, before standing up.

The girl who had arrived also had red hair, much like his own, as well as emerald green eyes. Perhaps he started a trend? Likely not. All in all, though, another person had arrived. "Yeah, you're in the right place. This is Moon Dance Forest." Hiro bowed slightly to the woman, closing his eyes for just a moment. "Welcome." Hiro returned to his normal post, smiling once again at the girl, and pointing his thumb to himself. "Name's Hirosame, and I'm the one who put up that invitation. And, just call me Hiro. Easier on everybody that way." As he finished his introduction to the girl, another person began walking up into view. This time, a rather slender built werecat. Hiro could respect the fact that a monk doesn't need to have overbearing muscles, as he and the girl before him had also gone for the more sleek look. Muscles aren't always the key to victory. Sometimes, it's up to the first strike. Whoever lands the first blow has the advantage. This aside, though, Hiro nodded also to the arriving werecat, very obviously a monk as well, otherwise they wouldn't be asking for where the dojo is.

"I'm glad you took it up, too." Hiro welcomed the werecat. "Call me Hiro, and welcome to Moon Dance Forest. This is the dojo where we will be training." As Hiro finished this statement, the Elder had walked her way over as well. Of course, as always, she had some kind of snide remark to make. Despite being blind, Elder Yamamoto is very aware of everything that goes on around her. As such, she walked to the dojo's entrance, cackling. "So, you do know how to talk to girls, then?" A slight chuckle from her later, she continued. "I'm not surprised you know how to talk to cats, but the girl thing is impressive!" Hiro glared daggers over at the old woman, who didn't seem to mind, and just kept on laughing. Sighing for a moment, he lowered his head. "Sorry about that. She's kinda... vocal." That being all he would say about the matter, another man was walking up the way. This time, it wasn't Hiro who reacted first to the newcomer, but it was the Elder, who had immediately stopped laughing, and her facial expression shifted more to that of an annoyed one. Gritting her teeth for just a moment in frustration, she began to walk over towards the steps of the entrance.

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING AN OLD MAN!?!" She shouted at the newcomer, bearing as hostile a presence as she could. Hiro, unable to control himself, started to giggle at the fact. "I READ YOUR POST, DAMMIT! I'M NOT A MAN!" Elder Yamamoto continued, angrily. This caused Hiro to laugh a bit more, to which he'd very soon regret. Very soon after, a ladle was thrown at his forehead, hitting its mark almost immediately. Unaware of the metallic assault, the impact caused Hiro to be both pained, and shocked. As a result, he fell over onto his back. "DON'T YOU LAUGH AT ME, YOU STUPID BOY." She shrieked once more, before walking back to her place. Sitting back up, rubbing his forehead, he sighed. Once back onto his feet, he looked at the newcomer as well, trying to smile as best as he could. "Hello, and welcome. Name's Hiro, and this is the dojo where we'll all be training for a bit." A sudden chill ran down his spine, as the Elder's gaze shifted to him again. "And, for everybody's knowledge, this is Elder Yamamoto. She is the current leader of the village, and she will supervise in our training, should I mess up at all." A satisfied harumph was heard from the woman, who walked back inside.

Now that the distractions were gone, namely the Elder, Hiro walked back to the entrance, beckoning for everybody to follow. "Come on inside, I'll show you guys around." Turning to the inner part of the dojo, he lead the others. "Right through here is the outside dojo, where most of the fighting takes place." He walked through the sliding door, revealing a picturesque Japanese-style garden. A small pond was off to one side. The pond had a small stream of water going to another, larger pond, with a small spot of land inside it, with a larger Cherry Blossom tree off in the back-center of the enclosed area. In the larger pond, Koi fish swam too and fro rhythmically. On the right side of the dojo were straw training dummies, lined up against the wall. Small oriental lanterns that stuck up from the ground were placed in the four corners of the outside portion, and four more in the inner part of the area. In the middle of it all was a ring made of grass, cut off by a stream of water that surrounded it, its source being the smaller pond. Hiro took a few more steps into the training area, and turned around to face the others. "Feel free to look around here a bit more. This place is very wonderful, and I think you'll all enjoy it here." Hiro pointed to the center ring, before continuing. "I'll be in the middle when you guys are ready to get started, but check everything out for now. There's plenty to do, and plenty to see!" Hiro made his way to the center, and sat down on the ground, crossed legged, and closing his eyes once again, focusing his mind once more.


[1117 Words]
Tags: Bei Fong, Spades, Shuwen
Note: Sorry for the long post. I wanted to keep it kinda short, but couldn't do that without explaining everything as I see it in my mind. If others wish to join, feel free to jump in at any time!

[Tobin]

(OOC: A bit rusty so forgive me party people, the Dwarf enters this thread! The spoiler at the bottom has some potential reactions if people decide just to lash out at him, though feel free to be creative; lets go level Asian!)

Word Count: 1309

A squat figure strolled through the gates of the moon dance village, his great boar already ambling off away back into the wilderness. His step heavy from the great weight that was bore, yet swift and with great purpose they carried him, underneath the straw basket eyes of blade blue cut into the temple, the destination of the meeting he was called.

It was more precise to say that there were two types of monk in this world, those that took their heritage seriously, others not so. The half strider thoughts were unreadable under his long brimmed straw hat, but where his lurid thoughts drifted and the more obvious immense keg balanced delicately on his shoulder, the dwarf obviously was from that latter school of thought. While Tobin did indeed train it was not for any form of enlightenment, but in the pursuit of his own glory; to hear song of his saga echo around the hearthstone, rivers of gold being the current(cy) that he would rather listen to. As such his motivations in being here were less than pure; to nail a hot monk chick while showing that despite his absence, long it had been that he was still the great alpha male, still a force to be reckoned with in these British isles.

A description of the fellow would make sense, wouldn't it? His body was a tan brown and his exposed skin of his arms and neck were quite muscular; not to the showman muscles exhibited by most guardians but rather lean, concentrated cords of steel honed for sundering blows against creatures many time his size. His attire was a sharp green and yellow silken monk gab, heighten by a most curious asicot tie, his earlier sagas embroiled upon it in gold (one of which was the first recorded dwarf tossing!). In sharp contrast his black, taloned gauntlets and reinforced iron plated boots rounded off his look; the extra weight seemed to give each steady half-stride considerable weight.

Thus one could imagine the effect that heavy footsteps from what sounded to be a quarter ton Titan would have in open halls yet as he stepped out into the open picture garden it was clear that he wasn't. Four foot and nine inches to be precise, no taller then any of them nor any more tall then a certain woman dressed as a school girl, miss not attending this thread. There the sentential remained silent, that same knife edge gaze flicked between those in attendance as his tradictional, lavish monk fabric drifted over the condensed manliness of Dwarf, from the red head that lay in meditation at the far end, to the giant black werecat called Spades- the dwarf stared a moment longer, though it were not visible a eyebrow had most definitely rose, a gentle rumble emitted from within.

“Clever.”

Next his gaze flickered over to the other humanoid with spikey hair male that he had not yet heard of (Shuwen, in case one wondered) and the stunning redhead Bei Fong; noticeably his gaze lingered again as a fantasy was met; it were just a pity that he couldn’t read backstories. With that the half stryder completed his scan, most were considerably less experienced and unknown to him, only Hiro was recognisable to him, a nice enough chap that he knew from the AAA alliance, just were a pity he couldn't remember more adventures (largely due to members less then active; if tobin had to list them, it would add a paragraphs worth of word count!)

“Hello cherries’ ‘re ya readeh ta-”

A hand flicked up in the shape of a finger gun as a –wind bullet- was let loose, a single pan clattered to the floor with a great concave dent in it though as the stocky midget started to laugh, A loud clang against his face rapidly informed him of the shadow pan technique; the way of the hidden fry up. Still, his discipline of the full barrel steadied him from falling as the straw toppled from his face, exposing blue tattoos of Celtic design that ringed his eye, a raised brow flickered in irritation as the great keg was set down with a loud clung; muscles throughout his frame finally relaxed in the absence of such a load.

“Friendeh as evar as ya see.”

Was the grumble. Ruined hat aside, he opened the tap on his keg and, after the filling of several bowls took one of his own with a hefty draft as he strode up toward Hirosame, the stride causal yet strong as he passed each of them without any introduction. A unspoken assumption that others would be allowed to drink to seek inner harmony, or drunk and disorderly, whatever came first. Though now he removed his hat it was apparent that he was an adventurer of some renoun; the lawless Tobin Stryder, slayer of Stonehenge, of the phantom train, lord of the drink and beast of Lands End (who out drank several high level adventurers as a level 1, and a lot of help from his brewer detox feature!). Would of these pups remember? The Dwarf didn’t seem to mind; his gaze lingered on the male that sat in meditation, before his words erupted sharply from his maw.

“Hirosame, tis bin a while, hasn’t it? I were wondurin’ when ya were gonna call me out. I hope ya fame aren’t made ya soft.”

A roll of the neck brought several loud clicks; by now a certain, powerful presence eluded from him. Unlike the others he didn’t bother with trivial formalities because not once considered Hiro a superior; respect for authority wasn’t in this guildless ones blood but rather he spoke to him as if asking a friend the time on a hot summers day. Would this soft threat roase him? Probably not, the Dwarf had better ammunition then that was sure to stir the blood of even the most noble-minded.

“Perhaps ya be ticked ta hear tha’ I have reached overskill first. Ay’ tats rite, I hav’ found it in ta solitude oaf mah trainin’. Punchin’ straw dummies will onleh get ya so far. Gahahah!”

By now the rumble was rich and hearty as the implications of which were left to simmer, yet; as his glance flicked between the others he let great white teeth show in a smile; there seemed to be only one question that remained as an idle hand flipped the bowl and let the alcoholic contents fall; the dwarf let the deep gold liquid flow over his gauntlets in a through shower before the pottery was drawn back to his hand; like a magnet only to be rolled delicately aside; outside the stone panels of the ring amidst the gentle trickle of a soft rolling stream for a good steady wash.

“So, o’ wants a demonstration oaf wha’ a monk realleh can do?”

SPOILER: Click to show

Of course; the first monk who struck any blow against him would receive a straight -counter punch- to the stomach as an immediate reaction; boy the strength from that arm thrust was so immense that either of the level 30’s would be left winded from the exchange; if only they knew that his hand implements actually restrained rather than enhanced his powers though even then it would be enough to drive that person clear. The only exception to his action was for Bei Fong, even though his demeanour was currently that of an imposing ass and a principal of power; even Tobin didn’t quite have the stomach to be belting a pretty low level lass like her. Instead the blow would be allowed to land and a chuckle would issue fourth from him as he remained in place; perhaps even flipping her and using his -magnetic grip- only to set her down exactly where she had started. Whatever the author decided she wanted Dwarf to do, he probably would as long as it was very show offy; perhaps something that would preoccupy more of his attention then it really should.

In any case, his reaction would be the same. Amusement, he liked those with that primal hunger for power and glory.

“Heh, ya got spirit.”

[Bei Fong]

Sometimes the only pay-off for having any faith
Is when it's tested again and again everyday
I'm still comparing your past to my future
It might be your wound but they're my sutures

Well at least her sense of direction wasn't entirely off this time. Somehow she had managed to make it to the Moon Dance Village without getting too lost or distracted. She seemed proud of herself in this instance, ever since she arrived on this server she was pretty much tourist status. Every other turn had her going the opposite direction of where she meant to go. Smiling at the man before her she put her first against her open palm and bowed towards him.

Luckily she did not feel defensive about being sized up by the man. They were all scrappers, that was just something you instinctively did to know what you were up against. Though she was probably barely even a threat to the training dummies inside the dojo at the moment. That was the point though, right? To become stronger and potentially find a master or some rivals to help her get there. "Thank you, for the invite. I was honestly at a loss as to where to start. The more mentors I can find the better." she said crossing her arms over her chest.

Just as she did that another monk showed up, a werecat which she had yet to encounter before. Then a lander showed up who seemed to be familiar with the man on the steps. From the way she taunted him about his apparent ability to handle women she assumed they had a master/student relationship or perhaps they were simply close. Things were never what they seemed on the surface, she could see past the cranky exterior. 

The party was only getting started it seemed as Shuwen showed up and then shortly after him a short figure appeared. Was this a real live Dwarf?! Almost no one played that race- most sort of drifted towards what they were in real life or the "pretty" races. She smirked as she turned to face the others, now this was going to be some serious training. Of course as a level one she felt that she had a lot to prove but until the training started in earnest, she was unsure how to go about all of this.

Bei Fong was about to head inside behind Hiro when she heard the taunt slung towards the red headed monk. Pausing for a moment, part of her was curious as to how he was going to take it. She had no reason to react to it but from what she had seen among her other guy friends that was a clear challenge to a fight. 

Hirosame Shuwen Spades Tobin - 427 

MADE BY VEL OF GS

[Shuwen]

Words; 403

Shuwen probably should have expected it, but the Elder wasn’t happy with him. Dang it, I corrected it before the response. What more does she want? He decided to keep his mouth shut and not respond. Hopefully she would take that as acceptance and not hassle him about it any further. Fortunately, Hirosame distracted her by laughing, causing her to redirect her fury. So… do I owe him a thank you? Probably not.

Bei Fong didn’t acknowledge that she knew him, but he decided not to hold it against her; they were all awfully… distracted at the time for one reason or another. Maybe we’ll talk later or something. He thought. I just hope this dosen’t turn into a huge sausage fest or something. Considering the stereotypes and general attitude that came with being an unarmed combatant, it could be all too easy for this meeting to go in the entirely wrong direction. The fact that the senior person there was an old woman was a good sign, but he could never be sure.

It was then that they were joined by one participant. A high level dwarf adventurer who was… talkative. And loud. And casually damaged a cooking pot. And kind of annoying actually. He said something about an overskill, though the Dwarf’s exact words eluded Shu due to the his thick accent, they sounded pretty challenging, possibly with some implied insulting. He couldn’t really tell for sure though, especially since he didn’t catch many of the words he actually said.

Meanwhile, Hiro formally introduced himself and the Elder, and motioned them into the dojo proper that was behind him, but the Dwarf had other ideas. He wanted at least one of them to attack him somehow. If Shuwen was an anime character, a big old sweatdrop would probably appear on his head. Dude, no one really want to attack you like that. He remembered both from the stories of others and through personal experience, that most serious martial arts experts were rather… what was the word? Soft spoken. They didn’t usually talk about it, didn’t advertise it, or anything like that. Tobin was acting almost as far from that as one could get. I… don’t really want to deal with this guy. He stood there a moment to see how everyone reacted. If no violence broke out or the like, he would simply walk into the dojo as Hiro had previous instructed.

[Spades]

DON'T GET IN MY WAY!     Spade, still in his stupor, was unaware of what the male monk had said earlier to the elder. But he was knocked out of his daze when he heard a loud voice ring out, he looked around for the sudden appearance of the voice. He saw and elderly woman yelling at the spiky haired monk for a few seconds about confusing her gender, then she turned to yell at the red haired man when he began to laugh. Spade was about to laugh himself when a he saw a spinning metal object hit the red haired monk square in his head, Spade himself did not see the woman even throwing the object so he attempted to repress his smile to avoid her wrath. Thankfully due to his species appearance some of his fur blocked his smile, adding extra safety he turned away from the woman so she would not be able to see him resisting the urge to smile. After that short time the red haired monk called himself Hiro and he introduced the woman as Elder Yamamoto the head of the village. Introduction of the people in charge done the group traveled to a building that had a lot of training equipment, Hiro gave them a quick run around of the dojo telling them to take a quick look around before talking to Hiro.     Spade was about to take a good look at the dummies before he felt vibrations under his feet, in most cases he would have assumed it was a animal but he saw nor heard one. Looking around he attempted to find the source of the vibrations, he didn’t have to look long since he could see a very short man approaching their small group. It was the first time Spade had seen a dwarf, and a cocky one at that. He approached the group and the first words out his mouth were hard to pronounce so he had to rewind that sentence over and over again while the new arrival was speaking to Hiro with a sense of familiarity. As he was speaking about over-the-bridge skills or whatever he came to the realization that he was referred to, in Spade’s native tongue, a scrub. Spade’s competitive side flared up once more since the only thing the man has done since he arrived is brag, the second he offered up a demonstration Spade immediately accepted the invitation and approached the cocky man. “I’ll be the one to see if your worth your weight in skill.” he said in a competitive tone, Spade lifted up his fists in a boxer’s stance and bounced on his toes for a few seconds and lowering his central of gravity and charged at the man. He lead with a right punch aimed at his lower left side, after this connected he would follow up a left knee to his face. His fist did connect but to his surprise he could not put his entire arm behind it so the damage was severely dropped, and his was pushed to the side before he could stop the action. Immediately after he was struck in his gut by the man’s fist, the problem was that by the time he felt it he was sliding while still on his feet. He hit the group of training equipment laying on the ground, he got the wind knocked out of his lungs and he had a hard time standing up, he was fighting to stand on his feet for a few seconds, finally succumbing to the hit he fell to a knee. The only thing he heard or cared to hear at the time were the words “Heh, ya got spirit.” Word Count: [614] Tags: Bei Fong, Hirosame, Shuwen, Tobin made by kiwii at btn!

[Hirosame]

What would have began as a simple moment to just relax and gather himself before basically giving everybody free reign on the equipment around them, a new challenger appeared. Opening his eyes to see the great keg being placed onto the ground, Hiro recognized that accent immediately. A smirk appeared on his face, as he closed his eyes once again. Lo and behold, the great Tobin had appeared. A friend since long ago, and a drinking buddy once or twice before, Hiro and Tobin had known each other for quite a while now, and actively enjoyed the other's presence. Actually, the first time they ever had been in a party together, was on their way to here for the first time. To Moon Dance Forest. However, as the Dwarf had shown up in such a glamorous manner, and seemed to attract the attention of everybody else with his appearance, the whole idea of just letting everybody go to town on whatever they felt like had gone up in smoke. As the Dwarf made his way over to Hiro, he opened his eyes a bit to look at the oncoming powerhouse that was Tobin.

Standing up to the man, Hiro chuckled. "Looks like you've done a bit of work on your own, Tobin." He replied. "If you really do have an overskill now, maybe you should save it for later." Not being the type of guy who liked to brag about his own stuff, Hiro would much rather that Tobin saved whatever overskill he had for some other time. Perhaps later on today, if there was time to. Observing how an overskill worked and appeared was one of the best ways to have people learn. It prepares them for something later on in life, and makes them wish for it all the more. But, as everybody's attention was captivated by the Dwarf's challenge, it didn't take long for Hiro to realize that someone was going to take him up on it. He would prefer if he didn't have to take up Tobin's challenge, since Hiro wasn't the kind of guy to fight with friends. Last time that happened, Hiro and Saeko brought down a bar. Not fun, for either of them. Before long, though, the challenge was issued, and it seemed the werecat wanted to fight the Dwarf. Probably something to do with just seeing how a higher level player fights and responds. A sensible conclusion.

Hiro took a few steps outside of the ring, turned around, and watched the fight begin. The werecat and the dwarf's battle didn't seem fair, at all, since probably one counter hit from Tobin would likely be enough to cause the werecat to disappear. Hiro had no healing skill, so he couldn't offer to repair whatever damages were done to him. That aside, Tobin was smart enough to not let someone of a lower-level kill themselves for something as silly as this. Then again, this is the drunken brawler that Hiro had come to know. Restraint isn't always Tobin's middle name. Only when it comes to certain situations, most of the time. As much as he didn't like to admit it, he knew that the fight would probably be pretty painful for the werecat. So, without much else to do right now, Hiro would just let the fight happen. Trial by fire, he figured, was a good way to learn new things. After all, the Dwarf was right: You can only learn so much from fighting straw dummies of people. Learning how to fight against an opponent that knew how to fight back is the best way to train. That's how Hiro had learned so much when playing that old game, League of Legends, back in the day. Against people, not bots.

Hiro turned away from the battle, and started to walk over towards the pond with the Koi fish in it. Having been in this place for long enough, Hiro knew exactly why these fish clustered in this area at this given time. Reaching over to a bag on the wall, he picked it up, and knelt down in front of the pond. He began tossing little bits of food into the water, so the fish can go right ahead and eat it up. One of the things he learned while here at this dojo, learning under the Elder, is that patience and concentration are two vital components of becoming a strong fighter. As Tobin had shown, there is an advantage in letting the opponent strike first: You get to counter first, as a result. While he watched the fish, he cleared his mind, and slowly put the bag down onto the ground. Lifting his hand over the water, he continued to think. As the enemy is distracted by whatever is in front of them, you must concentrate on their weak spots and blind areas. Once they are vulnerable... Hiro jabbed his hand into the pond, and quickly pulled one of the Koi fish out of the water in his hand. As the fish was distracted by the food, it is much easier to grab them. That is when you strike against a fish. He placed the Koi back into the water, and continued to feed the fish. He paid no mind to the others in the area, as he was sure that either the fight or other things around the place were enough to grab their attention. He'd bring them all together in due time, but watching a fight happen in front of you is a learning experience, in and of itself.

[929 Words]
Tags: Tobin, Bei Fong, Shuwen, Spades

[Tobin]

(OOC: By the way Bei; if it makes it more interesting for you can RP as at a character level you can realistically obtain, like level 20 or so if it makes it more interesting for you. I’m just winging my posts btw, so you can just go through other training methods if what Tobin offers isn’t your cup of tea.


Summery: Dwarf punched spades, chatted about his experiences while giving any character a minor increase in attack speed with acupuncture, then he preposed playing tag with the Dwarf. Tobin is exceedingly hard to hit so I imagine the fellows might be at it for a while like some training montage. for a marial arts movie.)

WC: 990

A flicker of an eyebrow and a loud snort from his great nostrils betrayed the dwarf’s sense of disappointment in the lack of provocation; for someone who craved a reaction the humble turndown wasn’t what was expected. This was a gathering of muscle wizards to show off Asian magic, why were they being so coy and polite?

This discontent was soon alleviated as one of the other monks came fourth and those same brows twitched in amusement, after all it was important to clarify at this point that he had stepped up to the dojo ring and had just set the great barrel of his outside the ring, the bowls rested on top with the rich brown liquid in plain sight.

“Ahh alrite then, giv’ et ya best shot laddy.”

It had all happened in that moment, A deft twist turned the decisive crunch to a glancing blow and within that the same motion a full arm thrust followed from the right as the dwarf put his full upper body forward into the blow, squat legs braced against the stone, that balled fist found its way quite firmly into the embrace of spades diagram as for the briefest of moments the weight of both combatants strained the dwarfs arm before the force of the blow forced spades back as his solid footing held firm. The dwarf chuckled as he flicked the tension out of his wrist; the first fisting of the day always left a tingling sensation, though immediately the monk’s bravdo in swinging in reminded Tobin of an inspiration person in his life.

Oh right, himself. Tobin couldn’t help but let a laugh out.

“Ahahah gewd gewd ya got spirit! Gotta commend ya for stepping to the plate ets as they say, 'eres a little somethin' ta help ya perk up" The Dwarf drew one of the bowls over to him that he passed to spades, before he continued. "ta difference between a masta ‘n’ apprentice tis ta tha ta master has failed mor’ times tha student as evar tried, failur' is ta first step ta learnin' ya could say. Aftar all I didn't git strong bai beatin’ up babeh seals, I got strong from fightin’ monsters stronga then meh. Stonehenge, ta phantom train, they were no walk in the park 'n' it forced meh ta understand my limits.”

A nod accompanied the banter as with a precise magnetic grip a second of his liquor bowls was pulled firmly into his palm, a sip of the triple Distilled whisky with a punch of spices was enough to invigorate the pallet and warm the chest. Of course bowls still remained, an eyebrow was raised as he waved he hand toward the beverages as he couldn’t help somewhat disappointed that none had had the whiskey though perhaps being 40% alcohol content had something to do with that.

“Ta way I think ‘bout et, ya onleh knuw ya capabilities if ya are forced ta explor’ ta limits oaf ya body ta make any impact. Basically explorin’ ta limits oaf ya current potential by forcing ya ta use every fibre oaf ya being. I know wha’ ya be goin’ through since at one point, I were at ta bottom of the food chain, yet I found tha’ just because I had less levels, just meant I had ta try ‘arder ‘n’ use everythin’ I had. Since ya lookin’ fa a way ta train yaselves, I hav’ a good idea tha’ isn’t quite combat and who knows, mite be a bit of exp in et fa ya all.”

As he spoke his slow stroll was guided to stand before spades, then as eyes flickered a shade of violet as his hands delivered a series of five slow, causal prods, once to each shoulder and thigh and the last to the chest where the aorta lay, the sharp shearing pain produced from each tap was potent and deeply invasive, yet that deep burn was rapidly replaced by an invigorating rush of life and blood, expanding out out to fill out every fibre of his being with a fluid sensation, as though the werecats muscles had become like water (10% atk speed in mathematical terms, in case one was curious about what this rubbish meant. XD) This process repeated on both Bei Fong and Shuwen with the same non-chlantness, though if either withdrew the Dwarf would give only a casual shrug, their loss.

Eventually there was pause as his gaze turned up toward the sun, since Hiro had expected the Dwarf to train these fellows. –Hmm, so he’s lookin’ to size me up. Fair enough, I’ll just minimise what I show him.- Even with that limitation in play however, there was a pause as Tobin’s grin expanded slightly as the second bowl was tossed aside into the river to wash; between his hands the deep rich liquid formed a disk between his two palms as he created a steady rotation to keep the liquid from falling, this he gently funneled into his mouth until he swallowed the remaining liquid in it's entireity.

“We are gonna play a game of tag within tis ring. Ya three try ‘n’ hit me, I evade. If ya can hit me, then chances ‘re ya might be able ta least respond ta a greater foe. Oh, ‘n’ I prod ya with acupuncture in limb fa every 5 blows ya miss, because; Well,” At this point unfolded a pair of rose tinted sunglasses, already that violet sparkle turned to a sunset red glare as he extended his arms opened wide. “I ‘ave reasons fa tha’! Com' at me all at once! Bahahahaha!”

What was immediately apparent if anyone lashed out at Tobin that he was fast; -Drunken Money- and his agility 20 Rose Tinted Specs made sure of that as he seemed to easily dodge each and any attack. A couple of choice steps here, a duck there, a sharp bound out of range of AOE’s, a cartwheel or two even with his broad arms. This task certainly wasn’t going to be easy to even hit an evasive, intoxicated Tank, yet it was as he said; even if they didn’t advance in level trying to track a combatant much faster than they would allow them to sharpen their skills considerably. Or leave them sore and frustrated, both were amusing outcomes to the squat fellow.

[Shuwen]

Words: 927

Despite how insistant Tobin was on apparently taking over the whole training thing, Hirosame didn’t seem to be interested in stopping him. If anything, he looked happy to see him, causing Shuwen to get a sinking feeling in his stomach. Please shut this guy up already. He thought desperately, flashing a pleading look in Elder Yamamato’s direction. However, she didn’t seem to notice.

Meanwhile, Spades apparently took the dwarf up on his offer, getting into a boxer’s stance and charging him. Honestly, Shuwen didn’t expect anything but for the dwarf to completely own him to occur; the difference in their levels, combined with the fact the dwarf was obviously baiting them, made the outcome of such an exchange fairly obvious. Even if Shuwen had tried something clever, the dwarf would probably be able to read his intention and simply counter accordingly. It was obvious the point that there was literally no reason to actually go through with it; Spades had lost as soon as he started following the Dwarf’s instructions.

Meanwhile, the Dwarf began to lecture them, bringing up issues like spirit, one’s limits, and the benefits of failure.This guy is definitely an idiot. He thought as the dwarf continued to prattle on. Maybe he watched too many cartoons back on Earth? There was a notable difference between “failure” and “practice”. Failing didn’t necessarily prevent someone from learning something from an experience, but it was heavily determinant on the nature of the failure, and the reasons they failed. For example, getting beaten up by a player that out leveled you wasn’t going to teach you much unless they went out of their way to make it so.

During his marital arts lessons back on Earth for example, when a senior student sparred a junior student, it was a matter of course for the senior to lower their performance down to only a little above the junior’s. If they simply went all out from the start, all the junior would learn was to take a beating. But if he went down to a more manageable level, enough that the junior actually had a decent chance of successfully attacking or defending, allowing learn from their mistakes without getting beaten up too much in the process, while the senior simultaneously underwent an exercise in self control and managing their own strength. The Dwarf, however, didn’t seem to have any intention of holding back, simply throwing what he had in while expecting his juniors to go along with it.

Regarding the benefits of pushing oneself, they had more merit, but less so since the apocalypse; their physical abilities were now determined by their level, all they could effect was how they used them. In that respect, knowing your limits, and being able to reach them relatively easily was indeed a good thing, but it wasn’t as important as Dwarf was suggesting, and the pointless dramatics were unnecessary.

Eventually, the Dwarf stopped lecturing and proposed another exercise; a game of tag. He drank some alcohol, presumably to activate the Drunk Monkey skill, then used another monk skill he was less familiar to boost their attack speed. While that was nice of him, there was still a significant gap between their abilities, to the point it was basically a pointless gesture. They weren’t going to make contact with the dwarf simply by chasing after him. Spades was all too eager to accept his challenge, Shuwen was… less so. As the two monks began their game of cat and mouse, Shuwen climbed onto a nearby training dummy and watch the challenge unfold. Hirosame and Yamamoto didn’t seem to have any interest in stopping it, so it was implicitly part of the lesson, as irritating as that was, so there was no point on not participating, but he had no intention of simply letting the Dwarf string him along as he had the Werecat. Instead, he simply watched the dwarf move; studying his timing, and how he reacted to different situations, particularly when he used acrobatics, such as jumping back or cart wheeling, to escape. He also kept an eye on their positions relative to himself.

At one point, when they moved past the training dummy Shu was sitting on, he saw an opportunity and took it. Spades used an area of effect attack that Dwarf usually evaded by jumping or cart wheeling back. Shu could already see the Dwarf’s legs winding up a bit to make the motion. That was when he made his move. The werecat made a sweeping hook kick with one leg, activating Zoom Attack to increase the limb’s range. It didn’t have a great deal of power, and was technically an improper use of the move, but Shuwen wasn’t really trying to inflict damage. By the time the kick was actually in motion, the dwarf would probably be in mid-move, either cart wheeling or in mid-jump depending on what he’d decided to go with. As such, he’d be unable to move freely to evade the attack. Of course, he’d still have options; due to his use of Drunk Monkey, there was a chance he’d passively dodge the attack regardless, he might also use Magnet Grip to pull himself back towards the ground to escape. However, the former would be dependent on his luck, while the latter would probably create an opening for Spades to exploit in order to tag the dwarf himself. Just in case, Shu quickly pulled back his leg once the dwarf was clear (assuming he did clear it) to ensure it wouldn’t get in the Werecat’s way.

[Spades]

DON'T GET IN MY WAY!     Once the small man stepped towards Spade his hands glowed a strange color, the next thing Spade knew he was struck in his shoulders and thighs. Almost as soon as he finished hitting his left thigh a incredible burning sensation, this woke up Spade from his daze and he yelled out equal to the amount of pain he received. He saw the man’s hands still glowing and it was moving towards his chest, it was headed in slow motion but Spade could not stop the hand as it made contact with his chest. Spade expected a searing pain to spread throughout his body but instead he got a warm wave rushing from his heart to the rest of his body. Spade blinked in confusion wondering what the dwarf did to him, he looked at his hands and even looked at his chest thinking that he would see a wound. All he saw was the started shirt that he had received when he first started the game and some black fur, he looked at the short man with a mix of rage and confusion. The man then explained that he and the other monks were going to play a game of tag, he then got the conditions that every five attacks he missed he would give the attacker a very painful sensation from his glowing hands. Spade stopped paying full attention the moment he said game of tag, the dark thoughts in his mind relayed to him “This guy does not take me as a threat, he thinks I’m so weak he can play games while I’m trying to hit him!” The man took it a step further by taking several large gulps from his container, immediately from the smell Spade could tell it was alcohol and he got even angrier from the display.      The downed werecat rose from his position and charged at the small man, releasing a series of boxer punches and stepping forward with the intent to give the little man as little room as possible to dodge. To his anger and dismay the man was avoided his entire barrage with what looked like ease, and eve between the strikes he kept his word and struck Spade at various spots. After the 3rd time Spade was hit with the glowing hands he began to fall back to his street fighting and began to go for tackles and losing his cool. He threw a right hook aimed at the man’s temple and as he expected he dodged the attack right as it was about to connect, Spade brought back his fist quickly and got on all fours and dive forward in a attempt to tackle him. He jumped over Spade with a front flip and once more tagged the werecat in his back, Spade was at the point where he completely lost his sense of restraint and no longer paid any attention to the pain he received from the man. As he landed the furry monk recovered from his failed attack and charged at the man with his fist glowing yellow, as soon as the dwarf landed Spade was in front of him. Spade punched the ground and as soon as he did the system recognized him casting Tiger Echo Fist. A invisible force erupted from his position and Spade looked out to see the man moving backwards faster than Spade’s attack could spread. By the time the man stopped his movements he was staggering, this was not due to his exhaustion but due to him being drunk.      At this point he might as well have been waving a red curtain in front of the werecats face, Spade was seeing only him in his sights and he charged forward. Once he got within striking distance he spun clockwise with the back of his leg facing his opponent, once more the man avoided it leaping in the air away from his attacker. Spade was then going to use the momentum to correct himself and then charge forward and use bullet punch hoping the sudden increase in blows would catch him off guard, as he was completing his spin he turned to see a foot approaching his target, he did not look to see where it came from but he knew it was another person of the same class since he can use this ability as well. Spade had a feeling this was to throw off the man’s rhythm but he felt slightly miffed he was receiving help. This thought quickly escaped him as he caught the strong smell of alcohol once more, he charged at the mid air man and was going to cast bullet punch in his face whether the surprise attack from the unknown source connected or not. Word Count: [790] Tags:Bei Fong, Hirosame, Shuwen, Tobin made by kiwii at btn!

[Tobin]

WC: 577 (OOC: I might tidy this up later, sorry for taking so long, just busy.)

Why was everyone so angry? Was it a modern desire for instant gratification? Was Tobin’s teaching methods ineffective? Or was the dwarf persona just a irritating git? Behind his redded face he pondered that mystery as his subtle step weaved around savage, poorly aimed blows. Though admittedly even the Dwarf had to acknowledge that the lack of precision had merit; after all it was harder to dodge attacks delivered without reasoning, harder still was his attempts to suppress the were-cat, as after a couple of flicks tapping the pressure points of the beast didn’t seem to faze him greatly. As a result Tobin found evasion of the were-cat more difficult than he expected, enough that it proved to be a fair distraction.

Or at least it would have been more distracting if others had joined in. Perhaps Avian attempted to remain unseen while the great cat lashed out at him might have worked, had it not been for the immensely negative walls of text and hefty disproval that dripped from the post conveyed by observing eyes. Perhaps it might have been a violation of the fourth wall if the Dwarf didn’t gain substance from the disapproval, that part he was used to. As for the other lass, she was convaying all the emotion and presence of a statue to such a degree that Fongs presence had been completely erased from his mind! Either the sign of an immensely advanced application of social camouflage ninjutsu… Or an inactive writer. OHHH Fourth wall, I mean you harm today! But please come back. Seriously I find it hard to train people.

-For fecks sake dwarf, get on with the post!-

The insight was such that even the Tiger Echo Fist, used logically to hit everywhere at once, was dodged as he heaved back with one great bound as intuition and instinct paid off. It was then that he saw the kick extend out toward him like a bolt, only a slight flicker of a toothy grin betrayed his expectation as with a sudden lunge he brought his foot down hard onto the air, compressing it as he bounded up in a summersault in a great leap. Already the aerodynamic brick mouthed off as he peered back down, though that was suddenly shut off as he became aware of the rapidly approaching werecat.

“Ya hav’ ta try har-; Bugger me!”

The Dwarf had already began to plummet as the first flurry of punches were launched, yet as the first flurry of blows drew close a loud crack pierced the air as the Dwarf disappeared from Spades grasp, replaced instead with a bolt that flashed down at the earth towards hiro, before with a second loud crack the Dwarf cancelled the -lightning sleight-. The momentum of the attack lost, he smashed smashed down into the solid stone paving stones as he rolled past the other monk, once, twice before with a loud thud he finally rolled his feet as a vigorous shake shifted the worst of the dizziness, though even with a level 81 body the shuffles over his back had already began to gently trickle. It had been quite an ingenious bout of improvisation to use Hiro as a target to teleport, though the mind splitting concussion and disorientation soon reminded him why he didn’t often cannel that move. As such Tobin did what he did best; attempt to wreasal out of being hit!

“Good good, ya can stop now, ya shown ya determination ‘n’ all that, vereh crisp. Gahhh tha’ hurts moar then any hangovar!”