[ closed ]

[aetos]

Who: Roy Sellers (aetos), Vaughn Inglebard (unimpressive), and Akito Tanabe (dyingtohealyou).
Where: Roy's house
When: February 1st, early afternoon. Roy showed mercy on their sleep schedule this time.
What: In the name of trying to improve the spirits of a distressed teenager, Roy caves and offers to try and teach his friends fencing. Things go horribly downhill.

Warnings: Probably violence? Shouldn't get too bad, though.

[So, Akito is (understandably) down in the dumps. What better way to encourage stress relief than learning how to beat something up the proper way?

...Actually, this wasn't really Roy's initial idea at all, but the two had been hounding him over it for a while. While he had been reluctant in thinking himself anything close to a proper teacher for the subject, seeing Akito so wound up and distressed over his recent pulses made him reconsider attempting to show them some sort of healthy outlet.

And hopefully wouldn't result in more echoes.

So Roy calls Vaughn over later that Saturday, after his parents had left the house for a while, and tells him to head over into his backyard. He calls Akito out several minutes later, and when his two friends finally congregate in the back of his house, Roy slides in behind them, hands on his hips and a look of acquiescence on his face.]

I still don't know why you want me to teach you instead of going to the fencing club or something.

[Of course, his complaint lacks any bite to it when Roy had already gone out of the way to buy several wooden training swords and lay them neatly side-by-side on the ground.]

Comments

[dyingtohealyou]

[Part of him is honestly surprised that a. Roy finally wore down and b. Roy didn't actually call them out at 7AM for it. Honestly, what with everything going on, he'd backed off from the subject almost entirely more out of distraction than anything else.

Still, he won't complain. It's something to do, and that's always helpful for taking your mind off of things.]

You're the one who echoed back actual fighting skills. It's different from just poking a person at certain points, isn't it?

[unimpressive]

[With everything that's happened recently-- heck, with just the trouble Akito got into alone, Vaughn honestly hadn't been expecting this to happen for a good long while... nor is he entirely convinced yet that Roy won't try to call it off at some point, but...

Well, what's it matter, really? If they've gotten this far, he's more than sure they can still convince him not to back out of it.

So he grins, crossing his arms.]

Akito's right! Besides... Don't you wanna watch us while we learn?

[aetos]

[HEAVY SIGH.]

Not much you can do with a sword in the 21st century, you know? But I guess someone needs to make sure you don't accidentally kill yourselves or something.

[Every little bit helps, anyway. He guesses. Roy moves past them, toward the wooden swords, before picking up a couple of them and nonchalantly tossing them Vaughn and Akito's way.

He may or may not be assuming they'll catch them.]

[dyingtohealyou]

[His eye-hand coordination has never been terrible, and having those gun skills echoed back only added to that. So yes, consider that wooden sword caught.]

Well, it should be helpful even if all we have is a stick, shouldn't it? More handy than say, gun skills without a gun.

[Or firearm training without the ability to aim properly because shooting at people is hard even when they're trying to kill you but

We're not going to go into that particular story today.]

[unimpressive]

[So maybe he fumbles a little... more than a little... but Vaughn manages to catch the wooden sword. He turns it over in his hands, looking it over carefully, before coming to the conclusion that... Yes, he hasn't the slightest clue how to use this thing.]

Aw, come on! With all the weird things that've been happening here... We could definitely use any weapons.

[aetos]

[Too bad he didn't think to invest in cutlasses.

Roy just makes a thoughtful hum in response.]

Just make sure it's a sturdy stick.

[It's then he turns to face them, his own practice sword in his hand. Roy had never been particularly clumsy, but he moves effortlessly with that sword (even if it was an imitation), and he slides into a basic fencing stance as if it were second nature. One foot ahead, one in the back, heels a footlength apart and forming a 90 degree angle otherwise. Very generic fencing stance, except for the fact Roy suddenly lifts his sword up to hold an arm's length away from himself.

A remnant from his old style, it seems.]

I don't know what kind of fencing style I knew back....[Pause.] then, but I can't really place an equivalent. It just seems to be a mixture.

[He has done some research.]

[dyingtohealyou]

[After studying it a moment, Akito will go ahead and try to mimic it with a slight stumble as he remembers he can't just mirror the movement.]

Like this?

[His own stance has nowhere near the confidence of Roy's, but well. He's not even sure if he's got the angles right here.]

[unimpressive]

[That stance...

Vaugh doesn't recognize it, of course he doesn't. He doesn't know the first thing about fencing. But he can't quite seem to take his eyes off the way Roy's standing, can't really shake off the feeling of... wrongness that falls over him.

Weird.

After a pause, he shakes himself out of it and follows Akito's example... and immediately falls right out of the stance again.]

...Hey. Roy. Are you sure this is it? Cause... [He shakes his head.] This just feels weird.

[aetos]

I'm sure.

[It's said without a hint of hesitation.]

Like I said, it doesn't really have a real world equivalent. Maybe that's why it seems off.

[There's a twinge of uncertainty, because of course Vaughn knows nothing about fencing, how would he know differentiate it in the first place?

But Roy brushes it off for the moment. This is right. He knows it is.]

Just...keep practicing. You'll get used to it.

[In the meantime, Roy moves to inspect Akito, frowning at the position of his feet before taking his sword and using it to nudge them into more appropriate angles.]

Almost. The position of your heels weren't quite right, but it's good for a first try.

[...He thinks. It came naturally to him so Roy honestly doesn't know what qualifies as a good first try.]

[dyingtohealyou]

Not like you know any fencing... Right?

[It's hard to be sure of, what with echoes being a thing. But with Roy's instruction, he shifts into the more correct stance. It does feel strange, but only in that it's completely unfamiliar to him.]

[unimpressive]

Heh, no... I guess not.

[He still can't shake off the feeling, still really doesn't want to follow these particular instructions, but he shrugs, flashing them a smile.

It's fine, right? It's gotta be.]

Like this, huh?

[He falls into the stance again, albeit stiffly.

--This is so not working for him.]

[aetos]

[Roy can tell. Moreover, it definitely feels odd to him, to see Vaughn standing in that position.

Wrong.

...He must just be imagining things.

Roy leans over and taps at Vaughn's heels with his sword, albeit a little more aggressively than he did with Akito.]

Your heels need to be in line. [And then Roy moves to correct the arm holding the sword.] You're a little stiff here, too.

[He assumes all this is for bracing measures, but Roy can't really tell him why. He may know how to do this, but it didn't come with any previous knowledge as to why.]

[dyingtohealyou]

[Akito, for his part, doesn't even notice Roy acting strangely. He's much too focused on maintaining the stance himself.

Fencing is weird... Maybe it will make more sense once they get to the actual fighting part? Hm.]

[unimpressive]

[Wow, gosh, rude.

As gracefully as he can (which isn't much at all, really), he moves to follow those instructions, pausing only to aim a mock glare at Roy. All right, maybe if he just mimics Akito...

Figures Roy would have the freaky weird fighting style.]

Okay, okay, sorry! I'm doing it, you don't have to hit me! [SIGH.] I guess I do have to get used to how weird it is...

[Weirdo wrong fighting style. He's beginning to think he really isn't gonna like however the other Roy fought.]

[aetos]

[Rude.]

I barely tapped you.

[Gosh you're so sensitive.

In any case we're gonna timeskip now so just assume Roy taught them all manners of basic strikes and lunges with his weirdo fighting style.

Yay violence.]

[dyingtohealyou]

[And Akito will sit himself down for a break because haha wow Roy is actually kind of a scary teacher even if he was focusing on Vyse there.

Like.

Wow.]

I don't know anything about swords, but I'm pretty sure you made some of that up.

[His tone is teasing. Mostly.]

[unimpressive]

[Vaughn huffs out a laugh at that, hands on his hips. Yeah, he's definitely going to have to agree with Akito there.]

Yeah... And you just remembered all of that at the same time?!

[Talk about unfair.]

[aetos]

[He's a perfectionist, Akito, what do you expect.

But Roy smiles slightly at the two of them, though it might seem a little uncomfortable and strained.]

Yeah, I guess? It didn't really hit me all at once, I just...remember it as I need it. [Or something. It was hard to explain how the true oddity came from the fact that the sudden talent didn't feel strange at all, not really. It felt natural to hold a sword in his hand, like he was born for it.]

But I don't think I know enough to make up my own moves. This is all pretty basic, from what I can tell.

[dyingtohealyou]

Same as my healing, then.

[An unexplained sense of simply knowing what he had to do to activate it and what its limits and needs were.]

I guess that means you still don't know why you know it, huh?

[unimpressive]

Besides just the fact that the other him could fence?

[He grins, shaking his head. As totally unfair and uncool as it is that he hasn't gotten anything, Vaughn's still plenty excited for his friends here.]

If you're remembering so much... [Huff.] He probably knew a lot!

[aetos]

[He just shakes his head]

No idea. Whoever I was....I don't know much about him at all.

[And for the most part, what Roy does know he'd honestly rather forget.]

If I knew a lot, then I hope the rest comes back soon. Sure would be a lot more useful than some of the other stuff I've been getting.

[In any case, he gonna change the subject before this gets too uncomfortable for him.]

More importantly, the two of you know all the basics now. [Roy stands up and walks a fair distance from them before turning back to them]

Show me you actually know how to use it.

[dyingtohealyou]

[Akito groans.]

What, we don't even get a break?

[unimpressive]

[Figures.]

Okay, okay! Just give us a minute!

[He doesn't sound particularly tired anymore though, as he straightens and picks up his practice sword again.

All right, all right, regardless of what this fighting style is like, he can totally do this! Totally.]

How do you wanna start?

[aetos]

[HIS HOUSE, HIS RULES.]

You can rest after this. We're almost done. [He shifts his hand to get a better grip on his practice sword, though Roy notably doesn't move back into his initial stance.]

Try to hit me. One at a time, please.

[He doesn't want anyone smacking him in the head while his focus isn't on them >:C]

[dyingtohealyou]

Ughh...

[And Akito reluctantly gets to his feet, not quite getting into the stance yet.]

Vaughn can go first.