shinrasfinest: (Squared shoulders/Observing)
Johnas Clearwater ([personal profile] shinrasfinest) wrote in [community profile] melodiesoflife2016-12-15 10:03 pm

#20 | The Life of a Soldier [December | Starlight catch-all]

Characters: Sephiroth & OPEN Prompts below
Where: Various as prompted
When: Throughout December / Starlight Celebrations
Summary: Away from all the merriment involved with this very special time of year, there are those working flat out to ensure that it stays that way. Whether it be fending off monsters for the first week of Trano Golsaucia's re-opening, safeguarding frontiers as the Calamity creeps ever forwards to engulf the land that is left unprotected, or getting that crucial fitness training in with any spare moment given.
It might be the last Starlight this World would see, and it's his job to make sure everyone was able to make the most of it.
Warnings: N/A (for now)

[#1 - Trano Golsaucia]
[#2 - Aqures Ixen. Training.]
[#3 - Wildcard]
sesenta: (Oh hai)

[personal profile] sesenta 2016-12-27 10:48 pm (UTC)(link)
[Having a Moogle companion is awfully useful...especially when Akane wants to keep an eye out for certain people while working diligently at the lab. She's been hoping to run into Sephiroth again after their meeting at the training hall, but he's gone so often that fate just isn't working in her favor. So Akane does what she's always done to reach her goals.]

[She makes her own fate happen.]

[When her Moogle, Keys Kupo, spots Sephiroth entering the training hall, she zips to the lab to tell Akane. At last! Akane flings off her labcoat, picking up her gunblade from the locker before shouting to her teammates that she's going out to lunch.]

[...Without her lunch, apparently, but she's always been an odd one. No one blinks twice at her as she dashes off, her face lit up with excitement. If anyone can help her with her training, it's Sephiroth, and if he's working through his routines alone, then she can conveniently offer to spar with him, and they'll both get something out of it! The plan is perfect!]

[Except it's not. The room she finds him in is the weight room, and the way she burst right in and caused a few heads to turn in her direction doesn't mean she can subtly back out. She stands there with an awkward smile on her face, holding her gunblade in its bundled sheath, and the red on her face is no longer strictly due to the cold.]


Um...fancy meeting you here?

[Drat.]
sesenta: (Tee Hee)

[personal profile] sesenta 2016-12-31 05:46 pm (UTC)(link)
It does seem to be smaller in size than Earth!

[She's embarrassed, but not so much that she can't make a few dumb jokes. He doesn't seem annoyed to see her tailing after him in any case, so she'll take that as a sign of approachability. She'll just leave her gunblade propped up against the Smith machine that no one ever uses.]

Sorry to come rushing over like this. I heard you were in the training hall, so I thought you were working through your routines and wanted to join you. I know how busy you are, so...

[So it was better to change her schedule to match his rather than demand he make time for her, is what she's trying to say. But instead she goofed, not realizing the training hall wasn't always about weapons practice.]

Should I come back later?
sesenta: (Shy)

[personal profile] sesenta 2017-01-06 12:13 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, I-- Thank you! If you're sure. I won't be more than half an hour!

[That's when her lunch break ends. She'll just have to scarf down a sandwich and some coffee while she works and hope that she doesn't get embarrassed by a growling stomach during their session.]

This is really nice of you. Should I lift weights too? Or did you mean to practice with weapons?

[Akane doesn't want to assume, and she does feel bad for disrupting his muscle training. It sure has paid off, she can't help noticing... But she wisely says nothing. It's disrespectful to stare like that at her teacher!]
sesenta: (Uneasy)

[personal profile] sesenta 2017-01-11 12:07 am (UTC)(link)
[She's a little confused, but she doesn't question him, nor does she hesitate to obey his instructions. Carefully, almost reverently, she sets the gunblade up against the wall. It tips over with a loud clang. She winces at the noise but otherwise pretends it didn't happen. This is a time for serious training, not being her usual clumsy self.]

My stance?

[Her brows rise slightly, unsure as to his meaning. But physical performance training sounds like it might be useful, especially if it can improve her self defense. She never wants to be caught in the same situation as what happened to her when she was twelve. It can't be allowed.]

[She shifts slightly, moving her feet further apart and bending slightly at the knees as if she's prepared to grapple with Sephiroth. Now that's a fight she'd lose in a heartbeat. She's a little self-conscious of her own hair now after seeing how Sephiroth tied his back. Hers is just in a sloppy ponytail meant to hang over her shoulder, but it's tied-ish?]


Like this?
sesenta: (Stumble)

[personal profile] sesenta 2017-01-12 12:21 am (UTC)(link)
[Akane isn't entirely sure what he's doing as he starts to stroll toward her. And past her. She turns her head to follow him, trying to figure out what he's going to do, but she sure doesn't see that blow coming.]

Ahh-hhh!

[She stumbles forward, but it's odd that she jerks her arm away so violently, as if she were afraid he might grab it. But she doesn't fall at least, turning herself to face him as she winces and rubs at the small of her back.]

What...?
sesenta: (Go get 'em tiger)

[personal profile] sesenta 2017-01-12 02:06 am (UTC)(link)
Right! Um, so should I--?

[She's braced for it this time, and she might teeter slightly depending on how hard he pushes her. But she subconsciously shifts her center of gravity in anticipation. Akane meant to ask him if she should do anything else, but perhaps in this case, it might be better if she just acts.]

[Which is why she suddenly pivots and throws her hands against his chest to shove right back.]
sesenta: (Stumble)

[personal profile] sesenta 2017-02-23 12:16 am (UTC)(link)
Oof...r-right...

[More than a little humiliated at just how easily she's put down, she rubs her bruised hip, but gets back on her feet nonetheless. While her lack of experience is frustrating, it's also motivational. Being weak just means she needs to get stronger even more, especially if she's going to protect the people she truly cares about.]

[Akane bends her knees and raises her arms once more, hands closed lightly into fists.]


Can you teach me how to do that too?
sesenta: (Shy)

[personal profile] sesenta 2017-02-28 07:28 am (UTC)(link)
[Akane is a grown woman, she's not going to throw a tantrum over not being the best fighter ever right off the bat. He has nothing to fear. Unless he lets himself get ripped to pieces by a gattling gun while shielding Akane, then she'll yell at him a lot.]

[She watches him curiously as he steps closer to her, though it isn't until he's within a foot that she relaxes her arms and lets her fists uncurl slowly at her sides. His fist resting just below her chest feels a little strange, but what he says makes sense.]


I never thought about it that way before. Force and counterforce, applied at the right time and in the right directions...

[The inhalation of breath is very light and careful, as if she doesn't want to disturb his fist. To her credit, her blush is only barely noticeable. Mind on the task at hand. ...Ha, the task at hand! Junpei would have loved that.]

Can you give me an example of what sorts of situations would upset that balance?
sesenta: (Go get 'em tiger)

[personal profile] sesenta 2017-03-04 06:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Childish? No, not at all!

[She shakes her head quickly, now letting herself exhale shakily before she can breathe regularly once more. He smells way too good to be standing that close to her.]

If it's a basic, then it shouldn't be overlooked. I consider myself lucky to learn at this stage, so it becomes more reflexive. It's not the sort of thing you usually hear covered.

[Akane takes up a stance that she thinks is more likely to be stable, then makes some adjustments that suit her sense of balance.]

What about upsetting someone else's balance? Are there any special techniques that can catch someone off guard, especially if they're bigger than you are?
sesenta: (Uneasy)

[personal profile] sesenta 2017-03-09 07:36 am (UTC)(link)
[Akane nods slowly, her gaze drifting toward the floor as she lays her fingers together to rest against her mouth in silent contemplation.]

More agility...that could be interesting...

[Whatever she's thinking about, it causes her brow to furrow deeply for a moment before she glances to the side and frowns. Finally her hands drop back to her sides as she looks up at Sephiroth.]

All right. How do I start to stabilize myself?
sesenta: (Losing Faith)

[personal profile] sesenta 2017-03-10 06:15 pm (UTC)(link)
It...it's not my fault! The cake at Cuppa Kupo is so delicious...!

[Red-faced, she realizes she's not concentrating at all. She can be self-conscious about her flat chest and not-so-flawless skin later, she came to train. Akane pulls her fists in, closing her eyes as she takes a few quick breaths, letting them slow gradually and become even. Her center. She focuses on the phantasmal touch of Sephiroth's knuckles against her sternum.]

I think I might have to get pushed over a lot to start growing accustomed to adding the appropriate counter-balances.

[And that won't be fun, but if it's necessary, she's game.]
sesenta: (Elevator Time)

[personal profile] sesenta 2017-03-16 11:18 pm (UTC)(link)
[Once she picks up on his breathing instructions, she mimics him, aligning the rise and fall of her chest to match his. After a few moments she opens her eyes, still breathing regularly, and smiles. It does make her feel more confident about this.]

Please. I'd like that very much.

[She widens her stance to give herself more stability, more conscious about wanting to stay upright and unmoved. He's a good teacher, she thinks to herself, patient and firm. She would rather learn than be coddled, so she appreciates his style.]

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