Tranquil as a Forest, But on Fire! ...Just on fire.

[shepherd_prince]

WHO: Chrom, his new band of 'Shepherds', OPEN
WHAT: Now that there's a new team working together for the sake of the greater good, their first task is to beat the shit out of each other gather and spar, to better learn the skills, strengths, and weaknesses of their future allies on the battlefield. There may be shenanigans, there may not. But there will definitely be friendships of at least C-Rank by the end of this session.
WHEN: October 18th, 8 a.m.
WHERE: Training Hall
NOTES: Feel free to tag as many (or as few) sparring partners as you like. Chrom will be watching to take note of which people work best together for future reference. If you want him to come by and give feedback after a session, feel free to say so at the end of the spar!


The largest room of the training center had been specially reserved for Chrom and his assembled team. Kulevi was hovering just outside the front doors to direct Heroes to the proper location, advising them to stop by the armory if they needed to pick up any equipment for the training session. There weren't any refreshments, not yet, but Kulevi hinted that there might be sandwiches and punch once they concluded their sparring with one another.

Once everyone had arrived, Chrom greeted them with a smile. "I'm glad so many of you were able to attend. Given the warning we received a few days ago, I plan to have us conclude well before the appointed time if you wish to act upon that anonymous tip. In the meantime, let us begin." He produced a small tin can that rattled in his hand. "Inside are pairs of marbles with matching colors. Draw a marble, and find the person whose marble matches yours. This will be your first sparring partner. After ten minutes, the bell will ring and you will switch to someone new. Please take some time to introduce yourselves, and decide if you wish to spar with real weapons and spells, or if you would rather make use of the blunted and wooden practice weapons.

"We'll take a fifteen-minute break after three rounds. It is my hope that, by the end of our training regimen, we will all have a better understanding and appreciation of one another." He walked down the line, holding out the can to allow each person to draw a marble. When everyone had drawn, Chrom himself took the last one. He was not exempt from this exercise either.

Comments

[shepherd_prince]

[Chrom inclines his head once slowly, thoughtfully. He can think of little to say in response to that, but he does appreciate the understanding and concern.]

Thank you. It's a duty I don't intend to neglect.

[He just wants to make sure he can actually do it well. That's what worries him. He hoists his sword once more and smiles.]

But we came to improve our combat skills, did we not? Shall we go again?

[shepherd_prince]

Not just 'Shepherd' but 'Calamity' as well.

[It's enough for him to give the matter some serious thought, and the notion that it's not an entirely binding agreement does ease his mind somewhat. He's inclined to agree if this is what she really wants, but he wants to know as much about it as possible first.]

How would one perform this purification? Are there any other duties I would need to see to as a...Shepherd?

[red_planet_blues]

[Sparks jumps back, naturally waiting for a retaliation... but with their speed effects, Ramza's just getting into a defensive stance now. This would be all well and good if Sparks was fighting a monster, but when it comes to sparring with a colleague, this was pretty boring.]

Oh, right. Um. C'mon, I'll wait.

[red_planet_blues]

[Sparks shrugged, and unholstered the nozzle of the particle thrower.]

I mean, it works pretty good on the undead, but on other stuff?

[He's got nothing to lose, so he powers up and fires it at the dummy. It doesn't take long for the flimsy doll to explode in a shower of smoldering feathers.

After a moment, Sparks nods, satisfied at least somewhat.]

Not bad. I mean, it's not the toughest target around, but I guess this is good.

PA PA CHROOOOOM |D

[boomchucka]

[It's closer to the notion that Selphie wanted to show off a trick that she'd been practicing in private but learns from her sound and thorough trouncing that it wasn't such a good trick and best forgotten.]

Right!

[It's taking a lot of Selphie's strength just to defend against the strikes from Chrom but she does end up taking more than a few whaps from the flat of his blade that are going to leave some lovely bruises. She heaves in deep gulps of air and somehow manages to trip over her own feet in the process.

She lets out a startled noise as she lets her sabre fall from her hands as she stumbles and lands on the floor with a sound thud. She laughs sheepishly and waves her hands in front of her in surrender.]

Looks like I need to work on footwork still...

[dammit_yuri]

While your humility would say otherwise, I believe your combat senses have been honed to their limit. Anything further would need to be broken in by actual combat with sporadic forces.

[ranoutofbugs]

Just by being infused with the power of purification, your very actions become able to perform purification whether you will it to or not.

[Lailah tried to explain.]

Well, back in my world, you would need to go about to destroy the Lord of Calamity. I don't think there's one here, though, so I figure your main duty is to do the thing you do.

[It's not like she heard he was a mass murderer or anything.]

[zodiac_brave]

[Ramza nods.]

An indomitable spirit is vital to achieving victory. The ability to keep fighting will serve you better than any natural talent for blades will.

[It was what had carried him through his first years on the battlefield, at least. Ramza raises his sword again, preparing for Flynn's next assault.]

[zodiac_brave]

[Ramza falters. He wonders if Sparks is benefiting from this sparring session, or merely humoring his subordinate.]

Shall we stop here? You seem to have a handle on your Time Magic skills.

[And Ramza cannot help him hone his Ghost Busting, as Sparks had said before. If Sparks did not need to practice with his robot fists in conjunction with his new jobs, then Ramza's sparring would be of little use to him.]

[shepherd_prince]

[Chrom laughs, sheathing his sword and extending a gloved hand to pull Selphie up to her feet.]

But you've improved a great deal since our first lesson. That is something you can be proud about.

[He tips down to pick up her sword and hand it to her.]

Do you have any injuries?

[shepherd_prince]

Most of us wouldn't wish to be on the receiving end of that blast, I can assure you of that.

[It's a good thing he gets his training dummies wholesale, this place goes through them pretty quick. ...Especially for the classes that teach black magic.]

Do you intend to keep it in the future, or is it something you've reserved for this month alone?

[pole_position]

[If only she hadn't unequipped Gunner after the Downapolis mission. Chrom's spell strikes true, and suddenly Pyrrha's vision dims. She brings her shield up in her best attempt to block, but she knows she's at a disadvantage here, so she also strengthens her Aura as a bulwark against the incoming blow. Hopefully it will lessen the impact a bit until she can recover.]

[shepherd_prince]

As you wish.

[Chrom salutes with his blade raised, which he then drops with a swift swiping gesture.]

Our time is nearly up in any case. I look forward to fighting beside one of your skill, Flynn.

[shepherd_prince]

[He's still not understanding despite his best efforts. 'Purification' is such a vague term, he can't really be sure what it means to 'purify' someone. It could have a completely harmless connotation, or it could mean complete genocide. Lailah doesn't seem like the type who'd want to slaughter people, but even so. He wants to be certain he really grasps this before making any agreements.]

Then to purify a monster would be to kill it? What happens to it if it's purified, as opposed to what normally occurs?

[shepherd_prince]

[Chrom only makes a few light strikes in his misguided attempts to help her fight blind, if only because that's a skill he wouldn't mind learning, so he assumes she'd want to learn it too. But after a few moments he eases up...not only because she seems to be on the defensive, but because their time is almost up.]

My thanks. Hold, I'll fetch you some eyedrops.

[He turns to jog toward the end of the room, digging through the potions and tinctures until he... Um... Well he thought he bought one with eyedrops.]

Er...is anyone in the room a White Mage?

[He's so sorry.]

[red_planet_blues]

Planned only to use it til I was done with it, which won't be long. Just tryin' to push closer to Onion Knight, y'know? Should only be another month or two. A very long month 'r two.

After that, it's back to Paladin or Magitek Knight or... anything else, really.

[red_planet_blues]

I mean, I guess? That's all there is too it, huh.

[He drops out of a fighting stance, and scratches the back of his head.]

I'm only hangin' on to these Jobs til I get to Onion Knight. Y'know?

[shepherd_prince]

[Chrom grins. They have much in common, these two. He's been trying to maximize his Fire Bender job passively as well, preferring to stick to the Jobs that let him use a sword. At least pairing up a combat job with Santa Claus is useful, since he can carry ALL OF HIS SWORDS in the Toy Bag.]

[It has its uses.]

You'll get there. Are you handy with a sword at all?

[boomchucka]

[Selphie nods and lets herself be pulled up as she accepts her sword and sheaths it with ease. The notes of improvement are a great thing to bolster her confidence with picking up a new weapon.]

Probably gonna have some bruises that aren't really worth wasting healing magic on.

Unless... we're gonna have a round two?

[Yes Chrom, that is a challenging look you're getting from your student.]

[pole_position]

[Pyrrha actually manages to fight him off admirably, between her aura and semblance. She does take a few hits in the process, though.]

Yes. It was a good fight.

[She stands proudly, sheathing her blade even despite her blindness. That motion is rote by now.]

Ah... Chrom? Did you forget the eyedrops?

[red_planet_blues]

I ain't too shabby. I usually go with guns, and I didn't like swords at first when I got here. But then I got to the gunswords, and realized that maybe this planet does have its act together after all.

[It took a long time for Sparks to warm up to Crystallis and its primitive ways. No lasers at all! Using actual bullets! It was like getting knocked back into the dark ages.]

don't give me the shoujo sparkles icon

[dammit_yuri]

Hopefully it won't be too soon... or too much.

[Of course, that was being optimistic.]

[dammit_yuri]

It's a balance, and sometimes it's luck.

[Attacking with a swift thrust, Flynn attempted to side-step after making contact to get to Ramza's back.]

It's all we can do sometimes to make sure we're as prepared as we can be.

[ranoutofbugs]

Most of the time, if the being is still alive, it will revert to its previous state. Whether the monsters of this world used to be regular creatures or not, I can't say. But leaving them alone... I don't think that's an option either.

However, if it's been ages and their physical form has decomposed already... then it is granting them eternal rest, purification.

[zodiac_brave]

[Ramza nods. So many of the Heroes are striving for that goal.]

Yes, that makes sense. It could prove useful in the final battle.

[He hopes that his own decision to rely solely on the Freelancer class will not leave him at too much of a disadvantage.]

Are these two the last ones you need?