YE WHO ENTER, PREPARE TO BE PUNCHED

[bufudine]

Who: You, you and YOU! Anyone who is up for some good ol' sparring/training/getting their face beaten in
Where: In the park
When: All week, starting on the 20th!
Style: Anything goes!
Status: OPEN


It's a good week in the bubble! ...Then again, every week is fairly pleasant, temperature wise, in this little city under the sea.

But!

This week is extra pleasant, because there are training dummies set up all over the field in the park, all ready and waiting to be smacked around or smashed into itty bitty bits. Oh, but if hitting dummies aren't your thing, there are also targets for the archers and marksmen who want to get some target practice set up at the north end, cordoned off so people don't accidentally wander into the line of fire. And for those who'd rather play it safe or would like start learning the art of battle, there are plenty of practice weapons in... wheelbarrows? at the corners of the field.

Well, okay, this week would actually be unpleasant if you use the park for some peace and quiet. But for everyone else wanting to get some good old fashioned sparring and training in, this week's a great time to do it!

Comments

[teradine]

[Unfortunately, Argilla doesn't really pick up on the implication, either; though she does get the feeling there's more to that statement than he'd lead her to believe.

She smiles.]

I like to think we're welcoming.

[And accommodating. For a Tribe of cannibals, they're pretty friendly, if you ignore Heat...]

You've been a part of our number for quite some time, haven't you?

[According to Rinoa.]

[unshelledbullet]

[Ha, yes. A few months now. Squall looks down to his right sleeve, where he put a bit of orange. Funny, he hardly notices it these days. In fact, it would probably seem weird if it wasn't there now.]

Serph has a way with words.

[teradine]

[Argilla knows that quite well, herself. Serph... sometimes knows just what to say. So she nods, looking approvingly at the orange on his right sleeve.]

He... can be very convincing.

[Not long after though, her eyes wander to his weapon again.

...]

[unshelledbullet]

[Squall notices her looking at the gunblade. Ah, here we go again. But he doesn't mind anymore. Talking about it is routine at this point. He holds it between both his hands.]

Do you want to see it?

[teradine]

It doesn't look like a normal blade...

[Still watching him intently when he wields it more properly; so it's an obvious "yes."

...Is that... a trigger she sees? A vague gun shape?]

[unshelledbullet]

It isn't, no. It's a weapon from my world called a gunblade.

[Every gunblade is customized for its owner, his included.]

[teradine]

[She takes a step closer at that; her curiosity piqued even more at the weapon's name.]

Then it shoots bullets?

[unshelledbullet]

[He shakes his head. The name is a bit of a misnomer, but he supposes "explosisword" just sounds ridiculous.]

It doesn't shoot, but it's loaded with explosive rounds. When you attack with it, you pull the trigger with each hit and the explosions add additional damage.

[He holds it safely to one side with his right hand and pulls the trigger to demonstrate. Small explosions erupt from either side of the weapon.]

The name is more about its appearance than its actual function.

[teradine]

[--oh, a demonstration. She'll take a step back at the explosions, but all in all, it isn't anything she isn't used to, so she doesn't seem too startled beyond the initial surprise.

There's a blink when she closes the distance once again, letting out a breath.]

I've never seen anything quite like it. But it looks like it's served you well.

[He's taken good care of it, too...]

[unshelledbullet]

It seems to be something unique to my world. I haven't seen another person with one.

[He can sort of understand. Not every world even has explosives, and who would think to combine those with a blade?]

It's rare even where I come from.

[teradine]

[Argilla is feeling the blade to see how sharp it is, although his assertion that it's rare makes her a bit apprehensive. Not that she doesn't trust herself around weapons, but... with something as foreign as this...

Well. She won't have any part in anything happening to it.]

Was it issued to you?

[She wonders if maybe it has to do with his rank or something. Maybe only the higher-ranking mercenaries have access to one.]

[unshelledbullet]

Custom made, actually.

[See, that's why there's decorative lions and shit on it.]

The reason it's rare is because very people use them. When people choose a weapon, why go for something awkward and difficult like this when there's a large number options that are easier and require less dedication to master?

[Even using no weapon at all is easier than using a Gunblade. There's no denying that Gunblades are strong and effective when used correctly, but therein lies the catch: it has to be used effectively otherwise it's worthless.]

[teradine]

... You raise a good point.

[She concedes, given that it is a complex weapon, as far as she can tell. She hasn't paid much attention to the design itself, focusing more on its function, but when he mentions that it's custom made, she does notice it.

It's quite personalized.]

But even if it is awkward and difficult as you say, it must have been worth it for you.

[unshelledbullet]

I guess.

[He chose it when he was young and paid no mind to the warnings about how difficult it was to use and would he maybe prefer a regular blade perhaps? It was just as hard as they said. But he never complained. He put in the effort and the countless hours that were needed.

It was a good way to pass time by himself.]

I don't feel like going and learning anything else.

[teradine]

Fair enough.

[Argilla can understand being comfortable with a weapon to the point of feeling like you don't really need anything else...

So she nods.]

It hadn't occurred to me to learn anything else, either...

I use a sniper rifle myself.

[unshelledbullet]

[The mention of sniping reminded him of that disastrous assassination attempt where every single thing went badly. It also reminded him of Irvine, his own team's sniper.]

Only a sniper rifle?

[Most snipers were usually proficient in more than one type of firearm.]

[teradine]

[She shakes her head. He'd be right in that assumption about her, as a sniper: she'd familiarized herself with all kinds of firearms, but in the end, this was the choice she made.]

No. It's simply what I'm best at using.

...Though now, I do most of my fighting while transformed, anyway.

[Which he got a nice demonstration of earlier, she supposes.]

[unshelledbullet]

[Squall suspected as much. From what he knows about the demons, they possess numerous advantages that make them worth using even with the...unfortunate drawbacks. He understands what it's like to have a power that has negative consequences.]

You must be pretty good then.

[teradine]

[In her case, the negative consequences are outweighed by the advantages. She'd accepted this curse; she vowed to fight to become normal again one day, to live in a world where such powers wouldn't even be necessary.

...But yes, she can sense he's not surprised by any of this.]

Funny. I could say the same about you.

[With that special weapon of his. He did say it required a lot of dedication and time to master.]

[unshelledbullet]

I hope am. [Hmm, that reminds him: maybe he should practice his magic some more.] Otherwise, the last twelve years or so would have been a waste.

[He almost said eleven years but...it's almost his birthday.]

[teradine]

That's how long it took you?

[To master his weapon. She's been kind of wondering how one could tell, if they've mastered it anyway.

Perhaps that will be her next question...]

[unshelledbullet]

For just my gunblade? It's closer to eight years. But I've been learning to fight before then.

[teradine]

[Ah... she nods then, quickly doing the subtraction in her head. Twelve years total, with eight for his gunblade...]

About four years training without it then, if I'm correct.

[He must have been young.]

[unshelledbullet]

[That's right. Squall also nods to confirm her math.]

I started when I was six years old.

[Which was extremely young. Most students don't enter Garden until they're much older.]

[teradine]

[Six... years old. It's hard for Argilla to picture, since the only children she even knows are Fred and his friends. And she hadn't even bothered to ask them their ages.

But nevertheless, she goes with it, assuming all children to be of a similar height.]

That's normal, then...? Did you have a war to fight as well?

[Were they that desperate, or just that eager to train them young...

Curious, curious.]