[OPEN] Soldier On--

[bufudine]

Who: Serph and YOU
Where: The Park
When: November 14th, afternoon
Style: [brackets] preferred, but I can adjust
Status: WIDE OPEN

[It's been quite some time since Sera's departure, and since then, there have been others -- both Tribe and friends -- who have left Vatheon and not returned. Serph doesn't know if they'll return. Maybe they will. Maybe they won't. In the end, the decision isn't in his hands.

Before, there hadn't been time for these departures to affect him.

Which is why he's in the park, kicking a hacky sack. Signless had taught him the game when he'd noticed Serph watching him, so many months ago. In some ways, this is an imitation of that time; while Serph's content to play on his own, he's more than happy to play with people passing by.

Will you join in?]

Comments

[teradine]

. . . Hmm.

[The ball is sent bouncing in Serph's direction once again after a couple more attempts. Challenge is certainly an appropriate word for this.]

You have a point.

[bufudine]

[When has Serph not had a point!?

But after bouncing the hacky sack a few times off his foot, Serph wonders aloud...]

Would this be a greater challenge if we were transformed?

[teradine]

[At the suggestion-- whether it'd been intended as one or not, Argilla folds her arms and tilts her head in thought. It doesn't take her long to crack a smile.]

I don't see why we can't find out.

[There's usually very little reason to transform here . . . aside form the occasional training session.]

[bufudine]

[He's happy Argilla has agreed to his suggestion, and catches the hacky sack with his right hand. Nodding, he raises his left hand, tattoo glowing as lines spread across his body.

It isn't long before Varna stands in his place, hacky sack in right hand. The bag seems smaller in this form's hand. He'll wait until Argilla's done transforming before he tosses the hacky sack in her direction.]

[teradine]

[Placing a hand over her chest, Argilla's tattoo begins to glow in a similar way, and similar lines spread throughout her body as she feels the transformation coming on. It doesn't take long, and Prithivi emerges, standing tall as she swings around her whip arm once out of habit.

. . . That arm might pose a bit of a problem. But she does have her other arm and hand, and the use of her feet.

This will be interesting to say the least.]

[bufudine]

[When Argilla drops the hacky sack, Serph makes a 'pass it here' gesture with his hand, well aware that even though Argilla's not looking, she can 'see' him perfectly fine. The hacky sack is a little harder to detect, like this. But he's not going to back down from this challenge!!]

[teradine]

[Argilla gets the message loud and clear, so once she's got the ball again after missing, she throws it back with a little more power than she intended. A determined growl escapes her lips, though she quickly notices that it's heading right for Varna's face.

Whoops?!]

[bufudine]

[It...

...smacks him directly in the face.

Serph manages to catch the hacky sack in his hand on its decent, though.]

It's difficult to detect like this.

[He tosses it experimentally between his hands a few times, before he tosses it -- an underarm throw -- back to Argilla. Does she agree with his assessment?]

[teradine]

[Her leader can take a lot more damage than that, so Argilla doesn't seem too worried. When he tosses it back to her, she's able to catch it-- and since he's actually said something, she figures she should take the time to respond.

She also tosses it up in the air once and allows it to fall back down into her hands.]

I agree.

[. . . And then she'll toss it up once more and hit it towards him with the same hand (which is thankfully not a whip.) Wrong sport, Argilla--]

But the extra challenge is what we wanted, correct?

[bufudine]

[Serph doesn't have time to nod and agree with Argilla; he's busy misjudging the hacky sack's arc and accidentally smacking it upwards with the top of his ridged hand. Cue his other hand reaching out to grab it out of the air, missing, and him quickly catching the hacky sack with his other hand on its descent.]

Perhaps this can help us with detecting projectiles. There are many unusual weapons here.

[It's an idle thought, though. And he serves the hacky sack back to Argilla.]

[teradine]

[Argilla doesn't have time to nod either, but the conversation still serves as enough of a distraction that it causes her to miss the serve. It's a bit concerning how poorly they've been doing at keeping a volley, but it's just one more thing to work at, isn't it? This activity has already proven worthwhile.]

It has been a while since I've practiced.

[Against anyone with a weapon or otherwise.

Oh. But Is that the wall heading straight for the pond behind them? It sure is. Argilla follows its path as best she can, but whoops--

SPLASH.]

. . . Obviously.

[bufudine]

[...Ah.

The water muddies his ability to detect the hacky sack even further. Serph can't figure out where it is at all. Reverting, he goes over to the edge of the pond and squats, using his human eyes to scan the water's depths for a hint of the hacky sack.

The water is fairly clear -- the pond is well maintained -- so when he spots a shadow of it on the far end, he points it out for Argilla; she's the one with the whip arms, after all.]

[teradine]

[Fine, fine, she'll do all the work.

When he points, she walks on over, but doesn't revert herself. It is pretty far out after all, so she'll need to use said whip arm to reach over and grab it. It takes her a couple of tries, but she manages.]

. . . Now it's wet.

[Not that it's necessarily a bad thing, but that's going to make it even harder to catch . . .

Welp.]

doing this tag right after writing badfic was a terrible decision

[bufudine]

[Serph eyes the soggy hacky sack for a moment, walking over to Argilla to take a closer look at it. It doesn't look like they'll be playing any more of this game today.]

We should try this in the forest next time.

[He turns his head to look at the pond.]

Away from water.

i don't feel sorry for you

[teradine]

[. . . Argilla glances at the pond as well, after coming to the same realization: that there would be no more "training." After a moment, she finds herself reverting with a sigh.]

Of course.

[. . . As long as he has more of them.

She briefly wonders what they should do with the soggy hacky sack, as her pink haired human form turns to look at Serph once again.]

The others might want to join us as well. We should go.