Summary:Spring investigates Innocence's skill with martial arts.
XP:S1
Tags:< In The Name of the Greater Peace | Sol Invictus Logs | A Parting Note, A Gifted Tree >
Spring walks, Innocence in tow, to the edge of the Academy, to a small, soft lawn near the Sphere of Lightning and Thunder, where various small devices are scattered about in the shade, for use in warming up before combat begins.
"Oooooh."
Spring "Hm?"
"Looks nifty," she says.
Spring "I am glad you think so," Spring smiles.
Spring "There is something I want to show you today."
"There is something you want to show me every day," she says.
Spring "True."
Spring "Excellent pattern recognition skill."
Spring "Watch what I do, please."
Innocence sticks her tongue out at Spring. "Okay."
Spring bends his knees, opening his hand before him, and settles his Essence into the Golden Blossoms of the Tree Form.
Innocence watches with piqued curiosity.
Spring "Do you see what I did?"
"You, uh." She turns her head on one side. "You made some shiny stuff happen."
Spring "Does the shiny stuff have any apparent meaning to you?"
"Offhand, or if I stare really hard first?"
Spring "Whichever you prefer."
She waits about three seconds. "It looks like you're preparing yourself for something by setting yourself up to react in a predetermined fashion when a certain thing happens." She goes back and mentally counts her modifiers in that sentence, then, convinced she phrased it correctly, nods in satisfaction.
Spring "Does the method in which I did that look any different to you than the method in which I constructed some of the other Essence structures which which I consistently protect myself?"
"Hmmm. Do it again," she says.
Spring does so.
"There's something over here," she says, pointing in a quick sort of vaguely K-shaped pattern across three ki points in Spring's sternum area.
Spring "Something that I do not do when I do -- " he Flows Like Blood -- "this?"
"Right, totally," she says, poking the spots again. "Totally empty."
Spring "Can you do that?"
Innocence makes a face. "Why would I do that?"
Spring raises an eyebrow. "Structure is useful."
"Right, but," she says. "What if you wanted to do something else at the same time, like run on reflective surfaces and be tough?" She draws a little diagram in the air with her finger, which just happens to leave a trail of white light behind it. "See? Totally wouldn't fit."
Spring "Hm."
Spring "Something went wrong."
Spring "Consider this, instead." Spring assumes the Murder Garden Stance.
"That looks dangerous," she says, before leaning slightly over to study more intently.
After a moment, she looks up. "Hey, they match," she says. "You could probably... well, not with that, I guess, but if you did things a little differently..." She draws another little Essence diagram in front of Spring's sternum, moves a couple of dots slightly to the side, loops one part around itself....
Spring narrows his eyes, examining her movements and attempting to translate them into terms he understands.
"There," she says. "If you did it that way, you could shove both sets of energy into the same object. Like, hmmm. Maybe a long stick with a point." She looks at it again. "Though, I guess it would probably do something different after you tweaked it like that." She frowns slightly.
Spring blinks.
Spring "A...penetrating insight."
Spring "I used to do things that way, but I stopped. It was dangerous to others."
Spring "Do you notice any distinction between the way I manipulate Essence in these patterns and the ones use for other purposes?"
"They're... cross-referenced," she says. "When you use the one, there are like... little hooks," she says, "going out to the other bits."
Spring "Do you question the utility of that connection as well?" Spring smiles to clarify that he means the comment pleasantly.
"There are clearly some possible benefits," she says. "It still seems a bit weird to me, I guess."
Spring "Do you think you could do it?"
"Could I?" She looks at it again. "Well, you can't start with that one," she says, "it's like trying to hang a basket before you put the hook on the ceiling. Show me the beginning."
Spring "Yes."
Spring exhales slightly, filling the air with a subtle perfume, calling forth the wrath of Innocence.
Innocence grimaces and punches Spring, maybe a little harder than absolutely necessary.
Spring steps past it, since he's already Flowing Like Blood.
Spring "That is the beginning of the Golden Blossoms of the Tree."
"Gotcha," she says. She squints and exhales slightly as well. Suddenly Spring wants to punch her, but something's not quite right about it... like a perfume without the pleasant smell.
Spring "Hm." Spring wrinkles his nose.
Spring "Try again?"
Spring idly clenches and unclenches his fist.
"Hmm," she says, imitating her tutor's mannerism. "Okay." She tries again: this time it's almost spot-on, like an extremely clever forgery.
Spring swings backhanded, but checks it, and returns his hand to center. "Again."
Innocence tries again. This time Spring would be hard-pressed to tell the difference, but for one detail: the Essence of her effect seems to dissipate out into flavorlessness as soon as it hits the air, rather than retaining its Martial Art-infused tone as it might when Spring used it himself.
Spring punches her, grimacing as he does so, both in unhappiness and in thought.
Spring "Hm."
Spring "You are very interesting, Innocence."
Spring "Would you like to learn more?"
"Please," she says, and smiles.
Spring "Excellent. Watch this."
< In The Name of the Greater Peace | Sol Invictus Logs | A Parting Note, A Gifted Tree >