Post by Pecus on May 7, 2022 20:43:48 GMT
Actors: Pecus, "Dragon"
Summary: Pecus seeks out Dragon for training, Dragon gives life lessons as well.
Logs:
What was that power that the knight who had attacked the other day displayed? Such immense pressure in a single sweep - however he was doing it, it was certainly a skill beyond Pecus's understanding for the moment.... But there was one person who might be able to help.
Standing amidst the garden with a rake in hand, a towering figure of muscle with a beard that rivalled Diozepart's in glory regarded his handiwork with a sense of pride... "You're back huh, I guess I should have figured," the immense man growled in a tone that wasn't immediately unpleasant, "well... I guess it's my fault - I guess I didn't shoo you off last time we met." Turning about to meet the sheep's gaze, the gardener who went by the monicker of 'Dragon' met the ram with a golden-eyed glare... Standing nearly seven feet tall and tanned near as dark as leather, the groundskeeper hummed as he visually sized up the ram. "You've grown since the last time we met, haven't you? Well, maybe not /vertically/, but there's something different about you. You've seen more combat, haven't you?"
Nodding in agreement with Dragon's assessment, Pecus glanced back over his shoulder towards Castle Radiant - the conflict from just a few days prior had left its marks upon the city, hence Dragon's necessity here in the gardens. "I guess you saw what happened a couple days ago, Dragon... We were attacked, and it wasn't just the heartless - a friend of mine turned out to be working with the enemies, and he was allied with a giant knight who was bigger than even you. We had to fight him off - we almost didn't win." Listening to the ram's woes carefully, Dragon lifted a brow slowly and scoffed. "Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, kid... You either win, or you don't and you dust yourself off and try again. Sounds to me like you won... But winning wasn't good enough?" Wincing visibly at the way Dragon put it, Pecus shook his head, "No... not at all. We scraped along by the skin of our noses and I lost my friend in the process. The bad guy escaped, but we were all worn out." Snorting audibly as he sucked in air through his nose, the groundskeeper would spit somewhere out of the way in the grass, nodding with a gruff roll of his shoulders. "You got your butts kicked. Happens to the best of us - sometimes getting your butt kicked can be a far better lesson than winning a fight.... So, what did you learn?"
What /did/ he learn? That was the question, wasn't it? Tilting his head for a moment as he pondered back to the fight, Pecus mulled through his memories one by one. "I learned that I've been focusing too hard on fighting people one-on-one. The knight we fought was able to take on all three of us at once using just his sword. Besides that, I learned that maybe I need to toughen up - I can't defend my friends if I can't take a hit." --- Roiling with boisterous laughter all of a sudden, the groundskeeper unfolded his arms and rested his calloused palms on his hips. "Well, if toughening up is what you need, I can put you to work in the gardens... That said, I think that's downright stupid. You don't live to become a Monster Hunter Extraordinaire without learning a thing or two about fighting things bigger an' meaner than you, and let me tell you, learning to 'take a hit' is the dumbest thing you can do. It's a far smarter plan to avoid a blow or stop it outright than to take one on the chin if you can afford it... Besides, what happens if the hit follows through and plows into your buddies to your left and right? You're pretty boned then, right?" Widening his eyes as he recalled the way the knight attacked through his guard into Ootarion and Prismodeus the other night, the ram would nod in agreement.
"Right. That's what I thought... Well then, let me teach you something. You know magic, right? I saw you and your buddies using it when you took care of those beasties in the trees the other day," Dragon questioned gruffly. Nodding once, Pecus opened his mouth only to be cut off once more by the self-assured gardener - "No need to explain. It doesn't matter a lick to me. What I want you to do is cast your strongest hitting spell on me... I'll show you how to deal with that. And don't you worry - I'm plenty tough, and I don't think you'll be getting me anyway." Winking confidently before taking up a pugilist's stance, the giant man would ball his fists and crouch part way.
Standing his ground and sucking in a breath, Pecus would bleat in consent: "Alright, but you're asking for it." Drawing his keyblade and raising it, the sheep would dwell inwardly, chanting to himself: "Rolling fury from the skies, a righteous bolt from the blue. THUN-----" In an instant a giant hand would come flying out of left-field, crashing into the sheep's cheek, sending him tumbling to the ground in a heap as he ate the punch right on the chin with a yelp. Towering over Pecus with a single half-step, Dragon grinned ferrally as the ram rubbed his jaw. "Hey, what the heck was that for," Pecus questioned accusatorily. "I told you, sitting there and eating a hit from a stronger foe is a stupid idea," Dragon replied plainly, a coarse chuckle rumbling in his throat, "I could feel the static building on that one, so I punched you before you could get your attack off. It doesn't really matter /what/ you do in the end - you can kick your opponent in the gonads, chop him in the throat, or even just cut him right on the face. The point is to do something shocking and ferocious to interrupt his focus... Sure, it'll lock his sights onto you, but isn't that what you want?" Staring in sheer disbelief of the giant gardener's logic, the ram blinked and frowned, then slowly pushed himself to his feet. "I... I guess you're right." --- "Of course I'm right," Dragon boasted, thumping a meaty thumb right against his chest, "Fighting with honor is for the wealthy and the dead. If you ain't got money, then you're a fool who is about to be short on more than just pocket change."
Slapping Pecus on the shoulder as the sheep finally erects himself, Dragon nods. "So, what else can you tell me about the way this 'knight' fought?" Grumbling as he rubbed his cheek, Pecus frowned and poured back over his thoughts. "Well, it seemed like he might have been holding back a little. He frequently swung heavily with his weapon, using both hands... but like I said before, he was able to just hit all three of us - even when we were a little bit apart." Nodding and rubbing his bearded chin, Dragon then smeared a grubby hand on his cover-alls. "Big wide-arcing swings, huh? Sounds like a guy who has faced an army before. Not the best for fighting in narrow halways, but it'll repel a couple people at once. If you're up against a guy like that, you don't want to cluster together. Try to flank from different angles, or even adjust your vertical positions. If he's swinging in arcs, he's going to have a blind spot on his back and above," Dragon clarified with a nod, "big wide swings are great, but they also leave you open, and they're pretty heavily telegraphed. Makes them easier to dodge and even better to counter." Taking a half-step back as he remembered Dragon's propensity to swing, the sheep let out a soft bleat and nodded. "He was wearing armor, too. Hard armor, it covered him from head to toe - we were able to barely break his helmet, but that was right before he escaped." Clearing his throat at that, Dragon rumbled with a laugh. "So, armor is great and all, but it basically traps you in a big metal insulator... Worst place to be in a thunderstorm, if you catch my drift. Slap him with lightning, and he's a sitting duck."
--------------------------------
For the next little while the two continued to discuss tactics as the sun set low, becoming a burning ball of orange against a crimson sky... Far out into the distance rose a set of snowcapped mountains, drawing Dragon's attention as the two settled in. Lifting his chin, the golden-eyed man hummed pensively. "When I was a much younger lad, although still considerably older than you, I had a group of freinds not unlike your own," the older man spoke, his tone softening ever-so-slightly in spite of his previous gruffness. "We fancied ourselves hunters and we took on all sorts of jobs. No job was too big, too dangerous, and we acted like we were invincible. It was on a mountain like those ones over there where we found our greatest hunt yet - a fearsome dragon, just like my name - powerful and dreadful in equal measure. We climbed the mountain with bravery in our hearts and not a second thought between the seven of us... And when we got to the top, we fought... we fought with all our might, and we stood as brothers."
Pausing for a moment as he painted a brave and mighty scene, Dragon rested his elbows on his knees, sitting on the cold hard ground as his scarred fingers wove together. "Five of us died. Myself and another lived, although just barely.... We won in the end, by the skin of our noses as you put it, but it was a pyrrhic victory. I lost my brothers that day, and I learned an invaluable lesson..." Thumping a meaty fist to his chest, Dragon shifted uncomfortably to look at Pecus, the ram peering up at him with cautious eyes. "There's no price I wouldn't pay for my loved ones, my family. I'd die a thousand times to bring a single one of those men back, but I can't... So I'll live. I'll live in the name of their memory, carrying them in my heart until the day we meet again. You said you lost your friend, but you didn't lose your memories of him, so keep that in mind. I don't know what power that key you carry has, but I can tell one thing about you with a glance - you've got the heart of a Wyvern, kid. Don't let the world keep you down - if you get punched in the chest, you get back up and you show them what it means to be a fighter." Holding out a gnarled fist, the weathered gardener grinned... Staring at it for a few seconds, Pecus would ball up his own and bump knuckles with the man. "We live for our brothers, we carry them in our memories... They never die that way, they're just waiting in the wings, singing the songs of our victories and encouraging us in our losses. That's the White Wyverns Way."
225 munny spent for Sweep, Whirlwind Attack, Facecut.
Summary: Pecus seeks out Dragon for training, Dragon gives life lessons as well.
Logs:
What was that power that the knight who had attacked the other day displayed? Such immense pressure in a single sweep - however he was doing it, it was certainly a skill beyond Pecus's understanding for the moment.... But there was one person who might be able to help.
Standing amidst the garden with a rake in hand, a towering figure of muscle with a beard that rivalled Diozepart's in glory regarded his handiwork with a sense of pride... "You're back huh, I guess I should have figured," the immense man growled in a tone that wasn't immediately unpleasant, "well... I guess it's my fault - I guess I didn't shoo you off last time we met." Turning about to meet the sheep's gaze, the gardener who went by the monicker of 'Dragon' met the ram with a golden-eyed glare... Standing nearly seven feet tall and tanned near as dark as leather, the groundskeeper hummed as he visually sized up the ram. "You've grown since the last time we met, haven't you? Well, maybe not /vertically/, but there's something different about you. You've seen more combat, haven't you?"
Nodding in agreement with Dragon's assessment, Pecus glanced back over his shoulder towards Castle Radiant - the conflict from just a few days prior had left its marks upon the city, hence Dragon's necessity here in the gardens. "I guess you saw what happened a couple days ago, Dragon... We were attacked, and it wasn't just the heartless - a friend of mine turned out to be working with the enemies, and he was allied with a giant knight who was bigger than even you. We had to fight him off - we almost didn't win." Listening to the ram's woes carefully, Dragon lifted a brow slowly and scoffed. "Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, kid... You either win, or you don't and you dust yourself off and try again. Sounds to me like you won... But winning wasn't good enough?" Wincing visibly at the way Dragon put it, Pecus shook his head, "No... not at all. We scraped along by the skin of our noses and I lost my friend in the process. The bad guy escaped, but we were all worn out." Snorting audibly as he sucked in air through his nose, the groundskeeper would spit somewhere out of the way in the grass, nodding with a gruff roll of his shoulders. "You got your butts kicked. Happens to the best of us - sometimes getting your butt kicked can be a far better lesson than winning a fight.... So, what did you learn?"
What /did/ he learn? That was the question, wasn't it? Tilting his head for a moment as he pondered back to the fight, Pecus mulled through his memories one by one. "I learned that I've been focusing too hard on fighting people one-on-one. The knight we fought was able to take on all three of us at once using just his sword. Besides that, I learned that maybe I need to toughen up - I can't defend my friends if I can't take a hit." --- Roiling with boisterous laughter all of a sudden, the groundskeeper unfolded his arms and rested his calloused palms on his hips. "Well, if toughening up is what you need, I can put you to work in the gardens... That said, I think that's downright stupid. You don't live to become a Monster Hunter Extraordinaire without learning a thing or two about fighting things bigger an' meaner than you, and let me tell you, learning to 'take a hit' is the dumbest thing you can do. It's a far smarter plan to avoid a blow or stop it outright than to take one on the chin if you can afford it... Besides, what happens if the hit follows through and plows into your buddies to your left and right? You're pretty boned then, right?" Widening his eyes as he recalled the way the knight attacked through his guard into Ootarion and Prismodeus the other night, the ram would nod in agreement.
"Right. That's what I thought... Well then, let me teach you something. You know magic, right? I saw you and your buddies using it when you took care of those beasties in the trees the other day," Dragon questioned gruffly. Nodding once, Pecus opened his mouth only to be cut off once more by the self-assured gardener - "No need to explain. It doesn't matter a lick to me. What I want you to do is cast your strongest hitting spell on me... I'll show you how to deal with that. And don't you worry - I'm plenty tough, and I don't think you'll be getting me anyway." Winking confidently before taking up a pugilist's stance, the giant man would ball his fists and crouch part way.
Standing his ground and sucking in a breath, Pecus would bleat in consent: "Alright, but you're asking for it." Drawing his keyblade and raising it, the sheep would dwell inwardly, chanting to himself: "Rolling fury from the skies, a righteous bolt from the blue. THUN-----" In an instant a giant hand would come flying out of left-field, crashing into the sheep's cheek, sending him tumbling to the ground in a heap as he ate the punch right on the chin with a yelp. Towering over Pecus with a single half-step, Dragon grinned ferrally as the ram rubbed his jaw. "Hey, what the heck was that for," Pecus questioned accusatorily. "I told you, sitting there and eating a hit from a stronger foe is a stupid idea," Dragon replied plainly, a coarse chuckle rumbling in his throat, "I could feel the static building on that one, so I punched you before you could get your attack off. It doesn't really matter /what/ you do in the end - you can kick your opponent in the gonads, chop him in the throat, or even just cut him right on the face. The point is to do something shocking and ferocious to interrupt his focus... Sure, it'll lock his sights onto you, but isn't that what you want?" Staring in sheer disbelief of the giant gardener's logic, the ram blinked and frowned, then slowly pushed himself to his feet. "I... I guess you're right." --- "Of course I'm right," Dragon boasted, thumping a meaty thumb right against his chest, "Fighting with honor is for the wealthy and the dead. If you ain't got money, then you're a fool who is about to be short on more than just pocket change."
Slapping Pecus on the shoulder as the sheep finally erects himself, Dragon nods. "So, what else can you tell me about the way this 'knight' fought?" Grumbling as he rubbed his cheek, Pecus frowned and poured back over his thoughts. "Well, it seemed like he might have been holding back a little. He frequently swung heavily with his weapon, using both hands... but like I said before, he was able to just hit all three of us - even when we were a little bit apart." Nodding and rubbing his bearded chin, Dragon then smeared a grubby hand on his cover-alls. "Big wide-arcing swings, huh? Sounds like a guy who has faced an army before. Not the best for fighting in narrow halways, but it'll repel a couple people at once. If you're up against a guy like that, you don't want to cluster together. Try to flank from different angles, or even adjust your vertical positions. If he's swinging in arcs, he's going to have a blind spot on his back and above," Dragon clarified with a nod, "big wide swings are great, but they also leave you open, and they're pretty heavily telegraphed. Makes them easier to dodge and even better to counter." Taking a half-step back as he remembered Dragon's propensity to swing, the sheep let out a soft bleat and nodded. "He was wearing armor, too. Hard armor, it covered him from head to toe - we were able to barely break his helmet, but that was right before he escaped." Clearing his throat at that, Dragon rumbled with a laugh. "So, armor is great and all, but it basically traps you in a big metal insulator... Worst place to be in a thunderstorm, if you catch my drift. Slap him with lightning, and he's a sitting duck."
--------------------------------
For the next little while the two continued to discuss tactics as the sun set low, becoming a burning ball of orange against a crimson sky... Far out into the distance rose a set of snowcapped mountains, drawing Dragon's attention as the two settled in. Lifting his chin, the golden-eyed man hummed pensively. "When I was a much younger lad, although still considerably older than you, I had a group of freinds not unlike your own," the older man spoke, his tone softening ever-so-slightly in spite of his previous gruffness. "We fancied ourselves hunters and we took on all sorts of jobs. No job was too big, too dangerous, and we acted like we were invincible. It was on a mountain like those ones over there where we found our greatest hunt yet - a fearsome dragon, just like my name - powerful and dreadful in equal measure. We climbed the mountain with bravery in our hearts and not a second thought between the seven of us... And when we got to the top, we fought... we fought with all our might, and we stood as brothers."
Pausing for a moment as he painted a brave and mighty scene, Dragon rested his elbows on his knees, sitting on the cold hard ground as his scarred fingers wove together. "Five of us died. Myself and another lived, although just barely.... We won in the end, by the skin of our noses as you put it, but it was a pyrrhic victory. I lost my brothers that day, and I learned an invaluable lesson..." Thumping a meaty fist to his chest, Dragon shifted uncomfortably to look at Pecus, the ram peering up at him with cautious eyes. "There's no price I wouldn't pay for my loved ones, my family. I'd die a thousand times to bring a single one of those men back, but I can't... So I'll live. I'll live in the name of their memory, carrying them in my heart until the day we meet again. You said you lost your friend, but you didn't lose your memories of him, so keep that in mind. I don't know what power that key you carry has, but I can tell one thing about you with a glance - you've got the heart of a Wyvern, kid. Don't let the world keep you down - if you get punched in the chest, you get back up and you show them what it means to be a fighter." Holding out a gnarled fist, the weathered gardener grinned... Staring at it for a few seconds, Pecus would ball up his own and bump knuckles with the man. "We live for our brothers, we carry them in our memories... They never die that way, they're just waiting in the wings, singing the songs of our victories and encouraging us in our losses. That's the White Wyverns Way."
225 munny spent for Sweep, Whirlwind Attack, Facecut.
