Lets Get Physical, Physical!

[Balthazar Black]

75 Ashan 720

"I'm not sure." Balthazar responded to Ari-Sora's question about how many sets she should do and how much she should space them out. That was far too technical for him but he did the best he could to come up with some answer "Just wait until you feel like you can got again and then do another set of the pushups... and do as many as you think you can? I'm not sure how you'll know when to stop but at some point, you'll know you are done." But after a few trills Ari'sora asked another question. She had a lot of questions and Balthazar didn't have a lot of answers but he fumbled along anyways. "I think other exercises could be done in sets but I'm not sure which would and which wouldn't. I know we wouldn't run in sets... I think."

Ultimately Ari'sora seemed more distracted by his display of magic than his knowledge of physical fitness. He couldn't blame her, most people were more impressed by magic. But with the display came more questions. "It is magic, Defiance specifically. It's hard to explain but I convinced the earth to rise from the ground and so it created that bump." And with the challenge came even more questions. How was he going to fly? Well that answer was simple; magic. "As for the flying, that'll be magic too." Balthazar didn't elaborate on how the magic would allow him to fly, expecting the fact that it would to be a simple enough explanation.

"Are you ready?" Balthazar asked Ari'sora as he ran through a final few stretches. He bent at the hip and stretched towards the ground, trying to limber up for the sprint to come. Part of Balthazar wondered if he should harden the sand beneath his feet to make the race easier for him but he decided it would be unfair and so he did nothing so mischievous while Ari'sora prepared.

[Rei'sari]

75th Ashan, 720

Location: ---


Trial and error seemed to be the answer to the question she had asked about how many sets of reps she should do. Ari'sora could work with that. And she made a note to try to find out what types of exercises were usually done in reps. It didn't seem like the type of information she could find in a book, but perhaps someone in Beacon would know. At the very least, someone there might know who she should ask.

When the topic turned to magic, she paid close attention to what the man had to say. He called the magic he had used Defiance, and judging by what he said, Defiance allowed you to control the earth. Or possibly even more than that since his comment about his ability to fly without wings being magic too. He didn't say as much, but she thought that he might try to control the wind to allow him to fly. Did defiance allow you to control all of the elements, then?

"Does Defiance allow you to control all of the elements?" she asked curiously, her words echoing her thoughts.

Ari'sora had mixed feelings about that. Being able to control the elements seemed like a very useful thing. Especially if it meant that you could order fire not to burn your wings. But the wind was her friend. She danced with it, and played with it every time she took to the skies. You didn't try to control a friend. Not if you wanted that friend to stay your friend. Even she knew that, and it was something that she felt very strongly. She would never want to try and control the wind that was a trusted friend to her.

When the man asked her if she was ready to race, she grinned at him and nodded. He started stretching, so she did as well, trusting him to know what they should do before a race. She had never run one before, so she was looking forward to giving it a try.

"I'm ready whenever you are." she said with excitement.

[Balthazar Black]

75 Ashan 720

Before the race was underway, Ari'sora had asked if Defiance allowed Balthazar to control all the elements which cued him in on the fact that she did not actually know what it was. He often discovered that individuals knew something about the magic when he said Defiance but the half-breed before him seemed unaware so he did his best to explain it. "I wouldn't call it control. It's a relationship. Does it allow me to control all the elements at once? Yes. Does it allow most people to? No. I've practiced for a long time to be able to encourage all the elements at once but lesser mages can only use one at a time." Unfortunately Balthazar was not a teacher and therefore his best was still... not the best. "But don't worry, I won't cheat to win." If he wanted to cheat he'd just blink his way there and be done with the race altogether. The point of trying was that he wanted to get better.

Ari'sora said she was ready and Balthazar lowered into a ready position. "Ready?" Balthazar began. He could feel his blood pumping and the little strain left in his legs from the squats. "Set?" This would be fun. "Go!" Balthazar held his position for just a moment to make sure Ari'sora heard him and the moment the half-breed began running, Balthazar would kick off too. He didn't know if she was beside him or behind him because he was focused on the stump. It wasn't necessarily about beating Ari'sora, though the superficial ego boost would be nice, it was about improving his body.

Sand kicked up behind Balthazar as he ran. With each step he felt his feet dig into the tiny stones and push out, driving him forward. The stump grew closer, and closer, and then he'd reached it. Without taking even a moment to turn around, Balthazar jumped backwards, calling on the air to embrace him. Ari'sora would notice how the currents of air seems to twist to wrap around Balthazar and lift him into the sky. He flew backwards blindly for a few trills before turning with the air and soaring back over the beach towards where the race had begun. Where was Ari'sora now though? Balthazar couldn't tell and didn't stop to find out as he flew back to the start.

The wind whipping in his face due to his mutation threw off his balance upon landing and Balthazar crashed into the sand with a thud following by uncontrollable laughing. That had been oddly fun.

[Rei'sari]

75th Ashan, 720

Location: ---


Ari'sora liked the idea of having a relationship with the elements, and she said as much. The wind was her friend already, and she didn't have any magic to make it happen. But she didn't like the idea of controlling them. You didn't control your friends. That was wrong. She felt very strongly about that. Was it possible for someone with Defiance to just have a relationship with the elements, though? To be friends with them, and ask them to aid you rather than to control them? There were things that you could do in exchange for their aid. And an even exchange didn't sound so bad.

The man's promise not to cheat startled her out of her thoughts, and she gave him a confused look.

"I never thought you would." she said simply.

And that was no more than the truth. It never once occurred to her that the man would use magic...or anything else for that matter to cheat. Why would he? What did it matter who won and who lost in this race, anyway? The only reason they were racing was in order to get stronger, right?

"I won't cheat either." she promised.

That was also the truth, and for much the same reason it never would have occurred to her that the man might cheat.

It was time to run though, and when the man gave the signal, she did. The first thing she noticed was that it really was hard to run in the sand as she imagined it would be. It shifted beneath her with each step she took, making her fight to keep her balance as she ran. Her wings spread instinctively to help her keep her balance, but she felt a drag on them as she ran, and that slowed her speed considerably. As a result, she pulled them back in, holding them tightly against her back.

When she had first learned how to fly, she had needed a running start to get into the air. It was no longer needed, but she did have a little experience with running. Not enough to do her much good, but the burning sensation in her legs, sides, and lungs was a familiar one. She wondered if she wouldn't feel it anymore if she improved her running skills.

Ari'sora reached the stump several trills after the man did. But the air was her element, and once she was in it, she was much more comfortable. Even with a lead of several trills, she managed to close the distance between them. It wasn't enough for her to win, but she was a close second. And her landing was a lot more graceful than his was. His laughter confused her, but it was also very contagious. Soon she found herself laughing with him even as she offered him a hand to help him up.

[Balthazar Black]

75 Ashan 720

Balthazar rolled in the sand where he'd crashed for a few trills as Ari'sora began laughing with him. It was a nice and honest laugh born of how much of a fool Balthazar thought he must have looked like when he crashed. Has his legs splayed and flailed? Or his arms? He never got to witness his glorious failures to land. Instead he had to live through them. Balthazar took Ari'sora's offer of help and got back onto his feet. He tugged on his shirt once and all the sand on him sprinkled back down to the beach. "You're fast in the air." He commended Ari'sora's performance. In the end it was probably his height that had given him the advantage on the sand because while Balthazar ran a lot, he didn't seem to get better at it.

He always ran in bursts. No real endurance running. He'd have to work on that some trial. It might just save his life. When the laughter had subsided a silence came over the two of them because Balthazar didn't know what to say. He didn't know what to do next. He wasn't exhausted like he felt he should have been but he also wasn't feeling as spry as a few bits ago. "Should we just go for a jog now?" Balthazar asked Ari'sora with a vague gesture down the beach. They could do more squat and pushups but... Balthazar didn't feel like it. He could go for a bit more of a run if Ari'sora was up for it. Then again if she was done, she was done and he wouldn't make her jog with him. But he did eagerly await her response.

[Rei'sari]

75th Ashan, 720

Location: ---


When the man told her that she was fast in the air, Ari'sora grinned.

"Thanks. I love flying." she said simply.

It was quite possibly one of her favorite things to do in all the world. When she was high above the ground, her troubles seemed tiny and insignificant. Flying was freedom. And it was something that she was good at. Hearing someone else compliment her skills in the air made her feel good.

The man asked her if she wanted to go for a jog, and Ari'sora considered the question. She had managed to catch her breath from the race finally, but she didn't think she was up to another one. Not for a while, at least. He hadn't asked about another race, though. She thought she could manage to jog for a while. And with any luck jogging in the sand would help to build up her strength when it came to running. She didn't need a running start in order to get into the air anymore, but she still remembered having to run from the shadow beasts in the spooky house. Being a better runner would be a very good thing in case she ever had to do it again in a situation like that one.

"Sure. A jog sounds good." she told him.

"And maybe we could fly for a while after that?" she suggested.

The man could use some practice on his landings...not that she wanted to tell him that. Ari'sora paused, wondering if it was a lie of omission if she didn't tell him. After a few trills she decided that it was better to err on the side of caution when lying might be involved.

"Please don't get mad when I say this, but...you could use some practice on your landings." she said gently.

"I was horrible at landing too when I first started learning how to fly."

She hesitated for a trill.

"Unless flying with magic is different than using wings to fly? Maybe the magic makes it so you can't land any other way?" she asked curiously.

[Balthazar Black]

75 Ashan 720

Balthazar seemed to perk up when she asked if they could fly a little bit after. He was always up for a little more practice with that. Defiance got him into the air but once he was there he still had a lot of trouble navigating smoothly... and landing as Ari'sora was reluctant to point out. Balthazar grinned and chuckled a little. "Sure we can practice flying a little after. I know my landings aren't great but to be fair I think it is harder to slow down with my magic than with your wings." Balthazar had no proof of that because he had never had wings but he was fairly certain it was easier for Ari'sora to slow into a descent than it was for him to get the wind whipping around him to shift forward so that it could slow his approach towards the ground... then again maybe it was just a balance thing and he didn't need to worry about how quick he came down with the wind.

Balthazar did a few quick stretches to ready his legs and body for the jog again. A forward fold, a stretch to each side, some twists and the like. The jog wouldn't be nearly as bad as the race had been and Balthazar would make sure to keep at Ari'sora's pace for the most part so he didn't overdo it but he didn't want to get a cramp so he figured warming up wouldn't hurt him. Ari'sora said she'd been horrible at the start too which Balthazar took to mean she thought he'd done horribly, but if he was offended he didn't show it. She'd been clear that she meant no offense. "I'm sure you were still better than me when you began but I'm ready to go when you are." Balthazar said. He looked to Ari'sora for a signal to begin the jog and when it was given- off they'd go.

[Rei'sari]

75th Ashan, 720

Location: ---


The man mentioned that it would be harder for him to slow down with magic than it would be for her to do so with her wings. Since Ari'sora had no idea how magic worked, she had no way of knowing if he was right or not, and she said as much.

"It does make sense, though. Using my wings to slow down is just...natural. Almost instinct. I want to slow down to land...so I do. It isn't something I have to think about while I am doing it. And if you're using magic, you probably do." she added as she gave the matter some thought.

He probably had to think of all kinds of things as he was controlling the magic that allowed him to fly. Dealing with wind currents...ones that he probably couldn't see at that. He didn't have the eyes of an Avriel, after all. Height, speed, air pressure...all sorts of things that were instinct to her. And he would probably have to keep all of those things in mind at the same time.

The man jolted her out of her thoughts when he began doing some stretches. It seemed like a good idea, so she did some as well, copying his movements as best she could so she could be certain that she was doing the right thing. Strangely, the stretching exercises seemed to loosen the tension in muscles that had already seen far more of a work out than they usually did. Ari'sora made a mental note of that. Perhaps stretching her muscles before exercise, then in between different types of exercise would allow her to exercise for longer at a time? If so, it might help her to get stronger faster.

When the man said that he thought that she was still better at landing than he was when she first trying, Ari'sora wasn't sure what to say to that. She had fallen down while trying to land a lot in the beginning...but she had also learned how to keep her feet while landing pretty quickly. Had her falls been as bad as his had been? Worse? Ari'sora really didn't know. So instead of saying anything, she simply kept stretching.

After a few bits, she felt that she was ready to continue, so she stood, and planted her feet firmly as she prepared herself to run. Then she looked at the man.

"Ready? Set...go!"

And she was off jogging. She wasn't sure how long they should jog, or how long the man wanted to do so, so she would take her cues from him, and stop when he did.

[Doran]

Balthazar:

Knowledge:
Running x 5
Flying x 5
Leadership x 4

Loot: -
Wealth: -
Injuries: -
Renown: -
Magic XP: -
Skill Review: Appropriate to level.
Points: 15

Ari'sora:

Knowledge:
Detection: noticing differences in the appearance and abilities of animals of the same species
Endurance: the burn caused by exercise
Endurance: testing to see where the limits are when exercising
Flying: is a form of exercise
Flying: some people can fly even without wings
Flying: flying races are fun
Strength: physical conditioning helps you get stronger
Strength: pushing your weight off of the ground is one form of physical conditioning
Strength: stretching helps with flexibility
Strength: how to do a pushup
Strength: doing sets with breaks in between while exercising
Strength: doing squats helps make you stronger
Running: is a form of exercise and can help make you stronger
Running: running in sand is harder than running on even ground

Loot: -
Wealth: -
Injuries: -
Renown: -
Magic XP: -
Skill Review: Appropriate to level.
Points: 15

- - -

Comments: The beginning of this thread where Ari’sora pointed out to Balthazar that the ground wouldn’t go anywhere even if he tried to push it away amused me a bit, I have to admit.

I liked how curious Ari’sora was, and how polite Balthazar was, and how willing he was to explain things to her and show her.

Training threads can be hard to write, at least in my opinion, and a bit grindy, but this thread didn’t feel grindy at all due to the interaction between your two PCs.

Ari’sora seemed quite curious about Defiance. I wonder if she’ll ever consider becoming a mage.

I agree with Balthazar, that was fun! I liked when he kind of lost his balance and crashed into the sand. That was a funny scene!

Enjoy your rewards!