[Open Log] Faith alone can't get me where I need to go

[rustyhonesty]

WHO: Jean Kirstein & you
WHAT: Jean's training arc continues, with new skills, old skills and slightly overworking
WHEN: December
WHERE: Specified in the prompts
WARNINGS: will add as needed


A. New Skill Unlocked
[Dayrise, Grand Coliseum] [Warning for Elastic/Extending Limbs]

At first, Jean had only been able to make his fingers longer. It had felt really weird, so he hadn't tried it again for the moment. But with time he got used to the feeling and kept practicing.

So now someone may walk into the coliseum and see Jean with a three times longer right arm, grabbing onto something in the distance. He was still testing how well he could use his fingers when they were so far away from him. Not very well, especially when it was hard to see what he was grabbing.

Another problem was when the arm returned to its regular size, it... kinda came back with a force and ended up slapping Jean in the face. All part of the learning curve. But also very frustrating.

"GAH!"



B. Fire Control
[Dayrise, Grand Coliseum]


Practicing fire was something Jean was more accustomed to, but he was still struggling a little bit with a certain fire skill. So instead of going around throwing fire punches or kicks in the air or forming fire weapons, he's focusing on his breathing.

A tiny ember formed with a short breath. Then a deeper breath and a longer trail of fire, going through the air where he wanted it to go, not catching anything else on fire. Everything was going like he hoped. He could do controlled fire.

Then he took a deep, deep breath and put all his strength into blowing out fire. The goal was that it would just travel through the air, harmless. Just like the other two had.

It went straight to the ground and started burning sand all over instead. It definitely didn't go where Jean intended it to go, so that was still a work in process.

"Fuck."


C. Training, training
[Dayrise, Grand Coliseum]


Does it ever feel like anytime you run into Jean, he has a different weapon? It probably does feel like it, since he has so many different weapons he was trying to master the use of. A sword that he was already pretty good at, a polearm that he was still studying but getting better all the time, and most recently a chain whip that he was really new at.

If he doesn't have a weapon in hand, he's practicing hand-to-hand combat in different kind of forms he's learned from various people or doing simple parkour around some obstacles in Dayrise.

Yeah, it's more common to see him training than not. Recently, he's even gotten more fuel to his training fire, thanks to new arrivals that he very much wanted to keep safe and sound.


D. Exhaustion catching up
[Solarpeak, Dayrise, Blossomcrown]

Of course, when you train too much, eventually you run out of energy, which means Jean is often taking a nap in a little unexpected places. He may be napping at the Solarpeak beach, or maybe he's crashed in the middle of the Grand Coliseum in Dayrise. It's also entirely possible to see him almost falling asleep at some bench in the Blossomcrown Park when he's supposed to be watching one of his and Mikasa's three dogs (a white husky named Snow, a German Shepherd named Hazel and a Pegasus Puppy Akita Inu named Maru).

Yeah, he might be overdoing it, just a little bit.

Comments

[sunspotted]

Snow immediately runs around both of them, barking like they're impressed with the salute. Marco giggles, raising a hand to try and muffle it, but he's relatively mirth-free when he finally drops his hand.

"Sorry, couldn't resist," He tells Jean, looking him over a bit more closely. Jean doesn't look dire, but he has those lines on his forehead that indicate he's a little exhausted, which makes him twitchy.

"What are you doing sleeping out here?" he asks instead, tilting his head a little. "I found Snow wandering around."

[rustyhonesty]

Jean supposes he missed even this side of Marco (he did), but he does still give him a slight glare. He'd be amused about it later. Snow settles a little, walking over to Jean, asking for pets. She receives them.

"I trained a little too long yesterday, so I didn't sleep as much", Jean says with a shrug. "It happens, sometimes."

[sunspotted]

"So that means you're taking it easy today, right?"

He thinks Jean is - he's just walking a dog and napping in the park, after all - but he still gives Jean a look that says he better be taking it easy, or Mikasa may find out where Marco found him and the dog.

[rustyhonesty]

Jokes on you, Mikasa knows and is used to Jean overtraining himself occasionally. He's just too stubborn to actually listen to his wife sometimes, especially when he starts feeling that he's not enough.

"I was thinking about doing some meditating. That's basically taking a rest day."

[sunspotted]

He'll still tattle on you regardless, Jean, don't test him.

"Mmm, mind if I join you, then?"

He can keep an eye on Jean, then, and also spend some time with his best friend. Truly, a hardship he must endure.

[rustyhonesty]

Don't be such a snitch, Marco (says Jean, the known snitch in the cast).

"Yeah, if you want. It's kind of boring, though." But it really was what he intended to do today, instead of actually training properly, at least. "Guess it'll be good to have someone to watch that I don't fall asleep again."

figure they may as well talk out preplanning here

[sunspotted]

"Great!" Marco says despite being told it's kind of boring. Marco is the kind of guy who'd find sitting still and quiet to be rather relaxing, after all.

"That, and I wanted to mention that it looks like there are some new missions - sorry, quests - on the boards. Some of them don't look too difficult, so I was wondering if you wanted to help out with one?"

yes good

[rustyhonesty]

"Oh, yeah. They usually appear at the start of every other month." Jean visits the guild semi-regularly, so he had already seen the boards.

"But of course. I said I'd accompany you on quests if you wanted. Did any of them catch your interest specifically?"

[sunspotted]

"Mmm, there was one that in the Spring segment that mentioned birds? And hurricanes? .... and hurricanes with hands?"

He doesn't know what a hurricane is, Jean.

"It sounded like clearing off or killing some birds on some farmland, and it's only 1000 mooncoins, so I figured it wasn't terribly hard. I haven't accepted any, though, because I wanted to check with you first."

[rustyhonesty]

"Hurricane Birds, yeah. I dealt with them when they were around first. Their tornadoes didn't have fists back then." It was concerning that the monsters outside seemed to evolve with time. "But they weren't impossibly hard to deal with. They have a clear weak point we'll have to aim for. So we could definitely deal with them."

He realizes that the word hurricane isn't something they would normally know. "Hurricanes and tornadoes are basically big whirlwinds. The birds circle around in the skies and make the ear spin around, eventually creating big towers of wind."

[sunspotted]

"Oooh, so that could make the ODM gear difficult to use on them, on top of the fact that it's farmland so there's nothing to hook to... " He'll still bring it, of course, but it's good to know it'll probably just be backup, if anything.

"I can try throwing rocks, I suppose. I've been practicing a little whenever I'm outside and alone; I'm getting used to creating them, now," he tells Jean with a sunny smile.

[rustyhonesty]

"There are some abandoned buildings to use, so the gear will still be useful", Jean says. At least for anchoring yourself to stop the wind from blowing you away. "If your aim still needs a work on, I can guide your rocks with telekinesis."

[sunspotted]

Marco almost asks if guiding them would mean he doesn't learn how to aim them - but then again, if they're there to clear out a problem, that shouldn't really be a concern. He nods instead.

"I'll get some practice in before we leave, and let you know," he says instead. He reaches down to pet between Snow's ears, since she's been calm while they talk. "In the mean time - are you meditating here, or somewhere else?"

[rustyhonesty]

Snow loves being pet, leaning her head a little to Marco's hand.

"I was thinking about heading back home. The outside deck is a good place to meditate. It's never really too noisy."

Even with all of their pets around.

[sunspotted]

Marco smiles at Snow - he'll pet her as long as she allows it, or until they start moving again.

"Your deck is pretty peaceful. The entire area is, really," he tells Jean. "Do you want to give Snow some more time to run around, or head home now?"

[rustyhonesty]

"We've been here pretty long already, so we can head back." Jean gets the leash that's on the bench as well, putting it back on Snow's collar. Snow barks, nuzzling her snout on both of the boys.

"Do you want to walk her? She seems to like you a lot."

[sunspotted]

Marco seems slightly surprised by the offer, but immensely pleased all the same.

"Sure!" He waits for Jean to hand the leash over and to tell him anything he might need to know, but once he's set up he starts off on a brisk walk with Jean, watching Snow trot ahead with a fond smile.

"I was thinking about maybe getting a pet," he admits. "A cat or... there are also those Pokemon?"

[rustyhonesty]

Snow happily lets Marco walk her, occasionally sniffing something, but overall walking with some cheer in her step.

"I can definitely see you with a cat," Jean agrees. "About the Pokémon... what you get from the vending machine is completely random. I'm not even sure what options there are, I just know the ones I've seen. There's an app for them, though, for more information."

[sunspotted]

"Oh, what's the app? I'd love to do some research ahead of time, if possible," Marco asks, as they keep up their brisk pace. He pauses to let Snow sniff her way around things, but she seems to be well behaved otherwise. You can't walk cats, but just having her around is making him seriously consider the Pokemon angle.

[rustyhonesty]

Jean takes his phone from his pocket, scrolling through his apps before showing Marco an app.

"It's called the Pokédex app. Two people from a world that has Pokémon made it."

[sunspotted]

"Pokédex... Okay, I'll download it once we get to your house." He wants both hands free for walking Snow, after all, even if she is well behaved. He beams at Jean. "Thank you for telling me about it!"

[rustyhonesty]

"Of course. It's best to make sure you're prepared, if you go the Pokémon route." Jean has gotten plenty of information about Totodile with the app. Not that he had been difficult to handle. Just a little hyperactive.

"Let me know if you get one from the vending machine. I want to know what you get."

[sunspotted]

"I will. Maybe I'll get a cat and a Pokemon, just to torture Galliard," he laughs, before shaking his head a little. No, better to start with one, especially if it was a Pokemon, which he's heard are a lot smarter than your regular pet.

Either way, they keep chatting until they arrive at Jean and Mikasa's house, Marco reaching down to unclip Snow so that she can run around and handing the leash back to Jean.

[rustyhonesty]

It's still a funny idea. He figures Galliard would have an amusing reaction. Jean puts Snow's leash on a shelf in the entrance hall, also greeting Hazel with pets since he came to greet both of them. It's not often he walks them separately, but sometimes (when you're very tired) one dog was more than enough to handle.

"Do you want something to drink before we start?"

[sunspotted]

"Mmm, a little water, since we just walked." Just to get topped up - dehydration sucks, after all. He leans down to pet Hazel as well when he comes up to Marco, laughing softly at the dog's antics.