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

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

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.

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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.

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?"

"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."

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?"

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."

"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.

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."

"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!"

"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."

"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.

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?"

"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.

Hazel is happy for the attention. Jean walks over to the kitchen, greeting Sakura (the Norwegian Forest Cat) on the way with a small kiss on her forehead, and then goes to get them both a glass of water.

"I guess Maru's taking a nap somewhere. He's got to get all the puppy sleep."

Maru was still the smallest, after all.

The cat is so fluffy, Marco always has to stare at her for a little bit to really take in that she's a real cat and not some fluffy stuffed animal.

"Aww, but he's always so cute when he's flying around and bumping into things." The puppy is still getting used to those wings after all. When Jean returns with the glass of water, Marco murmurs thanks and sips some of it, Reiner's ever present reminder to not guzzle echoing in his head.

"Maybe he'll be awake by the time we finish meditating", Jean suggests. It was very likely. Puppy naps didn't often take too long. Jean also sips his water. Then he suppresses a yawn, trying to look like nothing was about to happen.

"We can take some pillows from the couch if we want. For sitting."

He caught that Kirstein, but Marco doesn't comment on it either, instead stretching to get some kinks out of his arms.

"Sure, since your bottom is too delicate for the ground now apparently," he teases good naturedly. Still, the two of them go and grab some pillows to sit on, Marco letting Jean pick the spot he wants to meditate in.

"Nah, I was worried about yours", Jean retorts. Mostly he's of the opinion 'why be uncomfortable when you can be comfortable'.

The spot is good ways away from the door, a nice spot that has partial shade. It's also further from the road, so there's less noise (not that there's much noise in Sunwaning in general).

"You good?" Just to check it's a good spot for Marco too and that he's comfortable.

It's quiet, shaded, and the weather is good. Marco drops the cushion and then flings himself down onto it with a nod.

"Perfect," he promises, shifting to sit up fully, and imitating Jean's position once he starts arranging himself.

Jean notices Marco imitating him as he gets to a cross-legged sitting position. "Just sit however's most comfortable for you."

It's not like Jean's an expert on meditating, so they don't need to follow exactly some guidelines.

"I don't know if you expected me to guide you through this, but I just make things up as I go."

Marco laughs sheepishly. "I mostly just know of it through other people doing it. Sitting and centering your thoughts, that kind of stuff."

But he unfolds his legs and keeps them out in front of him. Still just a little long for his body, and he wonders if he'll ever have a growth spurt that lets him catch up.

"Sounds about what I know about it, to be honest. I use it to control my breath, since I have some issues with one ability I have."

He huffs, small embers appearing and vanishing. "Whenever I get angry, or otherwise upset, I start breathing fire. Meditating has helped me control it a little."

Luckily, he had only accidentally set one thing on fire, even if that was a bridge in Sunwaning, but no one got hurt.

Marco blinks a little bit when Jean mentions breathing fire. He thinks back to when Galliard's hair caught on fire - he wonders if those are similar.

Instead, he offers a careful smile. "I, uh. I've started making rocks when I'm sad, if I clench my hands too much I end up with crystals in them."

It's also happened at other times but he's not going to tell Jean that!

"So maybe this will help with that for me too!"

"Hmm... all seasons have emotions that power their powers. I guess it could be related to that." If he remembers right, one of the autumn ones was sadness, at least that's what Mukuro's told him before. Summer definitely had anger, so it made sense.

"Who knows, though. It might. One way to find out."

Jean closes his eyes, breathing in and out. His exhales are longer, just like a friend taught him. It's getting hard to concentrate on steady breathing when you're trying to stay awake, though. But he's also reluctant to open his eyes now.

Marco closes his eyes as well, resting his hands on his legs. He listens to the sounds of the animals around Sunwaning, the sound of the dogs moving around from the porch and back. Jean's breathing.

He keeps his thoughts focused on himself, though. Though when Jean's breathing starts to get longer and longer between breaths, he peeks open one eye to look over at him.

Jean can try, but he can't completely fight the exhaustion. Which means he ends up dozing off in a rather awkward position of his head hanging, most likely about to tip over to his left.

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sunspotted - 2023-12-13 21:17 (UTC) - Expand

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