[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]

At first, Marco assumes Jean is just dressed up in some weird outfit that includes ears and at a tail. One eyebrow raises up, as if prepared to make fun of him for doing so.

Then the tail starts wagging. And Jean reacts like he can feel it, reaching back and trying to stop it from doing so. He opens his mouth, looking like he wants to ask a question, and then stops. He holds it in just long enough to step inside, past the pets and Jean, and waits for him to close the door.

Then he bursts out, excited and confused, "You have a tail? And ears!"

[rustyhonesty]

The blush on Jean's face deepens and he huffs. "Really? I didn't notice."

Snow is circling Marco a little before settling down at his feet. Hazel booped Marco's leg before running off to play with Maru again. So it's just Snow with them in the entrance hallway.

"It's a souvenir from the werewolves. A curse. I turn into this", he gestures at his ears and tail, even fangs. "Every full moon, for three nights. I'm lucky I don't go through a full transformation."

[sunspotted]

Sorry, Snow, he's too delighted by this turn of events to pet you just yet, he'll get there in a moment!

"... is this why you were eating like Sasha yesterday?" He asks. He'd gone with Jean to the party, and the older man had been focused on meat to a degree even others had noticed. Without thinking, Marco reaches up and pets one ear, noting how the fur is coarse like a dog's and not at all soft.

"This is so odd..."

[rustyhonesty]

Snow understands, really - or more like she's very patient.

Jean's ears twitch a little when Marco pets one of them, but he doesn't seem too against it. Perhaps the uncontrollable tail wagging is also a sign he actually enjoys it (he gave up trying to hold it, since it was getting too hard to do so).

"Uh... yeah. I start craving meat a few days before full moon, and it just gets worse."

He's aware he was acting weird at the party. "Not many people know about this. Just... Mikasa, Mukuro, Hijikata, Ayato, Evangeline, Reiner and Armin do."

It's a rather odd group of people towards the end, not going to lie.

[sunspotted]

The tail is like having access to even more insider information on Jean's moods. Marco's smiling wide, though he draws his hand away from the ears as Jean starts talking about who knows about the curse.

"I won't tell anyone," Marco promises Jean sincerely, reaching down to pet Snow next. Though Jean mentioning he starts craving meat gets Marco thinking.

"What else happens? Do you start herding Mikasa, chasing things around the house, rolling over for belly rubs...?"

[rustyhonesty]

The wait was definitely worth it. Snow pushes her head against Marco's hand.

Jean didn't think Marco would run off to tell everyone, but it was still a relief to hear that he wouldn't.

"I definitely chase things. Scents are also very important, so I gather as many things scented by close people, especially Mikasa, and take naps with them. And yeah, I occasionally start herding..." It all sounds so embarrassing to say out loud. "Otherwise, it depends on the month and how strong my wolf senses feel. Last month, I got into a tug of war with Hazel."

[sunspotted]

Who's a good girl? Snow is.

Marco pictures Jean herding all his dogs and Mikasa into a little puppy pile and laughs a little bit at the mental image. "Sorry, I just pictured you sitting on Mikasa, Hazel and Snow like a proud momma cat," he tells him with a grin.

"A tug of war? Please tell me Mikasa has pictures."

He also noticed you didn't deny belly rubs were a craving, Jean.

[rustyhonesty]

"That hasn't happened", Jean says immediately. He has been in a pile with them, but not on top of anyone, at least.

Also, Marco would be right. He didn't deny belly rub urges, and he's too embarrassed to admit to it either.

"I don't know. You'd have to ask her, when she comes back from tending the horses." Evangeline brought pictures up, too, but he didn't ask Mikasa after that.

"The horses don't really like it if I got near them. Anyway, we should move to the living room, at least."

[sunspotted]

"Uh huh." Marco doesn't believe Jean one bit, even though he's wrong in this belief. "I will ask her." He will not forget, in Evangeline's honor.

He follows Jean to the living room, Snow following them. He notes there are a lot more blankets out on the couch right now and smiles a bit.

[rustyhonesty]

Why though. Why do you need photo evidence of Jean being embarrassing. Though he doesn't ask that out loud, since it sounds like a silly question even in his mind.

Jean flops on the couch. It's a comforting place to be in, with so many blanket with scents. Mikasa's, since she wasn't here. It keeps him from whining, really. Another automatic reaction that he kinda hates.

"I hope you don't mind waiting on the dinner for a bit."

Maru, the Akita Inu Pegasus puppy, flies to greet Jean, smacking face-first into his chest. Jean laughs a bit, picking him up and nuzzling his fur a little.

"He's gotten a lot better with flying lately."

[sunspotted]

He always needs evidence of you being embarrassing, don't worry about it, Jean. He follows Jean to the couch but doesn't step into his pile yet. He knows some dogs are territorial, and he assumes wolves are like that too.

He laughs when Maru flies into Jean's chest.

"No, I don't mind waiting! I'm hungry but I'm not starving," he promises with a grin. "He's better, but he's no graceful bird yet, either."

He still reaches out to rub behind Maru's ears, cooing approvingly.

[rustyhonesty]

Maru's tail wags excitedly over all this attention, and he starts flying again once Jean lets go, coming up to lick Marco's face a little in greeting.

"Yeah, but he'll get there."

Jean does make room for Marco to sit down, too, clearly accepting that he can come into his 'territory'. He even pats the couch, to invite him.

[sunspotted]

Marco grins at Maru but keeps his mouth closed - he's learned the hard way to not do that when puppies are licking excitedly at your face.

He gathers Maru up in his arms and moves down to the couch as directed, flopping into the space with Maru held against his chest before he releases him.

"This is pretty comfy, you sure you don't just leave it like this all the time?"

[rustyhonesty]

Maru excitedly flies off to bother play with Hazel again. Jean chuckles, watching the little guy for a while before turning his attention back to Marco. His ears go down a little, as if pouting.

"And risk Levi coming to visit and giving me a lecture about how untidy things are? No thanks." The blankets made the couch look a little like a nice, messy nest. To be fair, Levi didn't often make house visits, not anymore since he didn't need existence handshakes, but still.

[sunspotted]

Oh no, adorable sad puppy ears. Marco can't help reaching up and petting behind one again when he does that.

"Are Levi's lectures really that scary?" Sure, now he's seen the man in passing, and his spotless kitchen and Roomba that climbs walls, but he can't be that terrifying, can he...?

[rustyhonesty]

Jean looks rather pleased with the ear pet, sort of leaning towards Marco's hand a little. Mostly to get attention for his other ear, too. Please pet them both.

"He's even more terrifying than Shadis on his bad days. Sometimes, he just appears behind you unexpectedly. Or stares at you from the other side of the room with a deathly glare if you mention anything about heights. And the amount of nitpicking he has about cleaning. Once, he stopped a fight between me and Eren by kicking Eren and punching me in the stomach..."

His voice becomes more and more miserable as he lists things that are scary about Levi.

[sunspotted]

Marco moves his hand to that other ear, managing to pet both with his wrist and his hand by turning it sideways a little.

His grin is a little lopsided as Jean lists the apparently terrifying methods of Levi. All right, he gets it! Who hasn't wanted to hit Jean and Eren a bit when they get into a silly argument, though?

"Maybe you just need to clean better," Marco says mischievously, and then pets the ears in apology. "Still, I guess you're right; he sounds like a pretty serious and intense guy."

[rustyhonesty]

It's getting kinda hard to pout when you're getting good ear pets. Don't mind his tail, it probably occasionally hits Marco as it wags.

"I won't deny that I suck, but Levi seems to think my marriage is in danger if I don't improve, and that's why he got us a roomba..." It's not even a joke...!

Though he does need to highlight some good parts, too.

"But he can be kind too, even if he's not exactly a nice person. He's always made sure we stay alive on the battlefield and that we're doing alright after."

[sunspotted]

So cute, Jean, especially with that wagging tail. He does move his other hand to pet Snow, though, so she doesn't feel left out.

"I don't think you're at Mikasa leaving you danger level, but maybe you should keep trying just in case..."

He snickers, letting Jean speak higher praises of Levi. Honestly, Levi doesn't sound like a bad guy. Strict, yes, but he's found with people like Shadis, they just don't want you pulling something stupid and dying for no reason.

He feels a little bad, thinking of that. Shadis would have been so upset to learn how many of his students died in Trost.

"So... you're just whining to whine, if he's so nice...?" He lightly tugs on one ear.

[rustyhonesty]

"Kind, not nice", Jean corrects, but twitches his ears at the tug and swats at Marco's hand for it. "You'll have to get the Levi experience yourself at some point to know the true horror."

It's not that he hates cleaning, he just has a lot of other things he focuses on. Well, what's one more thing to learn, really. Not that he'd ever be as good as some people were. Probably not even at a Levi-approved level.

"Mikasa hasn't complained, though. I would definitely focus on upgrading my cleaning skills if she said I needed to."

Of course he would.

[sunspotted]

Marco grins a little bit at the swat but doesn't tug his ear again.

"Okay, I get what you mean. I'm nice and kind, he cares but he's not good at it. Sort of like how you were, when you were younger," he points out. Then, he snorts a little.

"You know, it's nice to crawl back into bed at night in a bed that's made, instead of a mess."

[rustyhonesty]

"I wouldn't say I'm all that nice", Jean mumbles, though it's a weak argument. It's mostly a habit to deny it, still, even if he can see that he's far better than he was during training days when it came to socializing with people.

Jean huffs, lowering his ears again. "I do make our bed! And the dishes! And laundry! So I am useful around the house and don't leave a mess behind, usually."

Werewolf times don't count. That's when he becomes a rather messy person. Which Mikasa has taken well, gladly.

[sunspotted]

"You can pretend all you want that you're not nice, but you are. Especially now, you're much better about showing it," Marco points out with a fond smile. Then the huffing comes out and Marco can't help but laugh softly.

"You didn't used to make your bed, that's an improvement! But are you sweeping, and dusting things?"

[rustyhonesty]

Jean finds himself blushing, just a little bit. There's really no use in pretending he's not, huh.

"Occasionally. Usually when we divide what we do around the house Mikasa does those and I do what I just listed."

[sunspotted]

"Good. My mother always said a healthy couple splits the chores!"

He seems pleased that the two of them are doing so, and gives Jean another smile. Then he laughs softly.

"You're so easy to read like this, with the ears..."