Open ✪ Stokbon Training For A Reason

[Juniper Lockton]

She'd been doing so well with her practicing of her skills. Not using the assist setting to cast spells and stuff was important to her. Not because she was some pro gamer or anything but because she wanted to stop being a noob and feel competent at something. She wanted to grow into a proper mage or witch, maybe even find a real mentor to study under. Was it possible to make up new spells if she learned the magic language like in some other roleplaying games? She hoped so.

To that effort, she was walking to her next destination of The Drowned Gryphon, her favorite Inn in Stokbon, while practicing her somatic components to some of her spells. She was drilling one in particular that was a lightning bolt she particularly favored in a combo chain. A great finisher and opener both.

Unfortunately, she zoned out and went all the way with it one time as she walked, panicking as she watched it strike right in front of an oncoming passerby, nearly hitting them had they been forward one step. She panicked, flushing beet red as she realized her embarrassing mistake,

"I'm so sorry! Oh my gosh! Are you okay? Please forgive me!"

 

[Canen Osiris]

One thing was for sure; Canen Osiris's life was never dull.

He had learned very quickly that there was no safe haven in Terrasphere, and his first experiences of the game told him that everything had the potential for danger. For example, on his very first day, he decided to go hunting for food outside Eastern Brisshal. What should have been a simple exercise in hunting, to gather sustenance and supplies for the days ahead, ended up in a life-or-death duel with the alpha male of an armoured deer pack. That's right- armoured - because nothing here would ever be straightforward, and everything here wanted to kill you.

Today, even something as simple and apparently harmless as a stroll in Stockbon threatened to tear him from this virtual coil.

The lightning bolt came, literally, out of nowhere. A thunderous crackkk! erupted mere inches away from Canen's right foot, causing him to freeze in place in shock. For a moment his eyes focused on the broken stone foxhole in the floor, before rising up through the backwash of heat and the stinging scent of ozone to meet those of the apologetic woman in front of him.

Well, shit.

"I'm, uh, fine." Canen said, his voice still somewhat wavering. "Thankfully, I was ambling. A step further and we'd be peeling me off the walls."

As the shock started to wear off, he brushed down his yi-fu and centred himself. He looked once more at the smouldering pothole in the floor, and gestured towards it with half a smile.

"That was one hell of a lightning bolt. Do you often spray these around in public?" The quip was meant tongue in cheek, and Canen offered a wry smirk as he said it. "If so, I might have to adjust my settings for the pain limiter."

 

[Juniper Lockton]

Fortunately, the man she nearly hit seemed to be kind and was being humorous about it. She looked at the hole in the street with him before struggling to meet his eyes again. Ears flattened against her head, "N-no! It was a huge mistake cause like, I was just trying to practice somatic components but accidentally completed a spell cause I just kinda...zoned out for a second there. I'm so sorry again, but thank you for being nice about it."

She was wearing a nice dress today, no real armor to speak of because she felt pretty comfortable in the city. It was a nice place and the people were nice. She'd hardly felt unsafe more than once.

Then there was an awkward little moment where she didn't know what to say, exactly. So she went with a greeting, an introduction.

"I'm Juniper, by the way. Juni for short, if you like." As she stuck out her hand in hopes the much taller man would take it gently. He looked muscular enough to tear her apart. And suddenly she was nervous at that thought, not because that scared her but because that was kinda...hot. Was that what this feeling was? Arousal? Attraction?

"Can I buy you a drink or anythin' for your trouble?"

@Canen Osiris

 

[Canen Osiris]

Canen chuckled to himself softly as Juni stumbled over her words, searching for an apology that wasn't neccesary. No harm had been done, and with a smile the martial artist raised a hand and shook his head.

"Please, no harm done." Canen smiled, "Although the power of that spell was quite something to behold. Impressive, indeed."

He contemplated Juni's outstretched hand for a moment before drinking in the rest of her. It was the first time he had really noticed her features; a pretty woman, dressed not for battle but almost for the pleasure of a summer's day. She had a particularly sunny disposition on first impressions; a likeable sort of character that betrayed her obvious power.

"A pleasure to meet you, Juni. I'm Canen. Can't really shorten it, to be honest." He laughed, taking her hand. As she withdrew her hand from the shake, he felt something. It was slight; perhaps a tingle of power from her fingertips, or perhaps she curled her fingers at the last second to stroke the inside of his palms?

What was that...feeling?

The offer of a drink was a tempting one to take up. After all, Canen himself had set today aside as a bit of a relaxed information gathering venture, a way to take in this new world and learn more about the people and places in it. Juni had come across his path for a reason, he figured, and the woman had started to intrigue him.

"Tea would be perfect, if they serve it." He flashed a boyish smile at his counterpart, gestuing an open palm to the tavern besides them. "And if you can spare the time?'

 

[Juniper Lockton]

"Thanks! I've been working really hard at learning them so that I can do them without the assisted mode. I started last week and didn't want to keep feeling like a noob on week three." She admitted, a simple enough reasoning for wanting to be better at something.

She was relieved as he took her invitation for a drink, nodding at the idea of tea and realizing now that the place he was gesturing to was where she was headed originally. The Drowned Gryphon.

"Yea, they have tea, and I have time. I was heading here anyway, actually." She waited for him to open the door, assuming that from his type, and lead the way into the establishment where they would quickly find a table rather than seats at the bar. She ordered a mead instead of a tea and bread and cheese as a snack, smiling over at him as he ordered tea.

"Meeting other players is really fun so I have to ask: what's your deal? You look like you could turn scary really quick but also like, what are your masteries and stuff?"

@Canen Osiris

 

[Canen Osiris]

Thunk! Clink! The tankard of gently bubbled honey mead slid across the table to the knuckles of the aeromancer, whilst the barmaid carefully placed a pot of steaming herbal tea in front of Canen. Lifting his cup in acknowledgement to his new acquaintance Juni, he closed his eyes and sipped. The drink seemed to rub his throat as it slid down into his belly, the satisfaction of the first drink on a warm day wholly palpable.

It was difficult to forget, at times like these, that one was in a game. A very real, very dangerous game. And, so, Juni's words served to shake Canen back into the realisation that this wasn't reality. Or, at least the reality he was used to.

"I'm a student of the martial arts; a derirative of Wing Chun, actually." Canen flashed Juni a knowing smile with practiced grace. "But, i'm new here. I haven't had time to train, nor have I had a steady stream of volunteers to help me. Understandable, I guess. I can't imagine many people would be lining up to get fried by one of your lightning bolts, either."

The Telgradian reached over again and grabbed his cup, sliding it back towards him. He drank half the golden brown liquid, savouring the smoothness and bitterness of it as it warmed his throat. He could see Juni enjoying her own mead from the corner of his eye, drinking in silence until her tankard was nearly empty. Satisfied, Canen pushed his half away for a moment and turned just in time to have met Juni's gaze.

"As for my 'deal', what you see is what you get. I'm yet to really find out what I can do here, so other than my select masteries and my faith in the arts, I don't yet have a measuring stick to gauge my level. I'm certainly not a brute though; i'd consider myself more measured than muscle, until such time muscle is needed. We will see."

A pause came into the conversation. Once again his emerald eyes poured over the form of the woman in front of him. As she leant back, her hair tenderly fell back into the sunlight pouring through the tavern door. There was such a sharp contrast between the beauty the woman exuded, and the macabre power she controlled inside.

"Of course, I would return the question Juni. What's your 'deal'?" Canen flashed a grin at 'deal', "I'll take an educated guess that it's either electromancery or geomancy? And what is your goal here, in this place?"

 

[Juniper Lockton]

Mead was so refreshing. She let out a contented sigh as she put her drink back down, wiping her mouth. The taste was crisp, sweet, and the coldness really hit the spot for a somewhat hot day. Listening to his reply, her eyes went wide in surprise that Wing Chun was one of his studies.

"I love Wing Chun! Ever since that movie with that guy I've been sold on it but I never got around to actually finding someone to learn it from." She tapped her finger on the wood of the table a few times thoughtfully, then nodded, "I could probably help you if all you need is volunteers? I can help you practice if you teach me some? I still need to find a mentor for magic, but I don't see any reason why I shouldn't learn some self-defense in your style, right? Spells take a bit to cast, usually, even cantrips. Like that time I almost got robbed here in Stokbon. I wasn't confident I could cast a spell fast enough to defend myself. Felt really bad."

"Sounds like we could be fast friends, considering how new we both are. I've only been at it a few weeks. But I've been dedicated in my practice. I'm happy I'm able to cast spells without the assist at all."

"Aeromancy, geomancy, weapon arts." She dug into her bag and got her two spheres, placing them on the table briefly. They looked like artifacts out of some fantasy movie, "These channel each of their respective powers for me, floating all around me as I cast spells that they channel. I can cast stuff without them obviously, but these pack more of a punch. As for the why I'm here...well..." She looked a little nervous all of a sudden, sighing as she took another drink and finished off her mead.

"My parents suck. They're extremists. They don't know I'm Bi much less..." She paused, reconsidering saying that and deciding that she shouldn't. You could trust someone all you wanted, but if you were wrong about them and said the wrong thing, you could lose them just like that, "Anyway, they're religious and political in all the worst ways and I just come here to escape and find myself through my adventures. I didn't fully realize til I got here that I've always had a pretty bad disconnect with who I am IRL."

@Canen Osiris

 

[Canen Osiris]

He watched and listened carefully as Juni explained as much as she was comfortable to, and took a moment to fill a cherry-wood pipe with a bit of herbal tobacco, lighting the pipe with a snap of his fingers. He screened out a draft through the tavern door using the back of his hand as he inhaled, indulging another pour of tea once the pipe was lit.

"Your orbs are fascinating things. Perhaps i'll learn a great deal from you in the arts of magic, and other matters? And I, in turn, would be delighted to teach you Osiris-Style Wing Chun. And don't worry - the style, and my friendship, suits all sexualities. Some of the best people I know are bisexual."

Canen chuckled as he put the pipe down, starting once again on his tea. He smiled as their eyes once again met across the table.

"I live by a philosophy; that from the smallest actions, the manipulation of the most subtle critical points, the universe and its workings can be moved. This is why we must be careful in all that we do and of the choices we make. Especially here, in this place."

His thoughts fluttered as the two drank, thinking upon Juri's words about her real life parents. His own reasons for being in this game weighed on him, too. The man behind Osiris had once been a wholly damaged thing; years of abuse had moulded him into someone that sought only the tangible and discrete targets. This world had changed him for the better, and living through Canen more so. He had walked the line of the light faithfully, showing compassion and care for others. Now, he also had a chance now to become strong, and smart, and powerful, in a place where it could actually mean something. He could make friends here, and protect them.

"I am sorry about your parents, Juni." Canen began again, bowing his head. "My own reasons for being here are not dissimilar to yours. I hope here we can find peace, and friendship. This place is as real as the other world; we must work to treat it with the respect it deserves. Perhaps, also, we will then find the respect that we deserve."

Drinking the last of his tea, he scrambled to find the right words, cognizant of the empty pot and Juni's emptying drink. A draft blew across his clothes as the door continued to open and close, with more patrons arriving every minute.

"II's getting noisier in here and the hour grows late. May I ask where you are staying? Perhaps I could walk you to your room, and we could reconvene in the morning for training?"

 

[Juniper Lockton]

"Oh, I-I can't teach all that much, but I'd love to teach you what I know!" She offered, laughing at his mention of his friendship being bi-friendly. He was funny, and she really liked that. It was important that people could make you laugh, whether they be friends or lovers.

"Osiris-Style, huh? I'd love to~" Truly excited and not just because she was getting more and more into him as the day went on. Was it the drink loosening her up? It was only one mead...

But she was a 5'3 girl in this game, and not a muscly or tough type. Either way, her feelings were her feelings. They only got worse as he went on a philosophical tangent and her heart skipped a beat.

"Wow...that's really deep. I hadn't thought about it like that before. Is that just tobacco?" She smirked, giggling to herself behind a well-manicured hand. Maybe she couldn't help but tease people she liked. Being vulnerable was hard, after all, especially when emotions were actually felt and she wasn't just apathetic to everything.

Then he reminded her that it was getting late. She supposed that was true. But she realized that she didn't want her time with him to end just yet.

Coughing into a fist, she looked nervous all of a sudden, looking down and then away from him, tucking hair behind her ear. She was fidgeting, stalling, "I stay here, actually, the Drowned Gryphon is my favorite inn. But you could come up if...ya know, wanna talk more or whatever." Come on, Juni, don't turn red! It's just an innocent invitation. It just seemed like more and that's why it was embarrassing, right?

@Canen Osiris

 

[Canen Osiris]

Canen took a breath as Juni brandished her dry humour, and laughed heartily at her insinuation he might have been smoking something a little more medicinal than standard tobacco. The sad part was that it was probably more of a nervous laugh. Wasn't he supposed to be a disclipined martial artist, steeled in mind and heart? He had literally been through too much to be taking life too seriously nowadays, and that disclipline he prided himself on could, for once, take a back seat today.

"Well," Canen eventually got around to saying, gesturing to the pipe "If I wanted to get sideways, this would be the worst way to do it. Nothing but cherry tobacco in here."

It took the lithe warrior almost thirty seconds to actually register Juni's invitation upstairs, too long to stop him from admitting, "It'd be my pleasure to join you."

Click.

"...for some wholesome conversation and company, of course, and perhaps I could teach you a few basics. Shall we take our drinks upstairs, then?"

Uh, what am I doing?

Like a lightbulb had switched on in his head all of a sudden, Canen wondered if he was doing the right thing. He'd known this woman all but two minutes. Her invitation upstairs could have been completely innocent, but was he taking advantage? Did she want him to? His desire for good company and conversation was real, but was he being honest with himself?

All things considered though, it could have been worse. He always meant well, and as he was contemplating his moral compass, Juni stood, pushed back from her chair and turned towards the stairs. A coy look over her shoulder was an unspoken invitation to follow, so the martial artist obliged carefully. Juni's room stood not too far from the balcony overhanging the bar, which was elevated by almost ten feet on solid stone pillars. The whole tavern was made out of brick and metal, barely any wood involved in its construction. It was the kind of building you could leave unguarded in an emergency, then come back later and find it exactly as you left it.

The room was at least better than some of the actual, real life rooms that Canen had been subjected to over the years. There was a double bed in this one, with sturdy white sheets and goosedown pillows. There were ornate etchings visibly inset into the floor, walls and ceiling, and an adjoining bathroom.

Unsure of where to place himself, Canen took a seat on the edge of the bed, clasping his hands together as he crossed his legs.

"What a comfortable room," He commented, "and plenty of space as well. We'll have enough room to look at a few base Wing Chun principles if you want? Or, we could chat, finish our drinks first?"

 

[Juniper Lockton]

"Cherry tobacco sounds good, but I don't smoke any of that stuff." Then she invited him up and felt awkward. Standing up and looking at him shyly, leading the way.

"Wholesome conversation, of course. You seem like you could teach me a lot and I wanna learn lots of things." Words with many meanings, but for now she kept it innocent.

Once they were in the room, she let him sit down first and stayed standing. She wanted to go ahead and get this part of the conversation started. Striking a stance, she tried an approximation of what she remembered from the movie.

"I want to try your Wing Chun." She said, looking determined, "Is this right? Or close?" It wasn't, really, but it was a start. She'd actually gotten some training in martial arts a few years back for the sake of self-defense at school. She was never great at it but she was good enough to at least look like she knew something.

 

[Canen Osiris]

As if a behavioural switch had suddenly flicked within his brain, Canen's eyes lit up. Gone, for the moment, were the carnal desires and wholly replacing them were the instincts and focus of a teacher; a man so devoted to his art that his every moment was spent studying form and technique of the student. In this case, his new friend had taken to his offer with some enthusiasm. He spent a few moments observing, and then smiled politely.

"Many people assume Wing Chun to be the easiest of the arts to learn," he began, pacing around Juni as his eyes studied her positioning. "This is actually wrong. The technique focuses on both fundamental and timing values rather than ones' strength and speed. It, therefore, means that everyone can train and still be good at it despite age or gender. But, to master it is something entirely different."

It was then that the warrior closed his eyes, relaxing all of his muscles as he stood parallel to Juni. He angled his body slightly away, his right arm straight and his left one slightly bent with an outstretched palm.

"We always start at the beginning, and the beginning is understanding the centreline principle." Canen instructed. It was easy to see the passion and respect he had for the art in his words and tone. He turned to face Juni, and ran a finger from her forehead vertically down to her stomach. "A center-line is an imaginary vertical line passing through you downwards. Across the centerline there are critical organs and, therefore, it should remain protected against the opponent."

Canen then moved alongside Juni, making adjustments to her stance. His hand gently touched her arms and calves, moving them slightly into a more defined stance.

"It says that you should always angle your body away from your opponent and yet control theirs when fighting. Whoever is controlling the centerline controls the fight as well, so at all cost maintain and protect your centerline while exploiting and controlling that of your opponent."

He stopped, observing Juni for a minute. Nodding appreciatively at her form, he moved in front of her so that there was about three feet of space.

"Now, whenever you are throwing a punch from your centerline, you need utilize your entire body. That's the hips, and everything above. That offensively generates a lot of power. That is what I want you to do now. Hit me as hard as you can."

 

[Juniper Lockton]

The atmosphere changed as he became a teacher, talking in a short monologue as he adjusted her stance. It felt weird to her at first until she settled into it, twisting her torso as one as he explained the centreline principle. She had the concept, move like you're made of two moving pillars, top and bottom. Kind of.

Then, the request for her to hit him came up and she blinked. Wait, what? Were they going to spar? She wasn't ready to get beaten or to be this kind of sore the next day!

So using her center of gravity, she tested a few punches at the air just to get the feel down for punching in this stance, moving her hips like he'd shown her. Finally, a steadying breath and she threw and landed a punch right to his solar plexus without knowing what she'd hit. Immediately, she felt bad and covered her mouth with both hands,

"Oh, that's weird! I'm sorry!"

@Canen Osiris

 

[Canen Osiris]

A kick of adrenaline rushed back through Osiris's body, coursing all over his skin as Juni's punch made contact with his abdomen. He inhaled heavily and wrenched his body to the left instinctively; trying to absorb the impact of the blow as best as he could without physically defending it with his hands, as his muscle memory tried to force him to do. It hurt more than he'd anticipated, but instead of grimacing, he did his best to smile through it.

Not bad, kid, for a first punch.

Canen could see her hand turn white and her knuckles protrude up as she broke her focus and apologised.

"There. Feel that power?" Canen smiled, moving behind Juni and placing his hands on her hips tenderly, "All that came from here, your centreline. Your strength and your age had very little to do with it. It was timing, precision and surety in your strike. But, your form was too rigid. This is common for newcomers to the art, and we'll work on that. Otherwise, good for a first try. The next step is the most important."

A deep breath preceded Canen walking to the serving tray near them, where he finished inhaling his tea, savoring the herbal flavors. He turned and smiled at Juni, his eyes meeting her own.

"Rest, of course. Something we both need."

He smiled again and paused, making a concerted effort to drop his teacher guise for the moment. Canen was pretty sure he had already scared her into almost being offput by his sudden switch to formality while teaching; so, some showing of grace and humanity would be needed to oversee the rest of the night.

"I did notice something, actually, when you thrust forward." He now sat across from the bed, leaning forward and rubbing his hands free of moisture before gently laying them in plain sight upon the table. "I mentioned rigidity, but it does look as if your muscles on your back seized up a little when you threw the punch. They're probably knotted. When was the last time, if ever, you got them looked at? I could give you a bit of physio if you like, get those muscles stretched out a bit?

@Juniper Lockton

 

[Juniper Lockton]

Already off-guard by her own apology, she nearly collapsed as she felt hands around her waist. She turned red, feeling heat in her cheeks as she had a sudden flood of impure thoughts enough to make her head nearly steam from her brain frying. It put a funny feeling in her stomach, one that she was slowly becoming more familiar with.

She didn't know what to say in response at first, trying to recover from the sudden heat in the room and thinking of him that way. Was she really thinking of guys this way so easily? So quickly? She didn't want to be seen or branded as a slut or anything like that...

If the guys she'd talked to, not to even mention the girls, had seen what she'd thought about them, she'd probably never stop feeling embarrassed. They never had to know, though.

"Um...never?" She seemed nervous, knowing this would lead to more touching, "I-I would be interested but to tell you the truth I uhh...I don't know if I could handle it. This VR stuff has had me really sensitive." She lied, trying to come up with a better reason than the fact that she was too lewd for her own good when all these pretty girls and handsome guys were plentiful in this game.

"But, I still really wanna talk to you and stuff! Just uh...hmm...oh, I don't know if I should say this, but I feel like if we're going to be friends or anything I should get it out of the way? The thing I almost said earlier after saying I was Bi...well...I'm trans. Like, transgender. Like, I'm a girl, but IRL I have a boy's body. I was too nervous to say it earlier but I don't know, I have a good feeling about you or somethin' I guess."

@Canen Osiris