017.1 Jaela

[Corwin]

[20:04] <Kozzzz> Walking into Aurora's main hall, Jaela goes past the Medicant Golems. They stand stone-still as she walks by, heading towards the portals. As she does so, "Jaela?" A voice calls. Around her a few humans and pixies are off on one side of the hall, chatting over something. One of the Jarl's giants is studying one of the golems, but that's not who calls you. Misaela approaches at a trot, coming up
[20:04] <Kozzzz> to you.
[20:05] <Jaela> "Yeah?" she asks, pausing in her stride.
[20:09] <Kozzzz> Misaela slows down and stops, "Are you busy?"
[20:09] * Jaela shrugs. "I've got time for you. What do you need?"
[20:12] <Kozzzz> "Practice," Misalea's expression is hard, eyes narrowing into little slits. "Your style isn't really like the Graceful Blow, but..." She looks into Jaela's eyes, "You've taken holy orders?"
[20:15] <Jaela> "If the Graceful Blow had an opposite style, it would be mine," Jaela affirms. "I don't really have a name for it yet-- suppose that's not important. Are you asking me if I'm allowed to practice with you by my religion or something?"
[20:16] <Kozzzz> "No." Shaking her head, "I mean to ask if you are a paladin, a holy knight."
[20:17] <Jaela> "Oh, that? Yeah. I guess my order's been wiped out to the last, but it's still valid s'long as I'm around." Getting the right idea this time, she asks, "Did you want to join? I'm pretty sure you'd qualify."
[20:24] <Kozzzz> Shaking her head, "After Elrisa died...I began to study her lessons with a new eye, and I took the holy vows of my homeland. It is not precisely a paladin's duties, but it is very closely related."
[20:25] <Jaela> No recruiting today, then. Jaela nods. "If it works, stick to it. How can I help out?"
[20:26] <Kozzzz> "Practice. I feel I've made progress, but I know I'm still new to fighting with a sword. Would you help me?" With a moment's blush, "Please."
[20:27] <Jaela> "I don't mind, I think we established that already." Jaela pauses in consideration. "Want to step out to practice in Ysgard, or should I just hold back?"
[20:28] <Kozzzz> "Hold back, please," With a slight smile, "Can you meet me at Elrisa's tower in a half hour? Where you and her practiced when you first met?"
[20:29] * Jaela nods once more. "I'll just grab a practice sword and change into my other armor."
[20:31] <Kozzzz> As you head out into the courtyard, out of Aurora proper, "Hey," You hear Adrian's voice, calling to you from the side.
[20:31] <Jaela> "Hey back," Jaela calls, saluting him with her armory-loaned longsword.
[20:35] <Kozzzz> He's standing near Aurora's wall, a faint wind moving his cloak in the breeze. "Doubt I need to say this with you, but give Misalea your all. I think she has some potential, but her talent goes in a different direction than mine."
[20:35] * Jaela snorts. "It better or she'd be getting knocked out in every fight."
[20:37] <Kozzzz> The gesture you get back is entirely unfit for polite company. Despite that he smiles a little bit, "She has the same potential Elrisa had and Afina has, and that you probably have too. That force of will that becomes a physical force that shields your body, yeah?"
[20:39] <Jaela> "Yeah," Jaela agrees. "I dunno if it's something I'd go for, now that I had more time to work on my style. You can only improve so much at any time, right? Focus too much on that, and you neglect a bunch of important things." There is still time, so she comes closer to Adrian. No need to show up early like an overeager kid. "So you two are still together? Huh. How's she been doing?"
[20:43] <Kozzzz> "Sort of." He grunts at that, "She's wanted her space, her people mourn in private. She's been absolutely dedicated. She's thrown herself into practice, and she took some sort of sacred vow from her homeland. I've been helping her along, but holy vows and Elrisa's style aren't my own. Hell, I've been getting the most out of talking to Arrel about dragons. That's as far from that as you can get."
[20:46] <Jaela> "You don't find it strange to talk about dragons with, well, with a giant eagle?"
[20:48] <Kozzzz> A shrug follows, "You don't find it strange to have a lesbian relationship with a vampire?" he says right back.
[20:48] * Jaela rubs at her forehead. "It always comes back to that," she mutters. "Find some new material."
[20:55] <Kotono> "Eh." He shrugs again, "Arrel considers himself a dragon and I think he's right. Not a True Dragon, but a dragon nevertheless." Gazing off and up at the sky, a hand going to his amulet and holding it tight, "You know, that mist from the dragon-mist did something to me. I never paid that much mind to dragons before, but now they feel natural. They feel right."
[20:56] <Jaela> "If you start getting turned into one, go for the gold. Fire dragon's the best dragon."
[20:59] <Kotono> "Yeah. It can happen. Heard one of those new goddesses did it. Not sure how I feel about it, though." Looking back down at Jaela, idly scratching his wrist, pulling back his sleeve. There's a glint of silver, small patches of his skin having a distinctly metallic-silver luster.
[21:01] <Jaela> "Silver? You're already doing it wrong!" Jaela scoffs.
[21:02] <Kotono> "I'm sure I'll tell that to the next silver dragon I see," Adrian retorts, "Speaking of, how's the dragon hunt going?"
[21:02] <Jaela> "The green dragon said that if we killed a blue dragon for him, he'll join our party. Only he'd be a rainbow dragon at the time. Dragons are weird, huh?"
[21:05] <Kotono> That just gets Adrian to shake his head, "Maybe so. I don't feel the need to gather up gold and lie on it." He nods, "Get going. Don't keep Misalea waiting too long. Rather she takes her lumps now than bleeding out on a battlefield."
[21:06] <Jaela> "Yeah, yeah." Jaela turns, giving him a parting wave, and then heads towards the tower housing the Graceful Blow students.
[21:11] <Kotono> Jaela finds the tower empty, save for Misalea. She awaits you, clad familiar. She wears Elrisa's old gear and carries Sylis. The clothing is restored and repaired, while the naked blade is polished and drawn. Her white hair falls loose down her back, swaying as she rocks back and forth. On Jaela entering she nods slightly, "Thanks for coming."
[21:14] <Jaela> "'Course I'd come." For her part, Jaela is wearing her lion-themed armor that looks like it allows for more mobility. In practical terms, she can actually move just as freely in either, but it's probably important for a school that prides itself on keeping up appearances. "I'll stick to counters," she announces, holding her longsword away from her body in a way that all but invites attack. "Hitting me should be pretty easy, like this, so just concentrate on avoiding the return strike."
[21:17] <Kotono> OOC: What's your AC?
[21:18] <Jaela> OOC: 20
[21:25] <Kotono> With full abandon Misalea attacks! Her blows are fast and rely on speed, reasonably accurate. She's not in your league, Adrian's or Elrisa's, but she's far from incompetent. She strikes relying entirely on that speed to land blows, often not particularly powerful ones. Indeed, speed seems to be what she has - no real hitting power at all. Her own defenses aren't all that good - you can see her
[21:25] <Kotono> trying to do what Elrisa did, forcing her presence out - but it doesn't seem to quite work. She takes more than her fair share of counters, often unable to dodge them at all.
[21:27] <Jaela> "You know how I'm taking all the hits?" Jaela asks, pausing their practice with a gesture. "It's okay because I'm an idiot. But everyone should have some sorta plan to deal with being hit. My fallback is healing magic, but there's all sorts of other ways. Blur or the dancing images mages like to use, stuff like Stoneskin... it really comes down to magic more often than not. Did you give that any thought?"
[21:29] <Kotono> "Mirror Image? I can cast that, and Blink as well," Misalea answers, shaking her head, "But that's the magic working, and I'm trying to get better with Elrisa's style."
[21:31] <Jaela> "I guess it's pretty disrespectful to say, but why not make it part of the style?" Jaela suggests. "Styles change, don't they? Improve over time, add on all sorts of useful things? Either spell would work really well together with Elrisa's moves, so what's wrong with complimenting them? The goal's 'don't get hit and look all elegant while fighting', right?"
[21:33] <Kotono> "...mmm." Misalea murmurs, voice almost musical in it's tone. "Yes, but I can't do that until I learn more of her style. It's about presenting yourself out and controlling the battle with your will. Combining that with magic would be incredible; a few of the more magically inclined students of the Graceful Blow have done it before. In fact, mirror images are a part of the higher learnings of the school."
[21:35] <Jaela> "Makes sense," Jaela instantly agrees. "But I think it I were making changes to the style, I'd start on them way earlier. It's fine if this were just about art, but with a life and death fight...." She grimaces. "I guess it won't help until you get more of the basics down? Then I'll keep you company as long as you need." She shifts her stance. "Want to practice that battleflow control, now? I'll go on the offensive."
[21:39] <Kotono> "Yes," Misalea nods quickly, "You want me to defend?"
[21:43] <Jaela> "Try to do that, or dodge with the slightest possible margin. That's how she was doing it."
[21:49] <Kotono> From here you practice on. You find Misalea struggles with it, inconsistent. Yet she takes each blow and keeps going, throwing herself into it over and over again. Sometimes she manages it and dodges with breath-taking grace, other times she takes a shot and ends up doubled over, or lying on her butt and groaning.
[21:51] <Jaela> "It's pretty useful to spar with someone who can get you right back on your feet, innit?" Jaela asks, using another cure spell to deal with the bruising running up Misalea's right upper arm.

[Corwin]

[19:50] <Kotono> Misalea buries a wince as she gets up, "It helps," she agrees, "I've been taking short breaks just outside to do it."
[19:52] <Jaela> "That would do it," Jaela agrees. "Who else did you get to spar with you?"
[19:54] <Kotono> "Elrisa's students." Misalea stops. There's an expression on her face, a tightning of her lips and narrowing of her eyes, "When I can get them to stop bemoaning what happened." At her side a fist forms, "They aren't ready to follow in her path until they cease mourning."
[19:58] <Jaela> "Don't think I can help you there," Jaela admits. "I was thinking, at first, that I should just move in and kick people into the right sorta shape. But there's no point if people don't want to be helped, is there? It's different if they ask." She nods at Misalea in acknowledgement just the bit.
[20:00] <Kotono> A small nod comes back to that, "They'll recover in time." A faint laugh follows, yet her face is screwed up and almost puckering. "Maybe I listened to my efforts to boost morale too often, but..."
[20:02] <Jaela> "Nothing wrong with that. Just don't overestimate your powers. I mean, I've got no illusions about smacking a pit fiend around, so I'm not gonna pick a fight with one just yet, one on one." She snorts. "And speaking of people learning their own limits, Willim's been bragging about how he can take me. Wanna take a quick break and call him out for an Ysgard duel just outside the gates for me?"
[20:06] <Kotono> "Can we break later?" Misalea asks, "I want to keep practicing. If I don't need to rest, I won't." Taking a deep breath, "I still have a long way to go until I can come close to how Elrisa fought."
[20:07] <Jaela> "Sure, if you want. I don't need to be at my best to beat him like a fucking drum," Jaela responds, raising her longsword anew.
[20:14] <Kotono> More practice passes. Misalea constantly throws herself into it, improving slowly as she takes lump after lump. AT last after a particularly fierce exchange she ends up lying flat on her back, while Jaela can feel a welt rising across her stomach. "Getting a little better," she manages weakly, "I think."
[20:15] <Jaela> She heals it with a word and a gesture rather than leave it as a reminder. "Like night and day, compared to when I saw you first," Jaela affirms. "What next? Same time tomorrow?"
[20:17] <Kotono> "That's fine," Slowly getting herself up, using Sylis to support her standing, "I need to practice the individual forms soon, so I
[20:17] <Kotono> "That's fine," Slowly getting herself up, using Sylis to support her standing, "I need to practice the individual forms soon, so I'll do that."
[20:18] * Jaela is not so callous she'd just stand there and watch Misalea struggle to her feet, however she might look! She helps steady her with a helping hand. "You know where to find me. It's either my room or flying around."
[20:22] <Kotono> "Thank you," Misalea rests against the wall once up, rubbing her ribs. "I'd like your help studying my holy vows tomorrow; I can't neglect those, either."
[20:23] * Jaela snorts. "Those are easy. You just gotta remember one thing. If you're doing what's right? Fuck whoever's there, standing before you and lecturing about what you should be doing instead. If you're in the right, you just tell him to fucking move out of the way."
[20:26] <Kotono> "That such a...manly view of things." That gets Misalea's lips to rise up, from that into a full blow smile, "I doubt Elrisa would have approved of that particular approach. A refined rebuke, a soft seduction, or a dazzling distraction, certainly.
[20:26] <Kotono> "
[20:27] * Jaela laughs. "Why should we let the men steal all the good parts?"
[20:32] <Kotono> Shaking her head, "We'll just have to see about that."
[20:33] * Jaela salutes Misalea with her sword, and then steps outside. She could always search on her own, but-- "Elena!"
[20:41] <Kotono> Nothing for a moment, and then, "JAELA!" Right into her ear, Elena calling her name back, surely just behind her!
[20:42] * Jaela whirls about! "Too long!" she shouts back. "You waited that moment on purpose!"
[20:43] <Kotono> Elena has a huge grin on her face, "Hi!" she smiles, "You were looking for me?"
[20:43] <Jaela> "Yeah. I'm gonna bully the troll a bit, and I want you to referee. Can you get him outside the gates for me? Deliver my challenge, slap him across the face with a gauntlet, the works."
[20:45] <Kotono> "Okay," Elena says, "But why the challenge, anyway?"
[20:46] <Jaela> "It's pretty straightforward. The fucker keeps on getting brainwashed by our enemies and savaging me when I least expect it, and after he brags that he can easily take me because I fight our enemies and not him. That's such bull I gotta show him the error of his fucking ways."
[20:47] * Jaela shrugs. "You can quote it word for word s'long as you get him outside for the Ysgard duel. I'm gonna go change and be there, waiting."
[20:50] <Kotono> "Okay," Elena agrees, "I'll go find him." With that she hurries off and away.