looking at the stars in the sky, oh what a damn mess i made || ota

[swordandshield]

CHARACTERS: Felix and you! / OTA!
LOCATION: infirmary, armory, simulation room, training room, anywhere else.
DATE: all throughout December
CONTENT: catch-all for December / Felix arrives at the station in the infirmary, then later checks out the station and gets acquainted with things. If you would like to specify whether you'd like your character to meet him while in his armor or not please go ahead! Default will be in armor unless otherwise stated in prompt or asked for him to be out of armor. (For sake of this arrival he will be out of armor in any infirmary threads.)
NOTE: I default to brackets to keep things small for starters but I honestly feel comfortable with both brackets of prose so take your pick and I'll follow suit!
WARNINGS: canon injury, language, violent thoughts, mentions of war and death in Felix's exposition, etc. will update if needed.



i. you got the trophy and i got the hearse || infirmary

[Felix opened his eyes slowly and took a deep breath. The world wasn't falling around him. The wind wasn't rushing past his body at too fast speeds. He was stationary and safe. At least, he assumed he was safe for the moment. He didn't see, hear, or feel any immediate threats in the vicinity anyway.

But he couldn't help but be paranoid considering his last few moments on Chorus. Which brought him back to the present. It was stark and white and sterile. Infirmary. Not his first rodeo. It brought back memories and he repressed them for all he was worth. The present also came with another reminder this was somehow all real: pain.

And lots of it. His legs felt like they were on fire.]

Fuck. [He exclaimed to himself. Then, loudly, calling out:] Where the hell is the call button? I definitely need more painkillers in here.

ii. ready for war || armory

[A new day, a new life, a new mission. His legs finally in working order, Felix began to explore the space station. It seemed pretty standard though it was clearly not UNSC designed. He was okay with that. He didn't need to be back in the UNSC. Fuck that.

One of his first stops though was the armory. He had found his armor and some of his weaponry (everything from that last day, that last encounter at the tower) in his assigned room once he'd made it out of the infirmary. But it wasn't his full arsenal and even if it had been it never hurt to have more. It never hurt to know where more supplies were located or how to access them.

Especially in a place like this. He had to learn how to operate the machine that supplied the weaponry. Thankfully, he was from a time period with advanced technology and he even knew a little bit about alien tech. This was a breeze by comparison.]

Okay. I think I've got it now.

[He said to himself as he confirmed his request. The machine did its thing and Felix reached to grab the item. It was small and sharp and aero dynamic. Felix balanced the tip of the throwing knife on his forefinger.]

Oh yeah. I could get used to this. Now to just make half a dozen more of these... a DMR, a Magnum, a sniper--

[Please interrupt him before he lists an entire army's worth of weaponry.]

iii. there's a party soon do you wanna go || simulation room

[The station had a simulated mission room. Felix thought it would honestly be rather boring and trite, not much different from the training room, but he quickly found out how wrong he was. The simulations were much more immersive than he had anticipated and instead of simply gazing at the equipment briefly and walking back out, he found himself caught up in a scenario despite his initial intentions.

It turned out it was worth the distraction. After an introduction period, Felix walked into a grand ballroom with people swirling all around to the beat of lively music and flitting to and fro twittering gossip from all over. His attire for the evening changed to match the setting and for a moment Felix marveled at the seamless integration as he glanced over his armor-less form to see himself wearing a nice suit that blended into the crowd. The realm was throwing a huge party and Felix had been informed there was a threat on the horizon and the goal was to find and neutralize it so that the orb could be obtained peacefully but amidst the ostentatious gala the mercenary's eyes lit up with excitement.

He readily forgot about the mission and joined in the revelries. That might have been a bit of a lie, but it couldn't hurt to have a bit of fun while he kept an eye out for trouble. Ever the opportunist, Felix mingled with the crowd and partook in the alcohol being offered to party guests. He wondered if simulated drinks could actually get him inebriated and decided to find out.

Eventually his eye caught sight of an anomaly. Two, in fact, and one was that another Orber had joined the simulation. He smiled as he approached and, no matter who or what the Orber was, Felix held out a hand in offering.]

Care for a dance? It'll be interesting, I can guarantee that.

iv. keep chasing those thrills || training room

[This was where Felix thought he would be spending a typical amount of time while stuck on the station. There were a lot of things that Felix neglected compared to how he had been within the military. But maintaining his body and sharpening his skills was not one of them. There was absolutely no way he would allow that to go lax. Not only was it vital to his career choice and survival, but he would never let his body look anything less than perfectly sculpted.

He was a wiry man, skinny and tall but finely muscled without a single ounce of fat on him. Look closely enough at him while he had no armor and worked out his body, and one might notice the various scars lining his body beneath the clothing. He paid no mind to others as he exercised unless approached directly.

There were days when he only exercised, but there were plenty of others when he picked up a weapon and practiced with it. His aim with firearms was notably perfected. The non-moving targets were boring as he kept his spread tight and the moving targets were hardly a challenge as he popped them off in quick succession with one shot each. It didn't seem to matter what sort of weapon he picked up but his favorites seemed to be pistols and any mid-range rifles. And throwing knives. He took a certain amount of pride at his skill with the knives as anyone who approached while he had them in hand would quickly find out.

Then there was finally a day that he went looking for company. Once he'd been around long enough to figure out who participated in sparring sessions and who had the skills to keep up with him. Maybe he had his armor on, maybe he didn't to keep it fair. But as he approached there was a smile to his voice as he spoke amiably.]

I was wondering if I could find a partner for the evening. Know anyone looking for a sparring session?

v. wildcard

[[ anything else, yo! plotting comment, PMs, or AisuYoukai if wanna talk but seriously. anything at all. ]]

Comments

Infirmary

[bindsthedead]

[The person who comes over is... too young to be a doctor. But she looks over his legs, frowning.]

You'll have to wait for Doctor McCoy to get here for that. But I can help with your injuries. Is it just your legs, or do you have any other injuries?

[Might as well heal everything at once, even if it's a bit draining.]

[swordandshield]

[Felix wasn't sure what to make of the girl. At first he thought maybe she was a young nurse reacting to his call. But then she said what she said and he had more doubts than just her age. It didn't really make any sense to him.]

Um, sure. My right shoulder was punctured by two needler rounds, I probably suffered a concussion from the rocket launcher blast, and tons of bruises in various places from all the melee combat. Are you noting all this down for the doctor? Because I do not like repeating myself.

[And he has no idea what she's capable of. Also, he's got a ton (more) of injuries built up from the last day and a half. War, it's brutal.]

[bindsthedead]

[Sabriel nods, taking down a few notes, but apparently not alarmed at all that the man she was talking to was injured in combat. That's... fairly normal for the crew, except she doesn't really recognize the weapon descriptions.]

I am. Although hopefully I'll have mended the more serious injuries, so he won't have to do so much.

[It's easy, to reach into the Charter, to look for the marks of a healing spell- one for mending broken bones and healing the softer tissues, to make sure muscles and ligaments were all in order, and to trace them out, mark after mark, as more and more glowing golden symbols join them.]

[swordandshield]

[Felix's eyes widen as he stared at her. He had been going to make a snappy comment in response but suddenly the words died in his throat. What the hell was going on? Wait, was this some sort of alien tech? That's what it had to be. Some sort of holographic display that she was using to program some healing suite.

That, at least, made sense to his mind so he accepted it as truth.]

Don't forget the shrapnel inside, please.

[Frag grenades, amirite? Hurt like a sonavubitch. He would know, that was what caused his legs to get so messed up. It had gone off so close to him it not only sent him flying but the shrapnel had managed to lodge itself in his flesh despite his armor. Felix wasn't really sure what else to say at the moment, either, a bit fascinated by the "high-tech" glyphs in the air.

He wasn't certain whether to be thankful or repelled. Aliens weren't his favorite people in the galaxy but their ancient technology certainly did make for interesting toys.]

[bindsthedead]

The shrapnel's in your legs?

[Oh. Well, this just got a bit more complicated.

Letting the spell go with a sigh, Sabriel reaches for another, simpler one, that flashes over her hands- before reaching for the tweezers.

This is going to take longer than just hitting everything with a healing spell, but she can't get the pieces out with magic. (At least, not without doing even more damage.) So instead she settles down for some painstaking work, with her free hand casting yet another spell- this one, to ease pain.]

Settle in. This is going to take a bit longer than I thought.

iv

[karumic]

[Kazuma has been in the training room a few times before himself, possibly even when Felix was using it--he's skilled with an impressive amount of weaponry, to be sure. Far more than Kazuma himself is capable of using; hell, he's never even seen automatic firearms before.

But he's no slouch with the weapons he does know how to use, and the training room is the best place available for him to work on his sword forms. The saber he's using is the wrong shape for the katana techniques he's familiar with, but he'd learned enough about Western-style sword dueling during his months in London--for how mentally present he was at the time, at any rate--that he's able to perform with the saber almost as well. And he does know a fair amount of martial arts from living with the Mikotobas.

When Felix approaches, Kazuma eyes him warily.]

That depends on what kind of sparring you're looking to do.

[swordandshield]

[The guy looked a little young but Felix could tell he had some training in him. Enough to just barely pique his interest into watching Kazuma go through a few forms. The sword techniques weren't half bad--Felix only marginally remembered saber training in the marines since it was more a priority to learn other combat methods but he had liked the idea of a blade in his hand (eventually though he had settled on knives as his preferred blade of choice)--so maybe the guy had some worth to him after all. So eventually Felix had approached him.]

Take your pick. I'm sure I can keep up.

[His smile never dropped. He was smug, confident in his abilities to adjust to whatever was thrown at him. Possibly a little too confident.]

[karumic]

[Kazuma barely manages not to make a face. This guy's real confident, huh? Arrogance always deserves to be taken down a peg. (He gamely ignores the voice in his head that sounds a little like Ryunosuke and is calling him a hypocrite.)

In any case, he certainly can't turn Felix down now. Not with the implied insult to his pride. As Kazuma turns to face him fully, it's clear the challenge has been accepted.]

I'm competent in both Japanese- and Western-style swordplay, and I know some jujutsu. [Now, take your pick.]

[swordandshield]

[Felix's eyes lowered to stare at Kazuma's sword. His smile turned wry like he was trying not to laugh, making his smirk just as smarmy as its predecessor.]

Well, my sword would eat through yours in a hot second so let's stick with unarmed melee combat. Hope your jujitsu is up to par with my mixed martial arts.

[Never mind the fact that half of it was derived from jujitsu. Felix beckoned with one hand for the other person to follow him to a space for sparring. He wasn't the type to bow or any other formalities (and in fact probably would be the type to sneak attack during such trivialities) but he waited for Kazuma to get settled in and make the first attack. His stance was lackadaisical, relaxed and defenseless with his hands at his sides. He beckoned with one hand again and this time it was a clear taunt.]

iii.

[spikedbats]

[ It's perhaps the outcome of the last two missions that leads Steve into trying out the simulation room. Without the kind of background in these kinds of assignments that the rest of the station seems to excel at, a little bit of harmless practice couldn't hurt, right?

At least this way the stakes are a lot lower, and maybe if he's able to face some of those fears that he's now realizing he still clings onto, he'll be able to avoid a situation like nearly drowning from a panic attack while swimming from one island to the next. It's a nice thought, even if he has his doubts that he'll ever be rid of those terrors that continue to keep him up at night, even to this day.

The setting comes as a surprise. It reminds Steve of those stupid parties his parents used to drag him to, back when they actually tried to be parents. There had been a time when wearing an outfit like this would be something he'd feel right at home in, yet despite this only being a simulation, he still manages to feel stiff and uncomfortable.

He's fiddling with the cuffs of his suit jacket when he hears Felix, followed by the outstretched hand in offering. That's strange; he thought he was alone here, but sure enough, it's another Orber. He considers his options, glancing around at the rest of the crowd as the collar of his shirt starts to feel tighter all of a sudden. He could reject Felix's offer, listen to the voice in the back of his head that resembles his father, chastising him for daring to consider even just dancing with another man, or--

Or he could reject all that bigotry that comes with growing up in a small town with conservative parents.

Besides, it's for the simulated mission, right?

He smiles finally, and takes Felix's hand to let him lead him further out onto the dance floor. ]

Sure, why not? Though, I should warn you, dancing's not really my forte? [ At least not ballroom dancing. The kind of dancing at high school dances hardly counts. ]

[swordandshield]

[Now that he had the Orber by the hand, Felix took a moment to look at the other as he led them out onto the dance floor. The man was young, young enough that Felix would probably call him 'kid' despite whatever age he actually turned out to be. It didn't stop him from leading the young man to a specific spot on the floor and turning around with a suddenness that bordered on flourish, flashing a smile at his new dance partner. He'd won plenty of hearts and one night stands with these sort of theatrics.

(Also probably pissed off just about as many, but that was just the name of the game. Felix knew what he was about, and he had confidence in spades.)

He positioned himself against Steve with the help of one hand on the young man's waist to bring him in, his other still holding Steve's hand in his own, and easily began to lead the dance.]

Don't worry about it, [he assured with his winning smile] just relax and go with the flow.

[Admittedly Felix did love a good fast paced dance rather than this slow type of circling around but blending into the crowd was the name of tonight's game and he could play it. It was clear that he knew what he was doing anyway. His movements were smooth and precise, almost elegant. He led with confidence and didn't call any attention to Steve's awkwardness or missed footing were there any. He just seemed to glide through it and make up for it.

After a moment of silent dancing as they got started, Felix asked nonchalantly:]

Not so bad, is it?

[spikedbats]

[ Well, at least Felix isn't so bad at leading. It's easy enough for Steve to follow his lead, and although he isn't exactly musically inclined, he finds that being able to make out the rhythm of the music makes it all the easier.

He won't be Ginger Rogers anytime soon, but at least he's able to get by without stepping on Felix's feet, which has to count for something. ]

You do this often? [ He tries not to overthink everything, because he knows as soon as he focuses too much, he's going to fall apart. This mission is partially about being able to blend in, and it won't do if it looks incredibly obvious that he's not cut out for the job.

It takes a little bit of time before Steve finally finds himself relax enough that he can focus more on the movement of Felix's body and the way he guides Steve around the floor than on the music and on everyone else, almost like their surroundings are melting around each other. Which, given that this is simulated, he isn't entirely sure it isn't. ]

Huh? [ Oh, apparently he's gotten so engrossed in the dance that he barely catches what Felix asks. ] Yeah, I mean. I won't be winning any awards or anything, but it's kinda fun.

[swordandshield]

[Not stepping on feet definitely counts for something. It keeps Felix in a good mood as he leads the less knowledgeable Steve around the dance floor. Which in turn also makes it easier for Felix to focus and lead them where he wants to be.

He glances at Steve to answer the question.] Dance? Nah, just enough.

[Enough to know the steps, the moves required in order to make it look good. The smoothness, the quickness, the fleet-of-foot quality he gained from training of a different sort years ago. He was naturally quick and agile, then military training gave him the knowledge and skills to hone that ability. Then he was chosen for SpecOps and the type of training that took escalated his skill set tenfold. He was an exceptional scout and marksman, and took his role seriously back in his military days. He moved swiftly and silently over any terrain to get the job done.

The dance floor wasn't exactly a battlefield but it had its obstacles. Felix traversed them as easily as he would jump a rock or ford a stream to get to his target. That meant blending in and playing the part. If he had to dance to do it, then he would. Thankfully, he'd also enjoy it a lot more than he would a more traditional battlefield.

Felix looked amused by the time Steve answered his question.]

It is kinda fun. [He agreed with that same amused look and reflected tone of voice to accompany it. And an almost wry twist to his smile.] Well, maybe later I'll show you some of my better moves. They're a little more fun than this simple stuff.

[Before he could explain further he spotted what he was looking for on the floor and twists them around in a tight spin. His eyes stray from Steve and lock onto his target. The light in his eyes dies just ever so perceptively as his focus hones in on his target instead of the act of blending in.]

IV

[heroooic]

[Finn had wandered in and out of the training room a few times since his arrival at the station. On it’s own it held little interest, but once he saw that people were using it fairly frequently for practicing with weapons, for sparring and other combat oriented training, his opinion started to change.

He was most interested in seeing the different types of fighting on display. People came from wildly different worlds than his own, using weapons and armors that he’d never seen, fighting styles and techniques he’s never heard of. A veritable buffet of heroics from the multiverse…and maybe some non-heroics, but Finn was assuming the best here. Who agrees to help some magic orbs if they’re aren’t in the business of heroics?

Finn was itching for more activity anyway, restless and bored without a task to busy him. Fighting calmed the frustrating part of his brain that started to wander in the downtime, to feel anxious about things and people left behind, or ask questions that might be difficult to answer about what exactly they were doing here. Training was just an extension of throwing himself into work, and he practically leaps at the opportunity when someone asks…]

Me, I’ll spar with you! If you need someone!

[Finn’s enthusiasm was significantly bolstered by having seen Felix in the training room a handful of times, his skill and prowess with some of the aforementioned strange and new weapons, notable. He seemed like a fighter, through and through, with a whiff of coolness that Finn was drawn to like a moth to a flame.

Maybe a smallish sixteen year old wasn’t the most ideal sparring partner for a well-trained adult fighter, but Finn is capable enough and seems confident. His great weakness lies in how undisciplined his style of fighting is compared to many people here.]

[swordandshield]

[Finn was definitely not the person Felix directed his question towards initially. The ex-soldier was doing his best to ignore the kid. That was until said kid volunteered quite readily and eagerly to be a sparring partner. Felix's first reaction was to grimace. And no, he didn't hide it, although he wasn't facing Finn at the time either.

He turned towards the kid with a slow spin on one heel and looked down at Finn. This was immediately awkward. There was more than a few people in the room at the moment so Felix knew he had to play the game right. At least Chorus had given him plenty of practice dealing with young, naive fighters that didn't know the first thing about actually fighting. He'd managed to stay on the rebels' good side for years, he could handle another year or two if it meant getting to fix thing that had lost him that war.

That was the plan at least.]

Iiii... don't know if that's a good idea, kiddo. [He said with a soft smile. (He wanted to vomit. He was pretty certain he managed to keep that out of his expression.)] I was looking for someone with a little more experience. I'm not looking to hurt anyone majorly by accident.

Here comes trouble

[heroooic]

Wh- [Finn’s expression melted from enthusiasm to incredulity, and then to something like offense. He was also well aware that there were people in the room, and those people were going to be fast to label him an inexperienced kid if he didn’t disprove it. He sucks in a breath. ] No way, dude, I have tons of experience! I fight guys bigger than you twice a week.

[And perhaps most notably, he had nonexistent fear about doing so. It might be mistaken for bravado, but really he just loves to fight. He wasn’t about to let some (incredibly cool) guy tell the whole station that Finn Mertens couldn’t fight.]

And you’re not gonna hurt me. I can totally take a hit!

I'd say 'already?' but... it was inevitable.

[swordandshield]

Huh.

[Felix wasn't impressed by the kid's enthusiastic rejoinder so much as left feeling awkward and annoyed that now there were definitely eyes on them. Which meant he had to come up with more to say in a nice manner, which was the real reason he was irked. He didn't really deal with kids. Mostly they didn't show up around places he frequented, but when he did have to interact with one they perplexed and irritated him. That feeling of uncertainty and awkwardness just compounded his irritation.

It was a good thing he was good at pretending. He took a breath and let it out. Raised a brow at the kid. Tried to keep up his best 'nice guy talking down to a kid' voice.]

All right. You're small. You get into a lot of scuffles. I get it. [He indicated his own form. He was tall, but skinny and considerably small by most tough guy standards. Didn't stop him from being a tough guy.] I'm not exactly beefy myself. But I know my limits... and I know my skills. I was trained for this sort of thing. And not by some guy in a gi at some strip mall store, but a very serious sergeant that personally hated my guts and then a very serious war that taught me training wasn't really ever going to be enough.

[He gestured vaguely with a hand.]

I know we're all here for a reason, and we're all going on missions together, but some things should just be left to the professionals. Stick with the easy stuff. You'll graduate to the harder stuff later, kid. Don't rush it.

I.

[dr_unconscious]

[Clayton isn't too far away from the Infirmary at any given time; people don't show up here often, but he likes to be prepared in case of surprise scuffles or the occasional new arrival appears. Felix proves to be an excellent case-in-point. Clayton can hear him shouting from just down the hall, and in no time at all he's jogging into the room, gaze fixing quickly on one of the only occupied cots.]

...Yeah, I think I can get you on a drip. [A brief glance tells him that this guy definitely needs it. Clayton manages to keep the uttered oath of surprise at the sheer extent of his injuries to himself, but his anxious expression betrays him anyway. Good lord that is a lot of blood. He covers the remaining distance to the bed in several hurried strides.] Gotta stabilize you first 'fore we set up an IV. Sit tight, I'll be just a moment. Can you tell me what happened?

[swordandshield]

Frag grenade, needler gun, rocket launcher, CQC.

[He lists off deadpan. None of these injuries would have killed him though. Mostly because his armor absorbed a good portion of the damage but also because he was a tough little bastard and had survived worse. However, the fall would have killed him. Felix still wasn't sure if he had hit the ground yet or not before being whisked away here. He didn't want to think about it.

He eyed Clayton as the doctor(?) moved to get things started. Felix hadn't seen more than a field medic in ages. Not counting the crazy mad scientist/doctor from the Feds back on Chorus. And that was another story altogether. Point was, he'd forgotten what a real medical facility felt like when trapped inside. He didn't forget how much he hated it though.

At least he'd be on drugs soon enough.]

I mean, it's been a long day and it would take forever to tell you everything. I'll live though and that's the important part, right?

You a doctor or medic?

[dr_unconscious]

[Clayton's eyebrows arc. He doesn't understand half of the things Felix just said, but the other two fill in the blanks easily enough: Military weapons. He's just come back from a pretty nasty skirmish, from the sounds of things. This also neatly explains why Felix seems to be handling what must be excruciatingly painful injuries so well. None of this stops Clayton from giving him a wince of sympathy; regardless of his tolerance or experience, Felix must still be suffering.]

With that list? I'd say you're pretty lucky you'll live, yeah.

[And, surprisingly, he lets Felix off the hook for an explanation. "Absolutely destroyed by heavy weapons" matches the scope of his injuries and is enough detail for Clayton to handle treatment.]

I'm, ah--both? Suppose I'm both, now. [Clayton pauses at the bedside table for only a moment to take a mental inventory of the supplies spread out on it. He's done enough work in the Infirmary by now to expect that the exact tools and medicine he needs will be inexplicably laid out for him, and today is no exception. Gauze and sterile dressing are snatched up so he can start wrapping the worst of Felix's wounds, get pressure on the ones that are still bleeding freely.] Clayton Epps. You're...mercenary? Military?

[swordandshield]

['Luck had nothing to do with it,' he wants to say with a sneer. He was top notch FORECON, special operations, best of the best, highly trained and skilled marine. But considering he had been about to die from a bunch of color coded morons because his partner decided to betray him... well, luck might have come a little into play.

Although that wasn't the reason Felix kept his pokerface on nor why he kept from making a sarcastic comment. People didn't know his story. He could and would still argue about the facts whether they were true or not.

No, he kept his mouth shut because he wanted to do more than just reply sarcastically. And that would show his hand too quickly. And then the good doctor gave him something else to hate on anyway.]

Both? Really? It's one or the other, doc. Make up your mind. [Please. Because he couldn't handle another purple idiot. (Don't ask.) He grimaced as he attempted to move one of his legs into a better position. He took a deep breath and concentrated on doing what he loved most: talking.] Ex-military. Fought in the Great War. Honorable discharge after the war. Currently a mercenary, good call. Keeps me out of trouble as much as it causes it if you know what I mean. You can call me Felix.

iv.

[oiorpata]

[ andy doesn't spar too often - she's not a show off and she doesn't actually need much practice with old tricks. her big learning curve here is magic, and she's been working on that and ways to hold her own against it better. sometimes that includes just looming in the training room with snacks and watching how other people fight. it doesn't mean she's opposed to joining in - she's actually gotten better about that, and better about offering her own assistance. dare she say it's even been fun on occasion? getting to teach others, besides her brothers? ]

[ she's dimly aware of the newer man training in that he's good at what he does, his aim is skilled, but the standards for the crew are all fairly high. ]

What do you need help with?

[swordandshield]

[Felix laughed amiably, not quite entirely hiding the amusement in his tone. His eyes sparkled with a certain kind of fire. When he looked at Andy he saw a bored predator biding its time in the shade. She didn't participate in any of the fun aspects of the training room which made her dull to consider, a bobble sitting on the sidelines. But looking a little closer revealed that it wasn't a lack of knowledge just a lack of interest. She was either bored with the routine or tired of the people around.

Either way, Felix got the impression he was looking at a fighter not a passive observer. He wanted to know what made her tick. He wanted to know what kind of fighter she was.

Her words amused him though. That was funny.]

'Help with'? Just keeping up my skills. A little friendly spar between teammates never hurt anyone, hm? Just keeps everyone sharp.

[oiorpata]

[ hm. not sure how she feels about that laugh of his, but she'll let it go for now. she isn't bored or tired of the people here so much as she knows wholeheartedly where her skills are and knows the points where she is above them. she doesn't need practice, not really, doesn't need to keep up with her skills when they're as embedded as they are. she's more interested in new skills than sharpening old ones. ]

Technically, that's still me helping you. [ the urge to be pedantic on purpose was too much. ]

I meant what kind of skills are you looking to spar with.

[swordandshield]

Is it?

[He's still smiling brightly. The amusement was lost but he didn't let that show. Instead, he just kept on and answered her question.]

Right. Well, anything you've got. MMA rules are fine. I'm military trained, I'll adjust to whatever's thrown at me.

[He'd offer to use weapons but that was probably a bit much for many of the people here. But if she wanted to throw the idea out there he wouldn't balk.]