[open]

[earthshaken]

Who: Terra and you!
When: 11th April
Where: CERES Academy and around the city
What: PE classes and assorted workout shenanigans. Come meet your hardcore teacher, Academy students.
Rating/Warning: None yet.

---

I. CERES Academy

[Terra's got his students out on the school's outdoor track. If you're unfortunate enough to be in his class, he's already made the entire class do fifteen laps without stopping. He realises the class are starting to get tired, though, because he stops them after the fifteenth lap to give them a pep talk.]

You're not going to become strong if you give up now. If anything happens and we're stranded around Tellus again, you might not be able to rely on anyone but your own strength. If this tires you out, you won't be ready for whatever this world has to throw at us.

[He paces as he says this, looking each of them in the eye. Is this military endurance training, or a PE lesson...?]

Five more laps and we're done. This time, I don't want to see anyone stopping or walking.

[There's a collective groan, but Terra isn't about to brook any argument. If you're particularly slow, Terra will catch up and run alongside you as encouragement until the last person crosses the finish line. He'll also stop to talk to anyone after class is dismissed, if you feel like saying hi or griping at him.]


II. Gym

[And when he's not torturing training his students, Terra is training himself in the gym, using a few dummies for target practice. He knows training like this isn't the same -- he can't hone magic or his Keyblade skills under a teacher like he could in the Land of Departure, like in days long gone. Fighting is only one small part of his skills. But being stuck in the city like this, he has to keep his skills sharp.

So you can find him in the gym, enormous Keyblade in hand, slashing, ducking and weaving away from an imaginary enemy.

He doesn't expect anyone to join him. This is purely for his own benefit. A part of him still thinks that if he keeps himself strong, he can keep the darkness at bay. He can protect the people here he feels responsible for. Another part of him knows this is just a distraction, and that by keeping himself busy, he won't think about what's bothering him at all. Not the darkness, or anything else.

He's choosing to ignore that particular thought. He pauses, wiping the sweat away that beads on his forehead, and charges at one of the dummies.]


III. Food stop

[Even Terra has to slow down every once in a while to avoid burning himself out. On the way back to his apartment he stops at one of the food stalls to grab a smoothie and to sit and rest for a while. Other people seem to have had a similar idea, though, because all the tables around the stalls are crammed full of people eating and socialising, with no empty tables in sight.

At which point he'll approach you, gesturing at the seat opposite.]

Mind if I join you?

Comments

III

[playboyknight]

[Angelo was mostly out right now because he needed to get out of his stuffy apartment before going stir crazy from boredom. Everything was still overwhelming to a degree and he simply needed to take his mind off a few things which he was about to until Terra came up from behind him. His eyes open to see the other, eyeing him for a moment like a vulture eyeing its prey before he opens his mouth.]

If you want, I have no objections.

[Terra will more than likely notice his accent/tone of voice is very posh at the very least.]

[ooc: Oh btw I hope this is all right for me to do, but I was wondering if you could fill out Angelo's permission post please? Thank you in advance.]

III

[a_meebo]

[Mikleo looks to be reading a history textbook. It's all about Cerealia, of course, and that's definitely a frown on his face as he's reading. There's a smoothie next to him that suggests he's been a little too engrossed to actually drink it.

When he sees Terra approach to ask that question, though, he looks up, maybe with a little surprise on his face. After glancing around to see how crowded it's gotten, Mikleo shakes his head.]

No, go right ahead.

[The water seraph just casually bookmarks his place and closes the book, not wanting to be rude.]

II

[yourotherleft]

[Zoro's not in the gym as often anymore, now that he has a better weight-training regimen, but he still drops by now and then for a low-key workout. Or to get out of the apartment, what with excitable crewmates on all sides now.

He barely gets in when he spots the guy with the enormous key-shaped sword that he fought alongside once before, at least a month ago. He hadn't heard from the guy and never caught his name, so there was no way to check on him. But now...

Zoro watches his attack sequence for a bit, leaning against a wall.]

Let me guess. You don't like training against the virtual enemies either. They just don't feel the same when you hit 'em.

II

[bloodbiter]

[since she arrived here days ago, addie has been busy exploring. this place seems impossibly complicated to her; she can't count on both hands the number of devices or other technology she doesn't understand. it's been frustrating, but it's been fascinating as well.

when she finds this place, she isn't sure what to make of it for several minutes. after observing a few people at work, though, she concludes that it's some kind of strange place designed for training. when she sees terra, what takes her interest more than his actions is the weapon he's using. she doesn't want to disturb him, so she waits for a moment when he pauses.]

What sort of weapon is that? Is it a sword?

I

[immobileyes]

[ guess who's the last one, and not usually part of the class anyway? Yep, it's Mary. She's still trying to keep up and give her stamina a swift kick towards greater heights, but it's probably painfully clear that it's still in the beginning stages of progress.

Because as she tries valiantly to stop herself from lagging, she looks like she's about ready to keel over right then and there. ]

[earthshaken]

[Terra doesn't miss that look, and it immediately sets him on edge, narrowing his eyes. What's this guy's problem? Still, he sits down as offered.]

Don't worry. I won't be here long.

[He interpreted that look as not being welcome here, so he might as well make it obvious he gets the hint.]

[earthshaken]

Thanks...

[Terra says it, but he looks distracted. Now that Terra's up close like this, he can sense something coming from Mikleo... Pure light, without a trace of darkness. He's startled, but he decides not to comment on it just yet, sitting down opposite him like nothing is amiss.

Maybe he can get to know him a little better before he jumps ahead to anything else. No point in scaring him or weirding him out, after all.]

I'm Terra. What's your name?

[earthshaken]

[Terra pauses and lowers his weapon, turning to look over at who had spoken. His hand tightens instinctively around the hilt of the Keyblade, his expression becoming guarded.]

...Yeah. Something like that.

[Then there's a flash of light and a crackle of white-hot electricity engulfing the Keyblade, and the weapon is gone. After Maleficent, anyone taking an interest in the Keyblade makes him uneasy, at least until he knows what their intentions are.

And the less people who know about it in this place, the better.]

[earthshaken]

[Terra almost feels bad for pushing her so hard, but he supposes it's to be expected when this is her first time in one of his classes. Still, he can't treat one student differently from the rest of the class when he's trying to push all of them equally.]

Don't give up, Mary! Believe that you can finish!

[...Motivational Disney speeches are definitely helpful for someone about to keel over, right?]

[earthshaken]

...Yeah. And I'm a little worried ViViD will glitch out again and I'll get trapped in there.

[Terra's been through that enough by now to be wary of it. He'd much rather fight things he can physically hit, not wade his way through a virtual reality that is risky or often outright unfinished.

He lowers his weapon, and turns to Zoro, his training drills abandoned for now.]

How's it going? [He realises it's been a while since they met, and a lot had happened since then. Hopefully he'd held up okay.]

iii;

[condoner]

[ akane's just finished working and is about to head home to her own apartment when she realises she's forgotten to do her groceries, so it's a local food stall for her tonight. she'll do groceries tomorrow... and make sure something like this doesn't happen again. she's more used to eating at home than in a public place because she's so used to watching the news, and at the same time, wearing something comfortable (or in her case, nothing at all) while she eats. (she's not an exhibitionist, she swears.)

so here she is now, looking up at terra when he invites himself over to the seat opposite hers. she doesn't mind, of course, and even though she might be watching the news on her cerevice, she turns that off as she gestures to the seat across her. ]

Please do.

[ though there's a bit of a mess since there's some paperwork on the table, too. but she gets up to quickly shove everything in her bag. ]

I'm sorry for the mess. Please, sit.

[immobileyes]

[ Yes, they're quite inspiring and uplifting, and this is why Mary nods.

... And stumbles, because not even at her most determined can Mary be entirely graceful. ]

[earthshaken]

Thanks -- and don't worry about it.

[He genuinely doesn't mind the mess, since it's not like he needed the table for anything aside from somewhere to sit and set his drink down. Still, he sits down, trying not to be too inquisitive about what she's up to.]

Busy day?

[playboyknight]

[Angelo can sense right away that something is off about this fellow. The feeling he's sensing is very close to the ones he felt after his dealings with Dhoulmagus and Rhapthorne. So he makes his apparent that he's aware of this and has to know himself. He's not holding back either in terms of how he words himself.]

So what Dark Lord do you serve for or are you one yourself?

[He stares right at Terra, his arms crossed and eyes remaining narrowed.]

[yourotherleft]

Ugh. [man, does he feel that. The gravity room he uses seems safe but anything beyond that...] Stupid virtual game thing.

Oh, you know. Surviving. Fewer monsters to fight around here, so I gotta make do with whoever'll take me on. That sort of thing.

[earthshaken]

[Terra frowns. So he can sense the darkness in him...]

Neither. I don't serve the darkness, and I'm definitely not a lord of it.

[As defensive as he sounds, he's telling the truth, at least. But he's starting to think sitting here wasn't such a good idea.]

[earthshaken]

[Stumbling isn't good. For now he'll walk around the edge of the track to keep an eye on her, just in case she does keel over altogether.]

[playboyknight]

[Angelo turns his expression into one he usually carries; one of playfulness.]

Well color me surprised, at least now I know. After dealing with evil jesters and lords, I've had enough of people using dark magic. Not that I can say much really, I use it to a degree myself.

[earthshaken]

Do you really like fighting that much?

[Terra's not judging, just curious. He likes to push himself to prove to himself how strong he's become, so he can almost relate, but he'd never pick fights for the sake of fighting.]

[earthshaken]

[Terra doesn't relax at the apparent playfulness. If anything, he looks more tense.]

What do you want from me?

[It was usually the way: anyone who knew about darkness always wanted to use him for something. He fully expects this one to be just the same as the others.]

[yourotherleft]

It's the best way to continue to train. [shrug. welcome to shounen idiotville, population Zoro.] At some point, just lifting weights and doing situps barely keeps you at your current level, you can't improve without a challenge.

...'least, that's what I've found for myself.

[playboyknight]

[Oh? Well, he's not going to look a gift-horse in the mouth then.]

Well if you must insist on me wanting something from you, I'd very much like either a deck of playing cards or a bottle of red wine. Especially the latter seeing as I am suffering from minor withdrawal of alcohol. So thank you for being such a kind and generous person, I'll be certain to return the favor eventually.

[a_meebo]

[He can see that Terra's distracted, but he doesn't comment on it. Perhaps there's just something on his mind.]

Mikleo. It's nice to meet you, Terra.

[The seraph glances around a little. He doesn't want Terra to be unaware of people looking at them strangely, but luckily everyone seems to be too engrossed in whatever they're doing to think anything is out of the ordinary. So, Mikleo relaxes for the time being.]

[earthshaken]

[Terra's expression goes from disbelief, then quickly to anger, and he gets to his feet. The questions, he could tolerate, but now he's just plain being mocked. The darkness is too much of a sore spot for him to laugh it off.]

Sorry to disappoint, but I'm not a courier service.

[playboyknight]

[Angelo sighs before his shrugs his shoulders. It was clear he pissed the guy off and well, he needed someone to cure him of his boredom at the very least.]

Oh come now don't be angry and sit back down. I do apologize if I hurt your feelings, I was merely playing. However, I was serious about the wine and my withdrawal. I'll even get on my knees and beg if I have to if it will make you feel better.