estoria | [OPEN] There, by the Waterside

Entry tags:

[OPEN] There, by the Waterside

Who:

givesalittlewhistle & OPEN
When: Mid-June IC/Beginning of April OOC
Where: Around the City
What: Part One: Hikari has her new Camera and wants to try it out | Part Two: weapons training (sort of)
Rating/Warning: (possible talks of fighting involving children)

I.

[If there was one positive thing about that last ViViD game she'd entered...it was that, combined with her school allowance and other savings, it put her at more than enough credits to buy the camera she wanted.]

[It was small. Easy enough to hold in her young hands, and light enough to carry around her neck on a string. Right next to her whistle, and atop the crest of light she kept beneath her shirt. It was also stylish, with a silver casing and even a little view screen in the back so that she could see the image she'd just captured without having to print it out first. Even better, thanks to the small card she was able to insert to add memory, she could take hundreds of pictures before having to delete any and make room for new ones!]

[It also meant she had plenty of leeway to experiment! Which is precisely why, for most of that particular morning, anyone might come across the eight-year-old girl wandering aimlessly around the city looking for things to shoot. She took pictures of the trees. The school. The shrine. The shops.]

[But...what she found she enjoyed most were taking pictures of the people. Especially when they barely had time to pose.]

Smile!

[Click]

II.

[The camera wasn't her only purchase, though this one had been a little more...spontaneous.]

[A glimpse in a window that inspired something she'd been wondering in the back of her mind for some time. Ever since that awful fighting game. She had come away from it mostly unscathed, yes, in no small part due to the fact that she'd reached for a weapon. Not a sword or bow and arrow or anything she could have hurt herself with, though. No, Hikari had reached for a long staff. And wielded it quite well for a novice.]

[Which was to say, she didn't smack herself in the face with it once. Success?]

[So, when she found a rubber training version of the same weapon with foam ends, it was like a sign. It didn't cost much, and when she first held it in her hands, it was even lighter than she remembered the wooden version being.]

[She took it to the park. Tailmon hovered as always, although this time on the ground. More than once, she swatted a little at the staff edges as they came near her, and it was only because of how soft they felt compared to most weapons that she wasn't more concerned. In fact, if anything, the little digimon looked proud of her partner for wanting to better defend herself ~~though slight put out she hadn't opted for the bow and arrow~~.]

I just wish I knew more so that I could teach you myself.

[Hikari was currently practicing spinning it in her hands, getting used to the way the weight shifted and the center of balance followed its movement. She didn't dare turn her head until it stopped, and called out to Tailmon without taking her eyes away from her current task.]

It's okay. I can...probably...figure this out...by myself...

[Or until somebody else came along to help her.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Children with weapons is, sadly, not too strange a sight, though Bellamy is used to them being much older with actual weapons. Foam makes for good practice, honestly, it'd just never been a luxury.]

[He doesn't know what to make of the talking cat; it's just fortunate the Drabwurld prepared him better for that sort of thing. His threshold for weird just keeps raising.]

[He should mind his own business, but that thought's only fleeting before he decides to call out to her. She's just so young, it's hard not to step in, in some capacity.]

You should probably find something to hit with it too.

[Tell her to stop?? No, of course not!]

[The sound of an unfamiliar voice startled her. Enough that she nearly dropped her staff right there and then. Fortunately, though the subsequent stumble was quite visibly awkward, she managed to save both her dignity and her grip before slowly turning back.]

[An older boy. One whose face she didn't immediately recognize, either--which was why she noticed Tailmon on alert before sending a small shake of her head the little digimon's way. Tailmon settled back down again, but continued to watch the exchange closely. Protective as ever of her partner.]

I did. Earlier.

Oniichan came by and offered to practice with me...though it was hard to try and hit him. Even though I knew it wouldn't hurt as much.

[Her first big obstacle? Not...entirely; she'd used a real staff to hit monsters before. People--especially people close to her--on the other hand, were a whole different story.]

[He does not miss the way the cat tenses up over his interruption, and it's enough to keep him from moving closer - not because he's afraid so much as he doesn't want to give off a totally hostile impression here. Bellamy can be a jackass, but he's not in the business of actively freaking out tiny children. When she startles, he holds up two hands in a gesture of surrender.]

People we know are either the best opponents or worst. They know you well enough, but you gotta get comfortable enough to hit them first.

[A beat.] Doesn't have to be a person though. Trees make for good practice.

Edited 2016-04-17 05:43 (UTC)

[She opened her mouth to comment, and...paused when he words sunk in. Oh!]

I didn't...even think of that. Thank you!

[The solution did bring a smile to her face. Even Tailmon relaxed.]

What's your name? [The younger girl turned towards him fully, lowering her staff enough so that she could offer a polite bow.] I'm Hikari. [She then motioned to her companion.] And that's Tailmon.

[Though she didn't smile, Tailmon did close her eyes and dip her head in greeting.]

[He shrugs it off.] It's not a punching bag, but it works. Besides, you don't have a real blade, so the tree'll last longer too. Once you get the hang of it there, it'll be easier to spar with people.

[Trees suffered many a practice and training session back in the Drabwurld. He would have felt bad, if it hadn't been so necessary. They were just everywhere, and so convenient.]

[There's a pause before he answers, and his eyes glance over at the cat creature, evidently named. Part of him feels weird giving this kind of advice to someone so young, but he knows sometimes it's unavoidable.] Bellamy.

Edited 2016-04-19 01:35 (UTC)

It's a pleasure to meet you, Bellamy-san.

[No, really. Even though she was a bit dirty and her hair and clothes were rumpled, she turned to the nearest tree with a new resolve. Gripping her bo staff tight, she proceeded to strike it twice. Once with each side.]

[Her dominant hand was able to deliver a fairly okay blow. The other was...noticeably weaker, but she neither lost control of her grip nor missed, so it was something she could improve on with more practice.]

Like that?

[Her appearance doesn't mean anything. It probably doesn't even register as particularly dirty. He feels like he should just leave once she starts up again, but he watches anyway, and then she asks what he thinks, so he hesitates.]

[It's not a weapon he's personally used to working with, closer to spears more than swords, but he can still pick up on her technique at least.]

Not too bad. You need to practice. How long you been doing this?

[Fortunately, practice was exactly what she intended to do. So his comment didn't phase her all that much.]

Not very long.

I've never even held a staff until the last ViViD game. But I knew I had to protect myself somehow, and I didn't like any of the sharp weapons that could really hurt someone.

[He bites back the urge to say something like "sometimes you do need to really hurt someone." It's not that he thinks he's wrong, but now is not the time. He's learned that lesson of recognition, and it's not like he knows this girl beyond a name.]

It's a good start. Keep using the trees till you get comfortable, but you're gonna need people to spar with eventually too. [A beat.] I don't really use staffs, but the training principle is the same across the weapons venue.

[The one weapon he never practiced much with. Seemed more pointless, when he knew he was training to hurt, unlike her.]

[Hikari seemed to be listening and taking his advice to heart. Giving a curt nod.]

[Tailmon, on the other hand, sat up. She no longer looked tense or on alert, but curious. Giving time to stretch her paws before bringing herself up onto her back ones and looking straight at the newcomer.]

You have experience. [It wasn't a question. He talked like he had experience. The only question was: what kind?] You said you don't use staffs. What do you study?

[His glance slides over to the cat, and though his expression is cooled to remain indifferent, he does wonder what he would do if Rhea or Bellona could talk like that. Ask him about weapons.]

[It's way too weird.]

[Bellamy pauses, then:] Kind of a wide range. It's not - I don't think it's a style so much as I can use more than one weapon. Swords, knives. Guns. [It's strange to add the last one, considering he spent two years in the Drabwurld away from firearms. It's not all he can do, but he's not about to talk freely about what else yet.] Why?

[The why was ignored. Temporarily.]

Where did you learn?

[It does not go unnoticed. He raises an eyebrow.]

Depends on what I learned.

[One unanswered question for another.]

[Touche.]

[The little digimon hardly seemed put out by the response. If anything, his deliberate vagueness earned him a nod of...if not understanding, then indication that they were on a similar wavelength.]

Why did you learn, then? Someone who claimed to have experience in a 'wide range'...it wasn't just a hobby of yours, was it?

[Hikari, meanwhile, looked equally curious as to Tailmon's line of questioning. Looking back and forth between the older boy and her partner.]

Who says it can't be a hobby? [Normally, there wouldn't be a follow up to that but - well, he had two years to chip away some of the closed off jackass exterior.]

[So he tilts his head at Hikari.]

Same reason as her. If there's a war, you need to know how to fight and defend yourself. Seems like an obvious answer to me.

[Hikari placed the tip of her staff onto the ground, then bent down, tilting her head to one side.]

How come you're asking him all this, Tailmon? Does it matter?

[To which Tailmon...shrugged.]

Curiosity, mainly. He was interested, and I wanted to know why. Now I know. And besides that...he's right. About the war.

[He barely stops himself from making a dumb remark about animalistic cat wars, but he does wonder what the hell a talking cat knows about war anyway.]

You were more interested first. [SO PETULANT.] People are either curious about war because they've lived it or they've never come close. [Another glance at Hikari.] Hopefully you're the latter.

[She's just using a staff. That has to mean something, right?]

[~~No u~~]

[Though Tailmon didn't have the time to respond to his retort, because at the "latter" comment...she spared glance back up at Hikari before turning and quietly shaking her head. Solemnly.]

[Never come close, indeed.]

I...wish I could tell you that. But this is neither the first time we've been summoned to fight...nor the first World we've been brought to in order to do so.

[He perks up a little at that, nothing too obvious, but it's a less distant interest.]

You were in another world besides your own, before here?

[He'll get back to the whole "child in a war" thing in a second, after he deals with this part.]

[Hikari stepped in, giving a nod. Interestingly enough, despite Tailmon's talks of fighting...she actually smiled a little.]

The Digital World.

That's where Tailmon comes from. And Patamon and Agumon and Gabumon and our other digimon friends.

I have no idea what that is. [He can assume, sort of, given there's a talking cat in front of him. Digi clearly comes from 'digital.']

[He frowns.] Is that where you were pulled from?

[Another nod.]

We'd just won our fight against the last Dark Master. Although...[Here, she gave a small frown.] ...Oniichan said there was one more evil Digimon we still had to fight, but I don't remember him at all.

[Timelines.]

Yeah, none of that means much to me. But the whole not remembering thing is more normal than you'd imagine, especially when you're going across multiple worlds. People get yanked around carelessly. It just adds more complications.

It's the one thing that still doesn't make sense to me.

[One thing.]

Why couldn't they pull us all together? And why leave our other friends behind? We do best when we all fight together.

Maybe they just don't care. Could be a glitch. In another world, it could be magic. If it's out of their control, I doubt the powers that be would admit it anyway.

Or maybe they just don't want us to fight too well together.

[Damn Bellamy back at it again with the cynicism.]

[OPEN] There, by the Waterside

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