Be Prepared (Singing Hyenas Optional) [ Open ]

[theregularguy.livejournal.com]

Sokka had found himself an open spot in the city that seemed it would do perfectly for what he needed it for, and then set to work. He laid his weapons out in the grass and sat, considering them. Sword, spear, knife, war club, boomerang, shotgun, and a newly acquired semi-automatic handgun. He let his hands drift over them a moment before he picked up the spear. It had been a bit too long since he'd really practiced with that, best to stay sharp and focused. He raised the weapon into a guard and set off into a series of lunges, thrusts, parries, and ripostes; advances and retreats against an imaginary opponent. The young man ended with a final thrust, then dropped the weapon back onto the grass, taking in a few deep breaths before picking up his boomerang and jamming it into his belt, then drew his sword. This was good.

When he practiced he didn't have to think about anything. Not Katara and her willing submergence into a strange and foreign culture. Not Aang and the Nightmare King. Not Kelly and...whatever was going on with her. Just the sword and the footwork. He slid forwards into a neat lunge, dropped and turned it into a down downwards slash before it merged into a rising jab with the point, mind focused solely on remembering everything he had been taught. Probably why he didn't hear anyone who approached.

Comments

[sent-herself.livejournal.com]

Hey, it's her sword-swinging buddy from before!

"Nice technique," she says, in regards to his technique. She's not wearing her armor today, but has managed to bargain some loose pants and a roomy button-up garment (http://img.alibaba.com/photo/11373206/Maroon_Guayabera_Mexican_Wedding_Shirt.jpg) from somebody who went on the holiday mission. She's still wearing the plantsuit underneath the clothes, and together they do a good job of preserving her feminine modesty . . . to the point where there's still a pretty good chance her gender could be one or the other. I mean, how would you know?

"Want to spar?" It's a great way to take your mind off things!

[theregularguy.livejournal.com]

"Huh?" Sokka pauses, glancing over at Mulan. Oh hey, it's that guy from before. He grins, giving the other a nod.

"Sure! If you're up for it, anyway." He rests his sword against his shoulder with a confident, easy-going grin plastered across his face. He's pretty good, he thinks. So it'll be nice to show off a bit. Hopefully.

[sent-herself.livejournal.com]

She grins. "Great. Where can we get some practice swords?"

[kaya-waterwave.livejournal.com]

It was like she had told Sokka before: with the Nightmare King's hold on everyone, she was less likely to be sleeping at the drop of a hat, So now, though her eyes were a bit darker and she was definitely feeling tired, she'd still wandered into the city. It wasn't long before she spotted her brother, and it looked like he had the same idea she had when she was specifically trying to avoid sleep: training. Katara moved to the park quickly, glad her training had made her far faster than she'd ever been, but it wasn't her plan to bother Sokka too much right now. She knew he was trying to concentrate, and respected that,

The weaponry on the ground was a mixture of things from her world and things from this one: the semi automatic for one, the shotgun for another. Katara was very wary of guns, and not at all happy that Sokka had them, but knew it would be pretty hypocritical of her to voice her concerns when she accused Sokka of not submersing himself into new things. This was an indication that Sokka WAS mingling on the ship after all, and was still keeping up with his weaponry.

She watched him from a distance, then got a little closer, waiting until he actually saw her.

[theregularguy.livejournal.com]

After a few minutes, Sokka paused in his exercises and wiped his brow, stooping to pick up a bottle of water he'd brought along. He took a drink, than glanced at Katara. Oh, Katara was here. He nodded at here, than took a seat on the grass next to his gear.

"Hey Katara." He reached over to pick up the shotgun and a cleaning. Carefully, he racked the action a few times to clear the chamber, safed the weapon, and began to take it apart so he could clean it.

"What's up?" He didn't look up from his work, intent on cleaning out the weapons innards. He was supposed to clean it out, anyway. Besides, he felt a bit awkward around his sister these days, considering how little they saw of each other and how busy she was with her other projects.

[kaya-waterwave.livejournal.com]

Katara watched him in earnest. She had never seen gun cleaning before, but now that she watched she could see people on the ship she'd talked to before, and how they must do the same thing. Some of them didn't know martial arts, and it was only right that they would have a way to defend themselves. It made her think of Kelly, or Daja as a blacksmith: it all required hard work, and Sokka, like anyone on the ship, was trying to adjust.

"I was just watching you train for a little bit. I haven't gotten to be with my brother in awhile, and you know, I miss you. I'm not trying to avoid you: I get busy, I have to train myself. It takes a lot, and what I have to do is very involved. But like you, it takes a lot of practice."

She smiled. "How are you doing, Sokka?"

[jedimacguyver.livejournal.com]

"Your footwork could use a lot of work," Obi-Wan advised cheerily from the sideline. Of course he'd had nightmares— they all had, but it wasn't the worst thing he'd ever experienced in his life. There were so many nightmares in the world, one learned to move past them

'There is no chaos, there is harmony,' ran the mantra.

[theregularguy.livejournal.com]

"I know," Sokka replied, "That's why I'm practicing." He grinned, going back into another series of movements, flowing smoothly from stance to stance, even if his feet were a bit more awkward than they should be.

[jedimacguyver.livejournal.com]

"Would you like a tip, or shall I leave you to it?" He asked politely. Sokka wasn't his student, after all, and it would be rude to simply shout out detailed instructions without being invited to do so.

[twin-fans.livejournal.com]

After having settled his mind through his ride, for now, Kazami had decided to test his familiarization of the city by walking through it. His plan had failed spectacularly, and he spent the next good while wandering around the city. As a matter of pride, he refused to consult the map. After all, he should know the insides of Stacy like the back of his hand, if he were to stay here. Right?

He pauses in a clear area, and would slip by it if there weren't some young man over there waving a sword around. Curious, Kazami decides to stop and watch for a bit. He doesn't want to interrupt, though. He's seen it often enough to know when someone throws themselves into exercise to take their mind off of matters. Instead, he stands at a respectful distance, arms crossed, carefully observing.

[theregularguy.livejournal.com]

Sokka took another break and a drink of water before he noticed Kazami. He nodded at the other fellow respectfully, pausing to carefully sheathe his blade and pick up his knife.

"Hey, what's up?" He queried, looking at the other curiously.

[twin-fans.livejournal.com]

Kazami returns the respectful nod, holding both hands up in a friendly gesture. "Oh, nothing. I was just walking and decided to take a break when I saw you, that's all." He grins and ambles over amicably. "You don't mind, do you? You were looking pretty good, after all."

Kazami's no expert on swordsmanship, he rarely used weapons that weren't spears or knives of some kind. Even those, he wasn't particularly skilled with.

[thewunderkind]

And suddenly, a mass afro hair attached to a body was looking at the remaining weapons on the floor.

"Apart from the guns, that's some pretty primitive weapons there." She helded up the boomerang like it was crawling with diseases. "What could you even do with that."

Sorry Sokka.

[theregularguy.livejournal.com]

"Hey! Swords and boomerangs are so not primitive!" He reached out and snatched the boomerang back, holding it close to himself protectively.

"Don't listen to her, boomerang, I still love you and believe in you..." Yeah, he might be a bit attached to his weaponry.

[thewunderkind]

"Swords are sooo primitive! Good for a quick hit if you're desperate and out of options, but nothing beats a ray or shot-" She didn't hold on to the boomerang much and stared at him incredulous when he spoke again.

"Are you...talking to your weapon?"

[forced-unlife.livejournal.com]

"A good form, good sir," Khel commented, exiting the shadow of a nearby building to approach Sokka. After speaking with Sheeana and hearing of Katara's 'proud warrior brother', the undead paladin had sought him out to observe the young man's skill with a blade. He was not disappointed, and even bore other weapons that he hoped Sokka might have some interest in. Each was set down on the ground in turn, as the death knight silently offered to show his own world's weaponry to the dark-skinned lad.

"I am impressed, milord Sokka," Khel continued, "and thy attention to multiple weapons speaks well of thy versatility. Praytell, dost thou always utilize a two-handed technique with thine blade?"

[theregularguy.livejournal.com]

Okay, this creeped him out a bit. Skeleton guy talking to him about weapons and techniques. But...he seemed friendly anyway. He shrugged, trying not to look too put out by the fellow's strange appearance.

"Uh, sort of. I learned both and I can fight in a one handed style as well, but I feel more comfortable with the two-handed. But..." He flips the blade up into a high guard, balancing neatly on one foot, his free hand held out in front of him a guarding gesture before he begins the rhythmic flow from stance to stance, attack to guard to parry and riposte.

[forced-unlife.livejournal.com]

"Fascinating. Then thou art indeed Sokka, elder brother to the Lady Katara? It is on the suggestion of her teacher that I have sought thee out, good sir." Reaching to the ground, Khel drew his own sword, raising it for Sokka to see. Like Sokka's sword, the blade was black, though it was dull rather than reflective. It was far longer, too, with a wide hilt.

"Anymore, I wield a bastard sword, though as a Paladin I am trained in hundreds of weapons more. Over the millennia I have been able to practice and perfect my craft, the art of the Paladin. I have sought thee out to ask thee something."

[unsc-rabbit.livejournal.com]

Kelly was running. It was what she did best, and it helped to take her mind away from everything. Lately, she'd seemed to grow more and more unsure of herself, and several aspects of her life. It wasn't something she liked feeling. A Spartan's life was simple, clear cut. There was the mission, those who needed protecting, an enemy who needed killing, and that was all. Nothing else. It never occurred to her, that outside her own circle, her brother's and sisters in the Spartan Program, and other military personnel, she'd never met a 'normal' person. Dr. Halsey had been the closest to normal, but even then, that was a longshot.

But now, her interactions with these...civilians. Seemed to be making her unsure of a great many things. With the great abundance of time she had on the ship, she'd spent hours, simply thinking, trying to understand certain aspects of the new experiences she'd accumulated. She found that he couldn't. She simply could understand them, and that was frustrating. It was ironic, that she'd been thought everything she needed to know to survive, but none of the things she needed to know to live.

Shaking off the melancholy, she'd walked out of the room - that John was becoming increasingly absent from - and moved into the City to run. And run she did, for hours. She lost count of how long she ran, she simply let the pounding rhythm of her feet against the ground drown out her thoughts. That was, until she saw the boy practicing his forms in the park. Tilting her head, she broke her stride, coming to a stop.

She paused for a moment, unsure about whether to approach or not. In the end, she decided to simply watch. Walking to get a better view, she lowered herself to the grass, pulling her knees up and resting her chin on them, watching her friend practice. There was a momentary pang in her chest, something that told her to join him there, but she frowned, ignored it and continued watching him.

[theregularguy.livejournal.com]

Sokka took a seat and wiped at the sweat from his brow. He'd discarded the normal jacket, leaving it by his weapons in order to have an easier time of movement. He glanced up and his face broke out into a bright smile as soon as he saw Kelly. He raised one hand in greeting, calling out to the Spartan.

"Hey, Kelly! How's it going?" He picked up his knife and waved it towards her, in a question. "Do you still use these where you're from? I mean, you guys have guns and everything." He mentally kicked himself. Of course they used knives. He'd seen her practicing in the Sensoriums. Duh. Way to look like a moron in front of the badass woman, Sokka.

[unsc-rabbit.livejournal.com]

(http://img510.imageshack.us/i/smileb.png/)

When he sat down, she tilted her head, resting her cheek against her knees now. When he noticed her however, she couldn't help but return his infectious smile. She returned the wave before pushing her sweat-dampened hair out of her eyes.

"It's going okay, Sokka." She laughed lightly at the knife waving. Really, she should have told him not to do that. "If the situation calls for it, then sure we do. They're good things to have around in a tight spot." Either she didn't remember, or she chose not to comment on the fact that she knew he knew they still used knives in her time. It was probably the latter.

"You been at it long?"

[runnerwithagun.livejournal.com]

Ronon Dex watched Sokka practice with his sword from the side of a building. He was impressed with the teenager's form although there was still a lot left to be improved on. Watching Sokka train on his own like that reminded him of himself back when he was still training under Task Master Kell. The boy had potential.

He made his presence known when he approached Sokka, who looked as though he finished his exercise, and commented. "Good. Your form is good, you have the basics down, but you still have some holes in your technique. Try not to put too much weight on your right foot and it will help to angle your feet out slightly."

[theregularguy.livejournal.com]

"I'm practicing the way Master Piandao taught me, but I'm grateful for the tip." Sokka smiled politely and adjusted his stance, repeating a few moves in the new fashion to help himself get a feel for it.

[itsmynamenow.livejournal.com]

Terry knew he had to get out of the sensoriums. He felt like a hypocrite, spending so much time in a fantasy after he used to berate people for using VR back home. So he'd gone out into the city... but not as Terry. He'd put on the suit and gone out as Batman, stalking around on the tops of the various alien and human buildings, and occasionally gliding a short distance. He'd be lying if he said it didn't feel good to be back in the suit. Even if he wasn't really doing anything, it reminded him that he could actually be useful to society.

Eventually he got to an open spot. He was going to just glide over it, but noticed the teenager practicing with a sword. Terry really didn't know anything about swords, since they were pretty out of place in his time. He'd only ever seen two people use them - one was an assassin, and the other may have taught him a thing or two about them if she hadn't died to save Max and him. So, he was a bit curious. He jumped down from his perch on the ledge of a roof, and just... watched for a while.

[theregularguy.livejournal.com]

Sokka eventually slowed his sword practice and sheathed the blade before picking up his warclub. He hefted it, then went through a series of practice moves. Lunges, jabs, strikes from overhand, underhand, side to side, parries. Anything that might be encountered in a battle situation. After a few moments of this, he turned towards Terry to keep practicing, when the Batman caught his eye. He blinked and squinted up at the costumed Terry.

"Uh. Hey up there." He raised a hand to wave at the silent observer.