Back to Basics (Open)

[hisfathersstaff.livejournal.com]

Step. Arms go in, push out slowly. Feel the magic thrum through your arms, from the tips of your fingers down to the pads of your toes.

Negi glided through the motions of a more graceful art than the usual counter-based system of the various Kung Fu styles he had learned and refined over the months. Kung Fu had many motions and he was focusing on the task at hand.

Slowly, gracefully, his hand moved up as did his leg, guiding his "opponent" in motion: a cobra who flicked it's tongue out at him. The way of the Cobra was one of the rare few styles that required intense focus. True the snake wouldn't lash out at him, but it was still the art of moving the snake in the way he wanted to make certain that he was doing this correctly.

It almost looked like a cheesy standoff in a movie, seeing Negi with one arm outstretched and the other above his head like a cobra, his leg drew up to his waist and balancing on one leg. The practice was intense, quiet, serene in the Chinese mountainside he had drawn up.

Okay, maybe it WAS stereotypical.

The cobra had all of it's focus on him, as he moved his hands, guiding it into motion. Latin began to reverberate with power as he whispered, "Rastel Raskil Magister."

In a beat, he swapped to Ancient Greek as he added, "Kenotetos astrapsato de temeto."

The snake stood perfectly still as Negi drew up his finger, crackling with lightning as he pointed it downwards in a motion of intense concentration.

KRACK-THOOM!

The Axe of Lightning struck home and the snake exploded into coins. 1000 appeared over it's head as Negi relaxed slowly.

It wasn't the showy attack or the long hour he had spent staring and moving through the motions, but the practice. He needed to get back to basics.

Comments

[for-magic.livejournal.com]

The elven wizard had just stepped out of a different sensorium when a bizarre flare of evocation made his detect magic spell return all sorts of odd information. Without hesitation -- NOTHING will stop an Aibghalien whose curiosity is piqued by magic -- he stepped into the sensorium from which the magic had come.

"Moderate evocation on a nonprecisely vertical line," he muttered, then raised his voice to ask directly, "Lightning?"

[hisfathersstaff.livejournal.com]

"Yeah," said Negi, pushing the sweat-matted hair away from his face as he regained his balance on the table. "It's easier for me, and it was a favorite of my fathers."

He regarded the elf with curiosity. He had seen many non-humans and his overall appearance reminded him of Aisha, one of Nodoka's friends. "Hi I'm Negi," he said politely, bowing.

[for-magic.livejournal.com]

"Aibghalien," the elf replied with a razor-precise bow and a smile. "I'm sorry to intrude, but I sensed the magic in here, and... well, couldn't help myself." His smile turned self-deprecating, but he certainly wasn't apologizing!

[hisfathersstaff.livejournal.com]

"Ah yeah, I was practicing the basics," said Negi with a rub of his head as he hopped off the stone wall. "I haven't actually practiced magic in a while and I've been getting kind of rusty. Been a long time since I was in a fight. That was the Axe of Lightning, a High Ancient spell."

[for-magic.livejournal.com]

"May I watch?" Aibghalien asked. "I'm very much interested in the workings of other spellcasters here on the ship. There's an astonishing amount to be learned here!"

[hisfathersstaff.livejournal.com]

"Of course!" said Negi enthusiastically as he stretched out and the scenery changed a little, removing the tall tower that loomed behind him into a flat surface of a 15 x 15 platform.

Getting up onto the stage, Negi loosened his arms through a series of stretches since moving so slowly and carefully had cramped him up. His opponent appeared on the opposite stage, a sandy-brown haired man in a suit, his hands in his pockets. "Negi-kun," he greeted.

"Takamichi," greeted Negi as the pair shifted into an attack stance. "Best keep back a little Aibghalien," offered Negi a second before he accidentally dropped his guard and was struck in the gut by an invisible force and sent flying into a pillar opposite the stage with a resounding crash, indenting the stone with such ridiculous force.

From 15 meters away.

And Takamichi chuckled, his hands in his pockets and looking all the world like he was relaxed. "Guard is down Negi!" he offered loudly to the kidlet embedded into the stone.

[for-magic.livejournal.com]

Obligingly, Aibghalien drifted back and up several feet, to watch the battle from a superior vantage point. Watching this sudden brawl had his mind racing, analyzing the fight with his juggernaut of a mind.

Hmm. He can't say he's entirely comfortable with the idea of getting caught by that attack. The fact that the kid hadn't died was either testament to superhuman ability, defensive magic... or the safeties being on. Can't overlook the obvious.

So while Negi got himself free, his spectator was busy pondering defenses and counterattacks that might come.

[hisfathersstaff.livejournal.com]

It was a mix of all three as Negi had felt that with a sharp reminder that Takamichi hit HARD. As such, Negi grit his teeth, pushed off and appeared behind Takamichi in a move reminiscent of his original battle in the tournament with his arms crossed to protect the chin.

Takamichi had retaliated in that interim, landing blows but Negi weathered it as he took another step forward in a leaping mid-air shundo as he incanted "Saggita Magica, Series Lucis!"

Three magic arrows shot out, screaming towards Takamichi who sidestepped and launched his own retaliation, punches raining down on Negi. He could feel the air scream by him as he twisted and blazed foward, magic spiraling into his hand and he connected with one of Takamichi's punches in mid-air.

The Cherry Blossom Fist erupted in a spiral of magic as Negi grinned. "Not this time!" And he swapped his stance, getting in low and Takamichi had a moment to blink in surprise as a crackle of magic erupted from Negi, throwing the warrior high into the air as Negi followed close behind, firing magic arrows in sets of three and seventeen at once.

[for-magic.livejournal.com]

Interesting indeed! Aibghalien's already glad he was permitted to watch. Utilizing what appeared to be a relatively basic spell, delaying it, then combining it with an attack seemed to be remarkably effective.

Hmm; extraordinarily high-speed movement accessible in the air would make it extremely difficult for a preferred long-range caster to maintain distance, but the technique itself seemed to require a concentration of magical energy... Aibghalien began to believe that dispels were not common in the magical repertoire this sorcerer drew on.

Oh yes, he's learning.

[queenofcalamity.livejournal.com]

"You need to slow your pace."

[hisfathersstaff.livejournal.com]

Pushing his glasses up on his nose, Negi looked at his mother who stood there and rubbed his head. "As in slower? Mother I was in stance for an hour."

Though he had a inkling of what she was getting at. Asuna did it to him all the time, telling him to slow down and stop putting things on his head.

[queenofcalamity.livejournal.com]

Arika stepped out onto the field, looking very much like she belonged in the scenario regarding her appearance. "If you go slow, you fall into the steps more naturally, thus understanding the basic fully. But if you go too fast, you miss the most important steps, and your forms fall apart before they even come to a complete end."

[hisfathersstaff.livejournal.com]

"True," admitted Negi. She had a sharp eye at least for stance and form. "I'm not used to the Snake movements. When I first learned from Master Ku, I was taught all counters and from there, it developed into a highly aggressive style."

[queenofcalamity.livejournal.com]

"You go with the highly aggressive styles without starting off slow, you will stumble and trip over your own feet." She shook her head, looking down at him. "Think of it as a conversation. You must first know what you want to say before you say it, or else you let your mouth run and you look like a fool."

[hisfathersstaff.livejournal.com]

"Yeah I know," said Negi. "When I had to learn though we started small till the bet at least."

He rubbed his cheek in memory. "Master bet that I couldn't land a blow on Chachamaru-san and Makie goaded her into giving us time. So Master Ku taught me all she could teach me out of a highly aggressive counter attack set of Kung Fu styles to make up for the time crunch. I managed to win, but only because of Makie-san who I owe a lot to."

[queenofcalamity.livejournal.com]

"You should be able to perform the move without help, though, if you want to practice it correctly." She moved forward and reached down to clamp her hands around his arms. She moved them. "You must try again, but take it slowly, one step at a time."

She retracted her hand and backed away.

[hisfathersstaff.livejournal.com]

Negi nodded as he restarted the slow kata, taking it one step at a time and ensuring he had more of a firmer hold onto the motions. Each step felt more sure every time he moved his hands and swung it around, exhaling as he did so.

[Doing this before she realizes Zuko is gone]

[kaya-waterwave.livejournal.com]

Katara had settled on the bus for a bit, but she hadn't seen Negi yet: she figured he was somewhere in the Sensoriums or in the city with Sasami. She tried for the Sensoriums first though and was rewarded with Negi: it looked like he was practicing martial arts, something that Katara told herself SHE needed to do again.

She watched with vigor, and when the snake exploded into a a thousand coins she clapped her hands enthusiastically.

"Hey Negi! Sorry for staying quiet, I didn't want to bug you. How have you been?"

Woot

[hisfathersstaff.livejournal.com]

"Oneesama!" exclaimed Negi, flush with victory at the careful practice turning out alright as he bounded off the side of the building and landed with a soft thump. "I'm doing okay but I'm glad you're here."

He smiled at her and rubbed his head. "It hasn't been the same without you around as often."

Re: Woot

[kaya-waterwave.livejournal.com]

Katara flushed with happiness at hearing him call her that again, and she gave him a big hug. "I missed you too Negi-kun! I've been actually trying to get the Outsiders organized."

She didn't add the part about Matt: NO ONE needed to know that.

She was happy to hear that though. "Well, I thought I wouldn't want to step on Asuna or Arika's toes. They don't know me too well, and I figured they'd want to spend some time with you."

[hisfathersstaff.livejournal.com]

"Mou and you never called me to help?" pouted Negi as he was hugged by his sister. "Still though, it's good to see you."

"Well lately it seems that I make mother and Asuna-san worried all the time," admitted Negi. "Considering, well, Devlin and I have been getting into trouble. And then there was the Tyrant and Kamen Rider thing... But still, I loved spending time with you and I'm glad you're here. They can be very... forward, with their aggressive style of parenting."

[kaya-waterwave.livejournal.com]

Katara laughed. "I really should have gone to you! I just figured you'd be busy, what with all you training and your time with Sasami. If you still want to help, you can though. I'm trying to see about getting them different kinds of training."

She listened, and all too clearly remembered that situation. "Well, I think you make mistakes, but there are some you have to learn for yourself. We'll help of course, but there's no point in getting on you about it if you don't learn your own mistakes. Just be CAREFUL next time, OK Negi? I didn't worry as much this time just because I was sure you could handle it, but the situation might be worse next time."

[hisfathersstaff.livejournal.com]

"I will," said Negi, nodding. "Matt was exasperated with us but he did remark something about boys will be boys and left it at that. I don't think Devlin's going to get over it easily but hey, he's my only guy friend here."

"But if you still need help I'd be more than willing to help out! I kinda wanna get away from mom if she thinks up yet ANOTHER punishment for me for stealing the driver." And he dangled his wrist theatrically. "I had to write five pages. In formal script. In LATIN. To apologize."

[kaya-waterwave.livejournal.com]

"You should be careful of course, but I think you two being friends is a good thing! You haven't had many guys that are friends, now that I think about it."

Not that it was too horrible, but a boy should have other boys that were friends. Also, with that many girls that pervert ermine was bound to put Negi in more weird situations.

Katara made a face, but forced herself not to comment on this. "That's a bit harsh, but she is your mother. I just hope she realizes you've learned your lesson."

She sat down. "How are things with you and Sasami?"

[hisfathersstaff.livejournal.com]

Negi sat down with Katara as he blushed a little. "We haven't talked much since the Tyrant, but I want to go visit her, see if she's okay. I get worried, like I always do. Especially since two of my students were repodded under my nose."

He sighed a little. "Chamo-kun is working on a warding circle to be mobile when the bus is, so that threats of that magnitude won't get to us. And yes, mom realizes that I learned my lesson. Asuna though, I had to comfort her a while ago because she felt useless in protecting me like she promised to." He blushed, rubbing his head. "I do worry about everyone else too."