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+---- Thread: [Training] make sure you can back it up (/showthread.php?tid=10766)
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RE: make sure you can back it up - Nova - 03-07-2025
The subtle praise might not be much, yet Nova beams like he's just called her the strongest hybrid in Caido. Her head tilts up, starry freckles catching the sunlight. It's an adorably proud expression that's quickly disrupted by his next word.
'Again?' She'd barely blocked that one! Her smile faulters a moment, but she doesn't have time to argue as Jack launches another blast of water her way. It comes at her differently this time, low and wide, and leaving nowhere to duck. Naive confidence is the only thing that makes her stand firm against the coming wave, face scrunched in concentration. She places her hands before her like it might change what's about to happen and pushes against the water with her own magic.
Unsurprisingly (to everyone but her), the force of her magic doesn't stand a chance against Jack's. Although she manages to decrease the force enough to stay on her feet, it crashes against her magic like a porous wall, most pushing through to soak her while the rest crests up and onto her head in a spray of water. Nova lets out a shocked gasp as the cold hits her system, standing with her shoulders nearly touching her ears and her hands dangling at her side.
Now drenched from the top down, she frowns, shaking what she can from her hands and clothes. [say]"Well that didn't really work."[/say] Not that she knows why. She suspects a lapse in concentration or placement of her hands, because certainly she's not that weak. Her eyes turn to the captain, wondering if he may have seen where she'd gone wrong.
RE: make sure you can back it up - Jack - 03-09-2025
Nova's flare of pride has Jack's smile growing wry, especially as she's soon presented with a literal low blow when he casts his magic towards her a second time. Still, she remains on her feet if not seeming bamboozled by getting wet, and the captain lets out a rough laugh and steps towards her. [say]"Nah, it didn't, did it?"[/say] he agrees. [say]"You'll find a lot of magic gets stronger the more you use it. Keep goin' and you'll be able to use it at a greater distance, until you can make water as well as play with it."[/say]
So saying, he reaches out to draw the moisture away from her clothes and skin and hair until it hovers between them in a small sphere. [say]"What I like about water, too, is that it's more versatile than the other elements."[/say] In his opinion, anyway. To demonstrate, though, Jack throws the sphere of water into the air where he disperses it into a shower, which he then freezes, and Nova will soon find herself having to dodge a hailstorm heading her way.
RE: make sure you can back it up - Nova - 03-09-2025
His laugh surprises her, casting aside any frustrations that may have arisen from her blunder. Instead, she actually listens to what he says. Don't be mistaken, her feet still bounce and her blonde head nods way more than necessary, but there's an attentiveness there, and an eagerness to improve.
Nova watches with hungry eyes as he pulls the water from her drenched body, masterfully twisting it in the air. As he speaks, something about his words prick at her. Is water his favorite element too?! Does that mean they have something in common?! She wants to ask about it, but she's too fascinated by the shower of freezing water that makes her gasp in delight.
Then it starts falling.
And falling.
And falling.
Realizing suddenly that he isn't going to stop them from hitting her, Nova throws her hands over her head and ducks down. In a mixture of air and water magic, she tries to push away the hail pieces that are raining down on her. She's mostly successful, managing to keep the majority from pummeling her skull, but she lets out a small yelp as a few of the pellets sting against her arms. Maybe it would have been better just to run.
RE: make sure you can back it up - Jack - 03-09-2025
Of course Jack doesn't stop the hail from hitting her, though he does raise his eyebrows to watch Nova hunker down rather than trying to dodge out of the way of the falling ice. And she's more successful than he'd expected, the captain nodding to himself and stepping back. (And yes, water is his favourite element, though with the way her thoughts are already fizzing over, he's not likely to bring it up).
[say]"A good effort,"[/say] he drawls, [say]"though you might've just turned it back from ice to water."[/say] Better soaking wet than stinging from welts, no? Drawing the hail back around him in a flurry and morphing it into droplets of water himself, Jack soon disperses it onto the sand where it can evaporate in the heat of the day.
[say]"Last try, and I'll consider us done for now,"[/say] he says, shoving his hands in his pockets just as the sand beneath Nova's feet turns to sheer ice. And whether she slips on it, dances out of the way, or just chooses to go skating is entirely her prerogative.
RE: make sure you can back it up - Nova - 03-09-2025
Another 'compliment' to add to her list makes Nova smile, inspecting his every movement as the hail shifts back to water and into the sand. Her eyes widen, their blue depths sparkling. [say]"Can I do that?"[/say] She's honestly never tried it before (since temperature control is mastered level), so skepticism lingers on her face, but that won't stop her next time!
She doesn't have to wait long before Jack is solidifying a layer of ice under her feet. At first, she slips in her surprise, having to have her arms dramatically to regain her balance. Once she finishes her silly dance, an idea comes to mind. Wanting to try what he'd suggested, Nova crouches for stabilization and the opportunity to place her hand on the ice's surface. She slips a little but otherwise remains upright, and her face scrunches up to concentrate, and combat against the cold that seeps into her hand. But as much as she tries and tries and tries - nothing happens. Pouting a little, she says, [say]"I don't think it's working."[/say] Maybe she'd broken her magic?
Looking at her hands, she tries to see if she's missing something, but they look fine to her. Just to check, she pulls some water from the ocean, seeing that it moves just fine over there. It's just this dumb ice that's stumped her. Unsure what else to do, she stumbles/dances/twists/rolls off the end of the ice before standing to look at Jack with undisguised confusion, and more than a little knock in her pride. [say]"Why can't I do it?"[/say]
RE: make sure you can back it up - Jack - 03-10-2025
[say]"I don't see why not, with enough practice,"[/say] Jack drawls to Nova with a crooked smile; he can't confess to knowing the rhyme or reason behind how their magic improves, only that with time and use, it almost definitely will. And for now, it seems, that comes in the form of trying not to slide over on the planes of ice he's created. Having taken himself well out of the way, the captain lingers on the sand to watch as Nova regains her balance, and tries fruitlessly to persuade the ice to melt.
Only once she's given up and moved herself out of slipping range does he manipulate the ice back into its liquid state, allowing it to soak greedily into the sand. [say]"If I said you're not strong enough yet, I don't imagine you'll believe it?"[/say] he says, raising an eyebrow and smoothly stepping across the beach to join her. [say]"We'll come out again soon and train some more. See how far you come."[/say] And it's probably the best she can expect from the surly captain, honestly.
[say]"For now, c'mon. I'll buy you a drink after your hard work."[/say]
RE: make sure you can back it up - Nova - 03-10-2025
That word again, 'practice.' She really doesn't like it. It sounds suspiciously similar to 'work,' and anyone who knows her knows that she abhors doing work. Although something about today gives her the idea that maybe she should use her magic more - just to get better at it. (Surprise Nova! That's exactly what practice is!)
When the ice melts back into the sand, Nova is left pouting at Jack's words. [say]"I'm sure I can do it! Maybe I'm just not at the best of my game today..."[/say] The last words come out as more of a mumble to herself, still trying to figure out where things went wrong, because the reason can't be weakness surely? As if her determination alone will make her words come true, she raises her chin. [say]"I'll do better next time."[/say] A promise and a certainty that brokers no arguments, more than a little excitement bubbling when she thinks of proving herself better during their next session.
Nova beams at the mention of a free drink, bouncing at the pleasant surprise. [say]"Really?! That'd be great! I'm parched!"[/say] Despite having been drenched in water, the use of her magic has worked up quite the thirst for something tasty and sweet. She tries not to wonder at why the captain might offer such a thing, humming as she follows Jack off the beach with a skip in her step.
[FIN]