[Training] budding strength

She is like a wildflower

Vespy had recently told her about an incredible garden he visited in Stormbreak, with so many vibrant colors and adorable animals that it had looked like a heavenly sanctuary built of stars and rainbows! In light of her recent experience, Nova was feeling a particular need for something lively and bright to lift her mood. Not that she's 'sad' or 'scared', but there's definitely a damper on her usually buoyancy that she has to mentally shove aside at times. 

Luckily, as she enters the Celestine, all her worries flow away. A light gasp leaves her lips as she spots a glowing pink plant! Then a silvery bud of flowers! Then a curtain of delicate green ivy! With each new sight, she bounces forward, a giggle bubbling from her chest while she reaches out a curious hand to brush against vines, leaves, petals, and branches. She spins with her arms out wide, completely casting away any thoughts of losing magic or gnashing teeth in the kaleidoscope of colors and glittering lights. Her pink and blonde hair flares around her hair, a few stray petals catching in the strands. It goes perfectly with the orange and pink sundress she wears beneath her star-bleached jean jacket, the light material fluttering in the gentle breeze. 

Truly content, Nova tumbles into the grass, a flurry of lightning bugs taking flight around her as she giggles with delight and abandon. Lifting her hand as if she might catch them, she watches as her starry bracelet shines against her wrist, accenting the stars that splatter across her cheeks. "So PRETTY!" Whether she means her or the garden around her is anyone's guess.

beautiful, fierce, and free

Nova

when I'm at the mall, security just can't fight them all
And when I'm at the beach, I'm in a speedo trying to tan my cheeks

Koa's out for a run in the Celestine when a flash of gold arrests him in his tracks, and he turns to see a woman seated with her back to him and the trail. At first he thinks it might be Sohalia; the idea fills him with nervous excitement, giving a fluttering quality to his already rapid heartbeat. But a few moments more is all it takes for him to realize that this is not the Luminary: even from behind he would know that figure, could pick her easily out of any crowd.

He's about to carry on with his run when the girl tumbles back, causing a storm of lightning bugs to blink into the air. Of course this proves to be more than Pipsqueak can resist: the little dragon had flown ahead, but now as she circles back to check on the hold up she is immediately distracted by the blinking prey. With a eager trill she jets off toward them, long wings carrying her streamline body fluidly through the air. Koa huffs an indulgent sigh and rolls his eyes dramatically, but there's no one to see his indignation, so he sets off after the dragonling.

By the time he's within appropriate speaking distance Pip is deep in the hunt, needle-sharp teeth snapping at insects as they seem to teleport in and out of view. "Sorry about her!" the Dragoon calls with fond exasperation, shaking his head. The trek up the hill is taking him longer than it should have, though he has good reason for going slow. In addition to his usual running outfit of a fitted black tank and maroon shorts, Koa sports weighted bands on his wrists and ankles, and a bulky, not-especially-sexy weighted vest strapped across his chest.

Koa Carpenter

We headed to the bar, baby don't be nervous
No shoes, no shirt, and I still get service

She is like a wildflower

Her sudden high-pitched, squeal echoes through the Celestine, some of the glittering bugs scattering at the sound, but Nova doesn't mind. There's something better! "OH MY GODS!! I love your fur!" The multitudes of iridescent colors catch the dim lighting like a living, breathing rainbow that weaves before her eyes. Nova sits up straight in the grass, her hand reaching now for the dragon instead of the long-forgotten lightning bugs. 

Out of the corner of her eyes, she sees a comically slow progression up the hill, like someone moving through an unfamiliar gravity. Practically humming with a combination of magic and excitement, she calls out, "Is she yours? What's her name? Where do I get one? Will she let me cut her fur?" The questions come tumbling out, barely a breath necessary to plow through them all before she pauses, head tilting to take in the man. "What are you wearing?"

beautiful, fierce, and free

Nova

when I'm at the mall, security just can't fight them all
And when I'm at the beach, I'm in a speedo trying to tan my cheeks

The lightning bugs having largely dispersed, Pip sniffs imperiously at Nova's hand before ultimately determining that yes, she will permit the human to stroke her fur, but only because she is a magnanimous and benevolent flying spaghetti monster. She has just begun to assume the position (aka offer up her belly) when the array of questions is peppered out, the final of which has poor Pip hissing in righteous indignation, a huff of smoke exhaled at Nova before she quickly scramble-flies away.

She alights on Koa just as he crests the hill, chattering her displeasure at the idea of being shorn into her flustered bonded's face. "Oi, Pip, quit it,, nobody's touching you!" Koa half-snaps, half-soothes, waving a hand to disperse the smoke forming from Pipsqueak's nose.

To Nova he turns, quite thoroughly bemused. Few are they who manage to get Pipsqueak in such a tizzy, though Koa isn't entirely sure he can blame the dragon her reaction. Raising a weighted arm to slow the blonde, he shakes his head to clear his thoughts. "So I think that's a no to cutting her fur," he says wryly, raising a brow at the girl. "I'm Koa. This is Pip. Do you mind promising not to trim her? I don't think she'll dislodge otherwise." His voice is a little muffled: Pip has now thoroughly entwined herself around him like a boa, peeking over the Dragoon's shoulder to fire a hiss Nova's way.

Koa Carpenter

We headed to the bar, baby don't be nervous
No shoes, no shirt, and I still get service

She is like a wildflower

One moment she thinks she has a new fuzzy friend, and the next, she's being hissed at. Nova watches as the dragon (she thinks that's what it is?) runs from her, wrapping around the man in the strange outfit. Her sigh is a soft groan of disappointment, her arms falling down to her side. "Ugh. I guess so. Sorry, Pip. I promise not to trim you." There's hurt in her eyes, a small pout on her face at being told 'no,' and she wiggles her bare feet in the grass as she mourns the loss of such luxurious texture. She reaches out a reluctant hand again, biting at her lower lip in a hopeful expression as she asks, "Can I... at least study it close enough to make something similar? It's very pretty - you're very pretty." Her blue eyes glitter to see all the wondrous colors through her fur, wondering if she can make something similar one day. 

In the meantime, she looks to Koa, tilting her head so that the pink strand of her hair catches the lighting, a bright smile on her face. "I'm Nova, by the way!" She scans him up and down, curiosity and confusion making her face scrunch adorably, her star freckles distorting across her cheeks. "You still didn't answer, what are you wearing? Is it armor? A magic item?"

beautiful, fierce, and free

Nova

when I'm at the mall, security just can't fight them all
And when I'm at the beach, I'm in a speedo trying to tan my cheeks

It is in the nature of catsnakes to have inflated egos, and flattery will get most people many places. Soothed somewhat by the promise of no haircuts and the barrage of compliments, Pip relaxes enough to unwind herself from around Koa's face. But she doesn't relent fully, not yet; instead of going toward the extended hand she hops onto the grass below, waltzing a few steps away before stopping, back half-turned to the pair. Skeptical and imperious she pulls herself up, pretending to ignore them and focusing instead on fastidiously grooming her luxurious tail. Koa watches with a sigh: he's long since given up trying to divine her motives and nature, or to convince her to come around when she does not want to herself.

Turning his attention back to the girl, Koa finds himself caught off-guard by her bubbly nature and starlit freckles. "Nice to meet you, Nova," he replies, smiling despite his discomfiture. The flurry of questions has him raise his brow; laughing, the young man shakes his head. "Nah, just normal weights," he explains, extending his arm for Nova to investigate closer, should she choose. "I need to train with them, to learn about gravity. So I figured I'd start with a run, then go through some stances." He shrugs, the heavy vest bobbing against his chest.

Koa Carpenter

We headed to the bar, baby don't be nervous
No shoes, no shirt, and I still get service

She is like a wildflower

Feeling utterly rejected, Nova's hand falls to her side again, her face falling momentarily to a frown as she watches Pip slink away. She might have crawled closer, stalking to get a better view of the fur along her tail, but then Koa's laughing, and she files the plan away for after, along with an idea to tempt with treats.

Nova turns to look at him, still baffled by his outfit. Her hand reaches forward to tap the offered contraption wrapped around his wrist. It's solid and hard, unyielding and strange in how useless it looks, an offensive lack of color. Her lips thin as she mutters, "Weird." She also doesn't get the whole 'train with gravity' idea, but Nova bounces suddenly to her feet, her sundress askew from her time in the grass, not that she cares, distracted by his other plans. "What kinds of stances? Like a dance?!" The way she rocks up onto her toes implies that she would very much like to dance, her smile bright as starlight.

beautiful, fierce, and free

Nova

when I'm at the mall, security just can't fight them all
And when I'm at the beach, I'm in a speedo trying to tan my cheeks

It's not too often that a person catches Koa so entirely off-guard, but Nova manages it quite well. The girl seems to bounce from topic to topic and mood to mood like a glitter-covered pinball; Koa finds himself a little dizzy, but not especially off-put. "Martial arts stances," he answers bemusedly, lips quirking as he considers. "But... I guess it's kind of like dancing, if you think about it. Like, here, watch."

Dropping low, Koa bends his knees and widens his hips, balanced perfect between his legs. "This is called Bow Stance," he explains as he goes, glancing to see what Nova thinks. "From here, I can transition into other positions."

Slowly, fluidly, Koa turns his hips, now lunging forward so that his left leg is straight, his right deeply bent. Weighted arms curl up against his hips; he keeps his back straight, head pointed forward. "See how my knee is straight above my ankle, and my head is right over my hips?" Unfurling one fist, Koa gestures heavily to the various points of his body demonstrate. "Each move should flow into the next. Kind of like dancing, right?"

Koa Carpenter

We headed to the bar, baby don't be nervous
No shoes, no shirt, and I still get service

She is like a wildflower

A sundress is much more suited to dancing than 'martial arts,' but Nova is suddenly very invested in these 'stances.' She watches as Koa moves into a weird squat crouch thing that makes her giggle. "'Bow Stance'? Like a hair bow?" It kind of looks like one, his legs sticking out like a bowtie. As goofy as it looks, Nova finds herself mirroring his movements, dropping down into 'Bow Stance' like she's sitting confidently on an invisible chair. Her balance is impeccable, but she can already feel the way her muscles protest the strain, her eyebrows raising in surprise. 

When Koa moves into the next position, she follows his directions, bending her right leg so that she's positioned into an elegant lunge. She looks more like a dancer than a threatening opponent, her movements delicate and graceful as she beams at Koa. "Like this?" Her head tilts curiously as she wonders aloud, "How does this help with fighting?"

beautiful, fierce, and free

Nova

when I'm at the mall, security just can't fight them all
And when I'm at the beach, I'm in a speedo trying to tan my cheeks

"Sure," Koa agrees, not really seeing the hair-bow thing but willing to give it to her. "Or like a bow you'd shoot arrows with." He's pleasantly surprised to see her mimic his movements, raising his brows above an encouraging smile. Coming back to his centered position, he goes on. "This, where we're in the middle? This is Horse Stance. It's your foundation." And because Koa knows more about this than his writer, we're going to pretend he hasn't messed it up already.

Koa transitions to a left lunge now, watching as the girl does the same. It's not the easiest or most comfortable position for untrained muscles, but Nova seems to be taking to it well enough. "Yeah, that's great!" As for practical applications? "The purpose of training stances is to work your muscles, focusing on balance, consistency, and posture," Koa explains. "In order to be a good fighter - or dancer, I guess - you have to have a really good sense of your body. Where it is, how it's moving, which muscles do what. Here, do it a couple more times."

Again he demonstrates, slowly moving from lunge to center to lunge. It isn't easy, especially at this pace and with the weights upon him, but Koa finds the exercise soothing, almost meditative, a way to find peace and center in a busy world.

Koa Carpenter

We headed to the bar, baby don't be nervous
No shoes, no shirt, and I still get service

She is like a wildflower

She doesn't really get it, but Nova lets out a charming hum, nonetheless. "Hmmm... I guess that makes sense." Even as the confused tilt of her head says otherwise. But she still works through the 'stances,' trying to imitate his every shift. 

Jack had similarly mentioned 'training' and 'practice' to her, and Nova finds herself immediately bored again, thinking of doing the same motion over and over and over again. Why can't she just be naturally good at it? Why does she need to practice? It implies that she's not already an incredible and powerful hybrid with magic and shifts that would overpower anyone in her path!

Unlike Koa, Nova grows increasingly frustrated with the repetitive movements. She can feel her muscles aching and her fingers starting to fidget, wanting to move faster, more. It's obvious in the slight pout of her lips, the way she starts to move swiftly between stances, a low groan starting in her chest. "And you just do this all the time?!" Just the idea makes her want to gag as she watches Koa's expression soften to one of 'peace' and 'tranquility,' as if this isn't the most boring thing in the world.

beautiful, fierce, and free

Nova

when I'm at the mall, security just can't fight them all
And when I'm at the beach, I'm in a speedo trying to tan my cheeks

She's starting to falter, whether through fatigue or boredom, and Koa can't blame her even a bit. How many times had he made the same complaints when he'd first started, growing bored and sore and over it, wanting to move onto something cool? Koa laughs sympathetically at Nova's discontent, no unkindness in the rich tone as he raises a teasing brow. "Not all the time, no. Sometimes I train with weights instead." He tosses her a playful wink.

Again Koa shifts back to Horse stance. "I had a teacher who would make us stay like this for five minutes without moving before we could learn to actually fight. Any shift in posture, and we'd have to start again. I thought he was crazy. First few weeks I was convinced my legs would fall off." And that had been without weights, which admittedly are causing him to sweat a little earlier than usual, the sheen of it lending an attractive gleam to well-toned muscles.

Rolling his head to crack his neck, Koa goes on. "But I stuck with it. And don't get me wrong, it sucked. But once I was strong enough to do that, everything else felt so much easier. And now? Now, I can do shit like this!"

Abruptly he explodes out with a forward-step-punch combo, followed by a roundhouse kick that lands him back in his stance. It happens a little slower than usual given the weight, but it's still impressively quick and intentional, and when it's finished he grins at Nova, raising both brows in an eager expression of how did you like that?

Koa Carpenter

We headed to the bar, baby don't be nervous
No shoes, no shirt, and I still get service

She is like a wildflower

The young woman doesn't miss the sheen of a particular Dragoon's muscles, although she doesn't linger on the sight, more invested in the story he weaves. Her own face is slightly flushed with the exercise, the stars more prominent on her cheeks before it's scrunching adorably. "That sounds miserable." Having to sit still for minutes?! Nova might just combust. 

She might have said it was a waste of time and effort if Koa wasn't suddenly exploding into action. His movements are powerful and impressive, precise and controlled in a way that make her eyebrows raise, blue stars dancing in her eyes as she lets out a delighted laugh. "That was so cool! I want to try!" Somehow expecting that she can do it without the extra work and years of practice.

Nova steps forward for the punch combo, all gracefully flailing limbs and soft assault. Her feline balance is steady, although when she goes for the kick, her skirt flares up, making her squeal in surprise. It's not for any 'modest' reasons - she's worn plenty of bathing suits and likes to let guys look at her - but the breeze against her bare legs feels weird and she shoves down the fabric of her dress with a resulting giggle. Koa might have caught a glimpse of starry pink underwear, but there's not a hint of embarrassment on her face as she turns to him, straightening again with a bright grin. "How'd I do?!"

beautiful, fierce, and free

Nova

when I'm at the mall, security just can't fight them all
And when I'm at the beach, I'm in a speedo trying to tan my cheeks

What Nova lacks in technique she more than makes up for with enthusiasm, and Koa finds himself laughing affably, charmed as she gracefully flails halfway out of her dress. "It... wasn't bad for a first attempt," he allows with a grin, eyeing the pink and blonde hair that tangles wildly around her ears. "You're very graceful. I'm sure you could dance circles around me, given the chance." He winks, and maybe it's an invitation? It's not like he'd say no to dancing with a pretty girl, should the opportunity arise.

Though something tells Koa that Nova doesn't need any invitation. She strikes him as a comet, or a child on a sugar high. No doubt she would still be going long after he'd bailed from exhaustion and sore feet.

"Here - how about one more for the road. I think you'll like this one. It's called cat stance." Koa lets his right leg bend slightly, the left extended, though also bent, toes barely on the floor. Raising his weighted arms, he positions them ahead of him. "The idea is to look like a frightened cat, ready to scratch an opponent."

Koa Carpenter

We headed to the bar, baby don't be nervous
No shoes, no shirt, and I still get service