[Training] Do or dye

It had been several seasons since he had visited his fellow students from the Arcane Academy. His ascension to demigodhood had changed his magic away from what he could strengthen without Safrin's blessing, and his rift with Evie after the Midwinter Conference had been compelling reasons to withdraw from the school, but he had missed the company of those he had once trained with. When he had learned that Alys was visiting Torchline he had taken the time to send her a note, requesting a chance to meet and catch up.

And in the course of that meeting, he had learned of her quest, and a task that he could assist with.

They had scheduled a training at the Rainbow Road, where Hadama had set out four coconuts on piles of many-hued stones in a rough, wide circle. There was a small basket at his feet, holding thin-walled sacs of water dyed with food coloring that would temporarily stain whatever they burst against. For the moment, however, his hands were empty as he waited for Alys to give him the signal that she was ready to start.

She had to knock each of the coconuts off their pillars, while avoiding getting hit by the Mer King's ammunition. Hadama could not leave the flat rock at the center of the formation he currently stood on, and he could only hold one balloon at a time... for the first twenty seconds. After which he would start throwing two balloons.

Alys would need to be fast to avoid him, but the stones of the road and the steamy waters would not make it easy. Then again, the steam might also make it harder for Hadama to aim if a geyser exploded at the wrong time. "Ready?" He called to the Seer.

And, at her agreement: "One... two... three..." he began to count, while stooping swiftly to scoop up a balloon - a green one - and throw it after her.

During their time together in the Arcane Academy, Alys would not have said that she'd gotten to know the King of the Merfolk particularly well. It wasn't through any sort of dislike or prejudice, but rather just a lack of time; their meetings had generally been during training opportunities, and thus their attention had been focused on other things. She held the mermanta in high regard all the same, though, knowing that he had ruled Torchline justly and well for many seasons. And when his letter came, she was more than happy to spend some time getting to know him better. When her quest came up as a topic of conversation, he'd offered to help - and thus here they were.

The seer was surrounded by stones, some of which held four coconuts. Hadama was nearby with balls of colored water. Her task, as he had explained it, was to dodge the colored orbs while trying to knock off the coconuts. Given that she wasn't particularly athletic, she anticipated that this would be a challenge indeed. Dressed simply in a dark, tight shirt and fitted pants (all the better to avoid getting hit), Alys tied her hair back with a band as she called, "Ready!" And with that, the game began.

The first ball to launch at her held green water, and thanks to a nat20 she dodged it more easily than she'd anticipated, lunging away from the liquid and towards a coconut to her right. If her luck continued, she would manage to knock it from its pillar without being hit by an orb.

---

Alys dodges and tries to knock over coconut #1!

ALYS GLASSE

He had paused after throwing his ammunition, watching to see if he would hit. The Seer from King's End surprised him with her nimble agility, however, and the ball of green went soaring past her to splash harmless into the warm, shallow surf. It burst open, splashing its contents harmlessly into the already-colorful waters, and Hadama hurriedly bent to collect a second weapon. This time the ball he chose was red, even as his count continued at a steady, sonorous rhythm.

"...Eight... nine... ten..." Alys knocked the first coconut down before he could get his second shot off, but there were still three more. That meant at least three more chances to hit her, or more if he was fast enough. Determined to not lose his shot at defending the second coconut, Hadama curled his fingers gently around his fragile ammunition. Measuring the distance carefully, he pulled his arm back and threw again - this time putting a little more speed on his attack.

Somehow, she managed to knock down the first coconut without incident, and she remained remarkably un-green. A small miracle, but then, stranger things had happened to the seer.

The next time, however, she wasn't so lucky. As she finished knocking the coconut from the pedestal, she turned to scan for her next target. Unfortunately, she forgot that she should probably keep moving, and her pause cost her. As Hadama threw the next orb - this one red, instead of green - Alys attempted to dodge out of the way, but her movement was too late. The red water splashed against her arm, soaking the appendage in bright crimson and drawing a grimace from the seer. Now it looked like she was covered with blood.

At least the water-balls didn't hurt. It was easy to keep moving. On she went, lunging for the next closest coconut.

ALYS GLASSE

On further consideration, the red dye had been ill-chosen, and the bloom of crimson across Alys's arm gave Hadama pause. It was, however, too late now to do anything but continue their match, and the Tidebreaker's voice continued it's deep, resonant cadence through the steam - and the rumbling of a nearby geyser. "Sixteen... seventeen... eighteen..."

His moment of hesitation cost him the second coconut as Alys leapt for it with fleet feet while he was still stooping to obtain his next weapon. A bright and cheerful cyan was lifted from the basket and he sought her path as an eruption of hot water suddenly jetted up beside his perch. Through narrowed eyes he sought movement in the many-hued water and threw in the direction he thought she had been heading, hoping for luck on this attack.

In two more seconds he would be able to use two orbs, doubling his chances of success, and making Alys's task twice as difficult.

The geyser rumbled, the steam roiled, and Alys knocked down the second coconut.

Having learned from her mistake last time, the seer kept moving, sliding fluidly around the pillar and narrowly managing to avoid the cyan-colored orb that Hadama flung her way. Honestly, this was going better than anyone had anticipated, and she couldn't help a triumphant smile from appearing on her face at her good fortune. Two coconuts down, two to go.

But now Hadama could use two orbs at a time, and that was bound to make things trickier for Alys as she tried to knock down the remaining coconuts. With a glance at Hadama to see if she could figure out his strategy - or at least a glance in his direction, as steam from the geyser obscured her vision - she sprinted for the next coconut.

ALYS GLASSE

It had been a gamble, and one that had not paid off for the Tidebreaker, but it was better to have tried. He had thrown three spheres already and four remained in the basket, but the time had come to reduce that number further.

"...Twenty... Twenty one... Twenty two..." Emerald eyes gleamed as the threshold was crossed and he was swift to gather two of the small, colorful ammunition into his large hand. A sunny marigold yellow was tucked beside a light violet paintball where they rested against the warm brown of his palm. But after Alys knocked down the third coconut while he prepared, there was only one place left for her to go.

Hadama waited, biding his time and waiting for a break in the steam along the only route left open to her. But he had only a few seconds, and after a bare breath of a pause he hurled both spheres at once, hoping that one would hit before she knocked the final target down!

The third coconut tumbled to the ground, and then Alys was off toward the next one. So far, she had managed to avoid all but the crimson water-orb, and she honestly couldn’t believe her luck. It had to have been luck, after all lucky dice are lucky, for she wasn’t athletic or nimble enough to have avoided the hits on skill alone.

But with only one coconut left, Hadama would find it easier to predict her path, and as she lunged toward the last coconut, the mermanta flung two orbs in her direction. With a quick sidestep, Alys avoided the violet-colored ball, only to run right into the sunny yellow one. It burst against her chest, leaving marigold stains up her neck. With her shirt now soaked, Alys wasn’t sure whether to laugh or to curse as she continued her path towards the final target.

ALYS GLASSE

A second successful hit might have given the Tidebreaker satisfaction in his aim, but it was doubled by the sight of Alys continuing without flinching, striving for the final goal. She was undeterred by failure, and so he treated her with respect she had earned. He reached into the basket a final time, rising with two more of the dyed spheres in his hands--

But in the time it had taken him to bend and straighten again, Alys had crossed the distance to the final coconut. He paused in midthrow as the target tumbled to the water with a victorious splash, then slowly lowered his arm. Silent now, the count stopped as the game ended, he looked at the colorful mage for a moment. There was humor in his eyes, and admiration as he bowed and released the ammunition back into the basket. "Well done," he rumbled, stepping off his 'base' and catching the basket up under one muscular arm. "There are dry clothes at the Court, if you will join me there. At least I can provide you lunch," he added, a twinkle in his eyes. "While this one is cleaned." There were perks to be a King, though he did not often take advantage of them. But it was the least he could do after coloring Alys's clothes.

And it would be nice to get to know her a little better while they waited on the laundry.

~Fin