[Training] Waterproof

Koa's intention to found a global peacekeeping force had sounded admirable to the Tidebreaker, and he had continued to ponder it in the back of his mind since their coconutty conversation. A Caido-wide force would need to protect more than just the land, however, and he finally sent the Dragoon a letter along with a cloud manta crystal, requesting him to come visit the Underwater City at his convenience.

The Bubble Stream made travel between Kaiholo Port and the Underwater City easy and far faster than it had ever been before. Hadama had met Koa at the dock entrance and led him to the twilit city beneath the sea. They made their way to the palace grounds and the training waters for the guards and Hadama nodded towards the weapons racks anchored to the seafloor with a gleam in his emerald eyes and a tilt of his chin that invited the young Dragoon to take his pick.

He held his own trident in one hand, comfortable with the weapon's reach and weight in the water. The afternoon would allow him and Koa to determine if underwater combat training was something the Dragoons should engage in, and how well interested Mer might integrate into such a force.

K O A

and they will shake their heads
and wag their bony fingers

So this is different.

Koa has never been one to turn down a challenge - but he's also never faced a challenge quite like this. His first stint to the Underwater City is as wonderful and startling as he may have expected, the young Dragoon struggling mightily to avoid being distracted by the endless array of colors and sights. It's dizzying, navigation made even more difficult by the fact that he cannot actually speak to Hadama. All of the questions the soldier would love to ask remain cramped inside him, occasionally erupting in inaudible exclamations of bubbles and frantic pointing.

He also looks ridiculous in his mask and makeshift wetsuit, dark hair flowing in defiance of gravity as the currents tousle it around. Flippers finish off the ensemble: impractical for walking in, perhaps, but there's no way he could keep up without them. And even so, it's hard.

At last Hadama stops, and while the King cannot use words to explain their destination, they really aren't needed. As a soldier, Koa lives and breathes training grounds: even underwater he can easily recognize such a place. He raises his eyes to the mermanta's, eyebrows rising behind his mask. Briefly he ponders the available weaponry, settling ultimately on a pair of steel knuckles and a length of rope, which he wraps loosely around his wrist, one end clamped in his right hand.

Swimming back to Hadama, the young man waits for a signal of readiness before launching into an incredibly awkward attack. Kicking off the ocean's floor, Koa glides toward Hadama in somewhat slow motion, the length of rope extended between his hands. He's planning to try and capture the trident with it, but given that he's moving at the speed of a tortoise stuck in molasses it's really anyone's guess as to how well this will go.

in all the wrong directions—
and by daybreak we'll be gone

He really did need to find a way to solve the lack of communication with non-Attuned when underwater, and Hadama mentally moved it higher on his list of things to bring before Torchline... later. At the moment he had a young Dragoon making a manful attempt at an attack run swim at him, and the Tidebreaker dutifully turned his full attention to the business at hand.

Though Koa was not moving quite as fast as he was used to an opponent doing, the important thing was that he was trying. And perhaps he was simply trying to lull the mermanta into a false sense of security? Emerald eyes remained wary of a trick as Hadama flicked his tail to give him forward momentum and twisted his body, attempting to slide past Koa going the opposite direction, taking a light jab with the spear's blunted butt at the human's calf in passing.

K O A

and they will shake their heads
and wag their bony fingers

Wow, ok, sure, be like that. Look Hadama, we can't all be graceful underwater sea flapjacks. Koa's doing his best.

Which... is not very impressive. Turns out human bodies were not meant for slick and swift underwater movement, and so it's no surprise when Koa's attack goes absolutely wide. He watches with bulging eyes as Hadama glides effortlessly past, the butt of the trident tapping soundly and sending Koa careening off-track. But the young man has trained to think on his feet (or off them, in this case), and so instead of (further) floundering, he takes advantage of the course adjustment to change his tactic. With all the speed that he can muster, Koa grabs for Hadama's tail, hoping to wrap his rope around it and thus capture the Mer King. He may not be able to match the older man for speed or strength down here, but cleverness?

Ok, probably not that either. But a boy has got to dream.

in all the wrong directions—
and by daybreak we'll be gone

Well, we could all be graceful underwater sea flap flaps, but Koa would need to Attune for that to happen and it seemed unlikely that today would be the day.

Still, Koa's efforts were worthy of respect, even if they weren't quite as successful as the young man hoped. He was undaunted and reacted quickly, Hadama noted, and though his choice of weapons were not, perhaps, traditional in underwater combat he was proving surprisingly effective with them. The mermanta did not quite make it past the determined young man before he felt an unexpected pressure around his tail where it began to narrow to a slender manta's whip-like tip.

Twisting around to see that he'd been caught the mermanta's eyes gleamed with approval--

Right before he began to lash his fishy appendage and dove off, attempting to shake Koa off or else drag the human behind him and and knock him down against the sea floor with every flex of that muscular tail.

K O A

and they will shake their heads
and wag their bony fingers

The day Hadama can look Pipsqueak in the eye and tell her she's about to become an orphan is the day Koa will Attune. No? Too hard?

Yeah, for me, too.

Anyway, back to training. There was good news and bad news about Koa's plan. The good news was that he managed to snag the mermanta by his tail(?), causing Koa to bare his teeth in a grin of feral triumph.

The bad news? He was absolutely unprepared to be lashed and dragged and smacked around, sand quickly filling his mouth and nose and other unpleasant places.

Still the young man stubbornly holds on, trying to dig his heels into the ground, wrap his legs around a post - anything to regain control of this situation. And, his hands occupied and his legs flailing for purchase, he uses the only weapon he has left. Without much thought on the decorum of the act, Koa bites Hadama's muscular tail, hard as he possibly can, while simultaneously wrapping his arms around the mermanta in a doubtless ill-fated attempt at a grapple, copper eyes gleaming behind the ridiculous mask.

in all the wrong directions—
and by daybreak we'll be gone

Give the young man points for stubbornness. Hadama was impressed at how fiercely Koa hung on in spite of the wild ride he was being taken on. The mermanta held off on using his shifts to scrape his new barnacle off, but the rope bit into his tail with increasing discomfort and it was time to think about ending the spar--

Teeth chomped down and Koa would find himself with a mouthful of slimy mucous and small, sharp, toothlike scales. The King, for his part, thrashed particularly violently in surprise at the incivility of the attack before twisting along his length to jab the butt of his trident down at Koa's shoulder in a sharp rap of deterrence.

The Tidebreaker didn't look mad, per se, but congrats, Koa! The Dragoon had definitely perturbed Hadama's usual serenity with his unexpected appetite for sashimi.

K O A

and they will shake their heads
and wag their bony fingers

Oh, absolutely gross. Koa sputters and spits out the mouthful of mucus and scales, thoroughly regretting every decision he's made that's brought him to this point. Definitely not the most sportsman move, but you can thank Ronin's training for that: the young Dragoon is learning that in a fight against an opponent with abilities he can't hope to match, he has to be able to think fast and adapt.

But all his quick thinking is not enough to keep him clinging to Hadama, especially as the butt of the trident comes down, hard, on his shoulder. With a yelp of bubbles and a wince of pain Koa releases his hold on the mermanta, thoroughly ready to admit defeat. Unfortunately, his rope work may prove his undoing, because even though his hands let go, the length of rope does not release its grip on either man.

Squawking even more bubbles, the young man flails as he's dragged along like flotsam behind a ship, trying to dig his heels into the ground hard enough to stop Hadama so he can untangle his right hand from the twine and release the tie that binds them.

in all the wrong directions—
and by daybreak we'll be gone

At least his opponent let go with his teeth - and, a moment later, with his arms after Hadama's weapon made contact with a satisfying solidity. The mermanta twisted back around and attempted to put a little distance between them so he could bring the trident's greater reach back into play, but things didn't go quite as planned.

The rope was still twisted around his tail and he felt the drag of his reluctant passenger as he swam. Enough, he decided firmly, though after a glance back he noted Koa's consternation and quickly realized that the Dragoon was also ready to be done.

Rather than fight the tangled rope further Hadama reached for his magic and vanished from within the rope's painful twist, Aquaporting to behind Koa and freeing them both in an instant.

They might not be able to speak underwater, but Hadama bowed respectfully from the waist, his steely braid floating behind him in a serpentine curve. He led the way back to the Bubblestream and, once they'd popped up in the air at the docks again he offered Koa a bottle of Torchline's refreshing healing water.

The dragoons would be welcome in the Underwater City, and he promised to put any Merfolk interested in joining Koa's force in touch with the soldier.

~Fin~