>> Also smash Lude A into Slot C as hard as possible * Saki continues to prowl the halls after leaving Vytor to his thoughts. She's rambling and ranging, letting whims guide her feet. She's not picky about who she finds, after all. * Niri is sitting in a random room not far from the library, flipping absent-mindedly through a random book she found. She isn't concentrating much on the pages however, and she fidgets in the ancient and strangely-designed chair she found. There's not a lot else intact in this room. * Saki gets about a pace across the room's doorway before halting her step, blinking once. A huff of breath and a vaguely amused snort. "... there you are." * Niri blinks and clasps the book to her chest in surprise. "....I didn't do it." * Saki nods her head with another huff of breath. "... mm. I think I did." She sobers, taking a few steps into the room without much preamble. * Niri smiles faintly and closes the book. "What's up?" She looks around for another chair; there is one, but it doesn't look too sturdy. * Saki blinks at it, poking it once with a foot. When a cloud of mould kicks up she takes two steps away, shrugs, and drops to a squat on the floor. "Mostly? Doing the rounds. But I wasn't joking with what I said." What did you do, then? * Saki blinks, and waves a hand airily. "... mmm, no, I mean earlier than that. Though I may have kickstarted what Trune finished, earlier." Oh. Mmrmmm. Yeah, Trune's pretty upset about that...anyway, could you elaborate? * Saki huffs, looking amused. "... mm. Now I've got to wonder which part." She hauls herself up to her feet, cracking out a joint or three, then turns sober as she takes a pace away from Niri. "... I think Misogi disrupted her mental barriers when I-- well. It didn't help, certainly." I don't imagine it did...even if I'm still not sure exactly what happened. * Saki mutters to herself in a short staccato burst, sizing up the size of the room. She frowns, but lopsidedly; apparently the largish labs are acceptable for whatever she's got in mind. One arm makes idle motions in midair. "... mm. The Prophets wanted power to battle Zophar with. They're not like Johnathan: they chose to fight fire with fire." ...You mean they chose to fight Zophar with...with evil powers? Or demonic powers? * Saki turns with a frown, tilting her head with her eyes towards the ceiling for a moment. "... ..." --and sighs. "... answer unclear, or possibly sulking. Mmm... the latter, I suppose. Power's just power." I suppose so. Matters how it's used, and all that. Not that I approve in the least of the way the Prophetess has used it, but... * Niri shrugs. "Anyway." * Saki nods. "It takes a lot of control to... well, keep it under control. We broke it." She gauges distance, takes another sight pass of the room, and nods. "Stand up." * Niri blinks at Saki and stares. "What...?" * Saki tosses her head once, and settles into a stance - palms out, body fluid. Despite the vague grin on her face, her voice is sober. "You heard me. Up." * Niri continues to stare, but slowly she puts down the book and stands. It's as if she doesn't dare disobey. * Saki doesn't move an inch. "Land a hit on me. However you like. Wherever you like." * Niri blinks but slowly shrugs. "Ah...okay." She eyes Saki for a moment, then charges forward, darting for Saki's left side, aiming to punch her shoulder. * Saki moves only at the last moment; one of her hands comes up to push Niri's punch away as her body twists, effectively shoving the arm away with a shoulder. Two steps forward take her past Niri; she turns, takes another step back. "Again!" * Niri raises an eyebrow and frowns, then tries again, this time attempting to watch for Saki's block and duck under it. * Saki leans backwards as Niri drops, watching the approach then thrusting out a palm to impact the girl's shoulder. It's light; not a powerful blow but then she pushes, setting the girl off-balance. As the punch goes wide she sways out of the way. "... I've told you about this," she remarks, "Don't just rush." The hypocrisy is blithely delivered without batting an eye. * Niri grumbles irritably. "Then what SHOULD I do?" * Saki nods to herself, with another step back. "Think. Plan. You've more weapons than just a fist, more tricks than a punch. Even if you don't know it." * Niri blinks, thinking about that, then nods. She takes a deep breath then comes at Saki again, this time swinging around with an attempt at a roundhouse kick. * Saki dead-drops to another squat, one hand going up to catch the kick; there's a brief moment where she's open, Niri's strength a lot better than it used to be. * Niri , getting angry now, tries to go for the opening, driving with an elbow toward Saki's face. * Saki doesn't so much block as get a hand in the way and let the force of it make her fall over; falling backwards out of her squat she kicks away the moment she meets the floor, skidding a ways away prone. "Better!" she barks sharply. "Who said it had to be punches and kicks! This is a fight!" Only because you decided to come harrass me, *Niri grumbles* But if that's the way you want it... * Niri shrugs, then dives for Saki, grabbing for her hair and trying to pin her somehow. * Saki reflexively tries to whip out of the way - this isn't too helpful given that she's been letting her hair hang loose, and thus Niri gets a nice big handful delivered to her from the momentum. There's an angry hiss of pain at one yank. Is this what you mean? Or am I still missing the point? * Niri is getting angry now. Session Time: Thu Nov 15 00:00:00 2007 * Saki twists her head, yanking on her own hair for a moment to glare at Niri. There's a glimmer of anger in her eyes before she straight-out tackles Niri, effectively solving the problem of the pin by throwing herself in the direction of it. * Niri gacks, ending up pinned herself. She growls. "Just what are you trying to teach me, anyway? All you're doing is making me mad, and it's not been a good day as it is." * Saki gets right up in Niri's face. Her eyes are aflame, but she doesn't raise her voice; it's quiet, clipped, and a tight hiss. "Do you realise what you said in there? Do you think wanting a plan doesn't mean faith? I was raised, /designed/ to fight chaos, to fight Zophar. You think I'd back out of that? I even killed my master just now for it." * Niri blinks, opening her mouth to say something, then realizes she's not talking to Saki anymore. She swallows uncomfortably. "I...I admit I don't know much about you or what you were designed to do." * Niri leans back a little, uncomfortably. "I already know what I said was sort of out of line, and I'm sorry." * Saki makes a noise of irritation, letting Niri go abruptly and pacing halfway across the room. "That's not the point." She turns on the spot, watching Niri again. "Rushing in is fine - when you have a goal in front of you. When you don't, learn what it is. Figure your options out. Sometimes you've got to be cold; this is a deadly game and we do. not. know. what might happen next." * Niri nods slowly. "All...right." She sighs. "We sure didn't know what was going to happen today." * Niri stands up and brushes herself off. "Should we try again, then?" * Saki doesn't give any indication either way; just waits. * Niri takes a deep breath and tries to focus, eyeing Saki carefully. This time she slides forward, pulling out her boomerang and trying to knock Saki off balance with a hit to the knee, then aims an elbow at her shoulder to knock her down. * Saki locks her knee, driving it back into the boomerang as it connects. It serves to null the boomerang blow, but she's focused enough on that that Niri connects clearly with the elbow, sending the woman off balance; reflexively, hands come up ready to block another strike. Better? Any other suggestions? * Niri looks as if she's honestly ready to listen now. * Saki stumbles back a step, hands up; Niri is treated to the rare sight of Rachel - maybe Saki - looking bizarrely confused at an attack that didn't come. Composing herself, she puts a little thought into it. "... mm. Better. Distractions. That thing's for throwing; divide their attentino between you and it." She glances at the walls of the room, shrugs one shoulder. "Might not work so well here, though." * Niri grins a bit. "Yeah, might not be the best place for it." She frowns, thinking. "...Tanan might come in useful too." Maybe. * Saki definitely sobers at that, frowning off to one side. "... mm. I've a bone to pick with him later." Oh? I have to talk to him, too, but...not sure when I'll be ready to face him. Not looking forward to it. * Lucca (~lucca@staff.lunarnet.org) has joined #lunar-iog2 * ChanServ sets mode: +o Lucca * Saki rubs at her face, and nods once. "... mm. Don't know about what, yet, but there must be at least one thing somewhere." * Niri nods. "Well. For now let's work with what we have. So, think you can help me learn to punch without falling on my face?" * Saki raises her head high and almost beams - even if it is a rather feral, worrying one. "That much, I can do. I'm a harsher teacher than demonstrator, though." ...I'm starting to get that impression. * Saki steps in a wide circle around Niri for a moment, thinking and debating internally. Then after a few beats she nods, steps forward, and starts unceremoniously tugging Niri's limbs into a position, all the while rattling off explanations. * Niri adopts a long-suffering expression and tries to be patient and learn. The afternoon progresses, with many bruises to be acquired. >> Less than you'd think; at least the first hour or two is simple footwork, over and over. And re-explaining things Saki's passed in a blur. >> End, and all that.