generalflirt | Appointments Post ( II )

Entry tags:

*appointments

Appointments Post ( II )

This post here is for personal conversations which should happen but one or both of us doesn't want to put up a new post/log and thus we will just thread it out here. This can be used to thread with Masaomi anytime and anywhere. This can either be in person (with action), or via the journal's call feature (voice and/or written).

When replying to this post please mark in the subject line when and how it is taking place EX:
[Action, March 11th]
[Voice, September 8th]
Written, June 10th]

(Link to old one here)

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Sir, yes sir. [He is, by now, petting Linda and sitting on the ground himself. He didn't get a good work out there, nor did Linda, so he's pacifying her a bit]

[ Benches are for chumps, clearly. Ikki waves at her grandfather before he comes over, and nods cheerfully. She's talked about Soren and Chien often enough that Aang's heard all the stories. ]

Yep! Grandpa, meet Soren - Soren, this is my grandpa, Aang! [ Soren, newly looked at by Katara, offers Aang a greeting. Sup. ]

[...yup. Meet Soren.

You know. A violent animal for your granddaughter to train to become more violent.]

[It's a bit odd. But although Aang might have learned some of Soren's fighting prowess through Ikki, he so far doesn't have any reason to think Soren isn't being kept like a normal pet by Ikki. So he walks over and gives another wave to Soren, patting Ikki's shoulder as he passes her.]

Hi, Soren! It's nice to meet you.

[ He'll very shortly have a reason to think that, though. ]

Sifu Masaomi called you to talk about Soren and I being partners. [ She says the last part pretty firmly, but she's smiling now, unlike how she was that morning after she'd figured out Chien was gone. ]

Ikki [Katara offered] told Soren he could always come to her if he needed help.

{Here, Aang, have the whole of the tangle.]

Partners, huh? Kinda like me and Appa? That's great! [And he listens to Katara.] And he's gonna protect you? He's gotta be real skilled from everything you've told us. [He nods at the bird.] Thanks, Soren.

Protect each other, actually.

[You know, if someone's going to hammer it in, it might as well be him. He pats Linda once, and the girl Magnet Rises up to the top of his head as he stands] You see, Pokemon are creatures you choose their trainers, and work with those trainers to grow stronger together. The bond between them, one which transcends friendship and loyalty, I'm not sure I can describe. Soren, having lost his trainer, extended and offer to grow that bond to Ikki. Ikki's accepted it and I've accepted to help her grow as a trainer.

Edited 2012-10-19 05:55 (UTC)

[He pauses here. Falters, really. He's much more loathe to be emotionally open to Aang than he is to Katara... but.

I forgive you.

He closes his eyes, breathes in, and then nods]

But Katara suggested, and I agree, that you play a part in the choice that she's allowed. Pokemon are creatures of battle, and while frinedship and trust are of paramount importance, they will also invariably feel the need to compete and grow stronger. Soren is no exception to that rule.

[Or... so he's projecting.

Linda can't go a day without a good fight, tbh. And she glances over at Soren from the top of Masaomi's head to say "yeah that's right when Ikki's up to snuff, we're rematching and I'm kicking your butt again, cool?"]

[ Soren's always up for a fight with Linda, but he's also pretty capable of finding other entertainments. Not fighting at all would wear on him, but outside of his rivalry he's capable of being a lot less combative than the always-competitive Linda.

The look he gives Linda in return doesn't convey any of that nuance, though.

Ikki stands up now, and puts a hand on Soren, just enough that he stops paying attention to Linda for the moment. ]

We practiced a little, and it was hard, but I think we'd do better next time! Well, Soren did really well, but I didn't know enough to help him except at the end.

I watched. [Katara said simply, her stomach churning.] It was a lot, but Ikki did well.

I... I see. [There's less of a smile now as he takes this all in. And it's not going down smoothly. But he still has a light smile for Ikki when she talks. Except he's a bit uneasy about what they could have been practicing.] But what do you mean... they have to fight?

Battle, anyway...

[...He'll need to explain this again] A trainer, ideally, assists their pokemon in battle. She relays commands to them, helps them see strategies to follow, and assists them in binds. She makes sure that they come out okay, and really, in the ideal world, runs alongside them to the finish.

Pokemon don't fight for the sake of violence. They battle to grow stronger, for the sake of their honor, and to strengthen the connection to their partners.

[Or so he's been lead to understand it. Ikki might have her own insights.]

[ Her own insights are pretty simple. ] It's like they're all pro-benders, and we're a two-person team.

[Just listening now.]

Like probenders. [He glances between all of them, still filled with some uncertainty, but trying to grasp the situation. He'd tried to understand the nature of the Pokemon trainers and respect that he didn't fully understand their culture. Why Silver had a crow Pokemon that got hit by a lance. There was nothing he could do to change it - but now that it was part of his own household, he felt a need to understand this as completely as possible.]

Or... or like normal bending sparring. This is... They're supposed to be safe, right?

In a real battle, no one ought to die. But it's still a contest of power and skill, so there is not a problem no one will get hurt, particularly the pokemon.

[You were at Gold and Silver's battle. You saw?

That said, to pokemon, "hurt" is very relative. Linda can take blows no one should be able to take and keep going]

But I can promise you for Ikki's training, should this go through - I'm always going to be with you and I'll always ensure she's safe for that.

Soren wouldn't let me get hurt, either. [ Not unless he wasn't able to stop it - Ikki's as certain in that as she is in Katara and Aang's ability to protect her. ]

[That wasn't entirely the point.

But still, Katara waited, listening.

She didn't like it. She didn't like it at all. But... this was Luceti. And maybe it was better.]

[No one ought to die. Considering the possibility of death was definitely uncomfortable. The guarantee of Ikki's safety was still welcome - and if there was any reason to doubt it, he would be more vocally objecting. He looks Masaomi in the eyes and acknowledges his promise with a nod.

And then he turns to Ikki and Soren with an attentive look. Soren, who was very unlike the traditional animal guide of the air nomads. Now she saw him with trust and caring. But he was afraid of the way this place could change people, could change their bond. She was the only other air nomad he knew here, with the type of creature he'd seen engaged in brutal battle. What if it and Luceti could change her? He was afraid of the bond being corrupted, of Ikki becoming violent like Soren. Or making him a tool.

But he steps forward towards Ikki, leans down and rests a hand on her shoulder.]

You're responsible now, Ikki. If you've decided that this is the path you'll go... then this'll be a new responsibility, okay?

[Above all of that, he trusted Ikki.]

[ Ikki had never actually had her own animal guide; she'd grown up with a stable of flying bison and a colony of winged lemurs, but none had been her particular companion. She'd maybe been most attached to her father's bison, but otherwise had enjoyed the company of all the animals equally.

When Aang has asked if it was like him and Appa, she'd thought that might be another way of putting "partner" - one she hadn't immediately thought of before. And she enjoys spending time with Soren, even if this new aspect to spending time with him is hard and a bit scary, and she trusts that no one standing here will ever let her get seriously hurt if they can help it.

She sort of wants to be able to do the same for them, someday, though.

Looking back up at Aang, Ikki nodded. ] I'll do my absolute best.

Then we know, [Katara said, moving to face Ikki] that you'll do great.

[He nods at Katara before looking back at Ikki, both hands on her shoulders and puts a kiss on her forehead.]

Exactly. We trust you.

[And then he stands back up.]

[Sifu. He gets to be a sifu. Holy shit he gets to be someone's mentor he's basically over the moon, but trying to keep it contained]

...If you have any specific training limitations, any of you, feel free to tell me. And as we continue you two ought to come watch, at least sometimes.

[ Ikki raises her hand, but what she comes out with probably...wasn't on the agenda anyway. ] I don't want to punch people like Chien did that one time?

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