expiationlogs | [training mingle] Let's get down the business!

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[training mingle] Let's get down the business!

Who: Everyone out there!
Where: Outskirts of the Aldrip - Training Grounds
What: It's time for the Boot(y) Camp! The Chosen of Aldrip have all been invited to train, learn and spar!
Warnings: Other than the general violence? TBA..!

It is early morning on the 9th of September. The sun is shining, the air is fresh and nicely brisk, which means that it is just perfect time for Aldrip's first ever group training! How did you find your way there? Who knows! Maybe you were one of the people who saw the original announcement on the network, or noticed posters about it around Adlrip. Or maybe you were brought here by friendly white boar. Well, whatever the reason is what matters is that you are here. Welcome.

The empty field near the outskirts of the City has been transformed into a makeshift training camp. There are couple of tents set up around the camp. Some of them work as rather simplified armories containing pretty limited amount of blades, axes, armors, firearms, bows and arrows and what have you. Feel free to pick your poison, so to speak, but be sure to return what you borrow. Richard is keeping an eye on the weapons and will notice if something goes missing. Of course, characters are more than welcomed to use their own weapons and armors etc. Other tents are for resting, ER practice and dining. The lunch is sponsored by the Sandwich Hut.

The official training areas and their respective teachers/staff are the following:

Spiritual training/magic: Kurama, Douman, Kakashi
First-aid: Ethlyn, Morph, Bones
Rescue training: Morph, Bones
Hand-to-hand combat: ~~Jirk~~ Jim & Spock, Kakashi
Tech support: ~~Jirk~~ Jim & Spock
Fire arms: Caitlyn, Levi
Swords & Melee: Richard, Hiei
Archery: Richard
Survival skills: Richard, Kurama
Military training: Jim & Spock, Miller, Richard
Endurance training: Bones
Lunch: Junpei (and Whitey the Albino Boar)

If there is an activity a character would like to do that isn't included in the list that's no problem. Feel free to create your own top-level with said activity or you know! Just the usual stuff that varies from silly hang-out to whatever your heart desires.

Also for references sake: here is the OG ooc info post about regarding the mingle

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Chasing down a curse-leaking kami that had just wandered about aside, Douman's day really had been mostly uneventful. Maybe he should have known to expect better from how things usually go, but even the infamous chaos that seems to be making up the routine of his day-to-day-life has to take a breather from time to time, right?

He really should have known better than to think something like that.

He peers down at the little paper shikigami with a raised eyebrow that can't be seen behind his mask, mismatched eyes gleaming with a skeptical look of curiosity.]

Hm? What is it?

[ The shikigami's waving turns to gesturing and leaning in a certain direction, bouncing towards it and back in a clear show of 'come! come! follow!' ]

.......

[He squints at the little slip of paper's movements, but then stands up and abandons his cheap little waiting setup of a camping table and chair. Douman's soles crunch lightly as he starts following the shikigami.

This isn't what he enchanted it to do.]

[ Making sure their caster is up and following, the shikigami will start trotting as quickly as their little legs can take them in the direction of a nearby tent, thankfully not too far away. Upon approach, though, it doesn't seem like anyone else is coming to check on trouble that might be here, nor is there any noise or signs of a scuffle. What could have possibly happened?

Once Nurarihyon's turned the corner to the backside of the tent, away from most prying eyes, he'll get a good idea of exactly what's going on here.

Sitting leisurely on the grass a few yards away is none other than Seimei, who the shikigami dutifully bounces towards and up onto the palm of his hand, turning back around to keep waving Nurarihyon over from their new perch. Boundless energy, in stark contrast to the much more serious face Seimei's shooting him. ]

Good afternoon.

[The sound of Douman's steps halts for a moment as they arrive at the empty tent. He takes everything in with an inhale of air that could easily be mistaken for nerves if one isn't familiar with youkai and what some of those spirits can do. Douman's senses might be dull when compared to those of his more animal brethren, but they are still far sharper than those of any human when it comes to picking up on magical energy. And this place positively reeks.

He scoffs lightly under his breath and curls and uncurls a hand into a fist as his mind supplies a name and face. He could just leave. But he doubts that the other will get the hint and be gracious enough to leave well enough alone. It takes another moment of him standing perfectly still, but then Douman follows the shikigami all the way to the infuriating Onmyoji.]

How unpleasant. I came here to see who had the bad manners of just hijacking another's shikigami, but- ...... Should I blame that game for getting my hopes up?

[He has half a mind to wave his hand and just let the little traitor go up in flames right in Seimei's palm, but he controls himself. He'll get rid of the compromised thing like the trash it has become, but not in public.]

I had heard death is not always permanent in this place. Finding that out firsthand was...enlightening, in a word.

[ Agonizing, horrifying, one of the most harrowing experiences he's had to date in many other words, but he doubts he needs to say all that to someone else who's experienced death's cold embrace. ]

But that's only partially why I'm here.

[ He lifts the shikigami to perch up on his shoulder instead as he takes his sweet time standing up, brushing some stray dirt and grass from his knees. ]

You and I need to have a talk. Now.

[Yep. That thing is definitely getting destroyed the moment they are alone. Just having something with his magic be that close and friendly to this imposter makes Douman's toes curl.]

Oh?

[Douman's tone is still perfectly smooth and calm, although that alone would already be a glaring red flag for those who know him.]

And what if I do not wish to talk?

Ah, it seems I wasn't clear. My apologies.

[ Just as smooth and calm as that tone, Seimei's taking steps forward. ]

I'm not giving you a choice in the matter.

How boorish.

[Douman refuses to as much as shift a foot. If this Seimei wants to try playing games, then he will find Douman a far cry from the easily goaded kid that tried to match the legendary Onmyoji at court.]

It's quite arrogant to think that your wish is another man's law. I can't remember the famed Abe no Seimei to have been such a man. But maybe I am getting senile?

[ With an amused huff, ] Hoh? You wouldn't expect such a thing from him? The conniving, insolent, frightful Abe no Seimei? Perhaps you are.

[ He stops barely arm's length from Nurarihyon, amusement steadily fading. No doubt they could go back and forth with banter until the sun went down, but he's here for a reason. ]

Or perhaps you never knew him to begin with. Which begs the question of what right you have to invoke the name of Ashiya Douman.

Frightful? That smarmy bastard? [the absurdity of the idea has Douman laugh]

His powers might have intimidated those who didn't know any better, but as a person he was no better or worse than any other run off the mill courtier. I'd even daresay that his pokerface was exceedingly bad once you got to know him.

[He is about to add another scathing remark about his old rival, but Seimei's question cuts him short and has Douman scoff instead.]

Tch. So you caught that? I really need to kick that bastard for tossing it around so easily.

[ The insults don't do much to distract--he's heard much worse after all. So, he's sticking to the one thing he's here for. ]

Explain yourself.

What is there to explain? It was a glitch. The man that you overheard loves to remind me of it. Now if you'll excuse me... I've only so much time to waste.

[Waving a hand dismissively, Douman turns around to leave. He won't let the other find out that his blood had just run cold at the chance of being discovered, or how relieved he is that the other seems to be assuming that he's simply sharing in his bad habit of decorating oneself with the magnificent feathers of a well-known name.]

[ The only warning Nurarihyon gets is a quiet, frustrated sigh.

Once he's taken a few steps, it's like a tripwire's been activated. A thin circle is drawn in the ground in prismatic, rainbow light, just large enough to fit the two men inside as they are. With the light comes a sudden incredible weight, pushing down, down, down onto Nurarihyon's back until it's forced him onto the grass no matter how long or intently he tries to fight it.

On Nurarihyon's way down, Seimei takes the few step's worth back in closing their distance, kneeling down to be closer to the youkai's level. ]

As I said, you aren't being given a choice.

Wh- Gkh!! You...!?!!

[He hisses as the pressure keeps being added. For a moment Douman detests his human form, the human legs and their human-like strength that folds under the weight that's nothing but Seimei's magic. A part of him roars in defiance of being brought to his knees by somebody who dares call himself Seimei, but the rational part of him recognizes the spell and knows that it is better to go along with it for now because it really will break his legs if he pushes against it too much.]

You -!!

[His words are pure poison as he glares at the other, the front of his chest propped against the thigh of a leg that he's stubbornly positioned beneath him. Douman absolutely refuses to kneel before Seimei. He refuses to be brought to his knees! Not even the gods can do that anymore! His eyes dart around the layout of the magic circle that's trapped him like that of a trapped beast, assessing and calculating his new cage.

He could get out this. Even if his being a youkai would leave him severely burned, Douman is still confident that he can break the formation - if he uses his own magic as an Onmyoji without holding back. The thought has him curl a hand into a tight fist against the cloth that covers his leg. He hates being trapped like this, but having to reveal himself to this guy is even more unacceptable-!

Looking up, he stares at Seimei with eyes that promise his death the moment he makes the first mistake even as Douman shifts to sit properly. Out of his own accord, not because he is being forced.]

Fine. If that is how you want to do this, then we shall.

Very good.

[ Once again he sits, just as leisurely as he'd been when Nurarihyon found him, and takes a moment to simply...look at the youkai before him. It's a difficult expression to place, clearly intent on finding something, but what is a complete mystery until he finally decides to speak again. ]

I heard something very interesting the other day. Someone told me my life has been transcribed into children's stories of all things, of a clever and righteous hero loved by all.

[ There's a hint of honest derision in there, as if the idea itself is absurd, and. Well. It is. Even with the amount of people here who've approached him with awe and a hero-worshipping sparkle in their eyes, that history would remember him in such a favorable light...he can't quite imagine it. ]

Stranger still, Douman-dono is the villain in many of these stories. An old fool jealous of my standing, who resorts to lying, cheating, and stealing to come anywhere close to pretending to be my equal. This, this is how they're remembered and seen by the world.

Which makes me wonder why anyone would want to take the name of such a scoundrel. To have nothing to call their own but failure and hatred.

[What does this bastard think he is, a trained dog!? Douman is going to rip out his entrails and stuff the resulting cavity full with curses the moment this foxy bastard starts feeling like he got away with this! Rrrrrrgh, of all the indignities that Seimei had even the gall to (indirectly) inflict on him . . . !

Seimei will find his searching gaze met with the stony glare of mismatched eyes that betray nothing besides what should already be more than obvious.]

Yes. "Seimei of Justice and the Evil Douman." I'm familiar with the stories. [His voice is back to being black velvet again, a low subtle purr of a tiger. But make no mistake. This tiger is hunting.] Seimei is always depicted as some almighty paragon of good, but his rival's role is a little more diverse since barely anything is known about him besides his name. The only thing that truly matters is that he is Seimei's enemy. Isn't it only natural that that will play out differently depening on whether you listen to stories that were written for kids or those that were made for adults?

And you make another mistake.

[Douman waits for a moment to let his words sink in before he continues.]

What you talk about are stories written by and for humans. In ayakashi lore both Abe no Seimei and Ashiya Douman are nothing more but rotten serial killers, spooks to tell your children about to scare them into behaving. You've already gone and claimed Seimei's name, so why shouldn't I take the other one? Or do you suddenly think that that's bad taste?

And you continue to make the mistake of insisting I'm some kind of impostor.

[ Just getting that out there and on the record. The youkai seems bound and determined not to believe Seimei is who he is for whatever reason, but he's not about to entertain the idea that they're both simply name stealing rascals for any longer than necessary. Sure, Douman would likely be delighted at the news someone's borrowed her name to mess with him, but that assumes it's something she was never aware of happening... ]

A nurarihyon taking the name of a notorious ayakashi slayer...why? To inspire more fealty than you already do, and through fear at that?

[ His tone makes it clear he isn't buying that. A nurarihyon hardly needs anything other than his very existence to get other youkai to listen to him, and any 'leader' worth their salt knows fear is only effective for so long.

No, something else is going on here. And they're sitting in this circle until he figures out what it is. ]

Am I?

[Another pleased purr, before he remarks almost offhandedly.]

You reek of fox, even when you aren't actually running around as one.

[He almost wishes that they had some tea between them right now, just so that Douman could play with the other by taking his dear time filling himself a cup while the other fumbles for his next move. Will he deny it? Or think of some clever explanation, or simply laugh it off? Whatever it'll be, it won't be enough.]

But if you really must know . . . I knew him, quite intimately at that. But that was ....how many lifetimes ago? One, or maybe twenty?

[ Despite himself, the 'reeking of fox' comment gets a downward twitch of his brow. Another easy distraction he won't humor. What he is isn't of consequence here, it's who he is.

And besides... ]

If you knew Douman-dono at all, you'd know he wouldn't have wanted me killed so directly.

[Okay, that's getting a genuine laugh out of him. How very far off the mark and yet so incredibly close to it.]

Are you so sure about that? Well, it was just a game where we all played our little parts, wasn't it?

Not my fault that you couldn't tell a Gnosia from an ayakashi.

Yes, I am.

Something that anti-climactic wouldn't have been any fun at all.

Poor me. I will have to apologize at their grave the next time I get there, then.

[He is clearly gloating now, to the point where Douman himself notices and has to remind himself to rein it in.]

If it's any consolation to you, I found it rather satisfying myself. It has been so long since I last hunted directly~

[that's not only a boldfaced lie, but also so much bullshit that Karasuma would have fallen out of his seat howling with laughter if he'd heard it]

Ah yes, an honor to have been the prey of such a shrewd and vicious predator.

[ Okay, that was a little more immature than he wanted it to be. But come on, dude, your natural prey is sake and tobacco, get out of here with that 'ooh so long since I've hunted' nonsense. ]

Quite. And since we agree, that's a good cue to take my leave.

[He could point out that one doesn't assemble and remains in charge of a whole Hyakki Yakou just by being polite and slippery, but that's never been the point.]

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