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

[Douman lowers the foot that had just kicked Fandaniel with a calm that nobody who just abused somebody else without any prior provocation or warning should have. He is about to say something, but Fandaniel's quip has the retort die in his throat.

Instead he stops for a moment and just stares at the Ascian, a slowly forming smile on his lips. Murdering him? Is that how the other understood what happened? Hmm, that could actually work in Douman's favor. (No need to tell Fandaniel that the sinking into the ground had just been a last-pitch effort to run away and that he had spent the rest of the 'game' passed out rolled into a ditch-slash-hideout.)]

Why, of course not. I meant the exorcising - or rather, healing? I understand that you're not usually the type to go out of his way for others, are you?

I'm also most interested in the last technique that you used.

[That and what the other might have learned about him.]

Technique? All you witnessed was a desperate moment born from an animalistic urge to rip the Gnosia from your body.

[Which is almost true. Fandaniel remembers using the power of his Echo to ram Douman's soul with his own, but the extraction of the Gnosia felt more entwined with his abilities as a Doctor. The world had assigned him a role and the means to perform it.

He pushes himself back into a seated position, eyes sparkling but devoid of any real mirth.]

You are correct in your understanding of me. I rarely go out of my way to help others... I'm a poor old recluse, you see.

Ah! Not to imply that I do not enjoy conversation, of course!

Speaking of which.

[With a small grin, he pats the ground next to him, motioning for Douman to sit down.]

Desperation alone could never penetrate my curse, no matter how exhausted I may have been.

[He considers the invitation for a moment before he follows it, sitting down in a perfect seiza in one fluid motion.]

And I wouldn't call you a recluse. ...More like a wounded beast.

[The eyes behind the mask catch the light for a moment long enough to betray that he is looking from their corners at Fandanial, but nothing else betrays what he might feel.]

I recognize that you are dangerous and have a right to mind your own business. But in exchange I want you to stop calling me by that name.

[As Douman sits beside him, Fandaniel leans back on his palms and takes a moment to consider the other man's words.]

"Ashiya Douman" is the name you gave me.

[His mischievous gaze flicks toward the mask.]

I will honor your request but what name shall I call you by if not that one?

That was during a glitch.

[He shakes his head and sighs, as if everything were just a sorry misunderstanding. This whole thing is promising to be a headache no matter how Douman twists it judging from their previous interactions, but letting Fandaniel just keep tossing his true name around so easily isn't an option either. Sooner or later a Japanese will catch wind of it, connect the dots and then the fallout won't be pretty.]

Nurarihyon. Most just call me the Principal where I'm from, but that's obviously no real option here.

Ah, yes, those glitches of the mind were most troubling, hm?

[Now he turns his head, to stare more meaningfully into the mask.]

"Nurarihyon" then.

But might I ask what is wrong with your real name?

[He isn't certain "Ashiya Douman" is the man's real name but it seems likely. "Principal" isn't a name and he learned during the Gnosia infection that a nurarihyon was a type of spirit.]

[Douman's human-ish left red eye if meeting Fandaniel's gaze with the look of a professional poker player, but his right inhuman one stays hidden in shadows that are hundred percent not just a trick of the light.]

It is the name of a dead person. Or more that of a famous fairy-tale spook that just so happens to have really lived at some point.

[Fandaniel's deduction is both right and something of a tricky beast; usually youkai all have individual names that have nothing to do with what kind of spirit they are, but sometimes there are some so rare or powerful that they become THAT spirit instead. The Shuten Doji of Mount Oe is one such example. Or Otakemaru or Tamamo-no-Mae. Or Nurarihyon.]

Hah... I see. Then you are worried if others from your star appear, they may not react well to hearing your true name.

[At least he suspects that is what is happening... He is drawing comparisons to his own life.

If someone decided to start calling him "Lord Amon" one day, he suspects he'd find that just as off-putting. Lord Amon the Prodigy, Scourge of Meracydia, Head Researcher of Allag, is dead, and has been dead for thousands of years. Only Fandaniel remains now.

Although, he thinks to himself, this morning you were elbow deep in another man's torso, watching his death to see if he had a soul. You are living at the Aetherochemical Research Facility. You long to preserve this world only because of your restless curiosity about its true nature. Maybe you should reconsider telling people you aren't Amon anymore.

He blows out a sigh, pinches his brow, and pushes those thoughts aside.]

So how wretched was this "Douman", hmm?

[There's no hiding the small flinch and displeased sound he makes at being called out like that. It's not even that being called by his real name bothers Douman a lot. Many of those who know do it. It's just ....there's so much baggage. So much "it's complicated"s. That name summons too many shadows that not even a nurarihyon can slip away from.]

Star?

[Ah, whatever. It's probably just another way of going about this "my world and your world" business again. Douman still doesn't know if he should buy into that whole thing.]

According to the legends.... Well, it depends on what stories you listen to. In children's books he's just a jealous old fool who'll futilely try to cheat his way into being chosen over the hero, even though his powers aren't close as good.

In the stories for adults, well. Just imagine Abe no Seimei as a white ball filled to the brim with everything that humans ever considered to be "Good", and then Douman as black ball with everything that is "Evil." They're identically overwhelmingly strong against everybody else, but because Seimei is the hero of the story he'll eventually always win in the end. That's about it.

Well, that's the human versions!

[He leans back and unconsciously shifts to imitate Fandaniel's way of sitting as he laughs mirthfully.]

In the world of youkai they are both just feared as equally bad mass-murderers who turned the natural order of prey and predator on its head and fortunately died a looooong time ago, so that's that~

[Fandaniel listens, chin up, eyes bright, paying close attention to Douman's story. When it ends he exhales a soft grunt of amusement.]

But did not die so thoroughly, it would seem!

Tell me, what is your version of the tale? Do you feel Douman was wicked?

[There is a moment of silence as Douman considers his answer. Then he leans in and signals for Fandaniel to do the same. If the other does, the mighty youkai Nurarihyon will whisper only three words to him.]

I. Killed. Seimei.

[It's a big gamble telling Fandaniel something like that. If Douman has pegged him right, then the other is a monster of the worst kind through and through, somebody who enjoys twisting their victim's thumbscrews each time they think that they can finally catch a breath. A monstrous murder-clown who laughs and laughs and laughs while everything around them's reduced to a bloody mush. The worst kind of scoundrel, a rascal who cares for nothing except to see the world burn, consequences be damned.

Any cautious man would never share any of their secrets with somebody like that. Abe no Seimei absolutely wouldn't. You don't even need to be wise to find plenty of other options to answer a question like that. Just play mysterious and stay silent. Or laugh, as if it were all a mere joke. Simply changing the topic or lying would have been an option too, of course.

Everything would have been a good answer, all except the truth.

But Douman isn't Seimei or just anybody. He's the person who is even one millennium after his supposed death still known as Japan's worst evil mage, and has changed youkai culture so far from what it used to be before he set his sight on it that it's practically become something entirely else. All that only because he hadn't felt satisfied with the end of his and Seimei's last game. Because just being covered in his blood hadn't been enough.

Or simpler said: he's quite the bastard himself, and he loves dangerous gambles. No risk no fun, as they say, and all that jazz. So yes, he could have lied. But then Fandaniel would've just kept buzzing around his face like an annoying fly, going Douman this and Douman that no matter how often he'd be shooed away or swatted. So why not pick the absurd risky option and give him exactly what he wants? Watching him deal with the truth without being able to fully understand it because he's lacking the cultural context is going to be a sight to behold. ~~Douman likes dealing with monsters. They make the best minions just by being themselves when you play them right.~~]

[Fandaniel does lean in, until their foreheads are nearly touching, his eyes sparkling. He recognizes as a game when one is being played with him. The intrigue of why Douman shares this information is almost more interesting than the information itself.]

Did you now!? My!

[It's true, the name "Seimei" means nothing to him, but the Ascian has experience with heroes. If he had slain the great Warrior of Light he might tell the story in equally giddy hushed whispers.]

And this would make you the monster of your tale, hmm?

Are you, perchance, your history's greatest villain?

[Fandaniel considers himself the greatest villain in the history of Etheirys. Of all the wicked man who have lived and died over the last ten thousand years none have been worse than him, more vile than him, less deserving of light or happiness than him... So he watches Douman's masked face with eager fascination.]

[Douman holds Fandaniel's gaze, the shadows behind his mask swirling and dissipating just right to display an eye that's the color of freshly-spilled blood and the another that's just wrong. For a moment the true extent of Douman's wounded eye can be seen, in all its glory of something that's marked by all the natural forces of existence as something that's to be rejected by them and that has turned into something warped and different in return. There's still energy crackling and burning away on it, countered by his own curses that force together what other wants apart. The glowing sigil Fandaniel saw during their last fight wasn't a sign of activation, but the scant show of a few stray embers on top of a hidden underground inferno that hasn't stopped burning in the last one-thousand years. Neither of his pupils are fully human round, either.

The look in both eyes is equally unreadable.]

Nonsense. The one telling the story decides how to distribute the roles, don't confuse that with actual history.

[But he doesn't deny it. In a way, he is. The biggest villain of a story so old that most dismiss it as a mere fairy tale, cursed to an eternal life because he refuses to be satisfied with a half-assed win.]

Ah. So that is how you see your wickedness, is it?

[He sighs and looks away to turn his gaze again to the people training. Beneath his hood, his lips twitch into a smirk.]

The popular version of the tale mischaracterizes you as a villain when, in your truth, you are the tragic hero, maligned and misunderstood by the mortal generations...

Understandable, I suppose. But incredibly ordinary, wouldn't you say?

I see wickedness as a tool and a strength, if used right.

[There is a placid calm in Douman's voice as he settles back into a comfortable sitting pose next to Fandaniel and watches those training as well. His shikigami will notify him if there is anybody looking to take him up on his own teaching offer, which leaves him to use his time however he pleases.]

Yes, it's- [and then Fandaniel goes and says that]

Pfft--- HAHAHAHaaaaaahhahahhahaha! A he- gnnnhehehee, no. N-no...! [Sorry, he's laughing too hard at the very idea to get anything coherent out for the next couple of minutes.

It's just-- Him! A Hero??? That's so ridiculous that Douman has to quickly look aside, just so that he can push his mask off his face and wipe away the tears from laughing so hard.]

I've been never the hero of anything, young man! Well, I guess you could say that I've become something of a legend in positive way in a whole other world, but- GkHahahaha, nope, a hero I really am not! Not even close! I'm a bastard through and through and proud of it!

[Fandaniel watches the laughing fit sweep over Douman with a detached interest that slowly forms into a smirk.]

Well! Full glad am I to hear it!

[He leans toward Douman and says in a husky stage whisper...]

Between you and me, I've always felt the villains of the piece have more fun.

[Douman is still gathering himself, but his mask is back on properly as he bumps their shoulders for a stray moment before moving on.]

All the fun until the unpleasant end, you mean. Ahhh, I fear I've long outgrown those as well.

Although I'm still a rather obvious sadist.

The end is only unpleasant if the hero wins.

[Fandaniel coos and gestures vaguely toward the sky.]

But that is how the play is usually written, I suppose.

[There is a moment of thoughtful silence before he speaks again.]

Don't think I haven't noticed you hinting at your great age. How old are you, O Wisened One?

It is.

[Douman consents, before he inclines his head thoughtfully]

In reality, everyone just dies at some point. Even what once looked like immovable history does.

[The new question makes him laugh. Not many- No, actually a lot of students have asked him the same question equally directly before.]

I'm half as old as the immortal firebird and slightly younger than the famed Shuten Doji of Mt. Oe, a famed grand youkai sovereigns of old. In human years I'd be about... No, that doesn't translate well. Let's just say that I'm pretty darn old.

My, what an answer!

So many words and not a one of them has any meaning to me.

What a pity.

[Fandaniel taps his chin and blows out a soft, giggling sigh.]

It sounds like you are a fair bit older than the age you gave me earlier. What was that again... Twenty?

Indeed. I can't help but notice that you have been more than sparse with any return-info as well.

[Not that Douman has asked. But most people would volunteer something, no matter whether Douman would want to hear those things or not. But this one here is still on his little act.

Their little verbal fencing is even entertaining in a way.]

Oh, "twenty-ish"? I always give that to strangers when I can't tell for sure what they are. Just in case they're humans.

[To make his point he holds up a hand that's suspiciously youthful for his claimed age and slowly wriggles his fingers.]

Saves me awkward questions.

Aaah... So you mistook me for human, then.

[He smirks and holds out an arm, fingers outspread as if to examine his own hand, though it is wrapped in a leather glove.]

Easy mistake, that. Nothing to eviscerate anyone over.

[The vessel he wears is human, after all. Or hyuran. He's not sure if humans and hyurs are the same but they seem to be.]

Out of pure curiosity, did that vessel come to you out of their free will, and how often do you need to change them?

[Once again there is no confirmation nor denial to Fandaniel's assumptions coming from behind Douman's mask. Mainly because his memory to that 'glitch' is sketchy at best.]

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