004 - Dwarven Vow number 10: Play hard, play often.

[redcladidealist]

Who: Lloyd Irving and anyone
Where: The park by the pond in District 4
Summary: Lloyd, that's not how you're supposed to play on the playground equipment.
Warnings: None

Training by yourself was boring. Sure, he understood how important it was to stay in practice and keep himself in shape, but a guy could only hack at imaginary foes for so long, practicing the same footwork and sword maneuvers over and over, before it just got so dull it felt like his mind was glazing over. He very nearly called it quits. It was very tempting to tell himself that he could always come back and practice some more later on.

But then his attention happened to settle on a playground nearby. Swings, slides, seesaws, a jungle gym... Lloyd's eyes lit up with an idea. If training was boring...

...then do something different!

Within a few minutes, people passing by might see a teenage boy with twin swords in hand "practicing his footwork" on top of a jungle gym.

Comments

[4balls]

[ It's not even the swords that attract Josuke's attention as he walks by while he's on a walk through the city. It's just Lloyd climbing up there to begin with. Josuke doesn't really have a great concept of the world and everything that happens in it - while he understands some really complex things, his brain sometimes fails to recognize really simple things. Just like this.

So he ends up approaching until he's in the playground too, looking up at Lloyd climbing there. ]

What are you doing? [ re: the playground equipment itself, not even the combination with the swords and all.. ]

[redcladidealist]

[Lloyd's oblivious to Josuke's general lack of recognition, just figures that the confusion stems from just the strangeness of what he's doing. Wobbling as he balances on the bars, he glances down at the guy who just spoke. He grins brightly, not at all bothered at being caught.]

I'm training! You know, in case I ever have to fight any monsters on something that's not flat ground.

[4balls]

I see. So these things were built to practice fighting on.

[ ... Give him a moment to squint at them before coming to a conclusion here.. ] They are fairly.. colorful for training equipment standards.

[ Or so he thinks, at least.. not like he knows their true purpose. ]

[redcladidealist]

Huh?

[Lloyd stares at Josuke, surprised by the strange assumption. Doesn't he know what a jungle gym is?]

This isn't training equipment. At least, that's not what it was made for. This is a place for kids to play. It just, you know... works for my training, too.

[4balls]

Do kids train on it too?

[ ??? He just really doesn't get it. After all, if Lloyd is using it to train, then if other people would use it, it would surely mean they're training too! It seems logical enough to him that way. ]

What do they train for?

[redcladidealist]

[There's another moment of staring as it dawns on Lloyd that this guy is serious.]

No. I mean, it's just for playing. You know, having fun? [Surely he's at least familiar with that.] Although... I guess you could say they're practicing their climbing... And balance... and...

[Huh. He's never really looked at a playground like that.]

[4balls]

Sorry, I have never used one of these before. [ He at least seems to realise his knowledge about this is lacking compared to other people's - or at least Lloyd's here - so he'll admit that much. ]

Although they are very helpful in that case. It's important for children to know these sort of things so they won't get hurt as easily.

[heretic_hamlet]

Well, that was certainly an interesting way of training to keep one's footing... and the boy would certainly need it with the way he fought! Swordplay was always enough to catch Ramza's attention, but Lloyd's exotic, acrobatic style all the moreso.

He approached after but a brief while watching from afar. But the more he observed of it, the more a niggling question rose from the back of Ramza's mind. Gods know it certainly seemed well-practiced, and he would hate to be on the receiving end of such a flurry of strikes; but, all the same...

"Beg pardon," he eventually spoke between one of Lloyd's flurries of practiced strikes, "...but how would you parry blows fighting thus?"

[redcladidealist]

Lloyd had been about to launch into another strike when Ramza spoke up. Startled - "You need to pay attention to your surroundings, Lloyd" - Lloyd shook off the mental reprimand that sounded too much like Kratos, then turned to look at the blond on the ground. He wasn't familiar, but that didn't stop Lloyd from blinking, turning the question over in his mind. He actually did have to think for a moment. It was so much easier to react to a situation than to envision it in advance. After that moment, though, he thought he had an idea.

"I guess it would depend on what angle they were coming at me from, but if I slid my foot like this-" He angled his foot against one of the bars, toes pointing down. "-I could use that to brace myself if I had to parry like this." He lifted a sword up in demonstration. It wasn't quite accurate, but then, it almost couldn't be without someone there, playing the other part. Still, close enough for something like this. "See? I'd just have to do it fast."

[heretic_hamlet]

Ramza could hardly criticize the shakiness of his choice of practice terrain; after all, he himself had been made to fight in everything from swamps to crumbling ruins, and if anything the boy's ability to maintain his balance with such motions was a testament to his talent.

"Your footholds notwithstanding," he replied nonetheless, "You somersault and bound about with each strike; where would you find a moment to steady yourself and block should they strike back? Or is your aim simply to overwhelm them and not give them the chance?"

"Ah... you'll pardon my questions," Ramza spoke as he took a place beside the jungle gym. "I've just never seen such a style of swordplay before. I'm Ramza Beoulve-- I am a swordsman as well."

[redcladidealist]

"You are?" Surprise colored Lloyd's voice at the revelation - not because it was beyond belief, but because he hadn't met very many people in this world who fought with swords at all. He could count the number he'd met (that he knew of, anyway) on one hand. He looked Ramza over with a little more interest. He wasn't large or heavily muscled by any stretch of the imagination, but now that Lloyd was looking, the signs were there. "I'm Lloyd Irving," he said, then added curiously, "One sword or two?" Hey, just because he hadn't met any other dual wielding swordsmen yet didn't mean there weren't any others out there.

Mind wandering back to the question Ramza had posed, he tilted his head back in thought, trying to play through in his mind. "I don't know," he finally admitted. "I hadn't thought it through that far yet. Not giving them a chance sounds like a good plan, though. Their footing would be just as bad, too. I could take advantage of that."

[heretic_hamlet]

"Two if I'm able, though I had learned a very different style... not so acrobatic or extravagant as unashamedly simple," Ramza replied as he- rather strangely- hopped straight from the ground to the top of the jungle gym; he'd rather speak to Lloyd without making him crane his neck. He nodded thoughtfully at Lloyd's musings on toppling his foes with a flurry of blows. "I had always been taught to keep on guard and at the ready after each strike; I would never have imagined such a maneuver as a rolling somersault."

"...though the thought of staring down an entire brigade making use of such a technique; what a terrible sight that would be!" he let out a mild chuckle. "Wherever did you learn it? That hasn't the restrained style of a military academy."

[redcladidealist]

The hop was impressive, but it was something Lloyd could take in stride easily enough. He'd done jumps like that himself, and he'd seen some of his friends perform similar feats. Sometimes it was almost easy to forget that most people couldn't do some of the things that he took for granted. Instead, he watched Ramza's feet curiously, trying to see how he held himself on the bars.

He had to resist the urge to rub the back of his neck, self-conscious. His hands were still holding his swords, after all, and he wasn't ready to put them away just yet. He settled for a shrug instead. "I'm mostly self-taught. Where I grew up, nobody else could use a sword, so I kind of had to make it up. I had... I have..." He groped for the words to describe what training he did have, and came up lacking. It was hard describing things involving Kratos. "I met a guy who taught me some stuff. But he only used one sword." Kratos had taught him a lot, but he couldn't teach Lloyd his style.

Shifting his feet to a slightly more balanced and comfortable position, he tilted his head, curiosity rising again. "You went to a military school?"

[staystraught]

Oh my God, that looks amazing. Dick stops flat in his tracks, just to stare for a moment. That kind of fancy footwork and on that kind of surface... Almost makes him wish he were in costume. Asking for a spar would be a lot less conspicuous then.

As it is, he cups his hands around his mouth and calls out, "Don't drop those! They're sharp!"

[redcladidealist]

Despite someone calling out to him, Lloyd manages to keep his focus on what he's doing at least long enough to finish off a final sword thrust. Unfortunately, his attention doesn't stay quite so focused that he keeps his footing completely as he moves. A slight slip, a wobble - he doesn't fall, but dammit, that probably didn't look anywhere near so cool.

Oh, right, someone was talking to him. Just... play it cool. Maybe the guy didn't even notice. "Hey, do I look like a beginner to you?"

[staystraught]

"Just testing."

And maybe trying to incite a little slip up like that. It's always nice to know that being better than him at something doesn't make a person perfect.

"Who taught you that?"

[redcladidealist]

Confident in his footing again, Lloyd turns his attention to the guy on the ground. Dark hair, sunglasses, maybe a few years younger than Lloyd. It was a little hard to be sure on that last point, though. Something about his bearing makes him seem a little older than that.

Oh well, not like Lloyd's ever pinned a real importance on age. He offers a light shrug, lowering his swords. "Mostly myself," he admits honestly. "I had a teacher for a while, but he only uses one sword. I had to make up my own style. Why do you ask?"

[staystraught]

He shrugged. "Seemed like the natural question. You know, people are always asking where this or that came from."

Said breezily. It's true. The entire field of science is based around that concept, 'Where did that come from? How did that happen?'

"You must be really into it. Studying by yourself like that takes a lot of discipline, especially if you're making it up as you go."

[redcladidealist]

He has a point. It does seem like a pretty normal thing to ask. "I just thought maybe you had another reason to ask. You sounded..." Eager? Excited? Interested? He's not really sure any of those words are what he's looking for, but he's never been that great with vocabulary. "Do you fight with swords, too?" That would offer an easy explanation. Who wouldn't be interested when you find someone who shares an interest with you?

Regardless, he can't help but grin at the perceived compliment. "Swords are pretty cool," he says. "I've always wanted to learn how to use them." The grin turns slightly wry. "Then I guess it became something I had to learn, at least if I wanted to walk to school by myself. Dad wouldn't let me until I could defend myself. Too many wolves and monsters." He loves his Dad, he really does, but teenage boys just shouldn't have to have their Dads walk them to school.

[cruxified]

While most people would have been impressed by Lloyd's footwork, Kratos watched with his arms crossed, eyebrows raised, not commenting on the absurdity just yet. He didn't want to interrupt him, really. Training was important, even in a place where the dangers were often more ethereal than corporeal. It was about discipline as much as technique.

He also wanted to see how long it would take Lloyd to notice someone standing nearby.

[redcladidealist]

Kratos would have to wait a few minutes. Unfortunately, Lloyd was being flashy, and being flashy took concentration. That flip through the air probably looked pretty cool, though, even if it took all his focus to stick the landing on the metal bars. Now if he could just take it up a notch to an all out Tempest...

With a pause to catch his breath, he hadn't quite decided if he was really ready to tackle a move like that when he finally, finally noticed that he was being watched. Lloyd started in surprise. "K-Kratos! What are you- Whoa!"

Whoops. How many cool points did he just lose when his foot slipped on the bar like that?

[cruxified]

Kratos didn't even flinch when Lloyd slipped like an idiot and nearly went tumbling off the entire thing. He looked a little amused if the tiny quirk of his lips was anything to go by.

"Focus," he replied smoothly. "Being light on your feet means nothing if you trip when something unexpected comes your way."

[redcladidealist]

In Lloyd's defense, he did at least catch himself before he fell off, but the reprimand still brought a flush to his cheeks. "I was focusing," he protested. "I just didn't- You just-" Augh, there was no way to finish that without validating Kratos's statement. So instead, Lloyd grumbles and jumps to the ground. No, he's not just avoiding any chance of slipping in front of Kratos again. He just wants to talk eye to eye with the man. "It's not like you've never been caught off guard." In fact, Lloyd had even been the one to catch him, once. Never mind that that had been months and months back. Surely that wasn't the only time.

Then, because Lloyd had never quite broken the habit of trying to find out what Kratos was up to, he asked, "What are you doing here?"

[cruxified]

Kratos ruined everything but that's sort of his job. He was there to test Lloyd-- and maybe, just maybe, one day... help him become the person he was meant to be. That was probably a little lofty right now, though. To be honest, it was Lloyd who made Kratos do all the growing. He'd probably be fine without Kratos' interference, yet here he was anyway.

He just couldn't keep himself away. Even when it hurt. But times like this it hurt a little less, so he simply regarded Lloyd with a trace of fondness and deflected personal questions like usual. "Nothing in particular. I enjoy wandering this park, occasionally."

He brushed his bangs lightly from his face, though they went right back down again. "... Are you well?"

[redcladidealist]

The look in Kratos's eyes... Lloyd frowned, trying to puzzle it out. It almost looked like... But even as he reached for a word for it, the question slipped when-

-a hand bushed back spikes of hair, and an even littler hand grabbed at them, a tiny, childish voice laughing as they fell past. "Daa-eiii!"-

-when a wave of deja vu hit Lloyd so hard that for a second he almost didn't even hear what Kratos had said. Even once he shook it off, he still felt off balance, his expression going blank for a moment as his mind tried to catch up. That moment when Kratos had brushed his bangs back... What was that...?

"Huh? Oh, uh, I'm fine." It was still a little weird to remind himself that he was on good terms with Kratos now. Or, well, as good as it ever was with the man. He slid his swords back into their sheaths. "Just... I got a little bored. It's kind of weird, you know? I mean, not having anything I have to do, like school or fighting the Desians or trying to beat Cruxis." His eyes slid to Kratos again as he said that, but really, he meant what he said. He'd never been left to his own devices for this long. There had always been something he was supposed to be doing.