Back to Basics

[Darren Nash]

Ash listens to Joshua and speaks next, getting it out of the way.

"I'm an Apprentice in Matter, Death and Life and Awakened in San Fran a few months ago now. Apparently, I'm good at boxing and mechanics. I say 'apparently' because I cannot remember much of my life before then." He shrugs ans goes quiet. 'Apparently' that is all he's letting go at the moment.

[Ankh]

Ankh plops down next to West, listening to the others speak. "I am a Master of Life, Disciple of Mind, and Apprentice of Prime and Spirit. When I do fight, it is usually in animal form and I am pretty nasty if I do say so myself. I've been Awakened for a bit now but I still have a hard time not thinking like a Fallen."

She shrugs, not really afraid to admit this short-coming. She wasn't sure exactly how much she should share. She didn't think they wanted to hear her entire life story. So, she stopped there.

[Orphan]

Orphan ticks off his credentials. "I'm a Disciple of Fate and Time, an Apprentice of Life, Matter, Mind and Space and an Initiate of Death. I follow a Legacy, the Brotherhood of the Demon Wind, attuned to Time and Space. I've achieved that Legacy's first attainment, which lets me to see in all directions at once and grants me the protection of Time. I'm pretty good with a variety of weapons, but most experienced with the katana and wakizashi, the classic blades of the samurai. I keep myself in pretty good physical condition and have studied Brazilian jiujitsu and a variety of karate forms, though I'm not an expert with any of them." He thinks for a moment what else to say. "I'm fluent in Japanese. I've got pretty good reflexes and a good sense for ambushes. I've got plenty of weak areas and am working on trying to improve in some of those areas. My firearms skills aren't nearly as good as my close-combat skills. Lately I've been studying communication, leadership, strategy and tactics. And I can get a 10% discount on a pretty wide range of sporting goods, including a variety of weapons."

He grins as he adds the last bit, but adds. "I''ve got plans to use that last bit, as well as the Space and Matter I've been studying, to make sure we don't get caught flat-footed without something basic like flashlights or tools in the future, like happened when some of us were involved in the mess in Granite Park. I'm going to have to pick up a rote or two to really make that work well, though, so at this point it's still a work in progress."

[West (The Mage)]

"Sounds like y'all have it in hand, then," West said, climbing to his feet. "Sorry for the interruption," he apologized to all, but particularly to Orphan. Plucking at his red-stained shirt, he added, "I'll go harass the Gap now, I guess."

[Orphan]

"What you provided isn't interruption, and is sure isn't harassment. It's instruction," Orphan says. "You've got a lot of experience in teamwork and leadership, we learned things, and you've given us a lot to think about and work on. I'm just glad to hear some of my ideas are on the right track."

And, truly, Orphan is glad. He's no stranger to the school of hard learning - the Legacy he followed was not one known for coddling and hand-holding, and his Mentor, Typhoon, a Mastigos, was a big believer in the motivating value of pain. As far as Orphan's concerned, whether he looks good in the process or not, it's better to have lessons brought home in a situation that ends up with nothing worse than a bloody shirt, as opposed to one that leaves him or someone else - or several someone elses - dead. He's more than a little bit concerned that after his less-than-stellar performance in West's exercise, nobody was going to take him seriously as a leader, but he knows if he lets that concern make him hesitate, he isn't going to earn their respect and isn't cut out for leadership in the first place.

As West takes his leave Orphan says "Alright, let's take a little break, then go inside and talk a little more about what we learned, from the obstacle course and from West's exercise. From there, we're going to take a closer look at our strengths and weaknesses, personally and in terms of mundane skills and Arcana knowledge. Then, looking at things from a teamwork perspective, we're going to figure out how to make the best use of our strengths, and come up with plans and strategies for addressing our weaknesses in the short and long term. We're also going to work on some in-the-field strategies and maneuvers, and from there we move into field exercises."

He grins and adds "And somewhere in there, we're going to get some meals together and get to know each other as people and as Arrows."

Start new thread for this, continuation of this one?

[West]

We'll start a new Circle Sticky