Body and Soul 4

[Guru]

Guru gave a small round of applause as Crystal thanked Phoenyx for her service. Seeing him also hammer that particular point he'd waited eagerly to hear the response and it wasn't one he'd expected. "Huh." Was the best he could muster, left speechless from the answer. There was a lot to take in there, at the very least he felt a little safer. Offering a small frown as she noted the absence of the two Arrows who had seemed to pass through.

failure

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-07-05 15:44:55	Guru rolls 1 to Rabbit Punch (Str + Brawk -6 Def - 3 Armor) (10 Again, Chance)	9	failure

Guru was surprised by how fast she'd been ready and able to fight. Barely able to weave out of the way as he quickly brought his guard up as the leg crashed into him The force of the impact leaving a nice red line across his forearms.. He was left with a choice, he could keep it up and be on the backfoot or take a risk and push. He knew it might lead to a more bruises but he had to try. He threw out a quick jab, his stance shifted and for a second he almost over extended himself but drew himself back in focusing on his footing as he tried to anticipate the next strike but knowing she was far faster than he was. He had so many thoughts that would normally be running through his mind but he had to focus everything on the moment at hand.

Believe Armor just reduces the Pool to 0 or a chance die, seeing as it's a 10 I'll take the bashing.
Def: 5/Armor: 2

[Crystal]

Crystal was about to argue: why did it have to be war? 'Life is a challenge' rolled off the tongue just as well.. then again, hammer-nails. Ugh. Crystal closed his mouth again. Maybe it also just boiled down to reasonable deniability. Or hell, maybe he was overthinking all of this. "Sounds like a good balance. Although those ethics probably come in handy after the fact, I doubt many baddies are up for a philosophical discourse."

Shit, Aurora hasn't been lying about the ebb and flow of the population back then. Although there has been a relatively solid core for as long as Crystal has been here (even though it's only been half a year or so). "Now that you mention those two facts it's almost funny: although the city has been pretty safe and uneventful people don't tend to stick around. Hey, maybe the whole 'existence is war' thing resonates with more people than they'd like to admit. Maybe they don't want to stay somewhere peaceful after all." Not him. Sacramento has proven to be a nice change of pace from San Francisco.

He was rested enough to join the action again! He went closer to the other two Mages again and was about to get in line when Phoenyx whacked Guru. Although she surely wasn't giving her all it looked brutal. "Shit, are you all right?" He seemed to take it pretty well though. Maybe Crystal should stick to shadow boxing for now.

[Phoenyx]

Pheonyx smiles... and there seems to be some kind of light in her eyes, as if fighting is something she revels in. "Good," she complements Guru's block. "Reflexes are just as important."

failure

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-07-09 09:43:24	Phoenyx rolls 2 to Practice fight: Str+Brawl+Spec - 5 (Guru Def) (10 Again)	5, 7	failure

She swings with the other leg and follows with some punches, but now Guru seems much more prepared, weaving away.

Suddenly, the Arrow's phone beeps an alarm. "It seems we are out of time," she says with a smile. "I would be happy to do more sparring if you wish. I certainly could use the practice."

The Arrow hadn't even broken a sweat.

She turns, moving to her things and turning the alarm off. Then, she looks to Crystal. "Not just after the fact. Arrows are the sword and shield... we have to be ready to fight and kill. We are prepared for that, mentally as well as physically, though our apprenticeships. It we consider the Astra to be the self, and any individual has the potential to Awaken, what gives us the right to end that potential? Even further, Awakened souls are rare and special.... but we fight and kill among them, ending another Astral being over choice and faith. We can justify it, but does that make it right?" She focuses her dark eyes on the Mastigos. "I can and have killed people and creatures. I do not do it lightly. I do it to protect people, Awakened and sleeper alike, because someone has to. And all we can do is not trivialize it, or loose ourselves to the belief that because we are more powerful, that makes us better." Phoenyx sounds deep in thought.

She blinks slowly, and turns to collect her things.

"Thank you both for coming. If you wish to practice more, I am always here. But I have some other duties to attend to."

The Arrow offers another small smile.

Apologies for slipping at the end there, but we need to wrap up. I've left space for you to add a final post. I hope you both enjoyed the scene, I know I did

[Crystal]

It just wasn't fair - how was she not even out of breath? Probably because she worked her ass of to come that far, but that idea didn't register for the Warlock who was used to getting his instant gratification. Still, the afternoon gave him some interesting insight into the First Talon's personality. Plus, with how superficial the scene was he should start working on staying in shape sooner rather than later. "Yeah, I guess I could swing by more often. Thanks for offering this." Would he become a dangerous fighter or a star athlete? Fuck no, but it certainly couldn't hurt.

Crystal listened to Phoenyx' points with interest. "You raise some good points. Can't say that I'm quite following you philosophically, but maybe that's just my brain being too busy with registering all the newly-found muscles in my body. But that sounds like a great discussion I'd like to continue someday." Questions about ending someone's life with Magic - even if it's indirectly - and how to deal with that guilt is really something he should get an opinion on. Well, a third opinion after Kaze's relentless optimism and his own cynicism.

The Mastigos packed his stuff together and returned the smile tenfold. "Aight, thanks for having us. Have a nice day." Turning to Guru. "You up for a coffee or something?"

Thanks for the scene! It was very enjoyable!

[Guru]

Guru couldn't quite say the same as Pheonyx, he was in good shape but she'd pushed him in that fight. His heart racing, a light film of sweat on his skin and that welt across his forearms which he rubbed at. Just a scratch, nothing to risk the abyss for. Just a couple ibuprofen and a good night sleep and he'd be right as rain. "Hell yea." She was the expert here and he wasn't about to turn down the offer to learn something from an expert.


His brows furrowed again as Phoenyx spoke on her philosophy, the thought process made sense but it had never been presented that way to Guru. He was knelt down, his bag open as he pulled out a towel to wipe himself down with real quickly. Though her last words caused him to slow, memories stirred like old dust in the rafters. A shadow cast over the Shaman as he ran the towel over his head.


Leave it to Crystal to break that spell with the talk of an after workout drink. "Nah, don't wanna cramp. Could go for a Jamba juice, get a nice shot of wheat grass in there though. I could always get tea too." He looked over his shoulder at Phoenyx. "More than welcome to join if you'd like!"

Ton of fun, thanks for the scene guys!

[Phoenyx]

The Arrow blinks, surprised at the invitation. Dark eyes glance at her phone. "Sure," came the slow response. "Let me just put the equipment back and I'll be right with you."

She gets ready to head out with the others.

Closing up! Thnaks again