[PP-F1] Putting off the Inevitable (Cygnus and Kooh) - COMPLETED

[Cygnus 0]

Cygnus was at his usual training spot, doing his normal training exercises, practicing his footwork as usual. In truth, he wasn't here for that purpose. The training was just an excuse for him to put off the real reason he came here; mob combat. For the first time, he was going to fight alone. Alone in a life or death battle. It was weird, Cygnus had thought he gotten over this fear and nervousness, but it appeared he never got over the fact that death was very much real in this game. He had casually joked when he met that girl, Kooh, that "gored by a boar at level one" didn't sound like a very dramatic death. But this was the first time that he had to choose whether or not to put himself in harm's way. Cygnus was annoyed with himself that he was perfectly willing to kill boars with Victor, but now that he was alone, his confidence wavered. It had always been like that though. He was always concerned about messing up. Whether it was a big exam at school or simply a foot race with a few friends, he feared the consequences of failure. He stopped swinging his sword and grimaced, looking out in the distance at various groupings of boars. He couldn't put it off forever. He had to get this done. He thought to message Kooh. She seemed pretty interested in learning about combat more. Her being here would definitely help his confidence as well. Cygnus sheathed his sword and opened up his menu. "Hope she isn't busy." He mumbled, selecting Kooh's name from his friends list and sending her a message.

 

"Hello there! If you still want to do a little combat, i'm at the spot where we met last. Just let me know!"

 

Cygnus sent the message, sitting on the grass after he did. He continued to look at the mobs below, psyching himself up for this. Just asking Kooh seemed to help his confidence a bit. He really hoped she was available. If she wasn't, Cygnus grudgingly decided to go and fight the boars himself. As soon as that thought entered his mind though, he followed it up with a silent prayer of; Please be available...

Edited July 2, 2016 by Cygnus

[Kooh 0]

A long yawn escaped the blonde as she held her hand in front of her face. Kooh brought her arms above her head to stretch, kicking her feet lazily underneath the wooden bench she was sitting on. The girl was doing what she did best these days: milling about on the first floor, trying to find something interesting to do. Just as she was about to frown with disinterest at the same daily scene in front of her, she gave a small jump in surprise as a notification appeared suddenly in front of her. Cautiously, she navigated the floating menus until she pulled up a new message from Cygnus. Intrigued, Kooh read his note over just before a grimace took over her expression. 'Ugh, do I have to...?' The girl thought, dreading the visualization of herself trying to fight a monster.

Silently answering her own question, the girl seemed to pout a moment before pressing a button that would allow her to reply. 'Sure, I'm game. I'll meet you there, give me a sec.' She typed out a response and pressed 'Send' before pulling herself to her feet.

Feeling as though she had to practically drag herself outside the city gates, Kooh showed up a few minutes after she'd sent off her message, walking through the grassy fields with her hands in her pockets. She spotted the dark-haired man where he said he'd be: the location of their first (quite literal) run-in. She wore her usual care-free smile as she approached Cygnus. "Hey. So what's the plan?" She asked, coming to a stop once she'd closed the gap between them.

[Cygnus 0]

Cygnus waved to Kooh as she approached, standing to meet her. "Hey! Thanks for coming." He gave her a friendly greeting as he stepped in the direction of the mobs in the field below and pointed to them. "Those ones there." He turned to look at her. "We're going to turn them into bacon." He snickered at his awful joke. If Kooh looked down to the fields at the bottom of the hill, she would see the specific group of boars Cygnus was pointing at. It was a smaller group that had become detached from the main group. They were three in number, grazing on the grass lazily. "Prime targets." Cygnus nodded. Kooh's presence was definitely helping his confidence. "My idea is that I draw those three away even further from that larger group up there so they won't interrupt us while you lie in wait in those bushes over there." He pointed to a small grouping of bushes that provided ample cover. "I lead them right past your hiding spot, you come out from behind them and..." He slammed his fist into his hand. "...ambush. We'll hit them from the front and back. We're outnumbered, but I think we finally have the means to beat these things." He looked back at Kooh. "So, how about it? Do you feel up to it?"

[Kooh 0]

'What.' Kooh's thoughts were exactly the opposite from the interested, cheerful expression she wore on her face. "Hmm..." She finally vocalized, pulling a hand out of her pocket to try and bring up the floating game menus. It took her a moment, but she eventually got to a page titled 'Inventory'. When Cygnus was finished explaining his plan she offered a chuckle, looking thoughtfully at the couple pieces of equipment shown as icons in front of her. "Sounds like a plan, but first I need to figure out how to use these."

She was about to push down on the claw weapons she'd obtained from that blacksmith on the fifth floor, but quickly pulled her other hand from her pocket before doing so, holding it tentatively in front of her. 'Ugh, why am I doing this.' Her thought was more of a statement than a question, but she went ahead and pushed on the item's picture. Over her hands, a pair of metal claw weapons materialized, causing the girl to blink with surprise. She turned her hand left hand over, curling her fingers as if to make sure they still worked. Surely enough, her hand still functioned and the claws were secured firmly to her hands. 'Well this is a thousand percent inconvenient.' Kooh turned to Cygnus with a grin, "Ah, got it! Hope I don't accidentally poke someone." She waved her arm straight up and down in front of her, causing her menu to vanish.

[Cygnus 0]

Cygnus was about to give Kooh some instructions on how to equip her new items, but it seemed she managed to figure that out herself. When she turned to him, proclaiming that she got it, Cygnus gave her a thumbs up. "Good job! Okay, now that you have your weapon equipped, let's see if we can take out those boars. There are only three of them, but i'm almost certain we can handle it. We'll see how we do with those three, then we'll talk about going after more." He looked back at the group of boars just to be shae they were still in a position where his plan could work. They had wandered a little bit, but mainly just to get to more grass. They were still in the same basic area they were at before. 

Cygnus drew his sword and pointed it at the group that had been designated as their target. With a nod, he turned his head to look at Kooh. "So, how do those claws feel? Do you think you're ready to get this underway?"

[Kooh 0]

'No no no.'

"Sure!" Kooh was flexing both hands now, still concerned about how she was supposed to do normal things, like keep her hands in her pockets, but she answered with a cheerful tone. The girl took in a deep breath, holding it for a moment before turning on her heel and trotting off towards the area Cygnus had designated earlier. "So as long as I don't stab them first they won't run me over, right?" She asked at a normal volume, but with her back turned and her already placing distance between them she doubted Cygnus could hear her.

She circled around the pack of boars that luckily paid her no mind. Perhaps they were similar to the ones she had been terrorizing a few days back, and as long as she didn't make any sort of contact they'd leave her be. The girl crouched down behind the foliage Cygnus had designated as her hiding spot. She gave him a wave to signal she was good to go before turning herself away from him to watch the boars. Now that she was away from her party member, the girl wore the most unenthusiastic expression she'd carried in a while, waiting in silence for the armored man to execute his plan.

[Cygnus 0]

Spoiler

ID# 62389

BD: 10 [Critical Success! +2 DMG!]

MD: 5 [Miss!]

 

Cygnus HP: 12/12

 

Boar 1 HP: 0/3

Boar 2 HP: 3/3

Boar 3 HP: 3/3

Cygnus waited for Kooh to get in position, his hand on the grip of his sword. He was eager to get this started. Since his nervousness waned, Cygnus found that he was actually wanting to fight. His attitude about combat had changed completely. Just the idea of it made him nervous, but now, remembering his combat with the boars when he was with Victor, it was an activity that he could now see himself looking forward to.Once Kooh signaled that she was in position, Cygnus drew his greatsword and jogged towards the group, breaking out into a run when he was about twenty feet away. Cygnus let out a battle cry to let this thing know he meant business before he delivered a crushing straight down blow to its head. He seemed to split the boar's head in two before it shattered, dead. Once the other two boars realized what he just did, they looked up at Cygnus, their eyes seeming to flash red as their attention turned wholely on him. "Looks like that worked." Cygnus mumbled to himself. The two Boars charged him with an angry squeal, attempting to gore Cygnus with their tusks. He managed to dodge both attacks as he turned to run. "Hey, can't catch me!" He mockingly shouted ran towards Kooh's hiding spot, passing it and stopping about ten feet past; just enough to where Kooh could blindside them from behind. Sure enough, these boar took the bait, running after Cygnus and right past Kooh.

Edited June 29, 2016 by Cygnus

[Kooh 0]

Kooh was mentally complaining to herself as she watched Cygnus approach the group of monsters. She wanted to bring her hands up to rest her chin in her palms, but quickly realized how horrible of an idea that was. With a small huff at the inconvenience of the devices strapped to her wrists, Kooh watched just as Cygnus began his attack. He landed a solid blow to the center boar, grabbing the attention of them all.

As his plan unfolded, the man ran to position himself past her location. She let out one more muffled sigh before straightening out her legs. Putting on a determined face, the girl clenched her fists beside her. Aiming for the beast closest to her, the girl steeled herself and dashed forward, bringing her arm across her body in the most natural way she could fathom. The whole movement looked uncomfortable, and her swing missed its mark. "Oof!" Catching herself before she fell off balance, Kooh struggled to keep calm, taking a couple of cautious steps back. The boar didn't seem to pay her any mind with her failed attack, so at least she didn't have to worry about getting hit.

Combat Results

Spoiler

Opponent:

• <<Boar>> (Pack of 3)
  • HP: 3
  • DMG: 2

Turn Order:

• [H:2] Cygnus
• <<Boars>>
• [H:0] Kooh - Post Action: Attack

Combat Roll:

• ID#: 62461
  • BD: 5 - Fail
  • CD: 3
  • LD: 8
  • MD: 3

Combat Results:

• Cygnus:
  • HP: 12/12
  • Energy: 3/4
• <<Boars>>:
  • 1 - HP: 0/3 -Dead-
  • 2 - HP: 3/3
  • 3 - HP: 3/3
• Kooh:
  • HP: 8/8
  • Energy: 2/2 -> 0/2
    • Miss!

((Keep in mind, these mobs won't quality for extra loot without at least 2 mitigation. The minimum mob stats for us to get bonus loot is 6 HP, 1 MIT and 3 DMG. Also, according to my figures you did 5 damage ((1 base) + (2 critical) + (1 weapon skill) + (1 equipment)), correct me if I'm wrong there~

Also...be careful. Against three monsters, you're dead after four hits.))

Edited June 29, 2016 by Kooh

[Cygnus 0]

Cygnus flinched as Kooh lashed out at the boar and missed. She really was a novice, wasn't she? Cygnus figured he'd give her some pointers. "Stay calm, Kooh! Collect yourself and try again. Try not to think too much about it." He prepared to strike at the other boar as it attempted to avenge its fallen comrade. As the thing lunged at him to attempt another goring attack with its tusks, Cygnus simply parried the blow with his blade and counterattacked with an upward slash with his greatsword. A red slash mark seemed to split the boar precisely vertically in half and it shattered into red light with an echoing squeal. He glanced over at Kooh to check and see how she was doing against the last one.

 

Spoiler

ID# 62469

Cygnus attacks!

BD: 8 (Hit!)

Boar 3 attacks!

MD: 3 (Miss!)

Cygnus HP: 12/12

 

Boar 1 HP: 0/3

Boar 2 HP: 0/3

Boar 3 HP: 3/3

 

Edited June 29, 2016 by Cygnus

[Kooh 0]

'I must have done it wrong.' She internally growled, curling her fingers into tight fists again. These weapons felt so awkward. She didn't know how she was supposed to move and attack with them. She could probably swing a sword easier than trying to hit with these silly things. It took all Kooh had to keep herself from snapping at Cygnus after the words left his mouth. It didn't matter if he was trying to help. She was angry, and didn't want to hear anyone else's words right now. Furrowing her brow, the girl watched as another boar went down. Feeling her right fist, Kooh brought her arm up to chest-level and aimed for the remaining boar's left flank.

Paying her no mind, the creature simply snorted in anger and charged towards Cygnus, causing her straight shot to pass through where the creature had once been. Gritting her teeth, Kooh brought her leg forward enough to catch herself when the unexpected momentum carried her farther than she anticipated. Steadying herself on the ground, the blonde quickly closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She harshly reminded herself that she wasn't alone, and when the girl spun around to face Cygnus and the monster again she wore an expression of dissatisfaction. "Aah, why isn't it working?" The words left her with a tone of mild frustration.

Combat Results

  Hide contents

Opponent:

• <<Boar>> (Pack of 3)
  • HP: 3
  • DMG: 2

Turn Order:

• [H:3] Cygnus
• <<Boars>>
• [H:0] Kooh - Post Action: Attack

Combat Roll:

• ID#: 62470
  • BD: 2 - Fail
  • CD: 3
  • LD: 12
  • MD: 9

Combat Results:

• Cygnus:
  • HP: 12/12
  • Energy: 3/4
• <<Boars>>:
  • 1 - HP: 0/3 -Dead-
  • 2 - HP: 3/3
  • 3 - HP: 3/3
• Kooh:
  • HP: 8/8
  • Energy: 0/2 -> 1/2 -> 0/2
    • Miss!

Edited June 29, 2016 by Kooh

[Cygnus 0]

 

Cygnus braced himself as the last boar charged him. At the last second, he managed to get out of the way as he attempted a retalitory strike, but the blade missed the boar completely. He saw this as an opportunity for Kooh to get the killing blow. "Now is your chance! Show it what you can do and finish it off! I know you are capable of this!" He called to her in an attempt give her some more confidence with a little cheering. He was prepared to jump into the fray should the boar manage to survive another attack from his ally, however. This bit of training wasn't going like he expected. He wasn't sure in the beginning whether or not he wanted to give Kooh some combat training, or whether she was even interested or could even get any benefit from his also very limited experience, but he felt like he wanted to teach her a little more now. He wouldn't forgive himself if she died in a battle when he could have taught her a thing or two that might have helped. Something else that crossed his mind was the fact he was beginning to get a little... annoyed? He had held his tongue thus far, but all throughout the battle, he wanted to correct every single thing she did wrong. In the past, Cygnus's teachers were always there when he was a kid to slap the ruler on his hand after he made the slightest of mistakes, so he was finding it difficult to teach without screaming at her to get her form right.

 

Spoiler

ID# 62472

Cygnus attacks!

BD: 2 (Miss!)

Boar 3 attacks!

MD: 5 (Miss!)

Edited June 29, 2016 by Cygnus

[Kooh 0]

Kooh concentrated on the final boar as it tried to attack Cygnus. The creature's charge was dodged, and Cygnus promptly called out to her to make another attack. Biting her tongue, the girl bounced up and down a couple of times on the balls of her feet to ready herself for another attack.

Kooh ran towards the monster, weapons at the ready, but before she could swing at the boar it whipped around wildly to face her at just the right moment. Its broad head collided with the girl's torso, throwing her off balance and causing her to land roughly against the grassy floor on her side. While the beast hadn't damaged her health, her pride was becoming fractured beyond repair, and her already thin patience was about to snap. The girl, with her face away from her battle, didn't move from her defeated position. Her mind was currently locked in its own internal conflict--she wanted so much to stand herself up and walk away from this stupid fight.

Combat Results

  Hide contents

Opponent:

• <<Boar>> (Pack of 3)
  • HP: 3
  • DMG: 2

Turn Order:

• [H:3] Cygnus
• <<Boars>>
• [H:0] Kooh - Post Action: Attack

Combat Roll:

• ID#: 62470
  • BD: 1 - Critical Fail
  • CD: 1
  • LD: 18
  • MD: 8

Combat Results:

• Cygnus:
  • HP: 12/12
  • Energy: 2/4
• <<Boars>>:
  • 1 - HP: 0/3 -Dead-
  • 2 - HP: 0/3 -Dead-
  • 3 - HP: 3/3
• Kooh:
  • HP: 8/8
  • Energy: 0/2 -> 1/2 -> 0/2
    • Miss!

Edited June 29, 2016 by Kooh

[Cygnus 0]

Cygnus growled as Kooh's attack failed yet again, this time ending with her falling over from the boar accidentally slamming into her while turning around to look her way. Cygnus took this opportunity to take advantage of the creature's distraction, crying out with frustration and coming down with his blade right on the creature's back, slicing it in two horizontally. He stood there even after the creature was gone. Why wasn't she able to hit those things even once? He took out all three of them without even suffering a scratch! He turned to her, unthinking, to vent his frustration when he noticed her still on the ground, looking rather defeated and frustrated. In the end, his better nature won out and the frustration was replaced with pity. With a sigh, he sat next to her, keeping an eye out for any other mobs in the area that might attack them. Luckily, it seemed he lured the boars pretty far away from the others. That was the plan after all. "Look, not everyone gets it their first try." He paused for a second. "Wanna know something? Those boars were the first ones I ever killed completely myself, so..." He decided to be quiet, figuring that he wasn't really helping.

 

Spoiler

ID# 62476

Cygnus attacks!

BD: 7 (Hit!)

Cygnus HP: 12/12

 

Boar 1 HP: 0/3

Boar 2 HP: 0/3

Boar 3 HP: 0/3

 

Edited June 29, 2016 by Cygnus

[Kooh 0]

A tingling sensation ran through her, originating from her left shoulder that had skid across the grass. She hated the feeling. Kooh flinched slightly when Cygnus' words reached her ears, nearly having forgotten of his presence. The girl moved only slightly to shift her body. She laid on her stomach, propping herself up at her elbows with her palms flat against the ground. The metal claws equipped to her ran over her knuckles and the tips of the blades rested against the dirt. She took what felt like several long, awkward minutes to collect herself after Cygnus fell quiet. She didn't want his pity.

When she was finally ready to look over at the man, she turned her head towards him with a simple look of dissatisfaction. "I did it wrong." She said to him plainly. "I don't know why, but it just felt like I was doing the wrong things the whole time." Her voice drifted into a pout as she faced back to stare at the ground beneath her. "I can't learn something like this on the fly." She mumbled her words a bit.

Edited June 30, 2016 by Kooh

[Cygnus 0]

Cygnus frowned. "Okay. I'm not that great of a teacher, but I can tell you that getting frustrated won't help. You have to relax, get used to how your weapons feel. Impliment the appropriate strike without even thinking about it. As if it was instinct." He looked over at her. "Remember when we first met? I was training then. Working on my form and footwork when we... ran into each other. I found that it helped immensely for getting used to my weapon." Cygnus smiled at her. "It's all about practice. I trained my heart out daily for a long time before I fought my first real battle. You'll get there. It'll just take time." He thought about putting a hand on her shoulder, but decided not to in the end.. "I'll help you too. If you want me to that is." He hoped his attempt at a pep talk helped at least a little.

[Kooh 0]

The girl heaved a long, over-the-top sigh. Still propped up on her arms, Kooh hung her head, still deciding if it was absolutely necessary for her to learn this stuff. "This is too much work for a game." She mumbled bitterly. After a long moment of silence, Kooh lifted her head with a look of stubborn determination plastered on her face. "Okay, fine." She said, making up her mind. "I'll practice, if it means I get to beat up those stupid boars." The girl ended her sentence with a wry smile and a small chuckle.

Still, she had no idea where to start. Without bothering to move from her laying position, the girl thought of how to go about her new plan. Did she really have to stand around all day while she swung around at the air? That sounded incredibly boring.

[Cygnus 0]

Cygnus grinned as Kooh resolved to practice. "That's the spirit!" He stood and stretched his arms and legs. "So, i'll leave it up to you this time." He took a couple of steps forward, looking around at the other mobs in the area. "We can fight some more mobs if you'd like. Or we can work on your form." He looked back at her. "And everything in between. Which one do you feel like will help you the most?" He figured he would try a little harder to be a teacher. This whole thing was kind of new to him, but he knew that what he was doing here could be potentially important work. Kooh would be getting the basics of combat here. What she learned in these fields could mean the difference between life and death. He chuckled at the parallel between him and her. Just as her future might depend on what happened in these fields, he knew that he got where he was because of what happened in these fields.

[Kooh 0]

Kooh resisted the urge to let out a grumble as the girl pushed herself up onto her knees. She was about to brush the front of her clothing off when she quickly stopped before she'd scraped along her body with the long metal blades over her knuckles. Letting out a small huff of air, the blonde finally pulled herself to her feet, giving a stretch once she was standing. Holding her hands out in front of her, the girl gave the weapons on her wrists a hard stare.

She glanced nervously at the other boars roaming the grassy hills before shaking her head. "Nah, I need to get the hang of this first." She quickly decided. The girl let her arms rest normally beside her, bouncing up and down lightly on the balls of her feet. "So... What exactly should I be doing?" She asked calmly, hoping to get some kind of instruction from Cygnus.

[Cygnus 0]

Cygnus smiled at her as she asked him for advice. He was happy that she was willing to learn again. He saw a lot of potential in her. Cygnus knew that she could become a great fighter with enough practice. Perhaps he was a little too hasty with throwing her into combat though. He figured they should start with the basics. "Okay. First, let's have you show me your battle stance." He turned to face Kooh and drew his greatsword again, getting into his stance. His legs were spread slightly, giving him strong balance. Both hands gripped his blade, which crossed from his lower torso to above his head and over his left arm. His grip was firm and his arms were held out at an angle.  "A good battle stance will give you a strong defense, and many options for an attack as well as a counterattack." 

Edited July 1, 2016 by Cygnus

[Kooh 0]

Kooh tilted her head to the side, watching Cygnus' movements. She attempted to copy him as she stepped her right foot out to the side. Her plan quickly came to a halt once she brought her arms up. She couldn't mimic his sword wielding, and the contraptions on her hands seemed to baffle her. After some fidgeting, Kooh decided on keeping on arm closer to her body, elbow tucked into her side and held up at a slight angle. The other arm extended straight out and downwards with her palm turned down, her fingers curled lightly.

This felt silly. Still, she looked to Cygnus, as if hoping for a seal of approval. "I don't know, how's this?" She didn't sound too unsure of herself, but in her mind she questioned how on Aincrad she was supposed to fight anything like this.