Day 42: Magus Park [evening]

[fourtharcana]

The temperature was starting to cool down, but that was okay with Akihiko. It wasn't that much different from winter evenings back home. He was feeling better, having been outside most of the day, but still. That niggling stress from the previous few days was still getting to him. He sighed, looking up at the darkening sky and thinking about it all

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[scalyfishman]

[dgaslkj sorry for the repost. Do you mind at all?]Speaking with Lugnut had left Depth Charge feeling a lot better than he’d been feeling in general these da

[fourtharcana]

[it's cool. And not at all!]

"Yeah," Akihiko said, turning to face the guy from a couple of nights ago. "It's Depth Charge, right?", he asked, wanting to make sure he had the name right. "You holding up all right? You look kind of stressed."

Not that he could blame anyone for that, really. It was this place. It got to everyone in different ways, and it hit some people harder than others. It was just one of those things you had to figure out how to handle.

[scalyfishman]

"Yeah, that's me." As for the second part... well. For a moment the Maximal didn't answer, a little thrown. Hah. It'd been some time since someone had asked him that and, frankly, he didn't really know how to answer. Not really, I'm still reeling over the death of a kid who I practically let get mauled by a mutant cat the other night, how about you?. Talk about a conversation killer. Eventually, Depth Charge settled on a shrug. "Well enough."

Changing the subject before Akihiko could inquire further, he hardened his expression. "I need lessons. Or advice. Anything you can give me to get me used to fighting as a human."

[fourtharcana]

"This place sucks." Akihiko laughed sarcastically, getting the meaning behind that. "So I guess that's the only way you can be."

Well, that was an offer he was more than qualified to take on. "I can do that. We can even get started right now," he said, with a nod.

"The question is where to start. I think that getting you used to how to throw a solid punch, then defend, is a good starting point. The beginning of that is getting a feel for how you should be standing going into a fight."

He dropped into a fighting stance. "Try standing the way I am. The point of the stance being like this is that you can move easily in it, to both attack and defend. You want to keep your fists close to your chest as much as you can, because you don't want to take too many hits to those places. Better that your arms take the hits than your ribs or anything else."

[scalyfishman]

Fortunately the kid seemed more interested getting down to business than making small talk- an approach that Depth Charge was more than happy to follow.

Looked like he'd be getting the 101 before they moved into anything complicated. He gave a casual nod. "Works for me." He could get over the trauma of taking orders when he wasn't learning how to survive.

Looking his new teacher up and down briefly for reference, Depth Charge mimicked the position as best he could, bending his arms loosely towards his chest as Akihiko directed. 'Ribs' were internal struts in humans, right? Somehow the idea of something breaking 'em wasn't exactly an appealing one. "Like this?"

[fourtharcana]

"That's good. Try dropping a little lower, though. You're taller than I am, so your center of gravity is going to be lower than mine is. It'll feel more natural to you once that's balanced the right way," Akihiko said, with a nod.

"Now, the thing to remember is that you don't want to leave yourself open in a fight, and you don't want to tense up too much. If you lock your knees - " he paused to demonstrate what that looked like - "you find that it's harder to get out of that lock later. The same goes for locking your arms into place."

So far, so good. Akihiko grinned at Depth Charge. "Once you think you've got the hang of that, we'll move on to how to throw a punch."

[scalyfishman]

“Y’know, it was a lot easy when I could just shoot the slaggers,” Depth Charge grumbled genially, shifting his positioning and trying to ease the muscles in his legs- easier said than done, considering he’d spent most of his life in a permanent state of tension. Lower and looser. He’d have to remember that. “Them’s the breaks, huh?”

Something still didn’t quite feel right, though- maybe he was leaning too far forward? Five days as a human and it was still pretty easy to forget that he didn’t have a set of metal fins folded on his back to compensate for anymore.

A few moments of experimentation with the lean of his body and he gave a grim smile. “Alright then. Lay it on me, kid.”

[fourtharcana]

"I'll bet," Akihiko answered. "It'll get easier, though. I had a hell of a time when I was first getting the stance down. You have no idea how many times I got yelled at." He chuckled a little, remembering that. "And I know what you mean about stuff being easier back at home. I sure wish I could just use electricity on the monsters without it being a huge effort

[scalyfishman]

Depth Charge had been following Akihiko up until he'd mentioned 'using' electricity to kill monsters. What in Primus' name...? Huh. That was a new one. With a place that housed everything from pirates to angels, though, what was he expecting

[fourtharcana]

"You're getting the hang of this quickly, Depth Charge." Akihiko smiled. And that was true; so far, so good. There was an unexpected little bit of pride in that smile, the same kind he'd had whenever one of the younger guys on the boxing team picked up something new, or when one of his teammates got a new skill. That wasn't something he'd really felt since he'd arrived in Landel's, and he hadn't realized how much he missed it until it happened again.

"OK. Now try a few combinations. This is where you really get to figure out your own style," he continued. "Some boxers prefer to stay up close to their opponent and stick with the closer jabs. Others like to keep their opponent at a distance, dodging and then striking strategic blows when they can. And other people mix those two. I can't tell you which one's the best one to use."

[scalyfishman]

Depth Charge dropped back, giving a little snort. "Yeah, well. Maybe." Still, even the sourest 'bot this side of Charr couldn't resist cracking the slightest of smiles. He hadn't started out a complete novice, it was true, but a distant training session way back in military school and a lifetime of scrapping didn't exactly amount to a whole lot in the face of someone who could actually fight. He could take a compliment without the universe collapsing.

"Combinations," he repeated back, "gotcha." Tightening his fists again, he sized Akihiko up, considered his options (jab, hook, straight, uppercut...) and went for it. A jab with his left hand, followed up with a hook from his right, and then-

- the next thing Depth Charge knew he was on his knees getting better acquainted with the grass. He cursed under his breath and gave the ground a surly punch, for good measure. "Slag it. I keep forgetting I'm not as heavy as I used to be." Looked like throwing his weight around wasn't gonna be an option. Not on those spindly legs...

[fourtharcana]

Akihiko bent down and offered Depth Charge a hand up. "How much of a difference is it now from what it was?" It had to be a pretty big difference either way, but there was still a lot of potential in the guy, and he didn't want to see that wasted. There were ways to compensate, it was just a matter of figuring out how much was needed.

He rubbed at one arm absentmindedly. It didn't hurt, not really - and just the fact he'd been working out some of that frustration he'd had earlier felt pretty good. It was reminding him of why he'd started training the way he had. I've got people here to protect. And if I can help other people do the same thing, that's worth doing.

[scalyfishman]

The slightest hint of colour creeping out from the neck of his jacket (well, at least they matched now), Depth Charge took Akihiko's hand and let himself be hauled up onto his feet again. Nurse Ratchet was probably gonna kick up a fuss about the grass stains, but to the Pit with her. The question gave him a few moments to dust his knees down a little while he chewed the answer over.

"Not sure. Could be anywhere from eight hundred to well over a thousand pounds." Add to that the transmetal treatment he got before he landed on Earth and you had yourself a bona fide mystery. He made a thoughtful tutting sound and shook his head. "Whatever it was, I was pretty much all metal before. This body's nothing in comparison."

[fourtharcana]

Wait. Metal? How does that even work outside the movies -- right. Different worlds. Akihiko stifled the urge to gawk, instead turning that into a thoughtful expression. "Right. Yeah, I can't imagine what it's gotta be like going from that to flesh and blood. It's gotta suck, at any rate."

He looked away for a moment, catching sight of a few nurses in the area. Well, probably good they'd taken the short break, lest they get wrapped up with them. They could pick up with punching once the nurses had settled down whoever it was they were after.

"OK. I think something that might help you would be figuring out how to keep your center of gravity balanced. You don't need to compensate for the weight difference as much as work out its advantages. Was your height different, too, or are you about the same height as you were before?"

[scalyfishman]

"You got that right. You dent too easy, the fuel's terrible and-" - oh, sweet Primus, he was turning into Lugnut.

That was it. The nanoklik he started to talk about 'fleshlings' and fell on his knees in hysterical worship every time someone said the word 'Megatron' he was going to have to find an energon scalpel to fall on. Stat.

Coughing, Depth Charge returned to the matter of height very quickly indeed. "The height's a lot closer than the weight- guess I'm about a foot smaller at most." He smiled wryly. "Got any ideas, coach?" Akihiko's new 'title' was thrown on the end with a level of humour that surprised even himself. Hah. He must have been enjoying this more than he thought he was.

[fourtharcana]

Akihiko couldn't help laughing at that. "Sounds like it's not all it's cracked up to be, that's for sure." For half a second, he wondered what that had to be like, going from metal to bone, trying to compensate for it all. He had a feeling it was a lot harder than Depth Charge was letting on.

He hummed thoughtfully, thinking about the situation and grinning just a little at the name 'coach'. "All right. Try that combination again, but first balance the weight between both sides of your body." He demonstrated by moving from one foot to the other and then centering again.

"Once you're sure about that, then try it. Don't lean in with your shoulders too much, and don't tense. You shouldn't need to worry about the height difference too much, though it might help to drop your shoulders a little."