(Untitled)

[stonyfaced]

Characters: Stoneface and OPEN!
Date/Time: From December 26th to January 2nd, let's say
Location: Varied.
Rating: PG-13 for naughty language!
Summary: Stoneface died. He's come back. People want to see him

Comments

December 27?

[stonyfaced]

Stoneface had forgotten that he had asked Handmaiden to come by after speaking to Bastet and cursed quietly to himself when he remembered. He had been planning on preparing a few questions to make the reporting portion go as quickly as possible so they could get straight to the sparring. He opened the door for Handmaiden as she approached and beckoned her inside. He knew how concentrated she was on fighting, and at this moment, he really didn't mind. As a public official, he wasn't allowed to go around punching people when he didn't agree with them (not that he did it in the first place), but he was having trouble blowing off steam in ways that didn't injure his knuckles or his desk.

Sparring ought to take care of that. On top of all that, he was certain she could show him what she could really do, and hopefully he'd be able to keep up enough so that next time some bastard - Praise - broke into his home with a knife, he'd be ready to fight back.

But first, he had to hear what she had to say. Directing her to a cheap looking chair in the middle of an empty room, he said, "Hello, Handmaiden. How've things been?"

Stoneface looked over her for any trace of injury, and found none. Still, it was amazing what people could hide and within the professional question came a personal one: How have you been? Despite his genuine concern, the disguised look upon his face betrayed the fact that he was somewhere else, questioning, wondering, ranting.

December 27 :|

[ice_echani]

Handmaiden assumed that Stoneface would rather discuss what had happened and then spar... which she supposed was the normal way of handling things for most people in Edensphere, and something she had grown accustomed to by now despite the inevitable distance she felt from people until she did get a chance to fight them. But the verbal report was important.

"Difficult," she answered in an honest, neutral tone, sitting down out of politeness. "We still do not know who directed the animals against us. I am not sure if it was an idiotic attempt to frighten us away or simply to hamper us physically while we investigated your... murder," she said, the pause coming from the awkwardness of talking about killing to the victim himself. There was still a very surreal feeling to that. "The beasts seemed content to leave the battle after we had been sufficiently injured." And there was the shame that she wasn't quite able to keep out of her voice. The fact that all of the other Watch members had been hurt despite their skill didn't affect that; it cut into a deeper sense of inferiority that Handmaiden couldn't explain. Nor had she analyzed her feelings that far--she simply knew that she had not been good enough.

As was somewhat characteristic of her, she didn't pick up anything but the professional in Stoneface's question. She did expect that he would need a more detailed count of the injuries, though, and was prepared to give it.

December 27 B|

[stonyfaced]

Stoneface settled in the chair across from her, grabbing a blank notebook that he had bought from the Marketplace, along with a pen. For formal reports, or at least that's what he intended it to be for. His curly handwriting spread across the cover, saying, The Watch, and he wrote in the first entry.

Handmaiden didn't say how she, personally was. But that could wait. He'd ask her after business was finished. He'd have to address that sheepish tone that was rare within Handmaiden's admittedly monotone voice--it was a rare show of emotion from the woman, and that meant something was wrong. "I see. What can you tell me, in detail, about both the crime scene and the attacks?" He looked up from his notebook. "No ranks have been made yet, but as far as I'm concerned, Handmaiden, you're one of my senior officers. I'll be asking everybody else the exact same questions, but I expect that you'll be able to tell me the bulk of what I need to know."

He tapped the back of his pen against the notepad, his expression severe, but tone making clear that this was meant not as a rebuke, but in Stoneface's view, one of the highest compliments he could give somebody. "That means everything that you'd expect to see in a written report, please."

B| B|

[ice_echani]

Senior officers...? It was true that words did occasionally have power, and this was one of those times. Handmaiden could only feel disbelief. She had not thought of herself in such a position, assuming that Stoneface would have seen the many inadequacies that were obvious to her. Yet he was a person of sound judgment whose opinion she respected. She would have to make sure not to dishonor the trust he placed in her. "Very well."

She described what had happened at the crime scene, from her sensing of his death to Wolverine's identification of Raise as the killer. Handmaiden did not spare gory details for the sake of his discomfort, although she only described what was necessary. There was nothing that was not awkward when speaking to a man about his own murder; therefore, she saw no reason not to be blunt and direct as she usually was. Nothing would be accomplished by trying to edge around the difficult issues. It was for that reason as well that she showed him the journal entry she had made when she discovered his body--and explained the large patch of black ink, again feeling shame at her error in judgment.

Handmaiden forced herself not to shy away from the details of the attacks either, including the efforts by Bastet and the Guard to eliminate the monsters that were assaulting the Watch. Even with that, however, the only one who had not been harmed was Rosalind. She watched as Stoneface took notes on what she said, giving a clear record to this.

/quails underneath the force of handmaiden's B|

[stonyfaced]

Stoneface remained completely silent for a full five minutes after Handmaiden had finished speaking. His penmanship was shoddy at best, and although he made sure to write coherently with whatever rules he knew of Morporkian over the journals, it proved to be a great deal more difficult when said things were being dictated. "All right," he said, putting both pen and notebook down and stretching out the cramp in his hand. "That's fine, thank you."

It was strange, thinking of his own death in such straight cut terms as Handmaiden used, but that was precisely what he would have done, wasn't it? It sent chills down his spine nonetheless, the feeling only surging back tenfold now that he had a face to put with the sensations. Unthinkingly, his hand traveled down to his abdomen where a scar remained, an ugly gash of a thing that looked to be no more than the remnants of a rather clumsily executed flesh wound.

Despite his own preoccupations, he had it within him to ask, "And you, Handmaiden? How have you been holding up?"

.... B)?

[ice_echani]

Handmaiden saw Stoneface's hand move to the exact spot of the gash that had been cut across his abdomen. Was he still hurt? She had thought that being reborn healed whatever mortal injuries had killed the person... maybe there was still something that lingered. But his question came before she could ask her own.

"My injuries have healed fully," she said. There was more than that, of course. Grief, rage, confusion, shame, all had swirled within her in varying degrees and shades since his death. Handmaiden was unsure if she wanted to speak of those weaknesses to him, or if she could even put them into words. What she had said at the start--difficult--seemed to sum up quite a bit of it. "I wish that I had not been so easily put out of action, but I will ensure that it does not happen a second time," she added after a moment's thought. She would still need to find someone to train with against such beasts.

"You are not still injured, are you?" she asked, glancing back at his hand.

:D

[stonyfaced]

"That's good to hear," he said, wonder lurking in the corners of his mind. The watchmen's injuries seemed to vary from person to person, and luckily, it seemed that Handmaiden's had healed up.

At Handmaiden's question that came out of the blue, his train of thought paused, and momentarily derailed, he asked, "What?" Then, following her gaze, he dropped his hand back to his side. He had almost forgotten how adept the woman was at reading body language. "Oh. No, I'm not still injured. I just--I remember it," he said, lamely.

He rose to his feet, knowing her penchant for sparring and how integral it seemed in how she operated. "That'll be all for talking. I think I could use a good spar."

^_^~

[ice_echani]

"Oh," said Handmaiden... feeling slightly awkward and foolish at having asked the question now, but after the horrific manner of his death concern for him came quickly. She nodded, though. If she had been killed like that, she did not doubt that it would dominate her thoughts as it apparently did Stoneface's, especially with the particular difficulties that surrounded his murder.

She stood up immediately at his words. "Yes," she said. "Until now, I have not called on the Force when we have fought--but I think I must teach you how to combat that as well as physical strength." True, not every fight Stoneface would encounter would involve the Force specifically, but learning how to resist it would surely be helpful against other powers as well. "It will not be easy," she warned. "Shall we go to the park or the arena? I do not think it would be a good idea to train in here."

:>

[stonyfaced]

Stoneface had heard much but understood little of the Force that Handmaiden so often spoke about. It seemed like a handy little thing to have and it reeked of magic, except for the fact that the sombre woman in front of him was too solid and trustworthy to have much to do with something like magic. Still, as much as it unsettled him, he'd welcome having himself tested.

Even if it was magic, he'd have to learn how to deal with it eventually.

"Yes, you're right," he said. "I don't expect it'll be easy, but better now than too late, eh? Let's nip over to the Arena. The Park shouldn't be too crowded this time of year, but I still don't feel like having an audience."

He was already feeling better about the situation with Praise after the brisk walk there. The walk solved nothing, of course, yet the feel of the city underneath his boots and the sharp, clean air sinking into his lungs reassured him that although he may be jumping off a cliff, at least it was a familiar cliff. Besides the walk, Handmaiden's steady companionship was reassuring. He'd have to hear her opinion on matters, but that could wait until he had gotten out the tension gathering between his shoulder blades, the want to expel energy in a way simply walking could not satisfy.

Once they arrived there, he cast aside his weapons and stood directly in front of Handmaiden. This would be... interesting, he'd known that from the start, but apprehension began to build as he wondered exactly what he had gotten himself into.

He'd been asking himself that question a lot over the past month. He suspected that he wouldn't be stopping anytime soon.

"So?" He said. "What's this thing all about, then?"

:}

[ice_echani]

"No, it will not be. But if it was, I would be doing you a disservice," said Handmaiden. The air was cold but clean, refreshing to her rather than making her want to stay inside. In the cold, one was more motivated to move and as they were going to fight, it was much preferable to heat. She unclipped her quarterstaff from her belt and set it to one side carefully, always mindful of the fact that it had belonged to her unremembered father.

She considered what her method ought to be... there were ways to resist the Force, Handmaiden knew that. The difficulty lay in not knowing how she knew or what those techniques were--how was she to go about teaching him? But she would find a way to do so. She did not want to see him as a corpse a second time. "That question would take too long to answer, and I do not believe I could do it justice anyway," she said in response to his question. "The Force is many things. But for now, I will confront you with the most applicable manifestation of it."

The most basic manifestation of the Force was its mere presence, emanating from all life. But in battle, Handmaiden most often used its flowing energy to push and pull, to move. "Resist," she commanded as she raised a hand and called on its power to push him backwards. It was not a hard shove that would slam him into the wall, but steady and unyielding.

*\o/*

[stonyfaced]

Stoneface glanced around warily when Handmaiden told him to resist, wondering what was coming. Would there be some sort of tangible image? Colours, perhaps? A misting of the air? It'd hardly be good magic without a few drippy candles and fog sweeping through the area. To his surprise, there was no physical manifestation, merely something that felt like a brick wall pressing down on him. Eyes widening, he stumbled backwards a few steps, both unaccustomed, and yes, a little afraid of the force he could not see.

Couldn't trust it.

Which is why he had to practice with somebody he did trust before it was used by somebody without a grasp on reason and good sense. Hesitantly, he put his weight against it, and pushed back, trying to ignore the uncanny feeling that he'd topple forward onto his face.

"Bloody hell, Handmaiden," he said, grunting just slightly and holding his hands experimentally in front of him, fingers standing vertical and palms facing outwards, "This sort of thing could be useful."

\o\

[ice_echani]

No, the Force did not manifest in any visible way. It did not need to--it simply was. It was not magic but energy, created from life, and while there was light and darkness to it, it was not something that was seen. Handmaiden pushed it at Stoneface, doing her best to push him as far back as she could before stopping.

He seemed to resist it well, although this did not surprise her. She could probably topple him over with another unexpected burst, but she did not think that would be a good teaching method yet. He needed to know what it felt like before he could defend against it. She knew Stoneface's will to be unbreakable. "It is..." She struggled to find a word to define it. "Yes, although that does not sum it up. But it is extraordinarily helpful in battle."

She straightened up and lifted her hand. "This time, you must remain on the ground," she said, and began lifting him straight into the air.

/o/

[stonyfaced]

The ideas that Stoneface had been formulating for uses of the force quickly disappeared when Handmaiden informed him that he had to try staying on the ground. "Wha--"

It was safe to say that whatever fear he had of heights was slowly being forcefully whipped out of him after trip after trip down to the library, but that made this no more pleasant. After a minute of panic, pushing his weight into the ground, feeling the resistance but no dirt beneath his feet, the knowledge that whatever it was propelling him upwards could very likely send him skywards then once more downwards, he'd had quite enough. Pushing against something, yeah, all right. Down on something? Not quite so easy.

He looked down and immediately wished he hadn't.

"Handmaiden, I'm only going to say this once," he said, voice starting off quiet but quickly escalating to a shout, the tremor of uncertainty hiding all too well beneath the guise of bullheaded anger. "Put me down right now, or you'll bloody well live to regret it!"

Some quiet, belligerent part of him realized that if it were him in Handmaiden's place, he'd shrug off the yelling and say it was necessary. The sad truth about that one was that it was okay when he did it, and he found that it was not nearly so okay when it was him hurtling eight feet into the air.

/o\

[ice_echani]

Well... the will was there, certainly. Unfortunately, Stoneface proved to be less adept at resisting the upward lift than he was at the lateral push. Handmaiden found it much easier to propel him upwards. True, it was a different sort of movement to resist, but that was the object of the exercise.

She didn't flinch or waver at his angry shout. She could see how uncomfortable he was with it, almost fearful. "If you wish to stop me, then fight it," she said, with very little sympathy in her voice. "Your enemies are not going to listen to anything but action."

Still, she did wonder if this might be too advanced just now... she had never taught someone how to resist the Force. It was possible to do so, she knew that in an almost disturbingly certain way. But this was unknown territory for her. If he proved unable to resist it still, she would have to try something else.

\o/

[stonyfaced]

Stoneface scowled, seeing the logic in Handmaiden's reply but recognizing that it really made nothing any better. "Yes?" He shouted back. "And how do you propose I do that, short of jumping about like a maniac?"

He was positive that falling from this distance wouldn't hurt him, but it certainly wouldn't be a good experience. Muttering an extremely heartfelt curse, he proceeded to to do exactly what he wanted to avoid. That was, stomping emphatically and jumping in a way that gave him mild vertigo. When that failed to produce meaningful results, he decided that he'd go ahead and do what he would do if Handmaiden was indeed an enemy.

Normally, he'd toss his helmet or truncheon at her. Something hard, metal, and sure to make the bugger bleed. In this case, he settled on extracting his blackjack from out of his pocket and hurled it at her leg with dangerous precision.

...I've run out :(

[ice_echani]

...Handmaiden had to forcibly remind herself of the reason they were doing this... images of his maimed corpse, the bloodstains in his house came to mind. If she didn't think about that, it would have been very, very difficult to stop herself from laughing.

And even with that it was something of a struggle. But still... the answer that first came was to simply shout back that he needed to figure it out himself. Yet she knew it was not an adequate response--it was a cheat, a way of not saying that she didn't know. Before she could give a more honest reply, though, he did think of something. She tensed when she saw his movement, realizing what he would do a split second before it happened.

Handmaiden debated a moment whether to try and catch it with the Force or simply move out of the way--her body reacted for her before she reached the end of the thought, though, and she quickly shifted her leg out of the way. But in doing so, her grip on Stoneface weakened--he had chosen an effective method if he decided to follow up on it.