[OPEN] We'll fight with all our strength

[toshinebrighter]

Characters: the Warrior of Light and open.
Content: The Warrior of Light spends some time training, and getting to know some of his crewmates.
Setting: the Convoy training center
Time:  Afternoon, a few days after WoL joins the Convoy.
Warnings:Hopefully none.

Comments

[hiccup_ninja]

It was about an hour after the Warrior had begun his training that a very broody-looking redhead wandered in, a big gourd strapped to his back. Gaara was vaguely hoping to relieve some of his pent-up stress through practising his control over the sand, but he wasn't getting too optimistic about it. He cusually sat himself down on a weight-lifting bench after carefully hefting the gourd off his back and setting it down next to him. Then the stopper worked its way out of the mouth of the large container--without Gaara so much as moving a muscle--and allowing a small stream of sand to slink out. The redhead slowly held out an open hand, where the sand gathered in his palm and began to take on strange and vaguely recognizable shapes as it shifted and hovered a few centimeters above his hand.

This was how Gaara trained himself. It didn't look like much, but it took laser-like concentration to manipulate the sand so finely. The redhead showed absolutely no sign of having noticed the other person in the room, swinging a sword around.

[toshinebrighter]

He was still largely focused on his sword work, though another person entering the room registered in some part of his mind. He took the lack of a greeting as a sign that the other person was not interested in socializing, so other than a small pause and a quick glance toward the boy and the strange gourd he carried, the Warrior of Light didn’t acknowledge the new person in the room in favor of turning back to his practice.

He still hadn’t gotten his movements to be quite right without the shield. It was a matter of balance and of awareness. He was used to compensating for the heft of his shield while he fought. Now that he was not often carrying the shield with him, he would need to change that. He had to focus his attention on consciously changing how he moved, before he could begin to drill himself to commit the move to muscle-memory

[hiccup_ninja]

The redhead, having not expected to be spoken to on top of being so focused on the sand, blinked in surprise and looked over at the heavily armored young man. The sand immediately froze in mid-transition, caught between a flower and a spear. Gaara hummed quietly at the Warrior's words, glancing back down at the sand.

"...I can't explain how." he said simply, giving a tiny shrug. "It's second-nature to me. I don't really have to think about it."

[toshinebrighter]

“Still, it is an impressive magic.” He said. “I have never met anyone with such an ability.” He sheathed his sword for the moment and stepped forward, not close enough to get into Gaara’s personal space, but close enough that he could examine the sand that he controlled more closely.

He didn’t mean to bother the boy, but he did find it interesting, and the redhead didn’t seem particularly adverse to conversation, only perhaps a bit reserved. He knew of magic, of course. His own mana crystal allowed him to cast, though only very specifically.

[hiccup_ninja]

"...Neither have I." Gaara agreed absently, watching the man intently as he drew closer before slowly fixing his attention back on the sand hovering over his palm, which then finished its transofmation from flower to spear. The little spear then thickened and hollowed out until it resembled a teacup; the cup's sides peeling apart until the sand looked like a flower once again. It was, admittedly, very strange to watch, but at the same time fascinating. "I may be the only one who can use it."

[toshinebrighter]

“Then it is an advantage. Your opponents will not know what to expect.” The warrior could not help but think of it in terms of battle. It was a good reason to have and train such an ability, after all. He was not about to offer to spar, though. With only his sword, it would be a difficult thing to fight against. He would likely only be easily beaten, which was not the point of his time here, or of sparring with anyone. Training alone or with someone else was supposed to help one learn.

He looked up from the shifting sand for a moment to look at the boy, and realized that he did not yet know who he was. “If you do not find it offensive for me to ask, what is your name? I am called the Warrior of Light. I only recently joined the ship as a Weapons Master.”

[hiccup_ninja]

Gaara easily saw Warrior's reasoning and nodded once in agreement. His own view point was not much different, after all. He looked up and regarded the other blankly, the sand-flower folding in on itself and elongating into a little sword, complete with an ornately decorated hilt. He shook his head a fraction.

"I am Gaara Sabaku. I joined a couple of weeks ago as a Powder Monkey." He said, commiting the new name and face to memory and carefully filing away the information attached to them.

[toshinebrighter]

The warrior’s face lightened in slight amusement as he saw the miniature sword Gaara had fashioned out of the sand. It was appropriate to the conversation, after all, and the ornate design reminded him of his own sword. “I am glad to meet you, Gaara.” He said with a nod. He had hardly spent much time meeting the other crew members face to face, as was probably generally expected, but it had not seemed worth the trouble. If something caught his eye in the same way that Gaara’s sand had, he might act, but not until then. “Thank you for indulging my curiosity about your abilities.”

[hiccup_ninja]

Gaara returned the nod, the little sword dissolving into a small sphere, which rested easily in the redhead's hand. "Likewise, Warrior-san." he replied. Gaara had also met few of his crew-mates, though those he had met so far he had gotten along with reasonably well. He nodded again. "It's no problem at all."