Sabriel (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bindsthedead) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
thecapitol2014-05-10 10:42 am
bindsthedead) wrote in thecapitol2014-05-10 10:42 am
Entry tags:
(no subject)
Who| Sabriel and you
What| Sabriel starts exploring the tower
Where| District 10, the training area, and the commons
When| After Sabriel's arrival
Warnings/Notes| Possible discussion of zombies and death.
(Option A: Initial arrival, Floor 10, Common Area and Roof)
They had taken away her bells and sword- well, it had been Touchstone's sword, but she'd been carrying it at the time. And then they had explained why they'd brought her here, and it had taken every last ounce of self control and memories of ettiquete classes with Miss Prionte to stop her from screaming at them and trying to blast them with a Charter Spell.
Instead, she'd given them a sharp, brittle smile and explained in a tone normally reserved for addressing lesser domestic servants. They hadn't been impressed, and so Sabriel found herself in a strange building, fear and shock and absolute, seething rage all shifting around inside her head.
Not willing to sit around and sulk, Sabriel explored the premises as best she could. She watched the peacekeepers and tributes and avoxes, quickly realized that the technology here was utterly beyond anything in Ancelstierre, and silently vowed to get to the bottom of what was going on. Then, she decided it was time to start asking questions.
"Excuse me, where is this place? I'm afraid I don't completely understand why I've been brought here." Sabriel's face and voice might be carefully neutral, but her hands were clenched into fists.
(Option B: Training Center)
Sabriel had entered the training center out of curiosity, and had stayed to investigate further.
She'd spent some time practicing with a training sword, getting a grasp of the weight and feel of the weapon- not exactly what she was used to, but it was easy enough to adjust to- but wound up spending most of her time watching other tributes and spending time at stations that taught about skills that weren't directly related to combat- recognizing plants, knot-tying and the like.
Occasionally, she'd approach another tribute or mentor- mostly asking about if one skill or another would actually be useful in the arena, and what she should watch out for.
(Option C: Common Area, a few days later)
They'd given her the bandolier back, but the bells inside were not her own. Sabriel frowned, running her fingers over the handles. The materials were right, but these were powerless copies- there was no magic, Charter or Free, within them.
Carefully, she set each of the bells on the table, in order from smallest to largest. Then she began to ring them.
At first, it was simple peals, just to test the sound. Then she upped the tempo, sounding two bells at once and sometimes tossing them into the air and catching them by the handle, just to get the right sound.
It was strangely soothing, and Sabriel felt some of the tension that had built up over the past few days fade as she focused only on the bells- hitting just the right note, creating just the right melodies and harmonies, and not thinking about death, or the arenas, or anything but the sound.
What| Sabriel starts exploring the tower
Where| District 10, the training area, and the commons
When| After Sabriel's arrival
Warnings/Notes| Possible discussion of zombies and death.
(Option A: Initial arrival, Floor 10, Common Area and Roof)
They had taken away her bells and sword- well, it had been Touchstone's sword, but she'd been carrying it at the time. And then they had explained why they'd brought her here, and it had taken every last ounce of self control and memories of ettiquete classes with Miss Prionte to stop her from screaming at them and trying to blast them with a Charter Spell.
Instead, she'd given them a sharp, brittle smile and explained in a tone normally reserved for addressing lesser domestic servants. They hadn't been impressed, and so Sabriel found herself in a strange building, fear and shock and absolute, seething rage all shifting around inside her head.
Not willing to sit around and sulk, Sabriel explored the premises as best she could. She watched the peacekeepers and tributes and avoxes, quickly realized that the technology here was utterly beyond anything in Ancelstierre, and silently vowed to get to the bottom of what was going on. Then, she decided it was time to start asking questions.
"Excuse me, where is this place? I'm afraid I don't completely understand why I've been brought here." Sabriel's face and voice might be carefully neutral, but her hands were clenched into fists.
(Option B: Training Center)
Sabriel had entered the training center out of curiosity, and had stayed to investigate further.
She'd spent some time practicing with a training sword, getting a grasp of the weight and feel of the weapon- not exactly what she was used to, but it was easy enough to adjust to- but wound up spending most of her time watching other tributes and spending time at stations that taught about skills that weren't directly related to combat- recognizing plants, knot-tying and the like.
Occasionally, she'd approach another tribute or mentor- mostly asking about if one skill or another would actually be useful in the arena, and what she should watch out for.
(Option C: Common Area, a few days later)
They'd given her the bandolier back, but the bells inside were not her own. Sabriel frowned, running her fingers over the handles. The materials were right, but these were powerless copies- there was no magic, Charter or Free, within them.
Carefully, she set each of the bells on the table, in order from smallest to largest. Then she began to ring them.
At first, it was simple peals, just to test the sound. Then she upped the tempo, sounding two bells at once and sometimes tossing them into the air and catching them by the handle, just to get the right sound.
It was strangely soothing, and Sabriel felt some of the tension that had built up over the past few days fade as she focused only on the bells- hitting just the right note, creating just the right melodies and harmonies, and not thinking about death, or the arenas, or anything but the sound.
Option B!
His fighting style was the same as ever, with it's reverse grip and aggressive attacks. He could reduce a training dummy to tatters in a short amount of time. There always seemed to be a sense of something missing, though. For so long, he had the Force to back him up. He could sling objects around and throw them aside. At first, there were many times he would reach a hang out to grip something only to realize he didn't have the power anymore. He'd finally stopped doing that, though.
So now, Sabriel would just see him aggressively taking down dummies, until he happened to notice her. His blade stopped just short of the dummy's neck, and he gave her a once over.
"You're not going to learn much by just watching. Take action. If you want to learn a thing or two, then you have to get physical." He lowered his blade and stepped toward her. "How much experience do you have?"
no subject
"A considerable amount," Sabriel retorted as she headed towards an intact dummy. The way she moved gave an impression of controlled force, and she brought her sword up into a guard position before launching into a series of strikes. Her style wasn't as aggressive as Starkiller's, but there was a kind of precise brutality to it- every strike aimed at either killing or disabling.
As she extended her arm, skewering the dummy through the neck, she frowned and turned to Starkiller, tilting her head and waited for his reaction.
"Everything I actually fought was a Dead creature though. Sparring with my classmates doesn't exactly count," Sabriel admitted. She'd never had to think about killing a living person- not until she'd summoned a flood to wash away the Dead, and caused more destruction than she'd realized in the process.
no subject
He wouldn't give much of a reaction though, but he did give an approving nod. "Better than I thought," he said. Her last words, however, had him raising an eyebrow. "I'm going to assume that a "dead" creature isn't what first comes to mind."
Because beating up dead things wasn't very impressive.
"So, elaborate?" he added a second later.
no subject
"Yes and no. Sometimes, when a person or animal dies, their spirit seeks to return to Life. When they succeed, they may inhabit a corpse- often not their original body, or they're remain a bodiless spirit. In either case, they must steal life by murdering the living in order to stay out of Death," Sabriel explained.
"Before I was brought here- I could sense them, because I had a connection to Death. But I don't have my magic now." It was frustrating, to say the least.
no subject
It was the latter statement that had him nodding. "You'll find everyone's lost at least something from their own world," he said, an annoyed air to his tone. "I used to be capable of a lot more, but now all I have left is my skill with a blade. I suppose they're afraid that if they let us remain powerful, they wouldn't be around long enough to regret it."
no subject
"I-," Sabriel cleared her throat, "I'm not sure what I'm going to do, once I get into the arena. But if we do meet- I certainly wouldn't object to fighting alongside you."
no subject
He wouldn't admit that to anyone, though.
"You wouldn't make a bad partner," he said, giving a small nod. "Obviously we can't plan anything concrete, given the fact we know nothing of what the arena will be like. But... if we do cross paths, I wouldn't object to having you on my side."
no subject
"Then let's hope we survive long enough to meet each other," She paused, looking out over the training stations, "Which non-combat skill would you consider most valuable in the arena?"
no subject
He gave the question a moment of thought. "I would say the ability to hide would be your best skill," he said. "I'm an aggressive fighter, but I also know that sometimes your best strategy is secrecy. Unfortunately, I... didn't have that luxury much last arena." His brows furrowed a little angrily. "You're free to watch my arena tape- it should be obvious once you do what I mean."
Starkiller had been forced to wear slippers in the shape of Darth Vader. And they breathed with every step he took. It had made sneaking around difficult, and had eventually compromised his own sanity.
"Other than that? Know what's edible. We were in a building last time," he said, "But if we're anywhere outside, then you have to know what you can eat in order to survive. You can't exactly pack a lunch, after all."
no subject
"I've seen some of the reruns from the Arena," The attitude of the commentary had left her feeling furious, but she supposed she might learn something valuable from watching a few more, "I suppose I ought to watch a few more."
no subject
Starkiller hadn't been a fan at first of watching the previous arena, but after a while he's come to realize it was necessary, so he gave her a nod. If reluctantly. "If it doesn't help, then it won't exactly hurt either. Unless you have a weak stomach for that kind of thing, anyway. But I doubt that."
no subject