| Training Surprise | |||||
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| What: Thor and Eddie spend a day training and are joined by Sif and Senri. During a spar between Thor and Eddie, the power booster discovers more about a new side of his powers. | |||||
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After GED classes and work, Eddie asked to be dropped off at the practice fields since he wanted to get some training in. He's stayed even while he 'ride' went to do something else. Anyone coming to the field this evening will find Eddie hard at work still. Dressed for a work out, he's in the middle of some sparring against imaginary opponents. It might look crazy to some but he's punching, kicking, jumping, rolling, and generally practicing his moves. He's definitely improved since the days when Thor and Sif first showed him this place and it shows, his moves more controlled and looking like they'd actually be effective rather than the sloppy flailing he used to do.
Beneath a mighty oak tree sits the Mighty Thor. With one elbow, he leans upon a boulder (evidence of his earth control powers yanking up sections of bedrock). In the other hand, he's drinking from a flagon. There's a small (read: by Thor's standards) barrel sitting by his hip. His stormy colored eyes are watching Eddie's moves with the silent intensity of assessment.
Sif had been out getting mochas when she ran into Senri. The Goddess was once again dressed in street clothes, sword at her hip. The difference? She has discovered portable music players! Huzzah! A cord runs from her pocket up to the earbuds in her ears.
When she founds Senri, she informed the girl that Thor was at the training field. Chances were he wasn't alone. After getting confirmation that she'd be joining Sif in visitng the God, teleportation happened!
Sif and Senri appear, not too far from Thor, out of, well... nowhere it seems. A common sight concerning the Goddess. Mocha in hand, let's hope no one tosses anything at her because just before teleportation, she started the music up again.
As the two emerge in the field, Senri waves enthusiastically. Letting her hand drop, she finds herself replaying her memories of the lesson and spar that had taken place "(Was it really only a few nights ago?)" There were the dandelions, and over there was where she had made her last dodge. She was rather proud of that dodge. Bringing herself back to the present, she chirped a cheerful, "Hello!"
Eddie continues his 'spar' with the imagined opponent. There's a faint white glow around him that grows a little brighter as Sif and Senri appear. Jump to the side, roll, come up with an uppercut, land, punch, punch...slight hesitation and he pulls back only to leap and spin kick at the air. And unlike all the other times he'd tried it today, he actually lands well and comes around into a defensive stance. Senri's voice snaps him out of his surprise at actually getting the move right. "Uh...hi."
"Welcome. Mead?" Thor asks, holding up his flaggon toward Sif (and Senri too by extension), without taking his eyes off of Eddie. A proud smile sets on the Thunderer's face as he watches the once withdrawn young man now fighting with far more confidence and skill than he had been previously.
The Goddess had been trying different Midgardian styles as of late, trying to find one that suited her and was comfortable. Or as close to comfortable as she could get. Today was a pair of jeans, slightly heeled boots and a gothic corset style blouse.
Walking over to Thor, his question unanswered since she didn't hear it, she holds the drink holder full of mochas out to him. She got as many as she could since she didn't know how many were with Thor and... He could always drink the extras if there any...
She turns her attention on Eddie, holding one of the mochas out towards Senri. Then she calls out to Eddie, a little louder the needed because..well..headphones. "Mocha??"
With an expression of simple glee, Senri takes the proffered mocha with a polite, enthusiastic "Thank you!" Blowing carefully into the cup, she takes a small sip. A little on the 'uncomfortably hot' side, but fortunately not 'melt-your-mouth' hot. Smiling apologetically, she replies to Thor, "Thank you for the offer, but I actually don't drink. I have a pretty good idea of how I'd react." To Eddie, she says simply, "Nice form! I caught the tail end when we arrived."
As soon as that smile spreads across Thor's face, the glow around Eddie grows brighter still. He takes a moment to look down at himself before taking a deep breath. The glow fades and he jogs over towards the others. "Sure. Thanks, Sif," he says as he gets closer. Senri gets him blushing though. "I um...thanks."
Sif's too loud voice and her lack of response to his very direct question has himi turning his face toward her. The wires mean absolutely nothing to Thor (Maybe they're odd ...earrings? No, surely not.), though he peers at them curiously.
"Sif?" Thor asks, tone still respectfully soft of Eddie's training. Speaking of which, as Senri calls out (and noting that Sif was far too loud for the boy's focus), Thor frowns. Hismouth opens as if he's going to say something, but Eddie's coming over, and so whatever Thor was going to say into the frown is altered to a slightly puzzled smirk at Senri and Sif.
"I am grateful then to have been offering more to Sif," Thor says to Senri, though he's clearly not at all certain why Sif is speaking the way she is. His none drink hand is reaching up for a mocha.
Wait... Mouths are moving... That means people are talking. With her free hand, she reaches up and pulls the earbud nearest Thor from her ear. "I'm sorry, beloved. Were you speaking to me?" And as Thor reaches for mocha, Sif reaches for the mead.
Eddie approaches and she smiles brightly at him. "You're training is coming along very well, little brother. I am most proud of you." Of course, Sif wouldn't be Sif if she didn't offer a piece of advice though. "You hesitated on your kick... You must not. It was an opening..." She cares for the lad too much to allow him such a mistake.
Comprehension dawns on Senri's face, mingled with a hefty dose of relief. "I see. Thank you for understanding." Taking another sip of her mocha, she finds it a much more tolerable temperature, and fights the urge to knock the rest back in one go. She -loves- mocha, but has never been one to let it get cold before finishing it. She smiles at Eddie and says, "My pleasure!" Then, as Sif makes her expert assessment. Her smile turns slightly sheepish as she says, "Oh! Well, that too. I didn't catch it myself, but then, I was a bit caught up in remembering the spar here a few nights back."
The praise from Sif just makes Eddie blush worse as he reaches for a mocha for himself. "I know. I'm j-j-just amazed I actually got the kick right this time," he says. "and that weird glow was b-back again," he says, looking thoughful. "I n-need to figure out where it comes from," he remarks. After a moment, he shrugs it off and smiles. Whatever gloom and brooding had been in him the other day has either been shaken off or buried. "What w-were you listening to, Sif?"
"Yes, I was," Thor replies to Sif as he relinquishes the mead in favor of the mocha. Under no concerns over the temperature, Thor takes a hearty pull of the drink while listening to Sif's assessment of the lad. He's nodding, the grin returning as he puts the odd deaf-Sif-moment out of mind for now. He glances at Senri with a smirk, before looking to Eddie.
"When thou art feeling warmed, I am ready for thee," Thor says with that tone of a pre-arranged round of sparring.
"My apologies, my love. I did not hear you. I was listening to the music." She leans leans down to lightly kiss his temple before settling herself on the rock that Thor is using as an armrest.
A long drink of the mead is taken before she looks up at Eddie and gives a small shrug. "I am not certain. It is a song called... What was the name of it..." She sits her own mocha aside and pulls the small mp3 player from her pocket to stare at it a moment. "Oh! Hips Don't Lie by someone named Shakira. It has a very nice beat. Easily danced to."
Senri's eyes light at the prospect of another spar, and she nods. "Great! I'll just finish my mocha and get warmed up, then!" And with that, she abandons her earlier sipping in favor of downing it all only just slow enough to (barely) avoid a bout of hiccups. Looking around for a place to discard the cup, she glances askance at Sif before placing the empty cup back in the drink holder. With her hands now free, she launches herself enthusiastically into a thorough stretching session. "(Must not laugh, must not laugh, must not laugh...)" Sif's response to Eddie's question immediately brings to mind the dozens of parody videos she's seen of that particular song, and she struggles to keep a straight face.
Eddie nods a little. "Oh, I've h-heard of her before. It is a dance song I think," he says with a smile. "They play it in the clubs," he adds. Sipping his mocha, Eddie gives a little laugh at Thor's statement. "I'm g-good to go any time. I doubt I'd be able to beat you even if you weren't r-r-ready though," he says. Senri's enthusiasm gets a blink from Eddie and he gives Thor a curious look.
Senri's enthusiasm earns a curious look from Thor as well as he gets to his feet.
"The Goddess is hardly dressed for battle, Senri Mizushima," says the Thunderer as he sets his mocha down in the grass next to where he was sitting. It looks, now, like Mjolnir is expected to drink the rest of the frothy goodness, given how the drink was placed near the hammer so that it stands sentry over it. And then more directly as to avoid confusion, Thor levels a stern but gentle look on Senri.
"It is Eddie's day to train with me, and it is he to whom I must give my full attention. Thou art welcomed to sit with Sif and discuss what thou sees of our lesson." Sif might note that this is Thor being very polite and humble about it. Before his banishment, his retort might have been far less so.
The Goddess is hardly ... Wait! What?
A sharp look is given to Thor. Who the hell said the Goddess wasn't dressed for battle!? She's fought in less than this before... In more too! Sif gives a soft snort. She'll show him dressed for---Oooh. Uhoh. Thor's annoyed. Very annoyed.
Standing, she walks over to lightly lay a hand on his shoulder, easily slipping into Ancient Norse. "Calm and patience, beloved. Our ways are not theirs and she is unfamiliar..."
She then turns back to Senri. "If you wish to train today, it will have to be with me and it will be different than what you would do with Thor." It's an invitation and a warning all at once.
Senri stops stretching with a blink.Reddening, she smiles contritely, her hand reaching back to rub the back of her head in embarrassment. "Oh!" Kipping up to her feet, she bows deeply, first to Thor, then to Eddie, saying, "I truly apologize. I misunderstood and jumped to conclusions. I admit, though, that I was already considering asking Eddie to spar me himself. I'd be more than glad to watch, however." Making good on her word, she moves over by the Goddess and drops smoothly into seiza.
To Sif, she says, "Thank you for the offer. I'm always happy for a chance to practice. I truly am interested in watching for now, though."
Eddie winces slightly, having a good idea how Sif might react even before he looks over and sees that look sent Thor's way. He stays quiet as Thor and Sif speak, just shifting a little awkwardly. He gives Senri quick encouraging look at the mention of training with Sif. There's surprise on his features when Senri mentions wanting to spar with him. "I think you'd have a m-more challenging opponent if you fought the tree," he says, still not thinking too much of his skills.
Thor takes an unneeded breath as Sif lays a hand upon his shoulder, smiling softly to her as she gets him to calm down, as he allows it. He didn't, in his younger days.
"You're right, of course, beloved. Thank you," Thor replies in Ancient Norse, his voice soft and careful and tender. He steps away from Sif then, turning toward Eddie.
"Come then, my Spear. Let us train," says Thor to Eddie.
A light kiss is laid to Thor's cheek before he turns away. Sif returns to her perch upon the rock and nods her head at Senri. "Understandable. I rather enjoy watching them as well."
Her mocha is picked up once more and sip taken from it. "You still underestimate your own skills greatly, Eddie," Sif chides gently before she nods her head and settles in for a good show.
She'll try, hard, not to start singing or dancing to the music still playing in one ear.
Senri shakes her head at Eddie with an encouraging smile. Echoing Sif's sentiment, she says, "Nonsense! What I saw was very respectable! If you don't have confidence, the battle is already half lost. Now go give him a hard time!" This last is said with a mischievous grin and thumbs up before she shuts up and settles in, herself.
Setting his mocha down after a quick sip, Eddie blushes again. "Oh h-habit?" he tries after the chiding. He just ends up blushing a little deeper as Senri adds on. Taking a breath, Eddie heads back to where he'd been practicing before. Settling into a defensive stance, he starts to glow faintly again. Shaking his head slightly, he waits for Thor to be ready.
Thor rolls his neck once or twice, then shakes his shoulders and brings his hand up and a loose sort of grappler stance. It looks clumsy, especially with the red cape on which now brushes the grass blades.
The Thunderer studies his opponent a moment, then lunges. It's obvious, and it's sloppy.
For now, Sif remains quiet and observant. Her facial expression and general demeanor give nothing away in regards to what she thinks or how she feels about the match starting before her. One might even think they've been doing this together for centuries. Either way, her eyes never leave the pair.
Senri's expression quiets into one of keen attentiveness, hardly daring to breathe as Eddie and Thor take their stances. Though her face is calm now, her eyes dart constantly between the two, taking in every move for later analysis, though a small part of her mind is already turning the details over.
Eddie watches Thor carefully, waiting for the attack. When Thor lunges, Eddie ducks under it and moves behind Thor. As soon as he's got decent footing, Eddie tries to kick Thor in the back. While normally he only had strength normal for a teenager his size...this kick's got about 5 tons of force behind it. He's still not aware of his evolving self boosting powers.
Thor's sparred with Eddie before. And he's always been very very gentle about it, taking carre to move slow enough that the boy can keep up, but fast enough to make it a slight challenge.
Today...
Today, Thor finds himself proud that Eddie read the opening and proud that Eddie got behind him. Thor refrains from the immediate turn around he would normally do in battle and so takes the kick, full force in the small of the back.
And faceplants.
If this were an anime, there would be a sudden teardrop with an ! in it floating over his head.
Thor turns the faceplant into a tumble and a spin and is in a crouch facing Eddie with a hugr grinning smirk on his face.
"Well done."
Every ounce of self control Sif has is put into not reacting. Not laughing out loud... Not choking on the sip she just took... Not staring in open mouth shock... Because she knows how these sparring sessions normally go and that... Isn't really it!
Silver blue eyes slip to Eddie, filled with absolute and utter pride. She breaks that stoic expression to smile brightly at him and give a nod of her head that can only be interpreted as approval and encouragement. A silent 'Very good! Keep it up.'.
Only the fact that Senri has gone into full 'input mode' keeps her from shouting her excitement as Eddie lands a -solid- strike and sends Thor sprawling. From Thor's reaction, she doubted that he had expected it, but from his recovery, she was fairly sure he was going to step things up from now on.
As it was, she smiled her own approval, nodding sharply once as the blow lands.
Eddie's as surprised as anyone else when Thor goes sprawling. Settling back into a stance, he just stares. "I...what..." he pauses, glancing Sif's way. What he sees only makes the glow around him flare a little brighter. Eddie glances down at his hands and then back to Thor with a small smile. "I have n-no idea how that happened b-b-but thankss," he says, getting ready for another go. "I promise I'm n-not boosting or mimicking anyone," he adds honestly. No wardrobe change so he's definitely not mimicking anyone.
"Never believed thou was, Valiant One," Thor quips in reply, grin slow to fade. Yes, time indeed to step things up.
It's easy to forget just how fast Thor can move when he wants to. The god lunges, beatiful, fluid, when an economy of motion that's hard to fault (unless you're Sif, in which case you'd better SHUT IT). Thor closes the distance and moves to return the kick with a straight punch. (It's still scaled back, mind you.)
"(Huh. So that -wasn't- intentional? I can't wait to see when he has a good grasp on it!)" Watching as Thor makes his counterattack, she can't help but admire the grace incorporated into it. Briefly, she wonders if she'll ever even approach that fluidity, making up her mind to give it her best shot before moving on to waiting raptly to see how Eddie responds.
Strength isn't the only thing increased in Eddie right now. While he can't match Thor's speed, he is a lot faster than he usually is. Seeing the punch come in, he lifts his arms to block and grunts when the thunder god's fist connects with his arms. In the past, he'd be sent sprawling and usually knocked back a foot or two by that blow. But today, he just gets pushed back two steps. "Okay. Um...whoa," he says, smiling.
Impressed, Thor doesn't let up for longer than it takes for Eddie to almost start to get back into ready mode. Again, moving swifter than before, but not so swift that Eddie is taken completely by surprised (Or rather, the Eddie Thor's used to fighting), Thor drops to a crouch to seek to foot sweep Eddie and put him on his backside.
Still surprised by his own increased abilities, Eddie lets out a little eep when Thor sweeps at him. He jumps...and ends up going much farther than he normally would. Landing several feet away from Thor, Eddie stumbles. "Okay, I have n-no idea what's going on but this feels amazing!"
Finally, Sif decides to open her mouth. Her mocha is set aside and the Goddess stands, making her way towards the dueling pair. She makes sure to stay on the outskirts so as not to get in the way but does raise her voice enough to draw their attention. "Eddie... Have you ever attempted to boost yourself?"
Thor's grinning at the turn of events, straightening up to his full height.
"Make use of it, my Spear! Thou must put me down mightily," says Thor just before Sif asks her question. If Eddie's going to answer, he's going to have to do it with THunder God in his face.
Eddie glances up quickly at the sound of Sif's voice but there's a Thor in is face first. Letting out a squeak, Eddie swings a straight punch at Thor. Of course all the extra praise and encouragement have his boost rising to around 20 tons of force behind his attack. "I t-tried but it never works. I'm n-n-not boosting now though," he calls as he throws the punch.
There's an audible oof as Eddie connects sharply with Thor's midsection, and past hte armor, forces Thor's lungs to contract sharply. Thor muscles through the desire to crumple to his knees, his eyes shifting slightly more grey, and swings a backhand at the boy that so far has been nothig but kicking his ass.
Sif arches a brow as she watches the spar continue around her. She's very good at moving to keep up with them without interfering or getting in the way. "I see... I think you may be inadvertently..." She side steps and twists to avoid getting caught by Thor's retaliation before continuing. "That was a wonderful blow you landed, Eddie... Tell me... Do you know how your boosting power works?"
Eddie makes a surprised little noise when the blow connects and has the effect it does. He's not fast enough to avoid the backhand and it sends him sprawling. Normally he'd end up bruised or hurt but right now he just rubs his jaw as he sits up. "I'm n-not too sure, Sif. But I know I can only b-b-boost people I have faith and confidence in. Hope too."
Sif silver-blue eyes snap over to Eddie as he explains this before a brilliant smile lights on her features. "I see!" She sounds... Happy! Like, overjoyed happy. "I believe I understand what's happening to you, my dear little brother..." The boy is far more like a God than he realizes...
Thor's not going to let up that easily. As Eddie goes down, Thor does that little Tauren-style war stomp of his that creates a mini earthquake along the ground. The center? Some ten feet below Eddie, so that the shockwaves ripple up to keep the boy disorientated and on the ground.
Now Senri's eyes widen as the match escalates, and most of her clinical detachment is lost as Eddie's offense continues to strengthen. Then Sif steps in and offers her analysis. That, coupled with Eddie's response, have her grinning. "(That makes sense!)" Aloud, she calls, "Way to give him a hard time, Eddie!"
"You do? Well wha-" Eddie's words melt into a surprised 'eep' as his attempts to get up are interrupted by those tremors. He wobbles and it looks like he might fall a few times but he manages to stay standing. Still disoriented at least. His flying leap and Thor closes the distance while not setting foot on the unstable ground. A drop-punch is what Thor's using now. Nice, obvious, and meant to be solid but not fatal. It's a similar move, if anyone's seen him n action, he'd use if he were wielding Mjonir. Only, with Mjolnir there would be lightning and more than a little thunder.
Just the edges of those tremors catch Sif and she's forced to take a step back instead of answering. A frown is tossed at before she rolls her eyes. And then Thor's moving again and she simply stands there and waits, arms crossed over her chest and smiling like the cat that ate the canary.
Eddie knows the move well. He's copied it himself while mimicking Thor. It's one of his favorites while doing so because it's so damn cool. He's a bit too unstable to get his arms up to block though. Thankfully he's tougher than usual...but he still goes down hard, cracking the ground a bit. While he might be expected to get back up...he only gets an inch or two off the ground before dropping again. The glow fades from around him and he lays still. Though close inspection will just reveal he's just passed out.
Thor towers over Eddie, tensing as the boy starts to move, then just standing there as he slumps back down. There's a sick heartbeat where Thor fears the worst, and then the Thunderer notes that the booster lives. Thor drops to a knee.
"I think I broke him," he murmurs in Ancient Norse.
Sif watches as the boy tries to stand and then rushes forward when he falls back down. She actually drops a little too soon and slides the rest of the way on her knees. "Eddie? Eddie!?" Concern lights in those pale eyes until it sinks in that he's still alive. The relief is visible in her.
Glacial blue eyes lift to Thor and she smiles softly. "Nay, beloved. I believe he has exhausted himself," is responded in their language. "He needs to be taken home and put to bed..." The question is, which God(dess) is returning which mortal...
"This was my error, not seeing his fatigue. I will care for him," Thor says in Norse as he kneels to scoop Eddie up as one would scoop up a child to take them to bed. He summons Mjolnir and without further preamble, flies away.