+23+ [action]

[fellpool]

[Today, Leon is practically living in one of the battle dome rooms. How many times now had he put off actual combat practice? There had been a few distractions here and there, but he had to admit to himself that a good majority of the time was spent tinkering with symbols and gems in his lab.

When was the last time there had been a large draft? Four months ago? Was that the last time he had swung his sword around for any good reason for more than a few minutes? His lack of practice shows in his awkward test swings. Even with a practice simulation to fight, he's quickly tiring. Claude would probably laugh at the mistakes he was making.

Leon huffs and moves on to Symbology practice, switching from the Claude's Silvance to his own Heraldry blade. Even within the barrier and with the lower augmentation of his sword, he's able to quickly form ice needles and arc black sabers across the room. When he switches to one of his Symbology tomes, he increases his range and covers the walls in a thick layer of ice. And then shatters the ice with a decisive flick of one hand.

--

Later on, towards the mid-afternoon, Leon trudges over to the plaza to go looking for something to eat. First the bakery to check out the pastries for the day, then the coffee shop to order something cold, and then over to the grocery store to grab something for the inevitable midnight munchies.]

Comments

[fellpool]

The offer startled Leon right out of his thoughts, and he blinked in surprise at Sokka. "Really? Er... You sure? I don't have a swordplay style or anything like that."

[markofthewise]

Sokka shrugged. "Then maybe it's time to get one. I'm not exactly a master, but I could help."

[fellpool]

Leon found himself glancing down at his sword before speaking. "You're sure? I guess if you're offering... It's better than what I'm currently doing."

[markofthewise]

Sokka pulled out his own blade. A familiar sight for both of them by now, but the way Sokka looked at it was different. That pride he got from seeing it was gone. There was a humble appreciation and a dreadful wariness of it. "I'm not as good a swordsman as I should be. We might both get something out of it."

[fellpool]

"If you think you're getting something out of it, then I don't mind." He'd grown up mostly learning things for himself and then moving straight into a collaboration phase; he had learned from just about every academic subject available to him on his own, even if some of it was more general than others. Only after moving to Earth did he start taking classes like a normal student.

By then, it'd pretty much stuck in his head that, if he was going to work with someone, it should be a mutual learning experience. "Were you finished practicing today?" He assumed that Sokka had already been in some other room in the battle dome.

[markofthewise]

"Oh... actually, I never train in here." Sokka looked around at the Dome thoughtfully. "My master trains me at the barracks and I spar with Ed at his place or mine."

Given that he had people to actively be trained by or train with, it left him with little need for artificial opponents.

[fellpool]

Leon blinked hard at that revelation, his eyes wandering up in the direction of where he knew people could observe the separate rooms. He jerked his thumb up in the same direction a few seconds later.

"Were you here watching the rooms, then?"

[markofthewise]

Sokka very nearly lied. Just a harmless white lie. But after everything that happened, he was trying to be honest. Even for the small stuff. So he gave a small and awkward shrug.

"I was curious."

[fellpool]

It really didn't surprise him to hear Sokka's response. Leon nodded easily, lowering his hand enough to scratch at his cheek contemplatively. "I've done that before. There's a lot of fascinating skill sets represented here."

He quirked his lips into a slight grin. "I don't mind an audience when I'm practicing Symbology, anyway." Swordplay, on the other hand...

[markofthewise]

"... no no, I don't blame you. That was..." Sokka tried to think of a diplomatic word to describe Leon's level of swordplay. He twisted his mouth a bit, shut it, and then shrugged. "Something."

[fellpool]

"My, uh, teacher didn't have a sword style, either. He just kinda swung his sword around until the monsters weren't fighting back anymore." Yeah, that was a good way to describe Claude's fighting style.

[markofthewise]

"Well, good. Now I don't have to feel pressured to meet any kind of exciting standard."

[fellpool]

Leon snorted and turned his head, somewhat hiding the wry smile on his face. "Have you ever taught another person your swordplay? You mentioned having a master."

[markofthewise]

"I was teaching Shiki for awhile. But other than that? Just a few lessons here and there. Master Souji is grooming me to be able to pass on his style eventually, but he hasn't called me a master of it yet. But I've been studying under him for three years now."