[OTA Log]!

[bearshermark]

Who: Eleven and you!
When: February, sometime!
Where: Various bits of the academy
What: Eleven trying really hard at things.


Class Schedule
[It's all new: the school, the uniforms, talk of classes and wildly casual displays of magic. What isn't new though, is once again being completely and utterly normal- or at least, as normal as a Sundered gets.

That feeling of other isn't new either.

But he's followed the rules, met with an adviser and expressed his interests. Now he waits like every other student for his schedule with the self-same nerves. ..Well, maybe he has a few more nerves because he's never been to school before, and by virtue of that, surrounded by scholarly sorts. But the girls at L'Academie had seemed happy to be there, so surely it can't be too bad.

When at last his schedule floats into his hands, his eyes instantly scan down the length of the sheet. Most of them are required courses due his House, but there it is- Forging. He turns a grin on the students in close proximity, suddenly eager to share schedules]

What classes are you taking?


First Class

[Eleven likens sitting in class to sitting in church. Only, rather than listening passively, they're apparently meant to be taking notes. Now, he can write his letters well enough, but many of the terms being used escape him, and the instructions quickly become too much to keep up with.

Within the first hour of instruction, his hand is already beginning to cramp and his notes feel too far behind to be of much use later. It's all he can do just to listen and try to follow the shifts in topic. By the time the professor finally asks a question and seems to expect an answer, he's practically cringing into his seat.]

..This is harder than I thought.


Sword Training

[It takes him awhile to find something suitable for it, but Eleven manages to find then drag a few straw dummies out of obscure storage to an open area to train on.

He probably should have figured they'd be able to move on their own, but he's still very surprised when one suddenly leaps to the side and his sword meets nothing but air. Past the initial shock of it however, excitement leaps in his chest and he follows up the swing with a sharp turn and very nearly hits it this time.

Eleven laughs and thrills in the challenge.

With only echoes of training to speak of, he's proficient but not terribly skilled and his form could definitely be better. It's also apparent that he's lacking something, as his left arm moves as though practiced, yet acts as little more than a counter-balance and support for two-handed strikes.

Though he fends them off for a little while, he starts to run into a bit of trouble shortly after the other dummies decide to gang up on him.]

Comments

First Class

[woo_oo]

[Someone's taken notice of his frustration, but thankfully it's not a professor.

Webby frowns, then comes up with an idea. She takes the current notes she has, quietly rips them out of her book, and folds them into a paper airplane. When the teacher's back is turned, she gives them a toss, hoping it reaches Eleven...!]

[bearshermark]

[The folded paper lands on the desk next to him, but that student steals a glance around and hands it over without preamble. Having never seen one before, Eleven spends a few moments examining it and admiring the folds before he spots the writing inside and carefully pries it open.

Blessed Yggdrasil, they're notes.

Eleven glances around for the kind soul responsible and the student next to him points her out. He gives a visible sigh of relief and a grateful thumbs up when it seems safe to do so.

Thank you, he mouths around a smile.]

[woo_oo]

[Webby happily returns the thumbs up - two of them on her end! - glad to have helped. Granted, now this means she's without notes... but she's confident she can pick up where she left off.

Once class ends, Webby skips on over to Eleven.]

Hey! Did that help you out?

[bearshermark]

I think you saved my life.

[He grins and flips to a page in his notebook where he's hastily scrawled in whatever looked most important.]

I've never been to school before, so it's hard to keep up. I can't believe we have six classes in one day.

[woo_oo]

Me neither! Isn't this fun?

[She bounces on her heels, excited.]

I know, I wish there were more classes!

[bearshermark]

[He's less enthused and more stressed by the idea of more classes, but her excitement pulls a smile from him anyway]

Really? Your writing is really good- I wouldn't have guessed. [His fingers trace over the folds in the paper] How did you make it fly like that?

[woo_oo]

Oh, I learned that from my friends back home! It's a paper airplane! We have contests who can make theirs fly the farthest. Huey usually wins because he takes forever to measure everything the "accurate" way.

Class Schedule

[shiningkindness]

[Having come to get her class schedule was well, Fluttershy smiles when she recognizes Eleven. His question has her looking at her own list of classes.]

Let's see...I have Fantastics, Thaumaturgy, Intimation in the morning...then Religion, Language, and Zoology in the afternoon.

[bearshermark]

[He takes a moment to compare his own] We'll probably have our required classes together then.

[Eleven smiles] If Zoology teaches you how to talk to animals, you'll have to tell me about it. I took Forging instead.

[shiningkindness]

[She nods.] I'd imagine so. If it's required for students in the same house, it'd be easier to have them all take the classes together.

I really hope it does! Although I'd also be just as happy learning about some of the creatures unique to this world. There are some animals that are common at home too, like dogs, cats, rats, bats, and owls, but then there are some that are really different! I can't wait to learn about them.

[bearshermark]

You really are passionate about them. I'm happy for you.

[And he is, as he's nearly as excited to learn Forging.] It does seem like a lot to learn in one day, though. I hope it will be all right.

[shiningkindness]

Thank you. I'm really excited.

[She nods, looking at her schedule again.] There is a lot. It's about the same number of classes as I take at school back in my world, but a lot of this is going to be unfamiliar, so I hope I'll do all right.

[Then, looking at him again, she smiles.]

Are there any classes you're excited about?

[bearshermark]

Forging. [The answer comes pretty quickly. He fidgets, oddly self-conscious suddenly]

It's something I started to pick up in my world. At first it was to save a bit of gold on supplies, but I really began to enjoy it after awhile. I'm really interested in working off of this world's materials and designs.

Swords

[bluebloodyblazes]

The sounds of combat definitely draw Rin's attention as he's mooching around campus and he doesn't hesitate to follow it.

"What the... Hey! Elly!" He calls, lighting up at the sight of his tentative new friend. "You okay there? Are those Dummies?"

Re: Swords

[bearshermark]

"Yep!" He doesn't have the breath or focus left for anything more eloquent, and raises his sword just in time to fend off what would have been a face full of straw.

Eleven counters with an upward swing, then skips back a couple of steps, aware that they're trying to surround or corner him into submission. There are probably magic words to stop them, and while it's possible they could be something like 'I yield', he's not ready to give up just yet.

He spares a brief glance to Rin, flashing a smile.

"Can you fight?"

Re: Swords

[bluebloodyblazes]

Rin grins, rushing forward and picking up his own wooden sword. It wouldn't do any good to set everything on fire, after all.

The mannequins had ignored him right up until his hand made contact with the hilt of the dummy, when several of them snapped their heads in his direction. Fucking creepy...

"Hell yeah I can fight," he grins, ducking low to avoid wooden limbs being thrown in his direction, then jumping high and roundhousing one that tries to get in his way to Eleven.

It's not long before he's back to back with the kid, sword poised and ready to strike.

"Let's take 'em down, Elly!" He's grinning, ready for the fight.

[bearshermark]

He's good, Eleven notes with a thrill. He's enjoyed learning from everyone that fought with him.

Not to mention the comfort of having someone at his back even against a group of training dummies is unparalleled. He feels invincible and the rush is all the more potent for it- near to elation.

"Yeah!" Eleven leaps forward, grinning ear to ear as his sword makes contact under the 'arm' of one with enough force to topple it. Then he's turning on heel and driving the hilt into the padding of another. "One down!"

[bluebloodyblazes]

Rin's grin stretches wide, he hasn't been able to fight anything so freely since he got here and he can already feel his excitement growing.

He darts forward, jabbing his sword point blank into a mannequin's torso with super-human strength and slashing it out wide into the next, blowing the two of them down easily. There's something animalistic in his stance, a little wild but controlled, at least for the moment.

"Highest count wins, Loser buys the sweets!"

[bearshermark]

He laughs and swings a hard hit to the dummy's stick head. It's hard to remember when he last did anything for the fun of it. His heart is light and his head feels clear.

This challenge is doable, he decides alongside a fierce streak of determination. It crackles under his skin and very nearly tempts him to try summoning lightning from the sky. But that would be cheating, if it worked.

Gripping his sword between his hands, Eleven sights his next target and charges.

"I hope you brought enough!"

Swording

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

[The sound of violence catches Jecht's attention, enough for him to mosey on over thataway just in case something's amiss. Which, as it turns out, it is! Trying to strike a balance between looking super-casual and lazy and actually getting there in time to help, Jecht loops an arm around the 'neck' of one of those dummies and pulls it away.]

Gettin' in over your head, huh?

[bearshermark]

[Freed up from keeping track of that one, Eleven took advantage of the gap in the dummies' formation to leap forward and cut into one with a solid diagonal strike. It keeled over, unharmed beyond some breakage in its straw but clearly out of the fight.

He grinned at his new ally]

A little. I didn't realize they could coordinate like that and I'm not-

[Eleven twisted out of the way of a wooden arm swinging toward his shoulder]

Not used to.. being outnumbered.

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

[Jecht's a brute by nature. You spend a lifetime taking and giving out beatings in the sphere and you pick up a thing or two, and that's before you take guardian duties into account. With a twist of his torso he flings the dummy onto the ground hard, then steps on it for good measure.]

Maybe I shouldn't be helpin' ya, then! Gotta learn somehow!

[bearshermark]

[Two down, two to go. Eleven pants, but he's in good spirits despite the run of trouble. He's pretty sure they won't seriously injure him anyway.

Sword held before him, he backs up to catch his breath and plan his next move. The dummies slowly converge on him]

How about.. some advice, then?

[sublimelymagnificentblitz]

[The question makes Jecht laugh, head thrown back and one hand on his forehead, finger buried in his hair.] I'm no teacher, but hey. Why not?

[But what advice does he have to give? Everything he learned is just... instinctual, stuff he picked up from experience and practice. Never put it into words before...]

So don't leave openings, that's the first thing. Second is that you can't waste a ton of time on technique. You're making big broad movements, chances are they aren't gonna do a lot of damage, but you're zoning out your opponents, get it?

[bearshermark]

Zoning out.. [His brows furrow and he shakes his head, stepping in a slow circle.]

I don't know what you mean by that.

[Of course he shouldn't leave openings, but that was easier said than done when he had one sword, two opponents, and no magic. Unless they separated, he'd have to attack them together- and in a way that wouldn't let either of them strike back before he could guard again..]