[It helps that she's invested in what she's learning. Back home it's not always so easy.]
Oh.
[That's a cool move that she wouldn't have considered, but this time when she tries to duplicate it, she's a little more distracted, not quite as clean on the copying.]
[That is an understatement when it comes to her relationship with Billy. She watches Majima again, forcing herself to slow her own movements in order to replicate what he's doing.]
Billy. He's not here.
[She hopes he never shows up here, but people from Hawkins keep turning up.]
[ Something complex flickered across Majima's face briefly, though he should have expected the question -- fondness, regret. ]
Yeah. I got a brother. He's one year older than me.
[ He flicked the tonfa in his hand in an idle movement, spinning the weapon around its handle in a full circle before it swung easily back to its original position. A small hint of its more advanced capabilities. ]
Alright, wanna try some blocks? I'll start off slow, but if you're interested I can put some more power into it after a little while. So you'll know what it feels like when someone's bein' more serious.
[ Majima did as promised, slowing down his strikes to give Max enough time to meet his blows -- basic strikes first, though he added in a flourish here and there, flicking his weapon around every now and then to deliver attacks with either end.
It had the effect of shortening and extending his reach at times -- being able to quickly judge distance and her own range was going to come in extremely handy if Max fought for real.
Family, it seemed, was simply a complicated topic. ]
Much more complicated than doing her best to defend herself against the practice blows. The little flourishes that Majima adds are interesting, adds flair to what had seemed like a mostly simple weapon. Then again, looks are usually deceiving.
She keeps her eyes on him, doing her best to anticipate where he'll try and strike next.]
[ She had focus, too -- good. With a quick hand signal to indicate he was going to strike harder this time, he struck an overarm blow. It was aimed for a chin-level spot, where there was no ambiguity for a novice as to how to block.
If she missed, he'd simply stop before he made contact. Otherwise, the hit would be strong enough to send a minor shock through the weapon, making her fingers tingle.
It was a marked difference from any of his earlier attacks in both speed and power. ]
[She flinches instinctively at the strike even as she blocks it, and she curses herself underneath her breath for her reaction.
She feels the reverberation as expected, her fingers tingling and she exhales slowly, nodding, readjusting her hold on the weapon and signaling him to come at her again.]
[ Though Max might not be happy with her reaction, Majima saw nothing odd in it. It had been a long time since he'd been a novice fighter, but even he remembered how startling it had been at first to feel a real hit.
It wasn't so much physical strength as habits and mental fortitude that needed to be built up -- the ability to accept that taking hits was not something to fear or avoid, but a matter of course in a fight. The important thing was learning to keep going, avoid dwelling on mistakes in situations where thinking or doubting too much could slow you down.
His next move was a whiplike strike from the side, of about the same power. ]
[She tucked some hair behind her ear, considering that. She's not really used to people throwing a punch at her or trying to hit her with a weapon of some kind.]
Yeah. I'll get over it. [The jumpiness, she meant.] How long have you been doing this?
You keep that. It's a little too small for me, anyway.
[ As for how many weapons he knew... ]
Uh... swords, knives, staffs, nunchucku, guns, baseball bats... hell, pretty much anything can be a weapon if yer inventive enough.
[ what did this man do for a living..... ]
But it's not like anyone can use firearms around here. Not unless they wanna get bumped off, too. So it's probably best to stick to something that ain't so loud.
[It'll give her a chance to practice more, at home on her own. Her eyebrows raise the more weapons that he names off, though. She's definitely wondering, Majima.]
[There is so much more to Majima than she knows. She supposes that's true for everyone, though. His life just seems like it's probably been more interesting than most.]
Did you play baseball when you were growing up? Or just hang out at the batting cages?
The second one. My bro and I used to hang out there a lot, blow off steam. He could really hit 'em, too.
[ There was a bit of a distant look to Majima's expression -- it seemed like those days were forever ago, even though in absolute terms, it had only been a few years. How could things change so quickly? ]
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chiming
no subject
Date: 2018-03-04 03:42 am (UTC)From:Oh.
[That's a cool move that she wouldn't have considered, but this time when she tries to duplicate it, she's a little more distracted, not quite as clean on the copying.]
It was a couple years ago.
[Does that make it better or worse? Who knows.]
no subject
Date: 2018-03-04 03:48 am (UTC)From:[ He demonstrated again, more slowly this time and making sure to hit his mark cleanly. ]
What's his name?
no subject
Date: 2018-03-04 03:54 am (UTC)From:Billy. He's not here.
[She hopes he never shows up here, but people from Hawkins keep turning up.]
Do you have siblings?
no subject
Date: 2018-03-04 04:03 am (UTC)From:Yeah. I got a brother. He's one year older than me.
[ He flicked the tonfa in his hand in an idle movement, spinning the weapon around its handle in a full circle before it swung easily back to its original position. A small hint of its more advanced capabilities. ]
Alright, wanna try some blocks? I'll start off slow, but if you're interested I can put some more power into it after a little while. So you'll know what it feels like when someone's bein' more serious.
no subject
Date: 2018-03-04 04:16 am (UTC)From:Odd as it might be, she's less nervous about the self defense part of this than she had been the offense part.]
Yeah, let's do this.
[She shifts back into her stance again, shoulders a bit more relaxed than they had been before.]
I meant younger I don't know why the hell I typed older
Date: 2018-03-04 04:32 am (UTC)From:It had the effect of shortening and extending his reach at times -- being able to quickly judge distance and her own range was going to come in extremely handy if Max fought for real.
Family, it seemed, was simply a complicated topic. ]
Oops! It happens haha <3
Date: 2018-03-04 04:57 am (UTC)From:Much more complicated than doing her best to defend herself against the practice blows. The little flourishes that Majima adds are interesting, adds flair to what had seemed like a mostly simple weapon. Then again, looks are usually deceiving.
She keeps her eyes on him, doing her best to anticipate where he'll try and strike next.]
no subject
Date: 2018-03-04 05:31 am (UTC)From:If she missed, he'd simply stop before he made contact. Otherwise, the hit would be strong enough to send a minor shock through the weapon, making her fingers tingle.
It was a marked difference from any of his earlier attacks in both speed and power. ]
no subject
Date: 2018-03-04 07:18 pm (UTC)From:She feels the reverberation as expected, her fingers tingling and she exhales slowly, nodding, readjusting her hold on the weapon and signaling him to come at her again.]
no subject
Date: 2018-03-04 09:21 pm (UTC)From:It wasn't so much physical strength as habits and mental fortitude that needed to be built up -- the ability to accept that taking hits was not something to fear or avoid, but a matter of course in a fight. The important thing was learning to keep going, avoid dwelling on mistakes in situations where thinking or doubting too much could slow you down.
His next move was a whiplike strike from the side, of about the same power. ]
no subject
Date: 2018-03-05 08:03 pm (UTC)From:She sees the move coming and does her best to block it, gritting her teeth together.]
no subject
Date: 2018-03-05 08:17 pm (UTC)From:Nice job. Don't feel bad if ya flinch at first, either -- means ya got a healthy set of survival instincts.
Half of learning to fight's gettin' used to people taking a swing at ya. I've gotten hit plenty of times.
no subject
Date: 2018-03-05 08:26 pm (UTC)From:Yeah. I'll get over it. [The jumpiness, she meant.] How long have you been doing this?
no subject
Date: 2018-03-05 09:22 pm (UTC)From:[ He started moving one of the dummies back -- best to leave things as they found it, so they wouldn't get complaints. ]
If you mean gettin' serious with weapons, though, that was more recent. Met a guy who's real into the subject.
no subject
Date: 2018-03-05 09:47 pm (UTC)From:How many kinds of weapons are you trained in?
[She hands him back the tonfa carefully.]
no subject
Date: 2018-03-05 11:41 pm (UTC)From:You keep that. It's a little too small for me, anyway.
[ As for how many weapons he knew... ]
Uh... swords, knives, staffs, nunchucku, guns, baseball bats... hell, pretty much anything can be a weapon if yer inventive enough.
[ what did this man do for a living..... ]
But it's not like anyone can use firearms around here. Not unless they wanna get bumped off, too. So it's probably best to stick to something that ain't so loud.
no subject
Date: 2018-03-06 01:41 am (UTC)From:[It'll give her a chance to practice more, at home on her own. Her eyebrows raise the more weapons that he names off, though. She's definitely wondering, Majima.]
That's a lot of weapons.
no subject
Date: 2018-03-06 03:05 am (UTC)From:Wonder how that old place is doin' these days. I should drop by once... well, y'know.
no subject
Date: 2018-03-06 03:37 am (UTC)From:[There is so much more to Majima than she knows. She supposes that's true for everyone, though. His life just seems like it's probably been more interesting than most.]
Did you play baseball when you were growing up? Or just hang out at the batting cages?
no subject
Date: 2018-03-06 03:43 am (UTC)From:The second one. My bro and I used to hang out there a lot, blow off steam. He could really hit 'em, too.
[ There was a bit of a distant look to Majima's expression -- it seemed like those days were forever ago, even though in absolute terms, it had only been a few years. How could things change so quickly? ]
You ever been?
no subject
Date: 2018-03-06 03:50 am (UTC)From:Oh, just once or twice with my dad when I was little. I wasn't very good at it.
I was better at fishing.
no subject
Date: 2018-03-06 03:55 am (UTC)From:[ He perked up at this, instantly engaged. ]
I used to fish a lot back in Sotenbori. Did some here, too, when I first showed up. If you ever wanna go, I bet they'd lend us some rods.
no subject
Date: 2018-03-06 04:02 am (UTC)From:Yeah, that'd be great. I haven't been in awhile, but that'd be good.