498/How to Train Your Dragon

How to Train Your Dragon
Date of Scene:	26 August 2014
Location:	Njorun Station - Ring of Philosophy
Synopsis:	Jeannette teaches Rhapsody a valuable lesson. And pays for it in fire, as Bahumut watches.
Cast of Characters:	325, 410, Bahamut

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Jeannette Thompson (410) has posed:
Rhapsody had been told a few things at the beggining of the training session, with what must have seemed /forever/ ago at this point. Jeannette had drawn her sword, and said. "For now, we are enemies. I am going to try to kill you, and you, me. That is the most important part of this exercise. Beyond that, you will not use the magic in your swords, or anything but your sharpened blades, and claws. Agreed?"

She's probably wasn't liking the fact that she just agreed to that. For the next few days, it was wake up early, do exercises, and spar. And for the most part, each fight, each attack, got in a few moves. Sometimes, Rhapsody got a few cuts in, and lasted a few minutes. Other times, it was the first swing. But each simulation ended with the feeling of a blade pressed into her, neck, spine, head, the sword or Jeannette's handblade, before her dying/dead 'body' is thrown across the ground, and left to fall... before the simulation began again. When Rhapsody demanded a break, she got it: thrusting the sword forward multiple times, holding them above her head for minutes. They broke for lunch, and for sleep, at HQ, and then, when it started again... it started again.

Jeannette stood at the edge of the ring. Somehow, after each break, her uniform was neatly pressed, what little wounds she had dressed professionally, and her harness and blades shined enough to gleam. "All right. En guarde."

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
    And it was maddening. Each time Rhapsody was stabbed, sliced, skewered, or run through, it added to the anger building in the back of her mind. Why, oh WHY, did she AGREE to that stipulation. Only her claws? Only the spellblades? What in the -blazes- was the rule for? She wasn't a human. She was something utterly NOT human. Yet here she was, falling again and again and again, with no shred of progress that she could see. The very words 'en guarde' were becoming a trigger. Sometimes she would frenzy, sometimes she would lunge, sometimes she would wait, but after so long of this insanity happening again and again and again, well... something was about to snap. Not this time, however. This time she steps forward, draws -both- blades, and hopes that maybe this time, she'll actually get a win.

        Not very likely.

Jeannette Thompson (410) has posed:
That anger was something Jeannette had seen. Something she had felt before. She knew how tempting it was to give into it, to it's energy, it's strength, it's blindness to everything else. And Rhapsody was every bit the Red her father was, given the evidence she saw here. With the rules she had given Rhapsody, and the anger she was showing, Jeannette was still on guard, but she knew, /knew/, what that sort of combination would lead to with an opponent that had taken just a bit of time to brush up on the standard Boros fighting techniques.

If Rhapsody was going to watch it later on, She would see that Jeannette hardly even moved from her position. It was almost a dance move, how her own sword twirled in, brushing aiside one of her swords, and stepping into the other, her hand blade exteneding and jamming into the underside of her neck, completeing the spin to toss the now 'lifeless', scaly body across the ground. Her twirl is completed as she turns to where Rhapsody would be after the reset.

"Again. En guarde."

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
    Another skewering, another reset, and once Rhapsody is on her feet again she actually stumbles at those words. Her rage was building, it would come back again, soon. What was so maddening about all of this how simple Jean made it look time and time again. Still, there's no protest, no yelling, instead as she steps forward, that one step shatters the apathy. Instead, one simple phrase floats through his her head. (It MIGHT have been whispered by Sidonia, but there's no telling if its true.) "SCREW YOUR RULES!" is roared out before suddenly the dragon's energized breath blasts are going -everywhere-. Yes, some of them are sent Jean's way, but it's clear Rhapsody has had enough, "I'm not a damn human, DO YOU GET THAT YET?!" and then, in a moment that Jean should mark on her calendar, Rhapsody's form actually changes. For the first time, outside of her lair atop Nivix, Rhapsody's actually taken her true form. It's only 12 feet tall, but the rage roiling off of it is palpable. The roar of anger she sets loose toward Jean is -loud- to say the least.

(It's kinda like this: (No halo no scales except down her chest, head, and back)

Jeannette Thompson (410) has posed:
Jeannette knew that, eventually, something like this would happen. She had her doubts, of course, after it had taken a solid weaken of defeat and breaking her down. If she had stomped out, angerily, that would have been a lesson too. A weaker one. But eventually, she was going to do something that was aganist the rules. Now, the difference between her plan and what had happened was she was expecting it to be charged spell swords, or a conniving energy blast... Not ... well. this.

Her loud roar has her blink for a moment, before the energy is flying, zooming past her and going everywhere. Her sword comes up, moving to deflect one of the blasts, energy absorbed and thrown to the side, before she screams in pain as one turns her side into melted synthetic fabrics burned into flesh. She collapses to the ground, panting, hand reaching to her pistol. A tortured mental command causes the current clip to slide out... before she looks up, and up, and up, to the practically 1 story building of a dragon towering above her. She freezes for a moment, as the roar of anger causes her hair to swirl, her ears to ring, and her voice to only work in whispers.

"Oh."

And then her hand is fratically sliding along her tortured combat harness, pulling at charred, brittle synthetic leather to get a clip of explosive penetrators out.

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
    A dragon's ire is no small thing. After so many days of constantly being put to the ground, is it any surprise that Rhapsody's anger caused her to lash out in such a manner? Too bad for Jean, if she just expected Rhaps to go in half-assed, well, she doesn't know how Izzet Rhapsody really is. If anyone listens REALLY closely, someone is clapping, somewhere, despite there seemingly being no one else around. The fact this is a training sim allows Rhapsody to follow through with her assault. The earlier blasts were small.. the next one requires a full breath. What comes racing out of the dragon's maw is a pillar of bright white energy, burning, raw, and devistating. Jean, you'd better move.

Bahamut has posed:
     As that white energy burns across the simulation, there is another roar from the doorway. One that is obviously a challenge. Bahamut, the self-proclaimed King of Dragons, is standing there, wings spread, arms out, and claws extended in a menacing manner. He is pretty tall himself, topping out around 15 feet, and very bulky. And he is grinning. He hasn't gotten to see another intelligent dragon yet, so he is relishing this opportunity, be it to fight or to talk.

     He seems quite ready to do the former, but his grin says he is going to have fun with it. "Quite the display." he rumbles in his deep, booming voice.

Jeannette Thompson (410) has posed:
Jeannette was on the ground, injured, and feeling a large amount of pain at the moment. She barely had a chance to reload her weapon before the breath is charged up, and sent right toward her. "Oh... damn it." She can only say, before rolling away from the blast. It takes a good chunk of her body away, the sheer energy of it cooking off even the ammunition she had in specially designed clips. When the blast subided, there was nothing but a charred section of skeleton, half the face still visable, the other half a mess of grining skull and the wafting chemical scent of burning synthetic mixed with flesh.

And then Jeannette's standing at her original position, still wincing a moment, gloved hand flexing, as she looks up to Rhapsody. "Screw my rules? Is that all you have to say? No explination for breaking them, beyond you did not want to follow them?" Her voice is matter of fact, void of either approval and condemnation.

Her head turns toward Bahumet as he enters, and, for the moment, two large, roaring dragons are around her, one of which seems to be very... very angry at her. Her mind itches to call in the Marines at the door in a irrational bout of terror.

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
    In the back of her mind, she heard Bahamut, but when Jean calls Rhapsody out on breaking the rules, the other dragon is forgotten for a moment, "Yes. SCREW your rules! I came to LEARN from you and what have you TAUGHT me apart from that you can kill me at your leasure while I struggle to do ANYTHING against you? You do it with minimal effort, without break, and without a SHRED of advice! ENOUGH!"

    About this time, the combat high is starting to wear a little thin. There's an unsteady step, and then in a wink Rhapsody is back to her normal self, though the coat and everything else is gone for the moment. THIS is when she realizes Bahamut is there, and her scaleless hide is there for everyone to see. "..........ohgodohgodohgod."

Bahamut has posed:
     Bahamut can hardly believe it when he is ignored. Until he sees that anger directed at Jean. He chuckles after the outburst, then relaxes his stance. And when Rhapsody transforms back to her usual self, he tilts his head. "Two forms. Intriguing." he says before blinking as she starts stammering. "What is wrong, my lady? I see nothing to be ashamed of." he says, grinning again.

     Bahamut then looks toward Jean and offers a nod. "And I suppose you are responsible for her rage? I apologize for interrupting. Someone mentioned the Izzet guildmaster was here training. I have been looking forward to meeting her."

Jeannette Thompson (410) has posed:
She snaps her fingers toward Rhapsody, a thundercrack in the almost silent space after the roars stop. Bahumut may notice two Marines in service dress, taking up position behind him, fingers twitching around the advanced batte rifles and their smart munitions launchers. The roars and a second dragon entering seemed to have made them a bit nervous. But Jeannette tries to control the space with that snap. "Focus, Rhapsody, or I will put you through these days again! You screwed my rules, you broke them, and for the first time since we started here, took the initative. The question I should ask, then, is not /why/ you broke the rules, but what made you think you needed to follow them in the first place?" She says, cocking her head. "When we started, what was the first thing that I said to you? The very first thing, I said was critical."

She turns to Bahmut, and stands her ground. "I am. I would think it customary for the new individual to offer his introduction first, before I offer mine."

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
    The thundercrack gets Rhapsody's attention, but it's brief, "You said.." she spots her coat, -scrambles-, and has it on a moment later before finally turning to take in the new faces in the room. There's -another- dragon, some marines, and the Commodore, of course. It's only once her coat is back on that she regains enough of her composure to answer, "You said we'd .. try to kill each other, and you had me agree to only using my swords and claws." Pause. "... And we were -training-. Why would I break my word..?" she realizes where this is going, but the exercise is kind of upsetting since even with all her anger, breaking her word is just something she does not do.

Bahamut has posed:
     Bahamut rumbles and looks over his shoulder as those marines flank him, then he crosses his armos over his chest and looks back toward the pair in the Ring. "I am Bahamut, King of Dragons and Aeon of Bevelle." he says confidently, standing tall and proud as he speaks, his body turned just slightly in what could best be described as a 'heroic' pose.

     He then glances at the marines again before looking to Jean. "The guards are not needed. I am a guardian myself. A defender of justice and preserver of life for my world."

Jeannette Thompson (410) has posed:
Jeannette Thompson does wait until Rhapsody responds, and, more importantly, until she has her coat on, before responding. "Very close. What I said to you is that I was your /enemy/. That I, of course, was trying to kill you." She says, turning her head a bit, transmitting a short range burst of signal. <<Tense situation. Withdraw.>> Terse, but the Marines, none too happily, move away from their flanking positions, back to the door of this part of the Ring. And then back to Rhapsody.

"We were training, yes. We were in an exercise. And part of it, of course, was to strength you, to put you through a work out, to let you get a feel for my style. But the heart of the matter, was why you would agree to the rules your enemy places upon you? I told you right away what I would be doing, but you accepted my imposed limitations. And you continued to throw yourself into the breach. You could have stopped. Told me you weren't going to continue. Forced me to change the rules."

She takes a step forward, placing her gloved hand on Rhapsody's shoulder. "I am your friend again, Rhapsody. Which is why you need to remember the most important thing, which I hope has been placed in your head. Always, /always/ mantain the initative. The enemey must do what /you/ dictate, react to your moves, and not you to his. If he attempt to seize the initative from you, knock him off balance. Do something he's not expecting, and take it back. This, above all else, leads to victory."

She then turns over to Bahmut. "I am Commodore Dame Jeannette Thompson, of the Royal Triancian Navy, Knight-Commander, Order of the Three Admirals, The Baroness Raletza. And my Marines are there more for realpolitick than the nobility you espose.

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
    A sigh is heaved, a nod is given, and a very tired dragon has a very valuable lesson imparted upon her. "You're right," she admits after a long moment before her gaze sheepishly turns upward at ... Did he just say... "Er..." Why is it that, lately, her first impressions have been absolutley awful..?

Bahamut has posed:
     Bahamut actually seems impressed with Jean's recitation of her name and titles. He chuckles lightly. "Again, I apologize for interrupting your session. However, it seems your lesson is well learned, if a bit technical. Such a detail is easily lost when one is expecting a training session." Obviously, he hasn't met the Azorius. "If you wish, I could stand in as a sparring partner."

     He looks at Rhapsody after that. "Is something wrong?" he asks, looking the smaller dragon over. "Why do you wear that coat? Dragons should proudly display their hide!" he says, apparently not noticing that she is lacking armored scales as he flexes, showing off his own armored scales.

Jeannette Thompson (410) has posed:
Jeannette Thompson nods, slowly, before patting her on the shoulder. "Good! Now, En garde. Remember, I'm your friend again. So come at me, with thought and planning, and when I say stop, stop moving." She says, moving back to her corner. "My rules were limiting, yes, and my style was overly, needlessly ruthless, but that doesn't mean it was wholly limiting. A swordswomen with the right training would have had an even chance, which you do not have, yet."

When Bahmut speaks, she nods. "It is an important lesson. I've learned it the hard way. Letting anger overtake you robs you of the initiative. I don't think we need another one just yet, and /back to what I was saying." She says, quickly talking past the dragon who might have just placed a talon in his muzzle. "The Boros have given you a good base of training, but it's meant to be used on an untrained swordsman. Strength and power of magic will take you past the higher bit of rabble, but an Elite combatant requires you to be more fluid. Flexible."

Rhapsody (325) has posed:
    While it's clear Bahamut means well, the way he points out her coat that causes her to pull it a little tighter over her frame, "..." Her crestfallen expression doesn't help matters. Clearly there's something there she's not proud about. Hide? Scales? If not for her father she would have neither. Jean seems to sieze on the moment and yanks Rhapsody's attention back to the training at hand. Hearing Those Words gets her to flinch, but she's quick to re-assume her stance. Someone has those words ingrained in their mind pretty deep.

Jeannette Thompson (410) has posed:
Jeannette waits for Rhapsody to return to her position, and brings her own sword up. If Rhapsody comes at her, there would be a motion, and then the word 'Stop!' "All right, you attempted to go for a chop of my midsection. Good, but remember, it's a downward strike. A quick swordswoman is going to be able to step to the left and attempt to stab. But that's the importance of your other blade. If you know where I'm going to be going..."

And it continues like that, for some time, at the very least. A strike coming from Rhapsody, a pause, and an explination, blow by blow. Jeannette stops at the killing blow she would have made, explaining the mistake. And, as the night goes one, that and the experiance of being defeated seems to take a bit of shape, and that time between the point of contact and the defeat slowly, slowly extends it's average. It isn't a big change, and it isn't holding Jeannette off, but it's certainly a start.

Bahamut has posed:
     Bahamut stays to watch, standing like a stoic statue in a proud stance. He makes no comments except to encourage Rhapsody, and when the training session is finally over he offers his opinions on the matter, mostly that Rhapsody has great power and shouldn't be afraid to use it. Then, he takes his leave of the two ladies, mentioning that he would like to see the Guildmaster in action again.