[1v1] The Joy of Spars [Maple/AJ]

[chirigami]

She had hoped to make it a weekly ritual, to enter the gym in a quiet manner - more conspicuous than that one time at least - sit on the bleachers and watch. To take notes of the spars she observed and then maybe one day, maybe, to participate. That was a far away step in her plan, the first was to walk in like she wasn't afraid. Which didn't happen today either.

But at least she had finally came back, after weeks of abandoning her plans of gaining some sort of confidence in something. Though, she more of saw it as gaining knowledge in a different field than she was used to; that was kind of how Poke had explained it to the young witch before pushing her towards this location.

Maple tried not to think about it and simply continued to sit in a not so obvious spot with a notebook on her lap. She was dressed in not so fitting clothing for the gym, nothing for fighting; what with a cardigan and knee length skirt and cute little loafers. The ghoul had tied her hair back at least, but she wasn't expecting anything from this. Just observe.

meegane

ahaha ~

 

[Meegane]

The amphibaena boil was bored, he already made a large plate of biscuits and he checked his schedule, no classes today, he flexed his slim but firm body, maybe it's a time for a spar? He grinned mischievously.

Looking from the entrance of gym, he searched for possible target until the back silhouette of a certain ghoul caught his eyes. He smiled, a bit naughty as he sneakily got to the back of her. The horns were so distinctive. He slowly wrapped around and covered her eyes with his hands, with a smiling tone, he asked. "Can you guess who I am? If you do, you will have a lovely reward." Yes, he loved to play little games with his little witch.

xchirigami

here we go~

 

[chirigami]

Maple's attention had been placed on a pair of what looked like first years, judging from their misjudged steps and how much they seemed to not be landing hits upon one another. But they seemed to be trying so hard, one even seemed to be a reaper judging from the weapon in her hands. The ghoul let out a sigh, wondering if she had possibly frequented the gym a little more in her first year of school if she might have gained a little more confidence or courage.

Too late now, though. Typical.

So, it could be said that she didn't notice AJ creeping up on her the way that he did. So, she jumped instantly the hand snaked its way around and covered her eyes and she gave out a little cry of surprise. "Aa!" And took a beat for her to settle down and to place the voice, thankfully having heard it enough with the same little incentives as before to recognize it. "A-AJ?" And the blush was deployed.

meegane

 

[Meegane]

"Bingo dear!" He took off his hands and sat next to the witch. "Here's your reward." He untied the ribbon of a small bag, and shoved its towards Maple. "This's my first time to try this, hope it's alright," He leisurely picked one and tossed into his mouth. "Um, not bad~ So- what are you doing here?" He looked around the gym, watching the creeple sparring with a slacking smile, cute year one scarelings? It's a bit surprising to have see the ghoul here, she was interesting in fighting? Thinking of that, he slightly raised his eyebrows and smiled bigger.

What a nice discovery.

chirigami

 

[chirigami]

Maple said nothing as he sat down next to her and just sort of stared at the offered reward that he presented to her before she finally took it carefully in her hands. Well, she had mentioned to him how much she wanted to try his baking, as she didn't get a chance to at the House Cup. And this one was apparently all for her? The witch took one of the biscuits and nibbled on it. "It's g-good," she told him then took a larger bite. This was his first try with making them? She felt a little envious of his skill.

His question remained unanswered until she finished the treat, mostly delaying a response out of sheepishness. Which could clearly be seen when her fingers began to play with the bag now in her lap, resting upon her notebook. "I was w-watching and st-studying..." Was her explanation in a quiet voice.

meegane

 

[Meegane]

"REALLY?" He gave her a hug out of happiness. "I am so afraid I will mess things up. Sorry that I was too busy around the House Cup to serve you, I did mean to take you around the booths." He sighed, being the food catering was fun, but ignoring a dear friend like Maple was another thing, he felt sorry for that. Actually when he cared so much, he used to be alone and just himself......

As for his question, he knew the witch well and patient enough for that, so he just smiled and watched more of the spar ongoing until she opened her mouth. "Studying? Are you interested in sparring?" If she did, he didn't mind to have a spar with her, of course he will hold back. "I can spar with you if you wish?" He asked softly with a smile. "Practicing is so much better than just looking, you need to experience to learn what you did wrong and improve."

When he was explaining, Head was like an audience watching a fighting show. "Hit him! Knock his knee, that's the weakest!" He then turned to yell at his opponent. "Noooo not like that, you should jump up and squat when he swings his scythe!" Adding opinion seemed not to be a good thing when someone was sparring, but the dense Head didn't care at all.

chirigami

 

[chirigami]

"Y-you?" Maple squeaked out, nearly dropping the cookie she was about to nibble on. Never would she have imagined that AJ would feel such insecurities, he was so nice and did things so well - like these cookies - and had been so cool and collected in many of the activities they had been involved with together; like classes or the time they went looking for some sort of artifact. Her gaze fell to cookies in her lap as her brows furled, "i-it's alright, l-like you s-said... you were b-busy..." Her blush deepened, "th-that d-does show your b-baking sk-skills are really g-good though, d-doesn't it?" Not like her, who figured she had no real skills and couldn't even figure out her new abilities.

Her gaze remained down even though she wanted to shoot her head up and give him a pleading look and shake her head furiously, "I h-had a sp-spar with Poke once, s-said it would.. b-broaden st-strengths and.... weaknesses..." There was an obvious self pity comment on that last word. And right now she could only imagine showing those off if she sparred with AJ and how pitifully she would do; she had seen him, he looked like he enjoyed it and she barely knew how. It would be a disaster!

"Umm....." And just sort of let that linger, not really answering his question about the spar.

meegane

 

[Meegane]

Maple 's exclamation interested the boil, he was curious of what he liked in her eyes. He was just a normal teenager that enjoyed baking and fighting.....What if she knew his nightmare during the wonderland? The gore...bloody...violent dark side of himself. He didn't know her to know any, she only deserved the good things like flowers, beautiful scenery, etc. She was a good friend and an adorable little sister, he witnessed the efforts she made, even though she was inconfident and lack of insecurity, he all saw that, the little bit and little bit of improvement. He'd like to spend more time with them, his friends. It was hard to imagine he would have friends one day, it used to be a distant word. "Haha I am still learning, but thank you, you are such a sweet ghoul." He wrapped his arms around the witch. "I hope you will find what you like~"

"Poke? Do I know them, who's them? So- did it work?" He asked curiously, maybe a potential spar partner, he wished to know more. His suggestion didn't get a yes or a simply nod at all, he rubbed his hair embarrassingly. "Well, so sudden right? It's alright if you prefer not sparring with me." Maybe she prefer to spar with another girl or she already had partners to do so, so for the best of them, he changed the topic. "I think reading is a good hobby, because you will accumulate knowledge, what kinds of book you particularly like?"

chirigami

 

[chirigami]

His wrapped arms earned him yet another little squeak and her body seized up for a moment at the gesture. Because he was hugging her, really - this wasn't like the dream in that other land. Though, he had done similar at Prom, right? But still, this was AJ and he had called her sweet. She couldn't find words for a moment, too caught up in the moment.

"Sh-she's a th-third y-year," finally came stumbling out of her mouth, her nerves at their highest. "We h-had an ex-exam t-together." There probably could be more she could explain, like that the other ghoul was a water dragon and fought amazingly, seemed so confident and had easily persuaded Maple to get out of the library to spar with her. And how it had went. So much, but she left it out and instead nibbled at her bottom lip.

Maple hesitated again in answering his request. Enough for him to change the subject to her beloved books, he had seen her dissolve into a depressed state over losing one before and her reaction to Andrew's near attempt of burning one after all. "th-they only g-get you s-so f-far..." She replied in a sad quiet voice, her realization that kept seeming to creep up on her. So much did she read, yet how little she could do with their information in application. The witch didn't tell him this though, just looked down sadly at her notebook that were littered with a few notes from what she had observed before the boil had found her. "I l-like m-most k-kinds," really there were so many to choose from, "I l-like f-fantasy b-books though." Because she could see how more amazing creeple than her could cope with things.

"if .. you r-really.. w-want to sp-spar..." Somehow she managed to say as much, still lingering to an indecision really.

meegane

 

[Meegane]

He never know what "keep a distance" meant when it came to friends, he treated it as a kind of affection, Andrew was a very good sample of that. So he only thought she was shy but not uncomfortable when the witch squeaked. In his impression, ghouls like to squeak anyway, she used to squeak when she saw something adorable or when she found a nice boutique selling reasonable stuff.

Who's she?

Maple's answer had his thought threw away, "Oh a senior." He was quite amused that the little witch who was once so shy got her social circle enlarged. "Ah that sounds great, I had someone to have my exam together too, Marosa if you know him, he's a faerie." Information exchanged, he was curious but not too eager that he would force the witch to tell him more. If he and Poke were meant to be meet, they would. AJ was looking at Maple, so he noticed her petty action.

So far.

His sensor of Maple's negativity was ringing. The sad voice caught his attention, was she drive herself into the dead end again? The boil had no idea what the witch was thinking because he didn't have mind-reading ability. "To me, knowledge is like sand, when you don't use it, it just accumulates. When you need it, for example, building a sand castle, you will know its power. So my point is don't be sad even if you can't apply them now, just accumulate them as if they're in a treasure room." He smiled and winked. "Fantasy is good, nice pick! I like those involve with adventures and battles. Any is your favourite?"

"Not me, you. Do you wanna spar with me, we can both learn from it, because others can notice better what improvement you can make." He winked, tempting to little witch to muster her courage.

chirigami

He always hit onto the wall, doesn't he? XD

 

[chirigami]

"O-oh, Marosa," Maple repeated the name, she smiled slightly, "h-he was one of the f-first cr-creeple I m-met here," she explained. One of the first few who had been nice to her when he didn't need to be, he was a demon after all but he had been and had even showed her around. Something good in her mind. "I'm g-glad you've m-met him," she mumbled.

And then fell silent as she listened to his words, trying to encourage her like he always seemed to be trying to do. There were a few notes she would want to protest, but she didn't speak up, finding it useless to try - especially against him. She wondered if an actual physical spar would be the same and she wondered if her in earlier insistence had been a good idea after all. (She would be doomed!)

Though, "I w-would like t-to.. improve..." she whispered, "l-like the h-heroes.. in st-stories..." They always did, which was why she liked them.

meegane

 

[Meegane]

To his surprise, the witch knew the faerie, maybe earlier than him. "I'm glad you've met him too." His reply with a smile. AJ was glad that at least there was someone nice in her mind which might help to drive the negativity and unhappiness away. Nice creeple always do the trick when you think of them, he was lucky to have met some in his boring life. Everyone deserves some nice creeple in their lives, no matter their natures are good or evil.

It was unfortunate that the ghoul didn't try, because the boil totally liked ghouls who had their viewpoints, weird or not. It wasn't exciting if your partner only knew to agree with everything you said, he was easier to be attracted by ghouls having a strong personality and will go against him. Fun as he said. "Improvement can result in satisfaction, though it won't bring the same effect as our essence. So you are in?"

The boil pushed himself slightly backward and checked the ghoul from top to bottom, before he smiled with a light jokey aura. "Um - I don't think I can tear such a lovely set of clothes - let's get changed? I will be here waiting for you to come back."

chirigami

If you wanna start the spar next, let's roll the initiate dice? OuO

 

[chirigami]

Well, if she were aware of all of that, maybe Maple would actually try a bit harder. Well, try being the operative word there as instilled opinions of one self were often hard to break. Would it even be honest anyway? Besides it was just sort of nice hearing him try to give her advice and cheer her on, it sounded so earnest - probably because they didn't have the history together like her family did.

Even in circumstances like these. In the middle of a gymnasium. And a possible spar. Maple's lower lip was soon going to be nibbled raw at some point and her flush was seeming to never going to fade. "I.. I d-don't n-need to ch-change.." The witch mumbled as she placed her notebook back into her bag with a shaky hand. This was going to be a pretty slow process to actually get her down to the ground but she would eventually make it there. "N-need... t-to kn-know how to f-fight in .. these c-clothes too..." She added in. Needed to be prepared for anything, right?

Finally out of the bleachers, Maple took a few steps towards one particular area sort of out of the way of too many viewers and set her bag down. She waited for AJ, nervous.

meegane

8D

 

[Meegane]

AJ would only do something that benefit the witch, he didn't know why, but he cherished her a lot. Be honest, he wasn't a professional so his opinion might be wrong in some ways, he just stayed what he thought, it can be shallow, it can be deep. He wasn't the one to decide that, but the listener. All the boil wanted to do was to encourage the ghoul to try things, for AJ, she was like a little sister that needs his caring and spoil. Anyway, AJ was dense about relationship, it was never his first concern. However, she surely had a place in his heart, together with Andrew.

Ah, so she said yes. Being with the ghoul for almost a year, he would understand what she said easily. "Are you sure?" When she said she didn't need to change her lovely clothes. "Ah, I see. you are right. Sometimes surprises come so easily." He recalled the moment there were shadows everywhere in the school and they had to fight with them. AJ never mind her slowness, he patiently waited until she finished the action and ready for the spar practice.

"You are ready, great! Let's make it clear first, you can use your full power to attack me without worries, I would evaluate the situation and strike back with a force that you can handle. Most of the time, I would be just defending, but I might give you sudden attack so that you know how to deal with those next time. Are you okay with that?" He smiled, briefing the witch while leisurely towards her.

"Oh we need a safe word also, in case I lose control, think of one? Just one word will do, if you yell that, I will know to stop." He suggested, grinning to the witch and flexing his muscles, better not to have spasms in front of Maple. "You'd better do some warm-up before we started." He suggested, finishing his and moved backward. Maple could see the skin of the boil slowly covered by scales of a darker color, black nails extended into some sort of claws.

chirigami

I want to say lady first....but the dice....damn!

 

[Meegane]

The moment he saw the ghoul was ready, he jumped and pushed himself forward for a strike as if a beast wanted to tear the witch apart but he took back the strength right before her. "That's what I will use when I was in a sudden attack, remember to grab hold of your weapon anytime, you are a reaper. Makes a powerful strike is a good way to scare your opponent at the beginning, if they are the first who attack, of course you can do it without guilt. It works quite well on inexperienced target that they may lose their original plan." He grinned and told her in a light-hearted tone. "The one who can stay calm takes the better stand in a battle, always remember." He moved back so that the witch can make her move. AJ was never a strict or mean teacher or mentor.

"It's your turn, try your best to hit me." He beckoned Maple with his signature smile.

Quote:

AJ's HP: 40/ 40
Action: Teaching, not attacking
Damage: 4
Fear: T1 Bite [unused] + T2 Battle Cry [unused]

chirigami