- - -4- - -
October
VAV
Midsomer, England
V
"I still can't see you as a teacher."
"Why?"
"You're just so grumpy about everything. I'd expect you to hate kids."
"Thanks." Fox grumbled back, "Kids are easy to handle, like animals. They find something they want and stay on the problem if they're kept focused. Linear thinking is fine, Adults are just too stuck up and convoluted to get anything to work."
"Are you always this chipper?"
"Only when awake or sober."
Coco responded with a drawn out hmm as she Fox sat back in his chair from turning on a slow bebop station. Not her choice, and didn't really fit his look, but the music was growing on her. Fox had played some form of jazz in the background ever since her first call, though it was diluted by the poor-quality microphone picking it up. She didn't have a right to complain anyways, not since she had convinced him to leave the camera on for her. Especially considering how often he forgot that fact in favor of ditching his shirts after the gym. "So, all I need to do is sleep with you? Sounds interesting."
Fox turned away from his rather simplistic cooking to shoot her a pointed look through the laptop screen. Intended as reproachful, the effect was the opposite with the aggressive image it gave him. Like everyone he met was a rodent for his namesake's hunt. None of which matched with a personality that seemed more concern with the comfort of the collie he doted on than even his own meals.
"I thought you said you quit drinking."
"More like the pubs don't serve me anymore and drinking alone is boring."
"Oh? Maybe I should visit then. Buy a bottle of something to share."
"Coming from the woman who always complains she's behind on her work. I'm surprised you could fit a visit into your schedule."
"See but you're my project's muse, the one who keeps me focused on the subject while I look up all this crazy kung-fu stuff. I have Velvet for engineering projects, but she doesn't have quite the same potential for intimacy, or view." Laughing as Fox suddenly clutched his bare chest, and ran to grab a shirt from somewhere behind the camera's view. Remembering as belatedly as always that it was a video call, not just audio.
"Speaking of which, how's the paper going?" He called out from elsewhere in the room, returning to the camera only after he was properly clothed once more.
"Hard to say. Ren pointed me to your honorable-members discussion from a while back that helped. Professor Oobleck loved the story from the crusades that MuMuHammer added on since the duel lacked the usual 'epic' flair and seemed more realistic and it also contained both Christian and Muslim examples. He also went on a long rant about how pilgrims with leprosy often served as frontline fighters much like Norse Vikings used drug addicts. Now I'm just stuck trying to figure out the science side to all this. Because none of this adds up."
"Good luck with that. I can't speak for the non-English side of the forum, but the rest of us agreed we would skip the how and move past to the why. Less biology and science being broken that way."
"You have a theory then?"
"Me and Arslan have been throwing the idea around that it's because of our disabilities and the extra rigor they add. It makes all our training happen from a point of disadvantage, and that's something we argue is the crux of martial arts. You see it all the time in self-defense classes, usually from people who look like easy targets. But BrokenGreaves; I don't think you'll get to talk to him, he likes privacy; he says the disabilities are a coincidence and everyone else is lazy. Apparently, he was already an extremely talented fighter before he lost his legs. IceCreamQueen doesn't care, and isn't keen to explain her own abilities anyways. And Ren believes it's because we can manipulate our qi more efficiently since it's been altered so drastically already. Not something I believe in personally, but it's hard to argue with the guy who can see it. And it's not like any of our theories help, since we're rather lacking in the facts department."
"No mutant-gene theories?"
"No. We know Ren and Greaves both got their abilities after their accidents, and Arslan's family has well-recorded family history. She knows her own condition is genetic, but she's the only one in the family who got super powers for it. The rest are more known for needlework. I got my mum one of Mrs. Altan's for her birthday, they're very nice."
"It's just the way you all talk about it, it's like one of those old Wuxia films just without the plot really. No offense, but half your stories begin with 'while I was training'."
"It feels like one sometimes. One of those epics where you can leap from buildings onto the tips of swords and fight mythical beings with impunity, only to go back to a conversation where we have to remind Arslan to watch her pranks in case she spasms when lifting, and trading recipes over health foods. We joke about it to, awesome power but at the same time none of us are using it for anything really. I'm the only one who gets in the news and every damn time it was because of my dumb lack of luck. Here we are, practically with superpowers, and there's little to differ us from any other gym rat. It's just, what else could we do? Everyone talks about great powers and great responsibility, but it's a different time and our powers aren't the kind anyone wants anymore. Can't tell if that makes us relics or fools, or just missing something right in front of us."
Coco paused her note taking as Fox stifled a yawn behind his drooping pale eyes. "Go to bed. You're starting to sound loopy."
"Yes Ma'am."
"And tell Mouse goodnight for me"
The dog gave a woof from where she wandered across the small apartment, and Fox gave a tired smile. "You catch that?"
"Yeah. Night Fox."
"Night."
Coco closed her laptop as the video went black. Her dimly lit dorm room shaded slightly by her bedside lamp and Velvet's string of lights around the window. Leaving her roommate's screen-lit smile as one of the brightest things in the room as she peered over from her place on the opposite bed in their default, curled up, homework positions. "What?"
"Just thinking. You and this misdial guy seem rather chatty."
"Our schedules match up. It gives me an on-hand source for most of this stuff. He barely cracks a smile, but its better than working in silence."
"Come on, I heard the shirtless comment, which is not happening by the way, and you only talk about clothes when you're flirting. You've literally done it since we first met."
"I flirt with everyone. It's part of my allure."
"I know, I know, just thought it's been a while since Flynt left…"
"He is not another Flynt." Laughing a little at that comparison as she climbed out of bed to save her dying battery power. "That was a disaster in the end."
"Only because you two never communicated. But you admit you are at least flirting with Fox, right?" Velvet kept talking as she typed away at her computer, not even bothering to raise her voice or lift her head as Coco responded from her place rummaging at her desk.
"He basically spends the entire time flaunting those abs, I can't help it."
"Coco, this is why you keep breaking people's hearts."
"Relax Bun-bun, he barely even notices when I do it."
VAV
November
Newton Haven, England
V
"Didn't you say she was annoying because she kept flirting?"
"Yes."
"Then why are you two still chatting a month later?"
That he didn't have a good answer for. Fox was usually a practical guy, and nothing about that stoic nature really defended taking an action that he had specifically told Arslan he disliked. Which left him with the half-hearted excuse of, "She has a nice voice."
… "So you don't like her flirting with you, but at the same time you're going out of your way to keep talking to her." 1
"It's not out of my way really. My hours are weird and I'm already staying up to talk to you. It's like killing timing with an audiobook except the narrator sounds nicer and the dialogue with flirting sucks."
"We're talking about the same girl, right?" The one who interviewed me was not the kind of person who flirts badly."
"Why? Too chatty?"
"Too poised. She had clearly made sure the video call looked and felt like an interview. Not even a stumble when she realized how much younger I am or that I was in a wheelchair. I can't see her doing anything halfway enough that it would badly."
"All I'm saying is that it sounds silly."
"Honestly, I just don't get you Fox, a girl that hot and you're over there holding her at arm's length."
"Okay then, have you asked out that Reese girl yet."
He almost laughed as Arslan brash tone turned timid quickly, and for once made her sound as young as she was. "No…"
"Ok then, matter settled. How have the nerves been?"
"Ah. I had another spasm yesterday at school. Literally got out of my chair for five-seconds so I could use the vending machine and I end up on the floor. Nadir was there to help me back into the chair, but then she came over to check on me and I was so embarrassed I almost fell out again. It was awful."
"At least you didn't get hurt this time. Kind of defeats the purpose of using a wheelchair for safety if you keep getting out of it."
"What about 'Neurological Disorder' implies safe to you." The bitterness in her voice over her own genetic condition one he could easy relate to, he just had a few more years to get over it. But they also handled it differently. He had structured his training around using touch to alleviate the impact of his condition. Arslan answer had been to simply repeat any action however many times she needed to. A bull-headed determination that made her more stubborn than any teenager he had ever met, and let her repeat katas until she literally collapsed. She might not have his experience, but there was no doubt in Foxes mind that one of her palm strikes would break any bone in his body.2
"It could be worse. A couple days I had a couple stop me and ask if I could take their picture. Apparently, they couldn't read Mouse's vest either."
VAV
V
Fox closed his eyes and leaned back against the fence, happy to ignore the chores he was putting off in favor of an hour or so simply keeping an ear on Mouse as she played in the dog bark. The problem with being a junior instructor, as much as he enjoyed it, was that he worked 7 days a week to make up his hours and had no control over when they were. Tuesday and Thursday mornings was the closest he came to a day off, and thus the best time for him to relax and rest.
Buzz buzz
"Fucking hell." He went to great lengths to make sure no one knew his number, which meant he could lay odds right now that he was getting called in to cover for some ass at work. "Hello?"
"Jeez, put the fangs away Fox. It's just me."
"Coco? Why are you calling this early? And how the hell did you get this number?"
"I bribed you friend when I interviewed her, don't ask how. Now can I ask you a question or are you to busy snapping at me?"
"Sorry. Sure, go ahead."
"Quánlì Rén was executed in 1901 by drowning, and our Ren said his first experience was when he was 14, which makes him the oldest in our group at 2002. That's a hundred years where I can't find anyone with powers. No hints, no stories, nothing. Here I am outlining for recent history and all I have for a century is a gap that doesn't make sense considering everything else that developed during that time. So…"
"One sec to think here." Martial arts history was really Ren's specialty, alongside health benefits, but Coco had called him and he wanted to pull something out. Which would be easier if she was one of his students who had a practical base he could build off and not a backseat historian somewhere here in England. Still too far for him to walk he idly noticed. "If I had to guess I'd say it would be shift in the prevalence of guns."
"Meaning…"
"If you bend the definitions a little, all the techniques we teach can be summed up by the Force=Mass*Acceleration equation, accuracy, and range. Spears were always popular because it had all the force and accuracy, plus an extra meter or two of range. That shifted to guns because the range was now measured in kilometers, and accuracy increased because you can't deflect the bullet. Muskets around the Napoleonic Era were limited in the accuracy department, which let older methods last in some areas of the world, but the 1900's was around when the machine gun and bolt action came into play. Now anyone could have either accuracy or rate of fire, which makes martial arts feel obsolete."
"We still have gun you know, that has changed in the last couple decades."
"Yes, that's why I said, "feel obsolete". MMA and cinema have given a better press these days. And the Military and police have moved back towards classical styles because it gives them a way to restrain suspects without the lethality. Then the standards of living have gone up, so it's easier to start up schools. My own gym would never have lasted without that. However, the biggest thing is probably the general shift, or acknowledgement really, that martial arts are not for wars anymore. That means they can focus on self-defense and personal development, and the focus is actually being respected."
"What about all the sports stuff like you do?"
"It's just another way to develop your own skills, but the skills are limited. You get a lot of experience within the system, but translating that into practical aspects does take extra steps. Learn about the dirty strikes, your environment, times when the sports allow for bad habits like taking hits you don't need to. All of it. The fact they don't take that step is why 99% of dedicated ground-fighters are useless on concrete."3
"All right then tough guy, then what's your answer to a mugger with a gun?"
"Depends, definitely hand over my wallet if that's all."
"What about New Mombasa? The article?"
"Those guys were high and just wanted to kill me, that's different. And I got lucky there. His finger wasn't near the trigger when I hit him with the door, plus they only had the one AK. I wouldn't bet on those odds."
"You gamble?"
"I played pool, once. Even hit one of the balls, somewhat."
"Yeah, that's sounds more like you. A real player."
He didn't mean to laugh at the last bit. It wasn't particularly funny, just that the softening in her tone had proven to alluring for him not to. Lacking the harsh critique that had started their chat, so it could take a light heartened tone he still couldn't understand. "Do I still need to distract you? Cause I can keep ranting if you want me to. There's a nice long one about the history of Taekwondo, since it was in that period."
"I'm sure you can. It's fine. I get very focused when it comes to test and projects. Which is fine until I have to wait a week or two for the grade."
"You? Focused? Never would expect that, not from someone who calls me about a project due in… how many months?"
"Five. And who says I call you just about the project?"
"Since most of the time I'm just answering questions for you, pretty sure you did."
Coco's voice faded away as if she had pulled away from her phone when mumbling the next bit. Forgetting apparently that he was good at picking out sound. "Last time I take Velvet's advice…"
"Advice on what?"
"Nothing," Coco said, adding a bitter after note of, "apparently." To her words.
"Am I missing something?"
"You know, I thought my intentions were clear enough, but I can be more blunt if you'd like."
And that was how her tone went from flirtatious, to bitter, and now he was strongly suspecting that this was her angry tone. One that made it clear she would drive clear across the country if she decided to take it out on him, which was bad. "Blunt would be better. I'm not good with interpersonal stuff."
"I would like to go out with you sometime for drinks, or dinner, or whatever. Instead you just sit over there like a brick wall and ignore every goddamn hint I throw at you."
"Oh." Mouse coming back over to paw at him at least gave him a few seconds to think about his answer. Not that it helped, she would not be happy with this answer. "Honestly, you've had that same flirtatious tone since you first met, I kind of figured you just flirted with everyone. It's not like you said anything I could particularly work from other than putting on a shirt. Maybe you used some sort of visual cue? That happens a lot in books at least."
"So, is that a no?"
"That's: I didn't know you were actually flirting."
The exasperated sigh she gave him pulled down "…Is there anything logical in your head that isn't about martial arts? You can rant for hours and then… this…"
"I'm pretty good about finances, the bank keeps telling me I have a good credit rating and should take out a car loan. Other than that, not really. People are definitely not my specialty."
"Clearly. Again, makes me wonder how you've lasted as a teacher."
"I wave a shiny medal in peoples' face, and really hope it wasn't my bronze in the spelling bee."
VAV
Norway
V
Ren worked in utter silence, as he always did at work. Though, considering he couldn't hear at all since his accident, silence was usually the case around him. Furthermore, the flower shop he had worked at ever since graduating college was large enough that he usually could be found in some corner of the shop, diligently checking that each and every plant was tended to with careful watering and pruning, and that each order was completely ready for when it would be picked up. He would be the first to admit that his customer service skills were hampered, though all the regulars knew at this point that the key was to enunciate properly when he was trying to lip read, but he was still the owner's favorite since he could be trusted to keep everything else in working order.
It was peaceful work, he and his boss always got along, the other workers looked up to him, the hours were more than reasonable, and at the end of the day he enjoyed the work. Botany wasn't his first passion, but it was certainly a close second. Which is why he also enjoyed the fact that the boss had let him hang flyers up for his Tai Chi classes; morning at 7AM, Monday through Sunday at the local park, evenings at 8 PM MWF and Saturday, and additional lessons as requested. Between that and work, he didn't have a lot of time to spend with Nora, but thankfully she understood. Her work as a teacher made the morning sessions impossible, but she tagged along when she could in the evenings. And outside of work or lessons, she knew his time was hers. Which was why he really couldn't understand when everyone insisted on the idea that these days the only real martial artists were all professional fighters. It was a scotsman fallacy at best, ignored the number of trainers each individual fighter must have had, and failed to account for the fact that plenty of martial artists, himself included, were pacifists. He had never needed to fight someone, never wanted to fight someone, and frankly would happily give any mugger his wallet since he could just cancel his credit card with his old phone, that no one would steal anyways, and only kept a little bit of cash inside. Outside of extremely contrived scenarios, he was perfectly content to train for something other than money, and live his life as it was.
Though he wouldn't say no if offered a small raise. Nora deserved a nice wedding and their combined incomes were at a more sustainable level than expansionary. Were it not for their cheap hobbies; old video games, economy cooking, volleyball, and martial arts; they'd have to worry about finances a lot more. However, they had definitely reached a very comfortable point in their life together, and he was certainly looking forward to a few more. Then his phone started to vibrate with texts from Jaune.
[Ren, I'm freaking out!]
[Pyrrha just called]
[Apparently, she's coming up here for work]
[Which is weird, because I thought personal trainers would stay in one place]
[But she definitely said she's coming up here]
[And her plane is supposed to land tonight, but she only found out yesterday and was super sorry]
[The apartment is a pit, oh Oum]
[Not that she's staying with us, she's up at the four star in midtown.]
[How can she afford it?]
[We need to clean the apartment though, because c'mon]
Regardless of the fact that the constant buzzing was already annoying, Ren couldn't help but notice the time as he finally moved to respond. [Jaune, it's just after 1. Aren't you in class?]
[Not a problem, the kids are covering for me.]
[…It's a good thing your boss likes you.]
[This is important Ren!]
[Trust me, it's fine. Look, I'll make sure to head home straight after work, and straighten up a little for when she gets here.]
[Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh]
At least Jaune was handling this update appropriately. Ren debated whether or not to message Nora, deciding against after he realized how likely it was that she was handling the matter in person. Returning to his work instead, focusing on the small lotus pot that was clearly not looking forward to winter, even within the warmth of the flower shop.
V
Nora's arrival back home that evening was marked by her trademark energetic hug, jumping up so that she could pull herself up by his neck and press every inch of her body up against him with the same adoration she always managed to conjure. One that he equally enjoyed immensely and mildly regretted as her closeness made conversation more difficult. Instead he skipped a vocal greeting in favor of a chaste kiss to his girlfriend's forehead, soon followed by her own, less chaste version, after she finally hauled him down to eye level. A more time-consuming answer to be sure, and one he rather notably made no move to end.
Breaking for air also gave them the chance to fall back into their lumpy, used couch that he was supposed to be cleaning. Giving Nora the chance to shift around on his lap such that she could begin signing to him at a rapid pace that only came with years of practice for the sake of her best friend. I can't believe Pyrrha's actually coming to visit!
Did you ever hear why?
I sent her a message after Jaune told me, she said it was for a training camp.
Seems weird still, unless she just did it as an excuse to visit Jaune.
Well… Nora took her time signing out each letter of the word, from her crossed V's to an exaggerated series of wound up L's as her grin took on the manic expression usually reserved for pancakes on Sunday, sex, or spiking volleyballs into people's faces. He adored it, but years of being first her best friend, and later her boyfriend, also knew how chaotic events became around that particular grin. Good in the bedroom, but not something he was fully prepared to let loose on his two other friends. Unless she asked nicely, in which case Jaune and Pyrrha would be on their own.
Nora…
You see I mentioned it to one of the other teachers, and she pointed out that our friend happens to share the name of a certain celebrity.
Really?
Turns out she made headlines as a kid, undefeated in whole bunch of tournaments throughout the mainland. Nowadays she's considered the martial arts world new femme fatale and bantaweight MMA champion. Undefeated at Thirteen and Oh, even without her amateur record. I think the guy had a heart attack when we talked about it. Apparently, she's the MMA world's resident sweetheart.
Our Pyrrha? I feel like she would have mentioned it if that was the case. The Pyrrha he knew was polite to a fault and could be counted on staying up every night to play video games as late as Jaune could push it, comfortably on her side of the camera in baggy pants, and an oversized hoody. Curled up on her beanbag, with a wired controller she clearly had custom designed for multiple systems, she was practically the picture of the girl-next-door. Not the kind of girl who fought for a living.
*Oh Yeah* Nora's lip moving as she pulled out her phone. Going through her recent history, which included one "Achillas' best knockout compilation".
The friend in him was still coming to terms with her as a fighter, of any sort, but the martial artist watched the video with a different view. Pyrrha was clearly a balanced fighter, showing heavy hints of both Muay Thai and jiujitsu, combined with another that he couldn't quite put his finger on. All of which was evident in her knockouts which showed how simple her strategy was in practice. Kneeing a tackler in the face, clinching a boxer so she could throw the poor woman to the ground, hooks for a Taekwondo black belt; consistently she used her own balance in technique to find a weakness, circle her opponents with superior footwork, and once available focus on the weaknesses until her opponent was completely out of the fight.
She didn't play around on the mats. Usually he could count on her to be less competitive when they played video games, compared to Jaune and Nora at least. Against her, he'd get a chance to play for a little bit as she tried around with other characters or new combos. Clearly, that attitude did not apply to her fighting style. Tai Chi taught him to deflect his opponent's force, whereas she favored blocking strikes focused on her. Any subtlety she applied was a quick feint, nothing that might unsettle her form, and then she could go back to her objective immediately. Even when he peered closer at her chi, he could see no weaknesses. She kept her body relaxed, her chi allowed to travel freely throughout the body. Only concentrating in any one place at the exact moment of her strike or block.
She wasn't the perfect fighter. Even he could note that she lacked enough strength behind some of her attacks, minimizing the effect of what should be her finishing strikes. Aside from that reluctance to engage however, she was certainly one of the best he had ever seen; and all he could think about now was how odd it was that she was head over heels with his admittedly dorky roommate.
Does Jaune know about this?
I don't think so.
So should we tell him?
I wasn't planning on it. We can let Pyrrha have her privacy, and I'm sure he'll work it out eventually or she'll tell him.
Ren nodded a few times. Before adding his one question over that statement. How long has she been flirting with him again?
VAV
"English", [English Text], Norwegian Sign Language, *Norwegian*
1: Tsundere- 'a character development process that describes a person who is initially cold and even hostile towards another person before gradually showing a warmer side over time.' I'm sorry, it wasn't intentional. At least you're not the one who now has to wonder if he is one.
2: My notes say Arslan has Athetosis, but this is NOT my field so that could be a misdiagnosis on my part, especially since a different section of notes theorizes epilepsy. She got started in martial arts for physical therapy, and traveled abroad from her home in Turkey for training (I've debated quite a bit on her style, answers vary in my head so hopefully none of you call me out on a straight answer). These days she likes to show off with cars (or ice blocks). {Apologies, I don't think I'll be able to work this in more naturally.}
3: That last 1% (exaggerated of course) though is scary as they know the blood chokes and joint locks which disable faster than strikes at the same range; and similar things can also be said about several striking styles. Fox just has some of my own biases.
V
I didn't forget about this story, but I am stuck on chapter 8 and was holding off posting until I could keep my lead. I miss writing Bailey's and Coffee where I only had to worry about one chapter and finding a cheese grater to make things happy.
The issue has been in the works for a while now, but this chapter more than most requires me to clarify something. I do not write any character who is smarter than me (there will be one later, but that'll be obvious), meaning sometimes they get shit wrong in and out of universe. This is especially annoying since I made Fox my author avatar in some ways (I'm not blind, ginger, or a blackbelt in Judo for starters), which means when I state theories they are my own, while not necessarily being right. To a degree, that then implies I don't even know what's going on in my own story (only somewhat right). Meaning that what I have is a very clear idea of what it means to overcome plateaus in training, and enough martial arts and writing experience to get only part of it on paper but not near enough. Which is why I could really use comments, just saying…
