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Post by Liang on Jun 16, 2017 21:00:26 GMT
Liang hadn't gotten up that morning expecting to receive a courtesy call from the Blue Banner. He'd treated it just as he would any other morning, rolling out of bed in the basement level of Tiger Tea and getting ready for his day with a shower, some usual clothing and a light breakfast. Lately he'd been taking steps to hand over management of the establishment to Xiapai; the guy had a great attitude and his life was mostly settled down and rooted. He often put in more hours than anybody and loved every minute of it, from whipping up dishes to brewing tea and interacting with each and every customer to make them feel welcome. Passing the torch was something Liang knew he'd have to do sooner rather than later. When it came down to it, he did love the place and it had been a resounding success, likely to remain a part of the city's culture for years to come. He couldn't let it tie him down, though. He had a dream to chase, and he couldn't afford to root down just yet before he achieved it. After he was done meeting with his new manager and happily handed off the keys, promising to check in on a semi-regular basis, he'd return back to the basement and fold open his laptop. An alert popped up on the task bar, the icon he'd assigned to Blue Banner communications flashing on and off. Scratching his chin curiously, he'd tap the icon with his finger and a window would enlarge. A message had been left for him. --PRIORITY MESSAGE--Greetings, Liang. It has been some time since your last visit, and through careful consideration we have decided to pass along a casual assignment. In your downtime, you may have not been aware that the Blue Banner KAOS division has welcomed a few new members. To keep this short and simple, we have elected to try out a mentoring program within the KAOS ranks utilizing some of our more experienced members to help mold and shape them into part of the renowned elite unit of the Banner. Your assignment will take place in the Bamboo Forest, where you are to meet one of these newer recruits. We feel this course of action would serve to benefit both parties involved; you are reintroduced into active assignment duties, while also getting more acquainted and up to speed with this newer recruit and possibly shaping their development within the squadron. ''Bamboo Forest? Huh. Don't think i've ever actually been there. Hopefully I don't get lost...eh, who am I kidding? I'm gonna get lost.'' He'd scroll down through the message for any further information. Apparently, this person went by ''Ryder''; attached was a picture of a what he assumed to be a strictly-human female, which already piqued his curiosity. Not a lot of humans ended up in KAOS. She must have had some potential, right? Glancing over to his tea, his third eye would continue reading as he gazed off in thought for a moment. He'd gulp down the rest of the beverage before closing the strange eye and the laptop right afterwards. The last thing he wanted was to give the impression he was some wound-up, uptight jerk. To that end, he opted to leave his uniform at home and instead opted for something a lot more casual; he'd keep the jeans he was currently wearing, fetch a pair of brown boots, slip on a sleeveless undershirt and a nice and light left-unzipped vest over top of it. He'd tie his hair back into the same short, sloppy half-hearted tail he always did, leaving the most of his hair unkempt but still away from all three of his eyes. Speaking of, on that note he went right ahead and closed the third of them for the foreseeable future. He still wasn't totally agreeable to the thing. Noting that a relatively new Dojo of some sort had been built in the Bamboo Forest that existed in the Banner's records, he wondered if he was going to end up training with this woman today, or if this was meant to be some sort of ordered meet and greet. He wasn't opposed to the idea or anything. After all, it had been some time since he had contact with just about anybody from the Blue Banner, let alone KAOS itself. He'd make his departure as Xiapai was taking stock, not offering much in the way of a goodbye. He'd have to make sure to chill his energy out a bit; if she could sense signatures, he didn't want to come off as reckless or intimidating. Part of him was excited to get back into active assignment, and there was always the perk of maybe making another friend. Li had become somewhat of a legendary hermit to most anybody still in active duty, Poi and Cipher included. He'd let his mind wander as he casually floated up above the roof of the nearest structure, his white aura alighting and enveloping him as he took off for the Bamboo Forest. Luckily, pictures had been included to help him on his way. Before long, he'd crossed into the East and came upon what he believed to be the start of his search. Dipping down beneath the treeline at a slowed pace, he'd touch down and begin wandering; a few of the jungle predators lurked in the trees, but a small bit of an energy release that rustled the environment around him was enough to frighten them off. Eventually, he'd come across a clearing; it was strangely tranquil in opposition to the environment around it, that was for sure. Was this the place? A pond, a garden, a cute little house... This had to be it, right? RyderThread PL: 200,063 [UT] Suppression in use, Suppressing to 5,000 PL
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Post by Ryder on Jun 16, 2017 23:58:00 GMT
Ryder sat in the lotus position atop her humble bamboo hut in deep meditation as she awaited ‘Senior Officer Liang.’ Despite the brightness of her blue workout uniform the woman seemed to blend perfectly into the humble atmosphere of the small homestead. Senior Officer Liang might think of himself as a hermit, but Ryder had lived it ever since the Blue Banner Army took over from Earth’s prior military force. Back on Big Blu yesterday she found herself dragged into some sort of ‘mentorship program.’ Apparently the brass didn’t feel her relationship with Tulip satisfied their requirements, nor her training session with Cipher that morning. Heck for all she knew the android may have explicitly arranged the program after their session in the dojo. Some ‘Senior Officer Liang’ was to be contacted to be her mentor for the time being. Pale eyelids parted as Ryder heard the soft rustle of foliage parting, casting her gaze downwards to meet that of the new arrival. Blue-green eyes filled with determination locked gaze with her guest as Ryder rose to her feet and gracefully leaped off the roof to land on the ground below. No sooner had her feet planted into the earth than Ryder stood stiff at full attention, hand held above her eye in salute. “KAOS recruit Ryder present, Sir!” There was something a bit... odd... about the visual. A voluptuous- albeit athletic- woman garbed in skimpy curve-hugging workout clothes performing a full salute. But one could not deny the determination in her eyes nor the practiced precision with which she executed the stance. Ryder was a military veteran and it showed through no matter how much she immersed herself in the pursuit of inner power or what she might wear. “Senior Officer Liang I presume?” OOC: Tags- Liang
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Post by Liang on Jun 17, 2017 0:35:25 GMT
As he closed in, he could somewhat feel a signature. This clearing obviously had a lot of hard work put into it, and realizing that much gave him confidence that he was in the right place. It had been a while since he'd spent time around anyone with more than a civilian-level energy, so he still couldn't quite put a finger on the reading's extremity. What he did see out of the corner of his eye though shocked him. Up on her home, perched in the Lotus posture (one of Liang's personal favorites as well), was who he assumed to be Ryder. It was hard to see her face from facing the sunlight leaking through the trees, so he moved closer to the structure to get a better look. He'd never witnessed or heard of anyone in KAOS taking meditation that seriously; as far as he knew, he was the only one who routinely performed the action and he'd had a few joking jabs taken at him for doing so. That was certainly unexpected and unique. As he finished the last of his steps, the woman would dismount the rooftop with a practiced grace, landing not far in front of him. It was then and there that he could take in her features, finally having a good look. She was clad in some sort of workout and exercise gear that hugged to her tightly, letting Liang believe she'd probably just finished a circuit. Interesting. In a flash right after her dexterous landing, the woman would stand at full attention and salute. He'd return the gesture of course, but the free-living young man often found that titles made his skin crawl. He was a lot more casual than the brass, that being one of the only (and strongest) points they clashed about. He had a business side, but he just had a funny way of showing it. Her posture and her on-point salute told him enough that this likely wasn't her first time at attention, and it would likely be far from her last. He'd have to ask about that sometime. He'd smile warmly at her as he returned the gesture. ''At ease, recruit.'' Hopefully he was being friendly enough. She addressed him as ''Senior Officer Liang'', something he'd make sure to quickly remedy. To him, chain of command was obviously important but in more casual times like this all it served to do was drive a wedge of anxiety between the higher-ups and the new recruits. ''That's me alright,'' he'd begin after dropping his salute and returning to a much more relaxed posture. ''So that means you must be Ryder. Lotus, huh? That's a favorite of mine too. You can just call me Liang, by the way. They might call this an assignment, but I don't see why we can't be casual and laidback.'' He'd shrug with a small smirk. ''Nice place you've got here. Did you do all of this yourself?'' He had his loner side now and then, and this little slice of paradise called to it. The calm water, the dampened sunlight, the peace and quiet. She really had herself a nice little place here! He'd stick his hands into his pockets absent-minded as he took in more of her features subtly from up close. She was a looker alright, he couldn't deny that much. He kind of wondered how she'd ended up with the BBA, so he'd keep that on deck to break the ice if it were needed. He hoped she could relax out of those uptight military habits. He wasn't much a fan, but then again he was a bit unorthodox compared to a lot of the higher-ups. He was perfectly fine with making friends out of the other Banner personnel, and he preferred it that way anyway. Most recruits were always wound-up and extremely nervous, so maybe it was just out of habit that he was trying to relax the encounter right off the bat.
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Post by Ryder on Jun 17, 2017 1:47:18 GMT
“Not all of it” Ryder replied, smiling gently at the man who chose to dispense with formalities. She might be old hat when it came to military procedure, but that didn’t mean it was a personal preference. More-so instinct borne out of -after factoring for her unorthodox upbringing- two decades of experience. “When it comes to any sort of operations, a key factor is always location, location, location.” Casting her gaze to the small five meter waterfall that dropped fresh water into her pond and released a cooling mist into the clearing’s air, Ryder continued to expound on this homestead of which she was proud. “The clearing, pond and waterfall were all here before I ever came. Sure I expanded the clearing while harvesting poles for my shelters... re-purposing the materials I used in the lean-to when it was time to build the cottage, but the basic space was already here. The garden’s about half native species I’ve been nurturing to be more productive and half more typical garden crops I’ve accumulated in the time since I found this place. “That hot tub on the other hand...” she paused, pointing at a hole in the earth filled with water, lined with carved-in benches with a bamboo pipe plumbed into the stream above the waterfall pointed into it. “That’s all my doing.” Pausing a moment to once again focus on the assigned mentor before her, Ryder allowed herself to relax. “You want to take things easy Li? Why don’t you join me inside for some refreshments while we get to know one another?” OOC: tags- Liang
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Post by Liang on Jun 18, 2017 1:23:59 GMT
The woman claimed she hadn't been responsible for all of the apparent work that went into her little sanctuary in the forest. She was humble and honest, both being traits Liang couldn't help but to respect. As she followed up with her statement about location, he'd take another gaze around. ''True. I'd say you've found a pretty nice location, too!'' He was still visibly a bit awestruck by the place. So simple, yet so unique all at the same time. It seemed she had a wide spread of skills to boast about, too. She admitted to basically nurturing this little clearing into a place all her own, whether through landscaping, building the shelter, and gardening with what sounded like plenty of knowledge on the latter subject. Just about the time when he was about to comment while clearly impressed, she spoke up again after pointing out the hot tub he hadn't seen until she had pointed it out at that very second. Plumbing too? She had a pretty broad set of skills! He had to say that so far this meeting had been a breath of fresh air. Most of the time the KAOS applicants were shaking in their boots and could barely stammer out a coherent sentence, let alone carry on an interesting conversation. He was already glad he made the trip out here for that assignment. ''This must have taken you months to put together, if not years! Your hard work really shows, too. This place is a real sight.'' Sight. Damn it. There he went thinking about the Eye again. He'd luckily gained control over the thing without needing to cover it, but he'd have to focus to keep it from springing open out of habit. The last thing he wanted was to ruin his first impression and scare the daylights out of her! He blinked back to attention as she questioned if he wanted to take a step inside to relax and get some refreshments. Sure, why not? He'd taken a long flight (of sorts) to get here. He'd have to keep an eye on the time though. Laying the groundwork for being a part of the KAOS team was arguably the most important part, but he'd still have to examine her abilities. He wondered if she knew about that Dojo that had sprung up, being it was probably pretty close to her home. ''Sure, that sounds like a great idea.'' From what he could tell, she was growing a bit more comfortable. It was always weird to have assignments like this forced on the personnel, but he did admit that it had both good and bad points to it. He'd follow her lead if she went to step inside and take a brief look around the interior. He'd then look for the nearest table to take a seat at and park himself there; she'd been pretty open when it came to talking about the exterior, so he figured he'd pause his questions for the moment and let her go on about how she'd put the interior together, too.
Ryder
[Just a quick, very sleepy post to keep things movin' along ]
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Post by Ryder on Jun 18, 2017 20:28:30 GMT
“Well, I didn’t bother rigging up the hot tub until last week but the rest of it I finished in about two months. As to the location, of course I’d pick a good place. Why would I choose to live somewhere that would take four times the effort for one-fourth the results?
“Follow me, Li” Ryder instructed, slowly pivoting on one foot and leading the way. Now under orders to ‘take it easy’ Ryder’s gait relaxed into its natural, casual sashay. A stark contrast to the polished military step she’d have otherwise used.
Striding up the steps and into her small cottage, Ryder took a casual pace that neither rushed nor stalled. Once inside she simply left the door open for her guest and sauntered to a cabinet in the back from whence she pulled two large bamboo cups.
It was a cozy place, no more than 12 feet by 12 feet with a seven foot ceiling with a bed on one side, a kitchen on the other, a table with two chairs in the middle and storage cabinets on the side opposite the entrance.
“What'll it be Li? I’ve got muskmelon wine or root beer. You can also have a glass of water if you prefer.”
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Post by Liang on Jun 19, 2017 17:34:30 GMT
He couldn't help but notice that her posture and walk had changed a bit with the changing of the tone of the encounter. He was at least glad he got that out of the way early; more often than not it took several visits to get somebody to lighten up, but she seemed like she was legitimately having an easy time of it. Her disciplined walk turned to a more natural and relaxed one, and she made her way up the steps with Li in tow. He stepped inside the front door she left open and took a look around. It was a cozy place, even for its modest space. It reminded him a lot of where he usually stayed, in fact. Tiger Tea had a basement level with a gravity chamber, but aside from that it was also set up much like a one-bedroom apartment. It helped him to find his comfort a little quicker than usual. Ryder would pipe up to offer him a drink. Muskmelon wine, root beer, or water. He'd already burned through his morning circuit, so he'd had plenty of water. Why not treat himself every once in a while? A sugary, fizzy beverage sounded like it would really hit the spot. ''A root beer sounds great, actually. Thank you.'' He'd wait for her to collect up what she was going to bring over, thinking over that message he'd received again. Whenever the time came for the combat assessment trial, he'd have to see if she knew where that Dojo facility was. She'd had to have seen it if it was in this forest, right? It only made sense. When she would walk over with the beverage and have a seat, he'd gently and gladly take it from her and take a nice big starting gulp before setting it back down. If this is where she lived, how in the world did she become BBA? Did they find her, or was it the other way around? His curiosity was getting the better of him, so he had to know. It was a good time to change the subject. ''So how did you end up working for the Blue Banner? Making a home way out here probably made it pretty tough for them to go looking for you, so i'm assuming you looked for them. What made you want to join up?'' He would pause and give her some time to respond. He was trying to take in hints of how far along her energy was developed. Liang had worked long and hard, paying the price in blood and sweat to get to where he was now. Though his power was suppressed for now, when the gloves came off his actual base level (the last time it was measured anyhow) was floating somewhere around three million two hundred thousand units. His senses could at least pick up her signature, but it was hard for him to convert it to units on the fly like that. She felt somewhere around his suppressed level though, which was a good sign.
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Post by Ryder on Jun 20, 2017 14:21:30 GMT
“Two root beers coming right up” Ryder replied warmly as she pulled the two mugs out of the tableware cabinet. Opening up a different cabinet door exposed a number of gourds floating in six inches of slowly flowing water that drained at the same pace it filled- nature’s refrigeration at its finest.
With a gourd in hand the woman made her way back to the table, placing a mug infront of each seat before popping off the stopper and pouring a full, frothy glass of low alcohol home-made root beer [three to four percent alcohol by volume] for each of them. There was indeed a faint sweetness, but hardly the sugary syrup of commercial root beer.
“You want to know how I came to join the BBA huh?” Leaving the gourd in the middle of the table for refills Ryder took her seat opposite Liang, pondering how best to answer the question. If he knew where she lived it was likely their database included Tulip’s residence as well...
“Perhaps I should start at the beginning....
“My family is old military. Old military, with a history that stretches back for more generations than I bothered to learn when I was a child. I was pretty much raised for the military.
“Life has its twists and turns, but by the time I turned sixteen I managed to grow out of a brief rebellious phase and enlisted properly. Worked my way up the ranks into the Special Forces and served Earth’s old military right up until the BBA took over.”
Pausing a moment, Ryder slammed down the contents of her glass in a single hearty pull wholly suitable to a career soldier or sailor. She continued to speak as she poured herself another glass and topped off Liang’s if he’d yet drank any.
“I got it in my head that I’d given my designated course its proper run and retired then and there rather than re-enlist into the new organization. Bought myself the latest edition of ‘Practical Science’ and brought it along with a backpack filled with a few basic tools out here to build myself a place to live away from it all. I isolated myself out here in secluded meditation, cultivating the Qi of Heaven and Earth.”
At that moment Ryder slammed her glass down the hatch once more. She moved to top off Liang’s glass, but merely held the gourd on the table in front of her rather than immediately fill her own. Normally she’d happily continue, but this was her superior officer after all, and despite his insistence on a relaxed atmosphere this was technically official business.
“A whole lot of good that’s done me though. I’ve been out here ever since and although my Ki Control is way higher than at least one of our KAOS Squadmates with far greater power than my own, I lack the power to really utilize that Control. Fuck I almost wound up bit by a damned baby vampire a week ago, Tulip had to save my fat ass.
“That’s the squadmate in question, in case you were wondering. She found me out here one night while I was doing some harmonization training in a violent storm and we wound up getting to know eachother that night. She invited me to the Blue Banner Army, explained the cultivation resources available here and the responsibility that came with them. Hence, here I am.
“I’ve gotta say, it’s been a real blessing being able to use the Banner’s equipment, first the Gravity Room on Big Blu and then Chai’s local Dojo he recently opened. I’ve practically come to use the latter like a normal person might a gym membership, it’s so convenient.
“So there you’ve got the truncated version of my life’s story without any of the overly personal shit. You got anything to give me back Li?”
OOC: sorry it took me until now, I accidentally dozed off last night.
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Post by Liang on Jun 21, 2017 14:26:36 GMT
As Liang took his first swig of the beverage, his face was momentarily marked by surprise. He had indeed expected the sugary, syrupy sweet concoction that was so popular and could be found on the shelves of super-centers like Bao's Club and Baomart, but this actually had alcohol. The slight burn in his chest on the way down told him so. He didn't have a problem with it. It gave the drink some character, and it was a fun little surprise. He'd keep his hand clasped around the drink, taking idle sips here and there as he listened to her story. Her beginnings weren't entirely uncommon; typically, two trends were followed with any members of humanity with exceptional power levels. Those two trends were either a military background, or a background steeped deeply in the intricacies of martial arts. It seemed Ryder was the former, and Liang the latter. It did explain a lot about their first introduction, and told him a lot about her walk and how she carried herself. She claimed she was practically born to be in the military. She'd gone through a maturing phase and enlisted at sixteen and through hard work and determination ended up in the Special Forces, and then Blue Banner came to power. He didn't talk much about the takeover in all honesty. Very few people did. The fact that Earth had staved off several threats and nobody seemed to be complaining was enough for him to believe he was part of doing something great. After all, most of the time if you do something right nobody will say anything at all. Ryder topped off his beverage, to which Liang nodded in thanks and took another good swig. As it sounded, apparently she held off on re-enlisting when everything changed. He didn't ask just yet, though. He figured she would get to that. Instead of jumping on board right away, she came out here and made the place her own like she'd described earlier. He'd firmly grasp the gourd from her and do one last little top off before handing it back, nodding again. She then began to note about her personal abilities. Apparently, she was a bit off the norm. Usually, power came first with training and refined control came after; at least, that's how it was in Liang's case. He'd only just recently hit a new plateau of control thanks to the Third Eye, his control before that being notably unremarkable. He'd worked hard for the strength he did have, leaving him at least with the feeling that he'd earned it. ''Well, in my opinion control is the hardest part. It's not necessarily a bad thing to have that as your strong point. What's this about a baby vampire?'' That was a new one. Vampires started springing up out of the blue now? She then mentioned ''Tulip'', apparently another newcomer to the Banner but with enough pull to recruit others. Maybe that one had slipped his radar? He had a lot of new faces to meet, it seemed. She then noted the convenience of the many Blue Banner facilities. ''It's one of the better benefits, yeah. I don't think we'd be doing half as well without Poi's grasp on cutting-edge technology. Gravity chambers with hologram systems? I was amazed the first time I used it. I had my own sibling system to Colee installed in a gravity chamber at what could be considered my home. Enough sessions to master one-hundred times gravity and that thing still throws surprises at me every time.'' He took note that she mentioned ''Chai's Dojo''. So she did know where it was. Kick-ass. This whole thing got a whole lot easier. ''Well, when I was younger I was never really all that close with my family. I had a standard education, but what really got my interest was a junior martial arts club that was held at my school. I kind of poured all of my effort into working up an entry fee, and eventually I got in. My family wasn't too happy about it. We were lower-class, usually struggled between each under-the-table check and all that. Time went by and I met my first mentor. I was an awful student at first, but he brought me around. After I spent long enough basically making that club my new home, that mentor became my guardian, who in turn introduced me to his mentor. Master Hui. Sage of the Tiger School, and the man that would eventually become like a father to me. We got off to a rough start, but we came around after butting heads almost constantly. We had our dumb little fights, but he taught me everything I know. His school hadn't taken on a student in years; the guy was notoriously picky, but for whatever reason decided to put up with me. The old man never had a family of his own, so maybe that was why.''''Eventually, Master Hui passes away. I buried him at his old dojo beneath the tree he'd always drink beneath. In reality, I had no idea what to do. My whole world came crashing down, just like that. So I just...started walking, you know? Wandering. I had to be anywhere but there for a while. I made myself a promise i'd bring the School back one day. I ended up getting a tip about some bandits in the Fortuneteller's Desert, and while I was walking the sands a buggy pulled up to me. A few members of the Banner brass, along with Poi, under the guise of mercenaries with code-names and armed to the teeth offered me a ride saying they were looking for them too. We found them holed up in a compound and we cleaned house. Poi admitted the truth to me, apologized for the up-front deception, and told me he thought I had potential. I was one of the first to sign on, if not the first.''''The rest is history. I've taken part in a lot, from the operation where Poi faced off with the first-ever Super Saiyan, to defending a city from invading Oozaru and destroying a Power Ball. Sometimes I think i'm crazy just being an ordinary human in a sea of strange aliens with freaky powers and strange transformations, but somehow i've managed to hold my own and earn my keep.''By the time he'd finished, his small sips had added up to a nearly finished root beer. ''It's a good thing you know where that dojo is. It was in the briefing file, so i'm assuming that would be the easiest place to check out your moves.'' He'd smile in a friendly manner before relaxing his posture a little more, enjoying his seat.
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Post by Ryder on Jun 22, 2017 21:17:47 GMT
"Oh Li, you've barely known me for half an hour and you're already telling me to 'show you my moves?' Just what kind of woman do you take me for?" With a playful teasing voice and a faint blush, Ryder continued "are you just using your status as my senior officer to take advantage of me?”
The woman spoke no more as she lifted her glass and sipped it while awaiting a reply. OOC: kill me now, brainfog and family distractions are ruining my RP life >_< I had to get you something though, since you have that time off and I’ve done nothing with it.
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Post by Liang on Jun 26, 2017 19:17:23 GMT
His last gulp ended up being a particularly rough one. He had told her a decent bit about himself but left out some more important and intimate details (such as the fact he was sporting a closed Third Eye) but for the most part he'd given her a pretty decent wealth of information. She didn't seem to respond much, so maybe she was just listening and taking all of the info for what it was worth. Response or not, it was what it was. He eventually go to hinting around that they should get to training soon, and the response he got was very much unexpected; with Liang's inexperience in dealing with women, even a joke coming across in that way was sure to wreck his relaxation pretty swiftly. That last gulp of root beer he was working on went down in a hard gulp, causing him to pound his chest lightly to free up the clog of liquid and avoid it going down the wrong tube to give him a coughing fit. ''Oh! N-no, it's not that,'' He would hurriedly toss his hands up in a helpless posture, slightly waving them back and forth for a moment dismissively and in a panic. ''I just meant to-uh, you know, the training thing! The-uh, the physical part of the assignment- oh, no, no, that sounds even worse. The combat exam! Yeah! That!'' He was at least able to correct his panic somewhat and restore his calm a little, even though his face was flushed red and he was clearly nervous. Now he'd gone and done it. He'd exposed a little secret of his that she was sure to capitalize on to give him a hard time whenever she felt like joking with him or messing with him. Liang had a non-existent history with women that bordered on legendary status. In situations like this, he wasn't sure how to handle himself. Was she flirting with him? Was she joking around? Was she just trying to push his buttons for a laugh? He still tried to take it in good humor and did, but boy did he feel embarrassed. ''That wasn't too forward, was it? I hope I didn't embarrass you!'' He would laugh it off slightly as he awaited what she wanted to do next. If she was ready to head out, great. If not, that was just fine. The one thing he was sure of though was that she wasn't going to let him live this down. He'd probably be catching plenty of this in the immediate future and beyond.
Ryder
(Sorry for the wait, but here we go! )
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Post by Ryder on Jun 27, 2017 6:12:37 GMT
A playful smile parted Ryder’s lips as she watched Liang stumble over himself to hastily explain his true intentions. “A combat exam during our first meeting? Just what kind of ship are you guys running here in the Blue Banner Army if I’m being assigned a mentor and I’m expected to tumble with him the same day I learn his name??” Deciding not to keep tormenting Lili any longer Ryder let out a cheery laugh- perhaps halfway between a giggle and a chuckle. “I suppose we can go for a round or two at some point today, if you know how to treat a new girl without being too rough. As to your question about being too forward I’m going to have to ask you a question in return...” she paused, leaning forward over the table... ...”What about you? Do you think you were being too forward? I can clearly tell you’re embarrased, but why? Your words sounded clean enough, or are you one of those perverted martial arts masters whose enlightenment is limited by their own wanton desires? “I’m not going to lie, there’s probably nothing I could do to stop you if that’s the case. That being said...” she paused, putting on the cutest most innocent and tender face she could possibly muster. “I hope whatever happens you’ll be kind to me, Officer Li.” OOC: Liang
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Post by Liang on Jun 27, 2017 19:25:28 GMT
Liang smiled. She seemed worried about the thought of a ''combat exam'', though he hadn't fully explained the situation. ''Hey, it's not so bad. It's more just to see where you stand. Think of it like a friendly spar, y'know?'' He'd collect his thoughts for a moment after he started feeling the nervousness depart. ''I do have a pretty high energy level for a human, but i've also got a great grasp on controlling my ki. For example, I can cut my output down to just about whatever I want, which is great for training newcomers. Before we started talking outside I actually did just that, and I think I put myself somewhere around your capability. It'll go just fine, i'm sure.'' She then let out a cheery laugh, indicating she was joking and all of the sudden making Liang feel like an ass that took things too literally. He'd just earnestly smile through it, up to the point of her stating they could spar for a round or two today. She sure did seem confident, and that was always a quality Liang looked for in the newcomers; if they didn't have it, then he certainly tried his best to instill it. Training was incredibly difficult when someone didn't believe in their own capabilities; manipulating ki was a process of harmony, at least to him, and having that kind of thing weighing down on your spirit just made it that much harder to grasp. She would then lean over the table and offer a question to something he'd said in his nervous panic. He wasn't quite sure how to take that. Was she insulted somehow, as if he were suggesting she couldn't keep up with him? Was she ''flirting'' again, pushing his buttons for another laugh? She followed up by questioning if he was one of the old trope perverted martial arts masters, and it almost made him want to laugh. Master Hui spent most of his down time outside of endlessly training by drinking himself silly and watching dirty pay-per-view channels on a tiny television, usually after sending Liang out on some ridiculous errand like collecting firewood to already add to a massive stockpile, hunting when they had a freezer full of meat, or grocery runs when they'd just finished taking a trip to the city to do that exact same thing less than two days prior. ''I guess it wasn't too forward, huh? I mean you seem to be on board with the idea. You can rest assured, i'm not my Master. He was pretty bad about the whole perversion thing bu I guess I got lucky it didn't exactly rub off on me.'' Stating there was probably nothing she could do to stop him, hearing that kind of alarmed him. She had to be joking, but it was still making his nerves run in circles. She'd flash an adorable and innocent smile, stating she hoped he would be kind to her. He'd smile back in a genuine and friendly manner before answering. ''Of course, you've got nothing to worry about! I'll take good care of you today. Promise.''
Oh, and yes, he was completely unaware of how provocative that sounded.
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Post by Ryder on Jul 12, 2017 8:40:52 GMT
Ryder flashed Liang a coy smile in return. "I'm sure you'll take very good care of me Lili. I'm counting on it. I suppose we may as well get moving, right now we're burning daylight." Topping off Liang's drink for a last time, Ryder tilted her head back and opened her throat, chugging the entire remnant of the gourd in one long pull. "Give me a minute, let me pack a lunch and we can head out" was all the woman had to say before she rose from her seat, grabbed a conveniently hung pack and headed outside her home towards her larder. If Liang followed, he'd see Ryder make her way towards a small building protected from the elements and tucked into the shade of a niche cut into the thick bamboo. A few moments after she entered the woman expertly glided through her garden, picking a few things here. With the knife she wore at her belt Ryder deftly sliced away the parts not used, letting them drop where she stood to feed the soil. Before long her pack was stuffed to the brim. "All packed up and ready to go. What'll it be Lili, do you plan to fly me there, or are you going to be following as I lead you to it on foot?" Depending on his answer, Ryder would either calmly allow him to lift her, or head out on foot at a swift yet casual pace. OOC: Liang I am so sorry this got dragged out like this. My flow was so good at the time we started this, but things got crazy, and while having a hectic schedule I've become enamored with a site I'm helping a friend build and it's been tough to sit down and belt out posts for this place.
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Post by Liang on Aug 3, 2017 21:20:40 GMT
The woman seemed more ready and eager to hit the road than ever. She topped off his beverage, which he made a point not to waste. He'd take one quick chug after another until he felt his face start to get a little warm, and luckily he'd reached the bottom of the container in short order. The stuff tasted great; if he weren't careful next time he decided to relax around here, enough of those could leave him waking up with a nasty headache! After finishing their drinks, Ryder insisted on packing a lunch. ''Yeah, of course. Gather up whatever you need, I don't mind.'' He would follow her outside to admire the garden again, watching as she brandished a knife from her belt to collect what she had in mind to bring along for the trip. He was surprised she was packing so much; was the place actually that far away? He guessed so, as he had no real way to know just yet until they actually got there. After she was finished, she posed the question on if he'd rather fly her there or just walk. She couldn't fly? It probably would have sounded outlandish to suggest she could to the ordinary fighter, but at Liang's level, most people could fly, and had learned to do so very early on in their roads of training. He would make sure that if she requested training from him in the future that flight would have to be lesson one. You were at an extreme disadvantage if you didn't know how, after all. He hid his surprise well. Even with her being flightless as a fact, he wouldn't offer to carry her all the way there. He would have just to be kind, but he was here on a mentoring exam assignment. If she couldn't fly, she'd likely learned to travel just fine without it by now. ''Actually, y'know what? A hike doesn't sound so bad,'' He began. ''Ever since I learned how to fly, it's made me pretty lazy. The view from the sky is nice, but sometimes I forget what places like this look like from the ground.'' He would allow her to lead the way forward, sticking a fair distance behind her. As they began their travel, he started thinking about what this place could possibly be like. Blue Banner was funny in that regard; it was this huge melting pot of different cultures, technologies, and architectural styling. He could find the place did indeed look just like a dojo, or it could be some cutting-edge training facility right out of a science fiction flick. The only way to know would be to see when they got there. He started thinking about future training courses based on her exam already, but a lot of that would just be left to what he saw during a spar. With that, he kept somewhat quiet for now. He didn't want to get distracted and forget the way to the place once they'd already shown up, after all.
EDIT: Exiting Thread! We can continue this in a part two if Ryder likes. Now that my overtime season's done with, I feel it would be best to clear the board a bit. I haven't seen Ryder too much lately, but i'm 110% willing to carry this to a part 2 with the grav training. As for me, i'd like Zeni with Human bonus! No gravity bump-up requested, since the dojo/chamber wasn't reached.
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