Let's Get Down To Business

[5,800 PL]
As Lusca's voice resonated around the lookout, the prophet could be seen poking up his head from behind some bushes like a weasel. "Yes Lusca! I am wide awake, do you require me for something?" He said, obviously preoccupied. The future guru was down on his knees, in a little cranny on the side of the lookout's building, shrouded by the foliage. He was doing a bit of exploring, and his dirt covered hands had retrieved several shiny and interesting looking objects from the bit of soil. "Come over here, look at some of the things that I have found!"

He laughed goofily, standing up from behind the small shrubs and wiping his dirty hand off on his tunic. In the palm of his left hand, he held the objects, and was grinning as he carefully stepped out from behind the bush, not wanting any of the twigs to catch on his clothes. Giving Lusca a grin and a scratching the back of his head, he walked towards the source of the her voice. Then he remembered her original question. "Oh yes, did you need me for something?"

Helix chuckled as his fellow namekian seemed off put by the small silver pieces he had found. He put them in a deep pocket in his tunic before grinning. The namekian shrugged as she coughed awkwardly. "Well you do not have to be so silly about it!" He laughed, "It is quite alright, I do not expect you to indulge all of my ridiculous quirks." Attentively, Helix heard out her idea to start training. She was right! The grand elder did indeed approve some sort of training between them. What did he allow her to teach him again? Helix was lost for a moment in thought before he was brought back to focus by her question, indicating that the two of them should engage in some sort of mock battle. Helix shrugged. "Why not! I suppose it could be fun to try and have a little battle, but please, lower your expectations appropriately, as I am no fighter." He laughed out loud before noticing that one of his small treasures had fallen from his pocket. "Oh!" He exclaimed, kneeling down to retrieve it before standing back up. "Uh- As I was saying, I will certainly engage with you in a little bit of a fight!"

The prophet grinned, taking a few steps backwards on the glimmering white tiles before raising his open hand to the sky. Slowly, a green energy crackled and then lengthened itself into a staff, solidifying and taking on a brown coloration. At it's tip was a teal colored orb, similar in shape to an earth dragon ball. He lowered his hand, and the staff, before grabbing on to it with both hands as if he was wielding a powerful weapon. "I have a few tricks that are up my sleeves, so be weary, friend!" He grinned, and the tip of the staff took on a slightly menacing blue-green glow.

Helix noticed a slight expression of intrigue flicker across his companion's face when he summoned his staff, and he couldn't help but break out into a smile. "Yes then, let us begin!" The dragon clan didn't fall into any sort of stance, he simply held his staff as if it was a broadsword, taking a few steps back in slight fear of the rapidly spinning rod wielded skillfully by the feminine namekian. He narrowed his eyes, trying to follow the movement of the weapon as she traded it back and forth, and menacingly gyrated it.

He flinched visibly as she charged, convulsing inwards and attempting to take a step away before the female namekian came in for the blow. The prophet sturdied himself, biting down on his lip with resolve as he noticed the slight telegraph of her planned blow. He slightly lifted his own staff like a mallet, and brought it down just barely fast enough to clash into hers as it came careening towards him. The firm sound of wood on wood echoed out, and Helix felt his joints ache with the force that had been generated from the collision.

The sphere on top of the future guru's staff shattered from the impact vibrations. Helix braced himself, knowing that the orb at the tip of the staff was the object he used to focus his mystic energy through, and that the breakage would cause a kickback. He was slightly impressed with himself at being able to match speed with his much more skilled comrade.

As the glowing orb shattered, the energy swirling inside of it changed colors, mutating into an entire spectrum of light as it burst outwards, knocking him backwards. Helix staggered slightly, weary from the impact of the previous clash, and noticed that the tiles within a few meters below the fight had turned into grass, and ash was scattered throughout the air. Helix grinned. "Sorry about that," he chuckled, before abruptly tossing the now orbless rod at his opponent, spinning it towards her at top speed before conjuring a new, repaired staff in his other hand. "Let us continue," the prophet said, restoring the tiles of the lookout to their previous pristine state with a wave of his newly generated staff.

Helix's shoulders slumped as he was chastised for his improper usage of his staff. The female namekian stood next to him, demonstrating proper technique, which he mirrored alongside her. He put one had at the bottom, and the other near the top. He nodded as she noted that it would give him the capability to use the full power of the staff. He began to play with swinging the rod back and forth. "I believe I may be getting the understanding!" He called out, and looked up just as the other namekian stepped away and was swinging down at his head.

She told him to block it with the middle of the staff, instructing him of the dangers of improperly wielding his rod. Helix nodded. "Yes then, so I should perform a defensive maneuver like this?" He pushed the staff into the air as if he was doing a reverse pull-up to block the incoming rod, and the wood clanked loudly at the impact. He was successful in blocking it and not breaking the orb, though. "I did it! Was that not exciting as goodness!" Helix grinned happily, rather pleased with himself as the feminine namek warrior moved back to stand by his side. She demonstrated that he could use the flow of momentum to redirect the opponent's strike and deliver his own. Helix clenched his teeth and nodded stiffly. All of this new material was going way over his head.

The female moved back to the opposite side of him and Helix gave a slight gesture with his head to indicate that he was ready. In a flash, the warrior caste came at him again with an overhead strike, which he managed to block with the middle of the staff. His hands pushed the staff outwards, deflecting it off, before he went in for a swing of his own to her side. The lesson clearly hadn't taught him perfect form, but he seemed to have some sort of mediocre aptitude for in the moment combat. He grunted loudly as he initiated his counter attack, his face focused to such an extent that it would look ridiculous and childish to observers. "Hya!"

Helix stumbled as his rather pititful attempt at an attack was deflected by the feminine namekian's staff, and pulled forwards, looking down at the battle between the two rods. However, just as he looked up from the block below, a green fist was sailing towards his face, and knocked him right in the nose. A bit of purple liquid could be seen dripping down as he stumbled backwards. "H-Hey! That was a rather underhanded offense!" He started off the sentence slightly disgruntled but ended it laughing.

He listened attentively as she explained why he had failed. He had overstretched his body, not keeping mind to his own personal center of gravity and not keeping a good watch on his surroundings. The warrior caste lowered her weapon, noting that there would be time for more staff training later. Helix tossed his own rod to the side, and it disintegrated into grey dust as it sailed through the air, eventually dissipating into nothing. His companion suggested that they work on martial arts now. Helix tried to get into a wonky battle stance, but it was very strange, and clearly adapted from watching warrior clans train when he was very very young. "Yes, I was intending to inquire.." Helix started, "concerning the matter of stretching… Are you capable of the Great Namek form? And would it throw nature out of balance for a dragon clan to wield such power?" Helix asked quizzically. After he responded, he began to try to use 'martial arts, and no magic.' The namekian prophet ran in and went for a kick, but flinched and pulled back, afraid of retaliation. He pondered for a second, and then pulled his hands close to his face, giving a short quick jab.

Helix was slightly resistant to his companion's micromanaging, but conceded as she informed him of her knowledge of the great namek form. He grunted as she blocked his jab with exceeding ease. Trying a new angle, the guru went in for a knee strike, but his robes seemed to get in the way of efficient leg movement.

Helix nodded at her presumption that the Dragon clan elders natural assumed the great namek form, and was taken off guard as she dropped low and knocked him off his feet. Tumbling to the floor and then quickly absorbing the impact and rolling back to his feet, Helix responded. "Yes, it would seem that the dragon caste does indeed naturally possess the form in the later years of life.." He shrugged as she commented on the emergency use only, and how it was being taught to him as a precaution. "The nature of living creatures dictates that if we find ourselves in the possession of a weapon, and believe we have the right to use the weapon, we will do so. For that reason, and for the reason of obeying the natural order, I wish to not learn the technique." He paused, obviously not finished with his sentiment. "But also, you are correct in saying that there is no telling what could happen in our future endeavors, and for that reason, I do wish to learn the technique.." He stopped, obviously in conflict.

She got back into a stance as he got back into his own, and indicated that he should make the first move. The dragon caste prophet chuckled at her comments on his stance. "Yes, it is quite pitiful is it not?" He laughed as she described the ideal stance. "My stance is like all of those things. It is heavy, and unable to move, like the mountains. It is yielding and weak, like the reeds. And it is unfocused and aimless, like the waters." He laughed at his own attempt at a joke, before nodding and mirroring her stance, albeit sloppily. Helix noticed a look flash across her face, and immediately was aware of her thoughts. "I feel that you do not see much hope for us. But do not fret. We have powerful allies, my friend. And…" He paused, frowning slightly. "Should I fall in order for namek to thrive, that is a sacrifice that I am more than willing to make," the prophet proclaimed conclusively.

The prophet grinned as the warrior caste countered his arguments with her own philosophy. She would've made quite the dragon clan priest. He nodded resignedly as she insisted that it was simply a natural part of life which he would eventually obtain anyway. "A sapling does not typically bear fruit," he responded simply, shrugging.

He placidly accepted the warrior caste's hand's lightly nudging his stance into a more suitable and sturdy form. She seemed to be a bit argumentative, which Helix didn't mind at all. "You are quite the speaker," he noted, nodding at her continued adjustment of his stance, a strange sense of pride tickling at the edges of his lips. "I can only hope that I am not in a situation in which I will have to use this excellent training, as I will surely not do it justice." His self depreciation could only slightly veil the quite apparent truth of the matter; while not being naturally disinclined towards combat, the guru was rather inept in practice and had a quite short attention span.

When he announced his resolve to commit his life to the safety of namek, he immediately felt a shift in atmosphere. The guru allowed himself to be swept off his feet by the rapid movement of the warrior caste, looking her in the eye, unfazed but genuinely open to hear what she had to say. His brow twitched slightly as she snarled at him, forcefully reminding him that it was vital that he stay alive and lead the people.

Once she released him, he stood back up straight, brushing off his robe for a moment, his eyes focused on something off on the horizon. The prophet focused back on her and gently nodded. "You are correct, it was foolish of me to suggest such drastic action. I simply feel… So deeply indebted to the people of namek, that I was willing to give my life to them. But…" The future guru scratched his chin. "What they need most, the greatest sacrifice of my life, is it's preservation, regardless of the odds."