Oct 17, 2022 13:51:24 GMT -5
Post by Hail on Oct 17, 2022 13:51:24 GMT -5
”HA!”
Hail brought his hands forward, the light blue energy ball that had been charging up in them exploding forward as it became a beam, shooting out over the surface of the water to the south of Kame Island. He watched with a satisfied smirk on his face as the blue light illuminating the area slowly faded, the beam dying out before it hit anything, as he intended it to. The water where it had cut through was still held apart from a brief moment from the residual energy before it crashed back together, causing an upsurge of water that sprinkled it like rain all over the place.
It had taken a good while of practice, but he’d finally figured out the move. Behind him, Roshi sat there with an umbrella over him, seeming to have some experience with his students firing off energy beams errantly all over the island. Maybe that was a sign of a good teacher, or at least one who kept teaching students who didn’t care much for the environment. Hail turned around and walked back towards the hermit, looking rather pleased with himself. He didn’t think Roshi seemed all that impressed.
This entire experience had been an interesting curiosity for him. He’d heard interesting things about Earth martial arts in his studies regarding the planet for his assignment, especially as he’d heard about how important they were to maintaining the planet’s independence. He hadn’t quite expected this; that they were capable of taking a being and amplifying their power, even one already far above your typical Earthling. Hail had spent his entire life under the thumb of the rest of his people, trapped as little more than the son of a shipwright until his ambition outsized his abilities, and he began using talents that had little to do with power to attain what he wanted. It wasn’t a bad idea, really, but there was little use for a spy here, and he was sure that Aisu had known that. He wasn’t sent here for information gathering. He was sent here for exile. Hail looked up at the sky, a wistful look in his eyes as he stared up, the rest of his body relaxed.
”Can’t go back, eh?” He didn’t move, except for his brow furrowing as he continued to stare upwards. His mind drifted back to thoughts of Frost’s frozen plains, the glaciers of the west and how at times of night, the great spectacle of lights in the sky would then shine through them, causing the multicoloured show to reflect all throughout the peninsula. He remembered watching them as a boy, sitting next to his father. What was he doing? Reminiscing about a planet, about ice? It was strange, what this place did to someone. Out there, everything made sense, with every being just as ruthless as he was. Then, he gets to this little place, and even the ‘evil’ souls of this place have standards. He felt out of place in both worlds; too weak for one, too alien for another. Hail was smart enough that his emotions didn’t get the better of him, at least not usually, so why was he allowing it to bother him so much?
The silence hung in the air for a while, before he finally spoke. ”No.” He crossed his arms over his chest, finally bringing his gaze back down as he stared across the water. He knew for sure now. He would return home. He had to. There was no way that he would live out the rest of his existence on this backwater, or in any other middling world of mediocre importance. One day, he would return home, one day soon, and he would no longer be the insignificant shipwright that he’d been mocked as. He would be more. Be better. What that meant right now, he wasn’t sure. Whether he wanted to be acknowledged and at a level of power to be a lord all on his own, or if he desired even more than that. Did he dare let his ambition run away with him like that, entertaining such fantasies? After all, Aisu was at least tenfold stronger than him, if not even more than that. At least, they had been when he left the planet. It was possible that he had grown since then, but not enough. His progress had been fast; as it turned out, either his people were natural talents for this sort of martial arts, or he was. In truth, it didn’t matter. It wasn’t like he planned on letting Aisu get a chance to study them.
”To clarify, I cannot go home just now. Not yet, at least. One day, I will. It is part of why I wanted to learn from you. Back there, I’m considered a weakling. Compared to even some other species, I would be looked at as one. Those born to noble bloodlines are naturally powerful, with the way they’ve interbred for millennia. They’re born maybe ten times stronger than me in our most suppressed form, and are even more powerful than that once they figure out how to use their real power.” For once, the old hermit wasn’t interrupting him or cutting him off. He still didn’t understand this geezer. Was it really as simple as giving him these magazines? A man with all that capability, all this skill in martial arts, and he was able to pass off something titillating to gain access to it? He supposed it was possible that Roshi had seen some kind of potential in him and that had compounded the entire thing. Somehow, Hail had doubts about that. The old turtle hadn’t seemed shocked by his strength, or had much trouble turning it against him.
No, he did not have natural talent. He already knew that, and he was over such a thing. It was pointless for him to complain about his state of affairs, while doing nothing to change it. Instead, he would take what he had learned, and practice. He would practice constantly, and do better than everyone else around him. If he had to train like an Earthling, lowering his power to that of an utter insect while he lifted and carried objects or swung at dummies all day, then he would do it. He had no qualms about such a thing; unlike many of his people, Hail had his arrogance beaten out of him a long time ago. He had learned that knowledge was power, and this knowledge he had gained would give him all the power he could possibly desire. He had his own plans for the PTO. There was no reason that they could not..change, at least somewhat. Before, he was so sure of what he would’ve done in Aisu’s place. Nowadays, he felt a little more unsure of that. Perhaps that was a good thing; it was foolish not to reconsider your options. Never let business get personal, after all. At least, that’s what you were supposed to do.
Roshi opened his mouth to speak, but Hail cut him off, without even realising he’d done it, as his head suddenly turned to something off in the distance, away from the island, off to the east. ”Do you feel that?” That power; it was completely overwhelming. It was spreading over the whole planet, invading his senses like the smell of something under his nose. The worst part was how familiar it felt. He doubted Roshi would know it as well, but Hail knew what a Changeling’s power felt like. This felt like one, but…shifting. Odd. Perhaps in the midst of taking one of their forms? It didn’t matter. He had to see what this was. ”Yeah, I- hey, wait! That’s a bad idea!”
By the time the hermit had started yelling, Hail was already flying through the air, his ki pulsing around him, a trail of energy filling the sky in his wake. If this truly was a Changeling, it was the most powerful that he had seen. Perhaps the most powerful his species had ever seen. He had to witness this for himself.
WC: 1,354
Hail brought his hands forward, the light blue energy ball that had been charging up in them exploding forward as it became a beam, shooting out over the surface of the water to the south of Kame Island. He watched with a satisfied smirk on his face as the blue light illuminating the area slowly faded, the beam dying out before it hit anything, as he intended it to. The water where it had cut through was still held apart from a brief moment from the residual energy before it crashed back together, causing an upsurge of water that sprinkled it like rain all over the place.
It had taken a good while of practice, but he’d finally figured out the move. Behind him, Roshi sat there with an umbrella over him, seeming to have some experience with his students firing off energy beams errantly all over the island. Maybe that was a sign of a good teacher, or at least one who kept teaching students who didn’t care much for the environment. Hail turned around and walked back towards the hermit, looking rather pleased with himself. He didn’t think Roshi seemed all that impressed.
This entire experience had been an interesting curiosity for him. He’d heard interesting things about Earth martial arts in his studies regarding the planet for his assignment, especially as he’d heard about how important they were to maintaining the planet’s independence. He hadn’t quite expected this; that they were capable of taking a being and amplifying their power, even one already far above your typical Earthling. Hail had spent his entire life under the thumb of the rest of his people, trapped as little more than the son of a shipwright until his ambition outsized his abilities, and he began using talents that had little to do with power to attain what he wanted. It wasn’t a bad idea, really, but there was little use for a spy here, and he was sure that Aisu had known that. He wasn’t sent here for information gathering. He was sent here for exile. Hail looked up at the sky, a wistful look in his eyes as he stared up, the rest of his body relaxed.
”Can’t go back, eh?” He didn’t move, except for his brow furrowing as he continued to stare upwards. His mind drifted back to thoughts of Frost’s frozen plains, the glaciers of the west and how at times of night, the great spectacle of lights in the sky would then shine through them, causing the multicoloured show to reflect all throughout the peninsula. He remembered watching them as a boy, sitting next to his father. What was he doing? Reminiscing about a planet, about ice? It was strange, what this place did to someone. Out there, everything made sense, with every being just as ruthless as he was. Then, he gets to this little place, and even the ‘evil’ souls of this place have standards. He felt out of place in both worlds; too weak for one, too alien for another. Hail was smart enough that his emotions didn’t get the better of him, at least not usually, so why was he allowing it to bother him so much?
The silence hung in the air for a while, before he finally spoke. ”No.” He crossed his arms over his chest, finally bringing his gaze back down as he stared across the water. He knew for sure now. He would return home. He had to. There was no way that he would live out the rest of his existence on this backwater, or in any other middling world of mediocre importance. One day, he would return home, one day soon, and he would no longer be the insignificant shipwright that he’d been mocked as. He would be more. Be better. What that meant right now, he wasn’t sure. Whether he wanted to be acknowledged and at a level of power to be a lord all on his own, or if he desired even more than that. Did he dare let his ambition run away with him like that, entertaining such fantasies? After all, Aisu was at least tenfold stronger than him, if not even more than that. At least, they had been when he left the planet. It was possible that he had grown since then, but not enough. His progress had been fast; as it turned out, either his people were natural talents for this sort of martial arts, or he was. In truth, it didn’t matter. It wasn’t like he planned on letting Aisu get a chance to study them.
”To clarify, I cannot go home just now. Not yet, at least. One day, I will. It is part of why I wanted to learn from you. Back there, I’m considered a weakling. Compared to even some other species, I would be looked at as one. Those born to noble bloodlines are naturally powerful, with the way they’ve interbred for millennia. They’re born maybe ten times stronger than me in our most suppressed form, and are even more powerful than that once they figure out how to use their real power.” For once, the old hermit wasn’t interrupting him or cutting him off. He still didn’t understand this geezer. Was it really as simple as giving him these magazines? A man with all that capability, all this skill in martial arts, and he was able to pass off something titillating to gain access to it? He supposed it was possible that Roshi had seen some kind of potential in him and that had compounded the entire thing. Somehow, Hail had doubts about that. The old turtle hadn’t seemed shocked by his strength, or had much trouble turning it against him.
No, he did not have natural talent. He already knew that, and he was over such a thing. It was pointless for him to complain about his state of affairs, while doing nothing to change it. Instead, he would take what he had learned, and practice. He would practice constantly, and do better than everyone else around him. If he had to train like an Earthling, lowering his power to that of an utter insect while he lifted and carried objects or swung at dummies all day, then he would do it. He had no qualms about such a thing; unlike many of his people, Hail had his arrogance beaten out of him a long time ago. He had learned that knowledge was power, and this knowledge he had gained would give him all the power he could possibly desire. He had his own plans for the PTO. There was no reason that they could not..change, at least somewhat. Before, he was so sure of what he would’ve done in Aisu’s place. Nowadays, he felt a little more unsure of that. Perhaps that was a good thing; it was foolish not to reconsider your options. Never let business get personal, after all. At least, that’s what you were supposed to do.
Roshi opened his mouth to speak, but Hail cut him off, without even realising he’d done it, as his head suddenly turned to something off in the distance, away from the island, off to the east. ”Do you feel that?” That power; it was completely overwhelming. It was spreading over the whole planet, invading his senses like the smell of something under his nose. The worst part was how familiar it felt. He doubted Roshi would know it as well, but Hail knew what a Changeling’s power felt like. This felt like one, but…shifting. Odd. Perhaps in the midst of taking one of their forms? It didn’t matter. He had to see what this was. ”Yeah, I- hey, wait! That’s a bad idea!”
By the time the hermit had started yelling, Hail was already flying through the air, his ki pulsing around him, a trail of energy filling the sky in his wake. If this truly was a Changeling, it was the most powerful that he had seen. Perhaps the most powerful his species had ever seen. He had to witness this for himself.
WC: 1,354
