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The Teacher's a Pet [Leith]
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Post by Owen on Dec 10, 2018 3:50:34 GMT
Owen and Bezil hadn't experienced winter in Rosewood before. It was different to how it was in summer and autumn, yes, but like in those times, there were good and bad things about it. Many of the deciduous trees had shed their leaves, leaving only the evergreens to remain as the mornings were filled with frosty fogs. Yet while the days were shorter, they were also brighter, with only part of the canopy of the town remaining above them.
Still though, while the early mornings were frosty, the temperatures during the day were acceptable for most digimon. Yes, the reptiles and insect digimon appreciated wearing some woollens where they could, but for the hardy beast digimon like Owen, their fur was enough. Doubly so for the furred dragon Bezil. So Owen's new part-time job of being something of a teacher for the young digimon in the ways of survival in the outdoors went on.
After a good lunch, Owen proceeded out to the town park to where the young digimon pupils would be waiting. At his side was his son Bezil the Gumdramon, his hammer-tail swinging with excitement at the upcoming lesson. Lately, Owen had been teaching digimon self-defense and combat skills that they could hopefully use for survival, and they had been popular with a lot of digimon so far. The grass under their feet was damp from melted frost, but not too cold, the winter sun was high in the sky, and a crisp breeze blew from the east, no clouds could be seen. Perfect weather for this time of year.
Owen was delighted to see the digimon at the agreed place waiting. 20 of them had shown up today, and the grounds were ready too.
"G'day everyone!" Owen said as he reached them. "Can you all hear me? Good. Sit down and we can begin". Bezil joined the rest of the digimon and sat down on the grass too. "Now then. Today we're gonna learn about the proper handling of melee and ranged combat. So, those who can pull off a ranged attack, put your paw up". Most of them did. "Excellent. Don't worry if you don't, because you'll need to learn how to handle yourself defensively".
Owen then proceeded to give a brief lecture to the digimon about the principals of distance in combat, using a medium sized chalkboard that had been carried out for him to use here. The lesson was fairly obvious to anyone that was nearby - seeing a large group of digimon gathered like this, being spoken to by a bipedal blue and white dog, about the size of an older human pre-teen, wearing a khaki tunic and a red headband.
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Post by Leith, Veemon, and Shoutmon on Dec 10, 2018 21:49:13 GMT
"Who the hell brings a chalkboard to a fight lesson?" Of the 20 digimon in attendance for Owen's little seminar, exactly ninety percent of them were not Leith's partners. The remaining ten percent of the class had idle time and, when the talk of Owen's lessons reached their ears, didn't need any convincing to give it a try. Veemon's reasons were half practical and half personal: he'd had to stand up for others' safety four times by then, so a little instruction seemed like a good idea. Besides, a good scrap was always welcome for him without such stakes as mortal danger. For Shoutmon, he just had nothing else to do and wanted a chance to vent some of his ever-dormant aggression.
The problem with that, though, was that he was being a little disruptive. He neither tried to speak low nor project his voice as he chatted with Veemon, but the blue digimon elbowed his twin in the chest as his way of asking Shoutmon to keep quiet. It was counterproductive. "What the hell, man?" Shoutmon the blurted out. Veemon could only sigh in response, disappointed.
There were a few reasons why their Tamer wasn't immediately with them. The main one was that he was busy packing up all his things. Yep, it was true: it was time to move out. At least for him that also meant moving up. He was able to pack everything by himself with the power of the Infiniti-store, but that meant he was alone while his partners were who knew where. It wasn't until the lesson had begun that the young man with a guitar case slung on his back (an intentionally conspicuous item he left out of the Infiniti-store) walking past innocently noticed his two digimon among them. Perhaps his Veemon looked like a lot of others, but the flesh-and-scale Shoutmon beside him was unmistakable. What are they up to? Curious as Leith was, the occasion looked like it had already begun, so to avoid interrupting it he leaned on a tree a respectful distance away and watched instead.
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Post by Owen on Dec 11, 2018 1:58:38 GMT
Owen gave a casual grin at the interruption. He looked to see there was a Shoutmon and Veemon in attendance. "Well, I promise this'll be quick" he said.
Bezil meanwhile noted that the Shoutmon seemed a little different to standard ones, being covered with a reptilian hide and having no screws on his body. The Gumdramon didn't mind though, he differed from other Gumdramon in kind of the same way, having a pelt of fur, probably inherited from his parents. He then realized that he had seen these two sometimes at the inn, either dining or performing. "Hiya" he said, giving a friendly wave before Owen began the lesson.
"Now then. In combat, the main aims are to firstly - prevent yourself from getting hurt too badly, and secondly, to render your opponent unable to attack" Owen began the lecture. "These two aims are achieved differently according to the nature of the battle. In melee combat, you have to get close to your opponent to be able to do this".
He drew a dot on the chalkboard and made a small circle around it. "In melee combat, you have a smaller area around you in which you can attack, and you also run a higher risk of getting yourself injured, but, an advantage of it is that you have much greater control over how you use your attack and defense".
Owen then drew a larger circle around the dot. "Meanwhile in ranged combat, you have a much greater area in which you can attack. You have a lower risk of getting hit, but at the same time, you tend to have less control in what your abilities do once you launch them. You also need to have a greater combat awareness, although I'll teach you more about that in another lesson".
Owen's lecture went on a little more before he arrived at what he assumed most of the digimon were here for. "Now then. I'd like two volunteer digimon to demonstrate what they can do in melee combat in an exhibition spar to start with". Owen waited a little before he would pick two digimon that wanted to participate.
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Post by Leith, Veemon, and Shoutmon on Dec 11, 2018 2:23:26 GMT
Shoutmon was in fact on his feet before Owen could say anything after the words "two volunteers." As it turned out he had an idea of what was coming but, in fact, didn't see the whole picture. This was a sparring session just for melee combat, huh? That was no good for Shoutmon. As much as he liked the idea of beating the snot out of someone with his bare hands (or, better yet, a literal blunt instrument), he didn't much care for restrictions on his fighting style. As Shoutmon sat back down, Veemon curiously raised an eyebrow at him. "Eh, maybe I'll get the next one."
Well... the dog who talked funny still needed a volunteer, and this seemed like just the chance for a low-stakes scrap. If Shoutmon wasn't going to take the opportunity, Veemon would be happy to. The blue digimon confidently smiled with one fist clenched as he stood up. "I'll spar! We're just here learning and having fun, right?" Veemon decided not to mention that he was a close quarters specialist, at least in rookie form. Perhaps if Leith had been there he could digivolve, but Veemon hadn't spotted his Tamer nearby yet, though the darkly dressed young man in a black hoodie to keep warm with ASCENSION's logo on it was watching with some interest nonetheless.
Combat instruction? That's actually kinda cool. Hell, maybe I could use one or a thousand of those. Too bad it seemed like this was a course for digimon by digimon. Veemon in hand-to-hand combat? I kinda feel bad for whoever gets stuck with him- nah, he's not Shoutmon. He'll go easy.
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Post by Owen on Dec 11, 2018 2:59:38 GMT
There were lots of volunteers it seemed. Even Bezil wanted to join in, but, Owen thought that him using his tail in this case might make things a little unfair, since it had a reach too far. So in the end, he made his picks. "Alrighty then. Veemon, you're up first" he said to the Veemon that volunteered. "And... Bearmon, you can be his opponent".
A shaggy grey and white Bearmon gave a fist pump of triumph as he was picked. Owen waited for the combatants to prepare, inviting them to a place away from the chalkboard to a bare patch of grass. Bezil moved to another position where he could watch, ending up next to Shoutmon.
"You're part of the band that plays at the inn right?" he asked. "Haunted Threnody is it called? You guys are pretty good" he gave a friendly smile, but wouldn't pester Shoutmon if he didn't want the attention. He knew these guys had a human partner, but wondered where he was at the moment.
"Alrighty then" Owen said loudly, turning Bezil's attention back. Bearmon would stand about 20 feet away from Veemon, and Owen stood between them. "We've got two melee-oriented digimon here. First, let's talk about their capabilities. Both Veemon and Bearmon are naturally built for punching, but they've also got some claws, something you'll always have to keep in mind of in close combat. Now then, guys... I want you to fight at your best, if you get hurt, I can heal you. Melee attacks only, no ranged attacks. And when I say stop, you have to stop, okay?"
Owen then moved away from the combatants, standing to the side. Bezil watched excitedly, wondering what would happen.
"You try your best, okay?" Bearmon encouraged Veemon, bouncing around in a boxing type of stance, evidently eager to start.
"Alright, fellas, begin!" Owen called. Bearmon gradually approached Veemon, holding his paws around shoulder height, evidently looking for an opening.
"Bearmon's got the right idea here" Owen explained to those watching. "His paws can be used to attack or defend, so he's got them where they need to be for either one". Now they awaited to see what Veemon would do.
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Post by Leith, Veemon, and Shoutmon on Dec 11, 2018 3:43:22 GMT
Bearmon. What do you know? That looks like a digimon who can take a punch. When Leith opened one hand palm up, his digivice seemed to understand that he wanted to summon the D-Arc into it, so it did. But as Leith considered being a little mischievous and helping out his friend without anyone's knowledge, he decided in the end, Mmmm... nah, and so banished it again.
Shoutmon's head began to swell so fast under the slightest of recognition and compliments that it's a wonder it didn't really, physically change sides. "Yeah, we're gonna start playin' around a little more. Maybe get some gigs in the smaller towns around, other cities, hell, maybe even Terminus! Always cool to meet a fan, though." Even though Shoutmon's smile was supposed to be friendly and sincere, there was nothing he could do to shake a hint of cockiness out of it. "Shoutmon's the name, nothin' special. Don't need much anything else to tell me apart from other ones, now, do ya?" was apparently his idea of a friendly introduction. Still at least it came with an offered handshake which, if accepted, would have been followed by clenching his fingers into a fist while still holding Bezil's fingers.
Melee attacks only would not be an issue for Veemon. It certainly was when a certain Elecmon shocked him every time Veemon touched him, but there wouldn't be any of that... Probably. Veemon didn't forget just how unpredictable digimon capabilities could be. His stance wasn't nearly so fluid but instead strong and resolute. One foot pointed at the ursine while the other pointed outward roughly ninety degrees. His left hand was clenched in a fist as it was held up defensively, but the other fist was held by his hip instead. Overall, defensively, it was worse, but at least Veemon had the good sense to keep his knees unlocked. "Bring it, bear boy!" Though Veemon responded to the encouragement with a little trash talk, it was probably clear this was more banter than a true taunt.
It was odd for Veemon to have this kind of time, unusual; his combat had always been a safety matter. Now it was sport, so he had a moment to actually think through things. He's waiting for me to move, he noticed. But his conclusion from that information was, ...I'll make him regret that. Veemon lifted his front leg unusually high, trying to imitate the start of a low kick, but all he actually did with it was place his foot right back down. It was a feint, but it was also a way to build a little forward momentum, as the step he took was one toward the Bearmon. I bet he's watching my hands and feet, but not my- Veemon thrust his forehead forward, aiming for the Bearmon's own forehead head. "Vee Headbutt!" Veemon's hard skull could take that hit, but could the bear?
In either case, Veemon didn't stop there. Since he was close enough for a knee strike to the stomach, he went for it- or pretended to. It was another feint. But he did use the foot that was on the ground and the upward momentum from the knee lift to jump up a little and, once again, hoped to strike the head while the guard may have been low. The leap put him high enough to target the face with a reckless, "Hopping Kick!" for a second strike in a row.
Maybe the attack sequence was a little dangerous, but Veemon knew how he was naturally inclined, and it wasn't toward defense or complicated acrobatics. His strength lay in overwhelming force.
Veemon is being Reckless. -Reckless: This digimon forgoes defense completely in favor of attack, allowing him to quickly strike a single opponent twice with another named ability in one post. If the target attacks this digimon in its next post, this digimon cannot block or evade it. This ability does not count as this digimon's one action for the post. Cooldown: 3 posts Veemon attacked the Bearmon at the head with Vee Headbutt. -Vee Headbutt: Slams his head into the enemy with brutal force. Veemon attacked the Bearmon at the head with Hopping Kick. -Hopping Kick: Jumps up to give his body momentum before kicking outward.
Relevant passive:
-Berserker (passive): This digimon focuses little on defense to instead optimize his offense. This increases both his accuracy and damage by about 20% but also decreases his ability to block or evade attacks by the same amount.
Reckless must cool down: 3 posts remaining.
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Post by Owen on Dec 11, 2018 9:50:24 GMT
Bezil was delighted that Shoutmon answered him so nicely. "Oh wow, you should do that" he said at Shoutmon's thoughts of going on tour to a wider variety of towns. "I mean... we'd sure miss you in Rosewood, but, listening to you is just as good as listening to the other songs on the radio". The Gumdramon was referring to the free service playing on the airwaves, songs by other digimon based in Terminus, Rustport and Whitewater.
Bezil smiled as the introduction was made. "I'm Bezil, nice to meet ya!" he said, and reached his own paw to shake Shoutmon's. The other digimon's enthusiastic follow-up made him grin, speechless.
Then, it seemed the battle was beginning. Bezil and Owen watched as Veemon prepared to make a move. "Good opening stance from Veemon too" Owen explained to the others. "Leg posture's just as important as arm posture".
Bearmon then noted that Veemon lifted his front leg high, was this a kicking attack? No, wait, that couldn't be it. He paused, waiting for more action to be done, and, very quickly, Veemon launched himself straight at him! Headfirst!
Owen was a little worried for a moment by the sheer amount of force Veemon was putting into this attack. However, for the moment, he remained silent, focusing on the battle, awaiting its aftermath. If Veemon struck Bearmon directly with this attack, he'd be surely knocked out. But he would wait to see how this turned out.
Fortunately for Bearmon, he had once been a GrapLeomon in his previous life, and had retained at least some of his knowledge of close range combat from that form. And so when Veemon came hurtling at him, his instincts held true. First, he immediately stepped to the side, then, as Veemon came hurtling past, Bearmon grabbed at him, then quickly threw him forward, so that all his head would be hitting was the grass.
Unfortunately for him, Veemon's follow-up to kick ended up catching him by surprise. As Veemon's foot hooked around to kick him, the claws on his feet slashed at his right arm, sending grey fur flying. Bearmon gave a yelp of pain.
From that round, Owen would have plenty to say on it. "Veemon's attack there was an all-out move, and would have been better used in ranged combat" the Gaomon explained. "What he did there was effectively use his body as a projectile, meaning that he momentarily lost most control of how he interacted with his opponent. His body lost contact with the ground, once he jumped he had little say in where he'd land. However, he did manage to strike Bearmon with his foot-claws, so that was at least a somewhat effective strategy. That's important there in melee combat, using whatever part of your body that you can to strike".
Owen then folded his arms. "However, Veemon, try not to be too reckless in combat in the opening stage. Yeah, it can catch your opponent off guard, but, if you do it before you have their measure, you could leave yourself open for some serious counter-attacks".
Bezil was learning a lot from this. While the battle was exciting to watch, he hoped that neither combatant would hurt the other too badly. Bearmon then resumed his stance, ready for what Veemon would do next, trying not to let the pain in his arm get to him too much. From Bezil's point of view, Bearmon seemed to be the cautious type, but eager to take openings as they came.
Bearmon gives up attacking this turn to counter Veemon's assault by sidestepping then throwing him past him. However, Veemon's kicking attack gashed his right arm.
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Post by Leith, Veemon, and Shoutmon on Dec 11, 2018 22:29:43 GMT
Even though Veemon was obviously not too terribly hurt by the bear's throw, Leith couldn't help but wince at it anyway. When he thought to himself, Ouch. That's gotta hurt, he wasn't talking about Veemon's body. Veemon scowled when his chin collided with the ground, though clenching his teeth out of frustration might have just kept them all inside of his mouth as a side effect. That meant he lost his head a little when he grazed the arm, momentarily happy to see his opponent wounded.
The yelp snapped him out of it, though. Veemon jumped back, retreating, and slowly let out a breath to calm himself. For a moment he seemed to forget this was training even if he had been encouraged to strike like he meant it. He needed a moment to get calm again. It was really pretty stupid, since in that time he lowered his guard and was wide open, but it seemed like the Bearmon wasn't taking the obvious chance. Huh. Weird. That was either too cautious or too sporting, but either way it's a mistake even in this setting.
Oh, well. Veemon appreciated it. He wasn't going to be merciful, though. Head back in the game, he was analytical enough to realize, He's not showing it, but a cut's a cut, and I think it hurts. From that conclusion he took his old stance and closed in again. It was clear he was taking the Gaomon's advice into consideration as he closed the distance more slowly and cautiously this time. Veemon was, unfortunately, right-side dominant, but the best attack pattern here, he thought, was to use his left side more.
Veemon's first move was the beginning of a kick for the third time, but unlike the last two he followed this one through; his left leg performed a low roundhouse targeting just under where the ribs would be, which if uninterrupted would be followed straight by two quick jabs from the left aimed at the jaw. All the while he tried his best to keep his right arm up for defense and eyes on the opponent's in order not to leave himself open again as well as to plant his foot firm soon as the kick was done to keep good contact with the ground.
"Basil? What, like the plant? Or... wait, you said Bezil. Cool. I mean, we're not gonna stop coming to Rosewood, 'specially since his-" Shoutmon pointed at the drake in combat. "-and mine human can get around pretty fast no problem." So this kid heard the symphonic metal band on the radio? Oh, man, that was nice. He only wished Leith was there to hear- "Oh, no way, hey! Leith! You see this kid here? He's a fan! Come say hi!"
Oh, Leith was noticed! Well he still wasn't sure if it was OK to just walk in among the rookies trying to pay attention, so he was a little timid as he stepped forward. "This guy's Bezil."
The absurdity of Shoutmon's ego forced Leith to chuff as he held out his own hand in a more formal handshake without bending over to the shorter person, something his drummer had once needed to teach him about being polite. "I'm Leith, and, uh... sorry for him." That was a friendly tease but also a little dig, something that had come to represent the base of their two's dynamic since each knew the other could take it and even learn to laugh at it... within limits.
"Hey, you talk just like chalk-dog over there. You know 'em?"
"Again, sorry."
"Pssh!" Shoutmon shoved the boy but also smirked while he did it.
Veemon attacked the Bearmon with a basic hand-to-hand attack.
Reckless must cool down: 2 posts remaining.
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Post by Owen on Dec 12, 2018 11:38:21 GMT
As Bearmon readied himself to face Veemon again, he struggled to maintain his composure. That his right arm was wounded as such, he felt this would be a problem. Owen picked up on this at once. While Veemon seemed to be holding up well enough to continue, he would make sure that both of them could continue to fight properly. "Are you alright, Bearmon? Can you continue?" the Gaomon asked gently. Bearmon nodded instantly, but Owen would take a close eye on him. In truth, Bearmon knew he had taken on more than he could probably handle here, but didn't want to suffer the loss of face in giving up so soon. Of course he hid his pain for now. Owen meanwhile was a little startled about how that part of the lesson had panned out. In fact he was glad that Bearmon had at least managed to stay in the game in this first round. If Veemon had managed to simultaneously smash his head in with a headbutt and followed it up with a kick, that would have gone all against the principles that Owen would have wanted to teach in this fight. That all-out attack before knowing what the opponent was capable of - that lesson would have killed more digimon than benefited, in his opinion. Launching oneself in an all-out headbutt-kick combo when the enemy could simply shoot them to pieces before they even made contact, that wasn't a lesson Owen wanted to teach here. Meanwhile, Bezil was momentarily distracted from combat by Shoutmon continuing to talk to him. Even if the fight was mesmerizing the rest of the class, Bezil still wanted to make acquaintances with this guy. He smiled and shook his head at the first attempt of pronunciation. He realized that it could be a little tricky to get right given his accent, but was glad when he got it right soon after. The Gumdramon then widened his yellow eyes as Shoutmon invited another to the audience watching. His human partner Leith, so it seemed. As Leith approached the group, nobody raised much of a fuss. Humans were welcome in Rosewood after all, and Owen didn't mind humans watching his lessons, so little more was given other than curious looks and a "G'day there!" of acknowledgement from Owen. As Leith joined them, Bezil accepted his handshake with a starstruck expression, but not so far that would be impolite. "Ah no need to apologize, Shoutmon's been great so far" he said. "And Veemon's going really well in the spar so far, although dad thought he was going a bit too hard".Bezil blinked at Shoutmon's question, then realized what he was asking and nodded. "Yep, that's my dad there" he said, indicating the Gaomon. "He doesn't treat me any differently while we're in class though" he added as a kind of rationalization that he wasn't treated any better or worse than other digimon that took Owen's lessons. "Ah, looks like they're going again" he remarked as the combatants launched into their next round. As the combat continued, Bearmon paid attention to where Veemon's attacks were coming from. As the kick happened, he leapt back out of its range, his feet so far uninjured. Then the follow-up jabs to his jaw were blocked by his left paw. Then, Bearmon counter-attacked, even with his injured arm. His right paw glowed with yellow energy, and he would stab it forward directly at Veemon's chest. Of course he didn't aim to kill, just to defeat. While it hurt like all hell to use his arm like this, he thought it would be an unforseen attack that could land him the advantage here.
Bearmon blocks the jab to his jaw with his left paw.
Bearmon aims a Ursa Punch with his right paw (it hurt though) at Veemon.
Ursa Punch - Aims a melee strike, backed up with additional energy. If it hits, knocks back the opponent with a considerable force. [Cooldown: 1 turn] |
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Post by Leith, Veemon, and Shoutmon on Dec 12, 2018 23:25:31 GMT
Leith gave a friendly smile to Owen and waved in response as the big dog greeted him. Good thing he did, as after that he found the fan he was interacting with was in fact the instructor's son. "Ow... that looks painful." That was Leith's answer to Veemon taking a real blunt force trauma to the solar plexus. "Vee always does that. He acts without thinking. Kind of ironic when you think about it."
Shoutmon could only shrug at the dig. Hey, it's true.
To Veemon's credit, he did at least try and parry the blow. He even got his right hand to touch the oncoming fist. The problem was it wasn't a very direct stop, so the fist managed to slide by and nevertheless pound the drake center mass. He was just not alert enough to have seen it coming soon enough. However, the knockback as not a knock over; though the digimon's heels were scraped and left tracks in the dirt on their way backwards, Veemon did not fall to the ground. The sting of the scrape, not to mention the hard hit, made Veemon wince a moment, but the hard-headed digimon didn't pause.
Soon as Veemon got himself to stop, he ran forward and tried to close the distance again, leading with his head. If allowed to, then Veemon's next move before engaging would be to try and preempt a shuffle to the same side as Bearmon did to evade the last headbutt by taking one side step to that same side at the last possible second. At that point he lowered his head tried to use his body as a battering ram to nail Bearmon in the stomach. "Vee Headbutt!"
Veemon was hit and knocked back by Ursa Punch.Veemon attacked Bearmon with Vee Headbutt. -Vee Headbutt: Slams his head into the enemy with brutal force
Relevant passive: -Berserker (passive): This digimon focuses little on defense to instead optimize his offense. This increases both his accuracy and damage by about 20% but also decreases his ability to block or evade attacks by the same amount.
Reckless must cool down: 1 post remaining.
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Post by Owen on Dec 15, 2018 5:09:17 GMT
Bearmon raised his paws in anticipation for Veemon's headbutt attack. It seemed his aim was to either throw him again, or block the force of his headbutt. Bad idea. Bearmon's palms were open and he attempted to "catch" Veemon, but, the only effect was that the force of the blue drake's attack to be dampened a little. As Bearmon tried to push back at him, his injured arm flared up in pain and for the last moment of the attack, he failed to stop him completely. Bearmon gave an "oof!" of hurt as he was knocked down. "Alright that's enough there, fellas!" Owen said loudly, intervening before they fought further. At once, the Gaomon momentarily shone bright, growing almost triple in size in a brief digivolution to Gaogamon. With that, he turned to Bearmon on the ground and Veemon wherever he stood, and with a cry of "Cross Light!" conjured a pale gold healing light over the both of them. Bearmon groaned a little as he got back to his feet. The injuries had gone, but he still felt a little winded by that. As soon as he was satisfied the digimon were fine, Owen de-digivolved back to his Gaomon form, both to save energy and be in a more suitable posture for teaching.
"Good fight, boys" Owen said to Veemon and Bearmon in a loud voice, so that the rest of the group could hear. He'd turn to the beast first. "You handled yourself okay, but you should've tried to dodge that last hit instead of trying to grapple him like before" he advised. "If you're hit, avoid getting hit again as much as possible, it'll only get worse if you ignore it".He then turned to Veemon. "Good ending there. That was a little bit too much force there at the start for my liking, but, hey if it works for you and your style, all the best for you. Remember, everyone, best way to get better is to practice, learn what your body can do, hone your reflexes, and you'll all be champ fighters at the end of the day... well... metaphorically speaking... not... literally at the end of this day". Owen had accidentally lost his train of thought there. "So, anyway, ranged combat next! Let's see some volunteers..."Owen picked a couple of other digimon this time, a Gabumon and a Falcomon, thinking ranged combat would be best demonstrated with a flying digimon. "Ah, this sure is getting exciting!" Bezil remarked, partly to himself, but partly to the others as well.
The next two young digimon made their way to the battlefield, while Bearmon offered a handshake to congratulate Veemon for coming off better in their spar. He didn't seem to be upset about losing. "I'll win next time though" he said, not to lose face. "So, hey, how long have you guys been in Rosewood?" Bezil asked Shoutmon and Leith out of curiosity. "Dad and I settled here a couple of months ago. We used to live in Terminus with the rest of our family, but, since my other dad's busy with looking after his human partner on Earth, he isn't around that much, so we ended up here"Bezil tended to be rather chatty when he was in a good mood, and meeting these guys for the first time was quite a fun experience for him. |
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Post by Leith, Veemon, and Shoutmon on Dec 15, 2018 21:40:47 GMT
Veemon wasn't used to being the target of another digimon's ability when it wasn't hostile, and he was also still a little riled up, so when the Gaomon digivolved and targeted him, his fists clenched, and he focused intensely on him. However, as the little blue digimon felt his pain fade - and even checked his heels to find their scrapes disappearing - the drake let out a slow, methodical exhale and let his hands relax. Only afterward did he realize how foolish it was to suspect the honest teacher would launch a surprise attack, but that helped him come down from the adrenaline high reasonably quickly.
After he took his critique he bowed in typical Japanese fashion and excused himself from the long-range portion of the lesson. That certainly applied to him in higher forms, but he couldn't fairly participate as a volunteer with these rookies.
"Damn right, it's exciting! Now I gotta work out some aggression." But it wasn't to be. Though Shoutmon tried to volunteer, he wasn't among those picked this time. "Ah, crap. What were you sayin', fuzzball?"
"It's been... I wanna say three months?" At least somebody was listening. "We might've even come around the same time." The concept of digimon reproduction, while not new to Leith after spending a little time in that world, was still a bit weird. Really, for him, just knowing anyone with two fathers was a little, odd, though. He had the good sense not to linger on that topic, of course. "I mean, I'm originally from- well, it wouldn't mean anything to most digimon here, who haven't been to my old world much, but sort of a permanent resident in this world now. Still haven't gotten used to casually discussing interdimensional travel, by the way." Leith sheepishly smiled. "Then again, Terminus to here isn't exactly a quick walk either. Come to think of it, your move kind of mimicked my first one, sprawling city to small rural town."
As Bearmon caught Veemon after their row, Veemon was good and gentle with the paw he shook, hoping not to exacerbate the wound he'd inflicted on that arm even despite the fact that it wasn't visible anymore. "Maybe you will," Veemon agreed like a sportsman, but not without the addendum, "but I'm gonna make you work for it." It was only now he finally noticed who had joined the session late. "Leith?"
"Nice fight. This is Bezil, the teacher's pet-slash-kid."
"Well, hi!" Veemon grinned and raised his hand in a quick wave.
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Post by Owen on Dec 16, 2018 12:27:13 GMT
Owen realized that his sudden intervention could have gone a little badly had Veemon reacted badly to it. After he had finished healing, the Gaomon gave a nervous chuckle. "Ah, sorry about that, mate, I didn't mean to give you a shock like that" he said. "Just... eh, I can only heal in my Champion form or higher, so I have to digivolve, and, sometimes it's better to heal first and ask questions later".
If one looked closely on Owen's tunic, they would see a little bronze badge on his right sleeve, of two snakes coiled around a winged pole - the symbol of Caduceus. That was a badge given to qualified healers of the old DWR Army, and one of the few badges that Owen was proud to bear today. Of course, any digimon that earned this badge had to promise to never with-hold their healing abilities to any digimon that felt they needed it. And this was a principle that Owen held true to today.
Owen noted that Shoutmon wanted to participate next, but, given his knowledge on the combat abilities of digimon like him, he thought he might keep him in mind for the next lesson instead. Thus, he chose Gabumon and Falcomon for the next round.
Meanwhile, Bezil was honestly surprised when Leith or Shoutmon didn't make a double-take when he mentioned he had two dads. Usually he'd have to stop and explain that since apparently humans always had a mother and a father, but, that this fact seemed to be just accepted without question... it felt kinda nice if he was honest, that these guys didn't see it as anything unusual. So he wouldn't bring any attention to it, just be even more delighted to meet these guys.
"Ohh, wow, so you live on the Digital World now?" Bezil asked, interested. "That's great, you know? If I'm honest... the main thing that's made Rosewood grow so quickly is that we've had humans help build it. Like... most humans that come to the digital world are at least 10 years old, usually at least 16, and know a whole lot of things that can help us. Meanwhile most digimon that arrive in Rosewood are less than a year old, we kinda need some direction from you guys, you know? I mean... I'm only 3 months old myself".
Other digimon overheard this, but, they were also grateful for humans helping them out in building Rosewood, and reacted with acknowledgement to these words. There was just the fact that there seemed to be a lot of humans around this area now, many with at least a decade of formal education, ready to provide a bit of their studied knowledge about making a city work. Yes, the leadership of Rosewood was composed of elder digimon, but the vast majority of the town was young, and needed proper guidance. And, gradually, the town was gaining a framework on which it could grow even better.
Eventually, Veemon joined them too. Bezil greeted him warmly as well. "Heya! You fought pretty strong out there" Bezil said, glad to be introduced. So then, it seemed they'd be in audience of ranged combat now. Owen gave the same instructions as before to the participants, then let them begin.
At once, Falcomon took to the air. Gabumon immediately unleashed a Blue Blaster up at her, but Falcomon countered at once with a Firecracker Smokescreen technique, seemingly making her vanish in a cloud of smoke.
"There we are, visibility is almost everything in ranged combat!" Owen said to the class. "You need to aim, then you need to fire. A smokescreen attack like that removes your ability to aim, so you either need to wait for it to fade, or try to compensate in another way".
It seemed Falcomon was the cautious type, she did not quickly emerge from the smoke. Gabumon on the ground seemed to be increasingly anxious as time went by.
"Another principle of ranged combat, if you can find cover, best do so" Owen instructed further. "If you can dig in, do so, use the ground as your cover. If not, your best bet is to keep constant lookout for whatever your opponent has in store".
Bezil was taking in all this information enthusiastically. He hoped that the trio from Haunted Threnody were learning here as much as he was.
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Post by Leith, Veemon, and Shoutmon on Dec 17, 2018 1:00:00 GMT
Leith couldn't help but scoff at this town's gratefulness of and almost reverence to humans, at least by the looks around. "Pff. Hey, if I meet any humans who did something of substance for this place, I'll pass that on." More than modesty, Leith truly believed he used their charity, not the other way around.
"It is kind of funny being one of the older ones for a change," Veemon agreed, "I've only been around for... actually, on human world time, it can't be a lot longer than three months, can it?"
"I... holy shit, I think you're right. I mean, it's like six months together in terms of how we feel it, but over there... Agh, come on, don't make me think about that, please." Even though Leith kept smiling, he also sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I don't even know when my own birthday should be anymore. I ain't 20 yet, but it's either getting uncomfortably close uncomfortably fast or crawling really slow. Shout's lived here most of his life, though, so-"
A look at Shoutmon he wasn't really paying attention to the conversation anymore. He was watching the fight. Sweet move, but I ain't got any smoke bombs, he grumbled internally, But... Shoutmon's eyes darted to a little ditch he noticed a very gradual depression in ground, one that looked a bit like a naturally formed channel for rainwater. It only fell about four inches, but, I bet I'm small enough to lay down flat in there and take cover.
Leith could spot the wheels turning in the red drake's head. "Oh, my god, are you actually taking notes? Who are you, and where's Shoutmon?"
"You wanna talk to a digimon lookin' for a fight like that?"
"Backing away." Leith, indeed, took two very big steps back and left his partner to his apparently very thorough observation.
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Post by Owen on Dec 18, 2018 9:02:54 GMT
Bezil gave a little smile at Leith's dry humour. He didn't mind though. Deep down, he kinda liked those that trended to the opposite of idealized sweet and happy things. Mainly because they tended to be more honest and he'd learn more from those that were trained to sing workshopped songs. On the surface, Bezil acted the part of a good boy, if only to keep his father's worries at rest. Which was valid, because someone had already tried to kill him, but, he would be happy to learn more from others however he could.
Leith seemed as though he struggled to understand the time difference that existed between the digital world and Earth. Bezil didn't blame him, every time Owen explained it to him it only got confusing. The only thing he understood about it was that 1 day there was 7 days here, and any further extrapolations from that were beyond him.
The battle in front of them meanwhile was still in motion. Bezil wondered why Falcomon wasn't attacking behind the smokescreen, but it was soon played out in a way he understood.
Suddenly, a shower of spinning metal stars flew down from the smokescreen. Gabumon had seconds to react, and he reacted by first turning his back to brace the hit. He flinched as three ninja stars struck his fur pelt, but, seemingly determined, he turned his head and sent another Blue Blaster up into the smoky cover of the battlefield. To Bezil's shock, Falcomon gave a shout of pain, and came crashing down, her wing burned.
"Alright, stop there!" Owen said to them, intervening as he had with Veemon and Bearmon. He evolved to Gaogamon, healed them both, then ended the fight there. The Gaomon was by now panting a little as he shrunk down from his second healing.
"You always need to be careful in ranged combat, since if you attack and you can't see your opponent, when you do, you give your position away" Owen explained. "That's what Falcomon did wrong here. She randomly attacked, and that gave Gabumon the ability to figure out her position. However, he had the additional protection of his fur pelt, which meant that the stars that hit him did less damage than it would to other digimon".
Bezil took in all this as much as Shoutmon did. Of course, Gabumon won out here because Falcomon gave away her position and he had a defense to her attacks. This matched up with how he had managed to beat Bellamy in the last spar that he had.
"Well then..." Owen continued. "Let's have one last pair of volunteers for this last match. In this one, we're gonna combine what we learned in melee and ranged combat and have a full mixed sparring match. Any volunteers?"
Bezil immediately stood up, waving his paw, hoping he'd finally be able to participate here.
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