high_seas | Friends are the family you choose

Who: Antoinette crew and others (mostly non-combatants who have joined temporarily)
Where: The Antoinette
When: Jan 20th-28thish
What: Crew shenanigans, both light-hearted and serious, while the rest of the ships prepare for and do battle with the witch.
Warnings: Possible strong language, will amend as necessary
Status: Open to those on the Antoinete

The Antoinette is a strange ship to be on. The (wise) decision was made not to go into battle, so it has been offered as a safe haven for those unable or unwilling to join the fight against the witch.

The air of light-heartedness found might, at times, feel forced, and it is a bit. The residents have only their morale to keep them going, so that's what they rely upon.

(Please feel free to either reply to the subject headers provided or make your own! This is just a general mingle log for anyone on the Antoinette. If your character is a non-combatant who wouldn't want to go into the fight or someone injured and unable to join the fight, Kyouya has publicly offered passage, so feel free to handwave being there.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!

[Link's head tilted to the side.]

Target practice. I'm not going to throw the knives at the ship.

[He shakes his head, eyes still wide. On one hand, he's glad that his "stop wrecking our ship" apparently sunk in, but on the other...]

Give a guy some warning next time!

Okay.

[He'd thought the reason for his request had been obvious.]

...do you want to learn how?

[He hesitates - his nerves are still on edge - but he did want to learn things like this, didn't he? Granted, he never imagined having a child teach him... But it wasn't like he was in a position to be choosy.]

...Sure. [He says eventually, and awkwardly. At least nobody was around to see him getting taught by a kid.]

Then you need to move the board over there

[He pointed to a different spot]

so the knives don't fall over the side if you miss. It'll be closer, too. Easier to hit. Pull it that out and bring it back once it' moved.

[Hikaru may be further surprised by how deeply embedded the knife is and how difficult it was to pull out. Link had exceptional arm strength.]

[He does as instructed, and is very surprised by how deep the knife has gone. After a minute or so of fussing with it, he pulls it free - he's really starting to believe Link's story, now.

He dutifully brings the knife back to the child, and crouches down next to him - out of the sun; he doesn't want to accidentally cast any shadows and distract his new teacher - to watch.]

[Link really wasn't the 'demonstrate' kind of teacher. He grabbed Hikaru's right hand and put the knife between his fingers the way Sasuke had shown him.]

Hold it like this, then throw either from the side or overhand. Underhand will make it arch too high. Aim for the board.

[He wasn't expecting to be given one himself so soon! He allows Link to manipulate his fingers to hold the knife properly, and then throws the knife using an overhand toss - only to watch it bounce right off. He grimaces. His aim isn't bad, but this is quite literally the first time he's ever attempted to do something like this.]

That was terrible.

[It really was terrible.

And his inability to even have the knife stick in something was confusing.]

Try it again.

[Link set a second knife into Hikaru's hand, forming his fingers to hold it properly.]

[He tries again, and this time, it sticks near the top-centre of the board before falling loose. An improvement, at least! He'll need to work on his arm strength before he can do much better. A light has switched on in his head, though.]

It's like playing darts!

[How did he not realize that before? He holds out his hand for the next knife, hoping to be able to grasp it himself. He'll probably need his finger positions corrected, but he wants to try doing it himself.]

[Link didn't know what darts was, but if it was something similar to throwing knives, then it would work.

He handed the last of the three practice knives to Hikaru and let him try putting his fingers right before making a couple corrections.]

[With the darts realization in his mind, the third knife lands and sticks much better. It's closer to the centre of the board but still up too high for him to be entirely happy with his aim, but it doesn't fall out like the last one did.

Without being told, he retrieves the knives, pulling out the last one with ease. He's determined to become as good as Link now, and will keep at this until he's told to stop.]

[Link lets him practice for a while, but eventually gets bored himself and yawns.]

You're doing good. Can I practice now, please?

[He laughs a bit, retrieves the knives, and gives them to Link before sitting down next to him in a flop.]

You're a pretty decent teacher. I guess you do know what you're doing after all.

[That's a 'thank you' and a 'sorry for doubting you' in his view.]

I told you I did.

[Link picked up the knife and threw it. At the shorter distance he was able to get it dead center and half-buried in the wood.]

Why did it take you so long to get it right?

[He doesn't take offence, for once. It is pretty galling that a child can do it better than him. It helps that it's impressive how dead-on Link can throw the knives.]

Where I come from, most people don't fight using weapons any more. This is the first time I've really done anything like this.

I did it right the first time I did it.

Must be part of your tree genetics.

What are genetics?

They're what makes up who you are. Your genetics decide what colour your hair is, how tall you'll get, and stuff like that. Since you're part-tree, it probably gave you some weird ability to be instantly successful with anything wooden.

...the knives aren't wooden. My sword isn't, either.

The plank is. It's probably some weird reverse-magnet power.

I don't know what that is, either.

[He shrugs, and leans back to lay against the wood of the ship with his arms under his head.]

Let's just say it's the reason why you're so good at this.

(no subject)

breaks_pots - 2014-01-27 05:59 (UTC) - Expand