video; un: harbinger

[bolstafir]

[The scruffy, middle-aged man that appears on the screen looks a bit uncomfortable. Videochat is certainly not his preferred mode of communication on these devices, but he does figure it would be helpful to see his face for what he's posting on the network to say, so.]

Uh...hey. I'm Qrow. If you don't know me from Deerington, I'm a Huntsman. Which--mostly means I've fought a lot of monsters and sh--[hm. children.]...crap like that.

So anyway, it's halfway through October, and the streets aren't overflowing with blood and corpses, and far as I know nobody's gotten eaten by monsters or lost their mind and gone on a murdering rampage. But that probably just means the town's waiting for us to let our guard down.

[Or maybe that's just paranoia. But Qrow would rather err on the side of paranoia rather than complacence, considering his last October.]

Point is, now seems like as good a time as any to learn to defend yourself if you don't already know how to fight. I uh, I used to teach teenagers in a combat school, a few years ago? So I've got some experience.

...Don't expect a lot, I quit for a reason--[that reason being, honestly, Ruby getting admitted to Beacon a full two years early, but shhh]--but you can get the basics down.

So yeah. Let me know.

Comments

[inkedspell]

[Sarona's more than happy with this arrangement.]

My pleasure.

[And so she does. He'll find she's fast, especially in short bursts, where she maybe cheats just a bit and uses her speed rune. But that's also because she wants to know her arm isn't going to go flying off when she's picking up speed in the middle of a fight.

Her right arm moves fluidly, making the blade an extension of herself, but when she shifts unconsciously to her left arm, it's not as seamless. Her mind might not think twice about switching between her hands, but her body sure recognizes that something isn't the same anymore. She has to catch herself and make sure her grip is tight enough and her wrist ball-joint turns the full rotation she needs.]

[bolstafir]

[She is certainly fast. But Qrow has trained Ruby Rose, and that means speed is among the things he is best equipped to defend against. His own scythe comes up in a swift motion to parry, hanging back in case she strikes again, before swinging out from the left side with the blunt end just below her knees, looking to knock her off-balance.]

[inkedspell]

[She had expected at least this much from Ruby's uncle, who she has made plenty of claims about. Ruby can exaggerate a little but she doesn't lie, so Saeri hoped for a good spar and she's definitely getting it. She spins back when she sees him coming for her knees, her scythe swinging down to block by opening the hinge of the blade to turn it into more of a spear, knocking the other blade out of the way before she jumps into the air.

Transferring from right to left isn't as easy as it used to be, her left hand taking longer to grip, the ball-joint of the wrist a few seconds slower in reacting. She doesn't shy from doing it, because that's the whole point of this training. But it does give an opening for when she swings it back around to lock the hinge into a scythe yet again in a wide arc.]

[bolstafir]

[It's a decent fight, at least insofar as he can have with someone without a proper Aura. But Qrow hasn't had an opponent he could go all-out against in a long time, honestly.

They manage to last almost the full hours that the scythes were designed for, Sarona able to pick herself up an impressive amount of times after getting knocked down. Even holding back on power and damage, Qrow wasn't going easy on her in terms of the challenge of the fight, and she's lasted longer against him without giving up or running out of stamina than even some kids at Signal, lack of Aura notwithstanding.

But then Qrow hears a suspicious creak in his weapon during a parry, and he immediately jumps back. The last thing they need is the blade breaking off and getting her in the foot while she's trying to rehabilitate her arm for combat, okay.]

Alright, that's enough for now. Take a breather.

[inkedspell]

[She's breathing heavy, slightly bent over at the waist, her left arm clenched around the handle of the scythe, using it as support. She brushes some of the hair back from her face.]

Damn. [She keeps taking in some breathes and trying to ignore the sweat dripping down her neck. Fuck, her hair is going to be so frizzy. She should have braided it up before this. Too late now.]

Okay, so Ruby wasn't kidding. You're way too good at this.

[bolstafir]

[A grin.]

Looot of experience, kiddo.

[It's not even meant as a brag, really, just a statement of fact. He has been doing this for longer than she has been alive.]

But you weren't half bad yourself. If you had an Aura, you'd keep up with Signal kids, easy. Your style's reckless, though. You fight for speed and endurance and power all at the same time, instead of picking a focus on one and arranging your strategy around it to cover your weaknesses.

[He sticks the practice scythe down in the dirt, idly resting an elbow against it.]

So for example...those marks there made you faster, right? When you're fast, you don't need to put yourself in the line of fire to get in hits. That's an endurance strategy--going blow for blow with the goal of being the last one standing. A speed-focused strategy is from a distance, only coming in close to do damage before getting back out of range. You want me off-balance, not sure which direction you're coming from next.

[inkedspell]

[Her left hand creaked a bit and she took the scythe from that hand and switched it back to her right. It took a second for the fingers to let go as the hand caught up with her brain's signals.]

Hey, maybe I was just trying to see which technique worked best on you.

[She lets out a breathy laugh, trying not to let the itch in her neck arise, that burn that came from any kind of criticism, even when it was meant to be helpful. She was doing this for a reason, she was doing it to improve. She couldn't let it get to her when he was telling her how. She had accepted she wasn't perfect and needed to be better, so why does someone else agreeing with her feel like the worst thing ever.]

[bolstafir]

Kill a bird with a bunch of stones, huh?

[Shut up that's totally funny. How do you do fellow kids.]

Props for the efficiency. Thing is, though, those advantages end up canceling each other out if you use 'em together.

[He shakes his head.]

Not saying don't adapt--sometimes one plan of attack just doesn't work out. But you've only got so much energy. Going too hard and getting tired could lose you a winning fight, you know?

[inkedspell]

[Look, she loves cheesy puns and wordplay but that was the most dad joke to ever dad. She is groaning inside right now. It's so dumb that it does a great job pulling her out of that anxious negative space she'd half-stepped into. Points even if it wasn't intentional.

Not that what he said in the end didn't hold merit...]

You're right. [She says, thoughtful as she runs through the potential issues in her mind.]

Even my runes will run out of energy eventually. [Since if she dies, the runes won't have any magic to run off.]

I need something to work around that.

[Is this the exact opposite of what Qrow was trying to tell her? Maybe.]

[bolstafir]

[He raises an eyebrow.]

Or you could...conserve your energy so you don't run out.

[What workarounds are you even talking about and why is he suddenly #concerned.]

[inkedspell]

That's asking for trouble if someone is stronger than you are, isn't it? You can't always assume that someone won't be strong or have more energy or something else. Isn't it better to give yourself more energy than to conserve and hope you get an opening?

[Flawless logic, of course, here.]

All it would take is a few anchors and runes and you could keep going without worrying about wearing yourself out.

[bolstafir]

[Honestly, Qrow has no idea what that means due to the whole general lack of magic in most people in Remnant, but he still shakes his head.]

If you don't know how strong someone is or they're obviously stronger, then it's always smart to hang back and play it by ear. Let them tire themselves out first and take advantage. Fight smarter, not harder, you know?

[Due to the nature of his semblance, Qrow's gone pretty much his entire career having objectively less firepower than most other Huntsmen. But he's still managed to live this long, and he's done it by being top-tier at strategy.]

[inkedspell]

Fight smarter, huh. [Saeri chuckles a bit then, but it's not really something funny. Fighting smarter was what she had prided herself on for years and it hadn't been working so well for her. Research, experiments, new techniques, failsafes...none of it had been enough. She needed power to back it up.]

I think sometimes smarter just means knowing how to get to hitting harder.

[bolstafir]

Not true. I lived in a world full of monsters that could crush you flat if they got a chance, and made a whole career out of being able to kill them.

[Not to mention, most people with combat training have powerful Semblances, while what he's had to work with ... has been Misfortune, and a lot of practice learning to be adaptable.]

There's always strength training so you can pack a bigger punch, but I don't really think it's the best place to start.

[inkedspell]

I meant "harder" in more of a metaphorical way, but I get your point.

[Not that she necessarily agrees, but she doesn't think being smarter about fighting is wrong. But being able to fight in every style is smarter, isn't it? Specialize in one area, give yourself a weakness in another. Maybe she should focus on the real weakness she already has...]

I'm more worried about this damn hand not doing what it's supposed to. [She moves the fingers a bit, watching the slight delay in reaction.]

[bolstafir]

[Hmmm. He peers at it, tilting his head. In a lot of ways, Qrow does not miss having Ironwood around at all. But he can't deny the man would've been the best equipped to offer advice on this particular matter.]

Is it a mechanical issue, or a medical one?

[inkedspell]

I'm thinking it's mechanical and technical...ish.

[She rolls the ball-joint of the wrist.]

I used runes I already had inked for a different purpose and tried to integrate the arm with a few adjustments, but I'm guessing it's just not working as much as I want it to. I thought training could boost the response time, but I might be making it worse. My brain is moving too fast for the arm to keep up. I might need to either rebuild the arm or redo the runes like I did Glitch's.

[bolstafir]

...Oh, you made it with magic.

[Hm. He purses his lips a minute, thinking.]

Look, the only kind of magic I can do is turn into a bird. But I know a guy who knows all about magic. If anyone in Trench can help, it'd be him. I, uh, can invite you in, if you want? See if he's home. Or just give you his Omni contact for whenever.

[He feels a tiny bit awkward; offering favors on Ozpin's behalf is something he still prefers to be cautious about, but Salem is gone. The war has been left behind permanently on Remnant. There should no longer be anything to hide.]

[inkedspell]

Oh! Do you mean the clockguy? [She hasn't met him but she does remember hearing a couple things about him.]

The guy who owns the house, I mean. I remember Glitch didn't think you used any magic to protect the house last time I was around, but I kept feeling something around.

[bolstafir]

[He actually kind of cackles at that nickname. Brothers, the damn clocks...]

Yeah, that's him. [A beat.] He's had thousands of years of experience with magic, so...if he doesn't already have a solution to your problem, he can definitely help you figure something out.

[Qrow doesn't know if Oz is keeping the immortal thing a secret in Trench but like ... what's the point of hiding things now, in this world where none of it matters anymore?]

[inkedspell]

[She is still considering it. It's been a while since she asked anyone for help with things related to magic. Especially since she came here and decided to do most of her research herself. But if he did have all of that experience...]

If he knows anything about rune magic, I'd take the outside perspective before I start rewriting my ink.

[bolstafir]

There's only really one kind of magic in Remnant. It's kinda all-purpose as far as I know.

[It can let people turn into birds and make fire and ice out of nothing and create pocket dimensions so, like,,]>/small>

But you'd have to ask him for more details.

[inkedspell]

Cool. Thanks for the recommendation. Hopefully, Professor Tick-tock doesn't mind people bugging him for advice.

[At least this is giving her some direction to go in. Her hand has been one of the things holding her back, keeping her from fully getting back into everything. It takes so long to work on things when she has to be slower with her left hand.

And no, she is never done making up pun nicknames.]

So, about the quid pro quo... You're helping me. Let me do a favor in return. Within reason.

[bolstafir]

Heh. Pretty sure working on other people's problems is one of his favorite pastimes, so probably not.

[Especially now that the weight of winning an unwinnable war is lifted and pretty much all they've got to do in retirement is this sort of thing or like .... unpacking their own emotions about the life they chose to leave behind and hahahaha as if any of them are going to do that.

But as to Sarona's offer of exchange, Qrow immediately shakes his head.]

I don't want anything. That's not what this is about.

[inkedspell]

You not wanting anything doesn't mean I'm not going to do something, so you may as well just think of something. You're doing something for me and I like things being even.

[She isn't someone who is cool with people doing for her if she can't do for them in turn. Even as a child she felt the need to repay people. Probably something she should be talking to a therapist about. Good thing she doesn't have to go to one of those anymore.]