Post by Jie Shan Lan Dian on Mar 13, 2016 7:56:34 GMT -5
(Thread PL: 110,297)
(Heavy weights on!)
Jie Shan walked down the street, his weighted armor making his footfall heavy. But it mattered not. Jie Shan was used to it. The armor was simply an ever present condition in his life by now, and he was used to wearing it in all aspects of his life. Even the more personal ones, like right now. Jie Shan would not typically wear armor to a private meeting, but he’d been wearing it earlier in the day, and at this point, he’d hate to say, he was simply too lazy to change. A bad habit of his, but he worked hard. Sometimes he deserved to be a little lazy. Everyone who worked hard, in his mind, could be granted a little leeway.
Though perhaps the person he was meeting would be of a different mind. She had a habit of being… contrarian, as far as Jie Shan was concerned. And that woman was Potana. Jie Shan half-dreaded meeting the woman. She was a firebrand, one who was often focused on burning Jie Shan. But still, he thought, he certainly loved to be burned. She’s probably shout him out as soon he got there; He was running late. Damn, he thought, he was going to have to hurry up. Jie Shan stepped up his pace. He could fly, yes, but he simply didn’t feel like it. And he did not far to go.
Jie Shan finally rounded the corner where he and Potana were meant to meet. And instantly, his eyes fell on Potana, who was standing there, staring at him with a glare, her arms crossed. Damn, he thought, she was pissed. “Jie Shan,” she began, “You’re late. I was expecting you ten minutes ago.”
“Hey, sorry, I got caught up in some stuff. A captain’s work never ends, you know?” He said with a wide grin, as if he were trying to disarm her. But it did not work.
“Don’t give me that! You could have been here in a second if you had flown!” She growled.
“Yes, but sometimes you just need to walk and enjoy yourself, you know?” He explained, though he knew he was not making his own case any better.
Potana let loose an angry sigh. “You know, you can enjoy yourself, but I’d really rather you not keep me waiting,” she said.
“Yeah, sorry,” he mumbled, “But I’m here now! So, what did you want to do?”
“Well,” she sighed, “I had wanted to go for a walk, but I guess you already took care of that, didn’t you?”
Jie Shan shook his head. “Hey,” he exclaimed, “We could go for a walk! I think it would be… nice. It’s been awhile since we’ve just talked, you know?”
She nodded. “It has been. I thought for awhile that you might be ignoring me.”
“Hey now, Carota and I have always invited you along for barcrawling,” said Jie Shan with a small smile.
Potana wrinkled her nose and frowned. “I hate going to bars with you guys. No offense, but you and Carota can be pretty annoying when you're drunk.”
Jie Shan sighed, “Hey, what can I say? Gotta cut loose sometime, you know?”
“Yeah,” she agreed, “But your version of cutting loose is making passes at women and poorly singing dumb bar songs.”
“At least we're better than Cornel, right?” Asked Jie Shan, “I mean, all he does is tell the same old war stories over and over again. Don't tell me you like hearing about how he wrestled two dinosaurs at the same time for the hundredth time.”
“Maybe I do,” she teased, the shadow of a grin on her face.
“Well then,” scoffed Jie Shan, his voice full of mock wounds, “Maybe I'll just go get Cornel and you can walk with him instead. I am sure he’d be happy to tell you all about the time he spent camping in the wastes of Vegeta back in his youth.”
And with a dramatic sigh, Jie Shan began to walk. And it was not long before Potana was walking after him, trotting up alongside him.
“No,” groaned Potana, raising her hands if to stop him, “Please, no. I'm sure I'll hear it plenty whenever we get shipped offworld again. Like, damn, sometimes I wish there was another war, just so he could get something to do, maybe some new stories. Instead, we're stuck on whatever little planet we get assigned to and he starts telling his stories out of boredom.”
“Yeah, I’ve seen it happen myself,” he smirked. He stared at Potana for a moment and a tiny frown crossed his lips. He mulled the feelings over for a few slow moments and soon he mumbled his question, with false nonchalance, “So, do you guys know when you're leaving yet?”
She shook her head and shrugged, “Nope. The arrival of the new Overseer has apparently thrown a lot of things out of whack. Hell, it's still crazy to think about…”
“Yeah, I know. Weird how quickly things can change. In a matter of an hour or two, suddenly the Super Saiyan son of the old Overseer was the new one,” mumbled Jie Shan. Yes, he thought, it was certainly crazy indeed. Though Jie Shan had come out of it for the better.
“Yeah, I’m glad that we were here for it. Finally something exciting, you know? Makes me glad to be back on Natto,” she said, as if thinking aloud. “You know,” she continued, “I'm going to be sad to leave again. It's nice to come home every now and again and see the family. I have an older sister, you know, and while I was away, I found out she had a kid. A daughter… Jie Shan, it's weird to think about how much I missed.”
“Yeah,” he mumbled, “It must be crazy.”
“Of course, it's not so bad. At least when I'm offworld, I'm among friends. You know… the squad is like a second family to me. It might sound weird, but I guess when you spend every day with someone, you develop a certain kinship.”
“No,” said Jie Shan with a fierce shake of the head, “It doesn't sound weird. I feel the same way.”
The two walked in heavy silence for a few moments, the only sounds between them the sound of the Soy Capitol and the footfall of their feet. The words hung between them like a thick, grey curtain, obscuring each other's feelings from the other.
“Well, no duh,” said Potana suddenly.
“Hmm?” sounded Jie Shan.
“Like, I'm not surprised you feel the same,” she said, “With as bad as you and your father get along, I'd be more surprised if you said you didn't feel that way.”
Jie Shan thought of his old squad and of his father. Weighing the two in his mind, it was no surprise to the young halfblood as well. Hell, he thought, Cornel was more like a father than his own.
“Yeah,” he admitted, “You’re definitely right.”
Potana inched closer to him as they walked. “So, what about the rest of your family? You’ve never really mentioned them, except the fact that your mom is Elemi.”
“Well,” he began, “I'm sure I’ve told you that my mother is a mercenary. And a good one. She was really the one who taught me what it means to fight. But, uh, the rest of my family, well…”
Jie Shan trailed off as he considered his family tree. It was a small one, and one relatively unknown to him. “Hmm, my father's parents are both dead, a few years before I was born. Uh, no cousins or aunts or uncles on that side,” he explained, “As for my mom’s side, I really don't know. She didn't talk about them much. So, I guess they're Elemi and that's about all I know about them.”
“Huh,” she said quietly, “That's almost kind of sad. Your family is broken into all sorts of tiny bits.”
Jie Shan shrugged. “It doesn't bother me,” he said quietly, “And besides, you are right. The squad is almost like family to me.”
Potana smiled and punched his shoulder lightly. Even though it was painful, Jie Shan winced and hissed a small, pained breath
“What's wrong, Jie Shan?” Asked Potana, “Are you hurt?”
“Just a bit,” said Jie Shan with a nod, “The Overseer did a bit of a number on me during our training.”
Jie Shan’s body ached to remember it. Even if he had been in his Great Ape form, his body had still taken a lot of trauma. That Spirit Cannon the Overseer had used had been something else. Perhaps Jie Shan needed to develop his own to match it. Or, he needed to work harder to match the Overseer.
“Ah, I see. Hold on, I think I can help you with that,” she mumbled as she came to a stop. Jie Shan stopped alongside her and stared, suddenly aware she was channeling energy through her body. Strange, he thought, she was building up energy, but not for an attack. No, he told himself, this ki was different, gentler. And slowly, she raised her hand and pressed it against his arm. And a warmth spread through his skin, like a warm bath, as the ki flowed from her to him. The pain left his arm.
“There we go,” she muttered, “All better.b
JieShan rolled his arm, testing it. There was no pain, no aching. Impressive, he thought.
“Potana,” he said, “Thank you. But where did you learn to heal?”
She shook her head and smiled. “It’s no trouble, Jie Shan,” she said, “And I'll just say that I picked it up somewhere. I thought it might be a useful skill.”
“Well, I think you're right about that. Don't suppose you could fix the rest of me up, could you? I'm still pretty sore,” he said with a small laugh.
“Why don't you try it yourself?” She asked, but not harshly, “I think you could manage. You always were talented with ki. Just focus on healing instead of hurting. It's all in your intention, Jie Shan. Just gather your power and… well, you’ll see.”
Jie Shan nodded. He knew the ins and outs of ki control. He’d just never used it in this way before. Slowly, he began to build the power in him. It was different from his normal way of gathering energy. It was like he was was stoking a small fire instead of unleashing an inferno. Gently, he reminded himself. And soon, the power began to bubble up in him, breaking the surface, washing over him like a gentle, rolling wave. A relieved sigh escaped his lips. The pain was begin to leave his body, slowly ebbing away. It was a lovely feeling, one rising from deep up in himself. And soon, it passed, but not before fixing the pain that had been bothering him. He’d not felt better since his apeish spar with the Overseer.
He turned his gaze on Potana. “Wow, thanks for cueing me into this Potana. It feels great,” he said, appreciation plain in his voice.
“Hey, it's no trouble, Jie Shan. We have to look out for one another,” she said, taking another light jab at his arm. This time he did not wince. Instead, he gave his own little jab in return.
“You’re right. We do,” he said quietly, “And I'm glad to have you guys in my life.”
(Attempting to learn [ST-1] Gather Power! Also, I'll take PL with my heavy weights, LMB, and half-Elemi bonuses! Thank you!)
(Heavy weights on!)
Jie Shan walked down the street, his weighted armor making his footfall heavy. But it mattered not. Jie Shan was used to it. The armor was simply an ever present condition in his life by now, and he was used to wearing it in all aspects of his life. Even the more personal ones, like right now. Jie Shan would not typically wear armor to a private meeting, but he’d been wearing it earlier in the day, and at this point, he’d hate to say, he was simply too lazy to change. A bad habit of his, but he worked hard. Sometimes he deserved to be a little lazy. Everyone who worked hard, in his mind, could be granted a little leeway.
Though perhaps the person he was meeting would be of a different mind. She had a habit of being… contrarian, as far as Jie Shan was concerned. And that woman was Potana. Jie Shan half-dreaded meeting the woman. She was a firebrand, one who was often focused on burning Jie Shan. But still, he thought, he certainly loved to be burned. She’s probably shout him out as soon he got there; He was running late. Damn, he thought, he was going to have to hurry up. Jie Shan stepped up his pace. He could fly, yes, but he simply didn’t feel like it. And he did not far to go.
Jie Shan finally rounded the corner where he and Potana were meant to meet. And instantly, his eyes fell on Potana, who was standing there, staring at him with a glare, her arms crossed. Damn, he thought, she was pissed. “Jie Shan,” she began, “You’re late. I was expecting you ten minutes ago.”
“Hey, sorry, I got caught up in some stuff. A captain’s work never ends, you know?” He said with a wide grin, as if he were trying to disarm her. But it did not work.
“Don’t give me that! You could have been here in a second if you had flown!” She growled.
“Yes, but sometimes you just need to walk and enjoy yourself, you know?” He explained, though he knew he was not making his own case any better.
Potana let loose an angry sigh. “You know, you can enjoy yourself, but I’d really rather you not keep me waiting,” she said.
“Yeah, sorry,” he mumbled, “But I’m here now! So, what did you want to do?”
“Well,” she sighed, “I had wanted to go for a walk, but I guess you already took care of that, didn’t you?”
Jie Shan shook his head. “Hey,” he exclaimed, “We could go for a walk! I think it would be… nice. It’s been awhile since we’ve just talked, you know?”
She nodded. “It has been. I thought for awhile that you might be ignoring me.”
“Hey now, Carota and I have always invited you along for barcrawling,” said Jie Shan with a small smile.
Potana wrinkled her nose and frowned. “I hate going to bars with you guys. No offense, but you and Carota can be pretty annoying when you're drunk.”
Jie Shan sighed, “Hey, what can I say? Gotta cut loose sometime, you know?”
“Yeah,” she agreed, “But your version of cutting loose is making passes at women and poorly singing dumb bar songs.”
“At least we're better than Cornel, right?” Asked Jie Shan, “I mean, all he does is tell the same old war stories over and over again. Don't tell me you like hearing about how he wrestled two dinosaurs at the same time for the hundredth time.”
“Maybe I do,” she teased, the shadow of a grin on her face.
“Well then,” scoffed Jie Shan, his voice full of mock wounds, “Maybe I'll just go get Cornel and you can walk with him instead. I am sure he’d be happy to tell you all about the time he spent camping in the wastes of Vegeta back in his youth.”
And with a dramatic sigh, Jie Shan began to walk. And it was not long before Potana was walking after him, trotting up alongside him.
“No,” groaned Potana, raising her hands if to stop him, “Please, no. I'm sure I'll hear it plenty whenever we get shipped offworld again. Like, damn, sometimes I wish there was another war, just so he could get something to do, maybe some new stories. Instead, we're stuck on whatever little planet we get assigned to and he starts telling his stories out of boredom.”
“Yeah, I’ve seen it happen myself,” he smirked. He stared at Potana for a moment and a tiny frown crossed his lips. He mulled the feelings over for a few slow moments and soon he mumbled his question, with false nonchalance, “So, do you guys know when you're leaving yet?”
She shook her head and shrugged, “Nope. The arrival of the new Overseer has apparently thrown a lot of things out of whack. Hell, it's still crazy to think about…”
“Yeah, I know. Weird how quickly things can change. In a matter of an hour or two, suddenly the Super Saiyan son of the old Overseer was the new one,” mumbled Jie Shan. Yes, he thought, it was certainly crazy indeed. Though Jie Shan had come out of it for the better.
“Yeah, I’m glad that we were here for it. Finally something exciting, you know? Makes me glad to be back on Natto,” she said, as if thinking aloud. “You know,” she continued, “I'm going to be sad to leave again. It's nice to come home every now and again and see the family. I have an older sister, you know, and while I was away, I found out she had a kid. A daughter… Jie Shan, it's weird to think about how much I missed.”
“Yeah,” he mumbled, “It must be crazy.”
“Of course, it's not so bad. At least when I'm offworld, I'm among friends. You know… the squad is like a second family to me. It might sound weird, but I guess when you spend every day with someone, you develop a certain kinship.”
“No,” said Jie Shan with a fierce shake of the head, “It doesn't sound weird. I feel the same way.”
The two walked in heavy silence for a few moments, the only sounds between them the sound of the Soy Capitol and the footfall of their feet. The words hung between them like a thick, grey curtain, obscuring each other's feelings from the other.
“Well, no duh,” said Potana suddenly.
“Hmm?” sounded Jie Shan.
“Like, I'm not surprised you feel the same,” she said, “With as bad as you and your father get along, I'd be more surprised if you said you didn't feel that way.”
Jie Shan thought of his old squad and of his father. Weighing the two in his mind, it was no surprise to the young halfblood as well. Hell, he thought, Cornel was more like a father than his own.
“Yeah,” he admitted, “You’re definitely right.”
Potana inched closer to him as they walked. “So, what about the rest of your family? You’ve never really mentioned them, except the fact that your mom is Elemi.”
“Well,” he began, “I'm sure I’ve told you that my mother is a mercenary. And a good one. She was really the one who taught me what it means to fight. But, uh, the rest of my family, well…”
Jie Shan trailed off as he considered his family tree. It was a small one, and one relatively unknown to him. “Hmm, my father's parents are both dead, a few years before I was born. Uh, no cousins or aunts or uncles on that side,” he explained, “As for my mom’s side, I really don't know. She didn't talk about them much. So, I guess they're Elemi and that's about all I know about them.”
“Huh,” she said quietly, “That's almost kind of sad. Your family is broken into all sorts of tiny bits.”
Jie Shan shrugged. “It doesn't bother me,” he said quietly, “And besides, you are right. The squad is almost like family to me.”
Potana smiled and punched his shoulder lightly. Even though it was painful, Jie Shan winced and hissed a small, pained breath
“What's wrong, Jie Shan?” Asked Potana, “Are you hurt?”
“Just a bit,” said Jie Shan with a nod, “The Overseer did a bit of a number on me during our training.”
Jie Shan’s body ached to remember it. Even if he had been in his Great Ape form, his body had still taken a lot of trauma. That Spirit Cannon the Overseer had used had been something else. Perhaps Jie Shan needed to develop his own to match it. Or, he needed to work harder to match the Overseer.
“Ah, I see. Hold on, I think I can help you with that,” she mumbled as she came to a stop. Jie Shan stopped alongside her and stared, suddenly aware she was channeling energy through her body. Strange, he thought, she was building up energy, but not for an attack. No, he told himself, this ki was different, gentler. And slowly, she raised her hand and pressed it against his arm. And a warmth spread through his skin, like a warm bath, as the ki flowed from her to him. The pain left his arm.
“There we go,” she muttered, “All better.b
JieShan rolled his arm, testing it. There was no pain, no aching. Impressive, he thought.
“Potana,” he said, “Thank you. But where did you learn to heal?”
She shook her head and smiled. “It’s no trouble, Jie Shan,” she said, “And I'll just say that I picked it up somewhere. I thought it might be a useful skill.”
“Well, I think you're right about that. Don't suppose you could fix the rest of me up, could you? I'm still pretty sore,” he said with a small laugh.
“Why don't you try it yourself?” She asked, but not harshly, “I think you could manage. You always were talented with ki. Just focus on healing instead of hurting. It's all in your intention, Jie Shan. Just gather your power and… well, you’ll see.”
Jie Shan nodded. He knew the ins and outs of ki control. He’d just never used it in this way before. Slowly, he began to build the power in him. It was different from his normal way of gathering energy. It was like he was was stoking a small fire instead of unleashing an inferno. Gently, he reminded himself. And soon, the power began to bubble up in him, breaking the surface, washing over him like a gentle, rolling wave. A relieved sigh escaped his lips. The pain was begin to leave his body, slowly ebbing away. It was a lovely feeling, one rising from deep up in himself. And soon, it passed, but not before fixing the pain that had been bothering him. He’d not felt better since his apeish spar with the Overseer.
He turned his gaze on Potana. “Wow, thanks for cueing me into this Potana. It feels great,” he said, appreciation plain in his voice.
“Hey, it's no trouble, Jie Shan. We have to look out for one another,” she said, taking another light jab at his arm. This time he did not wince. Instead, he gave his own little jab in return.
“You’re right. We do,” he said quietly, “And I'm glad to have you guys in my life.”
(Attempting to learn [ST-1] Gather Power! Also, I'll take PL with my heavy weights, LMB, and half-Elemi bonuses! Thank you!)
