logsinthenight | combat training mingle log

Entry tags:

combat training mingle log

characters: everyone
location: the village gymnasium
date/time: every wednesday & friday throughout october
content: at the town hall last month, javert offered to set up a place for combat training. this is him making good on his promise. as he mentioned in his bulletin ad, these sessions are open to absolutely everyone, not just those who want to learn how to fight. partner up with someone and spar. do whatever you want, just don't hurt each other too badly—or javert will have words with you.
warnings: violence

setup

The gym's certainly seen better days, with it's crumbling walls and lost ceiling tiles. Javert doesn't need it to be pretty, though. He only needs it to be functional. In the last week, he's been doing what he can to clean it up, washing the floors and making some minor structural repairs.

Once the first day of combat training begin, the day after the ferry sinks, it's as clean as it possibly can be without any sort of overhaul. There are mats set up along one end of the gym, for people to stretch or otherwise use for sparring, and a collection of swords near the door. Some are blunted and old, perfect for training — though they may still hurt — while others are sharp or unwieldy, and will need to be handled with care. Use them, Javert says, but return them when you are finished.

There's a tiny collection of knives, too, though there aren't any targets to practice throwing them at. It's a work in progress. For light, there's a torch set up along the wall, illuminating the room and allowing combatants to spread themselves out from one another.

meetings

For the sake of not being micromanagey, there isn't going to be any formal structure to these practices. Javert is available to teach hand-to-hand combat and swordsmanship, should anyone wish it. He's also enlisted the aid of Jason Grace, who will teach hand-to-hand and swordsmanship, and Bucky Barnes, who is proficient in knife fighting as well as hand-to-hand combat. Anyone else, of course, may teach others as they please. Just this once, Javert's not going to be a stickler for formalities. He just wants to see everyone making productive use of their time, in some fashion.

Training will run from seven o'clock to nine o'clock in the evening. Arrive promptly, or Javert will berate you for being disruptive. No one is required to come to every single meeting, so come as often or as little as you like. If regular exercise is supposed to help combat the effects of total darkness, why not give it a try?

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[Cao Pi only drifts in once or twice, not to practice and definitely not to learn, but to observe and calculate. There's an interesting spread of age ranges and skill levels around here, he likes to keep tabs on readiness.

He naturally waits until Javert is done and not busy before wandering over to chat.]

Your style is interesting. Very light on your feet, compared to some I've seen.

Thank you, sir.

( He lowers his head, mostly out of respect but also partly because he wants to hide the prideful smile that spreads across his face. It might've been easier to do so had he had his hat. He reaches for the brim instinctively, stopping once he realizes it isn't there then continuing, unaffected. )

It is a discipline known as fencing. I learnt it when I was a young guard, at the bagne, though I never had much occasion to use it. It is good to get back in practice.

[thanks to his sojourn in Orochi's world, Cao Pi has experience with things most of his countrymen would never even hear of - things that happen far in the future. Being here only stacks that experience.]

Is there a particular reason? Perhaps you've become more accustomed to firearms, or is it that you're lucky enough not to need a weapon on the streets of your land?

I carried them with me, certainly. My pistols, my club, my sword. I just never much cared to use them.

( That's one of the things that set Javert apart from his cohorts — he never tried to hurt anyone. He got rough with them, certainly, dragging children by the ear and men by the collar, but he was never cruel. )

Words, I find, are often times more useful than a blade.

( As is scaring the shit out of people. That seems to work for even better. )

Ah, yes. If only more conflicts were capable of being solved with words.

[sadly, when the neighboring kingdom really wants your land, talking isn't going to stop them]

How is the training going? Are you finding people capable of picking up the instruction?

It is as you saw.

( He waves a hand toward the gym, which is steadily emptying. There are some that still linger behind, either to tend to their wounds or to converse, as they are. Javert pays them no mind, his attention fixated on the other man. )

There are not as many beginners as I had thought. I do not know if that is because we are, as a whole, more experienced, or if the inexperienced are simply not showing up because they are afraid.

( Maybe a bit of both. Javert doesn't seem overly bothered by it, though, shrugging it off by saying, )

Those that are here have shown promise. That is all I can say, for now.

Mm. I did get the sense, seeing weapons on others as they walk around, that there are more here who know their way around a fight than don't. But then, there are also a fair number whose faces I no longer see around.

[always concerning. Disappearances, deaths...]

It's better than nothing. The rest may find themselves coming around if there is another major attack. Nothing like the sense of genuine mortal peril to inspire action.

I should maybe take some time to practice, myself. I would hate to get rusty. Anothr day, when you're fresh.

Is that not what it took to inspire us? In a way, I am glad for it, as I would not have known what to do with myself otherwise.

( He still doesn't, to a certain extent. But at least the combat classes give him structure, a sense of purpose in society. It makes feel like he's actually got something meaningful to contribute to this afterlife. When Cao Pi offers to spar with him, Javert looks profoundly humbled. )

If that is what you wish, sir. It would be my honor.

[well he's not wrong!

Cao Pi repays the deference with a cool smile of his own]

I do. Afterlife or not, if I ever have to face my retainers again, more than one of them will give me no end of grief if they found out I let my skills lapse. Being dead is no excuse.

I suspect the same would hold true for my patron.

( So it is best they not let anyone down. Although Javert already suspects that he has, given the contents of his letter meant for the Prefect. But that is not a matter to dwell on now. )

Are they usually strict?

Superiors and inferiors both have that in common, don't they?

[excuse him while he peruses the equipment Javert has already collected while they chat]

A few of them are - were, perhaps - workaholics. And very good at their jobs. But... [ah there's the smirk again] ...would you dare reprimand your patron to his face?

Heavens, no!

( That's too scandalizing for him to even consider. Javert's eyes widen, and he shakes his head fervently, denying the idea. )

That would be beyond my station. I do not know how you could tolerate such disobedience from your retainers, but I suppose it would only be natural that they would worry for you.

[that reaction amuses him greatly. Ah, things to laugh about after all]

Many of them follow your lead, actually. They're not all idiots. But yes, I'm sure it's mostly concern for my well-being...mostly.

[this is no time to throw shade on his father's cousins and his younger brothers behind their backs. Maybe another time, after a few drinks.]

In any case, it hardly matters here. Titles mean nothing, though I do have a hard time breaking myself of the habit of using them.

Perhaps not, but they still carry a certain amount of respect.

( His faith in the law may have been uprooted, but his loyalty to authority remains completely untarnished. He can scarcely imagine treating anyone here as his equal, not if they're anything like Cao Pi. He climbs down from the bleachers and walks over to where the other man is, notebook tucked away. )

Is there a way that you prefer to be addressed? Titles may mean nothing here, but I would feel remiss if I did not use them.

[oh, what a nice gesture. Cao Pi also appreciates that straightforward demeanor, facing him like that]

To some it would be Lord Cao Pi, but it's difficult to insinuate that on people over whom I do not rule. My style name is Zihuan...

[he wrestles with it for a moment and then decides] ...Cao Pi will do, but if you wish, you have my permission for 'Lord Zihuan.'

[it leaves literally everything about the proper use of style names completely unexplained, but since Javert asked, that's a succinct answer.]

Do you prefer your title or a more familiar name?

I have no preference.

( He may not be a police inspector anymore, but he hasn't tried to discourage anyone from using the title. It's meant as a sign of respect, more than anything, and that is why Javert cannot to refer to Cao Pi without his title. Perhaps one day, but that is still a ways off. )

Lord Zihuan, then. What will you do for the remainder of the evening?

( Javert has no pressing matters. He just doesn't want to keep the other man from anything important. )

[Cao Pi nods; Inspector it shall be!]

I like to enjoy a glass of wine before calling it a night, it helps me sleep. I have to walk all the way back to the tavern anyway, I might as well. You are welcome to join me, unless you have further work to do here keeping organized.

I do not.

( The mats have already been folded way, either by the Soldier or Jason, and all that remains for Javert to do is gather up his swords and put them in his rucksack. He finds his coat from where he's set it aside and puts it on, buttoning it up and taking his lantern in hand. )

Allow me to finish collecting my things, and I will accompany you.

Of course.

[the only thing better than a nightcap is one with a good quality drinking buddy. They can sit and debate the qualities of wine or something, totally worth it.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

combat training mingle log

cool down, idk some random day

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