Peace Among the Stones

[Ari]

Subito glanced down, a self-conscious grin playing across his face "Er...yeah, I'm...not...very good at all when it comes to fighting." He grimaced and rubbed the back of his curly head vigorously, taking off and tossing his flannel shirt over the back of the seat. Leaning on the table with one elbow as he ate, he glanced up at Mali "What kinda fighting would you advise for somebody who's pretty much what folks around here call a 'flyin' brick'?"

 

Crossing one leg over the other he looked back at his plate "I mean, I know the basics, but anythin' more than that? I have no idea. Never really had to get better I guess, 'cause my powers let me ignore stuff like 'sucking at not being hit, and hitting'."

[Thunder King]

"Honestly? Any hard style would do fine. Boxing would be good, as would karate. Muay thai, which is what I use, would kind of be a waste on you, no offense. You don't look to be all that flexible or agile. I'd actually concentrate on boxing. It's simple, yeah, but it can teach you a lot about fighting and dodging. It's  a solid style that's practically built for a guy like you. But like I said, virtually any hard style would do. You want something that can teach you a more practical way to apply the force of your strikes. Karate, boxing, both valid choices. With your power set, you don't need to be all that dodgy, but a little more dodgy wouldn't be a bad idea. I'd honestly recommend boxing, though. It's simple, straightforward, relatively easy to pick up, and ideally suited for your powers."

[Ari]

Listening in rapt attention to Mali's spiel, Subito nodded at the close of each sentence, cleaning off the last shreds of meat and peas left on his tray, commenting around the mouthful "That makes a lotta sense. If I can't hit 'em all that regularly, better make the punches I do land count for somethin'. Boxing does a lot of blocking too, right? Heh, I can do that! I'm not much if not sturdy when the power's around me. I'm almost as tough as some of the adults!" he added gleefully, his broad smile nearly infectious.

 

Glancing outside he watched some of the other students jogging across the chilly campus to class. "Hm. When could we start, Mali? I'm mostly free Thursday mornings and most mornings, unless I'm at the pool." He smiled again, though softer this time, and with a fond look "Cerys wouldn't be too happy if I skipped out on our swimming, ya know?"

[Thunder King]

"Oh I hear you. I'm in the gym, well, pretty much every day. If you come into the gym, I'll give you a few pointers and let you go at the bag. Boxing, I know boxing. I mean, I'm no boxer, but I can teach you how to throw a punch, you know? It's not hard. Strong guy like you should pick it up in no time. Figure any little bit helps. And missing out on fifteen, twenty minutes of my daily training won't hurt me twice or three times a week. Besides, I wouldn't need to babysit you. Just give you a few pointers, watch you out of the corner of my eye, and resume helping.

 

I mean, I can imagine you'd rather Cerys teach you this stuff, but I don't know how much about hand-to-hand Cerys knows, you know? She's awesome with that sword, but you don't carry one of those."

[Ari]

"Yeah. she's way more a swordswoman than a puncher. Most of the time she's really focused on not bein' there to get hit in the first place, striking from ambush and stuff like that. Not that we don't work together well, but it's not like we've got much in common when it comes to dishing out justice. Hopefully me learning to punch right will fix that!" Draining the last of his water, Subito stood up and offered a powerful hand to Mali, all smiles "It was great to meet you, Mali! I'll see you later, say hi to the other guys in Young Freedom for me!" Bending close to her he added softly into her ear "And good luck on your secret mission! Hope everythin' goes perfectly." Grabbing his empty tray, he went back to the counter and dumped it into the stack of others waiting to be scrubbed, waving a cheerul goodbye to the powerfully-built girl as he left the cafeteria.

Settling into an easy, rapid walk back to his dorm, mind running over the books he would need for this part of the day, Subito glanced over at the gardens and shrugged. He could always go there again, and now that he knew what meditation really was he could get to work on finding inner peace. Of course, he reflected as he started to run briskly down the path, he'd have to wear thicker socks, it was hard finding peace among the stones when they jabbed into your ankles.