Training (Aeos/Blaze support C)

[Aeos]

OOC- This takes place shortly after dinner time in awakening.
--

Aeos gently put the stew pot away below deck. He had managed to find the cook's workstation in the pirate ship and much to his horror it was in shambles. These pirates clearly did not appreciate the finer points of cooking. Although Aeos took note that the cook's area had a place for a cook fire. A small corner of the ship that had a grate that smoke and steam could escape through. A small stone oven with a pit for wood to burn. He sighed softly and got to work fixing the kitchen for tomorrow. If they were going to spend the day on the ship stuck in a sand storm he needed to make sure that they had a means to cook their provisions.

When he returned above deck he noticed that blaze had lit a few torches so that the ship deck was a bit more illuminated. The sun was setting and soon the skies would be dark. Perhaps he could try his luck fishing for some back up provisions in case things go south tomorrow. He stretched a bit.

"Thou said you would like to spar no? At least to practice how to kick? I would like to do that.. but first I shall try my hand at fishing again. To give us a bit oft a stockpile in case the storm tomorrow be lengthy. If thou could see if there be a net somewhere.. mayhaps we could use it to cast for fish.." He looked out towards the water.

[Kazeroï]

If one thing was sure, it's that Blaze never ate something this good in long years. The stew was delicious and had that particular aspect of made by someone for someone. Blaze knew that silence was the best thanks for food, as he was too busy to eat to thank Aeos. But the young man quickly got on his feet and as after washing his shell, he tried his best to know the island better. He came to the conclusion that the desert here is not the same than back in Nabata. Oddly, no particular changes were to noticed : the weather conditions were the same, humidity was average and heat was at acceptable levels. Everything was like in the main continent, but something didn't felt right.
(Maybe I just miss home. Yeah. Let's go with that.)
Blaze explored more of the ship and found where most of the pirate's supply were hidden. However, they were as brutal as stupid, the food wasn't properly conserved and uneatable. Which explain why Aeos was trying so hard to find food. The young men got to think about this training he asked. Mixing kick with blade work. On paper, it sounds pretty odd and even more stupid. To have strong hits, the strength must come from the legs, not the torso, so using them as a weapon can be dangerous. Yet, by the same logic, it is unexpected. While in his thoughts, Blaze lit some torches, the sun was making the sea red. It was still fairly visible, but Blaze knew that soon, it would get cold. However, Aeos came and disrupted his mind.

"Thou said you would like to spar no? At least to practice how to kick? I would like to do that.. but first I shall try my hand at fishing again. To give us a bit oft a stockpile in case the storm tomorrow be lengthy. If thou could see if there be a net somewhere.. mayhaps we could use it to cast for fish.."

"Hum. I would have suggested using the pirate's food supplies, but they are... Yeah. You get the point. I didn't see any net. I could make one, but that would be too long. Wait a second... That's a... I got an idea."
Blaze saw the form of a shark.
"See there, it's a small shark. If I bait him with some blood, maybe we can catch it?"
The plan sounded dumb, but it was the best he had. Blaze was very capable on the land, but far less in the sea or beach.
"Or I could simply try and fish with a harpoon, although with far less success, I concede. What do you think?"

[Aeos]

A small frown appeared on Aeos face. While a shark could feed them for a bit he felt it to dangerous to go off and catch it. It would soon be to dark to even see it. And while his dragon form would have no problems flying and snatching the sea creature with his claws, he was not at liberty to suddenly transform.

"Hmm I think I should simply hunt for more shellfish. Yes.. these pirate food stores be terrible. Twould be best to simply throw away the rotted peices. While a net would be useful.. it would be time consuming." He looked around the ship once more.

"We must get the ship ready for the storm with the little light we hath left. While I focus on our supplies. Begin tying down and storing anything important that be on deck. Then we drop anchor. Once the storm arrives to blow us off the beach it will keep us in place."

Aeos grumbled lightly as he grabbed a torch and pouch and made his way back down and out into the sea. The tides were starting to change. Low tide would beach them further in land. But it also meant that high tide would be there in the morning. Or at least high tide when the storm hits. Er at least he thought.. its been a while since he last had to fuss around with thoughts of the tide. The dragon went to work hunting food down with the dimming light. He did some light scavaging on the mainland.

Aeos returned to the ship with some more shellfish. He grabbed an empty barrel filled it with seawater and threw the shellfish in. This would keep them alive until tomorrow.

"Well.. we have some more she'll fish for tomorrow. I even snagged us some coconut. Worst case I can replicate the stew. I hope the storm doth not hit until afternoon... At least that way I can do some fishing in the morning." Aeos sighed softly and finished tidying up what remained. He threw all of the garbage into a barrel. Dragged it to the shore and lit it on fire. He then returned to the ship. By now it was night time and the stars shone in the sky. The torch lights of the ship provided some illumination.

[Kazeroï]

Aeos decided it was more prudent to go for more shellfish, but Blaze was still thinking about baiting the shark. He began to attach most of the stuff that wasn't risking anything in the sandstorm : weapons, armor, bags with torches, after making sure they were closed and sealed. Blaze made also sure that the wood rolls were correctly place, and that the sail would be still up for when the sandstorm hit.
"We will have to be quick on this. When the sandstorm hits, we must immediately focus on putting the ship back on water. Then we must take out the sails."
Blaze stored most of the traveling gear such as cloaks, tents, and water supplies inside. Once that was done, he checked on Aeos that was heading out to get more food for tomorrow. As a small smirk appeared on his face, he took out one of his plate on the leg and put it on his right arm. Arming his left one with his blade like always, he jumped in the water and cut a bit his right arm. After long minutes, the shark took the bait, he rushed with speed at Blaze, which was putting his right arm to defend himself.
(It's okay, it's a small one, even without armor, he wouldn't be able to kill me.)
The shark bit Blaze armored plate with a bloody frenzy, almost breaking some of his teeth on impact. It then realized he was tricked and attempted to escape. With a swift move, Blaze pierce the water with his blade. The shark was still fighting and he had to put on more effort than what he wanted.
At the end, Blaze got a few teeth scars on his right arm, and a child sized shark. Happy with his catch, he went back on the boat and began to make more supplies with it. Dried shark meat was delicious and very nutritive, the reserve of salt was still usable fortunately. Blaze however decided to keep the best part for the meal tomorrow and put in a barrel of fresh sea water.

Aeos came back on this ship and Blaze had to hid everything away. His catch were successful, just like his. As he lit the garbage barrel, Blaze finished to hid away everything and put quickly patch his arm.
"Well, all we can do is wait now. Let us rest, this has been a harsh day. Let's not push ourselves, tomorrow will not forgive weakness. I'll sleep on the deck, I'm used to have people trying to cut my throat in the night. And moreover, we need to be on foot when the storm hit."
Blaze hoped to surprise his friend with the shark food tomorrow, but to not awaken any suspicion, he carefully hid his right arm covered in bandages.

[Aeos]

Aeos nose twitched lightly there were new scents in the air. The first one that caught his attention was the scent of blood. Aeos knew he hadn't been injured recently so that meant that Blaze had managed to hurt himself in his absence. There was also the scent of strong fresh fish. He shook his head lightly. He went after the shark. There was a soft frown on his face when Blaze returned from bandaging his wounds. Small injuries normally wouldn't pose too much of a problem. But with the up and coming training and the sandstorm Aeos felt that the light injury would pose some what of an issue. He sighed softly.

"You've.. managed to injure yourself. Please be careful." He pointed to the arm. Although Aeos didn't see the bandages across Blaze's arm he knew they were there. As the young myrmidon's left arm was exposed and perfectly fine.

"Do not worry about tomorrow's storm. Please rest. I shall take care of guiding the ship sails so we will be safely upon the water." He gave blaze a light tap on the shoulder and insisted that the young man sleep below deck.

"I will take the watch. Do not worry for my senses be as sharp as thy blade." He gave a soft smile. Aeos wouldn't have much of a problem with the sand storm with him being a dragon and all. I hope I won't have much of a problem. Rather then rest Aeos spent the night preparing the ship and sails for the up coming storm. After a going around the ship a few times securing any loose ends Aeos felt comfortable with the ups and downs of the boat. By dawn the sky was a strange mix of red and grey. The storm would be upon them soon. Aeos prepared himself. He threw on his cloak and tied down anything that was loose on his body. His bag and belongings were left in relative safety in the captains cabin. The dragon managed to salvage a pair of glass goggles from the cabin.


"Do not push thyself.. too harshly Blaze. If thou feels this storm be too much. Please seek shelter below deck."

[Kazeroï]

Blaze responded with a thankful smile to Aeos. It was true he desperately needed a rest. During a single day, he had a near death experience, killed pirates and sailed to an island. Every man would be tired after this. Which begged the question, how can Aeos be so damn resilient.
"I'm like an open book I'm ay? Got a small injuries to the right arm, no worries, i'm lefty. But thanks a lot, I can use a rest."
Blaze felt the call of the night on him and decided it would be reckless to push himself further.
"I'm going to sleep now. I'll do as you say, but if anything happens, just let me know. Yaaaaawwwwwwn. Erf. Sorry about that. Nighty nighty!"
Blaze was nearing full exhaustion, his body wouldn't simply shut down the moment he would lie on the ground. How could Aeos spend the entire night on watch? The myrmidon decided it wasn't the time to think about this stuff and went on sleeping on the deck, his hands behind his hand against the wall. Oddly, he slept fairly well, but that was a short rest. After a small nap, Blaze got up again. The sky was magnificent, both him and Aeos were looking at the sunset, being with a red and gray color.

"Magnificent, isn't it? The sun makes the sky bleed so that the moon can emerge. It is said that seeing red sunset are a rare occasion in a man's life. I truly appreciate your worries Aeos, I really do. But it is in my own nature to help others and sacrifice for them. I own you, but that's not simply about paying you back, it's about showing you that you can rely on me anytime, and that for as long as I can."
Blaze felt hesitant. After quickly looking at himself in the water, he realized his visage was showing heavy amounts of exhaustion.
"I'll sleep right here. I will get in the shelter if it gets too bad."

And indeed, it did get terrible. The sandstorm was powerful, it stroke with an impressive amount of force and the wind was only gaining in power as they were getting closer to the center of the storm. At first, Blaze slept peacefully, but his sleep was interrupted yet again by the distinctive sound of the sand. Blaze felt too tired to manage anything and decided to retreat back in the shelter.
"Aeos... Please be careful, this sandstorm is far stronger than we anticipated..."
Blaze sighted and was torn apart. Respecting his friend's wish for him to rest? Or going out to help him? As the storm got stronger, Blaze did not hesitated anymore. He rushed out to help Aeos...


-- Next morning


Blaze was sleeping on the ship, the sun was gently caressing his face and the sound of the waves on the beach was a delight for the ears. Blaze attempted to get up but immediately fell down, he didn't realized they were on water again. Memories from yesterday night was fogy, but intense.
(No one will mind if I sleep a bit more.)

[Aeos]

The storm came, and Aeos was prepared for it. He worked hard to maneuver and control the sail to his liking. He was battered by the sands but that didn't seem to bother him much. The cloak did a good job and keeping most of it off of his body. The goggles were cracked slightly but they were still well enough to keep most of the sand off of his face. A scarf was used to protect his nose and mouth. But still sand managed to find it's way through the gaps in the cloth and invade his mouth. When the storm was at it's worst Aeos was forced to partially shift his legs so he didn't get blown off. The sudden action of getting dragon feet destroyed his sandals. Damn it! The storm made it nearly impossible to see.

It only took a few moments for the strong gusts of wind to dislodge the boat off of the shore. But it took a good hour for Aeos to pull the sails down off of the mast and tie them down. The strong winds and sands blew the ropes around. They thwacked him pretty hard. Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! He gritted his teeth and kept pushing through the winds. With Blaze's help the sails were securely tied down and the anchor was let down. There was nothing else he could do at this point but wait out the storm. Aeos un-shifted his legs, met up with Blaze, and retreated inside below deck.

--Next Morning--

Aeos did not escape the storm with out injury. He was battered, bruised, and exhausted. The dragon in human guise managed to pull himself off of the floor. He opted to sleep on the floor instead of the hammocks. The boat was swaying gently atop the water. He could see Blaze asleep in his little corner of the ship. Aeos took a moment to examine himself. He tried to move his arm only for his back and shoulder to pulse in pain. His legs felt like jelly. There was a small cut across his cheek. His side hurt from him getting hit with a wooden pole. He forced himself to head out to the deck. He rubbed the sleep out of his tired eyes.

"Sand everywhere. Just like home." He sighed softly and went to inspect the ship.

[Kazeroï]

Senses were slowly getting back in place. The smell of the salty water. The light of the sun. The sound of waves. The taste of blood and the nice feeling of sand in his hand. Blaze was moving with difficulty to get back on his feet. His first attempt didn't go well, and he now was on floor again. Blaze felt a strong pain in his right arm and shoulder. As he put out the bandage, he felt his guts moving. His wound, while smalls, were full of sand, also, his arm was in a weird position. Blaze was taking in a sort of small panic as he got up and reached with difficulty the kitchen. He took a bucket full of water and began to clean painfully his wound, his right arm wasn't responding nor moving, but it wasn't broken, Blaze blamed the pain.

"I should have listen to him! Arrgh!! It's so deep within it..."
Blaze had to put his fingers inside the wounds to gush out the sand. After making his arm a mess again, he went to search something to disinfect. He could use his own potions, but they were too valuable for small damages like this. He eventually found a bottle of rum.
(That's the best use I can think of, pirate's rum is disgusting.)
"Here goes... GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"
The pain was extremely violent. The wound was freshly reopened and the nerves were at their peak of sensibility for an unknown reason. Blaze fought to not felt unconscious. The pain and the sight of his bloodied arm was not pretty.
"Ha!... Ha!... I should have drank some of it before. Dear me, I'm a mess right now."

Blaze was crying of pain, it was a bit too much for a morning. His memories was getting clearer by the second, he then suddenly remembered about Aeos. As he attempted to rush, his shoulder pain wasn't gone by a long shot, and it still wasn't moving. Blaze took a deep breath and drank some rum before attempting another very painful procedure.
"Now, block the shoulder against the wall... Ready... Set... UMFFFF! *crack* Ah... That was easier than expected..."
His shoulder wasn't totally dislodged, so it was easier to put it back on. Blaze sighted happily as his arm moved again.
He went back to see Aeos, he seemed to do fine.

"Sorry about all the noises, I'm a mess right now. I remembered, after getting in the shelter, the ship was so unstable, I got thrown off so violently... But I should be doing fine, I just need... Some time to rest. Look in the barrel with a blade cut on it, there is some dried shark meat. That's excellent for the jaw and the belly, eh."
Blaze was happy. Bruised, knocked out, and in pain, but happy. He was alive and well. And that's all that matters.
"I guess that was quite the storm wasn't it? But nothing true Nabatian's can't manage."
Blaze began to laugh and gave his brightest smile to Aeos.

[Aeos]

OOC- Well.. so much for actually training. Feel free to end the support with your next post. I'll open up the next thread for the exploration.
--

There was a scream in the air. Aeos quickly turned around and stared at the direction of the door that lead below deck. Should I head back? The dragon thought to himself. No. He brought it upon himself. We told him to stay inside during the storm. The voice of his dragon stone spoke to him. Aeos could feel the headache coming on already. His body was sore and reeling from the rocking of the ship during the storm. And part of him did not want to deal with the more natural side of himself. He shook his head. Ow.

Blaze eventually went out above deck to join him. He sighed softly.

"Nothing we can't handle. But.. we are both battered and beaten. I do not think either of us are fit for training.. or exploring for today. But are thou alright? I heard your scream. Should I fetch a healer?"

He let out a yawn.

"Sorry. That was rude. Ah.. I suspected thou went after the shark. Twas foolish of thee!"

He looked around.

"At least.. we be.. back on the sea. I.. suggest we take a day longer to recover. I shall help thee with thy kicks tomorrow. In the mean time.." He touched his forehead. Everything was starting to catch up with him. He shook his head again. Trying to shake off the fatigue and pain.

"..Ha.. I.. may have over done it. I.. did not fully escape injuries. ..Well.. I.. think.. I shall retire back below deck.. And get to work on food. Quickest.. way for us to recover no?"

[Kazeroï]

OOC- All right, I don't see any problem with this.

As Blaze got a closer look to Aeos, he did noticed some signs of weakness and injuries. They were like two drunk people waking up from a tough night. But his friend got a point, they were obviously not in shape to train, that will have to wait.

"No worries, let's say that sand and teeth wounds don't mix. Plus rum is a terrible way to clean them."

Blaze hesitated but quickly shown his right arm.
"See? Just small worries, just painful, not dangerous. And yeah, I'm foolish, reckless, and anything you want. But life is gamble, and a gamble without risk is tasteless."

Blaze finished putting bandages on his arm, this time, he made sure to tight them up correctly. He also began to examine Aeos. Besides the obvious pain and exhaustion, it didn't seemed like he suffered open wounds. However, Blaze quickly noticed the signs of body pressure : When someone's overuse their body, it tends to react violently to it. And while the signs were smalls, it was something Blaze is used to notice, as his own muscles were contracting themselves on their own.

"Yeah, you don't look too well... You know what, you did so much for me it's not even fair. Now you go relax down there, I'll get us something tasty : this shark meat will be as tasty as a breeze in the desert." Blaze went back down in the kitchen and began to prepare a meal. The odor of cooked meat was delightful and made him forget the pain. Blaze also took the time to prepare more lotion to ease the pain on muscles and bones.

A few moments later, Blaze joined Aeos in the below deck, with a warm and tasty meal.
"Shark meat cooked with plants and rum. That will put us right back on our feet." Both ate their meal silently, enjoying a moment of peace after the ruthless and terrible storm. Once finished, Blaze let out a satisfying sigh.

"Ha. This is life. Nothing beats a good meal after a bad day. Here, I also made you a concoction to help with your injuries. You may not be bleeding, but your muscles and bones have taken a heavy amount of damage, this will help your muscles to soften down. Don't worry about me, I already took some too."

Blaze began to chew on some dried meat, the taste was slowly revealing itself over time and it was good to occupy his mind.
"Well, I'll say we take a day off doing absolutely nothing other than fishing or cooking. Tomorrow we train and prepare for our expedition. What do you say, friend?"


End threat