IC CONTACT POST FOR cosmographia

[soulfultwin]

(OOC: This is a rough outline of Darin's daily routine. Feel free to comment to this post with a time and location if you want to thread! This post is meant to be a catch-all contact post to thread out and expand on things that happen in game that might be too little for a log! Anything is game! Open to all! And feel free to have someone catch Darin someplace that isn't necessarily listed! He gets around, for sure!)

Sunrise to Early Morning

[It is around this time that you'll catch Darin out at the beach. He's doing his usual training regiment; jogging around the temple, sit ups, push-ups, liberally exercising whatever magical abilities he's awoken. He might be sparring with a clone projection, practicing summoning his weapon, or maybe just cooling down. Afterwards, he goes in search for metal, whether it's at the junkyard, or digging into the cliff face for whatever he can find!]

Morning to Afternoon

[Around this time, you'll see Darin around Waverly Bay. He might have his stall set up and selling his wares, or he might be running errands for the sake of the townspeople. Maybe he's doing some repairs around town, or lending a hand wherever it's needed. If it's slow, he's relaxing and getting some food, or maybe he's taking a nap under a tree! He's around though, that's for sure.]

Afternoon to Evening

[Around this time, Darin might be rustling up some dinner. Once the sun starts to dip, he'll head home for the day. He likes to take a more scenic route home so he can watch the sun set over the horizon. It's one of his favorite things to do. You might catch him along this route, or maybe catch him in his room in the Temple, where he's hard at work in his forge, working on parts and custom orders. He keeps his door open though, and when you look in, it'll be the storefront to his Smithy back in Kenmore. Don't be shy to come on in, the door's open for a reason!]

Evening to Night

[If it's a nice, clear evening, you'll find Darin out on the beach. Maybe he's training, maybe he's just wandering aimlessly, barefoot, through the surf. If it's a particularly clear night, you may find him climbing the cliff face. When he reaches the top, he'll watch the stars before making his way back down. If it's nice, he might just sleep out there! If it's raining, he'll be in the Temple, doing some sketching in his notebook.]

Comments

Mid-morning, day 97-ish

[foolish_seal]

[Minato's gotten a tip from some other gems about a couple blacksmiths in the area, so here he was, out on the town to try and find it.]

[To be honest, he was expecting something bigger than a stall, but there did look to be weapons there, and he did need them.]

Yo. You open?

[soulfultwin]

[Darin looks up from his sketchbook and grins.]

Hey, sorry about that, friend! I was working on something and didn't hear you come up!

What can I do for you?

[foolish_seal]

I arrived here a couple days ago and I don't have a good weapon. I was hoping to find someone to fix that.

[soulfultwin]

Well then you, my friend, have come to the right place!

[He stands and wanders over to Minato's side of the stall and throws an easy arm around his shoulders.]

So, what are you in the market for? Or should I try and guess based on posture, height, weight, and frame?

[foolish_seal]

I know what I want, but I'm curious what you think.

[Though he was a pony while doing so, he's been training with polearms for some time now, on top of his usual routine for swords and the occasional lesson in ~style~ from a half-demon demon hunter-turned-dragon with a penchant for strawberry milkshakes.]

[He's also spent some time with large axes, his fists, guns, bows, and even whips at one point.]

[soulfultwin]

Alright, alright, I like a good challenge...

[Darin circles the young man, thoughtfully rubbing his chin. He picks Minato's hand up by the wrist, examines its length in relation to the rest of his body, then let's it drop. He does the same with the other arm, turning his hand over at the wrist to inspect the palm.]

[He quirks an eyebrow thoughtfully.]

[He turns back to his stall and rummages through his wares...]

[Then, without any warning, he pivots and tosses a sword (sheathed, of course) right at him, keeping a close eye on his reaction.]

[foolish_seal]

[Minato lets him work, just watching while he does his thing.]

[While a bit surprising, he manages to catch the weapon. Huh. A sword.]

Pretty spot on. It's even the right length.

[He unsheathes it, taking a look at the blade.]

[soulfultwin]

I gotta say, it was a bit tricky. The callouses on your hands aren't consistent with any type of sword I've ever seen. So either you've trained with a sword that makes no sense whatsoever, or you've had extensive training with an array of weapons. Sword seemed the most compatible with your frame, with a close second being a polearm.

There's also your reaction time. You caught that without missing any kind of a beat which shows me you favor quicker strikes. Honestly, you don't look the part, but you've seen some some fighting.

Am I on the mark?

[foolish_seal]

That's... almost creepy how accurate you are.

[Guess he really knows his stuff, if he's able to tell all that.]

But, yeah, I've been using both swords and polearms a lot lately, but I've had training with a lot of stuff.

[soulfultwin]

Well, what's your preference? Polearms are great but you really have to know your stuff since they offer so little in terms of physically guarding you. Are you more of an offensive fighter or do you prefer to take up the rear?

[foolish_seal]

I can be rear support or elsewhere, but most of the time I'm on the front, if not leading the attack.

The power that I've kept here is more suited for the front lines right now, as well.

[soulfultwin]

Hm...adaptable, then.

[Fighters like these were rare. In fact, Darin himself, while proficient enough to hold his own with an array of weapons, wasn't good enough to confidently say that he could be anywhere on a battlefield.]

[He shakes his head...no...a simple sword wouldn't cut it. He needed something a bit more suited to his adaptability.]

Do me a favor...

I want you to take that sword and give that training dummy over there [He thumbs over his shoulder] the best strike you've got. Don't hold back.

[foolish_seal]

Got it.

[Minato unsheathes the sword fully, then steps in front of the dummy, taking a fighting stance. It's not the most disciplined of forms, since he's mostly self-taught, but it's worked for him. Of note is how his left hand hovers over his hip, where his Evoker would usually be holstered]

[After a breath, He lunges forward, first delivering a hard kick to the dummy's right shoulder, then using it as a springboard to vault over, spin around, and strike again with the sword as he comes down. It was something he's picked up as a pegasus, so it would have worked a bit better and faster with wings, but it was a reasonable adaptation.]

[soulfultwin]

[He whistles at that. Not bad. Not bad at all!]

You know, that move gave me some ideas. I don't think a sword will suit you...at least not a traditional one. And if you're going to do moves like that, those shoes aren't going to cut it.

So, interested?

[foolish_seal]

[Now that he mentions it... his shoes did look pretty old by this point.]

[...where did he even get these shoes, anyway? He didn't wear any before coming here.]

[Minato sheathes the sword again, handing it back.]

I'm used to being able to fly while fighting. That might be it. Let's see what you got.

[soulfultwin]

Fly? Huh, you lose your wings?

[He wanders over to his stall and pulls out a sheathed scimitar. He tosses it Minato's way.]

Curvature of the blade adds leverage, creates more power on the downward swing, and has less of a chance of getting lodged in your opponent. Couple that with the fact it's literally primed for quick strikes, I think it'll suit you best.

On top of that?

[He pulls out a pair of steel greaves.]

These? These will double the power of that kick while simultaneously keeping your shins from breaking themselves with fancy moves like that. It'll reinforce your stance too.

[foolish_seal]

Long story.

[That's all he'll say about that for the moment. Minato catches the Scimitar, feeling its weight.]

I've used a scimitar before, so I'll take this now. I don't think I've got enough cash for the greaves, though.

[soulfultwin]

Take 'em. The more practice you get with them, the better. You need to adjust yourself to the weight difference over time.

Call it a bundle deal for the newbie.

[foolish_seal]

Really?

[Unexpected, but he'll take it. Never say no to weapons.]

Thanks. I'll put them to good use.

[soulfultwin]

Hey, as long as you can promise me that, I'm more than happy.

Name's Darin Altway, by the way.

Welcome to Waverly Bay.

[foolish_seal]

Minato Arisato. Likewise.

[He'll make a mental note to come back later when he has more cash for a halberd or lance.]

[Speaking of which, he pulls out his wallet, which is far too thick to be considered normal for any wallet, and pays what he can for the weapons. It's most of what he has, but it's worth it.]

[soulfultwin]

[Darin takes about half of that, then returns the other half to Minato.]

Hold onto it. If you want, consider this a down payment. If you're new, you'll need to make that last until you can gain some trust around here.

[foolish_seal]

I've done this sort of thing before; won't take long.

[He'll take the money back for now, though.]

But if you insist, just let me know if you need a favor. Least I could do.

[soulfultwin]

No problem. Doing business is all about favors, right?

How long you been in town?

[foolish_seal]

Pretty much. Kinda how I ran my restaurant.

[He gave out free food all the time there.]

I've been here about a day and a half.

[So yeah. New.]