How Aerith Got Her Groove Back, Part 1

How Aerith Got Her Groove Back, Part 1
Date of Scene:	10 December 2012
Location:	Goug - Seventh Heaven
Synopsis:	After the loss of Manhattan, Aerith is driven more than ever to improve her self-taught fighting skills into a true style worthy of defending those around her. As she goes into a light sparring session with Tifa, an opportunity arises for her to push her training to the next stage... And being the upstanding guy that he is, Kaydin offers to go along for the ride.
Cast of Characters:	Aerith Gainsborough, Tifa Lockhart, Kaydin, Luso Clemens, Pixi

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Aerith has posed:
Aerith walked her way into the room... and immediately set her staff to the right side, past all the tables, next to the pinball machine. She then removed each and every single materia from the weapon... then did the same to her bracelets. Fortunately for them, the place was empty, so she could speak her mind. "Tifa, I'm going to say it straight." She plucked her staff from the wall and headed to the center of the bar. "That was the most horrifying thing I've ever seen. I mean... I felt our world die, didn't even get to see it. This..." She shuddered, her features taking on a brief cast of vulnerability. "I saw, and felt it. Everyone just... gone, all at once, just like that! So many screams... screams that you couldn't hear, but I could! And Maira..." She shook her head, still trying to believe what she'd witnessed.

After a few moments, her features shifted back to their resolute state. "You know what I'm going to ask, right?"

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart steps back in the heaven, sighing after all of this. She's still beaten up from what happened, but she listens to Aerith. She knows what the girl is talking about, even if she couldn't feel it as sharply as Aerith did, she definitely knows what she means. "I know, you want to finish your training."

Kaydin has posed:
Kaydin just sorta walks into the bar and sits down, looking as if he was not really there. He then unwraps the chain from his arm and just sets the sword down on the ground and seems to be pulling off his pieces of armor, not seeming to care if the women were there.

Aerith has posed:
Oh no. He was not about to just sit there with that cloud over his head.

"Hang on, Tifa." Aerith moved toward Kaydin, taking off her denim jacket and putting it on the back of one of those chairs. She put her hands on his shoulders and shook him, once. "Look at me."

Kaydin has posed:
Kaydin just unstraps the chest piece and pulls it off. He hears Aerith but just continues to undo his armor, gauntlets coming off now. He wore a sleeveless tunic and as he begins to undo the leg and waist guards, it almost like he is about to disrobe though he stops short of that, pulling off the armor to reveal black trousers underneath.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart nods and sits down herself instead, waiting for Aerith to do her part with Kaydin first. She's a bit annoyed with what happened, depressed a bit, but she never lets it show. She's always been the support for the team even in the worst moments, and that doesn't change today.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith frowned and shook him again. "Hey. LOOK at me." She'd slap him if she had to, but the flower girl would rather it not come to that. "I know what you're going through, contrary to what you might believe."

Kaydin has posed:
Kaydin stopped to look up at Aerith. "I helped destroy a world. The one time I tried to do right and make up for it, I failed miserably. Now, if I return to Baron I am a traitor and probably hunted, I have no home, and worse still there are a bunch of people who hold me responsible for what happened to their world, which is right since I am responsible. And instead of facing the conscequences of my actions, I flee." He says as he looks down again.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart puts her hands on her hips. "And that's what stepping up to your beliefs come in. Take responsability, admit that you made mistakes, but then work to repair it. You cannot undo what you've done, but you can make sure it doesn't happen again."

Aerith has posed:
Flowergirl lets Tifa speak... and then she sat and placed a hand on one of his. "Listen... do you want to know how many people you helped save?" She smiled. "Ten thousand, five hundred and twenty two. Those are families, Kaydin. Women, children, men who just wanted it to be a normal day but never expected this. They had nothing to do with this, and you helped them get out." Aerith shook her head. "This, what they did here? What they made you do? This was planned for a long time, and I have a feeling we were just stones trying to hold back a river." She looked down at his armor. "You could turn the sight of that armor into something else... from something feared and hated, to something that people look for when they're in trouble."

Aerith looked up again. "You might have started this... you might have helped finish it... but now you can help end it before it gets worse."

Kaydin has posed:
"And how much more fell to darkness?" Kaydin asks as he looks to Tifa. "I think they would rather be satisfied with blood rather then me trying to fix things." He says as he then looks to Aerith. "I like you alot more then I should. I also know that you like me only as a friend and I accepted that it wont be more. I am unsure how to fix things..."

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart stands up, sighing. "From the looks of it, people aren't dead, they are just gone for now. It doesn't mean we cannot save them yet, but giving up hope entirely is the worse thing to do. Are you just going to sit there and wait for things to get worse, or are you going to try to make things better, no matter what it takes?"

Aerith has posed:
Aerith nodded. "Tifa does have a point..." She leaned forward. "Look, I didn't get you out of there for you to act like this. You wanna know what you can do? I'll give you a hint. Those people are more than likely in Traverse Town. A lot of people seem to end up there after losing their world. Instead of going back to Baron to what you think is your punishment, go there and find your own path." She smiled again. "Because if there's any time to redefine who you are, it's now, after everything you know has changed."

Kaydin has posed:
"Truth be told there was only 2 reasons why I helped you all. First is I didnt like the idea of trapping people in a world filling with heartless...And second was because I didnt want you to get hurt. If I am supposed to do things I want now, I want to remain by your side, helping you." Kaydin says as he pulls off the metal boots.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith shrugged and stood from her chair. "Well if you're going to help, the one way you could do it is by helping me get better at fighting." Flowergirl retrieved her staff. "Tifa, help me clear these tables out of the way, we have work to do."

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart crosses her arms over her chest. "... You know what, that might be the best thing to do as well." She moves over to Kaydin. "You know what I told you about finding your own path rather than following orders? Well you're there. You don't have a place to go back to, that doesn't mean you're a traitor if you do what you believe in, and if Baron has chosen the wrong path, its up to you to bring it back in the right direction, that's how you should be showing loyalty. Right now, if that's what you want to do, for yourself, then you can stay here with us." She thumbs at the flower girl. "And help me train this girl so she lets me sleep." She smirks at that, and moves to push the tables aside for the flower girl.

Kaydin has posed:
"Alright." Kaydin says as he moves to grab the armor to throw it out, though he stops before throwing the sword out, as if deciding if he should, looking the weapon and the chain connected to it over. "I dont know if I can do more then let you hit me till you get better." He says sarcastically.

Aerith has posed:
They cleared the area in five minutes' time, and before long, Aerith had her staff in a fighting position, one end angled toward the imaginary target of someone's head. "Okay, so what are we working on?"

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart shakes her head a Kaydin a bit, and moves over to push the tables and chairs away, and then moves to the backroom, taking out an old broom. She pulls out the stick fromt he head, making herself a makeshift staff "Well, you got the basics down, the rest is repetition of moves, as you know, and you've been diligent about that since you srated. It won't improve overnight, but you already felt the effects of it, I'm sure. It just gets better from here." She smiles, moving back to the main room with the stick in hand.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith blinked for a moment at the obvious tool that Tifa had in one of her hands. "Hey... is that a staff I see?" She smiled. "When did you get that, I wonder?"

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart smirks "Its a broomstick silly, just going to through the moves with you. Its easier when you can see it. Because you got the basic, you need actual staff movements, abilities, attacks if you want."

Aerith has posed:
Aerith nodded and got into a fighting stance. "Right, let's get moving then. I'll follow your lead. Let's see what I've been missing."

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart nods. "I'm still at an advantage over you right now because of my overall training, but I don't have any moves either. That's mostly because even using a weapon, its an extension of your body, not a replacement. A weak person wielding a strong weapon doesn't suddenly become strong after all, there's more to it than just swinging, but also evading, parrying and such."

Aerith has posed:
Aerith thought on that for a moment... and then her eyes widened. "So I'm supposed to... do my basic attack pattern on you, then you block it... and then I have to block yours!" She grinned. "Oh this is gonna be interesting."

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart smirks and nods "Yeah, that's part of the idea. A live target makes it easier to get used to the distance, anticipating the movement. And you're a healer, if you hurt me, you can't kill me with a staff."

Aerith has posed:
Aerith set herself just in front of Tifa, preparing herself to strike. No need to be all antsy, just be accurate and don't worry about hitting her. Aerith swung her weapon in an overhand grip, striking at the top of the brunette's head.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart ducks the hit easily, moving just barely enough, the momentum of the swing lifting her hair a bit in the process. She smirks. "That was a bit telegraphed there. Also, remember when I showed you about balance." She brings her stick down behind Aerith's leg that she brought forward when she attacked, locking it down as she moves forward, a single stride that brings herself right against Aerith's arm. "Don't think that because is holding a weapon that they will only be using it." She flicks her fingers at Aerith's forehead.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith was flicked on the forehead, her eyes crossing at the point where she got fwapped. She sighed and got back into stance again, her face a mask of impassivity. This time without trying to gauge the distance or timing, she struck, as if sure she'd catch Tifa off guard. The strike swung in from Tifa's right, aimed for the temple.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart brings her stick up to intercept it this time, blocking it off, and then twisting the stick to make the staff go down. "While you can take an opponent down faster by attacking vital points like the head and the chest, its also generally the least exposed parts because its what they will be thinking you'll be aiming at. You can slow down an opponent by attacking legs or arms first, its a gamble, but if it lowers your opponent's effectiveness, it increases your own." She takes a step back, holding the stick toward the ground behind her, the stick going up across her back toward her other shoulder in this stance. "This is a stance that mixes martial arts with staff usage. I can defend and attack using my right arm, and swing using my back as a pivot like this." She swings it forward, a quick movement toward Aerith's stomach.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith blocks the attack, putting her weapon right in the path of Tifa's before trying to bring it down on top of her head. Yeah, metal rod plus noggin equals headache. "Good to know!"

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart suddenly twirls on herself, a fast movement that brings a round kick upward, the thick heel of her boot intercepting and clocking the metal rod. "The moment you attack is also the moment you're the most exposed, especially if the opponent avoids or blocks your attack with something else than their weapon." She taps Aerith's side with her stick.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith doesn't waste a single movement as Tifa kicks the business end of the weapon to the right. She follows the momentum of the rod, turns her back to the barmaid, and blocks the tap to the side. A tiny smile crosses her features. "Same for you." She turns again and attacks Tifa's right side, just at the floating ribs.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Moving the staff to attack also released her foot of course, and while she could move away, she instead moves in closer instead, the metal staff finding catch on her stick as she holds it horizontally along her back. "Most weapons with a long range get less effective if you move in closer. But if you anticipate that, you can shorter your grip." Her stick switch arms behind her back, and her right hand brings a shortened up stick toward Aerith's side "As you can see, there's a variety of ways to use and hold a weapon. Practicing one kind over the others is called specializing, the same way there are various martial arts styles."

Aerith has posed:
And again, she got hit. Aerith sighed and took a few steps back. "Yeah, I hear you. So what you're telling me is to adapt, or else I'll be stuck in one pattern all the time." She shuffled a few steps forward and tried to poke Tifa right between the eyes, trying to judge her reactions.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart moves her head to the side, twisting her shoulders a bit to move out of the way "More or less. There are many ways to go at it. You can either learn and practice a variety of moves, or specialize or perfect only a select few attacks, which will only get stronger. You can still use many moves depending on the situation, but when you use YOUR moves, they will be that much stronger. That's what it is to have a style. Everyone can throw a punch or a kick, but martial arts that practiced can do it much more effectively, you see what I mean?"

Aerith has posed:
Aerith nodded and threw another poke at Tifa's head, a third one following in quick succession. "So all I have to do is practice what I have, build on those, and I've got myself something to work with, right?"

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart nods. "No need to be too fancy." She dodges and weaves through the stabs. "You need to work your entire body though, for both defense and offense. Practice makes perfect. And specialities are like your trump cards. You use what attacks you can during the fight, but when you can pull out your big one, it inflicts the pain." She smirks.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith's face shows no sign of what's coming next.

She pokes toward Tifa's head... then pulls back at the last second and quickly makes a thrust toward Tifa's chest, dead-center. Oh she'd probably see the feint coming, experience taught her well. But Aerith at least had hope.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart was a little surprised at the speed it happened though. Its her right hand, the one not holding the staff, that comes up to deflect the staff with the back of her hand. "That was a good one." She grins.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith smiled and whirled her staff above her head, getting into a fighting stance again. "Okay then, let's see if I can't do it again." She swung at Tifa's head again, her hands still in that overhand grip, similar to a Shaolin monk. Her staff hummed through the air right at Tifa's temple.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart moves down to the side and down, moving into the swing rather than against it "Its counter-intuitive sometimes, you want to evade by moving with the attack rather than moving opposite of it. Moving opposite is risky, but gets a better opening after the attack. Moving in the same direction lessens the impact if you do get hit."

Aerith has posed:
Aerith changed directions, her hands quickly changing positions to aim down at the top of Tifa's head. "So is this our official spar, or is this just practice? I mean, I'm going to have to really test my skills sooner or later..." She had a feeling this wasn't the time.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart nods. "Just teaching for now. I don't think either of us are in a good state of mind and body after what happened today." She brings her stick upward to intercept Aerith's staff, using a backhanded grip that makes the stick cover her forearm. "Plus you need more practice and training, but we'll be sparring like this everyday to help you improve, a live target will make this easier for you."

Aerith has posed:
Aerith then did something she probably shouldn't have done... but the tactic was viable in her eyes. She began twirling her staff in that same overhand grip, her left hand moving toward the center of the staff in quick fashion before she started the figure-eight. Tifa's staff would be slammed on time and time again as Aerith tried to break her defense.

Kaydin has posed:
Kaydin stands. "You can spar with me. I need to practice my movements without my armor." He says, having spent this long in self reflection or staring off into space, however one wants to say it. "And you get the chance to hit me, much to Tifa's pleasure." He says as he tries to make a joke.

Luso Clemens has posed:
As the three of them did their thing, from outside, the distinctive wark of a chocobo could be heard, followed by someone landing on the ground and then walking towards the door.

Creaaaak, the doors to the bar open and in strides Luso, boy wonder, and totally the main character!

"...So this is Seventh Heaven, huh?" He mused aloud, arms crossed behind his head as he casually made his way inside, noting the way that the tables were cleared away. It didn't look like much of a business right now. "Wow, what happened here?" He asked, blinking a couple times after.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart shakes her head at Kaydin "You don't need to punish yourself for what happened." She moves to the side, evading the first hit, and then the second one. The third one gets met with the stick as she puts a knee down, both hands holding the staff up. "That can be an effective attack if it hits, but as you can see, if you stop the movement of the staff, the attack stops there. That's the problem with multi-hit attacks, if you disrupt it, you shut the entire thing down."

She stands up after giving her piece of advice, and waves to Luso "Hi." She's not as chipper as usual, but who would be with the manhattan situation. She hasn't even taken a shower since then, coming straight back home and Aerith wanting to pick up her training right away.

Aerith has posed:
A sharp crack sounds off through the room, and Aerith's smile doesn't seem to fade. "Well I figured I'd try to break that broom and at least get something done, but never mind." She stepped away, glanced toward the newcomer. "If you're here for a drink or something, we're kinda in disarray right now." She grinned. "Of our own design, of course."

Kaydin has posed:
Kaydin just nods to Tifa and then when Luso comes in, he gives the kid a nod. "Good to see you made it out." He says, wearing a black sleeveless tunic and trousers with no shoes, sword in hand with the chain rewrapped about his arm. "How many people made it out do you know?"

Pixi has posed:
At the sound of the sharp crack, a woman peeks her head out of the back room. "What was that?" She then steps out fully and rubs her ears....her long...rabbit ears. "You should be careful with those things. Some of us have sensitive hearing." She then spots Kaydin. "Oh it's you again." She then looks to Aerith and Tifa and the newcomer. "Kinda.....seems that way, doesn't it?"

Aerith has posed:
Aerith glanced toward Pixi and smiled. "Hey, look who's finally awake! I was meaning to talk to you." She took a few steps toward Pixi. "First things first... did you hear about Manhattan?"

Luso Clemens has posed:
"Hey Tifa, Kaydin, lady whose name I don't know! Glad to see you three made it out too!" Luso greeted, resting one arm at his side and on top of that strangely designed grimoire. How other was raised high, waving casually as he smiled. "I'd say it looks like a hurricane blew through here, but...it's a bit too organized for that. Huh."

Tilting his head slightly and lowering his waving arm to his side, Luso glanced over at Aerith curiously. "Own design? You mean you guys did this on purpose? Wow...What for?" He then asked, stepping further in and away from the general area of the doors to not block potential traffic.

A glance was given back to Kaydin and the boy shrugged his shoulders in response. "Eh, I don't know. I know that we got a LOT of civilians out, but...we didn't get them all, sorry to say. I think everyone fighting managed to get out too, so...yeah!"

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart turns to Luso, leaning on her stick "For practice. Aerith wants to learn to fight with her staff, so been giving her training. I can't do much more than teach her the basic, I'm not a staff fighter myself, but basic is a step up still."

Kaydin has posed:
"Those consumed by that darkness are either put in a form of stasis and thrown out at some random place, or are converted to heartless. I dont know the exact methods but I know it takes a strong heart and a strong force of will to be thrown out. I am not so much worried about those who fought to protect, but rather the people left behind. Either way, the heartless has gained a considerable powerhouse now." Kaydin says calmly as he would look to the women. "The one with the staff is named Aerith. Magic user and healer. She is probably one of the few people I trust. The one with the rabbit ears is Pixi, a race called Viera. She acts bitter and mean but truthfully she is much worse."

Pixi has posed:
Pixi says, "More like felt it." She says rubbing her right arm. "Someone was extremely sad that Manhattan fell. I wouldn't have been that big of a help anyways, Aerith." She then tilts her head. "I haven't felt darkness......laugh....in a very long time, Aerith. I hoped I wouldn't feel it again." She then sighs. "So what'd you want to talk to me about?" She then snickers to Kaydin, but shakes her head.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith gave Kaydin a sharp glare. "I think you can stop that now..." She turned toward Pixi. "Don't mind Kaydin. He's actually done what I figured he was capable of." Flowergirl grinned. "He's gone and done the right thing." She placed a hand on Pixi's right shoulder. "Anyways, yes. I'm trying to learn how to use my staff in proper fashion. But I figured I could learn from someone who actually had experience with polearms."

Luso Clemens has posed:
"Huh...training eh? Too bad I can't help with that. My specialty is swords." Luso spoke with a sheepish smile, gesturing to the five blades strapped behind him. "Of course, I guess I know the basics, but not much more or less than you, I bet!" Chuckling at that, Luso glanced at Kaydin again, listening to his explanation regarding the heartless.

"...So that's how it goes...? Man, this darkness is rough stuff..." The boy spoke carefully, crossing his arms and nodding to himself. But he didn't dwell on it too long though. "Speaking of heartless though, I'm actually here to prepare to take down a heartless myself!" Grinning confidently, Luso gave the group a thumbs up.

"Something people are calling a 'Soul Devourer' in the Petrified Forest. It's gonna be a crazy ride!"

Upon learning the names of the two new people he hadn't met, the hunter waved over to them. "Aerith, Pixi, nice to meet ya then! I'm Luso Clemens!"

Aerith has posed:
Aerith's features froze for a moment. Soul Devourer...

Something sounded off about that. If this name were literal, it meant that it didn't just eat spirit energy to sustain itself, it had a purpose and a goal. Her breathing, having stopped for a brief moment, kept on going after this thought processed. "Interesting... know anything about it?"

Pixi has posed:
"Really? 'bout time." Pixi then takes Aerith's staff and aims what seems to be a REALLY hard strike onto Kaydin's head.....

Which ends up being a light tap on the head, if Kaydin lets her. "You have a lot of potential for good, Kaydin. While Aerith might have the patience to turn someone back to the light, I don't." She then tosses the staff back to Aerith.

"A Soul Devourer? In the petrified forest? Almost as bad as that monster crab that no one could defeat. But it turns out it just wanted the sword out of it's claw. Might not be as bad as it sounds."

"But then again it might be."

She then looks to Aerith and chuckles. "You have a knack for survival, Aerith, but learning how to use a staff does require a little more than the basics. Tifa's better than I am when it comes to hand to hand attacks. Why do you want to learn to use your staff though? Just in case your magic runs out?"

Aerith has posed:
Aerith nodded. "She's better at you in beating people up with her fists... but you're better at her as far as poking things at a distance, spinning and swinging a long weapon, and turning a supposed disadvantage when someone gets inside the range of your weapon into an advantage." She squeezed Pixi's right shoulder. "I was hoping you could give me a few lessons."

Luso Clemens has posed:
"What do I know...? Not much actually. Other than rumors and vague reports from people who managed to escape the thing." Crossing his arms behind his head again, Luso resumed his previous posture, leaning from side to side as he thought about the situation. "Testimony from survivors, saying how they tried to fight the thing with their friends and partners...watching them get eaten without a trace."

A pause was given at that and the boy frowned in though. "They say it's so powerful that it doesn't just eat your heart, it eats your soul, hence the name!" Luso sighed at that and crossed his arms then. "I'm pretty curious about it myself, so I'm gonna head out and see what this Mark is all about! Simple as that." He nodded in agreement Pixi. "It just might be more than it seems! ..Or not, I dunno!"

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart brrs a bit "That's not a comforting thought at all." She moves to the counter, putting her broomstick to the side for now. Aerith might get a better teacher for staff with Pixi after all. "Anything to drink?" She won't serve him alcohol of course, he definitely looks too young for that.

Kaydin has posed:
Kaydin doesnt stop Pixi when she taps him on the head and just gives a light chuckle. "Aw shucks, thanks." he says jokingly as he would look to Luso. "If you need help to kill it, you can count on me." He says calmly as he then looks to Aerith. "Were baron not the state it was in I would suggest you train with the city guard. They are trained in sword and spear combat." He says with a shrug. "Course the sword style I use is something I made myself."

Luso Clemens has posed:
"Ah, it's not gonna be anything to worry about! After all, this is what Clan Gully does!" Luso spoke confidently, walking over to the bar counter, rubbing the underside of his nose with his index finger, seemingly a regular gesture from him. "We're just that awesome!"

Getting up onto a stool, he set his stash of weapons aside, resting his arms onto the counter. "Gimme the strongest ale ya got!" He spoke to Tifa, smiling in a joking manner.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart flicks a finger on Luso's forehead "Nice try kiddo." she smirks "How about some sea salt ice cream?

Luso Clemens has posed:
"Ow!" The hunter whined, rubbing his forehead and pouting up at Tifa. "Sea Salt Ice Cream though?" He asked afterward, tilting his head slightly in curiosity. "Never heard of that before. Sounds like weird stuff..." Luso narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the thought of the ice cream...and then smile brightly. "Why not? I'll have some then!"

And with that, he reached into his pack and pulled out some gil, setting it onto the counter. "Bring on the unknown!"

Kaydin has posed:
"It's a sweet yet slightly salty ice cream. Personally prefer more fruity flavored stuff." Kaydin says before looking about and then just sighs to himself.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart smiles and nods, going to the side counter and taking an ice cream bar from it, handing it to Luso "The taste is quite surprising."

Pixi has posed:
Pixi says, "I think, Kaydin, that you should concentrate on doing the right thing from now on. Like dealing with this Soul Devourer, and perhaps not using as much dark magic. I don't want you to be sucked into the thrall of the heartless, especially after Aerith did so much to get you away from Baron." She then looks to Aerith. "We'll start tomorrow, but not here. We need to find a wide open space for you to practice, because my spear is......a bit taller than I am." She says holding up a benign looking stick."

Luso Clemens has posed:
"Huh...Yeah, that definitely sounds weird! But hey, can't knock it till I try it, yeah?" Luso swiveled on his stool, facing Kaydin in the meanwhile. The boy fell silent for a bit and then he tilted his head slightly again.

"Y'know, the last time I saw you, you were decked out in armor. What happened? Did the Manhattan situation mess it up that bad?" Asking that, Luso swiveled back around to Tifa, taking the ice cream bar. "Is it? Let's try it out then!"

And with that, the bar was brought to his mouth and he took a bite.

".............."

Silence. And then more silence. And then even more.

"WHOA. This is awesome!"

Aerith has posed:
Aerith smiled. "And I have a feeling..." She glanced at her staff. "...That this staff that's as tall as I am... is not tall enough. How long do you think it should be?" She asked as she turned back toward Pixi.

Pixi has posed:
Pixi holds her hand to Aerith. "We're going to find that out tomorrow, Aerith. What your comfortable staff length is. If you can adjust it's length, then you'll be fine."

Aerith has posed:
Flowergirl nodded and headed toward Tifa. "I guess this leg is over... I'll be back to actually have that spar and see if I'm ready." Aerith glanced toward Luso. "Sorry, can't join you this evening... I have to get ready for my trip, wherever it's going."

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart nods "Its alright Aerith, you're getting there though, the important part is not giving up.

Luso Clemens has posed:
Luso had been busy devouring the ice cream bar in the meanwhile, but once he finished, he turned on his stool and gave Aerith a thumbs up. "It doesn't matter what you wanna do really. As long as you put your heart into it, you'll succeed! Am I right?" He grinned after that, the remaining stick that held the bar hanging between his teeth.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart tilts her head though, something coming to mind "Where are you going anyway? Are you leaving the bar?" She wonders, since Aerith hadn't said anything about it before.

Kaydin has posed:
Kaydin turns to Pixi. "My powers are the same as the heartless and darkness is a power much like fire or ice. I am aware of the dangers and I placed intensive safeguards to keep myself from falling." Kaydin says before lookin to Aerith. "Where ever your going I am going with you."

Pixi has posed:
Pixi says, "And there were extensive safeguards in Manhattan, wheren't there?" She says pointedly before shrugging. "It's your choice Kaydin. The source of that dark energy is what I really don't like." She then looks to Tifa. "you can come along too if you want, but I'll be teaching her." Her eyes look to Aerith. "and the training will not be easy, Aerith.""

Aerith has posed:
Aerith nodded in Kaydin's direction. "Glad to have you with me." Maybe it would give Kaydin and Pixi a chance to reconcile... or at least tolerate each other. She turned her attention back toward the Viera. "I fully expect it not to be easy. Otherwise it wouldn't be worth it." Her eyes narrowed. "Besides... there are some things that materia, and magic in general, just can't defeat..." That was proven to her extensively, several times.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart crosses her arms, considering "... I think I prefer to stay here for now. There are things to take care of too, there's lots of people throw out of manhattan that are moving around. I think it will be good that I stay here and finalize the plans to restructure the Seventh Heaven into an Inn, the plans we started with Xanatos. But if you ever need my help, just call me and I'll be there in a flash.

Luso Clemens has posed:
Luso just sat back and listened to this conversation with interest. "Huh, sounds like you guys have got this all figured out. Turning this place into an Inn? Sounds like a good plan. I'm sure there's gonna be a bunch of people from Manhattan coming through now. It'd be good to have more space for them, yeah?" The ice cream stick was taken from his mouth then as he then twirled it between his fingers idly.

Pixi has posed:
"Take your time, Aerith. I'm headed for bed for the night." She says before waving to Luso, Tifa and Kaydin. "Good night guys."

Kaydin has posed:
"Dont worry. We will try and kill each other when your around." Kaydin says jokingly to Aerith and looks to Pixi. "Darkness is a source of power, No more different then a fireball or a sword. The difference is that it is more corrupting. Plus the years of training I have put into this is too much to move to a new skill. In baron, before things went to pot, the King was trained as a dark knight and he controled it well."

Pixi has posed:
Pixi says, "Aaaaannnd you see what your country is doing, Kaydin. If your own king can't control it and is invading countries......." She then shakes her head. "Anyways..... good night.""

Kaydin has posed:
"I think something helped our king along." Kaydin says as he waits for Aerith to come out now, just looking about before looking to Tifa. "I want to thank you for letting me come here despite my allegiences in the past."

Luso Clemens has posed:
"Seeya!" Luso responded, waving to Pixi before leaning back against the counter and smiling. "Anyway, I guess I should head out myself. Nice meeting you guys though!"

With that, Luso hopped off of the stool, strapping his weapons back on before heading to the doors. "I'll be at the inn for a day or two, so if you wanna help me with that Mark, then you know where I'll be, Kaydin!"

Pausing at the doors, he turned and waved to Tifa as well. "Good luck, Tifa! You're doing a good there! I'll be sure to come back again too!"

And with that, Luso was out the door, mounting his chocobo and riding off...

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart smiles and nods, waving to Luso "Take care as well and come back safely." She looks over to Kaydin "Its not your allegance but your own confusion that was the problem."

Aerith has posed:
Aerith returned from the back room with, of all things, a suitcase. She has her dress within and another outfit she'd picked out from their first trip to Manhattan. She reminds herself to pick a third outfit, something with as much freedom of movement as possible... without being insane. For the moment, she waves to Tifa. "Well then, I'm off tomorrow! No idea where we're going, but I'll find out!"

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart nods, and walks over to Aerith "You be careful now, and if you're even in need, call out for me, alright? That's what friends are for.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith nodded and headed toward one of the rooms in the back. "Well, see you when I see you!" She vanished for the evening, not to return to Goug for quite some time...