☆ 002 : WARM-UP ☆ "All of us contain Music & Truth, but most of us can't get it out."

[idol_support]

Characters: Rise Kujikawa and YOU!
Setting: Floor Twenty-Eight, the Music Room, or prettymuch anywhere else you want.
Format: Prose and Action both A-OK; you pick and I'll follow your lead!
Summary: Rise does her best to get in a little vocal practise for the (possible) upcoming Gas Chamber, Tower Edition show. Make a song request, pick up an instrument and join in, just listen...that part's all up to you. :]
Warnings: Event-related things, perhaps...or maybe she just has the regular flu. :3 Otherwise nothing.



Rise stood behind the electronic keyboard, shoulders relaxed, arms by her sides. Breathing in slowly, she hummed a low note (try to find the note where you feel maximum vibration in your lower abdomen) as she exhaled, one hand pressed to her midriff. After repeating that a few times, she shivered and huffed out a sigh instead, breaking the rhythm. But well, at least it was easy to make sure she was doing her breathing exercises right, since thanks to the cold, she could see every breath that left her mouth.

The cold did make it pretty hard to play the piano well, though--not that she was AMAZING at it even under normal conditions, but she was far from terrible, on the upper side of average at the very least. A singer who couldn't read music at all or play an instrument at least a little would be an embarrassment to her agency, and Rise was a quick study anyways.

After rubbing some circulation back into her fingers, she got to work on playing--and singing--some scales.


(It's nothing too interesting at first, but if you wait for a while, she might start practising an actual song or two...or maybe not. She might just start coughing instead...)

Comments

[culbutiri]

Nesir just raised her eyebrows at the flurry of excuses, but her face softened when Rise agreed. Nesir had taught a little bit before, it was one of the duties of an acolyte. "What do you be wanting to be learning? I can be teaching you daggers but since you do no be having any it might be better to be teaching you to be fighting with no weapons first.

[idol_support]

"I'll learn whatever you think I should learn first! You're the expert here, after all...but yeah, you're right, maybe hand-to-hand fighting is the best place to start."

She didn't much relish the idea of fighting monsters with her bare hands, but everyone had to start somewhere, and at least it would give her some sort of combat ability, however slight. Anyways, it was something to do, a worthwhile way of spending her time, and with someone she really rather liked. And wouldn't Yu-senpai be surprised if she ever got good enough to show him her moves...

"...Did you want to start now, or later? I'm not feeling so great, but I'd still definitely be willing to give it my best shot if you wanted to get to work right away."

[culbutiri]

Nesir nodded, thinking some more. Unarmed was a good place to start because it would be the basis for any weapons she wanted to pick up in the future. And if she had truly never fought before there would be a lot of basics to pick up.

"We could be starting now," Nesir said with a tilt of her head, "It would be a way to be warmer."

[idol_support]

"Right then!" Rise did her best to bounce to her feet, though she couldn't hide a serious shiver as she left her blankets behind. "Do we have enough room in here for now, or should we head to the gym?"

[culbutiri]

Nesir jumped up as well, hating the cold but knowing that fighting would at least help them keep warm. "We can be going to the gymnasium, I will be racing you, it can be warm up!"

[idol_support]

...Ooh, ohoho, a challenge! She might not be strong, but Rise was in good shape, and she was pretty fast! Most of the time, anyway, since the flu was making her kinda wobbly...but still!

"You're on!" Rise laughed, shoving her weariness aside and immediately bolting for the door, giggling the whole way.

[culbutiri]

Nesir was weak from the flu as well but she chased Rise out the door, laughing as well. She wasn't the fastest acolyte but she could go on for a long time, since the temple had them running laps before breakfast every single day.

She took the stairs two at a time on level with Rise now.

[idol_support]

If it had been just her, she would've stopped running once she reached the stairs; but this was a race, and Rise was nothing if not competitive, even over silly things like this.

Still smiling, the idol picked up her own pace, determined not to let Nesir pull ahead. She wouldn't lose!

[culbutiri]

Nesir was just as competitive and although she had spent the last few years complaining about having to do endless laps every single day she had found she missed being so active in the tower.

And it was a wonderful way to keep warm. Even if her head still felt fuzzy with illness.

[idol_support]

Normally Rise would've been fine, maybe just a little out of breath, after sprinting down all those stairs--being an idol and hours of dungeon-crawling were both a lot of work, so she'd gotten plenty of exercise. But thanks to being sick, she's dizzy and gasping for breath by the time she reaches the gym floor.

"...Man...ten flights of stairs seems like a lot when you don't feel so good...huh, Nesir-chan?"

They'd been so close together and she'd been too focused on actually getting there to pay attention, so Rise didn't know for sure who had won. Maybe it was a tie?

[culbutiri]

When Nesir had challenged Rise to the race she hadn't expected the girl to be this good, by five flights down she realised that she had completely underestimated her.

And began to enjoy herself, so much that even when she reached the gym floor half a footstep behind Rise she didn't mind at all but grinned, her breath billowing in clouds in front of her.

"You do be good," she gasped trying to get enough breath back that the world would stop spinning. "At least...." she broke off to cough, "We do be warm..."

[idol_support]

"Well," Rise panted, giving the other girl as much of a grin as she could manage, "if you can't really fight...you'd better be pretty good at running...or at least dodging! And yeah, I'm feeling a lot warmer now. Running here was a good idea."

Straightening and pressing a hand to her still uncomfortably tight-feeling chest, Rise glanced around the gym, then looked back to Nesir.

"So, what do we do now?"

She had no idea how a training session for something like this should go.

[culbutiri]

"That do be true!" She grinned, in a better mood now she was warmer. "Well we do be warmed up so we do just be needing to stretch and then we do be ready."

She began doing some basic stretches mostly of her wrists and leg muscles, figuring that Rise could copy her or do her own if she knew any.

[idol_support]

Stretching was easy enough, and Rise knew how to do that for sure. Years of hours-long dance practise had made it a necessity, and she was pretty limber as a result. So she started going through her own regular stretch routine, though she kept an eye on Nesir to be sure there wasn't anything she was missing.

[culbutiri]

Nesir grinned at her when she was finished and took off her cloak, it was cold without it but she could move easier and she would soon keep warm with training. "So do you be knowing anything at all about fighting?"

[idol_support]

Rise had left her own cloak back in their room, so she didn't have anything to take off herself. She gave a sheepish, self-deprecating little chuckle as she finished up her last set of stretches.

"Well...I've seen a lot of fighting, so I know plenty about it in theory. But I was there for support, to point out enemies' weaknesses and cheer on the people who were actually doing the fighting, so I've never actually done any of it."

[culbutiri]

Well that was good at least, though it did make her wonder why those she had watched fight had never taught her.

"Well as I am sure you do be knowing the idea is to be hitting your enemies and be making sure they do no be hitting you. But if they do be hitting you you must be making sure you can be getting back up."

As in she was about to teach her to fall and roll because she didn't want her to actually get injured whilst training.

[idol_support]

"You mean like knowing how to guard to prevent an attack from hitting you as hard as it could?"

She tried out a couple of the defensive stances she'd seen her friends take, watching Nesir for approval or correction.

[culbutiri]

"Yes, and how to not be hurting if you do be falling and how to be getting out of the way."

[idol_support]

Rise knew some of that kind of thing from her dancing lessons, though of course she'd never applied it to a combat situation.

"I know how to fall and slide without hurting myself...is that kinda what you mean? I wouldn't really know how to use that sorta thing in a fight, though."

[culbutiri]

"Oh well that do be good, it do be useful because even though it do be important to not be falling it do be more important that if you do be falling you can be getting up quickly and not be hurting so you can be fighting more." There were also situations were falling was the best way out of a hold or such as well, but she didn't want to confuse Rise too much.

[idol_support]

Rise gave a slightly nervous giggle, because talking about it was one thing, but actually doing it in a fight was something else. It was completely different, in fact! ...Plus, Nesir was talking a lot about falling and avoiding attacks and not getting hurt...

"...So...are we gonna try to spar right now? Because...I'm pretty sure you'll wipe the floor with me in three seconds or less if we do."

[culbutiri]

Nesir blinked and then laughed, shaking her head. "I do no be that cruel, to be fighting you before I do be teaching you how to be punching." Even Nesir wouldn't do that. Well she would, but only if it was someone over sure and arrogant that she was teaching. She sort of liked Rise.

"But accidents do be happening and I do no be wanting you to be hurting yourself. But if you do be knowing how to fall then we can be moving on."

[idol_support]

Rise relaxed a little at that laughter, as well as the reassurance, her smile gaining a little more strength and warmth.

"That's a relief... Some people just throw you into things headfirst when they're trying to teach you something new and call it 'tough love'!" She'd had a dance instructor like that at one point early in her career, before her debut. She'd been sore for weeks, but she'd definitely become a much better dancer.

"But yeah, I think I've got the falling thing handled! What's next?"

[culbutiri]

"Well I will no be doing that," Nesir grinned. She knew all about that method of teaching, it was how she had been taught most things in her childhood. The listen well or fail school of thought.

A few teachers at the temple had been like that too, but Nesir preferred to teach first before testing. All the warrior trainers had been surprised at Nesir's patience as a teacher when she had started teaching beginner classes; something all acolytes had to do.

"Well then I think punching do be next." She grinned and slipped easily into an offensive stance, "Obviously in real combat this step do be quick, but it do be important you do be knowing the best way to stand so you can be punching."

Her legs were in front of each other, perhaps a shoulder width apart and he knees bent.