11-16-2018, 04:34 PM
Ivan guffawed- and regretted it, his hand going to his ribs. Still, he grinned through the wince. "Yeah. What I know. Ascendancy taught me the basics about the five flavors of the power. He had his own names for them, but I liked air, fire, rock, tears, and ghost. So...let's see. I made air fists in the tunnels. Well, not fists. More like blocks around my arms, really. You were there. Then I punched with them."
He looked at his fists- the bruising and couple of busted knuckles, then back up at Nox with a guilty shrug. "So....I'm thinking that's a pattern of mine. Big dumb jock punching his way through life." He gave a lopsided grin. "You can see why I'm asking you. Uh....sooo....oh yeah, also in the tunnels I compressed the air and...like filled it with fire, I guess, and threw it at them and it exploded. And..." he remembered the fight the other night. "...yeah, I used air to rip down some lights."
His grin had fallen and he looked at the table, the empty chess board. "You know, saying it out loud makes me feel really stupid. I mean it's clear the power can be used to hit and blow up. But it can do so much more." Maybe Nox would understand. "I understand finesse. Control. All the pieces working together. Like how an engine turns an explosion into controlled motion through the drive train. Something raw and chaotic becomes something else entirely. I want to learn how to do that with the power.""
He spread his hands. "So...that's what I know. Not a lot. Only that there is a lot to know."
He looked at his fists- the bruising and couple of busted knuckles, then back up at Nox with a guilty shrug. "So....I'm thinking that's a pattern of mine. Big dumb jock punching his way through life." He gave a lopsided grin. "You can see why I'm asking you. Uh....sooo....oh yeah, also in the tunnels I compressed the air and...like filled it with fire, I guess, and threw it at them and it exploded. And..." he remembered the fight the other night. "...yeah, I used air to rip down some lights."
His grin had fallen and he looked at the table, the empty chess board. "You know, saying it out loud makes me feel really stupid. I mean it's clear the power can be used to hit and blow up. But it can do so much more." Maybe Nox would understand. "I understand finesse. Control. All the pieces working together. Like how an engine turns an explosion into controlled motion through the drive train. Something raw and chaotic becomes something else entirely. I want to learn how to do that with the power.""
He spread his hands. "So...that's what I know. Not a lot. Only that there is a lot to know."