The Monkey King's School of the Mystical Arts

[Tan Li]

Li looked around the empty dojo. "Are you busy now? Where do you want to start? Monster lore or fighting."

****

Mik thought about it for a second. The monster stuff sounded cool. But he wasn't the best student. By which it probably would have to be beaten into his head. He remembered stuff much better with his blood hot.

Which made sense to him. Stuff that might get you killed or hurt tended to put you in a mighty remembering mood. The Lady might be a bitch, but she didn't leave you helpless

He slipped off his red leather jacket. "Yeah, I got nothin' goin' on today. I'm game." He stretched, his arms out and felt the tightness of his button down. Jeans weren't great either. He looked at Li. "I'm thinkin 'I need to change though. You rent out gear or whatever?"

****

It wasn't usual, usually required purchase, but renting and laundry sounded decent too though not many people would want to wear someone else's clothes. "I assume you don't get the chance to change in a fight on the street. But there is a change of clothes in the locker room, the attendant will help sort you out."

[[ with Mik ]]

[Mikhail]

Mik waved him off with a laugh. "So it's straight to the street fighting first? Jeez, buy a guy a drink first or something, doll."

In the locker rooms he found some one who seemed to work there. By which he meant he was standing there with his thumb up his ass since the boss couldn't see him. "Heya Motya. Big man out there said you could hook me up with something to fight in." Boyo shot him a look that was totally not part of customer service training before walking off.

What the hell, man? Walkins were walkins. He doubted people were carrying spare gi's or whatver when when they came in to give it a shot.

Not Boyo's fault, not really. Li probably knew his stuff and could teach it. But dollars to pirogis he was only at this teaching gig a short time. There was something overly manicured about the guy.

Which was fine. Just not what he'd expect from the head of a dojo or whatever.

Anyway, gi was nice and loose, though perhaps the material rougher than he expected. He imagine there'd be a lot of face and neck burns from holds. All of which meant, stay away from them as often as possible.

If you have two people and one is bring held, well...better to be the outside spoon, was all he was saying. He smirked at the thought. Wonder which one Old Man River ended up being. Lucky bastard. Maybe he should cultivate the quiet brooding persona too.

Be nice to get some silk ones, though. Next job he took. If this panned out. He didn't mind blowing off steam. And then, when he's recovering, he can hear about these monsters.

Mik came out barefoot onto the mat. "Alright boss. Now what?"

[Tan Li]

Li waited for Mik to come back. He changed out of his own attire and into something more comfortable since that was the goal. But really only so it fit the part while on the floor. His masters would be disappointed if he taught out of custom. Not that Li cared much anymore but it was still tradition.

Mik came back and found Li sitting on the floor stretching. Li nodded for Mik to follow along. "We don't want to hurt ourselves."

Li started his customary lesson, a beginning in meditation. His voice was calm and warm much like the monks from the monastery as he walked Mik through stretches and mind calming techniques similar to yoga, but it was only meant to become one with the body, and he told Mik as much.

"One last deep breath and stand." Li said following his own instructions and then standing in a defensive position. "First, show me what you've got."

[Mikhail]

Mik padded out in his bare feet. The wood floor was nice and cool, though the padded mats not so much. Jedi Master Lih was decked out in his gi. Guy looked good in it, that was for sure. It wasn't a show off your body kinda outfit, but Mik could see the man was fit. Had that tall upper and lower triangle build, points meeting at the middle of his torso.

A hint of a smile ghosted his mouth. He remembered the scar. Not much, if any padding, there. He thought he heard the tinkle of a laugh. Was the Lady tempting him? If so, it was a nice piece of....bait dangling on the hook.

Haha! What a tool he was. He wasn't getting any vibes. She was just playing with him.

He sat and followed Li's lead. See what I did there?, he thought to her. Yoga and pilots (was that what is was called?) or zen med werent anything he'd ever done. It was surprising how....challenging some of it was.

A light sheen of sweat had broken out on his forehead and neck. But his muscles in arms and legs felt all nice and loosey goosey, almost rubbery as he stood shaking them out.

Mik raises an eyebrow, considering Li's words. "You want I should street fight you?" He shrugged, smile on his lips. "Alright, Jedi Master" looking back at the door in a fake out. In a heartbeat, he had swept out at the legs of the guy. Hey, he wanted a fight. And weren't no rules in street fighting, that was for damn sure.

[Tan Li]

Li laughed even as the man tried to take his feet from underneath him. Jedi Master - now that was one thing he could get behind. "If that is all you have then bring it." Li said as stepped backwards avoiding the sweep. This wasn't a street fight, were subterfuge would work as easily. Distractions were common in a street fight. Li had participated in a few when he was younger, but it had always been frowned upon - he had an image to upload as it were.

Li let Mik go on the offensive, this was a test of what the lad had and not what he could do. Li knew where his strengths and assets lay. He needed to assess the man in front of him. The one who claimed to want to learn, but Li had a strange feeling he was here because he had nothing better to do. Sadly the man was not of the caliber of teacher Li was looking for in other things. There had to be others out there that knew what to do with their gifts. He'd seen Ascendancy wield it with ease, and Jaxen as well. To combine all your skills into one arena - now that might make a fight in the Almaz.

[[ Li's not going to go on the offensive unless Mik doesn't ever go on it. Feel free to get in a few lucky shots or skip over to Li testing his defenses with a blast of hands and feet Bruce Lee style but itd be after he'd seen enough of Mik's offense. The fight is boring so feel free to skip most of it no need for a blow by blow anything ]]

[Mikhail]

Master Wu was fast. Like really fast. Like in those movies where the dude just stands there and dodges hits and jabs and punches and kicks without even touching you.

Or even breaking a sweat. Hahaha! He heard the Lady's laughter and he couldn't help his own grin even as he double and trippled and whatever-the-hell-you-called-it-lled his attempts.

One hit man! Just give me one! Best he got was the brush of his pants leg.

Oooo....Mik is such bad ass now, he laughed to himself. Li was probably laughing too. Ok maybe not. He should though. Mik was having fun. And the guy had a nice smile.

And like that he stopped, bent over, hands on knees breathing hard and looking up at guy with respect. "Dude, you kicked my ass without touching me." He hadn't been sure how much time had gone by but he was definitely winded. He stood after a moment and held out his hand. "Seriously, dude, respect. I'm definitely down for this shit."

Hands clasped, he struck again. Cheap shot, he knew. Just like he knew the next thing he'd see was Li standing over him but at a safe distance and probably a smirk on his face. It took a moment for his breathing to start again, but when it did, he just laughed. "Sorry bro. Had to try. Dishonor and all."

All in all, this was turning into a fun day.

[Li modded w perm]

[Tan Li]

All it all it was a decent assessment of Mik's ability. He was strong agile, thought well on his feet. but young and hot headed too. He'd seen many like him through the years, so when the bout came to an end, he expected the move. Men like Mik didn't care much for honor and it was a cheap shot, but you didn't fight monsters and expect to withdraw from it while it still breathed without knowing for a fact it wasn't coming after you. And that was best determined if it were dead.

His last little hunt had gone well - made a new friend and it had taught Li that the power was useful for many things. If only it Li didn't beleive in the balance of things.

Li offered Mik his hand as he apologized. "I don't think a man like yourself much cares about dishonor." It wasn't meant as an insult nor a compliment just a statement of fact. Li smiled at the man. "There is much to work with But if you truly wish to fight monsters, then street fighting will not cut it. You do not want to be close enough for it to grab you. An Oni will crush you in a heart beat, the dreyken will slice your bowels and you won't even bleed to death until well after it has had it's fill of you. And you never want to go hand to hand with a chupacabra, one scratch, one bite from you and you will be just like it. yeah it was a scare tactic but it was also the truth. That was the life of an Atharim. And most Atharim died young.

[Mikhail]

Mik laughed as he shook Li's hand. "Ha ha! Well you busted me I guess. Nah. When shit's going down, you fight or you lose. Me, I don't like to lose."

As Li spoke his eye flashed to the artifact the man had shown him, as well as where the scar had been. This time, he wasn't thinking about the slash across his tight abs, or the the tapered V that dipped down. He was imagining that bone or tusk or whatever from the- Oni was it?- the Oni slashing at him, his guts spilling out. He'd seen that once, on the streets.

He frowned, hand going into his pocket and feeling the lighter. A bit of calm slipped in and he thought he heard a tinkle. Or maybe a laugh. The Lady. He considered and then seized the power, forming air into a blade. After a moment, he added a thread of fire to the edge. His eyes flicked up to meet Li's.

Half a grin formed and he said, "So...no street fighting." His lopsided grin remained and he was as cool as ice as the blade extended and lengthened. No fun in spoiling the joke by pointing it out.

Idly, he slashed it around a bit. "Yeah, I suck at this. Be dead in ten seconds flat. Twelve if I'm lucky." That bitch would see it so, too, he knew. So it was good he was here. He let the blade go and fixed the man with a curious stare. "Gotta be a way to use the power to kill those things, right? Maybe we can come up with something."

[Tan Li]

Li watched as the blade formed. "The power could be used for violence yes." Though Li didn't agree. But he would not attempt to explain to the young man why he would not. Too many years of training. Balance was his life. Defense, support, healing - he knew it possible. Had seen it happen. The world had seen it happen. But Li shook his head. "Sadly it's cliche, but it is against my religion to do such a thing. The gift is one of balance, and to give it such a task would come back ten fold. And I don't know what that would be."

Li smiled. "However, I can teach you the used of the mundane version of the weapon you wielded, and of any other you choose. From there you can find alternate methods of using your gift to bring down the beasts. The Oni is the toughest of the creatures to beat - their skin thick like armor and much smarter than you would think of a bumbling orge type creature. No bullets peirce their skin, and your blades will bounce right off. It's a hard shot to hit small eye about the size of an old US dime, but it's a deadly kill. If it doesn't get you first."

li finished "Where would you like to start?" Maybe if he got more channelers... such a strange thing to say, but that was what they were being called - channelers... If more came to the dojo someone was bound to be able to help Mik out. "And I will keep an eye out for others such as yourself - someone might be willing to teach you those skills you seek with your gift."

[Mikhail]

Mik didn't roll his eyes at the guy's comment- not when he wanted training from him- but that was pretty stupid. A weapon was a weapon. He could almost hear the Lady laughing, imagining him going up against one of those things- an Oni he called it- and not using the power to kill it. What's next? No guns because they have no honor?

Honor didn't mean much to Mik. The universe didn't give two shits about people. That was the big joke few got. So get what can out of life. Didn't mean you had to be a dick about it. He didn't mind helping people out, not if he could do it with sweating too much. Like that lady, Ori's mom.

And hot damn, but where had she gotten off to? He had half a mind to sniff around her mom's place again and see what happened to her. Come to think of it, the Lady seemed to look like Ori, now that he gave himself a moment. Funny, that. She had a mean streak, that was for sure. But last he saw of her- all stealing his lighter and everything and trying to get him and the guy at the bar to fight- she seemed to just enjoy causing trouble.

His kinda girl.

Li seemed a good enough guy. And hot enough. He definitely wouldn't mind a tumble. But he didn't get much in the way of humor from him.

"Hmm....I get your point." He looked at the weapons decorating the wall. One was a tall wooden staff. That looked his speed. He pointed. "I like that. Be a good place to learn, anyway."