[video + closed action]

[soupguy]

So people sell Pokemon eggs, right? That's what you do...?

[Boober is holding one egg carefully against his chest, and carefully standing as still as he can manage. His mouth is pulled into a very nervous frown.]

Traveler and Tales have four more, too. It'd be nice if people wanted them, because five is a lot to take care of... More than I can do. So if anyone wants to buy one for 300P, just tell me. Traveler is my Hisuian Growlithe, and Tales is a Patra-- Well, no wait, he's a Watchog now.

...About that. Evolution is kind of weird, isn't it? It's like deciding to have a birthday, but then they change how they look too, and that just happens all at once.

(ooc: The post for claiming eggs is here! Please make sure to hit that up if you want one, regardless of if you tag here.)


Mando: Outside of Mt Moon
[Boober can't avoid the training he and Mando agreed on forever, no matter how many seconds thoughts he's having. He should know how to escape from dangerous situations, after all, and it doesn't seem like Mando expects him to actually fight. Still, he's hesitant as he goes over to Mando.]

Um... I think I'm ready to learn that stuff you told me about.


Riz: Inside Mt Moon
[The amount of preparation Riz is doing for the upcoming tournament is admirable. He's even got Boober in on it, by making flashcards he can use to test Riz's knowledge-- Which Boober much rather do than help with actual practice battles. It's helping him learn more, too, which is important. He can't avoid every challenge, especially with Archie so eager to fight. So usually, Boober pays close attention during these quiz sessions, but as they walk through the caves of Mt Moon, he's very distracted. It's such a nice, homey place for a little Fraggle.]

Wait a second... Darn. [He sighs as he flips the top flashcard back over to the question side.] I read that one wrong again. It should've been the use for a charti berry, not a cheri berry. Sorry, Riz.

Comments

[singlespacedad]

[Now that they're done training, Ball and Loth-Cat roll and trot over to Mando to get a treat. Loth-Cat weaves up against his leg, rubbing the side of his face along Mando's hip to get his scent on him, and purrs loudly. Ball just collides with Mando and gives him a friendly slap with a flipper.]

[Mando doesn't break his attention away from Boober, but he fishes out a treat for both of the greedy little bastards.]

That's a start. Knowing when to run away is a lesson a lot of people struggle with.

We'll be working on what happens when you can't run off.

[soupguy]

[There's an audible gulp. It's scary to think of times when he can't run away, but he knows that happens from time to time no matter how careful you are.]

Okay. Just, um, be patient if I can't get it right. [He still isn't feeling confident in this.] How do we start?

watch me now completely make up every word of this grappling training

[singlespacedad]

Of course. I know you're just starting out.

[There's no honour in beating on someone who doesn't know what they're doing.]

I'm going to stand up, because most people here are taller than you. [Mando does just that.] Because of the height difference, you should expect an attack to come from above. I assume this would be the same in your world too?

[Do Fraggles have to deal with intruders that are smaller than they are? An interesting thing to ponder!]

extremely valid tbh

[soupguy]

Oh... Okay, that makes sense. And yeah, it'd be from way above back home...

[singlespacedad]

We'll get to that part later. For now, we'll focus on attacks that come from human-sized opponents.

[Mando's fought a few things far bigger than himself, after all. But that's a more advanced lesson.]

So you're never going to be a basher. [No offence meant, Boober!]. Your trick is going to be keeping anyone from getting a good grip on you, and then beating a quick retreat. [Mando lifts his arms in front of his face, like he's going to start boxing but higher and with a wider stance.] Can you hold your arms up like this?

[soupguy]

[He is not offended, but he is getting more and more nervous with words like basher being thrown around. So while he nods and holds up his arms as Mando has demonstrated, he is shaking quite a bit.]

Like this?

[singlespacedad]

Like that. Good.

[Mando reaches out and very gently puts his hands on Boober's forearms.]

Now I want you to use your muscles to make a solid arc from one hand to the next. You'll use the muscles in your chest more than the ones in your arms.

Let me know when you've done that.

[soupguy]

[Boober scowls at first, having to think about what those instructions even mean. He never thinks about these things! But after a moment, he nods once.]

I think I've got it.

[He is, if nothing else, shaking a little less.]

[singlespacedad]

All right.

[Mando starts pushing on the sides of Boober's arms, like he wants to shove them inwards to touch in front of Boober's chest. He applies very light pressure; he's not actually trying to push Boober around, but to help him get a feel for his own muscles.]

You feel that?

[Dumb question.]

If I was trying to grab you, and you braced your arms like this, it would be harder for me to get a grip on you. It would give you a few extra seconds to get away.