The Way of the Iridescent Fist

[Knight Errant]

The back of Elizabeth's head is struck, the Indigo shining around Charlotte's hand, flowing around her head at the point of contact.

It forms a new mask upon Charlotte's face, soothing her. But all her will to fight seems to have ebbed, her own aura dimming before fading. Everyone applauds!

((I assume you mean on Elizabeth's face))

Charlotte lets out a slow breath... settling down and letting her heart stop pounding so fast. And yet... a victory. It was exhilarating... wasn't it...? Its what she had been hoping for... yet not daring to believe possible.

[Blaze]

Jade pushes aside the off feeling. The goal of science is to understand nature completely, so surely understanding (at least some of) the Colors well enough to control them falls under that umbrella. Her own nature is a mix of the two colors, so applying one to the other should be...logical, in a way. At the same time, she nods. "I suppose if I projected red to someone not proficient with that style it could make them a less capable combatant. But this still feels a long ways off from actually being a competent fighter."

Ling nods. "Understandable, and true. To learn to fight properly is a long road. Channeling these colors can help bridge the gap, but some of your efforts must go towards physical condition. We shall begin that now, using Red."

The martial artist shimmers Red once more, losing the glasses and a few years.

"The Colors have multiple layers of meaning. I showed you the surface of Red by making you cuter. But what else does Red do? It makes you younger. And the young often are filled with energy. Observe."

She channels the Red into her legs, before taking off like a gunshot, running the circumference of the courtyard in 10 seconds flat!

Fox doesn't have much trouble making the same jumps, doing quick rolls and cartwheels to handle the impact of landings. This makes his landings a little slower overall, but he keeps pace perfectly all the same. "Is that how you see yourself? Or just part of the taunt?" He runs up the opposite side of the cable, giving a slightly heavier burst of speed now.

"I am mortal! In spite of wearing the colors and taking on their guises, I have never been anything else!" There's no bitter irony in her voice, nor self-deprecation. It's stated as a hard fact.

As the two dash up the wire, the sky about them begins to darken. Ling is starting to breathe hard as the oxygen thins around them.

*nods* My lieutenant told me that the Color was on the unorthodox side, but part of me's still surprised. My own fault for not reading the reports more closely.

"In this case, I understand your concern. But I do think that this state has some beneficial properties. To be totally removed from any distracting stimuli, including the sensations of your own body, makes for a marvelous meditative experience. Now, I believe your final request was Black?"

She goes to guide Viridi back outside, to a corner of the courtyard, where a variety of fallen angels, devils, imps, and demons have come together to clash with a fast, vicious style.

Charlotte lets out a slow breath... settling down and letting her heart stop pounding so fast. And yet... a victory. It was exhilarating... wasn't it...? Its what she had been hoping for... yet not daring to believe possible.

Ling walks up, helping Elizabeth to her feet. She offers Charlotte a curtsy. "It was a fine match. Thank you," the duchess says, indicating that there is no hard feelings.

"How did it feel, to channel the symbolic might of royalty?" Ling asks the fresh princess.

[Knight Errant]

Ling walks up, helping Elizabeth to her feet. She offers Charlotte a curtsy. "It was a fine match. Thank you," the duchess says, indicating that there is no hard feelings.

"How did it feel, to channel the symbolic might of royalty?" Ling asks the fresh princess.

She nods graciously to the Duchess... then looks to Ling. "It feel... strange. Not like before. Rip, tear, pummel. This... much different. Almost lost before me began." She glances back to the other elegant lady. "She not show any mercy." She snickers. "Good fighter."

[Whatevr89532]

Jade watches the display of speed and energy. "That is clearly more than youthful energy..but I can see how it should help. Should I attempt a lesser version of the exercise?"

--

"I've always thought of myself as a mortal too, though. Pretty sure I still die if I'm stabbed hard enough!" Fox takes a deep breath after responding, just before starting to get to the area where the oxygen is almost too thin to properly breathe. It seems like he intends to hold his breath as if underwater rather than trying to continue breathing the increasingly thin air, and for now at least he keeps on going up.

((

fresh princess.

"Now this is story all about how
Me life get flipped, turned upside down..."
))

[Blaze]

She nods graciously to the Duchess... then looks to Ling. "It feel... strange. Not like before. Rip, tear, pummel. This... much different. Almost lost before me began." She glances back to the other elegant lady. "She not show any mercy." She snickers. "Good fighter."

Elizabeth lets out a demure giggle. "You are quite talented yourself, even if your tone is one of a ruffian." Ling smirks and guides Charlotte away, the other Indigo girls bidding farewell and asking her to train with them again.

"So, what do you think of Blooming Wallflower Style now?"

Jade watches the display of speed and energy. "That is clearly more than youthful energy..but I can see how it should help. Should I attempt a lesser version of the exercise?"

Ling returns, smirking. "Says who? These colors do not obey conventional logic. 'Youthful energy' could potentially be enough to vibrate through solids if you wanted. It just takes practice. And yes, go ahead."

"I've always thought of myself as a mortal too, though. Pretty sure I still die if I'm stabbed hard enough!" Fox takes a deep breath after responding, just before starting to get to the area where the oxygen is almost too thin to properly breathe. It seems like he intends to hold his breath as if underwater rather than trying to continue breathing the increasingly thin air, and for now at least he keeps on going up.

"Don't sell yourself... short! You are a nature spirit... of this place now!" Ling gasps. The air is so thin that she can barely speak now. Finally, her foot slips on the cable and she begins to fall! Luckily, she glows White soon after, angel wings sprouting to slow her descent.

But that means Fox wins!

[AmbushCat]

"In this case, I understand your concern. But I do think that this state has some beneficial properties. To be totally removed from any distracting stimuli, including the sensations of your own body, makes for a marvelous meditative experience. Now, I believe your final request was Black?"

She goes to guide Viridi back outside, to a corner of the courtyard, where a variety of fallen angels, devils, imps, and demons have come together to clash with a fast, vicious style.

*One of the demons, a maroon-colored adolescent with purple and white hair and twin scars that start on either side of her neck and extend down to her navel, begrudgingly nods at her Master when she gets close enough. She then catches sight of Viridi, visibly blanches, grabs her training partner and retreats as far away as permissible before continuing her exercises.*

Viridi: *smiles widely* Hm. Perhaps my worries were unfounded after all?

[Knight Errant]

Elizabeth lets out a demure giggle. "You are quite talented yourself, even if your tone is one of a ruffian." Ling smirks and guides Charlotte away, the other Indigo girls bidding farewell and asking her to train with them again.

"So, what do you think of Blooming Wallflower Style now?"

Charlotte frowns at that... but nods at the other girls and then walks away with Ling. At her question, she pauses a few moments, thinking. "It... different. Still feels weak... even though me know its not. And feels... strange. Old instincts tell me do one thing. New say do another."

[Blaze]

*One of the demons, a maroon-colored adolescent with purple and white hair and twin scars that start on either side of her neck and extend down to her navel, begrudgingly nods at her Master when she gets close enough. She then catches sight of Viridi, visibly blanches, grabs her training partner and retreats as far away as permissible before continuing her exercises.*

Viridi: *smiles widely* Hm. Perhaps my worries were unfounded after all?

"I'll thank you not to intimidate my students, either now or due to past association," Ling says sternly as she watches her student retreat. "What did you do to her?"

Charlotte frowns at that... but nods at the other girls and then walks away with Ling. At her question, she pauses a few moments, thinking. "It... different. Still feels weak... even though me know its not. And feels... strange. Old instincts tell me do one thing. New say do another."

"Unlearning instincts are difficult. I had to do the same. But you must allow the old ones to die. And there are many ways to do it. One is to extinguish them by listening to them and failing with your new form, over and over. The other is to listen to the new, over and over, until the old ones die. What is more preferable to you?"

[Whatevr89532]

Jade nods, and makes an effort to channel youthful energy specifically through her body, focusing the thoughts on things like young children and animals running around with seemingly boundless energy. She takes off at her best run then, hoping to at least see some kind of improvement over her performance earlier.

--

Fox makes his way a few yards up from Ling, slowly exhaling his recent breath like a freediver. After a bit, he pushes himself off of the cable and allows gravity to start carrying him down. Near the ground he glows with his color again and shifts back to the more durable form, landing like a miniature meteorite but ending up relatively unharmed. She sits up, gasping for air for a moment, and says, "Phew. I dunno how I woulda survived that fall in that form, honestly."

[AmbushCat]

"I'll thank you not to intimidate my students, either now or due to past association," Ling says sternly as she watches her student retreat. "What did you do to her?"

*glares at Ling* Let me tell you something. I've only had this physical body since late May. Before then, I'd been floating in the ether for at least two millennia. I have not, in this life or the last, had any sort of acquaintance with anyone in this group. If they're skilled or knowledgeable enough to recognize their betters, since when is that my problem?

[Knight Errant]

"Unlearning instincts are difficult. I had to do the same. But you must allow the old ones to die. And there are many ways to do it. One is to extinguish them by listening to them and failing with your new form, over and over. The other is to listen to the new, over and over, until the old ones die. What is more preferable to you?"

Charlotte frowns... "Me would prefer not to fail over and over. Would be... humiliating. Would prefer try to listen to the new."

[Blaze]

*glares at Ling* Let me tell you something. I've only had this physical body since late May. Before then, I'd been floating in the ether for at least two millennia. I have not, in this life or the last, had any sort of acquaintance with anyone in this group. If they're skilled or knowledgeable enough to recognize their betters, since when is that my problem?

"To carry yourself with such unbridled arrogance is unbefitting of one of your stature. Nature cares not for the affairs of mortals, so why should you?"

Regardless, she begins to explain. "Those touched by Black are viewed as evil, but 'evil' is just a label for traits such as arrogance and self-interest. Thus, I humble them, and make it within their best interest to learn under me. I can keep them in line."

Jade nods, and makes an effort to channel youthful energy specifically through her body, focusing the thoughts on things like young children and animals running around with seemingly boundless energy. She takes off at her best run then, hoping to at least see some kind of improvement over her performance earlier.

As she runs, a childish giddiness builds up within her. Her legs pump, her feet pound against the stone. Her stamina, almost nonexistent, seems bottomless, boundless. The world blurs by as she runs, and thoughts of doing it to become stronger seem to ebb. Just running for the sake of it seems... fun!

Fox makes his way a few yards up from Ling, slowly exhaling his recent breath like a freediver. After a bit, he pushes himself off of the cable and allows gravity to start carrying him down. Near the ground he glows with his color again and shifts back to the more durable form, landing like a miniature meteorite but ending up relatively unharmed. She sits up, gasping for air for a moment, and says, "Phew. I dunno how I woulda survived that fall in that form, honestly."

Ling lands too, dismissing the angel wings and resprouting the dragon scales and appendages. "Hmm... that will teach me for speaking where the air is thing. Now... did you observe anything during that? Any quirks to motion or pursuit tactics?"

Charlotte frowns... "Me would prefer not to fail over and over. Would be... humiliating. Would prefer try to listen to the new."

Ling smirks mightily.

"Then we shall place you in a battle the likes of which you've never experienced."

She points back at the other Indigo girls, who seem to be setting up... a tea party?

[AmbushCat]

"To carry yourself with such unbridled arrogance is unbefitting of one of your stature. Nature cares not for the affairs of mortals, so why should you?"

Regardless, she begins to explain. "Those touched by Black are viewed as evil, but 'evil' is just a label for traits such as arrogance and self-interest. Thus, I humble them, and make it within their best interest to learn under me. I can keep them in line."

*mutters* Nature shouldn't have let itself be talked into adoption by a Black Maine Coon, either, yet it happened anyway.

*Up on the roof, Ambush hums a few bars from Gary Young's "Plant Man". Viridi rolls her eyes and tunes him out, listening to Ling's explanation.*

I doubt "evil" would have truly described anyone in this group, anyway. A bit on the malicious side, sure, but not so far that someone couldn't have done a good enough job keeping them on the straight and narrow.

*The demon that Viridi had scared off earlier does a double-take on hearing this. To her credit, she doesn't let it distract her too much from her exercises.*

[Knight Errant]

Ling smirks mightily.

"Then we shall place you in a battle the likes of which you've never experienced."

She points back at the other Indigo girls, who seem to be setting up... a tea party?

She straightens herself up... looking over to the girls. "Oh...? Mmmm... what do you want me do...?"

[Blaze]

*mutters* Nature shouldn't have let itself be talked into adoption by a Black Maine Coon, either, yet it happened anyway.

*Up on the roof, Ambush hums a few bars from Gary Young's "Plant Man". Viridi rolls her eyes and tunes him out, listening to Ling's explanation.*

I doubt "evil" would have truly described anyone in this group, anyway. A bit on the malicious side, sure, but not so far that someone couldn't have done a good enough job keeping them on the straight and narrow.

*The demon that Viridi had scared off earlier does a double-take on hearing this. To her credit, she doesn't let it distract her too much from her exercises.*

Ling smirks lightly, and looks to her student as he glances back in surprise. "It's heartening to hear you say that. Most just see the color."

She places her hands on her hips and look around. "Well, that was all the colors you mentioned having concerns over. Was there anything else?"

She straightens herself up... looking over to the girls. "Oh...? Mmmm... what do you want me do...?"

"I want you to join these ladies in a tea party."

It seems bizarre, but as the table is decked out with fancy cloth, as a pot of tea with milk jugs and sugar bowls are placed, the shy women seem to take on a new life. They shine with Indigo but in a far more restrained way that before.