[Action]

[nomen_est_numen]

It's a beautiful day outside. The sun is shining, the snow has melted. Birds are singing, the townspeople are out conducting their business in a manner so cheerful as to threaten an oncoming musical number, and a Peacock is on the lawn of the Ermis Suites, practicing a rather scary-looking variant of kung fu.

Wait, what?

Yes, anyone passing by or looking out their window at the right time will see a white and red and black shape whirling and and flipping and leaping about, guan dao wielded expertly in his wing tips. He kicks and pivots and lunges and steps, half dance, half kata, metal talons shredding the remains of last year's grass, polearm whistling through the air in bright arcs of reflected sunlight. He occasionally flicks his tail open with almost terrifying speed, whirling, ducking, snapping it shut, bringing the polearm around in a series of twirling, leaping circles.

Eventually he comes to a stop, panting and blowing, leaning against the shaft of the guan dao, the blade of which is planted in the dirt.

((2% spent on pure muscle memory recalling a good deal of his kung fu training))

Comments

[trustycrowbar]

Gordon just never knows what he's going to find, looking out his window. He looks past the floating electrostatic gizmo he'd just built and sees a flash of white feathers and metal on the lawn below.

By the time he wanders his way downstairs, Shen is likely resting.

"Suddenly all those knives make a lot more sense." He says once he's within earshot.

[nomen_est_numen]

Shen is resting, still leaning against the polearm, but at least he's mostly got his breath back. He looks up from his contemplation of the chewed-up grass when Gordon speaks.

"The knives and, more importantly, these things." He indicates one foot. "It all came back to me this morning... I simply had the strangest urge to go outside and train with all of..." a wing flap at the guan dao as well, "...these."

[trustycrowbar]

[He gets to withing conversational distance, now certain he's out of danger of being accidentally "trained" upon.]

So what IS that polearm thing anyway? And where'd the claws come from?

[nomen_est_numen]

"If I recall correctly, it's called a guan dao," Shen answers, hefting the thing and giving it a casual spin. He sticks the blade back into the semi-thawed earth, where it sticks there halfway between the joint of blade and shaft. "I must have had it for quite a while, because using it feels oddly natural. As to these..." he looks down at his feet again. "I... think I constructed them myself... either that or I had someone do it to very precise specifications, because they fit perfectly."

Okay, so the claws are still a bit of a mystery.

[trustycrowbar]

[The blade naturally comes no where near threatening the human, but he still drifts backwards out of instinct.]

Hold on. You think you made those? I'm not expert but they look like they're pretty good craftsmanship... Can you remember if you've constructed anything else?

[nomen_est_numen]

Shen peers at his own feet for another beat or so. "I... hm." He taps his beak with his wing tips the way a human would tap his chin. "I can't quite recall, but... occasionally I would have this vague notion to... to build something. Create... something. I just have no idea what it would be." A pause and he looks at Gordon. "Does that make any sense?"

[trustycrowbar]

[There's a pause, and he chuckles a little and runs a hand over his hair, glancing aside.]

It actually does. There's... a compulsion, I guess. It transcends memory; it's just THERE, and I think we've all got something like it.

Mine came with the anemoi; when I found out about them I HAD to figure out how those things worked. Still do. So much so that I had no idea what I was doing, I just started looking up random things about geological formations and crystal lattice structure. I felt like an moron... until some of it started to look familiar.

[nomen_est_numen]

This gets pondered upon. "I... think I understand. But... I haven't quite come upon what I'd start with."

[trustycrowbar]

You want to build something? Then do it. Tinker around with stuff, figure out what makes it tick. If something gets your interest, follow it. Maybe something will start to come back.

Something that isn't, you know... crazy kung-fu related. [He adds with a glance to the guan dao.]

[nomen_est_numen]

Shen looks at the guan dao as well.

"Not to worry--I don't have a reason to attack anyone with this. Still, you've a point. I ought to branch out a bit, now.... What's the phrase... throw it at the wall and see if it sticks..."

He's from a country that subsists almost entirely on noodles and vegetables. His brain was bound to cough up something like that.

[trustycrowbar]

Yup. There's bound to be junkyards around here you can investigate for raw materials. As for tools... I'm not sure. Maybe you can get to know the guys at a machine shop.

[stinglikeabat]

Joachim's been watching, fascinated. Still not the strangest thing he's seen, but it's close!

"You're pretty good! What do you call that?"

[nomen_est_numen]

Shen waves a wing in a request for patience as he catches his breath. It's only a few beats, but it's clear he hasn't done any of this for a while.

"Thank you. I... can't quite remember what it's called... some form of kung fu. I have a vague recollection of there being a great number of varying styles."

[stinglikeabat]

"Kung fu?"

He should probably know what that is. It sounds... Chinese, maybe?

[nomen_est_numen]

"A kind of martial art. As far as I can remember, it's the national pastime where I come from... wherever that is."

Holes in the memory are so frustrating.

[stinglikeabat]

"You mean everyone there can do that kind of stuff?"

[nomen_est_numen]

"Not... not everyone, no, but a great deal of people could, and those who couldn't ... oh, what's the word...." He flounders.

[stinglikeabat]

"Well, don't look at me!"

Joachim's vocabulary is not his strong suit.

[washurhair]

Shampoo only catches the end result of the training session but she recognizes the sight as something quite familiar. She slows down her bike to stop and chat.

"You're the bird with that weapon from a while back. Looks like you finally remember how to use that huh?"

[nomen_est_numen]

"Hullo... Shampoo, was it? Yes--yes, I just remembered it this morning, actually." He's just about got his breath back. He's certainly skilled with the thing but it's obvious he hasn't trained in a while if he's that out-of-breath. "And not a moment too soon, it seems," he adds ruefully, noting his own lack of wind.

[washurhair]

The girl hops off her bike and walks over to Shen, looking over the area with a critical eye. She's not a master at recreating battles in her head just from the area's damages like her Great-Grandmother but she can piece enough to see that he's good. "You have a good style there, must have trained a long time to get this skilled. I'm sure with enough practice you get back in shape. After all, our bodies are the key to our styles."