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Post by Nal on Oct 15, 2019 9:51:56 GMT -8
Majin Nal was focused. That alone was unusual. But she was focused on a serious matter, and that, in turn, was nearing lunacy. But it has been a worthy task for her.
Even since awakening from the magic-induced slumber, Nal felt the mystical power within her. As a majin, she was able to absorb all manners of things (and potentially people), so it came as little surprise that some of that mystical power was left inside of her. However, slumbering within a mystical cocoon (of sorts) for many, many years had caused the power to sink deep into her, awakening the demon's own, dormant potential for that very magic. What's more interesting, Nal was aware of that - either the spell was too hastily constructed and left her semi-conscious, or the shattering of her prison wasn't instant, or it is simply the side effect of the misworded incantation that brought Majin Nal to this world. Regardless, the effect was simple - she was aware during at least part of her slumber, and while track of time has been lost long before her awakening, the consciousness was aware of the power seeping through the shell and into her, and Nal curiously studied it over the time of imprisonment. She now knew that she had it - and could do all manner of things with said power, as tested shortly after awakening. Nal could heal people, she could block away their powers and a lot more - but the healing was, by far, the part that intrigued her the most.
Before meeting that man named Kiryu even, she had figured that at a cost of some of her power, Nal is capable of influencing people just by conscious thought, regardless of what she was doing at the time. So, focusing heavily on someone's irritating power would make that power unusable, but Nal could do whatever during that - due to her attention being easily divided between different things, or perhaps just the nature of the mysticism. She could point at someone, say she doesn't like when they use that power - and they wouldn't be able to for a short while. She could strike a pose - and whoever she thought of would become healthier, whatever pain was ailing them gone in an instant. She could focus on defense - and find the time around slowing, capable of defending herself better for an instant. Finally, she could, in a dire strait, restore her own power, but Nal did not like that particular use of her powers - it always let her strained, physically hurting to use.
She had studied that power and decided that she could just do whatever - and still heal people she wanted healed. At first, she merely started to smack them upside the head - then when they complained, grinning and asking what are they complaining about, as they feel better afterwards. But soon, she began to wonder. Could a strike actually be used to restore somebody's strength? That thought caused Nal plenty confusion, until she finally decided it was time to find out. Sometime after the adventure with Kiryu and the shenanigans with that technoman Bryce, Nal wandered off into the desert. Stocking up richly in food and, most importantly, candy - the little majin went on to find a quiet, secluded spot. And there, she plopped down onto a rock, crossed her legs on top of it, reached up to put fingers on the temples of her head - and began focusing.
For the first few hours, nothing happened, except Nal catching an occasional nap and crunch on a candy, whenever her patience ran short. But soon, the majin reached out and, extending her arm to do so, smacked herself on the back of her head. "Focus, Nal. Focus." - she spoke to herself, the eyes closing once more. Slowly, the cawing of vultures overhead became distant, muffled, fading into nothingness after a long enough while. Later yet, the powerful scorch of the sun on her gray skin also became distant, fading into irrelevance as the senses slowly shut down. Looking deep within herself, Majin Nal accessed the mystical power within, and with it, opened the proverbial third eye. While no such eye popped up on her forehead, she could now sense the mystic magicks within herself, and use them to take a better look at her own body.
Or rather, within her own body. She followed the flow of power, slowly but surely learning how ki flows through a person, how it is more than just power - how it is, essentially, tied to one's lifeforce. Through that connection, the majin delved deeper into the vitality of her own body, seeing how it flows through her, focusing in specific spots. Subconsciously, she reached out with the mystic senses, prodding against the vital spots in her body - and seeing how it reacts, spreading healing force all around. She prodded more - and more energy was released. Then, the majin pressed hard against the spot, and... let out a yelp, as the magical poke was too strong, enough to actually harm herself - and fall off the rock she was sitting on top of, flopping down onto the sand and flailing like a fish out of water, her face buried under the sand, senses confused utterly.
Finally sitting up and spitting out a hefty mouthful of the irritating grains, Nal grumbled. While picking the sand from her tongue, coughing and spitting during that, she thought. There were spots in one's body that stored the life energy and technically, interacting with them just right could awaken the spots and revitalize the punched person. Furthermore, she mostly remembered where those were - and accidentally figured out how to activate one through a jolt of restorative power she was gifted with. It was fully possible to heal through punching someone!
Grinning to herself, Nal stood up, undusted her clothing, then reached out for a chewy gumdrop to toss into her mouth and chew on vigorously. Her next goal was now clear - find people to practice healing punches on...
[WC = 1000]
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Post by Nal on Oct 15, 2019 10:30:17 GMT -8
The most obvious targets would be bandits - those people that are taking from others, kidnapping them and being, in general, very unheroic. Nal met those before, but most importantly, knew where they hid not so long ago. Indeed, her adventure with the Kiryu person, she met near the village of Manitou, had led her towards a hideout! And while this time, she didn't have the man to come and help her, she had something better - a purpose. One that would drive her to greatness, if the stories told by people in the cities and villages were any true. That, and she could sense power. This would make finding the bandits easy, and while she wasn't as powerful as the man whose style she has been copying and learning from that day - she was still a Majin. With all their incredible durability and nigh immortality, even were they to overpower and slay her, Nal would eventually regenerate from the goopy puddles, reforming into herself once more. Or... so she at least hoped. But either way, finding that out was for another time. This day, there would be no dying. There would be victory and training.
She traveled for many long hours. Even as the meditation ended, the scorching sun began to set and soon, the desert was chilling, wracked with cold winds of the night. This wasn't pleasant - Nal grumbled, wrapping herself tightly in the new clothing she had found in the city and traded for some of the goods taken from the bandits earlier. The person was so happy to receive them that she helped refit the outfit, so that the majin could wear it without having to change shapes. But even then, as she demonstrated the bulking up she could do, the outfit was quickly made to change shapes with her - elastic and nice. Even though this time, the woman seemed afraid, Nal shot her a wide, joyful grin, hoping it would ease the worries and show the tailor woman that the little majin was friendly! It did not work. But at least she's had new clothes now.
The clothes were warm, which was good. They also were extremely heavy - even walking in them was difficult at first, Nal huffed and grumbled, but as the shop woman told her - many heroes wore these to make themselves stronger, and in a time of need, threw these heavy attires away, experiencing a temporary power spike. That made Nal curious and decided to do as they did - after all, if heroes do something, it has to be good for something, right? And thus, with warm, but really heavy clothes, the gray gal marched through the desert sands, following the footsteps - or rather, bike tracks - of her previous adventure. Humming the song she heard on the radio while riding with her temporary companion and potentially, new friend. Nal wanted to meet the man again one day, once she learns the technique of healing through punching, and demonstrate it to the man. She wondered if he would be proud. Or confused. Grinning, the majin decided on confusion and held back a mischievous giggle. She just had to see this happen, sooner rather than later.
Hours passed, the stars aglow over the majin's head soon fading, giving way to the darkness of the night, then dimness of dawn, as first rays of sun this day began to shine. Nal turned, to look at the village over yonder, smiling to herself - it was the place, Manitou, where her adventure properly began, where she first heard of heroes and their actions - and began walking towards the bandits. That day, she knew little of what the plan was upon arriving, but this time, there would be a clear goal in mind. Nodding to herself, Nal tossed another candy into her mouth - a hard one, filled inside with fizzy powder, that made foam in contact with her saliva - and while sucking on it, to get to the tasty core in time, rather than immediately - a skill she learned from the technoman Bryce, who also needed to be shown her awesome power of restoration via violence - the majin walked. Down the road, where she met Kiryu, and towards the bandit den ahead.
Slowly, Nal became more and more excited as she walked towards her goal. Not only would she be learning a new thing, one she wanted to learn even since that day back in... wherever it was the mystic man put her to sleep in the blue cocoon of his magicks. She would also, for the first time, face against a villainous enemy alone! True, they weren't all that powerful and she already did beat up some bandits, especially that one tigerman who got nailed into the sand, but this was a first time facing a group that others clearly considered bandits. Or... so she told herself at least. It had to have more meaning than just punching some people in the face, it felt more grand that way. And grandeur was something Nal liked to think of, imagining herself someone more than just a displaced demon. Even if she still wasn't sure she actually was a demon - that name held some inherent evil and malice. But it wasn't exactly inaccurate - she has been summoned by a sorcerer, after all... and that is how demons come to the world, right?
Blinking, Nal realised she already was right at where the bandits were the other day. And better yet - looking in the distance, she saw what was left of their base, some fences and leftover watchtowers. They had to be close! All Nal needed to do was close her eyes, focus, and...
"There."
The majin grinned, eyes opening, legs beginning a rapid sprint towards the direction she sensed the people from. So many of them, it had to be the bandits - who else would settle so close to their former base? Probably waiting for Kiryu and her to be gone, before- There they were. Nal grinned - it was learning time.
[WC = 1000, TWC = 2000]
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Post by Nal on Oct 15, 2019 12:45:27 GMT -8
The bandits were fewer than the last time - a bunch of them probably gave up and split after the last time they were defeated, but some remained. Nal remembered one, or so she at least thought - a burly woman, with that funky, thick braid that the majin adopted for her bike ride towards the village. There were four more with her - three regular human men and one... something. Nal tilted her head, observing the person. He was... odd. Taller, green, with some strange plate like thingies on his body, mostly arms and legs. He was bald, and... were those antennae on his forehead? He looked like a slug! Big, green slug man. And he's had real sharp fangs, too! And the lower fangs... wait, what was he shouting now? Something about-
Nal staggered. The strike that made her recoil was strong, but mostly, it was the element of surprise that the huge woman had over her. The next strike, from one of her human companions, made the majin step back a few times, and then - the green man put a fist to her stomach. Shaking her head, the majin growled annoyedly. "I really need to stop drifting off like that." - she said out loud, straightening up, as the green fist in her stomach pulled back. She looked over at the big woman, who currently swung her fist again, and as it neared, the gray gal couldn't dodge it in time, the pliable, gray flesh under the heavy outfit driven in with the force of that strike.
"Wha', lost your big, tough guardian somewhere?" - the woman mocked, before her fist was rather forcefully ejected from Nal's body, as the rubbery form snapped back to the shape it had before. The majin was annoyed, but at herself, more than the people who attacked her. She sighed, then returned with a punch of her own - and the tough woman... dodged it. Surprised, the small majin staggered, looking over at the bandit, before getting kicked in the back by one of the other men! Once more, the damage dealt felt more like a sting, once more, Nal responded with a hit of her own and once more, she was too slow, barely grazing the man, rather than hitting where she aimed at. What was going on? Why did she move so slowly? Obviously, she was holding back a lot, but no more than that day before, using the same amount of power...
Another hit from the green slug man actually hurt. The majin lurched forward, holding onto her aching stomach, the heavy shirt barely making her feel the touch of... Oh right. Weighted clothes.
Before the next hit from the bandits came in, Nal decided to swiftly toss her heavy clothing aside. She felt stupid for forgetting them, but this definitely would teach her to always remember about the training clothes, and... it actually felt like she was stronger! Only a little and it wouldn't last forever, but definitely felt more powerful. To test out, she dodged another punch from the big woman, another kick from two of her bandit friends, and then... she focused, trying to remember. What was that thing Kiryu did? He had his palms open, hitting some special spots... much like her plan was to! But for different reasons entirely. But, the majin decided to adopt his tactic anyway. Using what she remembered from the mystic sensing of her own body, she lunged forward, aiming a punch at one of the areas Kiryu was hitting. While not as precise as the man, she succeeded - and the slug man recoiled from the sheer force of that hit, his arm numb from it. More from the raw power of that strike than actual aim at the special spot. Muttering to herself about holding back more, the majin turned on the spot, ran up a rock that the bandits camped by - and then lunged from it to kick the bandit leader (she assumed, at least, that the woman took command, since she was first to attack!) square into the face. And hit she did - staggering, the brutish human blinked a few times, then dropped down onto the ground, unconscious. Her human minions didn't wait long - two attacked in revenge of their boss, and promptly got dispatched by similarly flashy attacks, causing a lot of grinning from Nal herself. The third man took the opportunity of his two companions distracting the majin - and fled the scene, before she even realised.
Happy with herself, the gray gal turned towards the slug man, grinning at him ear to ear. The green man just stood there, rather shocked by what happened there. Nal found this very amusing, responding with an even bigger grin. "See, I trained a little. And now... wanna see something really awesome?" - she asked. Patiently waiting for an answer - which was a reluctant nod from the quiet green man. Needing no more encouragement than that, Nal lunged forward, with a "hyaa!" sound - punching the foe right in the same spot as before, but this time, deciding to add some healing energy to it. What followed was... rather disappointing. First, the slug man twitched his arm, surprised at it's sudden working - and then roared in pain once more, as the actual punch connected, harming him again. Nal frowned. "Well that's not it. Hold on." - she spoke, doing it again. And again... and then, fourth time, finally the punch connected where it should, and with the encouragement from her mystic powers, began to revitalise the body. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" - the green man cried out, before he realised that - the pain was gone, and the hurt with it. Shocked, he stared at his arm for a moment, then turned to the majin. She seemed... happy. "See? It worked." - the lithe girl said, then tilted her head. "Do you know where your other friends are?" He told her. Then he ran, fast. Nal swiftly left too, glad to find more bandits to practice on!
[WC = 1000, TWC = 3000]
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Post by Nal on Oct 16, 2019 2:19:28 GMT -8
After picking up her scattered, weighted gear and sprinting off swiftly, Nal found, and fought, more bandits. The scenario was mostly the same - punching the brigands to the brink of consciousness, leaving one or two standing, then those serving as Nal's practice targets. She used the technique Kiryu was using (and lowkey failed at it, but having enough power edge over simple brigands was enough for that to not matter), then punched theim with the mystic power weaved in, to restore their disabled limbs. It... worked, eventually. Though Nal was irritated that it took so many hits for it to actually do anything. She realised that the mystic power needs to be used at the same moment as her fist meets the vital spot, not too early or too late, or the strike would just be a normal punch. She grinned - maybe this wasn't a success yet, but at least, the training wasn't a waste - bandits were beaten up and fled, and she did realise where the problem lies! With that knowledge, Nal set off to find another place to practice.
Searching the desert for a short while, the majin sought to find a suitable spot to sit and ponder on. Eventually finding a rock formation, one that looked like a pair of menhirs joined at the bottom - one standing straight up, one tilted and almost flat at the tip, both more jagged and less smooth than actual menhirs would be. She plopped down on the tilted one, beginning to ponder. Tossing another candy into her mouth - a soft gumdrop, with a cherry filling. These always gave her the best ideas, and this time was no different. What she needed was a striking dummy! But what to make one out of? This was a desert, scarce few things actually grew in this area. But... there were those tumbling balls of sticks that sometimes passed by, she saw a few on Kiryu's motorbike. With that in mind, Nal hopped on to her feet, determined to find one and make a dummy out of it!
And as she raced into the desert, a few more problems became apparent. One - that she had no idea where tumbleweeds can be found, and unlike bandits, those could not be sensed. Frowning somewhat, the majin dashed off into the desert. Finding nothing - for hours, unable to locate a tiniest bit of tumbleweed! More and more frustrated, Nal finally decided to sit down and reconsider her course of action. Tumbleweed was needed - and she couldn't just use her transfiguration beam to change some rock into it. Primarily because she had no idea how to do such a thing - and those of her kind that did were far away, and she didn't even know where. And even if there was a majin with that power in the area - Nal was a weirdo for them. They liked punching and violence, and she-
Poof! Suddenly, the gray gal's face was pressed into the sand, by something pushing her from behind. Immediately digging herself up, she glanced around, the steam holes on her arms and collar erupting some of said steam in irritation. She glanced, and found the fleeing culprit - a rolling ball of tumbleweed... Nal blinked. Then hopped up to her feet and gave chase immediately! Running much slower than she was used to... with so much weight on her, though, it wasn't unusual. She thought of tossing the clothes aside, but figured that chasing after a fleeing ball of twigs in heavy clothing would be a good endurance training. And so, she chased after the weed - even after hours had passed, and she was nowhere near the thing, this particular majin was absolutely stubborn. And so, the desert was blessed with the sight of a roll of tumbleweed, softly whispering on the sand, and a gray gal with brightly coloured clothes, trundling after it, unyielding. And it went on for hours - anyone who would see that sight would have one amusing memory to share.
Finally, however, Nal got used to the heavy clothing enough to actually capture her quarry. Carefully gripping it, she raised the thing overhead and let out a happy cheer. Though looking closely, the majin realised it was really brittle - and while that was good to practice precision and delicate punching on, she definitely would need more than just one dummy for it, as she would be failing at first. And with that in mind, the gray majin went into the desert again - finding and capturing a second ball of dry twigs. With two in tow, she made way towards the flat rock, tossing in a cube of sour, apple gum into her mouth, chewing and thinking. She'd need something to mount these things on - a good dummy had to stand up. And just a few hours ago, the majin saw the perfect thing that would serve...
Once back at the rock, she turned and walked towards the first abandoned bandit camp, where she saw a few tent poles and crumbling watchtowers. Those would serve to make the frames! Swiftly reaching the place, the majin left her tumbling prize under a sheet of abandoned tarp, pressing it down with stones and sand so that it wouldn't roll away again. And then she set to work. Collecting scraps of rope and cloth, a few tent poles and boards - the gray girl used that to make frames for her striking dummies: boards to make a frame itself, to keep the dummy in shape, cloth and ropes to tie these together in absence of nails, the tent poles would serve as a "spine" for the dummies. Then, finally, she set to working on the tumbleweed, snapping and breaking a bunch of them, but eventually, fashioning a pair of vaguely humanoid shapes out of the things. Nal stood up, eyeing her creation - a pair of shapes, barely holding together, made out of brittle twigs that would snap if touched too hard, let alone punched. The majin grinned. They were perfect.
[WC = 1000, TWC = 4000]
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Post by Nal on Oct 16, 2019 6:59:11 GMT -8
Soon enough, the two dummies were set up underneath the flat rock, night having crept up on the majin who built them. To reward herself properly for the job well done, Nal sat down and picked up a special candy. This one was larger, orange, with four caramel stars trapped inside the sugary shell. She grinned widely - knowing this was a great treat, one to be savoured, the majin only allowed herself a longing glare at the thing. "I will eat you soon... once I learn how to heal with punches, I will eat you and then I will be the happiest Majin ever." - she said, pocketing the thing carefully and instead, picking up another sour apple treat. Tossing this into her mouth, Nal cringed - but the cringe was crooked into a faint smile. She absolutely loved sour treats. Even if they left that strange tingling on the tongue after being eaten... or perhaps it was purely because of that? Probably that.
Savouring the candy, the gray girl stood up, making way towards the striking dummies. First, she reached to the tumbleweed and began to use her mystical powers to try and heal it - to see if she could repair the thing in case of it getting damaged beyond usability. Focusing on the thing, she sent some of her magic, seeing how it didn't at all change after being treated with it. "Probably because it's already dead when it tumbles like that" - Nal concluded, with a nod, stepping back. And then stepping in once more, closing her eyes and focusing. She sought the vital spots within herself again, then reached out, touching the same spots on the dummies she made. Considering what to put there ot make it certain she hit the right areas... after a while, settling for all of the candy wraps she had in the small bag, in which the candy itself was kept after her city visit earlier. Those were turned into marks on the dummies, that at first, would show Nal she hit the right place.
With that set up, the majin began her training. Taking a step back, she began punching the tumbleweed dummies, but stopping the hit right before it would break it and instead, apply magic. Obviously, the healing did not work at all, but the fact she expended energy had to count for something. It was a practice. And in the end, that's what made someone the perfect fighter - or at least, a very good one. Nal didn't believe in perfect. She thought that someone can catch and chase perfection, but unlike tumbleweed, it couldn't actually be caught! There was always a level beyond that could be reached for, always more power to grasp and stronger foes to defeat. And even if there were no stronger foes left, one day, somebody would train more and become that enemy. So perfection, Nal thought, was a good thing to chase, and always keep chasing. It kept one ahead of the curve. As well as gave someone a goal, to always be moving, always be growing and always meeting new, amazing people to talk with or punch. Sometimes both.
While thinking all that, Nal was punching and healing. Obviously, not so great at it at first - many times, she's had to pause and do some quick repairs to the dummy, as it became damaged during the training session. First few hours she spent or that - more fixing than actually hitting, which was frustrating, but Nal knew she had to do it - for the perfection she chased, for the look on people's faces when she hit them and it healed, and more importantly - for the orange candy. She *promised* it would be eaten, and the promise was as much to herself as it was to the candy. It was it's destiny, to be eaten by Nal upon the reaching of her current goal. She would have to find more later, but it was definitely worth the celebration.
Next few hours, Nal spent on punching more than repairing. If barely - the first dummy fell apart almost entirely and had to be scrapped, leftover tumbleweed and boards kept under the tarp she brought back from the ravaged bandit camp. The second dummy was then put in it's place, and punched, and healed. One hit, two hits, pause. One, two, pause. This was exhausting, but Nal was as durable as she was obstinate - there would be no rest until she reached her goal of healing while punching, as well as not breaking the dummy while at it! Issue was, exertion like that was tiring, and even a majin body had limits, especially Nal's - who was a far cry from the legendary Majin Buu in terms of unending energy. Eventually, she began stumbling and fumbling, and thus, more damage was done to the dummy. Eventually, that one, too, fell apart.
Nal was not disheartened, however. Kneeling over (and contemplating a nap, but deciding she would take one later, after the goal for today was reached!), the gray girl began to scrounge together a third mannequin, from the remnants of the previous two. It was... not pretty, barely holding together, even worse so than the previous ones. But it would have to do. With that set up, she returned to punching. The exhaustion and monotony of this have put Nal in a sort of state of zen - she felt everything she did way more intensely than usual. She felt it all - each punch, motion of the hand forward and back, each stop when her fist paused right before the kindling turned into a dummy, each time her energy left through the fists, to fade in vain as the already dead tumbleweed didn't react to the hits at all. She spent days doing that. Hours of the same punches and energy expenditure.. It took her even more to realise that the dummy, while shabby, was not damaged. Nal blinked. Leant in. Grinned. Then fell on her face and began to snore.
[WC = 1000, TWC = 5000]
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Post by Nal on Oct 16, 2019 9:44:10 GMT -8
A long, long nap followed, ending with the majin waking up after the sky was bright, the sun high up on the zenith. Rubbing her eyes and idly slapping away a vulture trying to peck at her (the poor bird ended up speared into the sand, cawing and frantically flapping it's wings in an attempt to break free), Nal yawned. Stretched out, got up to her feet - and punched against the rickety dummy a few more times. At first, she damaged it, but then quickly got back into the rhytm learned last night (she hoped - who knows how long Nal slept after that) - and then, with a happy, cheerful grin, Nal finished the dummy off with a snapshot ki blast - leveling it with a cheer of joy. She knew she'd need a new one later, whatever she decided to practice next, but then, she could make a training out of building it again - and with this chapter of her journey pretty much complete, the excited girl needed some way of releasing all of the energy. And so, the tumbleweed dummy had ended it's task, fading in a blaze of glory and violet energy.
Rushing off, the majin quickly made way towards the road, then began following it. Running as rapidly as she can with the candy bag and her weighted gear on, she thought. What was needed this time was somebody who was seriously injured, that she could hit and heal back up. But healing bandits wasn't really good - they would just go back to stealing and doing all the things they got injured for in first place, so it had to be someone useful. Someone good. Her mind immediately went towards the two men she's met earlier - Bryce the technoman and the vigilante biker Kiryu. One of them would be easier to find - she left him in the city and it was easy to tell apart, or ask for, a man who is huge and has a big mark reading "God" on his chest, right? But then, she thought some more, slowing down her rush forward, then evnetually stopping dead in her tracks. To actually go help Kiryu, she would need to be stronger - her was absurdly powerful, compared to the little majin, then the technoman wasn't as overpowering, but still in a whole different league. Nal would need to get on top of her game to be able to actually assist either of the two, in something more than mimicing their actions or eating a lot of sausages. Even though those were good, she decided to train and become better at her power, before running out into the world and helping out people that are so much stronger than her. Seriously, why would they even need help of someone this weak? That could not do.
Turning on her heel, Nal rushed off into the desert once more. Sprinting across the sands, she quickly had found her spot on the flat menhir-like rock. She sat there, legs crossed, and with another candy tossed into the hungry mouth, began to think. There had to be more to this power than just healing people. It did seem mostly focused on others, rather than empowering herself, and actually the only thing that did help Nal alone came at the cost of her life essence. So, it was logical that in order to grow stronger, she had to focus on that. Which... was easier said than done, when there was nobody to practice with. But, nothing was impossible, and just like with her healing punches, the majin had to get an idea first, make sure it works - and then later, practice it on somebody else. Step one: get a better understanding on what her powers can do. Again.
Like the previous time, Nal sat down with her legs crossed, taking in a deep breath and swallowing the candy in her mouth. Then, slowly exhaling, she closed her eyes and focused intently on the mystic magicks that coursed through her body. Feeling it, but rather than following it's flow and discovering pressure points to heal things with again, she decided to expend some of that power. Fling it out into the world, see how it behaves and how it affects things around her. Focusing intently on that, time and time and time again. She would run out of power rather quickly if this kept up, and Nal knew this well, but while time wasn't of the essence, it would be way more difficult to track down these two people and whoever they were hanging out with. And so, the majin pushed herself once more, expending as much energy as she could without passing out, observing it and studying what it does. Intently, patiently and with huge amounts of curiousity, as it was with majins in general.
Finally, she stopped, panting heavily and looking up at the sky. The sun was low again, hours passing during her training and observations. She felt weak and exhausted, but in a good, positive way - that power would be back, and if she kept straining like this, maybe even expand! That would be good. The majin nodded to herself, looking up at the sky once more. She couldn't keep up right now, but perhaps, there were other things she could practice before the sundown. Such as... hopping up to her feet, Nal focused - and expanded her body, growing into the usual, larger, broader and muscular form she adopted for combat. Stretching the weigthted clothes almost to their limit - fortunate that she did remember to mention that in the city! - and beginning to simply punch and kick, doing flashy manouevers - running up the menhir rock and backflipping off of it, spin kicks, some simple one-two combos and an occasional ki blast, just like that Kiryu man used. But she also decided to practice her own stuff - which was, simply, punching as strong as physically possible.
Eventually, the sun went down, and with it, Nal slept, after a day well spent.
[WC = 1000, TWC = 6000]
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Post by Nal on Oct 16, 2019 12:52:23 GMT -8
The next day, Nal woke up once more, exhausted and aching, but the ache was pleasant - one she earned by intense extertion, and that made the majin grin. Step by step, she got stronger, and even though she did slowly reach the limits of what training alone could do, it was, at least, still improvement. And thus, she continued - today's training would be combined, physical practice with her muscular form, and also attempts to push her power outwards at the same time. Browsing through her candy, she took another good look at the orange dragon ball, pondering. "Maybe I should eat you later", the majin spoke her thoughts out loud. "Maybe when I show my power off to someone and make sure it actually works like I want it to work... wouldn't want to eat you prematurely. You are a very one of a kind candy, I haven't seen any other like you. If you are a very special candy like that, you need to be eaten for a very special thing, yes? I'm sure you agree." - the majin seemed completely unfazed over the fact she just spoke with a hard candy wrapped in an orange foil. She did that a lot.
With the fate of the candy left for another day, Nal grabbed another one - coincidentally, also orange, though way less unique - and began sucking on it, while beginning some sets of excercise. She saw people warming up by quickly squatting and then standing up even faster, so she did that a couple dozen times. She didn't feel all that different, but this wasn't the training either way, just a warm up - and as that, it served well. With a deep inhale and a slow exhale, she bulked up once more - and began practicing kicks and punches. But this time, alongside them, the mystic power she commanded has been expulsed ahead, first in small, then increasingly larger amounts. The majin eventually began directing those streams of power, trying to give them out to local bits and pieces - mostly sand and her menhir rocks, which of course, didn't do anything to the items whatsoever. But at least, she was gaining some experience in tossing magic away and directing it where she wanted it to go! Flinging it about more and more, she very quickly ran out of juice and flopped back down onto the sand, the inflated, bulky form fading away, leaving just the tired, small girl. She decided to reward that work with a lie down, staring up at the sun and considering things a little.
She could heal by flexing, also punching, and deny people their powers by pointing a finger and complaining. It was something that she has mastered - sort of, because of course, there's always a better way to learn to use these. She also threw out magic with her gesures, punches and kicks, giving out those benefits to other people - potentially, at least. That was her plan, to get better, but so far, her plan was to become big - heal people - and become small again, but then again, what if she could make other people also go big? The idea intrigued Nal. The power was rather simple to use - the gesture of blowing into her thumb to do it nothing more than a theatric, one that she loved so much from those funny shows in the television (human technology was amazing, not only it made travel easier, but also gave people song and show!), but perhaps... if she focused enough, the power that turned her big could be expulsed as well, like those other techniques she used, to heal and deny... Perhaps she could indeed make others bulk up too! And later, when she met and learned from others, do the things that those people do with others as well. This was something that was worth testing.
Once more, she got up. Grinning, even through the stagger that the sudden getting up have caused. Another goal, another, hopefully way of understanding her powers better. She wondered if the fact she slept for who knows how long, bathing in that mystic power, have taught her that, making Nal just inherently know everything - or if it was the botched incantation of her summoning that gave her some inherent knowledge of how mysticism works? Perhaps both. Or perhaps she was just that clever. Or just that lucky. Probably all of these things, in part. But, thoughts for later, practice - for now. This time, she didn't kick. Instead, the majin girl reached out, focusing. She tried to use the technique of growing, and then throw it ahead, to hit whatever was there to be hit by it - maybe that vulture on thee rock nearby, staring at the majin. Nal focused, stared back, and... nothing happened. With her eyes closed, the majin rested a while, focused more, reached out, and - again, nothing happened. And again, and again, the vulture just sitting there and observing, it's flock descending upon the rock, expecting a meal soon - it was the way of their desert, after all. People who spent this much time in one place eventually would die, and then the birds would have their feast. And outsiders only died easier, faster.
Nal was no ordinary outsider, though. She fought and practiced, and focused for hours at a time. While near people, she loved showing off, but while alone and tryign to develop new ways to show off, the majin's patience was undaunted. Everything in the name of new tricks to show to people and then laugh at their confusion! And so, she focused, extending her hand once more, pointing at the vulture and for the uncountable time, trying to expel her technique ahead with a "ha!" sound to it. Vultures knew well how to fly away when there was danger, so most of them fled immediately. Except for one. It grew, cawing in confusion. Nal grinned - looking at what she made. A huge bird! Huge, angry bird. The majin blinked. "Oh, crap."
[WC = 1000, TWC = 7000]
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Post by Nal on Oct 16, 2019 13:50:12 GMT -8
Fighting birds was annoying enough - their beaks were sharp, flapping wings powerful, Nal even heard of swans - birds so aggressive and strong that they could break a grown man's arm with just their wings beating. However, she thought, it would be much more pleasant to fight even a dozen of swans than a fourty feet long, eighteen feet tall, rather miffed vulture.
She tried hiding underneath the rock formation, but the bird just shoved it's huge beak under it, trying to snap and eat the majin in a single gulp. She didn't like that, so she left. Running around, the girl had to figure out what to do about this huge menace that she accidentally made. Well... not really accidentally. But she didn't expect it to attack anyone! "Think, Nal... what was your weakness in that form?" And the answer came quick - once she has been beaten enough, it dissipated on it's own. Issue was getting close to the damn thing enough to actually hurt it - the bird's legs were too tough to damage, let alone when they were this massive. She had to get higer, but how? Nal wasn't able to fly, at least not yet. Fortunately, neither was this suddenly enlarged bird - it was way too heavy for it's wings to lift it. That was fortunate. What would her friends do in this situation?
The more Nal thought of what Kiryu or Bryce would do, the more she realised she's had absolutely no idea. What did she have, then? Lots of candy. Her heavy clothing, and this funny tube she was told would explode and distract... That was it. The majin grinned, a plan forming in her head. First off - she quickly shed and tossed away the weighty equipment, running faster and grinning to herself. Luring the bird, with loud shouting and taunting gestures, in front of the long, tilted menhir. She waited, tossing the grenade in her hand. The vulture, obviously hungry and angry, followed, lunging for a peck - one that Nal, thanks to her weight training, dodged easily. And threw the flashbang she's found earlier up into the air, before the bird. It exploded -emitting a bright flash and a cacophonous noise, causing a monstrously loud caw from the bird - now angry, hungry, blind and confused.
The majin ran around quickly, dashing aleady as the grenade was flung. She quickly reached the base of the rock, but didn't slow down. On the contrary - speeding up, the small majin ran to the edge of the rock - and leapt! Gripping the feathers of the huge, blinded bird. Raising her fist for a punch. And quickly having to leave that for later and cling to the vulture, as it began angrily thrashing about! This was, by far, the wildest ride Nal ever had. Holding on to dear life and a huge, angry bird, as it flailed about and tried it's best to throw the majin off and, without a doubt, eat her afterwards. It was ridiculous, dumb, dangerous... and so damn fun! Nal couldn't help but laugh as the beast thrashed, hitting the menhirs in the process and actually shaking them.
Nal enjoyed this, but already weakened from the training, couldn't keep this up forever. So slowly, she began to climb, gripping the feathers and moving up the massive avian creature, inch by inch climbing towards it's neck. Made even more dangerous by the fact the blinded bird felt the tugs on it's feathers, snapping the massive, curved beak towards the small, gray figure climbing it. She had to let go, then grab the feathers again, rapidly moving up the thing, away from the reach of that beak. Painstakingly reaching a safe spot at the back of it's neck, where she could do some harm to it - and be safe from the beak. It wasn't easy. It wasn't fast. And the flashbang would wear off soon. But Nal didn't want to become a snack - she had many more snacks to taste yet! And many more people to show off before.
And so, she bravely reached the safe area of the bird's neck and, while gripping the colossal creature with her legs, raised both her fists. "I am Nal and I will be a hero!" - she shouted out loud, before smashing her fists into the nape of the creature's neck. And then again! The giant form technique only ended after enough damage has been caused to the user. Nal remembered that - remembered that enough punches and kicks could revert her, that is why she was so glad for the tough body she was gifted. The vulture had no such luck and after a few irritated caws, began to shrink. Suddenly, Nal had found herself falling. And just like many times during this mad training session she had put herself through, the majin fell into the sand face first. Lucky for her, the vulture, no longer massive, realised this was it's time to scram - and indeed did that, flying off and cawing in confusion, terror and anger.
Pulling herself out of the sand, Nal coughed. Reaching out for the explodey tube, the majin realised it reformed itself - and will, eventually, be ready for use again. This made her happy - it definitely was one useful trick! But more importantly, she felt proud. Of herself - for learining so much, spending the last few days - so many that she actually lost track - on training, pursuing her goals and fighting against all odds. For not giving up. And for learning a few very important things, that will aid her quest for confusion on people's faces, many laughs, many friends. "I'll need a better catchphrase, though" - she murmured, falling back onto the sand, panting in exhaustion. After a while, she decided to crawl under the big, flat rock she leapt from just a moment ago. To close her eyes and take another nap. She deserved it -after all this nonsense with giant birds and tumbleweed striking dummies, she deserved it. Adventure would wait a few hours.
[WC = 1000, TWC = 8000]
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