Test Your Strength

[Hercules]

The early morning sun rose into the sky.

Hercules was quite calm. Which seemed strange, since the young man was always restless and uneasy. But since he had become a council member, he sought to be calmer and more at ease. But it wasn't easy. It took most of April to do so, but he did it.  He took out his sword. he was currently outside, in a clearing of the camp. 

He swung his sword, swatting and swinging. It tested his muscles. He had hoped people would show because he was sure they needed this. It's good to train every day so you don't lack when in an actual battle. he had been training harder than he had with Phil, which seemed so long ago.

He sighed. He hoped stress didn't overtake him, but he was confident that he could handle it. He hoped that this sparring session would let the other Dawnseekers be prepared. Or at least, to test their fighting skills. Hercules stood in the clearing, sitting on a log. He was clearly waiting. 

He had tested his muscles and fighting skills prior, but he'd go easy on the others. Well, sort of easy. He knew his own strength, but sometimes could always control it, and he ended up tearing out a tree from its roots.

[John Silver]

“Ahoy there Hercules!” The cyborg barks out with a grin on his face. “Yer not up for a little practice with this ol’ cyborg, would ye?” He chuckled, moving towards the council member.

“Someone training?” The rough growl of Akando came somewhere from behind Hercules as he lumbers forward leering down at him “Let’s hope no one gets nearly eaten this time” Akando chuffed, referring to the Gourmand’s last bust of a training session, the creature unnerved him to say that much.

[Li Shang]

"Captain Silver, Master Hercules, I see you've risen early as well."

Shang, not garbed in the general's normal armor, but a light robe open to his chest, approached the growing group, carrying a small bundle of bo staffs over his shoulder. Having finished training with his men as it was, Shang now sought to begin his own personal regimen, owing it to both the Dawnseekers and China to keep his body and form in top physical condition. After all, they needed to be ready no matter the time, place, or circumstance.

The morning was clear, and the chill of the winter had finally bled out into the warm breeze of spring. Shang could help but notice the leaves beginning to sprout here, a barrage of greens and leave shapes never seen in the Middle Kingdom. Of note was the evergreen trees, which while green in the winter, now still remained green going into the warmer seasons. The general was not sure any trees were like that home in the Middle Kingdom, and Shang knew he wanted to spend time after this war had ended exploring these woods and fields. This "New World" held many mysteries, and even those not native to this place could teach him.

The general dropped his entire bundle of staffs but one, and pressed the remaining stick on the ground. "I would be interested in watching the two of you work together, Captain. I've heard the Greeks have their own style of combat I haven't seen before, and watching a man from beyond the stars fight would be a learning experience all on it's own."

Shang smiled, before kicking out the side of the staff, swirling it around his arms, hands, and ending in a offensive position. "Of course, I would also volunteer myself as a sparring partner. If you'll have me, of course."

[Hercules]

Hercules stood as Silver approached him. Silver grinned at him, and he couldn't help be smile back. The smile disappeared, replaced with a neutral expression. "I'm up for training, that's actually why I'm out here, after all," the council member explained. He decided to keep standing instead of sitting back down on the log, which was actually just a stump. He nodded to Akando. "Yes," he replied simply. He nodded to Li Shang, who had also joined the growing group.

"Yep, I have," Hercules replied. The morning sun was rising, casting a soft glow across the land. It was quite beautiful. Back in Greece, there were many beautiful sunrises. But none as breathtaking as this. It took Hercules by surprise. But he was pleasantly surprised. He watched as Shang masterfully twirled his bo staff and had to resist the urge to clap.

"Impressive," Hercules noted. Hercules unsheathed his sword. "Of course I'll have you, join the party," he said. Then he twirled his sword in the air, caught it, then swung at Shang's bo staff, hoping to catch the other off guard. It was quick and sudden, without warning. This was to test their reflexes, and if they could keep their guard up. An enemy could catch you off guard if you weren't careful.

You had to be on your toes. Hercules had trained with Phil and picked up on a few things.

[Nikolai]

Fighting.

He’d never had much of a use for it in the past, being that he managed to keep good relations with those he had met on his travels, even those who had started off as hostile. He’d call himself a pacifist if he could, but he knew it wasn’t true. When it came down to more serious things, Nikolai was more than prepared to fight back…especially in a war.

Ever since joining this strange, mismatched group of an “army”, he always did feel like the “outsider”. In a way, he was, isolating himself by doing scouting missions on his own, usually for sources of food or to improve shelters for the soldiers. But he had heard that one of the council members was holding a sparring session, and his muscles itched to do something other than just explore.

No, he wanted to fight.

And not maliciously, but just to hone his own skills(for what was a unicorn that couldn't use much magic?), and perhaps get to know more of this little group that he had found himself joining.

What better way to do that than to go hand to hand…or hoof to hand, as it were.

He approached the group with a curious look in his green eyes, catching sight of Hercules, Shang, a bear, and a strange robotic man that he did not know. He gave an awkward wave of his coal black hoof, and bowed his head in greetings.

“I’d like to train too, I’ve gotta work on my fighting skills if I want to protect myself out there.” Nikolai said, with a chuckle.

[John Silver]

“General or uh-Captain Shang, good morning to you as well” the ursid says, flashing a smile at the younger man before glancing over at Hercules as the man suddenly starts his training with Shang hoping to catch him off guard.

“I’d like to train too, I’ve gotta work on my fighting skills if I want to protect myself out there.”

Silver and Akando gives a nod of greeting to the unicorn before the massive bear steps forward to speak.

“I’ll give it a go, training with you I mean” red colored eyes turn to Hercules as if asking him it would be ok to spar with Nikolai

[Anga]

Anga had come running, but it looked like they were late, only prompting them to run faster. The adolescent hyena was well known for their running skills, but when they arrived on the scene, they were slightly out of breath. Orange eyes briefly gave the group a look  Good. It looked like this lot was free of any judgey buttholes that would give them crap for their species: Anga had gotten so used to it that they went in on the defensive regardless of who they were talking to. It was only when they came to the Dawnseekers that they began to realize not everyone was like the Pride Landers. Thank Goddess.

As for those that did look down on them for what they were, Anga saw no better opportunity to prove their worth than to become a great warrior. And practice made perfect after all. Though, Anga did more show up with the idea to show off than to learn things. They were a teenager -- they weren’t perfect.

“I am great warrior the Anga --”

Smooth.

“I am Anga the great warrior!”

Nailed it.

Anga paused awkwardly for a moment as if they were about to add something else but jumped slightly.

“Morning.”

The intense voice belonged to none other than the ocean warlord himself. The Gourmand was hard to miss, so he was still some distance away, but his voice rang out like thunder. Anga admired the beast as much as they would any other warrior, but they felt it was probably better to keep their mouth shut and wait for him to finish speaking.

The Gourmand parked his machine far enough away as not to loom, but near enough that he obviously intended to make himself included.

“You don’t really expect me not to show up to a spar, do you, hm?” he gave a crooked smile and tilted his head.

The grin remained, stubbornly refusing to budge. The Gourmand had something special he felt he had to show today, and he wasn’t about to be discouraged. Hidden under the seat of his pod, tendrils writhed in a grip over something shining and white. Knowing of some of the army’s wariness of him, he decided to acknowledge it with a good bit of self-deprecation:

“Please, hold your applause.”

[Copper]

A loud series of baying barks announced the arrival of the hound as he came trotting onto the field the army had deemed it’s training grounds. A fast wagging tail and a somewhat bouncy demeanor gave away Copper’s eagerness for the lesson. It had been a while since he was able to attend a proper lesson so to say he was excited was a bit of an understatement. He couldn’t wait to get started. Looking over to Hercules, Copper gave a sheepish smile.

“Hey, sorry I’m a little late,” he said. Once that was done, he looked around at the other gathered Dawnseekers and found that the only one that he really felt he would be capable of taking on was the young hyena. With a shrug, Copper trotted over to him and lowered his front onto the ground in a play bow. “C’mon kid! Let’s see what ya got!”

[Hercules]

Hercules didn't take his focus off of Li Shang, because if he had, he might have been caught off guard by the other man, and in a real-life battle situation, taking away even a speck of your attention from the enemy could get you killed. If you were cornered or outnumbered or even overwhelmed, either fight your way through or retreat. Hercules took some time to escape from his thoughts and glanced over at the newcomers. Without even looking at Nikolai, he nodded and spoke. "Yes, of course, the more the better," said Hercules. He gave a curt nod. "Nikolai, if you want, you can spar with Akando," the council member continued, not taking his eyes of his opponent.

He was then greeted by another newcomer, one he didn't quite recognize. That didn't last long though, as the hyena introduced themselves, and he nodded firmly. "Greetings, Anga," he greeted. Why had he all the sudden got so strict or formal? Well, that was easy. Because he had a large responsibility, and even if he wanted to revert back to the clumsy and often confused Hercules he once was, it wouldn't have been the best move. He had gotten a lot of experience with leadership, since he was a Council member back in Africa, though, the power there was less than it was now.

He was even fazed when a deep voice pierced the air. He glanced up to the source of the voice for only a few seconds, and when he saw enough, he set his eyes back on Li Shang. It was the Gourmand He knew who the Gourmand was, and while others might have been a little nervous, Hercules looked completely calm and collected. "Ah, Gourmand. No, I knew you would come, I just didn't know when," the man admitted. "Please, join the party," Hercules said.

Hercules didn't speak further.

[Nikolai]

Nikolai’s attention wavered slightly as a hyena joined them, then the one they called the Gourmand, and then a bloodhound. He half-smirked as he observed them, noting that while there was distinct differences between every member of this army, they all seemed to share a sense of family. His ear flicked as he heard Akando’s heavy footsteps, and he turned his head to address the red-eyed bear. Upon Hercules' statement, the unicorn nodded in agreement.

“That sounds like a good plan. Best of luck to you, friend.” Nikolai said, with a sheepish grin. He’d never had to fight a bear before in the past, so he silently hoped that this was something his rudimentary magic would be able to handle. He spread his legs into a fighting stance, lowering his horn towards Akando as he pawed the ground with a hoof, much like an angry bull would. Then without a word, he leapt towards Akando, aiming for the bear’s back.