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Post by Marcus Prasad on Jan 24, 2013 22:26:12 GMT -8
It was early in the morning in Anaheim, home of the Wolfpack and what remained of the Military before it came under Crow control. The sun had finaly poured it's warm rays over the south western Entrace into the territory, much to the relief and gratitude of the soliders stationed there as they checked all the traffic going into and out of the city as well as keep an eye out for any attacks from Barker or whatever opportunistic Faction wanted to pick a fight.
One of the soldiers looked up from her game of Solitaire and nearly jumped out of her skin when she caught sight of a large tanned skinned man sitting on a plastic lawn chair reversed, chin craddled in his arms which were crossed over the backrest as he rocked gently on his heels. The young woman scattered the cards and stood up immediatly when she recognized the Bomber Jacket and the dark blue Flatcap.
"Eeeerrrr, Sir! This is a surprise."
Marcus chose not to respond, instead continued to stare off down the road towards Hermosa, towards the Crows nest with an enigmatic smile on his face."
The soldier woman grew concerned. Not knowing of Marcus.....Eccentricities like the other Soldiers who simply ignored him.
"Sir? Is there.....Is there someone you are waiting for?"
After a moments pause, Marcus would slolwy turn his eyes to her, his smile growing larger.
"Why Yes indeed. I'm waiting for my brand new puppy! Should be here soon, yeah."
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Post by Lucien DeChain on Jan 25, 2013 12:30:18 GMT -8
Lucien, after departing from his first month of Basic Training, had just had one precious day of rest. He flopped himself into bed after the last after-dinner lap he would hopefully ever do.
He woke up a day later, refreshed and ready to go. Having started to eat full meals about a week and a half ago, his slight form was growing with a combination of muscle and bulk. And, that was okay.
After combing his hair ten times, brushing his teeth, checking his body-mass-index, filling up his water bottle, and grabbing his staff, he was ready to be on the road. Yep, today he joined the Wolfpack.
He walked towards Anaheim, where he was told to meet his new commanding officer. He hadn't seen Marcus or any of the 'pack since that first day, and he was excited to see the large man. Whom he just remembered, loved to mess with him.
Oh. Great.
He approached the meeting area, an air of trepidation surrounding him, as usual. He saw a lawn chair, and a large smiling man upon it, looking directly at him.
He probably did the worst thing that he could have possibly done in that moment, from the standpoint of the preservation of sanity and human life:
He smiled big, and waved.
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Post by Marcus Prasad on Jan 27, 2013 16:23:10 GMT -8
The second the boy revealed himself, Marcus grinned and nodded to himself. Already he could see the meat growing off the boy's not-so-scrawny-anymore bones. He had been eating! Rising from his seat and stepping out of the shade, Marcus crossed his arms and looked Lucien over. Looking good, looking VERY good.
He just might survive the hell he had planned for him.
Without saying a word, He gesture for Lucien to follow him with a nod of his head before walking back and into his city.
Having been under Military control, Anaheim was relatively clean compared to the chaos of the Neutral zone, the Soliders ensuring that even littering laws were enforced which carried over when the Crows took command. Marcus agreed, How do you expect people to respect the law when the most basic ones weren't enforced?
Everywhere Marcus looked, People were busy. Cleaning up trash, Maintaining the fortifications, Patrolling the streets, Gardening, Farming, you name it. Everybody works, Everybody fights. That was the ideal he wanted the people to work towards because it was hard to be miserable when you kept yourself occupied. It gave everyone a feeling of accomplishment, of making a difference.
It gave them purpose.
Marcus knew how depressing having no purpose can be.
Marcus would simply walk with Lucien through the City in Silence until the boy chose to speak.
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Post by Lucien DeChain on Jan 28, 2013 19:27:27 GMT -8
Lucien would follow Marcus obediently, and without a word. There wasn't much he needed to say at this point, and having been screamed at all day for a month straight immediately before this, it was a welcome change.
Instead, he just looked around at the area, thinking to himself that it was quite nice. It's actually... Clean. Lucien loved it. There wasn't any trash, or rubble, and there was people living in something that looked like actual houses again. Not just a whole bunch of tents gathered around a flaming garbage can. Yep, I'm going to like Anaheim. Even if I hated Disneyland.
Eventually, though, as they kept walking, he thought it pertinent to speak. There hadn't been a word said the whole time, and it was a long walk. So, Lucien piped up with a quick, "How have you been, Marcus?"
Which he immediately regretted, remembering the last month, and how it was 'SIR OR PUSHUPS'.
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Post by Marcus Prasad on Feb 4, 2013 22:51:42 GMT -8
"Gone from a Wolf to a Dog tied to a stake."
Marcus answered crypticaly, yet with that same cheerfullness.
"But enough about me, How was Basic Training? You look like you gained a few pounds."
Which was good to be honest. Last Marcus saw him, Lucien barely looked over a buck twenty. In all honestly it kind of scared Marcus to look at him before, like he was going to keel over and die any moment.
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Post by Lucien DeChain on Feb 4, 2013 23:24:33 GMT -8
The last thing Lucien wanted to be reminded of was Basic Training. But, with the reference to his weight, Lucien smiled and chuckled lightly.
"I actually haven't had a chance to weigh myself, but I think I might have gained some." He smiled up at the man.
"And, Basic Training, well... I survived. Learned rather quick what not to do. Sir." He added, for effect.
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Post by Marcus Prasad on Feb 5, 2013 18:57:35 GMT -8
Marcus chuckled. Oh this boy was definatly in for a treat. Taught how to survive eh? Unfortunatly for Lucien that wasn't going to be anywhere near enough for what Marcus had in mind. The sad truth was that the Wolfpack as a whole just wasn't ready yet. With his posting in Anaheim among other distractions, Marcus had still not gotten around to buckling his soliders down and teaching them the skills they would need for the times ahead.
"Well pup, I got some good news and some bad news for you."
He said gravely.
"The Good news is Wolfpack Training includes Parkour, Fighting solo, Fighting as a Team, Infiltration, Urban Survival and Stealth. By the time I'm done, you are gonna be one of the most dangerous people in the crows."
The bad news, Though I'm a hell of alot nicer than Tai, I STILL Fully intend to run your tiny little ass to the ground. You are going to learn to THINK as well as Fight! Both your mind and your body need to be properly honed into weapons for you to use against your enemies."
He chuckled darkly to himself, giving Lucien a playful shove with his elbow.
"But for now, We'll start off slow. Whats the first word that comes to mind when I say Brick wall?"
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Post by Lucien DeChain on Feb 5, 2013 23:21:34 GMT -8
{OOC: Sorry about the quality I lost a bit of blood tonight xD}
Lucien walked alongside as he listened to Marcus, his new captain. His words about the content he would learn, he was actually excited about. He didn't know much about Parkour, and he'd have to adjust to the team environment, but stealth, and urban survival, he knew.
And frankly, he was excited to continue his training otherwise. Even if it was intense, and rough, he was ready. At least, he was confident that he was.
Brick wall, though? First thing...
"Find a way around?" He said, kind of unsure of his answer. It was the first thing he thought of, though.
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Post by Marcus Prasad on Feb 8, 2013 22:35:55 GMT -8
For a moment Marcus just stared at the young man, scrutinizing his face, looking for a sign that his answer was just one to please him. Also to make him shake alittle considering how fidgity he was. Suddenly Marcus would let out a bark of laughter and playfully pat Lucien on the shoulder.
"Good, good. You got the right mindset already. Ya know most people tend to think words like 'stop' 'turn around' or even 'pain'. You're answer tells me that though you see a wall as still an obstacle, it is one to be overcome."
Marcus nodded sagely before continuing.
"You see, it is your perception of the world that colors how you interact with it. Human beings are always catagorizing things in thier heads, slapping labels on everything."
He gave Lucien a sly look.
"I think you know exactly what I mean too. Better than most in fact young pup."
"Before you can learn to use your body to mount every obstacle, you have to train your mind into believing that such things never excisted in the first place. To do that, you need to change your perception of the world. You see, your perception colors how you interact with the world around you. Control your perception, you control your enviroment instead of letting IT control YOU."
"Let's take that Brick wall as an example. I can teach you how to run up it, or walk along atop of it yeah. But if you don't Believe you can, if you dont believe it is Possible. Then no amount of physical Training can help you."
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Post by Lucien DeChain on Feb 9, 2013 11:50:08 GMT -8
Lucien nodded at Marcus' words. There was a lot to take in, but Lucien managed to keep track. The large man was right, Lucien did know about categorizing and filing a lot more than other people. In an earlier life, he might have excelled at being a records clerk. But, now that there was no such thing, Lucien had to make do with what he had.
Change your perception... Change the way you interact with the world.
"I can do that." For some things, it would require a massive overhaul of his system. But, Lucien was eager to try new things, and he didn't want to let his Commander down.
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Post by Marcus Prasad on Feb 20, 2013 19:00:53 GMT -8
Marcus cocked an eyebrow at the lad and gave him a knowing grin.
"Heh. Well look at'chu all sure of yourself."
He teased as a thought struck his head.
"I know, how about a warm up? I'm gonna run in a straight line from here to the Compound. That's about an hours walk more or less. YOUR job is to keep me in sight as best you can."
Reaching up to the left upper arm of his jacket, Marcus unzipped the compartment there and pulled out a folded slip of paper.
"And to give you a taste of how seriously I expect you to take training, I'm gonna give you this map of Anaheim. Now I don't plan on stopping for you Pup so if you lose sight of me, It's all up to you to make it home. Remember, I'll be moving in a straight line."
Without even waiting for the boy to speak, Marcus took a moment to line himself up between two houses and took off at a brisk jog, easily vaulting atop of the fence that seperated them as he began to walk along the razor narrow edge through the front yard before slipping into the back.
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Post by Lucien DeChain on Feb 20, 2013 20:09:45 GMT -8
Lucien listened curiously as his CO explained the 'warmup' that he was to do. A straight line...? Lucien thought about this, while a map was shoved into his hands. And then, without any more explanation or notice at all, Marcus was running away from him.
Panicked, Lucien started to jog after him, tucking the precious map into his pocket. Then, Lucien got slightly confused. A fence in the way. But wasn't he supposed to go in a straight--
And then Marcus hopped on the fence. And proceeded to walk on the fence!
With a slight yelp, Lucien tried to jump on top of the fence, but ended up overshooting it, and landed on the other side. He jogged to catch up with Marcus, jumping over the other side of the fence in order to keep up with him.
I think I'm in for a workout, The young boy thought to himself.
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Post by Marcus Prasad on Feb 26, 2013 18:45:07 GMT -8
Marcus laughed as he watched the young man scramble over the white picket fence.
"Careful there kiddo. Don't wanna hurt yourself now! Remember, Lift your knees to your chest when you vault and never forget to bend them as you land to absorb the shock!"
From there he would run up the face of the house, reaching up to grab hold of the roof and with a grunt of effort he pulled himself up, swinging his legs out and over to roll onto the roof. In a second he was back on his feet and gone, running through the sections of suburbia. The next house he would actualy slip through one of the windows without breaking stride.
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Post by Lucien DeChain on Mar 3, 2013 18:56:30 GMT -8
Lucien was just getting over the second fence when he saw Marcus run up the side of a fucking building.
Oh, COME ON!
Lucien would try to follow Marcus, taking a running start and jumping up, barely catching the ledge of the roof and pulling himself up with a grunt, and much effort. Looking to Marcus, he was already slipping into a window. Running after him, he would try to dive into the open window, rolling upon landing and crashing into a wall that was really obnoxiously placed.
Seeing as he knew Marcus was going in a straight line, he knew where to follow without looking, but it was hard not to notice the freaky stuff his commander was doing.
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Post by Marcus Prasad on Mar 7, 2013 21:40:31 GMT -8
Fortunatly for Lucien, his trial would soon come to an end. Marcus would be waiting for him in the back yard, standing atop of the garage that lead out to the back alleyway, clapping his hands without a trace of mockery or scorn on his face. In fact Marcus looked absolutley incredulous.
"This exercise."
Marcus began, crossing his arms infront of his chest as he looked down on the boy.
"Was supposed to show me how you adapt, because Parkour is ALL about adapting to your surroundings. You THREW yourself into the chase. Admirable, but fucking Stupid. There are two key tenants to Parkour. To Overcome....."
Marcus suddenly dropped down from the garage, a short hop to a man like him, landing before Lucien with a rather unreadable expression on his face. Gone was the joking smile and the mad twinkle. Now Lucien faced Marcus' Serious mode.
And it was quite Serious. Much like before with Koshiro Warhazzard, Marcus projected authority through his voice.
".....And to ENDURE. You showed tenacity and courage Lucien, which is awesome yeah, but you also showed me recklessness and a lack of foresight. THINK before you leap my little pup."
The last line spoken as Marcus lightly jabbed Lucien in the forehead with his first two fingers before falling silent and letting it stretch for an uncomfertable length of time as he glowered. After letting the boy Squirm (At least he hoped he was squirming anyway) for a sufficient length of time, Marcus would allow a crack in his disapproving face before a smile began to grow.
"Ha. But I gotta admit that was pretty fucking Intense for a runner virgin. I got some high hopes for you. High hopes fo sho'."
He said, cuffing Lucien on the shoulder in a gesture of camraderie.
"But the fact remains, I gotta teach you some safety rules since your so keen on blowing right by phases one through three. First things first pup, Start slow and comfortable. It's WAY too easy to get overconfident and end up with a Broken ankle. Just ask Croaker, one of the other wolves you'll meet once we reach the compound. If your careful, you'll start building up resistance in your joints that'll soften the impact shock as well as learn new muscle memory that'll keep you from twisting something. What we do LOOKS fantastical and dangerous only cause we PRACTICE so damn intensely that it all becomes rote for us. Just as it will for you."
"The second thing though, watch where you leap is pretty damn obvious judging from whatever you crashed into back there. I dont need you jumping off an edge and falling off a roof just cause you weren't.....well......Looking where you leap. Yeah I'm gonna drill that in your head, just warning you now."
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