cyclicality | The Fire Ferrets Tryouts! [semi-private]

[EDIT: OOC: This post is mostly private for waterbenders and firebenders as they're the only people that would actually be trying out. However, if you want to interact with some of the others (and Bolin would be okay with you being there -- feel free to ask me if you're unsure!), feel free to pose in, either for Bolin or with the other people involved. Sorry for the complicated rules and whatnot, but I figure it'd be worth it to be inclusive as opposed to exclusive!]

[Private-ish to firebenders and waterbenders]

"Alright, Pabu. It's time to get the Fire Ferrets back in action! Are you with me?"

The fire ferret squeaks in approval as he sits atop Bolin's shoulder. Bolin nods back with the biggest grin, and he pushes open the doors into the gym where no doubt several candidates were waiting to join his elite crew.

"Welcome, everyone, to the official Fire Ferrets team tryouts. I might not have met each of you personally, and you might have instead just found one of my many fliers instead, but my name is Bolin, team captain and previous pro-bending champion! Also, I'm a mover star and the earthbender of the team. I hope you've all brought your A-game to this event, because only the best of the best can be on the Fire Ferrets, and this year we're going to show all those other teams what we're made of and take back the championship! I'm not going to go easy on you, and I definitely want to make sure we're taking on the right people. Some of you will go away disappointed, but two of you will ride with Pabu and I to victory once again! To each of you, I wish you all the best of luck. Let's get started!

"So first up today, we have..."

[OOC: Bolin will be pairing up potential candidates into 1v1 or 2v2 matches. Feel free to find a friend with the opposite element and fight some NPCs, or find a competitor of your element and have a duel with one another? Or have a more personal "interview" with Bolin... and you can try to get to know Bolin and the rocks that he throws at people better? Or all of the above! While you do need to impress Bolin, feel free to have fun and show off your bending to your competitors too.]

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Wan leaned in and lifted his mask just far enough that Bolin could see his face and then whispered to him (and made sure it was an actual whisper), "Psst. Bolin. It's me. Wan. A lot of people have seen me airbend, so I have to hide my face."

And then (after clearing his throat), he replied louder, "I am one of the finest waterbenders I know! I'm sure there won't be much competition with me on the team."

Edited 2014-11-01 01:30 (UTC)

Bolin looks skeptical up until that one moment when Wan leans into Bolin's ear and finally tells him his name. Bolin's face goes immediately to shock, eyes wide open and lips slightly parted. So it is Wan—THE Avatar Wan—and he is here to try out for the Fire Ferrets! They are SO made!

"Riiiiiight! Of course! I remember... giving you a flier, huh?" Bolin nudges Wan with his elbow knowingly. Bolin really is pretty bad at keeping secrets. "You're that famous waterbender I know... the great, uh, Rokusawa!" That sounded like a legit name, right? Right? Right?

"Okay, W—Rokusawa, let's see what sort of skills you have!"

Rokusawa?

Bolin was lucky there was a mask over Wan's face to hide the expression he was making at that very moment. An expression his shoulders dropping only betrayed slightly. And expression his muffled tone did a much better job of getting across. Flat and just this side of annoyed, "No. I'm not Rokusawa and I'm not famous. You must have me confused for someone else. The name is w- Long."

Long, meaning dragon. Because a spirit dragon was his first bending teacher. Firebending, sure, but bending all the same...

"My name is Long. What would you like to see first?"

Well, it's not like Bolin was the best at codenames or even coming up with backstories on a whim. But nevertheless, he'll run with it. "Oh.... well, sorry. You looked exactly like him." Never mind that he's wearing a mask. Never mind that he'd actually wear a mask if he wanted to be recognized. "Long, Long... yes.

"Anyway!" Bolin clears his throat, trying to hide his embarrassment and smooth over the details, "Uh... how about you show me some of your waterbending moves?"

"Sure. I can do that," his voice got a bit more upbeat as he set his feet into a more classic bending stance and pulled his first stream of water out of the tanks. He took a little too much for most pro-bending needs, but made up for the amount with how fast he slung the stream around. He didn't do the quick jabs of water blasts that most Pro-benders had adapted to but he also had the 'holding' timing down. His streams hit fast and hard at the targets before dropping right back into the tank just as he would have gotten flagged for holding were it a match.

He needed practice with the style, but he had the power and speed down.

Bolin blinks a little bit at that. It certainly wasn't the style that Korra, or for that matter most of the rest of the waterbenders in pro-bending, were used to doing, but Bolin doesn't quite remember the rules for pro-bending waterbending, so it's not like he knew exactly if they were completely within bounds, though it more or less seemed like it was okay. But still, Wan (or rather "Long") was certainly going to be better than that from his team last year.

Bolin just applauds rather weakly, clearly in awe of the demonstrations. "That is so incredible! You're a natural at this!" he says with a higher-than-normal-pitched voice. "How good are you at dodging attacks then?"

Wan grinned under his mask and set his hands back to his waist, "I'm pretty good at dodging attacks. If you wan to throw a few at me."

After what he's been through, dodging a few stone discs wouldn't be that hard. And on the off-chance he got hit, he could handle the blow without flinching. It would take a much larger rock to throw him off his game than what was used in Pro-Bending.

"Well, okay then. Watch out, because here goes nothing!" Bolin stands over next to a pile of clay discs and then uses his earthbending to lift them up and hurl them over. Bolin's style is certainly somewhat acrobatic, kicking them with his feet while nearly upside-down, air-punching them with his hands, and even putting some spin on them to make their trajectories slightly arc as they fly.

It took a bit of self-control for Wan to not grab the discs mid-air and send them into each other rather than just jump to the side or roll under one of them. His dodging involved a lot of circular movements that weren't quite the same as an airbender, but definitely weren't anything a waterbender or firbender, or even an earthbender, would normally do. He ducked and weaved as he spun, very aware of how all the discs were aiming for his torso and using that to his advantage. Only the final onslaught of the last two forced him to backflip out of the way. Which... he didn't actually know if it was a legal dodge or not.

There really weren't any rules about how you dodged so long as you didn't accidentally step over the zone lines on the battlefield. Bolin could have aimed the disks lower down on Wan's body, but really hitting the legs or the arms would have been a lucky shot anyway. There was room for a little more strategy in an actual match where there were other team members and limited awareness, but here for the tryouts, he wants to keep things simple.

"Good dodge!" says Bolin enthusiastically. "You're really a natural at this, Long."

"I've had a lot of field practice," he replied as he straightened up and dusted himself off. "Dodging rocks, I mean. Not pro-bending."

A lot of practice dodging rocks? Dear spirits, what in the world was he doing if he wasn't pro—oooooooh right. He can relate to that a lot more than he'd like to admit. "Yeah, yeah, I know how that is. You know, dodging rocks? Pretty tough stuff, so anyone who can do that definitely has a good chance for having a shot at the team. So what makes you so keen on being a pro-bender? And why the Fire Ferrets? Have you been a fan of us for a while?" Yes, Bolin has already let his enthusiasm carry him away and forget once again he's talking to Wan.

Wan shrugged at that, not exactly having much of reason other than 'it seemed like fun', "Actually, I had never heard of the Fire Ferrets until I came to the city. And your try outs are the first I've heard about. But it sounded like fun, so I thought I'd give it a shot."

Well, that wasn't exactly the best answer, though he also knew that Wan really wasn't... from this time period. But c'mon, you're acting! Scratch Bolin's back a bit! "Well, I guess that's good for us, recruiting people early! You know what they say: The early cranefish gets the beetle worm! But still, you're pretty amazing! What I wouldn't do to have a waterbender like yourself on the team this year!"

The Fire Ferrets Tryouts! [semi-private]

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