I say as much.

"You see well."

She presses her own hand against it, and lets it glow, a deep violet thrumming through the chassis. 

"The fires do not especially care for your touch, though you may learn their ways, in time. You will not have much to learn, in this time and place, from me, though you will make an adequate student, in time. I shall take my leave now, and invite you to my own workspace for your tutelage, soon." 

I nod. 

"Very well. Best of skill."

"Likewise." 

The massive heap of metal shifts, the metal piping forming into crude legs, before she walks away, the impromptu forge following behind as she departs.

Alright so if we're here...

...Yeah this can just be text, tbh. 

I glare at Ruby slipping in for a moment. 

Hey. 

Just wanted to send you a quick little statement of interest - for a bunch of things, I suppose. 

For one, I'm a bit of a miser about missed opportunities, at times, and I'd love to hear about what you can tell me of Labradoris, and the stories you have of there. The books in the Galaxia's computer are good and all, but talking to someone like you about it is something a bit more worthwhile. 

(Also, as the Guest of Honor, I'm obliged to have a bunch of plans to make use of all the cool contacts I can drag into my orbit :p.) 

(Feel free to inquire about my game plan and ideas there, by the way. It's not a secret, and something that's plenty open to negotiation.) 

Another thing was that the docs that the ship provided told me that you were something of a martial tutor yourself? I'm interested in whatever you can make work for me, and I'm happy to do whatever I can with my clout on the ship to make your experience more pleasant for that, or otherwise engage in considerations for your time, if you care for that, but hope I'll be an interesting enough student you don't need to bother with that dross. 

It'd also be good to simply take the time to break bread with you - the matchmaking services here are pretty sweet and you got recced highly so. 

waggles eyebrows 

Anyways. 

I'm just over at the gym, if you want to meet up there now, or I guess we could come over to your or my quarter's. or something like the bar that presumptively exists in a fancy place like this. 

Regards, 

Moonsilver the blue heart

P.S. 

We're plural, she/her, poly, mostly lesbian, ask for names if you want to bother w/ them beyond sys one of "Blue Hearts". 

P.P.S. I'm also strictly speaking not super picky about you actually persay teaching me when we meet up around now? The power armour set ups here look really interesting and just getting a chance to play around with that is something that'd be good fun on its own. 

Hey BHs. 

Don't bother worrying about the training incentives - more than happy to skill up someone comin' up in the sea. 

Wining and dining would be good fun too - how about we make that something we slot in after a workout? Oroboru makes hunger weird but wouldn't pass up on a chance to chat for something like that. 

Could you throw over the picks you've made for what you'll otherwise be getting? Want to focus in on things that will work with that.

P.S. We can do that as part of the lesson, if you'd like~

Best wishes, 

Alena

Sure. 

Spring: Feast of Myth + Visit Creation's Keyhole 
Summer: Perfecting Elixir + The Classic
Autumn: Sunsleep's spirit-talking, superskill (Knowledge of the Light), Supercraftsman augmentation (The Classic)
Winter: Black City (All)

That's it - feel free to look up the details further? 

Going to wait around one of the rings if that's okay with you?

No problem. 

Be there in a few more minutes. 

The arena is... grand, in a way, for all that the ring is made up of nothing more than the dusty brown fading into gold sand all packed together into a fifty meter circle, and some sketched lines tracing out the edges, with two torii's at each side in a brilliant crismon for passing through the wards and into the actual fighting space. 

It's... intimidating, for all that it seems like it was every little detail covered in the fine rune work and the ship systems that have been here since the beginning. 

Ultimately...

I sigh and breathe out as I stroll over and change into something simpler in the little cordoned off prep space.

The white shirt and pant combo I pick out makes me feel so exposed, after the dresses enveloping femininity but well... 

I stare at the lockers of the power armor - rental units, normally, I'd guess but now... 

...I just grab one. 

It's a relatively rugged military design, a dull grey painted over with a molted navy, plates blending into a solid body of metal that looks simple and solid, aside the extra flanges and flares around the points of articulation that makes it something that you could actually move in. It's plain, in a way, with only some extra features indicated through rust-colored paint along palms and the thick metal jacket around the forearms. 

A probably silly thought that I'd expect Amaya to do better, but this is should be fine, for now. 

Slipping it on is a fairly awkward affair, despite how much effort has obviously gone into the process. It's an awkward jig of slipping in my limbs into these slots that remind me of a too-tight-shoe for all the fuss it takes to make it all work, and don a tightly fitted coat, even with all of the effects that must be there for the hunks of metal to move so easily in my hands. 

Once the whole thing is sealed up, a quick gloss of the available functions and the triggers flashes along the screen, followed by a simple HUD, complete with a shield meter and a few other ones besides for the handful of integrated weapons and supportive features. The speed augs will take some getting used to but well... 

I'm pretty sure that the display is of phyiscal light, but there's still a vague pressure that wraps around me, enshrouding my body and form with the a certain snug-tightness pressing into what I presume is my soul. It's a bit of a strain, and I expect it'll ache after a while, but I can make it work. 

I tread out into the open field, and step through the gate into the world of rivers and lakes.

She jumps through the opposite gate, dozens of meters flying past in a single leap. 

"A teacher's frame, it seems. An interesting if somewhat straightforward choice. Take your time adjusting, and attack me when you'd like."

I... twitch in place, a moment, watching her carefully before I start walking towards her. 

She stalks in a circle, eying her curiously. 

I breathe out heavily, a desire to just lash out and a desire to just stop this farce now and get out of this but...

I sigh. 

No need to fear. 

I take the time to take the breath properly, and charge, dust billowing out behind me as the speed augmentation system lets me push for a half passable rush, my fist curling right into place as a few adjustments make it something more proper. 

She catches my wrist, and tosses me to the side.

I skitter along the ground and fire the blast system once I get a moment to focus in the tumble, a brief burst of deep blue light spits out towards her.

A shield flickers into existence for a moment, as she crouches slightly to brace against the shot, before letting the wall of metal dissipate. 

"Good instincts. Keep it going."

I rush again, the foot jets flaring before I let the momentum carry me forward, kicking out towards her raised shield after a few quick bursts of the hand weapons. 

I parry, and simply let her bounce of the defense of my shield. 

"You can't just attack my shield." 

Anddd off I hop, switching over to some leg sweeps - I can probably switch it up enough to make it not totally trivial to block with the angle changes from the flight system, even if a quick exploration of that idea against her defenses quickly reveals that yes that's a terrible idea if I want to try to pull something like that off somewhere less safe then here, considering the amount that some of these make my head hit against the floor. 

And that's a bit trickier at this level of augmentation - the switch between the wild flailing she's forcing into the suit and the relatively smooth recoveries that flit back into a reset that glides into another attack that may or may not be something more sensibly oriented. 

She takes the effort to materialize and rematerialize the shield back into place for each strike, using the extra freedom to make it plausible enough to deflect everything she has to offer. 

And I do that silly little snap-back up to my feet from my back, trying to simply push aside her shield enough to get in something, blasts trying to at least spark off her shield, legs trying to sweep at her feet - 

And back - pushing aside her efforts and shoving her aside, in case she decides to push it too much.

"That's better! Now let's see how you manage on the back foot."