(no subject)

[brodakota]

Characters: North and anyone passing by
Content: Panda Training 101
Location: Traverse Town, 1st District
Time of Day: Early evening
Warnings: None

The more he'd thought about it, the more North had figured that having a Kooma Panda as a spirit might be useful.

As he'd seen in the post office, the bears were certainly tough and it would probably add some balance to the little team he'd formed with Cactus and Theta. Cactus was strong, but if they were going to encounter bigger nightmares, he'd probably want a few bigger spirits to help out. And it looked like he had the pieces for it.

He hadn't expected it to be quite so big. The Panda was just a little bit taller than he was and all smiles. The way the panda had scooped him up made North wonder if that was what it felt like to be hugged by Maine, but a more friendlier version of the freelancer.

He gave it a pat when it finally set him down.

"So, I guess you're going to need a name, huh?"

Comments

[shadearchivist]

Ienzo was out and about on an errand to the moogles when he caught sight of North. He'd nearly forgotten his conversation with Theta about illusions, but it would be worth seeing if North and Theta would have time at some point to meet and talk shop. He changed course, gesturing for Lea to follow him.

"Good day. I see you have a new companion," Ienzo said.

[brodakota]

North had managed to pry himself away from the Bear and was currently offering it a treat.

"Hey Ienzo," North said with a wave, and Theta popped out in a spray of fireworks. "Yeah, we just made him. Still deciding on a name though."

The Panda grins, waving excitedly at Ienzo. If North wasn't standing in front of him, it would probably be Ienzo's turn for a bear hug.

[shadearchivist]

Ienzo eyed the bear warily; he wasn't really one for being picked up by giant pseudo-mammals for hugs. Or by anyone for hugs, though North was soothingly reminiscent of a frighteningly cheerful Aeleus. "He looks like he'll be helpful. I meant to ask Theta if he wished to meet to discuss illusions at some point in time."

[brodakota]

North gives the bear a pat on the arm.

"I'm sure he will be."

"Yeah, sure! If that's alright with you, North?" Theta seemed to brighten at the suggestion, and he looked at his partner as if asking for permission.

"It's fine with me, Theta. We have time now, if you want."

[shadearchivist]

"If you wouldn't mind," Ienzo allowed. "I can change the appearance of the entire area around us, but I gather that an illusion of that scale is somewhat startling to people from your world." Or at least it had been startling to North's companions. Presumably it wasn't the norm.

[brodakota]

"Not at all," North replied.

He'd heard about that from Wash and York.

"Yeah, it would be. I mean, there's some virtual reality and holograms, but it's not exactly commonplace. Especially in the military," North replied. "Wash and York mentioned you could do something like that."

"Could I see?" Theta asked, wishing he could do something like that it. He was still working on the small holograms.

[shadearchivist]

Ienzo inclined his head and brought up the illusion of a forest all around them, with a wind blowing through the trees. One couldn't really feel the wind, but it was clearly audible. "It's done with magic rather than a computer, though this isn't the usual application for it."

[brodakota]

Needless to say, North was taken aback. It was like they weren't actually on the street anymore, no matter how he tried to remind himself that it was an illusion.

"It's still really cool. What do you usually use it for?"

[shadearchivist]

The forest faded away; Ienzo shrugged his shoulders. "It's difficult to form complete illusions of places, so in most cases people use it for smaller things; entertainments like your fireworks."

[skysmirror]

Xion had been out on her usual Nightmare patrol. Finished clearing what she could of the first district, she'd decided it was time for a break and some ice cream. Barkley and Axel had their treats from what the Nightmares left, so now it was time for hers.

The sight of a Kooma Panda startled her at first. Then she noticed the brighter colors. So North had made another Spirit for himself. Smiling, she hurried over to him, her two Spirits not far behind. "Hi, North."

[brodakota]

North turned, giving a wave. It would be hard to tell, but he was smiling behind his visor.

"Hey Xion, how's it going?" he said cheerfully. Theta appeared on his shoulder, waving as well. Catcus was down by North's feet, still wary of his new companion.

The Panda clapped its paws together. Obviously, this was a new friend.

[skysmirror]

Xion had become used to seeing North and his friends in their armor, so visors were no problem. North usually sounded like he was smiling, even if she couldn't see it.

"It's going okay. You?" Her own smile was barely visible given her hood as she waved back to Theta. Barkley and Axel went over to greet Cactus and the new arrival. "I see you made one of the new Spirits."

[brodakota]

"Pretty good," North replied. He looked at his Kooma Panda. "Yeah, I figured it was time to bulk up the team a bit, so I made this guy. I think he'll be pretty useful."

He gave the Panda a little pat. The Panda looked confused as to who he should greet first, the spirits or Xion. He finally decided, stepping past the spirit to scoop Xion up in a bearhug.

"Sorry, he's really friendly. Hey, let her breathe."

In the meantime, Cactus was taking the moment to pounce on Barkley in his usual greeting.

[skysmirror]

Having a team is always good. Xion had been thinking of making one of the pandas for herself, wanted to wait a little longer while her current two got used to each other. "They're strong; I bet he'll be a lot of help."

Not quite prepared for the hug, she tensed up. It was a good thing she'd just seen the Spirit do the same to North. If she hadn't, she might have had a worse reaction than surprise. As it was, relaxing took a moment. "It's okay."

Barkley, meanwhile, was prepared for Cactus's greeting and returned the favor. Safely away from the action, Axel hissed in amusement.

[brodakota]

The bear looked a little disappointed at the scolding, but eventually set Xion down gently.

"I know he did that with me, but I didn't think he'd do it with everyone," North said with a laugh. Hopefully, he wouldn't try to to be too friendly with the nightmares as well.

"Let's just hope he doesn't try to be too playful."

[skysmirror]

Once back on the ground and released, Xion patted the bear's arm and smiled up at him. He'd only meant to be friendly.

"I guess he'll need a few lessons in manners." She wouldn't think that any Spirit, no matter how friendly, would have trouble knowing the Nightmares were enemies.

Playful was fine, the bear would just have to learn his own strength and be careful. With Barkley and Cactus occupied, it was Axel's turn to greet the newcomer.

[brodakota]

"I guess so. I'll have Theta whip him into shape," North said with a laugh. Theta looked embarrassed.

"What sort of things do bears like?"

The Bear, in the meantime, leaned down to look at the Hebby Repp. North looked a little concerned, wondering if the bear could keep his balance.

[wavesinherheart]

For all that Aqua was well aware that the bears they'd been fighting were now something the moogles could help them make, she was perfectly fine with the pair she already had. That said, she certainly wasn't about to ignore the fact that more and more of the Nightmare versions of the bears were showing up, and for all that there always seemed to be more of the Nightmares that wasn't a reason to not do her part to keep things as calm as possible.

That said, she hadn't really expected to find someone already accompanied by one of the bears. She wouldn't deny that they'd seemed like they could be useful, but not having asked the moogles what would go into one, she hadn't been able to judge how soon people would begin making them. Not before just now, anyway.

"A new friend, I'm guessing?"

[brodakota]

"Yeah, he is, and a friendly one at that," North replied, nodding at Aqua. The kooma panda waved enthusiastically.

"I figured it was time for a second spirit, and those bears we fought gave me the idea. I think he'll be a good addition, with a bit of training."

[wavesinherheart]

"So I see," Aqua answered with a smile and a slight nod in return. It might have been a little surprising, but to be honest anything was better than the Nightmare version of the same bears. If it meant enthusiastically upbeat pandas, she could deal with that.

"He looks like he'll be a fine addition too."

[brodakota]

"I think so. He'll be able to balance out Cactus in the offense, since I'm usually focused on defense with my shield," North replied. He didn't mind sharing his strategy, since it was pretty obvious. And after all, Aqua was at the very least someone who could be considered a teammate in this crazy situation.

"I'm just trying to think of a good name for him. Something a little more original than Winnie."

[wavesinherheart]

Even if it hadn't been particularly obvious, Aqua wasn't really the type to take advantage of knowing someone's general strategy. Or at least, not intentionally. In a proper fight, it was pretty much a given that you tried to find what openings you could find in someone's strategy. Still, she had to admit to a certain amount of logic to finding something to help balance things out.

The only thing she wasn't quite sure about was the name he mentioned. For all that she would admit that it didn't quite seem to suit, she wasn't really sure why it wouldn't have been original.

"Winnie?"

[brodakota]

"Yeah. It's short for Winnie the Pooh. He was this bear in a children's cartoon in my world. My sister and I used to watch it all the time," North said with a shrug. He hadn't thought about that in a long time.

"I just thought I'd be able to come up with my own name, rather than relying on an old cartoon, and the fact that I named one of my stuffed bears after him as well."

[wavesinherheart]

"You could ask him what he thinks of it?" Aqua answered with a shrug. It might not have been the most original of names, but it sounded like it would work well enough, and surely that was a good enough place to start? Even if it was a name he'd used before.

Of course, if his new Spirit didn't like it, it would be right back to the beginning, but it had to be worth the try at least.

[brodakota]

"What do you think?" North asked the Spirit, taking Aqua's advice. The Bear looked thoughtful, as if it was thinking it over.

"So have you picked up any new spirits? Having two seems to be the thing these days."