[if you come by after classes let out, you might be able to watch everyone practicing, Sakuma had told her. it was a simple enough offer, one that required very little effort on Lapis' part; she was intending to drop back down to earth soon after making her post anyway. although she had no idea whatsoever about the structure of Nonah's public school system, she figured that she had more than enough time to figure it out.
that, at least, was true. Nonah isn't a very large city at all when you possess wings capable of interstellar travel, and she touches down onto the school's sports field only an hour or so after classes have begun. although she has no idea exactly how soccer is supposed to be played (by non-sea life, at least) she's been stuck on this planet long enough to be able to recognize a sports facility. softly content with her victory, Lapis clambers onto the highest tier of bleachers and settles herself down to wait.
and wait.
aaaaand wait.
the arc of Lapis' swinging legs slowly grows wider and wider as several more hours pass with absolutely no action whatsoever on the field. she'd been prepared to do a little waiting before witnessing any action, but this seems egregious even for humans - and so she decides to investigate.
there have been a great number of young imPorts attending Nonah's middle school over the years, and perhaps this is the reason that she's able to enter and wander throughout the school proper with no opposition. she's the proper height for an actual student, after all.
whatever she may appear to be, Lapis Lazuli is not your typical visitor, and it quickly shows. having never attended any sort of educational institution herself she's utterly fascinated by the inside of the building, to the point that there are moments she's forced to mentally pull herself back and remember why she's here to begin with. it's difficult to do in the face of bizarre murals littering the walls.
eventually she attempts to pull down some of the student work on display for a closer inspection, and this finally draws the attention of one of the teachers. although the woman attempts to keep her voice low for the sake of privacy, Lapis has no such qualms; combined with most classrooms' open doors, it's pathetically easy for any attentive child to pick up on their dialogue.]
Excuse me, miss, are you a student?
Oh, no. I've never been here before today.
Is there...something I can help you with, then?
I'm just trying to check on someone who's probably in here. He asked me to come look at soccer, but that was a while ago so I think he might've gotten lost.
[even with the teacher's face obscured, it's clear that at this point she's struggling to overcome the obtuse logic paths Lapis must have taken in order to be spitting out responses like this. there's a pause as she casts about in her mind for something to say to that - just long enough for the gem to cause even more trouble.
her low interest in this conversation has meant that Lapis' gaze has been wandering the entire time, peering into the open class doors as well as she can from her current position. at the same moment that the verbal lull hits, all that pointless staring finally pays off.]
Oh, there he is.
[of course, she's turned to point into Sakuma's classroom and straight at him. almost as if guided by some supernatural force that whispers he'll try and duck his head to pretend she's referring to literally anyone else, she strides over to brazenly lean her head into the door, staring straight at him.]
[As Lapis pokes her head into the classroom, a low roar of students' voices answer her at once, none of which belong to Sakuma, and only one of which belongs to the supervising teacher.
"Who's that?" "I think I recognize her from the zoo, with the seals..." "Sea lions." "Oh, whatever!" "What's she doing here?" "Making eyes at Jerry, by the looks of things." "What's her name, again?" "Aspen." "That's a plant, you dumbass." "Asbestos?" "You're not even trying, are you...?" "I know! It was something to do with rocks! Sapphire? Lapis?" "So you're telling me Jerry's got himself a pet rock..."
Finally, the teacher silences the class with the sharp closing of his textbook and a glance that singles out Sakuma as surely as Lapis' had.
"Would you care to explain to everyone why your friend is disrupting our class, Jerry—" He shakes his head, giving a sharp look at Noodle whose nickname for Sakuma is much easier to say than his given Japanese name, and then amends, "—Jirou?"
Of course, Sakuma doesn't have an answer. He'd told the gem when to meet him at the school, she wasn't supposed to be here now. What was so difficult to understand about after classes let out?
And then it dawns on him...
She hadn't known where the school was at first, either. She probably didn't know anything about it, much like she didn't seem to know much of anything about anything human in nature. So of course she showed up when classes were still in session! Agh!]
I'm sorry, sir. I...asked her to meet me here after class. There must have been some misunderstanding.
[The teacher's silent stare speaks volumes, but perhaps from being used to having imPort students in his class, he finally gives a nod to the door, excusing Sakuma without him even having to ask.
And Sakuma doesn't hesitate to collect his belongings (to the tune of even more of Noodle's incorrigible teasing) and head for the classroom door, ushering Lapis out into the hall along with him. Once they're out of earshot of the door, he spins around to face her, his good eye narrowed.]
[most of the student chatter flies right over Lapis' head, as nearly everything from earth seems wont to do. one comment, however, manages to catch her attention, and when Sakuma tries to move her she resists for a brief moment; hanging onto his arm to keep him from progressing forward without her she leans in further, staring down the unfortunate student with an unsettling intensity.]
I'm not a pearl.
[the teacher's exasperated gaze does absolutely nothing to instill a sense of shame in her. she holds that staredown with the poor kid for several more uncomfortable moments before deciding that he's learned his lesson and allowing herself to be walked down the hall a little. pet rock her hard light projected ass.
her feelings of regret don't seem to increase several feet from the doorway, unfortunately. the expression she meets Sakuma's irritation with is placid, bordering on nonchalant.]
You never showed up, so I figured you either got lost or forgot. The field's this way.
[she jerks a thumb behind her, already getting ready to turn around and start walking. Lapis has hung around that field long enough that she's confident in her ability to escort him back.]
[Without the appropriate context, Lapis' comment seems to fly right over Noodle's head, right along with the intensity with which she'd delivered her claim. He manages to keep a straight face for all of three seconds (perhaps a new class record!) before breaking into a grin and nodding just to appease her and get her to leave. Sure, sure. She's not a pearl. Whatever she says.
Which Sakuma knows will undoubtedly result in whispers behind their backs as they leave and...
...there's a sudden roar of laughter from the classroom, followed by the exasperated voice of the teacher trying to calm everybody back down and get them to focus. He's going to have a hard time shrugging off Noodle's teasing tomorrow. Whether or not it's in the name of fun, Sakuma still finds it irritating. And now, thanks to Lapis, it'll only be worse. But at least after that it'll be the weekend. Maybe by Monday everyone will forget, or the novelty will have worn off.
Planting one hand upon his hip and sighing, Sakuma looks at Lapis, and then looks up at the clock on the wall in the hallway.]
I didn't show up because it isn't after classes yet! School's still in session for a few more hours.
[Or would be back in session after lunch break, which Sakuma supposes may well be the other reason his teacher released him early from class. In just a few more minutes the bell was going to ring. So of course Lapis couldn't have waited that long to find him...]
Anyway, I know where the field is, and I would have met you there at the right time.
[timekeeping on earth was a difficult endeavor even for Lapis, when she cared to make a sincere attempt. she can only imagine how much worse it must be for somone like Sakuma, who struggles with basic concepts such as doors.
he was even staring at the clock now as they spoke, although she can't discern any signifigance from the time when her gaze b riefly follows his. maybe that was his problem? he definitely seemee worked up over nothing today.]
This feels like a pretty good time to me - the sun's still up.
[she supplies this helpfully, as if he might have forgotten his species was diurnal. anything to smooth over his apparent inner turmoil.]
[Sakuma very nearly groans when Lapis responds, her very answer on the verge of causing him physical pain. It's that bad. She's that dense. She's such a...a rock.
But this is one of those things it's better to avoid getting too worked up over. So, taking a breath as he draws his attention away from the clock, he looks back towards her and then past her. Before taking the lead on the way out of the school and into the yard.]
Lunch will be starting soon. We can go to the field now, there'll be time. Nobody'll be practicing at this hour, though...so it'll be just you and me.
that just means you'll have even worse ones take their place
[she follows along behind him sedately, gaze still mostly fixed on the various artwork and essays posted along the walls. the purpose still baffles her, but it's pretty fascinating.]
That's fine. It'd be pretty bad if you got overwhelmed.
[since he seemed already fairly flustered, she can only imagine what would happen if he had to do anything in front of a large crowd of people.]
[He's not going to comment on that, he's just not. It isn't worth it, not when he knows that the rock logic that prompted her remark is probably based on a misunderstanding rather than the truth, as is often the case with Lapis Lazuli — and rocks in general.
Instead, Sakuma is silent as they make their way towards the nearest exit which, thankfully, isn't actually too far off and lets them out facing the field. Just the sight of it greatly improves Sakuma's disposition, though he wouldn't expect Lapis to understand why, not on the level that his friends would. Still, he has to wonder if there's anything at all on this planet, this side of the Porter, that brings her comfort the way a soccer field does for him. It has to be hard...being a real alien.]
No, this is the first time I'm really using the ball without the sea lions.
[the word 'sports' has no meaning to her, so Lapis simply assumes that it must refer to soccer as a whole. maybe? maybe it's some weird collective word to catch all the stupid equipment that seems to be involved in this endeavor.
whatever the answer, the field is as empty as she left it. she leans forward slightly, just to make sure there aren't any stragglers who may have wandered by in the meantime. she's not certain whether the lack of change is reassuring to her or not.]
[That's fine, Sakuma thinks to himself. It might even be easier if they're beginning from scratch. She won't have preconceived notions of how things ought to work, they'll be able to build on her knowledge from the ground up. In theory, at least.
And in reality...?
He glances back over his shoulder at her, and then back ahead at the field once more with a sigh. It's best for him here if he doesn't get ahead of himself or expect too much from Lapis. Including understanding anything. Especially after showing up at the wrong time.]
The bell will ring soon, there might be other kids joining us out here, but just...focus on me and the ball, okay?
[Before she has a chance to ask "what ball," Sakuma tugs a red and white penguin-shaped whistle out from the beneath his shirt and gives it a blow. The resulting sound is...definitely as penguin as the shape of the whistle, and immediately summons from the air before him a brilliant red soccer ball with white pentagons. As they reach the field and the bell rings, the ball lands with a soft thump on the grass and Sakuma rests his foot atop it.]
[the summon doesn't phase Lapis as much as it might a more normal being. odd whistle aside, it's so similar to a gem pulling out their weapon that she almost finds a small amount of comfort in the action. she half expects it to do something a little more impressive after appearing, but before she can inquire after it Sakuma is speaking again.
the act of soccer is still more of a battle than a fun afterschool activity in her mind, and so when she's asked about her readiness Lapis responds first by doing a little summoning of her own; her wings emerge from her gem, folding neatly at her back and gently refracting the midday sun. even during a practice, she had to be prepared for anything during a fight.]
[Sakuma does a double-take when she summons her water wings. While this isn't the first time he's seen them, they definitely have no place in soccer much less at his school where they'll draw...
"Whoa! Look over there!"
...attention.
He turns his head just a little more, body turning with him, in time to watch some of the younger students (more interested in playing than eating lunch) pushing outside into the yard take notice of both Lapis and him on the field. They don't take long making a beeline for them, either, forgoing their usual chalk-games or basketball to investigate the goings on of two imPorts, one of whom they've never seen around their school before.]
Um...could you put those away? [Sakuma turns back to Lapis, a small frown on his face.] We're just going to be going over some basics today. So that you'll have a chance to get to know the world of soccer that Gran and Ulvida loved so much.
[Never mind that they can't really play soccer with powers here...]
[although she vaguely hears the cries of other children, Lapis doesn't bother turning around to observe them. she'd been instructed to focus on Sakuma and the ball when more people showed up, and in addition she honestly didn't have too much interest in their goings-on. it could hardly be that exciting.]
It's easier to use them if I've already got them out before things start happening.
[as attempting to flee Jasper had proven, even a near-instantaneous summon occasionally wasn't fast enough...]
[He remembers the first time he and Lapis met and the broken door that was the result of a simple misunderstanding. Sakuma can't afford a repeat incident here of all places, around innocent students who don't have powers to protect themselves from her terrifying abilities.
Sure, her authority over water seems unparalleled, but can the same be said for her self-control? He can't take chances...can't trust her as much as Gran probably did. He's not that person.]
...except for summoning this ball so we can play, we're not going to be using powers today.
[it's the only thing that Lapis can think of to prompt him laying down such a mandate, but it's still a little strange to her. she understands wanting to build strong fundamentals, but how could that be done without the abilities which would so drastically alter the way they approached strategy?
it just didn't make sense. despite her mildly concerned observation however, she really has no intention of fighting him on this one. if he wanted to do this the weirdest way possible, well, it was literally his ball game. at least it'd be slightly more exciting than sitting on the bleachers staring at nothing.]
[Sakuma doesn't actually sound very sorry, but at least he doesn't seem to be deriving any pleasure from the rule against power use? Though, of course, no one from his world ever would. While their idea of soccer wasn't dependent upon the use of hissatsu, the ability to use such a power certainly helped give life the sport they all knew and loved. Without hissatsu, powers that were born from their sweat and teamwork, soccer was just...a sport. And to some people that was fine, but not for Sakuma. Not when soccer had become for him, and for everyone back home, a way of life and for some, even a home when they had no other.
Not using powers...it feels empty. But for now, at least, it's still safer. He'd rather that than have an accident on his hands.]
We'll start with dribbling, which is also a good way to warm up.
[Although he's not really sure if she has to warm up or not. How do alien rocks even work?
He considers this as he motions her out a little further into the field and away from those spying kids, kicking the ball along with him before he stops suddenly, somewhere out in the middle, and gestures for her to look down at his feet.]
Dribbling is what we call bringing the ball up and down the field with our feet. The part of the foot you want to use to kick it is the laces. Which...if you were wearing shoes, would be along the top of your foot.
[He regards her feet for a moment, idly wondering if she even has a bone structure. If what he saw that day in the living room is any indication, the answer is...probably not. Or at least not one that resembles anything human. So trying to point out which bone to aim for is likely going to be a useless endeavor.]
Anyway, you want to aim for the middle of the ball with that spot, but since we're not shooting, you don't want to use too much strength. [And he demonstrates slowly, planting his left foot slightly behind the soccer ball and just a few inches to the side, slowly bringing his right foot forward, knee bent, and laces connecting as his leg swings. The resulting 'push' sends the ball towards Lapis with fine accuracy, but not much speed, so that when it lands nearby in the grass, it'll roll to a stop before her or give her a chance to stop it on her own.] Which foot is your dominant one?
[ugh, they're starting right off with this stupid foot thing again. Lapis' nose wrinkles delicately in distaste, but she manages to keep the commentary to herself this time. she knows better than to engage in a losing battle, and that was certainly a gigantic loss on both sides the last time.
as they begin talking about locations on feet, her hands grip the sides of her skirt and gently pull them back to stare at her own even before Sakuma starts regarding them. her toes wiggle a little bit, making the blades around her rustle quietly.
she makes absolutely no attempt to interact with the ball when it's kicked towards her, because she hasn't been instructed to yet. instead Lapis just stares at it far too intently as it rolls to a soft stop a little bit before her, as if waiting for something else to happen. it doesn't, but the focused attention she's been paying it means that it takes her several additional seconds to realize he's asked her a question.]
Whichever one I'm using, I guess.
[gems, being constructs of hard light, really don't have any concept of making one side of their body more useful than the other. as such she's critically misunderstood his question, resulting in an answer that is nearly incoherent.
whoops.]
Edited (it wouldn't post the exact same comment so i have to edit back in this subject line like, ok dw) 2017-05-31 00:24 (UTC)
[Sakuma sighs and starts toward Lapis. Of course she didn't do anything with the ball like he'd hoped. She's not familiar with soccer. She's not even familiar with him. There's no way he can expect her to feel him through the ball, or to know what he's thinking or why he's thinking something. She won't respond the way a teammate will, can't intuit what to do next, because she knows nothing. Literally...nothing.
No...maybe that's too harsh. Gran had seen something in her if he'd wanted to teach her soccer. Whatever that was had to have been based on more than her being an alien. There had to be some kind of potential there, or some kind of feeling he'd picked up on. Sakuma just has to find out what it is.]
Alright, then it won't really matter which foot you use to kick, shoot, or pass with. Just use whichever one works best for you.
[He stops in front of her, and then taps the ball forward so it bounces softly off her toes.]
I want you to dribble slowly down the field like I just showed you, and I'll walk beside you to get a feel for your ball control. Got it?
[her toes wiggle again as the ball rebounds off them, but she makes no other reaction to it. at least her attention is completely on the equipment rather than somewhere else?]
Alright.
[it seems simple enough. even the ball doesn't appear to hold any sort of hidden secrets, which means she's literally just being asked to kick a ball down the field. sure. she could definitely handle that.
Lapis hikes up her skirt a little more, just to be safe, before staking her first (literal) step into the world of soccer. she's been paying close attention to what Sakuma's been doing, and so her form is actually pretty close to what her tutor had been demonstrating. her leg goes up, sailing downward...
the ball moves maybe two inches down the field.
judging from the pleased expression on her face, this is not an accident. without any specific parameters set down for her, Lapis has taken 'slowly' to her usual extreme; she seems perfectly content to move at this glacial pace to her goal, repeating the action with the same restraint over and over again as her skirt flutters with each micro kick.]
[Alright, that's a step forward. A very, very slow one, but nevertheless in the right direction. He can work with that. Providing that tiny glimmer of confidence that she might be teachable doesn't come promptly back to bite him on the ass.]
Good. Now try taking normal-sized steps and pushing the ball with your foot a little bit farther.
[Maybe he should have stopped to grab a second ball? It'd be easier to teach dribbling if he could clearly demonstrate alongside her and give her an opportunity to mirror his actions. But there's no way he's willing to leave Lapis unsupervised out here while he goes to procure more equipment, not now that students were beginning to wander into the yard. Who knows what kind of chaos she'd stir up?]
[because, uh. Lapis is almost completely certain that gems and humans have a wildly different concept of what 'normal' entails. it's one of the few lessons that she's actually managed to absorb during her time here on earth.]
[Considering who he's trying to teach, that question probably isn't unwarranted. In fact, Sakuma is even appreciative of Lapis having asked, rather than going ahead with some ridiculous performance and making him have to backtrack on their lesson, probably resulting in some argument or another based on what should never have been a misunderstanding in the first place...]
Normal for a human if they were your size. So, like this.
[He considers her height, not too much shorter than him, and takes a step forward to show her roughly how far she should be aiming for.]
Try to push it ahead with enough force to move it about one or two feet for now.
[And, spreading his hands apart, he indicates the distance he means.]
[feet. feet? unfortunately Sakuma is going to have to suffer through an unnecessary pause despite his careful attempts to circumvent just that; as the completely mystifying unit of measurement hits Lapis' ears all soccer-related activity stops while she stares down at her own appendages and back up at the amount of space her tutor seems to be indicating.
that was a lot larger than one or two of her own feet. humans certainly didn't have limbs of that size - at least, not any human she's seen so far. so whose feet were they accounting for here? why was that the distance a regular human could cover if it didn't even have anything to do with their own body???]
...sure.
[if her delayed response sounds distracted, it's because it is. Lapis' mind is still consumed with this burning question, so much so that she only remembers what she's actually supposed to be doing once her leg's up in the air.
ah, shit. shit.
she course corrects with too much force, as is her way, and essentially punts the poor soccer ball forward. that's definitely not going to be fitting within the average shoe size of the American child.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
destroys this post's virginity and also dignity
that, at least, was true. Nonah isn't a very large city at all when you possess wings capable of interstellar travel, and she touches down onto the school's sports field only an hour or so after classes have begun. although she has no idea exactly how soccer is supposed to be played (by non-sea life, at least) she's been stuck on this planet long enough to be able to recognize a sports facility. softly content with her victory, Lapis clambers onto the highest tier of bleachers and settles herself down to wait.
and wait.
aaaaand wait.
the arc of Lapis' swinging legs slowly grows wider and wider as several more hours pass with absolutely no action whatsoever on the field. she'd been prepared to do a little waiting before witnessing any action, but this seems egregious even for humans - and so she decides to investigate.
there have been a great number of young imPorts attending Nonah's middle school over the years, and perhaps this is the reason that she's able to enter and wander throughout the school proper with no opposition. she's the proper height for an actual student, after all.
whatever she may appear to be, Lapis Lazuli is not your typical visitor, and it quickly shows. having never attended any sort of educational institution herself she's utterly fascinated by the inside of the building, to the point that there are moments she's forced to mentally pull herself back and remember why she's here to begin with. it's difficult to do in the face of bizarre murals littering the walls.
eventually she attempts to pull down some of the student work on display for a closer inspection, and this finally draws the attention of one of the teachers. although the woman attempts to keep her voice low for the sake of privacy, Lapis has no such qualms; combined with most classrooms' open doors, it's pathetically easy for any attentive child to pick up on their dialogue.]
Excuse me, miss, are you a student?
Oh, no. I've never been here before today.
Is there...something I can help you with, then?
I'm just trying to check on someone who's probably in here. He asked me to come look at soccer, but that was a while ago so I think he might've gotten lost.
[even with the teacher's face obscured, it's clear that at this point she's struggling to overcome the obtuse logic paths Lapis must have taken in order to be spitting out responses like this. there's a pause as she casts about in her mind for something to say to that - just long enough for the gem to cause even more trouble.
her low interest in this conversation has meant that Lapis' gaze has been wandering the entire time, peering into the open class doors as well as she can from her current position. at the same moment that the verbal lull hits, all that pointless staring finally pays off.]
Oh, there he is.
[of course, she's turned to point into Sakuma's classroom and straight at him. almost as if guided by some supernatural force that whispers he'll try and duck his head to pretend she's referring to literally anyone else, she strides over to brazenly lean her head into the door, staring straight at him.]
Aren't you done yet?
what did he do to deserve this
"Who's that?"
"I think I recognize her from the zoo, with the seals..."
"Sea lions."
"Oh, whatever!"
"What's she doing here?"
"Making eyes at Jerry, by the looks of things."
"What's her name, again?"
"Aspen."
"That's a plant, you dumbass."
"Asbestos?"
"You're not even trying, are you...?"
"I know! It was something to do with rocks! Sapphire? Lapis?"
"So you're telling me Jerry's got himself a pet rock..."
Finally, the teacher silences the class with the sharp closing of his textbook and a glance that singles out Sakuma as surely as Lapis' had.
"Would you care to explain to everyone why your friend is disrupting our class, Jerry—" He shakes his head, giving a sharp look at Noodle whose nickname for Sakuma is much easier to say than his given Japanese name, and then amends, "—Jirou?"
Of course, Sakuma doesn't have an answer. He'd told the gem when to meet him at the school, she wasn't supposed to be here now. What was so difficult to understand about after classes let out?
And then it dawns on him...
She hadn't known where the school was at first, either. She probably didn't know anything about it, much like she didn't seem to know much of anything about anything human in nature. So of course she showed up when classes were still in session! Agh!]
I'm sorry, sir. I...asked her to meet me here after class. There must have been some misunderstanding.
[The teacher's silent stare speaks volumes, but perhaps from being used to having imPort students in his class, he finally gives a nod to the door, excusing Sakuma without him even having to ask.
And Sakuma doesn't hesitate to collect his belongings (to the tune of even more of Noodle's incorrigible teasing) and head for the classroom door, ushering Lapis out into the hall along with him. Once they're out of earshot of the door, he spins around to face her, his good eye narrowed.]
Are you trying to get me into trouble?
exist, definitely
I'm not a pearl.
[the teacher's exasperated gaze does absolutely nothing to instill a sense of shame in her. she holds that staredown with the poor kid for several more uncomfortable moments before deciding that he's learned his lesson and allowing herself to be walked down the hall a little. pet rock her hard light projected ass.
her feelings of regret don't seem to increase several feet from the doorway, unfortunately. the expression she meets Sakuma's irritation with is placid, bordering on nonchalant.]
You never showed up, so I figured you either got lost or forgot. The field's this way.
[she jerks a thumb behind her, already getting ready to turn around and start walking. Lapis has hung around that field long enough that she's confident in her ability to escort him back.]
(▽︹ㆆ)
Which Sakuma knows will undoubtedly result in whispers behind their backs as they leave and...
...there's a sudden roar of laughter from the classroom, followed by the exasperated voice of the teacher trying to calm everybody back down and get them to focus. He's going to have a hard time shrugging off Noodle's teasing tomorrow. Whether or not it's in the name of fun, Sakuma still finds it irritating. And now, thanks to Lapis, it'll only be worse. But at least after that it'll be the weekend. Maybe by Monday everyone will forget, or the novelty will have worn off.
Planting one hand upon his hip and sighing, Sakuma looks at Lapis, and then looks up at the clock on the wall in the hallway.]
I didn't show up because it isn't after classes yet! School's still in session for a few more hours.
[Or would be back in session after lunch break, which Sakuma supposes may well be the other reason his teacher released him early from class. In just a few more minutes the bell was going to ring. So of course Lapis couldn't have waited that long to find him...]
Anyway, I know where the field is, and I would have met you there at the right time.
sorry, i don't make the rules
[timekeeping on earth was a difficult endeavor even for Lapis, when she cared to make a sincere attempt. she can only imagine how much worse it must be for somone like Sakuma, who struggles with basic concepts such as doors.
he was even staring at the clock now as they spoke, although she can't discern any signifigance from the time when her gaze b riefly follows his. maybe that was his problem? he definitely seemee worked up over nothing today.]
This feels like a pretty good time to me - the sun's still up.
[she supplies this helpfully, as if he might have forgotten his species was diurnal. anything to smooth over his apparent inner turmoil.]
unmakes the rules tbh
But this is one of those things it's better to avoid getting too worked up over. So, taking a breath as he draws his attention away from the clock, he looks back towards her and then past her. Before taking the lead on the way out of the school and into the yard.]
Lunch will be starting soon. We can go to the field now, there'll be time. Nobody'll be practicing at this hour, though...so it'll be just you and me.
that just means you'll have even worse ones take their place
That's fine. It'd be pretty bad if you got overwhelmed.
[since he seemed already fairly flustered, she can only imagine what would happen if he had to do anything in front of a large crowd of people.]
no gdi there are no more rules!
Instead, Sakuma is silent as they make their way towards the nearest exit which, thankfully, isn't actually too far off and lets them out facing the field. Just the sight of it greatly improves Sakuma's disposition, though he wouldn't expect Lapis to understand why, not on the level that his friends would. Still, he has to wonder if there's anything at all on this planet, this side of the Porter, that brings her comfort the way a soccer field does for him. It has to be hard...being a real alien.]
So...have you played any sports before?
WORLD OF RULES NOW
[the word 'sports' has no meaning to her, so Lapis simply assumes that it must refer to soccer as a whole. maybe? maybe it's some weird collective word to catch all the stupid equipment that seems to be involved in this endeavor.
whatever the answer, the field is as empty as she left it. she leans forward slightly, just to make sure there aren't any stragglers who may have wandered by in the meantime. she's not certain whether the lack of change is reassuring to her or not.]
NO YOU DON'T GET TO DECIDE I'M THE DECIDER
[That's fine, Sakuma thinks to himself. It might even be easier if they're beginning from scratch. She won't have preconceived notions of how things ought to work, they'll be able to build on her knowledge from the ground up. In theory, at least.
And in reality...?
He glances back over his shoulder at her, and then back ahead at the field once more with a sigh. It's best for him here if he doesn't get ahead of himself or expect too much from Lapis. Including understanding anything. Especially after showing up at the wrong time.]
The bell will ring soon, there might be other kids joining us out here, but just...focus on me and the ball, okay?
[Before she has a chance to ask "what ball," Sakuma tugs a red and white penguin-shaped whistle out from the beneath his shirt and gives it a blow. The resulting sound is...definitely as penguin as the shape of the whistle, and immediately summons from the air before him a brilliant red soccer ball with white pentagons. As they reach the field and the bell rings, the ball lands with a soft thump on the grass and Sakuma rests his foot atop it.]
Are you ready, Lazuli-san?
unfortunately i have already decided against this
the act of soccer is still more of a battle than a fun afterschool activity in her mind, and so when she's asked about her readiness Lapis responds first by doing a little summoning of her own; her wings emerge from her gem, folding neatly at her back and gently refracting the midday sun. even during a practice, she had to be prepared for anything during a fight.]
Sure.
[bring it on, Tiny.]
decides against your face
"Whoa! Look over there!"
...attention.
He turns his head just a little more, body turning with him, in time to watch some of the younger students (more interested in playing than eating lunch) pushing outside into the yard take notice of both Lapis and him on the field. They don't take long making a beeline for them, either, forgoing their usual chalk-games or basketball to investigate the goings on of two imPorts, one of whom they've never seen around their school before.]
Um...could you put those away? [Sakuma turns back to Lapis, a small frown on his face.] We're just going to be going over some basics today. So that you'll have a chance to get to know the world of soccer that Gran and Ulvida loved so much.
[Never mind that they can't really play soccer with powers here...]
that sounds moderately illegal
It's easier to use them if I've already got them out before things start happening.
[as attempting to flee Jasper had proven, even a near-instantaneous summon occasionally wasn't fast enough...]
what's that i can't hear you without your face
[He remembers the first time he and Lapis met and the broken door that was the result of a simple misunderstanding. Sakuma can't afford a repeat incident here of all places, around innocent students who don't have powers to protect themselves from her terrifying abilities.
Sure, her authority over water seems unparalleled, but can the same be said for her self-control? He can't take chances...can't trust her as much as Gran probably did. He's not that person.]
...except for summoning this ball so we can play, we're not going to be using powers today.
i'm typing??????
[it's the only thing that Lapis can think of to prompt him laying down such a mandate, but it's still a little strange to her. she understands wanting to build strong fundamentals, but how could that be done without the abilities which would so drastically alter the way they approached strategy?
it just didn't make sense. despite her mildly concerned observation however, she really has no intention of fighting him on this one. if he wanted to do this the weirdest way possible, well, it was literally his ball game. at least it'd be slightly more exciting than sitting on the bleachers staring at nothing.]
yeah that explains a lot tbh
[Sakuma doesn't actually sound very sorry, but at least he doesn't seem to be deriving any pleasure from the rule against power use? Though, of course, no one from his world ever would. While their idea of soccer wasn't dependent upon the use of hissatsu, the ability to use such a power certainly helped give life the sport they all knew and loved. Without hissatsu, powers that were born from their sweat and teamwork, soccer was just...a sport. And to some people that was fine, but not for Sakuma. Not when soccer had become for him, and for everyone back home, a way of life and for some, even a home when they had no other.
Not using powers...it feels empty. But for now, at least, it's still safer. He'd rather that than have an accident on his hands.]
We'll start with dribbling, which is also a good way to warm up.
[Although he's not really sure if she has to warm up or not. How do alien rocks even work?
He considers this as he motions her out a little further into the field and away from those spying kids, kicking the ball along with him before he stops suddenly, somewhere out in the middle, and gestures for her to look down at his feet.]
Dribbling is what we call bringing the ball up and down the field with our feet. The part of the foot you want to use to kick it is the laces. Which...if you were wearing shoes, would be along the top of your foot.
[He regards her feet for a moment, idly wondering if she even has a bone structure. If what he saw that day in the living room is any indication, the answer is...probably not. Or at least not one that resembles anything human. So trying to point out which bone to aim for is likely going to be a useless endeavor.]
Anyway, you want to aim for the middle of the ball with that spot, but since we're not shooting, you don't want to use too much strength. [And he demonstrates slowly, planting his left foot slightly behind the soccer ball and just a few inches to the side, slowly bringing his right foot forward, knee bent, and laces connecting as his leg swings. The resulting 'push' sends the ball towards Lapis with fine accuracy, but not much speed, so that when it lands nearby in the grass, it'll roll to a stop before her or give her a chance to stop it on her own.] Which foot is your dominant one?
i'm glad to have...cleared that up for you :x
as they begin talking about locations on feet, her hands grip the sides of her skirt and gently pull them back to stare at her own even before Sakuma starts regarding them. her toes wiggle a little bit, making the blades around her rustle quietly.
she makes absolutely no attempt to interact with the ball when it's kicked towards her, because she hasn't been instructed to yet. instead Lapis just stares at it far too intently as it rolls to a soft stop a little bit before her, as if waiting for something else to happen. it doesn't, but the focused attention she's been paying it means that it takes her several additional seconds to realize he's asked her a question.]
Whichever one I'm using, I guess.
[gems, being constructs of hard light, really don't have any concept of making one side of their body more useful than the other. as such she's critically misunderstood his question, resulting in an answer that is nearly incoherent.
whoops.]
sometimes dw, i swear...
No...maybe that's too harsh. Gran had seen something in her if he'd wanted to teach her soccer. Whatever that was had to have been based on more than her being an alien. There had to be some kind of potential there, or some kind of feeling he'd picked up on. Sakuma just has to find out what it is.]
Alright, then it won't really matter which foot you use to kick, shoot, or pass with. Just use whichever one works best for you.
[He stops in front of her, and then taps the ball forward so it bounces softly off her toes.]
I want you to dribble slowly down the field like I just showed you, and I'll walk beside you to get a feel for your ball control. Got it?
dw, also short for Damn Weird
Alright.
[it seems simple enough. even the ball doesn't appear to hold any sort of hidden secrets, which means she's literally just being asked to kick a ball down the field. sure. she could definitely handle that.
Lapis hikes up her skirt a little more, just to be safe, before staking her first (literal) step into the world of soccer. she's been paying close attention to what Sakuma's been doing, and so her form is actually pretty close to what her tutor had been demonstrating. her leg goes up, sailing downward...
the ball moves maybe two inches down the field.
judging from the pleased expression on her face, this is not an accident. without any specific parameters set down for her, Lapis has taken 'slowly' to her usual extreme; she seems perfectly content to move at this glacial pace to her goal, repeating the action with the same restraint over and over again as her skirt flutters with each micro kick.]
no subject
Good. Now try taking normal-sized steps and pushing the ball with your foot a little bit farther.
[Maybe he should have stopped to grab a second ball? It'd be easier to teach dribbling if he could clearly demonstrate alongside her and give her an opportunity to mirror his actions. But there's no way he's willing to leave Lapis unsupervised out here while he goes to procure more equipment, not now that students were beginning to wander into the yard. Who knows what kind of chaos she'd stir up?]
no subject
[because, uh. Lapis is almost completely certain that gems and humans have a wildly different concept of what 'normal' entails. it's one of the few lessons that she's actually managed to absorb during her time here on earth.]
no subject
Normal for a human if they were your size. So, like this.
[He considers her height, not too much shorter than him, and takes a step forward to show her roughly how far she should be aiming for.]
Try to push it ahead with enough force to move it about one or two feet for now.
[And, spreading his hands apart, he indicates the distance he means.]
no subject
that was a lot larger than one or two of her own feet. humans certainly didn't have limbs of that size - at least, not any human she's seen so far. so whose feet were they accounting for here? why was that the distance a regular human could cover if it didn't even have anything to do with their own body???]
...sure.
[if her delayed response sounds distracted, it's because it is. Lapis' mind is still consumed with this burning question, so much so that she only remembers what she's actually supposed to be doing once her leg's up in the air.
ah, shit. shit.
she course corrects with too much force, as is her way, and essentially punts the poor soccer ball forward. that's definitely not going to be fitting within the average shoe size of the American child.]