1x1 -- Sarish and Stormy

[stormy tom]

A strange feeling flooded James, like he'd just signed a contract without reading the entire contents. Like he'd started watching a film ten minutes before the end. It was strange and innerving, yet exciting all at once. Things had moved so fast, from hiking to literally tumbling into the role of apprentice.
We'll see how this goes, James thought, wondering if this would be anything like school. He hopes not. James had always had a problem with people telling him what to do. Something inside him yearned to do exactly the opposite, no matter how sensible the order was. He just didn't like to be told what to do.
But it was a chance to do something with this new chapter in his life. It was worth a try. What did he have to lose, after all?
James stood up, standing straight and tall for the first time since arriving here. His strong heartbeat thudded calmly inside his broad chest. He was a tall man. Compared to Sarish anyway. Just the look in his eyes made him seem taller. It was like he was drilling an anchor deep into the Earth and refusing to budge. Whoever this Head Master guy is, I'll make him crack one way or another. Whatever his deal is, I don't care. He's not scaring me.
And nor had Striker when the bulkier player had come barrelling towards him at full speed, clearly aimed for a devastating tackling blow. But the opportunity to score was too great, and James never missed, nor did he turn and run.
And who has a study apart from Bond villains? this gets better an better, James smirked, fixing the Head Master with his steady green stare one last time before leaving the room. "I look forward to what lessons you think you can teach me," he said, and left the room. Not without casually saluting the parrot.
James waited until he was farther down the hallway before he started talking again. "So what's his problem? Is he just old and hates younger, fitter people?" He carried on a few steps more. "What's first then? But you should knoww, if I have to shave I'm out."

[Sarish]

Sarish doesn't move as he sees James rise out of the corner of his eye. It might have just been his position, but it appeared as if the Canadian had grown taller. He watched the Head Master carefully, who hadn't turned his neutral gaze from James. I can't decide if this young man is just brash, or if he is truly confrontational. Or both. Whoever he picks to teach him will have their work cut out for them.

A quiet sigh escaped Sarish's lips as James makes a gesture at something before he turns to leave. Please tell me that he did not just disrespect the Head Master. Please tell me he has some common sense. Glancing over his shoulder, he noticed that the young man had already exited the study and was striding purposefully down the way they had came. Turning back, Sarish placed his hands on the mat he was kneeling on, bowing low to the Master in front of him, not able to hide the violent twinge that his back made, flinching slightly. Straightening and standing slowly, the monk raised his gaze to see that the African Grey had turned around to peer at him with one eye. "Thank you, Head Master." he said and goes to follow James.

"Master Sarish," comes the old man's voice from behind him. "I need a word with you later."

"Of course. I look forward to it." Sarish responds, completely and utterly perplexed by the whole situation, a spiritual tiredness slowly creeping over him. He slides the door to the study shut, trotting forward until he is next to James again. "No, I'm sorry he... He is not usually like that." The monk honestly could not think of a possible reason for his superior's attitude. "He might be disappointed in me. It is usually standard for all the visitors to meet with him as soon as they arrive, and it is usually one of the monk's jobs to lead them to him. My apologies." He conceded, rubbing the back of his head tiredly. "And you technically do not have to do anything right now. There is nothing really to do until you pick your teacher, really. You are free to do as you please. I am going to head down the dining hall, however... My stomach is protesting my decision not to eat breakfast." Or any of yesterday's meals. A grin crept onto his face once more. "No, you do not have to shave. Nor do you have to wear any robes, if you so desire. We would not want to deny you your luscious locks."

[stormy tom]

(hahaha common sense....)

James followed, hands leisurely in his pockets. "Sorry I made you carry me," he smirked. It was not unusual for him to rub people the wrong way, even the nicest people. Frankly, he was surprised Sarish was so... relaxed. He didn't seem to be bothered by James' personality. Maybe it would be worth laying off... but just a little. James wasn't used to being 'nice'. He wasn't even sure he could pull it off if he tried.
"See you at midday then," James replied, feeling like he was missing something... there was something wrong... He realised too late that it might have been a thank you.

The time between breakfast and lunch was mostly peaceful. James found a patch of sun in front of the monastery, away from the other apprentices, and sat down. After a few moments he turned onto his stomach and started slowly doing pushups. Strong muscles flexed across his back and shoulders as he steadily lowered his chest to the ground, then pushed it up again. The muscles in his arms filled into his shirt sleeves as he used them to lower his body down, then lift it up again. When his arms grew tired, he sat up and brushed dirt from his palms. He straightened and went to observe some of the apprentices training. Martial arts had taken his interest when he'd watched lots of films after the accident, but he'd always found it depressing to watch people perform movements he would never be able to accomplish. Backflips were out of the question. Kicks were out of the question. And one misplaced step could destroy his leg for good and he would be forced to give up what he'd worked so hard to retain: the ability to walk.
As he watched the students train, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning, he looked up to see one of the apprentices, perhaps a couple years younger than James.
"Hello, stranger," said the kind face. That face did not stay so kind when it got a good look at James' face.

"Master Sarish! Master..." one of the apprentices dashed through the monastery, shouting, searching desperately for the man... "Master... there's a fight broken out on the training grounds!"

[Sarish]

(xD)

"It was no trouble at all," Sarish responded easily, a small yawn delaying his words slightly. "Feel free to ask questions of any of the masters," he added as they parted ways. His stomach gave a hearty growl then, and the monk chuckled at himself. He as well as everyone else in the monastery had fasted before-sometimes for several days at a time during the winter-so a day without food shouldn't be as big of a deal as it was proving to be. I must be getting soft. The young man thought, amused. He wandered into the dining hall, snagged a piece of fruit and a bowl of rice from an exasperated cook, and sat down at one of the many empty tables. He ate slowly, savoring each bite as his tired mind slipped into an almost meditative state, focusing on nothing but the food before him. Sarish sat there for quite a while, staring at nothing before he finally snapped out of his trance. He rose, took his dish back to the kitchen, and left.

The young master wandered the halls for a while, debating whether or not it would be beneficial to go outside to do some training with a bo staff, but ultimately decided against it. He was quite tired at this point. Who would have thought that getting a few hours of sleep outside while sitting upwards against a tree would not make me well rested? He mused, his thoughts becoming more and more sardonic the longer he wandered. The monk finally decided to go back to his room to see if he could get some rest on his futon before midday. He fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

An indeterminate amount of time later, a small commotion in the halls roused him, begrudgingly. He sat up, rubbing his eyes as he stood up slowly, back still aching persistently. Sarish opened the door to his room just in time to catch the call "there's a fight broken out on the training grounds!" That woke him up fully, and he stepped out into the hall, nearly running straight into the apprentice. "A fight you say? Please, lead the way." Sarish urged, worry worming its way into his mind. Please oh please tell me that James is not involved in this fight, he pleaded uselessly.

(xDxDxDxDxD)

[stormy tom]

(Oh the optimism....)

Of course James was involved.
It was a full out brawl. To be fair, at least the Canadian hadn't started it. But he sure as hell looked aimed to finish it.
"You're the same snotty kid when we were eight!" Growled the apprentice who had forgotten all decorum and was fully using his training to counter and return James' heavy but unskilled punches.
"Exactly, we were eight!" James growled.
"And then you beat the daylights out of me when I returned to visit my family in summer! How does it feel, Hunter!" The apprentice kicked James to the ground, and James took him down with him. "You were always a bully, and you never changed! I was watching your game, Hunter. The final game, and boy did you get justice served. But it's my turn. It's my turn to be bigger and better and stronger."
James took a punch in the face and gave one right back. Nobody dared get involved.
The apprentice beat James in the skull with three successive punches. He'd grown since they were younger. He'd also learned a lot.
They wrestled and grappled, James prying himself free and standing like a true warrior, anger all over his face. The apprentice tackled him backwards, grabbing him by the back of the shirt and slamming him against a tree.
James felt something unaturally cold between his shoulder blades where he knew the hand holding him was. Something icy... he couldn't see the apprentice's breath fog up and ice start to crystallize his hand.
James was strong and fit, but he was no match against a vengeful, skilled warrior who was not only trained but also one hundred percent. James was not. And his only fighting skill was in a hockey brawl. Those days were far behind him.
Part of him was holding back, knowing he deserved this.... dammit, he could barely get through the day without causing trouble and angering someone. It seemed the past really had a hard grip on him.

[Sarish]

(We'll see how long it lasts xD)

The two hurried outside just in time to see James being pushed against the tree, an apprentice holding him there with a tight grip. Sarish immediately felt the distinct pulsing of someone's powers activating in his soul, his eyes zoning in on the apprentice who had James pinned, watching as the younger man's hand started to freeze over, his heavy breaths expelling frost. The apprentice was using his powers?! In front of a new visitor?! A inhuman growl rose up deep in the monk's chest that he quickly cut off, biting his tongue sharply to snap himself back into focus.

"Enough!" Sarish yelled, his voice booming across the courtyard, the apprentice beside him flinching. "Enough!" he repeated in Nepali when neither of the brawlers acknoweldged him. A dangerous, calm rage swept through Sarish, allowing his own powers to make his blue eyes flash in a warning to the spectators, who stepped back quickly. He strode right up to James and the apprentice, snatching the man's hand from his friend's back, staring into his eyes as he channeled his powers to his hand, which warmed up to an unnatural temperature, a very clear warning that he needed to cease and desist immediately.

The apprentice had already broken several rules, regardless of who started it. Displaying any abilities outside from training was forbidden to apprentices, as they still did not have full control over their powers. Even then, blatantly using powers in front of a visitor was a serious offense. He could very well have all of his abilities removed for such an act. And for good reason too; if someone found out about the monastery's secret and spread it to the world they could all be in very serious danger. They had almost had that happen a few years back... I leave James alone for one hour...

[stormy tom]

James heard the resounding sound of an echoing voice, felt the hand tear away from his back. He turned and pressed it against the tree, wiping blood from his nose. The apprentice looked... terrified. James looked up to see his attacker in the grip of none other than Bruce Willis himself. That took the breath right out of James' already heaving chest. He hadn't expected such a nice man to have such a look on his face, in his eyes...
I've made a terrible mistake... he thought, sinking into a sitting position as everything moved in slow motion around him. He looked at his bloodied hands. He hadn't punched anybody in a long time. I shouldn't have fought him back... I should have let him tear me to shreds, get it out of his system, do what he needed to with me.
"I-I'm sorry..." James coughed, his brain spitting out the sentence almost automatically. And it was a genuine apology. He wasn't sure to whom it was aimed, but it didn't matter. He was sorry for intruding. Sorry for making a scene. Sorry for beating up the apprentice when they were younger. Sorry for beating on him now. Somehow James knew he should have lost far more seriously. He was too angry to fight me properly, clearly. Sarish said they take in apprentice at about the age of eight... that's when he left my school. He's been training here for a long time. He should have been able to take me down easily. Anger had overridden the man's senses, reduced him to a primal creature, just like they had been when James had beaten him up repeatedly in school. That was so long ago...
I didn't know he would cling to that for so long... James pressed his head against the tree and let the world catch up to him. The other apprentices were quickly making themselves busy, leaving the area with impressive speed. None of them wanted to be near the grappling males or the angry master.
The apprentice who had attacked him said nothing. He was seething with a mixture and rage and shame. But a couple of words still managed to drip from his lips: "You're no different than you were back then, Hunter. You ruined my life, and I hope you feel the pain I felt then."
Pal, you have no clue, James thought, closing his eyes, just about on the brink of giving up on humanity altogether. And he fell under that category too. He was just as human as this guy. Maybe it was about time he paid back the people he'd hurt in full.

[Sarish]

The rage that Sarish felt was scaring him. He hadn't lost his temper in many years, and yet this feeling had come to him as easily as patience did. I need to calm down. The monk thought, desperation slowly creeping through his mind as his unrelenting anger froze his face into a mask. Both James and the apprentice were gazing at him with varying degrees of surprise at his reaction. I need to calm down, his hand slowly, slowly returning to its usual temperature. He swallowed thickly, his mind simmering, his powers responding easily to the challenge that the apprentice had unknowingly made to anyone who had had their soul and mind heightened by the masters. I need to calm down.

James could be sent away because of this, he realized. I should have been paying more attention. Normally when two apprentices got into a fight a master would have to break them up and then challenge them to a spar. When an apprentice used their powers to carelessly, it could be hard for them to reign themselves in, so a master would let them get it all out of their system... But that obviously couldn't happen with a visitor being right there. Luckily, the apprentice was older and a bit more trained than this younger peers, so Sarish decided that it would be alright. For the moment, anyway.

"Enough," Sarish snarled in a low voice when the apprentice spoke again, barely hearing James' apology, the words meaning little to him at the moment. He better not be apologizing to me... He has not done anything to me. They should be apologizing to each other. What are the chances that they will act like civil human beings in this moment, though? Sarish eyed the apprentice carefully, ready to subdue both of them if they made a move. "To the Head Master's study, then?" he cooly spoke in Nepali to the young monk, his low tone leaving no room for discussion. "Lead the way, then." Sarish then turned to James, who was sitting against the same tree he had been pressed against. "Come," he growled out, his English skills abandoning him in his current state, gesturing for James to stand and follow him.

[stormy tom]

Has my life really come to this? James thought with remorse. He couldn't understand the words but he could understand the gestures. He stood pulled himself up, gingerly putting his weight back down onto his bad leg. The fight hadn't strained it, luckily. He'd been thrown down a couple of times, but no pressure had been put on his injured limb. No more than usual. He'd gotten lucky. The apprentice could have easily gone for his legs and he'd not have been able to walk after Sarish like he was now.
It had been close.
James felt his face burning with shame as he limped silently after Sarish. He felt lost. He'd only felt this lost after waking up in the hospital and realisation dawning on him what had happened and that his life wasn't the same anymore.
He was feeling the same purposeless rock in his stomach. James didn't know what to do, or even what he should have done back there. He didn't know what was going to happen or how to fix it.
But he did know he didn't want to leave.
Because although he would never say it aloud, Sarish was the closest thing he had to a friend. And now? Now that one person was angry. At him? Probably.
And sorry just wasn't gonna cut it. Not for what he'd done in the past, and not for what was going on now.
But he didn't know what else to say, so he said nothing, avoiding the stares of apprentice's they passed and keeping his head down.
Had he really changed? James gave his nose a wipe with his hand. How many times had he gotten into a fist fight that he'd started or been too eager to join?
Now, they were walking toward consequences.

[Sarish]

Sarish trailed after the apprentice eyes fixed firmly on the man's back as they walked across the training grounds. A few masters had also been alerted to the fight and were watching the three of them, eyeing Sarish as if he would turn around with a frown on his face and ask what he was supposed to do. I know I am younger than you, but I this is certainly the first time we've had appentices fight. I am not ignorant, he thought bitterly, still feeling defensive and combative, the apprentice's powers still lacing the air with a prominent challenge. "Control yourself," he murmured to the young man.

Sarish noticed the subdued silence from James belatedly. The young master's posture slumped guiltily. He hadn't asked if he was ok... Though if he did so now the apprentice would think he was picking favorites... He should have asked both of them and yet here is was, parading these two bloody men to the Head Master. This is such a mess...

Sarish halted when they made it to the study, announcing his prescence and immediately receiving an "enter." He's probably already heard about the fight. The monk ushered the two men into the room, closing the door behind him as the three stood in front of the Head Master, who was also standing. His parrot was absent. The old man's eyes roved over all three of them in a stiff silence, his expression unmoving from its disappointed frown. He finally moved after several minutes of silence, folding his hands behind his back as he addressed each young man in turn.

"Apprentice Carter, you will be placed on cooking duty and an extra meditation session everyday for the next month. You are not to use you powers until I deem your punishment well-served. You may leave," he paused as the apprentice slunk out of the room. "Traveler, I think it would be best if you leave," Sarish's heart plummeted, and he immediately opened his mouth to defend James. "Master Sarish. You will have a say in this, but I want to hear what this man has to say first." The Head Master then turns his attention back to James. "You must understand that we cannot have outsiders coming here to pick fights with everyone, and you have not shown us that you have any other intention. Can you honestly tell me that you have another reason for staying here?"