Nida, With A Shiny White Band - Open and Closed Prompts

[skyward_eyes]

WHO: Nida
WHERE: (Where the post takes place)
WHEN: February 5th - 15th, Closed Mingle on February 9th
OPEN TO: OTA, one Closed Post for now
WARNINGS: Possible Mentions of Self-Harm

---

OTA - Dojo - Taking Over

He was asleep when it happened. Somewhere in the night of the fourth the change happened, a screen that made no sense, the band on the device at his wrist turning white. OF course as it was one of those rare nights lately where Nida had gotten some sleep, he hadn't noticed. Instead, when he'd woken up he'd just found himself... moving. He couldn't stand being still anymore, not with all these people who needed a bit of something to keep them moving after those visions. He skipped breakfast that morning not a mistake he'd make another day and headed over to the empty dojo.

Most of his days are spent in the dojo for the next chunk of days. When he's not actively out talking to others, trying to serve as a support network, he's in the dojo from just before sun up to just after sunset. Sometimes he's sitting on a chair, a knife working over a piece of wood as he cut out the general shape of some practice daggers. Other times he limps damn him for spraining his ankle, it wasn't what he'd meant to do around the edges of the mats to check for any tears or splits he needs to repair. Still other times he regards the empty spaces, mind already building up the ways he can make this place better.

And always, always he calls out a bit cheerfully if someone enters while he's there. Because this space, he has resolved, will welcome all comers. No matter what.


OTA - Around South Village - A Little Luck

You can't always be at the dojo.

Nida had stared at Seifer when he had been told that. Clearly it was not true. Clearly he was more than capable of doing just that. But... Well, he got the point. Being holed up in two places isn't much better than being holed up in one.

So a bit of time every day, usually around the lunch hours, were spent with Nida wandering the village. There were rounds to be made, friends to be found, help to be supplied. And, whenever there was a chance of skin to skin contact, a hand reaching out to touch. Not like people here couldn't use a bit of extra luck.


Closed Mingle - Because You Miss Them - Closed to Seifer, Rinoa, Sam, Billy, Tommy

The boxes show up that morning, just sitting in the kitchen when Nida hobbles in at an ungodly hour. He moves immediately to grab a kitchen knife to cut the first one open. Despite his name being on it, it's full of yarn. He smiles and shakes his head, moving that one aside because he can talk to the others about it later. The next is a larger box, but strangely light for its size. With another few cuts he finds himself pulling out a wok. What in the world could that be...

Somehow he knows what the last box will be. With a quick cut it's open and he starts unloading ingredients into the fridge. Curry. Seems like he had the answer he needed for when and what to cook.

A quick message goes out to the others over the network. He doesn't care how early it is.

Hey nerds, dinner at my house tonight. Red Lamb Curry. Eat at six, come by earlier if you want to help cook. Someone please help cook, I don't want to mess this up.

[OOC: Please see first comment for Mingle, everyone can post their own things under that if they want to interact.]


[OOC: If anyone would like their own closed starter for the first half of this month, please let me know. This is mostly meant to cover Nida through the White part of his Off-Color time.]

Comments

Closed Curry Dinner Mingle

[skyward_eyes]

For Curry Dinner Mingle - Closed to Seifer, Rinoa, Sam, Billy and Tommy. Feel free to post your own top-levels for that under here.

Hit me up on discord or Plurk if you want a pre-made starter with Nida on this.

[skyward_eyes]

For Billy

Okay, so maybe the message he sends to Billy says something a little different. Maybe the one he says specifically that he'd like Billy to be there sooner, that he has something to show his friend. Hopefully something to make things a little better.

Because they haven't been okay, have they? He'd more or less been shutting Billy out on an emotional level since the visions. Since the nightmare that kept plaguing him at night. Sure, they talked, not even always with voice at this point, at night. Sure there had been the drinking. But honesty and openness that they'd gotten used to?

Where had that even gone?

So Nida hovers by the door, waiting for his friend to show up early, fiddling with the white band of his wrist device. Time to mend the bridge here, because no doubt Billy needed it.


Not Allowed to Cook

First of all, yes, Nida was not the best cook. Second, yes he had discovered what a green power could be because of almost cutting his skin open trying to peel root vegetables at the inn. And third, sure he couldn't stand for long periods of time because of his ankle, but did he really deserve this?

Nida pouts just a little as he sits at the table in the kitchen, chopping ingredients for the pending curry with Seifer's ever watchful eye glancing back now and then. Not like he can set a red bell pepper on fire. He hopes. Maybe.

Oh geez, what if he could?


Free Yarn

Not like he was needed beyond the limits of the chopping part of the cooking. So once Seifer freed him of that duty Nida moved out to the dining room where he had gotten the box of yarns moved to. He'd seen other people handling yarn enough to know that these what was the word again, oh yeah skeins weren't the most manageable form. He does, though, have quick hands and nimble fingers, so while he waits for dinner Nida dutifully starts turning skeins into balls of yarn. Which was a pretty mind-numbing task actually.

Cook time out

[firacrux]

Yes, yes he did, because in typical Nida fashion he was blatantly ignoring looking after himself in favor of trying to do too damn much. And as far as Seifer was concerned? He was the kitchen boss, and you don't argue with the kitchen boss. Which meant Nida got vegetable chopping duty. Sitting down. At the table. Thank you.

It wasn't like either of them were especially addressing anything that was going on. Just quietly ignoring the behemoths in the room, things were easier that way. Pretend everything was normal. It was fine. No red peppers were presently combusting. The rice, however, was proving a bit of a hassle to keep from either foaming over or sticking it was really frustrating.

"How'd you fuck up your ankle anyway?" He asked, currently glaring at the pot of rice as though somehow he could stare it into submission.

Re: Cook time out

[skyward_eyes]

What was that about ignoring the behemoth in the room? Because sure seemed like Seifer was poking it. At least he didn't have to deal with the rice, though. Nida would probably ruin all of it. And the curry was too important. The video on his device had told him so much about why this meal was important to him. He could probably live without the rice, provided the curry was good.

"Fell off a roof," he says, putting a fake bit of embarrassment in his voice. If he seems like he messed up and is owning it, Seifer might buy it.

[firacrux]

Okay. He was poking part of the behemoth. He couldn't resist. The rice was proving to be quite a difficult foe. Someone figure out how to make a more effective rice cooker, please. The rice was important, Seifer would do his absolute level best to ensure this meal was done properly. For whatever reason that the Overseers had sent it, obviously it needed to be done.

"Bullshit," He quips, still obsessively fussing with the rice. "You forget years of muscle memory and fall off a roof, Flyboy. What really happened?"

[demiurgency]

Billy was already planning on coming earlier to help with the cooking; no matter what had passed between them in the schoolhouse, or up on the mountaintop, Nida was his friend. That was the important part of this equation. He was someone important, and whatever he needed, Billy would be there to give however he could. So to get a message from Nida specifically asking him to come earlier? Of course he's there. Honestly, the message is...something of a relief, maybe. They've been talking since they got back, but there's a distance to it, something Billy isn't sure if he's imagining. He's been trying his best to not assume it's because of him--because of that kiss, because he wasn't ready for anything more--because that would be incredibly selfish. Nida had been through a lot on the mountain. He needed time, and a friend, not more confusion, no matter how much Billy maybe missed the rest.

So he'd let Nida have that space. He hasn't talked about his own insomnia, or the nightmares that start every time he does manage to get some sleep. But the lack of anything resembling rest makes itself known despite the smile on his face as he walks up to their house, dark shadows apparent under his eyes, face maybe still a little thin and drawn despite the week and change they'd been back. He walks up to the door and knocks briefly, the sleeve of his jacket falling back to show the now-violet band around his wrist.

"Nida?"

[skyward_eyes]

The knock is almost immediately answered with Nida opening the door. And he can't help the smile he offers Billy the second he sees the guy. No matter what he said about giving Billy time, no matter how strongly he believed in that, no matter what has happened to this point, there was one thing that didn't change: he still cared about this guy. Too much, his mercenary self thought, and the part that was becoming more Nida and less SeeD Nomura ignored that.

In this case it meant that when he opened the door there was this smile. In the face of everything he still had a smile for Billy, warm and welcoming and like Billy was the only thing worth smiling for. A smile that fell off when he saw just how bad Billy looked. Despite the limp he moved forward, throwing his arms around his friend and hugging him tightly.

"You look like hell," he whispered, no doubt unhelpfully, in Billy's ear. "We've really got to find another way to get you to sleep a night. And through the night."

The hug doesn't even let up then. Not until Billy needs him to. This guy needs comfort, and Nida's sorta failed him the last few days. What was he thinking, focusing on the dojo when there was help needed right here?

Oh, right, that Billy wanted time and space from him. Remembered now. But really, this is better. Billy looked like he could use a hug.

[demiurgency]

Seeing that smile on Nida's face warms Billy straight through to his core, his stomach giving a pleasant flip as he smiles in return. Nida just has that effect. Whatever else they've been through, whatever else he's dealing with--whatever they're both going through--he can't deny that feeling, warm and giddy. Nida smiles like it's a look meant just for him, and Billy warms to it like it's the sun. It doesn't matter how terrible he's feeling, it makes things better, and if he didn't need that so desperately right now, maybe he'd feel more guilty about it.

As it is, he feels guilty anyway at how quick he is to return that hug, arms wrapped around Nida as he melts directly into the embrace, head leaning against Nida's. Yeah, they'd talked about distance, about figuring things out and not rushing into it, but also? Also, he just...really, really needs a hug. And Nida does, too, he thinks. They could both use some reassurance. So he fights down that funny little jump his pulse makes when Nida whispers in his ear, turning his head slightly towards the warmth of Nida's neck. It's cold outside, and this is the first time he's felt warm in what feels like days.

"Wow, way to make a guy feel good," he says, and though the teasing is lackluster the genuine affection in his voice isn't. "I'll be fine. It's just...you know. I mean, neither one of us is really sleeping, even if you say you are. Right?"

He definitely isn't letting go just yet.

dojo

[pop_of_color]

Since Rosa's started to settle in (if one could even call it that), she's started to explore more of the village. She's carried the pocket knife that Alex had given her everywhere she's gone, but she's not had to use it — at least not on any people. She hasn't gotten around to attempting to hunt, still wanting to do some recon of her surroundings, but she's getting braver by the day, venturing out farther and farther from her "home base."

Most of the buildings are sub-par, at least in terms of what she's expecting, but while sitting at the Inn for lunch, she catches wind of people tossing around a term she hadn't expected to hear: dojo. She decides that's what she's going to look for that particular day. Maybe it'll be better than she expects (probably not).

After popping into some completely unrelated buildings, she peeks her head into the closest thing resembling a dojo that she's seen. She had hoped to be alone, but of-fucking-course, no such luck. With a sigh, she decides to enter anyway, hands shoved into the pockets of her scrubs.

Re: dojo

[skyward_eyes]

His eyes lift when he hears the door open, and Nida smiles the best he can, trying to be welcome him as he pushes to his feet. He'd been near the closed door to the upstairs, working on carving a small practice knife.

He doesn't bother to get up from his seat just yet.

"Hey there. Don't mind me, just making training weapons."

[pop_of_color]

The guy's said the magic word. Rosa's face practically lights up at the sound of it, and it reverberates in her skull like its a fucking Broadway marquee: weapons.

She betrays none of this on her face, of course, and she looks as disinterested as ever. The only hint she might be a tad curious is that she wanders ever so slightly closer to where he is, barely tilting in his direction to get a better look at what he means when he says "weapons."

It's not exactly the gleaming samurai sword she was envisioning, like the ones she has (had?) in her apartment, but it's sharp enough that her eyes linger on it for a few extra seconds before she casually skirts the rest of the building, letting her gaze sweep the space. It's non-committal, but she's exploring all the same.

"What sorta training you do here?"

[skyward_eyes]

Sorry, Rosa. The only blacksmith he knows is not cool with weapons. So wood is how they train here. Even though that frustrates Nida to no end. Wood won't do much damage as a knife, but it will give you an idea of size. He just wished he could get metal cores to deal with weight.

He does smile at the way she pays attention. Not entirely sure, but he has an idea that she might be. Too many years training as a mercenary spy to not notice how she moves closer, even if it's only a hunch.

"The dojo's sorta in transition. There was a martial arts master of a number of styles, but he was taken away. I'm taking over, looking for people to help with instructing. My specialty is staffs, polearms, and a more acrobatic combat style. I am bad with basic sword work but I can teach basic stances and which end to attack with, and I'm passable at hand-to-hand. Would prefer someone teach that. I'm more of a hand-to-hand style focused on kicking, dodging, and throwing."

[pop_of_color]

Rosa maintains her non-chalant attitude as she keeps perusing the rest of the dojo, but there's a slight pause in her movements when he starts talking about the kinds of trainers he's looking for. She finishes the perimeter of the building before circling back towards him, face still mostly neutral — aside from the very faint glimmer in her eyes.

"How do you plan to teach sword and blade skills if you don't have any swords or blades?" It's not accusatory but rather, curious. "Also hand-to-hand like fist-fights and all that shit?"

Dojo

[tothefly]

Nat's no stranger to mats needing to be repaired, and with Danny gone, there's no one to take it up with. Which is why she's brought along a couple of borrowed sewing needles, along with some of the burlap she'd found in the supply room and a spool of thread, meaning to do some repairs this morning.

She isn't entirely surprised when a voice calls out as she slips silently through the front door, but the voice is an unfamiliar one which means her entrance into the side room is just as silent, giving her a chance to take a look at the speaker. One guy--looks young, but not as young as Kamala--limping around the mats, looking down like he's scanning for something. Maybe he's got the same idea she had.

"Noticed a tear over by the window when I was in here yesterday afternoon," she offers by way of greeting. "Figured I'd come back this morning to fix it, and anything else I found. I don't think Danny would forgive me if I didn't try to keep things in order." Not that they'd been the best of friends or anything--Danny took to martial arts like a converted zealot--but she'd respected him well enough.

Re: Dojo

[skyward_eyes]

When the door opens he looks up, waiting for who might be coming in. Of course there was the greeting, but when she comes in, Nida pauses. He's not looking at the mats once he sees her. Well then. Here was someone who knew what she was doing, and he knew quickly.

"I noticed," he admits as the woman moves, that sort of movement of a predator. Sure, she isn't threatening him, right? But there's that special sort of way you move with training, and Nida watches her, sees it. Can't help the way his back foot slides back before he can help himself. It's a tiny little move, but it's a subconscious defensive position.

Something Nat would absolutely be able to read as 'this person knows to fear you'. Of course that doesn't go very well with the fact that the foot in question is the hurt one, and Nida's left wincing and moving to stand up to favor the food more.

"I noticed earlier," he repeats through his wince. "I just didn't have the materials to repair it. I was going to ask on the network soon."

[tothefly]

No, she definitely doesn't miss that move, especially with Nida's follow-up wince and attempts at rebalancing his weight. Her only outward expression in response is the faint lift of one eyebrow, and what could be a smile, as long as you don't blink and miss it. She couldn't help it, sometimes. It had been a long time since she'd had to watch the way she moved, to tell herself to step heavier or walk a little less like she's ready to pounce.

"There are some needles and thread in the supply room in the inn," she answers, stepping into the room proper and away from both the door and him, giving him the clear path to the exit. Just in case he feels the need. "I borrowed both. You sure you should be walking around?" A gesture with her chin towards his ankle. "Looks like that might hurt."

[skyward_eyes]

"Dr. Crusher said I should be taking it easy," Nida said, standing his ground. He's definitely calmed himself down after the pain in his ankle. "Just a sprain. I'm recovering."

He does stand enough aside for her to move past him. "And I was hoping to get a bit more than just thread and a needle. A patch is better than a stitched seam."

Which she no doubt made the same conclusion given the burlap she had brought.

dojo.

[scathefires]

Jason's number one favorite method of dealing with his feelings is to punch them into submission - literally, by putting his well-trained fists to work. Back in Gotham, there was no shortage of people who needed a good punching, but here? The criminal element isn't so much a thing that exists, so Jason doesn't have that steady supply of targets.

There are, however, more than a few available sparring partners in the village, and that's almost as good. Jason's been brooding keeping mostly to himself since he returned from the shrine, but today, he decides he could use a little exercise. So he heads down to the dojo to see if anyone else is around and in a mood to get physical no not like that.

Turns out the dojo is empty, save for Nida. And it's always a little awkward to face someone who's seen parts of you that you'd rather keep hidden away, if the creeping anxiety that crawls up Jason's throat when he sees Nida is any indication. But Jason's already here, and turning around to leave right away would call attention to the awkwardness, so. He clears his throat and knocks on the door frame.

"Hey. This a private party?"

Re: dojo.

[skyward_eyes]

He's gotten used to the people showing up at this point, and so Nida barely even looks up from the wooden knife he's working on. But that particular voice brings his attention up. Instead of the normal greeting, his looks up and Jason and his expression is soft and concerned by a half a moment. Then it's serious.

"Hardly. I'm working too hard to keep this place open to make it private. There's practice weapons by and in the closet if you want it. Punching bag in the other room, mats to work out on. I'd offer to be your punching bag but..."

He raises his wrist and shows off the white band on his device. "Sorta lacking my old power."

[scathefires]

A punching bag is definitely appealing. There's something about driving his fists into something over and over that's almost soothing to the angry spark of fire that lives in his heart. It's also something he can do alone, without needing to talk to anyone while he's getting his violence on.

But after that whole episode at the shrine, Nida is someone Jason actually cares about. So he doesn't ignore the comment about Nida's old power and what that means as far as why he can't trade blows with Jason at the moment. Jason steps into the room, expression set in a light scowl as he gives Nida a good looking-over.

"What happened?" Guess who hasn't been paying attention to the powerswapping plaguing the villagers.

[skyward_eyes]

If Jason thought he was going to get away with punching that bag without talking to anyone while doing it, he was very mistaken. For today, at least. Nida was just in a place that he was absolutely going to check in on the newest recruit to 'Nida's Pseudo-Family'.

"You haven't been on the network in a bit I see," Nida mused as he pushed to his feet. Limping he headed toward the room with the punching bag, expecting Jason would follow. And yeah, that wasn't a limp Nida had picked up on the trip back, so a potential question there.

"Don't know. Woke up, what, the fifth? Yeah, around the fifth, and it was just like this. Which is, of course, frustrating. You noticed how useful the green power was. But at least like this I have a different advantage. One awkwardly long handshake and people go into their training feeling a bit more confident. Helps them go longer."

at the dojo

[whipshots]

Brigitte had eventually heard, of course, about Danny Rand disappearing. She hadn't known the man well, but he had become one of her trainers at the dojo, so this was her first experience with that odd, shifting, unsettled anxiety -- the realisation that anyone, anyone can be whisked away at any moment. Perhaps it was another reminder to hang on all the harder to the people you knew, and to cherish them when you could.

But if she'd been worried about the dojo going abandoned in the man's absence, she's relieved to find that it's taken up new ownership: when she walks in today, she sees Nida in the middle of finishing up Danny's last preparations, overhauling it even more, maintaining the space and adding more practice weapons.

"It's looking good," she remarks from the doorway as she looks in, casting her gaze across his handiwork.

Re: at the dojo

[skyward_eyes]

The woman entering gets Nida to look up from his project, and he pauses. Yeah, he's seen her around the dojo, heard Seifer talk about her, and he smiles. A friend of his brother's was a friend of his.

"Well, if it isn't one of Poppa Forge's Smithterns," he greeted her, nodding his appreciation of the compliment. "I've been working at it since he left. Trying to get this place functional again. Danny would appreciate that, I hope."

At last he pushes to his feet, his stance saying that he's favoring one side. "Seifer says you're pretty impressive, Brigitte."

Yeah, he knows of you.

[whipshots]

"I think he would've. I didn't know Danny well, but he seemed to care about this place a lot. About what it could offer people. I know it's already helped me a lot, anyway." Brigitte's keen eyes catch the way he moves, that slight hitch to one ankle -- she's had to train herself on noting that sort of thing, particularly in comrades who'd unwisely push themselves too far if she wasn't there to stop them -- but she doesn't say anything off the bat.

She does chuckle a little, though, walking further into the room and hanging up her coat. "I do try. He mainly sees me in the forge, though, and I know my stuff there."

A bit of modesty, because if there's one thing the massive sprawling Lindholm family taught their youngest, it was to be humble.

"I'm sorry we haven't gotten a chance to meet yet. You're Nida, right?"

[skyward_eyes]

Thanks for not saying anything, he gets it from a lot of people. At this point he's about gotten tired of it all. At this point, he is content just to avoid it.

"I am," he agrees, moving to lean against a bit of wall. "I've seen your name here on some of Danny's papers too. The things about the dojo. I understand you'd suggested that you might help with some combat instruction. Would that still be true?"