fun times with darth emo

[killthepast]

who: Kylo Ren & OPEN
what: Catch-all from now until whenever he canon updates. For the training prompt, I am nnnnnnot exactly looking to write out actual sparring, but we can definitely write pre-sparring and the aftermath.
when: January! Maybe part of February, too.
where: The river, a gym, the abandoned city, communal housing, annnnd around
warnings: None yet

i. training montage
[ His situation, such as it is, is no excuse to slack on his training. Ren may not be able to serve the Supreme Leader here, but at least he can ensure that he will be able to serve to the best of his abilities when he finds his way back to his rightful place.

So, he finds time to meditate each day, and he trains when he can, honing his skills with the Force. Often, this takes him to quieter parts of the city, near the river or on the outskirts, where he can train with his lightsaber in relative solitude.

Sometimes, too, he'll actually make an appearance at one of the city's gyms, to spar. Gotta keep those combat skills sharp. ]

ii. exploring
[ More and more, Kylo ventures out to the fence and beyond, exploring the forests and the abandoned city. It's dangerous to go alone, sure, but he's confident in his abilities. It's about the only thing he's certain of, and if nothing else, it affords him the opportunity to clear his (many) frustrations from his head and get some more aggression out against the odd creatures he encounters from time to time, should they prove to be hostile.

It feels good to use his lightsaber against things without having to concern himself with the authorities. ]

iii. chopped
[ SOMETIMES KYLO REN HANGS OUT AT HOME, IN THE COMMUNAL HOUSING AREA. Even though he has a private room, he still has to make use of the public kitchen, so, uh. Yeah idk. If you want to hang out while Darth Vader's antisocial grandson tries to cook food as quickly as possible, go for it. He can yell, he can throw things, but he can't exactly stop you. It's a free... building... ]

iv. wildcard
[ You know what to do. CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE. ]

Comments

[ragnarsson]

[It's a small wonder Ivar doesn't laugh right in Kylo's face. Really? As if he can be baited by trying to insult his intelligence, something Ivar knows for a fact he has in abundance.]

Almost never. I tend to be the smartest person in any situation, present one included.

[Which should say what he thinks of Kylo Ren right now. He echoes Kylo's question with one of his own.]

Do you often try and match wits with someone who is clearly far superior to you?

[killthepast]

[ Ren blinks slowly, clearly unimpressed by Ivar's case of telling instead of showing. So far, all he's seen is a boy who's leapt to incorrect conclusions about his weapon, based on a faulty assumption, and is perfectly smug in his own ignorance. It's not exactly the stuff of great cleverness.

It does, however, do the trick of draining his anger. ]

Ah.

[ He's just going to go back to his training, if this exchange isn't going to yield anything more than a child's attempt at baiting. ]

[ragnarsson]

I'll take that as a no.

[Tsk, another meathead whose all brawn and no brains. Ivar's spent a lifetime surrounded by them in the Viking era, his brothers included. He watches Kylo fight for about another minute and there's something familiar about the way he swings a sword.]

How long have you been a knight?

[It's a shot in the dark, but Ivar's basing his guess off of the way Kylo holds his sword. He holds it close to the ground when he starts and brings it up for powerful swings, the same way that English knights back home fight with their heavy broadswords.]

[killthepast]

[ With the way that Ren tends to conduct himself, that's not an unreasonable assumption on Ivar's part. He does tend to come across as all brawn and no brains-- or, at least, no impulse control. Right now, though, he's feeling stable enough that he's not as volatile as usual, so he doesn't rise to the latest dig.

(Training, at least, is good for centering his mind as well as honing his physical strength.)

The boy's question, however, does draw Ren's attention back to him. He pauses in his movements, looking over at him again with some interest. Knights, he's found, tend to be an outdated concept to most he's encountered in the quarantine. So it's a pleasant surprise that this assumption from Ivar, at least, is correct. ]

Five, six years.

[ Though he's trained with the lightsaber for quite a bit longer than that. ]

[ragnarsson]

I thought so. You swing your sword like one.

[Ivar thinks back on the battles he's been in. Knights were a great, skillful force on their own merit, but they're slowed down by their armor, which makes it easier for Vikings, who go lightly armored if at all, to take them down. Ivar has killed his fair share of them during his time.

He looks cocky, giving Kylo a challenging look as he continues on.]

Not that I've ever found a knight I couldn't stick a knife into.

[Don't underestimate him just because he's in a wheelchair. He'll give anyone a run for their money when he fights them, Force-sensitive or not.]