Adventure Thread - Group C

After visiting the infirmary to ask some questions of the healers there, Sapphire wanders into the Guild's entrance hall to wait from her sister (or her sister's new friends). She'd hoped that after examining her options, one or more of them would stand out from the others, but no such luck - though she's inclined to prefer the branches over joining the healers directly, since they offer more options. Really, it's no wonder the Guild is short on trained healers: they should really offer better incentives. 

She finds an out-of-the-way place to sit and does so, pondering her choices. And, as time passes, becoming steadily more worried about not having seen or heard anything from Ruby. What if something happened to her? Or far more likely, what if she happened to someone?

"Ruby! What happened to you!?" Sapphire exclaims, jumping up and moving to examine her sister's injuries. "No, don't answer that, obviously you got into a fight again. Please tell me you haven't landed yourself in trouble, at least? And sit still so I can get a better look. Still, I said! No wriggling!"

"Well, I'm glad you aren't in trouble with the city guard for brawling again, anyway," Sapphire mutters, feeling carefully at Ruby's torso. "But really, Ruby, you shouldn't pick fights with strange Pokemon out in the woods. What if you'd hit your head when this Blitz knocked you down? I doubt a wild Pokemon would know where to take you for healing, if it even cared enough to bother. This sort of thing is why most people have their Pokemon fight in their stead." 

She sits back. "Well, you didn't break anything, but I think you've cracked a rib. That'll take a couple of days' bed rest to heal. Or you could go see the healers," she adds reluctantly, "and they'll have you patched up a lot more quickly, but not for free."

Sapphire pokes her sister in the ribs, right in a sore spot. "Oh yes she does, if she ever wants to hear the end of it from her sister. I'm not going to let you collapse on me just because you're too headstrong to know your limits."

"And no, I haven't. I was hoping there'd be an obvious choice after I got a good look, but I'm still torn between Grass and Poison. They both have things to offer... and things I'm not as sure I'll like."

"All right," Sapphire agrees, happy to make this small concession. "Wait, you mean you didn't visit already? I thought you were set on the Fighting Branch."

"Anywho, let's skip over to the Fighter Branch!" Ruby says, grabbing hold of Sapphire's hand.

Ruby drags her sister off on another whirlwind adventure! To the Fighting Branch! Alas, when they arrive, it is not nearly so interesting as Ruby had thought. The door was plainly visible, and there were no tricks nor traps to force people to stop and think before entering. Instead, there's just an older guy sleeping while sitting against the wall. He wakes briefly to wave the pair through but is asleep again before the girls can even say 'hello'. Beyond the entrance, the path splits into three, the sounds of many voices shouting in unison echoes through the halls.

To your right, the sounds of training grow louder. On your left, you hear the sound of running water, as if a great river were running through here. From the center, there is no noise at all. Once again, signs label the paths, but this time they are pictures rather than words. The right hand path has the picture of a fist on it. The left is a picture of a human sitting cross-legged; this probably means 'meditation'. The central path has an open palm contained within a circle.

The central path leads to a small room where a half dozen figures stand silently, minds focused inwards as a faint glow begins to emanate from their bodies. At the front of the room, another figure paces slowly back and forth, watching the other six. Clearly this seventh figure is the instructor. The instructor calls out 'position four!' and the other six shift in unison, turning to the left while gathering the glow between their hands.

"Position three!" The instructor calls next, and the others adjust their stance again. This time, they move the glow from between their hands back into the rest of their body, then, extending their right hand out in front, they gather the glow in the open palm pointed at the front of the room.

This demonstration continues for several minutes (barring interruptions) before the instructor calls 'Rest Position!' and the glow slowly withdraws into each individual and fades away. While each of these motions is simple, the effort required to 'move the glow' seems to be quite strenuous, as several of the trainees are visibly shaking by the time that 'rest position' is called.