10288/Snow Dragon

Snow Dragon
Date of Scene:	02 December 2019
Location:	Central Park, Manhattan
Synopsis:	An angel meets a Dragon in the snow
Cast of Characters:	Nightingale, Dragon

---

Nightingale has posed:
     It was a gorgeous afternoon, and classes were done for the day--too nice to stay inside, and definitely too beautiful to not go and enjoy the sights of the city for a little while. With a note left for school staff that she would be going with a friend to Central Park for some seasonal treats and sightseeing, Shannon makes the trip there to enjoy an afternoon out in the snow. It was a little bit of magic, even in the afternoon, with families out playing and having snowball fights, lovers snuggling up on park benches, and it was very easy to picture the place at night when the lights were all a-twinkle. The white stuff crunched beneath Shannon's boots as she meanders along one of the many paths, pausing at a vendor cart that offers one of her favorite seasonal treats, one that would be worth the trip alone--roasted chestnuts. There is no way she can resist, and soon walks away with a bag of the hot little spheroids of goodness in her hands. It was a rare little bit of peace, and for once she couldn't help smiling as she looked about.

Dragon has posed:
"Ok, Jean, watch..."
The voice comes from a secluded part of the park, an area surrounded by trees, which shade it from the main paths of the park without being too far from them. The floor is covered in snow, and on it, arranged in a circle, there are around twenty guys and girls of an age range between 15 and 30. The man who just spoke is, perhaps, the only one that doesn't appear to be concerned about the cold, especially since oddly enough he's wearing just a pair of comfortable black pants and a shirt of the same color, with short sleeves leaving his arms exposed to the snow. The man moves in the center of the circle, then nods "go for it!" he exclaims!
From the circle, three guys basically charge at him, coming from three directions. The first, and faster of the three seems to be a short japanese guy with quite wild hair, who attempts a right and quick jab at the man in the middle's stomac. The second to come is taller, definitely more muscular, and black, with very short hair. He instead comes with a left hook, aimed at the man in the middle's head. The third to come is a man in his thirties, with broad shoulders and blonde hair, trying to tackle the man in the middle from behind!
The man in the center of the circle, Richard dragonshifts his position to the right just enough that the first attacker's jab flows harmless on his left, ducks so that the hook barely grazes his hair, and turns to grab the tackler by the shoulders, rolling then backwards and throwing the attacker over his head, away from him. In the same, smooth motion, he stands up again and aims a serene smile at the three guys "the thing is not dodging each attack, the thing is dodging all of them at once. If you have multiple opponents facing you, your mind must break their movements so that your body may find the strategy to adapt to as many as possible. Why dodging left, and then right, when you can move backwards? Analyze, adapt, react... Now, try again" he speaks, moving back and joining the circle as a young girl, with honey blonde hair and a quite skinny body, steps in the middle of the circle. Two guys run towards her, one coming with an uppercut on her right, the other one with a flying kick in front of her! She calmly waits, then at the last moment ducks, dodging both of them, and actually resoulting in the kicker slamming his foot on the uppercutter's hand, with curses coming from the latter, apologies from the former, and chuckles from everyone else.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon raises an eyebrow at this display, keeping to the fringes of the group, with her wings folded neatly behind her. She herself is dressed in dark blue jeans, a cream tunic sweater, and knee-length caramel suede boots, with a red and white striped knit cap on her head very reminiscent of 'Where's Waldo'. Rarely had she seen anyone move that fast in a fight. Instead of wandering the park, she stays nearby to observe the class, and learn what she can, hopefully without disturbing anyone.

Dragon has posed:
Richard Dragon encourages some more of the guys and girls to try on similar tactics, and at some point someone, while attempting to dodge, gets stuck with his right foot in the snow and is punched in the chest! Lightly, but still taking the hit. "well, here's another tip..." again, Richard steps forward, checking that the guy is healthy, and once sure the guy is indeed quite fine, he steps in the circle again "Frank, please..." the largest guy of the group comes forward, a mountain of muscles that must be over two metres in height, closing a meaty fist "I'd ask of you to hit me full force in the chest..." richard asks, and indeed the man nods and charges, swinging his arm backwards at first, and then forward in an impressive punch that would send someone flying! And indeed Richard flies.
More precisely, he relaxes his legs, and voluntarily slips on the snow, so that as the fist touches his chest, he's moving to the side, effectively nullifying the force of the blow! Then, he's inside the man's guard, and a leg sweep later, the giant of a man is on the floor. "you can't fight nature, you can't decide where you'll be when you'll need to defend yourselves. If the ground is not favorable for you, it isn't for your opponents as well. The only difference, is that you can know how to use it! Snow is slippery? Slip on it! You need to be anchored in place? Plant your feet into it, in such a way that you can pull them out easily, though." he smiles, again stepping back and letting his students practice.
If there were any doubts that he noticed shannon, they're quickly dismissed as he, in stepping back, ends not too far from where she is, and indeed when he turns his eyes are looking directly at her, a smile and a nod in greeting aimed both at the girl.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon dips her head in greeting to the martial arts master, smiling shyly. Her wings ruffle behind her, and slowly begin to curl around front as if to protect her in a bit of a feathery cocoon. With a little bit of effort, she stopped herself, though. This was a fairly large social situation for her, one stranger among twenty to thirty students she had no idea about. Her fingers curl into the paper of her little bag of chestnuts with a soft crinkling noise, almost in mimicry of the snow crunching beneath the students' feet. "That was pretty impressive," she murmurs. "I'd be lucky to avoid getting hit by one, let alone three."

Dragon has posed:
Richard Dragon keeps smiling at Shannon, and turns for a moment to nod at the blonde skinny girl from earlier "Jean, guide the stretching exercises please! We're done for the day I think." he serenely states, turning again towards Shannon and walking towards her to stop on her right, apparently unfazed about the wings. "well, the best way would be to avoid the fight entirely. But if you can't, it's best to at least try to not get a swollen eeye, a split lip, and a couple of broken ribs"

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon smiles wryly, and shrugs, tucking her wings in behind her again. "Would that it were always that easy to avoid fights. Sometimes trouble comes looking for you anyways." She doesn't move away, as for the moment, the strange man doesn't seem to be posing a threat to her. She does, however, check to make sure she has clear airspace above her to make a quick getaway if it becomes necessary. "I'd heal from all of the above very quickly, but it's still not pleasant, true." Smiling tentatively, she offers the bag of chestnuts to Richard, if he should so wish to try one. "My name's Shannon. What's yours?"

Dragon has posed:
Richard Dragon pretends not to notice Shannon checking for a getaway route, and smilingly accepts one of the chestnuts, even bowing his head in gratitude. "nothing's easy, but a lot of things are doable... Trouble can take many forms, true, dodging it isn't always possible, nor always the wisest course of actions. But, the greatest warrior is not the one who wins every fight, but the one who knows which ones to fight." he states, leaning on a nearby tree, casting an eye towards the students doing their stretching. "I'm Richard, Richard Dragon... A pleasure to meet you, Shannon" he introduces himself, at first bowing his head again, then extending his right hand for a handshake

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon grasps Richard's hand in a firm handshake, her grip having a surprising strength for her apparent age and size. "Pleasure to meet you, Richard." She smiles some, observing the students as they are finishing up their stretches. "So very true, knowing which battles to fight. Still, if that time comes, it can help to know what you're doing." Her smile widens a little as she watches the class, and thinks back to what she saw. "Have you been teaching for long, then?"

Dragon has posed:
Richard Dragon's handshake is gentle yet firm, and releases her hand once the introductions are deemed complete. "well, and that's why I'm training them. I don't want to teach them how to fight, I want to teach them how to defend themselves, and how to defend those who can't defend themselves. But, even more than teaching their bodies how to avoid a punch, or how to throw one back if needed, I want to teach them when to move, when to dodge, or when to stand firmly, when to return the hit and when not to..." he glances at the students, who are now moving to form a semicircle "excuse me..." he states "I'll be back to you" he steps in front of the semicircle, then performs a deep bow to them, and they return it politely!
"well, I'll see you next time, then, hm?" he smiles, waving at those who're leaving! He seems to know them all, greeting them by name, patting some on the shoulders, shaking some hands, smiling at everyone. Only when they're gone on their way, he returns to stand next to Shannon, assuming she's in the same position he eft her in. "a couple of decades" he replies, answering her previous question. And he doesn't look more than in his late twenties even!

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon smiles lightly as the class is dismissed; this was someone who the students obviously respected, and that respect seemed to be returned in full measure. That sort of thing spoke well of both students and teacher alike. Her eyebrows loft at his revelation upon her return, though, and she peers a little more critically at him. "May we all wear our years as well as you do, then." There is a hint of laughter in her voice as she says this.

Dragon has posed:
Richard Dragon chuckles lightly, shaking his head briefly and causing his wild red hair to whip around his face "Well that's a feat everyone can do! If I managed, it means that every average person could." he states, still smiling "by the way, what brings you here on such a snowy day, Shannon. The chestnuts?" he asks, glancing at the paper bag

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon laughs a little bit and shrugs, her wings ruffling as if in echo of the gesture. "The chestnuts, the sights... it's too beautiful a day to stay indoors. Besides," she adds, her eyes twinkling. "These are a seasonal treat worth a little bit of travel for. What about you, though? Is this where you normally teach?"

Dragon has posed:
Richard Dragon shakes his head again "no, no, I just wanted my students to be outdoors for today's lesson! I wanted to teach them a couple of things that can't be experienced in a gym, plus, they get to have fun, which is fine" he smiles "this is where I exercise sometimes, though. Makes for a great outdoors dojo!"

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon nods slowly, motioning to the snow. "Very true. It'd be difficult to teach making the best use of one's surroundings in a gym. Well, unless you wanted to be mopping up buckets of melted snow afterwards, that is." She chuckles softly, shaking her head. "I'd have been flat on my backside long before your students could even lift a finger."

Dragon has posed:
Richard Dragon hmms thoughtfully "oh, I'm sure you could learn too! Plus you've aerial maneuvering which they could never accomplish... Well, most of them at least " he winks conspiratorially, glancing for a moment in a direction that could appear to be random "but, well, that kind of fighting takes just training and patience, and skill, no superpowers... So anyone can do that"

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon laughs and just shakes her head, tucking what's left of the bag of chestnuts away in her little brown leather pouch, which remains ever at her side. "Chances are pretty good that, unless you were severely distracted, I wouldn't be able to pull a flying drop-kick on you," she muses. Hmmm. So perhaps she wasn't /entirely/ without fighting experience, but maybe it was just a bit limited. "It looks like your class is fairly full, though..."

Dragon has posed:
Richard Dragon again, shakes his head! "oh don't underestimate yourself, or overestimate me! I'm beatable" he's not, but he's humble! "well, that's just one of my classes, really... And, not exactly full even" he states, shrugging "I' don't do much apart from teaching them, and to be fair, I've been teaching them for no longer than three or four weeks."

Nightingale has posed:
     "It would be very, very tempting, if I thought I could get out a little bit more." Shannon smiles ruefully, stretching out a bit. "Are you ever in the Salem Center or Bushwick area? That's a little bit more in my neck of the woods." Three or four weeks of teaching, and he already had the respect of his students? Wow. That was impressive. This was definitely someone to keep an eye on!

Dragon has posed:
Richard Dragon nods, this time "well, I happen to be there sometimes, yes. There are, some people, who generally don't get taught by regular teachers because of some features of their" he admits, glancing briefly at shannon's wings "so well..." he shrugs "anyways, I'm not that difficult to find, for those who're looking" he states, returning to smile lightly at the girl

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon tilts her head and smiles a bit wider now; this day had just gotten that much better. "You can say it. Mutants. I'm not ashamed of being one. It's really nice to just be able to talk to someone who isn't anti-mutant." A light sigh escapes her, and her wings actually droop ever so slightly, her head bowing. "There's so much hatred and bigotry out there that I've seen already."

Dragon has posed:
"well" Richard says "a person is not defined by the shape of its body, nor by their abilities, but by their actions and their, personality... So, mutants, metahumans, aliens, living shades of blue, it's not the different races making us into different people, after all. Not necessarily at least!" he states, "that said though I'm afraid I must leave... Have to visit mount sinai and, it's not as close as I'd like!"

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon nods and smiles wryly. She gets a little slip of paper and a pen from her leather pouch and writes down her number on it, offering it to Richard; if he's able to see any of the contents of the pouch, they seem more suited to a healer than a normal teen. "If you ever want to get in touch," she says. "I'm always glad to make new friends."

Dragon has posed:
Richard Dragon accepts the slip of paper and slips it into one of his pant's pockets, from the same pocket he pulls out a simple business card with his name and a phone number, that he hands to Shannon "and that's how you can get in touch with me." he replies, smiling. If he notices the contents of the pouch he offers no comments about it, even if his mind registers it all perhaps "it will be a pleasure to meet you again, Shannon! For now, I'll just wish you safe travels, and may our next meeting be as pleasant as this one" he smiles, bowing politely towards the woman, waiting for an eventual answer before turning and starting to walk away, calmly, serenely, the cold snow landing on his bare arms seeming to not disturb him at all."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon smiles, tucking the card away and bowing in kind, spreading her wings outwards to their full span. "Thank you. I hope we'll meet again. Let me know if you're ever in the area." How the hell was the snow not bothering him, she wondered to herself, just shaking her head a little as he walks away. This had been an interesting day, indeed. But then again, when it involved meeting new friends, how could it be otherwise?