deercountry | [closed] don't call him dr. L

Entry tags:

nehan: ray

[closed] don't call him dr. L

Who: Nehan and his students.
What: It's about time to start being a teacher, which means meeting up with them one by one and conducting their first lessons-- sparring for some, medic training for others. May not be completely nice and productive, due to blood type shenanigans. Thanks, December.
When: Early to mid-December.
Where: Nehan's house for medical studies, and some fields away from people for combat training.

Content Warnings: Physical violence, little bit of beasthood, potential potty mouths, potential squicky conversations, Nehan's personal issues with his disabilities. More TBA when they come up.

[[ starters in the comments below. if you'd like to get in on this but we haven't plotted it out, feel free to shoot me a pp at

wildtrapinch and we can talk! ]]

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[nehan aims a punch right at diluc's chest, at his raised arms, to check if his guard is actually solid. and, as always, his blow is made heavy with the amount of light magic coursing through nehan's body, and the way his knuckle is slightly yellow from the element just underneath the erune's skin.

a testing blow, but it will still hurt no matter how it lands.]

[He could have soaked the hit. But he is unlearning some behaviors he developed recently. Diluc blocks the strike. It hurts. But his guard is solid and strong. And there is Cryo energy singing in his veins as he concentrates the magic to fortify his body. His skin is slightly blue from the threads of magic just under the skin.

He has a feeling that Nehan is testing his guard. So he lets it happen. This isn’t about pride or just letting go. He has to get stronger.]

[nehan notes the blue just lingering underneath diluc's skin, and knows immediately that he's using his ice-- defensively? seems like it. he's not going to criticize if this is how diluc prefers to use his abilities, or if this is the most comfortable for him.

which means nehan now has to test how well he can wield both elements.]

Give me both elements this time. Don't drop either of them, or I will turn you into a squid. [he's bluffing. but he'll work as if he's not.

he dips, using his smaller stature to his advantage, and aims a strike just below diluc's belt at his thigh.]

[He has spent months working on unifying the powers of Pyro and Cryo. Daily training has made it easy to pull the heat about him like a shroud. No flames.

He wouldn’t burn his teacher. And he’s just in time to dodge the strike and give a punishing counter strike. The heat of his fire magic proceeding it. But his skin still has that blue tone to it. It’s not something he can keep up forever.

The strain is not yet familiar. He follows up on his counter strike whether it lands or not, aiming to wear him down. He is larger but he isn’t slow.]

[he sees that move coming, and makes to dodge and deliver his own counter, but nehan stumbles momentarily, unused to his tail. he dodges, certainly, because of the stumble that makes him reel backwards out of the range of that blow... but he cant counter. it makes him miss his opportunity to counter, and he growls in annoyance, ears pulling back. he dislikes that new limb because it's sudden, and he has no idea how to move with it.

the more intelligent move would have been to reschedule this spar, but he cant leave diluc hanging for too long or the idiot will become a squid again.

nehan shakes himself from ears to tail and lunges again, aiming this time for diluc's face-- or so he acts like he will. but it's a feint, and he's ready to dodge a counterattack and strike where the human least expects it.]

[But Diluc doesn’t counter this one. He dodges with intent to flow from dodging into a strike of his own at Nehan’s side. Some inner chains are snapping.

The heat grows subtly like a storm gathering on the horizon. It layers itself around him at his own direction. He holds it steady at this new temperature. And the closer to his body one gets they can feel that cold.

He is ready to block or counter strike if Nehan dodges or counters.]

[nehan notes the change in temperature, and frowns, doing what anyone wouldn't expect him to-- he steps back, putting a couple of paces between himself and diluc. not withdrawing or conceding defeat, but waiting. observing the change.

diluc is absolutely using his magic defensively at this point, and the erune begins to look for an opening.]

[There are places in his defensive magic that are bearable temperatures. He isn’t a master at this yet. But he practices daily and it shows. The edges of the Pyro blend with the Cryo. It’s like smudging charcoal on a canvas with the white giving way to grey then black.

He stays where he is, not moving to chase Nehan. He observes too, it’s a few breathes of time then he surges forward. His expression doesn’t change, he has been good at poker face since his world shattered to pieces.

Well. What he believed the world to be. He aims his strikes to drive Nehan back but not in a straight line. That stumble is stuck in his head and he knows he can use it. If he can get him to do it again.]

[nehan's tail finally stops moving, freezing in an upward curl-- as it should be, given zuoyou's tail barely even moves, even if the wolf holds its own tail lower than its sleeper's.

he takes a deep breath to steady himself, even as diluc is coming at him from a strange angle. but as his style dictates, he has to wait, observe, and move accordingly.

he raises his arms to block diluc's strike, but not primarily on his left-- he knows he was too reliant on it before, and he cant be predictable. nehan notes that he really should learn cane fighting in the near future, perhaps commission a cane from that shop diluc brought him to. just so he doesn't forever rely on his unfeeling arm.

and should he manage to block, he pushes against the human bodily, shoulders forward.]

[Diluc has swung massive swords around since he was old enough to hold one. There is one thing he has discovered with all this hand to hand training, he is faster than he would be with the weight of it slowing him.

And all his strength devoted to the fight and not bearing the sword means he is a fairly steady man when blocking. He holds his ground and pushes back, breathing in slow and deep. His magic shifts, the mix flowing towards his front to be more precise there.

Like a shield wall shifting to deflect arrows.]

[nehan notes how diluc moves, and how he's trying to block. is he looking to block just one blow, or multiple ones? same source, or from multiple angles?

only one way to find out, as ever.

the erune takes a step forward, further into diluc's space, and punches. not a straight punch anywhere, but he twists and turns instead, delivering blows with both arms and even sometimes a knee to test diluc's defense. and if any of those get through his defense, it will hurt. nehan made sure of it.]

[And Diluc holds, twisting to intercept the attacks as necessary. The blows rain on him but his defenses are steady. The Cryo magic enforces his body and he notes how useful that is.

And the Pyro that is so natural to him swirls around them. This will all hurt like hell later. He lashes out with blows once the rest of his defense is over. But instead of just block, he will resume dodging.]

[he holds the position, which means he's not having trouble with nehan's blows. or perhaps he is, and his magic is compensating heavily, which will put a heavy strain on his body later outside of battle.

good, nehan thinks. let him feel the strain, and he can figure out how to fix that. because that's nehan's main goal in this sort of training-- finding diluc's weaknesses one by one and breaking them wide open to spur the human on to being strong, as diluc wanted.

and now, nehan fights dirty, because there's no such thing as honor in a brawl, not truly. whoever fights with honor is just lying to themselves. the erune steps on diluc's foot with his left leg, a risky choice when it can be so easily pushed away and nehan will be in trouble then, but he'll find a way to follow it up anyway. and then he rears his head back for a wind-up, then smashes it into the human's face. oh, he hopes he can break diluc's nose. at the very least split his lip.]

[The pain of his foot stepped on spurs him to shove Nehan away and duck his head. Their foreheads connect and leave him blinking spots away. He retreats with a hissed curse.

The draw back of using the mix of magic is the melt reaction when they meet. And why it hurts when he lets it go. He has to figure out how to fix that. Sessions like this give him the right field for it.

He growls, eyes flashing with fire as he moves forward again. And he has an idea.

He lashes out at Nehan but slides back, seeing if Nehan will follow him.]

[nehan growls at the clash of magic in diluc-- what the hell was that? an improper mishmash of magic, two elements clashing against each other in a detrimental way. that may be something he has to correct, perhaps even more than diluc's improper stance.

he shakes his head to clear his eye from the stars bursting in it from the headbutt, just in time to catch himself from lunging at diluc when the human pulls back and away from him. but then he realizes he has to recuperate, and puts a few more paces between them as his magic pools into his forehead to heal it.]

Your magic-- what is it doing?

What it would do naturally. [Diluc stops, breathing in as he lets his fire go. The Cryo magic flows like a cooling wind through him and out into the air.

He closes his eyes,] To be a Vision User is to pay a price for power. …I’m not so sure that’s the case here. I’ve been trying to have a different perspective, and training it. But at times, [He gestures widely. And under his direction, despite the pain of before, he layers the Pyro over the Cryo. This time there is no melt.

There is only a layering like sections of a cake set on top of each other.]

Don't give me that. [nehan's words are sharp, a snap like a bark.] Half your power is blood-related now, and you're well-removed from your world.

[then nehan crosses his arms like before signaling that their current spar is over, but he's willing to have another. as long as his demands are met.]

Put the vision away if you haven't already. Give it to Zuo if you must, but I don't want any part of it on you.

[For a moment he stares at him, a flame in his eyes. Then all magic dies away to nothing. Vision Users do pay a price and that price hasn’t changed since he was in a dream or now.

He can feel it. He steps back, and reaches down, unclipping his Vision. Visions are a light in the sea for those who are lost. A tool in the hands of the ambitious. Dellingr appears in a swirl of smoke and takes the Vision into his jaws. He walks away from the pair with it and drops it on the ground. But he looms over it.

He gave up his vision once in anger and broken faith. He won’t give it up again. Diluc waits, feeling that inability to call fire despite his soul singing with it. It is contained within. Like he is a mountain.]

Well? [nehan's ears flick forward.] Show me your magic.

Don't forget, this is for you to be able to use fire and ice together, and as far as I'm concerned, using that thing that the gods give you will simply cripple you. You're already too reliant on it as it is.

True power has to come from yourself.

[He has to remind himself that something is pushing on him subtly from within through his blood. That it might be pushing on others too. He takes a slow breath in then reaches down into his blood. The flames are there waiting but unable to be called for now.

But then, Kaeya had done it without his vision in that hell hole of a tower. He turns the burn in his blood the way it seems to want to go. The cold swirls through him and around him, moving like a storm. Glittering crystals of ice catch the light. Without Pyro it moves smoothly, under his clear command. Pure and strong. But not as strong as his fire. Nothing could ever match that within him.]

[is it because he has no vision that he can use ice properly now? that the vision was holding him back? nehan has to push him even further.]

Fire, Diluc. [another sharp bark, nehan's tail wagging in irritation and impatience. then he takes a deep breath, and tries to figure out how to be a teacher, rather than an intense trainer.]

Focus, and use your fire. How did you feel, while using it with your vision? Use that-- don't think about the lack of it, but the freedom of movement you now have.

[He closes his eyes and sits down, hand against the ground. He breathes in and forces all outside influences away.

In the tower he felt the power surge then released with the Vision appearing in the flames. He moves past those memories to Mondstadt and daily battles. He lifts his hand from the ground and taps the burning in his blood.

The ice vanishes and the world turns as warm as a summer day. Flames pour forth and wrap around him as if he were a campfire. He doesn’t think. There is the flames and there is him. He brings his arms up towards his chest and the pure blazing hot flames shape themselves into the familiar bird of fire, waiting to be unleashed. He tips back and sends it streaking upwards into the sky over head.

The flames like the ice is solid and pure. The blaze of it however is vastly stronger, moving around and through him as the very air he breathes.]

[this is not what nehan explicitly instructed, but he's not a complete tyrant. he simply stays silent as diluc clearly works through what the erune's just said, and how to work magic that's his own. or meant to be his own, because he shouldn't be at the behest of cruel gods, like that barbatos.

and it seems like diluc's meditations work.]

Good. I want you to remember that feeling.

[without his cane and adrenaline running through his body, nehan has to drag his leg. he staggers to diluc, and looks down at him.] Stand up and show me properly what you've accomplished.

[He has taught his students that magic obeys the wielder. Their perceptions shape the way the power flows but it is theirs. It belongs to their soul.

Until now he hasn’t fully grasped how that could change even his perceptions. Diluc climbs to his feet and the flames shift and move, rippling over him as he comes fully to his feet.

He doesn’t think of the rules he knows. Both elemental magics are his and come from the same source. Why should they oppose one another? He doesn’t think about how they shouldn’t.

That is meant for the past. Glittering shards of ice fall from his fingers and this time, the magic moves through him like an electric current. One way it flows out turns to heat. The other to bitter cold h it all of his magic is a burning power that sears no matter what way it cuts.

He is unharmed by it when perceived in this new mindset.]

Good. [another tidbit of praise, but when it comes from nehan, it's a heaping.]

Hold onto that feeling, because I will now teach you how to move. You attempted to copy my stance earlier, and you'll learn how to follow-up, and work with your own movements depending on your magic.

You're too tall for my clan, but we'll make it work.

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