Training for Iman al...ect.

[Danikat]

((Anger? mmmm....the path to the darkside that is. Control you must learn!))

Danikat had a feeling she wasn't doing much to help her new arrival. He didn't seem to believe her. So she decided to step back for now and let Blackfoot talk to him, at least seemed to know something about this man and where he'd come from.

[Iman al-Rashid ibn Aali]

Iman's eyes followed the scrawny little human around the room. As far as he could tell, this person was speaking in tongues... Arab? 12th and 15 Century?
Then it dawned on him... this man was of the same race as the Crusaders. Therefore he is almost certainly talking from their misguided viewpoint. How his mind had conjured up someone with the mind of a westerner he didn't know.
"My story is my own", he said firmly, "As is all of the information you seek from me."
He took a moment to consider the creature who was being incredibly silent... apparently letting the human take over the conversation. "When there are creatures such as this walking around, how you expect me to believe this is real, I don't know."
This had been the most bizarre experience inside his mind that he had ever had. After he awoke from this, he didn't want to fall asleep ever again.

[LordPsycho]

Blackfoot thought about how to approach this problem. He'd have to prove this was real. What this guy needed was a good dose of pain - a pinch, a pin prick something.

He kept circling around Iman, when it hit him. He circled around to in front of Iman and looked him in the eye.

"You want proof? I swear on Au'Marui's grave you shall have it."

With that, Blackfoot transformed his hand, letting it cover itself in it's signature onyx coating. Then he slapped Iman across the face, and quickly converted his hand back into it's human form before he stopped it's forward motion.

"Let me ask you this: If you were dreaming, would that have hurt?"

((I should note Iman, that although Dani's already probably mentioned this, Blackfoot is a Gargoyle - so as a human he looks scrawny, but he's got some muscle to him - plus his stone skin doesn't hurt things.))

[Iman al-Rashid ibn Aali]

The slap was unexpected to say the least. The passive-looking piece of skin and bone that Iman had believed to pose no threat had just come at him with a single blow to the side of his face. A slap so powerful that it caused Iman to spin 180 degrees and fall to his knees.

Blackfoot was then speaking... what he was saying, Iman didn't quite know. His head was too filled with his own thoughts to listen. That... that HURT! How can that be? Unless... unless of course... this place is real

The revelation hit him as hard as Blackfoot's deceivingly small hand. This wasn't a dream... this was real. And if this was real, he was stuck here. Stuck in this strange new world with strange creatures. How could it be true? Everything that Iman knew told him that this was impossible... but now he knew different. The two sides of his mind were warring within him to find an answer as he stuggled to pick himself up. And then it came... only a small amount, but still too much by anyone's reasoning. Vomit.

[Danikat]

Danikat had no more expected the slap than Iman did, although the suprise was considerably less painful for her. She had however seen Blackfoot's hand change as he hit Iman, and the memory of the pain a gargoyles fist could cause ((thankyou Father Mac)) made her wince in sympathy.

"Let me ask you this: If you were dreaming, would that have hurt?" Blackfoot was asking, but Iman didn't appear to be listening, in fact he....he looked quite.....oh dear.

Danikat rolled her eyes and mentally reminded herself never to let new arrivals into the nice guest room. She picked the glass of water up off the tray and crouched down by Iman, oferring it to him. "Here, drink this, I think you need it."

((And for future reference just because its in the Matrix does not mean its a good idea.))

[Iman al-Rashid ibn Aali]

In a way, throwing up was what Iman needed to clear his mind. OK, I'm not dreaming, he thought, so that means I can die here. I need to be alone so I can process this.
But what if they wouldn't let him leave? Danikat had shown him kindness up until now, but maybe there was a reason.
Whatever it is, she doesn't need to die, he told himself, Blackfoot however, could be different.

Then Danikat was crouched by him offering some water. This was his chance. If Iman could escape this place whilst causing the minimal amount of damage to Danikat and Blackfoot, he could gather his thoughts on the matter and come to a conclusion about the human under less stress.

Shaking, he took the water with his left hand and took a sip. The taste of vomit was gradually diminished. Then in what would be interpreted as a show of good faith, Iman held his right arm out for Danikat to take and help him to his feet.

[Danikat]

Thats Better. Danikat though as Iman took the water and after a moment or two held out a hand as if offering to shake, or asking for her help.

She pushed herself to her feet and then reached for his hand, gently tugging him upwards. "Relax, its not all bad," she said.

[Iman al-Rashid ibn Aali]

It's working, Iman told himself, forcing a friendly smile as Danikat took his hand. It looks like this particular situation was going to come to an end sooner than later.

"Relax", Danikat said when Iman was fully on his feet, "it's not all bad".

This show of trust sent a pang of regret through Iman. He didn't enjoy injuring innocents, but sometimes it was necessary.

"I'm sorry", he said quietly and truthfully, before twisting his hand around so that his wrist was pointed towards Danikat's forearm, and tensed his tendons, starting a spring-loaded mechanism which sent a six inch blade towards her arm.

[Danikat]

Iman smiled as he stood up and Danikat began to think he might just be beggining to come to terms with his situation, strange as it must be for him.

He whispered something as he stood up, something that sounded a bit like 'I'm sorry', but Danikat didn't have time to think about it. Before she knew what was happening she felt a pull on her hand as Iman twisted his wrist around in her grip and a sudden sharp pain in her lower forearm.

Looking down she saw a blade embedded in her skin, blood already welling up from the wound. It was the last thing she'd expected and for a moment she was too stunned to react.

((Normally this would be the point where I'd respond, if I hadn't already blocked the attack, but as I said Danikat is too suprised that she's been hit to wory about that, so Iman is going to have time to do something else before she tries to get her own back.))

[LordPsycho]

Blackfoot saw it happen as if in slow motion - but once it happen, he sprang into action.

Clothes ripped as he transformed. Where Blackfoot was mere seconds ago, now stood a stone beast with the body of a lion, but the head of a boar and wings protruding from his back like bat wings. All four of his paws were black onyx, where as the rest of his body resembled granite. Although the paws of his hind quarters were lion[like, his hands remained somewhat human, though much much sharper.

The beast reared up on his hind legs, as if to excentuate his full 8 foot height in this form when he did that, and grabbed the blade, simultaneously yanking it out of Danikat's arm and lifting up the stranger.

"You should know Gargoyles are fiercely loyal to the people who live at the places we call home, and this is where I call home stranger."

Blackfoot then gave a quick twist of his wrist, snapping the blade and letting Iman fall to the floor. He then made a declaration as he transformed back into his human form.

"Try that again, and consider your life forfeit."

((Ok, I should explain, sometimes the power play rule is fuzzy, open for interpretation. I did technically power play, but as to move the story forward, and everything was well within my character's ability. In cases like this, if you have a problem with the post, you can PM me and have me edit it, or if you think it bends the power play rule too far, you can report the post using the exclimation point in the upper right corner of this post, and the Mod of this board or an Admin (Danikat and myself, respectively) will look over it and make a decision on the post.

Wow...Powerplay for the point of instruction - never thought I'd see the day.))

[Iman al-Rashid ibn Aali]

((Just as long as I'm able to have fixed my hidden blade later, it's fine. ))

If this had been a few moments ago, this would have shocked him. But Iman had learnt to expect the unexpected from this place, and somehow it was a strange comfort to him to know that the slap that had knocked him to the floor was not that of a mere human's but by yet another strange beast, who was currently yanking him into the air.

"You should know Gargoyles are fiercely loyal to the people who live at the places we call home, and this is where I call home stranger," the creature known as Blackfoot growled before snapping Iman's blade and letting him fall to the floor.

Flipping himself back to his feet, Iman decided that retreat was the only option which would guarantee survival and turned on his heel to find the nearest window to sprint towards. Barging back past Danikat he leapt through the window, crashing through the glass he was lucky to notice the sudden drop to what looked like nothingness in time to perform a 180 degree spin, and grab onto the window ledge. Using what little power he had in him after the events of the last few weeks, he pulled his legs underneath him and used them to propel himself upwards, grabbing onto one wooden log, before doing the same again which brought him up to the roof.

((This may look a bit like power-playing... but Iman's speed and agility is such that this should be possible.)

[Danikat]

Danikat ignored the pain in her arm, she'd had worse before and what was happening now was more important than a minor cut. So she grabbed the wound with her other hand, applying pressure to stop the bleeding ((I've already got vomit on my carpet, don't want blood as well)) and focused on what was going on between Blackfoot and Iman.

Blackfoot snapped the hidden blade Iman had stabbed her with, dropped the stranger to the floor and before he'd even finished his threat Iman had leapt out the window.

Danikat rushed over to see, certian that Iman had just become the first member of the Dojo to discover in person just how bottomless these mysterious pits were. No such luck, she thought as she leant out the window to see Iman scrambling up the building and onto the roof.

"Well," She turned around again to face Blackfoot, "It seems our new friend is more than he seems. I think it might be best to let him go for now. I'll have the armadillos watch him and keep him from getting himself into too much trouble and maybe in time he'll come to understand this place on his own terms."

((It seems my impatient padawan feels he's gotten the hang of the basics and wants to try his hand at a real RP already. Kids these days...
However apparently this RP is going to stay as Cannon for him, as his entry to the Dojo, so we could keep it cannon as well and slip him some pay back later on. ))