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The world as they knew it was breaking open like an egg all over again.
Fun fun.
Kamala joined them. She was untrained, and green behind the ears, but seemed ardent enough in finding something she could do and, more so, wanted to learn. After the trip to the deep water, well Triton was more inclined to set time aside while he was still in Attilan at all before returning to the Pacific for another week to two years to fin Kamala, and his sister, and see what they couldn't benefit her with.
Besides, who better to critique anyone on anything (wanted or not) than Karnak. Not that Triton minded. He was proud of his younger sibling in this regard and seemed happy to defer to her on it. "This brings back memories for me."
It's not Kamala's first time here, but she's still got that wide-eyed wonder about her, but her lips are set in a fine-line of determination. She's bound to prove herself as something more useful than the occassional smart girl that tags along to read stuff. She's in her makeshift costume, the burkini and tights she's turned into a super hero costume of sorts, complete with a scarf. She really should get someone to make her a costume. "You have your own training area? That's so cool." she says with a bright smile.
Waiting in the training area is Karnak, her jacket discarded so that she wears the sleeveless green tunic and white pants. Currently she is barefoot, and her arms are rather impressively muscled, even by Inhuman standards. Her hair is braided tightly behind her, and she glances over at Triton, nodding slightly towards him and then she turns a critical eye towards Kamala.
Triton waded into the area and had a faint, grin. The four fingers on his hand gestured from Kamala to Karnak. "Right now you have the finest instructor of Attilan. That said, we'd rather not see you mashed flat, even if you probably would be fine in that instance." He glanced between them and asked "Any questions before we begin?" He glanced at the other side of the training grounds where the gardens were with a thoughtful look, telling no doubt, but back to the pair here.
"I do prefer my potatos baked and not mashed." Kamala offers up with a weak smile as she glances towards Karnak and offers a finger-wiggle in greetings. Okay, this might have been more than she bargained for. What is she doing here again? She's just a kid from Jersey, after all. Not Captain Marvel. Not even Captain Kangaroo, really. She draws in a breath. "Is there an objective besides not getting mashed?"
Karnak looks at Triton with a wry expression, then glances at Kamala, "For starters, we shall keep this simple." She then takes up a martial arts stance, almost like a crane style as she regards Kamala calmly, "Hit me. If you can." And with that, an outstretched hand towards Kamala makes a slight 'c'mere' gesture, beckoning the girl to try.
Triton arched an eyebrow on the discussion of potatoes. Well, it was a fair opinion. He walked round the edge of the space casually curious as to how she'd try to approach this. She was still an unknown quotient, though from what little she'd demonstrated was at least a bit to go on. So many possibilities since she hadn't a lot of 'habits' to speak to. The garden was forgotten right now. There was a faint, wry grin growing as he encouraged, "Worry about the take, not the target. She'll be okay."
"Hit you?!" Kamala gives a little squeak of surprise. This is supposed to be a team up, it's not like she'll be fighting Karnak at any time, right? The young woman freezes for a moment and then okays softly. "I can do this. I can do this.." she murmurs. But this is about learning her powers. Supposedly. So instead of charging forth to try to swing at Karnak, the young woman glances at her hands. "Okay, stretchy fists, lets do this. Embiggen!" she calls out, even though she doesn't need to - but it's her practing her battle cry.
Her arms extend, snaking and racing towards Karnak, bit he's not trying to hit Karnak as much as she's trying to grab her. Or slap her. Or flail at with her elongated noodle arms ineffectually.
Karnak leaps straight towards Kamala, jumping over the outstretched arms as she says, "Remember your reach, Kamala Khan! And stay focused." She then brings out her palm, the open hand rocketing towards Kamala's face with lightning speed, though she stops it with perfect control, just before it would hit. "Overextending can make you vulnerable."
Triton watched witha critical eye. There was something that the siblings held in common: Perfect stillness and attention to details. In this case Karnak's effort to explain where the weakeneeses were, but also why, and how to improve them. It was a painfully slow detail to add, but it was there. There was a patience with expectation. There was also the effort to not discourage teh kid. There was a courtesy there where in she was addressing the person and not another soldier. He wasn't often able to be home, but it was the small things in the subtext like this that made him happy to witness it. That small bit of humanity shared withthe novice. Awwww.
When Karnak comes rushing in, Kamala closes her eyes expecting to be punched any second before she eeps as Karnak snaps at her. "Oh, oh!" Uhm, what to do, Mala? She takes a moment, and even as her arms are snapping back, she's suddenly getting bigger and tries to sweep down once she hits ten feet tall to try to grab at the woman before she has a chance to get away. "I can do this…" she murmurs, though it's really loud as she sweeps at the spot Karnak was in just a moment ago.
Karnak leaps backwards, evading the strike from the now giant-Kamala, albeit it's a close call, "It is not enough to use your powers, you must use them in a way your opponent does not expect Kamala. It is how you will survive." She glances at Kamala, "Do you know what my powers are, child? What happened when I underwent Terrigenesis?" She snaps a glance at Triton, as if warning him not to spoil the surprise.
Triton sat perfectly stonefaced. Okay he sat perfectly fishfaces pulling out from his personal effects paper and a pencil. Nooooope. Nothing from Triton. He knew better than to give away the goods, or hell, ruin his own entertainment. He held up the pencil in thought for a moment and began composing on the page glancing back.
Kamala's usual upbeat optimism is gone. She's trying hard to do what Karnak wants her to do, but at the same time, she has no idea what she's doing, and still exploring her own powers. "N-no." she admits quietly as Karnak asks her that direct question and calls her a child. Because she is. And it's a crushing blow to her own ego and self-esteem.
Does it seem that Kamala is getting smaller. Yes. Yes it does. Because she is. Before she realizes it, Kamala's nearly disappeared with as small as she's gone.
Karnak says, quite calmly, "I have no powers. I never underwent Terrigenesis. Instead I was sent to the Tower of Wisdom to learn. And I can spy the weakness in all things. That, is why I am the royal strategist." Also, probably why she's so antisocial and dislikes people in general. And almost everyone in particular. "Power is nothing, Kamala Khan. The will is everything."
Triton didn't look up from the page, "Listen to know. Skill, science, and strategy over power and presumptions." And apparently alliteration if you were aquatic around here. He was trying not to grin smugly. Aaaaaah he kind loved trick questions. Still he made a list of words, the same words down the page and seemed to be working his way from the ends of sentences inward. There was not much progress being made thus far.
There's no response from Kamala. Because she's no bigger than an ant at the moment. She needs to regroup. Apparently her weakness is 'harsh words'. Or something. But the young woman is on the move. Okay. She knows weaknesses. She has been really trained. What does Kamala have that she can use against that? Think, Mala, think. Stretching out to get her didn't work. Getting big didn't work.
So she runs. And she thinks.
Then she smiles to herself. After a few moments, Lockjaw arrives from seemingly nowhere and bounds towards Karnak for pets and to pounce upon her.
Karnak is rarely taken by surprise, but this is one of those times. She barely has time to say, "LockjWHOOMPH!" before she's tackled and pinned by the giant teleporting dog. She does her best to look annoyed, but she still seems impressed by the ingenuity of the trick to get Lockjaw to do the work. Even as Lockjaw slobbers on her.
Being the Royal Strategist is never easy…
Is the large dog's little tuning fork crooked? Just a little. But instead of slobbering on Karnak, the large dog places a paw upon on Karnak and says in Kamala's voice. "Tag. You're it." 'Lockjaw' morphs back into Kamala, and the young woman smiles down at Karnak. She beams widely at the woman as she jumps up, so proud of herself for what she just did.
Triton looked up confused where Lockjaw came out of - okay no he really wasn't. It was Lockjaw. Still it made the warrior poet pull pencil off page and blink interior and external eyelids a couple times. He wasn't saying it. Nope. nopenopenope. And he certainly wasn't going to lagh, and that definiately wasn't- okay he was grinning, but he was keeping it to himself. Quietly he intoned, "Karnak three, Kamala… one"
Karnak nods, "Good. Use your powers in ways your opponent does not expect." She picks herself up off the ground, and actually looks pretty satisfied, "You have been practicing your powers." She sounds actually… approving, of that fact. And doesn't seem upset at all that Kamala tagged her. Quite the opposite.
"I'm sorta like Metis!" Kamala says proudly. "I mean, I can polymorph self and stretch and just.. well, I spend a lot of time with Lockjaw!" the young woman admits as she bounces on the balls of her feet cheerfully, trying to get settled back down just in case there's more to prepare for in this battle.
Triton didn't look up, but the grin was there. He was proud of this. Karnak was…approving? Man he'd have to chronicle this one. He watched them for a time, they practicing motion, and he practicing stillness in spite of it giving the garden a glance squinting keeping an idle curiosity on what was happening in it before going back to the page. "She near never compliments anyone. Ever. You know that? You're doing well, Kamala."
Karnak gives Triton a look at that, then says simply, "I give out compliments are they are merited." Then she looks back at Kamala, "What other changes have you attempted?"
"Besides getting bigger and smaller? And well, Lockjaw?" Kamala thinks for a long moment and bites her bottom lip. "There's one that I'm been considering trying.. but I'm not sure it will work. I mean I have bones and stuff.. but I've been considering trying to make myself flat."
Triton laughed and looked up arching an eyebrow. "Mmhmm and how often does that occur?" His head tilted. Was he afraid to call her out on having high standards? Oh not at all. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing. "Well… ifyou can do that it's a definitive defense strategy."
Karnak nods slightly, "Considering the amount that you can change already, I would think that if you can become Lockjaw, that being flat would not be a concern." She glances back to Triton, but doesn't bother replying to his little jab about perfectionism.
"Maybe, I mean.. anything's possible. I think. I haven't really tried to push myself as far as I can yet." Kamala admits as she reaches behind her to scratch at the back of her neck and fidgets with her scarf. "I mean, I've only been a superhero for like.. a week?"
Now would Lockjaw bring anyone but an Inhuman if they asked really nicely? Maybe. Maybe not. The smart pup knows his loyalties, and generally speaking pulling random individuals off the face of the Earth to see the hidden sheltered city of his birth doesn't fall in "Good Doggo" territory. On the other hand, the person he plucked isn't random; she's probably sanctioned by someone vaguely official; and she comes bearing gifts but not Trojan. At least Canterbury bells and a basket of chrysanthemums have to appeal to someone in the Himalayan fastness. Scarlett no doubt has someone watching her as she walks down the path to rejoin the others, particularly Triton, the nearest thing to an unoccupied individual as she can find. Especially given the quasi-what-is-she role played by yon bohemienne. "You know, I think the library tried to eat me," she announces cheerfully.
Triton arched an eyebrow Super hero? He looked faintly confused to Karnak, but hey Scarlett was back. He gestured to the open space next to him with the end of his pencil in silent invite. At the word of the library Triton blinked with a flash of interior eyelids and a headtilt befitting of a canary. "Oh? Yeah you might want to be careful with that. For their sake." Because lashing out at Darwin's Grab Bag was not exactly healthy for the literature. "Karnak's helping Kamala go over the basics." He looked from Scarlett to the path back to her again, "Hoe's He doing?"
Karnak hmms slightly, "It has been known to do that." She might be making a joke, but with Karnak one never really knows. Then she looks at Kamala, "I don't pretend to know anything about being a 'superhero', but I will teach you how to survive. The outside world knows very little of us, and would not… react kindly, to our existence if it were revealed."
There's a little frown. Her own optmism got her again. Kamala sighs. "Of course.." she murmurs, glancing down at her boots. "I just want to help." she starts to say, before she hears a familiar voice and waves to Scarlett. "I'm glad you got cleaned up! Everything okay at the beach?"
Mademoiselle Scarlett easily drops down beside Triton, adopting a cross-legged pose reminiscent of lotus position. Her feet tuck up against her thighs, the boneless demonstration of grace a hint of her experience in yoga. She laces her fingertips together, the scent of the edelweiss in her braids still surprisingly fresh. "I try not to be consumed by the books directly but rather be consumed in them. Critical difference, unless they are animated." A disturbing statement for the mirthful look on her face. "That happens occasionally." Yes, well, given her master of studies, naturally. She inclines her head, watching Kamala and Karnak. Fascinating to watch a fight even if she is terrible at fighting for volition, and not an absence of skill. "Fascinating to think of the traditions embodied in the future's heart. Hello, Miss Kamala! Don't be too distracted by me. Yes, it passed well enough, I think." Her smile is warm, as much as the bonfire of her emerald eyes. To Triton, she adds, "As oft he is, burdened by the tasks and thoughts of his role."
Triton sat with a quiet, impish grin. The library acting out of sorts never did get old with him, but then again he was never around it much to have hastle with it. Earnestly he offered to Scarlett, "My regards to him when you go back? Sadly one Id' actually rather visit more with while I'm here is perpetually occupied. It's the way of it." Though from the sound of things maybe Triton was planning on heading back to… what Vietnam? Maybe For now he was watching the young grow and he was going nowhere. "We are hidden for a reason and wish to remain so. FOr the sake of our way of life. And because our King has decided it so."
"You're hiding. I can't." Kamala points out quietly. "I have an Abu and Ammi to return to, and even my brother." she says with a frown. "Speaking of, I should be getting back home to them. They worry if I am out too late, even if I have the excuse of helping out around the Avengers Mansion." Though she may not be able to use that excuse for long. "Thank you for the lesson—" and if Karnak isn't careful, she'll have a sudden hug from Ms. Marvel before she's releasing the Inhuman strategist to head back to find the real Lockjaw to take her home.
Karnak actually does something a bit surprising. That is, she lets Kamala hug her, not really resisting it, and even returning the embrace after a moment. Then Lockjaw shuffles over and woofs, teleporting the teen back home so that she's not out too late.
Triton just watched. He wiated for Kamala to go, and regarded his sister once more. He didn't have to say it. He wasn't going to begrudge his sister for having connections. Connections were not weaknesses, they were enhancements…even if he had few. Still he asked, "You alright?" There was no mockery, jsut a fmailial concern. Feelings were inefficient and illogical, but sometimes could not be helped.
"The wisdom of remaining hidden and apart is not an argument to be settled in an afternoon, unless one wears the mantle and rank of such terrible responsibility. Assuredly, not a easy one to bear." Trust the petite grin on her lips to afford Scarlett a certain measure of innocence. Seeing Kamala dashed off in such a fashion, the redhead lapses quiet anon. Certain factors, like the telltale blur of a hound of deep loyalty, rouse memory to the fore and a blush of reflected affection for that damn dog. Oh, the happy doggo. "If you worry for her out there, I shall not tell you not to. But Crystal and I keep an eye out for her, and she'll fledge the nest soon enough."
Karnak glances over at Triton, and arches a brow towards him, "I am quite satisfactory at the moment. Why do you ask?" She then looks at Rogue, "She has quite a bit of… enthusiasm. I fear it will get her into more trouble than she can handle."
Triton would not be able to really convey his interpretation of the world in this case. It was a frank but honest answer. "Because your balance and well-being are important to me." It was really that simple. He looked to Rogue and nodded once. "She needs to learn subtlty." He paused and went back to writing whatever was occupying his thoughts. "I like her though." There was a small not and then a faint look of irritation as his brain made a tangent. "She will be fine." Though by the sound of it, faint as it was, someone was on his shitlist.
"Indeed. If it does, she will learn to manage it, whether by the skills she has or the experience she obtains. It's a sink or swim situation, though hardly a bad thing. We all go through it." Her smile lingering, Scarlett waves her hand in the air to banish the notion or ill luck raised by the discussion of the future.
Karnak tilts her head and regards Triton, "You seem to be a bit perturbed. You didn't have to deal with Maximus this afternoon, did you?" She glances towards Scarlett, "She will learn, she has very high potential."
Triton took a deep breath. Oh, that was a certain yes. Trust her to get it in one. The smile was tight. "Maximus is… Maximus. I think he'll learn that too, but there are many sides to the situation and they are all sharp sometimes." He sighed and fell into metaphor. Right now it seemed judicious. And then he answered Karnak plain, "Things got a little strange in teh way station on teh sea floor. Everything's fine, no one was harmed, but it was stressful." he didn't take him outside and drown him. He was proud of himself.
There are certain things a girl doesn't wisely speak on, unless spoken to. Scarlett admires the view over the training ground and does not speak of potentates, at least not where others can hear. "She does. I've faith in her as much as any of us."
Karnak nods slightly, "Well, I found punching him to be a great source of release." She quirks her lips into a faint smile, "But, yes, he has been rather… cooperative lately. We'll see how long it lasts."
Triton grinned faintly and admitted, "I considered it." And that from teh peacekeeper. He shook his head and looked to both women, "We'll see, though, won't we?'