A Prince's Friend is Hard Work

[chocobosnap]

 Prompto was nervous.

That was not the least bit unusual in itself, he had some terrible anxieties that made his life complicated and challenging all at once, all the time, but he'd had a handle on things, at least, he thought so. 

He received a letter and turned his world upside down.

All of that hard work had come to fruition and he was now a new friend to the prince, someone he got along with a lot better than he used to. He'd seen and met some of his retainers, some of the people around him. They all seemed nice, if wary, and huge. 

Prompto had never been tall, and he was slightly shorter than Noct who seemed short beside his bodyguard Gladio. He was kind of hoping he'd get bigger, but he doubted it. 

The longer he spent with Noctis, they'd begun asking him questions about his skills in self-defense, because there could be danger inadvertently. Ignis had been the one to deliver the message that he should learn, and asked him to report to the Citadel one Sunday morning to meet with Cor Leonis - The Marshal - who was going to test him, or teach him, or something. 

He was on time, had been escorted to the gym and, dressed in his gym clothes, he was waiting nervously, pressed against a wall to avoid any looks from any of the Glaives around. He couldn't have looked more out of place if he tried, with his black track pants and dark purple t-shirt with a frolicking cartoon chocobo on it. 

Comments

[immortalmarshal]

Cor trusts Ignis' observations, having know him since he first became Noct's advisor as a kid. So to get confirmation that yes, Noctis has a new friend that needs some self-defense training? He takes it seriously. After all, it's not every day that he takes on such a young student. But if it's an actual friend of his prince...

Still, he's a little surprised to see someone that looks so skinny and...freckled. The brief moment of surprise only shows in his eyes, but then it's gone as he steps forward. "Prompto Arrgentum?" Cor himself is wearing a sleeveless tank top and loose training pants.

[chocobosnap]

He tried not to look like he was a small animal trapped by a predator. When Cor spoke, it snapped him out of his thoughts.

Prompto straightened up and smiled shyly.

"H-Hi! Yes. Um. Th-that's me!"

[immortalmarshal]

Cor gives a brief nod in greetings. "Cor Leonis. I lead the Crownsguard under the supervision of the King's Shield. And..." he sets two large bags of stuff down on a nearby bench. "I've been told that you're in need of some self-defense training. So let's get right to the point - have you had any kind of martial arts training before today?" Since he knows that some people practice various forms of martial arts for sports or self-discipline.

[chocobosnap]

He was trying not to shy away too much, after all, Cor Leonis had a reputation. He was an important man, and a famous one.

"Um..no." Prompto shook his head. "I run though. Every morning, an hour or so?"

This was nerve wracking but for Noctis he would do almost anything.

[immortalmarshal]

No prior formal training, but has some built-up stamina and speed, Cor mentally notes. That puts him at least above 1/4th of the usual crop of Crownsguard trainees.

"Alright, then we'll start with seeing if there's any melee weapons that feel right for you. And if there aren't any, we'll do the same for ranged weapons." He unzips one bag and lifts out a wooden training longsword. "Here - swing this," he orders, handing it to Prompto hilt first. "Just to get a feel for it." He'll be judging Prompto's movements with a well-trained eye, seeing if there's even an inkling of talent.

[chocobosnap]

"Weapons?" He was intrigued, but mildly confused because there was no way he'd ever have a weapon.

"Uh, I mean, y-yeah okay."

The weight was heavier than he'd thought. He let it sit in his hands for a moment and then swung it awkwardly, twirling a bit and off-balance. He had no real natural innate skill hiding there and he laughed sheepishly.

"Sorry?"

[immortalmarshal]

Cor could tell within moments that Prompto is simply not meant to be yet another swordsman. In this case, though, that's a good thing - Gladio serves that role already as Noct's Shield.

"Don't apologize - this is what's testing is for." Cor decides to skip the greatsword and makes him instead try out a few other styles - knives, polearms, even some wooden knuckles to test his hand-to-hand against a punching bag. All done with that keen-eyed obversation going on.

[chocobosnap]

Prompto is incredibly inexperienced. He doesn't know how to throw a punch properly, his movements are quick and he's good on his feet, but every weapon he swings and moves is just awkward.

In other words, he seems like an ordinary teenage boy.

[immortalmarshal]

Cor notices all of that, but isn't too surprised. A little pleased on his speed, but not much else. He'll have to make sure that the kid learns how to punch and kick properly, at least.

"One last thing..." Cor opens up the other bag and pulls out what appears to be a handgun. "It's been modified to shoot tiny paint balls," he explains as he hands it over to Prompto handle-first. Pointing to a target on a far wall, he adds, "See if you can get any shots near the bullseye."

[chocobosnap]

He grinned brightly and nodded. "Uh, sure, but I've never shot a gun."

Prompto stood and fired the first shot. It hit the target, but not the bullseye. He adjusted his stance naturally. He squared his shoulders, and adjusted for the kick. His movements were fluid and natural looking.

The next five shots were on the centre, and perfect.

He let out a nervous laugh. "I play a lot of video games."

[immortalmarshal]

Cor takes a step back to give Prompto some space. The fact that he hit the target on the first try is good in his mind; some people can't even hit yhe broad side of a Garula. But five perfects despite claiming no prior training? Either Prompto is a born natural...or he's hiding something about his background.

"...So does his Highness, but it took him years to get even close to what you just did. Are you fond of shooting games?" Coming from Cor, that's a good compliment.

[chocobosnap]

He smiled about that tidbit about Noctis. "Really?"

Prompto felt a little bit of confidence at being able to do something better than his friend, possibly. Potentially.

"Yeah, I'm the best at them. When we go to the arcade, I always win!"

[immortalmarshal]

Cor tries to read Prompto's body language as he boasts, just to see if it's some kind of cover. "I see..."

Still, there's no question that the teenage boy's unusually good with his aim. Combine that with his speedy reflexes, and he could become a master gunslinger...someday. Way into the future. And besides, Noct's royal retinue could benefit greatly from having a ranged fighter in their ranks.

At least, someone with ranged weapons instead of magic.

"How often will you be available for training? Do you have any part-time jobs we need to work around?"

[chocobosnap]

Prompto was just boasting, like any teenager would, although he seemed to be nervous. Cor made him nervous...actually everything made him nervous.

"Uh, nope!" He answered with a little chirp and smile. He did have a part-time job, but he worked overnight mostly, so it wouldn't interfere with Cor's training, just like anything else he did, it would just interrupt with his sleeping pattern, but Noct did that plenty.

"H-How much training do you want me to do?"

[immortalmarshal]

Cor's used to making people nervous. Not only is it part of his job sometimes, but it's just a side-effect of the kind of reputation he has as 'Cor the Immortal', one of the strongest warriors in all of Lucis and sworn protector of its royal family.

That, and he's used to teenage boasting from his usual trainees. So he relaxes a little on his gaze. "We'll start with three times a week for the first few weeks, and ramp up from there as needed. Besides ranged fighting, you'll be learning how to properly defend yourself - and others around you - in a variety of situations."

The 'others' is tacked on with emphasis, for this isn't just self-defense in Cor's mind. It's also a subtle test to see how Prompto handles the idea of protecting others. This isn't just for the blonde's benefit, after all...

[chocobosnap]

"Oh, uh huh, okay sure." He said with a smile. The fact he might have to protect someone, although aside from Noct, he couldn't imagine who, wasn't an unwelcome thought.

"Then, um, next time?"

Prompto did seem nervous, but he always seemed nervous.

Finally founs this via email notif!

[immortalmarshal]

Cor gives a small, satisfied thought. That's good that he doesn't see it as an unwelcomed likelihood. It'll make things a little easier to explain later on.

"Good. Would three days from now work for you?"

[chocobosnap]

"Uh, yeah that should be fine." Prompto said, grinning, a bundle of nervous energy. He was excited and it was all good, and he was surprised he got a compliment on his first try.

Noctis wasn't going to believe it.

"Um, okay then. See...see you then?"

[immortalmarshal]

Cor nods. "You're dismissed." Prompto will soon learn that it's code for "Yeah, I'll see you then, trainee."

In the meantime, though, Cor is planning to have Monica run a more thorough background check on young Argentum while he runs the lad thru the first few lessons of training. Just a hunch, and maybe he's being Clarus levels of paranoid. But...better to be safe than sorry.

After all, it's not every day that you meet someone who's that good with a gun right of the bat...or so they claim.

[chocobosnap]

Initially, his background check was very ordinary. He was an average student, he didn't make waves or stand out very much. He lived in a nice area with his parents who worked a lot, out of Accordo.

Observations of him include extreme shyness and quiet, unassuming. He was adopted to his parents when he was a baby.

It all seemed clean and sanitized. Prompto's original nationality was not mentioned, and his parents often filed reports from Accordo it seemed like.

All of this led to Prompto himself. No weapons training. When he arrived the next training session, he still looked nervous as he did the first time, but he was on time, even a little early.

[immortalmarshal]

Cor's nagging feeling didn't go away from reading that initial report. Granted, the explanation that Prompto was adopted does explain a few things, but for his parents to be away all the time, plus no official weapond training before...

He simply asked Monica to "double-check where he got adopted from" - aka, look further into that issue - and see if there's any known reports of caretakers for him when he was younger.

Cor is, however, pleased with Prompto's timing as he steps into the training room that morning. "Ready for your first lessons?"

[chocobosnap]

Prompto smiled brightly.

"Uh, yeah, right! Ready!" He offered cheerfully. He squirmed a little bit, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

Prompto was a morning person.

Monica would find no record of caretakers, in fact, possibly ever. No one seems to be involved with the Argentums in Insomnia. They had friends in Accordo.

[immortalmarshal]

That really troubled Cor once he gets that info. How can people just leave a kid by themselves, even for important trips? Six knows that he's done his share of babysitting for his friends...

"Alright, we'll start with some basic hand-to-hand. Not all opponents are going to keep your distance, so you'll need to defend yourself in those cases."

Prompto will soon learn that whatever level of difficulty Noctis had in his training with Gladio? It's at least as tough with Cor, if not more so. The Marshall doesn't go that easy - partially as a final test, but also out of habit.

[chocobosnap]

"Oh man." He dragged his hands down his pants to ease his nerves, before Cor proceeded to show him why he was the best.

He spent a lot of his time down on his back, taking blows and trying. Always trying. Prompto was persistent enough to get back up, every time.

There would be one more note to come from the investigation - Prompto had lied about having a part-time job.

[immortalmarshal]

The fact that the kid has a part-time job despite his family being well-off to keep going on business trips to Accordo? That's much more suspicious to Cor, though not towards Prompto alone. He asked Monika to keep digging before he came down for this session, figuring that he'll get some answers once he's done grinding Prompto down some.

Though...the kid is persistent, Cor will give him that. Regardless of any levels of potential whining, it does seem like he's always getting back up. That is good; very good, based on past experience with prior trainees. The blonde is dedicated...though for what reason Cor hasn't sussed out yet. He does wonder if this is purely based on Ignis' recommendation for self-defense, given what he's already uncovered so far...

"Alright, let's take a break," he says after nearly an hour of training. He walks over to where some water bottles and towels had been setup to one side.