[PRP] Things That Once Were

[Suudonym]

Try to start exercising a bit more, the cardiologist had recommended. It was important to increase daily physical activity to help strengthen the body. Swimming, Luke had decided while contemplating the order, was quite out of the question. He remembered, though, the piece of equipment that had resided in his room since the previous summer, sitting idly only to be habitually maintained from time to time. Perhaps he wasn't in a state to go running off into battle, but he could at least practice by himself.

Bearing that decision in mind, Luke made his way to his familiar place in the park, bearing the weight of the sword that had once been his constant companion. The weapon felt heavier than he remembered it, but his body recalled the correct postures regardless - more or less. He quickly discovered, swinging the sheathed blade in standard arcs, that he had easily fallen out of practice during the time of the sword's disuse: It was harder to maintain the correct grips and footing, and the arcs weren't as polished as they had once been. It was kind of shameful, he thought frowningly. He had once been skilled enough to hold his own in battle...  

[BlackPidgeot]

It was a nice sunny day, even if a bit cold. The chilly air off the ocean blew across the city, causing Yuri's long locks of black hair to wave gently as he walked along. His sword dangling from his left hand as per usual, the man was out for a stroll with his dog. Repede trotting along and enjoying the warmth of the sunshine despite the brisk air that blew through his fur. The breeze carried with it a familiar scent as they passed through the park, and the Growlithe perked up, giving a bark to Yuri before going on ahead.

The man blinked once, watching as his Pokemon companion went along ahead of him. He just followed, and looked up to see where the Pokemon was going. There he caught sight of a familiar red head, one they hadn't seen in quite some time actually. Pausing a few feet away, Yuri watched as Luke made a few swings with his sword. He too could tell that the boy was out of practice, but at least he had picked it up again.

"Looking a little rusty there," Yuri then commented, and Repede woofed before sitting down next to his partner's feet.  

[Suudonym]

He paused at the voices, human and pokemon, and turned to regard his recent company. He replied with a smile that was almost self-deprecating, "Yeah, tell me about it." He rested the tip of the item against the ground, holding the hilt lightly. "What's up? Been a while." Not since just before he left to return home over the summer in pursuit of the papers that would enable his treatment. Wasn't his habit of endeavoring to avoid causing others trouble or worry turning into a habit of plain isolation?  

[BlackPidgeot]

Yuri suppressed a sigh at that look on Luke's face. Man, he was still like this huh? He had to wonder what's been going on since the last time he saw this kid.

"Just a bunch of boring stuff. What about you? You were going to see your parents right? Did you just get back?"

After all, he hadn't seen Luke since he said he was going to go. Yuri could only assume that he'd been in Grande Ile all this time.  

[Suudonym]

His eyes fell away, the expression in them frowning severely despite the plastic smile he wore on the rest of his features. "Yes and no. When I went before, I didn't stay very long. I went again recently, though. Got back a while ago." The specific question of how long he had been in Kodo allowed him a free shot at ignoring the broad and difficult question of what was going on in his life, the answer to which was nothing good and nothing he wanted to burden their conversation with.  

[BlackPidgeot]

Yuri paused for several moments, sizing up Luke's expression and trying to interpret his words. Man, it didn't sound all that good, whatever this guy was going through. But really... it wasn't any of his business. Luke obviously didn't want to talk about it, and Yuri could respect that. So he wasn't going to push the issue.

"Well, it's good to have you back. How about I help you with that sword practice?"  

[Suudonym]

The permanent sigh lightened from his disposition as a slight relief took its place, and when he returned his gaze to proper eye contact it was with a bit more sincerity, "Sure." He lifted the sword from its resting position, holding the flat of it across his hand. "Just, uh… don't expect too much, I guess." Sparring with swords probably wasn't very high on the list of recommended rehabilitative activities, but it wouldn't be the first time he had done something his doctors would recommend against - and he'd surely be more careful about it this time.  

[BlackPidgeot]

"Don't sweat it. We can take it slow if you want."

Yuri knew that Luke had some health issues, but he didn't really know how bad it was. Thus he figured Luke was smart enough to pace himself, especially with being so out of practice. And besides, actually having someone there was better than swinging at the air or a tree, right?

Thus, Yuri drew his own blade. The weapon being much thinner in contract to Luke's broad sword.  

[Suudonym]

He nodded, grateful for the flexibility, and moved into a brandishing position. As they began to spar, he fell perfectly silent, moving more slowly than he had in the past but with a greater attention on accuracy and error correction. For all his precision, though, he just was still severely out of practice. All his attacks were to easy to parry, and a notable number of his own parries broke form. He continued for several minutes with rapidly degrading stamina until a drawn breath caught and forced a short series of uncomfortable coughs into its place. He frowned, displeased with his own performance. "Kinda lame," he murmured with a sigh. It was starting to feel like he'd never regain a normal lifestyle.  

[BlackPidgeot]

Well, whatever it was that caused Luke to get so out of practice, Yuri was certain there was a good reason for it. Thus he just patiently stood there and deflected Luke's strikes with his own sword. Not really making any effort to strike back. He'd seen the kid fight before, so this was actually kinda pathetic. But he said nothing until Luke finally stopped to cough.

Lowering his sword, Yuri frowned lightly. It bothered him to see the kid like this.

"Don't worry about it. You all right there?"  

[Suudonym]

"Yeah. Just out of breath." He had become quite knowledgeable over time in controlling his breathing, to the point that he could do so with less effort and more effectiveness than he could the swordsmanship he had spent so much of his life honing. When he spoke again, it was at a quiet volume that spoke primarily to himself, "The physical therapist is always going on about light activity, so I thought this would be fine… Hard to imagine that I overdid it in only a few minutes." He was still learning his limits, though, so he supposed it was a possibility. He had been readmitted briefly after the incident at the pier, after all, so perhaps his expectations for his recovery were unrealistic.  

[BlackPidgeot]

Deciding that was probably the end of it, Yuri returned his sword to its scabbard, and blinked once at Luke's words.

"Well, it'll suck at first, but I'm sure you'll get back into it. Just don't push yourself too hard. Don't want you passing out on me again."

Yeah, carrying Luke's dead weight around was really not that fun. But really, he was kinda worried about the guy.  

[Suudonym]

He laughed apologetically, raising a hand to run through his hair, "Yeah, that's not really on my to-do list. Could have done without even the one time." Retrospectively he was sort of surprised that that had been the only time, though he had certainly felt like passing out frequently enough before receiving his first prescriptions. "I'll be all right though, I guess. Sooner or later." There had to be an improvement eventually; indeed, he was certainly feeling much better than he had in the days preceding his first diagnosis. It just felt so burdensome to have every aspect of his life wrapped up in medical terms and recommendations.  

[BlackPidgeot]

Yuri smiled ever so faintly at Luke's laughter, it was almost hollow really. Something was definitely wrong here. It didn't look as though things had really improved much since he last talked to Luke. Still, he just pretended to be ignorant, at least for now, for the kid's sake.

Now that they were done sparring though, he put a hand on his hip. "Man, I could use something to eat. Wanna tag along?"

Repede's ears perked up at this, and he woofed his agreement.  

[Suudonym]

The first response that came to mind, often uttered in his thoughts around standard meal times, was an apathetic 'no thanks, I'm not hungry,' but he dismissed the words before they achieved his voice. Even Luke understood that it was unwise to neglect eating habits, and so he instead nodded and voiced a compliant "sure."