[FIN] Up to Serve

[Suudonym]

If it were possible to look any brighter, this was the moment in which Shoyo accomplished that feat. "Yeah!" he exclaimed, springing up in his excitement. "Close, but yeah! Ah--" He lowered himself into the posture again, emphasizing the placement of his hands - the fingers of one hand tucked in and those of the other folded around them. "It feels more natural with your hands like this, though." He unfolded his hands and pointed to a spot on his forearm, "This spot gives you the most control hitting it back up, but as long as it stays in play, it doesn't really matter how you hit it!" Said the boy whose best receives were the ones he performed with his face. It wasn't exactly accurate advice, or even all that good advice at all, but it was what he had decided in his experience.

He responded to the compliment with a sheepish laugh, his hand on the back of his neck again, his eyes on the ground, and his features bashfully red. "I wouldn't mind being about a foot taller," he said with a shrug and a smile, "but being short has it's advantages too! Like my opponents underestimating me." That sort of pissed him off, if he were being honest, but he never got tired of the feeling of forcing them to acknowledge him as a rightful denizen of the court.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

As he dropped down into the stance again, she took a moment to study him before fixing her own to more properly mimic his, positioning her hands as he indicated. "Like this?" She asked, sustaining the position and moving her arms as he'd previously moved his, while noting the position he indicated. That spot, hm... That was important to remember, certainly.

A smile crossed her face at his bashful reaction to her words, and she couldn't help a small giggle. "But then you'd be so tall! It sounds like it's good to be your height, though," she noted with a small nod, given he'd said it had advantages and even listed one. Such a topic made her wonder on her own short stature for a few moments before she decided to add with another nod, "I think I'm okay with my height."  

[Suudonym]

"Yeah!" he nodded. "And then when the ball is coming, you catch it on that spot and point your arms in the direction you want the ball to go, and bop!" He brought his hands together quickly so he could demonstrate that 'bop.' "It's really hard to get used to, though. I can pass okay, but I'm not very good at receiving serves and spikes." That sort of thing was hard to practice outside of at least a 3-on-3.

"Ah, well, it's okay," he replied with a shrug, the pull in the corner of his mouth suggesting that he wasn't completely satisfied with it. "It's good for a surprise attack at the beginning, but against someone taller than me who's just as good, it would be really tough to win. But!" He spread his arms. "Volleyball's not a game you play alone! It's tough, but with your teammates, you can overcome any wall! ...Well, as long as you have a team." His sunny disposition clouded; Shoyo didn't have a team. He had his classmates that he played with during phys. ed., but that was about it. No proper setter, no libero, no indomitable strategy.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Her disposition brightened at the knowledge her stance was correct, and she nodded enthusiastically before copying his gesture and also attempting to go 'bop.' "Oh.. That does sound kind of difficult," she admitted with a soft frown, remembering when he'd spiked the ball she tossed to him before - that had looked very fast and she wasn't sure how she could receive such a thing.

She nodded as he continued, frowning a little when his demeanor changed. "...do you have a team?" The girl asked somewhat hesitantly; surely he must, since he knew so much. Surely he played on a team with his friends?  

[Suudonym]

"Mmm." He frowned at the pavement. "I had one in middle school, kind of, for a little while - though two of them were friends from other clubs who were just standing in so I would have a full team. I can play with my classmates during the semester, but it's not really the same as having a team..."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"You don't have a team..?" And he looked so sad about it, and school was out for summer so he couldn't play with his classmates -- no wonder he looked so sad! It was almost too much for Nicolette to bear. Just thinking about it was starting to make her sad for him. Abruptly her hands rose as fists and a look of determination crossed her face, "Don't worry! Um - I'll play with you!" She finished just as suddenly as she'd started, though now she'd said it she was a little unsure about a number of things, the most prominent being if he even wanted her to play with him.  

[Suudonym]

He blinked in surprise at her sudden declaration, unsure of how to respond as a mess of words tumbled around in his head. "Buh-- But, isn't today the first day you even heard of volleyball?" he said, throwing out whichever phrases surfaced coherently first. "It's really intense you know! Lots of running and jumping and-- and you wanna play?" There was a certain degree of awe coloring his expression of shock, a hopefulness and excitement hidden in wide eyes and a slightly open mouth.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Um, yes?" She responded uncertainly, raising her hands to her cheeks with a mild frown. It was true that she'd only just learned about volleyball today, but... she did want to play - and he looked so sad not having a team... While it did sound intense, she was fairly - sort of - confident that she could at least try, if nothing else. "Yes, I think so."  

[Suudonym]

This super pretty girl, delicate and demure, wanted to run around and sweat and jump and fall and get all covered in bruises and-- Granted, if there was anyone in the world who knew not to judge people by their appearances, it was Shoyo. He banished his doubt, a broad, bright smile spreading across his face, "Awesome! It's a lot of fun; you won't regret it! Oh yeah - my name's Shoyo! I don't know if I'll be a very good teacher, but I'll do my best!"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Again his enthusiasm was infectious, and she found herself beaming with excitement. "It sounds like lots of fun! Oh!" Names - how could she have forgotten to introduce herself? That was quite careless of her to overlook such an important pleasantry. "Oh, my name is Nicolette. It's a pleasure to meet you, Shoyo! I'm sure you'll be a wonderful teacher, and I'm excited to learn," she said honestly, clasping her hands together with her expression bright and eager.  

[Suudonym]

"If all else fails, I'll track down a beginner's coach! There's bound to be an instructor somewhere in the city!" He pumped both hands into the air in enthusiastic determination. "I guess the best place to start for now would be watching videos of matches to get a better idea of what the game looks like in motion." He would have liked to show her himself - a live match gave a much better impression than a recording - but for that he would need at least eleven more people, and if he had eleven more people then he would already have an excellent team. "I'll look for a recording of the match that made me want to play volleyball! It was sooo cool; the ace spiker was little like me, but he was amazing!"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"A coach? You mean like an instructor?" That reminded her of when she got Epona - she knew the basics of riding on her own, but having an instructor taught her infinitely more than she would have taught herself. Having a volleyball instructor - coach - would probably help now, as well. "Oooh, I'd love to see it!" She exclaimed, eyes widening at the prospect of seeing an actual game of volleyball between two teams - and what seemed like a very special, particular game, at that. But that sounded like something she wouldn't be able to do until some time later, and she was rather eager to start sooner - say, nowish. "What were you practicing earlier? Do you think we could maybe practice something? Or would that be a bad idea, since I don't know how real games work yet?"  

[Suudonym]

"Yeah! There might be a teacher who knows how to play at a youth club or something!" Even a children's instructor would work, given that she was a total beginner. He responded to her enthusiasm with a solid nod, "Great! I'll find it; I saw it live on television, but I'm sure it's online somewhere! It was such a cool match!" But indeed, that was something he would have to pursue when he got home, and if she wanted to start now - which he couldn't blame her for, given how incredibly cool and awesome volleyball was - then that referred to something more physical. He placed a hand at his chin and hummed long and thoughtfully. "Earlier I was practicing moving with the ball. It's a super important reflex, but if you want to get started, you could try doing some receiving! I can give you some easy tosses, and you can try hitting it back to me!"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

She nodded in agreement to practically everything he said, giving an excited, "okay!" in response. Having a teacher would be so helpful, seeing the match that inspired him would be exciting, and trying to practice now would be wonderful. "I'd love to try receiving!" Nicolette exclaimed eagerly, clapping her hands a couple times in her excitement, before she realized that wasn't any position in which to receive, so with a small "oh" of realization, she attempted to replicate the stance from before, her hands clasped together as he'd shown her. "Should I stand like this?"  

[Suudonym]

He moved to the Lopunny, leaning to its level with his palms up to await for the return of the ball it had earlier taken possession of, though his attention was drawn back to Nicolette before he could properly voice the request. "Hmmm, since you're just practicing the basics, that's fine for now. When you're playing, you want to stand with your hands apart by like a foot, and you bring them together just before the ball reaches you - in case you need to move around to get to the right position."