Pogo decided not to press any further. He instead bent down and picked up another staff, holding it out for Ender to take if he wished.
"Well… if you'd like, I could show you some basics," he offered. "It's not hard, and I know a couple tricks that require two people."
He averted his gaze, a hint of red coloring his face. "O-Only if you want to, though."
Ender took it hesitantly. He was eager to do it, but couldn't shake the small bit of unease that fire still gave him. He trusted Pogo, though, and convinced himself that it'd be alright.
He noticed himself staring at Pogo, and quickly looked away.
How do i keep getting so distracted? He's just… being him?
(beep beep-)
(did you deceased)
(HEY I AM. SO SORRY HOLY COW. i've been trapped in a loop of doctor visits and its been hell and i havent had time for the computer but im BACK and i will respond more regularly now im so sorry)
Pogo smiled at him. "I guess I'll start with spinning the staff. It's not super hard, it's just all about where you put your hands and when."
He held his staff out in front of him. "You hold it out with your hand like this, then you just…"
He twisted his hand and grabbed the staff with his other hand, repeating the motion until he had a steady rhythm going, the staff circling easily in the air.
"You try, then we'll light it up and see how you fare."
Ender took the staff, trying to twirl it like he did. He was doing pretty well… until he dropped it.
“…..damnit…..I’m not good at this………”
Pogo picked the staff back up, handing it to Ender with a smile.
"Hey, it takes practice, is all," he replied. "Try again."
He picked up the staff again, starting to twirl it again. He managed to do it for longer, dropping it after about 15 seconds. Ender was proud of himself for a moment, but the feeling faded quickly.
"You're getting better," Pogo encouraged gently. "It's not gonna be perfect the first or second time, y'know. Lemme tell ya, when I first picked up firedancing, I hit myself with the stick more times than I can count."
He picked up the staff and handed it back to Ender. "You haven't hit yourself yet, so you're doing better than I did. Try one more time."
He tried again, and dropped it after the same amount of time. He sighed.
Pogo's smile didn't falter. "Well, it'll take more than a couple tries to get the hang of it. Let's start here…"
He set the sticks aside. "You good at any tricks? Any neat little abilities you have?"
He shrugged. "I dunno…. the black goop that i cry out and bleed is really flammable though, and apparently if i get angry enough i can set it on fire….. learned that a couple years back…."
Pogo brightened up. "You? Set stuff on fire?"
Despite having set his stick down mere minutes ago, he picked it back up and held it eagerly.
"Just the goop? Have you learned to do anything neat with it? Y'think you've got any kind of pyromancy?"
Ender shrugged, not knowing which question to answer first.
“Like I said, it’s only ever happened when I’m really, really angry, and only things with the goop on them caught on fire at first, like gasoline…..”
Pogo tapped a finger to his chin thoughtfully.
"Well, it's still a nifty trick to have. I guess it's a pretty cool defense mechanism."
Kapnos shuddered. Must be nice when you know you'll never be on the receiving end of that defense mechanism.
Pogo tossed his stick into the air and caught it again as it fell. "Well, so much for my idea. But that's fine. I've still gotta practice, so you can watch or do your own thing for a bit, I don't mind."