Post by Aegle Verdant on Aug 3, 2019 18:18:15 GMT -5
"This'll work." Aegle announced as she lead the way into one of Haven Academy's many, many training cells. In Atlas, the trainees made do with four gunmetal gray walls and a floor padded in ballistic shielding, meant more to take punishment than soften any landings. Her brother had once described the rooms to her, and explained that their purpose was contain the students fighting in them, more than actually facilitated the exercise itself. They were fully equipped to handle life ordinance and the most destructive semblances, and trainees were thus encouraged to go all out when they sparred with one another. Like all things Atlesian, they served that one function very well, and it had been quite a surprise when Aaron had managed to break through one cell and into the next, armed only with a sword. Mistral did things a bit differently though. In place of reinforced concrete, the walls were made of lacquered panels, with bolts of heavy cloth slung between them, hatched in fine wooden strips. The roof had exposed rafters and archings which would almost be in reach of some of the taller students. The floor, rather than being built from some impact resistant padding, was constructed of woven reed mats which had a bit of spring to them, answering each footstep with a peppy little bounce.
This was not a room for going all out in, Aegle thought, but a room for contemplative and considered practice; A dojo, not an arena. That suited her just fine. She didn't have a destructive semblance, or any semblance really, and the heaviest ordinance she carried were the lightning dust cells which powered her brace. Carmin's semblance was a different story, of course, -Aegle had seen just how destructive it could be- but she would not be using it today, and Storyteller would not be making an appearance. It would be fist and feet for both of them, and one didn't need much more than a clear patch of earth to practice with those. They might just as easily have found a clear space out on the quad.
Except, out on the quad, there might have been spectators; Aegle would not have drawn a crowd, but Carmin's star was waxing bright, and that meant more chance of onlookers. Aegle's agreement to this had been reluctant enough, without the need to embarrass herself in front of a crowd of strangers...
With a thud, Aegle heaved her heavy duffel bag into one corner of the dojo, then rolled out the tension in her shoulder and neck. Each movement whined and whirred, though not so loud as to drown out the myriad pops and clicks that came from the small girl's joints. Aegle winced slightly, as one especially nasty twinge jumped all the way from the base of her head to her left hip. She wondered what had caused it, then remembered her most recent checkup with the Doc.
'Ah, right, the body slam.' she thought, grinning despite herself.
"What d'ya reckon?" Aegle asked, turning to face her roommate, that grin still hanging off her paled, hooded face. She was dressed in her hoodie and track pants, having recently gotten changed out of the boy's uniform she wore to class. The hoodie had a small slash across the stomach, and a suspicious brown stain still clung to one edge of the cut; She'd worn it to the escort class, and even washing it hadn't totally erased the mark left by Eva's crossbow. She tucked a hand down the back of her hoodie as she eyed her friend, and found the dial just behind her shoulder. With a minute twist, the weight of the world settled down upon her. Aegle bounced on the balls of her feet, testing her new-made heaviness, then threw a quick one-two combo to test the weight of her fists.
Satisfied, she let her head hang, lopsided, and watched Carmin get ready.
She should have been eager, excited even; When Carmin had asked her if she wanted to spar, it should have delighted Aegle. Yet then, as now, the crooked girl found nothing but disquiet in the prospect of fighting her roommate. Boxing was the one thing which Aegle, arguably, was good at, and that was a statement that required some serious caveats. She could throw a punch, could parry and dodge, and could even get hit where necessary, but she wasn't anything like the fighter Carmin was. Carmin, who'd faced down bandits, who'd come back from the Argus mission with near as much glitter as Ruqa. Carmin, who even Colton recognized as a threat. It had seemed absurd, and maybe even obscene, that Carmin should want to spar with someone so low on the totem pole as herself. Yet, how could Aegle refuse? Carmin was her roommate, not to mention the nearest thing to a friend she had. She couldn't have said no, not without also explaining why. So here they were, and Aegle found her misgivings had only grown since agreeing to it.
"How d'ya wanna do this?" She asked, just for something to say, something to ease the tension which had pulled her nerves taut as bowstrings, "Keep goin' till one of us runs out of Aura?"
words - 873
This was not a room for going all out in, Aegle thought, but a room for contemplative and considered practice; A dojo, not an arena. That suited her just fine. She didn't have a destructive semblance, or any semblance really, and the heaviest ordinance she carried were the lightning dust cells which powered her brace. Carmin's semblance was a different story, of course, -Aegle had seen just how destructive it could be- but she would not be using it today, and Storyteller would not be making an appearance. It would be fist and feet for both of them, and one didn't need much more than a clear patch of earth to practice with those. They might just as easily have found a clear space out on the quad.
Except, out on the quad, there might have been spectators; Aegle would not have drawn a crowd, but Carmin's star was waxing bright, and that meant more chance of onlookers. Aegle's agreement to this had been reluctant enough, without the need to embarrass herself in front of a crowd of strangers...
With a thud, Aegle heaved her heavy duffel bag into one corner of the dojo, then rolled out the tension in her shoulder and neck. Each movement whined and whirred, though not so loud as to drown out the myriad pops and clicks that came from the small girl's joints. Aegle winced slightly, as one especially nasty twinge jumped all the way from the base of her head to her left hip. She wondered what had caused it, then remembered her most recent checkup with the Doc.
'Ah, right, the body slam.' she thought, grinning despite herself.
"What d'ya reckon?" Aegle asked, turning to face her roommate, that grin still hanging off her paled, hooded face. She was dressed in her hoodie and track pants, having recently gotten changed out of the boy's uniform she wore to class. The hoodie had a small slash across the stomach, and a suspicious brown stain still clung to one edge of the cut; She'd worn it to the escort class, and even washing it hadn't totally erased the mark left by Eva's crossbow. She tucked a hand down the back of her hoodie as she eyed her friend, and found the dial just behind her shoulder. With a minute twist, the weight of the world settled down upon her. Aegle bounced on the balls of her feet, testing her new-made heaviness, then threw a quick one-two combo to test the weight of her fists.
Satisfied, she let her head hang, lopsided, and watched Carmin get ready.
She should have been eager, excited even; When Carmin had asked her if she wanted to spar, it should have delighted Aegle. Yet then, as now, the crooked girl found nothing but disquiet in the prospect of fighting her roommate. Boxing was the one thing which Aegle, arguably, was good at, and that was a statement that required some serious caveats. She could throw a punch, could parry and dodge, and could even get hit where necessary, but she wasn't anything like the fighter Carmin was. Carmin, who'd faced down bandits, who'd come back from the Argus mission with near as much glitter as Ruqa. Carmin, who even Colton recognized as a threat. It had seemed absurd, and maybe even obscene, that Carmin should want to spar with someone so low on the totem pole as herself. Yet, how could Aegle refuse? Carmin was her roommate, not to mention the nearest thing to a friend she had. She couldn't have said no, not without also explaining why. So here they were, and Aegle found her misgivings had only grown since agreeing to it.
"How d'ya wanna do this?" She asked, just for something to say, something to ease the tension which had pulled her nerves taut as bowstrings, "Keep goin' till one of us runs out of Aura?"
words - 873