Gym talks

**Teeramus** · Feb 16th, 2015 01:38 AM

Chuck was wearing work out clothing, the stretchy fabic of the shirt showing off his barely adequate frame. He wasn't thin, nor was he overweight, but muscly wouldn't be a good description either. Yet he seemed to move freely as he pummeled the boxing bag with all his might, clearly following a simple routine.

The hotel gym was empty at eleven pm and though there was an entrance accessible from the street, Chuck would have to buzz Allison in when she arrived. He kept an eye on the window so he would see her approach.

Feb 16th, 2015 01:58 AM

Allison makes her way down the street in her usual getup, black leather jacket over black compression clothes. She eyes the inside of the gym as she passes by the window, wondering for the hundredth time why Chuck had insisted on meeting here, rather than at her gym, where she has a key and there's no windows to the street. She raps her knuckles on the window as she passes, ensuring she gets Chuck's attention as she approaches the door.

Once she gets buzzed in, she makes her way in, taking off the jacket and leaving it in a pile near the punching bag along with her sap gloves. Giving Chuck a sarcastic smile, she steps up to the punching bag and lays a series of solid punches into it, "So what's up?"

**Teeramus** · Feb 16th, 2015 06:51 AM

Chuck watched Allison's blows with interest. He knew his technique and yet she made it seem effortless to put more power and accuracy behind each punch.

He looked at her with tired eyes. "Well not my hand to hand ability." he said with an amused smile. "I need your help with that." he added more seriously. I was nice to be able to relax and admit needing assistance with something without having to worry about Aryana breathing down his neck about it.

"You struck Aryana four times before she could even swing back. Then when she did it was a wild one and you took her down with your next two strikes." Chuck said recalling the duel. "It was very impressive and I need you to train me. I was thinking, first to be able to defend myself against such a fierce attack and then also to begin to understand how to move that quickly myself, but I'll defer to your judgement if you think I should focus differently." he said looking at her and blinking a few times. "I expect I'll be a long term project and if you want payment for your time that won't be a problem." Just because he was her Alpha didn't mean he was going to disrespect her time, something he seemed short of at the moment.

Feb 16th, 2015 04:12 PM

Allison smiles and reaches out a hand to steady the bag. She gives Chuck a piercing look, complete with raised eyebrow, "Come by my gym and I'll help you out. But that's not why you asked to meet. What's really up?" Ever since she had met Chuck, he'd been in full Alpha mode. Every word was measured, every movement carefully prepared. She actually has no idea who he is, really. Hopefully, she can open up a crack in his shell, get a peek at what's inside.

**Teeramus** · Feb 16th, 2015 05:00 PM

"You have a gym?" Chuck replied, half a question, half confirming what she said. Had she mentioned that and he'd missed it? It wasn't like him to forget something like that. A section of his brain started ticking through the reliability of gym franchise stock. Would it be worth the investment financially? Having a place to train would be useful for certain. The pack could use it too of course, even other Uratha if they were rspectful. If it had a basement you could turn it into a shooting range of sorts. Wait are you investing in the franchise or buying your own building?

He blinked again and wondered how long he'd been staring off into space. He relaxed and let his shoulders sag, realising how tense he still was.

"Yes that is half the reason. But the dual purpose is to get to know you. We are leading a young pack amongst older, far more experienced groups that have spent the last two years fighting for their lives. If we are to survive we need to be able to trust each other's decisions especially in the field and that means getting to know each other. For example if we have to split the pack for whatever reason we should be able to predict what decisions each other will make for each half we lead." He paused. "If we were business partners I would simply trust your professionalism, but... This is a much different relationship." he finished, realising he was becoming tense again.

Feb 16th, 2015 06:43 PM

"I work at a gym. A boxing gym, actually. I'm an instructor and personal trainer. I'll get you my card, you can make an appointment with me."

She shifts her head towards the bag, indicating for him to take over again while she steadies it. A reflex, a habit. As is what she says next, "Keep your hands up." Allison snorts and shakes her head as she says it, realizing her slip. "I don't hide much. What you see really is what you get. I grew up on the streets, in an out of foster care. Never knew my parents. Got into plenty of fights, lots of trouble. It's where I learned to fight. When I was fourteen, I got taken in by an old German man, he ran a local boxing gym. He taught me how to box, cleaned up my style. What you saw at the duel, he taught me that. 'Blitzkrieg beatdown,' he called it. Of course, Mother Luna gave me the ability to use that extra speed burst. Part of being a Rahu, but anyways." Her face grows dark, "I almost killed him when I first turned. Tore his leg off, blinded him in one eye. If not for the Talons that dragged me out of there, I would have finished him off. He took me under his wing, protected me and taught me, and I nearly killed him. I went back to see him after I'd been initiated. He didn't blame me. I mean, I guess lunacy kicked in, and he didn't realize I'd been the one who attacked him. He'd thought a wild animal got in and attacked us both." She shakes her head, "I couldn't let that happen again. I've never had a proper pack of my own. I've joined up with a few, in different cities, but always on temporary basis. Always when they needed some extra muscle or protection. All I want is to ensure that my allies are safe..."

She trails off, the weight of exposing all of that coming crashing down on her shoulders. She cracks an empty grin and tries to chuckle, "Sorry. That was a little heavy, I know."

**Teeramus** · Feb 17th, 2015 01:31 AM

Chuck listened to Allison without much expression until she mentioned almost killing her mentor. He screwed up his face in sympathy or perhaps revulsion which faded to concern as she finished her story. He turned to faced the bag and raised his hands like he'd been shown, obviously following a technique. Just as obvious was that he still wasn't comfortable with it.

He took a few mighty swings at the bag without much effect then stopped and suddenly dropped his arms. Turning back to Allison quickly he looked at her with a desperate intensity. "Do you feel guilty? For what you do when you're not you." he asked with wide eyes. "I do sometimes. But everyone has to die eventually. It's inevitable. Death and taxes. Life and death. Supply and demand. If you don't have both it doesn't work. Does it?" his eyes searched her face for answers.

Finding none again, his expression relaxed a little. "I killed my parents." his voice came softly and quickly. "Simon knows, it's not a secret." he added quickly. "Do you ever think about how you want to die? I want to go quickly, without knowing. Just bam, that's it. So what do you think? Can you turn me into a street brawler?" he asked with a smile.

1 suxx each on two swings

Feb 17th, 2015 12:14 PM

Allison shakes her head,"I've never succumbed to Kuruth. That was the only time I ever lost control of myself. And yeah, I felt guilty as fuck about it. I went to the hospital to apologize, and he was so relieved to see me alive and well...just made me feel worse. Keep your hands up."

She steps around the bag, taking Chucks hands and walking him through the motions of keeping his guard up while punching, "You're getting some good power there, but you're leaving yourself WIDE open for counterattack. Try again."

She withdraws into her own mind for a second, mulling his words over, "Just because it's inevitable doesn't mean is has to be easy. Becoming callous about death is a sign that you're turning into a monster. We mourn the loss of our family, celebrate the lives they led. We respect the enemies we put down, and we weigh each life before we take it. Or we're supposed to." She sighs, "If I had my choice, and I don't, I'd want to go down in battle. Preferably in order to ensure that someone I love doesn't. I'd love to think I can go out peacefully after a long and happy life, but even I'm not THAT optimistic."

She laughs involuntarily at his final question, not even bothering to check herself, "You'll need to put on some more muscle if you want to do any real damage, but I can teach you how to survive in a straight up fight. Let's focus on that, for now. Small steps. Again." She takes her place behind the bag again, watching his form.

**Teeramus** · Feb 17th, 2015 03:08 PM

Chuck nodded at her admission of guilty. It was comforting to know someone understood.

"I wish I could see them again. They were assholes, but they loved me. Do you think I'm callous? I thought I was just realistic." he mused. "I wish. I wish I had the chance to weigh each life in the balance. I guess I'm still paying off that debt." he said looking at his hands.

"In battle. Yeah. That would be good." he said giving Allison a smile. "And bags can't hit back, but I'll go again."

Refocusing, he raised his guard again and took another three swings at the bag with varying results. Then turned back to Allison a little more composed.

"So my father was an investor, accountant and all round businessman. He taught me what he knew and pressured me to go to college and study business as well. Which has done me well, except that my studies were interrupted by Luna. I changed on the flight home from a holiday down in Mexico. I'm still coming to grips with her timing." He shook his head. "I knew Simon from college and once we each found out that we were part of the people we grew closer, we both had a knack for studying spirits it seemed."

More muscle huh? Yeah he knew that, it was just a matter of finding the time to exercise.

2,0,1 on three strikes

Feb 18th, 2015 05:24 PM

"If you practice it like you won't get hit back, then you'll lose it when you actually DO get hit. Good. Not so good. Ok. Hmmm." Watching him move, she can see the potential for a proper scrapper. Or, at least someone who can avoid getting hit long enough to survive. Easier with a Wolf's regeneration.

"You're not callous, but you're trying to be. Death bothers you, or at least killing does. And that's good. Means you're not lost, yet. Were your parents on the plane with you? Or was that...later? And how did that even happen? I never heard about a plane full of people getting torn apart by a wild animal..."

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2015-02-17 01:10:41	Chuck rolls 4 to Str+Brw+AoA (the rest) (10 Again)	3, 4, 2, 10, 2	1 success
2015-02-17 01:10:06	Chuck rolls 1 to Str+Brw+AoA (10 Again)	5	failure
2015-02-17 01:09:42	Chuck rolls 5 to Str+Brw+AoA (10 Again)	6, 6, 7, 10, 4, 2	1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2015-02-17 14:58:11	Chuck rolls 3 to Str+Brw (10 Again)	9, 3, 6	1 success
2015-02-17 14:58:02	Chuck rolls 3 to Str+Brw (10 Again)	3, 6, 5	failure
2015-02-17 14:57:52	Chuck rolls 3 to Str+Brw (10 Again)	8, 8, 7	2 successes

Gym talks

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