Eating the Miles

It was a sunny afternoon in the late spring when Orion found his way along a running route through Sacramento proper that would lead him past the major landmarks of the city. The Capitol was off in the distance as he went, runners beating a quick pace on the warm pavement as the gargoyle took in the streets that he would need to know.

His breathing was heavy, and sweat beaded on his brow as he went; his grey athletics shirt wicking away the moisture. In his hand was a Nalgene bottle full of water. The ice cubes had melted away. A black fanny pack completed the outfit, containing his burner and a little something extra if anything nasty decided that hitting him on the busy city streets was the way to go.

The Ogre was a big man. Topping six foot six and topping the scales at nearly two hundred and fifty pounds, he was rock-solid and athletic even in his slowly advancing years. Grey was salting the pepper of his Mask, yet here he was, hitting the pavement, as was his routine.

Saturdays, Tuesdays and Thursdays were cardio and upper body.

Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays? Leg day.

No deviations, except in emergencies. No excuses. It was in discipline and routine that the Iron Spear grew sharper as soldiers ground away imperfection and weakness through steady practice and exertion. Puffing and breathing deeply as he went, the gargoyle kept up his steady, hard rhythm.

Equipment in Minisheet.

The sunny afternoon would soon make way for the early evening, around the same time her shift started. Sure, she'd not long joined the ER in Sacramento but Simone had already grown accustomed to it. Not much difference between here and Oakland, she thought as she wandered away from her modest apartment and heading for the bus stop. Her backpack was slung over her shoulder, scrubs hidden under a white hoody, hair tied up in a dirty bun on her head.

Somewhere, there were insects buzzing. The moon waited to be revealed. A hush of anticipation.

Absent-mindedly, Simone was almost knocked off her feet by the running stone monstrosity.

"Fuck!" she cursed aloud as she was floored by Orion and hit the pavement hard. Gazing up at the Ogre, she caught her breath, suddenly wishing her rifle wasn't left in her apartment.

The big man struck the smaller Darkling, putting her to the pavement. He tripped, too, pitching forward as though he was going to fall on his rocky face. Throwing out a hand forward and down, he pitched himself into a shoulder roll and came up onto his feet, snapping around. "Oh, shit, are you okay?" he asked, concern in his voice as he approached to help --

-- the Lost before her.

Eyes narrowed. His head cocked to the side, as the memory banks worked and Orion processed if he was dealing with a friend or a foe. It clicked pretty quick. The new girl, from the Spring party.

"I remember you."

A thick, stony hand reached out, offering assistance to her feet.

"Simone, right? Everything in one piece?"

She was Summer. Surely, she'd taken harder hits in training, but it was polite to ask.

no biffin it

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2019-05-17 23:19:39		Orion rolls 4 to Recover! (Dex + Ath + Mantle Bonus - 3) (10 Again)		7, 7, 3, 9		1 success

Simone braced herself as time seemed to slow down, the sudden release of adrenaline making her think less and react quicker, watched as the stone man managed avoid crushing her by deftly rolling, taking the impact out of his tumble. It looked very cinematic. She only hoped he hadn't sprained anything.

"I'm fine, fine, thanks," Simone replied, accepting the huge stony hand and getting to her feet. Her back pack was still on the pavement but she left it for the moment, focusing on Orion, remembering his name.

"Yeah, well remembered," the Darkling replied, brushing down her legs, legs that were a hell of a lot thinner than the Ogre's. Bastard must deadlift cars.

"Sorry," she added, dark eyes flickering away from his legs and back up to his focused, red eyes, the sunlight dulling the moonlight that cracked her flesh. "Wasn't paying much attention. You're....Orion, right?" Simone asked as she could already feel the tenderness where she landed, the beginning of a bruise forming somewhere on her ass.

Orion wanted to say something conciliatory about how, no, no, it was his fault, but really, he was there to be seen. That didn't matter, though; a tumble turned fortuitous, giving them a chance to... well, literally run into each other. The gargoyle's burning red eyes flicked over her in concern, but she didn't look hurt. "Yes, that's right," he said with a nod. "It's all good. A little spontaneous tumbling practice never hurt anybody."

"You have somewhere to be or shall we walk it off? There's coffee somewhere, I'm sure."

It was tough to have the usual Lost conversations on a city street without drawing attention. The Ogre gestured in the general direction of the way he was heading on his run with his head even as he twisted the cap off his Nalgene. The bottle found his lips and a prodigious amount of water disappeared down the hatch; a third of the bottle in a couple of gulps, and it didn't even seem like that much for him. The way Stone worked? You could eat your way through injuries. A Nalgene was nothing.

The cracks in her face seemed to move, the dulled light shifting in response to Orion's joke. At least, Simone thought it was a joke. She didn't really understand humour much anymore, not unless it smacked her in the face.

A headache was just starting to threaten Simone's mind.

The thought of coffee did appeal to the Darkling. She looked at the cheap watch on her wrist. "I was actually heading to work but...coffee sounds good, perfect in fact. I'm always early anyway."

A pause as she watched him drain his water like the earth absorbing the rain after the dry season. Simone cocked her head as a couple of questions formed.

"How far do you usually run? Don't your knees ache?"

The mountain's lips flicked up in a smile, too; apparently, he thought he was being funny, too. When she said she was good for a coffee, he gestured in the general direction that he'd been running. There was never a Starbucks far away, or a McDonalds, or some hipster coffee shop in most towns these days. "All right, then. Let's find some coffee. What do you do for work?" Orion's 'work' was really very simple, doing day labor or under-the-table fitness training. Tough to do more without a decent identity, and his had burned with the Freehold at Mesa when the privateers had blown them and tried to come for them.

"Five miles, at least," the gargoyle replied with a casual shrug. "At least, on cardio days. The aching ain't bad. Usually, it's worse on leg day. Keeps me sharp, though, and justifies pizza later." To be fair, the pizzas were usually burned to heal the very aches that his vicious workouts tended to cause. Ogres had ridiculous appetites.

He glanced at the Darkling, curiosity on his face. "You're welcome to come sometime, if you want? I figured I'd invite all of our club out at some point soon here, see what everyone likes to do."

"Mercy General," Simone replied openly as they began to walk in the direction Orion gestured, "ED. I prefer night shifts," she quickly added before cursing and hurrying back to collect her backpack that was still laying untouched on the pavement. "Sorry," she said as she rejoined the Ogre, pack over her shoulder once again. Sometimes her mind really didn't focus like it needed to. Not on trivial matters anyway.

"Five miles? Regularly?" Yes, she was Summer but running wasn't her bag. Still, maybe it should be. "I might have to take you up on that. Five miles though, that could be a little ambitious for me."

"Oh, excellent. Doctor? Nurse? Administrator?" he asked, glancing back as she suddenly went to get her pack. A knowing smile crossed his stone-wrought face. He brought the Nalgene to his lips and, somewhat akin to a vacuum sucking up a pile of dirt, the rest of the water vanished, followed only by a satisfied sigh. He did glance balefully at the bottle, like it wasn't enough, but whatever. Starbucks had a tap. He'd get his eight cups no problem today.

"Regularly -- but if you want in, we can work up a program. Everyone has to start somewhere. It isn't easy for me, either, but I cannot say that I have ever regretted the decision to hit the pavement as I do, given our... club's line of work."

The double-speak did not come naturally to him, but he had been around long enough to know the lingo. Companies. Clubs. Whatever. Don't scare the mundies.

"I suspect I will invite our entire group at some point for sport, once we're all good and established. What do you do for fun, Simone?"

"Nurse," Simone confirmed as she continued walking alongside Orion, hands delving into the pockets of her hoody. "The kind that patches up people. Although, some of the best nights are just spent listening to patients. I find that for some it's all they need, especially..." Her voice trailed off for a couple of seconds, lost in thought. "Well, you know, those people who's injuries aren't exactly physical. Stress, anxiety, depression. The world can be a tough place. If I can help, just a little bit, then I means I can sleep more soundly."

Not that she slept much. It was always welcoming when she did.

"I'll think about it, yeah." Running. Like a cheetah giving chase. Simone's head hung slightly, the memory too painful.

"Fun? Well, I release me stress at the range, practising. Rifles, mainly. Got myself a little Cooper model fifty-seven, shoots point two-two's. Not much stopping power but it's all I could afford. Keeps my eye in."