Natural Strength [Action/Open]

[gunbladegrrl]

[Maria hadn't done quite as well during the Tears Point mission as she might have liked. Aside from grossly underestimating the volume of monsters in a Lunar Cry, and getting turned into a dragon -- both of those completely understandable problems -- she hadn't turned in the combat performance she expected of herself. After some thinking and reflection, she'd concluded that a year of classes meant she'd neglected basic physical training for skill acquisition.]

[Time to change that.]

[So early mornings find her jogging around the outside of Garden, working up a sweat. Later mornings are her time for strength and endurance training, meaning she can be found lifting weights in volumes that would be weird anywhere but here in Garden. And afternoons are agility training, in the only real way she can think of -- going into the Training Center without weapons, and coming out with as few injuries as possible.]

[Care to talk to her at any point during this?]

Comments

[om_nom_namur]

[Namur's inside the Traning Center as well. Only the area of the training center he'd really like to use, he hasn't got the right piece of paper to get into. Which is why he's pestering everyone who comes in.]

Hey, you a full on SeeD?

[gunbladegrrl]

What, don't I look like one?

[She flashes an ironic smile, perfectly aware that she looks every bit a sweaty teenager, the same as she did when she was a cadet.]

[om_nom_namur]

I dunno. Half pint metal kid don't look like much a nothin' an' he is.

Now listen, I'm jus' short a piece a damn paper an' the rest a my crew's out on a mission. Usually I'm beatin' the shit outta Rexaurs this time a day, but they ain't lettin' me in 'less I got a full on SeeD with me. What d' y' say? I ain't great at the magic shit yet but I don't need it t' take out one a them fakeass seakings with feet.

[He gives her a hopeful look.]

[gunbladegrrl]

[Maria quickly puts a hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle -- because she remembers perfectly well the times she ran like hell from T-Rexaurs back in her cadet days. He must not be good at all with paramagic and Junctioning...]

If you want in, that's fine, but I need to go back to my dorm first. I'm not poking any T-Rexaurs without my weapons.

[om_nom_namur]

[Having to use the device's interface for magic seriously cramps his style, but he is trying to learn. He smiles and leans back against the wall kind of sideways.]

Ain't gonna hear no complainin' from me. Go get whatever y' need t' get, babe. An' thanks.

[gunbladegrrl]

[He was lucky he wasn't around for that whole 'go to the Island and get beaten up' thing back at the beginning of the year...]

[Maria smiles as she turns back to head through the lobby to the dorms. She's back just a couple of minutes later, this time with two gunblades slung over her back.]

Okay, now I'm ready.

[And down the hallway she strolls, stretching her arms above her head to limber then up as she does.]

[om_nom_namur]

[Namur raises an eyebrow at the gunblades- he hasn't had the opportunity to see any up close before, and falls in behind her at an easy gait. He's already done a warmup round of Whack-a-Grat, which means he has plenty of time to focus on his escort. He wasn't kidding when he called her a babe. But her blades tell a story too. One he can't read quite as well as some of his brothers could, but he's seen enough whetted swords to realize she ain't gonna mess around.]

Jus' so I know what t' expect when we get in there, are y' the "let's fight this little shit together" type or the "now run along an' have fun" type?

[gunbladegrrl]

I'd like to see what you can do. Both out of personal curiosity, and making sure that I'm not letting someone loose in there I shouldn't. Not that you look like you can't handle yourself, but it'd be irresponsible of me not to make sure.

[windbreak]

[Mid-morning, just outside the entrance of Garden, a lone magazine flutters serenely into Maria's path.

It's followed, somewhat less serenely, by a flustered-looking young man sprinting after it with a small shopping bag in tow. He clearly isn't watching where he's going, and the bright red headphones over his ears suggest that he isn't paying much attention to anything else either.]

Dammit, come back...!

[gunbladegrrl]

[Reflexively, Maria brings herself up short as she plants a foot on the magazine to keep it from blowing further away. She cocks an eyebrow at the onrushing guy curiously.]

[windbreak]

[Wow, his hero! ...Heroine? Heroine, right? He gives her a relieved smile as he runs up to her.] Hey, tha-

[Of course, the second it takes for Maria's presence to properly register with Yosuke is a second he fails to realise he should be screeching to a halt right about now, so he doesn't quite manage it in time. It might have been Maria's foot, the magazine itself or just a rock he overlooked - it makes very little difference to Yosuke's face as it buries itself in the concrete.]

Ugh...

[His shopping bag lands beside him, and although it's too heavy for this kind of breeze to dislodge anything besides a couple of forlorn-looking receipts from it, it seems to want to get into the spirit of things.]

[gunbladegrrl]

[She quickly stomps one receipt and snatches the other, flustered herself just because of the serious what-just-happened turn of events.]

...are you okay?

[windbreak]

W-Well...

[He seems to be too busy clutching his head as he picks himself up to give her a proper answer right away, but that probably means he's fine.

Now that he's more or less upright, the translator he's wearing underneath his headphones might be a bit easier to see. It's certainly easier for him to see exactly where his things went. Panic starts to set in all over again.]

Yeah... Yeah, I'm okay. [He coughs.] Uh, I don't suppose you could give me those back...? [Without looking at them, if she would be so kind.]

[gunbladegrrl]

What, do I look like I'm going to keep them?

[Grinning, she offers them back... but not without a glance at them. Just too much temptation not to.]

[windbreak]

[As could be predicted from the size of his shopping bag, there's not too much to look at. One of them, unremarkably enough, is for a couple of shirts from a clothing store. The other is mostly bits and pieces of stationery plus a couple of snacks, and is almost unremarkable. The title of the last item on the list, though... well, there are one or two remarks that could be made about it...

But Yosuke isn't about to be the one to make them, and nor is he really looking at Maria to check that she isn't prying, although he does swipe the receipts before ducking down again to scrabble for his magazine.]

Hey, it's always the ones you least expect! [His grin is appropriately self-deprecating.] But seriously, thanks. Geez, it's lucky I ran into someone else out here.

[gunbladegrrl]

Are you bringing those all the way back from town?

[That's a little impressive at this time of day; the trip isn't exactly a casual one that's effortless to make, even if Maria wouldn't call it difficult or burdensome.]

[curiouseyes]

[Kory is out for a walk in the morning enjoying the warmth of the sun on her skin. She was dressed as though she should be working out, but she wasn't. At least the moment. As she walked, she spotted Maria coming her way jogging. She waved]

Hello.

[gunbladegrrl]

Hey!

[She's breathing deeply, but not out of breath; she has enough for a greeting. Maria slows her pace down as she approaches, adding a wave.]

Taking it easy this morning?

[curiouseyes]

[Kory waits for her to get closer, intending on starting to jog alongside her]

A bit. I have been exercising a lot recently.

[But when most of the equipment was easy for her, there was only so much she could do]

[gunbladegrrl]

[She's welcome to join up!]

I clearly haven't been, so time to catch up. I'm gonna get outshone at this rate!

[curiouseyes]

[When Maria reaches her, she starts jogging with her]

You can do it. It just takes some practice. Oh, we could train together!

[gunbladegrrl]

I'm always up for more training partners. It's just better that way. Though I'm not sure our combat styles allow for compatible sparring...

[After all, gunblade combat didn't have a ton of options for intercepting a midair, long-range opponent.]

[curiouseyes]

Well, I'm actually studying blunt weapons here and I have started classes in bladed weapons. The rest is normal abilities I have.

[She didn't really think there was a way for her to study that when it came naturally to her]

[lightspears]

Whoa!

[And have a Zelos, stepping back just in time to avoid a crash. How was he supposed to know Maria was jogging right around that corner?]

Speedy thing, huh...?

Hey! Wait a minute!

[gunbladegrrl]

Oh -- sorry!

[She brakes to a technical halt, turning round to face him as she jogs lightly in place.]

You okay?