theo. (escutcheon) wrote in emillion, @ 2013-11-09 16:38:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | !complete, !log, cressida karth, theodore finch |
Face to face out in the heat, hanging tough, staying hungry...
Who: Theodore Finch & Cressida Karth.
What: Training session chat.
Where: A guildhall training room.
When: Today.
Rating: PG.
Status: Complete!
Hair glued to her brow, threatening to tumble into her eyes. Extend your leg from the hip. Her balance shifted. The blade of the foot is more convenient in a pinch. Breathe in. She slammed her foot into the kicking bag, but it barely shifted, the impact muted by the sound of her panting. Again. Again. Divina’s voice echoed in her mind as she dropped her leg, pausing to regulate the air going in through her nose. Training was about breathing, too, as necessary as proper posture. But damn if it wasn’t setting her on fire, more than archery ever had. Those were different burns, different aches. Just as satisfactory, but somehow, this unmoving bag didn’t feel like much progress. Cressida backed up, adjusted her posture and (desperately) delivered a roundhouse kick into the offending bag. “Good hit,” Theo said, watching as the bag swayed back and forth from the force of the blow. Just passing through it seemed, as he had been in the middle of training himself, the knight stopped when he caught sight of the familiar face. While it had been said as a compliment, just from looking at the berserker, one could hardly tell that his approval had been given. His face was as sour as ever, with brows pinched tightly as he assessed her fighting form, and his posture was tight and rigid from the rigorous activity he had just endured himself. After all, one didn’t get to be quite so large and hulking by sitting around the EKP offices for hours on end. Even now, his tunic was drenched with sweat. “New skills?” His voice startled the archer, who nearly tripped over herself at the sound of it as she drew back into position, posture soon dissolving as she faced him. “Yeah, sort of,” she breathed. “Divina’s--” Air, air was good. “Divina’s been helping me.” Pausing, Cressida allowed her eyes to roam, but only for a few seconds. “Training hard?” The smile that crossed her face was genuine. Theo made a gruff sound of interest at the mention of Divina. Attention hooked, he wandered over closer. “Aye?” As for himself, the berserker gave a shrug. His usual frown deepened slightly as he considered his own training efforts. “Tired of spars lately,” he explained. “Could use more running.” Or more precisely, Theo was irritated that bastards like Monaco had decided to interrupt his sword training, but none of that need be said here. She nodded, brushing stray tendrils of hair from her forehead. “I’ve been meaning to do more running myself. Been trying to boost my stamina, among other things.” Her laugh was more sigh than exhale. “It would be pretty sad if I ran out of it during my survival week.” And then, a flashing in the back of her mind. “For the Rangers exam,” she supplied, unaware if Theo already knew or not. “Other things?” Theo frowned and tried to imagine the training efforts of archers. It was a class built on proficiencies far different than his own, to be sure. But if she had been training in combat techniques with Divina, of all their comrades, it was evident that Karth was attempting to branch out. As for the mention of Rangers, it earned her a solemn grunt of approval. He scratched his chin. “Honorable choice,” he said in assessment, “brethren to the EKP.” “If I pass, anyway,” she amended, shooting a glance back at the kicking bag. Beating up training equipment wouldn’t necessarily benefit her unless she planned to be planting a foot in the faces of wolves, but this was primarily to help with her concentration-- and to rid herself of nerves. Heaving a real sigh, the archer faced him one more. “On your way out, or going for a run?” “Offering?” He asked, eyebrows raised. Theo had few training partners (not an unusual thing for a man of his temperament to be sure), but the idea was not an unfavorable one. He had not yet pushed himself to his limits, and after some consideration, decided that he very well might possess the energy for a good, rigorous run. A pleased smile. “And hoping you’ll say yes. I will try to keep up, Mr. Tall, Fit and Long-legged.” Her smile turned into a grin as she slipped past to grab her workout bag. “Aye,” he said, following behind. And though he didn’t exactly smile in return, Theo did look suspiciously less sour than he had before. |