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Mallory had forgotten what it was like to really work up a sweat. It was only March, but perspiration had pooled in the small of her back snd under her arms. She caught the bottle of water that was tossed in her direction and uncapped it, drinking three quick mouthfuls before cupping some in her palm and spalshing her face with it. The obstacle course is next," the instructor said, and the newest members of Project Intergration looked towards where the khaki-clad woman was pointing. "We'll take a ten-minute break, then start up again. Lunch is after that. Hope no one's on the verge of cramping up."
The redhead took her water and went to sit down on the short row of bleachers nearby. She was still sweating. Her calf muscles ached. She had to remind herself to drink the water slowly, because stomach cramps really sucked. The incision on her wrist where the tracking device had been put stung from the salt of her sweat. But beneath the physical complaints, she could feel the adrenaline racing through her bloodstream and the way her heart beat faster. She'd gotten lazy out there in the desert, allowing inertia and complacency to replace drive and activity. Having to knock the rust off was turning into a fairly painful process, but it felt...worthwhile.
They were training the humans separately from the supernaturals. Something about preserving the morale of the non-superpowered recruitsw. Mallory knew that some vampires had signed up, she'd seen them when day turned to night and it was safe for them to come to the base. She steered clear of them; there seemed to be an uneasy truce in effect, and she didn't want to cross the picket line between the factions.
She wiped at her brow with the bottle she held, let out a breath. It had been a long morning, and there was still more to be done. She was going to have to work hard to get back in shape. No one else could pick up her slack but her.
It had been a combination of factors, her taking up space on the floor of a government-run gymnasium. Her conversation with Rhiannon, the realization that she'd lost part of herself without even knowing it, that she'd subconsciously wondered where life would have taken her if she'd offered to go with Boden when he left, then she just didn't know who she was anymore. So she scheduled a lunch appointment with Agent Markowitz, and the black-suited federal employee sat down and talked with her for over an hour. She took the official oath two days later, and the rest of it was a blur of physical exertion and security clearances.
She hadn't told Victoria yet, hadn't even gotten a chance to find out what the brunette intended to do. Part of her dreaded it, but mixed in with the dread was a sort of undefinable relief. She'd been giving up little pieces of herself to hang onto the relationship, letting it swallow her whole in some way that she had maybe only just realized. How much of her identity had gotten wrapped up in being the person Victoria loved? Maybe it was time to ask and answer that question. No matter how much she might hate it.
In the meantime, she at least felt like she had a direction again. Something to work with and build on. Even if she turned out to be wrong, she might get the self she'd been beofre back, at least a little bit of it. If she could simply find out who she was now, that would be a start.
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