Eve Kelly (fearlessfelix) wrote in musingslogs, @ 2010-09-05 22:44:00 |
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Entry tags: | catwoman |
Who: Eve Kelly and OPEN
What: Post-training session, passing by
When: Sunday night
Where: About two blocks from the Hamartia
Warnings: None
It was hotly sticky outside and the streetlights were alive when before they had been blind -- she had been hours closed inside the place whilst outside, daylight simmered into dusk and the sky above was now the livid, sulky purple of a possible thunderstorm. The hours had been well worth spending shut up inside a building where the air-conditioning spat out cool(er) air when it chose to, a thin and artificial breeze that did little to counter the thick smell of sweat, stale and fresh. It was the kind of gym that didn't have memberships, or fresh-looking young men and women handing out fluffy towels at the entrance -- the people who used this place had other things to think about, and what was taught was useful and quick, rather than showy. It was close enough to the Hamartia to be convenient, but not so close that she could be tracked easily, or lose a little distance. It was small and rundown, and the walls inside were peeling paint and sweating themselves with the condensation and the sounds were all dull thuds of contact and grunts and shouts -- no pounding beat or bright music here.
It had been a back room, where even those sounds were quieted just by distance and a thick-set man who looked as though once he had been thickly muscled and was now gone almost completely to seed. He knew what he was doing, however -- each instruction couched in abrupt words little more than grunts and when she fell on her ass, he said nothing and when she did things right, he said even less. It was hard, in a way nothing had been hard for Eve before -- and whilst at many points she had longed to throw down the ratty towel that did little to mop up the sweat streaming from her, the bruises that were fading but still present reminded her of why, and she launched another volley, learned a little more precision. The ability helped; muscles eager to move into positions that were correct, and the stamina that ability provided was the only thing keeping her on her feet, toward the end, as Eve stumbled through the heavy double doors, and half-swayed against the steps, drunk on fresh air. Her head tipped back to enjoy a little more of the freedom of the gym's confines, dark curls clung with clammy dampness to her neck and face and whilst she was in sore need of a shower and a beer and fuck knew, something to eat, the smile on her face was pure exhausted exhilaration as she peeled herself away from the concrete and sat on the steps, elbows on knees to wait for a little enough energy to slog it out home.