Alana (athenacalled) wrote in olympian_rewind, @ 2008-12-15 16:18:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | alana kellings, herakles, teddy pullman |
Who: Alana and Herakles
What: The bag had it coming
Where: Some Gym in Miami
When: (backdated) Thursday, Dec 11
Warnings: Alana has language issues. .... Among other issues.
Ahh, the gym. For Muses, their safe place was the theatre. For Pan and Dionysus, the wild places. For Zeus, the sky.
For Herakles, god of physical perfection and courage, it was the gym.
He strode in with a new confidence and assurance. Erato was gone. While it hurt still, deep inside, he was determined to move onward. Maybe his hopes were right, they'd both be able to move on... she far more easily than him. But he couldn't be depressed here. No way. He took a deep breath, inhaling the scent that could of course only be sweet to him, and shuddered as he felt fresh power stir to him, here, in his most holy of places.
What could possibly go wrong? The god threw a towel over his shoulder and walked into the boxing room.
Ugh, the gym. The place of sweaty bodies, machines used by who knew who else, and more inner conflict stories than Alana even wanted to bother considering. Of course, she had her own stories, but she had no intention of spewing it to some stranger, nor giving them the chance to spew theirs to her. All the same, she didn't exactly like the idea of using the hotel's equipment, and decided that she should at least look into some of the local gyms.
So she'd walked into the building and asked if she could look around. She clearly wasn't going to be working out today, and just wanted to see what they had to offer. From area to area she went, peeking into rooms used for classes, and all the different equipment rooms. Finally, she came to find one bit of equipment she had been searching for. Punching bags. Perfect!
Her attention set completely on the item, and she walked forward with a small pleased look on her face, to give the bag an experimental push.
"Whoa!" The punching bag pushed back towards Herk and he caught it easily before it had chance to swing hard enough to... well, not hurt him, but at least give him a good scare. He looked around the giant red bag and offered the short woman a smile. Oh, hey. "Watch that hook, eh?"
Her eyebrows went up in surprise. "Shit, sorry. Didn't ya see there..." Though how she managed to miss a guy that big was a wonder unto itself. She stepped away from the bag a bit so he could release it. She shoved her hands into her back pockets, shifting her weight to her back foot.
In her defense, it was a big punching bag. "Eh, no harm."
She eyed him, "I get the feelin' ya might be pretty hard ta harm..." she murmured.
Teddy chuckled. What, was it the muscled form or the sheer size of him that gave her that impression? "Maybe. Though guessing from the way you hit that thing, you seem set on it."
"It had it comin'," she defended with a shrug. She probably wouldn't have moved it as much if she'd been trying to hit it with a normal punch more then a shove. Maybe she could learn from someone how to kick them as well...
He laughed again and then paused to look her over. Not in a 'damn, she's fine' way, but just in a curious manner. He'd been with Erato for months. Consider him pretty quenched sexually, for a while. "You look real new. First time here?"
Was he checking her out? Alana was very, very much not in the mood to be checked out. Her jaw tightened just slightly and she kept her eyes on his, refusing to answer until they met one another. She held them as she answered. "Yeah, I was just checkin' it out, seein' if it's worth gettin' a membership or not," she answered casually.
He nodded, returning her look with a friendly smile. "It's a great place. Lot of people, but not to the point that it's disgusting." Yes, even the macho man had limits to the hygienics of a place. "They've got tons of classes, too! Women, men, co-ed too. We're gonna get a pool once the managers save up enough."
"Do you know the managers personally then?" she asked, curious despite herself. It sounded like a sales pitch almost, and she wondered if this guy was one of the personal trainers or something. Not that he would be a bad person to talk to if he was, but it was better to know.
"Yeah, known them since I got out here." He left out the part where he originally offered up the idea to the two college drop-outs that a gym would be a great way for them to make money. Strangely enough, with his godly patronage, their business was booming. Fancy that. "Don't work here, though. The force keeps me busy enough." He held out a large hand in greeting. "Teddy Pullman, at your service."
Alana took the offered hand with one of her own. "Alana Kellings," she answered, giving his hand a shake. "I take it by sayin' you're parta the force you're a cop? Or are ya a jedi?" Ha ha, bad joke, but she said it with a completely straight face, not seeming to catch any humor in her own statement.
He laughed anyway. "Or both, maybe," he said. He squeezed her hand barely, a firm shake for her, and then let it go. "Nice to meet ya." Her name sounded so familiar...
She returned the grip briefly before slipping her freed hand once more into her back pocket. "Good ta meet ya too. Never a bad thin' ta know that there's a jedi on the police force."
"It could be the other way," he pointed out. "Police on the jedi force. Or whatever." Could a god be considered a jedi? He smirked at the idea of Zeus as Obi-Wan. Heh heh. "What'd you say your name was again? I feel like I've heard it before..."
"Alana?" Shit, how would someone else know her? She frowned at him, wondering if this was someone else D knew, and what the implications of that could be. "You don't know D do you?"
"D? Uh, yeah. Club owner, I think," he said with a shrug, feigning off any possible relation to the guy. He totally had it down by now!
Now her eyes narrowed and she took a half step back. Okay, anyone could know D, but if someone knew her name? There didn't seem like a lot of sources it could come from. "What 'bout Jube?"
"Jube..." Suddenly, Teddy broke into smile. "Oh, hey! You're his secretary. Now I remember!"
Alana rolled her eyes. Holy fuck, was there anyone in Miami that didn't know her by name? "Yeah, I am. How do you know the old man?"
He opened his mouth, then thought better and looked around. Nobody nearby... With an amused laugh, he held out his hand for a second introduction. "Herakles. At your service. Dad talks about you alot."
"Herakles?!" Groaning, Alana couldn't help letting her head drop back in annoyance, waiting for someone to jump out of the corner and say it was all a joke. Was this seriously another one that she was meeting? "Is there anywhere in all of fuckin' Miami that your family doesn't go?" she snapped, though the anger wasn't exactly at him personally.
And the tall god actually pulled back a bit, dropping the offered hand. Whoa. "He wasn't joking when he said you had a temper," he commented, mostly to himself.
Closing her eyes, Alana covered her face, and tried to get her thoughts reordered. Herakles, Herakles... Big strong dude, mortal made god.... Son of Zeus... Shit, what else? At least he didn't seem ready to go berserk on her or something. "Sorry, I'm just..." Bitchy? Pissed? Feeling like she was in some alternate reality? "... stressed." Yeah, that would work. She peeked out at him between her fingers. "Your family is nerve wrackin'. You know that right?"
"Oh yeah." He said with a roll of the eyes. He knew. "Been dealin' with that since I was born. Um, sorry?"
She seemed to relax a fraction and drop her hands away. "Accepted." Moving, Alana went back to the punching bag, giving Herakles space as she did so, and gently pushed the bag. "So, considerin' who you are, why are ya at a gym?" Seriously, there was no place safe from the gods it seemed.
He stepped aside, looking at her again. She seemed anxious. Why? But then he remembered she was mortal, and as far as Greek history went, mortals didn't always do so well in the presence of gods mentally or physically. He himself could prove this. "It's kinda like my... Uh, temple... I guess," he said with a shrug.
Her eyebrows went up as she considered this. Okay, that made sense. "So this is like your chill out place? Sanctuary of sorts and all."
"See, I think I like that term better."
"Feel free ta use it then. Not like I'm gonna fight ya over it," she replied, eying his muscles briefly to give hint to the sarcasm.
Teddy snerked. "As amusing as that'd be... nah, I just came to think." Which, clearly, was a big deal.
She nodded. "And I came ta not think." And avoid possible rumors, but that was another battle. "What problems has the Giant got?"
"I just broke up with a girlfriend," he replied with a shrug. "You?"
"I just broke up with a girlfriend," he replied with a shrug. "You?"
She shrugged as well. "Just the further proof that all men are scum bags," she mentioned, giving the punching bag a half hearted punch.
He frowned at her. In case you hadn't noticed... also male.
".... Nothin' personal." Come on, like in his immortal life he hadn't met women going through the 'all men suck' phase.
True, but still! "Dad that crappy of a boss to work for, huh?"
Alana considered the question. "... No. And I do know some good guys, but I'm not in the mood ta be charitable just now. So, sorry, cause ya all are just gonna have ta suffer the bitch fest that'll last..." There was a pause for mental calculation. "... prob'ly 'bout another two weeks. Minimum."
"Wow. That shitty." Sounded about right. "I guess that's fair. My family guts to deal with me trying not to be a little depressed and over-thoughtful. Which, you can guess, not me," he replied as he took a seat on a nearby bench.
"No? Why's that?" Since he moved to sit, Alana shifted so she could more properly punch the bag, listening to him without looking at him. She made a small gesture of the 'talk to me' variety, ready now for a distraction.
"I'm the 'shoot first, ask questions two years later' guy. I lose my temper alot, which, I don't like. It's one thing if a normal guy loses it, at least he usually gets his comeuppance, y'know? When I lose it..." Who's gonna stop Herakles from throwing a temper tantrum?
"What'd ya loose your temper over then?" she asked, hitting the punching bag and letting it swing away.
He laughed and asked, "You mean the first few hundred times, or just this one?"
"Meant this time, but I'm willin' a take any of 'em." She could turn this into a rhythm, couldn't she? She punched the bag again as it came back.
"This time..." Eh. He leaned back onto the other bench, enough room there to let his hang head into the aisle behind it. "Just to clarify, the girl was Erato. Muse of love and romance. She fell for another guy. But she was still in love with me."
Alana caught the bag as it swung and looked at him. "You realize how much that sounds like a soap opera, right?"
"That's 'cause my family is pretty much that," he replied. "But, yeah. I didn't take it real well. I tried, though, don't get me wrong. But... it didn't work out."
"So you were with Erato.... A muse of romance and shit... who loved you and another guy at the same time...." She stepped back and started to punch the bag again. "What happened?"
"She fell for a Norse guy. She's probably better off with him anyway, he's more soft and stuff than me. I tried to live with the idea that she had feelings like that for someone else besides but..." The god shrugged, focusing on the rhythmic punches into the bag. "Didn't work. Now I'm rethinkin' my shit, I guess."
"Good plan, and one I can wholly agree with." Rethinking things and finding balance once everything seemed to flip flop on you was a plan Alana could understand, even if she wasn't exactly doing her best at rebalancing just now. "Some people just aren't meant ta be couples together, ya know."
"Yeah," he agreed with a nod of the head. See, someone sensible! "And I"m glad we didn't just try to stick together and end up hating each other after a while. At least this way, I can be happy for her." He sat back up a bit and settled himself on his elbows. ".... This is weird."
"What is?" Weird? This wasn't weird on the Alana scale. This was falling right in with about normal. As long as she didn't think about how odd it was for a guy she didn't even know to be telling her about his ex without trying to pick her up at that same time...
"I haven't really talked about it with anyone this way. And we've known each other... five minutes?" Then again, no one really'd asked him how he felt in the first place.
She shrugged one shoulder and continued her absent minded assault on the bag. "Strangers tell each other the most random and deepest secret parts of themselves. It's safe, cause what kinda judgement have ya got ta worry 'bout? Bus ride stops, they get off, and ya never see 'em again. Fuck, I'd never be able to do confession or some shit. One guy you see on a regular basis, ending up knowin' all your weakest parts? Saying shit aloud just makes ya realize it all the more. Makes it more real."
Teddy just laughed. "Damn, and you use real logic. No wonder Dad likes you so much."
Wha? The small mortal caught the bag, almost stumbling with the impact and turned to look at him, before even fully recalling what she'd babbled as her response. Man, she'd gotten into that discussion way to many times. Once steady, she shrugged. "I like logic better than emotions."
"Wish I could say the same sometimes. But, you are who y'are, right..." He paused, then stood, moving to stand behind her. "Here."
"What?" She twisted where she stood to peer up at him, wondering what he was doing.
He reached around her and took her fist in hand, going through the motions of a perfect punch. "This way," he explained, "you'll hurt your hand less, and hurt the bag more. Or person, if you're gonna go on a rampage after this."
Eep! Used to guys being around her? Yes. But most guys didn't...surround her quite so completely, and it was a natural reaction to try and gain space between them. Half her mind was on finding a way to gain that space, the other on what he was actually saying and showing her. Could be useful. She tried the movement slowly on her own.
Teddy paused. She was tense. But then, he thought, some people were once they knew he could put taxi caps through walls in a bad mood. So he ignored it and repeated the motion, the let go of her. "Try it."
That and her natural reaction right now was not letting people within her bubble. But once her released her she shifted to get what space she could and tried the action as he had shown her. ".... Like that?"
He nodded encouragingly. "Exactly. Let's try it out a couple times," he said, falling into the teacher mode yet again, and moved to stand behind the bag. "Go head, hit it as hard as you can. You'll feel the difference."
A small shudder went down her spine as he moved away, and she found herself able to relax once more. Now her attention went into learning mode, and she focused on doing the action slowly a few times, getting the full feel before throwing a nearly full strength punch.
"Good job!" he said. "That was perfect. You're a natural, or have you slugged a few of those scumbags?"
"Maybe one or two, but mostly I'm of the 'revenge is a dish best served cold' type." she made a few more punches. ".... Or luke warm. Not the best at waitin' ta serve the meal."
Teddy snickered again. He liked this mortal already. "You've got talent," he said confidently. "But, you're unrefined. I bet with some real self defense training, you'd be a real force to deal with."
"I'm sure Athena's love ta hear that..." she muttered, then threw a few more punches before stopping. She wasn't dressed for a work out, and was only supposed to be 'looking around'. "Norm'ly I try ta take the defense of not gettin' inta a set up where I need ta know defense."
"You should always know self-defense," Teddy replied matter-of-factly. "You'll always run the chance that you could end up in a situation where words and meanings won't matter. Better safe than sorry."
"What makes you think I haven't already?" she muttered, mostly to herself, and raked a hand through her hair before settling her hands into her pockets. "Yeah, good knowledge ta have, just haven't gotten around ta learnin' it yet. Not sure 'd like most of the self defense methods, ya know?"
"You ever try them?" he asked with a grin.
"Try what? It's not like there's a normal street wise fightin' class or somethin'." Cause to Alana? That would be the most practical.
"Well..." He shrugged. "I could teach you."
She blinked, then frowned slightly. "What exactly would you teach me?"
"Pretty much what you just asked for," he suggested, "for one. Or we could go into something more simple, like the tai chi people practice for relaxation. I personally like boxin', myself. Easy to lose yourself in."
Boxing would be fun. She wouldn't mind having the ability to bunch someone in the face... "Let me chat with Athena, if ya don't mind. No offense, but there are some lessons I'd rather get from her if she's willin' ta take the time...." THan again, she had no idea if the goddess would be. Willing or able to take the time that was. "I bet between the two of you though I'd find myself with plenty of bruises."
"Ha! Yeah, whatever works for you, then," he said again. "And like I said earlier, this gym's great for whatever you wanna do."
"How are their dance classes? Any idea?" It wouldn't be a bad thing to get back into, even if it wasn't something along the lines of self defense. Belly dancing was supposed to be great for health...
Teddy blinked, then held up his hands in defeat. "No idea. Don't dance."
Alana snickered at that, grinning almost evilly. "What? Can't shake your ass?"
He snorted. "Hey, can't be good at everything. I'll stick with being the god of exercise and stuff, not the god of dancin'. We've got enough Muses around town, y'know. Heh."
"Dance is a perfectly suitable form of exercise and I'll argue with anyone who says it ain't." She had in the past too, and probably would again in the future. "But, that's a side issue, as entertainin' as it might be ta see ya try ta dance."
Herk rolled his eyes. "Trust me, it's a thing best forgotten. I've broken more feet than I stand on. Though I'm sure you're a great one." He laughed. "Maybe you'll have to teach me."
"Oh, I'm sure we could work somethin' out. More then a few forms of dance in the world..." She'd have to check that on her way out. "I'll let ya get back ta whatever it was you were doin' before I came in," she said, starting to back up in preparation for heading to the door.
"Hold up," he said quickly, reaching to nab her wrist in hand. "Maybe you've got an idea there."
She blinked and paused. "An idea where?"
He gave her a smile and answered, "We could work something out. You check with Athena. If she don't mind it, I'll teach you about the better part of self-defense. In return, you can teach me how to, and I quote, 'shake my ass'. We both win."
Her eyebrows went up. Sounded like a fair enough trade, though she doubted it was anything about him being allowed to teach, and more a case of who Alana would prefer as a teacher. She just didn't know if Athena had the time. All the same... "Alright, I think somethin' can be worked, if you're act'ly interested in learning."
Shrugging, Herk folded his arms and looked down at her. Okay, this was sounding better by the second. If there was one thing, besides a good fight and then good sex, that got his attention, it was a challenge. "I've got free time now. Might as well learn something new, right. And if I can do it with someone who clearly knows what they're doin', then that's even better."
"I'm sure there are plenty of people who know what they're doin' and would be better teachers then me," she pointed out. "And I'm not exactly dressed or got any CDs at hand this second ta teach with, but if you can secure a space we can use, I might be able ta come up with somethin' for ya."
He considered. "Eh, I got a big backyard? I don't know if I make enough to rent a whole studio or somethin'."
"You know the managers don't you? Find out when they have an unused time slot, see if they'll let you use it. A hard floor would be better then a backyard..." She considered, then decided if she was going to do this, she might as well, do it. "I should be able ta clear my living room easily enough. Then I wouldn't have ta worry 'bout diggin' CDs out that I didn't bring with."
He nodded in agreement. "Fine by me. It'll probably save me from the guys decidin' to interrupt with being smartasses." The god laughed again and nodded. "Okay. How about this. We'll meet at your house for dancing. You can decide on the time. I've got Sundays and Mondays off.
"I work the normal work week, so I've got evenings and weekends free. What time are your shifts?" she asked, realizing the interruption part was probably all too likely.
"Early mornin'. And I"m always on call, of course," he replied. "We could work it out after your shifts. It's up to you, Alana."
"Let's meet up this Sunday, and go from there. You got a cell?" She started to pull her own out, so that an exchanging of numbers could be made.
He nodded and rattled off his phone number. "Need your address, too."
Alana typed his number into her phone, called it so he'd have her number in return. She then rattled off her address. "Let's say, 2? Give me time ta wake up on a weekend."
He nodded and smiled. "It'll be fun. I'm glad I met ya." For once, just a drama free time. No Norse, no girlfriend, no family. Just the thought of it eased him a bit.
As long as she didn't think too much about just who it was she was letting into her home, there seemed the possibility of fun. It also meant figuring out what she would teach him, but something could be arranged... hopefully. "I'll save my judgments for when my sanity is up to the task," she retorted. "See ya Sunday then?"
"See you then."
Summary: Herakles is at the gym. Alana is checking out the gym. The mortal is like a magnet for gods it seems.