InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Baby poop!"

Natasha Romanoff (romanoffnat) wrote in portland_logs,
@ 2014-01-15 03:58:00

Entry tags:

allison argent, natasha romanoff

Who: Natasha Romanoff & Allison Argent
Where: The Dance and Gymnastic Academy
When: Wednesday Morning
What: Nat meets her new employee
Status: Closed/in-complete
Warnings: Probably nothing too bad (will update if required)

When Holly had given Natasha the deeds to the state of the art facility it had made total sense. She'd spent countless years undercover working in such establishments, taking note of youngsters who showed a particular talent for movement. Some she took under her wing and helped forge careers in the arts and others she pointed towards Nick Fury, or whoever she happened to be working for at the time. Today, however, would be the first time in a long while she actually had to explain to someone her primary purpose for the operation.

Natasha walked past the main gymnasium, where girls as young as three were attempting pirouettes on the balance beam. Always good to see them learning to centre their bodies - and also how to fall correctly. "Leave the tears at the door, Eve," she called to a youngster sniffling in the foam pit. "You didn't hurt yourself and we don't feel sorry for ourselves here, we do better next time, got it?" Firm, but a lesson that couldn't be taught often enough. Eve sucked up her emotions and nodded, leaving Natasha to move onwards, past the dance studios and towards her office.

It was the one place the youngsters were never allowed. No one was sent here for punishment, Natasha made certain of that. She needed somewhere that was safe enough to store her belongings in case of an emergency either here or in town. Her kit included some rather lethal objects and she'd never forgive herself if her Widow's Bites found their way into the delicate young hands of her charges. Which was why this was a no-go area, unless she had other business with one of the adults who worked with her. Like today.

When Natasha had received the message from Holly, letting her know that another teacher would be joining her, she wasn't sure what to make of the news. On the one hand it would be good for the kids to have a wide variety of instructors. How that meshed with her secret identity as a crime fighter, she hadn't quite worked out. Either way, Allison would be here soon and Natasha needed to meet her.

She opened her office door and did a quick sweep of the room, making sure that there was nothing out of place to give her away. On the desk was a picture of James, though his arm was strategically cropped out of shot and looked simply like any other loved one. The door to the 'stationary closet' was locked. Heavily. Behind the door was the entrance to the real bones of this operation; a fighting gym with state of the art shooting range, amongst other goodies. James had helped her fit it out when they'd arrived. Everything seemed to be in order and Natasha sat down at her desk, ready to meet Ms Argent.

Finally a knock came, "come in," she called, standing and smiling as she reached across the desk to shake the girl's hand. "Natasha Romanoff. And you must be Allison," she gestured to the chair. "It's a pleasure to meet you. It seems we're going to be working together for the foreseeable future. What would you say your strengths are, so I know where to place you?"

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sharpshooting
2014-01-16 01:25 am UTC (link)

Allison was trying to put forward a good face but it was difficult when only days ago she had been told she had been brought here through a wormhole and she couldn't go home. Holly was freaky and Allison still didn't know what to think of any of this. But since she couldn't return at the moment she was trying to make the most of her time here by making money doing something she actually liked.

"Definitely not dancing." Allison smiled. "I'm here for the gymnastics. I'm pretty good with kids. I've been doing gymnastics since I was three and I'm seventeen now. I used to mentor the kids who were younger than me so I know I can teach."

Since there were no job openings for werewolf hunter Allison was going to settle on being a gymnastics teacher. She actually hadn't been to a gymnastics class in over a year but she still used those skills all the time in fighting and hunting. She knew that she wasn't rusty if Natasha wanted to test her skill level.

So far she and Stiles and Lydia had been spending their time trying to get out of Portland and back to Beacon Hills but had found nothing. Allison was glad to have the distraction of a job for a little while. Besides, the sexual tension between Lydia and Stiles was palpable and Allison didn't want to be around when that came to fruition. Not because she disapproved but because she didn't want to be the awkward third wheel.

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romanoffnat
2014-01-16 03:24 am UTC (link)

A slow smile drifted across Natasha's face at Allison's answer. Good, the girl wasn't going to come in and try to BS her, which was a nice change from the usual crop of wannabes that turned up wanting work. "That's not a problem, we always have spots for good gymnasts," she answered with a careful nod, unwilling, as yet, to be too enthusiastic. There was no telling yet whether the girl could pass on the skills she claimed to have.

"C'mon," Natasha stood, "you should see what you're getting yourself into," she raised an eyebrow. "I hope you're prepared to work hard. I expect a lot from the kids who come here, and more from their teachers." Of course, there was no question whether Ms Argent had the job, but she didn't want to seem a total pushover. "The 4-7 year old girls are currently training in the main gym, if you'd like to follow me I can introduce you to them, and see what you can do."

She led the way through the building, past the studios and down to the gymnasium. The place was teaming with small girls practising on the various apparatus. "Obviously, we have one trainer per piece of equipment and no girl is allowed to practice alone. anyone attempting to do so incurs an immediate week-long ban from the gym. We want to train these kids, not kill them." Nat flashed a smirk at Allison, "most days we don't want to kill them, at least." She clapped her hands, demanding the attention of the class who fell silent. "Girls, this is Ms Argent, she'll be joining us as one of your coaches. Make her welcome, ladies."

Natasha took a step back as the girls began to call out welcomes and soon enough they were milling around Allison like so many wasps around a picnic. "So, think you can handle yourself with this crowd?" she asked the younger woman with a quizzical smirk, "because I think they like you."

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sharpshooting
2014-01-16 07:31 pm UTC (link)

Allison had never been afraid to work hard. She had devoted most of her time to school work and gymanstics and archery when she was younger because it wasn't like she had a social life. The Argents moved around too often for her to have one of those. She followed Natasha into the gym and was surprised to see how many little faces were staring up at her.

She had mentored kids that were younger than she was but she had never actively taught gymnastics. But this was the one profession in town that she knew wouldn't bore her. It would also keep her in shape so she could be prepared to protect Stiles and Lydia if a situation called for it. She was already gathering weapons but she needed to keep up her physical training too.

The kids seemed instantly attracted to Allison which was both puzzling and pleasant at the same time. She smiled at all of them as they all clamored to talk to her first.

"I think so," she said to Natasha. "Can I run drills with them?" A little ripple of excitement went through the room of kids and Allison laughed. "Okay, stretch and then we can start off with the balance beam." The kids all dispersed to stretch and Allison turned to Natasha. "Thank you for giving me this chance. I won't let you down," she promised the redhead.

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romanoffnat
2014-01-20 01:47 am UTC (link)

Natasha watched as Allison took control of the group, the girls responding immediately to the suggestion. "Go ahead, I think they'd like that, right girls?" there was a small cheer of delight and the kids began to stretch far more enthusiastically than usual, clearly wanting to demonstrate their skills to their new teacher. "You don't have to thank me," she said softly, with a conspiratorial smirk, "besides, an hour with this crowd and you'll be cursing me, I'm sure."

As Allison put the girls through their paces Nat stood quietly by, impressed by her knowledge and ability to translate that to practical application. Not everyone had that ability and it was great to see in one so young. When she'd finished drilling she dispersed the eager faces, "get back to work kids. You'll see Ms Argent again soon enough, and I expect you to work just as hard for her!" Natasha nodded towards the exit and grinned, "you did really good with them. I think you'll fit it well here, though there are other aspects to the school." She headed back along the main corridor, "the school has to tap into multiple income streams in order to keep running at this level and I'm afraid that, at some point, that involves teaching adults too. Mostly they tend to sign up for dance classes, I blame Dancing With the Stars personally," she told Allison with a raised eyebrow. "Another revenue source is self-defence classes," Natasha opened the door of an empty dojo, by way of explanation. "I don't suppose you have skills in that area too, do you?" she asked hopefully.

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sharpshooting
2014-01-21 07:45 pm UTC (link)

Allison followed Natasha curiously. She was already excited about working with the kids even if she knew it might take a little time to get a solid rapport with them. But Allison had always been good with kids despite being an only child and she wasn't worried about it. Besides working here was saving her from bagging groceries or something.

She was a little nervous when Natasha brought up dancing again. That was definitely not in Allison's skill set although with the training she had received she could probably pick up dance moves quickly if someone were to teach her. She was just not prepared to teach it.

"Self defense classes?" Allison immediately perked up at that. "Uh, yeah. That's definitely my area. Moreso than gymnastics actually." She had to stop herself from blurting out that she was a family of wolf hunters. "I've been taking archery lessons since I was a kid. My dad is an arms dealer for local law enforcement agencies and the military. So I've been raised around guns too. I know a lot about weapons and hand to hand combat."

She tried not to sound too excited but self defense definitely sounded better than dancing or gymnastics. Of course she neglected to tell Natasha that she had once been a perfect shot but lately her hands had been shaking so badly she couldn't hit a target if someone paid her to.

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romanoffnat
2014-01-27 01:35 am UTC (link)

From all the girl said, Allison seemed quiet a find. Either that or the wormhole was a little more discriminating than she'd given it credit for. The weapons range would be the place to really test her abilities but Natasha needed one more thing from her first. Trust. It would take more time than this interview had to offer, but she seemed eager which was always a plus when dealing with new recruits.

"Archery? Interesting, we don't offer that currently, but it's been popular in the past," after all, she had dated Hawkeye for a while and he'd taught Nat a trick or two with a bow that had got her out of all kinds of tricky situations. "It sounds as though you're just what I've been looking for, Allison. I suspect Holly might have known that when she sent you my way, uhm?" she raised an eyebrow and offered her a slight smirk. "So you've heard what I'm looking for, how about I pull the oldest trick in the interview handbook and ask if you have any questions for me?" Natasha had the decency to look apologetic at her request. "You should be aware, though, that that's really just a technicality, at this stage. Think of this more the point you put in your demands, if you have any."

When she got back to the house she'd want to do a little research, assuming Holly knew anything about Allison's background. Arms dealers were notoriously fickle in their affections and though he'd told his daughter he dealt only inside government agencies she would put money on him trading with whoever gave him top dollar. Natasha had never yet met a moral arms dealer, though she would be more than happy to be surprised to find otherwise.

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sharpshooting
2014-01-28 09:15 pm UTC (link)

Allison smiled and nodded at Natasha but she could feel it happening again. Oh God, not here. Not now. "Uh, questions." She sounded like a total idiot. She should have questions. She did have questions. Like how often she would be teaching children as opposed to adults. Would she have full access to the gym where self defense was being taught? Could she start an archery class? All things she wanted to know.

Instead she put her hand to her head and accidentally knocked the clipboard right out of Natasha's hand. "Oh, sorry. Sorry." Allison bent down to pick it up and when she straightened back up she was no longer standing in front of Natasha. Natasha had disappeared altogether and the building was completely empty.

"Natasha?" Allison asked as she looked around. The sound of chimes brought her into a classroom where they hung in an open window.

"Allison, sit down. Class is about to start," Kate Argent said, pointing to a desk in the back. Suddenly she was back at Beacon Hills High and she slid into a desk, albeit not the usual one in front of Scott. "We were just going over werewolf anatomy." Kate pulled back the world map to show a graphic picture of a slaughtered werewolf that had been cut in two. Allison startled backwards so quickly she tipped over her chair.

When she hit the ground she was standing in front of Natasha again, gripping the clipboard so tightly that she had drawn some blood. "I'm sorry," she said again as she handed the clipboard back. "I must have cut myself somewhere. I don't have any questions. I'm just grateful for the job."

And maybe, just maybe her boss wouldn't figure out that she was completely insane.

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romanoffnat
2014-02-02 07:40 am UTC (link)

((OOC: I am so, so sorry! I didn't get this notif or I'd have replied sooner!))

She'd known it was a cruel trick to pull when she'd asked for Allison's demands, but the girl, initially, seemed to take it well and Natasha was ready to answer anything thrown her way. It seemed only fair, given that she'd done her best to throw the girl in at the deep end to see if she'd sink or swim. She'd been encouraged to find someone who wasn't just a decent teacher for the school but someone she might even be able to take into her confidence.

And then Allison seemed to freeze.

Natasha frowned, "are you alright?" she asked, concerned by the sudden lack of animation. Did she suffer from some sort of epilepsy, perhaps, that they hadn't gotten around to discussing, or had something more serious happened. Perhaps a stroke, which would be incredibly rare in one so young, but not unheard of. She held up her hand in front of Allison's face and waved it. No reaction. Not even an involuntary reflex response from her irises, which was most unusual and deeply worrying!

She had just reached for her phone when Allison's voice caused her to jump, despite herself, having been convinced she was catatonic. "Christ, don't do that!" Natasha mumbled to herself, turning back to her. She seemed clueless. Didn't she know that she'd just gone... somewhere that definitely wasn't here?

"Let me take a look at that," Natasha managed to recover quickly, all business as she examined the cut hand. It wasn't bad, but it could use a band-aid. "Come on, we're going back to my office and you're going to explain what just happened, while I tend to that," she said, leaving no room for argument, heading out of the dojo and back the way they'd come.

Natasha quickly found the first aid kit, once in her office, and swabbed the cut with iodine before covering it. Then she sat down, starring intently at Allison, "this doesn't affect the job offer, but I'd like an explanation. Why did you zone out like that? Are you sick?"

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