Gym, Sat morning

[notstakedyet.livejournal.com]

Angel would have preferred to sleep in as a rule, but sometimes what he wanted and what he got were two entirely different things.

Not wanting to toss and turn, and feeling too restless to stay in the room, Angel got dressed in black sweats, a white wifebeater, a black hoodie, and made his way down to the gym.

Once there he took in all the equipment. He looked longingly towards a heavybag. His left hand, which sported a smaller bandage than it had all week but was still bandaged, clenched. What he wanted was to attack the bag until he was exhausted but, again, what he wanted and what he got were two entirely different things. Even he had to admit that that was more than his damaged hand could handle.

Something calmer then.

Angel stripped off the hoodie and dumped it over by the wall. Shoes and socks were next. He walked over to an empty space on the gym floor, closed his eyes, and centered himself. He tried - not successfully, but tried - to banish all of the thoughts that were weighing him down. That done, he began to practice his Tai Chi forms.

It had been a while since he'd done this. His movements began roughly. But the more he did it the smoother he became. After a while, he even began to remember what it felt like to be calm.

[ooc: open to interaction if anybody wants it, or the vamp can ignore you if you need the gym to yourself for whatever reason]

Comments

[psycho-barbie.livejournal.com]

"It's very...flow-y." Callisto started kicking at the bag harder, not that she was trying to distract herself or anything. "Lot more graceful than the excerises we have back home."

[notstakedyet.livejournal.com]

"It's soothing," Angel said. "Good for when I'm trying to control - um - get a handle on - um - when there's stress."

[psycho-barbie.livejournal.com]

"Not really for me then," Callisto replied, throwing in a punch every so often. "I tend to, uh, sweat the tension out."

[notstakedyet.livejournal.com]

"Normally I would too but - " Angel held up his bandaged left hand. "Bad idea right now."

[psycho-barbie.livejournal.com]

Callisto grimaced sympathetically. "Considered shadow boxing? You'd get the exertion without the contact."

[notstakedyet.livejournal.com]

"Huh. Point," Angel said. He flexed his left hand a few times to see how much it hurt to do so. "That might work."

[psycho-barbie.livejournal.com]

Callisto shrugged. "You'll never know unless you try."

[notstakedyet.livejournal.com]

Angel grinned. "Too bad I can't spar with you."

[psycho-barbie.livejournal.com]

Callisto's next kick went wide of the bag. "Yeah, too bad. I'd like to get swea-...sparring, sparring with you."

[notstakedyet.livejournal.com]

Angel couldn't look away from Callisto for a moment. Then, as though mentally smacking himself, he turned away and tried to resume his forms again. "Yeah. Me too. The sparring, I mean. Not the - sparring. Just sparring. All I'm thinking about."

[psycho-barbie.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, sparring. Yay, sparring." Callisto said weakly before starting to punch the bag even harder.

[notstakedyet.livejournal.com]

Angel resumed his forms, occasionally flubbing them and having to start over. "So. Um. How're you doing?"

[psycho-barbie.livejournal.com]

"Uh, okay, I guess." If Callisto kept glancing at Angel as she spoke, it was only because of common courtesy. She grinned. "I got to go back home for a little while yesterday afternoon, which was good."

[notstakedyet.livejournal.com]

If Angel glanced back, it was for the exact same reason. "Really? Visiting friends or other?"

[psycho-barbie.livejournal.com]

"Uh, I was helping Jake with his Journalism assignment. Something about seeing other students in their natural habitats." Callisto replied. "But it was... nice to be somewhere familiar. Y'know?"

[notstakedyet.livejournal.com]

Angel stopped. He looked at Callisto, his head tilted. His expression was slightly unfocused, but thoughtful.

[psycho-barbie.livejournal.com]

Calisto noticed Angel looking at her and wondered if he'd been getting head-tilt lessons from Veronica. "What?"

[notstakedyet.livejournal.com]

"Just trying to imagine you in your natural habitat," Angel said. "I figure there's got to be a lot of weapons involved."

[psycho-barbie.livejournal.com]

"Well, yeah, comes with the whole leading an army thing," Callisto shrugged. "D'anna took pictures if you're that interested."

[notstakedyet.livejournal.com]

"I would be, actually," Angel tilted his head the other way as he now tried to picture Callisto with an army. "Where there uniforms?"

[psycho-barbie.livejournal.com]

"Uniforms?" Callisto did not find the obviously learned from Veronica head-tilt distracting. At all. "Well, all the men have similiar armour, makes it easier to keep them outfitted."

[notstakedyet.livejournal.com]

"And you? Something to show you're in charge? Maybe a hat?" Angel was taking the piss out of her a tiny bit, but mostly because he was trying to keep his thoughts of Callisto in a uniform on a strictly G rated level.

Maybe PG. Maybe PG-13.

He was working on it.

[psycho-barbie.livejournal.com]

"You've seen my armour. " Callisto answered. "Besides, if you need a fancy badge to show you're in charge, then you're not."

[notstakedyet.livejournal.com]

Angel's eyes did not drop to Callisto's chest to help picture where a badge could be pinned. "Um... yes. True. Badges, very bad. Horrible idea."

[psycho-barbie.livejournal.com]

"Bad. Really, and draw too much attention to you." Callisto was only flushed because of her workout, after all, Angel wasn't looking at her chest so it's not like there was any other reason for it.