fandomhighdorms | The Gym, Sunday morning

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@gym,
river tam

The Gym, Sunday morning

It was Sunday morning and a good time for exercise. River moved along one of the walls of the gym in a sequence of kicks and punches against imaginary foes, making it look more like a dance. The walls around her mind was up and her focus only on movement, looking no further ahead than the next few steps. It was easy - enemies of your own invention rarely surprise you.

[Post is for Cass, but the gym is very open and River is interruptable.]

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Cassandra didn't spend much time in the gym, she did most of her workouts on the roof. But when she did come to the gym, she tried to do it at early hours when no one else was around. She still wasn't used to all these people.

She stood in the doorway, watching River move, hesitant to interrupt her. She'd just wait for River to notice her. She could wait.

It took a while. With her mental barriers up River didn't hear Cassandra approach, and it wasn't until she stopped at the opposite end of the room to catch her breath that she sensed another person in the room. Throwing a glance over her shoulder to see who it was, her face broke into a smile. "Like dancing," she called across the room to her dance partner from the Homecoming dance. "In my head I'm not alone."

"I understand," Cassandra nodded. Then she tilted her head, "Better if you don't know what they're going to do, though."

"Better," River agreed. "Need a real sparring partner for that though." She raised an eyebrow.

"True," Cassandra raised an eyebrow in return and stepped into the gym, moving toward the center of the room.

"Volunteering?" River asked, tilting her head. If Cassandra fought the way she danced it would make an interesting fight.

"If you think you're up for it." Yeah, that was a note of challenge in her voice.

River was confident about most things she attempted to do, and especially when it came to fighting. The fear she had once felt at losing control completely and hurting someone had lessened considerably. So no reason to turn down a challenge. "I am." She grinned at Cassandra, taking a few steps forward.

Cassandra drew herself up slightly and offered a respectful bow to River. Then she settled into a relaxed stance, waiting. Watching.

River stood completely still for a few seconds, then walked straight up to Cassandra, at the last moment crouching down and aiming a sweeping kick at her legs. It might have meant 'Hello, how are you?'.

Cassandra had long ago learned that some people were fast enough that even seeing what they were going to do didn't make things too easy. It was nice to see that River was one of those people.

Even as fast as River was, Cassandra had time to shift her weight and set her leg so that the sweep came in and their legs crashed together without unbalancing either of them. It was a sort of 'not bad, yourself?' sort of move.

To know your own and your opponent's strengths and weaknesses and react accordingly was the best way to fight. The balance between them still intact, River bent backwards, on to her hands and unsing the force of a backwards handstand she kicked again, this time aiming for Cassandra's shoulder, perhaps saying: 'Not too bad either.'

As the kick came in, Cassandra bent backward herself, letting the kick fly just above her as she tossed herself into a back handspring. She then stepped forward quickly driving a kick at River. A sort of 'Oh, that's good to hear' kick.

River ducked low, aiming a punch at Cassandra's leg to try and throw her off balance, like a friendly 'It's a good day for this.'

Taking the punch after a slight shift in balance hurt, but it also meant Cassandra was in position to jerk a knee up toward River's face. 'What day isn't?'

And River had to bend backwards again to protect her face, twisting sideways and spinning, aiming another kick at Cassandra's waist. 'True, most days are.'

Cassandra spun to the side herself, sidestepping the incoming kick. She moved back to open up the distance between them and settled into a slightly different stance, one eyebrow rising challengingly. 'Shall we stop fooling around, then?'

River grinned. 'Maybe.' She stretched tall, then spun around, aiming a backwards punch with first her right elbow, then her left one.

Cassandra had just enough time to see it coming. She moved to throw a vicious forearm block into the path of each incoming strike and then slammed a palm forward toward River's spine. Most people failed to anticipate the move, and the sudden shove could easily throw them off balance. Cassandra grinned, fully confident that River would find a way to stay on her feet. 'That's more like it.'

A mind reader had a certain advantage. Before Cassandra's strike hit her, River had dived forwards, landing on her hands, and pushing herself back on to her feet. Another spin and she aimed two fists at Cassandra's shoulders. 'Thought you might say that.'

Cassandra ducked just low enough to avoid the fists and reached up to grab one of River's arms for a throw. The wide grin on her face teases, 'You're cheating.' Of course, so is Cass.

River let herself be thrown, only to use the force of that movement to make another sweeping kick at Cassandra's legs. 'Takes one to know one.'

The sweep connected, but Cassandra let the force of it throw her into a cartwheel. She landed a few paces away watching river carefully. Suddenly she rushed forward to through a complex punch and kick combination. It was really a bit much to simply say, 'You're pretty good at this.'

River blocked every blow and kick, her movements matching Cassandra's exactly, like on the dance floor. 'It's a dance I know well.'

Cassandra redoubled the intensity of her attacks, pushing both herself and River. Then, suddenly, she stopped and flipped back away from the other girl. She landed and immediately offered a deep bow of respect. 'We should do this again sometime.'

With a quick nod and a light bow of her head in return, River said: 'We should.'

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The Gym, Sunday morning

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