Gym [Saturday afternoon]

[momslilassassin]

John had taken off for the weekend (which Ben blamed himself for), Tahiri had gone away for the day (which Ben also blamed himself for), and Ender, at least according to radio, had spent all night on a raft in the middle of the ocean.

So Ben went for his favorite form of therapy--hitting things really, really hard in the gym.

Ah, so healthy.

[OOC: Oh so open]

Comments

[yakkoyaks.livejournal.com]

Yakko ran into the gym and suddenly stopped.

"It's that time again!" After a brief pause, he continued, as if addressing someone who wasn't there. "No, it's time to learn the day's lesson! And to find out what it is, we turn to... The Wheel of Morality!" Yakko motioned towards the door, where a large wheel with 'The Wheel of Morality' written on it in huge letters drifted in.

"Wheel of Morality, turn, turn, turn," Yakko recited as he spun the wheel. "Tell us the lesson that we should learn." As the spinning wheel slowed down and landed on the number 8, a sheet of paper was printed from a slot on the side. Yakko went to his next line as he grabbed the sheet of paper. "Moral Number Eight. And the moral of today's story is... People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones because their homeowner's insurance won't cover it."

Yakko shrugged, darted out of the gym, and the wheel followed a moment later.

[momslilassassin]

Ben stared after him.

"Well, that was the weirdest thing to happen all day," he commented.

[glacial_queen]

Karla came in to practice her knife drills. She started sliding into the first position, when she noticed Ben. And his lack of braid. "Haircut?" she asked casually, gracefully moving from one position to another.

[momslilassassin]

"Haircut," he confirmed before kicking the punching bag hard enough to make the metal coil holding it into the ceiling creak.

[glacial_queen]

Well. Someone was tense. Not that this was news or anything. "That punching bag deserved it," Karla said. "Called me a fat cow the other day."

What? It had been the most ridiculous thing Karla could think of.

She kept working on her knife drills. She wanted to make sure she had the second one down before trying to mix them up the way Leto had suggested. Karla figured the comment would let Ben know she was willing to talk if he wanted, but not necessarily about whatever it was that was behind the workout, and the drills would show that she'd honestly come here to workout, not to bother him, so she wouldn't be crushed if he didn't decide to pour his heart out to her.

It was a lot to pack into a few words and some knifework, but she rather thought Ben would figure out most of it.

[momslilassassin]

He appreciated the quiet as well as the company. "It was feeling a little lonely around here," he finally commented.

[glacial_queen]

"With only the sassy punching bag to talk to, I can see that," she said, glancing back at him. "Though I'm kind of surprised no one else is here. Maybe they're all at the salle."

Fandom's students, Karla had noticed, were awfully fond of fighting.

[momslilassassin]

"Or they're taking it easy this weekend," Ben said. "I feel weird if I don't practice daily. What are you working on?"

[glacial_queen]

"Knife drills. Leto's teaching me how to fight some. I have my tooth, and Craft, and a wee bit of knife training now," she said, demonstrating. Right now, it was obvious she had more grace and speed on her side than actual skill. "But I want to learn more. Give those bastards back home something to think about."

That last probably had not been meant for Ben to hear.

[momslilassassin]

He had anyway. "It's good to know more than what people are expecting you too," Ben said solemnly. "Jedi are known for lightsaber work, but that's not the only weapon I can use."

[glacial_queen]

"Exactly...Lightsaber?" Karla sounded as if she had planned to say something more, but had gotten distracted.

She would tell you in loud and vehement tones that she had an attention span superior to kittens. In many cases, she'd be lying.

[momslilassassin]

"The weapon of the Jedi," Ben said. "It's a sword made of light and can cut through just about anything if you give it enough time."

[glacial_queen]

"Oooh," Karla said, sounding impressed. "I'm assuming 'weapon of the Jedi' means that I don't get to touch yours, no matter how good I get with swords later?"

Somewhere in Terreille, Surreal was facepalming at the much innuendo being packed in one sentence. Karla, however, was oblivious.

[momslilassassin]

Ben's cheeks went a little pink. "Sorry," he said. "Only Jedi can hold lightsabers. But you could watch the next time I use it, maybe?"

Oh, Ben.

[glacial_queen]

"I'd love to!" Karla said, excited. "Do you practice with it often?"

[momslilassassin]

He nodded. "My grandfather kicks my ass every Thursday, so I have to practice at least three times before then or he'll notice I was slacking."

[glacial_queen]

"You practice with your grandfather? That must be interesting to watch," she said aloud. "Do you allow for spectators?"


[That would be quite the work out IC and OOC, wouldn't it?]

[momslilassassin]

"Sure," Ben said, "it's way early on Thursday before he holds his office hours, down at the gym in town."

[OOC: And that's why it's mostly handwavey unless people want to watch :D]

[glacial_queen]

"Can I come see that? Or would you prefer I watch you use your lightsaber by yourself?"

Still not dirty. Though afterwards...

[momslilassassin]

"I'm going to lose," Ben said with a small smile. "You mind that?"

[glacial_queen]

"It'll make me feel better about not having one of my own," she assured him with a smirk.

[momslilassassin]

He smirked back. "There's a lot of lightsaber envy back home," he replied.

[glacial_queen]

Karla very nearly picked up the subtext there. At least, she realized that there was something amusing beyond the bald statement itself. If she hadn't also been concentrating on drills, she might have seen the whole conversation in a whole new light.

"I can believe it," she said with a small chuckle. "I'm pretty sure I want a lightsaber and I haven't even seen yours yet!"

[momslilassassin]

"It's blue," Ben said with a grin. "So's Granddad's. My father's is green. Tahiri's is yellow."

[glacial_queen]

"Are there purple ones? I'd want a purple one with Bad Motherfucker inscribed on it. What color is Jaina's? Do the colors matter, like with Jewels?"