Training through the Centuries

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Fiona was busy testing out the new treadclimber. Every so often she liked to upgrade the fitness room, and she enjoyed this new machine very much. She had headphones on, and didn't notice Rod when he walked in ::

[Rod Stafford]

Rod had come prepared, he wore trainers, a pair of sweatpants and a vest top. He fell into a jog alongside Fiona on the treadclimber. When he caught her attention, he mouthed the words: Going my way?

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Fiona grinned and hopped off the machine. She was dressed in a yoga unitard and wore a bandana on her head. Stepping out onto the mats, she stretched ::

"Are you ready?"

[Rod Stafford]

"I think so," he said, and joined her in a series of stretching excercises.

"Are you going to teach me how to kill a man using only my thumb?"

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Fiona blinked, then laughed ::

"You watch far too many bad movies." :p

:: She stood, hands at her sides ::

"Attack me, any way you like."

[Rod Stafford]

Rod almost took up a combat stance, but dropped his fists immediately in defeat. He shook his head and smiled.

"You know I can't just do that!"

[Fiona Devlin]

:: She laughed a moment, but was serious ::

"Stop that! Pretend you're a bad guy. I know you can do it, you watch enough TV."

:: She waited for him again ::

"Now get me."

[Rod Stafford]

He froze for a moment, and in thought stared down at the mat beneath his feet. He decided to go for an approach that was fairly risk free and suddenly lunged at Fiona, attempting to grab her arms and restrain her.

"Have at thee, vile strumpet!"

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Fiona reacted without thought, sending him head over heels in a judo throw. Peering down at him after he landed on his back, her cheeks puffed ::

"Vile Strumpet???" :o

[Rod Stafford]

"I was in character."

He climbed to his feet and turned to face her, this time with resolve.

"Okay, here we go."

He stepped forth and threw a hesitant left dig at her lower torso.

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Fiona chuckled as he rose to his feet. She sidestepped to his outside and trapped the jab with her left hand, simultaneously punching with a right straight lead that stopped right in front of his nose ::

[Rod Stafford]

"You'll have to teach me that one," he said, staring at her clenched fist.

They broke and prepared for combat again. He looked at little Fiona and sudden pang of sexist shame stabbed at the back of his mind, he silently chided himself for it. He felt very awkward.

"Fiona," he said suddenly, "I'm not sure what to do."

[Fiona Devlin]

"Things have come along way, Rene. Don't worry, I'll teach you."

:: She moved over to the heavy bag, and attacked it with a swift combination of boxing jabs and karate kicks ::

"I did alot of traveling, and learned alot of interesting things in Cathay." :D

[Rod Stafford]

Rod found himself filled with curiosity. Fiona was the culmination of combat through the ages. He approached her with caution; the last thing he wanted was to intercept a roundhouse kick meant for the punchbag.

"In one-on-one combat, have you ever been matched?"

[Fiona Devlin]

"Aye."

:: She stopped attacking the bag, pausing a moment as she reflected on faces from the past. ::

"I've had many teachers. Nikoleta of Ambracia, Juan Sanchez Villa Lobos Ramirez, Yu Shu Lien ..."

:: She shook herself back to the present, and allowed Rod to try out the heavy bag ::

[Rod Stafford]

Rod nodded in understanding, and reeled back his fist ready to attack the bag. He threw a punch but it immediately lost momentum and he turned to Fiona with disbelief.

"Nikoleta of Ambracia?" he asked, his mouth agape.

[Fiona Devlin]

:: She raised a curious brow ::

"You know her?"

[Rod Stafford]

"Well," he said, and suddenly stopped himself, almost choking on the words.

"She's that... woman they... burned, right?"

He looked like he'd been slapped across the face.

[Fiona Devlin]

"No, Rene. That was Joan of Arc."

:: He looked guilty. Very guilty ::

[Rod Stafford]

"Oh," he said, and shrugged.

He was quick to lay into the punchbag; thud after thud, he knew how to punch, at least.

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Fiona shrugged and focused on training again ::

"Here." she said, waving a pair of sparring gloves at him. "Put these on."

:: They were different from boxing gloves. They were smaller, and were fingerless ::

[Rod Stafford]

The gloves slipped over his knuckles quite comfortably and he resumed his punchbag assault. His breathing increased and he'd take pauses to speak with Fiona.

"The... way I see it... once I learn how to fight... then I can learn... to fight... with my magic, too."

He took a break and turned to Fiona. Feeling quite enthusiastic.

"Think about it, I make it look like I'm standing to the left when in fact I'm on the right. They miss me..."

He hopped from left to right to emphasise his point, then feigned a jab.

"... and I nail 'em."

[Fiona Devlin]

:: She waited until he hopped again before putting him on his backside with a low spinning sweep ::

"Don't put the cart before the horse, Rene. Master the basics first." ;)

[Rod Stafford]

Rod frowned at Fiona from the floor, he felt quite deflated. His backside was numb.

"You could've told me that without the sweep," he grumbled.

He stood up and looked around the room with agitation.

"So what are the basics?"

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Fiona took Rod aside and broke down the different punches for him. Jab, hook, straight lead, uppercut, & backfist. She demonstrated how hard she could hit the bag by putting her hips into it. Each strike was whipping and powerful, as hard as a man's. She stepped aside to let him practice ::

[Rod Stafford]

Rod nodded. He felt the pressure to not be outdone by a girl but Fiona's punches snapped like striking cobras. His eyes burned fiercely, he avoided the cliché of picturing someone he hated and focused on the technique he'd just been demonstrated. He threw a few punches, they were strong and he was fast but he lacked the grace.

"It feels a little odd, twisting like this."

He struck the bag a few times more: a couple of jabs, followed by a right hook which sent the bag reeling from him and he met it finally with a stopping straight punch.

"I can feel my bum wiggle," he grunted, and looked over his shoulder, trying to catch a glimpse of his rear.

"Does this make me look gay?"

[Fiona Devlin]

"Hardly. Bruce Lee perfected the technique." ;)

:: She patted him on the back, and rubbed his shoulders to encourage him ::

"You're getting the feel of it now."

[Rod Stafford]

He returned his attention to the punchbag, and went to work. He hit harder and felt his muscles jerking with each whipping blow, but it felt oddly natural. As he leaned into his punches more, he had to pause to stop the bag swinging from time to time. And then he laid into the punchbag another violent assault.

"Like this?"

[Fiona Devlin]

"YES!" she cried happily, clapping her hands. "Now try a combo."

[Rod Stafford]

Enthused by her response, Rod hopped into a short snappy combination of straight leads and jabs, he could feel the sweat on his brow now and felt invigorated. He grunted with each powerful blow and with confidence, threw himself into an elaborate combo starting with a series of jabs jabs, then a left hook, one-two uppercuts and a furious right hook which sent the punchbag swinging. Brimming with confidence, he rocked the returning bag with a thundering uppercut - thundering for him, at least - and stepped away.

"A Jedi feels the Force flooow through him!" he said in a pitch-perfect Yoda immitation.

His face glistened in the light from the windows, and he beamed.

"You seen that film?"

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Fiona fell into Rod's arms in a giggling fit, then looked up at him ::

"Of course I have." :D

[Rod Stafford]

Fiona laughed like the ring of silver bells, and Rod's grin was broad. He glanced at the punchbag.

"I think I'm beginning to like this."

A Fiona pulled herself away, he looked back at her and spoke with the certainty of a man who had just reached an important decision.

"Next Christmas, I want my own gym."

[Fiona Devlin]

"You do have a birthday coming up." she winked.

"Okay, let's shake it up."

:: She grabbed a pair of gloves for herself and stepped onto the mat. She did a sassy strut and clapped her gloved hands together before assuming a ready stance ::

[Rod Stafford]

Rod mirrored her stance, then adapted it until he felt comfortable. He watched the expression in her face change, her eyes were focused and trained on her target: him. Unconciously, he'd done the same. He waited.

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Fiona pranced in circles around Rod, taking a poke here and there to get him moving ::

[Rod Stafford]

He tried to predict the real attacks, he knew Fiona would feign some strikes, but his instincts told him to move nonetheless. Sometimes a dodge and sometimes an embarrassing flinch. In a moment of bravery, he threw a quick jab at her face but retracted the attack. He smirked.

"Two can play at that game."

They circled each other and he waited, Fiona threw a few warm-up shots at him. He avoided her strikes with relative ease and knew she was toying with him.

"Stop trying to hit me and hit me!" he said, sounding an awful lot like Morpheus.

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Almost instantly, she popped him on the nose, just hard enough to make him sneeze ::

[Rod Stafford]

He backed away, unsteady on his feet, his hands squeazed against his nose. His face twisted.

"Ah!"

His eyes glistened a little and he looked up. And then winced.

"Achoo!"

He looked curiously at the palms of his hands, shrugged, and wiped them on his trousers. He felt sheepish when Fiona gave him a look of sickly sweet innocence. He readied himself promptly, and jabbed twice, hoping to keep her defense high. His foot swept out in an attempt to hook her ankle from under her.

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Fiona hit the mat, but broke her fall without injury. Laying on her back, she smiled at Rod ::

"Yes! That's good!"

[Rod Stafford]

"You gave me that one," he said, shaking his head, smiling nevertheless.

He extended his hand and helped her to her feet. As she dusted herself off, he shifted on his feet, uneasy with guilt. Finally, he spoke.

"Look, I'm a little uncomfortable with this. When the time comes, I will throw a punch when required but I'd rather not do it to you. What about defense?"

He corrected his stance; fists raised, legs spaced. He patted his side where he'd been wounded by a werewolf.

"I could use the practice."

[Fiona Devlin]

"Please don't worry about hurting me. I may look like a doll, but I won't break."

:: She got up again ::

"Now attack me with everything you've got, and I'll show you defense."

[Rod Stafford]

"More like a muppet."

Rod muttered under his breath, he retreated to the side of the room, stumped by Fiona's determination to spar. From his bag, he took a bottle of water and took a sip while Fiona punched eagerly at thin air. He watched her, sighed, then returned to the mat.

"Alright... alright..."

He hopped on the spot, shook himself loose then stood ready. Fiona was waiting. He cleared his head and attacked. He aimed a variety of punches, some feigned and some crushing, and mixed it up as best he could. Again, he kept her defense high, then crouched low, and feeling adventurous, aimed a forearm blow at her kidney.

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Fiona kept close to Rod, deflecting his assault with open hand blocks. It almost looked like rapid fire slapping, and she seemed to anticipate his punches before he threw them ::

[Rod Stafford]

Rod felt the hot sweat on his brow once again as he desperately tried to penetrate Fiona's defense; he circled her, he used unorthodox combinations, he changed pace but to no avail. Fiona bore down him and he stepped back, stumbled over his own feet and fell to the ground.

"Damn it!" he hissed, thumping the mat.

He jumped to his feet and resumed his assault, he threw in a sly knee lift and when that was blocked, he twisted away and turned into a spinning backhand.

[Fiona Devlin]

:: She caught the backhand, turning his momentum against him into a judo throw ::

"The technique comes from Wing Chun, a style of Kung Fu." she explained pleasantly.

[Rod Stafford]

"Oh, who cares?" he barked as he scrambled awkwardly to his feet.

This time he didn't bother assuming a ready stance, he'd been thrown about enough. He lunged at her, swinging a hefty right hook and planned to follow it up with a swift left.

[Fiona Devlin]

:: She spun aside, clipping him in the back of the head with a roundhouse kick as he charged past. Then she did the cha cha, bouncing about in a broken rhythm. Once his temper subsided, she'd teach him ::

[Rod Stafford]

Rod stumbled and fell flat on his face. His teeth grinded and he butted the matted floor.

"Nrrraaaagh!"

He dragged himself off the floor, his shoulders hunched and he turned to Fiona with fiery dismay. He raised his open hands looking hopeless.

"What the hell am I doing wrong?"

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Fiona walked up to him and took his hands in hers, giving them a gentle squeeze to calm him ::

"Shhhhhhhhh ... breathe."

:: She closed her eyes, inhaling through her nose, then exhaling softly ::

"Close your eyes." she said softly

[Rod Stafford]

Rod's chest heaved, his face was clammy, his heart pounded and his head raced. Despite her gentle touch and soothing voice, he found it difficult to relax. He followed her instruction anyway and closed his eyes.

"Okay, they're closed."

[Fiona Devlin]

:: She laced her arms with his ::

"Now open them."

:: Slowly, she began a Chi Sao (sticking hand) exercise ::

"Feel my arms, and try to anticipate my movements."

[Rod Stafford]

It felt strange, their arms interlocked at such close quarters. He still felt too tightly wound to be engaged in an excercise such as this but obliged Fiona's wish. Their arms glanced off one another, slowly at first, but gradually she increased the speed of her movements. Shortly, he was batting away her movements with fumbling accuracy. He grinned in spite of himself.

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Fiona stepped back proudly ::

"You see? You're learning now."

[Rod Stafford]

"That excercise was fun," Rod admitted, then his face lit up.

"Fiona, now I want you to attack me. There's something I want to try."

[Fiona Devlin]

"Alright."

:: She stretched before attacking, then kicked ::

[Rod Stafford]

Rod, having not taken up a ready stance, crudely deflected the kick with a sweep from his foot. He was ready. His eyes were closed.

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Fiona looked at him suspiciously, tip-toed behind him, and went for a pounce ::

[Rod Stafford]

Rod casually side-stepped with an amused smirk.

[Fiona Devlin]

:: The smirk was as good as a courtroom confession ::

"AHA!!!"

:: She pointed at him accusingly and giggled ::

"MAGICKS!!!"

:: When he opened his eyes, she stuck out her tongue :: :mneh

[Rod Stafford]

His eyes snapped open like he had just been accused of cheating. He looked shocked.

"Nothing wrong with that!" he retorted, a smile on his face.

"You have centuries of an Immortals experience. I have a bit of hocus pocus."

Her tongue made a reappearance. He moved in close, nudged her and spoke quietly.

"Pretty good in a fight, though. I'll practice with that. And besides..."

He placed his hands on her shoulders.

"You must let go your concious self and act on instinct," he said, sounding exactly like Alec Guinness, and smiled, "Stretch out with your feelings!"

[Fiona Devlin]

:: Fiona couldn't keep from grinning. He knew how to make her laugh. Clearing her throat, she was serious again ::

"When would you like to practice again?"

[Rod Stafford]

"When are you free again?"

A shrewder man would disguise the eagerness in his voice. Not Rod.

[Fiona Devlin]

"How about tomorrow, same time?"

[Rod Stafford]

"Great. Just don't expect me to go easy on you."

[Fiona Devlin]

:: She tickled him in self-defense, then ran out of the room ::