I was taught to fight, taught to win

[recurve]

Who| Kate Bishop & open
What| Sparring and socializing
Where| The Training Center and common areas
When| Presently
Warnings/Notes| N/A? I apologize for my lack of speed, I'm battling a hand injury after I put this up, so typing is slow-going.

Kate is already in very good shape, with skills in fighting and weapons that allow her to hold her own in the field with superheroes and monsters of all kinds. But all of her training, all of her hard work, the countless adventures she's had across the world, none of that has prepared her for Panem. This situation is beyond anything she could have dreamed up, and so she's now spending over time in the training center, working out and preparing her body for combat. It's not exactly a healthy state of mind she's in, but she's too anxious and frankly too scared to sit around and be idle in this situation.

Comments

[themediator]

Suze has never had any formal kind of training with fighting or weapons. She'd been in a scrape or two...or three, before but she had always improvised. A punch to the face here, some water guns filled with holy water there...

But her time in the arena proved that improvising alone wasn't going to cut it. She needed to defend herself if she was going to avoid the messy end she'd met last time. With that in mind she had made her way to the training center. She wasn't sure what she would do, or how she would improve, but she figured at least going there was a start.

She really shouldn't have been surprised to see someone else there training, but once she saw Kate, she wasn't quite sure what to do. She decided to take a walk around the area, inspecting all of the equipment available.

[recurve]

Kate is tempted to stop whatever drill she's been doing the second she spots someone else in the room. She's a social creature, and she doesn't mind the company, but at the same time an uneasy feeling settles over her. It's a weird sense of competition mixed with fear, an internal struggle over whether or not she should be afraid of this stranger. The eternal question of fight or flight, even in this non-combative setting, is already sinking in.

A few seconds later and her mind is made up. She pauses, brushing her banks from her eyes, and flashes a cordial smile at the other girl.

[themediator]

Suze looked back at Kate and returned the smile with an uneasy one of her own. She hadn't quite come to terms with being social with the people she'd be in competition to the death with in just a short while. It was better than being by herself for hours on end...to some degree, anyway.

"Hey. Hope I didn't interrupt you."

i am so sorry this is so late!!

[recurve]

"No worries," she says, keeping her chipper tone. "There's plenty of gym space to go around."

At least the feeling of panic has let up a bit. The other girl doesn't seem threatening, which she might wind up regretting thinking later. For now, it's a reassuring realization. Maybe this other girl is just like her; trapped and confused and in way over her head.

"Seriously, this place is ginormous."

that's okay!

[themediator]

"I'm surprised there aren't more people here, honestly."

She looked around to see if she missed anyone. Then she looked around for something she thought she might be able to train with. Nothing seemed particularly inspiring.

"...What you are training with?"

Okay, maybe she shouldn't have asked that. It's not like people were going to spill what they were good with, when the arena awaited them all.

[recurve]

Kate has no qualms about answering truthfully. Sure, it could be advantageous to keep her goods to herself, but strategy isn't exactly her strongest suit. She likes to barge in and take action, leave the planning to someone else.

"I'm an archer," she replies, strong arms folding neatly on her hips. "It's kind of my thing. What about you?"

[themediator]

Suze nods, but then shrugs.

"I'm not really trained to use any weapon. The most I know are a few basic self defense moves." And those didn't help her out too much last time.

[no_apples_please]

The weight of a weapon in hand felt like a solid, tangible way to fight something. It made sense to her, that she could stand here and focus; feel the weight of the arrow on the knuckle of her finger, feel the tension in the string and the burn in her arms, and that she could see the exact target that she was aiming for.

When she looses the arrow, it's a hit. Not perfect. But close. Close enough to count.

That?

That makes sense to her. And right now, she needs that. Because nothing else in this world does.

She's not the only one down here. But she doesn't care. Down here, no one really bothers her. Or if they do, it's a far more tolerable interruption that what awaits them all upstairs. The candy coloured city and its confusingly loud world. She doesn't know anyone in this place except for Ruby. They show her face on the screens constantly but Snow is too afraid to watch. Down here, it's easier to ignore the games. It's just her and half a dozen other strangers, pretending that they're all just here for the practice....

[recurve]

Kate has been watching this woman, studying her form, making silent mental notes about ways to improve, minor adjustments that could take her from hitting the target to nailing it. For the longest while she manages to keep her mouth shut, but at last her ego and curiosity get the better of her and she has to speak up.

"If you alter your breathing, it'll come more naturally." She smiles, a sheepish one, remembering once again that her advice isn't exactly solicited.

[no_apples_please]

Though not entirely surprised, Snow was not fully aware that anyone had been watching her until now. But the advice seems genuine. She nocks the next silver arrow and can feel the breath trapped in her lungs, held in tight from nerves, concentration and thousand other things. She closes her eyes once and exhales. Breathes in deep and then tries to let it come naturally.

Its harder than a person might think.

The arrow flies. And ends up at the dead center of the target across the room.

Its only then that Snow turns to look at the woman, and she smiles. In this place, kindness seems a rare thing, and she is not about to let it pass by her, unrecognized.

"Thank you," she says, and lowers the bow, to give her arms a bit of a rest.

i apologize for the lateness!!

[recurve]

"Don't mention it," Kate answers, grin becoming just a bit more toothy. As much as she enjoys shooting, it's also a secret pleasure of hers to watch other people do it. Watching someone else do it well is an added bonus. "You really didn't need my help. It looks like you've done some practicing here already."

oh my dear goodness i am just as bad D: i am sorry!!!

[no_apples_please]

There's a hint of pink in her face; a blush at what Snow very much considers a compliment.

"Not here, so much as back home," she confesses, and gestures to the room around them, "This is the first time I've been in this place."

shhh you're fine c:

[recurve]

"Yeah, me too." Kate sighs, a feeling of camaraderie coming over her. As easy as it is to get angry about the situation she's stuck in, sometimes it helps to remember that she's not the only one stuck in it. "I've only been her a couple of days now."

<3

[no_apples_please]

"Me too," Snow confesses. She rolls out her shoulders a little bit; relaxes her posture. "Though I think I like it better here than the last place. I had never been to an amusement park before..."

She gives a the smallest of shrugs in her shoulders; she's understands just enough about amusement parks to know that she's had a particularly bad experience.

[splendid_roman]

Ian was not happy about what he'd done in the arena, to say the least, and the easiest way not to have to deal with it was to not see anyone he'd fought with or been unpleasant to. But there was only so much staying in his room he could do before he got bored. So he headed down to the training centre.

After punching the life out of a punching bag and not really feeling a lot better he turned to something that would exercise some different muscles. He dismissed the idea of sparring with a partner because the only other person down here was a woman, who therefore wasn't suitable.

He ended up practising throwing things, which he could pretend was a game of cricket. Right up until the point where he picked up a ball that was heavier than expected and didn't travel the same way and nearly hit the woman with it.

"Heads up!" he shouted as it narrowly missed her.


((OOC: You define how narrow narrow is, depending on how aware she is of her surroundings))

o7

[recurve]

Narrowly missed was right. Another two paces ahead and she'd probably be nursing a broken nose in addition to a bruised ego. Reacting, she instinctively bounced back on her heels, nearly losing her balance in the process, only to be spared by a less than graceful whirling of her arms to keep steady.

"This umpire's calling that a strike." An attempt at humor, and at recovering her dignity and grace. She didn't like being caught off guard, but what could she do? "Maybe even an automatic walk."

Re: o7

[splendid_roman]

Ian didn't catch the reference, but could understand what he was referring to. "Sorry." He jogged over to her, but she didn't need him to keep her on her feet. "I promise I'll walk out of here before I hit anyone else." He smiled briefly before asking, "Are you all right?"

sorry this is so late :c

[recurve]

"I'm fine, thanks." Kate had by then regained her balance, for the most part, and was dusting her hands, ceremoniously. "You've sure got an arm on you. What are you, a professional baller?"

Re: sorry this is so late :c

[splendid_roman]

He chuckled. "No, but I used to play cricket at school."

[recurve]

Her brows go up. Prep school girl she might be, but she's still an American. Cricket is pretty much beyond her. "I don't even know how that game works."

[splendid_roman]

He smiled, not surprised by that. "Someone bowls a ball, someone else hits it with a bat and they run to the other end before the ball gets there. They repeat until the ball hits the stumps and they're out." Which was a bit simplistic, but Ian didn't want to go into too much detail when all she really needed was an overview.

[tis_allgood]

Cuthbert has never been one to pass up watching a lovely lady hard at work and he barely hides the fact that he's staring. He tended to his own tasks and kept an eye on her, waiting until he sees a good opportunity to step in and offer some help.

"Do not stiffen up so much, you will have more strength if you let the blow follow through."

He wasn't as great with hand to hand, but as upset as Kate was it could have been true.

[recurve]

He'd caught her by surprise, panting softly as she caught her breath and turned to face him. It was true, she'd been tense, compact in her rage, and all of her muscles ached as a result. Sure, she'd been working hard all day, but the added tension was absolutely exacerbating her weakened condition.

Slowly, she dropped her fists from the bag she'd been attacking, sniffing and wiping the sweat from her brow. She didn't normally like taking advice like that, especially not from strangers, but Kate knew she needed to fix her form, and fast.

"Like how?" Worn down, she could certainly use a demonstration.

[tis_allgood]

The part of him that had been wanting to hit on her faded quickly when he saw what kind of shape she was really in. This clearly was not the right time for that sort of thing.

"Here." He reached for her arm so he could demonstrate first hand. "A woman is not exactly as fit as a man for this sort of fighting. You should use your speed over strength to compensate, get in more blows before your opponent knows what hit him."

He showed her a strike that was quick and gave her the advantage of being able to pull back in the same motion.

apologies for the delay, been on hiatus ;;

[recurve]

She allowed him to position her arm without any protest, but his remark about not being as fit as a man didn't go without notice. Her eyebrows cocked at that and her first instinct is to tell him off, but she delayed her reaction and let him follow through with the demonstration, mimicking his movements a moment later.

"Like this?" She wasn't green when it came to fighting, but the technique felt odd, even for her.

no worries

[tis_allgood]

"Good, but concentrate more on the follow through than the blow. If you end in a position where you must rest before you strike again you will be at a disadvantage."

It was a bit strange to not be yelling and berating when he instructed someone. But it was nice at the same time, and he was just a little surprised at how quickly she took to it.

"You need less instruction than I would have thought."

[recurve]

"This isn't exactly my first rodeo," she said as she assumed the start position again. This time, her movements where slower, aimed more at correcting her positioning than getting in a solid or strong hit. If his advice was worth anything, which she thought it might be, she didn't want to get into a bad habit before she learned to correct it. "But I'm more of a weapons girl than hand-to-hand."

[tis_allgood]

"With a gun in hand and enough bullets I would find this game no challenge at all. But I doubt I will ever find myself with a gun in hand here, they want this to be a somewhat fair fight. So I fight with what I can get."

He nodded as he watched her. She was getting the hang of it and he was a bit impressed. She may favor weapons, but it didn't mean she couldn't be taught anything else.

[blondevigilante]

She lost Tim. It probably wouldn't take long for him to find her in the training center, but for now it was just her and the uneven bars; her smile wasn't going to go away anytime soon.

O had had her up and running many early mornings and there was something to be said about keeping up routine when everything else was strange and way too over decorated. She spun, twisted, and flew through the air like a seasoned professional. There was a certain peace she reached when doing these complicated moves and it shows on her face. Yeah, she managed to find the one really good thing about this world.

[recurve]

Kate could do some pretty high level gymnastics, but it wasn't her forte, so to speak. She was graceful and flexible, but not overly technical. Gymnastics was a means to an end, in her opinion. A necessary skill, but not one she overly focused on. So when she spotted the blonde doing flips and twists and leaps galore, her attention was instantly drawn. She didn't say anything as she watched Stephanie. She just stayed quiet and took in the show.

[blondevigilante]

Flying was a fall back skill. Steph liked the way she could move without too much thought other than making the next catch. She doubted it would actually come in handy in an arena but in this center it was something she could do for herself.

The feeling of being watched made her pull her routine short. She executed a perfect landing only just resisting throwing her arms up for her audience of one.

"Kate?" She smiled and left the mat to greet the other woman. "Just warming up. Got a plan or are we just winging it today?"

[recurve]

"Who needs a plan?" She meant is a little jokingly, but being that she was Hawkeye, making plans and setting them in stone weren't exactly her priority. Everything she did was off the cuff, including her exercise routines. She'd always prided herself in being able to improvise. "You're pretty good at that, by the way. I'm impressed."

[blondevigilante]

They really had to have been separated at birth. Stephanie smiled widely barely holding back a laugh. "You are a woman after my own heart!" She grabbed her towel and moved to the sparring mats. "That was me playing around. There probably won't be much call for high school gymnastics out there, but at least it helps keep the upper body going."

"So, you mentioned a trade. I found myself sorely lacking in bow skills last arena and I don't plan on that happening again."

[recurve]

"You're in luck, then, because I happen to be the world's foremost purple-wearing archer." Clint can just sit down for all Kate cares. "By the time we're done, you'll be a pro with a bow. Though this does beg the question of your end of the trade."

[blondevigilante]

Kick-ass bow skills and loves purple? Stephanie might be in love. "Hand-to-hand, bo staff, and a bit of that gymnastics thing. Believe me when I say I'm no expert at any of it, but I am definitely willing to trade what I know for one more ace up my sleeve." She tries to think of all the training O put her though back home if only to sweeten the offer should Kate refuse. "I also have some great words of wisdom you can use during the right moment thanks to a really boring Intro to Philosophy course."