( open )

[beknight]

Who: bruce wayne (beknight) & various others.
What: it's the eye of the tiger.
When: after this network post!
Where: the dojo
Warning(s): violence! more will be added if needed.

accompanying log for sparring training.

Comments

[beknight]

I like to keep busy.

[ And picking a fight with someone is the best way to know them. He's pleased as punch there's more than Diana around to give him some exercise. ]

[ A beat, but no less genuine for the pause, ]

Good to see you.

[nanamari]

You know, some people knit. [ She smiles at him, small and wry. People have said as much to her often enough. She thinks the two of them aren't so different in this particular regard - she also likes to keep busy in ways that aren't strictly recreational.

This will be interesting.

She pats his arm as she passes him. ]

Come on, let's find a room.

[beknight]

Do you knit?

[ Equally amused. He smoothly cuts ahead to open the door to the room for her. It's warm tones, weapons rack with sticks. The walls are opaque to prevent outsiders from looking in. ]

Here we are.

[nanamari]

[ Ana chuckles. She thinks that's answer enough.

She just shakes her head when Alan cuts ahead of her, but she walks through the door and into the open space and stops a few paces inside. ] For your sake, I hope you're only a gentleman outside of combat.

[ She hasn't been inside a studio like this for years, but even a galaxy away, the smell is the same. It brings back memories of better times. Training with little Fareeha, or being coaxed out of some depression-fueled 'practice session' by Reinhardt. ]

I would have brought tea but we're a little strapped for resources. You'll have to come by the house sometime instead.

[ She rolls her shoulders. ] So, how do you want to do this?

[beknight]

I'll have to.

[ It's a little dry, a reply to her comment about being a gentleman. They both know there's more going on here, and he can't deny being curious. There are a lot of soldiers. There aren't many vigilantes. ]

Should we start with hand to hand?

[nanamari]

[ Ana settles what she learns beside what she's been told. Good manners aren't necessarily an indication of good morals, the same way that fitness isn't necessarily an indicator of skill. It's rare to meet anyone who isn't wearing a mask these days, but masks don't trouble her, in and of themselves. She wants to know: is it a deception, or is armor?

She nods. ] Winner buys dinner.

[beknight]

Deal.

[ With that, he gestures her to the main floor. ]

[ Bruce's initial movements are testing, the moment he's got an idea of her speed and strength he starts pushing. The strikes are harder, faster — a few come out of nowhere to force her on the defensive. He has an aggressive and brutal style, which is clear even when he's not trying to win. ]

[nanamari]

[ Ana circles at a distance, measuring. She lets him come to her. He's easily twice her size, but he's not a super soldier or a machine that can calculate faster than her mind can comprehend.

He's good. Brutal, efficient.

Ana does what she does best. She learns his movement, and it hurts like hell when she's not fast enough, but it teaches her. She anticipates. He surprises her. She dodges blows before they strike her, gets under his guard when his larger size and momentum might work against him. She doesn't let him back her into a corner.

She still moves like a woman who was born on a battle field. Her style is like her marksmanship. She's steady, precise, ruthlessly disciplined. She doesn't pull her punches for him unless they could kill him.

This isn't so much a fight as a conversation. Not hiding her abilities now is the same overture as taking her mask off or drinking the tea he's made for her. She's being honest, she's offering him her trust. ]

[beknight]

[ She's offering her trust. She is open about it — Bruce can smell weakness and it's not that. She's a little ahead of him on the curve. Reaching out to people. Wanting to know them, work with them. He's been at it for a few months now and he wonders if there'll be a day he wakes up and it feels natural. ]

[ For now, it must be done. ]

You're good.

[ He rolls a shoulder, and picks up the water bottle to offer her. ]

[nanamari]

[ Trust used to come easily for her. She still has the muscle memory, even if she feels out of practice. She's telling herself this is necessary. It won't lead to the same place it did before. ]

You're efficient. [ She likes that. Too many men have something to prove. Alan knows what he wants.

She takes the water from him. She's out of breath and sore, and and her hair is plastering itself to her forehead, but it feels good. ] You didn't learn all of that in a studio.

[beknight]

[ He was always efficient. Nice to have a fan. ]

No, I didn't.

[ She can ask, since they're sharing, but that's all he's saying in answer for now. ]

[nanamari]

[ She takes a swallow of water and hands the bottle back. ] I know my share of men who spend their lives fighting their demons. Have you killed any of yours?

[ Since they're sharing. ]

[beknight]

[ Since they're sharing, ]

No.

[ Wraiths have a habit of returning. One poison purged and another surfaces. Pull out criminals like weeds and more grow in their place. ]