( 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'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. ]