|
Post by Jules on Sept 3, 2008 23:03:15 GMT -5
Zizzy was half an hour early, but she wasn't the only one. Quite a few of the knew recruits had played it safe, but since no one was out yet they all stood around, talking on the field. Zizzy had stopped being envied once they'd gone through the drills. She wasn't the exemplary student they thought she'd turn out to be. While she wasn't the worst, she'd earned herself a few sharp comments and do-overs and one or two snickers.
But so had pretty much everyone else. The amazing thing to her was that she didn't want to quit. The day had been brutal, and she knew they'd only get worse, but she was eager even, excited. It wasn't going to get any easier, she wasn't ever not going to be corrected and criticized, but it was okay, she could handle it.
She liked it. Zizzy was chatting aimlessly with one of the other recruits, he was telling her about why he wanted to join the force. He was nice, a bit older than her, and probably had some Dream blood in him, but he was friendly.
Despite the flow of conversation there was a tension in the air, people kept checking over their shoulders to keep an eye out for Vince.
|
|
|
Post by Miss Jack on Sept 4, 2008 0:07:46 GMT -5
Vince arrived, looking eager to crush hopes and dreams, an array of weapons on his back. Several officers trailed behind him, carrying more equipment.
"Why aren't you running?" he barked. "Not two hours today, two miles even. Get moving."
Once the recruits took off, he motioned to his officers and they began setting up the targets and weight obstacles. A few minutes later, Armand jogged onto the field, a sheepish smile on his face, his hair windblown from running. "Sorry I'm late coach." He tipped his brow in a mock salute.
Vince raised an eyebrow. "All the training, for nought," he said dryly.
"How are the new recruits?" Armand asked with a light grin.
"There are some... interesting prospects," Vince replied vaguely. "Mercedes is coming today too."
"Oh?" Armand said, interested. "Great, I actually....." He trailed off and a look of dismay passed over his face. "Oh. Er..."
"Don't like Mercedes?" Vince asked, like he'd care if he did.
"No, it's not that. It's aah... Nothing." Armand flushed a little. One de Zorro sister was on a personal vendetta to see him suffer, and he could only assume Mercedes felt the same way. Great. "So, what am I doing today?"
"Whatever I tell you to, maggot."
Armand chuckled.
|
|
|
Post by redtopaz on Sept 4, 2008 0:21:20 GMT -5
Mercedes jogged on to the field, breathing with an exaggerated exhale. Her! Late?! If it hadn't been for that silly vendor and his silly fruit stand getting robbed, she'd have been here a good fifteen minutes early, like usual.
"Morning, chief!" she said, jogging up to him and his godson. She didn't even glance at Armand. She'd pull him aside later and get the story. Now was time for work and she had to think about that. If the guy was really a jerk and Iseabail needed avenging, she'd be happy to heartily see it through.
"When do we get started?" she asked, resting a hand on her hip holster. She was feeling good and was ready to shoot some people, uh, targets.
|
|
|
Post by Jules on Sept 4, 2008 0:29:26 GMT -5
They ran, this time knowing what to expect, not one of them pushed themselves. Pacing kept them all running for the two miles. Zizzy looked over to the field as she passed closer to it on her rounds and almost fell over. Several people brushed passed her as she fumbled and regained her balance, running faster all of the sudden for no reason.
What was he doooing here? Why did life hate her? She had been going to tell him after she made it through the first week. Not the second day, and now he'd think she was trying to hide it from him. Which she had been, but not permanently.
|
|
|
Post by Miss Jack on Sept 4, 2008 0:38:02 GMT -5
Vince nodded in the direction of the track. "As soon as they're finished. Shouldn't be too long. Only two miles." But he rolled his eyes. He wouldn't be surprised if it did take them that long. He really hated the first week of new recruits.
"Armand, I'll have you run through some combat techniques with me, and from there we'll move on to weapon use."
|
|
|
Post by redtopaz on Sept 4, 2008 0:46:55 GMT -5
Mercedes nodded at his answer. She watched the recruits to the first lap. Now that she had adrenaline going from her botched morning and her mad sprint to the field, she felt like doing something physical. Still completely ignoring Armand, she looked over at Vince.
"I think I'll join them. For encouragement," she said. She waited for the go ahead and then joined in with the joggers when they passed again. "Come on, then," she snapped out, not having to feign being grumpy. Being late really ticked her off. She kept with the middle, occasionally speeding up or dropping back to harass the leader and rear respectively.
When the run ended, she jogged back to Vince and Armand, wearing a huge smile. Her endorphins were pumping full blast and she felt like all the evils of the morning had been washed away by the good old fashioned exercise.
|
|
|
Post by Jules on Sept 4, 2008 18:40:23 GMT -5
The rest of the recruits followed Mercedes after the two miles were done, they'd all finished at the same time, relatively---there were no obvious stragglers. At first Zizzy considered trying to hide behind some of the taller and beefier recruits, but Ryan was already whispering to her and it would've looked suspicious.
"That guy on his right? That's Prince Armand." Zizzy cringed a little, but maybe, hopefully she'd be able to laugh at all this soon. "He's one of the top students this place has ever had."
Zizzy couldn't stop the small grin than, and whispered back "Of course he is." As they came to stand in a line in front of Vince, Armand and Mercedes.
|
|
|
Post by Miss Jack on Sept 4, 2008 22:46:44 GMT -5
Vince shook his head as Mercedes took off. "Overachiever. She was like that in her training days too." But Armand caught the hint of approval in Vince's voice, and knew not only did Vince not mind, he even liked her for it. He watched the track for a second, and though they were a bit too far to see details, he thought..... He stiffened, but when he squinted to look closer, they rounded a corner and the girl disappeared behind a taller runner. Weird. He could have sworn that was Zizzy.
And then they lined up in front of them and just as he started to offer Mercedes a peace-offering type of smile, he did see Zizzy. His eyes bugged and his mouth fell open. He threw a glance at Vince, wondering if she was just... here... for no reason... but Vince didn't seem to think anything was amiss.
"His majesty Prince Armand," Vince drawled in a way to imply no one should give heed to his nobility, "is here to help demonstrate some fighting techniques." Armand was still staring at Zizzy in baffled wonderment, and so was unprepared for the foot that slammed into his chest, knocking him to the ground.
"The first rule is never let your guard down," Vince said with saccharine smile. "Right, Armand?" And lunged at him again.
Armand, void of breath, scrambled clumsily out of reach. "Stop batting your long eyelashes at girls, and this wouldn't happen," Vince taunted. Armand sprang backward onto his feet and launched his counter attack.
They flowed, moving so practiced and precise, it almost looked like a rehearsed dance between them. They fought quickly enough, at some points their moving bodies became nothing more than colored blurs. The flipped and twisted and created ruts in the ground when they landed too hard.
|
|
|
Post by redtopaz on Sept 5, 2008 21:42:22 GMT -5
Mercedes was almost as surprised as Armand when the blow landed. She'd been watching Vince, so she'd seen it coming, but she hadn't expected it to actually make contact. Rumors of Armand played him up as better than that. He'd been staring off in space at... Ah, the girlfriend. Another reason, she told herself, to be single. Less distractions. Yeah, that was it.
Mercedes stepped back into an 'at ease' position and watched as the fight progressed. It was obvious both were very talented, very well trained fighters. One a little more seasoned that the, perhaps, but both well versed in their own styles and ways. Mercedes, overall, enjoyed the fight. She'd always found violence oddly gratifying.
|
|
|
Post by Jules on Sept 5, 2008 21:52:13 GMT -5
No one missed the prolonged stare the Crown Prince gave the scrappy girl who started to blush blue. Zizzy just smiled weakly back at him, hoping he wouldn't be too pissed. Or amused by the idea of her being here. When he got knocked to the ground she took an involuntary step forward before remembering herself and shuffling back into line.
"What was that all about?" Ryan asked, she could tell the others were listening in while remaining focused on the spectacular fight. "Uhh, nothing?" But of course her cheeks glowed harder.
"Right, and I'm the Queen of England."
Zizzy quickly muffled her snort of amusement and sighed, "I guess he was just surprised to see someone like me here."
|
|
|
Post by Miss Jack on Sept 5, 2008 23:51:09 GMT -5
A few minutes of intense battle later, they stopped simultaneously, a wordless agreement, and took a step back from each other. Both were breathing hard, a light sheen of sweat on Armand's face. Vince turned to the newbies. "That's how you should be fighting by the time you complete the course," he said once his breathing steadied some. "And for those of you, ladies, who will doubtfully ever be as ripped as Armand here, never fear." He motioned to Mercedes.
|
|
|
Post by redtopaz on Sept 6, 2008 0:03:51 GMT -5
Mercedes was a bit stunned at first, but quickly recovered and stepped forward. She'd though she'd be shooting targets, not duking it out hand-to-hand. Still, given her opponent, she was eager to try. Mercedes felt you could always judge a persons character by how they fought. If he really was a slime-ball, she'd know by the way he moved, whether he fought dirty... She stepped up and bent her knees, sliding seamlessly into a 'ready' stance.
|
|
|
Post by Jules on Sept 6, 2008 14:28:59 GMT -5
Zizzy doubted she'd ever be able to fight like that, but all the other recruits had a look of excitement on their faces. To be able to move like that, anything like that, would be amazing.
The change of scenery was incredibly pleasant. Not that she didn't love the circus, but getting out was amazing. She hadn't come in with Vince because she found she didn't have the energy these days to wake at that hour, but when she had risen, she'd pulled herself into the wheelchair left by her bedside and wheeled over to the H.Q.
It never crossed her mind to be embarrassed about her condition, bandages wrapped around her forearms so she looked like Vince's Mummyism was contagious and obviously a cripple. She didn't know how much Vince had told everyone about her absence, but she wheeled onto the field with a broad grin. Just moving was an amazing sensation. She'd caught the last moments of the fight between Armand and Vince as and she came up beside the Chief Commander she smiled (she was in a better mood than she had been in a long while).
"Not bad, Armand."
|
|
|
Post by Miss Jack on Sept 7, 2008 20:28:41 GMT -5
"Not bad Armand?" Vince said, crossing his arms and glaring down at her.
This will be interesting, Armand thought, eyeing Mercedes stance. Not bad form, he'd give her that. Her reputation was tough, but he felt better testing it first; he didn't want to accidentally hurt her. And so, he launched the first attack, half-strength.
|
|
|
Post by redtopaz on Sept 7, 2008 20:38:41 GMT -5
Mercedes would have taken the half a second to smirk if she hadn't been slightly offended by the kid-glove approach he was taking. This wouldn't do at all. If she was really going to see how she stood against him, she'd have to offer some encouragement to preform.
Mercedes sidestepped easily, took the 'I'm-a-gentleman' opening he gave her and shot her foot right into his spleen. She put a fair amount of power behind it. Enough to bruise, but no serious damage. After recovering, she immediately launched into a second attack, stepping with the circular motion of her kick and bringing her elbow back toward his throat in a near-signature move of hers.
|
|