Remnants of the Earth

AEDOLIS => The Rest of Aedolis => Topic started by: Cheesigator on October 11, 2017, 08:01:36 pm

Title: Decode [Lion]
Post by: Cheesigator on October 11, 2017, 08:01:36 pm: So orientation had gone as well as Adele could have hoped, and the mission of playing hide and seek with the Commander helped the ratkid feel like they might have actually found a place to belong, for once.

Nishi was certainly a fiesty thing with as much willpower as she had smarts and cuteness.
Mia was an incredibly intelligent odd duckling who was way more than just a pretty head of hair and nice legs.
Raz was friendly, energetic, supportive and dedicated.
Yavul seemed to have a decent sense of humor and leadership both, a guy who really gave a shit about his squad and genuinely wanted to see them succeed.
Adal and Arika both seemed to be decent people, though Adele hadn't seen them much, and Sieg was nowhere to be seen, so...

The only person Adele was unsure of was... That one guy. Hannibal.

"Are ya sure you belong here, spuds?"

Adele pushed open the door to the gym and stopped inside, black gym shoes squeaking a little on the floor as they let their backpack hit the floor with a soft thud. It was ridiculously early in the morning, and Adele had been right in hoping nobody would be here this early. They liked having extra space to practice.

They took in a deep breath, tail twitching as they took off their jacket and figured it was about time they got themselves acquainted with the gymnasium here. Going for runs just wasn't enough, Adele had too much energy to burn. Besides, maybe it'd help them get their mind off of Jerkhead Cowboy.

Yeah, boy he changed his tune as soon as he realized Adele was a new Valkyrie. Lookin' at their tail like something was wrong with it, now that burned Adele a little more than just the civvies on the street. They expected them to stare, they were civvies and they hadn't gone through rigorous training in Haviah at the ATC, they hadn't been nearly as exposed to different peoples and cultures as a full blown Pilot had.

Adele huffed, starting with stretches as they tried to get their thoughts under control and push away the irritation. They had plenty to be grateful for, like the fact that the whole squad wasn't like that, like they'd been initially worried about. Yeah. That was a plus.

At least this place was huge; so huge in fact that Adele really didn't know what to start with. They'd had a kind of routine at the ATC but this place was set up differently, and besides, they'd get bored if they just did the same stuff all the time anyways.

They looked to the far end of the main room full of equipment for parkour, kickboxing, and such, and saw the far wall had notches in it for rock climbing. They grinned; good place to start!

They took of running through the gym, vaulting over obstacles, jumping up and climbing on equipment and enjoying it like a child on a playground. Balance wasn't an issue and speed was one of their best attributes; they made an 8 foot leap from the highest point on a jungle gym to grab onto the hand and footholds on the wall, sliding only a bit before getting a good grip and snickering as they started climbing their way up, noticing some balance beams on top and making another jump to grab onto one and pull themselves up, perching on the top while their tail lashed with excitement.

This is so cool! And they had the whole place to themselv--

Wait who the hell was that coming in? They hunkered down against the beam, holding still and keeping their tail up on the beam with them so they wouldn't be seen just yet. If it was someone fun they might pounce on them.
Title: Re: Decode [Lion]
Post by: Lion on October 11, 2017, 11:11:47 pm: Late to recline and early to rise, Hannibal Thayal never did need much sleep to function. Not when he had a veritable shot of adrenaline to keep him going. The hide and seek exercises kept him alert and when he was alert, sleep lasted about 4 hours tops. Sometimes even less than that. Reading usually did well to calm down his brain and kept it occupied for a few hours before his eyelids got too heavy and he passed out over his com.

Routine had him get up early enough to make it to the gym. He didn't bother running when he was going to incorporate that into his routine anyway, and in its rotation, sometimes it was the bike instead, or the elliptical, and other times he was trying to find the fastest way up that rockwall even more efficiently.

No abilities, nothing more than the grip of his hands and the skin of his teeth.

Most of the other squaddies wanted to do their running outside. He'd rather stay inside where he was gonna get sweaty anyway. At least the AC was running nicely in here and he didn't bother redirecting the airflow toward him when it was just gonna be him in here anyway.

He walked into that gym and, "The fuck?" he muttered. He heard someone else in there, and then abruptly it went quiet. He sure as shit knew there weren't any ghosts in there, and he had his brick dust like Yavul said. Just in case.

It wasn't like he couldn't share, he just preferred not to if the space was as open as it was.

Hannibal didn't see anyone immediately, and ventured further without any real hesitation. Until he saw a backpack on the ground just a little too late.
Title: Re: Decode [Lion]
Post by: Cheesigator on October 11, 2017, 11:27:43 pm: Oh fuck.

Of ALL the people who had to waltz in here at the asscrack of dawn it had to be Racist McGee. Fantastic FAAAAAN T A S T I C.

Adele let out a quiet huff, resting their chin in their hand. Well there went all the fun, now what did they do? Hannibal was still standing too close to the doors and it'd be way too hard to sneak out with all the broad lighting in this room. The idea of pouncing on him flickered briefly across their mind before they remembered the look of sheer distaste on the other Pilot's face when they first met and decided ultimately against it.

But. This could still be interesting.

Using their own inherent nimble nature they scaled along the beam connected to the ceiling, a 15 foot drop separating them from the ground below. They scampered their way over to where Hannibal stood, silent as a feather dropping and waited until he was just under them and stepping past.

Eerily quiet, they lowered themselves down from crouching atop the beam to holding onto it only with their hands, tail flicking as they hung there behind the unsuspecting aerokinetic where they waited a minute and then dropped, the sound of their feet hitting the ground surely grabbing his attention.

Standing smoothly they put their hands on their hips, tilting their head to the side as they raised their eyebrows at him, tail swinging idly behind them. "Well lookie what we have here, looks like somebody had the same idea as me. And here I thought I was being original." They mocked offense, placing their hand on their chest and looking away before looking back at Hannibal and smirking.

This was a chance to set things right, so maybe Adele could stop avoiding the guy. Maybe he just needed a chance, or someone to open his mind.

Hah. As if he hadn't had plenty of opportunities in Haviah.
Title: Re: Decode [Lion]
Post by: Lion on October 12, 2017, 12:45:29 am: Holy fucking shit!

Hannibal didn't hear anyone, hadn't seen anyone or anything except that backpack in the middle of the floor. He had paused and thought it was somewhat familiar, but frankly he had seen so many backpacks in his lifetime it could have been anyone's.

Until the owner decided to drop in. Fucking literally! What in the actual fuck!

Hannibal stumbled forward and turned around with that fight or flight instinct turned on. Holy shit. "What, are you crazy?! Do you want to get gut punched? Because that's how you get gut punched," he hissed and clenched his fist tightly. He sighed and cracked his knuckles to relieve that stress.

Hannibal wasn't wearing anything nearly as flashy as this kid was clearly wont to do. Just as simple blue tank with gray sweats and thin soled weight lifting shoes. It would serve the purpose they were meant for and he looked them over with a frown. So ratkid liked the gym. It wasn't that hard to figure if Yavul picked them for the Valkyries, they were obviously rough and tumble.

They had to be. Commander didn't put his paw on anyone that didn't meet the standard.

"Pretty sure I saw another one of ya chewed up and spat out with a wad of tobacco from an old lady on the way over here," he muttered and licked his lips. "Look, Adele is it? What I meant t'say was good morning. It's a big gym. Ain't no reason we both can't just do our own thing."

He glanced back to the rat tail and rolled his shoulders. Meh? It was just a vestigial tail. It wasn't anything he hadn't seen before. And this person looked more or less fleshy. Could be worse. Could look like Yyandyrn in Havina. Eugh.

Hannibal reached down and slung his back back over his shoulder rolling it and heading off to where the punching bags were, set his things down and opened his bag. He had a set of his own punching gloves, fingerless ones with padding on the knuckles. And wasted no time in jabbing at the heavy bag, hitting heavy and with little grace.
Title: Re: Decode [Lion]
Post by: Cheesigator on October 12, 2017, 05:28:41 am: Hannibal's response was to immediately get ready to duke it out, which Addie could admire to a small extent. The moment he'd turned around looking like that Adele had parted their feet in a stance for better balance and dodging, ready to dance with the country bumpkin at a second's notice.

That didn't happen though, and they didn't know if they were disappointed or indifferent; they didn't bother relaxing their stance, eyes narrowing as they smirked at him.

"Maybe that's what I was aiming for. Us crazy out-of-towners, ya never know what to expect, huh?"

They blinked, hearing something about an old lady and tobacco and lashing their tail. "Oi what was that, got somethin to say?"

And yet he said nothing of further offense, saying that the two of them should essentially just leave each other be in this massive gym. And while he did potentially have a point, Adele watched him for a few moments as they crossed their arms over their chest. Man, why did life have to throw this kinda difficult shit at them?

Theoretically the two weren't that different. They were both Valkyries, both probably tough as nails, loyal and all that good shit. Hell they weren't even dressed that differently; Adele wasn't even wearing any warpaint yet (no point if they were just gonna sweat it off,) and had on a simple black tank top and black fitted leggings, sneakers.

But they really couldn't let this keep on going, could they?

Adele had some gloves too, and they got an idea and fished them out of their bag; they let their hands drop to their sides, bending at the knees for a moment before they sprang over a few obstacles, climbing back up to the beams on the ceiling and dropping down by a punching bag a few feet away from Hannibal in a matter of seconds, lashing out with a kick that sent the heavy bag swinging hard by the chain holding it to the ceiling. As it swang back towards them they punched it again, and again, every hit perfectly timed for maximum effect rather than just pummeling it like Hannibal was over there.

They briefly remembered sitting in front of the tv late at night, watching the Aedolian Games when their mom was asleep and wouldn't catch em while they rooted quietly for the Valkyries, loving their flashy and loud personalities and tactics. Sieg had always been their favorite, for obvious reasons, but they remembered Hannibal. He'd been close second. And even if that had been nearly ten years ago, it didn't change the fact that if Adele met themselves from back then right here and now, they refused to let them disappoint themselves. Adele wasn't gonna let this rest at awkward 'we're teammates but not really' like it was. If they hated each other that was fine, but they had to figure something out.

Adele glanced over at him, wondering how he'd respond, if he would at all. It was a little challenge, after all, though maybe he was a tad too dense to get it.
Title: Re: Decode [Lion]
Post by: Lion on October 13, 2017, 01:02:55 am: Hannibal could get the gist that they were doing this on purpose. But why though he didn't understand. He just wanted to work out and whatever it was they were trying to goad out of him, it wasn't going to work. He'd made peace with the fact that they were different looking. It didn't matter now, and what was more they were a squadmate - and that came first over everything else.

What started as a warm up was quickly turning into a barrage of hard punch after hard punch. It was a vague irritation that was quickly made apparent when he felt their interloper came along and began doing some kind of fancy flourish, and punching the bag as if it were going to somehow hit back.

Hannibal paused his own strikes and just watched them, studying their movements and he sniffed a little, a smirk appearing on his features.

He casually leaned against it and crossed his arms over his chest. "You finished? Is that all you got?" he asked with an almost bored shrug. "I was about to fall asleep over here." And he made a mock yawn, raising his arms up to stretch.
Title: Re: Decode [Lion]
Post by: Cheesigator on October 13, 2017, 01:18:53 am: Addie was perfectly well aware of when the only other person in the gym stopped what he was doing to watch them, and they weren't sure if they should be proud, nervous, or agitated. Apparently their stomach decided to settle for all of the above.

They continued though, electing to ignore him in favor of concentrating and practicing their moves, until he spoke up that was, and Adele paused.

Turning to look at him, they smirked as they crossed their arms over their chest and lifted their chin at him. "Right, like you can talk. Your routine got boring in under ten seconds!" Their hands slid to rest on their hips instead, the defiant look in their eyes unmistakable as they grinned at him.

"But if you're really so bored then why don't you show me something? Go on, impress me." They gestured to him, "Go on, then."
Title: Re: Decode [Lion]
Post by: Lion on October 13, 2017, 01:27:57 am: "Careful, pinky, I got moves that might be too abrasive for you. You're a little burnt at the edges," he shrugged and scoffed. So the little ratkid was trying to goad him, to what end? Was he egging him on for a fight. Hannibal wasn't stupid, insofar as situations like this were concerned. But they seemed to have something to prove. They were new after all.

And what kind of Valkyrie would he be if he didn't let them test their mettle, figure out where they were on the scale.

"You got moves, kid, I'll give you that," he shrugged and went back to his own bag, continuing on with his own routine as he'd started with a few comfortable jabs before he started to hit it harder and swung back in a round house kick, then another and another, and as he came back around for the fourth time he jumped forward as the bag was swinging back toward him.

His knee came up and swung into the heavy bag. The force on the chain jangled and seemed as if the bag would come off the hook. Hannibal paused long enough to glance at Adele, and he said everything he needed to with a narrowed eyed glance, followed by a smirk. And his fists kept kept that steady jab routine in following up.
Title: Re: Decode [Lion]
Post by: Cheesigator on October 13, 2017, 02:58:04 pm: Burnt at the edges? Wow, rood--Adele quite liked sporting their few burn marks, thank you very much. It was like... A visual representation of their personality worn directly on their skin. And it also showed how they still had a ways to go before perfecting their flames became a possibility but that was neither here nor there.

This boy wanted a war, did he? Well then that was what he was gonna get.

Adele just stood back and watched, tapping a foot because they had to keep moving something, and found they were highly disappointed. He'd essentially just done the same thing they had moments prior, the only difference was he had more horsepower to hit with because he was built like a goddamn stack of bricks.

Addie caught that smirk and rolled their eyes, unable to resist grinning because in all honesty they were kind of enjoying this a bit. It was much easier than awkwardly trying not to stare at him because he was the one person in the room they knew quite a bit and yet nothing about and had no idea how to interact with. It was weird.

But this? This was something they could handle; some fiesty little quips back and forth, that they could do just fine. At least now they felt like they had ground to stand on whereas the other day Hannibal had just yanked the rug right out from under their feet.

"Oh, please. I'm so scared. I literally just did that, and you have the nerve to call me boring, copycat." They teased, tail flicking as they decided to move on to something else, because these punching bags weren't enough and you could only do so much with them--time to move on to something better.

"Well, you keep being boring over here then. I'm gonna go be cool over here." It was a taunt moreso than meant in sincerity--Adele wasn't really one to boast about themselves with delusions of grandeur.

With that they headed over to the treadmills, figuring if he decided to try and take up the challenge fine, if he didn't that was fine too, at least there had been something today, some amount of give. They fired up the machine and started at a light jog, tail holding surprisingly still in the air so it didn't bounce off of their legs with the movement.
Title: Re: Decode [Lion]
Post by: Lion on October 13, 2017, 04:12:32 pm: Pffft! All this kid had was flair and not much else. Sure boasting and hollering were good when the moment suited it and even in a gym between the two of them, if no one else was watching, then what was the point? Still, though, knowing that ratkid was having a hard time being impressed only made Hannibal wanna rip that bag off the chain and throw it at their fat stupid head.

Pfffffft!

Eugh, that was not a healthy thought. And he found it came more from being told his technique was boring than because they were a sewer ratkid. Not that Hannibal could really talk, half the time he smelled minerally - pleasant but like soil all the same. Working in mines for more than a decade and using mud to cool off and just nap tended to do that after a while.

Hannibal finished his warm up a few minutes after ratkid walked away. Just like that. So the kid wanted a challenge huh? Oh, this could be fun. Might as well get his work out into it while he could. No powers, no abilities, all physical. Hannibal walked as if he were in no particular hurry to show Adele up.

And he wasn't. He was going to end up on the treadmill at some point during his routine, might as well make some use of it.

So he casually took the one right beside Adele and set the thing on a walk, starting off and quickly proceeded to bump it up to a decent run. Definitely faster than anything Adele was doing. The kid was thin, lithe enough to slink around and do those fancy tricks. Well they weren't the only one with tricks up their not-sleeves.

Hannibal hit the switch and started to run even faster, cutting his eyes only momentarily to them.
Title: Re: Decode [Lion]
Post by: Cheesigator on October 13, 2017, 04:31:08 pm: At first it seemed as if Hannibal had had enough of their short banter. Adele kept running on the treadmill, determined to not let it bother them as they figured well, then that just meant they won. Or something. Idly, they listened to the sound of the punching bag being hit a few more times before it went quiet.

And just as they were about to chance a glance over their shoulder and look, there he was--on the treadmill right next to them.

They refused to look at him, sensitive hearing making it painfully aware to the Cardinal that he was walking first, easing himself up like a chump. Adele had too much energy for that, so he could keep his measly lil grandma pace to himse--

Adele heard the speed go up on the other machine. They glanced down, just at Hannibal's feet, and noticed he was going about the same pace.

Okay, fine, whatever. There weren't any laws saying two people on treadmills next to each other couldn't run the same speed.

Click.

The whirring of the track on the other machine sped up again and finally Adele looked over, catching Hannibal looking right at them, their own brows furrowed with suspicion, and then that look quickly changed to determination.

Oh bitch it is so on.

Hannibal's machine sped up and Adele wasted no time in catching up, clicking up the speed once, running like that for about a minute and then bumping it up again, and then again. Now they were full out running, the both of them, and it looked like neither of them were about to stop or slow down so why leave it at just that? Adele transitioned from running to sprint, a light sheen of sweat making their visible skin gleam under the bright lights, and they were smirking.

Despite the quick pace and the intense activity that was running, they kept their breaths quiet, damn near silent, and ran with a certain fluidity and grace that made a lot of sense seeing as how sneaky and nimble they were. That's what a rat had to be, after all.

"You just don't know when to admit defeat, do you?" They asked, looking over at Hannibal with a cheeky grin on their face.
Title: Re: Decode [Lion]
Post by: Lion on October 14, 2017, 01:44:02 am: "Defeat? Is that one of them big words y'all use up in what, Margad was it?" he snorted with only part of pant. Both of them were panting rather hard on their respective treadmills and Hannibal kept going until the machine itself started to overheat. Or so it seemed. He wasn't has lightfooted as Ratkid over there, but he held his own and could run a full mile under three minutes. Maybe ratkid was faster.

Or say that they were.

"Don't know the meaning of the word," he panted and tried not to laugh. He was actually grinning despite himself and just when he thought he was getting a bit too tired, the kid more or less stopped when he did. Hannibal was panting and he straddled on either side of the moving belt, stopping the machine and he stepped off.

"Used to skittering around, slipping wherever you skull fits through?" he snorted and wiped the sweat from his brow. It was a good thing that his hair was already tied back into a bun and he smiled, shaking his head.

They almost gave him a run for his money, he'd give them that much. But he'd only just begun and as he spotted the weights on the other side of them gym, Hannibal took a step back before running forward onto the treadmill track, holding the railings and vaulting his legs up onto the sides and using it to vault over the display.

He jumped then from there and stepped around the ellipticals and pulling himself up into a set of 'monkey bars' throwing his legs up through a slits, and climbed on top, stepping delicately and doing a somersault where the weight benches were, plopping down right on one of them.

He winked at Adele and went about fixing the barbell for lifting. Bench presses were a good way to put hair on your chest.
Title: Re: Decode [Lion]
Post by: Cheesigator on October 14, 2017, 09:12:00 am: Truth be told, Adele was a little surprised when Hannibal mentioned their hometown. He remembered? They narrowed their eyes, a smirk shining on their features as they just shook their head and kept going.

Unfortunately, keeping in mind that they had started running before Hannibal did, they could only hold up the sprint for so long before they slowed the machine down to a walk and then stopped, letting the track carry them to the edge where they gracefully stepped off, panting fairly hard and noticing Hannibal did the same.

He was grinning.

Fuck, he looked real cute when he was grinning. That wasn't fair at all.

"Actually yes," Adele mocked a gasp and covered their mouth comically, "How did you know?!"

Adele was caught by surprise however when the man suddenly launched himself off of the treadmill into a series of climbs and artful body twists onto a set of monkey bars that he took as a shortcut to the benchpress, and then when he got over there he looked over at Adele and winked.

The bastard.

Adele's tail twitched as they just stared at him for a moment, failing to ignore how their heart had fluttered, their mind taking that and running wild with it. He was pretty when he was all hot and sweaty, Adele wondered what he'd look like pinning them down--nope. Don't you go there, Addie. Don't you even.

Adele followed the same movements Hannibal had demonstrated before, throwing themself over the bar of the treadmill and jumping up onto the monkey bars over head, nimbly sliding through them and balancing on top, hooking their knees in the last bar and hanging upside-down while they watched Hannibal add weights to the bench press.

"You're full of surprises, ain't cha, cowboy?" Adele teased.

Lifting serious weights was something they didn't bother with--they didn't want to have the look of a ripped muscle man, they much preferred looking more petite. So they grabbed the bar with their hands and flipped down, doing pull-ups instead.
Title: Re: Decode [Lion]
Post by: Lion on October 15, 2017, 12:07:37 am: Of course he made a point of remembering certain things about squadmates that other people might be likely to forget. Civvies loved the flash and the zeal, and their oh so fantastic appeal. Statistics in the field, in the bedroom, they ate stuff like that up all the time. But the personal details, the facets that only higher ups could look at while on record, that wouldn't really catch the public's eye.

Adele may have been from Margad, but they were in Solarta now. Greyneck central. The few here that might see them with a great deal of exotic fascination were too far between to make a real difference. People would forget those things, the little parts that made people - people. If it were anyone else, Hannibal wouldn't have given to fucking shits.

But Adele was a Valkyrie, one of them. They earned that fair and square. Yavul didn't put that paw print on yellow-bellied pebbleshakers.

Hannibal adjusted the weights on the barbell, starting with something heavy by manageable and sniffed at Adele's response. Margad, green, plants, life, flourishing whereas here it was dry as fuck and the much was the most you'd get from sand and water. Hannibal liked the dirt and mud just fine - it was home and that was where his heart was. Coming here was probably something of a mild culture shock.

Mild, Adele seemed flexible enough. Could probably just rubberball bounce right off the walls!

He sat down on the bench and adjusted himself to lay down underneath the bar. "You should see me make waffles, bud. Even more surprises there," he snorted and made sure he got the laugh out of him before he lifted the bar off the hooks and began his reps. His breathing came out in short spurts as he pushed up and slowly dropped the weight down, testing his grip until he came to the fifteenth rep.

Low weight, high rep. High weight low rep.

"How about instead of gawking, you spot me," he offered instead, putting the barbell back on the hooks. "Unless ya ain't familiar with lifting terms. If you're skittish, I'll understand."
Title: Re: Decode [Lion]
Post by: Cheesigator on October 15, 2017, 12:34:39 am: It seemed neither of them were about to stop analyzing each other, trying to figure one another out even though neither of them realized it.

Adele only knew about Hannibal what was out there for the public to see, of course--what they'd seen of him in the Games, on tv. Photos on fansites dedicated to him of just eating burgers for fuck's sake. Addie knew he wasn't too far behind Yavul in terms of age, and that he was a Pilot Echo, and they also knew his main powers lie in air, wind, that kind of thing.

Of course, the last thing they were ever about to do was let on the fact that they knew anything about him at all--better to play dumb and save face than to immediately blab that 'oh yeah I used to be one of your fans!' and instantly lose a thousand credibility points simply because of that fact.

They kept their expression muted as they focused on each slow, measured pull-up, bringing chin up to the bar and gracefully lowering themselves back down. They were facing Hannibal while they did it though, so they got to watch him work which was both a blessing and a curse in the meantime.

Adele snorted softly at the comment about waffles. Addie could cook--they weren't great at it, but they could. They just hated doing it.

"Well great then maybe I should have you come over and cook all my meals for me since I can't be bothered to anymore." They retorted with a smirk.

Apparently, however, Hannibal had noticed their staring, and that wiped the smirk right off their face and replaced it with the barest hint of a blush as they quickly looked away and dropped down. They hadn't been gawking. Just looking. That was all. Yep.

They regained their composure with lightning speed however, stepping over with hands on their hips as they raised an eyebrow at the man on the bench seat.

"You want a noodle like me to spot for you? Fine, but I ain't responsible for your poor life choices here, bud." They said it with a smirk.

They'd had to do this once or twice in Candyland with other Candidates and Adele definitely knew that anything to do with this kind of exercise wasn't their strongest point--again, they didn't exactly want the biggest buffest arms on the planet, here. But they knew enough about what they were doing to feel confident in it, and that they knew what to do if the big cowboy here did slip. They had to work with the assets they were given, after all.

So they straddled his legs, standing over his lap with hands resting on their hips as they watched him, keeping a watchful eye on his muscles--for actual, legitimate reasons, alongside the fact that they were pretty to look at of course--and his breathing and facial expressions. Because if something started to go wrong those key things would be the first to show it, and the only chance Addie would get to catch it.

... Definitely, definitely distracting though because good gods he was pretty and he had really nice muscles and stop it Addie, bad. Bad rat.
Title: Re: Decode [Lion]
Post by: Lion on October 15, 2017, 12:56:34 am: Body strength exercises were good, in fact they were great and among Hannibal's favorite arsenals with which to shape the temple that was his body. His scars were earned and marks of survival, but he had no tattoos or any other debilitating features or missing appendages that were the otherwise the result of sheer carelessness.

Hannibal did what he could to take care of himself. Aside from the drinking he was casual smoker and really only ate when he was hungry. He wasn't any pinnacle of health, but he took pride in the body that he'd worked hard to build. And not to mention it was a great stress reliever too.

"Ha, I won't expect you to life moren' your weight," he snorted after that rest.

And then of course they went about and did the thing that Hannibal really hadn't been betting them even doing. Guess it was a good thing he hadn't put all his chips down yet! Hannibal had been lifting the bar when Adele went ahead and straddled them and he made a noise of surprise, tilting feeling the bar tilting somewhat to the side and he lifted his pelvis up to better adjust himself up.

"Shit!" he hissed, bumping Adele's ass forward with his legs and trying desperately to balance out.
Title: Re: Decode [Lion]
Post by: Cheesigator on October 15, 2017, 01:07:13 am: Addie couldn't help but stick their tongue out at Hannibal at his remark. Psh. Well Adele was full of surprises, he'd see. Sure they were a noodle but they were a good noodle and a good strong noodle and before they even realized it they were making a determined promise to themselves that no matter what, one day they were gonna make Hannibal's jaw drop to the floor.

Definitely.

But for now, they hadn't even really gotten a chance to think of how or where or when they could possibly achieve that, because it apparently surprised Hannibal that they did the very thing he asked them to do.

Yeah, shocker, that one.

Addie was quick to react, getting a leg up with their foot on the beam that held up the bench seat for leverage, right as Hannibal's legs hit their ass and shifted them forward so they were full on straddling him as they caught the bar of the weights and steadied it for him. Of course, in doing so, the two of them were suddenly extremely up close and personal.

Like... Extremely. They could feel Hannah's breath on their face kind of extremely.

"... Well that didn't take you long at all now, did it?" They asked with a smirk, desperately trying to ignore how their heart rate had sped up not just because Hannibal had almost lost it, but partially because they were straddling one of the hottest members on the Solarta Valkyries so yknow NO PRESSURE OR ANYTHING AHA.

The only way they could keep their composure was with their snide remark, and they helped him either set the weight back on the hooks or held it steady until he was ready to get back to his reps again, trying to put all of their focus into just... Doing the job he'd asked. And trying not to let their mind run wild with thoughts of 'what if that was a ruse just so he could kiss you Addie GAAAAAASP?' Because that was totally definitely probably maybe surely not it.

Focus.
Title: Re: Decode [Lion]
Post by: Lion on October 16, 2017, 12:33:05 am: "Straddling me wasn't what I had in mind, but ya saved my neck anyway," Hannibal gasped, his face red from the force and more beads of sweat dripped down his forehead. "So, uh, thanks." The words came out with a sputter and he adjusted himself on that bench until the weight was secured in his arms. He held the weight down close to his chest while Adele was still on him.

"Uhhh, you just gonna lay there?" he muttered, holding it for a moment. He stayed still, waiting until they did something rather than just reclining against him. They helped him from breaking his neck though. That was definitely not something he'd been expecting, and he had a small smirk playing on his lips as he looked up at them.

"Because spotting me is a lot easier if yer not all reclined. I'm not a couch," he snorted, trying to keep from just busting out laughing.
Title: Re: Decode [Lion]
Post by: Cheesigator on October 16, 2017, 12:43:33 am: Leverage, they did it for leverage--Aw fuck it it didn't matter. The point was that they had been successful in saving Hannibal's neck, literally, and that was all that mattered.

Or it was, until they were distracted by a bead of sweat sliding down the other Pilot's face. Huff.

But then the other man brought attention to the fact that Addie had gotten distracted and was indeed just kinda... On him, for no reason. They immediately sat up and stood back up again, crossing their arms over their chest as they looked away like they thought it would hide the cute blush on their cheeks that they knew damn well was there--more out of embarrassment than anything, but still.

"Oh sorry, got ya confused for one of those heated reclining chairs yknow?" They retorted, casting a mock glare at him that was convincing until they smirked. At least they recovered quick enough on their own.

But this was definitely gonna give way to suggestive dreams later, they could already tell. And they were already secretly dreading it.

"So you mess up that bad every time you come to the gym, or is it just because I'm here?~" They teased.
Title: Re: Decode [Lion]
Post by: Lion on October 16, 2017, 08:51:43 pm: When it came to having a body reclined on his, he could think or a lot better places than a weight bench. And definitely preferably not when he waa securing a weight just along his chest. The motion that startled him left him flustered and embarrassed, mainly because he didn't like losing concentration on his form.

That was how you got hurt, when you weren't paying attention or when you tried to do more than you could. But if there was one thing Hannibal could feel just from Addie's reclining it was this kid never skipped leg day that's for sure.

"Damn," he murmured and reached up to settle the barbell back on the rack. Letting his arms get a lot less noodly before he resumed his reps yet again. He glanced up to Addie and grinned.

"You've got that colorful distraction thing pretty down pat," he reasoned. "So no, the answer is that kinda fumbling ain't a usual thing for me." A snort and soon be finished, standing up and pushed himself up. "But you got that church of iron spirit. I can dig that."

A thumbs up and he stood to move over to the dumb bells, and proceeded on bicep curls. "So how ya enjoying Valkyries so far hot shot?"
Title: Re: Decode [Lion]
Post by: Cheesigator on October 16, 2017, 10:51:44 pm: Addie blinked, losing the bravado for a moment to stare down at one of Solarta's favorite greynecks in surprise. They hadn't expected him to take the question seriously, or at the very least, didn't expect him to answer seriously.

And the fact that he said they were distracting and implied that was the reason he fumbled?

Yeah that light blush on Adele's face wasn't going to go anywhere any time soon--which was extremely odd, irritating as well; it made the tip of their tail flick. It was usually next to impossible to make Adele blush, considering their extracurricular... "Hobbies." Why the hell were they getting all red in the face now, then!?

Sure, they'd always admired Hannibal to an extent. Sure, they'd always dreamed of meeting him and maybe followed some of those blogs about him a little too closely but that was forever ago. The moment they got into the Candidacy program they'd dropped all those whimsical fantasies (... Yeah okay maybe not all but MOST) in favor of buckling down and working hard to show the world what they were made of.

And yet here they were, crumbling to pieces just cause he said they were distracting--didn't even say what kind of distracting, really!

He said they had an iron spirit and they smiled a little--an actual, genuine one, rather than that cheeky grin or smirk they usually wore--and let him get up to switch over to the barbells, deciding to get back up on those bars and hang upside-down by their knees to practice some hanging sit-ups.

"Well thank you, I'll take that as a compliment." They grinned, before he asked him how he was enjoying th--

Hot shot?

Adele almost slipped and if it hadn't been for their tail shooting out to wrap around the next bar they would have fallen on their head like they were in a goddang cartoon.

Hot shot?!?

They felt like they were melting inside, like a wax candle burning up. The hell?! The hell was this!? They recognized the feeling of their body temperature rising just a smidge, that was an easy thing, but their heart melting? New sensation--weird one. Didn't like it. Nope.

"I-I--" Holy shit now they were STUTTERING? No! What the hell was this!? "It's great. So far. It's everything I hoped it would be." If Adele could ever be thankful for one thing though it was their quick mind.

They looked over at him, trying to ignore the movement of his muscles under his taught, tan skin (which had just the slightest glossy sheen of sweat huff~) in favor of speaking words. "You gave me quite a surprise though I'll say." Still couldn't make eye contact, why did he have to be so pretty. It wasn't fair.

They resituated themselves on the monkey bars and returned to their sit-ups, smirking. "Guess I probably shocked the shit out of you though so I don't have a leg to stand on here. Weren't expecting a rat?~"
Title: Re: Decode [Lion]
Post by: Lion on December 03, 2017, 08:21:24 pm: To anyone else the term was nothing more than conversational. Hannibal had thought he'd conveyed the term as such. He was quiet, and ignored the little smirk that was playing on his lips at the way Addie was getting flustered. It was vaguely adorable. Only vaguely and as if getting under other people's skin wasn't his most favorite thing ever, he took a great deal of satisfaction watching Adele's tail shoot out to try and grasp a bar to maintain their place on the monkey bars.

Hannibal worked his biceps a few good reps at a time, rotating his wrist to keep position and making the bicep pop the moment it contracted and created a tight-knit ball. He kept up the motion, feeling Adele's eyes on him and unsure if the tinging he felt at the back of his neck and the hackles rising were from liking the attention, or from the fact that he could make Adele fumble.

They seemed so cool, so smooth. But a simple turn of phrase and they nearly broke their neck. Not that he would have wanted them to get hurt, but sometimes tripping up could be wildly entertaining. Wildly. Hannibal shifted his head, tilting so that he was listening but not quite so much as to give them a glance.

It was a haughty motion, because he knew they were looking. And once he felt that his biceps had gotten enough attention he placed the bars back on the rack, wiggling his hands out and casually meeting their gaze.

Okay, so it was pretty clear they weren't going away. And he could share space with them. They were Valkyries now here, and he was an adult. Yup, nothing weird here. Not at all trying to suss them out, see if they were even in the right place.

"Shocked? Naaaah, but you're pretty weird looking," he admitted casually, meeting their gaze again. Well, because they were. "Didn't expect the tail. But seein' as it just kept ya from smashing your face on the floor, yeah I'd say it could be mighty useful."

Hannibal sauntered over to where they were doing hanging sit-ups and he shifted behind them, so that his front was facing their back and with a jump, he reached up for the set of bars behind them. He hung there for a while, admiring their backside, the way the black clung to alabaster skin, and a small lurch in his belly and the way the dips were accentuated around their hips.

He took in a deep breath and began to do pull-ups, keeping his from perfect depite the distraction in front of him. No, he hadn't decided what kind of distraction they were yet. But one thing was for sure when they walked into the room, all eyes were on them. Yeah, he could get used to that.
Title: Re: Decode [Lion]
Post by: Cheesigator on December 12, 2017, 09:29:21 am: The fact that he was so obviously listening to them, yet refusing to meet their gaze while they spoke made a quiet fire burn in Addie's chest that almost lit their tailtip aflame. How rude, and Adele was sure that he knew it, too.

And yet all they could do was helplessly watch as he worked his biceps and good gods if it wasn't distracting as hell watching those muscles flex. Why'd he have to be such a hunk?

Sometimes life just wasn't fair.

And yet he called them weird-looking and their heart fell just a teensy bit. Of course, Adele. Don't ask questions you don't want answers to, you should know better. Especially knowing that Hannibal was Solartan, and given his reaction when they first met, which hadn't been much all different from every other Solartan in this town.

It was their turn to look away now, ignoring the slight blush still tinting their cheeks as he spoke. Yeah, their tail was pretty usefull, thank you very much.

And yet the big guy came over, hips swaying naturally with the movement that made it too hard for Adele not to stare at his thighs and ugh huff maybe they should just give up and go take a shower--no, no. They weren't admitting defeat here. They heard him take in the sharp breath behind them as he situated himself on the monkey bars and suddenly they smirked. They had no way of knowing for sure just what that had been a reaction to, but they knew their backside really was rather pretty.

They dropped their legs down from the monkey bars in a simple graceful flip, the movement allowing them to ""accidentally"" brush their tail against Hannibal's pelvis.

"Ahh sorry, didn't realize you were so close. But yes it's quite useful for a lot of things." They purred with a smirk, still not looking at him and returning the haughtiness from earlier as they dropped down and landed smoothly on their feet back on the ground, stretching upwards and extending their hands upwards to the ceiling as they let the natural movement accentuate the curve of their back and the sharp angles of their hips and ass, still ignoring him all the while.

They let their arms relax and drop back down to their sides, rolling their shoulders with a pleased hum, only just now casting a glance at him over their shoulder, that smirk so obvious and the look in their eyes as inviting as they were taunting as they walked away, taking a minor break to get a drink from the water fountain. It was one of the worst tricks in the book--bending over to get a drink with some of the water escaping and rolling down their jaw, but in all seriousness they were thirsty. Now, what next, or did they say screw it and end with some stretches before they took a shower and got ready for an actual day of work to begin?
Title: Re: Decode [Lion]
Post by: Lion on December 17, 2017, 10:29:31 pm: He knew they were looking, he knew they were going to look back on this fondly what with all the eyecandy he was openly and haughtily providing them. He could tease back just as well as they could, couldn't he? So he continued to do his pull-ups and just nudged his legs forward enough to give him some leverage.

Yup, this was a good burning day, his body was on fire. Everything was firing on all cylinders. And...

DID THEY JUST FUCKING TOUCH HIM WITH THAT RAT TAIL?

The hackles on the back of Hannah's neck raised to over 9000 and he stopped mid-pull up to let himself just hang there, doing well to ignore the warmth blossoming in his lower abdomen at the slight contact.

"Hey!" The word was a kneejerk reaction and he plopped down on the mat beneath him, scowling at the rat kid. Ugh! They touched him. With that thing. That thing that was firmly attached to that round ass that curved up into that slender spine. That drifted up to a lithe and slender torso. Hannah wasn't staring, you're staring, absolutely not shuddup.

They walked away though and took a drink form the fountain, and he followed them, cornering them the moment they turned around, water dribbling down their chin. He was close enough to feel their breath and then some and he reached up to brush the bead of water away from their mouth.

"Hey, race you on the track. You look fast. Treadmills are one thing. On the track though. You and me. Now," he challenged and gave a sly grin. "Cluck-cluck."

He took a hand and pushed it against their cheek in a mock slap, playful and somewhat teasing before he slapped their ass and raced off toward the track room at the other end of the gym.
Title: Re: Decode [Lion]
Post by: Cheesigator on December 24, 2017, 12:38:42 am: Of all the things they had expected Hannibal to do--like snort or roll his eyes, leave, get frustrated, something of that sort--coming after them certainly was pretty far down on the list. So far down in fact it hadn't been on the list of possibilities they had considered at all.

They had blinked in surprise when he cornered them and they found their gaze sweeping up that tan skin to look into those gorgeous green eyes, and they realized with a skip of their heartbeat that holy fuck he was close. Really close. And better yet? He touched them.

After they'd had the guts to brush that tail against him, he treated it like it was nothing despite what had happened the first time they met and now he was here, trapping them against that wall so they were forced (hah, forced, good one) to let their gaze sweep up and down that fit body of his as a hungry shiver rolled down their spine and twisted in the heat pooling in their gut. Their breath caught in their throat as he reached up to wipe that water away from their face, not shying away from the contact at all as they got ensnared in that gaze of his. Just like that they were putty in his hands and as alarming as that was they didn't mind in the slightest.

He challenged them to a race as they felt their cheeks heat with a slight blush again, their eyebrows knitting in defiance because duh when would Adele Somora ever turn down a challenge? Absolutely never, of course.

Until he reached up, gave their cheek a playful pat and while that pulled them out of that momentary trance, the slap on their ass? That woke them right the fuck up. And it took every ounce of restraint they had to not moan when he did it. They couldn't help but stand there afterward, dumbfounded and shocked as he ran off toward the track room like some excitable kid as their breath came in light pants already as it was, and it sure as shit wasn't from any strain of exercise.

Fuck. Fuck they were glad they'd tucked today but gods all mighty it hurt in the best ways possible.

After a moment of trying to will away those dirty dirty thoughts in their head about how badly they'd love for Hannah to catch them on the track, tackle and pin them to the ground and take them like a fucking animal in order to ""win""--gods save their pour soul now--they followed after him. It was only a light jog to catch up with him, grinning with playfulness as they gave him a casual hip check as they caught up and nodded their chin at him.

"You said that like you thought I wouldn't accept! I'm definitely fast--faster than you, as you're about to see in a moment. How many laps?" They teased, lining up at the starting line for him as they waited for him to get into position once they'd decided on duration and all that.

"On the count of three?" Their pearly whites flashed in their grin, eyes mischievous as they took one glance around and saw that it was a fairly decent-sized track.
Title: Re: Decode [Lion]
Post by: Lion on December 25, 2017, 09:43:03 pm: Expectations aside, Hannibal knew there was only a few ways he could suss out this little ratkid on an even playing field. If they were going to be his squadmate, and fellow Pilot, he had to make sure they could keep up with the best of the best. Of course on the surface he had no doubt as to their capabilities if Yavul had picked them personally to join the Squad that was how things like that went. That was how it went with him, except maybe with the previous commander.

No, but those was Yavul's circumstances. This was more personal. Hannibal needed to know for himself if they could keep up, if they were squad worthy. He hadn't had this kind of doubt in his mind before. And if in the end they couldn't keep up with everyone and everything they had to go through, they probably died or were transferred. Did he want to see them transferred? No, he reminded himself, once a Valkyrie always a Valkyrie. But if they failed, Hannibal wouldn't be able to respect them. And that in his eyes was far worse than death.

Hannibal paused when they finally caught up to him at the starting point on the track. Hmmm, that was a good question. Just how far did he plan on leaving them in the dust and then some. Full on sprint? Endurance run? A mix of both? Laps? How about just a plain speed run, a real race, straight off, no weird detours.

Hannibal watched them from the corner of his eye and was about to say something smart when they touched him again. This time with their hip. Sure it wasn't their tail but the contact irked him no doubt and he did his best to keep this cringe to a minimum. Hannibal cricked his neck and nodded to the end of the track.

"Straight sprint," he said simply. "One lap. As fast as possible." He grunted a little at the mention of the count of three, he huffed and started the countdown, but even before he finished saying 'two' he was already off, bolting from the starting position he was in and running down the track at full sprint, determined to leave them in the dust.
Title: Re: Decode [Lion]
Post by: Cheesigator on December 30, 2017, 10:10:25 am: Something in Adele flared up a little bit when he didn't respond to their teasing with much more than a grunt and that serious expression as he set the terms and conditions ofthe race, which was simple enough, however--what exactly was his issue? Their brows furrowed just slightly, the tip of their tail twitching. That playfulness he'd had moments before was gone, replaced with this grumpy tough guy attitude like he hadn't just smacked their ass and trotted around the gym happier than a horse with a carrot.

They ignored it, reminded again of his first reaction to them when they met, and decided to try and put all their foxus onto this race; maybe if they won he'd get over whatever it was he was clearly having issues with. Whether it was their tail or that maybe he found them attractive and just couldn't admit it to himself, whatever it was it didn't matter. They were gonna win, and they were gonna set this record straight once and for all.

Their eyes widened when he dashed ahead on two, and like a bullet from a gun they were right after him, frustration twisting their gut and giving them just that extra boost of energy.

"CHEATER!" They snapped, doing well to keep up with his speed but not bothering to overcome him just yet, letting him put a meter or two of distance between them.

Of the two he had longer legs and could cover more ground, but he was bulky which meant he was overall a tad bit slower. Adele was short, and had to work twice as hard to cover the same distance, but their slender, streamlined build meant that they were quick as lightning. The two were overall tied, which meant that it had to be strategy that would allow Addie to win, and they had one alright.

As they neared the last quarter of the track, the energy they had saved earlier in the race by staying behind him was put to use as their feet hit the ground harder, sprinting with all they had to catch up to him and pass him, their breath coming in even yet short pants as they ran like their life depended on it, their heart hammering in their chest, echoing in their ears as they swore to themself they absolutely had to win this, they had to show Hannibal what they were made of.

They didn't join this squad to be confronted with two-faced attitudes and cowards who couldn't stand by their own hypocritical actions. They were gonna win this, and then they'd see who Hannibal was sneering at!
Title: Re: Decode [Lion]
Post by: Lion on January 28, 2018, 12:03:01 am: The truth was, and this was a facet that Hannibal had thought of even before he took off from the starting line, it didn't matter who won this race today, or tomorrow, or after the first six months little ratkid was going to be here. If they were good, then they were good. Yavul knew how to pick his own squaddies. But if they were going to be squadmates, Hannibal didn't know if he could call them his equal. Ever. Maybe there were shortcomings he had that they that could over time, and vice versa. But no, they weren't. And they'd never be.

The race, meh, that was just for fun, because it was so nice to watch them squirm.

Hannibal ran like the wind, he always did. He wasn't the tallest, the strongest, or even the most handsome, or even the fastest. But he ran like the wind - one with the wind, and even on that track he could see from the corner of his eye that Adele Somora was trying to pull some slick shit. Conserve their energy to sprint full force at the last second. Well, well, now, they might just beat him by the hair on their skinny rat tail, but Hannibal had something else in mind.

The finish line was in sight. Couldn't have been closer. Victory was near and Hannibal shoved his arm out to the side, palm bracing against Addie's arm. And he shoved himself along with them until they were both in a heap on the ground. He rolled with them and until he had the pinned, he sat on them firmly and gripped their wrists, holding them above their head.

"This is my city, kid. You might be on the squad but you ain't my equal. You're just a hot shot with too much to prove and not enough brains to not bother at all. But I admire gumption, to a point. You're a rat in a maze," he shrugged, curling his lips into a grin. "All you can do is chew your way out. Bet you're good at that."
Title: Re: Decode [Lion]
Post by: Cheesigator on January 28, 2018, 06:21:21 pm: During the shortness of the race it felt as if time was flowing by slower than molasses while at the same time racing too fast. All they could think about was winning so they could shove it in Hannah's face and he could take that nasty attitude change and shove it up his ass--seriously what was he, bipolar?!--despite them knowing that wasn't why they should be racing.

They shouldn't have been letting him get to them, and they were starting to realize that as the finish line came into sight and they put just that little bit more effort into burning muscles to try and beat him to it even if only by one extra step, and they were so close they could taste the victory on the wind--

Suddenly something connected with their arm and they were shoved, hard enough to make them lose balance and trip as they went down onto their side on the track, sharp ears picking up the sounds of another body falling with them and somewhere in the back of their mind they realized he hadn't just pushed them, he'd full on tackled them. The two rolled, the track biting at their skin as they came to a stop with Hannibal sitting on top of them and pinning them by their wrists. For a moment a whole slew of conflicting emotions boiled within them all at once as their brain scrambled to keep up. He was their squadmate, but their first instinct from years in Candyland was to protect themself; burn him, kick him off. They barely held it back, sparks flying from their clenched fists but remaining that and only that, for now.

And then he spoke, and their fluttering heartbeat started hammering for other reasons as something dark twisted in their gut.

He was bullying them.

It wasn't as if the behavior was new--every Candidate experienced it as a Gracie. It was how the strong were gleaned from the weak to be trained as proper Pilots--Addie just hadn't experienced this kind of behavior in particular before, though. Nearly flirting with them, acting repulsed by them, now mocking them. The old phrase 'boys are mean to the girls they like' popped into their head and they clenched their teeth, setting their jaw as they resisted the urge to recoil in actual disgust.

Their first instinct was to spit in his face which... Was a no for obvious reasons. The anger that flared up in their chest told them to knee him in the crotch and shove him off and leave but they hadn't gotten all the way here just to act like a catty brat. All those years spent training, all the effort and devotion--no. They weren't gonna give in to his shitty fucking attitude.

"Ah, y'know, Hannibal... Would you be my yoga instructor? Cause I'd really love to learn how to suck my own dick as well as you can yours."

They did well to keep their tone of voice as even as they could, only small amounts of the venom they truly felt tinging the edges of their words just a tad.

"I'm not here to be your equal, and I could give a damn less what you think of me and my rat tail," They said as they wiggled it out from under themself just enough to brush it against his leg up to his side since he couldn't stand it so much, yknow, "I'm here to do my job and if ya got a problem with that then I'd expect you be a big boy and tell me about it like an adult."

They made a pointed glance at where his hands pinned their wrists to the track above their head before looking back at him; never once had they failed to meet his gaze head on, their pink hues burning with a range of emotions: concealed just enough to hide what they really felt, but still prevalent enough to know that they were there, burning, like a house gone up in flames hidden under thick clouds of smoke.

"If you're out of hypocritical bullshit to spew at me then I'd appreciate it if you could get off of me."
Title: Re: Decode [Lion]
Post by: Lion on February 12, 2018, 11:51:49 pm: In the end none of what was happening now really mattered and to waste this kind of energy was only so fun for even Hannibal. He'd been done with his work out he supposed. And keeping Addie pinned underneath him only brought him a fleeting sense of satisfaction. The truth was he didn't really care. And even if he didn't really care for them as an individual, they were a Valkyrie all the same. He didn't want to be any closer to them than that and thankfully beyond exercises, and training, he didn't have to.

His expression softened and instead he grinned, just sitting up while still on top of them and threw his head back to snort. "Ain't you adorable. Look, like you said, it's all bullshit. Ain't none of this mean a goddamn thing. You don't care for me, and I don't care for you. That's that. Ain't gotta be nothing else. You do you, hot shot. See ya around."

Hannibal got up and cracked his neck a little, walking off to the locker rooms to shower and wash off the stink of a rat touching him. Blech. The effort was pointless and frankly it wouldn't be the first stupid thing he's ever done, and definitely wouldn't be the last. The bottomline never changed. He'd wake up and the next day would be this all over again.

They were a Valkyrie. That was that. Nothing more, nothing less. He let out a deep breath and hit the showers. With that breath the tension gradually eased from him, letting go of stupidity long enough to listen to reason. Hannibal turned on the water and let it fall over him for a while, washing up quickly and toweling off. Yeah, food afterward sounded good.

He really ought not to skip breakfast on days like these.
Title: Re: Decode [Lion]
Post by: Cheesigator on February 22, 2018, 02:43:21 am: None of it meant a goddamn thing, huh? Sounds like something someone might say when they realized they were being a racist bastard.

Adele kept their jaw clenched; didn't say a single word as they stared daggers up at him and if looks could kill they'd have been stabbing him in the forehead with a knife. Their first thought went to poor Nishi; Addie didn't know her that well yet, but she seemed like such a sweet and precious girl, and the thought of this guy trying to bully her too made it that much harder to keep from setting themself on fire with their fury.

They could care less what he thought about them; but if they caught him once bothering her they wouldn't hesitate to punch the fucker in his smarmy face and make him eat shit. That they absolutely promised to themself.

He got off of them and headed to the locker rooms, and Adele just laid there on the track a few moments longer, realizing how hard they were breathing. And once their sharp ears couldn't pick up the sounds of him anymore, they threw themself up to their feet again, the blood still pounding in their system, simmering still from the boil it'd been earlier. They let out a low growl and made their way back to the front doors of the gym, their fist bursting into flame and singing a punching bag they threw a hit at as they passed it, the chain rattling and shaking as the material burned and stank. It only helped them feel slightly better.

They picked up their bag of regular clothes and decided to head home for a bit; they'd get changed and take a shower there, where there wasn't a possibility of running into Racist McGee.

They hoped he burned himself on the shower water.

-End-