Thread a needle with an Arrow (Rhi-Rhi my love)

[Anonymous]

Loud music blared into Sabela's headphones. Traditionally one was supposed to listen to soothing, instrumental music or some such. Moving slowly, Sabela started to straighten her arms, breathing deeply, lost in the music.

The Firefly pose wasn't hard as long as she was careful. Her long legs pointed out over her arms, her body held aloft by her arms. It had been a while since she had last been in here. The ATC held some pretty good memories for her. There were bad ones of course, but Sabela had learned the system and learned how to use it.

Smiling, Sabela started to come out of the pose. It was good to be a Pilot. She glanced at the clock on her wrist. Arrow should be her soon. Focusing herself again, Sabela turned up her music, blocking everything out but it. She knew some of the kids stared. Some out of lust, some admiration, some fear. She was a big bad Pilot. And not only that, she was a big, bad, famous Pilot.

With the same slow, precise movement, Sabela went into a Reverse Warrior Pose, spine bending. She liked this one, it stretched her out well and she looked good doing it. Though Sabela very rarely did anything she didn't look good doing.

Moving out of the pose, Sabela checked her watch and took a sip of water. This should be interesting. Hopefully Marshal hadn't messed the kid up too badly. Probably had though. The man was an idiot.

[Rhi-Rhi]

As soon as her class got out, Arrow made a beeline for the gym, which she had been ordered to report to. The last few weeks had been a lot of craziness: a date with a boy, a transfer to a new mentor (Roman of all Pilots! The guy that had sledgehammered a kid!), and now orders to meet another Pilot for training of some sort--and not just any Pilot, but Sabela Llown. The Sabela Llown.

When she'd received that e-mail, she'd admit it, she'd screamed a little, right there at her dorm terminal.

Even now Arrow's head was reeling, packed full of extra stress with nervous butterflies fluttering about and making her feel sick. She was going to her personal training from Sabela Llown! Sabela Llown had taken a personal interest in her. Her! Why her? Gods, she didn't know whether to be excited or terrified and ended up settling on a combination of the two, which dissolved into stress when her class got out late. Granted, the stress was a lot less than it had been with Marshal, what with all his extra lessons, lessons she didn't even understand, and extra assignments and extra...everything, and granted she was actually getting some decent sleep now, but it was still all new and that had her jittery.

Stressful and exhausting and uncomfortable as everything had been, it had at the very least been routine.

And what was she gonna say to Sabela Llown? What could she say? Ahh! And she was a couple minutes late! Never mind all that, she just had to get there first!

Panting lightly from sprinting down the halls (she finally had most of the ATC memorized), she turned a corner, yanked open the doors to the gym, and stepped inside.

It was easy to pick Sabela out from the crowd.

Jogging over, Arrow slid to a stop and straightened quickly, flowing right into a salute. The need to be on time overrode her fear--for the moment. "P-Pilot Llown, it's Arrow! I mean, uh...I...you wanted me to come and so I...am here." She clamped her mouth shut and flushed red, words not nearly as smooth as her salute. Maybe she should practice her speaking parts in front of the mirror like she did her salutes...

[Anonymous]

Sabela took another sip of water, watching the girl. Her hair was pulled back from her face with some bobby pins, her lean frame clothed in stylish, skin tight spandex pants and a brightly colored tank top. Even working out, Sabela wore makeup. There was never, ever a reason to not look amazing.

She pursed her lips, looking Arrow up and down. Cute, but....really. What was wrong with the candidates? Did they all just not want to look pretty anymore? "Yes. You are a little late, but Camael told me your class was let out late. Try to avoid that in the future, shall we."

Placing her hand on her hip, she shifted her weight slightly, "Well, let's get something straight first. As you may be somewhat aware, I am not a nice person. I don't care if you like me. All I care about it helping you pass this program, got it?" She reached out, cupping Arrow's chin in her free hand, turning the girls face this way and that, tisking.

"Is there a reason you want to look like a boy? Because...this is not working for me. You do own a mirror, right? Then please explain to me the state of your eyebrows. Were your tweezers confiscated? Or do you like looking like you have two caterpillars hanging out on your face?" So many things that needed to be fixed, it was hard to know where to start.

She let the girls chin go, sighing, "You obviously have no interest in your appearance, but I am the one stuck looking at you. I'll let it slide this time, but next time, I expect you to have put some effort in." She was probably like Viola and had no idea what to do, "If you need help, you are allowed to ask. I am not a nice person, but I am here to teach you."

Sabela set the water down, then turned back to Arrow, "Now that is out of the way, let's get down to business. I am going to be teaching you hand-to-hand combat. In the ideal world, you wont have to use it. You can just shoot them first. But, well, if this was an ideal world, you would have waxed your lip already."

[Rhi-Rhi]

Arrow knew Sabela wasn't nice. Most of the Pilots she'd met...weren't exactly nice, and she had gleaned Sabela's reputation from TV. Still, that didn't help prepared her for what it would be like to actually meet her face-to-face.

Sabela's words took her completely off guard, and her cheeks flushed red when the woman cupped her chin and started judging her appearance--critiquing her appearance. It made her feel more naked than stripping in front of Marshal would have, though thank gods she'd never had to, and she hunched her shoulders because she felt a lot smaller now, too. Boy? Caterpillars? For a moment Arrow didn't respond at all, only stared up at Sabela in wide-eyed shock as the words slowly sank in.

And when they finally hit, it hurt.

Despite herself, Arrow felt tears burning in her eyes. It had been a long time since she'd cried; the last time had been when Val had gotten his legs crushed, and after that she'd just felt sort of numb in that department. After seeing that, it just couldn't get any worse. But Sabela hit on another trigger, one she hadn't really had to deal with much here, and it seemed to little and so insignificant in this new world that it was downright embarrassing, but there it was. Sabela calling her boyish, basically telling her she was ugly, making fun of her eyebrows...it was such a stupid, small thing after everything she'd seen and faced here, but she couldn't help it.

It still hurt. Same as when she'd been teased in school for how she dressed and because she didn't know how to put on makeup and because she was shy and quiet and thus easy to pick on. All that came bubbling back up to the surface where before it had been buried beneath mounds of stress and she had to blink fast to keep the tears trapped behind her eyelids.

Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry... Oh gods, if she cried...she didn't even want to think about what Sabela would say. That always made it worse.

And Sabela was just like one of those pretty, popular girls she'd never be and it was so stupid that this was what was hurting her after everything else. What was wrong with her?

"Y...yes ma'am," she responded thickly, not knowing what else to say to all that and not sure she'd be able to say it even if she did. But that was her default. It was safe.

[Anonymous]

"....Are you going to cry?" Gods help her, she hoped the kid didn't start crying. Sabela hated when people cried. No, that wasn't really true. There were times when the sounds of someone sobbing warmed her dark little heart. But, currently, she really wasn't in the mood.

"Don't. Really. I dislike pointless tears. There are far more useful responses." Sabela didn't coddle anyone, let alone some candidate, "If you don't want to hear it, do something about it. My words can only affect you as much as you choose to let them. Remember that. Now grow a spine and pay attention."

[Rhi-Rhi]

Why did Sabela have to ask her that? That always made it worse! But no, the second Sabela asked if she was going to cry, Arrow's inner dam broke the tears came flooding out. She shook her head vigorously--no, she wasn't crying!--but that didn't make it true, and soon embarrassment joined in with the hurt and there was nothing more she could do to control herself. She was drained from all that Marshal had put her through, tired from working and studying so hard, emotionally exhausted from both her own feelings and the ones she'd picked up through her empathy, and just plain sleep deprived and leagues out of her comfort zone.

Arrow wiped at her eyes, shoulders shaking, chest and throat tight to hold back the choking sobs, but some still escaped. Do something about it? Do what about it? She couldn't help it! It wasn't like she wanted to break down crying in front of a Pilot! And it would only affect her as much as she let it? She was an empath! When emotions hit, they hit hard and she wasn't always just dealing with her own!

"S-sorry," she choked, sniffling and wiping her runny nose with the back of her hand.

[Anonymous]

Oh lovely. The girl was sobbing now. Well, she couldn't blame her too much, being a candidate was not easy and this one had it rougher then most. Sabela could sympathize with anyone that got Marshal. After all, look how Satori had turned out. It was tragic really.

Sabela gave a small sigh. She remembered what being a candidate was like and while many people thought so, she wasn't actually heartless. Reaching over, Sabela pulled Arrow into an awkward hug, "Alright. I suppose you deserve a moment. Cry it all out and then I expect this to not be a reoccurring behavior pattern."

Arrow's thoughts weren't hard to pick up, with her broadcasting them anywhere and Sabela pursed her lips, frowning a little, "Don't give me any of that empath crap. I'm not projecting anything remotely whiny at you. If you don't like feeling other people's emotions, do something about it."

She made no move to let Arrow out of the hug until her crying was done. Comforting someone wasn't something she was used too or particularly liked, but something it had to be done. Hopefully this would get some of that out and Arrow could start moving forward. Sabela might just smack her if she wouldn't stop all that cringing.

[Anonymous]

Arrow gasped when she was suddenly pulled into a hug, having not expected that, of all things. But she was in no state to care or question, and Sabela's coaxing didn't help matters any. Without even thinking, Arrow latched onto Sabela and let weeks and weeks of stress and fear come pouring out, burying her face against the Pilot's shoulder and sobbing, shoulders jerking. She was probably getting the Pilot all wet but didn't care just then--the hug, even if it was from the person who'd made her cry, felt good, even soothing in a weird way, and it made her think of how much she missed her mom and dad.

Finally, though, there came a point where she could cry no more, tears drying up and sobs fading into sniffling breaths. She pulled back after a moment, realizing she'd been clinging, and wiped at her face, eyes all red and bloodshot. "Th-thanks..." she muttered, looking down and rubbing her eyes.

"It's just...I dunno how to do anything about it..."


Sabela let the girl cling. It was a little awkward, as she wasn’t really used to comforting people, but Arrow needed to let it all out and yelling at her for it wasn’t going to do anyone any favors. Reaching one hand up, Sabela lightly stroked the girl’s hair. Arrow reminded her of Viola a little.

When Arrow finally pulled away, Sabela frowned down at her shirt. There was a large wet spot on it from Arrow’s tears. Well, that was irritating. Wiping at it, Sabela gave a small, annoyed sigh, “Well, first off, I highly suggest growing a damn spine. If you don’t learn to toughen up little girl, this place will eat you alive.”

Giving up on trying to do anything about the spot on her shirt, Sabela turned her attention back to the girl, “You aren’t going to really be learning much about your psychic powers for a while. You can chose to let that stop you or not. I don’t suggest trying to influence anyone else, but you can learn to block things out on my own.”

Sabela gestured to the room around them, “When I was a candidate, I didn’t get someone who taught me how to fight with my body type. I was in the same classes as everyone else. And there was no way I was going to be able to keep up. They were all bigger then me, stronger then me, tougher then me. But I wasn’t going to fail. So I figured it out on my own. If you want something badly enough Arrow, you can get it. You don’t want to deal with other peoples emotions? Fix it. You aren’t stupid.”

[Anonymous]

Arrow winced, shoulders jerking. Grow a spine. The words hurt, but no more than anything else she'd already heard--and she knew it was true, too, and maybe that's what hurt the most. She had always been a bit of a doormat, at least until push came to shove, and she could take a lot before she snapped. It wasn't like she never stood up for herself, or defended herself when she was bullied; she did. Sometimes. But sometimes she didn't, so as to take the path of least conflict, but Sabela was right and she knew it: avoidance wouldn't work here.

And that was terrifying. Fighting. Combat. Her mind screamed that she couldn't do it but she knew she had to and could. She wanted to toughen up; she didn't like being the shy, weak kid. "I'm trying..." she murmured, wiping at her eyes again and staring at the ground, though Sabela's next words made her look back up. It didn't matter that Arrow couldn't actually feel the Pilot's emotions, just as she could rarely feel any Pilot's emotions; she didn't need Empathy to empathize, and hearing the Pilot recall something from when she was a candidate (easy to forget Pilots had been candidates once) made her perk up with interest. Her words were harsh, but Arrow realized with a start that for all of that, she wasn't talking down to her, either.

"I...okay," she finally said, chewing on her bottom lip and sniffling again. She really needed a tissue... "You're right...and I do want it. A lot. I just..." She shifted awkwardly, feeling a little stupid for wanting to ask this, especially after Sabela told her to just figure it out and do it. "I guess I, um...dunno where to start. I've read some books about animal brains and, well...I'll figure it out," she finished lamely, fidgeting with the hem of her uniform coat. No, it was probably better not to  ask.

“Well, good for you. You are going to have to try harder. I know it’s not what you want to hear, but there is no coddling here, least of all from me.” Sabela moved away, grabbing the towel she had brought to wipe her sweat on. Luckily for Arrow, it wasn’t used yet and Sabela handed it to the girl, “Here. Wipe you face off. Crying never solves anything. Next time you feel like crying, try getting pissed of instead. Anger can make things happen.”

God but that girls hair was a mess. It really was like she was trying to look awful. Really, looking good was not that hard. Rummaging in her sports bag, Sabela found a hair tie and moved behind Arrow, pulling the girls hair back into a pony tail, “Remember how much you want it. Next time you think about giving in or bending over, remember your goal and destroy anything that gets between you and it.”

Once she was satisfied with the pony tail, Sabela dropped her hands, “I can teach you a little about blocking, but I’m not an empath, so I’m not sure if it will help with the empathy. You might want to talk to Roman about finding a teacher. Or see if an older candidate will tutor you, I’m sure there must be an empath around.” She then smiled, wrapping an arm around Arrow, “I can teach you how to fight. First rule. You are not and will never be as strong or as tough as the other Pilots. You don’t have the build for it. This does not make you less dangerous.”

Sabela’s voice was soft with almost a purr to it, “People will look at you and underestimate you. And I am going to teach you to use that to your advantage. Second rule. Act first and act hard. Surprise them and never let them recover enough to counter attack.’

Accepting the towel, Arrow dried her eyes, face, and nose on it and was about to hand it back when Sabela stepped behind her and starting pulling her hair into a ponytail. Jolting in surprise, she winced as some of her hair got pulled--not hard to do, it tangled easily!--but kept quiet, not wanting to fuss or complain, especially not after being told to grow a spine. Toughen up. She could do it--though she wasn't sure about the angry bit. She tended to cry when she got angry...

"...Destroy?" Arrow repeated under her breath, eyes widening. Erk. She didn't like the sound of that, but she nodded anyway, wincing again when the motion pulled her hair more. But soon Sabela was done, and Arrow reached up instinctively to loosen the ponytail a little, just so it wasn't pulling at her scalp so much; she wasn't used to wearing her hair up, but her hands fell away when Sabela wrapped an arm around her. Sabela looked pretty when she smiled, kind of friendly too, and the gesture made her relax more, as did her words. She sounded...encouragi ng. A big change from the initial put-downs she'd received upon meeting her.

But then she stiffened again at Roman's name. Talk to him?! Arrow slumped a little, shoulders hunching and hands nervously twisting the towel she still held. Yeah, she'd just see if she couldn't find another candidate first...

Luckily she didn't have to linger on that thought long, because Sabela shifted gears and Arrow looked back up. "You mean...kill them...?"


“Yes. Destroy.” Sabela’s smile never wavered, “Now, stop thinking in such narrow lines Arrow. Not everything is about the physical. Some obstacles will be overcome through….other means. I hope there is a brain in there. Use it. Eventually I’ll get you looking good enough you can use feminine charms.”

Despite what Gabe might say, Sabela was human. She wasn’t always a toxic bitch, she just was most of the time. And while she wouldn’t tolerate this behavior from Arrow long, she did remember what being a candidate was like. Change didn’t happen over night.

She blinked, slightly surprised by Arrow’s comment, “Kill? Well, yes, you might have to kill people. It is part of the job. But, you don’t always have too. I suggest you don’t kill your sparring partners.” Actually hardening the girl to be able to kill someone could come later. Right now she would rather just focus on getting used to sparring.

"Oh! No, ma'am, I didn't mean it like that" Arrow said quickly, grimacing. She didn't want to kill anyone, much less a sparring partner! "That just sounded so...final..." She rolled her shoulders uncomfortably and started folding and unfolding the towel without really paying attention to what she was doing. Part of the job. She hoped if--no, when--she made Pilot, she'd never have to do that.

“It is final.” Sabela laughed then, “But you’ll get used to it. Don’t worry too much yet.” Sabela let her arm slid off the girl, surprised at how…nice it had felt to have Arrow pressed against her side. Weird. “You have time to adjust to all this. You aren’t going to be a Pilot overnight and don’t push yourself too hard. Besides, stop looking so….desperate. It’s not all bad. I love my job and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

[Anonymous]

"You do?" Then Arrow wanted to smack her forehead. Well, duh. Why wouldn't she like her job? She was famous, always in the tabloids. But ever since coming here, what she saw on TV seemed less and less the real deal. They never talked about the Pilot Program on TV or what it involved; they never talked about sledgehammering people. It was confusing being here; it went against everything she thought she knew and now she didn't really know what the truth was. But Sabela's words gave her hope. "I mean...what do you like about it? What do you do?" She gave a little jolt, flashed the Pilot an apologetic look and then averted her eyes, feeling a little cold now that Sabela had released her. That hug had felt good--and it had emboldened her a bit, too. People that hugged people weren't terrible people. "Uh...if...if you don't mind me asking, ma'am..."

It was a shame the girl was so timid, she wasn’t too bad other than that. So much like Viola….yet very different from her baby sister. If she ever got a spine, Sabela might like her, for now, she would tolerate her. Sabela smiled again, a little amused, “Oh yes. I think I have the best job. Top of the food chain baby.” She wasn’t a fan of physical contact, folding her arms under her small breasts, “I like the control I have here. Now, don’t get me wrong, despite what people think I’m not a sadist. I don’t like all the violence that comes with my job. But we’re the protectors of this city, of this nation. What we do keeps them safe. Plus, I always get to cut the lines at clubs.”

...A sadist? Arrow's eyebrows climbed. Guess she'd missed that rumor! But her puzzled (and slightly disturbed) expression faded as Sabela continued and Arrow crossed her own arms, mimicking Sabela without even realizing it. Protectors, huh? Yeah, they were...and Arrow remembered how excited she'd been when she'd first been drafted--and how nervous! Her? A Pilot? It was like being told she was destined to become a superhero--she could hardly believe it. Somewhere in the past weeks she'd forgotten that excitement... Forgotten what Pilots were. Protectors... Then Sabela mentioned line-cutting and Arrow giggled before she could stop herself, quickly clamping a hand over her mouth as it dissolved into nervous chuckles. Gods, Sabela was confusing! One moment saying awful things, the next consoling her, the next...being actually kinda funny until she wasn't even sure how she was supposed to act around her. Heh. Line-cutting. At clubs. One of the perks. Why was that so funny? "...That must be nice," she finally managed, fighting back mirth. Oi, maybe she was just cracking.
      
Ah. She had missed this. It was such an ego boost being around the candidates. They idolized so well. She really needed to get another kid to mentor again, she missed it. This was nice though. Damn Roman and his sweet ass for snatching this one up. Sabela would have loved to fully mentor Arrow. For all that Sabela was….Sabela, she was still a Pilot and she did take her job and what it entailed seriously. “You can laugh, it’s all right. I promise I wont snap when you laugh at my jokes. Oh, and the free drinks are nice. But, then again, I get those anyways. You’ll learn, pretty girls never buy their own drinks.”


Arrow ducked her head sheepishly, still smiling a little--and relaxing a fraction. That was a relief, but also confusing; she wasn't quite sure how to act around Sabela now. The Pilot was being so casual, and Arrow couldn't help but tread on the side of caution and respect. She didn't want to slip up and wind up in the infirmary, and only moments ago Sabela had been...harsh, to put it lightly. "Sorry, ma'am, I um..." How to phrase it? "I don't wanna be disrepectful," she finally said.

“Well, I would hope not. I’ll smack the shit out of you if you are.” Sabela shrugged, “But you can still ask questions and stop cringing. It’s not attractive. You will need to learn to be able to hold a normal conversation without being disrespectful. Now is a good time to start.”

Sabela grinned again, “You have a Pilot and a celebrity talking to you. Any questions you’ve been dying to ask?”

Arrow started to wince--and then froze before she really could. Erk! No cringing! It was hard, though; it was horribly awkward and stressful talking to a Pilot! It was tough enough talking to teachers in school or, heck, just the popular kids. Still, she took the words to heart and squared her shoulders, standing up straighter. Questions, questions...she looked up at Sabela and managed a small smile back. No cringing. Okay. She could do that. Sabela was grinning, for gosh sakes! She'd hugged her! For all that she'd said some pretty mean things, she didn't look ready to whip out a knife like Marshal.

And Pilots were people too, right? Arrow was training to become a Pilot. She'd be one herself. They were candidates, too, once. Okay. With that thought locked firmly in her mind, she cleared her throat.

"So...anything? Alright..." She shifted from one foot to the other, chewing her bottom lip in thought. There were a lot of questions, so many floating around in her head since day one, but the one that popped out first was, "What's it like to ride a dragon?"

While that wasn’t quite the questions she had expected, Sabela really couldn’t be that surprised. Dragons. They really were amazing. Even after she was used to Camael, Sabela was still a little in awe of her. They were all amazing.

“Riding a dragon…is..hmm…” Her grin faded, replaced by s thoughtful look, “It’s exhilarating. Better than anything I’ve ever done. Being out there, feeling Camael move under me…it’s breath taking. I don’t even care that it destroys my hair.” She gave a small chuckle, “You’ll get to see one day. It’s one thing that never gets old.”

"Is it ever scary?" Arrow added, curiosity overriding caution. "I mean, was it scary at first? How dif you pick yours?" She clamped her mouth shut, realizing she was asking a lot of questions without givng Sabela time to answer, but, well...the whole subject was fascinating to her--and a little intimidating. Dragons! She couldn't even imagine how big they were...and she was kind of scared of heights. Maybe with how exhilarating it was, you didn't really notice how high you were.

“Oh, often. But in that panty wetting kind of way. It’s a rush that you can’t really duplicate.” She then laughed at Arrow’s question, shaking her head, “I didn’t pick Camael. The dragons pick you. She said I was the least annoying candidate, I told her she was the least ugly of the flying lizards and we’ve been together ever since.”

Arrow laughed at that, surprised at the answer--and surprised that Sabela could get away with calling a dragon ugly! But then another thought popped into her head and the laughter died, eyes widening. Wait. If the dragons picked you, then... "What happens if you don't get picked?"

This was good. Sabela was…actually enjoying herself. Sure, the girl needed some work. Desperately. But she was had good potential and seemed willing to listen, “Relax. That is years away. You have plenty of time and if you’ll be fine. Listen to me and you’ll get fought over.”

"Think so?" Arrow perked up at that, then smiled a little. "Cool..." That was a pretty big compliment coming from a Pilot and a celebrity--she thought she was worth getting fought over? By dragons? Huh. She'd never been fought over in her life. Brushing a loose strand of hair out of her eyes, she tilted her head. More questions, more questions..."Oh yeah, um, what can you do? I mean, psychic stuff."

“Sure. If you put the work in. And trust me…you’ll need to work.” The girl was far from presentable. But Sabela would fix that. If she was able to get Viola looking half decent, this girl would be easy.

“Me? Not a lot.” Sabela shrugged her shoulders, “Not all of us get cool powers or tons of ability. I’ve got good old fashioned telekinesis and teleketics.” She wouldn’t admit it, but Sabela was jealous of the Pilots with neat tricks, like controlling an element or object reading or…anything special, “But it’s important you know what you are doing with your powers more than having a lot of power.” So she was a little defensive.

"Oh...well, that's still pretty cool," Arrow said, smiling. "It's more than what most people've got, right?" Erk! That did not come out the way she intended it to! That sounded patronizing! She gave a little jolt. "Uh, I mean, that's still a cool power! I wish my telekinesis was better..." Her empathy and telepathy was where she was strong, but lifting a pen off the ground? That was hard! But of all the things she got, it was getting hounded with other peoples' thoughts and emotions, which was neat sometimes, but she would have preferred having an extra arm--which was what she likened telekinesis to. Seemed more useful and less invasive.

Sabela’s expression hardened a little and she gave a girl a sharp look, her voice a little cold, “Yes. It is pretty neat. Telekinesis is pretty useful. You’ll start working on it in a bit, you might gain better control.” She was feeling a little prickly that Arrow seemed to be patronizing her, something Sabela couldn’t stand.

Deep breaths. She’s just a candidate and didn’t mean it. Deep breaths. “Don’t forget to work on that empathy. Being able to block off your power isn’t too hard to learn. Just find a good teacher.”

Arrow shrank back without meaning to, wincing. She didn't have to be an empath to see the way Sabela's mood shifted, expression sharpening, and Arrow knew then that she'd struck some exposed nerve. She opened her mouth, ready to apologize, but then froze; Sabela had told her not to, uh...cringe, and Arrow didn't really want to test her, because there was no doubt in her mind that Sabela would smack her.

Swallowing the words and playing with the hem of her jacket, Arrow just nodded instead. "O...okay. Find a teacher. Yes, ma'am." She wanted to ask where she could find one, but didn't want to test her patience. Besides, she thought she knew the answer: ask Pilot Rosales.

“Oh stop that.” Every time she started to like the girl a little, she just started cringing and shrinking. It was irritating, “It makes attempting to hold any sort of conversation with you irritating and pointless. I am not Roman. I’m not going to sledge hammer you.”

[Rhi-Rhi]

"Sor--" Arrow snapped her mouth shut before she could finish the word, though saying it was practically a reflex. Erk. So was she just not supposed to apologize? That seemed rude. Ack, talking to Sabela was, in a way, so much more difficult than talking to Marshal, as much as he scared her. At least she knew how to talk to Marshal, because he didn't want to talk to her but rather wanted to talk    at     her and seemed to enjoy her odd mix of politeness and fear. Sabela was tricky. She wasn't quite sure where the balance was or the lines were.

"I know you're not..." she finally said, deciding that was a safe route.

Sabela sighed, frowning. She never had been good with people and she had actually liked when Arrow had been talking to her a little more normally. “Seriously. I’m not going to bite. Relax. I am here to help you. It’s in my best interests to get you through this place alive.”

"Your best interests?" Arrow blinked at that, then had to smile a little. She kind of knew what Sabela meant, but it sounded a little funny. Mainly because Sabela wasn't the one at risk of Trimming. "Mine, too..." she mumbled.

“Of course.” Sabela smiled, “Now, calm down. You’ll be fine. You just need to be less…scared. You can do this. I did it. We all managed to do it. TRIM is the big bad boogie man, but, really, it’s rare. No one here    wants     you to be TRIMed.”

Arrow took a deep breath and nodded, looking up at Sabela again. "It is?" She's heard about TRIM, sure, but she'd never heard about how common or uncommon TRIMing actually    was    . The older candidates talked about it a good deal, and it was    scary    , but hearing a Pilot call it rare, a boogie man, had to be the most relieving thing she'd heard here in a long while. She ran a hand through her hair, giving Sabela a sheepish look. "Oh...I didn't know that. The other candidates, uh...they talk about it sometimes..."

But here a Pilot had just called it rare... "Why do people get TRIMed?" She'd heard the candidate version--everything from badmouthing a Pilot to failing a test--but now she wanted to hear it from a Pilot.

“Well, for a few reasons.” Sabela gestured to a bench a long the wall, “Here, let’s sit down.” Heading over, Sabela sat down, long, slender legs crossed, “We don’t want candidates sent there. Not if we can help it. Psychic’s don’t grow on trees. But, well, sometimes they don’t work out. They break under the pressure, or they refuse to….understand our cause.” That was as delicate a way as Sabela could say brainwashing.

She gave a shrug, “And well, we need to know how things work. And when someone can’t serve their purpose here, they can serve another one. It can happen, but, this program wants you to succeed. We aren’t trying to pick on you. But being a Pilot is hard and you need to be able to handle it.”

Taking a seat beside Sabela and folding her arms, she listened--and felt strangely comforted. Oh. That was it? Only if you broke or were rebellious? Arrow let out a sigh, sagging a little. All those all-nighters, all those cram sessions pouring over all those texts Marshal had given her--and tested her on...

Gods, if she hadn't broken yet after all that, she wasn't too worried about it. Actually, come to think of it, she had never even    thought     of the possibility of breaking or rebelling. She had only ever stressed about    failure    .

Arrow rubbed her face, feeling a little dumb. "...So you won't get TRIMed if you do bad on a test...?"

“What? Hell no.” Sabela snorted, “What good would that do anyone?” She then blinked and let out a laugh, “Oh. Is that what has you so freaked out? Babe, have you    seen     the Pilots? Most of them are total losers. Hell, I doubt Shiloh can read.”

"...Can't even read...?" Arrow repeated, as though Sabela were speaking a foreign language. A Pilot. Shiloh. Wasn't that Fin's friend? And he probably couldn't even read? Total losers? A    Pilot who couldn't read    ? Her eyes widened and she stared at Sabela, mouth dropping open.

Then she groaned and smacked her forehead. "Are you    serious    ? You mean I could've gone to bed earlier?! Aw, man..."

“Well, I’m sure he can read. Just not well. The man is a moron. Great in bed, good looking, that’s about it.” She snicker a little, patting Arrow’s shoulder, “Afraid so. Now, don’t get me wrong. You can’t slack off. And the better your grades, the sooner you get out. But you wont be TRIMed for being stupid.”

"Oh..." Won't be TRIMed for messing up on a test. Oh Gods, she wished she'd known that sooner! It still felt a little unreal. She let out another breath and relaxed completely, feeling considerably lighter all of a sudden.

"Well, I don't wanna slack at all," she said, scratching the back of her neck and smiling. "I always got pretty good grades...oh! Do I still have to read all those--" She paused, trying to remember what the heck they were called. "--Animal brain books?"

“Animal brain books? What?” Sabela snorted, “Marshal is a moron. How he was ever allowed candidates, I will never know. Well, I wouldn’t have you read them. You are only a gracie. I’m not your mentor though, you will have to ask Roman.” Damn man. Maybe he would let Sabela have this one. Probably not though. He seemed to like doing everything himself.

“Though, I wasn’t kidding earlier. I do expect you looking better. That….ratty tomboy look just isn’t going to work.”

Arrow hoped like mad that Roman wouldn't make her keep reading those books--but was dreading the part where she had to actually ask him. Fortunately, she didn't have much time to linger on the dread of speaking to Roman before Sabela was back to commenting on her appearance.

She grimaced, trying not to feel hurt or offended at being called, well...a ratty tomboy. Plucking at her uniform and looking down at her feet, she muttered, "Well, I gotta wear this uniform..."

“So? I did too and I made it look good.” Sabela pursed her lips, studding Arrow, “You have good structure and beautiful eyes. You just need to show it off better. And, well, confidence is sexy and you are far from confident.” Gripping her chin, Sabela moved Arrow’s head around, “You really could do so much with some makeup. Make your eyes pop and you have alright skin. You just need to work on moisturizing it.”

[Rhi-Rhi]

"Uh..." Now Sabela was examining her face and advising her on makeup? Wasn't she supposed to be learning combat or something? The subject kept changing randomly enough to make her head spin, and she still felt a little hurt over having her appearance critiqued. But she endured it; at least this time Sabela called her eyes beautiful and her structure good. That was nice.

Whatever a good structure meant, exactly...

"Thanks? I've never really used makeup...won't I just sweat it right off?"

[Anonymous]

"No. That's why you get waterproof makeup." Sabela shook her head. Really, what was wrong with the youth today? At least her real candidate knew how to apply makeup.

She raised her eyebrow and Arrow's thought, then gave a small smile, "You want to get fighting? We can do that. We'll start slow, build up your basics first." Standing, Sabela smoothed out her skin tight pants, "I'm guessing you are totally clueless about fighting?"

[Rhi-Rhi]

Arrow nodded slowly, fighting down a rush of nervousness. Did she want to get fighting? Yes and no. Knowing how to fight and defend herself would make her feel safer around here and she knew it was something she needed to learn anyway, but she also knew that learning how to deal punches meant learning how to take them, too.

And the thought of sparring Sabela was...more than scary.

Still, she mustered up a small smile and hoped it didn't look too sheepish. "Totally clueless," she muttered in agreement, shifting her weight awkwardly.

[Anonymous]

"Alright. Well, you can relax. We aren't going to be sparing yet. You wouldn't stand a chance." She looked Arrow over. The girl was a stick, there was nothing there. Sabela was slender as well, all long, sleek tones. But she was toned and had some muscle on her.

Arrow? Had none of that.

"Before you think about fighting, we need to get you in shape for it. I suggest running and yoga. Those are my favorites. Keep you lean and toned. For today, I'll start you on a punching bag."

The regular physical education Arrow had would help with the tone a lot, but it was a good idea to start early. She lead the girl to the bag, handing her a set of lightly padded gloves, "Wear these when you punch. Right now, slow and steady. We want stamina, not power. We will work on power later."

[Rhi-Rhi]

[Finished! 8D We are awesome.]