the gauntlet discussion

Basically a room with a butt ton of mats for hand to hand combat training, and things like that.

Of course Jamie was training. He'd be an idiot not to be training, after all that's what the whole point of this academy was for, right? Right. He'd been in the gym for almost an hour, hitting the punching bags, perfecting that left hook of his to get it down to nothing but muscle memory. And that's when he took notice of the other participant in the room. He wasn't sure how long they'd been there, since he didn't really care much about other people right now, but then he went to get water and found himself watching the other man in the room. Not like in a creepy 'take me now against these mats and make me walk funny' kind of way, but in a 'what are your weaknesses if it's between you and me and the finish line' kind of way. Although it easily could have been taken as the former with the way he was eyeing this guy up while guzzling back his water.

"You thinking about doing some sparring instead of just solo exercises?" Jamie even threw in one of those lopsided smiles as he walked over, brushing back sweaty black hair with his free hand.

Deciding to spend his time in the gym had been a struggle, but Dae had deduced that it was better to be productive than not to be. Him being lucky didn't hurt either. Productivity came with motivation, especially in a school that was male dominated. His motivation this afternoon came in the form of a very sweaty, very shirtless boy who had the body of a god. And go figure, his smirk held the same level of effortless attractiveness. "I," Dae began, returning the boy's smile with one of his own, "Would be delighted." His opponent held the advantage of height, something that Dae was not lucky enough to inherit from either of his faceless parents, but despite the stranger having apparently everything you needed to get you across the finish line ... Dae was confident. He took the stranger by the crook of his arm, eyes finding his briefly, and led him to one of the center mats. Dae's hand lingered, but he walked backward away from the other male, eyeing his chest as he went. "I'd hate to hurt such a pretty face." he commented, settling into one of the mats corners.

Alright. Interesting. So obviously this guy wasn't about that whole 'don't make friends its a weakness' mentality that so many other competitors held here. That or he was a psychopath who wanted to get all close to Jamie just to learn his weaknesses. Both were viable options...and Jamie did admit that he would be getting all warm and snuggly with anyone at the school who seemed like they had a good shot at winning. At the mats he had just enough time to set his water down before that little comment got to him. Oooooh. Now it made sense. This guy was into other dudes. Alright....Jamie could definitely work with that. And his easy grin said as much, "Don't worry about my face, I'd worry more about keeping your hands up to protect your own." after all this was a spar, but he wasn't going to go easy on the guy. That wouldn't be doing him any favors. He rolled his neck for a moment before bringing up his hands, ready to go and waiting for the move from this guy. He seemed the type to make the first move.

A mischievous grin flirted with Dae's lips. He brought his fists up to protect his face, peering through the fleshy schism. "Thanks for the pointer." His voice was tickled with playful sarcasm. His childhood was spent growing up in a house full of rowdy, no-good kids; some of them hit, so eventually he learned that it was a good idea to hit back. With no formal training to back up his quick reflexes, though, Dae found the impatient itch in his bones to be overwhelming. Wait, wait-- he reasoned, nimble as he inched forward. But the itch persisted, and it grew. Quick movements brought him into the danger zone, resulting in vulnerability when his fists broke from their respective areas to attack. They collided with his opponents protective stance, and Dae brought his arms back in suddenly, muscles straining as he shuffled backward.

It was pretty obvious to Jamie fairly quickly that this guy had no real formal training when it came to fighting. After all his instincts were to move in dangerously close, and it was making this whole fighting thing more and more awkward. Since to avoid punching the shit out of this guy, he kept having to pull his punches. The other guy had just invaded his space when suddenly he was pulling back and Jamie was laughing breathlessly, "So is there a name to go with these dance moves? Mine is Jamie." He took another step to the side then, adding a little more distance. "you have good instincts," But still no formal training, and if Jamie had really wanted to he could have easily knocked this guy on his ass. So definitely not that big of a form of competition, then....but maybe still an ally, since he couldn't help but notice the way that the guy's eyes kept dropping down to his chest.

"Cute name," Dae responded, but didn't offer more. While his name was nothing to hold over him, and something he generally gave out for free, his concentration was elsewhere. Dance moves wasn't exactly what he would call a compliant, but he would take what he could get. If his opponent wasn't obviously equip with real training, than Dae was sure that he would be a lot more impressive right now. Shoot. Oh well. "Not a threat, am I? Sorry to have disappointed." There was a laugh in his tone. His hands were back in place, fingers relaxing into a loose, protective shape. Intending to follow through on defensive, Dae's eyebrow ticked skyward. "In the mood for some lessons?" he inquired, eyes curios and playful. This guy was either here for the competition, or hoped that there wasn't any: he wanted to know which.

What.

This guy didn't even offer his name back. Was he hiding it? Wanting Jamie to go to the Gallery and search everyone's pictures till he found this guy? Is that what he wanted? Needless to say, the dark haired boy was a little thrown off, because ummm what. People offered their names. It's what you did. You didn't just not offer your name. That was.....was it some kind of tactic? To get in Jamie's head. "No. I didn't say that," He wasn't about to be that easily thrown for a loop though, at least he hoped not and he found himself smirking, "Just thinking that maybe you'd need more training and sparring matches," And it was dirty, but Jamie stretched out his leg, looping it behind the dude's ankles and knocking his feet out from under him. "The Gauntlet is a dirty place. Fighting nice won't help you survive....or win."

He held out his hand then, offering it to Dae to take and help him back up to his feet. That was more than a lot of guys here would do.

Dae definitely should've seen that coming; he'd been knocked off his feet for a lot of reasons. Sometimes often times there was a nice bed to break his fall ... he was really missing even the lumpiness of mattresses right now. Dae let loose a low breath, laying his head back in defeat. Note to self, guys are cute and getting distracted by it is a bad idea. Good thing for the blindfold thing, he guessed. A smile was working its way across his lips now, and he took Jamie's offered hand. He could get up himself, of course, but -- he yanked the other boy down hard, stabbing his heel into the back's of Jamie's knees. Dae rolled out of the way while he twisted the boy's arm behind him. "I think you're mistaken," he huffed, laying his knee into Jamie's side (in what might be a vain attempt) to keep him pinned. Dae did well up close and personal. Rules were stringent, bothersome- dirty did not go well with rules. He bent close to Jamie's face, "I know how to play dirty." The orphan smiled. "I'm Dae, by the way," he offered, straightening his spine. "Forgot to introduce myself. Nothing personal... well, maybe a little. You are a sort of distracting."

Point one for the untrained guy. Jamie had been the idiot who'd let his guard down after all, and right after telling the guy to play dirty. Wow, what an idiot. Sine he was the one with his face in the sweat scented mat and a knee on his side. Sure, he probably could have fought his way out of the hold...but that would have required a lot of energy that Jamie wasn't sure he wanted to expend. And people had to keep tricks up their sleeves right? Better not to show off in the gym right now. "Apparently you do," So he was untrained, but had some skill in fighting. Which probably meant he'd spent a lot of his life getting the shit beat out of him in alleyways before he started to hit back. A slight laugh left the back of Jamie's throat as he nodded, "Well I'm glad to know I'm distracting, maybe it will help me win the Gauntlet," Except you know everyone was blind folded so he doubted it. Not unless someone ran straight into his abs and fainted from the contact.

"So should I say Uncle or are you going to let me go now, Tricks?" Tricks. Because Dae here was rather tricky, acting like he gave up just to pull Jamie down into the mat- a trickster.

"Maybe you will." Dae responded. He wasn't about to rule Jamie out of the race; he obviously knew what he was doing. Why he was here was beyond him, but that hardly seemed important. Dae didn't even know why he was here. The trainee released Jamie's arm, shuffling back to give him room to breath. He settled into a squat, resting his elbow on his knee, and his cheek against his palm. "Should I give you a clever nickname, too, or would that be overkill?" he smiled cheekily. "Actually, scratch that. Jamie is a good enough name, I like it." Besides, Dae only knew enough about this guy to call him something really unoriginal-- like hot-stuff, or something equally as sick. Not an impression he wanted to make, for either a foe or an ally. Though the other kids had insisted that he wouldn't be finding any allies at a place like Ainsley.

The minute that Dae let go of his arm Jamie was bringing it back, rolling out his shoulders with a slight smile. "I'm glad Jamie is up to your standards," He laughed then, getting back up to his feet, "You're gonna have to work on your formal moves a little, I mean you have plenty of good instincts but you're a little rough still. Nothing that a couple months of intensive practice here at Ainsley won't smooth over." Jamie doubted that there wasn't any rough piece of coal Ainsley couldn't turn into a diamond. So long as....you know. No one dropped out or died. Which was entirely possible. Jamie's dad had told him about how his roommate had been murdered when he'd attended the Academy. Sleep with one eye open, it wasn't a suggestion here....it was survival. "Hopefully my good will won't mean you'll clean my clock in the Gauntlet," He laughed again then, knowing it to be all too true. Who knew if Dae here was holding back the way Jamie was? Maybe he'd just annihilate during the competition. It had happened before. The underdog winning it all.

It was a good thing that he was here then, hm? Fine-tuning was exactly the reason for applying. Ainsley Academy: it smooths, and it improves. If you went in blind, metaphorically on top of the physically, that is, than you were as good as dead.

"Too soon to tell," Dae shrugged nonchalantly. He rose to his feet too, both of his hands finding homes on his hips. "I bet you have some tricks of your own," he put in slyly. "Nobody draws all their cards in the first act." Dae was familiar with the withholding of information- forgoing the earlier name incident, that is- so he wouldn't be at all surprised if Jamie was pulling his strings. Of course, all those strings were left out to be pulled, but that seemed a minor detail in the grand scheme of things. "Ya know, I know the Gauntlet is a 'every man for himself' kind of deal, but I find that linking a few arms here and there doesn't hurt so bad. Not that you have to take my arm-- I wouldn't mind --but you can take whatever arm you want. Just make sure they're watching your back when something goes bump in the night," After all, every one was bond to make enemies here, why not buddy with some enemies of your enemy?

Jamie didn't have many cards up his sleeve, he had a few, yes, but he didn't have any game changing ones. "No tricks that could guarantee my winning, but yeah, a few better moves than the ones I used with you." But it was only the first day, he didn't want to go breaking this guy's arm just to get out of a hold on a sparring match. Maybe when it got closer to the race he'd break his arm....maybe. Depends on how Dae was getting along, since Jamie already knew Dae was interested in him. Or at least found him to be physically pleasing- which would make the whole seducing the winner thing a lot easier. Jamie just had to be attentive, alert on things and the ratings that would be posted. That gallery was going to be his new best friend in the months to come. "It doesn't hurt to have allies in the Gauntlet, after all not everyone here can win. But there are some that don't really deserve to win," Allies could make or break your chances in the Gauntlet. "Are you saying you might watch my back, or are you the bump in the night?" Jamie may have been smiling but the question did hold some weight, after all it was a bit early in the year to start making alliances.....enemies though? Those could happen at the drop of a hat.

Dae couldn't argue with that. It had only been two days, but he was sure that he was yet to meet the worst of the bunch. He's not really sure if anyone deserved to win. If that was the case, than there would be a lot less brutality, and a lot more of that trite learn-to-rely-on-each-other stuff mixed in. "I don't know," Dae answered truthfully. "I'm a pretty good actor, and I think I'd enjoy either role." he tapped his chin thoughtfully, considering what part would bring him the most benefits. He'd have to wait and see, he guessed, but both seemed like good, honest candidates. Which was a given, since he didn't know a whole lot about Jamie and he'd already admitted that he had some un-drawn cards all to himself. Dae'd wait and see how things went. Maybe they'd naturally fall into one or the other. "I'll tell ya what," Dae smiled, "Come find me when you need a partner," he patted Jamie's -- deep breath -- very nice chest, and then found his shirt and jacket, which he'd disposed of at the edge of one of the mats (view spoiler)[because that's convenient (hide spoiler)]. He brought it on over his head, scraping his hands through his damp hair. Dae's eyes went to Jamie's, "A training partner, of course." he clarified slyly. "Yes?"

Jamie grinned at Dae's little speech. So he wasn't sure what to make of him yet? But was willing to spend more time with him. "Well I'll definitely have to take you up on that. Training." Obviously. Maybe more, Jamie would have to see what the future brought. But for now he simply turned his attention back to the punching bags hearing the door clatter shut with Dae's departure.

Needless to say, with the outcome of the first competition? Rowan was pissed and it wasn't like she could blame anyone else for this mistake. Oh no, it was all on her, and though she wasn't surprised she had failed to wake up on time, that didn't stop her from being bitter about it. Disqualified. On the first competition. Grinding her teeth together, she bent her leg back, grabbing her shoe and pulling upward, beginning her stretches. Never again. She'd have to buck that deep-sleeping habit of hers quick, once and for all - maybe Zac would have some advising pointers. Though even if he did, he'd probably never give them to her. In part because she'd be damned if she ever asked and also because she knew her best friend well enough to know he was a little shit.

Rolling her eyes at the thought, even as a corner of her lips upturned, she switched legs, glancing around the otherwise empty gym. At least they'd have the place to themselves and she could rant and rave without worry of anyone overhearing. No one to judge - except Zac. Then again, he'd been judging since the day she tackled him to the ground after he'd taken her rider's helmet. He may have been seven and she may have been eight but not much had changed. Dropping her foot back to the ground, she leaned down to touch her toes, blonde ponytail falling forward. And it probably said something, the fact that she knew it was him based on the sound of his footsteps coming up behind her, but that was just how it worked between them at this point.

"Took you long enough." The words were said without straightening, instead focusing on the slight burn in her calf muscles.

Zac was actually feeling pretty good about himself. Sure, the other night sucked and his feet had gotten a little bruised, but he was actually pretty happy with where he'd ended up. No punishments, but not high enough up for a target on his back. He'd been careful too, not to fuck anyone else over last night. What? Since he didn't actually want to win this thing the last thing he wanted was to make a bunch of enemies and get his teeth kicked in because he accidentally tripped someone or something. Too bad that little Ro hadn't made it out of her room in time. "Hmmmmm, yeah but not as long as it took you to wake up," Maybe he should have been more sensitive, but if he was he wouldn't be the Zac that she knew and loved.

"Really Ro, such a shame that habit of yours kicked you in the ass. I've told you before and I'm telling you again- you just gotta start sleeping with me. I'd make sure that you got up in time." He laughed then as he stepped up towards the bar, starting his own daily stretch routine. She'd never take him up on his offer. That much he knew. But he would never stop offering it up to her, "I'm sure I could help you relax too, then we wouldn't need to stretch to loosen up." He threw a grin over in her direction before putting his foot up on the bar and leaning towards his toes, stretching out his muscles and feeling that familiar tightness and burn.

Granted he'd rather be in bed sleeping. Ever since that race it felt like he just couldn't get enough sleep. But still. There he was, getting ready to work out just because Ro said she should. Why did he have to have such an eager go getter for a best friend?

And of course he would have something to say about it all, because Zac clearly just wanted to have his ass handed back to him. The temptation to tackle him to the ground had never really lessened, even so many years later. Slowly straightening, Rowan began stretching out her arms, turning around to face him after a moment of searching blindly within herself for patience that hardly existed. "You're a dick sometimes." More like all the time? The words were said with a cheery smile though, brighter than most people thought Rowan Kings capable. And even as he continued, she rolled her eyes, feeling that pressure on her shoulders ease a little as he laughed. "You never quit, do you?" Shaking her head, she switched arms, blue eyes finding his.

She knew Zac well enough to know that his offer stood as a one-night only invitation. He'd been that way since they were in high school and she'd seen enough girls come and go to know that. Though that was completely besides the main point, wasn't it? The fact that she had other things to be focused on - namely, training. Winning the Gauntlet. The whole reason why she was here. That's what she had to focus on. Still, she found herself smiling to herself, albeit no less teasing. "Though I don't know what to make of that statement, Zac. I don't know about you, but I've found after a decent fuck, stretching can do a world of good when done - right." Shrugging like that was just casual knowledge passed amongst friends, -because that's what it was right, not a suggestive tidbit or anything- she couldn't help the way her smirk grew.

That was the thing about them: where Zac was all lazy teasing comments, Rowan had a bad habit of wanting to cut straight to the point. Though it hardly mattered, since they'd never gone down that road and likely never would. Finishing her stretches, she rounded around the bar, watching him continue his. "I saw your score though. You did good you know." Not that she had to tell him, she was sure he already knew. "High up on the list but not in the dangerous levels." Because obviously his enemies? Were her enemies too.

Only sometimes? Wow. Zac really needed to step up his game then if he was only a dick sometimes. "here I was going for the record of being a dick all the time the longest...but I guess VanKent has me beat there. I heard that he made a girl cry on the first day of the Academy. I also heard that he went ballistic and threw food at her like some kind of monkey trying to mark it's territory." He said the words with a shrug, after all what did he care what VanKent did? The guy was a shark in the water, pretty much destined to win. He'd come in....top ten, yeah? Zac was pretty sure he had. Him and that Joelle girl- another destined to win Guardian. The real surprise though had been the Delacroix's.

"You know with that whole Delacroix family legacy thing I definitely expected them to finish top ten. Maybe they've gotten soft though, Lyca finished after me after all, and her brother was almost in the 'punishment' section." He paused his stretches then, turning away from the bar and just leaning on it with his elbows as he watched Rowan instead. Who really needed to stretch anyway? "You'll have to tell me what that is by the way. Sounds kind of kinky doesn't it? The whole 'rewards and punishment' thing. Very Dom...dark side of Ainsley." Zacharaiah waggled his brows with his lips in a lazy smirk, another teasing comment. As if there was anything remotely fun or interesting about Ainsley.

"Of course if it is kinky, then all that stretching of yours is definitely going to come in handy. Make it right," Oh yes, he hadn't forgotten or glazed over that little comment, he'd simply taken his time getting around to it. Part of why it was so surprising he did as well as he did in that first competition, because Zac was more about just going along doing things when he felt like it. And apparently at 3 in the morning he felt like doing things in a very speedy time limit.

Shrugging one shoulder, Rowan dropped to the floor, extending her legs out in front of her to lean towards her toes. "I'm sure you could rival him." Glancing up at him, she sent him one of those half smiles he'd no doubt come to know so well. "That's how confident I am in your dickery." There's was a lot more to that statement though, if it were ever to be unpacked. After all, the girl had virtually no confidence in anyone, certainly not herself but she knew Zac. Probably better then herself. Honestly, if she stopped to give their relationship any thought whatsoever, it would be easy to connect the dots, see why so many of the revolving girls in his life considered her such a threat. But giving things any sort of thought? Well, she was coming to understand it was just as hard as something physically exerting.

Snorting, she stopped to stare up at him again. "It's the first competition, don't give in to your gossip impulses just yet." Because Zac was basically a housewife in a hot body. Shaking her head, she brushed a stray strand of hair back away from her face. "You never know what happened. Not all of us can be lucky number twelve, apparently. You're talking to your best friend, who was disqualified, remember?" Drawing back one of her legs, she stretched forward again, wrinkling her nose into her knee as she bent forward. "I hardly think it's gong to be anything of the fun sort." Switching to stretch out the other leg, she was faintly aware of the feeling of his eyes on her.

And at his words, she waited for her face to cool off before she sat back up, -because he was like a pit bull, he'd never let it go if he knew he'd found one of the few things capable of making her blush- getting to her feet to grab the front of his shirt and push him out towards the mats. "You'd think after all these years, I'd be used to how much you talk by now." Smirking, she fell back into sparring stance, keeping her hands loosely up to guard his face. "Or you're just stalling because you know I can kick your ass."

"You? Confident in me? Why Ro....did you just knight me? Am I a knight of the Ro Table now? Charged with protecting your royal jewel? I swear on my honor that I'll punch any guy who tries to slither his way between your thighs." Now it wouldn't be Zac if he didn't drop down to his knee, propped up as though proposing, one fist clenched over his heart as he swore allegiance to his Kings. Get it? Because Rowan Kings? Yeah no one ever said Zac was clever. Of course, he was quick to clamber to his feet when Ro rolled her eyes- a look he knew all too well to be her 'I'm debating whether or not to hit you' look. So he straightened up, getting up to his feet with a laugh at her chastising him about his gossiping tendencies.

"Hey, it's not gossiping. It's relaying information and theorizing about the truth." Please. As if Zachariah Beckett would lower himself down to the standards of mere gossip. No, he was above gossip. "Hey, I'm sure I'll get knocked down a couple pegs in the next competition. And you can glide in at top ten and boast about how you made up for being disqualified, and now I know to stop by your room and make sure you get up for the next competition too." As if Rowan would fail twice in a row. He was still surprised that she had failed initially.

He grinned at her smirking though, her teasing about getting used to him, but now that she was all ready to fight he supposed that it was time to stop messing around. With a roll of his eyes he pushed away from the bar and kicked off his shoes before stepping onto the mat. "Alright....alright...I see how it is. You get me to lower my guard by letting me confide in you and showing me that great ass and now you're like 'watch as I kick your teeth in, Zac'," He smirked as he lifted his own hands, fingertips curling back and gesturing for her to "Come n' get it, sugar,"

A snort was the only response Rowan deemed necessary for most of the knight shit he spouted - after all, he knew better than to think she needed any sort of protection. But she did arch an eyebrow up at him at his next words, even as something in her softened a little. Which was a rare occurrence for her. Not that she should really be surprised at all - of course he'd offer to check in on her, he was Zac and he had more of a heart than most people knew. She loved him for it, not that she could ever say as much aloud. "No, I'm proud of you. Don't make it easy on any of us." Smiling slightly over at him, she shrugged her shoulder. "We're competing against each other, Zac. You don't have to do me any favors." If she had anything to say about it, she wouldn't need any favors. Failing twice wasn't an option.

At the given 'okay,' Rowan surged forward, faking a punch with her left hand before landing one with her right to his stomach. They'd trained for so long together, they'd long surpassed the go easy bullshit. Of course, after training with the same person for so long, reading their weaknesses and strengths came like second nature. Like with Zac? She knew he favored his left side, and most of his power came from his arms and his hands, whereas Rowan had the advantage with her legs. Did that sound vaguely sexual? Yes. Yes it did. The distracting thought had her dancing backwards a little, attempting to stay out of his reach.

Smirking, she shook her head with her fists curled up near her chin, prepared to block her face. After all, her knuckles had once left a nasty gash on his cheek from sparring and it was really only a matter of time before he returned the favor. Then again, he'd once broken her wrist while training, so they were probably even. "I'm sorry, were you honestly expecting me to cut you a break? Besides, you should be used to this ass by now, it hardly developed overnight. Think of it as me preparing you for future distractions." Seemed logical, right? Her smirk staying firmly in place and she moved from foot to foot, keeping her fighting stance loose should he decide to suddenly dart toward her.

Don't make it easy. She says as she throws a punch at your stomach.

What Rowan had really meant was, step up your game Zac before you spend the rest of the year in the infirmary. Although that punch of hers had already shortened his breath, he was quick to get back on top of his game. A childhood full of training taught him to naturally rely on his physical skills and instincts rather than thinking too much. Anyone else would have gotten half assed attempts of fighting that were more defensive than anything else. But Zac had gotten chewed out by Rowan more than a few times before for not taking things seriously enough with her, so he knew better than to piss her off by not putting some effort into their fight.

As little as he wanted to put forth that effort.

He'd do it to avoid getting his ass chewed out by a very angry blonde.

"You'd think I'd be used to sex by now too, but it never stops being fun. Seriously, Ro, what kind of logic is that?" Scoffing he stepped towards her, invading her personal space and forcing her to step back, the idea being to keep her on her toes. More so than she already was as she danced back and forth with her weight. "You practicing ballet, or how to fight?" He ducked down then, his fist going for her stomach and as she bent down to shield herself stepping past her and jabbing his elbow into her shoulder instead. Of course he was quick to step back from her, knowing just how exposed his stomach had been to her during that little move of his.

Not smart.

note this RP occurred one of the first days students were at the academy, after arrival but before the first competition

So where would Lyca go after a kind-of fight with Jo? To blow off some steam, which meant she needed to find Daniel. He was the only person she knew here right now that she trusted, and though they had never had one of those we can tell each other secrets relationship before the academy, Lyca knew he was the closest thing she had to a real friend that was here right now. Which was probably a blow to Nate, since that was her brother -- but she couldn't think of someone worse to confide in. She'd confide in Jo herself before telling Nathan anything. Not that she planned on telling Dan... just ugh.

That's the mindset that she had when pounded on Dan's door with, the first night they were there at the academy. To his credit, he put on a shirt and grabbed shoes with no complaint, which she found incredibly helpful. One of his roommates peaked at her through the door like she was insane, to which her reply was to flip him off but whatever.

Fast forward about fifteen minutes, and the two of them were standing on opposite sides of a sandbag, Dan graciously allowing Lyca to offset his balance with repeated punches.

"What I don't understand ... is why... they freaking didn't make ... rooming with bitches... optional." she huffed loudly, running out of breath with the amount of fists she was throwing into the bag, courtesy of Dan. It was the first thing she'd said since bringing him into the gym.

All things considered, Dan’s first few days had been fairly uneventful. He’d seen Lyca at lunch, nearly barreled over Nora, and was now trying to settle in with his new roomates. One of which made it fairly obvious what he thought of all of them. Or what he thought about them. Which had been funny to laugh at, but the room had just been really tense. So Dan had settled himself into bed, trying to go to sleep early so he could wake up early and get out and into the woods early in the morning, when the pounding started. Dae had moved to open the door, but Dan had cut him off. He could only think of one person who would pound on the door at this hour. And his suspicion had been correct. It was Lyca, who, to be perfectly honest, had looked much better. No greeting, just a gruff “Wanna go to the gym?” Dan had been startled for a moment, but then just hesitantly replied “Uh, sure… let me grab a shirt.”

So here they were. There was no one in the gym this late, because who would be? He had braced himself on the opposite side of the unfortunate punching bag she had picked as her victim. And he’d just stood there, adding weight and balance to the bag as she had laid into it. She hadn’t said anything since the door of his room, so the space had been filled with the rhythmic, obviously frustrated thuds of her fists hitting the bag. After about ten minutes, Dan was considering breaking up the silence, but that was when she started speaking.

Roommate problems? Really?

She wouldn’t have dragged him all the way out here to talk about roommate problems. There was something obviously deeper. “I know, right? One of my roommates is very gay. He’s made about five passes at each of us so far tonight.” Which was flattering, but for an entire year? That was going to get old. “Watch your wrists.” He said, noticing her punches were landing a bit softer as she bent her wrists unconsciously.”

If she wanted to, Lyca would tell him what this was really about. Eventually. Or even if she didn’t tell everything, she’d at least give him a few hints so he could piece the story together. He could be patient. If she wanted to just punch a bag for a half hour and exhaust herself, so be it. Lyca didn’t trust anyone, and so if she was comfortable being upset and angry around him, Dan didn’t want to push her too far. If she wanted to fight with someone, she could go find Nate.

See, this was why Lyca had always appreciated Dan, he didn't pry. He knew that she would tell him in her own time, if that's what she wanted, so when she did finally offer him some very confusing words -- he didn't ask anything of her, he just offered up his own experience that was similar to hers. Yeah, roommate problems, he could roll with that. Lyca almost had to smile that he was so predictable in that way, he was the perfect person to talk to for that exact reason.

And then he said the word gay, and Lyca's face snapped to attention as if he'd called her by name. Oh. Duh, his roommate, Dae. Ahaha. hahaha. ha. Lyca dropped back into the rhythm of her punches, praying he wasn't going to be observant but knowing in the back of her mind that she was super easy to read, especially when she made what she was thinking that obvious. Lyca wondered if she should just tell him, or let him assume the worst. Who knew, honestly.

Lyca pushed her sweaty hair away from her face, correcting her wrist movements that she had let slack in her anger. "Yeah, well one of my roommates is gay, but that's not the problem I have with her. My problem is she's a straight up bitch."

Dan tried his best not to react to how fast Lyca’s head snapped up. The only time he’d see her react like that was right before she’d tackled him for saying something really stupid. Okay, so that was a nerve he’d hit. Noted. He went back to holding the bag as Lyca returned to her punches, with more force this time than before. So what was this about? It obviously bothered her… and not because Dae was confident in his flirting skills. But whatever, Dan let the silence sit between them, knowing she’d break it if she really had something to say.

And it only took a couple beats before she offered up another tidbit of information. So her roommate was gay…and a bitch. “Well that’s unfortunate.” He said, adjusting his feet so he could better brace himself against the bag, as Lyca’s punches suddenly got more furious. Unfortunate, and strange. Lyca had dealt with plenty of bitchy people in her life, including her parents. Why was one gay roommate suddenly setting her off like this? It made no sense, as far as Dan could tell. Who were her roommates anyway? He’d only looked at the names of his own when he moved in, so he had no idea who was even in her room.

“What’d she do?” He asked, in line with this roommate being bitchy, “Steal your knives?”. That seemed like a safe place to start. Those knives were her babies, she’d flip her lid if anyone touched them. Maybe not like this, but it was a place to start. He'd only ever seen her this mad when... no, wait. There was that one time a few years ago when she'd gotten into really big trouble. Nate had tried to become friends with Dan overnight one week because Lyca was unavailable. He hadn't known much, but he had said that Lyca had been locked in her room for a week because of something she'd done. The next time Dan had seen Lyca after that she'd been just as mad as she was now. So if this was on even close to being caliber with that, it had to be bigger than some simple roomate fight.

Lyca actually laughed out loud when she mentioned Jo touching her knives, meeting his eyes momentarily before hitting the bag again with even more ferociousness. "No, she didn't touch my knives, she knows better." she exhaled, appreciating him yet again for his understanding nature. Jo would never in a million years touch Lyca's knives, firstly because they were rolled up in their case locked away in her cabinet, and secondly because Jo would probably get touched by the knives if she even thought about touching them herself. Even though Lyca kept a lot about her life a secret, playing with her knives was always something she just did, so it was impossible to hide how much they meant to her.

Grabbing the bag and using it for support, Lyca stopped throwing her fists into it and took a much needed break. If she didn't, she'd probably overwork herself into cardiac arrest or something. Just thinking about Jo made her entire chest hurt. This entire fucking academy was already too much, she didn't need this right now. She had put those feelings to rest a long time ago... yet in one day, it was all thrown right to the surface. "Long story short, one of my roommates and I have history." Lyca glanced up at him, a last ditch effort to try and convince herself not to trust him. "Like, the romantic kind. And it didn't end well, I got in serious trouble when Jonathan told my parents, and so it's like kind of unfinished and she's just an uber bitch, OK?"

Lyca wouldn't look at Dan, she was just waiting for him to judge her or walk away. She knew he hadn't judged her when she had slept around with guys the entire time they had been friends, it was just one of those things they didn't address in their friendship. But would it be a deal breaker for him if she had also messed around with girls? If he was all kinds of annoyed with his gay roommate, who knew.

As Lyca took a break, Dan relaxed his grip on the bag. He flexed his hands so they wouldn’t get stiff from bracing the bag, and glanced over at Lyca. She leaned against the bag, and Dan saw her eyes flicker up to his face, as if she was trying to decide something. But what, he couldn’t tell as her gaze darted back down to the ground. But then it came out. All of it. Her roommate and her had a romantic history. Ooh. That was not insignificant. They’d had a history a while ago, because that was back when Jonathan was alive, and he’d found out. And tattled, the coward. She got into trouble, because when didn’t she? So all of that was coming back out because they were roommates here at Ainsley.

Dan nodded, taking a moment to let her words wash over him. Her reason for being so upset was legit, he could see why it was getting to her like it was. Dan knew she was watching him, he could feel her eyes on him, expecting an answer for the secret she’d just told him. Which was completely valid, considering she’d just told him the epitome of what was despised in their social circles. Dan worked his tongue around in his mouth for a moment more, before turning and looking Lyca square on.

“So you’re telling me,” He started, completely serious. “That you were locked in your room for a week because Jonathan tattled on you. Lycie, you know how much I always wanted to put a dent in that pretty stuck-up face of his, and you denied me that opportunity? That hurts me, Lyca. That really hurts me.” He said, ending in a much lighter tone, putting a hand to his chest. Of course he didn’t care if she liked girls, boys, or none of the above. She’d been punished because of something that she couldn’t control. Her tattle-tale brother Keeping that part a secret? Especially when he could have landed some solid punches on said older brother? That was the thing, if anything, to be upset about.

No words could express how relieved Lyca was -- Dan had been a really great friend for her outside of Ainsley, but she had always shied away from him because of the connection he had with her family. But now that they were at the Academy, she knew he allied himself with those beliefs about as much as she did, which was a relief. Lyca felt pretty pathetic about how much she could already see herself starting to rely on Dan as one of her only good friends here, but at the same time she found herself happy she had someone she could rely on... even if that was the exact opposite of what she should be doing.

Lyca laughed darkly at his words, probably sounded relieved and more than a little bit crazy. It would be a pretty good observation that she was having a rough night, OK? But believe it or not, Lyca didn't have that weight of release like the world's pressure was being lifted off her shoulders because she finally confided in someone... she felt embarrassed for someone knowing how weak she was. It had literally been like almost a day and she was already a total wreck because once fight with Joelle. Talk about unfinished business.

"A little more than a week, but yes. And I didn't find out it was Jonathan until much later, not that it matters." she shook her head, still heated with the memory of it. "It was my parents -- literally, Dan, all I did was kiss her and that was enough. One of my friends saw it, told Jonathan, and then he told my parents and like they definitely wanted to beat it out of me. And woohoo, mission accomplished. I didn't go anywhere near her. But now she's in my room and it's not like I can avoid her, but if Nathan finds out like he will for sure tell them. He doesn't know anything about it, my parents made sure Jonathan didn't tell any of them... it's just if he even suspects something, he'll run straight to them, and I don't know if they can take me out of the academy, like is that even possible? I don't know."

Running a hand through her hair, Lyca tried to ignore the stickiness. "It's just really stressful and she makes me so mad, she freaked out on me like as soon as she walked in the room because I lied to her about my last name or something we were friends... like I would tell anyone my real name, for real? As soon as I'm a guardian, I'm a Delcie for sure, screw Delacroix."

The problem with the Academy was that no matter what jokes he cracked, or how much people laughed along with him, there was always a part of their conversation that would be tainted by the fact that they would eventually be competing against each other for a few select spots. The hope of making true friends was slim. Which was why Dan was relieved when Lyca obviously relaxed after he’d spoken. Good friends were hard to come by in real life, let alone in a vaccum like the Academy. Dan wasn’t about to let that change.

To his surprise, Lyca continued talking, offering more explicit details of what happened, and why she’d been in so much trouble. Dan couldn’t help but feel for Lyca. She had been a rebellious kid with something to prove. She’d liked this girl, and she’d gone for it. How was she to know that her family would suddenly care? He couldn’t relate to the family punishments, but it was kind of the set up that had lead to Lyca’s ‘Handy-Dandy” nickname for him. “Well, a kiss can imply a lot,” he said lightly. Similar set-up, different follow-through. He’d gotten a nickname, she’d gotten punishments and a ton of baggage to deal with in her own room. They were only a lot different.

“But really,” He said, his tone turning to be a bit more serious. “That sucks, Lycie, that really sucks. But you’re not there anymore. Your parents couldn’t pull you out of the Academy without stirring up a whole mess of questions that I’m pretty sure they don’t wanted to be asked.” Which wasn’t a stretch. If they never paid attention to Lyca before, why would they want all sorts of personal, potentially destructive-in their view- questions asked about her? “I think you’re safe here. And leave Nathan to me. That lost-puppy look he’s pulling off could do with a few solid right hooks. Who knows, maybe I’ll find a spine somewhere in him.” Doubtful. “But, look at it this way,” Dan said, trying to find any bright spot for her. “You live together, maybe this’ll be a chance to…. I don’t know, start over?” He offered, watching Lyca carefully for the point at which it was too much too offer.

Lyca’s fight with this girl sounded legit, so it made sense why she was here now, with a punching bag between the two of them. Dan looked at Lyca’s face carefully. She hadn’t shut him down yet, so Dan decided to venture one last question. “Speaking of real names,”, he ignored commenting on her own name change, she’d been talking about that for ages, that was old news, “who is this ravishing woman anyway?”

Lyca didn't really need Dan to tell her that her life sucked, that was something that she knew and had come to terms with a while ago. But maybe if she had known how understanding Dan was going to be about her whole situation, she would have gotten closer to him a while before now, seeing as they could both die in the next year and what kind of friendship could they really have now? A tense one, most likely. But maybe it didn't have to be that way with him, if they had that understanding. It's not like they both couldn't win.

"I know what a kiss can imply, Moss Man, it wasn't my first one." she smirked, hitting the bag lightly to show she was just teasing. Lyca actually listened to his advice though, which wasn't something she really did for anyone else... probably because she didn't share anything with anyone else, and to be honest, she hadn't ever thought Dan would be the type of guy to listen. He was in the same social circle she was, so if anything, she had expected him to be judgmental, but maybe he knew some of the same struggles as her... or knew her family, so could at least appreciate hers. Dan was the closest person outside of Lyca's family that actually knew that had a daughter, so that was a point to his credit. "I'm not sure that whole starting over things works with me, I'm kind of the bitter and a hold a grudge type, if that hadn't become obvious yet."

Skirting his blue-eyed stare, Lyca decided that was the perfect moment to stretch back her arms and completely avoid looking at him. She knew he could read her like a book, but obviously he couldn't just pick words out of her mind, mostly just emotions -- but who knew, honestly, he was always so spot on. And he'd probably be able to guess by looking at the directory for roommates anyways. "Oh you know... just a girl named Joelle..." she started, stretching out wider and lowering the volume of her voice, hoping he wouldn't hear her but knowing he would, "Bronte."

A smirk worked its way onto Dan’s face as Lyca hit the bag. “I never doubted it.” He teased, letting the backswing of the bag hit him. Despite her smart reply, it looked like she’d actually listened to his advice, which was a first. It surprised Dan since no one ever really listened to him unless he was telling a joke, a byproduct of being born last, he’d always figured. Different circumstances, he supposed, would change that. Their normal social circles were so judge-y and over involved in literally every aspect of their lives, so it was a bit different to even be able to talk to someone when you wanted to. And Dan found himself enjoying the ability to have a friend to talk to, seeing as Mars had gotten himself married off to a daughter of a Guardian and didn’t need to compete this cycle. But that didn’t apply, and Dan refocused his attention on Lyca. No starting over. Eh, there were other ways to deal with conflict. “You know what? I had noticed it, just a little bit.” Dan said, holding out his thumb and forefinger to show a tiny space between his fingers.

As Lyca moved to stretch, Dan took the opportunity to back away from the bag and sit down on the bench right beside them and rub his hands on a towel. She still hadn’t answered his question, but she didn’t look ready to go back to hitting the bag. Dan dropped his gaze so he wasn’t staring directly at her, but sat patiently waiting for a reply, if one was to come.

Joelle…. No.

She was kidding. She had to be.

“Bronte?” Dan said, doing his best to not let his mouth gape open, and only half-succeeding. “Joelle Bronte. The daughter of Azreal Bronte. The girl we were never even allowed to look at because her father was so into marrying her off to the most worthy person? No freaking kidding.” Dan said, bracing one hand on his knee. He put his other hand to his mouth, trying to understand this. He tried to keep his amusement to himself, but it came out in a snort, and then he just couldn’t keep his wide grin under control. He dropped his hand from his mouth, and shook his head slightly as he looked back at Lyca. “Wow.” He started, trying to keep himself somewhat under control. “When we were told ‘Go Big or Go Home’ mantra as kids, you really took that to heart .” Because you couldn't get much better than the Bronte family. This was priceless. Absolutely priceless.

It was refreshing the way Dan continued to tease her -- in a way, she found it one of his most dependable qualities. Him being cool with her sharing her shit about Jo just solidified his cool guy demeanor, and Lyca knew she trusted him. It might seem weird that she celebrated this newfound trust by sticking her tongue out at him and making a mocking face, but to each their own. Since humor, in this case, was their thing. He could be sarcastic with her all he wanted, she knew she was bitter as hell. You didn't have to be friends with her as long as Dan had to know it, either.

Lyca watched him talk about Jo, and she had to work pretty hard not to smirk. It was a total guy thing to be impressed by Lyca's catch, even under the circumstances. It wasn't really all that funny, but to Lyca it was. Anyone else would have freaked out because Joelle hooked up with Lyca when they were teenagers, and wow the scandal, but Dan-the-Man was all about appreciating Lyca's game. Priceless. "Excuse me, I didn't look at her, she looked at me. And let's be real here, who wouldn't?" she laughed, looking down at her disgusting and sweaty self. Dreamboat.

"It wasn't about that." she replied, almost embarrassed at what he might be suggesting. Lyca thought Jo was a catch because she had one of those personalities that you couldn't help but smile towards, or because she wasn't so bad in the looks department (and by not so bad, Lyca meant totally fine). But Dan thought she was a catch because of who her Dad was? Boy was about to learn.

"For someone who is supposed to be super down to Earth, you're kind of an idiot." she quipped, grabbing his towel and tossing it right back into his face. Earth puns, they were endless! "It isn't about family ties, you stupid boulder. If it was, I would have accepted your mom's proposal on your behalf a long time ago. But I didn't, because you have nothing in your wee little brain but pebbles." Lyca was in a much better mood now, because maybe if Dan could be optimistic about her future with Jo, she could too. If he was going to handle Nate, the least Lyca might be able to get was closure -- that's why she got back into her teasing ways, less angry, and way more playful.

As soon as she stuck her tongue out at him and made a face, Dan knew he’d done his job. Lyca at least looked better, even if her emotional state wasn’t fully back to stable. Hey, baby steps. She was a little rough around the edges, and she responded best to humor. Which Dan had in spades. Each poked fun at the other, never in a malicious way, and kept the other in check. Just like now, because apparently, Lyca was a dreamboat. Dan scoffed, although it didn’t really work given how wide his smile still was from laughing at the fact that Joelle Bronte was the one Lyca had hooked up with. “Of course, of course,” He said, raising an eyebrow in her direction. “Who wouldn’t want to get all over that sweaty mess.”

Dan totally deserved the towel to the face, and as he pulled it down from his face, he just fixed Lyca with his best smirk. Sure it wasn’t all about family ties, but they were still a part of this, whether she liked it or not. The Bronte’s were not a family to be messed with. Like ever.

Of course he was an idiot. Where did she think his woodsy charm come from? “Aw, Lycie.” Dan said, wrapping up the towel and slinging it back over his right shoulder. “You’re sure it wasn’t because you were worried about blowing our house of sticks down with all your hot air?” Dan tilted his head, sizing her up. Two could play this game. “You do resemble the big bad wolf, if only slightly.” He said, only to duck at the hand he saw coming out of the corner of his eye. He rolled off the bench and popped up beside the punching bag, just out of arms reach of Lyca. “Gotta be quicker, D-Croix,” He said with a wink. “You can’t sting like a bee if you can’t float like a butterfly.” Ha. Air pun.

Dan knew he was asking for it, but if he got his ass handed to him to help Lyca work out this weird, really funny crazy situation she was in, it’d be worth the few bruises.

That was just the whole thing, wasn't it? Lyca didn't align herself with her family, so in way, that was just the thing she expected from Jo. Don't like your dad, don't call yourself a Bronte. Something Lyca didn't seem to realize in this whole situation was that Joelle might not like her family, but she was still apart of it -- therefore Lyca was messing with the Bronte's, whether she wanted to see that or not, she could be getting herself into some seriously bad shit. Just like she tried to think of herself as something other than a Delacroix, just because she wished it, didn't make it so.

Hot air? Lyca raised her eyebrows, putting her hands on her hips and staring at him in that way that she did. Was he trying to say she had a fat head, because if they were comparing heads here, his was wayyyy bigger. Arrogance was like his go-to. And if she was a wolf, he was a pig for how much time he spent with his face in the dirt -- preferably, Lyca liked to be the one shoving his face in it, but you couldn't get what you wanted all the time.

Lyca accepted his challenge, even if he had dodged her first hit. The boy was playing with fire, she was way too hyped up to go easy on him. It wasn't like she was putting her full effort into hitting him though, they were just teasing each other, so if she was going to land a hit, it wasn't going to hurt him longer than a few seconds. "Dan, if you were a butterfly, you'd be a right ugly one, you know that?" she asked, lunging forward again to smack his stomach. Another miss.

Circling around him, Lyca sized him up like he'd done to her a moment before. She wondered if she would be able to take him down like she had when they were kids, effectively flipping him over her back using his weight to shove his face into the mat. He was a lot bigger now, and he'd probably see it coming. So she decided to go for a distraction tactic before she sidestepped and went to grab his right knee, "When you were putting a shirt on earlier, do you know what your roommate told me? He said your momma is so cross-eyed, that she can see the future and the past at the same time!"

Ha. It’d worked. Dan saw that gleam in her eyes, and knew he had her. She never had been able to resist a joke. Granted, while she could be full of hot air sometimes, she did have a bite behind her bark, so the wolf analogy was partially true. Not that he’d say that. Or at least not right now. “At least I wouldn’t get eaten.” He answered, sidestepping her lunge at his stomach easily. “And for your information, I think I would make a downright ravashing butterfly,” He added, bending his knees slightly and watching her as she eyed him.

For size, he certainly wasn’t the bean pole he used to be when they were growing up. He’d always grown faster than his body could keep up with, but he’d filled out in the past few years, he knew that. He had a few pounds on her, at least, so she wouldn’t be able to flip him over and shove his face in the mat. If she wanted to, she’d have to work a little harder this time around.

“Hm?” Dan said, his eyes not moving. Oh, another yo' mamma joke. “Nope!” He said, and as she lunged at him, he allowed himself to fall backward so that as Lyca lunged at him, their carried momentum threw them both at the ground. Dan turned slightly so his shoulder hit the ground first, and rolled away from Lyca, who landed right next to him. “You’re sure that’s what he said?” Dan asked, taking a breath as he rolled to a crouch. “He wasn’t cross-eyed from looking at the whirlwind of your personality?” He didn’t wait for a response as he lunged at her, aiming for her torso.

"Ugly butterfly." she concluded, leaving no room for debate. Lyca couldn't deny to herself that Dan was attractive, but that was never something that she would tell him in a straight forward way. That would take away the joking aspect of everything, and why would she compliment him when she could make fun of him for being ugly instead? Oh, that's right, she wouldn't.

Lyca should have known that wasn't going to work, instead of letting her hook his knee, he simply fell backwards and called it good. She landed with an uumpffh that knocked the wind right out of her -- OK, so she needed to not treat him like they were twelve, got it! Later she would probably appreciate that he had moved to take most of the blow, but in this moment she was most focused on getting back to her feet as quickly as possible. The longer she was on the ground, the more time he had to keep her there.

Unlike Dan, who hadn't fallen privy to her distraction tactic, Lyca hadn't been so lucky. She grinned at his words, ready to snark back a reply when he threw his weight into her middle. For someone with a wind affinity, she could need seem to keep any air in her lungs to save her life. She didn't bother trying to untie his arms, but put pressure on his head so he'd be forced to lessen his hold -- he was a big guy, so basically she focused her body weight onto his neck. Lyca tried to remember everything she was supposed to do when in a hold like this, but the most she could recall was not to let him trip her, therefore she planted her feet.

Okay, so what had she learned here? Come up with better distractions.

"Oh my god, you smell." she laughed, still pressing down on his head while trying to weasel out of his grasp. Lyca couldn't imagine she smelled any better, but still, she couldn't help but voice her complaint. In reality, she probably smelled worse than him with all of that punching. The first legitimate breath she was able to take was clouded with his sweat... something most people didn't think about when practicing hand to hand combat. Lyca pushed down even harder, frustrated with his unwillingness to budge. Literally all she had to do was slip his hold, crouch, and push him backwards. It was clumsy and she'd probably land on top of him, but it would be a pin nonetheless. "I wonder if you taste better than you smell?" she asked, wondering if that was the right angle to make him loosen his grasp.

Dan could feel the air leave Lyca’s body as he collided with her torso, his arms circling her middle with the intention of throwing her down on the mat. He’d hoped his fast movement would throw her off balance and give him the leverage to throw her down on the mat and pin here right there. But Lyca, ever the fast thinker, planted her legs and stood her ground, throwing all of her weight behind her elbow into his neck. Damn that hurt, but he kept his grip tight.

“You’re no…rose petal yourself.” Dan grunted in response, her elbow to his neck making it a little hard to respond. Which was true. She must have had two or three workouts worth of sweat and grit on her, and and with the sweat she’d just worked up on the punching bag, she wasn’t exactly freshly bathed. But why the heck was she commenting on how much he smelled? There was literally no end to the weird stuff Lyca would say for a laugh.

What?

I was wondering if you taste better than you smell?

“Wait, what?” Dan asked. Why would she ask… no. She couldn’t have just said that…could she? In his momentary confusion, he relaxed his grip for just a moment, which was his mistake. Lyca easily slipped his grip, took advantage of his momentary lapse to push him back, and he fell back down at the mat, knocking some of his breath out of him. Lyca, in her rush to push him over, lost her balance and landed on top of him, but she’d pinned him. Damn Dan thought to himself. He closed his eyes and let the back of his head hit the mat. “I totally fell for that.” He said. It had been a distraction, because of course it had been. She’d been tying to throw him off, and she’d succeeded.

But he could play that game too. She was on top of him, and they were both breathing a little harder than normal from slamming into each other and the mats. “Well, since you asked, wanna find out?” He asked, with as much sarcasm and sass as he could manage with the the breath he still had in his lungs.

Lyca had felt like a little happy winner for all of two seconds before she fell down with him and got a face full of his sweaty ass shirt, but it was still worth it. She had heard his words and felt him hesitate, and she stung like the vengeful ass bee she was, so ha! Having guessed the right direction for distraction was a stroke of luck though, so she wouldn't be trying to accept a rematch from him anytime soon. She would hold the victory over his head for about as long as he would allow her to, which, knowing him, wouldn't be as long as she wanted.

"Literally and figuratively fell for it, I hope I didn't knock any of your pebbles loose. You can't afford to lose any more brain cells." she quipped, unsticking her face from his shirt. Gross gross gross. Lyca pushed her hair back with one hand, beginning to pull herself off of him with the kind of slowness one make showcase after falling onto concrete -- because yeah, he'd fallen backwards onto a plushy mat, and she'd fallen onto him. Dan was a boulder. "And I know I smell bad, that's actually part of my hand to hand combat strategy. People will try not to breathe, therefore lose oxygen, and I will overpower them through stench and physical power."

Lyca continued to shift away from him, paying more attention to her own hair than him staring up at her, "Ask what?" Oh. Oh. Her eyes flickered back to his, and her brows quirked in what could only be read as surprise. She had asked him what he tasted like, that's what he was referencing -- she had already almost forget her tactic. She stared at him for a total of like ten seconds silently, trying to read if he was actually being serious or not, and meeting his eyes in that moment was one of the most embarrassing things that had ever happened to her in their duration of being friends. She was just lucky her face was probably already red from exertion, therefore he wouldn't see it as her blushing.

She leaned forward slightly, glancing down at his lips ... then preceded to lick a good length of his face, before pulling back away from him and rolling a few feet over onto a new mat. Lyca gagged, "Oh my god, you taste worse than you smell, you Moss ridden boy!"

She had a point, he had literally fallen for that trick of hers. Which sucked, because she was going to hold this win over him for at least a week. As for his brain, Dan just rolled his eyes. His pebble-ridden brain would be fine. It wasn’t like he’d be needing to do any deep reading or philosophic pondering during his time here at the Academy, so as long as he didn’t get a concussion, he was confident he could survive. But Lyca knew that, she just wanted to rub it in with a few added puns.

But after he asked his question, Lyca stopped. For a moment, Dan wondered if he’d pushed the wrong button. After the conversation they’d just had about her and Joelle… he’d been joking, but he couldn’t read her expression. So they just stayed there, Lyca slightly above him in the position she’d pushed herself up to, him on the mat, just… there. Her face was red from punching and sparring, and he had no idea what she was thinking.

But then she leaned forward, and Dan wasn’t sure what she was doing…until she licked his face. She gagged, and he shoved her off him, but she was already rolling away from him. “No shit Lyca,” He said with a chuckle, sitting up and wiping his face off with one hand. Whatever he had expected her reaction to be, it had not been that. Maybe a quip, but actually licking his face? The least likely scenario.

Dan shook his head, and rolled his shoulders back to get his blood flowing again after having landed on the mats. He glanced over at Lyca as she got to her feet, and shook his head. “Speak for yourself, what did you eat today? A dead animal?” He asked, and putting one hand on the mat, he pushed himself to his knees, and slowly got to his feet, slowly drawing oxygen back into his lungs. She’d won that round. But he’d get her next time, and he silently promised himself that he wouldn’t fall for that trick again.

“Good round.” Dan said, giving her a light-hearted punch to the shoulder as he walked past her towards the bench to gather up his towel. It was getting late, and he needed to be up early tomorrow to run. “I’ve gotta get back to bed, but I hope everything with Joelle works out.” He said seriously, hoping to throw their conversation away from what had just….happened? not happened? “And be sure to let me know if I need to go talk dear Nathan.” He said with a wink, before turning and heading out of the gym back to the dorms, their awkward conversation on the mats and their….almost…..? Their something, rolling on repeat in his head as he walked away.

Ashlyn was in the training room, not particularly the place one would find her, but she needed to get better at this, so here she was, practicing by herself, which probably wasn't the best of ideas, but it was all she could get at the moment.

She switched between combat moves and strength exercises, giving her a balance so she wouldn't get tired at one thing. Her endurance levels helped her keep going. Her hair was tied back, and wore a simple tank and shorts.

Pierce found himself in the gym because he just needed to blow off some steam, and this seemed like the right place to do it. He wasn't in the mood to go for a run, or to light some weights, or like kick a ball against the side of a building. He was kind of in the mood to pick a fight with someone, and see where that landed him. He wasn't entirely sure who would want to spar with him, but this seemed like the right place to start. He tugged on his black shirt absentmindedly, looking around the room as he began to stretch.

Ashlyn gave a sideways glance at the man who just entered the gym. He was taller than her, but that would give her an advantage. She debated between asking him to a little bit of hand to hand, just to see if he wanted to, since he looked bored.

A few minutes later she stopped and got a drink from her water bottle then approached him. "Hi. I was wondering if you could help me with hand to hand?" She asked him already knowing he would be better. Compared to her he was bigger and probably stronger, but she just might be able to out maneuver him.

Anyone with a semi-functioning brain would not approach him and ask to spar, least of all small girl. He actually had to look down at her -- because at first, he had been looking forwards and did not see who had talked to him. Well, that was dramatic, but still. Compared to him? Tiny. He looked down at her, analyzing her features and wondering who exactly she was, or thought she was. She at least didn't know who he was, because if she did, she would know not to ask that stupid of a question. He was a VanKent. "I have no desire to help you, or anyone else." he replied, looking over her head for someone else to train with.

She looked up at him. He was big, so what didn't necessarily mean he would win. She held her hands up and then back up away from him. "If you have no desire, then why are you looking for someone else?" She asked, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow. Jeez! This guys could learn a thing or two. She muttered something to herself, making it so he couldn't hear her, she did it on purpose, figuring he would probably notice.

Was she still trying to talk to him? Pierce looked back down at the girl in distaste, noting her fiery green eyes and dark hair -- and more freckles than he would ever care to count. She had striking features, but still nothing notable about her. If she was serious competition to him, he would have remembered seeing her photo hanging in the gallery, as he had committed all potential threats to memory. She wasn't in his mental list, therefore still not worth his time, regardless of how much she felt like she deserved his undivided attention. Pierce sidestepped her, almost pushing through her jutted out hand-on-the-hip routine -- typical Ainsley girl.

"I have no desire to help. I came here to benefit my training, not have a worthless to my skill downwards comparison. I am liking for someone to match my skill level, not someone to trot behind me with a pen and paper taking notes." he shot back, annoyed more than he should be for just a such conversation.

Jayla (◉◡◉✿) wrote: "
Don't make it easy. She says as she throws a punch at your stomach.

What Rowan had really meant was, step up your game Zac before you spend the rest of the year in the infirmary. Although that p..."

Rolling her eyes even as he forced her back a step or two, Rowan snorted even as his elbow landed right into her shoulder. Groaning softly, she spun around, keeping her stance low as her fist found his open stomach before backing up a couple of steps again, shaking out her hair. "Are you really thinking about sex right now? Clearly I haven't done enough to demand your full attention, huh?" Fists still curled before her face, Rowan slammed another punch into his shoulder, full weight going in with the move. Definitely meaning that punch was no love tap. It was kind of a gamble, being on the offense with him when he knew everything about her like he did, but surely she had his attention now. And she was hardly done, either.

Dropping down, her leg shot out to sweep his feet out from under him, pouncing the moment his back hit the mats. Maybe anyone else would have considering Rowan unnecessarily forceful, but surely Zac knew what he'd been signing up for when he agreed to meet her at the gym. She was never going to mess around, not one to waste either his time or her own. Straddling his hips, she leaned forward, hands finding his wrists to pin them down. Though she had not a single doubt in her mind that he could easily buck her off if he really wanted to. "And are you seriously doubting my capabilities right now? Considering our current position?" She flashed him a bright smile, hardly paying any mind to the growing number of people in the gym around them.

@Rose

Dae had heard about Pierceton VanKent: he'd heard that his personality had much to be desired. One trip to the gallery confirmed his suspicion that Pierce was something to look at-- the awful ones always were. So, while he'd had every intention of actually working out on his daily gym trip, Dae'd spent most of his time eyeing the attractive competition. Pierce was among those competitors, just his luck, and Dae knew he'd come in sixth, thereby sticking them in the same top-ten training sessions. He was having none of what that little twig of a girl was offering -- poor doll -- but Dae didn't bother interfering. It ran its course, and he slipped in when he saw an opening. A few quick hops forward and he snagged Pierce by the hem of his shirt, tugging until they faced one another. "I hear that you are in need of a partner," Dae smirked. "And I am very worth your attention, I assure you."