Thread: Against the Ropes [ Sigr & Captain Brandeau ]

Ayna was surprised when she noticed that fire in Vinny's eyes, maybe not the roaring flames that her younger self remembered, but a heat tempered by experience she didn't quite recognize as such. Saying nothing, the girl got herself busy finishing her food, not even flinching in her stare while he talked. He did care, he said he cared, but those were only words. Where has he been all those years? He was just buying time, like a fighter on his last breath, glancing at the clock in search for some respite. Ayna was finished with her food when he excused himself and returned to scribble his phone and address on paper, making evident the generational gap between them. Looking at the piece of paper, then back at him, she doubted what to do as conflicting emotions were running high. This means nothing Ayna blurted, taking the paper and stashing it crumpled in a pocket. How do I know that you aren't going to disappear again? she added, visibly agitated, getting up from the chair to face Vinny. The self control a fighter should have in those situations was there, preventing from things getting physical, but it was stretched thin. It wasn't like Ayna planned on hurting him, or even wanted to, but if she wasn't in a public space maybe some piece of furniture could end up suffering for her pent up feelings. I need to think about it she said, her posture relaxing a bit, taking a step back and stopping that invasion of his personal space. I'd give you my address and phone, but that hasn't changed she added, bitter, taking her stuff and getting out of the restaurant. The rain had stopped, but the fresh air outside helped Ayna felt less stuffy, free from that trap. She thought she knew the pressure of the ring, but that encounter had hit her where she didn't expect. A public bus and her long stride took her back home, a house in the suburbs that her parents had saved for long to buy it before she was born and the only home she had known so far. Now it all seemed different, all Ayna could see were her memories with Vinny here and there when he came visit, but even those were fading, changing to accommodate who Vinny was now. Going straight for her bedroom upstairs, her parents said nothing to her, just sharing a knowing look between them. They trusted their daughter, and she would share whatever bothered her when she was ready, as she didn't answer well to pressure. In the comfort of her room, Ayna mulled over what to do, no music could distract her from that encounter and what it entailed. In a fit of fury she thrashed the paper that Vinny gave her, but as soon as she had vented, Ayna carefully picked up the pieces and assembled them like a puzzle. It was still legible, so she used her phone to take a picture of the message and then scooped the pieces into a garbage can she had on a corner of her desk. Being tired was her excuse during dinner to talk little, answering in monosyllables to anything her parents asked, too distracted to do otherwise. But she wasn't tired, she just had plans, using an early retire to bed to escape home from her room's window. It was irresponsible for sure, but dressed to fight under more common clothes, she took an Uber downtown. Maybe she didn't have to think things over. Maybe she didn't have to break furniture. Maybe she just needed a fight.