2014.11.19 - Training: Day 1

Early morning. The sun was barely peaking over the clouds and horizon. Carter had a key to the gym he taught at. Permission was given to use it at an early hour. Kendra was given enough warning so she could have adjusted her schedule. 
When she made it to the place a bunch of lights acted as a guide. Weight machines were all over the first room along with some free weights. The back room could be seen in the partial darkness. Mirrors lined up a wall along with a balancing beam for leg stretches. Yes, the room was a dance studio, but it served as a few other things too. Crash mats lined up a good part of the floor. 
"Welcome to class," Carter said with a bright smile that said he was probably at this gym hours ago. The man was too awake at this hour to have just gotten up like she may have. "How are you feeling?" he asked trying to judge how intense this first session was going to be.
It's hard to say whether Kendra just woke up or not. There are times she sleeps like the dead and then there are other times she has insomnia - today though she doesn't seem overly tired when she steps into the spider's parlor, or rather into the room with Carter.
She clearly did get the message though that this would be gym time, as she's dressed in a pair of black sweat pants and black sweat shirt, though the sleeves have been haphazardly cut off of the shirt. Her hands have been tapped to just past her wrists, the tape worn much like the people who use the punching bag do. She wasn't sure what they would be working on, but she wanted to be somewhat prepared for some of it.
The gym will be looked over curiously, before Kendra turns vaguely wary eyes upon Carter. "Aren't you chipper this very early morning." The gymbag she had over one shoulder is placed upon the ground, as she approaches closer. Her injuries seem okay, though the bruises are mainly covered by her clothes. Perhaps a stray yellow spot here and there will be seen on her upper arms, but that's about it.
"Course, I'm chipper in the mornings. Angry in the evenings," Carter asked honestly. It was also a comment to show what side of himself showed at different parts of the day. Carter showed up in the mornings, Hawkman in the evening. 
Dressed in his black workout shorts and a white tanktop Carter watched Kendra. Her carrying the gymbag was a bit sexy. Putting that aside he nodded to the taped wrists, "Nice to see you're prepared. Stand in a fighting stance. Just like you did on the roof top," when she did he moved in front of her. Then he moved to the side, "They were about here and here, right?" 
"Hm." Is her reply to his statement about mornings and evenings, but it's something she tucks away to mull over. Right now she's the type that's just angry all of the time, even when she presents a nice face to the world. Still, his words bring a thoughtful look to her face for a few minutes.
But then, then it's to business, which is fine with Kendra. At his remark about her taped hands and wrists, she can't help but flash a cautious smile, "Thanks. Gramps always told me to be prepared for anything, so I do try to be." And then she's warming up just a tiny bit, mostly bends and stretches, before she joins Carter on the mats.
His question brings another thoughtful look, though this is one that looks more like she's trying to recall difficult memories. "I think, yeah, mostly. I can't say I remember the last five minutes clearly, but I think that's about right." And as soon as her words trail off, she falls into a classic brawlers fighting pose. Feet slightly spaced apart and with her fists up in front of her, since she doesn't have her mace with her.
Pushing aside the memory with a wave of the hand, well trying to, Carter said, "I just need an approximate. Don't strike at me. Showing you want not to do. First never give your back to them or else something like this can happen," he moved behind her. Kendra could feel light raps of his hand against her kidneys as he imitates punches, "Or this." His arms wrapped around her in a hold. While his arms were big they did not tighten on her. How she was held was more like an awkward hug that imitated a standing rear naked choke, "Never give them your back."
Even with the knowledge that he was likely going to 'come' at her, she still tenses when he touches her. "Gee, Sherlock, if I could help it I wouldn't have let them get behind me, but there were /two/ of them." Her response is quite sarcastic, as she twists her head slightly to give him a sharp look of reproach. Clearly, she already had that thought while she was in the fight and not to mention afterwards.
But it's as he wraps her in that loose choke hold that she reacts once again, though this reaction was a complete kneejerk reaction. Her elbow is pulled forward and then slammed backwards, aimed at Carter's solar plexus. And no, she's not pulling punches as this is purely a reflexive action to being boxed in so.
Hitting the wall Carter looked at her, "I was just training you. Showing you what to look out for," he peeled himself from the wall. "Here's what you have to do. If you have the space to do it, especially with the wings, go at the one straight ahead. The point is to drive him back. When you get him so far back turn a little. You're break up their formation, and you can drop the first guy before the second guy gets in. Try it on me. Drive me back," Carter also kept his senses sharp so he could study Kendra's fighting style. He needed to know what worked and what needed improving.
While Kendra realizes she overreacted, that doesn't allow her to truly apologize, instead her mouth thins to a tight line. "You're lucky it wasn't something harder."
She'll give herself a slight shake and then she's once more settling into that fighting pose of hers, hands up again.
She'll listen to what he has to say and when he's finished, she'll add, "I've used the wings in the past to hit people with them, but like you said, didn't have enough space. They got the jump on me before I could do that." She does know some things about fighting and even fighting with her wings, and of course some of her knowledge is instictual as well, thanks to Shiera's own vast amounts of experience.
Still, when Carter asks her to come at him, she hesitates for just a second, before attacking. "This would be easier if I had thought to bring my wings." She says, as she steps quickly forward, "I could have put them in the first guys face and started pushing him off that way. I should have done that in the first place." The last is muttered more for herself than Carter, still, her attack isn't terrible. She's definitely a brawler style, as she comes at Carter with quick jabs of her fist. She's aiming for his face and occassionaly a feint at his ribs.
Carter held his tongue to the first comment. Flirting on Day 1 of training was probably not a good thing. His eyes remained on her as he listened. "You can use the wings as a weapon, but I meant rely on their speed. This about speed," Carter moved back with the blows blocking them. "This tactic is more for if you have the wings. By now you should have the guy back a decent distance from their parter if there's two. This is when you would take out or hurt the first guy. Then the second guy you can be primed for. Take him on in a one-on-one situation removing his advantage," Carter explained then fell to the ground, "First guy is down." From there he got up and got in the position of the second one from where they stood in the gym originally then ran toward Kendra, "Now you're ready for it, see?"
 
"Speed, right." She says with a slight huff of breath, as she continues to push Carter 'back' and then when he falls, she can't help the small triumphant smile that quirks her lips upward. Of course, he probably could have easily taken her down, but it's nice that he's playing the untrained bad guy for her.
And as he takes position of the second bad guy, Kendra automatically pivots upon her heel to face him, just as he says his last statement. She'll bob a brief nod of her head, as he approaches her, "I do see, yeah." She'll attempt to trip him up once he's close enough, as she adds, "Next practice can we wear the wings? I want to make sure I can do the same things with the wings, as well. Sometimes it's easier to do things wingless than winged. You always have to take into account their length and how much space you need to effectively move about."
Carter tripped, but turned it into a roll. Rising up he smirked for a moment. Then his face hardened again, "Few more lessons like this. Let's get the basics before you try it with the extra weight," yes he knew that she was going to try this in uniform anyway. "Good thing you tripped me. That brings us to the next lesson." 
Standing up he grabbed her shoulders lightly then moved Kendra to a centered spot on the floor then moved her back until she was near a wall. "Remember that tactic when you're in a tight spot like an alley. You have to be a little more defensive. Trips are a good tactic. Because if you trip me," he staggered passed her facing the wall. "You can hit me or slam my head in the wall. Then you can get on the defensive for the second guy's attack. It still has you on the ropes, but you can recover from it. I know you can," Carter pushed off the wall and then moved to a location that would pose as the second attacker. "Act like you slammed a guy's head in the wall," when she was in the pose Carter tried to attack her, "Defense! Defense! Defense!"
It should be clear to Carter that whenever he touches her without any warning that she tenses from it. Though the question remains, whether it's from him, or something else alltogether. Either way, this time when Carter moves her towards the wall, she doesn't attempt to strike him.
Instead she'll listen intently to what he has to say, nodding part way through his explanation. "All right. I can do that."
And she does just that, too. She'll turn more toward the wall and mime slamming someone's head into it, which of course leaves her exposed for Carter's attack. Kendra turns to defend herself against his attack, saying as she does, "You know, /coach/, if I had just slammed the guys head into a wall, I'd have thrown him right at his pal." That's said with a slightly feral grin, as she brings her forearm up to block a blow from Carter. Still, even though she's been taught by her Grandfather, a former hero himself, Carter can still see she's still a novice, as some of his hits do slip through her defense.
"Don't have the wings in this fight Kendra. Can't always rely on our powers, just our skills and wits. The wings can be taken. We both know this," seeing his blows slip through he was happy to see Kendra blocking some of the shots. "You you've taken some shots, but a lot better than a beating. Right?" Carter was speaking honestly and not trying to shame her. 
Suddenly stopping he looked at her, "Got some gloves?" he asked before walking off to a closet in a corner. Pulling out some slap targets both were held in his hands, "I want to see some punches. Gym has gloves if you don't today." Seeing that some of his blocks slipped through he wanted to examine her punches. The lessons were going to be tailored to Kendra. So, he needed to see her operate without any suggestions from him.
There's a vague eye-roll from Kendra, at Carter's words, "Yes, I do know the wings can be taken from us. I'm just trying to put this in terms of with the wings, since the fight had me with the wings on."
But, she does nod at his next words, "Yes, better than being beaten. I'd rather not have that happen again, thanks." And when he stops his assault, she'll pause as well, though her fists stay up, just in case this is a trick. When he walks off her hands are dropped, as she pauses to catch a breath for a moment.
"I brought my own. They may not be fancy looking, but they work." Dutifully, Kendra goes to her gym bag now and from the depths of the bag she'll pull out her gloves. Like Kendra said, they're nothing to look at and have been obviously well used, but they're kept in good condition.
The gloves are pulled on with practiced ease, denoting that she's done this many times before. The only thing she'll ask for help with is securing the gloves. Her gloves look to have a wide velcro strap that wraps snugly around her wrists. "Could use a little help." She says, as she holds her gloved hands out towards him.
"I know you know, but you can't rely on the powers as a crutch. If you know the basics then you can improvise with the powers," Carter was honest with her. Going to his own bag at the edge of the room he pulled out a bottle of water. When Kendra asked for help he made sure the gloves were concerned. Opening the bottle he offered it to her, "Get a drink first." The slappers had been set on the ground. A smile was on his face when the water was offered. Kendra had a lot of potential.
Another eye roll, as she says, "Yes, mother." But this time her tone of voice is more of a friendly tease, than acerbic wit. The water bottle will be taken and Kendra will dutifully take a couple of sips, before she offers it back to Carter.
Once he has it again, her gloves will be pulled back on and secured, before she steps toward the punching bag.
"What's your favorite type of fighting form?" Kendra asks curiously, as she takes a few warm-up punches at the bag. Once she feels settled, she'll start punching the bag in a quick rhythm. It's obvious that she's good with the brawling style of fighting. Her punches are lightning quick and land pretty squarely on top of each other. There's some definite polishing that she needs, but she definitely has a good strong basic understanding of fighting.
As Kendra worked the bag she may have missed Carter looking a little dumbfounded. Breathing out he held onto an answer, "If it's a defensive situation or something I can slow the pace down then it's either Greco Roman Wrestling or Judo. If I need to be on the offense I use what could be described as MMA fighting or a crude kickboxing." 
His brown eyes looked at Kendra, "I remember the skills from the past lives. The day I figured out all that junk out some of the fighting skills just came back to me. It was like muscle memory kicking into high gear. Now, I've been doing it so long it blends together and it's actually coming from muscle memory. You can't pin the style down and say it's just one thing because it's not. That's why my self defense class is billed as a self defense class with roots in MMA style training taking judo, wrestling and other forms, and blending them together because I'm honestly loosing track of where the skills came from. I just know this is how to properly throw a punch, you can avoid them in these three ways, et catera." Carter preached about honesty so he was being upfront with Kendra.
It's clear that Kendra is listening to what he says, but even as he speaks, she continues to go at the punching bag. It's only when he gets to the main explanation that her punches slow and eventually stop all together.
She'll eye him a moment, as she digests what he just said. Her lips twitch into a crooked smile? Smirk? It's hard ot say just what her expression is, as she says, "So, clearly, I'm missing a lot of knowledge then." She'll give the bag a couple more hard hits and then she's stepping away from it.
Quickly she'll begin stripping her hands of the gloves, as she tosses over a shoulder, "Why don't you have a go at it. Show me what you got." Yes, she's very definitely changing the subject away from their various past lives.
"Yeah. You'll remember crap you don't remember. It's useful and a pain in the ass at the same time," Carter admitted and with his taped up first began to work at the bag. Hitting the bag hard with his fists he looked at her. All of his strikes were hard. His strikes were trained. Carter knew how to throw a punch. 
Dodging and weaving he moved around the back. "Sst!" "Sst!" escaped his lips with each strike. As they became more intense the noises from his mouth was louder, primal. The man was twisting using his core putting the power into it and doing a twisting motion to add that extra strength into it. "I knew about Geometry before I opened a text book. Everything came naturally to me growin' up. I didn't know what the real reason was." Sweat gleamed on his body as he was still hitting the bag with only taped up fists.
Kendra's gloves will be wiped down before being tucked into her gym bag, then she's turning to watch Carter attack the bag. Because really, he's attacking the bag, not working it.
When he offers his explanation about his childhood, she frowns. "I don't remember having that problem. The whole knowing things without the learning, that is." She'll settle upon a mat far enough away to be out of Carter's way, but not too far to make conversing difficult. "But there are things I don't remember, so - " She shrugs, she could have easily forgotten it.
And after a moment of silence, Kendra finally asks, "When did you 'remember' everything?"
"You're lucky and unlucky for that. It made school a breeze, but with now it's getting harder to remember if I learned some things or if they're remember. It's not with everything," the words came out as he went a little softer on the bag so he could talk, strike and breathe without much difficulty. "I know I used to be able to cook. Recipes and how they're done run through my mind, but I'm lucky if I don't burn a poptart. It's why the kitchen has nice untouched stuff." 
Weaving a little he landed a few strikes, "Khandaq. It was an excavation I was running. We stumbled upon the tomb of Prince Khufu. Inside was his spear, same one at my place. I touched it and it felt like coming out of amnesia," by now his strikes were becoming harder as he remembered. 
The bag was moving a little further with each hit. Sweat beaded off of him, "It was intense, borderline painful. Everything became clear to me. Well, not instantly but I knew me and him were connect. I knew I was him centuries ago. Nothing like finding out you've entered your own tomb!" the exclamation point was accented with a strong strike. 
"After that is when I tried researching what I could remember. Picking out names that were familiar to me. Every name I visited the guy was paired...with a female," he looked down and shook his head a little. "Probably not a good talk to have," he panted trying to push aside his own feelings and respect Kendra.
Again there's thoughtful silence from Kendra. At least it's not enraged silence. Still, she'll nod in agreement with this not being a good topic to discuss. "Agreed." She says, as she easily rolls to her feet. "And besides, I need to start getting ready for a few classes." She'll russle through her gym bag for a few seconds, to make certain she packed everything away.
Shouldering her bag, she'll turn towards Carter, "I'll be patrolling tonight if you'd like to join. If not, it's no a big deal. I know you old types get tire easily." Again, a friendly tease, as she offers a more natural seeming grin.
For a second Carter thought he blew then the banter came. His spirits lifted instantly. "We'll see if you're still saying that after I join you tonight.” A soft smile was on his face and he watched her, "I've got to take a shower and get ready to teach," he admitted then stretched out and tried to get the cool down started.
"Ha! We'll see who's hurting at the end of the night." Kendra says, as she offers a faint wave, "See you later, Carter." And then she's disappearing down the hallway to the doors.
Finished
Category:Log