2013-02-20 Unlikely Conversations

Despite the fact that she's been here for close to a day now, Gloria still spends as little time inside as she possibly can. In fact, she seems rather anti-social in the way she studiously avoids most people. Always keeping a distance between them and herself.
Any who tend to be outside this time of early morning, like sunrise early, is sure to come across the woman though. She's out here at the same time everyday. Today is no different. Dressed in an all black outfit of yoga pants, sports bra and sneakers with her hair pulled back into a tight ponytail, the hispanic woman can be found jogging at a very quick pace down towards the shore of the lake.
Jocelyn is dressed similarly, in black yoga pants and a black sleeveless tanktop. She's got a light blue jacket tied around her waist, and is wearing some old, worn sneakers. It is winter, and she might get cold! She's tied her hair back as well, just to keep it from flying all over the place. The tall redhead must have started her run at the lake and is working on her usual route. Well, at least as usual as it gets when you've only been at the institute a week. She isn't really slowing down, but she does notice the older woman running in her general direction, moving quite quickly. She gives a very slight nod and gestures forward in a nod in an invitation to join her. Generally speaking, long questions or pausing to speak doesn't happen when you're running quickly, so gestures have to do.
A few seconds of consideration before Risque simply gives a tight nod of her head and waits for the younger girl to make it to her side before turning on a heel and falling into place beside her. While it's certainly a brisk pace, it's not really anything that Gloria can't handle. For now, the woman remains silent. Really, it's a whole new type of companionship to run with someone. No words are needed and it's a silent understanding between the two partners.
It'll probably take a few minutes fo the two to find a good pace between them. Jocelyn is used to running quickly, and her long legs give her a pretty good stride. She stays silent for a little bit as they run, enjoying the morning, before she finally speaks. "Alumni or teacher?" she asks, any real formality dropped given the pace they were running at. Short, simple questions were best, and not always frequently. Maybe when they pause to stretch or something, they'll have longer and more in-depth questions, but for not, this was fine.
Once the stride is fallen into, Glo /almost/ smiles. She smirks. Faintly. It's there though! "Neither." A few more feet and she speaks again. "New acquisition. You?" Student, she's assuming. "Full time or visiting?" Definitely a kind of conversation she can get behind. Short. Direct. She likes this girl already!
"New student," Jocelyn resplies. "Jocelyn". The girl finds value in direct speech, which so many people at this school seem incapable of doing. It was infuriating at times, really. "Distance or time?" she asks after another couple of minutes of running, gauging how long or far the woman was intending to run this morning seemed reasonable. It wasn't like they got together and talked about if they wanted to do an hour or ten minutes or five miles or something like that.
"Gloria." The woman gives a nod of her head. "Distance. Six miles one way." Which puts her at a twelve mile total with her kickboxing practice placed between the two. "You?" She could push herself further without any issue what so ever. Of course, her typical morning routine takes her about six hours total. Most of that spent going through various moves.
The two had similar workout habits. Jocelyn's morning workout wasn't quite as long, but she a built-in time limit called class. She had been experimenting with her weight work in the evenings and cardio in the mornings, with martial arts practice done during both workouts. "Seven or eight per way. Split workout days. Classes". Given the pace they were running at, they'd easily finish seven or eight miles in under forty minutes, so Gloria might guess that Jocelyn does other stuff in the morning, as there are still a few hours until most students even get up.
There's a brief nod of Gloria's head is given in recognition. "Sounds good." Extending her run a few more miles isn't going to tax her really. Not when she can push 18 hours before she collapses. "Logical." Yes, that's a slightly approving tone in Glo's voice. "Just running?" It's an idle curiosity and judging by her tone, Jocelyn doesn't have to answer.
"No," Jocelyn responds to the question about just running. She didn't have eighteen hours of pure exercise endurance, but she she'd done ten and twelve hour workouts before, when she was training to be a professional fighter, on weekends. She might be able to technically do more, but the last hour or two of an endurance workout like that tended to be far less technical and well-executed. She saw limited value beyond a certain point, even if that point was further out than most people thought reasonable. "Morning run and martial arts. Evening weights and martial arts". The sport itself could get practiced more than once, she felt. "You?" It's said in a similar optional tone, but Gloria asked her, so the same question seems fair!
"Runs and kickboxing. Morning and evening both." Gloria's kickboxing is more of a kickboxing and street fighting combination but... hey... details. "Particular style?" This is the kind of small talk the thief/merc can get behind! And then there's that spike of idle curiosity again. "Power?" And yes, Glo will answer any question she asks in turn. Fair is fair after all.
"Multiple. Mesh of styles". Jocelyn didn't have any belts or anything like that. She just knew a lot of different styles and how to mix them effectively. She'd been trained to fight to live first, then for money. It meant she didn't pay attention to how close she was to being a 'master' of any one style or not. "Energy stuff. Complicated to explain". It wasn't that she was unwilling to explain, but it was harder to do so while running at a five minute per mile clip. "Sight. Absorption. Blast". Those were the basics. There was more, but it was tricky. "Don't touch. Shock". She really needs to get some gloves or something for that. "Powers? Enrolled as student too? Just power help?" The acquisition statement earlier didn't quite make sense, but thought that meant student. She wanted to clarify, and maybe the school did older student teaching, too?
Aha. Good thing she was warned! Not that Glo had any intention of touching the girl but better safe than sorry, ya know? "Psychokinetic. Telekinetic. Gravitational fields." She looks over at the girl. "More like..." There's a pause. "An associate." She doesn't teach or go to school here, really. She's kinda just... well... here!
Jocelyn gives a nod at that. She hadn't seen Gloria use her powers, so she hadn't picked up on the energy types yet. And while most people don't intend to touch, it does mean that it puts people on alert to avoid accidentally bumping into her. "Alright," she adds to the part about being an associate. She can see that. Not every mutant, she imagines, goes to the school, but some might know about it. She'd have to ask someone about it. One of the alumni maybe. "Job?" she asks. Their speed had put them about three quarters of the way done with the first half of the run. A glance is given at the woman. "Kickbox between or after run?" she asks. She's willing to go either way.
At the question of a job, Glo looks over at the girl and grins. "I doubt I'm supposed to tell." It's her biggest sentence yet! "Between." She looks around at where they are before looking back at the girl. "Your marital arts?" She's enjoy the run which only strikes her as odd because there's someone else there. She's not typically a people person. Maybe the school is making her soft.
"Either in morning. After weight lifting in evening". Because splitting up a lifting session to do martial arts was an invitation to injur yourself. "Join you?" Jocelyn asks. She doesn't press about the question regarding the job. It's a secret, and that's fine. Jocelyn doesn't have to know, but appreciates just being told outright. Jocelyn is a little more of a talker, but that's just age and being given the opportunity. She's also pretty blunt and direct, which usually gets her in trouble. Doesn't seem to be a problem today though, which is a relief.
"Sure." Oddly, it really doesn't bother Gloria that this girl will be joining her. School's definitely making her soft. Maybe it was time to spend time off the grounds? She's been getting too close to others anyhow. "Enjoying the place?" Out of reflex, her eyes glance around the area and linger on the manor for a moment before going back to Jocelyn.
Nothing wrong with being comfortable with people. "So far," the girl responds, her eyes flicking briefly to the mansion and then around at almost the same time as Gloria's. It was almost instinctive, where when someone around her glances about that she do the same. Living on the streets, Jocelyn found that she should always be aware of her surroundings.
They've only got a mile left now, and Jocelyn hasn't let off the quick pace yet. She's been rather steady at this speed. "Mostly positive. Still suck at bookwork". Perhaps unsurprisingly, she's not so great at studies. The girl falls quiet for a little bit as they finish the run and arrive at a nice, clear spot for practice. Jocelyn slows her pace down to a walk and starts stretching a bit. As she stretches, she speaks up again. "You ever get into those distance races?" she asks. The woman ran a lot in day, so it seemed like something she might do.
Gloria nods. It's good the girl is having a positive experience so far. Easing from the dead run into stretching, Glo gives her head a quick shake. "Nope. Can't say I have. Wasn't ever really my thing." A brow arches over at the girl. "You?" With her background, it wasn't an option. She might've if things had gone differently.
"Did a couple when I was younger, but not really something I pursued. I was training to be a fighter before I came here, and spent more of my time in the gym than running outside". Jocelyn shrugs lightly at that as she continues to stretch. She didn't have a lot of nice areas to run while growing up, at least any that were safe. "How'd you end up picking up kickboxing?" she asks. She assumes it's more actual fighting than what you find in a cardio kickboxing class, just from her read of the woman.
"Mi padre... My father father was a professional kickboxer." Glo gives her own little shrug as she stretches out, a soft hum on content at the feel of it coming from her. "He taught me." Because that so needed expanded on, right? "And you? What made you pick up martial arts?"
Jocelyn finishes her stretching, and starts moving into a few basic kicks and punches. Not so much to warm up, but as habit. "Got into a fight one day, and an enthusiast saw it and thought I had potential," Jocelyn explains. "Funded my training and gave me a roof to sleep under. Seemed like a pretty good deal". Because without funding, she wouldn't have had the opportunity to train. Jocelyn doesn't expand deeply on that, but there's probably enough there to give Gloria something to guess about. She does note the Spanish. "I don't actually know Spanish, I'm afraid. Just a few random words I picked up here and there". Some rather insulting words too, but that didn't seem appropriate here!
"Sorry about that... I tend to mix them. A habit I'm trying to break." Gloria gives a wry little smile before moving into some of the more basic moves of kickboxing. She's actually really really graceful with the whole thing. It isn't /just/ kickboxing but a mix of kickboxing and streetfighting and speaks volumes about the way she grew up. "I know how you feel about the spanish though... I only understand half of what Kurt says."
"Don't worry about it," Jocelyn responds. "I always meant to learn Spanish, but never had the time". Jocelyn starts moving into a little bit of a patterned set of moves, repeating a series of punches, kicks, and elbow strikes. She does, however, start breaking the chain up and adding extra moves to it as she progresses, sort of like she's got a bunch of set series of moves that she can drop in and out at various times. The girl does note the streetfighting moves. There is some of that in her movements as well. "What's his last name? I'm still learning all the teachers," she admits.
Gloria grins faintly. "Wagner." She grins. "Kind of hard to forget. Blue, slightly furry. Has a tail." Her own punches and kicks are similar to martial arts. Things such as a roundhouse kick, et cetera. "If you want to learn, I can teach you. In the mornings during the runs." Practical application! She'll point things out and give the spanish name for it.
"Ah. Right," Jocelyn says. She hadn't had much interaction with Mr. Wagner yet, short of seeing him in the halls really. "Thanks. Sounds like a plan". She continues the training, not taking more than a few seconds off between sets of moves. "Have to say I was surprised. Most people wimp out of any outdoor training in winter," she points out. "Keep moving enough, and body heat keeps you pretty warm," she points out.
"He's... Interesting," is said with a genuine a smile from the woman. Her moves become faster, more intricate and more complicated the longer she goes. "Which is why you'll never see me wear a coat when I train." Of course, the cool down period is sped up but... again... details. "Can't say I wasn't surprised myself. Especially seeing a student out so early, let alone running and training like you are."
Jocelyn's moves are also becoming faster and more complicated as time passes. "Well, I figure that just because I'm working on power control doesn't mean I let my other skills slide". She does have certain standards for herself. "I just have more to do, so it means getting up earlier". It's a very matter-of-fact way she speaks. There isn't the option of not training to a certain level. It's just a matter of making herself do it a little earlier in the morning. "I've got the jacket for the initial bit of running, but I tie it off quickly enough. Besides, never know if you have to stop unexpectedly for something, or for injury". At which point you're really going to want a coat, Jocelyn figures.
The more the young girl talks, the more impressed Gloria becomes. The kid's got conviction, that's for sure. "True. Good for you." Yeah, there's that approval in her voice again. For several minutes, as she picks up her speed a little more, the woman seems to be lost in thought. A quick shake of her head is given to clear her mind before a frown takes it's place and she steps it up, pushing herself harder. "A good idea. The coat that is." Not that she'll ever pick up the habit.
Jocelyn will randomly, at certain points, go from doing a complicated series of moves to doing a set of push-ups or crunches of varying types. It's sort of like she's got a trainer in her head making her mix up the workout a bit. A few more minutes pass. "How would you say 'I'm wearing a coat' in Spanish?" she asks after a few more minutes have passed. Sure, they're having a conversation, but they're also training pretty hard, so pauses in the talk happen. But it doesn't bother her. But, she may as well ask about the Spanish now, yes? No sense in delaying lessons.
It's difficult to tell, with the style of fighting Glo does, whether things are being broken up from normal or not. Jocelyn's question causes her t get a sidelong glance and, "Llevo puesto un abrigo." Each word is enunciated carefully so that she has a chance to hear it as it's meant to be said. "How long have you been here?" Really, the girl could have been a lifer and Gloria never would have known the difference.
Parsing that sentance out, Jocelyn nods as she continues the training. "A bit less than a week?" she suggests. That sounded about right. "Un abrigo is 'a coat'. Llevo puesto, how does that break down?" Jocelyn asks. Her pronounciation isn't terrible. It isn't perfectly accurate, either, but she's at least been exposed to the language often enough that she can get in the general ballpark. Given that Jocelyn doesn't really know kickboxing as a style, she can't really guess at if it's being mixed with anything other than streetfighting.
"You came in about the time I did then." Interesting. They certainly do keep busy around here, don't they!?
Gloria actually grins. "You'll pick up on it easily." She knows some who try to speak it and even /she/ has no idea what they're saying! "And you're right..." She breaks the rest of it down for her. Eventually, she begins the process of slowing her movements down and back towards stretching.
Time passes, and Jocelyn spends the time training and making similar small talk with Gloria, probably asking some more questions about Spanish and getting some impromptu lessons. She starts slowing down at the same time, stretching. "I need to start the last half of the morning run. Similar pace? Quicker, or a bit slower?" she asks the older woman. Jocelyn might have gotten a bit of a late start today, so she didn't get her usual amount of time in either, but that's alright. Things happen. Quality is as important, if not moreso, than quantity.
Gloria nods her head. "Same pace works." She tosses the girl a genuine smile as she starts the run back with her. "It was fun. Lookin' forward to tomorrow." And she actually is! Which is more than a little odd for her. Ah well. She'll get over it, she's sure. Maybe.
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