Getting Knocked Down (IC)

[TheAbsurdist]

November 29th, 6 AM.

He was working out. Had been for an hour. While nowhere the strongest the strongest or the most agile he was certainly driven, and he had a surprising amount of endurance. And he tested that. It was something his mother had drilled into him. One of the difference between his parents, they were far more numerous that, but the dogmatic doctrine of using conflict to test and improve was something his mother expressed continually. This happened every morning.

He had trouble sleeping, he was aware that sometimes his dreams were not his own. Sometimes it was troubling. Either way it helped make sure he was up early and working hard by the time the next person showed up. Elias paid that person no real notice, he was going through the motions he practiced with Kristin, The one time I'd likely get to practice with her, he thought. And also running through some of the things he had seen in instructional books and videos. Kept his hands up, in a defensive posture, as he threw quick jabs against the bag. Stopping, then, only to wipe sweat from his brow, and drink some more water.

[Thunder King]

BAM! the sound echoed through the gym. BAM! It went again. BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM! it was a heavy bag, being beaten, badly.

Jab, jab, snap kick, knee, elbow, knee, roundhouse kick. Mali grinned, and shuffled her feet. This was one of the times she felt truly alive, she loved to train.

Early morning training had a number of advantages. Chief among them was that very few people were actually training at that time, so she could be comfortable. Instead of her usual training attire, she wore a tank-top and shorts. Her feet were wrapped, as were her hands. At this time of morning nobody would be leering at her sculpted arms, shoulders or back.

She reared back and slammed her fist into the heavy bag, hard enough to make a thunderous sound that no doubt echoed throughout the gym. If she wasn't alone, someone knew she was in there, that was certain.

[TheAbsurdist]

The fact that her punches sounded like gunshots was enough to get Elias to look at her, he had seen her around, but had not seen her. At least in her normal training attire. So he stared, but it wasn't the kind of gawking she would be used to. He was studying her movements, committing them to memory. His hand going to the bag he had been working on, stilling it with his palm, as he canted his head to the side.

At this point Elias was known by most of the students. While he was known as the odd telepath, it wasn't until he had 'shouted' while looking for a vandal that people understood the scope of his abilities, as pretty much everyone in the school had heard him. That he could reach out and touch pretty much anyone. And the response to had been to people loudly thinking of stupid topics around him, in the hopes of confounding him. On the plus side, it meant that he had a lot more physical space afforded him, though that wasn't worth the whispers.

Having nothing to lose, except the structural integrity of his clavicle, he walked over to Mali. "Excuse me?"

[Thunder King]

"Oh!" Mali said, jumping a bit. "Hi, um, you're that new guy, right?" She said, rubbing her shoulder self-consciously. "Welcome to the school." She smiled, trying her best. It was clear she wasn't comfortable with the attention, but she continued.

"Getting some early morning training in?" She asked, turning to hit the bag again, and again. She tried to ignore Elias. Not to be rude, but because she wanted to get back to her training. "I'm not trying to be rude or anything." She said, smiling. "I just prefer to multitask, you know?"

[TheAbsurdist]

"I am sorry, I know you are engrossed. I need help. I would like to learn how to fight." Aware of her dislike of being looked at so intently Elias turned his head and looked off to the side. His mother had given his rudimentary training, though she had more taught him how to avoid combat, and to dodge. Less a concern to engage. However that didn't stop his father from finding them, that didn't mean he would be able to successfully avoid matters, and with the mad rant that Dorothy said, and the feelings of other he knew that the fire of irrationality could be lit easily.

"I do not have any powers to help me with that, and I've already had difficulty dealing with people who are resistant to my abilities."

[Thunder King]

Mali softened visibly. "Oh, that's fine." She sad with warmth, smiling. "Okay, first, I want you to work the heavy bag while I watch, okay?"

"I don't really analyze fighting, I just sort of 'get' it, you know? I mean...a musician can't just tell you a bunch of notes and hand you an instrument. She has to actually have a hands on, direct approach with it. That's how it is with me and fighting. So approach the bag, take a few swings."

[TheAbsurdist]

"That's good, I haven't really learned how to fight. Well, I learned how to dodge." Shrugging a little bit and he squared off against the bag, in a left handed stance. And he threw a few punches, clearly lacking her power, but then that was largely a given, and something she had to be used to by now. But he knew how to throw a punch, there was follow through, his hips moved with the blow. And as expected from what he said, he kept a good bit of distance from himself and the bag, which did leave him open. And his footwork certainly needed quite a bit of work.

[Thunder King]

Mali nodded, watching the boy work. He wasn't bad. No real power, no oomph, but he knew how to throw his fists. The rest of his body, however, was a different story. While he followed through, his feet were like stone.

"Okay, your technique isn't horrible, but, watch me..." She said, taking a typical boxer's stance. "Watch how my knees and feet move, that's important. Keeping your feet mobile is critical, because you never know when someone's going to take a swing at you, especially when you're already taking a swing at them. That's bad."

[TheAbsurdist]

Nodding at her words, and he looked down. Seemingly not fazed by her physicality, unlike others. He studied her movements with intent. He had to learn. Other people had learned it. His father. His mother. They were out there, and they were something to contend with. To deal with.

"I see." It did, it made sense, it was the same principle that he had been taught when his mother had taught him how to avoid getting hit, so why couldn't it apply to an actual fight. Nodding again, he looked up at her face briefly. "It makes sense." And then he mirrored her stance moving his feet a little. "Like this?"

[Thunder King]

"Pretty much, I mean, footwork is critical in a fight. You have to be able to move quickly when someone takes a swing at you. Use your whole body when you fight, not just the parts you hit with."

"I use Muay Thai, which is a style that emphasizes brute force, and focuses on knee and elbow strikes. It's aggressive and a little brutal."

She illustrated here point by delivering a fierce knee to the bag.

"I'd recommend finding a style that suits you, and a trainer that can teach it."

[TheAbsurdist]

"None of them suit me. But people will be after me, and I can't have something they can exploit." And he mimicked her knee, though it lacked the force she had. But he still tried. He would still try, the set of his face. It was clear that Elias that kind of stubborn guy who was not apt to back down. And then he threw a punches incorporating the footwork she spoke of. That part was easy for him to grasp, again. The hitting part was trickier, or at least it would be, as he'd have to compensate for a little while. Plus this gave him an understanding of what work he had to do with himself.

And then he stopped, realizing his statement was a little murky. "I... cannot shut off my abilities all the way, so if I hit someone I will feel it, to some degree."

[Thunder King]

"There are actually defensive styles, designed to deflect and redirect, not strike. Lots of techniques that avodi hurting your opponent, but not letting them hit you either."

She said. "There's Aikido, Judo, Tai Chi...lots of potential styles that allow you to fight back without getting hurt because you hurt them."

[TheAbsurdist]

"I will learn them too." His hands dropped to his sides as he looked at her. He spoke in such a deadpan fashion it was hard to tell if he was being anything other than serious, as his expression was deadly so. But he nodded at her words then, and lowered his head a little bit. "I what I am getting myself into, I know how hard it is. But I am willing." He arched a brow a little as he looked at her then, his hands still at his sides. "Overspecialization breeds weakness."

[Thunder King]

"Oh it definitely does, especially in a fight." She said. "I may use Muay Thai, but I've picked up on other ideas. I am an acrobat, and I can sneak really well too. If I just ran around and tried to punch everything, I'd have a very short hero career."

She chuckled and shrugged. "When you can only do one thing, you're going to eventually run into someone who doesn't care at all about that one thing."

[TheAbsurdist]

There was a moment of awkward silence, as he looked off to the side. "I learned to dodge. I... my mother trained me for that. I can learn swiftly" He frowned then, clearly at a loss of words, then glanced to her. "You don't have to worry about being self conscious with me. I am aware I act oddly, at least to the rest of you, so if I stare I am studying your movements, memorizing them." Not that he found her unattractive, he just never really thought about the physical appeal of a person, honestly. So in a way Subito's joke about an alien princess was as apt as anything else.

"You are the best choice at the school to learn how to fight from, I need the mentality as much as the physicality... And you can help me with that." He didn't state it as a joke, it was just a fact. Mali physique looked like it sculpted from stone.

[Thunder King]

"I can do what I can, but I'm not qualified to teach, really." She said. "I can help you get into shape though, teach you more than the basics. But if you want real, honest to goodness training, you need to find someone who can teach you." She said. "Easiest way to do it is to keep meeting me here in the gym, that way we can just roll our training in together."

[TheAbsurdist]

"I will find one if needed." He nodded to her then. "You can probably teach me more than you realize. And I can get to the gym easily enough, sleeping is hard sometimes." Which was a true statement, he had insomnia. Similar reason as most everyone else here did. His mind kept running and moving and going, and it's inability to be silent made sure that things got interesting. It didn't help that sometimes other people's thoughts invaded his, especially during sleep. Not that they were coherent or made sense, mostly just flashes and impulses that dwelled like leviathan's in the person's subconscious.

[Thunder King]

"Okay." She said. "When you spot me in here, just say hi, and we can train together." She said with a smile.

She grabbed her water and drank some of it. "In the mean time, just keep working at those hits. It's cliche, but practice makes perfect."

She grabbed her stuff. "Either way, I'm going to go grab a bite to eat. You can join me if you like."

[TheAbsurdist]

He paused, and looked around, frowning, just a little. "I have been here for a few hours, I am starving." Food, the one universal glue that bound all teenagers together. He stopped a moment, and frowned. His eyes narrowed a little, flexing his hands, they still hurt from that adventure with Subito, but that didn't stop him from punching. "I can always teach you to be a telepath." With not even the slightest hint of mocking. Maybe not everyone could learn to use his abilities, but he could teach them how to expand their own sensitivity. It might help.

[Thunder King]

Mali chuckled. "Oh, I doubt I could become a telepath." She said. "Besides, teaching you doesn't really affect my own workout anyway."

It was true, of course. She'd be in this room working out even if she wasn't helping anyone, and though she was always striving to get better, she could always make up for lost time otherwise. Helping someone else was always a good way to help yourself improve at something. Forced you to understand things better, for one.

She picked up her stuff. "So, Elias, how'd you become a telepath anyway? I mean, if you want to answer, of of course. Not everyone wants to talk about that stuff."

[TheAbsurdist]

"The mind can be really literal at time, saying you cannot do something will mean part of you believes it." His stuff was in a locker, and he felt conflicted, for a moment. Shaking his head, dismissing that he can get it. "I don't know why, there are specifics about my parents I don't know, I can remember everything... though there are gaps that I cannot explain or account for. The easiest answer is: I've always been able. All things are connected, I can feel the connections." Rolling his shoulder in a shrug as he looked at her. "I am learning refining my control over it."

[Thunder King]

"I can't pretend to understand your burden." She admitted. She couldn't understand telepathy, or how his control was lax. She figured you can't always control yourself, but living with a super power you had trouble controlling was much worse. "I'm sorry if that sounds harsh, but you seem like a cool guy for wanting to control it. Everybody has their own struggles to live with, and it's not always something other people can understand."

Though, she kind of pitied him. She understood herself and her abilities. She had control over her body and mind. The idea that there was a part of you, a big part of you, that you didn't understand and couldn't control seemed really hard to deal with. Elias seemed that much cooler of a person for striving to deal with that as well as he was.

[TheAbsurdist]

He looked at her for a moment. "It is something others can understand. The phrasing is different, that's all." He shrugged a bit, as they walked together. "It... goes like this: I can always feel the thoughts and emotions of others, even if I am just aware that they are there, like background noise. I can choose to not open myself up more, but when I do, I am not... precise. Like if you were to spar with someone and you couldn't stop yourself from hitting them with your full strength." What he didn't add was the reach he had. People didn't like to really think of the implications of a telepath, and he didn't blame them at all.

"It is easier to understand others than most people put the thought to do. Even without powers. Most people are as subtle as gunshots." And he looked at her, and smiled, a little. "I never had to learn to be that precise, I grew up... not around a lot of people."

[Thunder King]

Mali nodded. People weren't very subtle most of the time, though she couldn't imagine living with his power. Especially knowing how judgmental and cruel people could be. It was enough to force someone into isolation even without uncontrollable empathy. She liked to think she had a good sense of empathy, but it didn't always work in her favor, and it wasn't like that.

"It's amazing, you know. That you can live with it like that, that you've chosen to be a hero in spite of all that. Give yourself at least a little bit of credit, you're a decent person who could have been a bad person easily."

[TheAbsurdist]

"Depends on who you ask. Whether someone is decent is not really something that person gets a vote in, it's all everyone else." He shrugged then. "I am not decent though. I am learning to control my powers here." He said it as he said anything else with his detached, monotone. And it was true, he had to get better because he planned a reckoning, and he understood, perhaps more than some, the razor's edge someone had to walk to really hone their abilities.

"There are things I have to do, and I have to be able to do them. It is not so... easy." It was simple though. But still the difficulty was there, and relevant. "I just understand consequences better. And am willing to accept them."