Let's Get Down To Business

[Valerie Law]

Well, this was fun. It wasn't lifting-- or at least, not exactly. But still, Valerie was managing to have some fun with this exercise. She was given these heavy metal disks and was told to throw them at targets. The disks were actually pretty heavy, so they offered a good workout. Especially considering she had been doing this for a while, although she was taking care not to do anything too crazy that would strain her muscles. If that could happen. Could it happen? Valerie honestly had no idea. Maybe she could find out later?

Because right now, she was focused, hefting another metal disk with both hands. There was a hole in the middle so she could grip the edges on the inside and hold it well. Then she spun, gaining some momentum, before releasing.

Crack!

Another wooden target was broken, and Valerie couldn't help but smile, making a small fist pump motion in victory. I feel like Xena warrior princess right now! She thought, going to grab another disk. Her confidence was high at that moment. No one was there when she started, and not many had been there as she worked. But as she went to grab another disk, she realized someone was extremely close and watching her. Her confidence faltered, and color rose to her cheeks in embarassment. Had they seen her little victory motion? They probably think I'm such a weirdo. the thought went through her head as she averted her eyes. "Oh... Hello."

[Amara Kingston]

    Amara didn’t visit the training fields often, as she’d never really done any sports before, and even the ones she had partaken in had been informal and loosely organized, if they’d been organized at all. She’d signed up for soccer here at Bellefonte, so she could get to know some people and get out and exercise. She liked to keep in shape, even if she didn’t often work out formally.


    Today was one of the rare days when she’d wanted to see what she could get done in the training fields, so she made her way over to where she usually had ready for both stretching and getting in a run if she felt like it. She paused as she heard a loud crack, and glanced up to see a beautiful young woman hurling a heavy looking metal disk towards a dummy target. She unintentionally made her way closer so she could see better what was going on, and as the target broke Amara smiled. When the girl did a victory pump, Amara almost felt like doing one with her.


    It wasn’t until the girl looked back at her and paused that Amara realized just how close she’d gotten. “Oh, I’m so sorry, I was just- The way you threw those disks… It was amazing,” she barely got out as she backed up a little to give the girl more room to breathe. “I’m terribly sorry for staring,” she apologized, hoping the girl didn’t think she was a complete weirdo.

[Valerie Law]

The girl apologized before explaining why she was there. Which ended up making Valerie blush considerably and duck her head from embarrassment. "Ah... T-thank you, b-but I'm not..... Not that great." She managed to say, hefting the next disk in her hands and squeezing it to ground herself a little. The girl did back up a step, which made Valerie breath a bit easier, before apologizing for staring. Staring? At Valerie? The very concept made Valerie bite her bottom lip and avert her eyes. Why would anyone want to watch her? Her power wasn't that funny to watch. Not in comparison to the others.

But this girl seemed to have been fascinated with it, which was how she ended up approaching Valerie in the first place. The blonde didn't want to be mean, especially after the girl said what Valerie was doing was amazing. But still, she didn't find herself that interesting to watch. Valerie breathed in and out deeply, calming herself and seeming to gather her strength. "Ah ... There's others who, uh, have cooler looking powers than... Me. B-but if you... If you really want to, um, watch then you could, ah.... Can." Valerie managed, glancing up at the girl for a second before staring at the disk in her hands again

[Amara Kingston]

    Amara just laughed gently as the girl talked about not being that great, “Well then, in my opinion, you’re amazing. Is that a better way to put it?” she asked, her smile warm and friendly. Amara was serious too, such displays of strength had her sincerely admiring the woman before her. Besides, watching her take down the dummies one by one had been positively captivating. She wasn’t sure why, but she loved watching the human body stretching its limits, and it was the main reason she enjoyed watching sports on occasion.


    Amara shook her head when the girl mentioned other powers, “Perhaps there may or may not be, but it’s yours I’m interested in nonetheless,” she explained with a small laugh. “And are you sure? It’d be alright? I don’t want to- to creep you out or anything,” Amara added hastily with uncertainty in her tone. She was genuinely fascinated by the woman before her, but she also didn’t want to be rude or overbearing or anything. Perhaps she was just plain weird? She wasn’t sure, but at the same time, if the girl was genuine in her offer, then Amara was definitely game for taking her up on it.

[Valerie Law]

Valerie felt her blush increase at the compliment, the color reaching her ears as she ducked her head, staring at the ground as she fiddling with her hands. "Um... T-thank you." She managed to stammer out. However, she still felt embarrassed and unworthy of any such praise. She had seen some of the other mutants practicing, and they were far more impressive than she. All I have is muscles, and no one seemed to believe that anyways. She thought.

But the girl before her insisted that she wanted to see Valerie's powers for some reason, which only made Valerie shift a little in embarrassment. The next question made Valerie glance up for a second before looking away again. As nervous as it made her, Valerie didn't want to turn someone away just for curiosity. "I-It's fine. I won't... won't turn you, ah, away just for.... curiosity." Valerie said, gulping slightly. "B-but, um... you may want to, uh, back up."

[Amara Kingston]

    Amara grinned and nodded to her in response. The woman was cute and adorable, though she seemed to struggle a bit with confidence. Amara could easily understand that, as she’d had low self-esteem for years. I was only recently that her own confidence had come back to her, and that only with the help of her sister and her good friend Darrick.


    Amara smiled at the woman’s response, “Thanks and will do,” she answered before pausing for a brief second, “Oh, by the way, my name’s Amara. And yours?” she asked with a lightly self-effacing smile, “Sorry, I kind of forgot when I almost ran into you,” she offered as her hand rubbed at the back of her neck in embarrassment.

[Valerie Law]

Valerie didn't see the grin or nod, as she was still looking down at the ground Why was this girl so interested in her? Really, Valerie didn't think she was anything special. But she wasn't about to be mean and shoo the girl off. So she simply bent at the legs and hefted another disk as the girl spoke. This time it was the girl thanking Valerie, which made her duck her head again and avert her gaze.

"Oh... Valerie." The blonde answered shly, backing up a little to put space between her and the girl. "Um... be careful." She said before turning to her target. Ok, Val. Focus. Her brain said as she inhaled deeply and exhaled. Focusing herself after a few more breathes, soon the nervousness was completely gone from her face, replaced by determination as she hefted the disk and began to spin again.Her muscles, already pretty obvious, were even more pronounced now as she strained before releasing the disk. It soared through the air before crashing into another target, and Valerie couldn't help but smile a bit in satisfaction.

However, when she glanced over at Amara, the smile turned sheepish and she blushed again. "Ah...tada?"

[Amara Kingston]

    Amara backed up when she was told to be careful with a nod, even if the girl wasn’t paying attention. Amara watched Valerie as she moved, her focus and her effort apparent in every line of her body. Amara let out a whoop of excitement when the disk crashed into another target, before looking at Valerie, “That’s amazing. It reminds me a bit of Xena to be honest. You know, with that circular boomerang thing she used to throw, whatever it was called.” Amara added with a laugh, before realizing that Valerie may or may not have been a fan, and maybe she’d just said something totally weird.


    Shit. She was not very good with this whole socializing thing. Amara already struggled enough as it was to socialize with her peers, but to also have to constantly be around people so much younger than her put on an added strain. Valerie didn’t seem to be too much younger than Amara though, for which she was grateful. Maybe she could find a friend here, but then again, maybe not if she kept on making social blunders.
Who knew? Maybe this girl was as big of a fan as she was. She couldn't rule out hope just yet.

[Valerie Law]

It felt so weird for someone other than her father to be watching her when she was working out. The whoop of excitement did make Valeria smile, if only faintly and still shyly. However, it was the next bit about Xena that made her look up in surprise and actually feel a twinge of happiness. Im like... Xena? Valerie had sort of thought about it in the beginning, but she thought it was just her being silly. Now this stranger was telling her the same thing she had been thinking.

Admittedly she felt a little... Proud. She flushed of course and looked away, biting her bottom lip. But she was smiling just a little. "Chakram." Valerie stated, shifting on her feet. "I-it.... Xena used a, ah, Chakram." She explained, blushing in slight embarassment. Shes going to think I'm a dork.

[Amara Kingston]

Amara grinned as Val recognized exactly what she was talking about, "Yes! That's it! I swear, as often as I've binge watched that show, I should know that by now," she admitted with a laugh. So she wasn't the one who loved the flawless that was Lucy Lawless. 

Amara smiled at Val as she continued, "Oh god, I loved that battle cry of hers too. It always made me feel like I could be invincible or something." She glanced around and saw that no one was nearby, but she leaned forward and lowered her voice nonetheless, as if to impart a secret, "I even used to use it to help me clean the house when my parents were at work," she said with a smile. "Every time I finished a chore, the entire house knew about it." 

[Valerie Law]

Valerie had admit she was actually getting... Giddy? Happy? Whatever it was, the blonde pixie's nervousness was melting away at the mention of her favorite show. A fellow fan! And one that apparently binge watched too! Valerie was actually managing to look the girl in the eyes without blushing or stammering too badly.

"Yeah!" Valerie agreed, smiling just a bit more. "I-it's so cool!" She said. When Amara leaned in, Valerie blushed and tensed a little, but then actually giggled at what Amara said. She tried doing the yell too! "I used to, ah, do it when I watched the show. I'd join in with Xena." Valerie confessed with a faint blush but a smile at the memory. "My dad always, uh, knew when I was watching too." She added, smiling more at the memory. This was... Nice. And Valerie wasn't panicking like she normally did with people. It was different but... A good one.

[Amara Kingston]

    Amara grinned as Valerie seemed to relax a bit around her. She was glad to have found someone who got as excited about Xena as she did. “And I loved Gabriela too. Those two women together just made such an awesome team.” The fact that the two women were practically romantically involved with each other was another major reason she watched the show.


    “Me too! My sister would sometimes join me. It was one of our favorite shows to watch together,” she said with a warm smile. Wow, she didn’t often talk about her family so openly, but she felt surprisingly comfortable around Valerie, “We may or may not have play acted some of the scenes in our backyard,” she admitted. “My sister was a much bigger fan of Gabriela, so she was always the amazon, and I chose Xena.”

[Valerie Law]

At the mention of Gabriella, Valerie only smiled more, getting so caught up in talking about the show. "I know! Me too! She and Xena were such an awesome team! They were so good for complimenting each other, and it was fun watching them slowly get used to each other at the beginning." Valerie gushed.

Amara had a sister too? And one that also loved Xena? Wow! Now I know two people who love the show! Valerie thought as Amara went on to add that she had played out scenes with her sister, where Amara would be Xena and her sister Gabriella. Another rare giggle left Valerie, who definitely wasn't stammering now. "I always wanted to be Xena, although I loved Gabriella too. I used to practice throwing one of those frisbees with the hole in the middle and pretending it was a Chakram"

[Amara Kingston]

    "And their chemistry was just amazing together. I could watch them forever!" Amara said, her smile growing more and more natural. "It was the first show where I just loved almost every character. I even grew to like Ares in a way," she admitted with a half laugh. "Though, part of that was because he wasn't exactly unattractive."

    "Oh, you should definitely meet up with my sister, Toby sometime. She'll go on about Gabriela for days without stopping," she told Valerie. Toby hadn't been to Kalispell in a while, but Amara had a good feeling that if she even mentioned another fan of Xena, that Toby would be on the next flight. "She even cosplayed as Gariela at a con once. Her costume was so gorgeous," Amara said with a slightly nostalgic look in her eyes. "And I did the same with our frisbee too. I also had a favorite stick I'd use as a sword and everything. My sister and I were quite the pair," she said fondly.

[Valerie Law]

Valerie nodded vigorously in agreement, biting her bottom lip again. But not in embarrassment or nerves, but excitement. "Same! The side characters were really cool, and I can understand the Ares thing." She agreed. "He was a really interesting character, and I loved his interactions with Xena." She said. She didn't really know all that much on the attractive bit, mostly because she wasn't sure on the whole romance thing herself.

Amara said Valerie should meet her sister, and the blonde brightened a bit at the idea. "That would be nice! Maybe we could watch the show together?" Valerie offered without thinking. When she realized what she said, he blushed and lowered her head a little. "Um... T-That is, if you want to." She added on sheepishly. You just met her, Val. Don't get so ahead of yourself. She thought. But then at the mention of the sister cosplaying, Valerie couldn't help but giggle a little again. "That, ah, sounds like fun! I've never ben to a con." She confessed.

She relaxed once more when Amara admitted she did the same thing with her own frisbee, and even pretended she had a sword too with her favorite stick. Valerie smiled and nodded. "It sounds like it. I'm glad I wasn't the only one who did this stuff."