Power Training [Open]
Posted: 31 Mar 2016, 04:17
A light, quiet yawn passed the small blonde’s lips as she quietly picked through her clothes, sifting through the tightly packed drawers until she found the right pair of yoga pants, the comfortable ones that she knew were the perfect size, that would hug her hips and keep themselves righted, that wouldn’t slip while she was working out. She tugged a new, deep purple VSX sports bra from the drawer and tossed them onto the bed. She danced through the room, her head bobbing left and right to the music in her earbuds, her long, golden tail of curls swinging with the range of motion as she spirited through the room, pushing open the door to her closet to search through her shoes.
Shoes, shoes, shoes… so many shoes. Heels and wedges, platforms and sneakers, she had everything. What she was looking for now was the new pair of Pumas she had just bought from the Reebok in New York on her last visit, and had been saving for a new gym. It was now or never, she supposed, as she again mourned the loss of her last pair of workout shoes, finally blown out on a hiking trip through one of the trails outside of town. She sighed, and pulled the bright pink shoes from their cubby in the hanging organizer that dangled from the inside of the closet door, and swiftly danced her way back through the room.
Her spirits were higher than they had been since she’d come to Canada, and she attributed the entire atmosphere to finally having the chance to get a real workout. She’d made do with a yoga mat and a small set of weights in her bedroom and out on the balcony when it wasn’t so bitter ******* cold. Tonight, though, she’d have a whole gym. Proper equipment and space for a real workout. Just thinking about it made her giddy with excitement and she rushed to toss a pair of socks onto the bed with the rest of her clothes. Satisfied with the workout outfit, she picked through her things for something to wear when she was finished. She didn’t relish the idea of walking home, covered in sweat and in the clothes she’d just busted her *** in all night. It was too cold out for that.
She’d shower at the gym, and change into something fresh. She picked a nice, figure hugging pair black jeans and a hot pink sleeveless top, a golden likeness of the iconic Playboy bunny logo across the torso, tossing them and a fresh change of underwear into the bag before she pursed her lips and turned to stare into her closet. She continued to look, her golden eyes moving slowly over the hanging garments as she pulled the sports bra over her head and down her ample chest, stuffing herself into the tight purple fabric before she turned and grabbed the black yoga pants, shimmying the tights up her shapely legs and snapping the waist around her hips. Satisfied, she stepped into the Pumas and reached into the closet to grab a black fleece jacket, draping it over her shoulders and zipping it up to her throat.
She turned to the mirror and gave herself a quick once-over, making sure that she made the right first impression was important, especially if she intended to make this workout session something regular, like it had been back in Alaska. Pleased with her appearance, she dropped a prepared protein shake into her bag, along with a pair of mixes for additional drinks during her workout, for electrolytes and hydration, as well as a bottle of her metabolic aid that she would take just before she started her warm up. She huffed, the sound a happy, excited sort of sound as she placed her hands on her hips and looked down at the open bag, checking everything was there as she tucked the iPhone in her hand into the pocket of her jacket. The action reminded her of the most important part!
She moved to her night stand and reached into the deep drawer, rummaging through her sleep aids and past reading material, a few sponsorship documents and a copy of her contract, along with a few other odds and ends, and raked her nails against the back of the drawer without finding her quarry. She pursed her lips with a confused expression as she glanced around her room, one hand lifting to scratch at her throat as she thought. “I just had it here…” She frowned, and knit her brows as she kneeled down, leaning to check beneath the bed and there, just at the edge of the bed and tucked beside the night stand was her iPhone arm band.
Her face lit up with glee. “Aha! Found you!” she shouted with triumph, reaching for the elastic band and tugged it from the small space it had been crammed into, and tossed it into her bag. Satisfied, she grabbed her keys to the suite and zipped up her bag. She paused in the living room where Cherri lay sprawled across the couch, her head jutted up across the arm as she was watching Netflix on the living area television.
“I’m going out, babe. Don’t wait up. If you see Hinata, let her know will you?” The redhead turned in surprise, a slight jump to her movement as she nodded. “What? Yeah. Okay, I’ll tell her.” That moment, the slight Asian woman’s head popped over the back of the couch with a grin. “Tell me what? Sorry, I was busy.” She lifted a tanned hand and pushed her chocolate curls from her face, a cheesy grin on her face as she tipped her head to one side. Starla couldn’t help but chuckle, and lifted her key, waving to them. “Going to the gym. If either of you hear from Barbie, my cell will be on.” She blew them a kiss and slipped out the door, locking it behind her before she stepped onto the elevator.
She pushed her earbuds in, music instantly blasting into her brain. Justice by Rev Theory blared near max volume as she moved her body to the rhythm of the music and only barely resisting the urge to sing along. The heavy power chords dropped and she nodded her head to the beat, losing herself in the music as the car rode its long, slow trek to the ground floor. She didn’t hear the door ding, but had taken the ride so many times she had it timed down to a tee. The doors swung open and she danced easily through the doors as they slid soundlessly on well oiled tracks, her slender frame slicing through the small knot of people waiting on the car.
She breezed through the hotel lobby and flashed the doorman a brilliant smile, the older man tipping his hat to her, his lips moving in his typical friendly exchange. She waved as she walked backwards over the concrete sidewalk. “Night, Luis! See you in the morning!” The man smiled, and waved her on. She spun on the ball of her foot and turned one eighty, rushing down the sidewalk to catch the 22:15 to Westwall Station. She dashed through the lightly crowded sidewalk, dipping between bodies as she moved, her long golden tail of hair whipping behind her in the chilly wind. She continued to let the beat of her music control her, the song moving to a cover by My Chemical Romance and The Used, a popular oldie, Under Pressure. She let a smile play on her lips as she moved through the people with ease, her short stature and small, slender frame let her dip between groups with little to no contact at all.
If she had been so inclined, she would have made an excellent pickpocket. Dashing through the crowd like she was, it would have been impossible to keep up with her without bashing into dozens of people while she simply danced around them, losing her pursuers in the crowd. It was something to think about, if she ended up losing her sponsorships over Barbie. She sighed when her thoughts tried to drift into the darkness, the less than stellar moments that had befallen her team. Their veteran member, and one of the biggest sponsorship magnets, had disappeared on them after an incredibly hostile display. She didn’t know where Caroline had gone, or where she was planning on going; if she planned on ever coming back. None of that really mattered, once you got to the core of it. Caroline had been Starla’s friend since she was only fifteen, Caroline this twenty eight year old pro, a real idol that Starla really looked up to, really idolized. They’d been close, and Starla really cared about her; wanted to know if she was alright, if she needed anything.
The team, in moments like this, just didn’t matter. It was her way of life, it was her family, and right now, that family was broken. She had to find the missing piece and make sure that she was doing everything for that missing shard of her family that she could possibly be doing. If she wasn’t, then, well, she was failing Caroline as her sister; as her friend. She sighed, and pushed the thought from her mind as she pushed her way onto the station platform at the Wickbridge Station and checked her iPhone. 22:10. She was five minutes early. She took a slow breath, steadying the rhythmic beating of her heart as she smiled to herself and closed her eyes, letting the music wash away the emotions.
Just let it all go, Starla. That’s what this is all about. Just let it all go. Relax, and find your zen. Find your center. You’re going to really need this training if you’re going to keep your skin in this town.
She opened her eyes, and turned to find herself looking at a map of the train routes. She’d never really taken the time to learn them all, had just kind of taken advantage of the quick turnarounds and constant run times. Really, the public transit system here was a model that should be replicated all over the world. There was no way that anyone ever ran their trains as efficiently as the Harper Rock Transit Authority. They just couldn’t. She sat there, looking at the maze of tracks that ran through town and had to wonder at just how many trains they had running at any one time, to have so many arrivals and departures so tightly packed into the schedule.
When the song on her iPhone flicked again, she smiled, and turned away from the map to let her body sway to the music, popping her hips with the beat of Paint it Black, covered by VersaEmerge. She was really, really into the crossover genres lately, and punk covers were quickly becoming a fast favorite. This band, these vocalists… they were particularly good. She caught herself getting lost in the song, and nearly missing her train. She almost laughed at herself, golden eyes dancing around the station, watching to see if anyone had noticed her moment of airheadedness, her fingers pushing through her blonde locks, sweeping her bangs once as she let her eyes rise to the line of golden hair that swept her brow. They would need to be cut soon, they were growing long, covering her dark brows. She huffed, the breath of air brushing the bangs to one side in a gentle sweep look. She smiled, satisfied, and tapped up the volume on her iPhone as she moved to hook her arm through one of the standing loops hanging from the roof of the car.
Her hips continued to sway to the music as she felt the blush in her cheeks subside, realizing quickly that the car was almost empty. She didn’t really need to worry about making a fool of herself here, there wasn’t anyone to really see. She smiled, and cranked up the volume again, as loud as it would go as the song changed to Lean on Sheena covered by The Bouncing Souls. She found herself bouncing on the balls of her feet, excited for this trip out of the apartment. She pat her free hand against her duffel bag as she dropped the iPhone back into her pocket, the car jolting forward as the conductor announced their next destination; Westwall. She looked over her shoulder and found only one young woman with her nose buried in the day’s paper. She decided to throw it all to the wind and let herself go. She let her body react to the music and danced, all out, her hand slipping from the loop as she swayed her way closer to the front of the car and farther from the sole other passenger.
She bobbed her head, her blonde tail whipping against her shoulder as she lip synced to the song, losing herself in the moment and moving her fingers like she was playing an air guitar. It was often she’d have silly moments like this one, just let herself free and just not give a **** about what the people around her thought. It was good for her nerves, good for her mood. She started to jump on the tips of her feet, really getting into the guitar until the song rolled through its last verse. Laughing to herself, she finally let her hand drape over the bag over her shoulder and lifted her other hand for the loop. She looked back at the back of the car and saw the woman staring at her, like she was some kind of crazy. Maybe she was. Right now, she could hardly care. She smiled, and gave the woman a wiggle of her fingers.
Immediately, she snapped her face back into the paper and ignored her for the rest of the ride to the station.
Disappointing.
She could really use a few local friends; people that knew the sights, the attractions, the places to drink and the places to avoid. Particularly with her particular brand of stalker, she’d need to know the better places to hide out in public and wait for daylight. It would sound so creepy out of context, so she was still trying to piece together how she might even going about finding out that sort of thing when the train slowed to a stop, hitting the station with a jolt that jarred the blonde where she stood, lost in her thoughts. She gripped the loop to keep herself upright, and dashed through the opening doors, slipping through a pair of men that were making their way onto the train. She was tempted to just try a hand at picking a pocket, but refrained.
Something about those men told her she would be best off keeping her hands to herself, and she went with her instinct, tucking her hand into the pocket of her jacket, instead, and heading for the street. She’d found a local chapter of Anytime Fitness online, and had gotten the address before she left, punching it into the GPS on her phone. She brought up the map and tapped at the screen, checking the directions. The map took her down several blocks, toward the river, and then West, toward the city limit. If she walked the same way the map took her, it would take nearly three times the time it would take if she cut through the alleys and made a more direct route. However, knowing what she knew about Harper Rock, she’d stick to the streets, happy as a clam under these street lamps.
She suddenly felt nervous about being on the street at night on her own, remembering the last walk she had taken, and pat down her bag, feeling her heart creep into her throat until she felt the hard shape of her blade in the bag. Immediately, just knowing that it was here with her, she relaxed. She could defend herself with this weapon, with a surprising efficiency, she had found. Hinata was showing her some basic techniques, but she had admitted that if Starla wanted any kind of advanced technique or mastery training, she would probably have to find a professional. Hinata only took martial arts as a means of stress relief and relaxation; a kind of meditation.
That was how it had begun for Starla, but now, living in Harper Rock, her need for martial knowledge had become a more tangible requirement, something she was going to need to survive. That was another reason, possibly the biggest reason she was coming down to the gym in the middle of the night; to see if any of the night crowd might know of a good instructor in town, someone that could teach her how to really handle such a high caliber weapon.
When she’d shown Hinata the blade, the woman had nearly lost her cool. She’d yelled at Starla, thinking that she had stolen it, that there was no way she could come into something this quality by accident, until she’d explained; at least, she had explained to the best of her ability without sounding like a raving lunatic. Vampires. She doubted even Hinata would believe something so blatantly insane. She sighed, letting her hand slide away from the bag as she moved to her music again, walking down the sparsely lit streets as she let her head bob to Umbrella covered by All Time Low, a favorite band of hers. She smiled, letting her head swing from side to side in time with her hips as she crossed the empty street, taking the turn West.
It was still several blocks now, but she was close. The phone began to bark directions at her in that gentle but firm voice Siri had. She chuckled and tapped out of the map. She’d found what she needed, and she would know the gym when she saw it, surely. It was a gym. It would certainly have the Anytime Fitness sign outside, at the least. She didn’t need a GPS to walk in a straight line. Even she wasn’t that blonde. She checked the time again, and pursed her lips. 22:45. It would be midnight in a little more than an hour. The gym was likely empty, or at least, at its lowest point of the day. It would make questioning the people she found there that much simpler. There wouldn’t be so much hustle and bustle to work around.
She began to move swiftly, then, her body invigorated as she moved with the new song, rushing down the sidewalk to the beat of her favorite song on the entire soundtrack. Taylor Swift’s I Knew You Were Trouble, covered by We Came As Romans. She hadn’t really heard of the band before she’d gotten on this crossover kick, but they were an instant hit with the blonde. She’d fallen hard for the more contemporary punk group. Excellent instrumentals, beautiful vocals, and perfectly balanced screams. They didn’t overplay the scream-o like some of the more modern bands did, and added it into the perfect moments to really give the song a fresh, new punch.
She was at the front door of the gym in no time, sweeping through the front door and gliding past the security door, passing her membership badge over the lock mechanism and earning a buzz inside. She pushed the heavy door aside without effort and glided to the front desk, offering the young woman behind the counter a wide, friendly smile. “Hi there! I’m here from out of town, just found you guys tucked all the way out here, and was wondering if my American membership transfers here with me, or if I need to open a new account?”
The woman behind the counter stared at her over the rim of her glasses with an incredulous look, her long, black hair pulled up in tall spikes, and a golden ring glinting in her left nostril. She leaned closer, over the counter as she stared down the preppy blonde. She worked her tongue along her lower row of teeth before she finally spoke. “Name?” The way this woman looked at her, it was like she’d never had a customer with a legitimate question… ever. The impression she was getting of this gym wasn’t exactly… five-star material. She tipped her head to one side and pushed her hand through her hair, tucking the straight strands behind her ear as she gave the woman another friendly smile. “Wolfe. Starla Wolfe. I should have platinum status?”
The woman started to turn to her desk before she stopped and turned to look at her. She lifted a brow and stared for another long minute, before she placed both hands on her desk. “You better not be ******* with me, lady. I need the name on your account.” Starla’s brows rose as she lifted her hands. “Listen, I went through a long trip across town to get here. You have my name. I just need to know if I need to pay to get into the gym. I’m not here to make any trouble.” The receptionist squinted at her, like she was trying to pry off her face with her scrutiny, before she just stared at her openly. She shook her head and waved her through. “I’ll be damned, alright listen. You’ve got full access with Platinum Status, that’s international credit and all. You’re set here, sorry for the confusion. Enjoy our facility all you like.”
Starla flashed a smile and stepped around the counter, and hoisted her bag over her shoulder. She paused on her way past, and turned back to the woman with a grin. “You a fan?” The woman snorted, and rolled up her sleeve, showing her the emblem she’d taken as her sigil in most any game, the five point star in black and pink, with the letters DS underneath the pictoral. Starla smiled, and moved up to the desk, pulling out a pen she kept tucked in her jacket. “Toss me your 3DS” The woman stared at her, before Starla rolled her eyes. “If you’re a big enough fan to have my insignia tattooed on your arm, you’re going to have a 3DS. I’m not some kind of psychic.”
The woman laughed nervously, and reached onto the desk to grab the portable game console, pushing it into her hands. “Just don’t let my boss hear about this. He’d have my hide if he knew I was playing video games back here.” Starla smiled, and signed the back of the 3DS’s top screen, her signature a wide, curly, girly sign. She pressed the cool plastic back into the woman’s hand and smiled. “Call me Star.” The woman finally gave her a warm smile. “Abigail.” Starla gave Abigail another smile, then, and turned to head into the gym. She could feel the woman’s eyes on her back, and she smirked. She made a quick cut into the locker room, and found herself an unclaimed unit by the showers of the women’s locker room, and dropped her bag into the top locker, pulling out only her shake and the two electrolyte mixes. She tipped two of the supplement pills into her palm and placed them on her tongue, washing them down with a swig of the shake before she gave a sigh, and shut her bag in the locker.
At first, she was unsure about leaving her sword in the bag, locked away, her anxiety doubling when she clicked the padlock in place and hung the key around her wrist, but she swallowed back the feeling of nerves and moved into the gym. It was mostly empty this late at night, only a sparse handful of people even in the building, much less on the workout floor. She smiled to herself and moved to one of the flat mats, setting to doing her stretches before she would even think about getting started. She lifted one arm high over her head, the other looping around and grasping her elbow, pulling the shoulder taut as she leaned into the stretch, feeling a sweet sort of pain radiate through her shoulder and side as she stretched the muscles and the ligaments there, holding for ten seconds before she switched sides.
She checked the room, the only few people she could see were, she was likely alright to assume, employees of the gym, most of them only lightly paying attention to their workouts or sitting around on the equipment, texting on their phones; probably bored of the slow graveyard shift. She counted three. If she had to defend herself, she supposed three on one weren’t the worst odds. She rolled her neck, feeling the vertebrae pop as she groaned, and tipped forward, reaching to touch her toes, then forward more, and more, until the heel of her palm pressed to the floor at the tip of her toes, her feet planted firmly into the mat as she held herself in the stretch for ten seconds like the first. She made a quick inventory of the machines and free weights, wondering where she would like to start, still very unsure.
Maybe she should hire a personal trainer as well as a martial arts instructor… she’d probably have to call her family about sending more money for something so expensive, but she had no doubt in her mind they’d send it over before she hung up the phone. They were like that. She smiled, and finally let her body straighten out with a quiet groan before she reached down and lifted her shake from the floor, popping it open for another quick sip before she eyed the leg curls machine. She could start there. Or maybe on the butterfly. The real question was, did she want to work upper or lower tonight? These all sounded like questions she probably should have answered before she’d come down. She knit her brows, lifting her hand to chew idly on the side of her thumb as she looked around the gym, looking about as lost as she felt, she was sure.
Where do I even ******* begin trying to turn myself into some kind of superhero? What the hell do you do, when you’re trying to kill a vampire?
Shoes, shoes, shoes… so many shoes. Heels and wedges, platforms and sneakers, she had everything. What she was looking for now was the new pair of Pumas she had just bought from the Reebok in New York on her last visit, and had been saving for a new gym. It was now or never, she supposed, as she again mourned the loss of her last pair of workout shoes, finally blown out on a hiking trip through one of the trails outside of town. She sighed, and pulled the bright pink shoes from their cubby in the hanging organizer that dangled from the inside of the closet door, and swiftly danced her way back through the room.
Her spirits were higher than they had been since she’d come to Canada, and she attributed the entire atmosphere to finally having the chance to get a real workout. She’d made do with a yoga mat and a small set of weights in her bedroom and out on the balcony when it wasn’t so bitter ******* cold. Tonight, though, she’d have a whole gym. Proper equipment and space for a real workout. Just thinking about it made her giddy with excitement and she rushed to toss a pair of socks onto the bed with the rest of her clothes. Satisfied with the workout outfit, she picked through her things for something to wear when she was finished. She didn’t relish the idea of walking home, covered in sweat and in the clothes she’d just busted her *** in all night. It was too cold out for that.
She’d shower at the gym, and change into something fresh. She picked a nice, figure hugging pair black jeans and a hot pink sleeveless top, a golden likeness of the iconic Playboy bunny logo across the torso, tossing them and a fresh change of underwear into the bag before she pursed her lips and turned to stare into her closet. She continued to look, her golden eyes moving slowly over the hanging garments as she pulled the sports bra over her head and down her ample chest, stuffing herself into the tight purple fabric before she turned and grabbed the black yoga pants, shimmying the tights up her shapely legs and snapping the waist around her hips. Satisfied, she stepped into the Pumas and reached into the closet to grab a black fleece jacket, draping it over her shoulders and zipping it up to her throat.
She turned to the mirror and gave herself a quick once-over, making sure that she made the right first impression was important, especially if she intended to make this workout session something regular, like it had been back in Alaska. Pleased with her appearance, she dropped a prepared protein shake into her bag, along with a pair of mixes for additional drinks during her workout, for electrolytes and hydration, as well as a bottle of her metabolic aid that she would take just before she started her warm up. She huffed, the sound a happy, excited sort of sound as she placed her hands on her hips and looked down at the open bag, checking everything was there as she tucked the iPhone in her hand into the pocket of her jacket. The action reminded her of the most important part!
She moved to her night stand and reached into the deep drawer, rummaging through her sleep aids and past reading material, a few sponsorship documents and a copy of her contract, along with a few other odds and ends, and raked her nails against the back of the drawer without finding her quarry. She pursed her lips with a confused expression as she glanced around her room, one hand lifting to scratch at her throat as she thought. “I just had it here…” She frowned, and knit her brows as she kneeled down, leaning to check beneath the bed and there, just at the edge of the bed and tucked beside the night stand was her iPhone arm band.
Her face lit up with glee. “Aha! Found you!” she shouted with triumph, reaching for the elastic band and tugged it from the small space it had been crammed into, and tossed it into her bag. Satisfied, she grabbed her keys to the suite and zipped up her bag. She paused in the living room where Cherri lay sprawled across the couch, her head jutted up across the arm as she was watching Netflix on the living area television.
“I’m going out, babe. Don’t wait up. If you see Hinata, let her know will you?” The redhead turned in surprise, a slight jump to her movement as she nodded. “What? Yeah. Okay, I’ll tell her.” That moment, the slight Asian woman’s head popped over the back of the couch with a grin. “Tell me what? Sorry, I was busy.” She lifted a tanned hand and pushed her chocolate curls from her face, a cheesy grin on her face as she tipped her head to one side. Starla couldn’t help but chuckle, and lifted her key, waving to them. “Going to the gym. If either of you hear from Barbie, my cell will be on.” She blew them a kiss and slipped out the door, locking it behind her before she stepped onto the elevator.
She pushed her earbuds in, music instantly blasting into her brain. Justice by Rev Theory blared near max volume as she moved her body to the rhythm of the music and only barely resisting the urge to sing along. The heavy power chords dropped and she nodded her head to the beat, losing herself in the music as the car rode its long, slow trek to the ground floor. She didn’t hear the door ding, but had taken the ride so many times she had it timed down to a tee. The doors swung open and she danced easily through the doors as they slid soundlessly on well oiled tracks, her slender frame slicing through the small knot of people waiting on the car.
She breezed through the hotel lobby and flashed the doorman a brilliant smile, the older man tipping his hat to her, his lips moving in his typical friendly exchange. She waved as she walked backwards over the concrete sidewalk. “Night, Luis! See you in the morning!” The man smiled, and waved her on. She spun on the ball of her foot and turned one eighty, rushing down the sidewalk to catch the 22:15 to Westwall Station. She dashed through the lightly crowded sidewalk, dipping between bodies as she moved, her long golden tail of hair whipping behind her in the chilly wind. She continued to let the beat of her music control her, the song moving to a cover by My Chemical Romance and The Used, a popular oldie, Under Pressure. She let a smile play on her lips as she moved through the people with ease, her short stature and small, slender frame let her dip between groups with little to no contact at all.
If she had been so inclined, she would have made an excellent pickpocket. Dashing through the crowd like she was, it would have been impossible to keep up with her without bashing into dozens of people while she simply danced around them, losing her pursuers in the crowd. It was something to think about, if she ended up losing her sponsorships over Barbie. She sighed when her thoughts tried to drift into the darkness, the less than stellar moments that had befallen her team. Their veteran member, and one of the biggest sponsorship magnets, had disappeared on them after an incredibly hostile display. She didn’t know where Caroline had gone, or where she was planning on going; if she planned on ever coming back. None of that really mattered, once you got to the core of it. Caroline had been Starla’s friend since she was only fifteen, Caroline this twenty eight year old pro, a real idol that Starla really looked up to, really idolized. They’d been close, and Starla really cared about her; wanted to know if she was alright, if she needed anything.
The team, in moments like this, just didn’t matter. It was her way of life, it was her family, and right now, that family was broken. She had to find the missing piece and make sure that she was doing everything for that missing shard of her family that she could possibly be doing. If she wasn’t, then, well, she was failing Caroline as her sister; as her friend. She sighed, and pushed the thought from her mind as she pushed her way onto the station platform at the Wickbridge Station and checked her iPhone. 22:10. She was five minutes early. She took a slow breath, steadying the rhythmic beating of her heart as she smiled to herself and closed her eyes, letting the music wash away the emotions.
Just let it all go, Starla. That’s what this is all about. Just let it all go. Relax, and find your zen. Find your center. You’re going to really need this training if you’re going to keep your skin in this town.
She opened her eyes, and turned to find herself looking at a map of the train routes. She’d never really taken the time to learn them all, had just kind of taken advantage of the quick turnarounds and constant run times. Really, the public transit system here was a model that should be replicated all over the world. There was no way that anyone ever ran their trains as efficiently as the Harper Rock Transit Authority. They just couldn’t. She sat there, looking at the maze of tracks that ran through town and had to wonder at just how many trains they had running at any one time, to have so many arrivals and departures so tightly packed into the schedule.
When the song on her iPhone flicked again, she smiled, and turned away from the map to let her body sway to the music, popping her hips with the beat of Paint it Black, covered by VersaEmerge. She was really, really into the crossover genres lately, and punk covers were quickly becoming a fast favorite. This band, these vocalists… they were particularly good. She caught herself getting lost in the song, and nearly missing her train. She almost laughed at herself, golden eyes dancing around the station, watching to see if anyone had noticed her moment of airheadedness, her fingers pushing through her blonde locks, sweeping her bangs once as she let her eyes rise to the line of golden hair that swept her brow. They would need to be cut soon, they were growing long, covering her dark brows. She huffed, the breath of air brushing the bangs to one side in a gentle sweep look. She smiled, satisfied, and tapped up the volume on her iPhone as she moved to hook her arm through one of the standing loops hanging from the roof of the car.
Her hips continued to sway to the music as she felt the blush in her cheeks subside, realizing quickly that the car was almost empty. She didn’t really need to worry about making a fool of herself here, there wasn’t anyone to really see. She smiled, and cranked up the volume again, as loud as it would go as the song changed to Lean on Sheena covered by The Bouncing Souls. She found herself bouncing on the balls of her feet, excited for this trip out of the apartment. She pat her free hand against her duffel bag as she dropped the iPhone back into her pocket, the car jolting forward as the conductor announced their next destination; Westwall. She looked over her shoulder and found only one young woman with her nose buried in the day’s paper. She decided to throw it all to the wind and let herself go. She let her body react to the music and danced, all out, her hand slipping from the loop as she swayed her way closer to the front of the car and farther from the sole other passenger.
She bobbed her head, her blonde tail whipping against her shoulder as she lip synced to the song, losing herself in the moment and moving her fingers like she was playing an air guitar. It was often she’d have silly moments like this one, just let herself free and just not give a **** about what the people around her thought. It was good for her nerves, good for her mood. She started to jump on the tips of her feet, really getting into the guitar until the song rolled through its last verse. Laughing to herself, she finally let her hand drape over the bag over her shoulder and lifted her other hand for the loop. She looked back at the back of the car and saw the woman staring at her, like she was some kind of crazy. Maybe she was. Right now, she could hardly care. She smiled, and gave the woman a wiggle of her fingers.
Immediately, she snapped her face back into the paper and ignored her for the rest of the ride to the station.
Disappointing.
She could really use a few local friends; people that knew the sights, the attractions, the places to drink and the places to avoid. Particularly with her particular brand of stalker, she’d need to know the better places to hide out in public and wait for daylight. It would sound so creepy out of context, so she was still trying to piece together how she might even going about finding out that sort of thing when the train slowed to a stop, hitting the station with a jolt that jarred the blonde where she stood, lost in her thoughts. She gripped the loop to keep herself upright, and dashed through the opening doors, slipping through a pair of men that were making their way onto the train. She was tempted to just try a hand at picking a pocket, but refrained.
Something about those men told her she would be best off keeping her hands to herself, and she went with her instinct, tucking her hand into the pocket of her jacket, instead, and heading for the street. She’d found a local chapter of Anytime Fitness online, and had gotten the address before she left, punching it into the GPS on her phone. She brought up the map and tapped at the screen, checking the directions. The map took her down several blocks, toward the river, and then West, toward the city limit. If she walked the same way the map took her, it would take nearly three times the time it would take if she cut through the alleys and made a more direct route. However, knowing what she knew about Harper Rock, she’d stick to the streets, happy as a clam under these street lamps.
She suddenly felt nervous about being on the street at night on her own, remembering the last walk she had taken, and pat down her bag, feeling her heart creep into her throat until she felt the hard shape of her blade in the bag. Immediately, just knowing that it was here with her, she relaxed. She could defend herself with this weapon, with a surprising efficiency, she had found. Hinata was showing her some basic techniques, but she had admitted that if Starla wanted any kind of advanced technique or mastery training, she would probably have to find a professional. Hinata only took martial arts as a means of stress relief and relaxation; a kind of meditation.
That was how it had begun for Starla, but now, living in Harper Rock, her need for martial knowledge had become a more tangible requirement, something she was going to need to survive. That was another reason, possibly the biggest reason she was coming down to the gym in the middle of the night; to see if any of the night crowd might know of a good instructor in town, someone that could teach her how to really handle such a high caliber weapon.
When she’d shown Hinata the blade, the woman had nearly lost her cool. She’d yelled at Starla, thinking that she had stolen it, that there was no way she could come into something this quality by accident, until she’d explained; at least, she had explained to the best of her ability without sounding like a raving lunatic. Vampires. She doubted even Hinata would believe something so blatantly insane. She sighed, letting her hand slide away from the bag as she moved to her music again, walking down the sparsely lit streets as she let her head bob to Umbrella covered by All Time Low, a favorite band of hers. She smiled, letting her head swing from side to side in time with her hips as she crossed the empty street, taking the turn West.
It was still several blocks now, but she was close. The phone began to bark directions at her in that gentle but firm voice Siri had. She chuckled and tapped out of the map. She’d found what she needed, and she would know the gym when she saw it, surely. It was a gym. It would certainly have the Anytime Fitness sign outside, at the least. She didn’t need a GPS to walk in a straight line. Even she wasn’t that blonde. She checked the time again, and pursed her lips. 22:45. It would be midnight in a little more than an hour. The gym was likely empty, or at least, at its lowest point of the day. It would make questioning the people she found there that much simpler. There wouldn’t be so much hustle and bustle to work around.
She began to move swiftly, then, her body invigorated as she moved with the new song, rushing down the sidewalk to the beat of her favorite song on the entire soundtrack. Taylor Swift’s I Knew You Were Trouble, covered by We Came As Romans. She hadn’t really heard of the band before she’d gotten on this crossover kick, but they were an instant hit with the blonde. She’d fallen hard for the more contemporary punk group. Excellent instrumentals, beautiful vocals, and perfectly balanced screams. They didn’t overplay the scream-o like some of the more modern bands did, and added it into the perfect moments to really give the song a fresh, new punch.
She was at the front door of the gym in no time, sweeping through the front door and gliding past the security door, passing her membership badge over the lock mechanism and earning a buzz inside. She pushed the heavy door aside without effort and glided to the front desk, offering the young woman behind the counter a wide, friendly smile. “Hi there! I’m here from out of town, just found you guys tucked all the way out here, and was wondering if my American membership transfers here with me, or if I need to open a new account?”
The woman behind the counter stared at her over the rim of her glasses with an incredulous look, her long, black hair pulled up in tall spikes, and a golden ring glinting in her left nostril. She leaned closer, over the counter as she stared down the preppy blonde. She worked her tongue along her lower row of teeth before she finally spoke. “Name?” The way this woman looked at her, it was like she’d never had a customer with a legitimate question… ever. The impression she was getting of this gym wasn’t exactly… five-star material. She tipped her head to one side and pushed her hand through her hair, tucking the straight strands behind her ear as she gave the woman another friendly smile. “Wolfe. Starla Wolfe. I should have platinum status?”
The woman started to turn to her desk before she stopped and turned to look at her. She lifted a brow and stared for another long minute, before she placed both hands on her desk. “You better not be ******* with me, lady. I need the name on your account.” Starla’s brows rose as she lifted her hands. “Listen, I went through a long trip across town to get here. You have my name. I just need to know if I need to pay to get into the gym. I’m not here to make any trouble.” The receptionist squinted at her, like she was trying to pry off her face with her scrutiny, before she just stared at her openly. She shook her head and waved her through. “I’ll be damned, alright listen. You’ve got full access with Platinum Status, that’s international credit and all. You’re set here, sorry for the confusion. Enjoy our facility all you like.”
Starla flashed a smile and stepped around the counter, and hoisted her bag over her shoulder. She paused on her way past, and turned back to the woman with a grin. “You a fan?” The woman snorted, and rolled up her sleeve, showing her the emblem she’d taken as her sigil in most any game, the five point star in black and pink, with the letters DS underneath the pictoral. Starla smiled, and moved up to the desk, pulling out a pen she kept tucked in her jacket. “Toss me your 3DS” The woman stared at her, before Starla rolled her eyes. “If you’re a big enough fan to have my insignia tattooed on your arm, you’re going to have a 3DS. I’m not some kind of psychic.”
The woman laughed nervously, and reached onto the desk to grab the portable game console, pushing it into her hands. “Just don’t let my boss hear about this. He’d have my hide if he knew I was playing video games back here.” Starla smiled, and signed the back of the 3DS’s top screen, her signature a wide, curly, girly sign. She pressed the cool plastic back into the woman’s hand and smiled. “Call me Star.” The woman finally gave her a warm smile. “Abigail.” Starla gave Abigail another smile, then, and turned to head into the gym. She could feel the woman’s eyes on her back, and she smirked. She made a quick cut into the locker room, and found herself an unclaimed unit by the showers of the women’s locker room, and dropped her bag into the top locker, pulling out only her shake and the two electrolyte mixes. She tipped two of the supplement pills into her palm and placed them on her tongue, washing them down with a swig of the shake before she gave a sigh, and shut her bag in the locker.
At first, she was unsure about leaving her sword in the bag, locked away, her anxiety doubling when she clicked the padlock in place and hung the key around her wrist, but she swallowed back the feeling of nerves and moved into the gym. It was mostly empty this late at night, only a sparse handful of people even in the building, much less on the workout floor. She smiled to herself and moved to one of the flat mats, setting to doing her stretches before she would even think about getting started. She lifted one arm high over her head, the other looping around and grasping her elbow, pulling the shoulder taut as she leaned into the stretch, feeling a sweet sort of pain radiate through her shoulder and side as she stretched the muscles and the ligaments there, holding for ten seconds before she switched sides.
She checked the room, the only few people she could see were, she was likely alright to assume, employees of the gym, most of them only lightly paying attention to their workouts or sitting around on the equipment, texting on their phones; probably bored of the slow graveyard shift. She counted three. If she had to defend herself, she supposed three on one weren’t the worst odds. She rolled her neck, feeling the vertebrae pop as she groaned, and tipped forward, reaching to touch her toes, then forward more, and more, until the heel of her palm pressed to the floor at the tip of her toes, her feet planted firmly into the mat as she held herself in the stretch for ten seconds like the first. She made a quick inventory of the machines and free weights, wondering where she would like to start, still very unsure.
Maybe she should hire a personal trainer as well as a martial arts instructor… she’d probably have to call her family about sending more money for something so expensive, but she had no doubt in her mind they’d send it over before she hung up the phone. They were like that. She smiled, and finally let her body straighten out with a quiet groan before she reached down and lifted her shake from the floor, popping it open for another quick sip before she eyed the leg curls machine. She could start there. Or maybe on the butterfly. The real question was, did she want to work upper or lower tonight? These all sounded like questions she probably should have answered before she’d come down. She knit her brows, lifting her hand to chew idly on the side of her thumb as she looked around the gym, looking about as lost as she felt, she was sure.
Where do I even ******* begin trying to turn myself into some kind of superhero? What the hell do you do, when you’re trying to kill a vampire?