| Gym Talk | ||
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Serenity exits the dance floor with a tight somersault blending into a vertical twist, no longer attempting to bend only in those ways a human is supposed to. On the way out of the Usual, Ren takes a detour by the door of the gym and squishes snout against the window to peer inside. Spotting a familiar face, Ren squeaks a damp 'hand' of scalloped fin edges on the glass and opens the door to pour inside. Mitch is being nosy! After having something to eat at the Usual, he'd heard noises of fighting! He hadn't been aware of there being a training arena or a gym attached to a restaurant; that's just not what he'd expect to be attached to a restaurant. He sees Rayne and tilts his head. "You all right?" he inquires. Serenity appearing gives him a start-- he's not sure exactly what he's looking at. And the very round, very confused-looking gaze pretty much says all that. Rayne doesn't notice Ren, immediately. It's Mitch's inquiry to how she is that brings her attention upward (relatively, she is sitting on the ground, of course) to notice not just him but Serenity as well. "Oh, I'm fine, just need a breather and to rest my muscles a bit. Hey, Ren!" She then pulls herself back up to her feet and makes her way to the water fountain. That kind of exercise can be thirsty work! "Hello," Ren rasps amiably and extends a portion of fins from the water to wave to Rayne. As she turns attention to Mitch, Ren turns to look and then slips over towards him with a slight ripple of aquamarine muscle. "Are you free to teach me combat martial arts today?" Ren remarks to Rayne with a note of amusement. Ren then offers Mitch a smile (insofar as one can do so without teeth) and extends a 'hand' to him out of the suspended column of water (in fact the 'hand' is just a portion of fin edge with extrusion and deep scalloping vaguely and temporarily mimicking a hand). "I am Serenity," the marine mollusc supplies. Mitch nods as Rayne assures him she's all right. His gaze is drawn to the... well, he's not sure what it is, really. There's a lot about this place he's still trying to figure out. He doesn't quite recognize the attempt at a handshake for what it is, since he's not quite used to reading non-human body language. The introduction gets a nod, though. "Pleased to meet'cha. Name's Mitch." He nods in greeting. He's actually not wearing his hat, he's got it in one hand. Because no one wears a hat indoors, particularly not when eating. Rayne nearly does a spit take as Ren makes her inquiry. "Wait, what? You're joking, right?" She has one eye open a bit wider than the other as she looks to Ren. "You want to learn martial arts? First of all, I'm not much of a teacher, second, if I was, I'm pretty sure humanoid martial arts won't quite apply well to you. Third, that just sounds really out of character for you, Ren." If Serenity was joking, it seems Rayne didn't catch that. She then glances to Mitch and introduces herself, as well. "Uh, Rayne." "Likewise pleased to meet you," Ren replies, nodding a greeting to him in return. To Rayne, "Quite right," Ren says to Rayne with a grin. "Or at least on the second and third account. Capoeira is the closest I'm likely to come to sparring. Perhaps we'd best leave me as a danger to no one but myself." Ren then motions to Mitch with a fin edge extended from the water. "Are you looking for a workout here today, if I may ask?" Mitch offers a nod to Rayne's introduction. The mention of martial arts gets a thoughtful 'hrm'. "Well, you could always 'snap' your body at an opponent, right?" He has a trace of a southern accent, if one is capable of recognizing it. Otherwise it's... just a touch of a drawl. Rayne tilts her head, looking to Ren. "Capoeira? What's that, a martial art from your people?" She shrugs, then glances at Mitch, as well. "What, like a wet towel?" She glances back at Serenity again. "...Somehow, I think that wouldn't work well in her bubble.... and probably would hurt her more than the enemy... So yeah, still more a danger to yourself." Serenity regards Mitch with a thoughtful look at his suggestion. "My insides are rather less heavily armored than a human's," Ren agrees, "so 'snapping' into one does sound as though it might be more painful for me." Ren does, though, stretch lengthwise and then try to snap into a V-shape while contracting. The strong currents fluttering Ren's gill-feathers afterwards suggest that the shifting of muscle has at least that much force. Relaxing, Ren explains for Rayne. "Capoeira is an Earth dance. It was originally designed to disguise forbidden martial arts practice as a dance, but evolved into an actual dance disguised as fantastical martial arts." Serenity's words get a nod. "Yeah, I... can see that," Mitch notes. "...No offense." Pause. "Maybe an electric field or something?" he suggests. Since he assumes she needs self defense techniques. He also nods to the mention of Capoeira. "I don't know how to do capoeira myself, but I've seen some exhibitions of it. Looks pretty nice, but it looks like you need to have really good balance." Rayne blinks, then laughs. "Well, that sounds kinda ironic. I wonder what the people that first came up with it would think to know it only survived as an actual dance." She then considers Mitch's suggestion for Ren, but in the end says nothing about it. She considers it up to Ren if the fssst wants to add self protection to her field generator. Serenity regards Mitch with a puzzled expression at his suggestion. "Indeed it's quite acrobatic," Ren then agrees. "It's not my favorite to attempt myself, as maintaining balance and flexibility are not great challenges for me." Rayne's question receives a thoughtful look. "I suppose the inventors of the dance would be pleased that their descendants are free to learn self-defense or dance as they please. But I won't mourn the loss of cultural heritage, myself, when a manner of beating people up has evolved into fine arts." Rayne, after partaking in the water fountain for a bit longer, wipes her mouth with the back of her hand and nods to Serenity. "I guess if martial arts were forbidden, they would be happy for it to be either way, I guess? So what are you up to now that you're done with, I presume, dancing? Or are you just getting started at that?" Now recovered, Rayne starts doing some intricate hand motions before she starts moving her hands over her body, roughly an inch away from her armor. A slight glow can be seen from her palms and the underside of her fingers as she does this, and it seems ot be taking quite a bit of her concentration. Serenity nods to Rayne's speculation. "Yes, I think I may have had enough tektonik for today. I hadn't a specific plan for afterward, thought I might stop in the Welcome Center." Ren adds with a smile, "I'll be sure to return it to a professional appearance if Sae has already launched a stuffed-animal takeover." Spotting Rayne's hand motions, Ren flows over closer to peer at them with inquisitively forward-canted rhinophores. "What is it that you're doing?" Ren inquires, motioning with a pair of fins. Rayne tenses up slightly, then sighs. "We.... need to stop letting her come up with decoration plans for the office... She means well, but... I think she forgets that it's not aimed at children... There are vastly more adults that come through than children, and if we have the place decorated up like she would come up with... people will start to think we're a bit of a joke." She then looks up at Ren again. "Ehh? Oh... Just a cleaning spells. I'm 'freshening up' as the saying goes. I'm not sure how familiar you are with human anatomy, but we tend to kinda stink after a workout, and I was really working out just then." "I have noticed human body odor from sweat before, yes. I actually happen to find it rather pleasant, but of course I'm not about to suggest that anyone forgo washing up," Ren observes. "I think that Sae's interest won't do us any harm, as long as it's confined to activities and not permanent art installations. Now, perhaps someone might find the activities insultingly childish, but I suspect that they will simply ascribe it to this being a foreign culture." Rayne shakes her head. "I can't help but see it a little differently... It looks... well, unprofessional." She holds up a hand in an attempt to forstall an element of argument. "I know, I know, I'm throwing 'professional' around as a word a lot, but it really can make a difference. We want people to look at us and see an organization that has it together that can help them, not a place that looks like pair of children were hired to be interior decorators. If we keep up with these home made looking decorations, it starts to make us look less legitimate, and people will take us less seriously, and it will in the end hurt our ability to do our job, thus hurt our ability to actually help." "I think that we might not disagree, or disagree much," Ren remarks after listening thoughtfully. "I wouldn't, for example, suggest putting anything childlike on the walls in the lobby or using it in anything else that might be described as 'interior decorating'. Rather, Sae's work might be passed around as an example during a group painting session in one of the meeting rooms." Ren motions out to the sides, "I agree, too, on the precariousness of TASK's authority and legitimacy. Of course we should take that seriously. With Neo-Edo present, we no longer even have the excuse of 'It might be disorganized, but at least it's the best in the world'." Rayne sighs and deflates a little. "Yeah... It's odd, but I really do feel a bit of disappointment with the knowledge of the fact that... we're the smaller of two cities. I found myself having more pride than I thought I was capable of before. Granted... Neo-Edo's been around as long as it wasn't for me, but it somehow still feels a lot newer than Twisted." She shrugs. "I can't really put a finger on why." | |
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