RP Training Yard

She looked up at him with massive eyes.

Z: Will you?

The tightness loosened briefly when she looked at him like that, then gripped at her question. Suddenly his mouth felt dry, like he was chewing sand, and his fingers clenched and unclenched at his side.

A: Of course.

He looked extremely uncomfortable and Zinnia noticed this.

Z: A...are you sure?

He swallowed hard and nodded.

A: Of course I'm sure.

Z: Thank you.

She almost hugged him. Almost .

Arum merely nodded to the next piece of equipment, a... tree.

A: A let's see how good you are without handles.

Z: Okay.

She approached it, as if sizing it up. The tree was tall and gnarled, in the place of handles and footholds were knots in the aged bark. Zinnia gulped.

A: Can you handle it?

Smirk.

She nodded.

Z: Of course.

Well. Maybe. She carefully found her footing, and gripped a low branch. So far so good.

Arum pursed his lips and watched her nervously.

She shimmied up the tree, hoisting her leg over the branch and standing, finding a notch in the bark to grab onto.

A: Good so far.

Had she done this before?

She had hidden up trees before, played in them as a child. She was doing well.

Arum was quietly impressed at the way she was so easily shimmying up the trunk. Was this foreshadowing? Who knows, we don't have a plot.

Zinnia reached the top of the tree and called down.

Z: Did it!

A: Well- executed. Down you come.

Z: Okay!

She began her descent. With relative ease she made it to the ground.

Arum clapped her on the shoulder.

A: Well done. You seem physically fit.

Zinnia raised her eyebrows.

Z: Thanks!

Arum cleared his throat and nodded, trying to focus himself on training and not how she looked.

A: We should start with combat training.

Zinnia cringed. This was the bit she'd been dreading.

Z: Ah.

A: Do you know anything about hand to hand combat?

She shook her head.

Z: Only what I've improvised.

A: Let's see what you've got. Tackle me.

Z: Er. Okay.

She rubbed her hands together and ran at him, despite weighing next to nothing.