Logs:Prepared

Prepared
Dramatis Personae Lucien, Polaris
In Absentia	2020-11-06 "No doubt it sounds bizarre, but there are some problems rioting cannot fix."
Location <NYC> Sweat - Greenwich Village
An apropos name; it is hard to escape the smell, when visiting this fitness club. Open twenty-four hours, this facility comes equipped with all the bells and whistles for those who want to train hard. All the standard gym equipment can be found and then some. In addition to private personal trainers, there are group classes in all sorts of things, from bicycling to crossfit to yoga to martial arts to more esoteric fare such as pole dancing and dodgeball. An olympic-sized pool makes this a popular draw, and the sauna rooms by each locker room are nice spots to unwind after a heavy workout. It's only just Friday afternoon, but a fair number of people have decided to get an early start on their weekend, and the gym is busy all the same. This small side room has been closed off into a blissful semblance of... well, it isn't quite privacy, with one large wall of mostly-glass allowing a clear view out, but it's a little quieter all the same. Lucien is at the moment doing nothing particularly interesting, although the sheen of sweat he wears along with green wicking tee and black athletic pants suggests that he has only recently taken a break from activity. Just at the moment he's leaning back against the wall, unstrapping a padded target mitt from one hand so that he can pick up his water bottle instead for a swig. "Aggressive isn't terrible," he says after he has swallowed his gulp down, "certainly there is a lot of benefit to ending fights decisively rather than letting them drag on into some kind of garboil -- but you leave yourself very open to attack if you do not have some degree of caution." Polaris is still breathing hard and drenched in sweat, her leaf green hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. She's dressed in a soft black tee--at least one size too big--with a faded print of a red rose on the chest and gray athletic capris, and the ghostly remnants of a sharpied jail support number can still be seen on the pale skin of her inner forearm. She's busy chugging water from her own Evolve Cafe water bottle, but now lowers it to study her instructor. "Into some kinda what?" Her eyes are wide and a little wild. "I guess I figure--if they're busy worrying about my fists in their face it's harder for them to hit me back. But then...if it isn't over immediately, I can't really keep that pace up." "Chaos," Lucien replies, recapping his bottle. "Most fights are actually over very quickly. Ones that are not -- tend to be a bit of a mess." His head inclines in acknowledgment of her assessment. "You may tire yourself out -- but also, it is not good to assume you'll always only be fighting one person. In many real situations people do not conveniently behave like Buffy vampires and line up to be taken down one at a time." Polaris nods, her mouth open in a silent "ah". She pulls her hair tie off and re-cinches it somewhat mechanically, even though it does not look to be in any risk of coming loose. "I think if I was fighting more than one guy, I'd be pretty fucked even if I was cautious. Right now, anyway." Her green eyebrows arch. "So like, what do you do--try to keep a little distance, watch for openings?" "The goal here is to make sure you are --" Lucien hesitates, eyes flicking over Polaris briefly before he concludes mildly, "-- less fucked. But developing good habits to begin with is far easier than installing them down the line. "Situational awareness is vital. Staying quick on your feet. Especially if you are fighting someone -- or ones -- who are larger and stronger than you, keeping yourself in a position where you cannot simply be overpowered." Polaris is attentive, eyes still wide if less wild now that she's caught her breath. "Situational awareness, right. Gotta work on that more, especially if I'm trying to train for possibly being depowered." She frowns thoughtfully. "Not like I'm tiny, but the guys likely to pick fights with me will probably be larger and stronger. And hopefully not as fast as you." Her eyes flick over Lucien quickly. "Hey uh...you can tell me if it's none of my business but--you got first hand experience with that? Before you got mad buff, I mean." "Perhaps I just sprung, fully buff, from my father's head at birth." Lucien offers this suggestion quiet and serious. Equally serious: "I did once play Peter Pan, at the beginning of high school. Does it count if Captain Hook was a senior?" His fingers tap lightly against the side of the thermos. "Avoiding fights entirely is my preferred strategy, but -- not, admittedly, always feasible." Polaris snickers. "It totally counts. He has to sword-fight like--a whole bunch of pirates, right?" She picks up a towel she had left on the chair beside her water bottle and mops her face with it. "I'm...not so great at avoiding fights. Even when I try. It's not just Evolve, though obviously that doesn't help, especially right now." She chews on her lower lip. "But weirdly I've felt less like picking fights since I actually started learning to do it. I dunno if that's backwards but it's probably better for my health." "An entire ship of them. And I don't know that it is so backwards." Lucien taps his water bottle lightly against his opposing hand, studying Polaris thoughtfully. "Even aside from having a physical outlet to vent some stress at, there is a lot of calm that knowing you have the tools to handle a situation can bring. A sort of peace in --" Briefly, something tightens in his expression, there and melting away again quickly. "Preparedness." "Man, you'd think all that rioting would be outlet enough." Polaris tries to sound light here, but falls a bit short. "I guess--that's also stressful. Just about everything is stressful right now. But this is..." She trails off, blinking rapidly and nodding. The breath she lets out is perhaps a bit despondent, but relieved, too. "...yeah. Exactly." She sets her water and towel back down and rolls her shoulders back, shakes her arms out. "I'm ready to go again when you are." "No doubt it sounds bizarre, but there are some problems rioting cannot fix." Lucien sets his water bottle down, untucking the target from beneath his arm to strap it back onto his hand. "-- being inadequately prepared to riot hard enough, for one. Shall we?"