Log: Garrison and Emily - Training
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xp_logsBackdated to Friday 20th September 2024, 1:30pm
Emily seeks out Garrison to ask for some extra training. She's reminded that everyone starts somewhere.
Emily stood in the workout room, clothed in the standard issue GenX workout clothes, which mostly seemed to consist of ‘Xavier’s’ branded trackies and jumper.
She'd been nervous asking for Garrison’s help, figuring he'd be incredibly busy but after everything recently, she felt like she could use some help beyond the general training.
She just wasn't seeming to get it. Despite having the underlying fitness just from all the farmwork she’d had to do over the years.
Garrison walked in and lobbed his empty smoothie cup one-handed into the garbage just past her with unsettling accuracy. His trip to New Orleans had changed him although the young woman couldn't recognize that.
"So, Emily. Why are you here to see me?"
Emily had jumped slightly at the smoothie cup drifting past her, she hadn't been paying much attention to her surroundings but she did now as she stood straighter and gave Garrison a bright smile.
“Well, Sir. Um, I got told you were really good at helping people with hand-to-hand training? I'm, ah, I’m not really any good and I keep not being able to really punch people because well, that's a person and punching them has to hurt and I wouldn't want anyone to punch me but then everything keeps happening and I probably need to know how to punch memes come to life or um, game people.”
"I got none of that. Let's try this again. What would you like me to teach you?" He did understand, but as a newly minted Old, he liked to make them spell out what they wanted.
Emily blushed slightly and gripped her hands tightly behind her back to stop fidgeting. You were meant to stand at attention or something when talking to an authority, right? She'd always avoided people who weren't her family, or someone carefully vetted by her family so new people were always a little much at first. Even if Garrison wasn't new new, given he'd been there to test her but they hadn't exactly talked. Oh, she was meant to say something.
“I want to learn to fight.”
"Fight what? Fascism? Intolerance? The Good Fight? I like that one." Kane dusted off an already dust-free bench and sat down. "What do you want?"
Emily frowned and then nibbled at her lower lip. This wasn't really what she'd been expecting when she'd thought about this all in her head. It had seemed much easier. You asked and then there was a training montage. At least, that's how it went in the movies
“People who want to hurt me. Um, maybe people who want to hurt my friends too? But they all seem a lot better at fighting than me already so probably I just don't want them to have to help me all the time. That seems unfair.”
"How much do you want to hurt them? A lot? Until they can't fight again? Maybe kill them?"
Emily’s hands came up and she backed away a step before her brain had even processed the full question, head shaking in denial.
“Kill? No! I just. I don't know. Enough that they stop. I just need to know how to get away better. I just. I want to know how to make it so they can't chase me till I can get away.”
"OK, relax. I was just pushing. It is important to know what people want. Some ask for training because they want vengeance. It is important I understand." Kane got up from the bench. "So what do you know? Did some kids Karate? Booty Camp? Tai-Bo?"
Emily dropped her hands, pushing the cuticles on one hand with her thumb as she tried to breathe through the momentary panic before straightening again and giving him a wry smile.
“Nothing, really. They've been showing us some stuff with the Generation X training program but I feel like everyone there at least knows the basics. I mean, ask me to move a bale of hay and I’m your girl or make it so a horse doesn't try and bite you but I don't do the fighting thing.”
"So let's get started. Hit me." Kane said, his arms at his sides.
“Oh! Um, okay. Do I just, um, just walk up and...Do I aim anywhere at all?”
Emily wrung out her hands and gave them a shake before stepping closer. She wondered if she was just meant to throw a punch wherever. She wondered if it was better to aim for centre mass, or maybe somewhere meaner. That's what they said you should do right? Get them in the nuts and they'd think twice. Centre mass seemed better though, she was sure she'd heard somewhere before that it was. Or was that only guns? God, why was this so hard?
"Hit me. Fist. Chair. Throw a book at me. Do something, kid. Anything."
That seemed simple enough. Just. Just hit him. She could do that. Emily walked forward until she was in what she thought was suitable punching range and aimed a closed fist at his shoulder. It felt wrong as she felt it connect like she'd been trying to push past some kind of ‘this is wrong, you shouldn't hurt people’ feeling in her head.
"OK, you touched me. Try it again. Think like... I'm calling you a... dingo? I don't know, give me an Australian insult. Use that and throw that punch."
“Oh, you'd be yelling at me probably, calling me a dumb cunt. That was kinda popular.”
Emily breathed in and tried to picture Garrison as someone who had actually insulted her. She imagined how her Mum reacted when someone cut them off in traffic and smiled for a moment. Her mum always had to add money to the family swear jar after a shopping trip to town.
She let her breath out and aimed for his other shoulder, trying for harder this time, or at least something that didn't feel like a tap. It felt, wrong still. But she'd not entirely pulled back before she connected this time. She had hurt her thumb though.
“Ow.”
"So, you're not in Australia any more. We don't use cunt here," Kane said, hunkering down with her. "So here's the deal. We need to start from scratch. We'll start with some drills and to hit a bag for awhile. Once you get comfortable at that, we can talk about hitting a person."
“I’m sorry, I won't use it again,” Emily replied, wincing as she imagined he must think her terrible, she couldn't even throw a punch right. “Um, I can ask Rogue and Kyle to show me the bag and stuff. Sorry if I wasted your time.”
"Stop. You didn't waste my time. You just are starting from scratch. Which means you need to work up to the next level before we start that training." Kane said, giving her a reassuring smile. "We all had to start somewhere, kid. Don't beat yourself up that you're not the ultimate fighter already on day one."
“A lot is going on, I guess. It feels overwhelming sometimes. Everyone else seems to do okay though.”
Emily smiled and shrugged at her own feelings, there was always something going on. She knew comparison wasn’t helpful but sometimes it felt like there was so much she didn’t know.
"Everyone else has more than..." He made a gesture with his hand to bring up the golden sketched terminal. "Twenty minutes of training. You're going to need to be patient if you want to get better."
“Mr Kane. You just told a teenager to be patient.” Emily joked, smile widening slightly. “But I’ll try not to be too anxious about not being the same as everyone else. Should I speak to Rogue and Mr Gibney about it?”
"Kyle is your best bet for the basics of hand-to-hand. Rogue is better off focused on your powers training. She's a lot harder to burn than Gibney."
Emily seeks out Garrison to ask for some extra training. She's reminded that everyone starts somewhere.
Emily stood in the workout room, clothed in the standard issue GenX workout clothes, which mostly seemed to consist of ‘Xavier’s’ branded trackies and jumper.
She'd been nervous asking for Garrison’s help, figuring he'd be incredibly busy but after everything recently, she felt like she could use some help beyond the general training.
She just wasn't seeming to get it. Despite having the underlying fitness just from all the farmwork she’d had to do over the years.
Garrison walked in and lobbed his empty smoothie cup one-handed into the garbage just past her with unsettling accuracy. His trip to New Orleans had changed him although the young woman couldn't recognize that.
"So, Emily. Why are you here to see me?"
Emily had jumped slightly at the smoothie cup drifting past her, she hadn't been paying much attention to her surroundings but she did now as she stood straighter and gave Garrison a bright smile.
“Well, Sir. Um, I got told you were really good at helping people with hand-to-hand training? I'm, ah, I’m not really any good and I keep not being able to really punch people because well, that's a person and punching them has to hurt and I wouldn't want anyone to punch me but then everything keeps happening and I probably need to know how to punch memes come to life or um, game people.”
"I got none of that. Let's try this again. What would you like me to teach you?" He did understand, but as a newly minted Old, he liked to make them spell out what they wanted.
Emily blushed slightly and gripped her hands tightly behind her back to stop fidgeting. You were meant to stand at attention or something when talking to an authority, right? She'd always avoided people who weren't her family, or someone carefully vetted by her family so new people were always a little much at first. Even if Garrison wasn't new new, given he'd been there to test her but they hadn't exactly talked. Oh, she was meant to say something.
“I want to learn to fight.”
"Fight what? Fascism? Intolerance? The Good Fight? I like that one." Kane dusted off an already dust-free bench and sat down. "What do you want?"
Emily frowned and then nibbled at her lower lip. This wasn't really what she'd been expecting when she'd thought about this all in her head. It had seemed much easier. You asked and then there was a training montage. At least, that's how it went in the movies
“People who want to hurt me. Um, maybe people who want to hurt my friends too? But they all seem a lot better at fighting than me already so probably I just don't want them to have to help me all the time. That seems unfair.”
"How much do you want to hurt them? A lot? Until they can't fight again? Maybe kill them?"
Emily’s hands came up and she backed away a step before her brain had even processed the full question, head shaking in denial.
“Kill? No! I just. I don't know. Enough that they stop. I just need to know how to get away better. I just. I want to know how to make it so they can't chase me till I can get away.”
"OK, relax. I was just pushing. It is important to know what people want. Some ask for training because they want vengeance. It is important I understand." Kane got up from the bench. "So what do you know? Did some kids Karate? Booty Camp? Tai-Bo?"
Emily dropped her hands, pushing the cuticles on one hand with her thumb as she tried to breathe through the momentary panic before straightening again and giving him a wry smile.
“Nothing, really. They've been showing us some stuff with the Generation X training program but I feel like everyone there at least knows the basics. I mean, ask me to move a bale of hay and I’m your girl or make it so a horse doesn't try and bite you but I don't do the fighting thing.”
"So let's get started. Hit me." Kane said, his arms at his sides.
“Oh! Um, okay. Do I just, um, just walk up and...Do I aim anywhere at all?”
Emily wrung out her hands and gave them a shake before stepping closer. She wondered if she was just meant to throw a punch wherever. She wondered if it was better to aim for centre mass, or maybe somewhere meaner. That's what they said you should do right? Get them in the nuts and they'd think twice. Centre mass seemed better though, she was sure she'd heard somewhere before that it was. Or was that only guns? God, why was this so hard?
"Hit me. Fist. Chair. Throw a book at me. Do something, kid. Anything."
That seemed simple enough. Just. Just hit him. She could do that. Emily walked forward until she was in what she thought was suitable punching range and aimed a closed fist at his shoulder. It felt wrong as she felt it connect like she'd been trying to push past some kind of ‘this is wrong, you shouldn't hurt people’ feeling in her head.
"OK, you touched me. Try it again. Think like... I'm calling you a... dingo? I don't know, give me an Australian insult. Use that and throw that punch."
“Oh, you'd be yelling at me probably, calling me a dumb cunt. That was kinda popular.”
Emily breathed in and tried to picture Garrison as someone who had actually insulted her. She imagined how her Mum reacted when someone cut them off in traffic and smiled for a moment. Her mum always had to add money to the family swear jar after a shopping trip to town.
She let her breath out and aimed for his other shoulder, trying for harder this time, or at least something that didn't feel like a tap. It felt, wrong still. But she'd not entirely pulled back before she connected this time. She had hurt her thumb though.
“Ow.”
"So, you're not in Australia any more. We don't use cunt here," Kane said, hunkering down with her. "So here's the deal. We need to start from scratch. We'll start with some drills and to hit a bag for awhile. Once you get comfortable at that, we can talk about hitting a person."
“I’m sorry, I won't use it again,” Emily replied, wincing as she imagined he must think her terrible, she couldn't even throw a punch right. “Um, I can ask Rogue and Kyle to show me the bag and stuff. Sorry if I wasted your time.”
"Stop. You didn't waste my time. You just are starting from scratch. Which means you need to work up to the next level before we start that training." Kane said, giving her a reassuring smile. "We all had to start somewhere, kid. Don't beat yourself up that you're not the ultimate fighter already on day one."
“A lot is going on, I guess. It feels overwhelming sometimes. Everyone else seems to do okay though.”
Emily smiled and shrugged at her own feelings, there was always something going on. She knew comparison wasn’t helpful but sometimes it felt like there was so much she didn’t know.
"Everyone else has more than..." He made a gesture with his hand to bring up the golden sketched terminal. "Twenty minutes of training. You're going to need to be patient if you want to get better."
“Mr Kane. You just told a teenager to be patient.” Emily joked, smile widening slightly. “But I’ll try not to be too anxious about not being the same as everyone else. Should I speak to Rogue and Mr Gibney about it?”
"Kyle is your best bet for the basics of hand-to-hand. Rogue is better off focused on your powers training. She's a lot harder to burn than Gibney."
