and mama always said--

[sponsored]

Who: Faith Lehane & training students & OTA
Where: Sparring Facility, Angel Investigations, a room on a floor of your choosing!
When: Aug/Sep Catch-all
Rating: PG-13, could increase
Summary: Faith is not handling her anniversary in Wonderland very well.
The Story:

sparring facility

[ she's going easy on everyone.

faith usually asks her trainees for an extra few punches, higher kicks, or harder throws. she makes it clear that the name of the game is to walk out feeling better than when you came in, sure. but this month she takes people at their word when they tire out, instead of asking for more.

her movement's still crisp but she doesn't hit or push as hard as normal. the threshold varies per person, a mental note in faith's head to tell her who needs her to throttle back less or more. ]

hallway, pick a floor any floor

[ she comes here weekly, to this unmarked door, but it's not her room.

when faith exits, it's with freshly-made bruises and drying blood that she hasn't quite cleaned up all the way. a sheen of sweat covers her, and she's pushing her hair out of her face like it's personally affronted her. ]

angel investigations

[ she's literally asleep on that middle round couch thing. which cannot be comfortable. wake the slayer, and choose your weapon wisely... ]

Comments

sparring facility;

[lightgunhustler]

[They've been at it for awhile when Jo finally decides there's something off about Faith today. She grimaces faintly when they stop for a break, reaching for her water and wiping the sweat away from her forehead-- it's unusual for Faith to concede to a break without pushing for a few more punches first, at the very least.]

Hey.

[She frowns a little, tossing Faith a towel.]

You okay? Seems like you've dialed it way back.

[sponsored]

[ well hey who can blame faith when jo's punches are so crisp and clean! ]

Huh? [ so eloquent. she snatches the towel from its trajectory, and hooks it around her neck. ] Yeah, just-- body's here, brain's doing some wandering. Guess I'm kinda just tapping my marks, no real force, you know?

[ after a thought, she supplies something pertinent in an adjacent way: ] Coming up on a year here, soon.

[lightgunhustler]

[The explanation is almost good enough. 'Distracted' is exactly how Jo would sum up Faith's behavior today, except she never took Faith as the type to get distracted, not like this. Sparring meant a lot to her. She pushed her students, demanded nothing but the best from them. It's what made the shift in her behavior stand out so much.]

Makes sense. Gives you a lot to think about. The one-year marker is always tough.

[It had been a sobering experience for her, too.]

It gets easier in some ways, as time goes on.

[sponsored]

[ faith likes to think she's as good at blocking and deflecting blows as she is at landing them. her first block attempt comes with a lewd grin. ]

Says the chick married to the hot guy with an accent.

angel investigations;

[vampdetective]

[He's been watching her closely for days now. Even now, he watches for several moments before he walks over and helps himself to a seat beside where she's tucked her feet, leaning forward to fold his hands and rest his elbows against his knees. She might be sleeping, but he knows her. Some part of her is alert.]

Hey.

[They need to talk.]

[sponsored]

[ an intake of breath marks the moment faith comes back to consciousness. it's always a gamble when slayers leave the subconscious world of killing undead long gone. but angel's presence isn't the alarming sort, considering they'd roomed together for awhile. so she mostly grunts. ]

Someone's gonna have to steam-clean this thing...

[ faith it's your drool. you do the clean up. also stop trying to not have to talk-- there's a pact about that, remember? ]

[vampdetective]

Good thing Wonderland doesn't charge a rental fee for that kind of thing. They gouge you for that in LA.

[One of the many perks of living in a mystical, magical mansion, he supposes.]

You've been showing up covered in bruises a lot lately.

[It's a calm observation, with very little inflection, but the fact that there's no lead-in speaks volumes. He's been watching, and he's concerned.]

[ Action; Hallway ]

[widows_kiss]

[ It's probably a coincidence that Natasha happens to be passing by the outside door when Faith steps out, looking a bit worse for wear. The sight of blood and bruises has her stopping to give a closer look, an assessing scrutiny of intent green eyes. ]

You look like you've had a fun morning.

[sponsored]

[ it doesn't count when accident probably means something entirely different in russian ok

obviously startled, faith catches herself mid-jump to smooth out the lines of her shoulders and the surprise on her face. a deep breath takes her into a nearly natural-looking nod that won't fool the likes of the black widow for a second. ]

Hey, when life gives you lemons. Just heading to grab a shower...

[ ah yes the least elegant attempt at an excuse to avoid what might be the exact conversation she doesn't want to have. faith lehane, folks. ]

[widows_kiss]

[ Natasha wrinkles her nose. ] I hate lemonade. That's the worst metaphor.

Does whoever you were beating up in there look better or worse than you?

sparring facility

[needlebearer]

[Arya isn't sure whether this is just a new tactic, or whether she's done something to upset Faith and make her react to her moves in such a half-hearted fashion. She frowns, then lunges at her even harder, wanting to provoke her to push back.]

[sponsored]

[ the quick switch to force from repetition catches faith off guard enough that she retaliates, turning with arya's thrust to grab at the girl's axe-hand as it comes down in a firm grip. arya's body continues to move forward by her own wrist.

faith realizes what she's done in an instant, and lets go before she can chuck her student into a wall. she drops her own weapon and steps back, arms raised with hands open. ]

Shit. You OK?

[needlebearer]

[As Faith lets go of her, Arya struggles to keep her balance. She throws her axe down before she accidentally hurts herself with it, pushing back against the floor with her hand before she falls completely. She doesn't seem to fazed; more than anything, she's confused at how Faith could make such a simple mistake.]

That's what I should be asking you.

hallway

[krmvgivv]

[Dipper spends a lot of time wandering around random hallways and poking his way into unoccupied rooms, so he's actually coming out of a room himself when he spots her. He blinks, doing a double take.]

Oh my gosh, are you okay? Did you get into a fight?

[sponsored]

Jesus.

[ gah! when will faith learn that dipper pines is ... well, kind of ubiquitous. she rubs at the back of her neck, and nods. ]

Uh, yeah kinda. I'm fine, though-- it's nothing to worry about.

[krmvgivv]

That's a lot of blood for nothing to worry about. [Dipper frowns. He is not convinced.]

sparring facility

[therapize]

[The sarcastic part of Cami wants to ask herself why she's doing this again.

But she knows all too well just how dangerous a place Wonderland can be. It preys on minds, emotions, psyches, and all of that can drive even the most controlled person to lash out physically.

She's also got a pretty good idea of how many super powerful beings aren't all that in control.

So she shows up, managing more of a grin than a grimace, ready for the promised bruises. But there's also more to it; Faith's a slayer, supernaturally designed to hunt and kill vampires. The thing is, there are some vampires who have shown up lately, ones Cami knows, ones she's certain won't hesitate to kill Faith back.

She probably should tell Faith everything, to try and broker a peace before the war potentially begins.]

Hey. Reporting as ordered to get my ass kicked.

[sponsored]

You sure about that?

[ faith's smirk is only a little watered down when she gets to her feet from the bench at the far end to close the distance between them. ]

[therapize]

Well, let me think. You're a supernaturally empowered warrior, and I'm not allowed to use pepper spray, so...yes. I'm sure.

[But trying to stay in good humor about it! That totally counts for something, right?

...Probably not as much as putting her fists up, which is a thing Cami realizes she should probably do when Faith gets closer.]

Sparring!

[goodwoofjames]

[Sirius learned, when he was Seren, that fire might be a bit too much to work with when he's still figuring out how to mix magic and physical fighting. So he's downgraded to harsh gusts of air-- maybe a little more powerful than a hairdryer. Not bad enough to hurt anyone, but still noticeable enough that Faith can tell him if he's made a hit. And it's actually pretty distracting to get a blast of air in the face, he's noticing.

Maybe too distracting?

Sirius backs up a few paces and holds his hands up, wand pointed to the side against his palm.]

You alright? Am I-- should I go harder or something?

[Usually she'd tell him to, after all.]

[sponsored]

[ she's still moving, but it's only when she doesn't feel sirius' next gust that faith blinks herself out of the dream to register his words. oh. oh shit. ]

Nah, you're doing great. [ faith huffs, and scrubs a hand over her face. ] Sorry, I'm just kinda out of it. Uh-- go through the close-quarters stuff again?

[ she will push through this, damn it. sirius needs a hand sparring and she'd made a commitment! ]

I won't space out this time, promise.

[goodwoofjames]

[Sirius frowns, standing up straight.]

Are you sure? We can take a break.

[Maybe talk?]

wildcard.

[interpersonal]

[ elena returns eventually. she doesn't know it yet, but wonderland plans to continue sinking its claws into her: she isn't going anywhere, anytime soon. after spending time with bonnie and damon, there's one more person she thinks to seek out. they're on the sixth floor, and they have a penchant for violence.

knock knock, faith. ]

there are demons and they’ll spit you out better wear a mask and stay indoors

[sponsored]

[ there's no noise from beyond faith's door for a long time.

then, as elena's about to knock again, there's the scrape of something heavy, and faith's raised but muffled voice: ]

Go away!

there are demons and they’ll spit you out better wear a mask and stay indoors

[interpersonal]

[ the thing about telling elena to go away is that she literally never does.

she stays. even to her own detriment.

her knock intensifies, frowning as she attempts to identify the noise. ] I'm not leaving until I see you.