Headstrong (Henry.)

[Charlie Becketh]

Another day, another opportunity to train. Charlie had been spending a lot of time with Spencer, sparring with him and helping him memorize the Taekwondo moves she knew and loved so well. A part of her was jealous of his ability to catch on to that which had taken her years to master, but he was just as envious of her ability to get hit and barely feel a thing. She wasn’t usually allowed to bring weapons into the school, so today she was just going to have to use her body to train.

The brunette was stretching on the floor, there were a couple of others in the gym and everyone seemed to be minding their own business and doing their own thing. Charlie stood up and shook her muscles loose, tying up her long hair. She began to go through a routine she had memorized to attain her Red belt, a series of precise kicks, punches, and ducks. It was almost like dancing, and the way she moved was very feline like. She wore a small, tranquil smile on her face as she went through the movements, finding it more relaxing than anything else. Unlike Spencer, whose muscles could remember positions, she had to refresh her memory every once in a while.

Charlie took a couple of deep breathes and lifted her arms in the air. Now the interesting moves could begin. She leaned over backwards and her palms touched the floor, and she pushed off the ground with her feet to do a handstand, before standing again. She did this a few times and was starting to feel good and limber. Doing these manoeuvres had landed her in someone else’s training space, and he was now staring at her incredulously.

“Can I help you?” She asked then, clapping her hands together to clean them off from the dust on the gym floor. Of course, she really didn’t want to help Henry with anything; she just wanted him to stop looking at her like she had done something wrong. Charlie didn’t know the boy very well, but they were about the same age and she was pretty sure they had a few classes together. In fact, she was pretty sure she had seen him at the gym before. The girl stood in front of Henry with her hands on her hips, a single eyebrow raised.

[Henry Ballo]

Henry had always spent a lot of time in the gym. Why not? If it was offered and he had time, then wasn’t it a good idea to keep himself in shape? So when he had finished his homework, had finished working on cleaning the room and had written his customary letter to his little brother, he tugged on his gym clothes and headed over there. Mostly, he just did jogging exercises. Lifted some weights if he could find a spotter, and played basketball without using his powers, because any other way would be cheating.

But now that he was a “superhero,” he supposed he should also learn the part. Which meant…fighting.

Only he didn’t know the first thing about fighting. He’d never even hit anyone. He looked tough and he sounded tough, but the problem was he was tall enough and broad enough for anyone to think twice about actually trying anything. So for now, he’d fetched a punching bag and experimented with that. And all he’d gotten was sore knuckles and a rising temper. What was the point of this? And who did he think he was fooling? He’d just stepped back to take a break, dabbing at his forehead, when a girl…

Well, he didn’t know what to call it. It seemed like something Estelle would do, with the grace and skill of a gymnast that made Henry feel bulky and awkward. His brows climbed as she landed in front of him, and then rose to look up at him, calm as could be. He didn’t say anything for a time, then shrugged his shoulders. If she wanted to seem cool and composed, then fine. Two could play that game.

“I do not know,” he replied. “You came here, if I recall correctly. Were you wanting something?”

As he spoke, he rubbed his knuckles absently. Maybe he should invest in gloves or something of the sort.

[Charlie Becketh]

Charlie glanced at Henry and then at the bag he had been trying to hit. “I like helping those in need. Can I give you a few pointers?” She asked with a small grin, circling the bag. “First of all, you should be wrapping up your hands if you’ve never sparred before, and it’s obvious you haven’t.” Lucky for her, when her big mouth got her into trouble, her tough skin saved her from attack. But Henry wouldn’t hit a girl, would he? Charlie’s dark eyes went back to the boy as she offered her unwanted critique.

“Secondly,” she carried on, “you hit like a sissy, you punch with your first two knuckles not your whole hand, that’s how you snap your wrist.” Charlie had finished her round after looking at the punching bad, which seriously needed to be replaced. It was one of the many reasons why she liked to stay at her apartment and workout. He would appreciate her pointers the next time he tried to punch something. She stopped in front of him then and raised her hands, palms facing him. “Try and hit my hands,” she said then, raising a daring eyebrow. Whatever he had to throw her way would feel like feathers against her skin at best, and that was only if he had super strength.

Henry didn’t seem like the type to take orders, so she decided to add incentive. “You seem like you could use a sparring partner, and believe me I know a thing or two about fighting. Trust me, the punch will feel more streamline.” She smiled a little brighter then, there was nothing she loved more than talking about fighting and the different ways to go about it.

Charlie didn’t look like much, standing perfectly straight with her hands up and feminine features, wearing a light blue tank top and black athletic shorts. But she wasn’t joking around. Whenever Henry was in here, he never used the punching bag, and yes the girl did remember such details about people. It was the routine she used to get to know others, and see if they were lying about their happenings or not. Actions spoke louder than words. “Come on, it won’t hurt,” she stood perfectly still, not backing down, “you I mean.”

[Henry Ballo]

Liked helping those in need? Henry bristled. Why was he the one who was “in need?” He was self-sufficient and proud of himself for being so. He didn’t need help and he didn’t need support. Except that most of her advice did seem good. He rubbed his hands reflexively at her comment and eyed her. His expression was hard to read—his face its usual stony mask, and his eyes slightly narrowed as he watched the girl. The answer was that no, he wouldn’t hit a girl. Mind, he wouldn’t hit anyone else either. That was the problem.

He stiffened again as he said she hit like a sissy, then shook his head. “I was hitting with my first two knuckles,” he told her. His voice was flat. But as it always was, he doubted she would read anything into it. That was the point of it anyways. Besides, he doubted this girl took anything personally. She talked like she didn’t.

He remained completely still, brows raised in response to her, as he directed her to hit him. No, Henry didn’t respond to orders well. And he had no intention of agreeing to follow these ones. His expression didn’t change when she mentioned sparring partners, although it was tempting. And he needed the help, and she did know what she was doing. He’d watched her when they’d been in the gym together—sometimes even experimented with her moves. Not that he’d admit that. That would be giving her points and he wasn’t going to give this particular woman an inch.

That last statement, however, made his lips curve into a slight smile in spite of himself.

“Is that so?” he asked. “Of course not. You know better than I am. I am the one who does the ‘sissy’ punches. You obviously know better than me, so you will not end up harmed. Instead, it will be me. But will this help me? If it will, then I will do what you ask. But is there not a certain…stance, perhaps? A certain way of holding oneself or folding your first to be more productive? And if you give me another insult, I will hold you upside down and keep you there until you turn blue.”

It was all said in the same mild tone. Sure, she was probably better at self-defense than he was. But he was strong and he was tall and he thought he could manage that.

[Charlie Becketh]

Charlie paused as he claimed to be hitting with his first two knuckles. She wasn’t his mother, so she wasn’t about to accuse him of lying, but she knew what she saw. “Then you’re not using your arms to their full extension,” she said matter of factly, as though he would have a hot clue of what she was talking about. What she said seemed pretty self explanatory though, and he would have to lack common sense not to understand her references. If he wasn’t getting bang for his buck, he was doing something wrong – enough said. Whether it be the use of his knuckles or the power in his throws, they would have to find out. Yes, they.

She didn’t want a single inch from Henry, she was simply looking forward to humiliating him. Perhaps then he would learn a thing or two about fighting.

The girl laughed at his next bunch of words, and took a few steps back as her laughing ended in a mirthful grin. In a matter of seconds the girl had flipped onto the palms of her hands, facing Henry still, in a handstand that exposed only a bit of her belly. Again, actions spoke louder than words; she could be upside down for a long time and not feel bothered, and if that was his best shot, it was about as powerful as his punches moments before. “I’d tell you to grab my ankles, but I doubt you’d listen, so...” She let herself down again, before taking a half-squatting position. Charlie was all business now.

“I’m glad you’re at peace with who has the knowledge in this relationship,” she said without emotion, raising her eyebrows in anticipation. “If you’re trying to learn how to spar, I can help you, assuming that is what you’re trying to do.” Again, she gestured with her hands. “Form comes naturally with the movements, just find your center of gravity and prepare it for being hit. There are many stances of course, but let’s avoid the one that involves you being one with the floor.” She let her hands hover in front of her, balled up into fists. “No promises on the insulting, comes with the deal.”

Again, she tried to give him commands, which in her mind was good advice, “You can hit me now if you want, or try to anyways. If you land a punch, it’ll be like hitting that bag over there, except I won’t feel a thing.” Charlie offered a small smile then, which only obscured her face. “Armoured skin,” she offered by way of explanation.

[Henry Ballo]

No, Henry did not understand her references, and stared at her with his lips pressed together, wondering if it was his English or if this woman was simply as annoying as he felt she was. Then again, he felt anyone who tried to boss him around was annoying. He didn’t receive direction very well. It was one fault that he knew he had but, for the large part, refused to correct. What was the point? When someone had something decent to say, then he’d listen. In the meantime, he was managing just fine on his own.

His brows climbed as she did the handstand, and he folded his arms over his chest. What was with the women at this school being able to do things that were not natural with the human body? First Estelle, and now this girl. Either that, or he was alone in his lack of flexibility. He guessed he could do that, but he’d probably need a healthy dose of his still-faulty powers to stay in that position. Right. Fine. He could figure it out. And if she was going to direct…well, he was a big boy. He’d take it, swallow it, and not grimace too much.

“You have to prepare for being hit?” he repeated. That sounded entirely wrong. Everything he had watched had indicated the exact opposite thing. “And center of gravity is an easy thing to say when you are not tall and clumsy. I am both.” And he wasn’t ashamed of admitting it, mostly because it would be stupid to pretend it was otherwise. Those two facts were blatantly obvious. But he reluctantly shifted into a posture that mirrored hers and, as she told him to hit her, he hesitated.

Armored skin? Well, that explained a lot. He eyed her as if trying to tell if she was lying or not, then sighed. This would probably end badly. For him. But he shifted into the stance and, as promised, tried to hit her.

But not hard. That he wasn’t going to do.

((I am sorry this is so late.>>))

[Charlie Becketh]

If Henry was managing just fine, Charlie would love to see him in the superhero group as he failed to land a punch on someone. He needed her help, he just wouldn’t admit it, nor would he ask. Humility was something she learned while earning her black belt in taekwondo, and she would feel humble towards Henry if he was superior in skill, which he was not.

For the first time during their little encounter, Charlie genuinely smiled. “We’re about the same height, you’ll manage,” she offered as a weak kind of encouragement. “Part of sparring is knowing that someone wants to hit you back. You know that reaction you get when someone is watching you? Your muscles stiffen and you’re very aware of everything around you? That’s your body preparing itself.” She said, trying to explain what she meant. Maybe she should try and be more explanatory and less technical.

Her dark eyes watched him lower to her level and she watched him carefully. Why would she lie about wanting to get hit? Charlie would have to have some kind of strange fetish to want to be purposefully hit in order to lie about that. After a few moments, he threw his punch, and although she could’ve moved, she didn’t. In the end, she was trying to help him, not just ridicule him, and if she didn’t watch how he punched, then she couldn’t give him pointers.

His softly closed fist made contact with her bare shoulder, and had she not been watching, she wouldn’t have noticed anything was touching her at all. Charlie didn’t move back, didn’t flinch, just starred, surveying his form and everything else she thought needed to be touched up. “I promise I didn’t feel a thing,” she said, “although I doubt anyone would’ve felt that, armoured skin or not.” Taking a step back, she wrapped her long fingers around his fist and gripped it hard. “Keep your fist hard like a rock, thumb on the outside unless you want a broken knuckle,” she said.

Charlie stood straight again and held out both of her hands. “Try again, push back my arms,” she said, preparing herself for the impact. She wasn’t on that high of a horse that she thought he wouldn’t be able to push her over if he actually tried, however, he would actually have to try first.

[Henry Ballo]

“Is that supposed to be encouraging?” He sincerely doubted it. And if it was, it was a failure of an encouragement. He looked down at her as she said they were the same height with every indication of bemusement. “Really? So that is what we are? I did not know. And as for that…” He sighed. “I see. Very well. I will do my best.” Even with his limited comprehension of English he could get that. So follow instinct. Well, he could understand that if he absolutely had to.

As for lying about wanting to be hit, he would have assumed that it was because she wanted to prove that she was tough and that she could handle it. it was something Henry would have done, and he didn’t really expect her to take it personally in that situation. If she wanted to prove herself, then she could, without much effort either.

He still didn’t speak as she grabbed his hand and corrected the fist. That, he recognized grudgingly, was halfway decent advice for all the girl annoyed him. Keeping the thumb outside of the fist was something he’d heard. He just never remembered to do it. So she was already proving she was of use. He guessed he couldn’t yell at her after all, as much as he wanted to lash out in frustration. So instead, he eyed the held out arms, sighed, then placed his against her and pushed as hard as he could.

What? She’d said she wanted him to put back an effort. And although Henry didn’t like hitting women, making them take a few steps back seemed perfectly acceptable to his frustrated mind. 

[Charlie Becketh]

Charlie budged slowly but surely. Just because she had armoured skin didn’t mean she was an unmovable rock. Although to her, it didn’t feel like she was being touched at all, despite how her body was sliding across the gym floor. She didn’t like being pushed around though, so after a few more seconds, she put all of her weight down for leverage and flipped Henry onto his back on the gym floor. It wouldn’t be a hard landing, it wasn’t like she had been in the heat of the moment, trying to protect herself. Charlie wasn’t a perfect teacher, and she strongly believed in tough love. He would have to watch his back and watch his opponent’s every move, and being nice about it wasn’t going to teach him anything he could use in the real world.

“So why are you trying to learn how to spar?” She asked then, looking down at Henry with a bemused grin. It wouldn’t surprise her if he was annoyed with her already, she didn’t really care that much about what people thought of her. She wasn’t here to make friends, she was here to learn how to hone in her skills and use them. She couldn’t know what it felt like to be hit unless someone tried. Charlie decided he would need a lot more training and she didn’t think she would have time for it, but learning the little he would from her would put him in a better spot than his lame attempts on his own.

This would be rich. “I can only teach you so much in half an hour,” she said, which was how much time she had before she had to go and get ready for work. Charlie was very disciplined, and very dedicated to the schedules she kept.

[Henry Ballo]

Henry hadn’t been expecting that. He had been fairly proud of being able to actually move her somewhere, in spite of all of her protests to the contrary. So he wasn’t entirely useless. And she wasn’t falling over, so at least this was a minor improvement, all considering. He could soothe his honor and his pride all at once. It seemed like a win-win scenario. And considering he didn’t have anything that had resulted in that in a while, he thought this was very safe.

Except that it wasn’t. Because, as he was learning, nothing in life could ever be just that simple.

He hadn’t expected being flipped like that, but as he’d been putting a lot of effort into the push, it was simple for it to be used against him. And then he was tossed over her shoulder. Thanks to his gift, he didn’t quite fall over. Instead he hovered for a moment above the ground, before he eventually pushed himself back onto his feet. His arms crossed over each other, and he stared down at her.

Then, to his own surprise, he grinned.

“Because I do not want to be tossed again,” he said. He was fairly calm about it, even though he was smiling. He liked a challenge. “And if you are willing to have patience with an…impatient pupil…” He swept a flourishing bow. “I would like to use any time that you had to spare.”

It wasn’t the normal reaction. But then, Henry wasn’t a normal man. And Charlie had proven herself very well.

[Charlie Becketh]

There wouldn’t be soothing of any kind, unless it included Henry getting a back massage after this was all over. It was better than he learn now that for every time he thought he had the upper hand, there was someone who had a counter attack. And Charlie tried not to be surprised when he had a counter attack to her own.

Henry seemingly hovered there for a moment before standing again without her help. She had expected him to take her offered hand, but she hadn’t expected that, despite the setting they were in. At least she wouldn’t have to ask about his powers, they were obvious now. The grin caught her even more off guard and her brain seemed to malfunction and hesitate. Not many people had that effect on the girl. People were usually so – predictable.

As he spoke, her respect for him grew, and finally she smiled back a little in return. “Trust me,” she said, “I’ve had more stubborn and thick headed pupils than you.” Charlie stuck out her hand in a sort of peace offering. “Name’s Charlie, and if you can handle a hardass attitude, my time is yours.” It wasn’t a perfect encounter, but such was life. The brunette could see this being a nice sort of friendship, or at least something worth doing. “You’re doing me a favour really, sparring is impossible by yourself.”

Taking a couple steps back, Charlie stretched out her arms and didn’t break eye contact with Henry. “Is there anything you really want to know about sparing, fighting,” she grinned happily then, “weapons?”

[Henry Ballo]

If he didn’t know better, he’d have said she was caught off-guard by the way she reacted. He would have thought that was reasonable for a normal person, who wouldn’t have known Henry’s…bizarre power and so probably would have been surprised that he didn’t fall to the ground. And then that he didn’t fall to the ground. But maybe that was just him putting words into someone else’s mind. He wasn’t going to dare to try and predict her.

His lips twitched into another smile as she said that he wasn’t the worst pupil she’d had, and nodded, taking her hand in return. “I am Henry,” he said. “It is a pleasure to meet you. And I can handle a, uh, difficult attitude. It would be my pleasure. Especially if you could help me with sparring.” He shook his head. “In case you have not noticed, I do not seem to have any luck of any sort at the moment with it. I want to learn sparring and fighting and…” He hesitated. “Perhaps not weapons as of yet. I do not think the administration of Hammel would appreciate it if we tried using any weapons.”

And he had enough troubles with his parents without getting into more trouble with the staff. Besides, he didn’t even get along with them in the first place. Why would he want to make things worse? Ah, well. Perhaps if he was lucky, his new…mentor Charlie would know ways to get around those restrictions. If he felt up to using weapons. He still felt curiously reluctant.

[Charlie Becketh]

He would do well to not try and predict Charlie, he would be wrong about her every time. The girl wasn’t always so hard hearted towards everyone, but it took a special person to draw that soft girl out, and so far it hadn’t happened. Charlie hadn’t always been so hard but she blamed others for being this way no.

A smirk passed her face, “Weapons can be handled outside of Hammel,” she said, “but enough about that.” Charlie decided to strike up a deal before she had to go to work. “I usually work in the evenings, which is why I have to cut this short, but we’ll meet again soon if you’d like. What works best for you?” She asked. Now all the needed to be done was to settle a time and place and they were good as gold.

“There’s a lot of basic training we could cover, it all depends on how much time you have, if you want to, etcetera.” Once Charlie was talking about fighting, there wasn’t much stopping her. She smiled politely at him, because he found him likable despite the tension at first. He had such proper English that she finally picked up on the fact that it wasn’t his first language, which she didn’t mind and simply saw as interesting.

[Henry Ballo]

She was already thinking about doing this outside of Hammel? That made him uneasy. Mind, he wasn’t signing up to go join her in a militia or a vigilante gang (although he was beginning to realize that the super hero club might be considered a vigilante thing and therefore technically against the law). He was just asking for lessons. And as he didn’t really want weapons, and just wanted to learn enough to defend himself and possibly impress a girl.

Dear God, he was becoming one of THOSE boys.

“I have work in the mornings and afternoons, so I can work with you whenever we have time.” Which was…when? “Ah, do you have time on weekends? Or say, a Thursday perhaps?” Once a week. He’d go for once a week. He wasn’t sure he could take much more of that. He liked Charlie, but prolonged discussion between the two of them would probably end with him on the floor.

And yes, he’d learned that lesson very well.

“But we can do it more than that if you are willing,” he added, then hesitated. “Ah, I do not actually have money to pay you for this.” Or he did, had he asked his father. But his father would have wanted to hire him a private tutor or something and…well, he didn’t want others to know about this just yet.

[Charlie Becketh]

Charlie nodded a couple times. "Thursdays sound good," she said, thinking about it. If he worked in the mornings and afternoons and she worked in the evenings, there might be a few weeks where they needed to skip sessions, but that probably wasn't a big deal. Weekends were out of the question though - she had to do homework at some point. She wasn't sure what kind of interactions they would have besides this, but if their relationship didn't progress past training, it simply wasn't meant to be. It was no skin off her back, literally.

"That's fine," she said, "like I said before, I could use a sparring partner anyways, consider it a favor." Charlie didn't see the point of sticking around, and she had to change into more formal clothes, so she gave a small wave. "See you next week Henry." She left the gym with her water bottle in tow, surprised with herself. Had she actually been helpful and, dare she think it, friendly? The world must've been coming to an end.