Post by Aegle Vitus on Feb 20, 2019 5:49:01 GMT
The creaking of the chain was the only sound in the whole training hall. That, and the pounding of her heart, and soft drip drops of sweat and blood at her feet. The faint pulse on her wrist added its own buzzing voice to the swelling orchestration. A gasp sawed its way out of Aegle's mouth, tearing its way free as if spring loaded. The world swam for a moment and everything tipped forward. Fighting the pull, she sucked in as deep a breath as her trembling chest could manage and held it tight, and waited for the pounding in her ears to lessen.
The chain creaked, the world swayed, and Aegle opened her eyes. The ceiling of the training hall stretched out overhead, the ribs of a beast that had swallowed her whole. Awareness trickled through her, a slow drip feed of sensation, gradually filling her the with fire drop by boiling drop. Her mouth was a desert, dry and hot.
"Gods..." She groaned, "Not again."
Slowly, with all the care she could stand, got one hand under her, then the other, and pushed herself up to sitting. Her arms ached with the effort, her fingers drummed the floor all on their own, and a wave of dizziness slammed into her as hard as the world breaking. She swallowed dust, shook her head back and forth, listened to the shattered glass inside it chime, and barely held onto her dinner. With one trembling hand holding her head, she took up her water bottle and emptied the last few drops onto her parched tongue. It didn't help very much. It just let reminded her body of how thirsty it was.
"Needy thing, in't ya?"
Pushing herself back to standing made Aegle acutely aware of the bruise on her hip. She must have landed on it when she fell. She scraped shaking fingers back through the stubble on her scalp and, step by laborious step, made her way to her duffel bag. The first mouthful of water helped about as much as the first few drops, but the next went some way to shrinking her tongue back to a normal size. The third swallow bright a smile to her lips and, before she knew it, the second bottle was empty too. She fished out a third, alongside her pills, and opened the one with her mouth as she squeezed the cap of t'other with her free hand.
The chain was silent, the bag still, as Aegle drew nearer. She tugged her wrappings tight, tied them off, then squeezed a fist with both hands. The scabs beneath the fresh cotton stung as they split, spots of red immediately starting to show on the pale white, as she squared up before the bag again. She glanced at her watch, steadied her breathing, and lined up a few slow test swings. Then gritting her teeth, grinning a grin, she attacked the bag with everything she had.
Aegle never knew how much time had passed on nights like these. Once the last student went home, one minute and one hour were much the same in the training hall. When it was just her, it was like the world was standing still, like no time was passing at all. For all she knew it, it could have been a couple of hours before midnight, or ten minutes before dawn. It was just her in the central hall, the hub from which the rest of the training grounds was spread out. A common purpose room, complete with a small exhibition ring, a few free weights and treadmills. And, of course, the heavy bag. Her heavy bag.
The chain sighed, the leather creaked, and Aegle let her hands drop. She looked at the dents left by her punches, red smudges on the darker read leather, and looked at the buzzing thing on her wrist.
"Y'know, could y'just shut up for ten minutes?"
The watch ignored her, and kept buzzing away. Stupid thing. Aegle looped her hands behind her head, and focused on her breathing. She waited for that infernal buzzing to stop.
The chain rattled. Left, Right-Left-Left. It sang out in beautiful rhythm with her punches. A voice crying out into the empty halls, into the belly of the great big whale she'd thrown herself into. She knew she should stop. That she should rest. Her arms ached, her lungs burned, her heart... Her hands were on fire, like she was been beating each on an anvil. Forging them. Trying to make something out of them. Aegle paused, stared at the white cotton wraps on her fist. What had been white cotton. Looked like the only thing she'd made of her fists was a bloody mess.
"Gotta heal faster." She decided. Then she started again. Right, Left-Right-Right...
The chain creaked, the world swayed, and Aegle opened her eyes. The ceiling of the training hall stretched out overhead, the ribs of a beast that had swallowed her whole. Awareness trickled through her, a slow drip feed of sensation, gradually filling her the with fire drop by boiling drop. Her mouth was a desert, dry and hot.
"Gods..." She groaned, "Not again."
Slowly, with all the care she could stand, got one hand under her, then the other, and pushed herself up to sitting. Her arms ached with the effort, her fingers drummed the floor all on their own, and a wave of dizziness slammed into her as hard as the world breaking. She swallowed dust, shook her head back and forth, listened to the shattered glass inside it chime, and barely held onto her dinner. With one trembling hand holding her head, she took up her water bottle and emptied the last few drops onto her parched tongue. It didn't help very much. It just let reminded her body of how thirsty it was.
"Needy thing, in't ya?"
Pushing herself back to standing made Aegle acutely aware of the bruise on her hip. She must have landed on it when she fell. She scraped shaking fingers back through the stubble on her scalp and, step by laborious step, made her way to her duffel bag. The first mouthful of water helped about as much as the first few drops, but the next went some way to shrinking her tongue back to a normal size. The third swallow bright a smile to her lips and, before she knew it, the second bottle was empty too. She fished out a third, alongside her pills, and opened the one with her mouth as she squeezed the cap of t'other with her free hand.
The chain was silent, the bag still, as Aegle drew nearer. She tugged her wrappings tight, tied them off, then squeezed a fist with both hands. The scabs beneath the fresh cotton stung as they split, spots of red immediately starting to show on the pale white, as she squared up before the bag again. She glanced at her watch, steadied her breathing, and lined up a few slow test swings. Then gritting her teeth, grinning a grin, she attacked the bag with everything she had.
Aegle never knew how much time had passed on nights like these. Once the last student went home, one minute and one hour were much the same in the training hall. When it was just her, it was like the world was standing still, like no time was passing at all. For all she knew it, it could have been a couple of hours before midnight, or ten minutes before dawn. It was just her in the central hall, the hub from which the rest of the training grounds was spread out. A common purpose room, complete with a small exhibition ring, a few free weights and treadmills. And, of course, the heavy bag. Her heavy bag.
The chain sighed, the leather creaked, and Aegle let her hands drop. She looked at the dents left by her punches, red smudges on the darker read leather, and looked at the buzzing thing on her wrist.
"Y'know, could y'just shut up for ten minutes?"
The watch ignored her, and kept buzzing away. Stupid thing. Aegle looped her hands behind her head, and focused on her breathing. She waited for that infernal buzzing to stop.
The chain rattled. Left, Right-Left-Left. It sang out in beautiful rhythm with her punches. A voice crying out into the empty halls, into the belly of the great big whale she'd thrown herself into. She knew she should stop. That she should rest. Her arms ached, her lungs burned, her heart... Her hands were on fire, like she was been beating each on an anvil. Forging them. Trying to make something out of them. Aegle paused, stared at the white cotton wraps on her fist. What had been white cotton. Looked like the only thing she'd made of her fists was a bloody mess.
"Gotta heal faster." She decided. Then she started again. Right, Left-Right-Right...
