(no subject)

[outstandingbalance]

Who: Natasha Romanoff
Broadcast: Text
Action: Iskaulit
When: Now-ish or tomorrow morning

W4MW4Friendly Fight

Woman seeking sparring partner for morning workout. Call it cabin fever, but looking for new challenges. Normal human to moderately enhanced welcome. High skill level preferred, but beginners welcome if they're interested in a lesson.

Reply here if interested, or see Natasha Romanoff in the gym, tomorrow morning 8am.

[True to her word, Natasha can be found at the gym on the Iskaulit in the morning. She's already dressed and warmed up. She looks like she means business, but less angry or troubled—not like some of her other recent turns at the gym—but she's serious enough to give someone second thoughts if they weren't entirely sure in the first place.

Who's up for a few rounds?]

Comments

text

[passingthrough]

We'll just have to see where it takes us. [It won't be there.]

text

[outstandingbalance]

[Probably not, it's true. Most of Natasha's playing around was just that—playing, putting people off balance, distraction.]

Sounds fun.

[Which is where she'll leave it, if Kitty doesn't add more. The next morning, though, she'll be waiting in the gym, dressed for a workout.]

action

[passingthrough]

[Kitty doesn't keep here waiting long before she walks through a wall and into the gym. So much closer than using the door and Natasha isn't the only one who likes to keep people off balance.] Morning.

[outstandingbalance]

[Natasha turns quickly when the greeting comes from an unexpected angle, but her surprise doesn't show much otherwise. Maybe just a flicker of flat assessment before her expression settles into something more welcoming.]

Morning. Sorry, I forgot the flowers.

[passingthrough]

[Kitty smiles, seemingly unaffected by the gaze.] I'll try to find the strength to go through with the match anyway. Not that I'm forgetting this. And you prefer no powers, right?

[outstandingbalance]

At least to start off. Maybe we can work up to those.

[passingthrough]

Works for me. There's no switch and I do a lot of it on instinct so it might take a minute to get it out of my system. [Or longer. More than anything it might just slow her reaction time down as she focuses on not using her powers, but it's still an interesting challenge.] Weapons?

[outstandingbalance]

Maybe we can work up to that too. Start with hand to hand, see how that goes.

[passingthrough]

Works for me. [She releases the gauntlets around her forearms, taking them off and setting them aside so there's not reflexive usage.] Did you find many sparring partners?

[outstandingbalance]

[Natasha watches, considering the way in which the other woman surrenders her gear. They'll figure out soon enough if it's unfair.]

A few. A lot of people bored, and a few interested in my reputation.

[passingthrough]

Can't say I know much about your reputation. Want to share with the class?

[outstandingbalance]

[Want isn't exactly the word, but she did bring this on herself.]

Mostly I think they're interested in wrestling an Avenger.

[passingthrough]

That didn't answer my very vague question, but I do think I should be offended no one wants to wrestle me just because I'm one of the X-Men.

[outstandingbalance]

Maybe? I've only heard of the X-Men here, but seems like they'd have that kind of reputation too.

[passingthrough]

We're a formidable bunch. [Though as far as actual reputations go probably nothing too flattering is happening there. People don't always love them. Mutants aren't terribly well liked in a world where human genocide is happening.]

[outstandingbalance]

Reminds me of something Vision said once.

[Something that ended in catastrophe. But it is what it is.]

What do you think? Ready to get to it?

[passingthrough]

Great minds think alike?

[She smiles and nods.] As I'll ever be. [Her stance is an easy one, keeping her body loose, but she knows what to do with it and what to watch for. She's not the biggest or strongest mutant by any stretch so she had to use what she did have—her intelligence and a fighting style that built on her dance training. Well, and a little rough and tumble melee fighting. She did learn from Logan after all. But he knew he couldn't just teach her to fight like he does. Phasing isn't a healing factor and she was fresh out of adamantium.]

[outstandingbalance]

[With a last amused tip of her head, Natasha settles in front of her. She recognizes the way that Kitty holds herself—not specifically, but in a general way, her experience and her attention.

Her lips twitch.

Should be interesting.

Natasha holds herself with confidence, but not cocky. She knows what she's doing, and she's not too worried that she'll be beaten here. Not because she doesn't think she might be, but because if she is, she is. It's just a sparring match after all. The fact she's comfortable in this situation is very clear.]

[passingthrough]

[Unsurprisingly, Natasha is good. It takes everything Kitty's got to keep up with her. It doesn't help that she has to fight her own instincts to keep from phasing during the bout. But that takes nothing away from Natasha's skill and form. She's clearly very experienced and well trained. It's impressive and it makes for a good training exercise. You don't learn anything with an easy win and sparring is more about learning and training than winning. Of course, if someone was declared the winner here, it would be Natasha, but at least it wasn't one sided. It does remind Kitty she needs to do more of this. Oh, she works out every day, but there hasn't been that much partner work and almost no real life scenarios needing it since her first abduction. She's not at the top of her game and that bothers her even if there's no real reason to believe she'll need to do more with it anytime soon. She's not okay with being complacent.

Once done, she's grabbing a towel and a bottle of water before tossing a bottle Natasha's way.] When did you start?

[outstandingbalance]

[Whether or not Natasha might have won isn't as important as whether or not she got a decent workout. By the time she's done, she's worked up a sweat; that's the real point.

She catches the water bottle easily.]

A long time ago.

[passingthrough]

I was thirteen. I sucked at thirteen, but sometimes you have to start at suck to get to not suck.

[outstandingbalance]

That's how it usually works. I was a little younger than that, even.

I don't recommend it.

[passingthrough]

No, neither would I. Then again I never tried it the other way. Pretty sure I'm right anyway.

[outstandingbalance]

That's the catch with those questions, isn't it? Considering we agree, let's just go with right.