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[Furiosa spends most mornings in the gym. Honestly, she'd prefer the Enclosure, but she needs to be moving long and often enough that she can't justify using more than her share of the precious time in the false environment. She works out quickly how to run on the treadmill, but most of the other machines remain a mystery to her. If the right person is using them, they may see her watching, or so may decide to approach.

Some mornings her prosthesis is on, and others it is off, tucked protectively and nearly underfoot, out of habit, though this doesn't seem like the kind of place where anyone is likely to get any ideas.

When she is done, she usually ends by slipping upstairs, showering quickly, and permitting herself what feels like the decadent luxury of putting her feet into the pool. It takes her until about the fifth time to get up the nerve to walk in to the water, to lower herself down in it until she feels it lap up around her neck, then to hold her breath and gingerly, cover her mouth and nose, and cautiously, gingerly slip under the surface and just let herself float, suspended.

She can be found in any of those places.

Still, a workout isn't the same thing as practice, really, and the conversation that has been going on here has weighed heavily on her, though she hasn't participated. So, finally, she takes a break one morning in the gym and turns on the feed.]

Video

[She has to clear her throat to start, and wipe the sweat off her face. She's sitting in the frame, bare feet apart, elbows rested on her knees, metal arm down at her side. Furiosa isn't comfortable, exactly, talking to a little plastic box that will take her words all over the ship, but this is important to her.]

My name is Imperator Furiosa. I'm human. No powers. I'm in the gym.

If you need, I've been teaching people a little about how to fight. If you don't need, but you're--

I could use the practice.

[Short, unceremonious, she disconnects.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

witness_this

I'll stay away from them from now on.

[Promising, with a rueful grin.]

From:

chlorophylliac

I'll bring you a map of what's safe and what isn't. I keep the edible fruits and vegetables in certain parts of the greenhouse.

[And then there's a pause.]

...I haven't felt the need to fight in a long time. Not the way you're referring to. I'm - rusty.

[And with all the chitchat about who should and shouldn't have their powers recently, maybe she's more conscious of that than usual.]

From:

witness_this

Rusty can be fixed.

[Furiosa points out, comfortably, levelly; the green house is entirely Ivy's area of expertise, but Furiosa knows what she's talking about, here.]

From:

chlorophylliac

[Ivy respects this. Everyone's got their specialties.]

As we've seen.

[The 'thank you' is there if you squint.]

I have another hour's worth of work to do. Will you still be in the gym?

From:

witness_this

I'll arrange to be.

[Ivy, she'd wait for.]

From:

chlorophylliac

I appreciate that.

[And an hour later almost to the minute, Ivy appears at the gym. Her hair is pulled back into a loose braid and she is, for the first time since Paris, wearing people clothes.

Well, a sports bra and shorts. It counts. There's also a book under her arm with a piece of paper tucked into it.]

Furiosa. [She gestures with the book.] These are for you. Do you read?

[It's an entirely nonjudgmental question. Widespread literacy doesn't feel like a sure thing, where she's from.]

From:

witness_this

I can.

[She answers; she does. She steps forward to see what they are, to peer down at them.

Quiet, a glance of thanks, a moment to explore the first couple of pages.]

From:

chlorophylliac

[The book is a fairly simple primer to growing fruits and vegetables, chosen for its colored illustrations of various stages and ripeness. Warnings about what can and can't be touched before it's ready, what can and can't be eaten raw. Even a few warnings about toxic berries which closely resemble their nutritious counterparts - not that there's anything actively poisonous growing in the greenhouse.]

I found it useful when I was starting out.

[The separate sheet is a rough but accurate map of the greenhouse, noting where the edibles can be found.]

From:

witness_this

[She hums her thanks, moving to store it, very safely, with her boots and her arm.]

You've been nothing but a help.

From:

chlorophylliac

[Ivy tries not to too obviously betray the fact that this is probably the first time a human has ever said this to her without sarcasm. The fact that she doesn't respond may be quite telling, though.]

So how do you teach?

From:

witness_this

Depends on where you are to start.

What parts are rustiest? What were you like before you were rusty?

From:

chlorophylliac

That's a question of proportion. The average man on the street wouldn't have posed a threat, but the men I more often had to deal with were world-class. I tended to avoid getting physical.

[She nods at the mat.]

It would be quicker to just test me. I can take a hit.

From:

witness_this

[She nods, and steps out onto the mats, inviting Ivy along with her.

She doesn't hesitate to take a swing at her, short and sharp and possible to block, if she's fast enough.]

From:

chlorophylliac

[It will become fairly obvious fairly quickly that Ivy has speed and quick reactions but what she doesn't have is strength. She can respond in time to deflect a blow but doesn't have the power to stop it ploughing halfway through regardless.

She's never had to rely on her body for physical power. If she needed a heavy hitter she'd just go out and get one.

Less obviously, she's also expending some energy on not being constantly toxic to the touch.]

From:

witness_this

[Furiosa fights her comfortably, and capably, until she throws her down on her back and gets her in a good pin.]

Good.

[She says, and nods, decisively.]

You're quick. THat's more than half of it.

From:

chlorophylliac

[Ivy looks startled and discomfited - it's a genuine effort not to just lash out with her powers - but she's not angry. Just not at all used to this.]

And the rest?

From:

witness_this

Strength. You should meet me here some mornings, or spend more time heaving pots around that garden of yours. You need power in your blows.

[Rolling carefully away.]

Or you need a knife. A gun.

From:

chlorophylliac

I don't think my warden would like that.

[A half-smile. She doesn't actually think Simon would care; he certainly hasn't enquired about the reacquisition of her powers.]

Besides, the point of this is that I won't be completely helpless when I'm not armed. I'll meet you here.

From:

witness_this

Good. I'll help you heave some pots, when we're done.

[Informally now, though she has to find work in earnest, soon. It's somehow easier for her to talk to the inmates than it is the wardens, though.]

From:

chlorophylliac

Thank you.

[She pauses, then makes a gesture of calculated generosity.]

The greenhouse doesn't have a warden in management, at the moment.

From:

witness_this

I should sign up. You need a figurehead who won't question your authority over the plants.

[Arms folding thoughtfully, resting over her knees.]

I might be more invested in actually handling inmate shifts than you like.

From:

chlorophylliac

[Ivy just smiles, untroubled by her utter transparency.]

I'm there for the plants. Do what you like with the people.

From:

witness_this

You'll need to be able to train them.

From:

chlorophylliac

It wouldn't be the first time.

[Though usually her 'training' on the Barge has more often been in the vein of GOD STOP DOING THAT, something more formal and less aggressive isn't beyond her.]