Working Out - open
Finding the gym had been the easy part. MARI appeared to be quite the handy girl to have around. Nic knew she wasn't really a girl, but it helped him to think of her as such.
Unfortunately, there was no place for him to secure workout clothes, and he knew he'd either need his things transferred over from the hotel, or he'd need to buy new ones. He'd talk to MARI about that later...now he just let his eyes feast on the wealth of equipment laid out before him...all state of the art, naturally. He could see no expenses were spared when the towers were built, or furnished.
Rubbing his hands together...like a little kid in a candy store...Nic wasn't sure what he wanted to try out first. But since he was going to need to improvise with the clothes on his back, he ruled out several pieces because of those limitations.
Thinking to start out slow, he walked over to a stairmaster, removed his shirt, grabbed a nearby towel, and hung both over the hand bars. He set the machine, and started moving his legs with the pedals. It was set on a slow but steady climb, and after a while he felt the incline increase. He hadn't broken a sweat yet though...he was in fine shape, and intended on keeping it that way.
Though, in the grand scheme of things, it wasn't like vampires were concerned with high blood pressure, or other health issues. But Nic liked working out because it helped him look good, and it just made him feel better, overall. When stressed, it was much easier to run for an hour, and work off the tension, than to go beat the shit out of someone.
Thinking he'd give his legs a rest, he went over to the Weider, set it for one hundred fifty pounds of resistence, sat down and began to pull. It was a bit of a tug...he hadn't worked out in a week or so, but he soon felt the pulls ease up.
In, out...in, out...his breathing was done more for rhythm than anything else.
She peeked in, wary of disturbing anyone, but found the gym to be largely empty save for one fairly buff young man who seemed to be somewhat absorbed in his reps. Aishe was already set for a workout, she figured, being in sweats and a t-shirt. She didn't have a ton of clothing with her, so what she had now would do until she managed to go shopping.
Careful not to disturb the man, she made her way to the mats and stretched for a few minutes before putting her body through the various familiar forms of Tae Kwon Do, beginning with the simplest, Chon-Ji, and moving up the belt rank-taught forms until she reached the 1st Dan pattern Eui-Am. With each pattern she relaxed a bit more, letting her muscles flow from form to form, enjoying the feel of her quickening heartbeat, the energy tingling throughout every limb.
She finished her patterns and moved on to practice with the mirrors against the wall, throwing punches and kicks at her mirrored image. She wasn't much for sparring, but she'd done plenty of it over the course of her training and had grown used to it. In the beginning, though, it had taken her a long time to learn how to pull a punch and what was the right amount of contact. Aishe wasn't one to give up though, so she'd stuck with it through her years as a teenager and well into her 20's. By the time she'd gone to Egypt, she was fairly confident in her ability to keep herself from harm, although she'd originally begun to learn Tae Kwon Do simply to keep fit.
Once finished, she sat on the mats and folded her legs knees-out with the balls of her feet touching, leaning forward to cool down and stretch the muscles in her legs. She wasn't sure if she was quite done though; the excersize had felt good. Maybe she'd try out an apparatus or two as well.
However, the soft sounds of a body on the mats, brought him out of his semi-trance, and he opened his eyes to the sight of a very lovely, young woman.
He didn't change his rhythm though...he kept pulling, and breathing...but he now focused on her.
She seemed to know what she was doing, though Nic wasn't totally sure. It appeared to be a form of martial arts, but whatever it was, Nic found her movements very entertaining. He also decided he didn't think he'd want to meet up with her in a dark alley, and chuckled.
When she sat down, and seemed to be finished, he ceased his movements as well, and sat forward on the bench.
"You move very well, though I'm sure you've been told that by those you've not needed to move against?"
She was a little bit of a thing, and Nic doubted what she did was more than a method of exercise. Even as good as she appeared, her size would always be an issue. But he gave her the benefit of doubt.
"I'm glad you joined me...it was awfully quiet in here...and listening to myself breathe leaves a lot to be desired.
I'm Nic."
He stood up and moved towards her, extending his hand.
She had shaken her head, mostly at herself, when he'd mentioned her moving well. "Well fortunately I've never needed to move against anyone, save for sparring. I'm not sure how well I'd do if I actually had to try and defend myself."Â?
Aishe stood, wondering if everyone in this city was as tall as the men she'd met recently, or if she was just shrinking. Nic topped her by a foot, easy, if not more. It seemed to be a trend.
"Well, that's always good to hear. I know it sounds sexist, but I hate seeing pretty young women beating the hell outta guys."
When she stood, Nic noticed what pretty green eyes she had...being closer to her now.
"You come in her often...to work out? I've just moved in and this is my first visit. In fact, I probably look a bit strange...working out in jeans...not my normal garb, I assure you. I just haven't had my clothes brought over from the hotel yet."
He could certainly get used to having such an attractive work out partner, and he hoped she answered positively. He also had to wonder...was she...or wasn't she. Maybe somehow he could work in the 'blood type' issue, like Kem did...
She continued to smile as she finished her cool-down. It was nice to have company; she hadn't been sure of what she'd find here or what she was expected to do. She still felt a bit like she were being kept under guard and needed to be on her best behavior in order to achieve her goal.
"That's a coincidence,"Â? she said in response to Nic's question. "This is my first time here as well. I'm a new arrival to Nachton too. I imagine now that I've figured out where the gym is though, I'll be here a bit more often. I seem to have a little free time on my hands that I'm not sure what to do with, and working out fits the bill perfectly. I didn't bring much with me. I wasn't sure how long I'd be staying. It'll probably be much longer than I anticipated though, so while I wait for my stuff to arrive I might need to do some shopping to augment what little I have."Â?
That raised another question. "You wouldn't happen to know if there's a mall or anything nearby, would you? This is the only outfit I have to work out in, and unfortunately it's been doing double-duty as pajamas."Â?
Nic admitted, a bit sheepishly. He had to assume someone living in the towers was clan, and as such either a vampire, or familiar...didn't he? He couldn't risk screwing up again though...maybe MARI could tell him more about Aishe. He guessed it wouldn't hurt to ask.
And then realizing he didn't really want to go into detail on his response, he quickly sought to address her concerns.
"Mall? Can't say I've seen one of those, but I have been down the main strip of town...there are a few nice shops there...I'd bet you could find whatever you needed.
Pajamas, huh?"
He had to chuckle...being that he slept nude, at least he wouldn't have that problem to deal with.
He wondered if he might risk leaving, and accompanying her on her shopping excursion...and thought better of it. The last thing he'd want to do is run into Ellis now...before he'd come clean with Alfarinn, and found out what he needed to do to resolve his problem.
"I wasn't expecting to be staying either...though circumstances have made it so. Otherwise, I'd offer to show you into town. Unfortunately...I'm trying to keep a low profile though.
Of course...have you spoken to MARI? She may be able to secure whatever it is you need. I was going to have a conversation with her later, about that exact topic."
Deciding she could use a stretch and the dog could use some time out of their quarters, she pushed back from her desk and headed for the elevator. A short ride and a walk across the land bridge later and she was in her apartment, calling out for her dog.
The basset hound, aptly named Fatty, finally waddled over and made a huffy sort of sound. Probably sleeping, lazy dog that he was. Grinning, she petted him behind the ears and headed for the bedroom, where she slipped into some track pants and a tank top, throwing a matching sweatshirt over the whole ensemble before fetching Fatty’s leash and heading for the gym.
She arrived in time to happily spot Aishe talking to a big fellow near the mats.
“Hi there! Getting settled in okay?” That was clearly all Fatty was willing to listen to; he wandered over to her usual treadmill and curled up beside it. “That lazy guy is Fatty by the way, and I’m Dani.” She added, for the gentleman’s benefit. “Sometimes he’s the only one in here to talk to, glad to see that’s not the case tonight.”
She didn't get a chance to respond to his question about MARI though, as at that moment she noticed Dani enter the gym, dressed to work out. Aishe beamed when she noticed a stout little basset hound at her side.
She nodded to Dani when she asked if she was settling in. "I need to do some shopping,"Â? she admitted, "since I'm working out in my PJ's just now. But they're comfy... this could become a habit."Â?
She gave a little wink to Nic.
"I was happy to find someone else here too. I guess I was in the mood for some company."Â?
"Nic...nice to meet you Dani...and Fatty..."
Answering, as he looked at the dog.
"He's good company, that one? I guess walking him here is more to his liking?"
Nic wasn't a huge pet lover, but the dog did have an interesting character about him.
“Oh! There are actually shops on the other side of the bridge, in the Meridian building in the balcony. It’s a pretty nice selection. Great little coffee shop up there too.”
Nodding at the tall gentleman, she offered a little smile.
“Nice to meet you, Nic. You’re new to the towers?”
She hadn’t seen a report from MARI though that was likely because she had been on the phone and had missed it. It was possible Nic was an older vampire returning home after an absence, but even in that case the Evenhet home likely appeared at least a little different.
“Oh, not so much. And he doesn’t really care, just goes where I lead him and falls back asleep wherever.” She shrugged a little, grinning at the slight exaggeration to Fatty’s sluggish habits. “He could, however, use a bit more walking around, so if you guys are interested I’d be glad to show you where the shops are when you’re finished. I was just going to space out on the treadmill and tell Fatty about my day, wasn't planning to do anything intense right now.”
And as the talk went back to shopping, again Nic felt like shit. Yea...he'd love to go...not that he was a fiend for shopping, but he just had this thing about hanging out with gorgeous women. That, and the fact that he DID need clothes.
"Well, you two enjoy yourselves...I'm...going to hang around here a bit longer."
He tried to hide his disappointment, and moved over to the treadmill next to the one by Fatty's.
"You're welcome to come with, Nic," she said before he got too far. "Unless you, you know... have some kind of macho male aversion to shopping. You said you had clothes at your hotel, but if you wouldn't mind giving me your opinion it'd be welcome."
Then she laughed her soft laugh again. "Then again, for most men I know shopping is only slightly higher on their list of entertainments than having a wax job done. If serving as escort doesn't appeal, maybe we could meet later?"
She smiled at him hopefully, certainly not wanting to alienate one of the few people she'd met here so far. Then she glanced at Dani, hoping the other woman wouldn't mind if Nic came along.
"Thanks for the invite...it's not the shopping...it's the whole...low profile issue. I'm...well...staying out of someone's way, so to speak."
He really didn't like being cryptic...he wasn't that good at it, and it required a lot more effort than he really wanted to spend on it. But Kem had advised him to hang around the towers. However...
"This bridge...it's all connected...I mean to Meridian...no chance of any...'outsiders' gaining access?"
“Wow, that sounds serious.”
She wondered just who Nic was avoiding and hoped he was finding the help he needed in the towers. Hopefully it was something that just needed a little time to die down.
“You’re in a safe place, though, okay?”
She smiled lightly, though somewhat nervously, at Nic’s question.
“Well that would depend on what you mean by ‘outsiders,’ but no one gets passed the lobby if they haven’t been granted access.” Frowning, she continued. “Really, it should be fine, the buildings are very safe and we don’t have to leave them at all, it’s all connected.”
If you could call pissing off the head of another clan by playing with her familiar, serious.
But Nic was pleased at the news, and glad to know he didn't need to say good night to the lovelies quite so soon.
"Alright then, I'd love to escort you ladies...and am definitely up for the task of giving opinions on pajamas."
And he wiggled his eyebrows at Aishe.
"Just one little thing...can ya give me ten to shower? "
He'd need to put back on the same clothes, but at least his shirt wasn't all sweaty.
"Same goes for me. I don't want to chase the other clientele away. Can we meet somewhere in just a few minutes?"
She actually felt happy, instead of nervous and anxious. She was doing something fairly normal, with two very nice people whose company she was very much enjoying so far. 'Where are you Kem? You ought to be here. You idiot.'
He would probably just crack bad jokes anyhow. Hmph.
“Sure thing; Fatty and I can wait right outside.”
Concerned about Nic’s statement that he was in serious trouble, she resolved to see if there was anything she could do for the nice fellow. It would seem that he’d already received some sort of guidance that had led him here, but one never knew unless one asked. She would, however, wait until there was an opportunity alone.
Walking over to her dog, she bent down and gave him a nudge.
“Hey Fatty…Faaaatty…let’s go!”
He nodded to both. Anxious to get going, he grabbed up his shirt, and tossed the towel into a nearby bin, and gave a short wave to the ladies as he left the gym.
(ooc - Nic out pending responses)
"You're welcome to come along and hang out," she said with a nod to Dani. "The suite I'm in is halfway there anyhow, isn't it?" She'd seen enough of Liefde in her short time there to have a basic knowledge of how to get around. She glanced at her watch. "Fifteen minutes, tops."
With that she bent and offered her hand to Fatty for sniffing and possibly petting, then straightened, gave a little wave, and jogged out toward the elevator.
((ooc: Aishe out pending response!))