[PRP] Hardcore Parkour (Lily/Shun)

[AMItotic]

It felt like a conflict of interests, going to another gym when Lily already had a free membership to the one on campus. It further felt like one because Lily was technically employed by the campus gym, even though she mostly received payment in the form of textbooks and coupons for the student union cafeteria.

But Strongman Gym was advertising a parkour course, and that was ******** awesome.

A lifetime ago, Lily had been a gymnast instead of a punk-rock furry, and while she lacked much of the grace that came with practice, she kept up enough of the strength and balance from her own fitness routines to make a passable attempt at running the course, sans many of the backflips that made parkour cool as hell. It wasn't a pretty display, but it got her where she needed to go, and her gangly arms proved to be a valuable asset in climbing some of the steeper walls.

On one of her water breaks, she caught sight of a familiar face, and sidestepped to his vicinity as casually as possible. "You're looking chipper," she said flatly to the detective, sizing him up with a glance. She caught her tongue just short of calling him 'Officer Smiles', but oh, she'd thought about it, and it showed in the bemused squint of her eyes.

Blade Kuroda

 

[Blade Kuroda]

Ever since the Strongman gym had opened up the parkour course, Shun found himself hitting it on a semi regular basis. He still made use of the punching bags and whatnot, but the warehouse-like area made did rather well for full body workouts. It helped him hone himself in multiple aspects all at once.

It also required more of his focus, which meant he wasn't dwelling on other things as much at the same time.

He made his way to the area, limbering up. And it was then that someone familiar had come on by to greet him.

"Lily," he greeted, before lifting his head up at the course ahead. He seemed to ignore her comment about his demeanor. On the outside, he probably looked about as pissed or unhappy as normal. There weren't many people who could pick up on the subtle shifts in the way he carried himself. And he would rather keep it that way, if possible, "You do parkour?"

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AMItotic

 

[AMItotic]

"I mean, I'm not good at it," Lily began, looking out to the course, "But I can run and jump and climb s**t, which is like...at least half of what parkour is. Now I just gotta learn how to be a badass while I do it."

She glanced back towards the detective, searching for something in his stance. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, she coughed, then continued. "I didn't take you for a parkour kind a guy," she shrugged, rubbing the back of her neck. "Though I guess that makes sense, running after criminals and all that stuff. You get a lot of sprinting criminals in Ashdown?"

She didn't take Ashdown for that sort of city, but with all the spooky s**t going on lately, she didn't know what to take Ashdown for anymore.

Blade Kuroda

 

[Blade Kuroda]

"The fancy flips and whatnot are not really necessary. Parkour is getting from point A to point B efficiently. Freerunning is when you start adding all the flourishes," Shun explained. At least that was the difference he saw. Not everyone felt the same way, necessarily. Sure, adding in the extra moves looked neat, but it wasn't always the most efficient way of going about it.

"Not in Ashdown. I have not had to chase anyone down, here. I used to work in New York, however. That was a different story."

He rolled his shoulders and turned towards the course, plotting out a few possible routes mentally.

"Besides... I find it a rather effective way to build and keep strength and agility. Just another way to push myself."

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AMItotic

 

[AMItotic]

"Noted," Lily nodded sagely, having not been certain of the difference herself. In everything stuff she'd seen online, it had all just been called 'parkour', but like anything else there was bound to be more nuance to it.

"You're from New York? I feel like suddenly everything makes sense." She followed his actions by stretching her arms upwards, doing small movements to keep her body going. "Was it crazy? All the...I dunno, pretty much every crime show I've seen has been in New York or Miami, so I automatically just assumed they were total s**t shows."

Lily knew she was starting to show her ignorance, but she didn't know how to recover, how to stop the conversation from spiraling even further down into Crapsville. At a loss for words, she looked back at the variable terrain ahead of her, wondering silently if Shun did backflips while he arrested people in New York.

Blade Kuroda

 

[Blade Kuroda]

Shun gave a shrug as he kept his eyes on the course nearby.

"Any big city is going to have its fair share of troubles. I have seen some messed up s**t. And there is enough going on that kept me busy..." he started, scoffing lightly. It might not have been like the shows or whatever, but things did get rough at times. He gave pause, then added, "But Ashdown is in a league of its own. Might not have gangs running around here, but all the supernatural things make up for the danger plenty."

Arguably, it was more dangerous here, if only because magic was so much more unpredictable than any human criminal could be. He was out of his league, there.

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AMItotic

 

[AMItotic]

"That's fair," Lily quipped with a nod, moving her head from side to side. "I guess they don't give you supernatural sensitivity training down at the academy, do they?"

Maybe it wasn't the best idea to bring up sensitivity training around an actual cop. Oops.

"So...if there's two of us on the course is it like a race, or a co-op mode or something?" Lily scratched at her head, just past where her horns crept past her hairline. "Or is it like a...tag team thing, and we tap each-other in."

Blade Kuroda

 

[Blade Kuroda]

Shun couldn't help but scoff at the idea. Apart from the absurdity of it, he wondered if that was partially a jab at him, in a way.

"Honestly, if they did, I probably would have left before training was done, thinking that my instructors were insane or something."

The idea of the supernatural was a load of bull, before. It wasn't until he had experienced things firsthand, that he had a different outlook on it all. He just shook his head and started to walk towards some of the platforms and rails.

"I am uncertain how a tag team thing would work. But it is whatever you make of it. Some people race, others just mind where others are going, or observe. Similar to what you may see at skate parks."

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AMItotic

 

[AMItotic]

"Hah, you and me both, buddy," Lily chuckled, a sincere crinkle in her eyes. As a yogi, she leaned less heavily on all the spiritualistic hippie stuff that made up the western yoga community, and if someone had told her that there were magical energies and shapeshifters and fae a year ago, she probably would have just rolled her eyes.

Hell, she probably would still roll her eyes, but mostly because now she was such living proof of it that who did this person think they were telling?

"I'll, uhh, let you have a turn at it," she finally said after a moment of consideration, stepping back for the bench. "Let you strut your stuff and all that while I get a breather." Shun seemed to be itching to run the course, and Lily wasn't about to get in between a man and his workout. If she was lucky, she might even get a number on that backflips question.

Blade Kuroda

 

[Blade Kuroda]

"The warehouse is big enough for multiple people to be on it at once, but as you wish," he shrugged. Stretching out a little more, he bounced on his toes a couple of times, then sprinted off towards the course. His eyes darted about as he scouted out entry points. He still only had a vague idea of what he was going to do.

The detective ran up a half wall and clung to its ledge, then leaped off to the wall behind him to continue his ascent. Pulling himself up to the platform, he hopped off and kept himself moving. There was a nice gap between this one and the next. Stepping up onto a railing, he launched himself to the next one, then vaulted over a set of crates that were near the edge. He kept his focus sharp as he judged various distances while he moved about the area.

At some point, he decided to jump on down. It was a fairly sizable drop as he came off the edge, then rolled as he landed onto the ground further below. He paused at this point, controlling his breath as he looked up at the ledge he had just leaped from.

752

AMItotic

 

[AMItotic]

Lily watched Shun impassively from her spot on the bench, knitting her fingers together as she leaned forward in silent contemplation. It was a big enough course for the two of them, but she was always cautious about her body in close relation to others, in case she slipped and fell teeth first. When he finished his routine, she waited for a moment then clapped slowly, nodding her head.

"That last roll was pretty sweet," she called out, slowly moving to her feet. "Is it just kind of...a tumble, but vertical?" She bounced softly on her toes, trying to limber up herself for a run. "You're pretty good at this."

Blade Kuroda

 

[Blade Kuroda]

Shun rolled his shoulders again, turning around to face Lily as he heard her clapping. He didn't think he really did anything particularly impressive, but perhaps she thought differently.

"Something like that. I would not suggest trying it from that height right off the bat if you are not experienced with it yet. You typically need to work your way up so you know exactly what you need to do in order to not injure yourself."

He had been doing this for years, so he had a pretty good idea of what his limits and capabilities were. At least on this side of the veil. He's found he can achieve much more in Other Ashdown, though he hadn't fully nailed things there just yet. In due time. In due time.

Walking further off to grab his water bottle, he gave Lily ample room, should she decide to give it a go now, herself.

906

AMItotic

 

[AMItotic]

"Yeah, safety first and all that," Lily nodded in agreement. She wasn't looking to outright bust her a** in public, but it was definitely a trick to look into later when she had the time. At his retreat, she loped into an easy jog that sped into a full run as she approached the course. She vaulted over one of the smaller walls and clambered up the taller one, using it as a jumping point to the stepping stones below. One, two, three cleared in rapid succession, with dainty footfalls that spoke to some of her early experience as a gymnast. But the bars were her favorite by far, hopping from one to the next with concentrated effort.

Without her claws she struggled on the final wall, her instinct guiding her to dig into the surface instead of look for footholds, but after her first slip she was on the move again, making her final jump down without any flourishes. She took a moment to breathe, then shook the ache from her muscles, and maybe she was even smiling.

"It sure is a workout," she breathed, reaching back to tighten her ponytail. "I wonder if it's set up like this in the Otherworld." Running the course on two legs was fun enough, but she couldn't help but imagine what she could do with four.

Blade Kuroda

 

[Blade Kuroda]

Shun folded his arms as he watched Lily run and jump her way around the various obstacles that were laid out for them. When she had talked before, he had taken her to be very much a beginner, but it seemed that she had more skill than that. It was a sort of pleasant surprise to see.

Once she had returned, he nodded once.

"Not bad. And yes, it is. It makes use of your full body, so it is one of my preferred methods of training. There just are not as many opportunities for it compared to some of the more conventional methods."

He paused, thinking about what this might be like on the other side.

"It might be. Difficult to say for certain. I suppose that is one thing to check out the next time you happen to cross over," he shrugged.

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AMItotic

 

[AMItotic]

"I mean, it's kind of cheating for me on the other side," Lily shrugged, rubbing at her arm. "I am sort of...uniquely equipped to do this in the Otherworld." She wasn't sure if Shun had made note of her easy shifting at the theater or the ball, but it seemed like a pretty big thing to outright miss, and he'd certainly seen the way she'd looked at Blackfriar's. The way she saw it, if he didn't need to ask questions, then she didn't need to explain exactly what she was.

"It's more likely that the course exists, but the floor is actual lava or some stupid s**t," she groaned, stretching her arms behind her. "If it's Other Ashdown, you know we can't have nice things. Well, unless people get murdered or whatever, but I'm still not sure what that whole bit was supposed to accomplish."

Lily went silent after that, curling down into a forward fold. She hadn't meant to bring Adoelle up, but now that she'd said it the only thing she could think about was the sound her body had made when it hit the silver tile.

Blade Kuroda