[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/w1RhJX4.jpeg[/img] [sup][img]https://i.imgur.com/9qIY4OK.jpeg[/img] [color=#66356a][b]#66356a[/b][/color] [color=2e2c2c]....[/color]|[color=2e2c2c].....[/color] [url=https://imgur.com/nzNpMpa][color=9b9b9b][b]outfit[/b][/color][/url] [color=2e2c2c].....[/color]|[color=2e2c2c].....[/color] [color=9b9b9b][b] Arena [/b][/color] [img]https://i.imgur.com/9qIY4OK.jpeg[/img][/sup][/center] [color=808080] She saw Wes approaching and braced herself with a warm smile trying to be encouraging and approachable. Though in reality, the warmth nor smile quite reached her eyes only outdone by anxiety. She didn’t know what to expect from him. Yet, all that landed was a tender kiss. [color=#667c0c] “Good morning, beautiful.”[/color] She closed her eyes part relieved they hadn’t broken their trusty routine of wishing another a good morning. Part disappointed they couldn’t be in each other’s arms when they said it. [color=#66356a]“Morning,”[/color] she mumbled softly in turn. Trinity’s eyes followed him to his own perch then tore her eyes away to focus on the centre of the arena. As much as she was tempted to sit by him, even lunge on his arm and tug him to sit by her and hash things out, now wasn’t the time. She was sure they were close to starting and the course needed to be in the forefront of her mind. That wasn’t solely her competitive spirit making decisions but pure logic. The more energy she spent, the better. The safer! Even he must’ve got that to a degree by sitting elsewhere. Or he was in a similar boat himself looking to expel energy though she couldn’t imagine Wes ever hungry for training. Anyway, she had to get that man out of her mind. But eyeing the course again that’s exactly where she thought of him again. How in the worlds was he going to climb, navigate or otherwise hurdle over objects with one arm or balance himself nimbly? She risked a glance at him from the corner of her eyes. Wes was physically fit, she was no stranger to his physique and coordination and what he could do but some obstacles seemed to do him a disservice of his capabilities. But.. [color=#66356a][i]‘that was war’[/i][/color] a voice in her seemed to press. Things weren’t fair. [color=#66356a][i]This was exactly why I wanted you to train and pestered about another arm,[/i][/color] a snider thought joined the fray. And she hoped he fully received her ‘I told you so’ telepathically that she was sending. [i]Ergh![/i] Trinity rolled her neck out. People could learn the hard way. She wasn’t going to say I told you so out loud or send a look. Just think it to shit. She crossed her arms listening to the speech the newbie decided to give them. Trinity only thought it was funny due to him making these requests, and dare she guess, demands of them out of nowhere. Who was this guy exactly again? Why did he take Andy’s place again? But if he wanted to test them, she would oblige for the sake of peace and to showcase who he thought he was barking orders at. She could jump hoops in the meantime for another one of the god’s lapdogs. Trinity just hoped he had some self-awareness of how gods liked to demand things with no reward in turn. Admittedly, River got some brownie points for running the obstacle course himself. A lot of others might’ve just blown the coach whistle and scribbled something on their board as everyone else ran it, but props to him. Trinity studied the way he took certain obstacles and his speed, never slowing to a trot or walk or over hesitating on his grabs and foot placements. He was doing really well throughout it but he covered wicked ground in the pool that the ladder and final jump made him seem human again. At least he practiced what he preached. Trinity listened in for his official time. [color=#bd1664]“9 minutes and 37 seconds.”[/color] Yikes. That was a tough one to beat. He addressed the general crowd again stating a cap at 15 minutes and no cheating, etcetera. Trinity’s leg bounced in anticipation. She was ready. Then, disappointing news. [color=#86a8ad]“Alright then. You’ll run the course in groups of five. First up is Sloane, Sylas, Nate, Maylisse and Andy…”[/color] Somewhere inside she could feel a child tantrum go off. The temptation to throw her head back and scream into the sky in impatience. Screw groups, let’s just go, survival of the fittest. If you weren’t at the front of the pack and couldn’t wriggle your way up, too bad. While people shifted around, her eyes found Wes creeping to the back. Her brows pinched together briefly but she let him be. Let him focus, do his own thing, and let her focus. She sat for a moment shifting in her spot, crossing her legs, bringing her feet up, trying to seemingly get comfortable before giving up. She could sit and watch. Some people nailed the course. They moved more naturally through the obstacles and swiftly. Competition that even bred doubt in Trinity’s mind. While others really struggled. They couldn’t bring their bodies to leap, run or heave themselves on demand. When Wes was called, a pit of dread reformed in her stomach. She fought the urge to turn to him and watch his descent into the arena for all to see. But through her sitting still as stone, training her eyes forward, she heard his voice before she saw him. [color=#667c0c]“Hey,”[/color] he offered quietly, causing her to swivel to him. [color=#667c0c]“Could I get your help so I don’t flash everyone?”[/color] He pulled at the strings on his sweats in show of his dilemma. [color=#667c0c]“Please.”[/color] Trinity lowered her gaze at first in attempt to hide a humored smile she shouldn’t have had before glancing up at him. [color=#66356a]“Well, we wouldn’t want that.”[/color] She was sure a flash of the son of Aphrodite’s business would serve a treat to half the campers. She tugged both sides to secure the band to his form then did a double knot, the back of her fingers grazing him gently as she tied them up, silently cursing herself for those unshakeable little flutters she still got around him. She got a quick kiss for her efforts, stunning her. When she was able to find relief in his gesture, she smiled gently after him. Trinity watched his group with more intent than she had the others, body angling forward in anticipation. He seemed to do the tires with a big fat green check, even the giant hurdles. The crawl, yes, even though he lost the speed, but the rope climb was the doom and gloom of the course as he circled it for a moment, studying it. [color=#66356a]“Come on, come on,”[/color] she muttered, hands gripping her own knee to contain anxiety and excitement and anything else that would make her bounce restlessly in her place. Wes found a method that forced him upwards, albeit a slow progress, but it was perfect for what he was working with, rope coiled around his arm and nudging up with the strength of a acrobat. [color=#66356a]“Come on, come on, come on,”[/color] she kept muttering. Not to hurry him along but quiet encouragement to take down the obstacle. He slipped down, redeemed himself a moment then tumbled and span out the rest of the way down, landing face first. Trintiy inhaled quickly through her nose as a suppressed gasp. [color=#66356a]“Shit,”[/color] she whispered. Not only was the impact clearly intense but she feared every moment Wes was hindered by his missing limb, it would emphasise what he lost at camp. Alter him in some way or encourage him to leave this forsaken place where terrible monsters infiltrated and there was a horrible training regime. He soldiered on and Trinity smiled sadly. People tended to put determination pass Wesley. Even she was guilty of forgetting how driven he could be sometimes but she was glad for the reminder. As long as he didn’t hurt himself more in the process. He didn’t have to appease this River guy, he didn’t have to appease her or prove anything to anyone else, just himself. There were a few fumbles and Trinity wasn’t tracking his time but he made it. With blood persistently trickling down his nose. [color=#66356a][i]Dammit, could anyone get him an icepack and put it back in place at least?[/i][/color] She waited for the next round to be announced and when the last name wasn’t her name, she sprung from her spot she had seemed to be rooted in the past few minutes and joined Wes. Standing before him, she had a moment where she didn’t know what to say but her eyes blazed with admiration. [color=#66356a]“You did amazing.”[/color] Though he probably didn’t feel like it. She scanned him frantically. Trinity pulled his shirt he was using as a cloth aside and planted a kiss on his lips before he could talk. She drew back, hands on his shoulders, holding him square in place. [color=#66356a]“I mean it.”[/color] Then the recognition creeped in, how she was crowding the poor guy and assuming it was okay to just attack him with a kiss when he was bleeding and sore. She withdrew her arms slowly and sunk into the spot beside him, opting for a quieter and less intrusive support. While she tried to feign mild interest in the group in front of them, she kept glancing at Wes and smiled slightly and guiltily for being caught. A. He was shirtless. B. He was covered in rope burn and had a broken nose. For a daughter of Ares who thrived in violence, pain and war, she didn’t like [i]him[/i] in pain or bleeding. [color=#66356a]“Just 2 percent concerned,”[/color] she explained, measuring that inch with her thumb and index finger. It seemed impossible and like she was forgotten but in time, her name was called by a foreign voice. The new leader’s like an awakening. [i]Finally.[/i] Trinity clapped her hands on her knees and rose to her feet. [color=#66356a]“Wish me luck?”[/color] She headed to the tires. While she didn’t engage in eye contact or look directly at anyone, she did clock her opponents trickling towards the start with her. A pack of unknowns. There was Daniel of course but he was unpredictable and had a little speedy Gonzales in him. The rest she couldn’t say, but Trinity was excited to find out, lighting a fire in her belly once again. Best she really see what they could do and aim to beat River. [i]Go![/i] Trinity pushed off the start line and tackled the tires with high knees and fleet footwork. She ran at the log jumps, using each as a stepping stone, from the little first one, straight to the second, third, fourth where she wobbled and flailed her arms a moment then jumped to the last, landing in a crouch with her hand steadying her then springing down. She moved with absolute purpose, like hunting down a force in front of her. Trinity dropped straight to her stomach and army crawled her way through the dirt, arms and legs working briskly to stay low and quick under the wire. She rose straight to her feet once in the clear and ran at the rope climb with a jump to spare herself a distance off the ground. One arm after the other with ankles locked around the rope and her core engaged, she began her ascent, nose flaring and teeth gritting to push herself. She wouldn’t allow herself to run out of steam. Trinity reached the top, lowered herself slightly, glanced at the ground below, lowered herself further then unhooked her ankles and released her grip to drop the rest of the distance down. Her muscles vibrated on the impact with the ground, holding her arms out to steady her landing then she was off to the next obstacle. The rope net bridge, she watched her footwork but sped across it, wobbling on the other landing uncertainly like her head just caught up with the imbalance of the rope. [i]Slow down on the balance tasks.[/i] But another voice fought such advice. [i]More, more. Harder, harder.[/i] She rolled her shoulders and grabbed more rope, backing up then forward to clear the swing as she lifted her legs up for good measure, then dropped on the other side. She approached more balancing acts. Trinity huffed out her nose facing the beams. She ran for it but a couple steps in, she felt herself tip off balance, kicking up a leg and her arms waved out erratically until she crashed down. Thankfully, on the horizontal beam, groin making a rough landing but torso and arms coming to brace along the beam for balance. [i]Fuck.[/i] Looking forward she still had the descent one to go. Now she was mad. She pushed her torso up, braced her hands on the beam and crept a knee up to rest along the plank and push back to her feet from there. She got to her feet, eventually, which felt like an eternity and precious time wasted. With slightly more caution, she made it past the last beam. She sprinted to the pool to make up for lost time and dove in. The beaches she had back home and the tides she used to tackle, her swims in the camp lake, all of it kept her swimming skills sharp for this pool as she freestyled across the length flawlessly. Trinity came out drenched and sucking in air for breath, but there was a fierce unyielding determination in her eyes. Trinity ran hard for the ladder. That time and force she was hunting down, was in front of her and getting away. Her enemies were hot on her heels. She ascended rapidly, propelling upwards finding a rhythm in her placement carrying her all the way to the top. She swung her legs over and climbed down until it was a safe distance to spring off to the ground. With the final obstacle in sight, she conjured the extra push to sprint faster like she was some Olympian or the embodiment of hell breaking loose and hurdled over the pool of water. On the other side, Trinity slowed her momentum to a trot before turning to the finish line to see how her peers faired, hands on her head trying to control her breathing and angry muscles that she could now pay attention to. Close to her tail but with a marginal gap was the black haired guy of the group. She held out her fist to him for knuckles. The rest filed in shortly after. She nodded to them, still puffing, commending their placement and the extra push they gave her. As a group they had to be the top dogs. Not that it was a team assessment or a competition in the first place but where was the extra drive without it? With her chest heaving, she glanced at River, daring herself to bother to inquire how she did. On the other hand, she was sure everyone wanted their results so it would come in time. Hopefully. She made her way back to the stands in wait of his next official announcement. [/color] [center][sup][img]https://i.imgur.com/9qIY4OK.jpeg[/img] [color=808080][b]interactions[/b] [color=2e2c2c]....[/color]|[color=2e2c2c]....[/color] Wes, Elias (knuckles)[color=2e2c2c]...............[/color] [b]mentions[/b] [color=2e2c2c]....[/color]|[color=2e2c2c]....[/color] River, Theron, Daniel [color=2e2c2c]...............[/color] [b]collabs[/b] [color=2e2c2c]....[/color]|[color=2e2c2c]....[/color] none[/color] [img]https://i.imgur.com/9qIY4OK.jpeg[/img][/sup][/center]