[hr][hr][center][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/019bd986-9769-7344-ac29-3867536e1890.webp[/img][/center][hr][hr] Most training hours were independent, running or lifting or flying or any number of things that didn't require parental supervision. The hours dedicated to sparring or power control had to be scheduled with either James or Max to ensure they were available if any accidents happened. Today, April and Danni got a text at exactly 6am scheduling their training hour for the day at 3pm on the dot. It was later than James preferred - he encouraged the kids to ask for training in the morning rather than at night - and when the other parents were asked, they learned James decided he and Casper would have a late morning together. Danni, just about ready to kick down his parent's door, questioned if he really wanted to know what that meant and decided against it. Still, James was waiting in their danger room at 3 and offered the pair a smile when they found their ways into the room. [color=mediumspringgreen] “How was your morning, kiddos? Anything exciting so far today?”[/color] Danni was wearing workout pants and an athletic crop top, showing off his new piercing. He hugged his Pops tight and beamed up at him. [color=E948FC] “Omg, yes! It was super scary yesterday, but I love t'is piercin'! I look so gooooood! And I feel ‘ot as ‘eck, so double whammy.”[/color] Danni said eagerly. [color=42A9FF]“It looks so good!!”[/color] April agreed, bouncing up slightly on her feet. She was a little bit jealous that Danni had gone and gotten a cool new piercing, but she also knew she was supposed to take things slow and not make huge decisions right now. So instead, she just got to admire her brother’s new jewelry, a big grin on her face. [color=42A9FF]“You look hot as hell,”[/color] she agreed. [color=42A9FF]“And the pics you posted? Legit fire!”[/color] She was in a pair of athletic shorts - as short as the family allowed during training sessions - and a Mountain Dew t-shirt she’d been sent after the contest. She’d put on a pair of fingerless athletic gloves too - something about the glove helped with the occasional tremor. She’d slept pretty well the night before, and as weird as it felt to have training this late in the day, she was ready to go! James patted Danni on the head and then gently pushed him across to April. [color=mediumspringgreen]“April, your flexibility in the Contest when your water supply was removed was excellent and your control over larger volumes has improved; however, your ice generation was lacking. Danni, we'll be taking a break from your flight patterns and close combat skills to assist. This will count as your control practice for this week.”[/color] Danni pumped a fist into the air, thrilled to be taking a break dodging the annoying balls his father (and his aunt when he dragged her into it) had been pelting him with for weeks. He'd missed his fire. [color=mediumspringgreen]“We have two goals: first, to accelerate April's ice generation so that she is comfortable with fast, large-scale applications and second, to use that skill to create a combination technique. While that technique is certainly your own to design, I'd recommend something to control your opponents rather than harm them. When working on a team, this can help those who may specialize in non-combat techniques, such as recon, interface with difficult targets so that combat is no longer necessary and the risk of damage to you, your team, and your surroundings is eliminated.”[/color] James explained. The room stayed a clear, clinical white. [color=mediumspringgreen]“Danni will start using his hotshot and then increase the force behind his blasts. April, you are to wait until the last moment to block it with ice only. The minimum width is six feet and the minimum height is seven feet. I will mark your space.”[/color] Yellow lines marked the width and height. [color=mediumspringgreen]“Every time a blast manages to make it through or past the ice, you both will do 5 push ups, sit ups, and squats. If I suspect that Danni is holding back, it will be ten instead. You will reset your ice after each attempt. Questions before we begin?”[/color] The runes flashed and a pool of water grew to the right of April. April puffed up her chest slightly at her Pops’ praise. She’d been working [i]really, really[/i] hard on her control and it had paid off, even with a few minor setbacks. Yes, she had pushed herself to an extreme - probably too much of an extreme, she winced a bit remembering a stressful and emotional training session with Danni. But even though she’d gotten this progress through an incredibly draining and taxing strategy, she was still proud of herself - and proud that she had made her Pops proud, too. She didn’t argue with his assessment though that her ice needed some work - she’d focused mostly on her water, the ice usually coming out when she was overwhelmed. Water was easier for her to manipulate in a liquid form, too - something about the organized, rigid structure of the molecules when it was frozen. But she was sixteen now, almost seventeen - she’d had her powers half her life. It was time to work on her ice. And she [i]really[/i] didn’t want to do push ups. She [i]hated[/i] push ups. She couldn’t even get away with doing girl push ups - and the one time she asked, she had to do clapping ones instead. [color=42A9FF]“How many attempts do we have to do?”[/color] she asked, as she started doing her stretches. She didn’t know if this Pops had a time limit in mind or a certain quantity - and already, her mind started to race with the possibilities for a combination technique. Her mind kept flickering to the idea of how figure skaters would move around, and she looked over at Danni. [color=42A9FF]“We have to be high fashion and dramatic af!”[/color] she whisper shouted to him. [color=42A9FF]“Maybe we coordinate fits.”[/color] [color=E948FC]“Omg yaaaaaaas!”[/color] Danni whisper shouted back, practically vibrating at the thought. [color=E948FC]“We should totally tr-”[/color] Danni’s mouth snapped shut as James cleared his throat pointedly. [color=mediumspringgreen]“Ideally, 30 minutes. Our goal is to get you into the habit and then transition into development. That way, you have over an hour to work on hammering the details out.“[/color] James offered. He clapped them both on the shoulder. [color=mediumspringgreen] “You two have this as long as you stay on task. Stay focused, get the technique down, and then start planning your outfits.”[/color] James stepped back and gave the pair space, gesturing for them to separate and begin. Danni fluttered away from April, grin on his face. [color=E948FC]“Okay, Rillie! You got t’is!”[/color] Danni did a little back flip in the air, took the shot, from upside down, and landed with a pose. [color=42A9FF]“Yeah, I’ve got this!”[/color] April agreed, trying to psych herself up a little bit. She could do this. She could make a wall of water to that size - all she had to do was add in a freezing step. Easy! She bounced from side to side, feeling the familiar tug of a body of water nearby. She had to wait until the last second to throw up the shield, and it wasn’t too hard - she was mesmerized for a moment with Danni’s trick shot - about to shout a compliment to him on how much he’d perfected it - as she threw her hands behind her to grab the water and swept them forward. The water leapt from the pool and froze, filling the space… a second too late. Half of the HotShot was blocked, colliding into the ice and dissipating - but the rest of it collided with April, singing her clothes and her hair. [color=42A9FF]“Urghhhhhhh,”[/color] she dropped to the ground, and started doing exercises in order from favorite to least favorite - sit-ups, squats, and then - [color=42A9FF]“Pops, what–”[/color] Danni screeched and launched himself forward, an unstable blast erupting behind him. Nothing else mattered right now. If April asked that question after Pops had already said something about staying on task, they were going to be miserable. Danni careened into April, slapped a hand over over her mouth, and whispered in the brief moment they were safe, [color=E948FC] “Are you crazy, be quiet!”[/color] [color=42A9FF]“Imeanyeah,”[/color] April said into Danni’s hand. [color=42A9FF]“Ijusthadagrippysockvacation.”[/color] Unfortunately, the momentum wasn’t calculated as Danni made a mad dash to save them from certain doom and they hit the ground hard. Danni groaned from on top of April and he slumped his head into her shoulder. [color=E948FC] “We’re dead.”[/color] Danni whimpered. James jogged across to them, a mix of amusement and concern on his face. [color=mediumspringgreen]“Are you two okay? What happened there?”[/color] April put an arm around Danni, rubbing his arm soothingly. She’d realized her mistake almost too late, and she was filled with immediate relief that he’d stopped her - and dread. Now they had to talk their way out of this one, before Pops found out the question was about the style of push ups, before he could escalate them all the way to burpies. [color=42A9FF]“Danni hadn’t hugged me yet today and he promised he always would by uh… by 3:13 in the afternoon so he needed to keep his promise!”[/color] Danni, still not looking up at his Pops, experienced the five stages of grief in that moment. His life flashed before his eyes, thankful for all the good but upset about how short it had been, as Rillie’s excuse hit the air. He couldn’t take it back, he couldn’t rewind time, he just had to double down. Show time. [color=E948FC] “Yeah! I didn’t realize t’at it was so late, ya know? Like, gotta stick ta t’e ‘ug quota!”[/color] Danni popped up beaming and helped April up to wrap her in a big hug. James blinked very, very slowly. [color=mediumspringgreen]“And what is- You know what, I think that’s great Danni. Maybe plan it for before training next time. For poor time management and disrupting training, you’ll do 5 more of each. April, you just do the standard. If there are any more interruptions, we’ll start adding additional exercises.”[/color] James heaved a sigh and waved them back into position. [[color=E948FC] “I’m sorry…”[/color] Danni sniffled, hung his head, and shuffled back to his spot, dropping to start his push ups. April’s heart broke. Danni didn’t deserve that. He’d saved her from a fate worse than death - additional, harder push ups - and taken it on for himself. He was just a boy, he didn’t do anything wrong - and as he sniffled, the guilt got worse and worse. April [i]hated[/i] push ups. Truly, truly hated them. She loved her brother more than her hatred of push ups. A few options immediately came to her. She could tell James that she had lied - but then Danni might still get in trouble, as he had supported her lie. She could say that it was Christmas, so there shouldn’t be any push ups assigned - but it was already January. She could argue to let them share the punishment, in the spirit of teamwork. She could… …blurt out the first thing that came to mind. [color=42A9FF]“Pops, that’s not fair!!”[/color] she protested, running over to Danni’s spot and standing in front of him, like protecting a lamb from a lion. [color=42A9FF]“It’s not his fault!”[/color] Her heart was pounding. Why wasn’t it Danni’s fault? What could she say that was plausible? She was a terrible liar, and she had started to sweat. [color=42A9FF]“It’s not Danni’s fault because… I told him to hug me during training to get out of push ups and he knows how much I hate them and how sad I’ve been and he’s a really, really good brother who doesn’t deserve this because it’s my fault, I was the mastermind here.”[/color] Danni, already in position, looked up at her with an incredulous look. It was like she forgot everything about Pops as a trainer, not as their parent, and wanted them to die. Danni wisely decided to keep his mouth shut, look at the floor, and let April run this trainwreck. James's mouth flattened out. [color=mediumspringgreen]“I wasn't going to call you out on this, but now you've made up stories twice. Most people call that lying. Now, I know I didn't raise you to lie so I'm giving you one last chance to be honest. Tell me the truth.”[/color] April regretted all of her life choices. The flat disappointment in her Pops’ voice made her want to jump out of her skin, and the pool of water in the room started to freeze over. She couldn’t lie to him a third time, she had to be honest - had to come clean. Even if it meant being told to do a thousand push ups every day for the rest of her life. [color=42A9FF]“I’m sorry, Pops,”[/color] she looked down at the ground, trying not to cry. How had things spiraled so quickly? [color=42A9FF]“I was g-going to ask you what style of push up to do and Danni tried to save me from getting a worse kind of push up assigned to both of us and so he jumped at me and you asked what was happening and I panicked because I didn’t wanna get him in trouble for helping me but then only he got in trouble and I didn’t and that didn’t feel fair, because it’s my fault and Danni shouldn’t have to do push ups because of something I did. I’m really sorry, please don’t be mad at Danni though.”[/color] James listened stoically as April explained, the only other noise was Danni going through his set. James sighed at the end and considered his words carefully. [color=mediumspringgreen]“I appreciate you owning up to this. That's the right thing to do and I'm proud that you decided to make the right choice. However, I am still disappointed that you decided training was the appropriate place to joke and push my buttons. You know we take this very seriously; we want you to have every opportunity to succeed and [i]live[/i]. I am terrified every time you leave this household that I won't be able to get to you in time if something happens so I need to know that you are capable of handling whatever runs at you out there and if you're pulling this here, it doesn't help ease my mind. So please have fun with it, but show your training some respect.”[/color] James spoke sternly but he softened at the end and made his way across to April, pulling her into a hug. [color=mediumspringgreen]“I love you so much and you going to a hero school scares me every day that I'm going to see your name on my phone. I know it's tough, but every bit of this is meant to make sure you and your brothers make it back to us in one piece.”[/color] James murmured softly. . By some miracle, the rest of the water in the pool didn’t freeze, as much as April’s ever growing pit in her stomach demanded some form of release. She hadn’t meant to take training unseriously - and in the moment, asking what kind of push up Pops wanted hadn’t felt bad to do, hadn’t felt like straying off task. Lying to try to help Danni had felt right, too. But so many things she’d been doing lately felt good and right in the moment, and then awful later. She kept her eyes on the ground during Pops’ lecture, nodding to show that she was listening. She couldn’t help a few tears from falling, as James explained how scared and worried he was - how much her guilt intensified. It had been over a month since her suicide attempt, since Arcade - when her name almost had been on his phone. She nodded again, sniffling, feeling like she didn’t deserve the hug. When Pops let her go, she took her spot again and did the push ups, quietly and without complaint, even as her muscles began to burn from the exertion. Danni and April drilled for the next thirty minutes, April’s ice growing a little faster, a little stronger with each repetition. They still failed enough for both of them to be sore from all the additional exercises by the time the practice was over, as April’s ice shield finally was good enough to meet Pops’ exacting standards. Her mood had slowly drifted back up, too - April had been pretty quiet at the start, still repeating Pops’ lecture in her head, but focusing on the task had helped to stop those thoughts, at least for now. [color=E948FC]“Omg, I wanna die.”[/color] Danni panted after James left the room, his arms trembling from how many push ups they had to do. Eli wasn't joking - clearly he needed protein shakes. [color=E948FC] “I swear ta God, Pops ‘as a third power. You def got more of t'ose t'an what ‘appened. I bet ‘e- oof- ‘e ‘as a way ta slow ya down or somet'in’ just so we'd miss t'e block.”[/color] Danni pushed himself upright from where he was using his knees as support. He winced as his back popped. [color=E948FC]“Okay, so listen, Linda. What we t'inkin’ ‘bout t'is move, huh? We gotta make it flashy, got ta make it fun, gotta make it dangerous.”[/color] April wanted to just lie on the ground, letting it cool away all the heat from her aching limbs. It was definitely time for a nap. She was breathing heavy, as she reached out her hand, two water bottles sliding across the room towards them, one stopping in front of Danni and one in front of herself. She opened hers and immediately chugged it, draining it dry. [color=42A9FF]“And it has to impress Pops,”[/color] she added, resisting the urge to flop back down from where she was sitting. [color=42A9FF]“I… am blanking. All my head is going to is Sharknado, like if you somehow made a fire shark and I sent it zipping around, which would be totes adorable, but we might get sued for copyright infringement.”[/color] She then tilted her head again, blowing out a bit of air so her lips puffed up for a moment. [color=42A9FF]“Maybe some sort of visual like figure skating, with the duos?”[/color] Danni looked down forlorn at the water bottle, all the way down at his feet after he [i]just stood up[/i] and bent at the knees to pick it up. He popped the cap and drank it in greedy gulps. [color=E948FC] “Weeeeell, Pops said make it a controlly thing, right? Large, scaled, help non-combatants - maybe like a fire and ice dragon? Dragons have scales!”[/color] Danni suggested, piggy backing off the sharknado. [Color=E948FC] “We can skate in, do a fun little twirl that gets out powers together, and then blasted it out like a Dragon's breath?”[/color] April tilted her head the other direction, considering it. It’d be a good area control technique, blocking opponents off with fire and ice. The odds of them being able to withstand and shake off both of those extremes were lower than them being able to handle just ice or just fire. And she did love the idea of doing a little twirl - her sad mood from earlier in training was rapidly being alleviated, as she pictured her and Danni skating across the battlefield, doing a twirl, and then blasting out the spicy, icy mix. [color=42A9FF]“Mmkay!! I’m down!”[/color] she grinned, wincing a bit as she forced herself back up to her feet. The training sessions at school were intense, but it seemed like Pops had decided to make the ones at home even harder to compensate for lately. [color=42A9FF]“What part do you wanna practice for? Skate, twirl, or dragon?”[/color] Danni considered the question, tilting his head back and forth. [color=E948FC]“Def the skate inta t'e twirl. Like, are we doin’ a lift, we doin’ just a quick whirlidoo, are we doin’ a under over, what kinda twirl we doin’? Like, probs should start simple so we don't totally break our faces on t'e ice. So I'm t'inkin’ we come in, jump pass each ot'er, grab t'e wrists on t'e back ‘alf, you ice out on t'e entry inta t'e spin, dragon spins out on the second ‘alf of t'e spin, and t'e we ‘ard stomp stop and you freeze again?”[/color] In that moment, April was reminded that her brother was a classically trained dancer - and she was not. [i]Simple[/i] was rapidly followed with a bunch of terms and descriptions that she could barely follow. A jump pass? Sure, if that meant… did they jump and pass something to each other? Did they go past each other? It had to be the second option, right? So they would jump and pass each other, then grab their wrists - she would make things icy as the spin started, Danni would make it fiery as the spin ended, and they did… she didn’t know what a hard stomp stop was. But she was supposed to do ice again. So simple. [color=42A9FF]“Uhhh, I think I follow! Maybe? Maybe we try it real slow first?”[/color] she asked, fidgeting a bit. Danni giggled and hip checked Rillie as moved into position. [color=E948FC] “Okay, okay. Just watch rq and t'en you'll get it! So first we approach wit’ a four step, meetin’ on three and passin’ on four. At t'e pass, we run elbows ta wrists, grab at wrists, and t'en we push back t'e way we came ta make t'e spin.”[/color] Danni slowly mimed the steps as he spoke. [color=E948FC] “Once you finish t'at push, ice comes out. We extend past t'e end ta give it t'at swayin’ illusion and t'en we enter t'e second ‘alf t'e same way, fire comes out at t'e end of t'e push, extend past t'e end, brin’ t'e heel down ‘ard ta stop, and ice as t'e ‘eel ‘its and we do a pose. You got dis! Just follow my lead and we'll not freeze or burn ourselves ‘opefully!”[/color] Danni took his position, bouncing in place eagerly. April blinked, trying to rerun everything Danni had just said in her mind while simultaneously watching him as he stepped. She was used to a million words coming out of his mouth a minute, used to having to figure out what was said. But even with that experience, something about the new dance terms - was a four step just taking four steps or did it mean something more specific? - she was a little dazed from his explanation. Maybe Pops shouldn’t have left the room. [color=42A9FF]“Uhh… Sure!”[/color] She could follow his lead. This wasn’t different from learning different combat moves - dancing was just about moving her body, it ought to be easy. She was athletic, she regularly went surfing and diving. She liked ice skating. This was just ice skating with combat moves… with its own language of description and everything but that was fine! This was going to be great! She took her position, visibly a little nervous. [color=42A9FF]“Ready when you are!!”[/color] Danni was excited, practically vibrating as he counted steps. Step one? Solid. Step two? Fantastic. Step 3? Danni kept in line with Rillie but it seemed a little off. Step 4 - Danni grabbed Rillie but the momentum was off. They didn't spin so much as collide. [I]Hard.[/i] Danni's nose met April's forehead and he kneed up into Rillie's stomach as he tried to get them out of this. Danni slipped, hit the ground, and couched at the back of his head, trying hard not to cry. The wind was knocked out of April as Danni’s knee drove into her stomach, and then following the sudden change in momentum as her brother fell, she couldn’t quite keep herself upright either, tumbling to the ground after him - and at least falling away from him, as to not further hurt him. She landed on her butt, stunned and a little out of breath, but not as hurt as Danni. [color=42A9FF]“Omg, Danni, are you okay??? Is your nose okay?? Are you bleeding?? Can I see?? Should I get Pops??”[/color] she scooted on over to him, pulling him into a quick hug. [color=42A9FF]“It’s okay, it’s okay! You’re fine!”[/color] Danni curled into April, sniffling and whining as the back of his head throbbed. Spots were dancing in his vision and he could feel his heartbeat in his ears. It took a few minutes of heavy breathing, interposed by little whines and sobs, until Danni felt the pain fade and he could finally focus on April. Even still he didn't get up from April's hug. [color=E948FC] “Yeah, I'm okay now. T'at was not fun. It ‘urt- what is up wit’ t'is break and my ‘ead?! I don't ‘ave a lotta brain cells in the first place! Why does t'e universe want me ta lose moooore.”[/color] Danni whined. [color=E948FC] “Can I ‘ave some ice pls, Rillie? It ‘urts.”[/color] April frowned, as she snuggled her brother. [color=42A9FF]“Nuh uh, no being mean to yourself like that,”[/color] she corrected. [color=42A9FF]“You’re not dumb. If Pops had heard that, you’d have to do affirmations [i]and[/i] push ups.”[/color] It was something she was trying to work on herself, too. Being kinder to herself. Being grateful and happy for what she could do, what she was capable of, instead of fixating on her flaws and faults. She did, however, oblige Danni on the ice. She shifted her grip so that way she had one hand gently on his head, and ice crystallized across her hand, the water vapor from the room rapidly condensing and freezing on her palm. [color=42A9FF]“How’s that? Too cold?”[/color] Danni flinched at the cold and grumbled at April's admonishment. Pops would absolutely make him do push ups and affirmations but he definitely did not want Pops so see them like this. He leaned into the cold after a moment, a sigh as the chill started to chase away the pain. [color=E948FC]“Yeah, t'at feels waaaaay better. T'anks Rillie. Lemme sit for a little bit and t'en we can try again? T'at was rough so maybe we try somet'in’ a little less challengin’ t'is time?.”[/color] She nodded, maintaining the impromptu ice pack she’d made her hand into. [color=42A9FF]“Maybe… maybe we try it next time just without the powers - like just the footwork? My head was spinning trying to think about it all and then we were spinning and then we were falling and y’know,”[/color] her face flushed a bit. [color=42A9FF]“I do really wanna do this tho! But maybe I need to take a dance class or something this semester? Hm. That could be fun. Yeah. Maybe I’ll do that!”[/color] [color=E948FC] “Oh, t'at's a good idea. No powers, just t'e steps. I can count t'e steps too, ‘elp keep us on t'e same tempo. And I'm always down to dance so lmk if you wanna practice for class tbos semester!”[/color] Danni mused. The ice was edging into unpleasant very quickly and he tapped April on the shoulder before popping up and offering his hand out. [color=E948FC]“Okay! Let's do t'is! Round 2, slow mo so we don't ‘urt ourselves again!”[/color] April dropped the ice, flinging her hand to the side as it shot off like a glove, joining the reserves of water kept for her in the room. She’d need to see if she still felt like taking dance classes the next day - it was one of the things they’d recommended she do at CAGE, to wait twenty four hours before making big choices. The depressive aspect of her condition seemed to be under control, but her Pops hadn’t been wrong - she had been acting a little manic lately. So a waiting period would be good. As tempting as it was to email the school now and ask to have her schedule changed around. She didn’t [i]really[/i] need to take that elective swim class she’d signed up for. [color=42A9FF]“We got this!!”[/color] April took his hand, feeling more confident - despite the fact that Danni had already nearly broken his nose. [color=E948FC] “Okay, so we call t’e team up or ‘owever we wanna signal t’is. We ‘it two paces away from each ot’er.”[/color] Danni took two steps back from April. [color=E948FC] “T’en we move in. Just walk normal for now. So it’s one, two - we should be side by side and arm to arm.”[/color] Danni paused, showing April the set up. [color=E948FC]“We keep goin’ for two more steps while keeping contact with the fingers. At three, we lock in around the wrist and at four, we shift the foreward step into a side step to start t’e turn [i]but[/i] we still reach forward ta give t’e really pretty illusion of swayin’ like t’ose old timey ballroom dancers in palaces.”[/color] Danni took a firm hold of her wrist on three and shifted like he explained. [color=E948FC] “T’en, t’at puts us inta t’s spin so you ‘it t’e ice. As we finish t’e spin, I ‘it t’e dragon, and t’en we ‘ard plant our ‘eels, anot’er icy wave, and t’en pose - toes pointed, you’re arm up like t’is.”[/color] Danni positioned her arm extended and twisted down in a gentle slope while his mirrored it on the other side, twisting up. [color=E948FC] “And t’is way if we wanna build more combos off t’is or we t’ink we wanna do it again, we can go right inta it! T’oughts? Comments? Concerns? No criticisms cause we know I’ll cry!”[/color] April chewed on her lip a bit, as she focused on what Danni was showing her. It was starting to make a little more sense, starting to click. Walking normally was easy. She walked all the time. She could handle that. The forward step side step turn thing, with the arms, that was a little dicey… but she was starting to get it, it was starting to seem a little less abstract. Danni moving and shifting was helping. If Dori had been around, she’d ask him to possess her, force her body to do the movements, and help jumpstart some muscle memory. And the pose, she could do that - it was basically just pointing down, while he pointed out, and looking as elegant and pretty as she could. [color=42A9FF]“Hmm. We def gotta come up with something cool to say for the signal - but not something we say, like, all the time or that’s gonna get confusing,”[/color] she mused. [color=42A9FF]“But yeah, I think I got this! Maybe! Wanna try it, still no powers, but going a little faster? Ooo. Is there something they shout out in She-Ra? Maybe - ooo, duh! For the Honor of Grayskull? We could say that? Or hmm, do we quote that too much?”[/color] [color=E948FC]“You can never quote too much She-Ra.”[/color] Danni immediately countered, but frowned. [Color=E948FC] “Yea, we need a phrase t'at won't give it away, but like we know. And Greyskull isn't ‘ere. Hm… We can workshop t'at in a bit, let's actually get it to work and t'en we can figure out a name.once we ‘ave the flow! Starting positions!”[/color] Danni counted as they sped up, passing perfectly, the grab a little slow, but the spin was [i]perfect[/i]. It felt like when he flew, free and quick, and Danni completed the next turn into each other. A move he [i]hadn't[/i] told April about. So when he slammed into her and once again found himself sitting hard on floor with his tailbone starting, he had no one to blame but himself. He took deep, deep, calming breaths. Deeper still because fire was flicking at the edge of his periphery and he pushed himself to his feet again. [color=E948FC]“Well, t'at was great! I just got too excited! Gotta calm it down.”[/color] [color=42A9FF]“Yeah, we got this!!!”[/color] April was starting to feel her energy rise - maybe because Danni’s was threatening to drop. She bounced from side to side, before looking him right in the eye. [color=42A9FF]“Power of three, Danni. We are going to do it this time, I’m manifesting it for us.”[/color] She went and took her starting position, her heart pounding - she really felt in her gut this was going to happen, they were starting to be able to move in sync, they just had to stay on the same page. Danni didn't share the same sentiment. He'd been knocked to the floor [i]twice[/i], doing a basic pass and spin, for no reason other than his own inability to stay on task. Danni huffed, shook his head a little, bounced around, anything to try and get him into the head space to get this done properly. So when he started counting, he stayed focused on quicker, simple moves, no extra embellishments, no extra moves, not sudden flair and… It went perfectly. [color=E948FC] “OMG! We did it!! T'at's what we gotta do everytime!”[/color] Danni screamed excitedly after the final beat, hugging April and spinning her around before sprinting around the room enthusiastically. April giggled, clinging to Danni as he spun her around - her head was spinning, as she was already starting to get dizzy between this and the dancing. [color=42A9FF]“How do you not wanna hurl after all this???”[/color] She wasn’t upset though, as he finally released her and she took a moment to crouch on the ground, head between her knees, until the room felt stationary. [color=42A9FF]“Let’s do it with powers now!! The ball is rolling up!!!”[/color] Her heart was pounding faster and faster from the satisfaction and thrill of success. No matter how frustrating things got, [i]this[/i] was part of what she lived for when it came to training. There was no greater rush than when things started to click, when they started to work. [color=E948FC]“Oooh, easy. Pick a point o. T'e wall when you're spinnin’ and just keep lookin’ back ta t'at!”[/color] Danni explained, gesturing for April to take her place while they had the momentum going. He felt the swell of excitement, and his powers, grow. [color=E948FC]“Okay, now one, two-”[/color] It was as smooth as any first try could be. Ice swirled out as April's foot hit the entrance and through the halfway mark covering a large space around them. Fire whirled and roared out along the surface as Danni hit the second half of the spin and he laughed. Ice quickly followed suit again, the watery surface left behind flash freezing as Danni and April froze in place, leaving a frigid surface along the ground. The pair grinned, sharp and determined, and the next hour found them pushing the limits of their endurance to the extreme. When James returned downstairs, knocking at the training room door and cracking it open, he found the room covered in spiraling soot marks and chunks of ice half melted and his two kids curled up with each other in the driest part of the room sound asleep. James laughed under his breath and carefully took them to bed, tucking them in with a whispered [color=mediumspringgreen]“I love you and I'm so proud of you”[/color] before he left them to.their dreams of dancing, fire, and ice.