For a second there, Anaya really considered she might pass out. Something about sitting down after so much exertion, and curling up on herself to reach her ankles. The movement must’ve made the blood rush somewhere far too quickly – she couldn’t even properly think where to or why –, and when she looked at her worn shoes, the dirty grounds beneath them swayed.
She blinked away the dizziness, and tried her best to hold very still and not make it worse for now. It wasn’t the most dignified of stances, all curled up and squeezing her ankle, but then again – there was hardly any dignity left in her to keep.
She had enough mind to still hear the woman by her side talking to her, so at least she wasn’t actually passing out. Oh, God, that’d be horrifying, actually, just going limp right by someone she’d never even met before. Slowly but surely, she sat back up, her breathing starting to lower to a more normal human-paced panting, and less… life threatening and dog-like. A little less embarrassing. Anaya will give her body points for trying.
"Yeah. New,” she panted, finally looking at the other to offer somewhat of a (pained, but still there) smile and seeing the towel being passed. She took the fabric with a grateful nod, quickly burying her face into it.
At least she was probably already red as a tomato from all the running, and it wouldn’t count if her cheeks threaten to blush from the general pain of social interaction.
The comment about visiting the bar made her laugh, the sound muffled against the towel as she wiped her forehead. “I think if I had a sip of alcohol right now, I’d black out on the spot,” she said, pulling the rag away to wipe at her neck and shoulders instead. She needed a shower, and a gallon of water, and maybe a nap. Maybe alcohol wasn’t that bad of an idea, actually. Just not when she was already dehydrated. With her current underweight status and all this sweating, she really might drop dead on the first drink, if she tried. “Blacking out right now doesn’t seem like so bad of an idea, though, huh?”
It was a poor effort at a joke, or rather just an impulse to offer an agreement to what had been said, because she didn’t want to come across as rude or uninterested. The woman by her side looked cool and collected, an air of confidence that made Anaya want to try to impress with her own – inexistent, but attempted – coolness.
“Oh, tell me about it, these shorts are ridiculous,” Anaya laughed, still out of breath, still trying to gather herself. She pressed her own knees together, wishing her legs were covered. She wasn’t big on showing skin in general, let alone when she had to be exercising like this. “Couldn’t they just make some… baggy pants, army-style thing? That’d be a… much better option.”
Elly, that was the name to the face. It suited her, the Calyset thought. “I’m Anaya,” she offered back, resisting the urge to just say Ana, to stay within the nickname theme. She assumed Elly was a nickname, that is. Before she could dwell on that, the woman was making an offer that was far too tempting to refuse, even if Anaya’s eyes bulged out at first, uncertain.
Could they get in trouble for this? She wasn’t sure, but possibly. This sounded like they were a couple of teenagers making plans to ditch classes, and Anaya was most definitely not the type to have done that in her youth, but now? She didn’t have much left to lose. The proposition was, quite frankly, the most exciting thing to happen all week. “Yes,” she replied, after the second of consideration. “Absolutely, yes. Please.” Without any concrete plans but definitely a lot of enthusiasm, she rose from the bench.
Did she sway a little, because standing up too fast always made her dizzy? Yes, she did, and she wasn’t proud of it, but she didn’t let it stop her. She held onto the wall as her vision cleared. Nothing she wasn’t used to. “There’s no way I can go work out any more today, I don’t care what my trainer says. I could use the break.”
Was she seriously going to delve into the implications of post-apocalyptic exercise wear, here, now, in depth? Yes, yes she was. By now, she was getting quite used to considering how even small actions could reflect deeper systemic problems that she would one day have to combat. It was turning into a hobby as much as a habit. "They probably could, but this way there's less of a training super soldiers sorta vibe, more harmless-but-embarrassing gym class one. I think it's an optics thing as much as that this used to be a school, and half of those were probably literal gym outfits for teenagers before now."
As Anaya stood, Elly offered her an arm, seeing her shake a little on her feet. A thought occurred to her, as she observed the sorry state of her new companion. And she remembered what she'd appreciated, when she first arrived and training was hell. "Have you been to the bath in the upper floor washroom? Basically a big hot tub? There's unfortunately a few sets of stairs between here and sweet steamy oblivion, and it's definitely not what anyone would call a spa, but I think blacking out soaking in the tub is a better way to go than down a bottle would be for you, right now."
"Come on, I'll even carry you," She teased, cavalierly, then backtracked rapidly. "Kidding. I really won't be able to do that, even in my uh, peak physical condition now." Casting a sidelong look at the other woman's gaunt figure, she reconsidered. "Although, if there was someone I could lift, it'd probably be you." She looked as featherlight and fragile as a ghost.
"Anaya... I’ve heard your name, I think..." It took her a minute to recall where, but she had. Her memory of that day was confusing and shifted like looking through a kaleidoscope, but that conversation stood out with clarity. It wasn't often that Elly met someone who might have actual information for her---and now here she was, with another one. She gazed at the petite woman, drenched in sweat and looking about as intimidating as a half-drowned rat, with a new consideration. And a hell of a lot more appreciation. "Yeah, I have... Well, that explains it, I guess. I met your friend---the other astronaut."
Remembering what a mess she'd been that day, she softened slightly now, more vulnerable and at the same time feeling suddenly more intimately acquainted with this stranger than she'd been prepared for. She felt herself warm to this strange woman with her... frankly, borderline ludicrous backstory. Who the fuck was an actual astronaut?
"He and I talked about the potential pros and cons of doing what's expected, too," she recalled absently. The parallel seemed like it should be funny and unusual, but given how open she was with her opinions on good days or bad ones (in equal measure) it really wasn't so strange. "Cool guy," she admitted, with a grin. "Didn't ask stupid questions or fuck around being dramatic, even though being trapped in fucking space for years after the world ends? I figure you two would have some extra license to be dramatic about it. And he didn't treat me like a moron, or a lunatic. Which is rare when you're marked Deluded."
She considered all the evidence she'd just summarized, and came to a conclusion about it. "I liked him." Unusual for her to realize, even more for her to admit it after a single conversation. "Meeting him helped me." Also true. She'd been injured and confused, even more so than usual. Constantin had given her hope and renewed her focus. As she realized this, it drove her to an unexpected and rather unprecedented feeling of certainty about her next words. "I was honestly happy just to have you as an accomplice in skipping out on training, but with how he talked about you... I'll help you out, how I can. As payback, or something."
