so seek the wolf in thyself

Oh that? I just… had something in my eye.

#c: daisy #sighs #ignore the text pls #he's like concerned for her #not probs as much as he could be bc he's not her trainer #but he's more worried that it's something that could affect the camp as a whole #hence the reason he's pressing it so much

Look, I wouldn't normally intrude, but if something's the matter, you have to tell someone. And seeing as I'm here...

Early Start » Graham and Fiona

Fiona couldn’t help but feel foolish as Graham steered her away from the edge. Even if Graham hadn’t been there, she knew better than to let a stupid mistake like that happen while out on a mountain trail. She grimaced at his insistence that they stop, but she followed his advice, taking long deep breaths even though it seemed impossible to calm down. It was such a rookie mistake, and it wasn’t like her at all. Neither was the fact that she’d gotten so winded after barely two miles. She could blame the terrain, but they’d been at the Barn for nearly a month. It didn’t even make sense to herself why she’d run out of steam so early on in the run.

At hearing Graham’s apology, Fiona waved him off. “No,” she urged, her chest still heaving. “It was a stupid mistake. You couldn’t have anticipated it.” And why would he? It was universally understood that she was one of the better performing recruits of the group. She’d Graduated at eighteen while most of the others didn’t make it until their twenties. Of all things, running was her strongest asset. At least, it was. Now, she wasn’t so sure. Fiona was becoming slower and sloppier, and this session only proved what she’d been dreading for the past month. She kept her knees bent and placed her hands on her thighs, trying to reroute the blood circulation to her face. Lately it felt like everything was slipping away from her. Even the activities she had normally been exceptional at were starting to become more difficult. So when Graham asked her if she was okay, Fiona looked up at him uncertainly.

For the first time, she considered coming clean. She could tell him everything right now. There was no one around. They were far enough from hearing range for her to confess without fear of being heard. If she was going to tell anyone, who better than the one person she trusted fully? The words were already there in her mind. I almost killed them. If Hunter had waited five seconds, I would’ve obeyed the order.

A long silence passed between them, but when she prepared herself to finally speak, the look in Graham’s eye stopped her. He looked worried, concerned, like he normally did, but there was something else there that was hard to discern. It was miniscule, but Fiona saw a flicker of confusion. Like he didn’t recognize who was standing in front of him. It was then that she realized she couldn’t go through with it. Graham had taught her to be strong, to react to any situation, to survive. That was who he’d taught her to be, but he didn’t know this Fiona. He didn’t know the Fiona that was inattentive enough to nearly fall off the edge. The Fiona that was prepared to turn on her own teammates without a second thought during the Dogfights. Maybe he’d have sympathy for the Recruit he’d spent years trying to develop and make strong, the girl that had once shown promise. But she had no idea how he’d react to this one, the weak one, the cruel one. As much as she knew the weight of it would crush her, she couldn’t risk telling him. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

"Yeah," she replied. "I’m okay." Fiona cleared her throat and stood, placing her hands on her hips. She flicked her head toward the trail. "Should we keep going?"

#stumbles in 2 weeks late #hi #you can reply or not whatevs #P: Fiona #also sometimes i cry over fiona #did i say sometimes i meant all the time

Despite the fact that Fiona appeared to be slightly calmer, Graham remained tense. He could sense something was up with his Trainee - he'd spent enough time around her, almost studying her in order to understand what the best way to train her was. It was like that with the rest of his Trainees too, but because of the time she'd been at STRATUS and the fact they were both on Transport, he'd had the chance to spend a little more time around her than the others.

When she waved him off casually, like plummeting down a cliff was nothing, his stomach sank as he realised she was acting exactly as he would if he were in her place. Deciding that the fact they were similar probably wouldn't help him too much in this situation, he brushed the feeling aside. "And you couldn't have either - you've never taken this trail before, and it's a dangerous one. I should have accounted for that, end of story." Graham hoped what he liked to call his 'Trainer voice' convinced her to shift the blame to him - she honestly didn't need that on her too.

He waited for her to reply that she was fine, that nothing was wrong and they should keep going, his reply on the tip of his tongue, but silence met him instead. He stared down at her, his brow furrowed into a frown, hands on his hips, trying to figure out what Fiona wanted to say as opposed to what she was going to. There was definitely something - the elongated silence that still hung in the air told him that much. The question now was whether she was going to trust whatever it was to him.

Graham considered speaking as the silence continued to drag on, so much that the idea of standing there and saying nothing was almost claustrophobic. He opened his mouth to speak when she finally said something.

"Yeah. I'm okay. Should we keep going?"

There it was, just as expected. Graham let out a near silent, slightly frustrated sigh at the words, and shook his head firmly. "You're still exhausted, and continuing on isn't going to help with that. I need you to stand there and breathe." It might have seemed like a menial, pointless thing to do, but his Trainer voice had come out again. He had been reluctant to use it, but right now, he needed to talk with minimum interruptions. "I understand that this last month has been hard on everyone, but if there is something more to this, you need to tell someone. I am not saying it has to be me, unless it directly effects any other Recruit, but someone. Your emotional well being is important as your physical, especially now, since we are trying to survive on the bare minimum. If you're refusing to tell anyone because of your pride or some other trivial reason, you need to get over that and just get whatever this is off your chest. We need you at your best." And who knows what will happen if you let this spiral out of control and let it take over you. He kept the last bit to himself: out of all the Recruits, Fiona was the last one he'd ever imagine losing control, but if anyone of them ever did, they could accidentally reveal their powers and attract the attention of STRATUS, or pull a Richmond and beat the crap out of someone. That was the last thing Graham needed to deal with right now.

Of course I am! Why do you ask?

#c: daisy #poor bby daisy urgh #but anyway #here have graham sucking up and getting to the point oh so subtly

Because you were crying.

H-Hey Graham, what do you want?

#poor bby :(#c: daisy #i laugh bc graham is like confident and tough in everything he does #then emotions appear and he's like 'ew get it away from me what do i do'

Were you... You alright?

#he's like #ew crying girls how does one deal #c: daisy

...Porter?

neitherheavenorhell

#HOLY CRAP IM NOT DEAD/DITCHING I SWEAR #i just got a new laptop charger so i can finally reply to stuff and then exams and argh #but should defs be on at some point like soon #have some graham in the meantime #ps he will kill anyone on the spot if he ever finds them smoking :)#profile

Fragments || Kate and Graham

The two of them headed towards the door as Graham jogged up behind her. The cool autumn air hit her once she crossed the threshold of the training center. The difference of the air was enough to raise small bumps along her arms. She heard him say something about a recruit or two possibly being up for graduation before he asked a question. “Out of the few I’m assigned, I’m going to have to say that Edwards and Reed are the closest out of the group so far. The rest need to toughen up otherwise they’ll get killed out there.”

The dining hall where everyone was by then was across the campus that made up STRATUS. Though the campus wasn’t large, it would still take them a few minutes to get there regardless of what shortcuts the might end up trying to take. They walked side by side with one another since the minute they left the building. Everything around STRATUS ran on some sort os schedule even if it wasn’t official. The two of them were typically the last to the cafeteria since they made sure they did everything that day and that the place was cleaned up after everyone else spent hours working on their skills. Everyone woke up at roughly the same time, ate the same things, took part in similar activities, they even dressed in similar manners. In the west, the sun was starting it’s decent, trading the sunlight that lit the campus for them for subtle moonlight.

Silence filled the air besides the quite hum of the lights that were starting to turn on. The lack of sound was comforting to Kate, as too much sound just bothered her. The silence didn’t seem to hang right to her. “So, what have you been up to besides the usual routine?” It wasn’t often that she tried to make some sort of small talk with the people that were around her. This time wasn’t different. If it weren’t for the silence not being comforting to her for once, she wouldn’t have spoken up. The two of them were still walking at a slow pace, making a small amount of progress with every minute that passed.

#shh it's ok i was just teasing XD #i love kate so much #but yip i get what you mean about getting into their headset #p: kate #p: fragments #stratusorigins #idek what's going on with graham wow im sorry?

Graham made himself focus on Kate's words as he watched her. The giddy feeling that had made a comfortable home for itself in his stomach had spread throughout his whole body, coursing through his veins to the very tips of his fingers and every nerve ending possible. The worst part of it was that he was completely sensitive to the whole thing - being aware of his whole body was something he'd come to learn in order to use his power to the best of his ability. He didn't mind that he had to do it, if anything, it made him better as far as his training went, and shape shifting wasn't bad as far as powers went, but it was moments like these that he wished he had a different ability.

He frowned at her two suggestions, clearing his throat before replying. "Reed, I can see, but Edwards..." He shook his head slightly. "I think she could use a little work before Graduating." Graham felt slightly uncomfortable disagreeing so out rightly with Kate's opinion, but no matter what he felt, the Trainer within him would always come through.

He continued to watch her out of the corner of his eye as they made their way to the dining hall at what he would normally regard as an agonizingly slow pace, but with the company he was in made the whole thing more enjoyable than painful, even if their conversation was focused on Training matters. The fading light made her pale skin seem as though it were glowing, making her stand out against the dull background of the STRATUS grounds. He was so focused on her that he barely heard her question and instead made the mistake of blurting out the first words that came to his mind. "You're beautiful."

Early Start » Graham and Fiona

When the conversation lulled to a stop, she was grateful. A few Recruits she’d previously tried running with would always try to talk to her when they were at a full speed run, much to her dismay. Fiona never saw the point in small talk during cardio sessions, and she couldn’t really participate in it anyway. As skilled a runner as she was, Fiona was pretty shit at multi-tasking. Besides, she liked conserving her breath. She had a hunch that Graham knew that, as he knew practically everything else about her, at least training-wise. Half the fun in running was the quiet, the silence. Fiona heard her footfalls coincide against Graham’s, making syncopated crunching noises as they ran the trail.

He wasn’t necessarily a perfectly compatible running partner. Graham had many years of physical training and experience, so Fiona was still lagging behind as they ran. She may not have been the strongest or most formidable at hand-to-hand combat, but FIona was one of the strongest runners of the bunch. There were times where she allowed herself to be cocky about the skill, but running with Graham only reminded her that he had much more endurance than she did. Still, he was the closest thing to an equivalent running partner compared to the rest of the people at camp, and not just because he was her Trainer. Most Recruits couldn’t even keep up with her, or they would constantly fluctuate their speed and eventually give up. With Graham, at least she could go at her own pace without worrying about stopping for a break every quarter mile.

Her breathing became heavier and more shallow the farther they went. She could feel her hairline already becoming slick with a cold sweat, and she regretted opting for a sweater instead of a tank top that morning. For every inch Graham advanced ahead, Fiona forced herself to keep up with him, knowing that she could use the extra push. Her pace slowed to round a curve in the path, and Fiona could hear the sound of her shoes grinding into the fine gravel. The road became steeper, and soon it became apparent that they were going up a hill, trekking up into the small mountain range. She continued on for a while, fighting the incline while trying her best to ignore the sore dryness in her throat. Fiona stayed close to Graham as best as she could, but her stamina was beginning to run out.

She began to fall behind Graham faster and more often, but she pushed herself harder to cover the difference. Beads of sweat slipped down to her neck, and her inhales had already become jagged and too frequent. Fiona mentally cursed herself. They hadn’t even gotten very far yet, and she’d run for miles before without this much strain. Fiona knew she should ask Graham for a break or a slowed pace. He’d understand since this was a particularly tough trail, but something inside of her didn’t want to. Instead, she did what she always did when she exercised. She put every hardship and every negative feeling she had into her strides, pounding the earth with her feet as if the act would somehow stomp her enemies into the ground. But it only made her blood pump harder, and the sweat come faster. Fiona didn’t understand why her body was giving out so early. As she fell behind Graham again, her anger only grew worse. She tried to block it out. Her eyes shut tight as she tried to catch up, but when she opened them, the curve of the trail jutted to the right, and she had to skid across the dirt just to stop herself from going over a steep edge. Her heart leaped in her chest as she saw the drop below her. Then she put her hands on her head and fiercely chided herself for stopping so suddenly. Why was she so afraid of falling? She could fly.

"Sorry," she told him through heavy breaths. "I don’t know what happened. I just—" Fiona couldn’t finish the thought for fear that she’d sound absurd. I just closed my eyes while running on a dangerous mountain trail to block out my irrational rage. She shook her head. “Let’s keep going,” she urged him as she brushed the dust from her legs, wanting to forget about the whole thing.

#whoops i just realised i have literally no speech in that last reply #and like nothign for you to have worked with #so sorry??#but i love your reply and you in general so #p: fiona #p: early start

Graham tried not to get too far ahead of Fiona - he had to keep reminding himself it was her training session, not his - but after a few minutes, his body seemed to rebel against his mind. He eventually over took her by a few feet and kept up his steady, rather fast pace and Fiona's breathing informed him that she was still with him. She was one of the few Recruits and practically his only Trainee (apart from Adam, but that was a whole different story) who could keep up such a pace for a rather long period of time, and running with her was much less stressful than it was with the rest of his group.

The particular trail he'd taken her on that morning was one of the harder ones, but she'd seemed up for the challenge when they'd met, and he most certainly was. At first, roots, rocks and fallen trees had interrupted their path every so often and the uneven ground made it difficult to keep a steady pace. Eventually, they cleared, and the path became flatter and more consistent, but it brought a steeper gradient with it - they were running up one of the smaller mountains in the area, but it was a still mountain all the same.

The Trainer kept his eye sight ahead while making sure his breathing was remaining steady and even. The area they were in were familiar and they'd ran just over a mile and a half, but that was an impressive feat in itself given the trail. A particularly tight corner approached, and it briefly crossed Graham's mind to warn Fiona as he rounded it with ease - it was the first time he'd given a thought to his Trainee in the past ten minutes - and he glanced back at her for the first time, eyes widening as she skidded to a halt, barely escaping going over the edge.

"Fiona!" He reached out to her out of natural instinct as countless thoughts flashed through his mind, the main being, 'You're supposed to watch out for these Recruits!', 'How was she not prepared for that corner?', 'Stop thinking about yourself, Duncan' and 'Wait...she can fly'. Despite the last one, he still gripped tightly onto her arm when he reached her, steadying her, and brought her away from the edge. He cursed internally for the dozenth time as he realised how heavily Fiona was breathing and how exhausted she was, not to mention shaken from what could have potentially been a near death encounter had she panicked and completely forgotten about her power.

"Stop a minute, alright?" he said, putting some power into his tone to mask how much the situation had unsettled him and to convince her to actually stop. "Breathe." Reaming standing, he took some deep breaths himself to calm his racing heart - it wasn't doing so because of the run - and to show her how to do so. "I'm sorry, I should have warned you," he said slowly, looking her in the eye as he motioned for her to continue focusing on her breathing. There were several things he'd have to cover now, but his main concern was the well being of Fiona. "Are you okay?"

lonellybutfabulous

#profile

Fragments || Kate and Graham

She stayed where she was as everyone continued to go on about their Trainees. Kate watched as the other trainers began to disappear one by one. It wasn’t long until she was alone with Graham in the large training facility. She couldn’t help herself but feel comfortable around him, he was the one who showed her the ropes of training and taught her almost everything that she knew about the recruit side of STRATUS. He seemed to be the closest thing to an older brother figure she had right now. Once he went to put his clipboard away, she followed suit and did the same.

His voice picked up as he began to speak. The conversation seemed nothing out of the ordinary to Kate, after all the two of them were co-workers or something of the sort. “Thanks, but they could be doing better. There’s a lot of mistakes all over the place, but sometimes I don’t think some of them are taking everything seriously just yet.” She slid her clipboard into the slot that was labeled with her last name, Randall. Everything in the facility seemed to have it’s organized place, whether it was official or not. “What about you? Seems like your trainees are getting better with everything you seem to throw at them.”

Kate’s eyes flashed up to his and looked back at him just as they did every conversation she had with someone. She held her gaze with his for the duration of his answer. Another bell went off throughout the entire building, signaling everyone that dinner was going to be served shortly. The bell rang through the now empty training facility and the sound traveled to every corner of the place. “You want to head over to the dining hall?” Without waiting for his answer, she started to slowly walk away from him. She continued to back up, getting further away from him. It wasn’t that she felt any danger from him, it would just give the two of them time to do something with one another instead of just standing still. “So are you coming? Or are you going to enjoy standing there by yourself?”

#p: kate #p: fragments #hush it was lovely #but 'older brother figure' ouch XD #stratusorigins

Graham found himself nodding along at her report even though he was barely processing the words she was saying. Jeez, she was...amazing. It had been years since she'd arrived at STRATUS, just another face in the crowd of Recruits that were brought in at random. Graham, being one of the older, more trusted Recruits, had always taken it upon himself to get to know the newer ones, so he'd eventually learned her name. Just like with everyone else though, responsibilities took over, and he never took the time to get to know her. When she was assigned to become a Trainer however, Kate went from being a passing face in the crowd to someone he saw on a daily basis, someone he was supposed to mentor and look out for.

He hadn't meant to grow so fond of her. Part of him believed that it was because he'd never spent so much time around the same person, the other part...had no clue.

He caught himself as she addressed him and blinked, breaking the stare he had on her almost delicate features - anyone who knew her knew she was far from it. "They grow to respect you," he replied, clearing his throat before continuing. "It'll take time, but if you shout at them enough, they'll learn to take things very seriously." He gave her a small smile as he kept gazing into her eyes, his look slightly softer than hers.

It was the dinner bell that pulled him out of his funk this time and Graham found himself nodding at her question. He took his stop watch off and stored it next to the rest of his things, and when he glanced back up at her, she was a few metres away from him. A smirk found its way onto his lips at her next comment and he jogged forward to catch up. They walked side by side until they reached the back exit, and he walked a few steps ahead to get the door for her.

The autumn air was cool and refreshing after the Training session, and Graham allowed himself to relax and enjoy it and the company he was in. "I've been eyeing up Campbell and Barber for Graduation - are any of yours nearly there?"

ironsdaily

thenoahbarber-deactivated201608

Headcanon 2: Unlike some others, Graham doesn't entirely mind being a Transport on the Supply Crew. It's during the Supply runs that leave him and other Transports sitting around for hours that he can actually take a moment for himself and relax slightly, although thoughts of STRATUS, the Recruits and the Barn are never far from his mind.

#profile #Headcanon

Mangled // Graham + Noah

thenoahbarber-deactivated201608

Graham’s face didn’t crack a muscle, and Noah’s expression fell ever so slightly, though he hadn’t really known what he expected from his selfless-but-stern Trainer. He began preparing slews of possible informational rants in his head, hoping that maybe if he timed the conversation right, they could avoid speaking about Rex altogether. It wasn’t something he wanted to talk about, and it wasn’t really even something that he wanted to think about. A bit of trivia about knot-tying surfaced in his mind, and even though distracting his Trainer with rope-braiding techniques would be a long shot, Noah rehearsed the line in his mind. Then Graham crossed his arms.

Uh oh.

That one motion signaled how the rest of the conversation was going to go. His convoluted banter wouldn’t help him now. Even holy water wouldn’t help him at this point. No matter how Noah felt about it, he’d have to fess up, though in his mind, he hadn’t really done anything. It wasn’t Noah’s fault that Rex couldn’t hold his own in an argument. Sure, Noah knew the consequences of what would happen when he didn’t let up, but it’s not like he held a gun to Rex’s head and initiated the fight. In fact, his altercation with Rex was Noah’s first experience with bona fide recklessness. Up until yesterday, he’d never really known what it was like to get into trouble, real trouble. It didn’t give him any sense of gratification, and it almost even made him feel immature. Which was ridiculous. Noah had done nothing. He didn’t even return a punch.

At Graham’s question, Noah threw his hands up in the air. He had to admit, he was slightly relieved that his Trainer hadn’t come in completely livid, but Noah did still feel like he was being unjustly blamed for the entire thing. The entire idea that Noah ‘should have known better’ than to provoke Rex just wasn’t cutting it for him. Rex may have been an entitled prick, but he was also a grown adult. God forbid he share any amount of the accountability for the injuries on Noah’s body. He looked at his Trainer, unsure of the best approach to take with this. Angry? Remorseful? Indifferent? He didn’t feel any of those things.

On some level, he knew that Rex was a loose cannon. Hell, everyone at camp knew that, but Noah hardly considered a heated conversation with him as proper ‘provocation’ to slam his head into a tree. He looked at Graham, still at a loss in terms of how to answer him. A few seconds passed, and Noah decided to do what most felt natural. He looked Graham in the eye as he spoke. “Look, in my defense…” Noah held up a finger as he paused, searched in his bundled sheets for a stray water bottle, and chugged half of what was left of the remnants. He held his finger higher at Graham, indicating that he was almost done. Once he had one last gulp, he licked his lips together in a satisfied smack. Then he cleared his throat, letting the anticipation build for what he was going to say next. “As I was saying, in my defense,” he continued nonchalantly, “…he started it.”

#sobs bc noah??#p: noah #p: mangled #blergh this is late

Graham met Noah's gaze through slightly narrowed eyes as the younger man tried to make up his mind up his mind as to how to reply to his Trainer. Graham knew he had a...slight tendency to take it out on his Trainees or any Recruit as soon as they did something out of line. It was no doubt because of that that Noah was taking his time coming up with an answer. The younger man looked frustrated - something Graham could relate to - and it took another few seconds, but he finally spoke.

“Look, in my defense…”

The Trainer raised an eyebrow, as if asking 'do you really want to go down this route?', and his hands slowly dropped to his side as Noah searched for something in his bed. A feeling of disbelief rose in his chest as his Trainee proceeded to make him wait, drain half the bottle and take his time before giving an excuse every five year old on the planet was so fond of. A hint of...what was it? Pride? Respect?...calmed Graham slightly - no other Recruit would have the guts to try something else like that on him - but it didn't stop him from doing his Trainer duties.

"I realise Richmond might've 'started' things physically, but really, Noah? Did you really think antagonising the Barn's resident hothead to the point where he could've done some serious physical damage to you was a smart idea? And before you start, this is not about how Richmond can't take the tiniest insult or can't stand up for himself or whatever is going through your head right now - I've taken care of him already, in case you're wondering. This is about you and why you even went ahead and did something that reckless, making not only yourself, but me look bad in the process! We might not be at STRATUS any more, but that does not give you an excuse to behave like this, especially since there is so much more on the line!"

Graham's voice had risen quite a bit and he stared Noah dead in the eyes, making sure he knew how entirely serious he was. He continued to pace back as he made a conclusion. "So I don't want any fingers pointed or any excuse made: I want the reassurance that if anything like this ever happens again, you'll walk away. Do you understand me?"

He stared at Noah for a few more seconds, then dropped the Trainer act, because that's all it was. An act that had been drilled into him since he turned down the chance to be a Graduate, a way that he was expected to treat those that were in his care, but it was permanent part of him and if it kept these Recruits out of danger, he was never going to drop it.

Graham ran a hand over his face, the seeming anger he'd felt before replaced by a look of tiredness, worry and relief that now he could just be a friend. He took a few slow steps over to Noah's bed and plunked down next to him, then glanced over at the younger man, wincing slightly as he saw his injuries up close for the first time. "Or at least learn to defend yourself, jeez,"

Fragments || Kate and Graham

The smell of sweat filled the air as every recruit pushed themselves harder. Some were sitting in a small group and just fooling around with themselves, barely breaking a sweat, and others ran through courses while being shouted at. The room was in a sort of organized chaos. Shouts came from one area of the training facility, the place where people were constantly put in their place. Kate never let something hold her back from pushing her recruits as hard as she could. Elements were being thrown all over and a battle-like scene rose in front of her as she barked at the trainees to try harder and work together. The training facility at STRATUS seemed to be able to withstand anything that they threw at it. Kate watched as her trainees moved in unison with such grace as if they had practiced this same dance a thousand times before. Her slight training to be a proper trainer seemed as if she was raised with it since she was a child, when in reality it had only been a few weeks since she had finished her last session with Graham.

A loud bell sounded, signaling the ending of the training session. Everyone stopped what they were doing and just started to be themselves again. People who were fighting against one another in a mock fight were laughing with each other. They all seemed to get along as if they were meant to be around one another. Kate passed through the group of trainees who were already beginning to kick back. She said a few words to familiar faces she saw along the way. Words of encouragement rarely escaped her lips, most of the time it was something like “You could do this better” or “You’re slacking so cut it out and man up”. Outside of her assigned trainees, she barely spoke to the others besides the other trainers. Most of the conversations she held with them were about potentially improving certain aspects or comparing strategies, never about what they were doing in regards to their personal relationships.

Kate made her way over to the small group of trainers that hung back in the room as everyone else slowly began to make their way out of the room. The others seemed to be enjoying themselves and talking about how well that session went. She flashed a short, small smile, her typical greeting to the others around STRATUS. “How was all of your sessions today?” She asked once she was inside of the small circle. She stood with her back straight and arms crossed as she usually did. Few people have seen her relaxing or slacking for the hell of it, they always saw her as disciplined. The others started to chirp about how well a particular recruit was today and how they thought today was great compared to the last few ones.

#p: kate #p: fragments #stratusorigins

"Go, go, go!" Graham shouted from his position within the track that ran around the training facility, prompting his recruits hurry up and get a move on. Fletcher lapped them all several times, but that was only expected of a boy with superhuman speed, but as Adam finished his laps, a glance at his stopwatch told Graham that his speed had improved by 2.1 seconds. It didn't seem like much, but the Trainer nodded in approval. He'd been pushing him especially the past few weeks and the speed he'd managed to achieve before then was astounding - Graham was impressed every time he'd managed to improve by even a millisecond.

The rest of his trainees finished their final lap and he recorded each time as they did. "Alright, bring it in!" he called out to them even though the five younger Recruits were already making their way over to him. He proceeded to report back to them on the session, telling them individually improvements that could be made, then reminded them that they would be training outside tomorrow, rain, hail, snow or shine. The bell sounded, signalling the end of the session just as he spoke his last, perfectly timed word and he dismissed his Trainees. They wandered off and blended smoothly into the other Recruits - they didn't stick to themselves, and instead did as they were instructed to do and get along with everyone else, he noted with a hint of pride as he tucked his clipboard under his arm and made his way to the back of the room.

He was the first one there, and one by one, other Trainers began to gather and 'report' back on their Trainees, although it was more just another word for boasting. A familiar voice asked how everyone's sessions went today, and he glanced over his shoulder briefly at Kate before turning back to the chart he was filling in. He chuckled slightly with the rest of the Trainers as James reported on an incident that had gone down with one of his newer Recruits, and slowly, the group parted, each person going off to take a well earned break or get on with other responsibilities that came with being a Trainer.

For the first time in a few days, Graham had nothing he had to get to, so he took his time making a brief note of each of his Trainees' progress for himself, only to realise that everyone but Kate had disappeared. His stomach flopped over on itself as he looked at her again and he turned to her as he put away his clipboard. "How're things going?" he asked, trying to sound as casual as possible while keeping the conversation rather professional. "You look like you're doing well with your group."

Early Start » Graham and Fiona

She moved at his pace, shifting into the lunges almost subconsciously. Even though it’d been a while since they’d last run together, it was pretty easy to fall back into their old rhythm and routine. Fiona could tell they were nearing the end of the obligatory preparation, and her muscles relaxed a bit. She could feel his eyes on her, and she knew the look well. Even though she hadn’t readily done anything to be scolded at for, Fiona began mentally preparing for some type of lecture or string of questions.

Sure enough, the inner Trainer in him peeked out again, and he asked her how many hours of sleep she’d gotten the night before. As a young Recruit, she’d usually stay quiet in the face of inquiry, just as she was used to doing as a human child. It wasn’t long before Graham became savvy to the trick, and she remembered that he didn’t take too kindly to the habit. She knew very well what Graham’s voice sounded like when it was at its full volume and intensity, and the memory was enough motivation to be honest with him. At least, relatively honest.

"Close to five, I think," she answered, giving her ankles a few rolls before cracking her back. There was no point in lying. Five hours was enough for a good night’s sleep, at least for her. She knew if Graham had his way, all of his Recruits would be sleeping eight hours a night, eating three hearty meals a day, and being snug in bed by lights out, but they didn’t have that luxury. A frown tugged at her lips at the thought. They truly had finally reached the point where sleeping and eating regularly had become a luxury. She wondered how it would feel to be a Trainer, to feel personally responsible for the well being and development of other people. Fiona couldn’t even fathom it.

She placed a hand on her collarbone as she rolled her shoulder, trying to loosen up her upper body. “Good,” she replied with a nod. Fiona liked having something to do, and being on Supply Crew was largely a weekly to biweekly thing. Even then, being a Transport meant lots of hours spent waiting for the Retrievers to rush back, arms full of stolen goods. She could only recall one time where she’d been chased by a cop, and while she lost him fairly easily, Fiona wouldn’t ever let herself get too confident when dealing with police. Still, being a Transport was one of the only things left giving her a sense of purpose, so she was glad to hear that she’d be able to work again soon.

Her face visually lit up once Graham asked her if she was ready, and she gave him a curt nod. A few beats passed, and then the two of them were off. As they began with a light jog, Fiona minded the rocky trail, eyeing the road carefully before letting her feet land in certain spots. She was on a first name basis with ankle sprains and shin splints, so even though she craved for the speed to pick up, the fear of injury was enough to keep her cautious. Fiona stayed a few paces behind Graham, letting him lead most of the way even though she knew the permitted trails well enough herself to navigate. The further they traveled, the more the terrain evened out, and soon they were running on smooth dirt, save for a few shallow hills. Little by little, she built up speed, feeling the wind wrap around her like a violent sheet. She couldn’t help but let a cathartic smile break through her normally drab features. This was the feeling she’d missed, being propelled forward by nothing but sheer momentum as her ponytail whipped to and fro behind her. She was side by side with Graham now, and she had to remind herself not to rush ahead, as that was yet another one of her bad habits.