[PRP] a circled date (aleksy & jeremiah)

[azuredreams]

The day had been circled, a time written down and Jeremiah was there. The gym he was familiar with, Strongman Gym having been his preferred gym for some time, but not quite for this purpose. At least, any time he had fought with Aleksy it had not been-

Well, he tried to not think about the times he fought with Aleksy. Instead he was looking for Aleksy because while he was not that Jeremiah, he was not going to break tradition.

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

Aleksy was stretching. He was a very small, compact kind of person, not the sort most people thought of when they imagined someone fit, but his smallness and compactness only meant people underestimated him. Here, without his customary layers of sweaters and cardigans and clompy boots, the definition in his arms and legs could be seen. This guy might be small, they said, but he was gonna kick your a**.

He looked up at Jeremiah as he approached. "Whenever you're ready, old man."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

There was a slight widening of his eyes, only the slightest, before Jeremiah let out a huff. The amount of definition on this Aleksy was different but- Well, he punched things. Jeremiah had opted for workout pants and a fitted short sleeve shirt but somehow felt as if he was woefully unprepared for this even if he was more in shape than he had been in years.

"Don't think I've sparred on this side in a while," he huffed, moving closer and taking a moment to stretch. The huff was easier than admit that this was a little mind boggling for him.

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

"'Cause you're old and lazy," said Aleksy. "And it's easier to win fights over there for you."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"... yes, because old and lazy are synonyms for Jeremiah," he said while stretching, eyes rolling just a little bit. "Or that I've always been more of a scrapper than an actual fighter."

Still, he was done with stretching a moment later and rolled his shoulders before bouncing on his feet a little. His fingers wiggled at Aleksy. "Though just to be clear, I did not realize that when you said punching things that I was going to be the thing punched at. Not that I am really surprised."

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

"I don't start punching you," said Aleksy. "But that is almost always where it goes. You're more fun than a punching bag."

He nodded towards one of the suspended bags. "They don't make me work for it."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"Punching bags don't talk back," Jeremiah intoned seriously, "and that makes them not as much fun." Unless you wanted to be inside your own head.

Instead, a hand was held out briefly for Aleksy. Why? He was absolutely going to inspect the wrappings on his hands and wrists.

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

Aleksy let himself be pulled to his feet, and he let Jeremiah look at his wrapped hands, too. "I'll have to train you out of this again," he sighed, but he went gamely along with all of Jeremiah's ministrations, and even let him redo part of a wrap that he didn't seem to like. "So? What're you up to today?"

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"You keep saying training as if it's possible," Jeremiah replied, very much amused. He patted Aleksy's hand and let them go before he went to take the spotter position with holding the heavy bag.

"Morning is clear," because he was here and there would be breakfast, "but I have a couple meetings in the afternoon. Apparently they've made more advancements in tech that can be used against those with magic." Which usually, as he discovered, meant they were kind of irritating but ultimately not useful against those with real magic.

"I don't think they're going to enjoy my speech about we're not guinea pigs here." It was probably not the first one either.

... and this also did not include whatever he was getting up to in regards to other ashdown because he was always up to something.

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

Aleksy laughed. "They must love your guinea pig speech. They hear it so very often." The way Aleksy moved showed he'd had practice in a fight; he took advantage of his small size in his stance. As he pummeled the poor defenseless punching bag, he continued, "How much do you know about your people and the ways they try to hold magic-users?"

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

Jeremiah snorted, not surprised to hear that it was a common speech. He kept a hold of the bag, though he was not expecting the strength or the speed that Aleksy was showing as he moved.

"Admittedly? Not as much as I would like. Handcuffs that are supposed to restrain magic use," but did not appear to do so in a way he saw, "and we've a holding area specifically for magic-users." It was kind of a sterile environment.

"The shoes I filled," his voice dropped lower, "belong to someone who's magic knowledge and understanding was far greater than mine. I am having to dig up old reports, studies, and books but there's a fair amount of bullshite out there."

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

"Yeah, the handcuffs still don't work," said Aleksy. Punch punch punch kick-the-bag-in-the-side. "The holding area's a little better but like, not really."

He paused to catch his breath. "I am here to help," he said. "You practiced speeches on me often. It helped me sleep."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

Jeremiah leaned for a moment, while Aleksy was taking a break, to grab a bottle of water (one that specifically brought for him), and offered it out to have a drink. He snorted a little bit about the speeches. "I am glad to know that my speeches helped improve your sleeping habits ..." Oddly enough, it was genuinely meant.

"They're coming by with a new style of handcuffs. It's something like a finger trap but for hands." An eye roll couldn't be helped. "... and then something that's ..." he let out a breath, "well they've been taking inspiration from mental health facilities again." As in he thought it looked a bit like a straightjacket. "The implication isn't lost to me but it reinforces that they look at those with magic like they are mentally ill in some way."

Looking back towards Aleksy, he sighed. "It wasn't like this before. There was no magic and instead of policing it publicly ..." It had been done so in private.

shibrogane

 

[shibrogane]

Aleksy said, "I cannot imagine what that's like," as he cracked open the water bottle and took a drink. "The world has always been this way for me."

He set the water bottle down. "Your turn." Aleksy braced the bag for Jeremiah and continued, "As long as I don't end up in one, I do not care what containment they think to try."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

Jeremiah rolled his shoulders, eyeing the bag before he moved into position to start punching. (Where the Jeremiah this Aleksy had known, this one did not have the same fluid form when it came to combat.)

"In some ways," he said after a couple quick, sharp jabs, "it's more liberating. I do not have to worry about the world knowing I have magic but on the other hand, I am well aware of just what they do to those with magic that do not stay in the line."

There was a brief pause in his motions, bright blue-green eyes focusing on Aleksy. "... there is little to no chance I would ever let you stay in containment regardless but I agree with the sentiment." His eyes rolled a moment later. "Yet the citizens of Ashdown are not guinea pigs."

Yes, he would be a gromp about that forever.

shibrogane