[GRO] Sonnie DeFrog - Teen

[Hivestuck]

The sound of duct tape rattled through the Salamire Outpost's Training Trees facility, as it had for several hours now. Rasali was almost done repairing the combat training dummies. They were more tape than dummy at this point. It was a reflection of both Rasali's handiness and the extent to which the Outpost relied on repurposing materials. Rasali slapped a patch across where the dummy's eye would be for good measure. It looked like she'd just mummified a corpse. Vaguely she wondered if that would be more efficient than plastic.

It had been a quiet evening, otherwise. It was maintenance night around the Outpost. Trolls were either busy with chores or actively avoiding them. Rasali couldn't blame them. Between cleaning products and tape, she was pretty sure she'd removed her own fingerprints. Probably for the best, she reasoned.

With a grunt of exertion, Rasali hefted the final dummy across her shoulders, base and all. She lined it up with the others. They were a pretty sorry bunch, but hopefully only at the cost of training the next generation of Phoenix Initiative members into competent trolls.


Only Kimbley Kitty and seekingCylem may post in this thread. Quote the mule once the growth is complete.

Kimbley Kitty

 

[zeflamigo]

Silent and stoic, Sonnie had been waiting behind a tree for far too much time. He wanted to check out the training trees, but Rasali's presence left him frozen in place. She was intimidating, the whole situation was intimidating, and he felt stupid for coming almost as much as he felt stupid for hiding behind a tree. Now he was too afraid of being noticed to leave, and he was forced to sit in his own grave of self pity.

At least he had his puppets. He groomed them to pass the time, picking off dirt and stray threads to pretty them up a bit. One was a long white sock, like most of his, but this one had a lovely bowtie. The other was short and violently orange with angry eyebrows. They were clean and pristine much faster than Sonnie wanted. Silence settled in, sans the sound of Rasali ripping duct tape.

Vibrating with energy, the white sock finally broke the boring silence.

"Ask her for help!" the white puppet whispered, though excitedly. "She's dating that agent you like, right? LaMode? She's probably nice if she likes him." The puppet continued to encourage Sonnie, mumbling softly.

I don't know what I'm doing. I don't want to embarrass myself.

"She's a trainer, dummy!" A second, very orange sock puppet spoke up. "She'll teach you not to look like an idiot!"

"Don't call him a dummy, or an idiot! He's my friend!" The white sock bickered with the orange, still at a hushed tone. They mumbled insults for a short moment before Sonnie stopped, laying both of his palms over his blood-pusher.

He sighed, staring at the dirt. Eventually, he shifted to stand, but even then he couldn't bring his feet to pull himself out of hiding.

seekingCylem

 

[seekingCylem]

These dummies were actually kind of creepy, now that Rasali was really looking at them. All her efforts in putting them back together just made them look... pained somehow. Rasali regarded them stoically. Maybe she could give them faces? Would making them friendlier looking make them harder to hit? Maybe that would be a worthwhile lesson, though. Sometimes royalists were pretty.

Rasali groused silently. Her thoughts had taken a sharp turn towards royalists and their access to consistent hot water and beauty products. She was almost grateful to be startled by whispered voices.

At least she thought they were voices. Rasali turned on her heel, surveying the surrounding brush. There were some weird birds living in the area she'd learned. "'Lo?" Rasali called into the clearing. "Hellooooo~ It's a public facility y'know! Don't make it weird!" Rasali yelled in no particular direction. She waited for at least the sound of rustling bushes. If a bird flew out now she was going to be the one embarrassed.

Kimbley Kitty

 

[zeflamigo]

Sonnie covered his face with his puppets, shaking his head. His chest was heavy with surprise and regret. Stupid, stupid.

Don't make it weird!

"Oh it's already so weird. Super weird." The orange puppet piped up, poking its head out from behind the tree, looking pointedly at Rasali.

"It's not that weird!" The white sock popped out, trying to come up with a retort. "No, it's kind of weird. Yeah, at least a little." It looked up at the orange puppet, over to Rasali, and then behind the tree. The orange puppet looked back, too.

"You're making it weirder the more you wait!" The orange puppet shuffled back behind the tree, then reappeared dragging Sonnie by a horn. The greenblood looked sad and guilty, as if he had been caught breaking something important. He avoided Rasali's gaze.

"Sorry... um..." he mumbled, shrinking into his shoulders.

seekingCylem

 

[seekingCylem]

Rasali was about ready to turn back to her business when a sock puppet appeared from behind a tree. She gaped openly. That wasn't what she expected to see. The second puppet actually startled her. She'd dealt with a lot of situations over the course of her life. She wasn't prepared for whatever this was.

The puppets "retrieved" a greenblooded boy from behind the tree. Things slowly clicked together for Rasali as she stared. Of course it was the kid with the puppets from back in town. It definitely wasn't Rasali hallucinating off cleaning solvent fumes. This time.

"O-Oh... Oh! OOOH!" Realization hit Rasali like a brick and she started clapping. "Was that like a routine you practiced or something? The bit with the horn was a nice touch."

Rasali's clapping slowed to a stop. She watched Sonnie expectantly. "So... Is like... Is that the end of it?" She asked, not bothering to question the reasoning behind an impromptu puppet show in the woods. If that was what this kid was about, more power to him.

Kimbley Kitty

 

[zeflamigo]

Sonnie's hands clenched reflexively, and a frown fell across his face. He did his best to cover it up, mouth twisting weirdly, but he had little success. It felt nice to entertain, that he brought some joy to Rasali's day. Ultimately, that wasn't what he wanted out of today. He knew what he wanted, but getting to say it still felt strange and upsetting. Frightening, even.

"The show's not over unless you want it to be!" The white sock piped up cheerfully, despite Sonnie's somber attitude.

"I don't know, I don't perform for free!" The orange sock seemed less interested, less excited than the other. It scrutinized Rasali with button eyes. "Ya got any coupons? For whatever it is you do?"

Sonnie's mood seemed to improve slightly with the puppet's antics. He wheezed a soft laugh, a small smile returning to his face.

seekingCylem

 

[seekingCylem]

Rasali's mouth puckered and her eyebrows raised. She could appreciate the dedicated attempt at showmanship, but she'd be damned if she knew where the conversation was headed. She reflexively returned the orange puppet's hard stare.

"Coupons, eh..?" The gears clicked between Rasali's horns. "You looking to get buff or somethin'..?" Click! Rasali bounced onto the balls of her feet and clapped again. "Oh! OH! You are, aren'tcha!? Ohmygosh I shoulda guessed. Duh! This ain't no training hall for puppet shows."

Rasali paused to cross one arm under her chest. Her opposite hand came up under her chin thoughtfully. "I mean, we could get you started on some bicep curls. Get you primed for lifting those big puppets."

Rasali didn't pause to give any indication whether she was joking. She advanced on Sonnie. Rather than stop before him, she continued in a loop, circling him in appraisal. "Is that what you're here for? To become the next Odette? Or is it... something else?" Rasali smirked at the younger troll as she rounded to face him properly.

Kimbley Kitty

 

[zeflamigo]

Sonnie was taken aback by Rasali's question, and her sudden proximity. Immediately, he shrunk in on himself, holding his puppets to guard his embarrassed face.

He wasn't there to become the next Odette. Such an lofty idea had never crossed his thinkpan. Odette was effortlessly charismatic, pitiable, pretty. Sonnie couldn't imagine being any of those things.

"No, no," Sonnie mumbled out with a nervous laugh, the words falling out of his mouth on impulse. "I can't." He explained. If he had wanted those things, he would have tried to reach out to Aandes, not Rasali, right?.

"I want to learn how to... um..." Sonnie meekly punched the air with his puppets, trying to get his idea across.

seekingCylem

 

[seekingCylem]

The kid seemed to get smaller the closer Rasali got to him. Was it some sort of trick of the eye, or was this boy's presence so... soft? Rasali pursed her lips and resisted the urge to move his puppets away from his moptop. The word "can't" automatically stirred Rasali's rebellious streak.

Before she could ask "Why the hell not!?" Sonnie continued, trailing off into pantomime. Rasali got the gist of it, though. "Fighting?" She clarified regardless. "You wanna learn how to fight?"

True to form, Rasali's disposition grew brighter and her words fell faster as she took the idea and ran. "Alright then! That's way simpler. At least, like, in terms of number of steps to take and bases to cover. It's all, like... physical and none of that 'how to talk to highbloods' or 'how to sing proper' or 'how to eat food pretty.'" Rasali clapped her hands, "Not that we couldn't hook you up with that, but I'm like WAY better at just the punchin' stuff. We can get you whipped into shape in no time. Then you can get up to whippin' butt!"

Rasali hazarded a friendly slap across the back of Sonnie's shoulders. "So what're we starting with? What's yer skill level? Strife specibus? Pain tolerance? You ever been in a fight before? What kinda lusus you got?" Rasali transitioned her hearty patting to an attempt to steer Sonnie more purposefully towards the Training Trees.

zeflamigo

 

[zeflamigo]

Sonnie was dazzled but overstimulated by how fast Rasali was talking. He moved his puppets back up to his face defensively. If this was going to be the pace of the lessons, he was terrified he wouldn't pick anything up.

Rasali's slap made him squeak with fright, and he quickly was herded along to wherever she was leading. Sonnie had no complaints, especially when he was trying so hard to process her questions.

Skill level? Nothing. Strife specibus? He felt foolish for not bringing one. Pain tolerance? He didn't know. Been in a fight? Cynril bit him that one time, but... that wasn't a fight, was it?

Sonnie felt ashamed. All of those answers were negative— no, none, or nothing. He could feel his throat closing in on him as he stood before Rasali. He had nothing to offer. Nothing.

He swallowed hard, trying to stave off some tears. He had to think of something to say, otherwise he would just burst into tears on the spot, immediately embarrass himself, and never be able to train again out of fear of looking Rasali in the eye.

"Kermie!" Sonnie sputtered, hands shaking. "Kermie... Is my lusus' name." He explained, awkwardly laughing under his breath.

"He's really small... but he fights like... it's like..." Sonnie paused, struggling to find the right words, or a way to explain. He looked at his surroundings, then at his hands— ah!

Sonnie tugged on the elastic band of the sock puppet, letting it fall and snap to his skin. "His arms are stretchy, like rubber. And h-he's covered in this acid that burns real bad, right through skin and bone..." It was bad. Sonnie knew he couldn't achieve that, but he didn't want to. Rasali did ask, though. He just hoped he gave her an answer that she found useful, and that he wasn't only oversharing gross facts about his lusus.

seekingCylem

 

[seekingCylem]

Rasali slowed her pace when it became apparent Sonnie was having trouble keeping up, and not in the physical sense. She frowned, concerned. He was trying to get the words out, though, so she waited for him to speak.

"Alright, alright..." Rasali tapped her lip thoughtfully. She was formulating a plan, but mostly she was giving Sonnie a chance to catch his breath. "Yeah that's a starting point. Was wondering since some lusii like to wrestle their kids. I wouldn't have pegged ya for a kid with a wild purrbeast lusus anyway." Rasali shrugged in a way she hoped looked casual and not condescending. "We could totally get you into some boxing though. Power up those puppet arms. Give your frog-slaps a sting of their own. No weapon required!" Rasali was talking quickly again. She was already miming punches.

zeflamigo

 

[zeflamigo]

Sonnie exhaled a breath he didn't know he was holding. Ok, he wasn't a lost cause. Rasali was going to show him something. Boxing? He knew what boxing was, kind of, maybe? Rasali's little punches confirmed that for him. Yes. Punch-stuff. The punch-stuff kind of fight.

That couldn't be too hard. Sonnie nodded with an attempt at confidence. He mimicked Rasali, making fake punches in time with her.

seekingCylem

 

[seekingCylem]

"Awesome!" Rasali grinned, "Yeah, yeah. I can see it now." Rasali held both her hands in L-shapes and made a square shape to frame Sonnie in.

"Well first things first. Let's get you started on some jump ropes!" Rasali was already guiding Sonnie into the Training Tree's gymnasium space. Despite being carved into the trees, it still managed to have that classic gym smell. Rasali abandoned Sonnie in order to half bury herself in an open crate. "Aaand found it!" Rasali's voice echoed through the mostly empty room. She produced a literal rope and handed it to Sonnie.

"You're gonna be skipping everywhere with this bad boy." Rasali smirked as though she'd given Sonnie some kind of contraband. "Quick feet are the most important skill in a fight. You can't lose if you don't get hit!"

zeflamigo

 

[zeflamigo]

Sonnie smiled at Rasali, a not-as-nervous giggle escaping him. She was nice. He was incredibly thankful for that. The smell of the gymnasium however, would take some getting used to. Sonnie couldn't help but instinctively cover his sniffnode with a puppet while he waited for Rasali.

He gladly took the rope when offered to him. Jump rope? That was more of a game than working out, right? Rasali was a professional, though. Sonnie wasn't going to start doubting her any time soon. He cautiously looked at Rasali as if searching for some kind of approval to start, then began testing out the jump rope.

Though he wasn't particularly fast or skilled, Sonnie managed to keep on his feet. He was pretty proud to not have fallen flat on his face in that first training session, but he still had plenty sessions to go and make that mistake.

Jump rope proved to be simple enough, but as soon as Sonnie thought he may have a handle on his routine, another element got added in. He couldn't help but feel useless when he could barely complete the required push-ups, and when he could barely nudge the dummies with his weak punch.

He kept trying, still. He could see some progress, but not enough. At least, it never felt like enough. Why couldn't it have been weightlifting? At least with that, it measured how much you got better every time. Even after perigees of work, all Sonnie felt was a bit better at breathing, and each workout still winded him every time. Not to mention every day was full of pain. He couldn't even play his banjo half the week, it hurt too much to pick it up.

Then there was all the different punches. Sonnie had no idea how many different kinds of punches there were. He was expected to do them in a routine, choreographed. On top of that, he had to learn the same thing with footwork.

He tried to make it better, somehow. He couldn't put buttons on his boxing gloves, so he settled for drawing faces on them in marker. Even that faded off with sweat. The fact that Sonnie couldn't even have that, his puppets, left him unguarded, nervous, volatile.

Without that, he didn't know how to speak up. He didn't know how to tell Rasali he couldn't keep going, that it hurt, that it was all too much. He didn't want to say it. He didn't want to give up. He wanted to do what Rasali wanted, but why did it have to be so much? The thought of quitting, even for an afternoon, made him maybe made him just as sick as the workout itself.

Trying, but not good enough. Should he just quit, and spare Rasali the trouble? He knew she had to have been just as frustrated as him, at this point.

Halfway through a routine, Sonnie burst into tears. He tried to power through it at first, but the self-doubt and embarrassment weighed too heavy on his tired arms. Eventually they went limp, and Sonnie roughly discarded a glove to try and wipe away his tears.

"I'm sorry..." was all that Sonnie could manage to say. "I'm so sorry..." he repeated, attention fixed on the dummy, refusing to look even remotely in Rasali's direction.

seekingCylem

 

[seekingCylem]

Rasali would be lying if she said Sonnie looked like the makings of a professional fighter. He was a nice kid. Sweet. Thoughtful. Unfortunately on Alternia he couldn't be just those things. Rasali did her best to be equal parts drill sergeant and cheerleader. He needed this. The Initiative needed this.

She was so focused, she didn't notice what Sonnie needed in the present. Not until he burst into tears, practically mid-punch. Startled, Rasali dropped her grip on the dummy. She then quickly re-grabbed it to keep it from falling on top of Sonnie. Carefully, Rasali circled around to Sonnie's side.

"...Sonnie? Sonnie, what's wrong? What..." Rasali's worry was obvious. It wasn't her turn to be fretting, though. She tried to keep calm and take stock of Sonnie. Had he gotten hurt? Confusion twisted her face. "What are you sorry for?"

zeflamigo