Program Training [Thalia]

It was a large gymnasium with a variety of punching bags, targets, and a race track with a variety of hurdles and obstacles encircled the room on the second floor balcony. There were several soldiers utilizing the space but the one nearest to the door was a female with dark hair that was teaming up with her german shepherd against a life size training robot that was covered in foam pads.

The woman glanced over at the door as it opened and upon seeing Lucas she stepped away from the robot. “Hey!” She called out, “Only SOLDIERS are allowed in here right now.”

Thalia didn’t intend to seem blunt or unkind but she didn’t want to be held responsible for some kid getting hurt. Training accidents happened all the time at Shin-ra and she knew from experience that the resulting paperwork could be pretty brutal.

A look of recognition crossed her face and Thalia squinted at the newcomer’s red hair. “Wait… I remember you... from that sushi bar! How’d the mission g-” Thalia was socked in the side of the face by the robot she’d been sparing. She stumbled back as her mouth guard went flying and Ajax let out a surprised woof!

tag: Lucas Garett
notes: Sorry for the wait!

The training bot was pushed back and seemed stunned for a moment as its programming assessed the new situation, "Recalculating."

Thalia straightened up and eyed Lucas appraisingly as she rubbed her jaw. It was an impressive punch and if he was trying to get into SOLDIER she figured he had a pretty good chance. Although, she didn't know what his sister being in the hospital had to do with it.

"Hey! That was pretty good." She aknowledged. "I'm sorry to hear about your sister. What's wrong with her?"

tag: Lucas Garett

“You’ve had a rough day.” Thalia grinned sympathetically, “Gawain’s a good soldier. He’s cruel to his enemies and kind to his friends. Maybe too kind. He probably thought he was doing you a favor.”

Thalia laughed as she crossed her arms over her chest, “Personally, I couldn’t care less if you get yourself killed. If you want to join up you should be given a fair shot.”

“Alright, kid...” She rolled off to the side as a volley of three fireballs came blasting towards them from the training robot. “Show me what you’ve got.”

Thalia’s attention shifted from the robot onto Lucas as he swung at her unexpectedly. She grinned through clenched teeth as the punch landed on her raised bracer. It was lucky she’d been quick enough to block it because she could feel the strength behind the fist. She wasn’t too proud to admit he might even be stronger than her but that didn’t mean that his victory was assured.

Next, he kicked up towards her head and she pushed his fist aside in time to catch his foot in the air. She pivoted in place, turning her back to him in a motion intended to twist his foot around so his toes would be facing down at the ground with his ankle tucked under her armpit.

The soldier intended to knock him to the ground with this maneuver but even if it didn’t she would let go and attempt to put a couple yards between them. She goaded him jovially as she turned to face him again. “That all you’ve got, Lucas?”

Thalia chuckled at the enthusiastic retort as she raised her forearm to deflect another punch. It didn’t come. Instead she got yanked off to the side. Thalia tumbled into a roll and landed on one knee.

The training bot emitted another three bursts of fire. The first careened off somewhere behind Lucas but the second was aimed directly at him. The third blast was aimed at Thalia who leapt straight up and onto the second floor balcony above. Her jump materia glowed a faint yellow on her belt.

“You’ll have to catch me first!” She called down playfully as she peeked over the rails. There were a couple of climbing ropes dangling from the ceiling that could be used to climb up or the ladder to the maintenance hatch but that was built into the wall further away.

She supposed he could also leave the room and take the stairs to the next floor up but that would take a long time and she’d be so incredibly bored.

Thalia crossed her arms and watched him climb the rope, tapping her foot in mock impatience. It was actually rather impressive how quickly he ascended to the second floor. A mischievous grin appeared on her face as she turned and ran along the track, which was blocked by several obstacles.

There was a pile of large foam blocks and she leapt from one to the next like she was ascending stairs before jumping off the peak and rolling forward.

Thalia kept running until she reached the second floor entrance area. She pushed through the door and into a short brick hallway lined with little cubbies. The SOLDIER grabbed someone’s stinky old tennis shoe and prepared to toss it in the direction of Lucas’s face the moment he came into sight.

She ran into the sauna room and hid along the side of the doorframe hoping to ambush him from behind. There were several men attempting to relax that seemed rather startled by her sudden appearance and demeanor.

Thalia raised a finger to her lips and flashed her most reassuring smile. The other SOLDIERS quieted down. They still seemed confused but less on edge and more just curious.

tag: Lucas Garett