[training log] we are the champions

[onemind]

CHARACTERS: All
WHERE: Station 72
WHEN: Day :44
SUMMARY: 1988 Crystal Light National Aerobic Championship.
WARNINGS: Will update as necessary. Need a warning added? PM this account please!

DAY 44 begins without ceremony, the station quiet and still, the murmur of host's minds distant. Even with all of the current new hosts returned from their mission the station is too large to ever really feel lived in. It is almost peaceful, when the call comes.

The voice is nothing like Cathaway's, who is so often in the young Host's minds, but then again Prince was rarely so warm or inviting, and in the days he has had to recover from the Station's recent jumps he has returned to his more stable state, his tone perfectly matched to his speech, seeming as near as if he is speaking just over their shoulders.

'Good morning. I would like to encourage all hosts, most especially those fresh to the station, to join us today in the Training Wing. This resource is not to be underestimated, as it will not be available to you when you are on assignment. Attendance is recommended.'

With that simple message he is again gone from their minds, leaving them alone with their own thoughts- and anyone else who shares them. Left behind is the impression of how to reach the Training Wing, in case anyone is unaware.




FOR THOSE WHO CHOSE to follow the call and make their way to the Training wing, they will find Prince, once again adorned in his traditional uniform. He has beside him a small stack of charcoal grey jumpsuits identical to it beside him, for any host who had not previously made their way to the wing.

For those who are familiar with the space he simply nods to them and leaves them to their own devices, unless they should chose to approach him for more than simple encouragement. For those who are new, he will direct them to the lockers and give them the honeycomb textured jumpsuits, which will fit them perfectly. He will also give a brief explanation of Iota and Rho symbiotic types for those who need it ((as outlined in the setting)) and go into the basics of the specialized abilities all hosts develop. He will not divulge the exact ability that a host possesses at that time, but may be persuaded to with some difficulty. He will then suggest that they set their mind to learning what they can aboard the station, and let each host know that he only teaches the willing.

After that, the space is theirs.

---

((OOC Notes: Welcome to the second training log! Below you will find some information from the first log, which is now also available in the setting section!

The Training Wing is large- bigger than the biggest gym, and it contains a number of specialized spaces for Host’s use. What follows is an (incomplete) list of amenities. Have an idea for another space? Drop us a line in the questions section of the most recent calendar post! The training wing itself is a central hub-type area with a number of hallways that branch out in a vaguely spiraling fashion spanning multiple levels. Below are a list of locations key to this log:

• Lockers - Featuring rows of open cubbies, shower spaces, a bathroom, towels, and sets of shoes for those of you without proper footwear. Hosts visiting the lockers for the first time will receive their station-standard charcoal grey suits, which are tailor fit to their exact measurements. These suits are flexible, strong, and surprisingly breathable, and are comfortable enough to wear all day.

• Track - Centrally located there is a large running track that is multiple lanes wide, the ground of which is coated in some sort of slightly rubbery, gripping substance.

• Gym - Located not far from the lockers is an almost traditional gym space, with a number of pieces of exercise equipment, some of which is familiar and some of which is not. There are instructions that will read in a pleasant voice if you seem lost. You will find both strength and cardio equipment arranged in a somewhat sensible manner.

• Training Hall - A large open space with a number of pads on the floors and walls and a wide variety of dummies and protective gear. This is the space where you will find melee practice weapons ranging from swords and pikes to slightly more exotic weaponry- all blunted or dulled- as well as room for most forms of martial arts.

• Range - Lying closest to the Flight Hangar, this room features a number of targets and projectile training weapons. Here you will find everything from bows and arrows to laser guns. Nothing is capable of doing real damage, but it feels and reacts in a way that’s very real. Handy readouts will tell you exactly how accurate (or inaccurate) you are.

• Pool - It’s a pool, there are lanes, so swim free. Please don’t drown. There is no sauna. There are two styles of suits available, a simple charcoal one-piece with white piping, and an equally simple charcoal swim briefs with matching white piping.

We're in control, body and soul,
We push ourselves to the maximum!!))

NAVIGATION • SETTING • FAQ • MOD CONTACT • GLOSSARY

( CODE BY WHAMBAM )

Comments

[decommission]

[ Sam doesn't need to reach all too hard for Steve's attention. ]

( Been meaning to ask you the same thing. ) [ His words are light and welcoming, the link pulsing to his heart rate, quickened by exertion. Running. He never gets tired of it.

He starts making his way toward where Sam's stretching, a faint sheen of sweat at his brow. ]

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ They're not brood, and the connection between them doesn't have quite the same weight to it - but it feels something like home all the same at the welcome he receives across the link.

His smile is warm and affectionate when Steve heads over, and even though he'd cooled down enough that his pulse had slowed, for a moment it picks back up to beat in time with Steve's. He offers out the bottle of water he'd been drinking from. ]

Hey, running man, how you doing?

[decommission]

[ Steve reaches out to take the bottle, a smirk pulling at one side of his mouth. ]

Keeping busy. [ Trying to. That's the trouble with being on the Station. He takes a long gulp from the water bottle before handing it back. ] How'd you wanna start?

[ Down to business. This is definitely one area he needs more practice in. Having Ren around for so long meant keeping his defenses clamped and ready - with only Ilde left, he's gotten a little more lax. Mutual avoidance puts them at a distance. And besides her, Sam's probably the person he's next closest to - and he's no longer so guarded around him anymore. ]

[sizeofyourbaggage]

Remind me later I gotta give you something better to do than keep busy.

[ He's teasing, kind of - but only kind of. Sam knows keeping busy during down time well enough, but he's... well. He's just got a personal interest in wanting Steve to be happy, not just keeping busy.

Still, down to business it is, and Sam drops down to sit on one the bench nearby. ]

Lately I've been trying to help people bolster their defenses, kind of... add ours together to help keep stuff in and shut out the rest of the Nest, you know? It's been hit or miss, but I think it was helping, back on Waypoint.

[decommission]

[ He raises an eyebrow at the teasing, even rolling his eyes good-naturedly as he takes the seat at the bench next to Sam. Look pal, he's got hobbies. But most are the solitary sort, and with them he falls back behind walls out of courtesy and a need for quiet, losing track of time as it's easy to do here. Still has to work on that a bit.

Once Sam starts explaining, he's got Steve's full attention and interest. ]

Like merging shields?

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ Uh-huh. Sam'll believe it when he sees it. Really all this is telling him is that he needs to bug Steve more, which, well. Spending time with him ain't exactly a hardship.

His smile brightens a little at Steve's question. ]

Yeah, exactly like that. I think we gotta have a decent enough connection to start - or that's the only time it's kind of worked, anyway, but it blocked the Nest out pretty good. You up for it?

[ It's not a problem for Sam, honestly, not with how much he trusts Steve and how much he and Steve have worked together to ground Bucky mentally, but he's not gonna go and let his end of the connection open without checking. ]

[decommission]

[ A look of 'course I am. Not that he doesn't appreciate Sam asking first, but he already agreed to do this. Has to do it, if he wants to make sure he can defend himself - and provide support for anyone else. ]

You try physical contact that time? [ It's enhanced his connection with folks before, if a stronger one is needed here then any little bit might help. While he speaks he lets his side of the connection widen again, warming up. ]

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ Sam jostles Steve's knee with his at that look, shooting him one back. All right, all right.

He has to actually pause to think about that, brows furrowing a little. He and Bucky are in physical contact a lot, when they're not fighting; he just can't remember if they were when he tried it, since that was mostly accidental. He wasn't with Lavellan, but he's pretty sure it was more Lavellan's symbiote ability and less anything Sam did. ]

Maybe? Can't hurt to try, I'm not gonna protest.

[ Sam holds out his hand out, palm up, as he widens his own connection. It's easy, so much easier than when he first got here. Most of the rest of the Nest, it's second nature to keep his connection closed tight, but with Steve... well, he's gotta try a lot harder. Now he stops, and lets himself reach out, like the brush of wings stretching out across Steve's mind. ]

[decommission]

[ Steve sways with slight exaggeration, and his palm settles over Sam's. Locks eyes with him for a second before closing them, easier for him to concentrate (he's convinced, anyway). The brush of Sam's mind is familiar and welcomed on two fronts: the part that Steve still considers wholly himself and the part that is the symbiote, its constant desire for this form of touch. Synchronicity. He takes care to recognize the difference every time.

When he can't anymore is when he'll start to get worried again.

Invisible fingers skim across the place where they meet. His touch is both man-made and earthy: the sun-warmed boardwalk under bare feet. Solid and comfortable. He settles there, waiting for Sam to take the lead. ]

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ His gaze stays on Steve for only a moment longer before he closes his eyes as well, shutting out any would be distractions. It's similar for Sam - he reminds himself every that the symbiote doesn't control him, that there's a difference between the mental closeness that it wants with the other Hosts and the companionship that Sam seeks out and welcomes.

Sam chose this, chose Steve. He would every time, symbiote or not, and he doesn't worry as he widens their connection. As he settles in, too, and tries not to think too hard on just how much Steve feels like home.

His own touch is the warmth of the sun, the mist of clouds, the feel of slow, even breathing and the sound of a steady heart beat. He flows into Steve's mind with the sensation of a light breeze, seeking out Steve's defenses to bolster them. To merge with them, wings starting to curl in around them both, and slowly the rest of the Nest seems just a little bit quieter. He stops there, not necessarily out of hesitancy to go further, more testing it as is. ]

( Can you feel a difference? )

[decommission]

[ The unspoken word resonates, seeping into the foundation of his shields, both sun-soaked and cool like a perfect summer afternoon back home. Intermingled as they are, he can't help the deep sense of wanting that permeates in that instant. Not for that specific moment or place in his memory, but to share it with Sam. ]

( Yeah, I can. ) [ His answer is a second delayed and flushed with self-conscious, muted surprise. But he feels the Nest turning quiet around them. He tries to shift his focus back to that.

Thick, interconnected steel-like walls surround them - his visual manifestation of shields. ]

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ If it weren't for the way that the flavor of that want is so very Steve, Sam would think it was his own. He breathes, a sharp intake and a slow exhale. Despite the fact that Steve'd told him that he was a part of why this was home, that Sam'd returned it - that Sam'd told Damon that he went no where without Steve and Bucky and Clint, when talk of going home came up - it still catches him almost by surprise. ]

( Me too. )

[ He's not even sure if he's responding to the consciously formed words or to the feeling echoing between them. He wants to soothe away that self-consciousness, somehow, doesn't quite know how to do it except to say me too. You're not alone.

But they're supposed to be training, and he's got a feel for the shape of Steve's mental defenses now. Sam's own visual representation comes in layers, but he considers the wings to be his strongest, and it's that he focuses on now. His wings merge with Steve's steel, interconnected feathers like metal, until -

Until Steve breathes and Sam breathes with him, and damn near all of Sam's mind is laid bare. It isn't quiet, even with its steadiness - it's vibrant and alive, the warmth of a security and confidence in who he is, in knowing every step of the journey that took him there. Still, there's an undercurrent of something else. An echo of what had once been chaos, something dark and hollow. Never gone, but faded, learned to live with even if he sometimes struggles with complete acceptance.

The rest of the Nest is maybe quieter than it's ever been, but he hadn't meant to go this deep, and he - he can't even find his connection with Steve, it's like it's too wide to even grasp the edges of it. ]

[decommission]

[ The closest thing he can compare it to is getting caught in an ocean tide - that long moment where your completely submerged and the water's got you spinning til you can't tell up from down anymore - there's just ocean and more ocean and all you can do is wait until it lets you go.

Sam'd be the ocean in this metaphor. For a split second fear grips at his chest at the loss of control, his thoughts scrambling for a sense of direction - somewhere else his lungs pull in air instead of saltwater, and it's not the cold that's surrounding him but warmth. Steady, alive. He can feel the ground beneath his feet again.

It's because of all the light that surrounds him that he begins to fix on that heavy undercurrent, like cold air brushing at bare ankles. Without thinking he reaches to touch it, as though it's something solid he can move. ]

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ It'd been unintentional, and honestly, Sam's just as thrown as Steve is. He's only ever gone this deep with Clint and Bucky before. With Clint it'd been gradual, and with Bucky it'd been to fight the programming, but this is - he's left off balance.

When Steve's attention is brought to the undercurrent, so is Sam's. Steve's mental touch is like prodding at a sore tooth, and for a moment brief snippets of sensation surface - the faint edge of a deep seeded grief, a flash of blue eyes and sandy hair and unbridled laughter, the feel of blood and grit under fingernails, the smell of charred flesh and lilac perfume, the lingering taste of a sterile cleaner sharp and bitter on the back of his tongue, guilt and regret and the push to be enough, he's never enough -

Sam breathes, in and out, and pulls his attention away until it fades in the background again. He reaches out without making a conscious decision, a sensation like fingers lacing together as he takes Steve's hand.

That part ain't as pretty as the rest of me, he thinks about joking, but their connection is open wide enough that the impression makes it across before he can even form the mental words. ]

[decommission]

[ The feedback of pain and memory is instant, almost too fast for him to parse. He reels back as the undercurrent fades beyond his reach, his balance thrown off again until Sam's hand closes around his.

But it's still you. His voice deep even in the absence of a voice, radiating surprise and a light touch of reverence. He's seen the dark parts of people here, the lack of empathy and cold, murderous intentions of his broodmates, seen the blinding face of God in another.

Sam is so deeply human it almost hurts -

- or maybe that's his head throbbing, his mind abilities suddenly stretched beyond what he's practiced. A hand raises to his temple as he recedes from the connection, grimacing. ]

[sizeofyourbaggage]

[ Sam squeezes Steve's hand, unsure what to make of what he can feel in Steve's response except that it makes his chest hitch a little.

Yeah. Yeah, it's still me.

He can't be ashamed of it, even in his own mind. It's him, and most of it are things he's owned up to or things he's working on facing. It's not that he doesn't want Steve to see that side of him, it's just that...

It's just that Steve means a lot to him.

Sam scrambles a little as Steve starts to pull back from the connection, until he can find the edges of it himself to try to narrow it again - but his symbiote ability still flares to life without him quite meaning it to, trying to soothe Steve's headache away with a note of apology. ]

( That, uh. That's not what usually happens. )