As was BJ's catching the jab with almost casual ease in her hand. It looked like something out of a martial arts movie, BJ just stopping the punch dead. The others were to her back so only Clive could see the 'oh please' look in her eye as she used her left palm to snap out, grab him one handed and lift him completely off his feet and slam him to the mat.

"While this might be a boxing gym, we no longer follow the Marquis of Queensberry here Mr. Whitlock." She said casually as she stepped back to let the Watcher recover his feet and get up. "And no.. Melba, niether you or Garrett , will be sparring like this. At least at first."  She said as she glanced back at them. "Ms. Summers will be after we evaluate her current abilities though."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:09, Wed 08 Jan 2014.

Chan dragged herself in a little later than some of the others. Things hadn't really been much easier even now that she'd had at least a little time to recover. She wasn't really sleeping particularly great, and while she kept trying to draw or her paint way to some sort of resolution, as of yet it hadn't happened. So when she couldn't sleep she drew or painted, and none of it was particularly pleasant or happy.

It was hard not to think back to the last time she'd spent any length time with the others. Hard not to think back to the near paralyzing terror and certainty that her time was about to come to a vicious end. A teenage girl was not supposed to be directly confronted by her own mortality. The whole thing had been like being in a cage with a Tiger. "Hello, sorry I'm late. Darius will be in a bit, he had a few things to take care of."

Melba watched quietly, trying to memorise the moves and quietly consider whether there was anything of the slightest use to someone as plus-sized as herself.  She nodded when Chan came in and said "Hey", but otherwise remained uncharacteristically silent, upper teeth visible on her lower lip.

Meanwhile...

Cheerleader practice concluded for the afternoon.  Since it was Spring, the girls would cheer on the baseball team. The roster only changed moderately, based on dating arrangements and clique loyalty.

Gracie Lynn Dupree ALWAYS led the cheerleaders as Captain.
Lucy Whitfield always coveted her "best friend's" spot.

As usual, the girls met up in the girls' restroom just outside the cafeteria.  The cheerleaders usually sneaked smokes, gossiped, and plotted the course of the other kids' social destiny.  Beautiful, capricious, often cruel gods they were!  Gracie Lynn hung out with Lucy and a mutual friend, Kelsey Jameson.  Kelsey was a petite redhead with an impish smile and dry sense of humor.  Lucy gabbed about a party while Kelsey touched up her makeup.

Gracie remembered a rumor that Coach Cordova invited--nay, summoned--Buffy to a private gym on the west side. ..

Luthien, meanwhile, smiled at the Slayer. He hadn't forgotten what he was actually here for.

"When you get bored with watching them duke it out, you'll be sparring with me."

And then he waited, patient as ever.

Gracie Lynn looked at the other girls as she was glad to get back to more normal things. She might love her family but they were so not with it. She looked at Kelsey "So, you heard anything good recently?"

Kelsey stared into the mirror.  A deep frown showed as she applied lipstick.  The question interrupted Kelsey, who snapped, "No!"

What?" Kelsey sighed.  "Sorry, what did you say?"

"Don't be so jumpy, makeup can be fixed. I was hoping there might be some good parties soon" she said as she looked in the mirror also.

The girl  laughed weakly.  "You wouldn't let a friend go out with badly- applied lipstick, huh?" Kelsey smiled at Gracie Lynn in the mirror.

Nearby, Lucy snorted.  "I don't know, K!  Have you seen who Gracie's hanging out with lately?  She's spending way too much time visiting 'The Island of Misfit Toys'."

She looks at Lucy "Hey, I really needed some help in something and I had to go to them, so stop ragging on them"

Kelsey shrugged.  "They're not so bad.  I mean, Melba is kinda scary, but Garrett is so adorbs!" With a sneer, she added, "Besides, you're only holding a grudge because the new girl humiliated your crush in Dodgeball!"

Lucy raised her head.  "Really?  Why don't you tell Brian at the kegger tonight?"

While the girls bickered, Gracie Lynn peered into the mirror.

This time, the mirror stared back  Gracie Lynn saw her reflection peek at her friends, then turn back with a smirk.   "Tell me, why do we put up with Lucy's shit again?  Why do we put up with that bitch at all?"

Neither Lucy nor Kelsey noticed Gracie Lynn's reflection sassing her!
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:03, Tue 28 Jan 2014.

Gracie's eyes go wild. What is happening. "I, um, don't know." She wonders what is going on. She talks to Melba, didn't she do magic stuff?

When Gracie Lynn pondered calling Melba, she "heard" her reflection  make with the "tsking".  " Now, now!  You don't wanna call Melba!  Her gay friend hates you, remember?  Look at the way that boy acts when you show Darius any affection!  Boy's just jealous of us, right?""

Now she was wondering if she was crazy. She didn't want to look crazy with the other girls there, if she did, it would be around the school in a light second. "Well, I got to be going, done my smoke and I need to get something from my locker, see you all around"

"Go ahead.  Run away. ". Out of the corner of her eye, Gracie saw her reflection playfully wink. "It's okay!  You'll be back...and we'll talk soon."

Today: Gracie Lynn DuPree rolled 9 using the Unisystem system (1d10+4). will.

Gracie Lynn Dupree inspired a reputation as one of the feistiest, most strong-willed of the Jepson class!  Although the mirror softly mocked her, Gracie Lynn found the strength to walk away.  However, the words uttered by that voice lingered tantalizingly in her mind as she exited the restroom...

Back at Bonita's private gym, she faced Clive in another round of "friendly" sparring!

She got dressed for sparring and walked out onto the mat, ready to fight. "OK, what are we doing today?"

Clive stumbled as he moved to rise again continuing the disparity between the teacher's strength.  Of course when the Englishman rose to his feet, Clive made sure that his padded glove would fly out to snap BJ in the chin in the same motion he rose with.  "Yes well I don't think anyone has used the Marquess's rules in almost one hundred years Bonita.  There's a fascinating study on the growth of the London underground boxing scene.  Where it divides from bare knuckle to street...and I am rambling."

BJ took the hit, barely moving from the blow. Her look said it all as she met Clive's gaze. I have taken your measure..and you didn't impress. She wiped the blood from her split lip and turned away to the students waiting for her to talk.


"Okay.. today, we'll have Buffy doing her thing with Luthien and myself. The rest of you, we'll be discussing tactics, options and covering the basics of teamwork. You aren't going to be fighting till we understand what you know and what your instincts tell you to do. Then we'll work on giving you the right insticts to survive. THEN you get to get in the ring and learn to defend yourselves." She smiled as looked at them. "You're hear to learn to survive..not become 'Slayer lite'. So let's hear your opening questions." She said as she stepped out of the ring, pulling off her gloves.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:47, Wed 15 Jan 2014.

If Clive's family line didn't make a career path out of hanging around superhumanly strong women, he might have taken a bit of a pride hit.  But it did.  So he didn't care on that front.  The message that was read loud and clear on the other hand was bothersome as he left the mats.

Clive actually was more than a little curious as to how the Luthien would fare.  Unlike BJ, whom Clive was currently on the outs with, Clive did not trust Luthien still.  You don't dress in all white unless you're a John Woo villain.  With all respects to the Ray Bradbury classic.

"Ah, questions that does remind me.  I will eventually have to have a word with you Buffy.  With less of an audience."  He groaned as while taking off his gloves.  The woman is in better shape than any fitness instructor has business being in.  Someone needs a night off from the gym.

Melba glared at Mr Whitlock.  She may even have growled.  She held back though and said instead to Coach Cordova.  "I daresay I could afford to lose a few pounds.  Might make me a little fitter.  I know I'd hate to have to do that though so how about if I really do build that exoskeleton instead?"

Luthien took his place on the mat, and waited for Buffy. Before starting, he asked, "Do you want full contact, or do you want to hold back? We'll be fighting actual bad guys later, and we'll only heal so much by the time we go hunting them."

He didn't want to insult her if she'd take holding back as an insult, but practically speaking, hitting each other so hard their fists would go through brick and steel half the time might not be wise if they plan on actually killing bad guys later.

"So who are you really, Coach? Sure, maybe you don't go around flouting that you're a championship boxer, but I mean if vampires exist so can the Terminator, right?" Garrett eyed BJ up and down, perhaps looking for loose wires. Melba would be able to confirm or deny whether anyone would build a P.E. Bot to whip the public school kids into shape fit for the furor. Or maybe the BJ-BOT was sent to enslave them when the time was right. Garrett looked askance at Melba.

He tossed his black and purple hair to the side, away from his glistening, pristine eyes. To Clive he said, "How does this Slayer thing work? Why is Buffy so strong?"

Melba smiled to Garrett.  "Don't worry sweetie.  She's not the Terminator.  I haven't built the terminator yet."  She winked at Garrett but then turned her greenish eyes toward the Coach and smiled.  "And I'm not thinking about what she is right now because that information is probably classified and I think Mr Whitfield's information is more important for the time being, so I want to keep my head clear of stuff I could go to prison for knowing."

She turned to Mr Whitfield and said, still to Garrett, "He's probably Talamasca though, except I imagine it's nothing like Ms Rice imagined it."