Private Tales Nenikēkamen

[Remi Serran]

Even Remi, usually quiet, introverted, perhaps even mellow being a servicable descriptor of him at times, felt the rush of watching the competition. His detached nature, his feeling of being an odd-fitting outsider (alleviated briefly by Kristen only a moment ago), gave way to a rare, clearly evident excitement. He never did like Flavien, that Gaje whose chief skill seemed to be boasting—boasting being one of the things which always irked him. Remi would be glad to see Flavien bested.

"Keep going, Zinnia! Humble him!"



Zinnia

 

[Zinnia]

Pacing was key, as was proper grip. Zinnia had managed both just fine so far. The rallying cries of Kristen and Remi spurred her onwards. Four down. Then five. This was nothing. She glanced over to Flavien and saw his cheeks puff as he pulled himself above the bar, the sweat already pouring from his face. The rush of adrenaline and endorphins hit Zinnia's bloodstream like an electric cocktail. Gods, she loved this.

Six. This was the end point for most of the girls in their class. Even those who were more committed to physical fitness like her could rarely do more than seven.

Seven. Still going strong. Easy. Eight.

Zinnia could hear grunting coming from the bar next to her now, could sense the frustration mounting. Nine was next. Ten was coming. The breaking point for the absolute best of the boys. She could feel her own muscles twinge and ache a bit now. She wondered just how much further Flavien might go?

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Flavien, though keeping up his rhythm at the count of six pull-ups, nevertheless for the tiniest of moments had a tinge of alarm cross his expression when he saw that Zinnia was, as well, also keeping up her rhythm past the count of six.

Kristen was standing there in awe. The clothes and the armor Zinnia wore hid an astounding musculature, one which Kristen could only attribute to the uncommon favor of the gods, such was its rarity. Yet, man or woman, there would at times be born those who were so blessed, and with Aionus as her witness Kristen would declare that Zinnia was one of them. And if for no other purpose, oh would it be put to good use to tear Flavien down from his irritating high horse!

"EIGHT! NINE! YOU MAKE IT LOOK EASY, ZINNIA!" Kristen shouted, bouncing up and down on her feet and bunching her hands in an excited bundle beneath her chin.

Flavien, certainly slowing now as the threshold of ten was passed, was reaching his limit of twelve: a number of pull-ups he was quite proud of, and one which, in the moment before their dual approach to it, he was absolutely convinced he would reach alone.

"You're not going to get it," he said to Zinnia, his tone audibly laden with strenuous effort. "You're not going to get twelve."

Zinnia

 

[Zinnia]

Yet more adrenaline flooded Zinnia's system. Going this far generally hurt quite a lot, and as they both passed that barrier of ten she had to admit she was impressed that Flavien didn't drop right then. If nothing else it spoke to his ability and willpower. How unfortunate that he'd not bothered to check the school's record hall before agreeing to Zinnia's challenge...but then, most initiates didn't care about that kind of stuff.

When Flavien called his shot at twelve, Zinnia couldn't help but let loose a haggard laugh.

Up and down. Eleven.

"You're right!" she shouted back at him, her breathing rough but her voice still steady with confidence.

Up and down. Twelve. Up and down.

Thirteen.

If only he'd known better. It was the one crowning achievement that Zinnia held in her heart, that she'd shattered the record for most pull-ups for girls in the Academy's history, and even given the boys' record a close run. Accolades like that went unannounced at the Academy, quiet recognition and more of a statistic to most. To Zinnia, this was her pride. Her eyes fell on Flavien, full of fire. A toothy grin crossed her face.
"M-my record...is fifteen!"

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Flavien dropped down to the ground, scowling with indignation, and he remarked bitterly, "This fucking bar is bent. Normally I can get sixteen—" a lie if ever there was one, "—but I had to work harder on this bar here. Whatever, St. Kolbe. It's not like pull-ups matter as much as the sparring arena. Or even classes in College Magic for that matter. Stupid bent bar."

Sulking and spewing excuses all the way, Flavien went storming out of the Pit. "Good riddance," Kristen said lowly, watching him retreat with no small amount of satisfaction, what with how needlessly mean he had been to herself, to Remi, and to Zinnia. A rare moment when someone of Flavien's ilk received their due comeuppance, and rarer still to be amongst those present to witness it.

Kristen and Remi both turned their attention back onto Zinnia then, and it was the former who exclaimed, "Fif-teeeeeen! Zinnia, that's amazing! You ought to be proud of so grand an accomplishment! Why, 'tis no fallacy to say that you are gifted both of magic and physical means."

Zinnia

 

[Zinnia]

As predicted, Flavien dropped before Zinnia. There were very few she knew of that had the commitment she did to solely physical fitness, and those who did she generally kept track of. Flavien was not in the pit as often as she was. She'd never seen him do more than twelve, and he rarely went that high. It was a simple matter of observation, and one she'd been lucky to have observed, at that.

Zinnia dropped down as she hit her limit, exhausted. She ignored Flavien's excuses and smiled as he sulked away, content with a competition fairly won. It wasn't too long before Kristen was lavishing her with praise. Some of that praise she welcomed, and some of it felt undeserved.

Zinnia groaned in pain as she tried to lift a hand to rub the back of her head, nearly failing to do so.
"Th-thank you, Kristen...though I wouldn't p-put it that way..." she eyed the ground, huffing and beat, knowing that a 'what do you mean?' was likely to follow. "I don't think I'm 't-talented' at all. I just w-work out a lot, and I only do that to c-compensate for my weak magic."

 

[Kristen Pirian]

Kristen just smiled. Zinnia's humility was endearing!

"Perhaps we could speak of it till the very sun gives way to the stars, whether and to what degree you have talent. I believe it to be so, but I also believe this: that talent is nothing without proper nurturing. And you, Zinnia, have nurtured your physicality to heights of which I myself may only dream."





Zinnia

 

[Remi Serran]

"You are talented," Remi said definitively to Zinnia.

He jerked his thumb over his shoulder, pointing it the way Flavien had left. The tiniest little wry smirk teased its way into one corner of his mouth.

"You have a talent for humbling fools."

To Kristen, his near complete dry delivery (and the fact that she too was reveling immensely in Zinnia's triumph over the egotistical Falvien) made her laugh with joy. And to Remi, this was something new, having made one of his peers laugh in a way that wasn't biting or spiteful against himself, and it felt...

Good.

Zinnia

 

[Zinnia]

Wilting beneath the words, Zinnia decided to simply take the compliments for what they were.
"Th-thank you both...ah! B-but, we weren't here f-for me, were we? Kristen, I should have enough strength l-left in me to give you that p-pull-up assist you needed!"