Survival Of The Fittest

((Victoria Logan continued from Saint Joseph's Hospital))

About half way to the school, she'd changed her mind. Evan could wait a little while. Right now, she just really wanted to see Alice. Hopefully, she'd catch her before practice started. While she was hoping, she was hoping Asher wouldn't be here. Aside from that, she was good. She hesitated at the doors leading into the gymnasium. What if Alice wasn't there yet? Looking like a fool wasn't high on her 'to-do-list'. Sitting around waiting for her girlfriend to finally show wasn't either.

After a minute of thought, she finally opened the doors, making some effort to about it quietly. Slipping inside, she kept her hands on the doors to keep them open, guiding them back to a closed position once inside. Smiling in satisfaction as getting inside without disputing the match already going on, she turned and scanned the room for Alice.

Two people were practicing in the center of the room, and two other were nearer to her, their backs turned. She recognized once as Asher, even with only being able to see his back. The other she didn't know. Creeping forward, she knelt down next to the pair. "Hey, who's winning?" She asked, looking toward the pair fighting.

She recognized Alice instantly. Hell, she was the tallest person in the room. Alice was the tallest person she knew, so it wasn't too hard to pick her out from a crowd. The other person, and she couldn't be sure, she thought was Ben. Ben she didn't know as well, but she guessed they could be called friends.

At least she knew that her girlfriend was here. She knew better then to call out, she she remained kneeling by Asher and the other girl. She kinda hoped the match was almost over. Not that she didn't enjoy watching Alice, but she wanted to talk to her. Nothing important, but more then watching, she enjoyed talking to her. It was nice being with someone who she didn't have to constantly worry about sleeping with.

((Small GMing approved by Sister Grimm.))

She took a quick step forward, straightening her back leg again as she bended her front. No feint this time, just a quick lunge with a fast thrust aimed squarely at the side of his body facing her, the point of her blade racing toward his ribs.

The silver blade swished forward towards Ben, aimed squarely at the front of his body. However, this time he was ready. He quickly took a step back while simultaneously touching his blade with hers. Now having the right of way, he moved the side of his blade onto her forward arm, still stuck outstretched, and walking into the point of her blade, whipped his own into her elbow.

"Halt! This is the attack, it is parried. This is the riposte, it is good. Hit to the right."

His first point in this bout. Finally. Smiling, he walked back to the middle of the room.

"The score is two one to Alice" he chirped before moving his right foot forward, left foot back pointed out and bending down into en garde.

The next few points flew thick and fast. Alice gained the next point, feinting an attack on his left flank, before wrapping the side of her blade on Ben's helmet.
Ben got the next one, parrying Alice and hitting her on the unprotected right shoulder. Alice then did a almost exact replica, parrying and gaining right of way while Ben was lunging and attacking at his helmet.

Leaving the bout at 4-2, Ben started to panic.
I've got to get 3 straight points?! I'm screwed. So screwed. Come on… I can do it…

Rolling his head, he slipped back into position, his right leg twinging slightly from the earlier attack that he parried. "Engarde. Ready? Fence!"

Alice immediately lunged out, stretching as far as possible, aiming for Ben's heart. Stepping backwards with speed, he quickly got out of Alice's reach. Not to be outdone, she recovered forward and lunged again, her front arm blistering towards him, aiming for the killing blow. Desperate, Ben moved his point towards her blade in an attempt to knock it off target... only to have her move her blade under his in a feint and hit him squarely on the right bicep which was now open. Game over.

"Halt. This is the attack, parry disengage, it is good. Hit to the left, score is 5-2. That is the bout."

Sighing, he pointed his foil north-south across his mask. "Salute." Alice did the same.

Taking off his mask and putting it under his left armpit, revealing his sweat-covered face and hair, he hobbled over to Alice. He extended his arm in the form of a handshake, and Alice took it, still with her helmet on. "Shake hands. Holy shit, that was intense. I swear you have got to be the goddamn Terminator."

The fact that her attack didn't go through barely fazed her. She didn't really expect it too anyway. Too much distance in between them. What did faze her was her reaction to the hit she took on her elbow. That part of her body wasn't very well protected, at least not as well as her torso anyway. She hated to admit it, but the brief stab of pain was accentuated by an equally brief flash pf pleasure. She was glad that her face was obscured because at the realization her face flushed red. He couldn't see, right? Oh god, don't let him see. She prayed silently to herself.

Her extreme embarrassment turned into a sort of rage, and her next attack came quicker then those before it. How dare he make me feel that?! She fumed to herself, a frown spreading across her lips. She hated to admit it, really did, but she felt a smug sense of satisfaction at scoring her hit. The same satisfaction disappeared as she took another hit, this time higher up her arm. Her blush returned at the same time as the mixed feelings she felt before.

By the time they reached 4-2, Alice was more focused on the match then she'd been at any other point. She did not want to feel that perverted sense of pleasure again. It must have been her imagination. It had to be.

She gritted her teeth, focusing on the tip of her blade and Ben. She wanted this to end, before he hit her again. Despite her best effort, he avoided her lunge by stepping just out of her range. Desperation seeping into her actions, she lunged forward again, putting all her speed into one more attack. When the blade struck home, she let out an undisguised sigh of relief.

after the salute, she stepped back, letting her arm holds the blade fall limply to her side. Finally, she let the tension release from her shoulders as she relaxed. She blinked in surprise when Ben extended his hand, but she really should have expected it. Her mask still in place, she took his hand and shook it. "I was just lucky." She said before breaking the handshake and removing her mask. She took a fresh breath of air now that the mask was gone as she walked over to the bench. "Great fight."

She set the helmet down beside her as she brushed her hair out and away from her sweat covered face, leaving her forehead clear for once. She bowed her head, taking deep breaths. Most of that exertion was the result of her renewed efforts to make it through the fight relatively unscathed. When she did look up, her eyes drifted to where Asher stood. The second person must have been Irina, the team captain.

Her expression changed from it's normal careful neutrality to one of surprise for a couple brief seconds as she registered Victoria was with them. She stood in a rush, hurrying to make herself presentable. A broad smile spread across her face as she crossed the room. Asher didn't matter now that she'd seen Victoria. For all she cared, that was the only other person in the world. She stopped in front of her, looking down to make eye contact. "Hi." She said simply before wrapping her arms around the other girl.

Victoria watched as Alice and Ben traded blows. Her question of who was winning proved to be irrelevant as Ben called it out after striking a blow. Victoria and Alice has been going out for six, going on seven months, so she knew her pretty well. Well, she knew her better then any of her exes.

The point was, she knew that Alice was wrestling with the fact she enjoyed pain when Ben hit her in her elbow. She only knew that because Alice had confessed it to her, her face uncharacteristically red. It would have been adorable if Alice hadn't been terrified to tell her. It was like she was admitting that she cheated on her. Naturally, Victoria didn't care. She even tried to write it off as no big thing, but she knew Alice still bothered with it.

That problem was probably the reason for her next attack, which seemed extraordinarily fast, even for Alice. It hit him, yeah, but she knew Alice was angry and she'd stay angry as long as she dwelt on fact she felt pleasure along with pain. It didn't matter, as it turned out. The fight was over soon after that. Well, at least it seemed like it was soon after.

Alice didn't notice her at first, instead sitting across the room and removing her helmet. When she did look up, her look of surprise was enough to make her day. The effect she had on Alice was, she'd admit it, empowering. She loved that she had that power over anyone.

Her smile grew as Alice stood and crossed the room, matching the one she could already see on Alice's face. When her girlfriend reached her, she had to look up to make eye contact. "Hey." She replied before Alice wrapped her arms around her. While Alice initiated contact, Victoria brought Alice's face to hers for a quick peck on the lips.

After a few seconds, she broke away, an idea forming in her head already. She turned Alice so that they were both facing the other members of the fencing team. "I hate to say this, but I need to steal Alice away. I'm in need of her help with my homework, so I'm taking off with her." She offered a rueful grin that she wasn't at all feeling as she turned back to Alice. "Why don't you get changed babe, then we can head over to the library? I'll meet you there, alright?"

With another quick kiss, Victoria stepped back, offering a quick wave to Ben and the rest of the team before retreating from the room, gone as quickly as she arrived.

((Victoria Logan continued in Fix))

The kiss alone made her day. It was short, painfully short even, but it still made her self-turmoil of the last few minutes seem non-existent. Of course, Victoria pulled away sooner then Alice would have liked. To be honest, she'd forgotten that they were still in the company of others. When she did turn, she had the good grace to look embarrassed, no matter how fleeting the expression was. While they were no longer sharing a kiss, Alice kept her hand wrapped around Victoria's waist, a content smile on her face.

That smile changed to one of surprise when she spoke again. "Homework?" She asked skeptically, her eyebrow arched. Yeah, that wasn't true at all. Victoria did her homework maybe once a week, and even then she didn't need help with it. She was lazy, not stupid, and she definitely didn't need her help. It only took her a second to realize that homework was the last thing on her mind. A sly smile spread across her lips. "Yes, homework."

When she let go, Alice started toward the dressing room, pausing only to turn back to meet Victoria kiss. "See you in a minute." She said, mostly to herself as Victoria slipped out the doors. She turned back to the restroom, trying, and failing to hide a glowing smile. She stopped by her locker to gather her clothes before finishing her trip to the changing room. At the door, she turned to the rest of the team. "Sorry that I was only able to stay for once match, but I'm sure I'll be around longer next time."

After that, she stepped into the small changing room and switched out of her fencing outfit and into her normal clothes considerably faster then it took her to change before. After a minute, she stepped back out, straightening her black t-shirt that was maybe a little too small for her. She stopped by her locker to deposit her gear and grab her jacket before heading to the door, waving over her shoulder as she did. "See everyone next time."

((Alice continued in Fix))

Asher had been enthralled by the match, silent as he watched each step, each parry, each hit. He was a little disappointed, though...Alice had managed to win.

When Victoria had slipped in, he did nothing to acknowledge her. Why should he? She was the past, not worth his time, or anyone else's, in his opinion. He didn't seem to notice when they left.

Instead, he focused his attention on Ben. "Wow, man. You out of it today or something?" He asked, mouth quirked. Come on, Ben, I know you can do better.

He knew he and this boy were supposed to be rivals, and Asher enjoyed that. But he often thought of them more as...equals. In Asher's world, all men were equals.

"I was just lucky. Great fight."

Ben casually walked over to the audience behind Alice, nodding to Asher, Irina, and… Victoria? Heh, Alices girlfriend, and Ashers ex came to see the bout. Seeing Victoria embrace the victor, Ben awkwardly looked away to the others. It wasn't that he disapproved of them, more so of the fact that her ex was in the room, as well as pointy swords that could deal damage. Thankfully, Asher didn't react, instead asking "Wow, man. You out of it today or something?" as the couple left.

"The better person at the time won. I didn't have a chance after she got ahead. Hell, after my first hit, she almost killed me. I need to get those first points…"

Shaking his head, he fished out a couple of coins from the bottom of his tracksuit pockets. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get a Powerade from the cafeteria. I'm exhausted."

Retreating to the doors, he yelled out over his shoulder "I'll be back, OK? Play nice".

((Continued in Could've Danced All Night))

"That was fun." Irina said enthusiastically. She looked at the departing Ben and shouted "You did great!" just before the gym doors closed behind him. Reeling herself back in, Irina, glanced over at Asher with a shy smile. "So...how about a quick between?" she asked, using her own special word for match. "Just promise to go easy on me, you know..." she added. Irina stood there, soaking in the silence while waiting for Asher's response. In all honesty, she hated being in the position of asking questions; it made her feel nosy, even when she hadn't really pried into anything. "I mean, if you don't want to, I suppose that's okay, and I certainly don't want to put any undue stress on you..." Goddamnit Irina SHUT UP, she said to herself as she tried her hardest to maintain a pleasant smile. No more talking, just wait for his answer.

"Oh..." Asher had almost forgotten that the team captain was still there, and after Ben left, his mind had wandered. He blinked quickly. "A match? Sure."

Now, I know what you're thinking. Asher Kerrington, undeniable woman-hater, willingly have a match with one? But like I said before, he wasn't stupid. Asher could recognize and respect authority. He grabbed his backpack from the floor and hoisted it up on his shoulders.

"I'll just go change," He said simply, and walked towards the locker room.

Irina smiled and went to the girl's locker room to change as well. She tied her hair back and began to switch from her casual clothes to proper fencing attire, all the while thinking about how well the group had progressed. They'd all had natural talent, but their unity has a group and their real skill was starting to show. Irina was proud; not that she at all claimed to be the usher of this, but still. After tying her hair back so that it didn't strain her mask, Irina gave herself a once-over to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything. Okay, it was all in order. She left the locker room and went back into the gym to wait for Asher. She looked up at the clock and sighed. She didn't have very long until the Debate club meeting, so she'd either have to win fast or lose fast. After fidgeting for a moment, Irina pulled on her earring and sighed. She jogged over to the boy's changing room and rapped on the door. "Asher, I'm really sorry but I've got to bail on you. Please don't hate me, y'know?" she said. With that, Irina dashed back to the changing room to put her normal clothes back on.

((Irina continued in Debate Exposes Doubt))