nostalgiabomb: (164)
Peter Quill ([personal profile] nostalgiabomb) wrote in [community profile] riverviewlogs2018-01-08 12:26 pm

[ closed ] there’s a room where the light won’t find you

who: Star-Lord Peter Quill and Gamora
what: when training goes wrong OR yer a wizard, Peter
when: early January
where: Perimeter Guard training facility
warnings: none yet!


[ It’s not that Peter isn’t a good fighter, really.

Because he is. He’s scrappy, and he’s tenacious, and he’s not afraid to fight dirty when he has to. The Ravagers taught him well, in that regard, if it could even be called teaching – how to time his shots, when to go for the nuts, shit like that. It’s worked well for him, for a long while. It’s how he’s gotten by for twenty-some-odd years out in the black, working on instinct and reflex and, when those failed him, a healthy application of gunfire and low blows. For the line of work he usually performed, it was fine.

Now, though, he’s saving galaxies and going up against zealots who might as well be as immovable as mountains. Now he’s going up against psychos who were practically immortal, who could manipulate the world around them to meet their whims. And one of these days, they’re going to go up against a megalomaniac with armies at his command, with warriors and assassins and about a zillion instruments of death at his fingertips.

So... you know. Jabbing out someone’s eyes probably isn’t going to get Peter very far, in the grand scheme of things.

If he’s honest, he’s not entirely sure what training up will do for him. It’ll make him faster, sure. Stronger, too, probably. But if he gets caught-out alone with one of Thanos’ generals? One of his other so-called children? Or, hell, the Mad Titan himself?

Being able to throw a slightly better punch isn’t going to help him much, is it?

But it was important to Gamora, for some reason, and the look of disappointment she had shot his way when he had initially refused had been like a stab in the gut. So here they are now: a former assassin and a former thief, training for a battle that may or may not happen, in the Perimeter Guard’s training facility. For once, they have the area to themselves – which is a goddamn blessing, because Gamora is basically beating the shit out of him. But, like, in a playful way. The sort of controlled, measured attacks of a cat toying with a mouse.

If he wasn’t so completely sure that Gamora was on his side, this time, he’d be flashing back to that sunny day on Xandar and running for the blasters he had left on a nearby bench.

And as it has almost every time before, it ends with Peter cursing as he hits the floor. ]
godslay: (161)

[personal profile] godslay 2018-01-10 06:03 am (UTC)(link)
[ Better.

Gamora lets him perform one of the maneuvers she'd taught him, and she moves with the way he drags her, letting him roll her onto her back – mostly, to make sure his arm doesn't get mangled in the process.

She hits the mat with a light "oof!" and finally, with her hold broken, the pressure on his wrist is gone. ]


If you had done that sooner, it would have hurt less.
Edited (action scenes: my weakness) 2018-01-10 06:04 (UTC)
godslay: (175)

[personal profile] godslay 2018-01-10 05:11 pm (UTC)(link)
I thought you liked a little pain.

[ ... Did Gamora just make a sex joke?

It might be hard to tell, given that her expression is still bland and unmoved, and she continues on, ]


I wanted you to take it seriously, and pain did that.
godslay: (165)

[personal profile] godslay 2018-01-10 07:09 pm (UTC)(link)
[ She knows he's lying, and the unimpressed look on her face says it all. He's lucky she hasn't thrown him off and across the room yet. ]

That was nothing.

[ Not to say it wasn't painful, but she means it could have been worse. ]

Would you like a better demonstration?
godslay: (158)

[personal profile] godslay 2018-01-10 07:37 pm (UTC)(link)
Mm.

[ Still not impressed, still not convinced.

... Which is why she reaches up, grabs hold of his shirt, and throws her weight into lifting her hips to try and throw Peter over her head and once again reverse their positions.

Because he also earned that. ]
godslay: (183)

[personal profile] godslay 2018-01-10 07:57 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Now it's Gamora's turn to land on his hips, her hand still gripping his shirt as she looks down at him. ]

Are you ready to do this properly or should I keep throwing you for the rest of the day?

[ Not that she has too many complaints about that, but she's sure Peter won't get much out of it. ]
godslay: (175)

[personal profile] godslay 2018-01-10 08:08 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Something relaxes in Gamora's expression, and though it's much more subtle than approval, she looks pleased.

No praise, but she does push herself up off of him, getting to her feet and dusting off her leggings.

And again, she offers him a hand. ]
godslay: (219)

[personal profile] godslay 2018-01-10 08:39 pm (UTC)(link)
[ She looks him up and down, appraising, and then seems to decide that he doesn't look any worse for wear – sore shoulder or not. ]

You should be able to handle it.

[ Should as in she expects him to. She likes to think that she's fought with Peter enough, worked at his side and watch him to determine his stamina and what his body is capable of. Sometimes, she'll cut him slack, not push him as far as he can go, because she doesn't want to wear him out, but she also doesn't want to let him skirt by. "Good enough" isn't the same as "good." ]

I want you to come at me instead, this time.

[ She steps away from Peter, creating that separation, but instead of taking up her own stance, she just waits.

... She's obviously ready to respond whenever. ]
godslay: (161)

[personal profile] godslay 2018-01-10 09:29 pm (UTC)(link)
[ It's a tactic to throw Peter off, of course. If she doesn't treat him like a threat, she expects that to inspire himself to prove that he is, that he can be.

... If she thought him totally incapable, she wouldn't taunt him. That would be actually rude.

A twitch of her lips – a flicker of response that's almost "good" – when he throws himself into the spar. He's gotten faster since they first started, she mentally acknowledges, and it's not as easy for her to duck and dodge with barely a thought. She darts back, letting him push her across the mat, though she stays out of reach.

She intends to dance away from him for a while, to keep him moving, advancing, so that she can get a better idea of where he leaves himself open or how he favors his offense. She's used to putting him on the defensive after a certain point, rather than giving him the opportunity to keep coming at her.

However, having a seamless offense, knowing how to make the pauses in-between unworkable for an opponent, can mean the difference between keeping an advantage and losing it with the wrong opening. ]
godslay: (213)

[personal profile] godslay 2018-01-10 10:14 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Of course, Gamora sees the moment as soon as it happens.

She sees his side left wide open and exposed, and though she's been dancing out of his reach, this time she lashes out. Her long leg swings around, fast and blunt, to slam her shin into his ribs.

It's a quick tag, and though she lashes out forcefully, she doesn't intend to do more than to leave him winded. She wants him to see the consequences of his actions, of every attack, so that he doesn't let himself get so carried away again.

—because she not only saw the opening itself, but the unnecessary force behind it that caused the opening. This is exactly what she's trying to teach him – unrelenting restraint. ]
Edited (wordchoice ok) 2018-01-10 22:15 (UTC)
godslay: (146)

[personal profile] godslay 2018-01-10 10:39 pm (UTC)(link)
[ This should be the point that Gamora calls off the round. She can see him getting heated, angry, and the way he swings for her is more uncontrolled than before. It's even easier for her to avoid, all that time in the world with the arc of his arm, and rather than putting space between them again, she ducks, takes the next opening.

Another kick – just as fast, the same level of force. It's a reminder more than it is an attempt to hurt him; he fought the wrong way, he earns the same response.

The kick says "try again."

The kick says "do better."

She wants him to know that if he keeps giving her these advantages, she's going to take them – just like a real opponent would. Instead of trying to incapacitate him, it's an exercise to show him where he's failing, where he needs to watch himself, without overwhelming him physically. ]
godslay: (150)

[personal profile] godslay 2018-01-11 03:48 am (UTC)(link)
[ This is different – and not necessarily in a good way.

There's some flare of fury that she doesn't recognize, doesn't usually see when they spar, but before she has time to puzzle it out, Peter is leaping at her, swinging fiercely and with wild force. He never fights like this, never when they're going against one another, so why—

She moves completely out of the way, skirting off to the side and not bothering to try to block or counter where she might have before – to call off the spar, to end the round.

... Apparently, it's a good thing she moved, because as she evades the attack, his hand comes down with bright, flickering light, and—

She knows exactly where she last saw light like that.

Gamora skids to a halt, freezing in place as she stares, wide-eyed at Peter and the blue flame surrounding his fist. ]


—Peter?
godslay: (019)

[personal profile] godslay 2018-01-11 06:05 am (UTC)(link)
[ It quickly becomes clear that the light was neither intentional nor welcome.

(And it shouldn't be, after all they know about Ego now, after what he did and what he wanted to do.)

But Peter is freaking out, and somehow, that grounds Gamora from her own immediate reaction of "What is that?" The light disappears, and the look on his face wrenches something in Gamora's chest; she doesn't keep her distance, doesn't watch him warily, and instead, steps forward, closing the space between them to kneel on the mats. ]


Peter.

[ Without the shocked, startled tone of before. ]

Look at me.
godslay: (048)

[personal profile] godslay 2018-01-11 02:46 pm (UTC)(link)
[ This is bad. This hit "not good" probably five minutes ago, and now they've wandered into "bad."

She reaches out to set a soothing hand on his shoulder, then jerks her chin towards the door. ]


We need to go.

[ Somewhere else, somewhere less public – somewhere that hole in the mats won't be staring Peter in the face. They may have the training facility to themselves for now, but that can change at a moment's notice. ]

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