8955/Training Montage Music

Training Montage Music
Date of Scene:	05 December 2021
Location:	Courtyard and Arena
Synopsis:	Diana starts her training with the young Morgan at the Themysciran Arena in Manhattan.
Cast of Characters:	Diana Prince, Morgan Finn

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Diana Prince has posed:
Diana had told Morgan that they would begin training, and she meant it. She invited him to the Arts Center across from the Embassy, and there-in they made their way to the courtyard and arena. The arena being a scaled-down version of the same structure on the island of Themyscira itself, she would've explained to Morgan as they entered the floor of the arena through the archway entrance.

The Princess is dressed in a leather armor set with a deep crimson skirt and sandals that wrap up her legs to leather knee guards. Her bracers adorn her forearms, with her hands wrapped in leather. Her dark hair tied back in to a tight braid, she stands at the center of the arena floor, with a selection of weapons on tables and racks beside her.

She looks to Morgan then and smiles at him. "A major part of this will be physical conditioning." The Princess says. "You must maintain the health of your body, to maintain the quality of your ability to fight. This is why you are going to have to commit to a strict regiment of exercise and good diet." She says in a casual tone.

Her dark eyebrows lift up as she stares at him. "Is this something you feel you can do?" She asks in her Themysciran accented voice.

Morgan Finn has posed:
Morgan is dressed in white martial arts gi-style pants, a plain white T-shirt, and black leather sandals. His moves with an easy grace. The kid's an athlete. He plays football, baseball, lacrosse, cross country and many other sports. If it's outside and not near school books, he's good at it. So he isn't Wonder Woman fit, but he's no stranger to rigorous physical activity. A commitment to physical fitness isn't going to be his problem. His biggest problem is that he has personally /felt/ the injuries of other people. As an empathic healer, he literally knows first hand the pain of others. Training him to cause that pain is going to be the problem.

He swallows nervously and nods to Diana. "Yes. I can do that. But maybe not at the school cafeteria," he adds with a small laugh. "Every meal there is basically a bland starch-fest." He quirks a little grin.

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana shows a soft warm smile at this response as she nods her head once. "Yes. It is... disheartening what the food services are like in this country. So many issues... so hard to address them all." She says with a light sigh as she steps over to one of the weapon racks. She gathers up a well crafted combat staff, followed by a second. "It will be best if you get comfortable with some basic moves as you settle in to the process of developing the muscle memory involved in combat." She says as she turns and walks to him to offer him one of the staffs.

Once he takes it, she'll turn and then and walk to a training pole with multi-levels of wooden arms that stick out from it in all different directions.

Diana spins her staff around before taking a wider stance on the sandy floor. She proceeds to explain to him the process of starting a pattern of strikes against the training dummy.

Once she finishes the instruction she turns to face him again. "Now, follow these steps." She says as she motions to the device for him to mirror her actions.

Morgan Finn has posed:
Morgan accepts the staff from Diana. He holds it awkwardly, as though the concept of a weapon is foreign to him -- because it is. He walks alongside the powerful Amazon Princess as they approach the training dummy. His eyes focus raptly on Diana as she demonstrates the techniques. He offers a warm, kindly smile. Yeah, teaching this dude to inflict violence on others is going to be a major task. Good luck.

He aptly mimics the stance Diana used, and begins an attack pattern on the dummy with the demonstrated moves. He performs the pattern almost perfectly. The kid really is a natural athlete. That's not too surprising given that demigod blood courses through his veins. His cheeks grow mildly ruddy from the effort and focus. When he finishes he stands straight and looks hopefully at Diana.

Diana Prince has posed:
As Morgan begins his practice of the 'velocities' that Diana showcased, she walks around him to observe his form. She does offer some guidance throughout his motions, commenting on his hand positions on the staff, and his strikes. She helps remind him of the pattern where needed, but he does very well which garners a nod and a smile from her. "That's good." She says to him.

"I know this is challenging for you, as you are not interested in harming anyone. It is imperative to remember that you train to protect people, not harm them. It may seem a bit unusual to approach it from that mindset, but what I have learned has helped keep more people safe than it has harmed others."

Diana will motion to the training dummy again and tell him to run it again. This process will continue for the better part of an hour, Diana only interjecting here and there to offer alternate styles of these 'velocity' patterns.

Morgan Finn has posed:
The teen is a quick study when it comes to physical activities. Morgan takes to the forms and attack patterns with relative ease. He listens intently, receives criticism well, and is comfortable with the rigors of physical repetition. Eventually his T-shirt begins to soak with sweat, but he goes through effort of this magnitude practically every day in football practice. Repeat, learn, adjust. Repeat, learn, adjust. These are familiar activities to him. But this is an abstract target, a wooden practice dummy.

"I can do it," he says in response to Diana's words of wisdom about harming in order to protect, but anyone can plainly hear in his voice and see in his face that this is a great unknown to the empathetic teen. It's one thing to talk about harming another. It's something altogether different to actually do it.

Part of his successful implementation of these combat patterns is his innate physical talent, yes, but another very big part of it is Diana. The poor pup clearly has eyes for Diana. When she moves and speaks, his eyes glitter as he watches and listens. But such is life. He's not the first teenager to be smitten, and won't be the last.

Diana Prince has posed:
At the end of his last run of velocities, Diana approaches him with a bottle of water. She offers it to him with a smile and a nod. "You are a quick learner. This is good." She says to him. "Take a moment to breathe and relax now." She says then, still holding her own staff vertically in her left hand.

Her eyes go to the rack of weapons and she nods toward them. "I chose these staffs for you because I felt it would be easier for you than a weapon more designed to cut or crush." She says as her stare goes back tot he teen. "If you feel there is another type of weapon here you would prefer, we can always focus primarily on it. Idealy you will want to train with them all, but... that comes in time." She says with a small grin.

Another nod is offered to him then. "When you're ready.. we will turn your focus to running the same patterns against me now." She says.

Morgan Finn has posed:
Morgan Finn gratefully accepts the water, slightly out of breath. "Thanks," he says as perspiration runs down his face. He runs the back of one arm across his forehead, then cracks open the water and chugs it down in one long pull. Exhaling sharply as he finishes it, he grins gratefully at Diana. The young man sinks down into a squatting position. "You want me to what what?" he asks goofily when it is suggest that he runs the attack patterns against, you know, Wonder Woman!

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana reaches for the bottle with a grin. She takes it back and steps over to a small wooden table with a variety of other weapons and body armor pieces upon it. The bottle is deposited and she walks back toward him. "Run them against me now. As I do the same in return." She says as her own combat staff is twirled slowly in her left hand, with grace and experience her fingers move the staff in a full fanning circle.

She turns to face him and enters her combat stance again.

She waits for him. "Begin." She then says, and whether he does or not, her mirroring strikes begin at him, forcing him to defend or offend!

Morgan Finn has posed:
It's just like football practice, right? Running offensive and defensive drills? People get hit. People get knocked down. Morgan does it every day. But this is simulated /battle/. The young student seems to take to the defensive part very well, perhaps even well enough that it surprises Diana. He lifts and spins the weapon in response to incoming attacks like a champ, but he seems to be unable or unwilling to strike back. He just keeps blocking and parrying and moving around. Eventually, his stamina falters compared to the Amazonian's vastly superior physical abilities and his tired arms move too slowly.

Crack! He takes the butt of Diana's staff right under the nose. It's not an overly harsh hit. Diana is no doubt an accomplished trainer and likely realized at the last moment that the exhausted teen's guard unexpectedly dropped. But the strike does cause a flow of blood to quickly run down Morgan's face, staining his white T-shirt. His supernatural healing immediately stops the flow of blood and that blood is only thing remaining of the instantly healed injury. He looks at Diana with wide, panicked eyes. Kid looks terrified, like he did something wrong and caused this. "I'm so sorry," he whispers.

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana assuredly could've stopped the strike. She didn't though. Part of training is experiencing pain.

She does immediately cease her offense against him though and steps toward him to check on his wound. "You did nothing wrong." Diana says as she reaches out to touch his chin and tip his head back a bit.

She looks at his nose and can tell it has stopped bleeding. "It is part of the lesson." She says then as she smiles and puts her hand on his shoulder then next. "You can handle the pain. You are able to take it and recover quickly. So do not fear it, just know what to expect and plan for it." She says as she walks away from him now.

Back toward the table she picks up a towel and the bottle of water again, she brings it back to him to offer him both. "I think we are done for the day, however. You have done very well though, Morgan. I am impressed." She says with another smile.

Morgan Finn has posed:
When Diana looks check on the wound she would find it to be completely healed. Only the dried blood remains to tell its tale. Morgans takes the towel and the water, wiping his sweaty face with the first and /guzzling/ down the second. "That sounds like polite mentor talk for 'You screwed this all up.'" the teen says.

He brings the towel and bottle to the table. "What if I can't do it?" he asks. "What are my options?" He turns back around and faces Diana. "How do I learn to do what I spent my whole life learning not to do?"

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana stands before him and holds the combat staff up beside herself. She listens to his questions and smiles softly at what he says at first. "Failing is still learning. Failing does not mean you have nothing to show for it. Failing is essential to improving. Tell yourself when you fail 'good' and then tell yourself what you did wrong, and aim your sights upon improving."

At his last question, Diana takes a second to put her right hand on the staff above her left. She leans on it lightly as she looks to him. "What we did here today is you preparing to blend in new skills with what you already know. You are forging yourself anew, the more you dedicate yourself to these practices. They will become part of what you want to be. Do you intend to use these to harm others?" She shakes her head gently from right to left. "It is not you to do so. But remember, Morgan, if this is not for you. All you have to do is tell me, and I will not fault you for backing away from this path."

Morgan Finn has posed:
Quit? Sh'yeah right. Morgan's never quit anything in his life. "No," he says with a bit more force in his voice. He even stands straighter. Yep, that was exactly the right button to push. "I'll do this." Morgan looks Diana directly in the eyes. Right now that crushed-out, puppy dog teenager isn't here. He will probably be back later, but at the moment he is gone. Instead, there is a stubborn, obstinate, willful teenage demigod athlete who is amazing at sports specifically because he doesn't know how to quit something.

"Can we go again?" he asks, still breathing a little heavy. "Please?"

Diana Prince has posed:
A sympathetic expression befalls the Princess' visage. After a moment of thought she nods her head to him and approaches to take the towel and bottle once more. "We can." She says in a calm and caring tone. Once the items are set down again, she returns to stand before him.

A breath is taken, displaying he should do the same before she settles in to position again and rolls her fingers across the grip of the combat staff she wields. Her brown eyed gaze is stern upon his as she waits for him to do the same.

"Begin." Diana says a moment there-after, as her strikes once more fall forward upon the teen!

The sun has moved quite a way since they first arrived. It was beating down upon the sands, but is now dipping behind the peak of the arena walls, leaving the two of them in shade as the practice continues!

Morgan Finn has posed:
Morgan nods to his mentor. Like she does, he draws in a slow, deep breath. That first strike did surprise the kid a bit, but he deftly knocks the attacker's staff aside. He's really good at defending, surprisingly good at it. But within a few moments it becomes clear that he is falling back into the same pattern. Block, dodge, slide, repeat.

However, after a couple of near misses, Morgan starts to push forward. His meager skills are no match for the seasoned Amazon warrior, but at least he's /trying/ to hit her. He'd probably shit if he ever hit Diana but, you know, baby steps.

Diana Prince has posed:
Naturally, Diana is observing the young man's fighting skills here.. she's able to see that he's still being timid with his attacks, choosing to block and defend rather than move forward with aggressive reaches. She permits it for awhile, the two of them moving here and there around the sandy floor of the arena, the sand itself being from the island of paradise.

But as they continue their dance, Diana gets more intense with her strikes, leading up to a final swipe where she tries to take his feet out from under him to drop him down to the ground on his back!

Morgan Finn has posed:
And that's the ballgame, folks. Morgan lets out a surprised yelp as his world upends. Literally. He lands on his back on the sand with a loud thump and oof. He's momentarily winded, but even if there were any injury from the sudden attack his body is already fast at work healing it. As he catches his breath he says in a comical tone, "Was that...was that your point or mine?" He lies there staring up at the darkening sky as night approaches. "Prob...prob'ly mine."

Diana Prince has posed:
When the teen hits the deck, Diana stands beside him with her staff aimed down at him. But she yields quickly, finishing her maneuver and just lowering the staff back down to the sand beside her left foot. She hears his words and just smiles at him.

Her right leather wrapped hand is offered to him then. "We do not keep points." She says, then pauses. "Well. I do not." She adds with a little hint of a grin.

"Come on. We will come back to this another day, when you are ready for more." Though he'd likely know the Amazons do this every single morning and often evenings too.

"Time to get cleaned up. I will take you to the Lotus Cafe and buy you a drink, and some food." She says as she helps him stand again.

Morgan Finn has posed:
Morgan Finn grips Diana's hand and climbs to his feet. He could have gotten up on his own but when Wonder Woman offers you a hand, you take it! He grabs Diana's staff and walks to the weapon rack to return both practice weapons. "Okay," he says, suddenly enthused at the mention of food. "But nothing with bland mashed potatoes, corn niblets, salty brown gravy, or soggy french fries, because that describes about 70 percent of the food from the school cafeteria."

He stops for a moment and turns to Diana. "Thank you," he says plainly. "You're one of the greatest warriors in the world. It is the understatement of the century to say that I'm really lucky to be here learning this from you. I'll work hard so you don't regret your decision."

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana yields the staff to the young man and steps over to the table to unwrapp the leather from her palms. She hears his subsequent thanks for this and as she drops the leather wraps down on to the table she turns to face him again, her hands going to her sides. She grins at him. "You are welcome." She replies as she walks toward the archway now and motions for him to come with her. "It is good to be thankful for what we have in life." She just quietly says.

As they walk together she sweeps her opposite foot around from the one he is closest too, and kicks him lightly from behind. She's silly like that.

"We serve nothing so hideous at the Taverna here." She adds too as they go back toward the courtyard and ancient greek-inspired building beyond.