9965/Training in the Arena!

Training in the Arena!
Date of Scene:	03 February 2022
Location:	Courtyard and Arena
Synopsis:	Diana sees Morgan get his ass kicked by a training dummy.
Cast of Characters:	Morgan Finn, Diana Prince

---

Morgan Finn has posed:
Today Morgan is alone in the arena doing some weaponless combat training as well as endurance work. Despite the brutal winter cold, he is shirtless and barefoot. 'You don't always fight when conditions are comfortable,' Gala has told him many times. He is surrounded by thick stationary columns that are training dummies with thick poles sticking out of them in various places around their circumference. They seems like unremarkable devices found in many training halls and dojos. Except these ones spin! The spin at random intervals and at random speeds and in random directions.

Morgan weaves through the dummies slamming his hands and shins against the poles to toughen them and develop muscle memory. A tiny click one second before a dummy spins is the only warning the young demigod gets. He is smoothly dodging the spins and practicing his blocking and striking techniques. He's certainly no combat master yet, but his competency has definitely improved on the past several weeks.

Suddenly one of the dummies spins and one of its protruding poles smacks Morgan in the face causing his nose to bleed. That shit hurts normally, but even more so out in the cold. He frowns in frustration but to his credit he manages to control his irritation. He continues the katas and forms and evasion. Within a minute at most his nose is completely healed.

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana was on-hand at the Arts Center today. She was speaking with guests and enjoying the atmosphere of the place, but decided to check in on the Arena in its closed-off moments. Finding Morgan there, dutifully practicing his skills, the Princess smiles.

Donned in her Amazon armor, the Princess walks across the sandy floor of the arena toward where he is. She has her blue and gold cloak on, but its open down the middle of her front. She watches him take the hit, and lowers her chin down a litle as she observes his reaction to the hit.

After a few more moments she speaks up. "You are coming along quite well at this." She says in a calm tone. "Are you enjoying it more?" She asks the young man.

Morgan Finn has posed:
Morgan gets pulled out of his concentration when he hears Diana's voice. It completely surprised him. He turns to face Diana and his face lights up. He raises a hand. "Hey Di....OOOF!" One of the dummies spins and a pole catches him in the chest, sending him flying back onto his butt in the sand. He draws in a deep breath and exhales it sharply. Since he's safely out of the range of any of the dummies, he just stays sitting in the sand, his bare chest heaving with laughter.

"Any chance you would forget you just saw that?" he asks.

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana watches this happen, and she winces again, before she just smirks at the display. She walks over to the mechanism that controls the dummies and deactivates them with her right hand coming out from under her cloak.

At his request, she looks over at him and shows a smile, soft and warm. "I remember things from over eight hundred years ago... clearly as the day today... So. It is unlikely." She says as she steps to him then and offers him a hand to help him up.

"Just remember, that we always get up." She adds in a soft tone.

Morgan Finn has posed:
The fledgeling demigod gladly reaches up to take Diana's hand and takes her help to stand. Morgan brushes sand off his butt. His exposed torso and feet are getting really red from the cold, but he stands there calmly like he doesn't even notice it's not the middle of summer.

With a gentle smile he says, "I hope you'll remember me 800 years after I'm dead," he says, giving Diana a playful punch in the arm. He's such a nerd.

Diana Prince has posed:
diana smirks at this as she takes the punch to her arm. "I imagine you will be around for a long time." She responds before glancing to her right. "Unless you are attacked by a mob of wooden dummies." She jests with him, showing a little grin as she steps away toward some of the training features laid out within the arena at the time.

"I think you have advanced beyond what we offer here at the Arts Center." Diana then says, looking back to him on her left.

"I think you should use the Jet to go to Metropolis and train in the holographic chamber. The arena program that I showed you there? You can fight simulated enemies, of all varieties. Though... we should start off small. Maybe a mirror match... against yourself?"

Did she just call him small?

Morgan Finn has posed:
There's a glitter in Morgan's eyes. Any excuse to go to the Hall of Justice is exiting to him. He tries to keep cool about it but a slow grin creeps across his face. "Oh man I would love to do that. And when you're the best-looking dude in the Hall of Justice why not fight yourself?" He winks playfully at his mentor.

"Imma get my clothes," he says suddenly as he wraps his arms around his midsection. Now that the adrenalin is wearing off he is feeling the cold. "They're just inside the door over there," he says, motioning to one of the doors with a flick of his chin.

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana glances at where he points, then looks back to him. "But remember." She starts. "This cannot interfere with your schoolwork." She has to say it, as his legal guardian too, of course. "If you have assignments.... you must do them first before you do this training."

She approaches some of the weapons left on a table, and gathers them up in either hand as she steps toward a weapons rack to mount them back upon it.

"No skipping your education, to become a better dummy fighter." She teases him again with a light smirk.

Morgan Finn has posed:
The fledgeling demigod trots athletically over to the door he indicated. His shirt, socks, and shoes are just inside. He does his best to get all of the sand off his feet before he puts his socks and shoes on, then he slips his sweatshirt over his head and jogs back out onto the arena floor.

He grimaces and fidgets. "Dammit, you can never get all of the sand off your feet. Why didn't you finish this place with astroturf instead?" Morgan says, laughing. He shakes one of his feet, like that's going to magically dispel the sand caught inside his sock.

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana has the grounds picked up a bit more by the time the young gladiator in training makes his re-appearance. She smirks again at what he says. "This is sand from Themyscira. Be respectful." She chides him as she turns back toward the archway that she originally came in through from the courtyard to the south.

"But you're right, sand and socks do not go well together. This is why we wear open shoes." She says with a little smile at him.

"So does this mean you're caught up on your school work?"

Morgan Finn has posed:
Morgan lends the Princess a hand in tidying up the training area. Some of the...*cough*...Amazons are not super neat about picking up after themselves. Some of them probably think that Morgan's the janitor around here. The hazards of being a boy in an all-girls club. But at least there's a lot of amazing eye candy.

"Well, define 'caught up,'" Morgan says slyly.

Diana Prince has posed:
LIttle does Morgan know that is all part of the training! Building skills of all variety, including tidyness.

"So what you are saying is that the Jet's course has to be back to school, and not to the Hall of Justice." She tells him with a light laugh as the two walk out of the arena now. Galatea is there, on her way IN to the Arena, as the public shows are about to begin soon. Gala smiles to them both as she passes them by.

Morgan Finn has posed:
"Hey, Gala!" Morgan says to one of his favorite trainers. His face breaks into beautiful smile and his brown eyes sparkle. It's enough to melt the heart of any hardcore Amazonian. He gives Gala a hug on the way past and she...you know...returns the hug. Morgan has this way of getting past people's barriers and defenses.

As he walks with Diana he interjects, "BUT! You could also argue that some physical training is /just/ what I need to prime the pumps for some amazing school book action." Psh. Who is he trying to fool?

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana of course lightly laughs at this as she shakes her head, her long dark hair flowing gently in the cold winter winds. "You are pushing your luck." She replies to him. "Be careful, or we will fill your whole room with Themysciran sand." She says next with a grin cast his way.

The jet is visibly hovering over the courtyard, it being one of the main attractions to the Arts Center when on location.