Learning to bump

[not_yet_screaming]

Lydia swallowed checking her makeup just round the corner from the Argents. Allison wasn't a rival, of course. Not that she couldn't handle rivals. But you should always look either your best or your worst when asking for a favour - and Lydia very much needed one. Like most things she'd prefer to not have her facade slip, but it was either Allison or people she didn't know and couldn't investigate properly.

She'd barely slept the past couple of nights since that night in the school, instead wondering how she could fit in and thrive in this new world. It wouldn't be much harder than for a gawky math-geek to become Queen Bee after all. It was just the consequences of a mistake that might be a lot more severe. Fortunately she was Lydia Martin and did not make mistakes. But if she wasn't sleeping she could at least put the time to good use; most recently downloading the MIT guide to lockpicking and starting to teach herself. She was never again going to be stopped by a locked door at school, and she was working on getting some hairpins that worked as a torque wrench and picks (having realised that using ordinary hairpins was pure Holywood).

Still, this was more important. She checked her makeup one last time, as if she was going on a date. But she wasn't. She was Lydia Martin, and there were just too many downsides to dating a girl, at least while she was still at school (at College might be a different story). No bags under her eyes; makeup was useful that way.. Hair loose, lips pink. Nail polish only a semi-translucent pink. More innocent than she normally looked but she was going to ask Allison to teach her. A nice flaring skirt; after the incident in school she'd taken all the pencil skirts out of her wardrobe. Nothing she couldn't run in if she tried - and the differences were subtle.

Everything in place she drove up to Allison's house to knock on the door, noting with relief that Chris Argent's car wasn't there. He was creepy. A breath before she stepped out of the car and walked up the drive, heels barely clicking, to ring the bell. She was Lydia Martin. She didn't get nervous - especially not when seeing one of her best friends.

Comments

[bowsandarrows]

It had been days since Allison talked to anyone outside of her family for anything other than the basic necessities. She had answered questions from her parents, smiled at people she encountered in the streets, and even managed to laugh at a few jokes. But all of that had been done on auto-pilot, without much thought. The only thoughts that plagued Allison recently had been about that night at the school.

She couldn't trust Scott. Couldn't trust her parents, or Aunt Kate, or anyone else. Just herself, and the things she saw that night. Though as the days drifted past, she wasn't sure she could trust the things she saw, and with her parents refusing to tell her anything, assuring her that nothing was going on and nothing had happened, she was starting to wonder which way was up. Maybe she was going crazy.

That thought was driving her a little mad in and of itself. She wanted answers, not to be kept in the dark.

Allison had been out running earlier, and hadn't felt much like changing when she got home, especially since her parents her gone. She'd stripped down to her sports bra and yoga pants, her hair pulled back in a sloppy bun. After her run, she'd tried to break into her father's safe, but hacking the digital combination had proved beyond her abilities, and she'd decided to take a break shortly before the doorbell rang.

It was perfect timing, actually, because she was wandering downstairs just in time to get the door. "Lydia!" she exclaimed with a smile that abruptly fell, when she took in her best friend. Lydia looked perfect, and that was worrisome after everything that happened. Especially when Allison herself looked like a slob. And there was just a touch too much make-up on Lydia's already lovely face.

"What are you doing here?"

[not_yet_screaming]

The way Allison's face fell when she saw who it was didn't hurt. Not at all. And a part of her noted that Allison looked good sweaty and disheveled. But she smiled. "Can't I visit my best friend? And you haven't checked Facebook recently? Jackson and I just split up."

She'd actually dumped Jackson last night but only posted it this morning. A simple update although many of the comments she'd had from guys already were tiresomely if flatteringly predictable. And by the Like counter she hadn't realised that Jackson had become quite that disliked this year. Possibly even as a short term tactical move it had been a good thing - and the way Jackson was shaping up this year even it definitely was in the long term.

"And..." She swallowed. She could show weakness to Allison of all people. "I wanted to talk to someone about that night. And I think so do you. About..." She swallowed - and her smile didn't quite reach her eyes. "If this is a horror film you're the Final Girl." And Lydia herself was the mean girl and knew it. Which meant she needed to change the genre. Romance, RomCom, or even Heist would suit her fine.

[bowsandarrows]

Allison winced. She'd been avoiding Facebook, and the internet in general, since the night at the school, unable to deal with everything that would be said on the various social media sites. She wasn't even sure if her relationship status on Facebook had changed.

"Come on in," Allison said, ushering her friend inside, and into the living room, closing the door behind them. "I'm sorry to hear about you and Jackson." She was, though she had seen the way they interacted that night, and Jackson was nowhere near good enough for her friend, if he was going to be short and snappy and dismiss Lydia in favor of Allison.

"I...." Did she want to talk about that night? Yes. But also no. She was afraid of the answers, afraid of everything going on with her friends, even though she desperately wanted to know.

"We're not in a horror movie." Allison reached out and clasped Lydia's hand, squeezing it tight. Anyone else might think of Lydia's smile as vapid, her words a joke, but Allison could tell that her smile didn't reach her eyes and wasn't a real smile. "And if we are, we can change what happens. When have you let the tropes hold you back?"

[not_yet_screaming]

"Of course we can change it." Lydia's tone was a simple matter of fact as she squeezed Allison's hand back. "I don't play parts I don't enjoy. And tropes are useful but can't be trusted." She tilted her head, looking up slightly, and pursing her lips, and just for a second it looked as if the light in her eyes was streaming in through the back of her head.

She frowned, breaking the illusion. "But bitchy Queen Bee is fun for a teen drama but suicide in a horror movie unless you have a sting. And brains need you to have time. Or to get them talking." She swallowed. "Which means I need to learn how to defend myself not using my wit or my heels." Another swallow, her eyes vulnerable. "And I don't even know where to start?" It wasn't quite a plea for help but came close.

[bowsandarrows]

Allison's lips twitched at Lydia's words. That was what she was expecting.

Allison was aware that Lydia likes to play up the drama, make sure the light catches her in just the right way, and command the attention of the crowd, but for a moment, she fell just as quickly as anyone, what with the light in her eyes. Lydia looked beautiful, and Allison wasn't even shocked at the sentiment. Lydia's always made her feel things she wasn't too sure about.

But it's the vulnerability in her eyes that really gets Allison, and made her feel special, because she knows that is rare and never shown to most people.

"I can help with that," Allison told her. "Self-defense, at least. Maybe something with weapons?" Weapons would be easy to get, but she wasn't sure she wanted to give Lydia a gun, and she doubted Lydia would want to work with a bow. A knife, maybe, when they upgraded from the basics.

"We can start now?" She took in Lydia's outfit, short skirt and heels and all. While eventually Lydia would need to know how to fight in heels, her first lesson shouldn't be in such a precarious outfit. "Maybe you should change, though. And... do you think you can break into a safe?"

[not_yet_screaming]

Lydia stepped forward and almost caressed Alison's ankle with her heel before placing it on top of the flat of Allison's foot. "If I put my weight down, that would have more pressure than one of your arrows and go straight through your foot." She smiled wickedly, looking Allison in the eyes, mouth only a few inches away. "Heels are weapons, Allison. And not just for all the good things they do for my legs." She might be asking Allison to teach her but Lydia Martin didn't relinquish all control over a situation without planting a few barbs. And she was hoping to learn to use actual weapons.

"But for my first lesson I'm in your hands. If you've something for me to change into?" She smiled, eyes going slightly distant. "And I could see. What sort of safe?"

[bowsandarrows]

Lydia didn't actually scare Allison, but she felt a thrill of something when Lydia stepped into her space, a rush of hot blood coursing through her veins. She grinned suddenly, dimples appearing in her cheeks.

"Heels are only weapons if you move fast enough," Allison countered, "and know where to put your weight on someone's foot." They were possibly more useful if trapped from behind - a heel in a soft spot would cause incredible pain, but she'd point that out later.

"We'll work up to doing this in your heels and skirts, since you wear those often enough," Allison said, as she led the way to her bedroom. "For now, I'd rather not risk twisting your ankle.

"The safe has a digital lock on it, I can't figure out the code. I'll show you when we're done."

She dug through her drawers, pulling out a pair of yoga pants and a t-shirt, and handing them to Lydia. "Wear these for now, no shoes. We'll start on the basics first."

[not_yet_screaming]

"Anatomy's easy." Lydia shrugged as she took the offered clothes. "That would have sent you to hospital but not crippled you." She smiled. "They are effective enough for drunk jocks and that's all I've needed until recently." But a drunk and handsy jock was a long way from a werewolf.

And Allison had seen her before and after gym lots of times. There was no reason not to change in front of her. And if Allison wanted to watch, why not? The hope that she would was just that she wanted her control back of course. Still she turned her back and stripped down to white lacy underwear, blouse first and folding it. Then letting her skirt slip to the floor before bending at the waist to unbuckle her shoes before stepping out of them and swallowing slightly. Losing 3" of height always left her a little nervous. And it had nothing to do with being in front of her best friend in just bra, panties, and stockings.

By contrast the T-shirt was easy to throw over her head and the yoga pants went on fast. She wasn't actually making a show of this.

And when she stood she turned and smiled. "I know something that might work. I'm going to need to borrow a powder brush. Blush for preference but foundation or bronzing work. And whatever powder you put on with it. And a sheet of paper and either a remover pad or wet-wipe." She was talking about for the safe; it wasn't just high school social hierarchies or even her parents' expectations that made her hide her brains. Flying leaps in logic like this often left people behind and caused awkwardness.

[bowsandarrows]

"It might have crippled me, but would it work if someone's wearing heavy boots?" Allison countered. She was glad Lydia knew this information, and could recall it, but as Lydia pointed out indirectly, it wasn't as useful now. "You're used to thinking about how to deal with high school boys, maybe college. But what we saw...." It certainly wasn't a high school boy. It was bigger and infinitely more stronger than a high school boy, drunk off his ass.

She didn't want to scare Lydia further, especially not now, so she dropped that thread, and focused on the training they could do inside.

Allison watched as Lydia removed her shirt, then she strode to the window, deliberately turning her back on her friend. She'd seen Lydia change at least dozen times, but this felt different. She wasn't sure why, but it felt like something huge was going on for them.

She hadn't turned away in time to avoid a glimpse of the lacy underwear, and that brought her to another point. "Next time we do this, wear a sports bra. I know you have them, you work out enough to know they're useful." It would be fine for now, but bras were expensive, and she didn't want Lydia to ruin anything. (At least, that was excuse she'd use, she told herself.)

Lydia's mention of the safe stuff made Allison turn back, and she nodded. "That's easy, I'll get it when we're done. Provided the parents aren't back. Do you want to work outside on the grass, or in the living room? We can push back the couch and put a few yoga mats down."

[not_yet_screaming]

Lydia parted her hair, removed a couple of pins, and started plaiting the right side of it with the ease of long practice while leaving a couple of strands to frame that side of her face. It wouldn't be the neatest - but it would work "Heavy boots don't often have a heavy tongue. It'll go through that just fine." And with one of the pins she pinned the braid over the top of her head before starting on the other side. This way of putting her hair up was very easy and took only a little longer than a bun would even if it looked about a thousand times more planned.

She'd noticed Allison's reactions. And yes she looked great - and she knew it. But Allison facing the window was a little beyond that and right now Lydia didn't feel in control of anything at all, so she decided to tease a little and see what happened even as she worked on braiding the other half of her hair before pinning it up over her head. "Are you suggesting I shouldn't wear this bra?" Her tone was one of innocent curiosity. Too innocent for anyone who knew Lydia to think it was anthing other than a wind-up. She paused. "And you're the teacher. I'm in your hands. But I'm going to have to take my stockings off if we go outside." That would utterly ruin them of course. But straight after a comment about taking her bra off it was very pointed. And she wanted to see how Allison would react to both statements one after the other.

"And if you're worried about your parents, shouldn't we try now when there's less chance of them finding us?" She shrugged as she pinned the second braid into place, creating what might become a new signature hairstyle - and one with very little dangling for people to grab hold of. She'd need ties rather than just the pins in future, but this milkmaid's braid would do for now.

[bowsandarrows]

"Eventually, if you want to test your heels, we can ask Dad to help with training?" Allison suggested. While she knew that Lydia had a point, it would be good for her to see how tough some of the military grade boots were. Just in case.

Though they'd probably not encounter anything quite like that. Possibly. Hopefully. That creature from the other night was bad enough. They didn't need to deal with that thing in highly protective armor.

Allison narrowed her eyes at Lydia, completely aware of the fact that Lydia was goading her, but she tried her best not to rise to the barb. "No, not saying that at all. We'll make sure to not do any damage today, and next time you'll be properly attired. Besides, going braless would be worse." For Allison, but she wasn't going to say that. This was Lydia, and she'd probe, and Allison wasn't up for probing now. "And we'll stay inside, in that case."

Lydia had a point, so Allison wandered out of the room to her bathroom, digging out a blush brush and powder, and the pads she used for removing her make-up, returning to dump it on the bed. "Will this work?"

[not_yet_screaming]

Allison wasn't rising to the bait? Pity. Lydia would come back to it later. And Lydia knew, especially when out of heels, she'd never be a fighter. She was 5" shorter even than Allison and wasn't as graceful as the taller girl - she just needed to be good enough to make people think twice.

She glanced at Allison's little pile of goodies. "I hope so. I mean I only worked out this trick while I was changing?" She liked showing off - but she didn't normally show off quite like this. Showing off was about being flawless, not about improvising. So she picked up the cosmetics. "Now, where's this safe? And to leave no evidence we'll also need a sheet of paper." Somehow she doubted Allison wanted her parents to know about attempts safe cracking.

[bowsandarrows]

"This way." Allison led the way to her parents' study. The safe was tucked in the corner, partially hidden behind a potted plant, and made to look fairly innocuous, matching the decor of the rest of the room. She grabbed a piece of paper from the printer tray and passed it over.

"Do your worst," she told Lydia, leaning against the desk that helped conceal the safe from the rest of the room. She needed to be on the lookout, she knew, but she also wanted to watch Lydia at work, because this was definitely something Lydia was good at, especially if she came up with this on the fly.

[not_yet_screaming]

"My worst?" Lydia smiled dropping to her knees and placing the sheet of paper by the bottom of the safe before picking up the blusher and brush. The paper was after all only there to catch any mess.

As she opened the blusher she was talking Allison through the whole thing. "Oily residue on fingertips will be left when someone punches in the code." She frowned as she dusted the keypad very lightly before repeating the dusting "Including you when you took guesses." A small lip bite before she used the rim of the pot lid to clean the brush and dusted the whole thing with an empty brush. "But not as much as from your dad's gun oil."

She smirked. "Four numbers including a one? Twenty four combinations. Six are years." She had it open on the third try and told Allison the code. "Do you know what happened then?"

[bowsandarrows]

Color Allison impressed. She laughed quietly as Lydia opened it and peeked inside. As expected, it wasn't full of anything most families kept in a safe. Sure, Allison could see the folder with all of their official documents, but there were also a few books in there, and some bullets that looked homemade, plus a baggie of... drugs?

She looked away from the interior of the safe to her friend. "That's a weird year. Nothing happened that I know of." It was before her birthday, but her parents birth years, or the year of their marriage. "I'll add that to my list of things to figure out."

Allison reached inside to grab the book, then thought better of it. "I'll look at the book tomorrow, or the next day, and see if it'll be possible to copy it. We should start your training." She started to close the safe, although she stopped it before it could slam closed. "Thank you, Lydia. I appreciate you doing this for me."

[not_yet_screaming]

"No problem." Lydia smiled liking that look on Allison's face - a look she'd never had from Jackson and would have paid a lot of money to have from her parents. "It was fun. And for copying it, your phone has a camera?" She shrugged. "Just tell me what's in it please?" With that she gently closed the safe, wiped the remains of the blusher off with the remover pad - then any residue from that off with her t-shirt. A quick check showed the numbers were still slightly greasy and all the makeup was gone. Pad into the paper she'd caught the remains of the blush with, and she folded the paper. "You've a little evidence to get rid of." She handed Allison the piece of paper that contained almost all the remaining evidence other than the blusher and brush.

And standing she smiled. "And now it's your show. Don't give me too many bruises please?" She really wasn't sure what Allison had in mind to teach her to defend herself, and although she needed it she was sure that it was going to occasionally hurt.

OOC: Wasn't the code for the safe 1749 or something?

[bowsandarrows]

"I might be asking you for help figuring out what it says," Allison said. She knew French, but if there were other languages, or words she couldn't read - and from the looks of it, the book was old enough that it was possible - then she'd be turning to Lydia to help decipher the thing.

She took the paper, blusher, and brush from Lydia and carried it into her bathroom, dumping the remover pad and ripping the paper into small pieces, to avoid obvious notice. That done, she turned to Lydia, frowning at her in concentration.

"Maybe we should work on falling." Allison led the way to the living room, and pushed the coffee table out of the way, along with the couch. "And before you say anything, knowing how to fall will help, both with training, and in fights." As she spoke, she laid out a yoga mat. "Trying falling on that, facing forward. I can push you if you need it."

[not_yet_screaming]

"A good place to start." Lydia nodded having done a little research herself. "But isn't falling falling?" She almost threw herself forwards rather than falling, before sticking out her left arm before she hit the ground then using her right hand to push herself back up. It was far from ideal but at least meant that she wouldn't be in much danger of spraining her wrist. "Like that?"

[bowsandarrows]

"Falling isn't just falling. You're off to a good start, but you're likely to hurt yourself." Allison moved behind Lydia so she could adjust Lydia's stance and maneuver her arms. "You want to be careful to not put too much of the impact on your hands or elbows, and keep your legs straight. To make it easier to get up, and avoid hurting your hands, turn into the fall."

Allison stepped back, frowning in concentration. "Let me demonstrate for you. I want you to push me." She situated herself so she'd land on the mat, and relaxed to make it easier for Lydia to push her forward. "And don't give me a light shove. Put your strength into it."


[ ooc: I AM TERRIBLE AT WRITING ACTION SCENES. And I'm the last person who knows how to fall. xD This is going off what I've read online, sorry? ]

[not_yet_screaming]

Lydia let Allison adjust her and nodded, before smiling at the offer and walking round behind Allison and placing her right hand on the back of Allison's neck. "You're too tall. I won't get leverage." She slid her hand down to the small of Allison's back - but it was a decoy. The actual push was with her left hand right between the bottom of Allison's shoulder blades, and with the full force of her hips and legs behind the push. She knew how to bowl and more about Lacrosse possibly even than Jackson, so she knew how to get more force than anyone would expect behind her push.

OOC: If you want I can send you some advice on action scenes (I've done plenty of beta-reading for them and it's such a common hole in peoples' ability to write).

Also what almost nothing ever bothers to explain (mostly because people don't know - I found out the hard way by getting my reflexes all jumbled between the two) is that there are two entirely different ways of learning to fall which I'll call the Parkour way and the Judo way.

In Parkour the assumption is that you'll be falling having tripped or at worst been pushed or thrown away (Aikido uses the same type of rolls); the goal is to almost make a circle with your body, back curved, arms rounded, and head inside the arc of your arms, and legs tucked in. This keeps the momentum going as much as possible and with luck turns any downward momentum into forward momentum so you end up on your feet and running.

In Judo the assumption is that you're going to have an over-muscled oaf who's just thrown you going down with you to convert the throw into a pin. And at best they'll try to throw you down as hard as possible and you won't have forward momentum if they know what they are doing. This means the goal is to prevent yourself either being hurt or having the wind knocked out of you so you can fight back while landing. If they don't and you can roll to your feet it's a bonus. So you want to fall as broadly as possible across large meaty parts of your body like your shoulder or your forearm, pushing into the ground to minimise the shock and spreading it somewhere it won't knock the wind out of you.

I think Allison's basically gone for the Judo approach? Harder on the body, worse nine times out of ten, but when you need the Judo roll the Aikido approach is almost worse than useless. And having a werewolf throw you down and come down with you is a worst possible scenario.

And I'm rambling again. (Also relaxed is physically faster, stronger, and much harder to push or move than tense).

[bowsandarrows]

It all happened quickly enough that Allison didn't have much of a chance to think about Lydia's hands on her or the way her fingers slid down, unexpectedly teasing.

The push was surprisingly forceful, and it really did force Allison forward, causing her to go tumbling down toward the mat. She broke the fall with her forearms, and rolled back to her feet, popping up in a quick move.

"Think you can mimic that?"

OOC: yeah, the Judo roll is more what Allison's going for - minimize the shock and avoid getting winded. It's possible that werewolves might throw people (that's somewhat more common in the show, I think) and possibly won't know what they're doing in, so it's entirely likely that they'd end up with forward momentum, but she wants to focus on what to do in close combat, hand-to-hand situations Lydia won't be able to just run from. I tried looking up falling, but there was lots of confusing information - the different approaches getting mixed up - but now that I have terms for them, I can go hunt down youtube videos.

And I would so appreciate advice on action scenes!

Also - I have the bowling opening bookmarked, but I try to avoid tagging anything that might veer into the intensely romantic or sexual at work. Just didn't want you to think I was avoiding it! (And it needs me thinking a bit better.)

[not_yet_screaming]

Lydia nodded; that didn't look too hard. "I'll give it a go." Throwing herself forward at the mat, she did do one thing right; getting her forearms in front of her - but the closest thing she had to a roll was an ungainly sprawl over to her side.

With a frown she picked herself up, shook her head, and threw herself down again - this time attempting to use her legs to kick over into the roll Allison had managed - and simply ending in an undignified heap on her shoulder, head tucked in.

It wasn't actually a bad effort for a first try however silly it looked. "What am I doing wrong?" She frowned slightly.

OOC: I'm not expecting the bowling to get intensely romantic or sexual quite yet! First Lydia needs telling off until she understands why she's done something wrong.

[bowsandarrows]

"That's actually good for a first try," Allison reassured her. "If anything happens, that will keep your neck and wrists protected, and you can scramble up to get away."

She knew Lydia wanted more than than good, but it was a good start. Allison moved behind Lydia, hands on her shoulders, adjusting her posture. "Try from a crouch, and just roll forward. Don't worry too much about getting back up from it right away."

OOC: that's true, she does!

[not_yet_screaming]

Lydia smiled, letting Allison adjust her posture. "This feels like the sort of thing I should practice twenty times every morning until I get it right without thinking?" It could take the place of one of the other parts of her excercise routine.

The rolling from a crouch after being adjusted by Allison was a lot better, and she even managed to roll over and end up on one knee, putting a hand down to steady herself with fingertips on the ground. "Do I use this like starting blocks?" A small smirk - because no she didn't. But it was one way to use being on one knee.

[bowsandarrows]

"That would be a good idea," Allison agreed. "I'll test you on it in a week?" She knew Lydia would have no problem learning it and perfecting it; the drive Lydia displayed was one of the things Allison admired about the other girl.

She rolled her eyes at Lydia's next comment, though she knew it was mostly a joke. "No, you don't. Like to see you try, though." Allison reached down, holding out her hand to help Lydia up. "Since I'm sure you read up on self-defense, is there something specific you want to learn? Otherwise we'll start on throwing punches."