7638/Training

Training
Date of Scene:	26 May 2019
Location:	Westchester, The Bronx
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Alopex, Pippi

---

Alopex has posed:
    Lazy Sunday on Memorial Day weekend. The holiday wasn't something Alopex was aware of, so to find out she only had to clean up on Sunday seemed strange, but she didn't object to Master Winter. Downstairs, the matts are rolled up, gear is being placed where it belongs, and for the most part Alopex is finished now that the floor is all cleaned up. "Hmm.."

Pippi has posed:
    And Pippi is enthusiastically sweeping, eager as ever to prove herself event hough there's... not much left to sweep. Not after it's somewhat airborne around the new mutant, who then gives a sneeze and a shake of her head!

    "Nyrrsh!" she complains nose wriggling before she wipes at it with the back of a hand. "Think it's clean enough? I could grab a cloth and go over the mirrors again?"

Alopex has posed:
    Feeling everything's done, Alopex wanders to the side where the matts are rolled to start pushing them out again, "I think we're done for the day, Pippi," Alopex responds, glancing toward the clock then back at Pippi. "That was rather fast, actually."

Pippi has posed:
    "It goes quicker with two hands!" Pippi replies, and then embarrassedly ".. once I got the hang of the broom, anyway." she replies, and she draws over to the mats. She gives one a push -- it does nothing.

    She purses her lips and gives a huff, and then bracing herself a little better, she SHOVES the mat out -- the whole roll skidding about ten feet rather than rolling!

Alopex has posed:
    "That's very true, actually," the fox notes as she finishes unrolling the mat she had wandered to. When the other goes skidding across the floor, she darts over to keep it from crashing into one of the walls, or worse, the mirrors. "Ah, that's right. I said we'd work on training, didn't we?"

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi had been on the move too, grabbing one end of the mat and holding tight, skidding on the floor as she makes a nervous, scared expression. Her eyes go wide, her ears are back and she gives an embarrassed soudn, then rubs the back of her head. "You did." she gives a slight smile -- and then picks up her end of the mat roll, keeps it aloft as she makes it to the center and just tilts it over one shoulder, showing off her strength as she side-walks back to the edge where the mat should begin and lets it down.

Alopex has posed:
    Good reactions, Alopex decides as she watches Pippi recover the mat. "Good, good. Try again," she offers, watching from the other end of the room just in case. "I think what we will go over first is control for the strength you so clearly have. If you can control it, it will be a very very potent tool for you."

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi looks a tthe mat that she just dropped. She opens her mouth "What super strength?" She begins, and it's incredibly apparent that she's not a good liar in the least. Least of all because she just picked up and carried that mat over. HEr ears go back, her tail going limp behind her, and then she gives a sigh, and rubs the back of her neck: "... well.. y eah. I mean, I'm strong but it's not like, super strong..." she trails off, and then she flops bodily over the roll.

    "It's hard to control it. Sometimes it works, sometimes it's just... doesn't want to." she states, and she looks down at the floor.

Alopex has posed:
    "And that's all right. Control takes time and practice, Pippi, and that's why I want to put you through some training. I imagine you haven't really tried to reign it in. It's either full force or not at all. There's should be a lot of room inbetween and we will work on that. In here, you are -allowed- to make mistakes, Pippi. It's how you learn. It's how everyone learns, actually. Even me. I'm hardly perfect."

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi heaves a sigh, and pushes herself up, rubbing the back of her neck again before she looks to Pex, and gives a nod. "I'll try." she states, and she goes to make another attempt at unrolling the mat. She gives it another push, and it rocks back and forth a little, but doesn't unroll. She pushes again, and gives sort of a lazy half turn.

Alopex has posed:
    Meanwhile, Alopex looks on like a teacher would, allowing Pippi to experiment, explore her strength, and try to do as instructed. "Don't be disappointed, Pippi, this is something that will take a while. Keep at it."

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi gives an angry sounding huff, and she breathes out, placing her hands against the roll as she braces herself, then steadily applies pressure until she's smoothly rolling out the mat. Her tail wags, and her ears draw up, the rolling of the mat going faster until the hapless canine runs out of mat, trips over the edge and ends up top-under-teakettle against the mirrors.

Alopex has posed:
    A smile starts to form as the mat finally unrolls, though it shifts to a wince quickly when the pup ends up tripping over the edge. "There, you see? With the exception of running out of mat, that was a great start, Pippi," the fox offers, as well as a hand up once she wanders over. "I'll be coming up with a few other ways to work on finding ways for you to practice that strength of yours, but again, good start."

Pippi has posed:
    As Pex comes over, Pipi's tail is wagging.

    "That.. that worked out way better than before." she comments lightly, and she accepts the hand up from the fox. "Ha! I'll have the hang of it in no time!" she grins, all wags and ears up, grin so wide that her eyes are half closed as she flops down to the mat. "So, if you're trainin' me, does that mean I'm calling you Sen-say?"

Alopex has posed:
    "Heh, if you really want to, but only in the dojo, if you do, alright? I appreciate the respect but I'm not one for titles, Pippi," the fox admits as she glances across the room, at the mat, and considers the next thing to try. "I have an idea, just one moment," she offers as she moves to one of the supply rooms. When she opens the door there's a lot of square wood planks, among other things. She gathers up a few of them and wanders back, depositing them on the mat that Pippi just rolled out.

    "Most of the time, these are used in lessons to prove that strength isn't needed to break a board, just the right form and technique. In your case, however, we know you have the strength to break one of these boards, or many of them, at the same time. SO. What we'll be working on is hitting the board hard enough to fracture it, but not break it completely." To demonstrate, she holds up the board with one hand, then delivers a strike that causes the wood to splinter, but it the broken part doesn't fall to the floor. "Once you can do it with one plank we can slowly increase the number."

Pippi has posed:
    "Pex it is. It sounds weird when I say it, anyway." Pippi replies, her tail giving a wag before she looks out over the dojo, and watches as Pex makes her return. Her ears draw up, and her head tilts slightly as Alopex returns with a bunch of boards and she straightens up. Her eyes go from the boards, to ALopex, to the boards, and then when the object is explained she seems to get it!

    After watching Alopex strike a board, Pippi seems eager, but holds up a hand, like in a classroom. "Ah, Alopex? Won't Winter sensay get mad if we randomly break things?"

Alopex has posed:
    "These boards are actually meant for being broken, Pippi. Other things in the room should be kept intact, but that closet over there has hundreds of these, if not more. They're meant for training, and for breaking, and that's what we can use them for. Now, I can either hold them for you, or I can get a stand for them. You decide."

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi's ears go down a moment, then draw back up as she gives a huff. "All right. Breaking boards, breaking boards, meant to be broken, it's not a bad thing..." she trails off, hopping to her feet and giving a few boxer-like hops to hype herself up. "Ah... if you hold it, I'll break it!" she gives a bright grin. "I'll try to break it a little though,r ight? Right. This'll be fine!"

Alopex has posed:
    "Good good, that's the spirit," Alopex offers as she takes a board from the small stack she brought out and then holds it out fully with both arms. She completely expects the first one to just be shattered to splinters, but maybe Pippi will surprise her. "And remember, mistakes are allowed here, Pippi. Don't be disappointed if you fail. "

Pippi has posed:
    The rednad white mutt breathes out, looking to the board and she brings her arm back, doing a clusmy open-palm strike against the board -- which pushes it back a little in Alopex's arms. It doesn't break.

    She brings back her hand for another try, and the same thing happens. She shifts her weight, her ears drawing back as she tries to gauge her strength, and when she goes to hit the board again, she steps foward, throiwng her aim off. She almost doesn't pull the punch as the closed-fist strike sais to the left of the board!

Alopex has posed:
    Well, that didn't go as expected. Alopex is starting to realize this. Between the mat and now the board, Pippi is starting low and slowly trying to add strength instead of the reverse. Not a bad thing. She's silent for the first attempt, and the second, only offering a nod of encouragement. When the third strike is attempted, she spots the step forward and leans to one side, but the strike still grazes her shoulder enough to get her to stumble. "Mm! Heh," at least she seems amused. "I'll get you some teaching on form and stance later, but for now just do what you're comfortable with. And I'm not hurt," she quickly insists before straightening her stance and holding up the board again.

Pippi has posed:
    "Alopex! I'm so sorry!" Pippi reacts first, drawing back as she pulls her tail down and her ears back, her eyes going wide, and she reacts by raising her arms, as if to block a reciprocating blow, her eyes closing.

    She seems genuinely surprised when it doesn't come, one eye opening and spotting the amused expression on the fox. She shifts her weight, and resets her clumsy stance.

    "You sure you're not mad at me?" she questions, and she strikes, closed fist, and outright breaks the board.

Alopex has posed:
    The board snaps, as expected from before, and Alopex reaches for another in short order. "Not even remotely. Remember, Pippi, I mistakes are how you learn, and they are allowed here. I'm not hurt, not even sore in fact. Just keep at it," she encourages with a smile. "And for what it's worth, Pippi, I'll never strike you for a mistake. That is not how I teach."

Pippi has posed:
    "Then you're different than Delta." Pippi remarks offhandedly, and as the fox resets the board the dog draws her focus back, and close-fists the board again, tapping it lightly to mark her target.

    "The trainer there used to hit me to get me to hit back. I was good before. I never bit. Even if something hurt I didn't bite. Ears pulled, food messed with, nah. Good girl. But there? They tried to get me to hurt. Tried to get me to hit... and when I did?"

    CRACK. The board utterly splinters.

Alopex has posed:
    Hmm. There's anger there, too. The fox decides that's another thing that will need to be worked on. "Well, I'm sorry about that, Pippi. It won't happen in here as long as I'm here," Alopex offers before picking up another board. "You're safe here, you have a roof over your head, available food, and I'm not about to start pull your ears or mess with your meals. That I can promise you." The plank is held out once more. "At some point I may want to see just how hard you can hit, but that will probably need to be somewhere outside."

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi gives a slight smile. "Nah, that other stuff... that came before. I don't remember it clearly... but I remember getting pet on the head a lot, bits of treats and toys. I did a lot of training before I ended up with Nathan, and I liked it! Running, jumping, climbing all sorts of stuff!" Pippi states, and she resets as the plank is held out.

    "The hurting came after they... after I couldn't find my way home." Pippi's expression softens, but she huffs, and her ears prick forward, determination setting in as she adjusts her stance a little, and throws the punch.

    CRACK!

    The wood cracks, and splinters a little bit, but it's not outright broken.

Alopex has posed:
    "It really sounds like you were a great dog for your boy, Pippi. I'm sure he'd be proud of you right now, doing what you can do improve- ... Nathan?" she hadn't heard a name before. It was interesting to put a name to the person she always talked about in such high regard. Hearing about Delta isn't responded to. Too much negativity there.

     Blink. Alopex's ears even prick up at the sound, realizing a moment later that Pippi has managed to do as instructed already. She turns the board around, glances it over, smiles, and offers it over to Pippi. "Proof that what I ask is possible. If you want to hang on to it as a reminder."

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi blinks at the crack, her own ears rising up. She hadn't meant to namedrop her boy, but... it was Alopex. If she couldn't trust her, who could she trust?

    But she looks at the board with a degree of surprise, and her tail gives a slight wag as she accepts t he board, and just sort of... sits right down. "Oh, hey, so it can be controlled!"

Alopex has posed:
    Alopex settles onto her knees across from Pippi, figuring that may be enough for one day. "Mmhmm. Things take time, practice, and an amount of willpower, Pippi. I think you have all of those, but they're a bit rough around the edges, like the crack in that board. Given some time," she muses, rummaging through the stack until she finds a particularly smooth bit of wood. It's a harder sort, likely used for higher belt classes or possibly black belt degrees. Smoothed to a polish, dark, possibly mahogany, "It can be refined, like this one here."

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi draws her ears back up, listening carefully to Alopex. She stretches her fingers out, and then she shifts her flop-to-the-floor sit, getting to her knees and imitating Alopex.

    "Were you trained this way too, Alopex?" she questions, her head tilting slightly as she regards the fox with curiosity.

Alopex has posed:
    The fox notices the change in stance. appreciating just how much Pippi was trying to learn from Alopex. It's refreshing compared to what Pippi was asking about. "Not.. exactly. My training was a lot more one on one fighting with various people in the clan I was a part of. It was also much more .. mm.. violent, I suppose is the best word. There were more brusies to be certain. I just don't feel like the way I was trained is the best way for you to learn how to understand your strength."

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi wrestles visibly with words for a moment, bringing her hands up to put her palms to her ears a moment before she breathes out.

    "Nnnoo... probably not the best way to me to train with strength. I don't want to hurt people. Especially not nice people." she states quietly, drawing her amber eyes up to Alopex. "You're smart. Someday, I'm gonna be smart like you."

Alopex has posed:
    That.. was an unexpected compliment, but one that gets the fox to smile, "Thank you for that, Pippi. I think you're well on your way, to be honest. I ah, have the benefit of quite a few years of experience. Just remember, give yourself time, allow yourself to learn, and I'm sure you'll reach a point where you'll be as confident and smart as myself."

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi gives a nod, straightening up again as her tail wags.

    "And if Alopex says it, it must be true!" she states with a bright grin, her ears flicking forward,a dn the blue ink of that triangle with the 447 marking can be seen in her left ear again.

Alopex has posed:
     A laugh escapes Alopex at that, "I do try to be honest about things, so..." she smiles, noting the tatto but not inquiring. Instead... "Oh, I did want to ask you about something. I thought I heard you heading out the other day. Did anything interesting happen?"

Pippi has posed:
    Pex caught Pippi unaware with that question, and she straightens up. She takes a breath, and pursing her lips as her ears go back, she rubs the back of her head.

    "I came across one of the figures from the alleyway, the one with the weird eyes. She was threatened by two humans who were taking stuff from someone else's home, and she weirded one of them into trying to kill the other. I stopped them, though, and another girl who apparently eats ghosts and a guyw ith a really, really fancy blanket around his shoulders showoed up and they talked for a while and then disappeared -- and I *TOTALLY* forgot the cushions I found in the dumpster!" she protests, and throws her hands up in frustration as she flops backwards.

Alopex has posed:
    "That.. certainly qualifies as interesting," Alopex notes once Pippi has flopped down onto her back. "Hmm, well, there are quite a lot of interesting individuals around the city area, so I'm not surprised you'd run into something like that. .. As for the cushons, if we need some of those that can probably be arranged, Pippi. You don't have to get everything out of dumpsters, now."

Pippi has posed:
    "Why not? They're comfortable. An' I don't want to trouble Winter sensay for everything. They were good enough for the street. I kinda want the fancy blanket though. It was red, an' gold, and he sorta just like 'BLOOP!' disappeared!"

Alopex has posed:
    "That.. sounds like an interesting blanket.." Alopex decides aloud. She hasn't meet Doctor Strange so she can't quite figure out who would have a blanket like that. "And yes... I suppose that is true. Being frugal acn be advantageous. Just.. if you get something like clothes, bedding, cushons, or like wise, be sure to clean them up a bit, okay?"

Pippi has posed:
    "... like... throw them in the river to wash the dir off 'em?" she questions, bringing ehr head up as she looks to Alopex. "Or giving them a bath?"

Alopex has posed:
    "Hmm. One of these nights I'll show you the laundromat near by. It's a pretty nice one that has machines that can wash basically anything for a dollar or two. It's a lot like giving them a bath."

Pippi has posed:
    "What's a dollar?" Pippi inquires... and then she blinks. "Is it like the paper stuff that Red Robin put in that bag?"

Alopex has posed:
    Blink. She doesn't know about money. This dawns on Alopex very, very quickly. "Ah, a dollar is something called money. People earn them through doing the stuff we did earlier, cleaning up around here. Once you have them you can give them to certain people in stores or restraunts to get things. Master Winter lets us stay here for the work we do, but he does give me a little cash as well that I have been using to try and get more things for our area upstairs, but I also get our meals with it. It has a lot of uses, to be honest."

Pippi has posed:
    "Oh. Well. That explains all the papery stuff he left with the food." Pippi remarks thoughtfully. "So if I had money, I could go down to a store and give them the paper and then they give me like, hotdogs?" she questions, and her ears perk up. "Or peanutbutter?"

Pippi has posed:
    "Or /peanutbutter covered hotdogs/?!" she excitedly tags on, her tail trying to wag underneath her.

Alopex has posed:
    Another smile forms, "Yes, something like that. However, for now, I'd suggest letting me decide on how to spend the 'paper' while you get an idea of what they're worth. Different pictures mean they're worth different amounts. Some may get you just one hot dog, but others can get you 5, 10, 20, 50, or even a hundred."

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi's tail stops wagging. She purses her lips, and looks up to the ceiling of the dojo as she lays on the mat. She gets a far-off look.

    "Pex... Pex I don't think I could eat a hundred hotdogs... *but I want to try*!"

Alopex has posed:
    "Heh, that is a LOT of hotdogs, Pippi. I imagine maybe I'll get us some tonight. All this talk of them has me kind of hungry for a few," Alopex admits. "Before I came across you I was rather biased toward burgers of various sorts, but a change in pace never hurts."

Pippi has posed:
    "Burgers are also good." Pippi replies, "But not with peanutbutter. Kitchup. And sometimes pickles?" she states, and she rolls to her stomach and off her tail.

    "I can give you the money from my bag, and then there is money for hotdogs *and* hamburgers!"

Alopex has posed:
    Wait wait wait, "Red Robin gave you a bag of money?" Seems the fox is just now catching onto that slight detail and wondering where it came from now. "Was.. there a lot?" This may push forward the time table on getting that computer upstairs. Maybe.

Pippi has posed:
    "I... I dunno. There was some papers, but it was mostly food type stuff?" Pippi replies. "I could go get it?"

Alopex has posed:
    Alopex gives a nod, "May as well take a look and see what we have, Pippi. Would you mind?"

Pippi has posed:
    Pippi gives a nod, nad going up to the morror she retreats upstairs through the mirror, then returns a brief moment later with her backpack. The bear (thankfully having been washed) was still upstairs, and Piuppi plops back down on the mat, and draws out the now slightly torn plastic bag. She dumps out the contents -- about twenty bucks in mixed singles, fives, and a ten, and a note! The burner phone also falls out, but it looks like it might need to be charged.

Alopex has posed:
    Hmm. Not as much as she had hoped, but still a nice surprise. "Ah, that's the phone they gave you too," she notes as she glances over everything. The cash is fanned out a bit. "Here, this one," she points at it, "Can get you 1 hot dog. This one 5, and this one 10. There are bigger ones but they aren't here to really show. I'd draw one but, well, those don't count. They have to come from a special place for people to take them."

Pippi has posed:
    "Oh. So one, gets one hot dog, five could get five hotdogs, ten, ten hot dogs... is peanutbutter extra?" Pippi questions, then gives a bright grin. "Or mustard! Mustard's good on hotdogs too!" she states, her tail wagging a moment as she shifts her weight, and she loks to the phone. "Yeah... ah... I don't know how to use it. I can live without it. Do you want it?"

Alopex has posed:
    "Exactly, Pippi. There's a 50 and 100 dollar bill too, but they aren't here. They're pretty hard to get, to be honest," she admits.

    There's a thoughtful hmming from Alopex before she shakes her head, "We can keep it charged and leave it here. Agent Garrett was nice enough to get me a phone too, so we can use yours as a spare, then. This way people don't have to call the Dojo directly to reach us and it's a second number for messages and such. "

Pippi has posed:
    "Oh... okay." Pippi replies, and she rubs the back of her head a moment as she considers.

    "Alopex, are you a hero?"

Alopex has posed:
    Another thoughtful hmm comes from Alopex, "I.. don't think a person can claim that they are a hero. I feel like that's a title you have to be given by someone else. I just help where I can, Pippi. If that counts, then so be it."

Pippi has posed:
    The red and white canine gives another nod, and then she glances down to herself, and gives a soft 'huh'.

    "Someday I'd like to be a hero, I think, helping others, protecting those who can't... like... like one of those guys on the television! Think I can learn how to fly?"

Alopex has posed:
    "That, sadly, is not something I think you can learn. Much as I would enjoy flying, Pippi, I'm not at all capable of it. -Maybe- something can give us flight, but that's about all," Alopex explains. "Time will tell."

Pippi has posed:
    "Oh." Pippi replies with a little disappointment. Then she looks back up. "But leaping accross alleyways is KINDA like flying!" she replies in positivity, her tail giving a wag before she gives a soft huff.

    "... what does time tell? I thought time was told?"

Alopex has posed:
    "That's true, actually. Strong as you are, Pippi, you might be able to jump pretty far if you work on it," Alopex muses before considering her question. "Ah, heh, it's just a phrase. It just means we may find out eventually if we find a way to fly or not."

Pippi has posed:
    "... what if we get propeller hats?" Pippi questions playfully, as she turns her gaze to Alopex, lounging on the mat, "and they go 'blrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrph' and we just hover around?"

Alopex has posed:
    That earns Pippi another laugh from Alopex, "I mean, we could try, but I'm not sure that would work!" It's a joke, she knows, but she's amused enough to play along. "Maybe we can save up some money for a suit like Mister Stark or something."

Pippi has posed:
    "Oh... is Mister Stark another friend? Like Agent Cody?" she inquires from her place on the floor as she considers options, weighing ideas, then quietly asks to Alopex:

    "Pex, if I'm out and I see the Shredder, I should run, right?"

Alopex has posed:
    Oh right, she doesn't know about all the more popular heroes, "Ah, no, just a rather popular individual. He's well known as Iron Man because he flies around in a robotic suit of some sort," she explains before quickly nodding. "Yes, if you see Shredder, Run. Just run. "

Pippi has posed:
    Agent is totally his first name.

    "Mm." Pippi replies quietly as she considers.

    "Is that what you do?"

Alopex has posed:
    "At this point? Yes. With how much power he has amassed in the city, I would not risk trying to defeat him on my own. Others need to be involved, be it you, Agent Garret, the turtles, Huntress, or anyone else I've met thus far. I think it will take a lot of us to ensure the Shredder's defeat. It, much like your training, is something to work toward. It will not happen over night."

Pippi has posed:
    "Oh." Pippi replies quietly. And she considers things as she looks up at the ceiling a moment, her tail giving a wag again.

    "Hey, Alopex?"

Alopex has posed:
    Seems the question set the fox thinking a little bit. About Fairbanks, about the fight in the north, the forest burning down, the more recent fight in the museum, but Pippi's call snaps her out of it, "Hmm? What is it?"

Pippi has posed:
    "I'm happy you found me." Pippi replies in answer, giving a slight smile. "I promise, I'm going to try my best."

Alopex has posed:
    "Well, I'm glad I was able to find you too, Pippi. I think you're going to be a great student and a good friend. I promise I'll teach you to the best of my ability, okay?"