AWD #138: Twist and Swirl
Twist and Swirl
Summary: Holtz and Ygraine talk shop while working out.
Date: 24/05/2013
Related Logs: None
Holtz Ygraine 
Fitness Center
Smelling of sweat and grease, the Fitness Center is a place where individuals can come to work out or just work off stress. The area closest to the entrance is taken up by two very large sparring pads with a pathway down the center, each pad removable to reveal a Pyramid court beneath. The walls beside the pads hold lockers for everything from pugilist sticks to boxing gloves to rubber guns, though deadly weapons are strictly prohibited in here except by authorized personnel such as on-duty Military Police. Standing goalposts for Pyramid are also kept against the wall. Past the pads are a vast number of nautilus machines as well as free weights to lift. At the back of the room are workout bikes, rowing machines, treadmills, and stairclimbers. There is an entrance to the pool at the rear as well as a locker room to the side.
AWD #138

It's been a while since Holtz has been seen in the Fitness Center, but here he is. Clad in a pair of workout shorts, he's over by one of the punching bags, raining a torrent of furious blows against the lumpen punch-absorber as if he'd never been away. A light sheen of sweat covers his torso as he slowly circles, his eyes fixed upon the bag as a one-two combo from his fists is followed by an abrupt spinning kick.

And some twenty or thirty minutes after he really gets going, Yggy shows up, dressed to work out herself. There's the faintest of smiles when she sees the squadron leader, but she doesn't disturb his rhythm. She drops her bag off in the corner and bends to pull out her sports tape so she can wrap her hands. She's watching him though, out of the corner of her eye.

At first, Holtz doesn't realize he has an audience, even if it's just an audience of one. As if testing himself, he ups his tempo a bit, sending in another flurry of fists followed by another kick, this time with the leg that he'd wounded on Picon what seems like an eternity ago. There's a slight wince as the foot makes contact with the bag, but when he brings it down and puts his weight back on it, it doesn't seem to bother him. He steps away from the bag, going to pick up a towel at the edge of the mat. He turns slightly to the side, wiping at his face with a long exhale, but he pauses as his eyes meet Ygraine's.

Yeah, she saw that. That little flinch. But she also saw him putting his weight down and nothing being amiss. Her mouth curves into a smile as she continues to wrap her hands and tears each one free with her teeth. "You feelin' good?" she queries in an easy tone.

"Yeah," Holtz replies with a thin smile. He almost sounds a little surprised by his own answer, but sounds no less truthful all the same. He brushes a last bead of sweat off his brow with the towel before draping it over his shoulder, tilting his head to one side. "What about you? Heard about that intel run with Wescott you volunteered for." There's a flicker of something dark in his eyes as he remembers his own last run-in with a Saber turret. "Be careful, yeah? Frakkin' Sabers ain't a joke."

"Careful ain't gonna get it done, but I'll try not to get killed." Ygraine says with the faintest of grins. "We need th'data, ya know? But I'll ya one thing, when we go, we're goin' in a raptor. After the fight over Aerilon, th'only way anyone's gettin' me in a pred is on direct orders."

"You know what I mean," Holtz replies with a pained grimace. "But I don't blame you, not a whit. Godsdamn Preds're startin' to look like flying coffins from where I'm sittin'. Always knew there was a reason I stuck t' Vipers, yeah?" The words are sardonic, but there's no real humor in his tone. He pauses and takes a few steps towards her, the volume in his voice dropping a few notches as he examines her. "Been meaning to say, sorry we haven't seen much of each other lately."

Her eyes flick up toward, "I can't say it's been great," she admits, "But really, whadda ya gonna do? You're a squadron leader. Ya gotta do by your people. I know if ya'd had th'time, I woulda had it." She grins. "Ya can make it up t'me later. I ain't gonna fret. Hold the bag for me, or are ya still goin'?"

Holtz shrugs. "The burdens of command," he says, this time with a short grunt of laughter. He exhales again, and shakes his head. "Was thinkin' of going a bit longer, but if you wanna have a go, I ain't gonna say boo." And instead of attacking the bag once more, he merely braces his large frame against the thing, holding it in place for her.

"I won't say boo either." Yggy agrees cheerily and making it to the bag, starts slowly with a few easy kicks and punches to loosen up. She's improved since he first met her, and significantly, to tell the truth. "How's Aly?"

"Heh." Holtz snorts quietly, watching her as she goes through her warmup. "Ain't seen much of her lately either, I'm afraid. Last I talked to her, though, she was doin' good. She's settled in with Wescott's mother down on the planet, helpin' take care of Kelsey's kid. Don't think that was her first choice, but she's a smart kid. Knows a good gig when she's got one." Another shrug. "Beats the hell out of a Cylon prison camp, an' she knows it." There's a definite undercurrent of pride in his voice as he talks about his daughter.

She starts to pick up her pace, punches and kicks being delivered with more force, more precision. "Yeah, it does. And don't worry, we still get one day of leave on the week rotation, so ya can go down and see her. "What do ya think about the assault on Picon that Petra's been danglin' under our noses? Think it'll happen?"

Holtz's expression sobers at her last. "Dunno. Guess we'll find out, yeah?" There's a soft grunt as the bag presses against him, forced back by her strikes, and he spreads his feet a bit to better absorb the impact. "Between you, me, and the bag here, I'm gonna push for it myself, if need be. If we're gonna hit 'em a good lick, we gotta start somewhere, an' Picon's as good a place as any." He gives a slight nod in approval as he watches her work; she really has improved since the first time he saw her on the mat. "Besides, now that we got that super-dred in the fold, it's lookin' like we might actually have a real shot at this thing."

"Things ain't ever gonna be th'same, though." Ygraine says soberly. "I can't imagine th'colonies that are left will just go back t'bein' th'colonies." Thunk, thunk. She continues to land solid hits on the bag. "I know th'war councils are scheduled. You're goin', right?" She imagines he is, as a squadron leader.

"Never figured they would," Holtz replies starchly. "But whatever's left, whatever they end up bein', they're ours, by Ares." He nods slowly. "Oh, I'll be there. Hardly somethin' I could skip out on… besides, the brass needs someone with some good sense on hand, yeah?" He smirks.

"Well, if they wanted someone with good sense, they'd want me t'show up." Yggy leers playfully. "Not some big dumb viper jock." She immediately makes as if to duck with a laugh.

Holtz snorts derisively, and raises a hand threateningly as if to cuff her. He doesn't, though, merely shaking his fist at her with a roll of the eyes and a knowing smirk. "Hey, I ain't a big dumb viper jock, sweet cakes," he says in mock ferocity. "I just play one on TV."

"My favorite program." she assures him with a laugh. "Hold the bag for you?" she offers, since he's let her have a go for a while now.

"Bet your ass." Holtz returns her grin with one of his own. He shakes his head lightly. "Nah, I think I've had my fill for one night. Ain't tryin' to rush it, and besides, there's only so much I can get outta the damn bag." A snort. "You want to keep goin'?" For the moment, he keeps his body pressed against the bag in case she does.

"Heard a fella say there's only so much ya can get out of a bag." she replies. "Wanna spar instead? Now that you're busted on top of old, I might stand a chance."

"Feh, sure," Holtz says with another of his trademark smirks. "And once I wipe the floor with ya, you can pass me some of whatever the frak you're smokin'." He steps away from the bag, tossing the towel on his shoulder to the floor as he throws his arms wide in an inviting gesture.

Ygraine lets out a laugh, crossing over and flicking out her hands to loosen her arms. Then she gets into a ready stance, and begins to circle right away. "So. What do I get from ya if I win, Storm?"

"My eternal respect," Holtz says in a deadpan as she starts circling. He's clearly rusty, though, given the amount of time he's spent on the shelf, and he's still flat-footed when her first attack comes rushing in. He grimaces, not quite able to put up a block in time to fully deflect her attack, but soon enough he comes back in on the counterattack, aiming a powerful blow at her midsection.

She twists, and his punch connects, but glances off the side of her stomach. It's an easy blow for her to recover from. "That ain't fun." she says with a laugh." If I win, ya do that thing ya did when we were down on Piraeus last that made my eyes go crossed. And if ya win - " she doesn't finish, because here comes her foot, aiming for his ribs on the good side.

Holtz raises a sly eyebrow. "Oh, you liked that, did you?" he asks devilishly. "Too bad." And as her foot snaps up towards his chest, he moves, much quicker than before; a meaty hand catches her by the ankle before the blow can land. He holds her there for a moment, teetering on one foot before he finally releases her with a toothy smile and turns her around, giving her a swat on the behind before moving back towards her in earnest. "When I win… what?" Then he circles back around until he's facing her again, and charges in, a one-two combo leading the way.

Ygraine lets out a little yelp as her butt is smacked, she's unable to resist a chuckle and a, "Tease." His combo is met with an attempt to block each maneuver, driving her into retreat, but it only goes so far as to help her avoid the bulk of power behind his blows. "But if you win, I'll do that thing you like. The one with the swirl." Her eyebrows waggle and she starts to ralley back with a series of punches and kicks.

"You do know how to encourage a man," Holtz says dryly. He seems to be recovering his balance, if he'd ever really lost it in the first place; stepping back, he manages to evade most of her strikes, blocking a kick that nearly — but not quite — manages to break through his guard. The big pilot sidesteps, his foot snapping up in a high kick of his own.

"I'm very encouraging that wa - aaaay!" she turns to try and dodge that kick, but it glances off her bicep as she keeps trying to keep his assault at bay. In a rather desparate move, she drops and goes for a sweep, hoping to take advantage of him recovering from his kick.

Her sudden drop seems to take Holtz a bit by surprise; he instinctively jumps back to try and avoid the blow. He manages to avoid enough of it to avoid being knocked off his feet, though she makes enough contact to cause him to stumble a few steps backwards. It takes him a moment to regain proper footing, but once he does, he charges in, arms outstretches as if he means to grapple and try to wrestle her to the ground.

Ygraine hits the mat with an oof, slapping her hand against the mat to try and absorb the impact. "Well," she laughs weezily, "I may be doin' th'swirl after all." But she's going to at least try to roll him over so she's on top, though admittedly she's not expecting to succeed.

Holtz utters a throaty little chuckle as he falls atop her against the mat. He goes to pin her, but his sudden burst of overconfidence is rewarded when she suddenly manages a reversal, throwing him aside onto his back. It's his turn to utter a surprised grunt as she suddenly ends up on top of him, although he's not down for the count just yet; even as he's being flipped, he tries to use his own weight and momentum to continue the roll and flip her over once more.

"No ya don't!" Ygraine snakily slips from his grasp and resettles herself, using her momentum to keep him pressed down. Sometimes all it takes is the right lever. She leans her head down, and one of her braids tickles his nose. "Do ya give?"

Holtz's eyes flash mulishly, and it looks for a moment like he's contemplating continuing the fight, but then his body abruptly slackens, his chest heaving with exertion as his lips twitch in a thin smile. "Looks like I owe you a… tongue twister," he says drolly, with a waggle of the eyebrows.

Ygraine beams down at him. "You," she says, "Are a strategic genius." She starts to lift herself off of him, offering a hand to help him up.

"That's why they pay me the big cubits," Holtz says with a smirk as he reaches out to take her hand. There's a treacherous twinkle in his eyes, though… and instead of pulling himself up, he pulls her down, falling back to the mat as he tries to pull her off her feet and flip her onto her back with a booming laugh.

Ygraine protests with a little squawk, when she finds herself on her back again. "You already conceeded!" she insists with stubborn insistence, even though she's starting to laugh. There's at least an initial effort to reverse their positions again.

"So I did," Holtz replies with a lopsided smile. She's slippery, but this time she's not slippery enough; this time, Holtz manages to lock her in place, holding her on her back long enough to peck her tauntingly on the lips. "But damned if that means I have t' let you get the last word." And then he releases her, a rather self-satisfied expression on his face as he rises to his feet.

"Asshole." she replies, but the odd thing is, she says it rather admiringly as she gets up to her feet as well.

Holtz snickers at that, and he shrugs nonchalantly as he waggles his eyebrows once more. "Maybe so," he remarks, "but you love it all the same." He picks up his discarded towel, brushing it across his face before moving to pick up his gym bag.

Ygraine snorts as she goes for her own gym bag. "Somebody still owes somebody else a twister, so I think I'll still chalk that up as a win." So there.

"That's so," Holtz muses. "And I always pay my debts." With his own bag slung over his shoulder, he slips an arm around her waist and nods towards the exit. "Shall we?"

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