Weight of the World-p.r.s

26-ranger red

The next three days or so went by peacefully. There were no nighlok or sudden battles, and Brooke could just focus on healing. Which is what she did, and soon she was back in commission to battle without worrying about her side. The gashes had scabbed over completely, and soon they would be nothing but a memory. Which was great for Brooke, because she knew that she needed to get stronger still. So, once she was back in commission, she instantly started working on the despair symbol during the day, and training during the night. It was a sound plan, and she made sure not to overwork herself. Sometimes Jayden joined her, like tonight.

The glow of the moon illuminated the silver and red rangers, who stood, dressed in their training uniforms, in the outdoor dojo. Amaris was curled up on one of the concrete benches, violet eyes half-lidded as she watched the pair. Jayden was currently helping Brooke with her stances, so she didn't waver so much from the knockback of blocking a powerful attack. She welcomed the training partner, even though he was somewhat mocking her. It wasn't out of ill-intent, though, it was just friendly teasing that got responded with faux annoyance.

"Your legs are spread too far apart." Jayden pointed out, a training sword in hand. He was instructing like how he did during training, but this time his voice was softer.

Brooke moved to adjust her stance, but she barely had time to react before the training sword collided with her ankle. She let out a yelp of surprise, falling to the ground and landing on her back with a thud. "That wasn't fair, I was trying to fix it." She complained, her eyes flashing as Jayden peered down at her with a small smile.

"I know, you're doing better," Jayden praised, holding out his free hand. Brooke took it, and she felt her cheeks heat up at the praise as he helped her to her feet. "Is it because of your ankle that you don't stand correctly?" He questioned, noticing the pink dusting her cheeks. That made him inwardly grin- and was a thing he noticed. It was always praise that got her flustered, now more than ever. Which made sense, given Brooke's past, and Jayden found it endearing, it also being a way to have the upper hand.

"Uh, I don't think so," Brooke confessed, chewing on her bottom lip as her eyes flashed. "I'm self-taught, remember? I guess fifteen-year-old Brooke decided that standing correctly wasn't important." She joked, and Jayden shook his head with a small smile.

"Here, try to mirror me," Jayden instructed, settling into a fighting stance. He had dropped the training sword, which Brooke was relieved about. She was starting to get angry at the weapon after it collided with her legs or her ankles for the umpteenth time.

Brooke glanced at him and tried to copy his stance, wincing slightly at the muscles in her legs screaming in protest. They had been going at this for almost an hour and a half, and her body was starting to reach its limits. Still, she didn't tell Jayden that, as she also wanted to gain more stamina. Which she had more than a human's, but the despair symbol took a large amount of it. So, she didn't have as much as she would like for the nighttime training sessions. Jayden was lenient with her on that, as he understood that she didn't just flake out.

"Your legs are still too far apart," Jayden chided, and Brooke made a groan of annoyance, glancing at him again and readjusting her stance. "I don't think I've seen you this frustrated at training before." He teased, walking over to where she was standing.

"You haven't seen me work on the damn cage symbol, then," Brooke fired back, but she felt her heart rate increase as she heard the familiar footfalls of Jayden. He was getting closer, and her mind almost instantly wandered. However, she stopped that thought process quickly, cursing herself silently. Now wasn't the time- there was never a good time for that. "Red, if you hit me with that sword one more time, I'm gonna kick your ass." She threatened, and Jayden rolled his eyes playfully in response.