Blood is just red sweat (open)

[Corinthia Debellows]

A beat was pounding beneath her chest. It was not the sound of music, but the rhythm of her fists striking the bag. Each motion resonated inside of her head, jab, jab, reverse, jab, reverse. Adrenaline was pumping through every vessel of her body. Her knuckles were bleeding and raw, stinging mercilessly every time she made contact. Did Corey mind? No, of course not. This was where she thrived, in a fight.

The bag was no longer a bag, but a representation of Kalora. By striking the center of the bag, she struck his torso. She roundhouse kicked the bag, so high it would have knocked any man out. But that wasn't good enough. As soon as her foot returned to the ground, she pivoted on the front leg of her stance, so her back was to the bag. Then she drove her back foot back forcefully, so that both the heel and blade of her foot cut sharply into the bag. She felt the bag give a little upon contact, which gave her some small satisfaction. In return, she released a kihap, which is another word for yell. Martial artists often do this during training for many reasons; it can be motivational, help with focus, and is even beneficial to the health of internal organs.

After her release of energy, Corey's face twitched as she realized that she was no longer alone.

[Zenharu Matsuda]

Zen walked into the training center, pumped up for his afternoon workout. With metal pounding in his ears, he planned on an intense 3 hours. And as soon as he walked in, his music was drowned out by an intense yell from inside. Zen stopped his music short and looked to see where it came from. There was only one person in the room, and she was an extremely short and extremely pale girl next to the heavy bags. Was that really where he heard that scream?
He walked over to the guys locker room and dropped his bag off by the door, not needing it till the end of his workout, then began his stretching. He could feel her stare from across the room.
Zen wondered about the girl, was she human? That scream certainly couldn't have come from a normal human, but then again no one at the academy was normal.

[Corinthia Debellows]

The presence Corey felt didn't stay for long. She shrugged it off, figuring it was just a passing student who probably didn't even notice her. Her attention quickly returned to the bag before her, and her therapeutic workout resumed.

She threw a hook with her front hand, feeling a less than satisfying connection with the bag. She then reached across her body with her back hand, and redeemed herself by pounding an effective backfist into the bag. It burned her knuckles significantly, but she couldn't help but smile as she felt the bag give once more.

Corey got cocky. She decided to throw a more challenging kick, a jump spinning hook kick. Corey jumped several feet into the air, as she spun away from the bag. When she reached the full height of the jump, she extended her leg and hooked it at the last second. The kick was effective against the bag, but she didn't realize how much she had been sweating. When her anchor foot landed on the floor, it slipped on the waxed wooden floor. Her body landed with a loud thump, much louder than would be expected from a girl her size. "Shit!" she moaned.

[Zenharu Matsuda]

Zen felt his blood start pumping as he worked his arms with the dumbells. He was pumping 60 pounds in each hand, a warmup for his gift. The girl was still in the room, still punching and kicking at the bag. Her energy almost seemed endless. Zen had been watching her from across the room, he had an uneasy feeling about her, and he could the hatred that coursed through her. What was her deal?

He saw the girl launch into a massive spinning kick that seemed nearly perfect right till the end, when her foot slipped an she slammed onto the hardwood floor.
"Shit!" the girl cussed loudly.
Zen grinned, still watching her.
"You okay?" He asked, still pumping the dumbells...

[Corinthia Debellows]

The pain should have been coursing through her body now. From the height she fell from, and the density of the floor below her, she should have been writhing in pain. Something should have been broke, or at least fractured. But she was fine. Subconsciously, at the last second, she slammed her arms down, with her hands cupped, slapping the ground. It was a drill that they used to practice over and over again back at her old dojyang, she hardly saw its effectiveness, til now.

Instead of jumping to her feet, she threw her head back on the floor, and relaxed her body. She emitted a sound that would totally be unexpected. It was loud, and attention grabbing, it was sheer laughter. She had learned a long time ago, that it is better to laugh at one's mistakes then get all frustrated. Because, that just pouts you in a bad mood, or a worse mood in Corinthia's case.

"Oh, yeah I'm just peachy," she said to the guy pumping iron near her. "What you don't know, is that is a very highly advanced technique, where instead of landing on your feet, you land with your entire body," she said as she tried to keep a straight face, but a small giggle escaped through her faux, solemn expression.

[Zenharu Matsuda]

Zen was puzzled. The girl had started laughing after he asked if she was okay. Shouldn't she be in a considerable amount of pain after that fall? Maybe she was used to it.
"Oh, yeah I'm just peachy," she replied from across the room. "What you don't know, is that is a very highly advanced technique, where instead of landing on your feet, you land with your entire body," she said, still smiling and laughing.
Zen smirked at her and put the weights back on the rack with a loud THUD. This girl was interesting.
"I can see that. I think its called the flying body slam or something." he said lamely. Couldn't he come up with something better than that?
He walked over to her and stopped the bag that was still swinging from side to side.

[Corinthia Debellows]

A wave of relief flooded through her after he actually got her joke. For some reason she was afraid he'd think she's either crazy or incredibly stupid. She decided to push her luck, and keep the joke going. She raised her finger, as if to correct a student, "it is actually a way of ducking to evade a kick, or one of those flying pigs. It's very effective, so long as you are as skilled as I am to land on your ass." She flashed him a grin, not trying to pretend to be serious.

She eyed the weights that he just set down, he was pumping some serious iron, and didn't even seemed phased. Interesting. Her brows furrowed together, wondering how he was considered "gifted," for the academy. She reached behind her head, and pulled out the black elastic band, tying her hair together. She shook her head, untangling her lightly sweat-drenched hair.

"I have a few more moves, if you want to see. There's this one where I break my leg in the process!" she joked with faux enthusiasm.

[Zenharu Matsuda]

"it is actually a way of ducking to evade a kick, or one of those flying pigs. It's very effective, so long as you are as skilled as I am to land on your ass." she said, responding to his lame quote whilst taking the tie out of her hair. "I have a few more moves, if you want to see. There's this one where I break my leg in the process!"
Zen laughed. She has a sense of humor, maybe she isn't as hateful as he first though. "I'd love to see your moves, but lets not break any limbs. If you want we can spare in the ring. But first, what's your name?"
Zen also wanted to ask her what her gifts were, or for what reason she was at the academy, but maybe he could figure that out by sparing with her and avoiding awkward confrontation. He hoped he wasn't being too confident; seeing how hard she was kicking that bag. He might even feel some pain.

[Corinthia Debellows]

She raised her delicate eyebrow as he spoke of wanting to see more moves. She had interpreted it as suggestive, but the reference to sparring made her change her mind. She placed one hand on her hip, while the other steadied the bag that was still swaying back and forth. "Here's the deal," she said with a smirk, "as much as I love a good fight, I hate sparring." She had several flash backs hit her at once. The first being when she was the best sparrer in the dojyang, how she could have taken it all the way. The second, being how she had to take a long break, she was advised to round out her training, and spent time working on trick kicking. The third was a series of ass-kickings that came when she tried to get back into the ring. She shook them off, and continued, "see, I'm a hell of a fighter, but I don't do the ring thing. If you try to kill me, then I'll fight you. Otherwise, this bag is the only thing that's going to be feeling the weight of my fists for a while."

[Zenharu Matsuda]

Zen thought about what she said for a moment. He did everything for a reason. But did she have a reason for not wanting to spare besides what she had already said? Probably not, but it still seemed odd. He went with and played it off.
"Hey no problem, I was just looking for some good competition." He said, looking for some emotion to the compliment. There was none. He went on. "I kind of wish there was something to fight around here you know? Something to use our skills on. Everyone loves getting beefed and gaining complete control over your powers, but whats a gift if you cant use it for the common good?"

[Corinthia Debellows]

Corey's lips twitched into a small smirk as he asked for more competition. If it were a year ago, she would have thrown a jab in that instant. But, things change. People change. She shook her head, chuckling softly, and said, "don't go looking for a fight unless you have to. Trust me on that." She wiped a bead of sweat off of her temple and continued, "and I don't have any gifts. This is all me, baby. Well me and the whole vampire thing. But the fighting is all me." Corey bit her lip, wondering if the vampire thing was too much too soon. Her eyes drifted down and stared at her feet. For a brief moment, so found her lack of footwear amusing. Quickly she returned her focus to the conversation at hand.

[Zenharu Matsuda]

The words hit him like a smack in the face. This girl was a vampire. He looked at her more carefully now, trying to pick out the vampirish features. It was hardly noticeable till she told him. The silence continued on as she looked up at him, waiting for a response.
"uhh wow... I couldn't.. I mean... I didn't.....you look great." Zen grimaced at the awkwardness of his comment. "Not saying vampires look bad or anything...I just.. I didn't notice..... anyway i like the fighting bit. My gifts are Enhanced Reflexes and Enhanced Muscular growth, so im training all the time."

[Corinthia Debellows]

If Corey's heart could beat, it would be beating out of her chest. She had no idea about the protocol at the academy, surrounding whether or not you spoke of your gifts. She also didn't know how accepted it was to be a vampire. Did she just do something completely taboo? Her mind stopped reeling with questions as he began to speak. However, it took him so long to choke out the first sentence, that she was driving herself mad. At first, she thought that he was full on freaking out over what she revealed, but then it turned into some sort of compliment. What does that mean? That he didn't expect a vampire to look decent? A small smile curled onto her lips as he continued to cover is ass, making up for his little misspeak. Corey also took a mental note of his abilities, incase she does decide to spar him later on.

"Those seem like the perfect gifts for combat. I developed my martial arts ability at a very young age, before my transformation. Maybe I had some sort of gift, but even if I did it is now overwhelmed by the fact that I have the whole vampire speed and strength."

[Zenharu Matsuda]

"Those seem like the perfect gifts for combat. I developed my martial arts ability at a very young age, before my transformation. Maybe I had some sort of gift, but even if I did it is now overwhelmed by the fact that I have the whole vampire speed and strength."

Zen liked this conversation. It was his complete interest. He wondered how her speed and strength compared to his. And, since he had never been close to a vampire before, Zen wondered how she ate. Well he knew what, but not whom. For all he knew, she took down various criminals for food. That would be kinda cool. This was New York, after all.

"That's very interesting. To be honest I have nothing about vampires or their abilities besides the whole drinking blood bit. I hope that's not a sensitive topic for you. And the whole transformation thing, Did it hurt?" Zen said enthusiastically. He hoped this wasn't too much.

[Corinthia Debellows]

All humor drained from her face, which was now stoic. She stepped away from him, just enough to give him space for what she was about to reveal.

"Let's just say it's not like the movies," Corey answered flatly. She bit her lip, hesitantly, before adding more. "I was changed under unique circumstances. I was never told the truth about what it means to be a vampire, what options we have. For instance, I was trained to kill whoever I fed from, brutally. Now, I'm kicking that habit, but it's still a concrete part of my past."

She strode over to a wooden bench near an elliptical machine. She sat down, straddling it, staring at the ground before looking back at him.
"And it's excruciating."