Climb For Your Life!

[•Mouse•]

A young girl stood looking up at the rock wall, it was small and nothing very spectacular, but it was a rock wall. A harness hugged her waist as the girl looked up to the top to see the button she had to press. That was the goal, hit the button win the mini race. Honey colored eyes rolled to the right to see her opponent. A bigger boy, looking to be in his early twenties seemed ready to 'own' her, as he so nicely put it. Hah, he wished he could.

Tugging at her harness, making sure it was safely done, Beatrix rubbed chalk on her hands and looked up. Hands fell to her waist, shaking themself loose as if preparing. She wore shorts to her mid-thighs, jeans if you must know, and a gray wife-beater. Her blond hair had been swept into a low-setting ponytail and a black helmet covered the top of her head.

" Ready?" Asked a man between the two climbers. Beatrix nodded her head, the opponent did the same. "Go!" The man at the center called, hitting a button which lit the large red ones at the top of the course. Beatrix took off, getting a foot hold and pulled herself high at a stead pace. The young man was doing the same. The spotter she had wasa good friend and very good at what he did. As he held her steady, Beatrix kicked off the wall to avoid a jutting out cliff and climbed faster, where as the opponent had to climb all the way over and around it.

"Cheat!" Screamed the boy as he clung to the underside of the rock. Beatrix shrugged when it wasn't called and continued to climb the way up. Rocks grew less in number towards the top so she had to swing, and jump and throw herself about just to get higher. By now, the stronger of the two had made it close on her tail. The button was in sight, so close yet oh so far.

Chimes went off, a bell sounding behind the button as a pink manicured nails touched the red surface just before the opponents. He was furious, but Beatrix was all smiles. Pushing off the face of the climb she was lowered to the ground. Thanking her spotter for working so well with her, she held her hand out to the loser. " 20 bucks, my dear boy." She smiled. And as the man slapped the fresh bill in her hand, Beatrix on harnessed herself and removed the helmet.

" Another hard day at work." The girl sighed as she left the climbing room for the weights room. On her way out of the room with the rocks, young Miss Tristan scooped up a small black duffle bag, a light blue towel and a lime green Nalgene bottle full of water. Sipping at the water she placed the bag infront of a tred-mill, the towel was then drapped over her neck and the girl hopped onto the tred.

It was cool down time, she was fine with that. Around her, other Tred-Mills seemed vacant for the most part, and as she jogged lightly on the treds she seemed to hum to some upbeat song she had stuck in her mind. " One, two, step. Step by step. She would whisper once in a while.

[Katsumi]

From the rock wall, a few moments after the blonde girl had wiped the floor with her own opponents, came frantic screaming. "Hey! Get down from there! You're not wearing a harness! Who in the world is that girl!? Is she suicidal? She's going to get killed!" All caused by the brunette who scaled the faux rocks with out the typically safety harness, and who had already made it further than those who had the harness on. She climbed quickly, moving as if she were an animal from ledge to ledge. Her movements were all so fluid; her denim jeans and corset top didn't seem to hinder her at all, despite the work-out attire that her opponents wore. She neared the top at an alarming speed, often taking longer routes and stretching for places to hold on to far beyond the ones she could grasp. All of this chaos was caused by Frigg Ryder, taking to the climb wall like she was born and raised there. She had performed the feat on real rocks with her teacher millions of time. Now, to do it with a harness would not only throw her off of her rhythm, but it would probably even be a burden.

Finally, she grabbed the final ledge and her hand smacked against the button, signifying her victory. Going further and perching herself at the top of the wall, just beside the button, she looked down at the people we were still panicking. She scowled though, unhappy with these results. "Hey! I thought the button meant that I won!" she shouted back down, crossing her arms across her chest. Some one shouted back up, "How on earth are you going to get down."

Stupid question, Frigg though, beginning her descend the same way she had climbed in the first place. She was quick to reach the bottom, and less people were freaking out. She couldn't help but be slightly confused; if some one had the talent, why would people even worry? "I thought I won something..." she muttered, displeased.

[•Mouse•]

Beatrix, for whatever reason, didn't seem to look up from the commotion in the room across the hall. Instead her honey eyes remained on the digital counter as she jogged at a pleasing pace. Her breathing was steady and a sweat hadn't broken out yet, luckily. Evidently the girl had long since stuffed earbuds in her ears, adding a bit of contrast to her dark skin. The only other white she actually wore were the pearl earings in her ears from her mother.

Once in a while her hand would grasp at the Nalgene bottle in it's holder and she would sip some water down all the while she jogged. Clearly, Beatrix was an athletic girl. Keen on the ideas of staying fit and healthy she spent god knows how much time running, climbing and hiking. Archery being one of her favorite passtimes, was sadly not offered at this fitness center. Though it upset her only a little, not many would notice.

A trainer that worked at the center walked over with a clipboard and peered down at her digital meter before her. The woman chuckled, shook her head and tapped Beatrix's shoulder. The young woman turned her head and smiled, plucking the earbud in the right ear free. " Yeah?" Asked the youngster as she kept with her pace.

" At it again, Beatrix? Why do you always seem to be running or climbing?" Asked the woman casually. Beatrix giggled and pressed pause on the bean shaped mp3 player that had been tucked into a pocket. Keeping with her pace, Beatrix explained the hot summers and vast spaces she remembered in Africa when she lived there and remembered running all the time and the such. The trainer smiled before speaking again. " Explains a lot, doesn't it?" She laughed before disappearing to another person's side to see how they were holding up.

Once again, the music was played and the headphone was replaced to where it had been. Pulling at the elastic in her hair, Beatrix allowed her hair five minutes of freedom before pulling it into a higher sitting ponytail. Dark lips mouthed the words to the song that blasted into her ears. Not blasted really, but filled them enough to block out any generally soft words. Regular voices, whispers, the such wouldn't reach Miss Tristan now.