Never Skip Log Day {Crit}

"So is this the new exercise craze? Hauling logs while on jogs?"

For once, when someone had arrived at Lelei's favorite night swimming lake, Lelei was not emerging from the water itself to greet them. This time around, Lelei was just arriving at the shore of the lake just as the log-carrying girl had arrived for a brief respite from her training. Wearing his trunks and with a towel around his shoulders, it was obvious what he had been planning on doing before he encountered the girl.

The fact that she struck a ready stance upon noticing his presence was not lost on him. Though he did not react as he walked up to her side, keeping a safe distance, he understood why she might have been so paranoid.

"But seriously, I don't mean you any harm. You can stand down."

He eyed the fallen log that she had been carrying. It explained why he had heard such loud thudding footsteps on the way to the lake. Knowing that it was a girl carrying a huge log, Lelei did not know if that made him feel better or worse.

"Log day, huh? That's a new one to me."

What impressed Lelei the most was how matter-of-factly she stated her actions. Hauling log through the woods was obviously no random occurrence nor some spur of the moment exercise decision. Carrying lumber on her back was something she had done before, and was possibly part of a routine for her. If that was indeed the case, she earned the nod she got from Lelei. He just wondered if she used the same log everyday, or if she had a pile of used logs somewhere.

"And yes. I am here to swim. Er, Was here to swim. Now I'm more interested in getting to know you a little."

He extended a hand toward her.

"I'm Lelei. You mentioned a meeting. You perhaps wouldn't be referring to the sports and athletics meeting that happened earlier at the Academy, would you?"

He strained his mind to remember if he had seen the girl at the meeting when he attended. But he had been barely paying attention as it was not his usual area of expertise. His attendance was mostly due to his physical presence on the sports fields frequently as Chief Security Officer.

Milk's unusually firm handshake was one of the first notable things Lelei noticed about her, and it was notable to him.

Lelei was larger and more massive than most of the people he met on the island, and his handshakes frequently dwarfed the other person's hand. He always made a point to only lightly squeeze during handshakes. But with Milk, he felt that he could squeeze and squeeze and not hurt the girl. In fact, he doubted her hand would even budge under the pressure. That was strange.

"A pleasure to meet you, Milk. And it seems that we both work at the Academy then!

He was pleased to find another faculty member out in the woods that night, rather than the odd student wandering around for whatever reason. It was a nice change of pace. He set his towel down and went to the water's edge to kick around in it a little.

"So you teach anything in particular? I saw your form when you got ready, so I know you have some combat experience."

Even in the darkness of the moon light, and through Milk's continued monotone, Lelei was able to sense the hint of a smile she wore when she proclaimed her combat expertise. He liked hearing that someone was taking a little pride in their work and skills. He especially liked that Milk had taken to a "hobby" that he had frequently enjoyed in the past, before his time was consumed with his duties as a Captain or for the school.

Lelei quickly knelt down so that he could splash some water on his head and chest. The night felt as though it was not going to be used for a swim as he had planned, but he still wanted to get a bit wet.

"Well, I hope you get the position. The kids might not need some heavy-duty combat training, but self-defense never hurts."

He stood up and faced Milk while stretching his arms across his chest.

"Maybe I can put in a recommendation for you. But I first gotta see what you can do. Think you can do that?"

His electroreception spiked for a moment. Lelei could sense something happening within Milk. There was an increased amount of activity in her body, and yet she was barely doing any moving besides taking a ready position. Knowing that Milk was already capable of hauling a full log by herself through the forest, Lelei could only assume that the source of her strength was getting into gear.

He liked the thought of Milk giving her all. It had been so long since Lelei had been in any kind of fight, much less a friendly spar. The sensation was exhilarating.

"First to three knock downs sound good to you?"

Lelei also took a ready position. His feet moved apart and he lowered his shoulder as his hands up facing Milk. The lack of closed fists indicated that Lelei was more of a grappler than a striker.

"Safe word is... turkey sandwich. In case one of us goes a little too far."

The practice of a safe word was strangely fitting for a good spar, Lelei found. Ideally, it would never be used as both fighters would know when to back off and not to 'go for the kill'. But with creatures like Lelei, that was a delicate balance when claws and teeth could be involved.

Lelei began to step slowly toward Milk while circling to her side.