Private Finished Catch of the Day

"I'm not a chosen one of anything except maybe what's keeping me ticking. Long story, but I don't mind saying if you're curious," Adelaida said as she mimicked the motions again, going through them one by one to ensure that she was doing it right. With each iteration, the motions became more and more fluid, more and more precise.

She started trying to deviate, and found that she could add in little motions, but that each attempt she made to add her own twists only made her sloppy. She could fit them in after some effort, though she quickly decided that with her limited knowledge of self-defense, it would likely just muddle the effectiveness of what she was taught. "Hmm. As I thought. I'm good with copying because of my old magic training and my memory, but my body can't keep up with my mind yet. I think you get what I mean. You ever have that?"

Adelaida paused from repeating the motions to take up a stance she picked up from something she watched. She did a few flashy punches, knowing full well they were likely impractical for anything other than showing off. As she did so, she asked, "Why'd you enter this line of work, if you don't mind me asking? For me, I'd probably only get into something like this if I really liked throwing hands."

Must be nice to be doing work one was comfortable with, Adelaida thought. For her, nothing came close to her old school of runic magic when it came to garnering her interest. She took up her current education, which she was close to completing, thinking of growing to love it, and yet it didn't happen.

More than anything, she wanted to regain what she'd lost. Not her family, not her estate, not even her soul - she just wanted to be able to do magic again. Everything else, she felt, would fall into place after.

She'd remained silent during this introspective, and she snapped out of it to return half-heartedly to the motions that Aliasse had demonstrated for her. It was obvious that her mind was elsewhere at the moment.

"I'm not gonna lie, I'm kind of jelly that you're so comfy and good with your job," she said while tripping an imaginary person and rapidly striking their nonexistent face. "I can't do the one thing I obsessed over anymore, and while I'm sharp enough that I can probably make other things work for me, it's just not as... cool. I think you probably get what I mean."

"My first love, huh... If we're calling it that, then I'm the guy who can't move on and calls his ex at 3 in the morning," Adelaida joked. There was a hint of bitterness there in her voice - subtle, but present. She'd struggled to reconcile at times just how well-adjusted she was with the losses she'd taken, except specifically magic. Enough to make her think there was something off in her head.

"It is what it is, I guess," she said with a sigh, continuing with the motions.

Halfway through another iteration of her self-defense lessons, Adelaida got an idea. "Ooh, speaking of. You ever fall in love? See, I've tried falling myself but I don't know, it never clicked. Makes me think I'm weird for finding people like you cute but not actually falling in love like my friends do."

Adelaida found herself wishing she hadn't asked the question. She hadn't expected such a long and detailed answer, considering how Aliasse had been dodging questions about her past. There wasn't anything wrong about what she'd said, and a lot of it mirrored Adelaida's own views. It was just... uncomfortable to be reminded that she never experienced that emotion.

"Guess... I haven't experienced love ever then," she said quietly. "That's... sad?"

She thought back to all her interactions with people, now that the floodgates had opened up. She thought of how few of them stuck, even with her efforts to make real connections. Few lasted any length of time, and she'd ended up getting into a cycle of making more and more physical bonds than any emotional connections.

She eyed Aliasse. Would she be another person that Adelaida would know only briefly?

"Hmm. It appears I haven't ever been in love or been loved. Cause I don't really remember even my family being that close with me. Maybe that's why..."

Adelaida paused.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting such a reasonable answer," she said dryly. "Sounds nice to be in love."

"Eh. It is what it is," Adelaida said, shrugging. Just like always, she would never come to a decent conclusion thinking of these matters herself. And she definitely had more control over her thoughts than that.

She did a few stretches, willing herself back into a positive mood as she'd done so many times before. She began copying other moves that she'd seen on TV to amuse herself, thinking of what a fortuitous meeting she'd had today.

"I'm not gonna lie, I've had tons of fun today, even though it was mostly just chit chat. I like chit chat, and you're pretty interesting. Easy on the eyes too," she said, smiling again.