The second the clock hit 4 o'clock Cerin awoke and her eyes snapped open as they had for the past week. She looked at the clock beside her with a conflicted expression but still forced herself off the warm bed and into the bathroom.
As the saying went, a man was only as grand as his memories so as the memories of the nine women all named Cerin merged a new personality was born, one that was apparently more dutiful than the original Cerin.
The shower ran hot and steam filled the room before she finally got out, dressed herself in jogging clothes and blended the multitude of herbs she had thrown together with the help of Four's memories to improve her constitution.
Although technically she could not contact any of them they were so closely integrated in her soul that she could almost hear what they would say.
No you Idiot! You have to grind the Iprakreettoss together with the Tross then you blend it with the Star Duscle and Poisonflower mixture you fermented overnight! You did ferment it right? And you didn't leave anything else out right? Oh! Make sure you keep track of how strong the Poisonflower is. If you do it wrong….well its full name isn't the Rash poisonflower for no reason.
Cerin put on a small grin as she followed the recipe, but did make sure to measured the poisonflower properly.
The only way to cure her illnesses was to expose her body to the change from moonlight to the morning sun and the best way to to this was to pair it with exercise so she could learn the fancy tricks three wanted to learn. The drink was to expedite the process.
She grimaced as she chugged the vile concoction and pushed her frail body through the various exercises demanded by Three before heading out the door and jogging in the moonlight.
As she ran, she plugged in her headphones and listened suggested songs from Two then set out. And a pleasant smile appeared on her usually expressionless face as she heard the criticisms.
What is this?! she calls this singing?! listen clearly child, this is what NOT to do when you sing.
Ahh now these were the days. I remember listening to him in my childhood. of course you'll never achieve this level, but if you can achieve even 10% of this you can consider yourself a singer.
She jogged for the next four hours and only occasionally stopped to take another chug of the concoction before heading back home and cleaning up the house.
Cerin hauled the massive amount of ingredients onto the counter and loaded them into the fridge before paying her respects to the memoirs of each of the now dead Cerins and making a large nutritious meal and heading out of the house for another round of exercise.
Cerin's first semester started in about five months and she planned on fully investing this time into her health as well as gaining proficiency in the past Cerin's skills.
This time rather than simply going around the neighborhood as she had in the morning she jogged out to the city and to a small but well known mixed martial arts hall. As well as learning the other Cerin's skills she wished to invest some time into creating her own and decided on a sport she had always admired.
Cerin stood out like a dandelion in a field of rocks and looked like she could snap in the wind against the burly men that surrounded her. The boss of the gym, a brusque, bearlike man scrambled over to the sickly but good-looking girl, dressed in short and well fitting athletic clothes that still managed to exude an air of modesty.
" Young miss, are you looking for someone? a boyfriend?"
He looked her over once more and internally cursed whichever one of those young brutes manages to get such a fairy-like girlfriend.
"the younger guys would be in outdoor training right now. would you like to wait here for him or come with me to see them?"
'Who ever it is better be prepared for an extra charge rate per lesson. '
The man thought with a malicious scowl.
Cerin forced herself to smile at the man but it came out strained and odd on her usually emotionless face. She had spent the majority of her life in isolation after all with all the hospital visits. Cerin gently but firmly shook off the hand that wrapped around her arm,
" I'm actually here to register for the beginner classes."
Her voice was thin and hoarse , as she was unused to talking with others and only further increased the desire to protect her from the man as well as the surrounding males. However the instructor who was closest to her couldn't help but shiver at the unwavering gaze in her eyes. that gaze… it spoke of multiple and long life experiences and should not be on a child of only 19.
There were precious little females that chose to come to a mixed martial arts gym as a form of recreation and fewer still that were of university age. Yet this one, who looked so fragile she could snap in the wind had chosen such a violent thing to begin with.
The boss's eyes widened as he looked over her slight frame, this time with the eyes of a trainer rather than those of a male and sighed.
" Are you sure? We have a branch of rhythmic gymnastics in another building, perhaps you meant to go there?"
Cerin scowled and stiffly handed in the registration form and fees in an envelope. Here three's voice roared out,
How dare he look down on you just for being a girl! let's show him exactly what just a woman can do eh? why don't you whip out one of those strangle holds I showed you? the one I used to defeat that hostile bear?
Cerin wanted to laugh but couldn't under the scrutinizing gaze of the bear like man.
….even if I wanted to I'm not completely recovered and even if i was this man has been training in martial arts for almost his entire life. That's a sure loss.
Meanwhile that same bearlike man went still as he saw the young girl's expression go completely still and a small grin carved on her pouted lips. He wasn't exactly sure what that grin meant but he was sure of one thing... it wasn't a happy one.
Cerin knew that she could learn all of those gymnastic and dance skills from the memories of the Cerins but she felt the desire to learn her own skills as well of free loading off those of her past lives ad the only thing she could think of was mixed martial arts.
The second the envelope appeared a much less muscular man appeared and took over the conversation,
" Hello. yes. I'm the Manager. you wanted to join our gym?"
The bear like man wished he could send her away, not because he looked down on females but because of her weak physique. The girl literally wavered as she stood still!
Yet..there was something seemingly within her that seemed to be struggling to get out from her weak physique. He wasn't very good at logistics or maths but one thing he was good at was recognizing hidden talent and this young girl in front of him had one...that of burning ambition.
As soon as this thought crossed his mind he immediately shook it off,
I must have been watching too many of my son's tv shows.. a hidden talent? a burning ambition? when the hell did I get so poetic?
He tuned back into reality and decided to send her away but somehow the determined look in her eyes and her aggressive stance made the trainer smile and reminded him of his younger sister who had briefly wanted to join him in his training. However this desire has quickly stopped once she realized just how much time and effort actually went into being allowed into the ring.
Oh well, it's good for girls to know some self defense….and she'll probably quit soon anyways. there's no reason to turn down some extra profit.
The manager saw the larger man soften and quickly took the fees from her and personally escorted her towards the beginners area which had a relatively tall climbing wall. His own thoughts on the scenario being pretty clear
Never mind the self defense thing. If we have a pretty girl frequenting here our members will increase and we even get paid for it.
" Before we let you into the ring, you have to be in good shape. it doesn't matter how much technique you think you have if you can't take a single hit. I'll officially start your training when you can clear this wall"
As the trainer instructed Cerin, the aforementioned youths streamed into the gym and began to crow around the instructor, taking his attention from the young girl who only cast a disdainful look towards the safety rope and headed straight for the wall.
" Old man! even if your wife left you, it's no reason to prey on little girls!"
" hey old man! fish in your own pool would you? why are you going after our generation!"
" old man! did you have too much protein this morning and think you were such a great catch? if you do anything you could be sent to jail you know?"
Of course the trainer got angry and instantly began to roar at each of them, intending to double their work outs but was stopped by the astonished looks on each of their faces.
He turned backwards to see the young girl scurry up the wall so familiarly like it was the tree beside her childhood home and perch at the edge of the wall to wave at the men below with a proud but slightly discomforted expression on her face.
The instructor could do nothing else but wave back and watch as she began to climb down and ran back to his side,
Cerin was slightly disappointed at the time it had taken her to get up the small 15 foot wall and back down but knew that what she had done was the limit of her frail body until she could get healthier.
The manager on the other hand had a huge smile on his face as he looked around at the awestruck expression of the males in the gym and saw the possibility of a new source of income.
He clapped Cerin on the shoulder as lightly as he could but she still stumbled forwards by a few steps.
" Well, while I may not be the handsomest man, I am a man of my word. Welcome to my gym."