"Am I being partnered up?" She asked. Sarge gave her a look that questioned her intelligence.
"No. Your tutor asked me to tell you that while you are doing your exercises you are to remain on your toes, knees bent, and to shift from foot to foot like this." He demonstrated quickly. Ro nodded and tried it out. She felt a little silly but other than that it seemed fine. "Like that. Your tutor also asked me to say that he would be a little late today and you are to keep doing these exercises until he arrives. Remember, your extra hours are until seven pm. Don't leave early." Ro stood there for a moment longer processing what he had said. Sarge grimaced. "Go." Ro went with slumped shoulders to her dummy and began the exercises.
At first, she felt fine with the new additions, but after a half an hour her legs hurt. Keeping her knees bent was really working out her quads. Sarge called a break for five minutes and she joined Momo and Aerie in drinking water. The break was over too quickly for much conversation and back she went to her dummy. After another fifteen minutes, the pain in her legs made her stop and gasp for air. She paused for a little and watched the fighting.
Momo and Mirran were running back and forth across the training grounds, shooting arrows quick as lightning and just as quickly dodging incoming arrows. Aerie was bearing down on Brawn, great axe flashing as she repeatedly chopped at him. He was blocking, but barely and she was forcing him back. Ro glanced at Sarge. He was glaring at her. Back to work she thought and returned to her exercises. After the second break was called, she had to keep stopping periodically, to give her legs a rest. However, Sarge didn't yell at her or do anything but glare, so she assumed that this was okay.
The bell rang dismissing the other students from training.
"Good work today." Called Sarge as they filed out into their respective lockers room. Momo and Aerie waved as they ducked into the changing room. "Nug, keep going." Sarge ordered before he too left.
Ro obeyed and kept going, pausing every once and a while to rest her legs. Every so often she would check the big clock on the wall, wondering where her tutor was. After another half an hour, her legs felt like jelly. Angrily she glared at the clock again.
"Where the Other is he?" She asked aloud, sitting on the bleachers. "Is he even coming?" She stretched her legs, wondering how she was going to keep this up for another hour and a half. Suddenly, an idea hit her. She jumped up and ran into the locker room.
***
In the shadow of the bleachers near the men's room, a red-headed male stood. His emerald green eyes flashed in surprise then annoyance as he frowned at the clock. His whole job today was to observe the girl and decide if he wanted to tutor her after all and she was leaving after just a half an hour. With his supernatural hearing, he could make out the noise of her opening her locker and grabbing her bag. If she didn't have the wherewithal and integrity to last for these two hours on her own, she shouldn't be at this school. No matter how pretty she was, he wouldn't waste his time tutoring someone who wouldn't last.
He looked at the clock again. It had been two minutes already and the sounds from the locker room had stopped. The male was just turning to leave when he heard the girl's footsteps coming back. Intrigued, he watched her. In her hand she held a music stone. She placed it on the bleacher nearest to the dummy she was working with. The girl pushed a button and quiet music played. It was a fast song with good rhythm.
She stretched, and he admired the shapeliness of her figure. Then straightening, she smiled. It was a look of pure innocence and joy, that appeared to light up the room. The male was struck by her beauty. His breath caught, and he felt his pulse quicken. His form started shifting from the mandatory human to his natural form. His eyes sharpened and focused harder on the girl. With his senses heightened he caught the scent that was wafting through the air. It was overwhelming and layered. One moment it smelled of light and honeysuckle. The next it was earthy and wet like a forest just after a rainfall. He could feel his body tightening in response and his brain fogging over as it swamped him. He felt an overwhelming need to find its source. Was it coming from the girl? His eyes trained on her as he fought against the desire the scent was causing in him.
The light vanished as her smile fell and she turned with a pout to look in his general direction. He shrank back farther into the shadows, not wanting to give away his presence. He took a deep breath and willed himself back into his human form. He continued to watch her practice.
***
Ro turned back to face the dummy. It had felt so strongly like someone was watching her that she had expected to see someone when she turned around. She shook herself and tried to rid her mind of the feeling of malevolence that had struck her. Focusing on the music, Ro crouched into her attack position and began to move in time to the song. As she had thought, this was easier with something to distract her from the pain in her sore muscles. She continued to practice and take breaks in fifteen-minute intervals. When the clock finally rang seven, she collapsed to her back on the floor, breathing heavily. It was at this moment that she realized the tutor had never shown up. She didn't notice the male slip out of the training room as quietly as he had slipped into it.