Wax On, Wax Off (OPEN)

[Cheyenne Achilles]

Most campers in Camp Jupiter preferred to use their weapons as they practiced fighting. Cheyenne loved using her sword and shield, especially when she could fancy up the shield. But she got easily bored with it at the same time and she knew how to use the other weapons thanks to her mother. So when she got extra bored, she put down her weapons and used her fists. There were punching bags around the grounds, but Cheyenne liked using a training dummy. It gave her a true reason to use her knowledge.

After all, she wasn't a black belt in karate for nothing. Most of the campers were gone today, but Cheyenne stayed behind as she worked on working this particular dummy over. She used different punches and kicks. She was going pretty fast, but she was focusing on her form and technique. Karate was discipline-based and she didn't get her black belt for rushing things and being sloppy. But after a while, she lowered her hands and took a step back as she smirked at the dummy. Her job here was done.

[Cameron James]

Cam stretched as he walked and gave his gladius a few practice swings as he warmed up on his way to the training grounds. It wasn’t really his cohort’s period for scheduled training but he had gotten done with a few duties around the barracks and had a little time before grabbing dinner in the mess so he figured what would be the harm in putting in a little extra time with his sword and working up an appetite before eating. After all a little extra practice never hurt anyone and he had never been one to slack off when it came to keeping up his skills.

When he reached the large combat grounds however, it soon became obvious that he wasn’t the only one who had decided to come out to bash the dummies around today. As he approached one of the dummies he found another girl already dishing out some pretty tough punishment. Interesting enough he recognized the girl almost immediately as Praetor Cheyenne. Even more interesting was the fact that she was dishing out her punishment on the training dummy with her bare hands like some kind of kung fu warrior.

He had heard the Praetor had some skill in martial arts and watched her for a moment. It was a pretty impressive sight but it probably wouldn’t be good for him to be caught staring when she didn’t know he was here. “Praetor.” He said respectfully as she seemed to be finishing up. Cam had already picked out a dummy of his own and had turned his attention back to his own preparations as he spoke. “It’s good to see I’m not the only one trying to fit in a little extra training time today.”

[Cheyenne Achilles]

As she took a step back, Cheyenne heard someone address her. Praetor. She turned her head to see who was addressing her. It was one of the Centurions. Second Cohort. Cameron. She recognized him from the various meetings she held as Praetor and she remembered quite the impression he left on camp when he was selected for the Second Cohort when he didn't have any letters of recommendation. She nodded her head towards him in recognition. "Centurion," she replied back as she looked back at her dummy.

She had her fill of training with her fists, but Cameron was here. She knew there was rumors around camp about her black belt and she always practiced when nobody was around. Cameron might have seen part of her training, so she might as well give him a little bit more. Because if he witnessed it, he would tell others and the rumors would spread more. And then, they would know that Cheyenne was a black belt in karate and a force not to be messed with.

"It's always good to get in extra training," she said before she threw a punch at the dummy before following it by a kick. She took a deep breath and straightened up as she nodded her head in approval. "It makes you faster. Stronger. Better."

[Cameron James]

"I agree. It's a shame that more of the troops don't hold that same view." He said as he began chopping away on the practice dummy in front of him. It was rare to find soldiers willing to put in a little extra time to hone their skills. Cam found that most did the bare minimal required by their commanding officers and expected that to get them through. What they didn't realize however was that while minimal training certainly kept them off of disciplinary probation it wasn't preparing them for battle. It was always the case that some green recruit wouldn't pay enough attention to their training and would end up standing dumbstruck in the middle of a battle waiting to be killed. No, when it came to your training it was always best to go the extra mile when you could.

Cameron glanced over at Cheyenne when he heard her resume punching the training dummy. He had thought that the Praetor was about done with her exercise when he arrived but apparently she had gotten it into her mind that she needed more. He wasn't really sure why. Was she trying to impress him? Possibly but it wasn't really necessary. He sincerely hoped she wasn't just showing off for him but decided it wasn't really his place to question her motivations. He respected his superior's abilities. Instead he went back to doing the only thing that seemed proper. In short, he minded his own business and got back to work effectively ignoring the Praetor's actions and focusing on his own work out.

[Cheyenne Achilles]

After she gave the dummy a couple more beatings, she glanced over at Cameron to see what he thought of it. The boy gave no reaction to her skills as he went ahead and started his training. She stood there dumbfounded for a second. Did he really not care? It wasn't every day that you saw a black belt in karate. And a damn good looking one as well. She huffed a bit as she squared her shoulders and faced the dummy. She would show him. She would show him why she was named Praetor while he was still a Centurion.

She attacked the dummy again using only her hands and feet. She put more force behind her attacks, grunting with each strike. She was a black belt. She was a pageant queen. She needed to be respected. She was in a mad fury, but her technique was still spot-on as she continued to give the dummy the beating it didn't deserve.

[Cameron James]

His attempts to ignore the somewhat unnecessary beating going on beside him apparently did not have the desired effect that he intended. Instead of finishing up with her training the Praetor seemed to become even more intent on getting his attention. So much so that it became a little distracting and Cam had to stop what he was doing for fear that she might go to far and hurt herself or more likely the dummy.

Cam had seen Cheyenne' type before among some of his teammates when he was playing football. The type they tried to build a reputation off of their physical prowess rather than their actions. They walked around thinking just because they were stronger and faster than those around them that they somehow deserved more respect simply because of who they were or what they could do. That was fine but in Cam's experience respect was something you had to earn and while he had never had a reason to doubt the Praetor's skill this only served to cement that all this was a bit over the top. She didn't need to do this for him. "Praetor?" He asked wondering if this was a good idea. "If you don't mind me asking, are you okay? You seem a bit agitated tonight?"

[Cheyenne Achilles]

Cheyenne continued to beat on the dummy and punish it. She had to be perfect. She had to be hot. She needed to be feared around camp. And she would give Cameron a reason why she was named Praetor besides anyone else. She was powerful. She was fierce. She continued with her beat down for a few more moments before she stopped again and she stepped away from the dummy. Her breathing was ragged, but she felt better than before. Her workout wasn't complete, not truly until then.

She whipped her head around and stared down Cameron as he asked if she was alright. Did he not get it? Did he not see the power. She huffed a bit as she straightened up. "Perfectly fine," she replied tersely as a nodded her head. "Why would you think that?"

[Cameron James]

When she whipped around to face him Cam sensed her aggravation at him like the heat from standing too close to a fire. Everything from her dramatic beating of the dummy to the terse way that she responded to him told him that he was treading on very dangerous ground here. Granted he could have given in and shown her the attention that she surely wanted but it was not in Cam’s nature to fawn over anyone, even a superior. That didn’t mean he didn’t respect his commanding officer however. The question was, how did he show that?

“Well for one I think you’ve beaten that dummy within an inch of its life which is saying something since it isn’t alive.” He watched her and tried to gauge her mood. As a praetor he knew that she could reprimand him for just about any reason but he felt that if he couldn’t speak frankly with his commanding officer then then legion was in a pretty sad state. “Also, you seem a bit upset with me.”

[Cheyenne Achilles]

Cheyenne pressed her lips together as she looked at Cameron. He was a Centurion while she was Praetor. She deserved to be respected and have everyone else be in awe of her. How else was the rest of the camp supposed to find her hot if nobody would realize what force drove this camp. She huffed a little bit as she straightened up even more as she tried to make herself look even more intimidating while sucking in her stomach to make herself hotter.

"Oh, it's nothing," she said as she gave one of her pageant smiles. "It's just some people don't recognize talent even if it's right in front of them." She gave him a short nod. "But I guess I'll see you at one of the meetings."

[Cameron James]

Cam frowned a little as he listened to Cheyenne shrug off his comment. He had always thought of himself as a good team player but the Praetor seemed to mistake his lack of attention over her show more as a lack of appreciation and it didn’t take a genius to realize that the comment about not recognizing talent was directed at him. The whole interaction was a little concerning for Cam but she was still his commanding officer and that meant she deserved his respect even if he didn’t necessarily agree with her methods.

Cam straightened almost to attention as she indicated that she would take her leave but then he spoke. “To the contrary Praetor you would be surprised what some people recognize. For example I recognize talent. I recognize strength. I especially recognize authority. Those are important qualities to have and the legion is fortunate to have a leader who possesses all those things but I also recognize the fact that those who truly have those qualities rarely need to show them to keep their subordinates in line.”

[Cheyenne Achilles]

Cheyenne had every intention of leaving the arena and not talking to Cameron for weeks. That's what she did to those who somehow irked her. The cold shoulder was one of her specialties. However, when she tried to take a step towards the exit of the training grounds, she paused in her tracks as she heard Cameron talk again. She glanced over her shoulder at him as she raised her eyebrows. In her opinion, those were fighting words.

She turned around to fully face him again as she cocked an eyebrow at him. "Is there something you want to say to me directly, Centurion?" she asked as there was a hint of challenge in her voice. "Because if you have a problem with me, I would like to know about it."

[Cameron James]

Cam didn’t flinch as Cheyenne turned back on him with her accusations. Instead he kept his practiced military posture as he accepted the speculation she was throwing at him. He really didn’t want to fight her here and he really didn’t have any desire to challenge her position. He had been a part of many teams though and he thought the legion wasn’t much different than that. As such he believed they had a good thing here and didn’t want to see that change.

“Not at all praetor.” He said confidently after Chey had finished. "I do know the legion though. We are a machine, a mighty engine of war and just like a machine we have many parts each with our own strengths and abilities." He paused for a moment wondering if any of this was getting through to her. He hadn't had many dealings with the praetor but knew enough about her to know she didn't like to feel challenged. "I'm no child of Vulcan but I do know a machine works best when all the parts are equal and doing their job. You get one part that starts over compensating and eventually it will break, usually on its own, and then what do you have besides a broken machine? I don't want the legion to be broken praetor. I don't want any part of the legion to break. We are stronger working together. No threat. No problem. Just something to think about."

[Cheyenne Achilles]

Cheyenne raised her eyebrows at Cameron as her face clearly said then what is your problem? She could tell there was something wrong, but Cameron wasn't willing to say it to her face or at least not directly. She straightened up as she looked at him as there was an air of superiority around her. But what he said clearly wasn't what she wanted to hear. She knew that the legion had to work as one or they would fail because of a house stands strong if they stand together or something. Cheyenne wasn't into those philosophical quotes like her advisers would give her.

She only nodded her head once Cameron was done and flashed him one of her pageant-worthy smiles. "Thank you for your input, Cameron," she said calmly in one of those voices she would use whenever she would have to answer questions during her pageants. "I will take your thoughtful idea into consideration."

[Cameron James]

When Cam finished what he had to say he hoped that at least a part of it had gotten through to Cheyenne. He hadn’t meant for this to become such a big deal but it seemed as if this would just be a point of contention between the two of them. Hopefully Cheyenne wouldn’t let this poison their working together but Cam had his doubts and what she said when she spoke to him again with that tone of false congeniality didn’t go very far to improving them.

Cam nodded as she finished. ”I appreciate that praetor.” He said already knowing that she wouldn’t. It was unfortunate but he supposed there wasn’t much to be done. Instead he turned his attention to trying to move past all this. “But I can see you were planning on leaving and I know I’ve held you up long enough. I should let you be on your way.” Cam paused for a moment to raise his arm in a Roman salute. “Have a good evening praetor.” He said and then turned back to the dummy he had been working on.

[Cheyenne Achilles]

Even if Cheyenne looked like she kept her composure, underneath she was furious. She wasn't concerned about the legion working as a single machine. As far as she knew, they machine was working like a single working machine. She didn't know what he knew about or was trying to foreshadow or whatever. The legion was perfect and Cheyenne had to be more perfect.

She nodded her head at Cameron as she gave her pageant worthy-smile to him. "And good evening to you as well, Centurion. I'll see you at our next meeting." And with that, Cheyenne turned on her heels and walked out of the training grounds. Oh, she would see Cameron, but she knew she wasn't going to speak to him for a long time.