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For once, Kamboja didn't feel like punching things, but he kind of wished that he did. Watching Xanthus run in place when he was struggling to catch a breath at a brisk walk was the nail in the coffin in how much running sucked.

"Shut.. up," it was only half a joke as he stopped and propped hands on knees to catch his breath. The guy was babbling and he couldn't say more than two words through strained lungs. The whole run was more miserable than he'd even imagined that it would be.

But Kaatje had made it clear he had to get his a** back on track, somehow. He guessed physical torture was one way.

He sighed and began moving again, catching up to the blonde. He didn't hate Xanthus as much as he hated what he was doing at the moment, he was just having a hard time separating the emotions on his face. Mostly, he just looked somewhere between passing out and screaming in frustration. If he could get enough air to scream.

"Are we.. close?" Kam reminded himself to pick his feet up, trying not to focus on the way his heavy dreads made his neck ache every time they swayed and bounced with his motions.

"Yeah, let's walk.. walking is good."

Kam slowed his pace (not that it could really get much slower and still be considered jogging) and pressed one hand into his side, pleased that they weren't going to be doing anymore infernal cardio nonsense. It wasn't that Kam didn't like a good workout, it was just that he didn't like anything he wasn't good at. He definitely wasn't good at this, at least not as good as Xanthus.

As they walked, his breathing eased a little, and he was able to take in the scene around them. The guy had at least picked a nice, out-of-the-way place and Kam was pretty fond of nature. Things could be worse.

"Sorry, I'm not.. really a runner." He raised his brows for emphasis, but the gesture fell short with the way he was breathing heavily through his mouth. He wanted to say I'm a fighter, but even the implication of that made his muscles tense.

As they neared the crest of the hill, he had to wonder what kind of energy he was going to have left for this. Probably a good thing he needed practice as Gehenna, who undoubtedly had a larger energy supply, even if he wasn't keen on the powering up thing lately.

"She's just really uh.. convincing." He didn't need to say who 'she' was - he was sure Xanthus had run into her do or die attitude already if he'd known her for more than two seconds. Of course, it might have only been reserved for reluctant tenants. Kam was somehow surrounding himself with a lot of pushy women these days.

As Xanthus spoke, Kamboja thought back to the first time he started weigh lifting. He'd gone over zealous, lifting as much as his lanky frame had been able to take. He'd cut his knuckles open on the punching bag without knowing how to protect them and the whole next day he was in too much pain to move - and for several days after that. No. Nothing was super easy the first time.

"Nah, you're right," he offered with a small nod and even the faintest glimmer of a smirk - as close as Kam really ever got to a smile these days.

The details of the other mans' experience with Kaatje drew a laugh between the breath he was trying to suck in and he shook his head with a bit of disbelief. "That certainly sounds like her. She seems pretty fond of calling men babies, hm?" A brow raised with his question, but then the big brute just shrugged it off. "I've learned that little spitfires like her usually have a lot of big friends. Even if they can't hold their own, you usually don't want to piss them off." She reminded him a lot of Delphine - but more cool and sarcastic than explosive. He seemed to have a soft spot for them.

"She should be careful though, they all should. I've seen the look on someone's face when they realize you've got more than they expected. I wouldn't wanna see it on hers." He brought his arms over his head now, stretching one and then the other, assuming they had to be close to the sparring area now. He'd gone well out of his way to make sure no one saw them, he'd give the other man that.

"Yeah, for not sharing my feelings." A heart-to-heart with Kaatje was not something many people probably enjoyed. Kam certainly hadn't. Too much awkward talking and not enough angry punching. He supposed she had good intentions and all that. "Never mind that I was busting my a** on physical labor for her."

"Big guy?" He asked. Kam's eyes swept the pond and the scenery around it the moment that they broke the crest. His eyes didn't fail to catch that shape dipping beneath the murky water, not even in his worn down state of being. Just like that, his question was forgotten.

"What in the hell.." it was barely a breath under his lips, enough for Xanthus to hear but only barely. Kam had seen a lot of things in Destiny City, even more in his days backpacking in South America, but it seemed the world was never going to stop surprising him.

The burly man just nodded at the temporarily granted reprieve, letting his steps slow down until he was trotting comfortably. He was at least stretching as he went, making sure that his overworked muscles didn't cramp up on him so far from home. He would really hate to have to call Delphine for a ride because he hadn't been eating enough bananas.

His eyes kept drifting back to the lake, as if he expected to make sense of it all of a sudden.

Now that his lungs were functioning more properly, he had a much clearer head - probably because it was actually getting oxygen. He managed a small smirk at Xanthus, the first he'd had energy for since they started, and gave him a little shrug. "She's a woman, don't expect her to make sense." If Delphine had been around, he'd have gotten a slug for that. Not that it would have stopped him, of course.

He was still musing to himself when he plopped down on an old tree stump, chopped and forgotten, though it had probably once provided some of the only shade in the clearing if the tree had been at all impressive. His eyes swept out over the lake as he balanced elbows on knees, bent over while he caught the last of his breath.

"They should probably check the lake for loch ness' cousin or something if those prehistoric beasts are still living here." He was doing a good job of skirting around the reason Kaatje had wanted him out here, filling the air between them with jokes and nonsense to avoid having to talk about his own shortcomings. Xanthus seemed to have come to terms with his, but he had to wonder if Gehenna's issues were really so easy as a shoulder repair. Probably not.

It was obvious by the way he fell to silence that he didn't know what he was supposed to be saying, or doing here. If it was all about beating himself up with training, he already knew how to do that all too well. He needed this, and Kaatje had been adamant that he get his head back where it was supposed to be. Easier said than done and he was silently pleading for another joke to toss into the air now that he was here, out in the wilderness with someone Kaatje thought was good for his demeanor.

Feelings were hard.

He just shifted and stared down at the space between his feet, drawing deep breath after deep breath.

A small laugh escaped Kam as his breath began to catch up with him and Xanthus interrupted the temporary silence to remind him why they were here. He really couldn't blame the guy - awkward, prolonged quiet time with an overly emotional buffoon that was poor at hiding it was probably not a comfortable way to spend the afternoon.

With a nod and an over-exaggerated groan for comical relief, Kam pushed himself back up to his feet and stretched his arms over his head.

"Sparring is probably more productive than sitting around on my a** and thinking about all the.. bullshit." Yet even as he said that, he hesitated, flexing his fingers and shifting his weight from foot to foot. There was an obvious attempt to hide the discomfort by stretching, twisting his torso back and forth every time he went to call his power and stopped himself. After a few awkward motions, he grit his teeth and pulled Gehenna forth.

The armored Squire seemed uncomfortable in his own skin as the weight of his uniform settled over him, but not because he was unfamiliar with himself. He moved like a man that knew his weight and his drawbacks, flexing his arms and testing the way the soil here shifted beneath his weight. The discomfort was clearly another source, but he didn't speak of it. Instead he nodded in Xanthus' direction - your turn.

As Kairatos' uniform sprang to life, Gehenna laughed under his own breath. Bullshit. Bull. He got it.

"I kind of wish I was that clever," he mused with a sly grin, eased somewhat from his discomfort by the little quip on Xanthus' part. He realized immediately that he was out powered and made a mental note to himself that he would have to rely more on tactic than strength if he wasn't going to get a face full of earth. He really did hate the way dirt tasted, even if he did love a good scrap.

For the first time in what felt like ages, he wasn't making the first move. He hadn't expected it to happen so quickly after the power up but the moment the Knight spoke and sprang into action, the thrill of a fight had seized Gehenna and bade him forget his troubles. The hook was a surprise and he almost didn't move in time, side stepping sloppily and swinging in a semi-circle to place the other foot, ensuring that he didn't topple over from his own momentum. With his back to Kairatos, he swung back his elbow with an arc, aiming to catch the man off guard and complete the half-circle around his opponent.

He wasn't fast and his skills weren't precise, there was definitely room for error. He was a street rat in a Squire's uniform, even if he was a skilled street rat.