Hitting the Gym!

"Dia eyed the ladder dubiously as the man pointed it out and named it as their 'next' challenge since Dia had destroyed the rope climb before anyone could even have a chance at it.

"...I don't think I should be attempting any more climbing exercises today..." she answered hesitantly. "I think I'll sit this one out..." It was only then that she looked to Roy, seeking his okay with going it alone if he was up to doing it. It wasn't as though she'd be very good at it anyways. She could already count herself as last place unless someone climbed near the top and suddenly collapsed multiple times. Aside from that, there was no gaurantee that this wouldn't be yet another destroyed exercise section thanks to her fumbling.

Roy raised an eyebrow at his partners sudden backing down from the challenge, she'd not been into it before but now because of a little mishap that had no negative outcome, besides a bruise she was completely broken and had retreated into herself. To say the least Roy was disappointed.

"I think we're done for today." Roy interceded on Dia's behalf, if she was sitting this one out then he was going to do the same, and since they were the only two competitors of their side then there would be no competition. "Perhaps it was a little early to think about competition." Roy admitted his mistake and was ready to move on, and not dwell on it something he'd have to teach Dia about. "Sorry about that."

Bill and Jenny gave a dejected look, well if your partner wasn't up to the task it was hard to work out together let alone compete and it seemed like the girl with the horn wasn't up to the task. They would bow out and return to their own work out in short order.

"...Oh..." Dia uttered once the two competitors were gone and back to their own workout regimen, still keeping her head hung low. "I didn't mean to ruin everything... Sorry about that..." She'd assumed that they'd be working on multiple things so her standing out for one wouldn't affect much, but it appeared that her attempt to sit one out had led to crashing the entire contest. They hadn't even really been properly introduced. "I guess you got hurt for nothing then..."

"Hurt for nothing?" He questioned her raising an eyebrow. "I messed up accepting that challenge. And I got a bruise for it." Roy was quick to correct his friend. "However, if you want to buy me lunch we can call it even." It was a playful insinuation, and hopefully it would lift Dia's spirits with how Jovial he was being about it.

"We're nowhere close to done with our work out. Now lets get back to it!" Roy wanted to keep things moving, and keep Dia from dwelling on her little partner induced pitfall. In a way Roy felt responsible for what she was feeling. "Oh. I guess you only heard the technical explanation of what my newest trick was."

Roy was prepping the next machine for Dia, hopefully this time he'd get the weights right, making sure that gravity was working with Dia to move the weights. "After that tussle with Ben and Frank when you saved my neck," Literally, "And seeing how effortlessly you'd blocked that baton, I realized that even with how light on my feet I am, I was vulnerable to cheap shots like that. So I developed a form of inconspicuous armor." Finishing setting up the Machine Roy moved back over to his partner. "I will admit it feels kinda funny and weighs me down some, but I'm getting used to it now too." It wasn't much of a pep talk but it was conversation.

While Roy was busily working on the next exercise machine and talking, mostly to himself it would turn out, Dia stood where she was with her eyes still staring at the ground and most of her expression hidden by her hair. A subtle, grinding or scratching noise sounded from her hands, which had since balled into tight fists that caused her harsh claws to scrape against the impenetrable shell of her hands.

By the time Roy had turned back to once again get a good look at her, Dia had already taken in a deep breath and let it out in an exasperated sigh, letting her fingers loose from their death grip on the air. There was only one thought on her mind now as she strode with determination to the next machine and prepared to use it to continue her training. Without even realizing it, she was moving a bit faster and easier than she normally would.

"It wasn't your mistake..." she spoke under her breath.

Roy had stopped cold as he saw the look on Dia's face and overheard her remark about responsibility. So that's what that face looked like. Mister Withers the Junior Varsity football coach had called him on such a face when they'd fell short in the state semi-finals. A fumbled snap at ten yards on a Play Action pass after the two minute mark caused the play to be turned into an impromptu, running play. Roy of course stuck to the fake-route he was supposed to run for the pass-action, right into heavy coverage, and was tackled a three yards short of the goal.

Looking back making it to the state semi-finals in his first year was a great achievement. But at the time Roy trudged sullenly into the locker-room, and sat there for about two hours before the coach, Mister Withers, gave him the pep-talk of his life. Roy didn't remember much of what was said. What he did remember was leaving that locker room feeling like he could take that team on again with a different outcome, or more like he could take on the world.

Moving over to the weights that Dia was lifting, and began spotting for her for a moment to cover why he'd actually come over, to give her the pep-talk. However he noticed the improvement, it seemed that turning that responsibility inward wasn't as physically detrimental. "I want you to know, you're not alone here. We're together on this, win or lose." It would sound like an offhand comment but it was all that Roy could muster to encourage his partner, and let her know that she wasn't alone, even if Diamante felt needed to field the blame.