Punching Bag

[De'Ryanna Aybara]

It was late, after midnight, and De'Ryanna's tapped fist and wrist were making multiple connections with one of the punching bags that hung in the inns basement gym. The hundred pound bag groaned on its chain as it was hit time and again.  There was no methodology to the way she was wailing on the bag, she only swung at it every time it came within strike distance - sometimes even when it was still out of range.

She was angry and sad, on the verge of being livid after the conversation she had with Armandeus in the kitchen not to long ago. Despite the risk of her appetite being at it's peek at night she had gone out - staying indoors had only begun to grate - and she had found something to help curb her feeling.

Fighting. Hand to hand. Raw. Dirty. With how she could heal it was of no consequence to her what happened during those fights. The truth was that during the fight she didn't care.  It was not a cure but it helped to ebb burning that was down inside of her. An outlet for her aggression. This addiction to fight started after the night she had spent with Tobias and perhaps she was fighting to ignite the same feeling that he had sparked. So far there had been no such luck.

Fighting rings in the town of New Haven were not hard for her to find for she simply followed the scent of blood. Shorts, tank, and tapped up hands the fighters she had found thought she was making a joke but after she cracked the jaw and broken a few ribs of one guy they started to take her seriously. Fighting was simple and she found that it was nearly a natural thing to do when she succumbed to the feral side of her. Dodge to the side, feint to the left, break their bones. Simple. The only rule at that club was to not kill your opponent. De'Ryanna had nearly broken that rule twice.

That was when she fought against normal humans. After that the club started gaining tougher competitors: shape-shifters, orcs, lycans and fiends, she went up against anyone that challenged. Sometimes she came out the winner and other times she wasn't so lucky but she always cleaned herself up before leaving the club and heading back to the Inn.

She should have gone there tonight but the urge to hit something, to be destructive, was so strong that she knew she wouldn't have made it to the club and instead would have attacked any random person on the street. Some form of control had to be maintained, the Were was peeking out just below the surface and if she lost control she knew that there would be no stopping the shift transformation. That was something she was not prepared for.

Therefore she had gone down to the gym and set the heaviest bag she could find on the chain. De'Ryanna shed her coat, wrapped up her wrist and began work on the bag. Focused, concentrated but lacking the disciplined moves of a trained fighter. Her breathing was heavy and her body sweaty while unhealed muscles protested under strain. They would heal but she had to give them time to heal. The same went for her knuckles that had already begun to bleed through the bandages.

It didn't matter. She didn't care. The only thing she wanted to do was take her aggression out and the punching bag was the lucky candidate. She would continue hitting the bag until she passed out from exhaustion or something better came along.

[B.D. Adams]

"Cease." 

Words had power. Every syllable, every curb, every pass of air that was needed to speak gave power to language that came from the speaker. This was a command that was spoken, it wasn't shouted nor was it whisperedl and it stretched forth from the hidden place that Benjamin was known to be and entered the room.  Voice was unmistakable and the power behind it brought a chill and silence that creep into the gym.

Benjamin had chosen not to interfer with De'Ryanna development process to a point, instead taking a back seat and watching as the events unfolded themselves and trickling in a bit of himself here and there as was needed. There was no need for him to take a more active roll for he wanted to see what she would do and how she would handle herself when her hormones were on overdrive.  At this stage if a young wolf did not learn to deal with themselves they would insane and die. 

That was the reason why he paid her a visit every night: not only to offer her a means to an end but to assure himself of her mental status. Everything had been going well until she started fighting.  The thought of her going out nightly and engaging in street fights or brawls - whether organized or not - was enough to make him snarl. 

Animal activities. That wolf in her was showing and it needed to be harnessed, not recklessly dangling on the end of a leash that was ready to snap any moment. 

The bag swung left into empty space but when gravity drew it back the aformented space was occupied with the dark shape of Benjamin Adams. Freshly shaven one hand came out to catch the bag if she let it come back his way. 

It was nothing new, being in the Inn, but it was not a place he wished to dally. His skin already prickled due to the residing presense of this place. 

"Control yourself or I will." The words were flat and direct. She would know that he meant what he said.  

 

[De'Ryanna Aybara]

She wasn't going to stop the bag from hitting him. No, let it smack right up against him and his egotistical demeanor and arrogant composure. That's what she always felt when he was around her (unless he was giving her one of his 'treats'). There was something else there as well and he didn't have to make it feeling known for her to know what it was. But she should. After a quick moment of thinking De'Ryanna reached out and caught the punching bag before it made the return swing.

Held in the fold of her arm she growled at him. Chin lowered and eyes straight at his, if she had been of clear mind she would not have growled at him as she did. It was a challenge growl and her stance changed to match; the right sliding forward as the posture shifted slightly to the side. Dominant leg bent a small degree at the knee and right shoulder down while her fingers began to dig into the bag.

De'Ryanna breathing was deep and drawn out. "You think to threaten me." The words were as cold and flat as the ones he had spoken with no hint of fear or meekness. Though when she spoke again it was with anger. Being here with him caused her hormones to kick into a higher level of overdrive. Benjamin was an Alpha. He was strong and commanding and she was fighting with her body to remain in control and not tear at his clothes. There was no denying that right now - it was instinctual.

He wasn't what she wanted.

"You're not going to get what you want so why don't you go back to wherever you were and leave me alone!" The punching bag swung at him with full force at the end of her statement.

[B.D. Adams]

The first two fingers from his crossed left arm rose from there place against the crook of the right arm and the bag stopped inches away from colliding with him. It wasn't the subtle gesture that ended the movement of the punching bag but he had taken hold of Sadin, the male half of the Source and Channeled to stop the bag. Raising two fingers was an indicator that she had done two things wrong.

What those were would be seen in a moment. Split second after the bag was stopped De'Ryanna would feel herself captured. Restrained from any movement besides her eyes, mouth and jaw, and the allotment to breathe. Everything in the room was still as though someone had frozen time.

Even if that wasn't the case. He was using an ability he had been given and had wanted to try it on her for some time now. He called it ‘the puppeteer’ and this was the perfect opportunity.

There was silence then and Benjamin let it stretch as he stared at her with cold dead-set eyes. The two fingers lowered back down and tapped one after the other on his arm before he spoke. "Never growl at me." The tone of his voice did not change, it still had the commanding feel and absent of any anger.

There had been only one other person whose life he had spared when she slightly bared her teeth and started to growl; and he had spared her only because he understood the meaning behind the action. Still, he had given her a warning. If De'Ryanna had been anyone else she would have forfeited her life even as that growl was rolling around in her lungs. But he wouldn't kill her unless the conditions were extreme. Why get rid of something if it were useful? He was going to make her see his ways though it might take a change in tactic.

She hated him as much as he had hated his teacher; that eventually changed.

It was a matter of taking a few steps forward for him to stand closer to the restrained female and bask in the waves of negative emotion that surrounded her. Wonderful to partake of. "I can make you bow at my feet." Both hands uncrossed and he turned them palm up as he brushed the back of his hands along her cheeks. The touch was warm, a different type of heat and one that she would be able to feel. It wasn't a warmth to the body but rather a caress to the spirit - her soul. His words were lighter, lacking most of the hard edge.

"I could have my way with you right here, right now," there he gave pause. Fingers moving down her sides, straightening out her posture to present her as he would want: hands in front, back straight, head up. With this she was his perfect puppet. "Or are you reserved? I smell him still."

His hands came around from her side to her front and moved down her chest though without touching her. "I won't have him turn you into an animal because you can't control your urges." Benjamin was an animal too and knew of the things she was feeling. The compelling desire and unadulterated lust for the stronger of the opposite sex and the pain
of neglecting that which is primal, but he had learned to focus and find sedation.

"Give me your anger Ellisande." His hands pressed against the base of her neck, moving back along her smooth skin as the back of her head was captured in his hands. Head lowered as he was the taller and he was close enough for their foreheads to connect. She was already a part of him. His fire moved within her being. There was nothing to add and there was nothing he wanted to take for now.

"Fight me." And, at the end of his words, she was momentarily released from the puppeteer.

[De'Ryanna Aybara]

De'Ryanna struggled futilely against her bonds but there wasn't anything she could do. She would have attacked him tooth and nail when he moved towards her. Aggressively or sexually, one thing would have lead to the other for her and the end result would have been what he wanted. What she could have done was growl though she had enough presence of mind to not do that with his warning and the position she
was in.

While she may have been restrained, inside she was a wild torrent; her heart seeming to beat faster at every pump and her body becoming overwhelmed with an intensified feeling of lust and desire. It was bad enough that she knew of her feelings and worst knowing that Benjamin knew of them too. And when he placed his hands upon her cheeks it made everything inside her go still at once. A sensual touch, it was something she had been yearning for all evening and he had given it to her without any hesitation and the feeling behind his touch only added made it more potent. Whether he ever would verbally acknowledge it or not there was a lot of genuine care in that touch.

For the moment she was lost in it and the movement of his hands drew a purr from her lips as she struggled again to move. Her muscles were unresponsive. If she could have moved De'Ryanna wasn't sure if she would have contacted her fist to his jaw or her mouth to his. Once again, one thing would lead to another.... That was simply the way of wolves: sexually aggressive, adrenalized and only yielding slightly in the heat of passion.

Then he mentioned what lingered about her, there was no need for him to name the male as they both know who it was. But what he said made her want to growl, though she didn't. "Leave him out of this." Words were spat at him.

Aggression flared up and her eyes narrowed as she looked at him. His hands were still moving and her breathing became labored as they moved down the front of her chest and down towards her waist. Then his hands were around the back of her neck and she felt the force that restrained her let go and suddenly felt limp though she stayed on her feet.

Free but she didn't move as they were connected currently. He called her Ellisande, it was Old Tongue meaning ‘the sun’s rose’ and something he hadn't called her that since she left the care of her Foster Father. He had given her that name the day he found her crying in secret in one of the stairwells of her Foster Fathers manor. It had been a terrible day for her and she wasn't able to find her brother but Benjamin (otherwise known as Roderick P. Vergae) came to her and made things better.

“Don’t call me that.” Her words were barely audible, not that it made a difference. Since she could move De’Ryanna brought her hands up inside of his around her neck and rest them against his arms. “Don’t…. call me that!”

The end of her words bordered on a growl. She grunted as she quickly threw her arms open moving against his to try to break the hold around her neck before the right hand drew back to aim at the center of his chest.

[B.D. Adams]

 

His hands moved from her neck but not due to any strength she may have put on his. Left hand  wrapped around her right wrist even as her hand hit him squarly on the mark. Benjamin was not made of steel and he didn't have indestructible skin, it took a lot to leave any physical markings, and it took many years of training and conditioning to feel the things that his abilities would have muted. For how could you cause pain to others if you yourself did not know what brought about that condition? Thus, Benjamin felt De'Ryanna hit that would have made a normal man loose his wind yet nothing registered on his face. Due to their connection, she would feel it as well. 

Benjamin had stronger force. A fighter by definition he knew how to use his strength. The hold on her wrist increased as his right placed against her side to push as he yanked her around to push her back against the punching bag which was still in suspended animation. "Never growl at me."  It had to be repeated and when he said it that time there was a growl reflection in his undertone. Hints of his beast a phantom against his skin. 

Better the 'Wolf' reflect than another as this was a side her own feral nature should respond better towards. The bag would not go anywhere until he released it from the hold, until then it was the same as being against a cement wall. The change of position did not mean that he was any further away from her; he kept the close proximety. Wolves did not back down and he wasn't going to humor her simply because she tried to push him away. No external forces. No extra abilites. Benjamin held her against the bag by her bare waist and tapped wrist by his natural strength. The hand he would hold at her shoulders height. The hold was constructive, not painful unless she made it that way.  

She would need to used focused strength to attempt to move him. "Focus Ellisande." He cared not for whether she wanted him to call her that or not, it was his private name for her. He had watched her grow up and subtly guided her along the way so he would call her as he wanted. 

He had helped her to regain control and purpose after that day on the steps and carefully moved her along in politcal games to teach her to gain the upperhand when it came to relations but the wolf side he had left sealed.  There were too many other emotions she needed to learn to control first before piling on additions. And now thanks to her birth father who foolishly awakened that side of her before she was ready De'Ryanna was going to have to learn focus and control from someone she loathed. 

To fight one had to focus. To focus they had to learn to submit not only to themselves but to their teacher. 

"Sumbit to me and focus."

[De'Ryanna Aybara]

"No!" De'Ryanna protested through clenched teeth and a locked jaw. For now she didn't push against him, only let herself stay still against the punching bag and in his restraints. Her chest hurt, or rather her stomach, from the hit she had given Benjamin. Unlike him she didn't have such a high pain resistance yet and the pain she was feeling only fueled her aggression and enabling it to easily be seen in her eyes. "I won't submit to you!"

That's all he wanted, for her to willingly set down her guard and let him in and if she stopped seeing him as a threat... She had made that mistake before and she wasn't going to do so again. Back then he had been Roderick: suave and debonair, caring and had somehow gotten the favor of her father.

Roderick. She had cared for him in one way or another, as much has thirteen year old girls could care for an older man. Her brother even teased her when he had caught her watching Roderick train with the other men in the field. De'Ryanna never would have imagined that he was the same wolf who haunted her dreams. Roderick she would have submitted to but not the one who was before her. He revealed himself for who he really was a few years ago when he found her in the Alliance but he never said why and she had been to angry to ask.

After that everything had changed and anything she had felt she cast aside to have only been a carefully constructed lie. Although, when he looked at her as he was doing now, and when he stood close and his hands traveled . . . everything she put up threatened to crash and she wouldn't hate him anymore. Despite it all, the more she stood still looking at him the calmer she started to feel. It felt like she was falling even though she was perfectly upright. It was something about his eyes, her focus was on his eyes and they were drawing her in.

De'Ryanna squeezed her eyes shut and she gave a hard shake of her head. How was she to do anything to him if she would feel everything? To fight him would be to fight herself and she did not think she was ready for that task. "All you ever do is lie to me." And hurt me, but that part of her sentence would remain unsaid. Perhaps she didn't have to say it for him to know it.

She wasn't going to look at him. Was not going to give him that much. She stayed her stance against the punching bag, her head turned away and her eyes closed.

[De'Ryanna Aybara]

If Benjamin became any more still he would be stone. The only thing that stayed the appearance that he was alive rested in the blink of his eyes and the movement of his chest that attested to breathing. Those aside he was a statue as he held her and watched her subtle movements. It was not far off from the truth to say that he had excepted a different reaction from De'Ryanna than the one she was giving but then, he expected it too. Her growing calm had a soothing effect on him that he couldn't quite explain. It was more than turning down the level of aggression but it was the type of soothing that came as the result of genuine care being transmitted through the bond. And now she said that he lied to her? "I have never, nor will I ever, lie to you." His fingers flexed over her captured wrist while he looked at her. Moved his head to side in aim to catch her eye. His words held the hint of wanting to be strained but held in check. Fingers moved so they wouldn't clamp down on her. "When have I ever lied to you."

If she said that he lied it was because she wholeheartedly believed that what she was referring to was a lie. Otherwise she wouldn't have been able to say it. Her tongue would have locked dead in her mouth. "Roderick." cold steel eyes met his. Extremely focused on the man in front of her. Those thoughts she said, the calm it brought, had helped her. Perhaps she had submitted some but it was to the old memories. "Everything he was, everything he said and did was a lie. You never cared about me like you said. I was only another toy for you to play with. Your personal doll!" The last was nearly growled as she took her focus and collected her strength to push at his hands. Quick, sudden, unyielding, she was going to move him.


Very good. She had focused and done more than blindly shot out her strength like an animal. That focused push with continued strength edged his arms back. Some. Had to realize that she was only beginning to learn and he was the stronger. With a step back with the left foot Benjamin clamped his hands on her wrist and used her own momentum in the push to yank her forward before he thrust her back into that punching bag. Pulling her hands up he bent them back to touch the still chain and kept the rest of her still with his body being pressed against hers. There was not an inch of space between them from the torso to waist. He stood so his left leg split her own. Benjamin's head tipped down as he allowed himself a moment to take in a full pull of her scent. "I go by many names." Truth. He did. Depending on who you were would depend on the name he was known. "It was all real Ellisande. Everything that was between us. Everything I did, I did it for you." The advancement of her Foster Father, the acknowledgment of her in the King's court, the favor bestowed upon her brother. The care he had given her each time she called upon him. "I would give you almost anything you ask." Almost anything. There were a lot of things he wouldn't do. "You are not my doll."

De'Ryanna winced as she hit the bag and her arms were put above her head. She knew that he was the stronger one, no dispute there, but it was proof that if she focused she could do something. She shifted as she could in this new hold "Then let me go." The fight had almost completely gone out of her words and had been replaced with a force of her will to keep her thoughts and feelings in check. She felt the beating of his heart and the subtle rise and fall of his chest with every breath he took. She noticed that they were breathing in accompanying rhythms. When he breathed in she breathed out; she would even chance to say that their hearts beat in sync for she could not feel her own.

“You were mine from the moment I saw you." Their heartbeats were nearly indistinguishable because he was already intertwined with her being. It was only a matter of thought and will to make his heart beat in time with hers. "And will always be mine for not one will care for you like me." Benjamin moved his head towards her ear, his lips moving just outside of it. "That is why I will never let you go." But he did let her go. He pulled back his head and began the slow process of moving away from her body, space flowing between the two of them. His eyes kept steady on her as his grip on her wrist loosened and then removed itself all together. When he said he was never going to let go he didn't mean physically, he meant that he would never let the bond the shared with her go. There were advantages to various truths. Benjamin began to walk away.

For a moment, a few moments that seemed to stretched, she had stopped breathing. From the first word he spoke down to the last she didn't think she breathed at all. Even when he moved away from her the position she was in stayed until he was a few steps away from her. She wasn't still due to nay power or hold, it was more from shock. With a blink she snapped out of the odd daze she was in and her arms lowered to her sides. "You don't get to walk away from me. You don't get to walk away from me again!" Move. Why couldn't she move? Where was her anger? All that anger she had coming in here, all the anger that mounted with seeing him and being in his presence was gone and the only thing she was left with was an empty feeling. Hollow and for the first time in a long time cold. The cold was only a state of being for in the back of her mind she knew that his heat was still there.

Benjamin made no comment to her apparent protest. He only watched her as he continued to step back. He wasn't doing anything to stop her from moving, she was free to do what she wished to do. His face was an unreadable emotionless mask but his eyes took on their cold demeanor. One, two, three, and on the forth step Benjamin vanished from the room. And chain cried in protest as the punching bag swayed back and forth.

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