Something in the Air (D9EM)

[Axel Ward]

Axel grunted as her strike connected, but he grinned. "Nice one, Phoebe. But just wait 'till I get my hands on you."

He closed in, arms sweeping, but couldn't quite manage to connect. He did position himself well for a follow-up, though, and his form was really quite good, his solid athletic form moving gracefully.

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D9EM, close quarters with Phoebe, round 1: 1eP+3eA+2eD 1 failure, 4 advantage


1 adv boost next, remaining advantage to look sexay!

[Phoebe Wren]

Wh-what?!

While her form was good, Axel did have size on his side, so she wasn't able to quite get away from those sweeping arms. Axel's positioning could pin her down as she failed to put any stopping force into an elbow strike that also missed its mark.


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D9 EM Fluff fighting with Axel round 2: 1eP+2eA+2eD 2 failures, 4 advantage

[Axel Ward]

Indeed, while Phoebe had some advantages, Axel had both reach and weight. He finally managed to get ahold of her, one hand gripping her arm, his other snaking around her waist. And then, with a twist, he took her balance, sending both of them to the ground, Axel on top.

He sat up, legs outside hers, smirking down at her, his brown eyes finding hers. "See? Told you this was gonna happen." His smirk faded as he grew more aware of the feel of her beneath him, muscled chest rising and falling as he breathed in and out.

[Phoebe Wren]

As he was grabbing her and pushing her down, she was fighting still. Then she was pinned down, and she tried to twist her legs enough to kick him, but his position really had her locked down from such moves.

She could feel his weight on top of her, as well as breathe in his scent as they bothed heaved for breath with their gaze connection.

Now this was really awkward. Phoebe's lips pressed and rolled together, and she swallowed hard. "Yeah... you were right. Guess you're used to doing this, huh?"

[Axel Ward]

"Yeah..." The motion of Phoebe's lips drew Axel's gaze. He'd seen them any number of times, often popping gum, but at the moment, they seemed so enticing. "I'm used to it, but not with you. And I've always wondered..." He leaned closer, lips parting.

What.

He rolled suddenly, rising to his feet a moment later. "Whew. Pretty intense workout, huh?" Axel chuckled nervously. Grav-ball. Cold showers. Admiral Ackbar naked.

Grimacing, he held out a hand, offering to help Phoebe back to her feet.

[Phoebe Wren]

Phoebe was thinking of just hitting the showers at this point. Take a cold shower. Sober up somehow. But she knew there was no privacy at all in those showers on this ship, because it was shared.

Jesus Toboga.

"... Y-yeah," she quietly responded and accepted his help back up. "... Didn't take you for the wrestling kind of guy."

[Axel Ward]

Axel grunted, looking away. As hot as his blood was, he found that it was a bit better if he didn't look at stupid sexy Phoebe.

"Oh, sure." He said, folding his arms casually over his chest. "I did most of my work with a weapon. But I learned with my fists first, when I was a kid. I was big for my age, and no one was teaching me jump kicks..." He smiled, looking back at her, "-even if I really wanted to, just like in the vids."

[Phoebe Wren]

"Yeah?" she chuckled softly, and leaned forward a little with her palms resting against her thighs. "There's a lot of stuff in the vids that you kinda wanna try at some point."

Oh no. Abort. Abort. Not going there again.

"Mom taught me to fight unarmed from since I was a kid. Guess I just don't have your size to bring to a fight though."

[Axel Ward]

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Axel chuckled, giving Phoebe a quick sidelong glance. She really did look good today. It almost made him think... but no, she could do better.

He shook his head. "Hey, you're not big. But you're strong. You're tough enough that'd I'd feel it if you really gave it to me." Chuckling again, he touched the spot where she struck him before. "Guess your mom taught you pretty well, huh?" Axel's smile was a little strange.

[Phoebe Wren]

"That's how Mando-parents raise their kids," she said with some pride. Focusing on that, and the Resol'nare, it gave her a focus to not think about all the fuzzy feelings that wanted something more.

"I mean, just look at Treya?" Oh, now that was a thought. "Anyway, well, let's say that my mother wasn't too different. Just younger, and not red-headed."

[Axel Ward]

Axel snorted. "No kidding. If Treya'd been my mother, well..." He frowned. "Thing'd probably be different, I bet." Actually, Treya was in pretty good shape for her age... Axel, what's up with you today?

He cleared his throat. "Guess that explains a lot about you. And the punch you can throw." Axel gave Phoebe a hint of a smile.

The smile faded. "Things good between you and everyone else? Seems like everything's been a little weird lately." And not just how he wanted to grab her and... well, never mind. Axel grimaced.

[Phoebe Wren]

"Heh, probably. There's a reason why dad was the one marrying into mom's clan, after all. Tanith Wren was no push-over." Talking about her mom made her feel a little bit better, and more focused away from the weirdness of the morning.

But Axel's question made things awkward in another way. "I... I don't know. I feel like I'm not really fitting in in some ways? At least not with Riza."

[Axel Ward]

"Yeah, I'll bet." Axel gave her a nod, his smile surprisingly gentle.

It turned into a frown when she brought up Riza. "Yeah..." He crossed his arms over her chest. "She's a strange one. She's got a past, that's for sure. I dunno. There's something about her..." He scowled, but his lips quirked, as though unsure whether to frown or to smile.

He looked back at Phoebe. He could handle it... "It's harder in a small group like this. A bigger unit, you can stick with a few people you like. This small..." He rubbed his hands together. "We're too tight. Rub all the parts together, you're gonna find friction with a few, at least."

[Phoebe Wren]

"Hmm..." she nodded cautiously, even if she wasn't sure she agreed. Her time with the alliance hadn't been the same as Axel's and she was more used to thinking of a clan like a family, rather than as a military unit.

"It's just," Phoebe stopped, not even looking at Axel now, as she tried to find the right words. Giving up, she sat back down on the mat. "This is just really stupid..." she said, her voice strained as it looked almost like she might cry. Damnit, this place was just making her an emotional mess too.

"But Cadera... he... my dad was like, just one step away from being just like that you know. I was just one step away from being a kid on the Saxon-brainwash program. All that happened there, it was just too much."

[Axel Ward]

"Hey..." Axel sat beside her, his steady presence tangible. One big hand came up to rest against her back; Axel didn't even think about it. "It's not stupid, you hear me? If there's one thing I know, it's that Phoebe Wren is never stupid." His voice was firm, rough.

He sighed. "It's okay." He said, his hand gently rubbing. "That's not what happened. It's okay. I get it." He cleared his throat. "And we'll save her. We will."

[Phoebe Wren]

She took a deep breath, taking comfort in his big presence right now. Of all the people here that she hadn't known beforehand, Axel was the one she felt like she could really call comrade in times like this.

"But it is stupid," she rubbed her nose to stop herself from getting all sniffly. "Because you all were right about him and all, and I couldn't keep my head straight. It's stupid because I was thinking like it was my family."

"And you know, I've been so angry at my dad for so long - for what he chose to do - because it felt like he abandoned me, and abandoned the Resol'nare. And it wasn't really until Vanito talked that I could finally really understand what it must've been like for him."

[Axel Ward]

Axel shook his head stubbornly. "It's not stupid. And even if we're right, it doesn't mean you're wrong." He shook his head again. "I dunno. I'm still no good at this stuff."

He patted her back. "So... what happened with Cadera helped you understand your father better?" His voice was gentle.

[Phoebe Wren]

Looking back up at Axel, she nodded. "Yeah... hearing his side of the story, it made more sense of the reasoning that must've been going through his head."

She sniffled and rubbed her nose again. "Sorry... it seems like I'm just a weird mess today. I can't even make sense of it," Phoebe chuckled at the awkwardness of it all. First she'd been feeling like she wanted to get down and dirty, and now she was almost crying.

"You never mentioned anything about your dad, from what I recall?" Phoebe turned the tables around, to see if she could get her thoughts off her own mess for now.

[Axel Ward]

"Yeah..." Axel grunted. "It's hard to know what it's like for someone else. If I'd been in Cadera's place..." He shrugged, the hand on her back moving. "Maybe I'd have done the same. I think I might have. I don't know." He didn't enjoy killing, but he was good at it, and for some imaginary daughter of his, he wouldn't hesitate.

He chuckled. "Hey, it's just a weird day. Don't worry about it." His own feelings seemed to be going back and forth... but his expression remained as difficult to read as ever.

Gently, Axel shook his head. "Nothing to say about him. I don't know who he was. Mom told me he was a famous bounty hunter, but there's hundreds of those. Don't know who he is, or if he's alive or dead. Anyway." Another shrug, his tone very matter-of-fact.

[Phoebe Wren]

"Mm," she replied softly. There were many unsaid thoughts now.

"Must be strange, not knowing your parents. Where you came from. But at least you have the ability to decide your own family, should you choose. A clan is much like family, after all."