[tiny fandom, more than 3 sentences, thank you for the inspiration!]
It's been so long since she's fought for fun and sport; when she looks down at her hands, she still sees the stains of blood long washed away. She sits on the floor outside the room while cheerful voices congregate within, pulling out mats, getting ready to work hard and kick things. They all seem so young, and she feels so old--22 and just starting her first year at PHU at an age when most have already graduated.
Pawel finds her there, crouches in front of her, elbows on his knees as he balances carefully. "Mac. You aren't going to war, here."
"Aren't I?"
He smiles slightly, and he looks so young as well, reminds her of soldiers lost in the field, their dead eyes staring while she survived. When he offers a hand, she takes it--the youngest professor and the eldest of students.
"Let's kick out the darkness," he says.
These hands have killed. But that was before, and now she has a chance to do good. To teach others to move with confidence, to defend themselves. She has a chance to find the joy in martial arts again. "Thank you," she says, as she follows him through the door, ready to begin anew.
Welcome to PHU, Pawel & Mac
It's been so long since she's fought for fun and sport; when she looks down at her hands, she still sees the stains of blood long washed away. She sits on the floor outside the room while cheerful voices congregate within, pulling out mats, getting ready to work hard and kick things. They all seem so young, and she feels so old--22 and just starting her first year at PHU at an age when most have already graduated.
Pawel finds her there, crouches in front of her, elbows on his knees as he balances carefully. "Mac. You aren't going to war, here."
"Aren't I?"
He smiles slightly, and he looks so young as well, reminds her of soldiers lost in the field, their dead eyes staring while she survived. When he offers a hand, she takes it--the youngest professor and the eldest of students.
"Let's kick out the darkness," he says.
These hands have killed. But that was before, and now she has a chance to do good. To teach others to move with confidence, to defend themselves. She has a chance to find the joy in martial arts again. "Thank you," she says, as she follows him through the door, ready to begin anew.