Another day, another endless barrage of self torture. Well, maybe that was pushing it a bit, but May wasn’t exactly being easy on herself for this training sabbatical. This was time for her to be away from the crowds, to think about the things that bothered her. Getting stronger would be easier for her if she didn’t let her phobias drive her into isolation. From what she saw, people tend to get more adept when there was a motivating factor, or individual. The only thing motivating her, was fear and spite. The vile feeling of self loathing was crude oil, inefficient and toxic, but it got the job done. She wanted better habits, to May thought a baseline of power was necessary before she would feel comfortable putting her fate in another’s hands. She struggled to make even acquaintances, how could she expect to find a master?

“Staying in my head is going to nothing but cause trouble, then again talking to myself isn’t going to solve any of problems either.” Maycair had said to herself, and then listening birds who could not understand what she was saying. Maybe spending so much time in isolation or avoiding people was taking a toll on her mental health. Though in trademark fashion, she would shrug off the thought, being avoidant was easy when you were spending time battling Mother Nature. By now her limbs at become tattooed with bruises, the torn skin scrapped over. This to her was her medals, these weren’t wounds inflicted by another. These were a sign of pride, of dedication. She would never be caught saying it aloud, that would mean admitting how much of saiyan she was on the inside. That was probably the biggest hurdle for her, even beyond the challenge of making friends. Learning to love herself, to forgive herself instead of shouldering the lingering memory of trauma.

She needed a better perspective, though she thought that a little too literally. in order to train herself, and give herself a new point of few she planned to climb. Not just climb any old dumb rock, she was going to scale the mountain that she was treating as a punching bag. Sure, she could fly and fight against gravity, but this would be even more of a challenge. She didn’t have any fancy weighted clothes to slow her down. A stroke of genius, or stupidity, whatever you called it would give May the idea to fill the pockets of her tracksuit jacket and pants. To push it further, she shoved hefty handfuls down the jacket before zipping it back up. To ensure she would tug the clothes cords tight, sealing in any loose pebbles that may have tried to sink down her pant legs.

“Well, rocky start, time to kick gravity’s ass!” May screamed, scaring the nearby wild. She hadn’t fully recovered from the work she was putting her body through, so hopefully she wouldn’t tear any muscles trying to scale the earthen marvel. She jumped up a few feet, clinging to it like a scarred Koala. “Alright, three points of contact established, lets get to work! Fight on!”

The first few steps were rough, she should have spent more time climbing as she did horrible at finding the proper footholds. Twice she just ended up kicking rocks, almost making her fall. “Maybe I should test the strength of these foot holds before trying to throw myself up…” she said with a nervous chuckle.

Starting back up again, after a few moments she find her rhythm, May simply had to tug on the rocks a bit before pulling herself up, if it snapped off then she’d find another. It would take a few tries to figure out how to get it right, but she could be patient. She wasn’t sure that her body could be. She wasn’t the weakest around, but after wearing out her body so hard May could feel the stones tugging on her as she scaled the mountain further. At first it wasn’t really that much, just felt like she had put on a hefty amount of weight. Her parents methods had been more brutal, though they didn’t help her much. Maycair had to find her own way.

Thankfully, it would easy to stay out of her head while she climbed. The physical drain, the planning, along with the beautiful morning and annoying was more than enough to keep the hybrid’s mind occupied. She was happy with that, she had been spending way too much time there for her own good. It was enough to drive a demon mad, almost as mad as the birds which had now started to peck away at her. She didn’t realize while at first, until she saw her hands resting in a nest. “Oh, sorry for fondling your eggs, just gonna sneak right past.”

Still, it wasn’t that simple, as they were now enraged at this blue baby-snatcher, even if May didn’t actually touch the unborn avians. Their pecks were sharp, annoying and distracting, she was lucky they couldn’t do much damage or she’d lose this fight. Their pestering continued, circling around her head she tried to bat them away. “Come on just leave me alone, I didn’t even touc- AGHRSH THAT WAS MY EYE YOU MALNOURISHED CHICKEN! DAMMNIT YOU JUST MADE ME LOSE MY LEFT SHOE.” She swatted one of the birds, sending it plummeting to the earth. It was more than to scare the rest of them away to check on their ally.

“Finally, back to some peace and quiet, whew.” She said wiping the sweat of her brow, then wiping her hand across her pants. She didn’t want slick fingers to be the death of her. It wasn’t much of a climb to the top, she could see the sun was close to setting. If she made it to the top in time, she could take a nap. That sounded nice, maybe she could go hunt one of those birds tomorrow for breakfast. It was hard to think about food when the only smell she could take in was copper and the pungent dry earth mixed with dehydrated bones and stones. A nice meal was a good reward for hard work, she needed to get back her strength.

With those thoughts clouding her mind, the single goal, the focused mindset she held would begin to falter. It would provide rashness to her next few interactions. She began to climb faster, putting more speed and strength behind each limb, She wanted to rest, she was so close to that sweet sleeping salvation. The only issue was, it made her careless, made May forget the lesson she had already learned this fine day. Always check, double check, and check again before taking a step that could cause you to fall.

She grabbed a rock, lifting herself, kicking off a different, loose piece of granite. Snap! Followed by several clacks would cause her to start to fall. Panic shot up her body, she could take a blow but this tired, a fall that big? She wasn’t sure if she was going to wake up anytime soon if she thunked her head. The idea of flying just flew right out of her brain, she struggled flailing, managing to grab a rock after falling about forty feet. It could’ve been a lot worse, the birds were gone but she was back to where she was when her mad dash began only a few minutes earlier. Grabbing the small ledge so harshly dislocated her shoulder partially.

“I gotta reach the top.” Frustratingly she scold herself, impatience could have disastrous consequences. It had upset her, the sweet release of rest was so close. Begrudgingly, the climb continued, she would this hold caution behind her every decision. Each rock, each crevasse in the side. The closer she got to the top the more the winds had weathered away good places to climb. It would have been a quicker realization if rashness hadn’t motivated her for a moment. The sun had already set, waving her goodbye as May inched her way up. The makeshift weights she had shoved into her clothes began to tear at the fabric, some of them finally coming loose as she tore the jacket trying to make a stretch for a hard to reach hold. “Great first my shoe, now my jacket.”

Still, the bitching and moaning wasn’t without reward. The summit had finally been reached as the moon’s peak shone down on her. For once in her life, she prayed for a fool moon, then she could’ve eaten hundreds of those stinking birds. It was almost as if they could feel her thinking unpleasant things about them. For the flock returned, they made their way up to gain revenge for their fallen friend. They swirled, swooped and skyrocketed directly towards her. The flock was large enough to blanket her view of the midnight glow.

“I just wanted to take a nap, you’v got to be kidding m-“ she would say, being cut off as the all slammed into her.

WC: 1,511
Total: 2,594

It wasn’t for training, more so to enjoy the view, but Maycair had decided rather than flying to West City she was going for a lovely run. When the water was high she would fly, but it was nice and refreshing to go for a rapid stroll using every muscle fiber in the leg. That was the case simply because, whether she wanted to admit or not, she was putting her all into it. This ethos she was building was good for practice, not so excellent for socializing. “Maybe I should give those a try, that would be the real challenge.” She would say grumpily. It would be good for her bad attitude to try and talk to someone even if it didn’t work out too well. That would stave off the impending insanity. It kept knocking, beating at the door of what peace she cowered in the corner of her mind.

Dread was more than just fear. It was the waves that crashed behind eyes hiding tears; It was the dreading heat that gushed around the cheek. It was the cowering fear the quaked in bones and nerves, that great release of shaky air. It was a feeling that encumbered the body like a shackle, clutching the heart and breaking the mind. It was the worst kind of motivation, it pumped through the body as a scorching poison. It burned at every synapse and though until it whipped one into a frenzy. That’s what it did to Maycair, that was.her emotion seeped, corroding through her every thought. It was the self doubt, the crippling anxiety and inextinguishable rage that rang forth from her soul. It was the death knell of sanity, isolation was causing the chime to ring more. For that sake, she needed the lesser pain and fear of rejection, for it stung more to not even try.

It was supposed to be a causal, relaxing jog, the pain in her abdomen had pushed her into a full sprint. It clenched, a hand around her heart and lungs. She couldn’t place this feeling, it was more than just anger. It was a breakdown plain and simple, her emotions couldn’t be quantified at this point. The passion pushed into each step, ignoring the pain, ignoring the people she began to brush by in the farmland. In the outskirts there weren’t many folks, but May ran through the fields, running through peoples crops and herds. It was a disruptive, reckless display of panic. She wanted to get stronger, she felt like she was getting stronger yet in these moments she felt as small as he was. Nay, the hybrid felt minuscule, unseen, unworthy. She didn’t want that to be her only motivation. May wanted real reasons to be strong.

“Why can’t I just get out of my head.” She spoke so meekly and defeated as tears began to flow. They streamed, splattering across the earth. Her voice began to raise, speaking, ramping up to a yell. “I just wish, no I just pray for guidance, I need power, it isn’t want, its a need. I need to feel strong enough to have compatriots , I NEED TO FEEL LIKE SOMETHING OTHER THAN MYSELF!”

For a moment, she blacked out, realizing as she had been running she had collided into something. May’s vision was doubled, blurred to a degree that it would take a moment to come to her senses. Muffled, deafened noises beat at her ears, she couldn’t make out the words. Wrath seemed to pour out as the vibrations pummeled her eardrum. Proper sight was the first return, and yep they definitely appeared to be yelling at her. The anger they radiated seemed to be within reason, it appeared she had crashed through twenty assorted vehicles. She was badly scrapped up quite a bit, even if she was strong she did charge through the with all her might.

“HEY!” Was the first thing she heard, it was a muffled still but it came from the lead of a group, he felt the strongest, the rest weren’t very powerful but with their numbers and her mistake, she wasn’t in the best looking spot. The leader, appeared blond, green eyed with a buzz cut. They must have had the same tailor because he wore a similar leather jacket to the one she had packed up. “Nice looking threads!” May would have heartedly respond while getting back.

“FLATTERY AIN’T GONNA CUT YOU BIT-“ he would angrily choke out, May interrupting him. She would say with some gruffness “DIdn’t you mother ever tell you not use such ugly words with a lady, or are you grotesque for any to talk to you?” Maybe now wasn’t the best time to antagonize, May also didn’t have any common sense.

“Why you little—, Boys grab her, lets show Little Miss Blue how we do things down here in West City.” A smirk came to his face as the group began to collapse in on her. She would take out a few, creating a couple of blight shadows to help her out in the fight. The Ki Clones would be defeated rather easily but not before blast out some of the bikers. Still, they did have numbers on their side. It wasn’t long till four of them were holding May down. Each put their full weight on her limbs, which were already exhausted. Mr. Big Blond would saunter over to her, chuckling the whole way there. “Let’s do something about that pretty smile, wonder how much I can auction off demon teeth for. I’m sure some pervert would pay big money for your choppers.”

A strong kick would strike her jaw, then an additional blow, followed by another until her mouth was a pried open. The muscle, the marrow in her body even seemed to ache. The taste of Iron filled her mouth in a warm drink, this wasn’t spectacular time to be honest. With a jaw spread wide open another kick would surely shatter some of her teeth. Before the blow could land, something ignited, from the subconscious of May. It wasn’t just the fear, it was the self respect she demanded, that she forgot she desired. May had the fervor to slay her father. She strategized to escape that pain, she wasn’t going to fall into because of mistake. No more, there was no more punishment. May was no longer her own executioner, the jail of her cell.

“HOW ABOUT I DO SOMETHING ABOUT YOURS!” Maycair blurted, her voice breaking as her Demon Blight would double her power. It gave her the extra boost to break free, to deliver a swift uppercut to blondie. The strike would send his teeth flying, decorating the air like a daytime constellation. Another bobbed, weaving towards May, but she would kick him directly in the neck. May would fly in the air. Aiming her palm down on them she simply thought to herself. She was strong enough to beat them, even injured, it was her. She was the weight holding herself back. “No more…” she said, blasting a black hole bomber onto the remaining men.

It was time for her, to continue to the heart of West City, she had a bed to buy.

WC: 1,205
Total: 4,893
PL: 3,393