Chapter Twenty-Four - Gym Ra-- Gym Cat

We had a lot to think about on the way back to the Bloody Bat, but I still insisted that we take a small detour. The girls wouldn't be showing up at the bar tonight, which meant that Sharp had a few hours after her shift with nothing on her figurative plate.

It would be a shame to waste those hours, so before returning to the Bat, we rose up three floors above the bar and stopped at a relatively large member's-only gym. Sharp stuttered her way through asking for a membership with the rather fit young woman behind the counter, and then we paid in cash.

We were now the proud owners of a gym membership, and while Sharp wasn't terribly enthused about it, I was.

I'd finally be able to put her through her paces... later.

Sharp's highest-ranked skill was still Anima, but she had Body and Protagonist tied for second. I still didn't know how to raise Protagonist, so Body would have to be our focus for the moment.

The nice thing about it was that exercise in a gym might help her rank up Body, Reflex and maybe even Combat. I'd noticed some flyers for weekend self-defence courses for women, as well as some for jiu-jitsu and karate. It would be a pain to work those into Sharp's already loaded schedule, but if we could, then the rewards might well be worth it.

In any case, we made it back to the bar a little early, and Sharp was quick to get changed and run back out.

In the meantime... I napped.

I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get away with being in the gym, but if I couldn't, then I'd still want to get as much exercise in as I could later. For the moment, however, I could feel a deep weariness in my bones.

I laid down on our shared bed, made myself comfortable by pressing my paws into it, then circled around a few times before laying down for a snooze. I was out almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.

I awoke to a nice little gift some hours later.

Cat Has Levelled Up!

Cat 2 > 3

From the nap? Well, I wouldn't say no to that.

Sharp was in our room, getting changed out of her uniform and into some old shorts and a loose t-shirt.

"We need to buy you some clothes," I said.

She jumped a little, then looked my way with a rather sheepish expression on. "You're awake? When I came in you were sleeping really hard. It was kind of cute. Did you know that you snore?"

"I do not," I assured her.

Sharp grinned. "Sure you don't! What was that about clothes?"

"Clothes and I suppose gear. We have the money to buy some, and it wouldn't be a wasteful expense. We could start with better gym clothes to begin with. Then better casual wear. Your clothes still scream 'vagabond' to anyone who looks your way."

"We could get you some clothes too," Sharp said.

I considered it for a moment before nodding. "Certainly."

"Wait, really? I thought most cats hate wearing clothes."

"I'm hardly most cats. I'll have you know that I didn't go around naked as a human. Not wearing clothes is stranger than the opposite to me."

"Huh, I guess that's fair." Sharp smiled and plucked me off the bed. "We're hitting the gym then the shower?"

"That's the plan. How tired are you?" She'd just worked through a whole day across two jobs, and while being a waitress wasn't the most tiring of work, it was still a lot of moving around.

"I'm strong enough to take anything on!" Sharp said. She raised her other arm and flexed, showing off... nothing. There was no big muscle to show off.

We'd be working on that.

Sharp left the Bloody Bat from a service corridor at the rear, and then we made our way up to the gym. She insisted on taking the stairs, and by the time we reached the gym, she was already sweating. Not that I was in a much better condition as I'd decided to walk alongside her up the stairs as well.

One or two hops was easy. A few dozen in a row? That was pushing it.

The gym was predictably empty at this hour, which made the lively music blasting through the place feel off putting more than anything. There was a woman half-asleep behind the counter, mostly staring at her phone, and an old grey-haired man by the dumbbells adjusting the weights.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Where do we start?" Sharp asked.

"Since we just did stairs, let's see if you can't learn how to box a little? There are some bags at the back over there. And... turn on one of those treadmills for me, would you? I'll give you instructions while I run."

As it turned out, Sharp didn't know how to throw a punch. She almost broke her thumb on the first strike before I corrected her on how to make a fist. Her swings were still wild, and more like random flailing than proper boxing, but a few more instructions had her punching... more or less straight.

I, in the meantime, ran along atop the treadmill at a decent pace. It was good that I didn't need to breathe to talk, because I was soon panting. I'd almost forgotten what hard exercise felt like. The burning in my muscles, the painful stitches, the way my heartbeat drowned out almost everything else.

Exercise sucked.

Sharp switched to an elliptical machine, and I discovered a laser-jump rope machine nearby. It had holographic lights that shifted from right to left that someone using the machine was meant to jump over. It was great practice for springing up and over something.

Eventually Sharp bought some overpriced water by the entrance and she shared some with me. "Any gains?" I asked.

"Nothing yet," Sharp said. She rubbed at her face with a small towel. "But... I think I can feel it coming. Another day like this and I'm sure to hit Body four!"

"Good!" I said. I wasn't sure if I could feel progress the same way, but it was due to arrive eventually. Our rate of growth was a little slow for my tastes, but in the grand scheme of things, it was probably very reasonable.

"Hey, is that a cat?" another gym goer asked.

"Uh," Sharp said. "It's an emotional support animal?"

We scampered out of there a few minutes later, before anyone could raise a fuss.

By the time we made it back to the Bloody Bat, Sharp was yawning and looked ready to crash into bed. Which was why it was quite irritating to discover Paris waiting around for us in the back. "Ah, you're back." she said.

"I am," Sharp said. "Is something wrong? I was just about to hit the shower."

Paris eyed her. Sharp's clothes were clinging to her, and she looked a little bedraggled. She didn't smell all that great either, and that came from someone currently riding on her shoulder, within sniffing distance of her armpits. "There's a person here to see you."

"Me?" Sharp asked. "Wait, is it someone I know?"

Paris shrugged. "That young lady who was here a few days ago for you. Short, yellow jacket?"

"Jenny?" Sharped asked. That was the only person it could be, probably. No one else I knew fit that description. "She wasn't supposed to be here today."

"Well, she is. You might want to go see her, because she looks quite distraught. And I have a bar to run, so go on," Paris made a shooing gesture.

Sharp glanced at me, and I gave her the best kitty shrug I could manage. I didn't have any more ideas than she did. There would only be one way to tell what was going on.

We found Jenny by the lower floor bar, sitting on a stool with her legs bouncing nervously. She looked like a mess. Her brown hair was all tangled up and she looked ready to chew anyone that looked at her too much like a rabid dog tearing into a small critter.

"Jenny?" Sharp asked.

"Oh thank fuck, it's about time you show up."

"What is it?" Sharp asked.

"We don't have time. I can explain on the way," Jenny said as she hopped down from the stool.

"On the way to where? I'm not ready to go anywhere right now, it's an hour shy of midnight."

"Who cares?" Jenny asked with a frown. "Look, it doesn't matter what time it is. Alyssa needs us."

"She does?" Sharp asked. "What happened?"

Jenny swallowed. "We were spying on the cult with some of her magic when it all went wrong. She just... walked right into their building, and nothing I did could stop her. They took her in, and basically threw me out. We need to save her."

***