Marathon!

[mitochondriaaya]

Aya had trained faithfully, just like she promised (and despite her period starting a few months after that promise. Really? She didn't need that!). The weights had been added by about the second month of training and she was really, really proud of her stamina!

And the marathon they'd chosen as their first was coming up this weekend, with fund raising as done by Elcy...and yeah. "Don't tell me you have to cancel!" she said into the phone, pulling one foot up to stretch out her thighs. "Don't! I can't go and do this alone!"

Comments

[mitochondriaaya]

It was good to see him being comfortable in his body again. It was really good in fact. His marathon idea was a winner! Oh, she'd probably curse him in the morning after al the running but, for now, it was good!

And thirsty work. She did slow enough to grab a water bottle at the next stand!

[sliceitwithwind]

Dilan was grabbing a bottle at every other stand, sweat pouring off his body, but he was rapidly approaching the very front row.

[mitochondriaaya]

Yeah, Aya ended up dropping back to about the solid middle until she caught her second wind at the half point and inched back up toward the front middle! She didn't have legs that went on forever but she knew how to stretch a stride!

They'd both really need showers when they went home though.

Maybe ocean, then shower.

[sliceitwithwind]

Ocean than shower, totally. Dilan hit his stride fairly early and just settled into it, coasting into the finish very near the front, within the first thirty people or so across the line. Then he started walking in circles while Braig poured a bucket of water over his head.

[mitochondriaaya]

Aya pounded in at eighty-sixth, which was kind of amazing in her book! She was tired and shaking by that point but hey, she did it! The boys only had to wait about an hour longer? That fifty+ person difference took a while to trickle through!

Walking cool down? Yes, though her feet wanted to go in every direction but straight then. Ugh. "TOMORROW I SLEEP IN!" Just so the world knew!

[sliceitwithwind]

"Sounds good." Braig said, dumping another bucket of water (warmish water, not cold) over her head to help her slough off some of the worst sweat. Dilan was wrapped in a towel and grinning.

[mitochondriaaya]

"Gyah!" Dousing! She held still for it though and shook her hair afterward to make water droplets fly. "Of course, you approve of sleeping in!" Aya laughed, soaked. "What did you get Dilan? What place? C'mon, you beat the weird guy right?" The weird guy in skin tight everythiny!

[sliceitwithwind]

"Yeah, I made twenty-seven." Dilan said cheerfully, "He came in at thirty-two. I think next time I could take first, if I really tried."

[mitochondriaaya]

"I bet you could too!" Aya agreed cheerfully, fanning her shirt in a vain attempt to dry the bandaging beneath. "You always run well! My legs feel like jelly!" But she did good for a kid so all was well with the world!

[sliceitwithwind]

"Yeah, but Aya," Braig said, "how many thirteen year olds run a marathon at all? Don't count yourself down! That was really awesome."

"Yeah!" Dilan agreed.

[mitochondriaaya]

"Jellllllllly legs!" That was why thirteen year olds didn't run them! "And I wasn't! I finished and people are going to donate because we both finished! That's good! If I wanna get a higher place though maybe I should train when we're in the territories." Nothing like heat and katzu thinking it was a fun game to spur her on?

"What do you think Dilan? Should we do another?"

[sliceitwithwind]

"I wanna." Dilan said, and then Elcy whopped him, "I want to." he corrected himself, "Training in the Territories would be awesome!"

A whole horde of Katzu chasing them to keep them moving? Oh, yeah.

[mitochondriaaya]

Aya giggled when Dilan got whopped then leaned against Braig. Support Braig was the best Braig? "Okay, then we look at one early next fall?" A week or two after they got back? She'd be fourteen by then!

Heck, if this marathon had been a few weeks later she'd have been fourteen for this one! Oh, wait, she'd just volunteered to do intense running training in Africa. She was going to die. '...I have a big mouth." Facepalm time!

[sliceitwithwind]

"Sounds good to me!" Dilan said. Braig patted her shoulder and handed her a towel, "Yeah, you do. It's okay, it makes you fit in with the rest of us."

[mitochondriaaya]

"You can remind me it was all my idea if I end up in a coma or something because I was an idiot trying to keep up with katzu in Africa." Aya chuckled and draped the towel over her head to sop up some of the water in her hair. She was going to do it anyway, naturally, but hey!

[sliceitwithwind]

"Will do." Dilan promised, "We'll have someone carry a lot of extra water for you." It was the only way she'd survive.

[mitochondriaaya]

"And I'll drink like a fish dipped in sunblock!" Aya promised. "And I can get one of those neat little camel packs that are water packs? It'd be just as good as the leg weights!"

[sliceitwithwind]

"Yeah, we can do that." Braig said, "Remind me?"

"Will do." Dilan promised.

[mitochondriaaya]

Aya went to go lean on Elcy a moment, leaning instead of hugging so she didn't soak the woman, and grinned. "I think we're gonna pile into Braig's car and hit the beach before going home? I know you thought about lunch out but I don't think I can eat right now, and you have to go meet with your ladies right?"

"Yes dear, I have to tell the rest how you both placed." Elcy finger combed Aya's hair and flashed a smile over her head at the boys. "We're very proud of you. The marathon was a very good idea."

[sliceitwithwind]

"See you later, mom!" Dilan called, then he leaned towards Braig, "Do we have more towels?"

"Yeah, dude, I grabbed like a dozen of them."

[mitochondriaaya]

"More towels are awesome," Aya laughed and wrapped her current one like a burnoose. "So we don't waterlog your car. I didn't ask though..do you want to go to the beach Braig?"

[sliceitwithwind]

"I always want to go to the beach." Braig said, tossing his keys in the air and then heading towards the car.

[mitochondriaaya]

"Hey, I'm trying to be more considerate of people!" Aya laughed, grabbed Dilan's hand, and followed (woozily) after him. It was one of the side effects of puberty? She was looking around more at highschool and observing who and who she did not want to be like!

The girls who made decisions for the whole group without asking? Yeah, she didn't want to be that girl!

[sliceitwithwind]

"That's fair." Braig said, "But I'll let you know if I ever disagree with something you want to do."

"Ditto, monkey."

[mitochondriaaya]

"Yeah, but not everyone will," Aya pointed out. "And if I practice on you guys, who I know will call me on stuff, then I'm less likely to be a bitch at school!" Around guys and girls who wouldn't disagree, just feel hurt!