Two Halves of a Whole

    Nat stood outside, a little ways down the hall. If it had been a real grenade, the structure would have kept most of the debris away from her at this location. Her eyebrows went up when she saw the Winter Soldier peek out and then duck back in again. When he emerged with one of the girls over his shoulder, she snorted lightly in amusement and went to help.

     Two other girls walked off, holding their heads, and the redhead nodded to them— the closest thing to acknowledgement that anyone got from her— at least they had noticed. They still could have been killed in a real blast, but they’d at least figured out how to stay safer than the rest of them. The others… Natalia had no sympathy for losers. They didn’t take their training seriously enough, in her eyes, if they couldn’t notice something so simple. But she didn’t want the Winter Soldier carrying all the dead weight himself, especially when she’d offered to help because he’d come back hurt from a mission. So she pulled one of the girls into a fireman’s carry and carried her back to her bunk, throwing her on there without concern for how she landed. Then she went back and did it again, and again, until all the girls were removed from the training ground.

     Finally, as the weapons were being cleaned up, she turned to the Winter Soldier. “I didn’t know they made grenades like that one. They were not in our training. Do you use them in the field as well?“

“I do.” Unlike Natalia, he had some care for the children, making sure they were all at least correctly oriented on their beds before he retreated to talk to his assistant of the day. Still, her look before leaving the room had been... unexpected. 

Either she thought very highly of him or very lowly, to think he would have used a proper grenade in such a small space. Regardless, that she thought to ask now was satisfying, in its way. “Come, the scattered weaponry should be put aside as well.”

    Immediately, two of the girls pulled back, falling out of their cadence, looking confused. Three more continued, but kept flicking their gaze over to where the Winter Solder was, which meant they worked slower, more methodically. Natalia, who had been watching the girls closely, and had practically leapt out of the way when the Winter Soldier interfered, immediately began to scan the room. Had he added something? Taken something away? Was he going to continue rolling in the way to get them to adapt to added motion and noise in the exercise? He wasn’t back in full form, and she would prefer if he didn’t, but it did provide a good distraction.

    It was at the twenty second mark that she spotted the grenade. For another second, she just stared at it. What was the purpose of this? Had he been asked to kill them? Had they done something wrong? But he was still in the room, and there would be no need for him to draw this out if he wanted to. She looked over at him, completely indecipherable, and pulled her shoulders back. Without a word, she walked out of the room. If the other girls didn’t notice, honestly, they deserved to die. Whatever the hell the Winter Soldier was pulling right now, she didn’t know how to deal with it.

When the concussion grenade went off, he’d retreated back to the wall, noting who had paid attention and who hadn’t, who had adequately guarded their position in preparation for the force of it. Satisfied with those results, he quickly moved to see who was hurt, who had been caught up with the weapons being thrown into the air by the blast. None of them were dead, no, and those who were still awake were largely dazed, but that was fine.

Better dazed now than dead later. Once he ascertained that no one would bleed out from side effects of the weapons going flying, he moved out of the room, gaze scanning to see if Natalia had completely quit the area or had simply removed herself to the hall. Once that was settled, he went to collect the first of the unconscious children to remove them back to their sleep areas for the night. 

tagged by @delicatelysharp tagging @xwebxslingerx @starkinternational @artificiallyimplantedmemories @ironheiress

Body. Long legs. Short legs. Average legs. Slender thighs. Thick thighs. Muscular thighs. Skinny arms. Soft arms. Muscular arms. Toned stomach. Flat stomach. Flabby Stomach. Soft stomach. (bit of a) Sixpack. Beer belly.  Lean frame. Slender frame. Muscular frame. Voluptuous frame. Petite frame (5 ft 4 or shorter). Lanky frame. Short nails. Long nails. Manicured nails. Dirty nails. Flat ass. Toned ass. Bubble butt. Thick ass. Small waist. Thick waist. Narrow hips. Average hips. Wide hips. Big feet. Average feet. Small feet. Soft feet. Slender feet. Calloused feet. Calloused hands. Soft hands. Big hands. Average hands. Small hands. Long fingers. Short fingers. Average fingers. Broad shoulders. Underweight. Average Weight. Overweight.

Height. Shorter than 140 cm. 141 cm-150 cm. 151 cm to 160 cm. 161 cm to 170 cm. 171 cm to 180cm. 181 cm to 190 cm. 191 cm to 2m. Taller than 2 m.

Skin. Pale. Fair. Rosy. Olive. Dark. Tanned. Blotchy. Smooth (facial area). Acne. Dry. Greasy. Freckled. Scarred.

Eyes. Small. Large. Average. Grey. Brown. Black. Blue. Red. Green. Gold. Hazel. Doe-eyed. Almond. Close-set. Wide-set. Squinty. Monolid. Heavy eyelids. Upturned. Downturned.

Hair. Thin. Thick.  Fine. Normal. Greasy. Dry. Soft. Shiny. Curly. Frizzy. Wild. Unruly. Straight.Smooth.Wavy. Floppy. Cropped. Pixie-cut. Short. Shoulder length. Back length. Waist length. Floor length. Buzz cut. Bald. Jaw length. Mohawk. White. Platinum blonde. Golden blonde. Dirty blonde. Ombre. Light brown. Mouse brown. Chestnut brown. Golden brown. Chocolate brown. Dark brown. Jet black. Ginger. Auburn. Dyed red. Dyed any “unnatural color”. Streaked. Thin eyebrows. Average eyebrows. Thick eyebrows.

Tattoos / piercings. Full sleeve. Thigh tattoo. Shin tattoo. Wrist tattoo. Lower back tattoo. Hand/finger tattoo. Foot tattoo. Neck tattoo. Face tattoo. Chest tattoo. One tattoo. A few here and there. Multiple. No tattoo. Monroe piercing. Nose piercing. Septum. Nipple piercing(s). Genital piercing(s) .Industrial piercings. Earlobe piercing(s). Prince Albert piercing. Eyebrow piercing(s). Tongue piercing(s). Lip piercing(s). Tragus piercing. Angel bites. Labret. Stretched out ears. Navel piercing. Inverse navel piercing. Cheek piercing(s). Smiley. Nape piercing(s). No piercings. Prosthetics.

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Scent. Floral. Fruity. Perfumes. Aftershave. Cocoa. Moisturizer. Natural soap. Shampoo. Cigarettes. Leather. Sweat. Food. Incense. Marijuana. Cologne. Whiskey. Wine. Fried food. Blood. Fire. Metal. Rain. Grass. Ocean. Autumn leaves. Baked bread. Freshly baked cookies. Smoke. Campfire. Lavender. Trees. Pumpkin Pie.Musk. Rose. Gingerbread. Peppermint. Oak. Honey. Lemon. Vanilla. Coffee Cake. Mint. Raw hyde.

Clothes. Jeans. Tight pants. Overknee socks. Tights. Leggings. Yoga pants. Pencil skirt. Tight skirt. Loose skirt. Tight/formfitting dress. Cardigans. Blouse. Button up shirt. Band-T-shirt. Sports-T-shirt. Sweatpants. Tanktop. Cut off t-shirt. Designer. High street. Online stores. Thrift. Lingerie. Long skirt. Miniskirt. Maxidress. Sun dress. Tie. Tuxedo. Cocktail dress. Highslit dress/skirt. T-shirt. Loose clothing. Tight clothing. Jean shorts. Sweater. Sweater vest. Khaki pants. Suit. Hoodie. Harem pants. Basketball shorts. Boxer Briefs. Thong. Hotpants. Hipster panties. Bra. Sports bra. Crop top. Corset. Ballerina skirt. Leotard. Polka dot. Stripes. Glitter. Silk. Lace. Leather. Velvet. Chemise. Patterns. Florals. Neon colors. Pastels. Plaid.  Black. Dark colors.Fur. Faux fur.  

     Natalia cursed internally that she hadn’t thought to do that, but she’d been more concerned with their promptness and not being perceived as dilly-dallying. It wasn’t that she didn’t have patience, she just didn’t want to disappoint the Winter Soldier. She tried too hard, really, and that could be her downfall if she wasn’t careful.

     Her gaze flicked from one weapon to another, and there was only one that she had to tell a girl to replace. Once everyone had something unique, she lined them up along the length of the room, facing the targets, and let them begin. “Keep count! Continue until the last person had landed twenty hits in the center of the bullseye, and then trade to the next weapon.”

After a while, the girls got into a rhythm, one that said ‘I figured out how to do this and can keep going with focus without fail.’ That was good. That was useful. But it was also a problem. Pushing away from the wall he’d been resting on for the better part of the last hour, he reached down and disengaged one of the weapons at his waist, the fingers of his left hand easily setting the device with a soft snicht as he twisted it into place. Crouching, he then rolled the ball out in front of the girls and backed toward the wall again, focused on how they would react to the new... addition to their training.

     For one brilliant moment, she felt like she’d absolutely burst with pride and happiness, but the radiant smile flickered off her face and back to neutral almost before it had been actualized. She was simply doing what was asked of her, and that’s how it should be. This shouldn’t have been about personal pride, or reward, or anything else.

     With a “Yes sir,” she headed back down the hall to the room that housed the twenty-eight of them. She knocked twice, despite it being unnecessary, because some of the girls were antsy about people coming in unnanounced, even if it was one of their own.

     “The Winter Soldier has asked for us. Bring one weapon of your choice,” she said, voice stern and clear, “immediately.” The girls scrambled to obey, and Natalia led the way back to where the Soldier was waiting. “Today,” she told them, “we will work on a variety of things. Whichever weapon you brought, you will first throw at the target, then spar with. Then we will trade weapons and repeat the exercise, until everyone has used someone else’s primary choice.” She looked to her mentor for approval.

He stared back at her with hooded eyes, body posture giving away nothing where he was leaning along the wall. After a long moment, he looked over the girls, gaze lingering here and there. Finally, that gaze returned to Natalia and he inclined his head slightly. “Make sure none of them have duplicates.” 

     Natalia nodded, understanding his displeasure. She hated when he treated her like a little kid, but he brought up a valid point. She wasn’t looking at the big picture, at what his intention was, rather than simply the exercise. It made sense.

     “Yes sir. I need to learn to be flexible and use whatever is at hand. I need to utilize anything in any situation, whether it is normally a weapon or not, and I need to know what properties of different potential weapons would make them useful in those situations.”

     Part of her thrilled at this. She had more studying to do, and much more practice to get in. Perhaps she should look into more household objects that might be easily accessible when she was out on a mission and repurposed for the sake of attacking or defending herself. She smiled slightly. “I look forward to exploring this.”

He examined her for a long, considering moment, then inclined his head, clearly satisfied by the answer she’d presented him with now. He let his hand pull aside and drop beside him, looking back over the training area with critical eyes. Satisfied that things were as cleanly arranged as they could be, he looked back to her, gaze flicking over her. 

     Natasha didn’t scowl, not when it could get her punished– even by her mentor, the person to whom she was closest within the facility, if not by others. Disrespect simply wasn’t tolerated. Still, the lack of any praise at all set her teeth on edge, and she reminded herself that she was lucky to be in his favor at all… if she was in his favor to start with. It was hard to tell. 

                Shit. Where was she?

     She took a deep breath to calm her mind before replying. “I forgot that you don’t expect me to play it safe, my apologies. Obviously I have little practice repurposing long blade weapons. My angles were off on three of the blades, and while they stuck, it was more from force than finesse. I have never tried throwing a cutlass before and found it extremely unwieldy, which I would have done better with if I had more practice.”

     It’s not enough. It’s never enough. But it has to be or he’ll hurt himself teaching us again. I can’t let that happen. I have to be better.

     “If I’m to teach them, I need to be able to identify the weight distributions and which weapons require which holds to keep them aligned with the target, so that they can learn as efficiently as possible.” And then, with determination, “I’ll practice. I’ll get better tonight! Please let me do it.”

His eyes narrowed slightly as he stared down at her, letting the silence draw out deliberately as he observed the girl. She was smart, observant, but far too eager. That would do her harm in the future, and should truly not be encouraged. However, there was also use in bringing her attention to it, in its way.

“In part. You will train, of this I have no doubt, but you must keep in mind that you are being trained to be more than a blunt weapon. You are to be death and grace that one does not see coming, are you not?” His gaze was stern, intent. “You must be ready to use weapons that are not meant to be weapons in the most efficient way for the situations you will find yourself in, often without choice in what those weapons are due to your cover.”

Peter made a small sound of agreement.  This would make things difficult.  Not impossible just difficult.   “So Natasha does her thing, we do other things.   Just have to complement each other.”   

The how a bit more difficult to figure out.  “I stil want to work with him in his workshop.   Making a suit so I can go out too and do things.   Don’t want to be left behind again but.”   Peter made a face, trying to figure out how to put it.  “Don’t want to annoy Tony just don’t want to leave him alone.  Worried.”

“He likes your company and the distraction from his thoughts would be very well timed.” It was a murmur, and he gave a slow shake of his head, pressing his lips together in a downright blatant show of displeasure. “James and I shall ensure that Steve is distracted adequately from Tony while he recovers.”