It's a simple gym, but that's all right by Tessa's standards. She trained in some pretty sparse places, in poorer parts of London. Those places would always raise eyebrows at someone like her there, but she never thought twice about their 'concerns'. The heavy bag suffers from her punching assault, though she also tosses a kick or three in the mix too. She functions like clockwork. Up at the same time, training before breakfast, another set of training afterwards, and then she'll do something outside. That's during the off days. On school nights, things are turned a little around. She's training at night, which explains her presence here.
Danielle wanders into the gym, dropping her heavy duffel off to one side with a solid thunk. The Cheyenne woman takes a moment to inspect the gym, quickly locating the source of punching sounds. "Sorry, didn't mean to intrude," she calls over, as she does a few quick, simple stretches to limber up tired muscles. "Just wanted to work up a little sweat before I head for home." However simple the gym may be, it's still warm and free. And not full of weirdos like the Y down in the City.
"It's all right," Tessa says, pausing a moment in her exercise to tap the side of her. "I knew you were coming." She jabs a few more times before turning to see who this newcomer is. …Nobody she knows. Of course. That seems to be the case with everyone she meets lately, outside of her own students. "Tessa Valentine," she says, striding forward with a hand extended. "I teach here." Her voice is neutral in tone, no inflection or emotional tension. And her accent is a very crisp Received Pronunciation accent. So she's 'obviously' English.
Dani clasps the offered hand in a comfortably firm grip, and gives a bit of a nod. "Good to meet you, Tessa. Danielle Moonstar. I used to be a student, before life got .. weird." Weirder than the usual daily life at the Institute, which is saying something indeed. "Mostly freelance now, sometimes I stop by to see friends. Help where I can." She glances past Tessa towards the heavy punching bag. "I don't know much about boxing, but I gotta compliment your form. Much more control than I'm used to seeing."
Sage glances back at the bag, as though she needs the remainder of what she had been doing. Turning back, she replies, "I must admit, that is mostly due to my gifts." Again, she taps her head. "I have an eidetic memory. I never forget anything I experience in any fashion. When I was not working or studying, I learned various self-defense arts." This is all stated very matter-of-factly. No bragging in her voice. This is part of her mutation, as much as someone else might fly.
"Eidetic," Dani repeats the unfamiliar word, but nods slowly, "I can see where that could come in handy. No pun intended." The oddly flat, matter-of-fact tone of the other woman's voice is unusual, but since it's not hostile or rude, she just rolls with it. Speaking of which, "Well. If you'd like something slightly more interesting than a passive bag, I'd be happy to spar with you for a bit. I need to work on my hand-to-hand before I get too rusty. If you're interested, I mean. Otherwise, it's all cool."
She can understand not knowing the word. Without judgement, Tessa says, "It means I remember everything about an experience with perfect clarity. So… How high my mentor held his arm, how quickly he struck, which arm it was.. Even what he was wearing or how the room smelled that afternoon."
Danielle nods in understanding. "And I would assume, since you aren't wearing a straightjacket, you learned how to filter and control all those details. I'm pretty damn sure that I'd be in the nuthouse if I could clearly remember every detail of .. everything." A flicker of a shadow crosses her face, but she smiles quickly again. "My own so-called gifts are empathic in nature, and first thing I worked on when I got here was how to make sure they didn't flare out of control."
"Had I not met Charles Xavier when I did, I would have a lot more trouble than that, no doubt." Tessa nods as well. "My primary gifts are telepathic, so I can understand the difficulty in controlling such things." She walks back to the other side of the gym. "If you wanted a work out, I would be glad to oblige. I do not go easy, however, unless you've never tried this sort of thing before."
"I don't ask for 'easy'. Easy doesn't build skill or muscle," Dani answers as she takes a moment to tie back her long hair, then follows Sage a bit, taking the opposite position on the big padded mats. "I'm more used to fighting with weapons, but sometimes weapons aren't available, right?" She settles into a ready stance, one more common among her valkyrie sisters than on Earth.
Which of course is a stance that Tessa has never seen… Which makes her adopt something else, though she gestures at Dani to start them off. "After you, I insist." Mostly because she also wants to see how this stance allows her to move.
It's an odd style, but it clearly favors agility over speed and over strength. Her feet move more than her hands, but her balance stays comfortably centered as she dances in, making quick strikes with her hands. Testing Tessa's reactions, feeling her out before attempting a twisting grab.
Block, block, block… It seems Tessa has the same idea as Dani, for her hands move to grab Dani in the same time. "…Draw?" She asks, before using the opportunity to push back, reassuming her stance. She gives Dani only a second to get ready before she advances, using a one-two combination from her fists, each punch aimed squarely at Dani's head.
Danielle smiles and nods agreement to the draw, then backs a step… then blinks at the quick punches coming her way. She dodges those punches smoothly, but keeps her own hands down in a better guard… Then makes a jab towards Tessa's shoulder with one hand, fingers extended. "If I accidentally start fighting dirty, feel free to smack sense back into me," she suggests.
The strikes catches Tessa by surprise; she doesn't quite grimace… normally. More like an attempt at a grimace, to assure someone she's 'normal'. Ah well. "Are you prone to fighting dirty?" she asks. As Tessa moves forward again, her legs are added into the mix, with two short, quick front kicks that follow a series of punches. "Empathic attacks? I have heard telepathic attacks in a melee are not uncommon."
The first question doesn't phase Danielle, but the second one startles her just enough to lose track of a few of those quick strikes, and she grunts as she backpedals and circles. "I meant hitting below the belt, or going for the face," she elaborates, feinting an arcing jab with her left hand. "Most of my trainers are of the 'fight to win' mode of thought. I.. don't use my powers in a fight unless there's no other choice. If it was just telepathy, maybe, but mine's more extreme."
"Fair enough," Tessa says with a nod. Either way, no judgement from her. She does, however, judge that the feint is a real jab, and instead pulls back entirely, making sure that the next attack will miss her entirely.
Oops. When Tessa draws back, Dani's follow-up attack leaves her overextended, past her guard and slightly off-balance. Her eyes widen slightly, and she has to quickly shuffle her feet to recover, but her defense will take a beat longer to get back into place.
Tessa pushes off the wall behind her, her punches aimed low to go right for Dani's belly, then a hook for the jaw. It's not any particular combination, really, it's just her throwing a few different-target punches in order to continue (attempting) to keep Dani off-balance.
More of those punches land than not, though Dani is smart enough to use her arms or hands to deflect the blows aiming at her face. She does get pushed back, unable to counter the precision and speed of the other woman, and settles instead for jumping back to separate herself from her opponent. "Woosh.. Not bad at all."
"Thank you. I've been practicing for a long time." Taking Dani's backpedalling as an end, Tessa does not push forward. She stops where she is and bows just slightly. "I hope you come back more often. It's not often I get a sparring partner."
Danielle mirrors the slight bow. She could press back into the fight, but she's comfortably certain she'd only end up with actual bruises. And try explaining /that/ to Amanda. "I would welcome the chance myself," she agrees. "I really should get home before it gets too late, though. It was very.. interesting to meet you, Ms. Valentine. I'll see you around, I'm sure."