"Keep going, Magmae! Go on! Don't hesitate! GO ON!" Ashlynn raised her voice as she watched the anxious woman perform sit-ups in her room at the Flamisle Home for the Challenged. "You're an Alpha. Be a strong one! Stay in time, Magmae! In time!" The fierce and tall woman's tone became more demanding.
"One-hundred and thirty-eight... one-hundred and thirty-nine..." Magmae gasped and began to hyperventilate as she stalled a bit, visibly struggling.
"What did I say? You're slowing down! Stay in time! Be an Alpha and stay on my time!" Ashlynn, already pressing down Magmae's feet with her strength, began to apply extra pressure. "Feel the rhythm! Feel it and proceed, now! You're almost there! If I see you stall, make it clear to me that you're still pushing through and not hesitating! You don't want me to think that you're hesitating now!"
"One-hundred and forty... one-hundred and forty-one..." Magmae continued the sit-ups, exhausted veins visible on her muscular arms and legs, her voice almost wheezing.
"Don't think! Feel! Forget the pain. Push through it! An Alpha is not taken out by it! What are you, weak?" Ashlynn yelled as Magmae continued the sit-ups. "There you go. Just keep that rhythm. More of that! One-hundred and forty-nine, one-hundred and fifty, one-hundred and fifty-two... what was it again?"
"One-hundred and fifty-three, one-hundred and fifty-four... one-hundred and fifty-five..." Magmae said. She continued counting and performing the moves with a sense of rhythm.
"Impressive." Ashlynn removed her hands from Magmae's feet once the 160 was reached. "Right in time. Bit of a stall at two occasions, watch out for that. However, you showed no true hesitation, not even when we continued past the initial plan of a 150. It went naturally. As is expected from a true Alpha. Let's get you a drink." The Amazonian woman proceeded to give the Alpha lady a pat on the shoulder after the latter had stood up, Ashlynn's voice remaining stoic as a brief and faint smile was shown on the Alpha leader's face.
"How's Ignisabeth?" Magmae asked softly while panting as they were about to leave Magmae's room.
"I tried to get in touch with her, but she was not home. I expected her to be ready for training, but she wasn't. Her brother told me that she's 'hanging out' somewhere again. Just when I told her to stick to her regimen. Meanwhile, her brother recently won an Eruption match with the Draknights. Guess lazy breaks don't run in the family..." Ashlynn sighed as they made their way to the dining room. "I understand that I am considered harsh. Call me cruel, unreasonable, whatever, I've heard it all. I get that Tephra want to take a break from hardships sometimes, but know that as an Alpha, it shouldn't go like that. You and Ignisabeth are part of a respected team with high prestige. I cannot have it happen that anyone slows down without a good reason. You've been up to speed, Magmae, but for some reason, Ignisabeth, who I've trained as my apprentice for so long, has stalled in her training and has called off planned training four times in the past fifty days without letting me know half the time while also arriving late at several other occasions. Inconceivable." Ashlynn raised her voice again as she talked a bit faster.
"I don't know it either..." Magmae gulped upon hearing the frustration in her superior's voice.
"It's nothing against you, Magmae. You're living up to the expectations. As usual." Another faint smile was shown on Ashlynn's face as she sat down at a table in the living room.
"Oh look, it's miss Blaze!"
"Hey." Ashlynn looked to her right in response to the hyperactive girl from the other side of the table, who had jolted to Ashlynn's seat with the sole purpose to grope her biceps. "Yeah, keep stroking it. Do it. This is what strength feels like. Feels good, doesn't it, little one?" Ashlynn showed a brief smirk at the rascal who was stroking the woman's jacked arms.
"So hard... so solid..." The hyperactive girl laughed as she continued groping Ashlynn's strong biceps. "I'll be strong like you. I'll get all the boys, unlike her..." Flamy gave Magmae a brief and mocking look.
"Flamy, don't bother her." Nurse Andra said as she tried to pull the curious girl away from the Alpha leader.
"Feels like that for someone with soft hands like yours." Ashlynn said in a way that almost came off as demeaning, causing the hyperactive girl's positive mood to wane a bit. "I could be wrong. Maybe you do have strength." With a sudden jolt that forced Nurse Andra to back off, Ashlynn stood up with her arm outstretched, the girl's arms wrapped around her biceps. Ashlynn placed her hand against the child's head as she forced her to look down while the strong woman lifted the girl upwards.
"No... no..." Flamy gasped.
"Do you want to get dropped? Don't you want to be strong and tell me to toss you around? Could you hold on?" Ashlynn's voice turned cold and stoic again.
"I... I'm losing it... my grip... help!" The rascal began to hyperventilate.
"Yes or no?" Ashlynn asked as she proceeded to move her arm a bit to make the kid more anxious.
"No! NO!" Flamy said as her body rumbled.
"Miss Blaze, please!" Nurse Andra asked while refusing to come close as Ashlynn used her other arm to gesture the meek woman to back off.
"Louder for any other rascal in this house! LOUDER!" Ashlynn raised her voice again.
"NO!" Flamy cried out, her cry accompanied by high and terrified peeps. To her surprise, Ashlynn gently placed her on the table. She looked up at the Amazonian lady in a dumbfounded manner, the energy sucked out of her soul in that moment.
"Know this, dear. Staying true to yourself and admitting from the heart that you don't want something, refusing to be meek... that is also a form of strength. Of course, being part of the Alphas, that's different. We have high expectations, and in the game, you will always go along with me and leave your comfort zone when you have to, whether you like it or not. You sign up for my team, every hardship is on you. But outside of the game, you make your choices in life. And if someone puts you in a position you didn't sign up for, fight back by any means necessary." The Alpha leader proceeded to pet the girl's head. "For that same reason, if a woman fights back when someone touches her without permission, that person is justified in doing so. So be careful next time, rascal."
"Well, fancy seeing you here."
"Ah..." Ashlynn turned out upon hearing the voice of one of the two state gondoliers. She was met with the sight of Incinera holding a metal crate filled with juiceboxes. "Miss Clastflow. Taking a break from all that sculling?"
"Just contributing to the people of this wonderful planet. The juice lady left recently, so I filled in while they're looking for a replacement. We don't have any Flamisle tours planned for today anyways..." Incinera grabbed one juicebox out of the crate, which had 'FLAMY' written on it. She handed it to the hyperactive girl who was ready to return to her seat. "I was told that this Golden Delicious is your preference."
"Thank you, ma'am." Flamy proceeded to grab the iron juicebox, after which she immediately began to drink from it. "Delicious..."
"I was told that you have always been a fan of all sorts of fruity things... not surprised that it's your favourite. I heard that you've even had the gall to eat cave berries recently." Incinera's mouth smiled while her eyes remained the same.
"They're a bit weird in taste... but... I'd always like to try more. Always like to try new stuff." Flamy giggled.
"Oh my, a daring one..." Incinera giggled. "Well, it's your life. There's a lot of interesting stuff to see and a lot of funny things to taste. If you go out for cave berries again, you may even find something fantastic. And while it's fun to discover stuff, the sights seen during a search are just as exciting. I could give you a gondola tour through the channels. Let me know and I'll be your tour guide. The lava fairies can bring you everywhere if you want, even the states where most people are too afraid to end up in..."
"Let's not encourage her to do anything drastic..." Nurse Lafaye stepped forwards, looking at the averagely tall gondolier. The beige-haired gondolier giggled at the nurse who clearly appeared uncomfortable with the braided nymph's words.
"Oh joy, I am not encouraging. If she does something drastic, not on me. As miss Blaze said, a person makes their choices in life. If someone wants to go out, let them." The pale-skinned nymph proceeded to hand juiceboxes to the adult women in the group home, eventually ending up at the shy woman with dirty blond hair and anxious, shadowed eyed. "For you. Oh joy, Magmae, you really got more muscular. Not as bestial as miss Blaze, but you're getting there. Altezar adores deliciously muscular frames..."
"I'd prefer if you hold off..." Ashlynn frowned, taking a step forwards while using her burly left arm to shield her timid and selectively mute teammate. "Call me a beast, a hippo, a gorilla, or anything else as much as you'd like. But do not mock my teammate. I told you that a year ago, woman."
"Oi, relax... it's fine. No malice, miss Blaze. Here's her juicebox, by the way. Enjoy, champion." Inciniria placed Magmae's juicebox on the table. "Ciao!"
"What an odd one..." Magmae said as she began to drink from her juicebox. "Can I..." She looked at Ashlynn, looking up at her face and down at her legs.
"You..." Ashlynn's eyes widened in surprise, almost showing amusement. "You want to sit on my lap? Is that correct?"
"Uh... yeah." Magmae gulped.
"Sure..." Ashlynn said, after which Magmae gently sat down on the strong lady's lap.
"I... I just always get this feeling when I'm with you, Ash... I don't get what it is..." Magmae said as she drank from her juicebox.
"Are you comfortable?" Ashlynn asked. "And don't worry about what that gondolier lady is doing... she probably got dropped as a baby."
"I'm fine... thank you. Thank you, Ashlynn..." Magmae breathed a sigh of relief as she felt the team captain's direct presence.
"I'm not going to lie, I usually say no if people want to sit on my lap..." Ashlynn smirked, a look of slight confusion on her. "Yet... this is not awful. Bit surprising but... life is full of surprises."