A soft breath of pride escaped Lee's mouth while he looked around the war room, but he didn't quite let the smile that would have appeared with it onto his face. No matter how many times he'd started this cycle at Matti's side, it always felt so pleasant at the beginning. New faces, new hope, some new lead to go off of. This time was different for a reason he couldn't quite put his finger on. Something about the lead, something about how Matthias was acting, perhaps even something about the faces he looked over. It felt more like the start of something than any attempt before it had. Something real.
He entertained himself with thoughts of why that was while the prospective crew members affirmed their support. Their newly acquired songbird without a name. Roger Roads. Isabella Levitskaya. Bel - Bee, she'd said. Bee. More names, more faces, he would learn and remember. Hopefully without much trouble. Judging by the smile Matthias flashed his way, his Major was feeling as hopeful as Lee was and something relaxed in Lee's chest. If Matthias was content with the crew they'd assembled, then Lee was content with the crew they'd assembled. Then Matthias finished his spiel and people started leaving. Lee looked over those who had yet to speak with an inquisitive expression and concluded they could speak up out on deck or escort themselves off the ship, so he followed the rest outside after a minute.
There….There he decided something. Maybe it was his unusually good mood, maybe it was the cold air of the altitude they were at, maybe it was something else, but he didn't wait for Matthias to organize any sort of sparring before he unbuckled the belt that held his pistol and set on a conveniently placed barrel nearby. His big leather duster, heavier than any ordinary duster given its modifications and reinforcements, came off and went on the barrel as well. Folded, of course. He slid the straps of his suspenders off his shoulders, too, letting them hang loose at his waist. Then and only then did he take out his marking pen.
"Hey, Major," Lee murmured as he walked out further onto the deck, away from those exiting the war room - wouldn't do to hit them or anything - and drew the rune for "power" onto the backs of his hands with precise strokes. That one was safe enough on skin, as it only enhanced strength or durability. It was the elemental runes, like fire, ice, earth, etc, that hurt to apply to bare flesh. Had to have gloves or something for those. "Feel like sparring?" he asked as he finished the last stroke of the rune on his right hand, looking over at Matthias with a rare grin. The runes shifted from plain black ink to a silvery glow as Lee activated them, hard to see in the daylight.
Matthias couldn't help but widen his smile seeing Kingsley's, uncommon as it was. Who was he to refuse his Captain? He hadn't seen Kingsley marking his hands with the runes, nevertheless, he nodded in reply, oblivious to the pommeling coming his way. "Absolutely. Just don't hit too hard, you're better at this than I am. Don't tell this kids that though. They'll start to wonder how I made it this far."
The Major paused. Before walking any further onto the deck he stripped himself of the brown leather jacket he wore and peeled off the gray sweater. Matthias discarded the pieces on the deck of the ship, lacking the neatness that compelled Kingsley to fold his own duster. He wouldn't be needing either of those fow what he was doing, it would only get in the way. Matthias was left in a wrinkled green button up and his black pants, geared up and as ready as he would be to spar. Bio versus Earth, not always the fairest of fights.
Lee grinned even wider, pausing mid-stride before he walked back over to the hatch that lead to the lower decks. "Wouldn't dare tell them, sir," he replied, the last word said with a noticeably light tone. Then he crouched down beside the hatch, looking over the metal reinforcements on the old section of wood. Hell, he was planning on replacing it anyways. Fingers dug into the wood around a couple of particularly promising bits of metal and Lee pulled at it. Wood cracked, Lee growled, and the metal lifted out of the wood it'd been anchored to, all its bolts with it. Lee was left with two long strips of steel and a broken hatch; he made a mental note to fix that before dinner. Popping out the bolts was easy enough, then he walked over to Matthias once again with the strips of metal oh so carefully wrapped around both of his knuckles.
"Wouldn't do to break my knuckles, either," he explained with a shrug, hands up while he looked at his friend. His grin was back, more confident this time. Sparring with Matthias was always fun.
"The hatch? Really?" Matthias had begun to raise his fists in a defensive position, only to lower them with a mock pout on his face. It was more of a courtesy that Kingsley gave Matthias the first throw. The two had been sparring for the last decade, but Kingsley had far more experience. Especially in boxing. He brought his hands back up and crouched slightly. Of all the runes he could have tattooed on his hands, not a one was useful for sparring. But, from the years of practice, he had learned enough to be considered skilled in hand to hand combat. Matthias let out a quick exhale before reaching forward to tap his knuckles against Kingsley's.
It was on.
Matthias darted to the left in an attempt to get behind Kingsley. If he could just land a blow with the back of his hand, he could hit the right pressure point and render at least one limb useless.
"I'll fix the hatch!" Lee declared, twisting fast on his feet so he was facing Matthias again, hands raised in a defensive position. "Think you're going to get me that fast?" He threw a couple of fast jabs, but seeing as he was two hundred pounds and change, fast wasn't exactly his specialty.
Too slow. Kingsley threw his fist forward and Matthias rolled around it in time to land a heavy smack against the back of his shoulder. All at once, a handful of tattooed runes illuminated on Matthias' hand, until Kingsley's left arm went completely slack. Matthias couldn't enhance his jabs or punch with fire or ice, but he knew the body and he knew it well. His hit wasn't powerful, but it relaxed the muscles and forced the limb to fall.
"Just did. Come on, you're faster than that. Quit playing around." Matthias taunted.
Lee bared his teeth in response, laughing as he did. The fingers on his left hand gave a valiant twitch when he tried to move them, but the arm was dead. Useless for a few minutes at the least. This would be an interesting fight. Then again, they always were. "Yes, sir. Can do, sir," Lee taunted back, then threw another punch and the pair were back to sparring.
They exchanged blows for a bit. Lee had the advantage on strength, even with one arm...when he could actually catch the much faster Matthias. It was clear, though, by the way they moved and the comments they traded that the two had sparred with one another for a long time. Lee was the one to end it, though, with a solid - but not hard, not with the power rune on his hand and the steel wrapped around his fingers - punch to the chest that knocked Matthias off his feet. Letting out a soft pant but otherwise looking unaffected by the workout, Lee offered a hand to help his friend back to his feet.
As per the usual, Matthias ended up on his ass. Recently, he had been getting better, but Kingsley had the clear advantage with his steel wrapped knuckles and power runes on his hands. All things considered, he was surprised it didn't take less time to put him flat on the deck. Matthias took his friend's hand and jumped back onto his feet. He threw his head back with his hands on his hips in an attempt to catch his breath.
"Fuck, Kingsley," Was all Matthias was able to get out. He chuckled and turned back to address his ragtag crew. They had started the sparring, that didn't mean he couldn't watch the others fight now. Maybe he'd be up for another round once he could breathe again.
"I keep saying you need to work on your stamina," Lee murmured, quiet enough that only Matti would be able to hear him, and gently bumped Matti's shoulder with his own. The smile on his face was still present, and Lee was in far too good of a mood to force it off. Sure, Lee was feeling the energy he'd lost chasing Matthias around, but he did too much cardio to let it get to him. Besides, he was in a good mood. "Any of you like to try?" he added, addressing the crew with a louder voice and raised eyebrows. He approached the lot as he continued, gesturing with the hand that wasn't still dead at his side. "Partner up, if you like. I wouldn't mind testing your skills, either."
Damn it all.
