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GOTHAM CITY, NEW JERSEY. 20o9
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A YEAR AGO ESTELA WONDERED if she would even make it to the age of nineteen.
Back then, she had the barest shred of hope to cling on to. But as living got harder and nights grew longer, the grueling days she spent trying to survive slowly snuffed it out. Yet here she is now, right at the finish line.
It was a milestone that supposed to be celebrated, but within the first few hours of her birthday Estela was already scowling.
Being taken under Batman's wing in a crime-infested city, Estela should have expected that there were no breaks when it came to her training. But when Dick had woken her up that morning, already wearing his workout clothes, and told her to be in the training room in ten minutes, a surge of annoyance made her hit the pillow repeatedly.
Seriously—it seemed hardly fair that the first thing she'd do was throw punches and sweat, and she told Dick just as much when she finally arrived in the Batcave with her silver whip already in its staff form.
"Crime-fighting never stops," he said. "What makes you think it will just 'cause it's your birthday."
Estela stared at him with disbelief. "You're telling me we have to patrol tonight?" she asked indignantly, voice echoing around the stone walls.
Dick just laughed as he took a bo staff from the weapons rack, choosing a weapon similar to Estela's. "Nah, don't worry. Bruce gave us a free pass—since it's still your birthday, after all."
"Then why do we have to do this," she mumbled, eyes darting around the section of the cave specific for training: a spacious area that was mostly covered by a foam mat, with multiple racks of weapons displayed on the wall.
Using her distraction as an advantage, Dick lunged forward and aimed for Estela's right shoulder. Her eyes widened, instincts coming to life instantly as she twisted away and blocked his bo staff with her own.
"Because of that," he told her in reply before pulling away to ready himself into another fighting stance.
A muscle ticked in her jaw. "I blocked that," she pointed out, already feeling her blood pumping as she firmly planted her bare feet on the mat, slightly spread apart. The perfect balance.
"I know." Dick just grinned at her lazily before pouncing.
This time, Estela was ready. She blocked him just in time, acting as defense and took tentative steps backwards as he kept advancing. When Dick swung his staff in a sideways arc that she narrowly missed, she was done playing rookie.
