The Garden of Heathen

Just Another Crisis

Gally and Aussie had a nice, normal chat for a while after that, but then the stew was ready to cook nice and slow and Aussie couldn't procrastinate anymore. She headed to the pits to talk to Thena again and Joan collected Gally for training that day.

Joan wore the smallest of smiles the whole time it took them to walk over to the training area and it was really disconcerting for Gally.

"What are you grinning about?" He broke down and asked her, his curiosity finally outweighing his apprehension.

Her grin just grew and she shook her head.
"Nothing," she said as if there definitely was something.

Gally rolled his eyes.
"Are you going to be weird all day then? Or can we cut to the chase?"

"Honestly?" She asked as a dark glint passed her eyes putting him on edge.
"I was just thinking of all the ways I'd hurt you if you break Aussie's heart."

"If I-" Gally's brows shot up as his mouth gaped for a second.

"Oh, shut up," Joan scoffed. "She gives you the same moonstruck cow eyes she gives the damn dog, and she loves that dog more than herself."

"Well, that would be her choice, right?" He tried to remain composed and not stutter after hearing her say that.

She looked at him sharply, the good natured teasing dying instantly.
"You can't sew yourself to her hip and then not expect her to get attached to you," she said as she turned to him, stopping before they could be overheard by the girls who had grouped together and were stretching and warming up. "While her soft and gooey ways make as much sense to me as a screen door on a submarine I still don't want to see her get hurt any worse than she already has been."

Gally was tempted to point out that he wasn't intentionally trying to get Aussie to like him, and that he wasn't responsible for anyone's feelings but his own, but he also understood where Joan was coming from. No matter what kind of personal relationships these girls had, they'd probably protect each other fiercely from any outside threats. And right now, being the only male there, it would be easy for them to take an "us against them" -or in this case "us against him- mentality.

"Well," he sighed with a shrug. "We're on the same page then. I don't want anyone getting hurt."

Joan eyed him for a few seconds without saying anything. What ever she scrutinized must have satisfied her.

"Alright then, let's get to work."

Gally started feeling awkward again when they approached the group of girls. One with long auburn hair in a high ponytail flashed him a smile of straight white teeth. He wanted to turn around and leave. But he forced himself to stay.

"We start with 5 laps around the garden, but you can do more or less till you figure out where you're at," Joan said before starting to stretch. "We usually do it earlier in the day too, but.."

"He's no runner," the girl who smiled at him said with a grin that bordered on flirtatious as she did a deep lunge. "That's a weight lifter right there."

Gally looked at Joan like she might offer guidance or save him herself.

"Maybe so," Joan said as she did her stretches like a military veteran. "But he booked it out the maze faster than I've ever gone, so he's got some potential."
She glanced at him, noticing he wasn't doing anything.
"You forget how to stretch? Oh, sorry, that's actually a possibility. My bad. You need me to-"

"Nah I got it," Gally assured her before taking a few paces away from the girls. He stretched but felt agonizingly self conscious about it, especially when that girl edged her way over to him.