She pulled an arm across her body, pulling it in a full stretch before switching sides. She looked out at the track, bits of snow decorated the muddy ground, though the track itself was clear. It was a good day to run, the air was crisp and clear, even if it was a bit cold. She had to admit this school had been a nice change from her last one, no bullies so far, but that could change at any moment. For now, she wanted to test out the track, see how her muscles took to the exertion in a place like this. In her track suit she reached for her toes, twisted, and then got herself ready to start, trying to loosen her shoulders. She imagined a gun going off and took off, she was pretty fast, but not impressively so, after all, this was just a morning jog, not an all out sprint.



The wind felt good on her face and it ruffled her hair, the trip around the track was like she could run away from all her old problems and when she reached the starting line again, she realized she was no longer alone. She stopped and put her hands on her knees to catch her breath. She didn't say anything, but her face already flushed red, did they want to use the track? Was she in the way? She offered a kind smile and reached for ehr water bottle, parked off to the side of the track.



"S-sorry," she said, "Didn't realize someone else was here."

Gilda had been feeling particularly lethargic lately, the initial rush of campaigning had left her feeling empty. And yet, despite how hollow she felt, this morning she had found that she had gained weight. That was not acceptable. It was the presidential candy that she gave out with the pamphlets. Such a big bowl of sweets in arms reach all the time, it wasn't natural. So she had resolved to do something about it. The school limit was three clubs, but three clubs was not nearly enough for a proper cv, the schools wanted exceptionalism and so Gilda had offered her services to over a dozen clubs as an honorary member if they needed a spot filled due to illness or injury. She'd always been the athletic twin, though really she was only average. But in the winter it seemed to be either skating, running, or swimming and it wasn't cold enough for skating and she would not be seen in a swimsuit in her current state. There were standards. That left a bit of running.

It was still a chilly day so rather than a school uniform, Gilda wore thermals under everything, track pants and a sweatshirt. She wasn't out to impress, in fact this was a rare occasion when attention was not what she was after. As she approached the track, she could see another figure already running. It wasn't a big deal, probably one of the permanent track girls practicing for spring. Sharing the track would probably be fine though perhaps a bit embarrassing. Gilda approached slowly and set her small bag of water, a stopwatch, a towel, and some personal things next to the starting line.

"Don't need to apologize, I just arrived while you were doing your lap. Looked like you were concentrating pretty hard." She smiled. The girl was actually quite masculine now that she was close enough to get a good look at her. Older too, almost assuredly. The school wasn't obvious by the tracksuit but Gilda had never really bothered with the distinction of the three sisters. More mixing was always better in her mind.

"You saw me?" for some reason the idea of a single person watching her run was embarrassing and she rubbed the back of her neck. Shyly she looked around, distracting herself with perhaps the most awkward drink of water anyone ever saw. Should she leave? After only one lap? No, that would be silly.

"I'm gonna go again, um...don't mind me." she was blushing, but set down her water bottle. She bent over, getting ready to take off once more when she looked at the girl again and looked sheepish. "We could go together if you want?" she offered, the shade of pink covering her face and ears. Either way she'd soon be off running, faster if she said no, and slower if she said yes.

If they were jogging together, the pinkette would try to keep pace with the greenette. Try to start a conversation, "So...come here...um often?" What a stupid thing to say, still she let it go. She didn't do well in one on one situations.

The girl seemed a bit put off by being seen running. Well Gilda certainly could understand, she didn't much want to be seen either. Perhaps they both were trying to lose a little extra poundage. "Well I suppose it might be ok running together. I'm not really very fast though. Long distance is more my kind of thing." Well, it was more of her thing than sprinting. At least she had a chance when it came to long distance.

Gilda was a bit startled when the girl asked if she came about the track often. Was this some kind of rudimentary flirting? Did the girl find her attractive? It wasn't as if she was at her best, she was a mess. Oh well, she obviously saw beauty when it was in front of her, even on the bad days. She giggled. "Well, not nearly as often as I should. I might come more often if you're running around." She flashed the girl a quick smile. Turnabout was fair play after all. "Feel free to go another lap, I need to do a little stretching first."

Stricken, she grit her teeth and her eyes widened in startled surprise, was she...complimenting her? She almost shot off like a rocket the moment the other gave her the go ahead. "Sure, uh, see you in a minute!" Redfaced she turned and quite literally ran away.

She was running a little too fast, but it got her nerves out and made her feel a little better. One on one attention was always weird like this, she didn't really know how to respond to anything, flirting, especially. She was used to being bullied, so she tried to be nice, but it seemed she always expected some kind of rude response. Instead, she said something kind and it made her as uncomfortable as it did happy. But she didn't feel the suffocating nerves she felt when masculine girls were around, that was a relief. Maybe she could make a friend?

Coming back around she tried to look more confident, but she stumbled to a stop, winded from having bolted off like that.

"Yih-hih-hah..." she tried to talk but it came out as heavy breathing, she took a moment, "You ready to-hah- go? I'm fah-fine."

She reached for her water and took a few gulps, finally getting her breathing under control. Okay, Kissu, you got this, she thought to herself, just be nice. "I'm Kisumi," she said, offering a hand.

Gilda watched as the girl shot off along the track, bundle of energy that one. She started doing a few leg stretches while she thought. A couple miles would be just the thing, a nice walk run walk run pattern would get it done quickly enough. The older girl probably would be able to keep up easily enough though she seemed more like a sprinter than anything. Gilda had barely even gotten a single leg limber enough before the other girl came running up the track again to stop at the line.

"Ready? You're like a bullet around the track." It had to be the long legs, nothing like a long stride to build up speed. "I've barely even done any stretching at all." She frowned as the girl panted out words. "And you're not fine. You do too much too fast your legs are going to get all tingly and stuff as blood cells eat your muscles for oxygen or whatever it is they do." Science was not one of her stronger subjects. Regardless, she took the other girls hand. "I'm Gilda. It's a pleasure to meet a fellow beauty."

She decided she was right and stopped to sit and take another drink, it was a boyish sitting position, but it looked fine since she wasn't wearing a skirt.

"Gilda," she repeated, memorizing her name, ah but she had been complimented again and it turned her red, even her ears. "I-I don't know about that..." she said, trying to accept the compliment. She didn't know how to react to people very easily, especially nice ones giving her compliments.

"So...uh...this is sort of strange, running is how I relax, you know? I'm new so, this was a cool way to calm my nerves. Sorry if I do anything weird," she laughed at herself, "I'm kind of awkward like that I guess. I used to get bullied for it."

It was hard not to expect bullying from others now, but it seemed that wasn't the case here. For once, someone was jsut being nice just because.

Gilda continued stretching her other leg. "First year? I assumed you were older than me. I'm a first year as well but I'm over in Le Rim. Bad luck in some ways, we didn't get any properly tall girls. Fortunately I've been lucky enough to meet several ideals through luck." She sighed as images of them flitted through her head. "I suppose it could be relaxing to run, personally I find it simply useful." Gilda shook her head. "Bullying is no good, hopefully you shouldn't have to worry about such things here. I simply can't understand why anyone would bully a beautiful girl like you."

Gilda finished her leg stretches and started doing a little bit of arm work as she stepped onto the track. "Alright, I think I'm ready for a bit of a go now." Gilda smiled at Kisumi. "If I'm not going fast enough for you feel free to run ahead, I'll catch up eventually." She got into position and then started to go around the track in a light jog. In her head she counted breaths and steps, treating herself like clockwork and staying in a near perfect steady pace.

"Ah, actually I'm a third year..." She said, "I just transferred." And then she was complimented again.

"Ah really, I'm not beautiful, I'm just...erm...me," she said smiling, face still a little pink. And then they were off to run. Kisumi's longer legs did put her ahead of Gilda rather quickly, but she forced herself to slow down, even though the other had given her permission to take off, she didn't want to trouble the other.

"I guess," she said after a few meters, "I was easy prey. I'm quiet and don't really do anything to get noticed, so the others used me to relieve stress. It was my place I guess...I don't blame them really. Someone had to play the part...I guess I was the best choice."

She looked a bit sad even as she smiled and they ran together, "But you're right, I think it will be better now. I feel safer here."

"A third year, well you're still tall enough for me." Gilda said as she kept track of her running pattern. She listened and ran, this girl was short on self esteem by the sounds of it. Her old school must have been a bit harsh. Well if lifting yourself up required shoving others down and kicking them, it was not the right way to do it. Gilda's mind was no less elitist though, her belief was that it was better to raise up those lower than you so that they could raise you higher in turn. If she had been a cheerleader, Gilda would definitely want to be the top of the pyramid.

"That's a shame." Gilda shook her head. "It was a terrible part for anyone to play and shouldn't have happened." Her voice was stilted, almost rhythmic as words followed her footsteps. "People will notice you here. I noticed you. And if anyone gives you trouble, tell me and I'll take care of it." She began to run a little faster as they passed the lap line. "Perhaps-beautiful-is-not-the-right-word." The words were a bit more stilted now that she was counting a faster paced, a little more spread out. "Handsome-cute-männlich."

With each rythmic sound of her feet hitting the ground and the breaths coming deep and even from the core of her form, she listened to Gilda go on. She certainly was kind. She found herself blushing again, so she focused on running, having no idea what to say. Her form was perfect, a broad flat chest and small waist, long legs, it was the idea build for a runner. She thought of the words like handsome and thought it was nice. Handsome made her feel heroic, even if she wasn't, at least feeling good about herself deep down at least over that one tiny thing was good right?

Eventually they rounded again and Kissu noted the other girl was having trouble talking while she ran. The taller runner was good to go, but she ran a lot, even when it didn't have to do with training. "Wanna take a break?"

She said, slowing her pace. It was nice, running with someone, even if they didn't talk, "Race you to the finish line?" It was only a few meters (from the last turn to half way through the straight) but enough for a give-it-you-all dash. Kisumi would probably win due to certain physical advantages, but it was a good way to end things, besides, she really enjoyed sprinting.

She took off like a cheetah, streamlining her form to a precise technique until she seemed to fly right over the line and she gradually slowed. But rather than come to a stop and grab her knees, as most usually did, she turned ot the grass in the middle of the track and let herself roll to a stop.

She lay there with her limbs out, as if making a snow angel, even though there wasn't any snow chest heaving, small clouds of breath escaping her lips (since it's still winder in this thread xD). Sprinting always made her happy.

"I feel so free when I run," she admitted finally, looking up at the cloudy sky, "Like nothing can ever touch me."

"Sure-lets-run-then-rest." Gilda started to run but it was instantly obvious who was going to win. She slowed down a bit, no reason to give herself a cramp in a contest she was easily outclassed in. Still, she crossed the line not that far behind, it wasn't a long distance after all. She rounded the turn into the grass and smiled, breathing quickly. She leaned over a bit with both hands on her hips. "You're so fast." She said as she looked at Kisumi lying on the grass. She couldn't help but laugh a little. The girl was a bit like a kid to flop on the ground like that. She picked up her water bottle and took a sip. Gilda stepped over and knelt down beside Kisumi before doing her own miniature collapse.

"That sounds kind of lonely." She reached out and lightly ran her hand along the inside of Kisumi's wrist. "Freedom is wonderful but I couldn't survive being alone, without human contact." She sighed. "I'd miss my family, my sister, the friends I've made here at school." She shook her head. "Not everything that touches you wants to hurt you. Sometimes people want to make you happy." Gilda looked at Kisumi. She was a girl who had obviously suffered, that had left its mark. The girl needed confidence, an angel to look down and offer a hand to lift her into the place she deserved. "You should definitely be one of the main track girls. I'm way down in honorary fill in the holes and even I can see that you should be with the best."

Not everything that touches you wants to hurt you. Those words rang in her mind for a moment, it made her want to hug herself and hide in a corner. "I guess it depends on who's looking," she said, then came the words about track.

"Really?" she was made especially happy by this, "I really like running, I'd love to do something important like that, but...I'm not sure about being in the spotlight all the time like that."

Truth was though she'd be nervous, once in the light, she'd really shine like a hidden gem.

Looking up at the changing shapes in the clouds, her breathing was starting to slow and she was starting to relax. "I think I'm going to like it here," she commented, feeling the temperature rise just a little. With spring around the corner, everything felt like ti was waking up and a whole new life was coming into focus ahead of her.

Gilda had expected some reaction, positive or negative. A flinch, her to pull away, to move closer. Apparently Kisumi didn't notice or possibly didn't care. Oh well, she was interested in running, and Gilda could be interested in running too. "It's not all the time unless you try for every event. That's probably too much so if you focus on sprinting, you'll be in focus for less than a minute of race time. Then you can share the attention of the track team with the rest of the winners." She smiled at Kisumi. "It's being close to other people, celebrating together and sharing the good feelings when you win, and having others around to hold you up if you lose. It makes the good times better and the bad times easier to bear."

Well in for a penny, as they say, Gilda thought to herself and took Kisumi's hand in hers. "I'm glad. You deserve to feel like this place is a second home. We're all sisters here in the three sisters. Spica, Miator, Le Rim, and sisters support each other. I look forward to supporting you in the future, Kisumi."