Shapin' Up!

In a large complex, not too far from the hustle and bustle of central city, was a gym. This gym had all kinds of facilities, ranging from your basic treadmills and weights to even a swimming pool. Music echoed throughout each room, with its high frequency of beats presumably meant to motivate the customers who came to exercise. In one room you could hear heavy grunting as a hedgehog, dressed in white sneakers, grey shorts that went just past the knee, and black fingerless gloves, threw blow after blow at a punching bag. This hedgehog was here not only to get more fit (as he had... Overindulged, lately), but also to increase his overall strength. Plus, he found it hard to throw a good punch, even if he was able to swing a sword. Every so often, the hedgehog would follow up one of his punches with a swift kick, before carrying back on with his attack. Soon, however, he was drenched in sweat, and needed to take a break. He sat down on a nearby bench, and dabbed a towel on his forehead to soak up some sweat.

As the hedgehog sat for a few minutes, a white fox, wearing a purple tank top, blue sweatpants and black sneakers walked in.She spotted the hedgehog and waved at him "he-he-hey! Looks like Risky finally decided to hit the gym!" She said, stating the obvious "thought playing hero meant you didn't need to come to the gym."
Caen rolled his eyes "I guess I've been eating too many sweets, lately," he muttered, before standing up "anyway, you know me, I'm basically screwed when it comes to hand-to-hand combat."
"That's where I come in, though!" She replied cheerfully.

Caen walked back over to the punching bag, continuing on with his punches. The fox shook her head "nah, you're doing it all wrong!" She said, before miming a punch in front of her "like this, see?" She asked, which the hedgehog replied to with a nod, before changing up his arm movement to match the fox's.

The door opened and in walked yet another fox, but this time one with black and grey fur, ginger red hair, and green eyes. However she appeared to be wearing something to a bizarre outfit consisting of pink sweatpants, a yellow skirt and a yellow top. She appeared to be toting a backpack and a purse on her side as she entered the gymnasium.

((Finally got time to properly write up a post here, yehhh))


Among the other patrons there in the gym on this day, a relatively young equine, perhaps just barely past her teenage years, was just getting started on her own workout routine. The horse girl hadn't been there for long, having been exploring the facilities at first to get an idea of what all was available. She was a bit of an eye-catcher herself, what with being almost a full head taller than the majority of the other people around. Her outfit was clearly meant to be fashion-forward as well, with a light blue tank top that had several horizontal openings down the back to show off the starry-printed sports bra she had on beneath. Her black leggings were designed to match as they had the same starry print down each side. The tight pants cut off just below her knees, however, but perhaps for good reason, what with the long, white 'feather' fur covering her lower legs and part of the large hooves her feet ended in. This same long white fur was also present on her forearms and partially covering her paws as well. All in all, it didn't seem exactly practical... But this, along with the brown fur and white markings on her face at least helped to visibly identify her as a Clydesdale.

The Clydesdale had been passing through after finishing a job in another city, but was very disappointed to find that the hotel she was staying in didn't have its own gym. How inconvenient! A quick look on her phone, however, revealed this particular gym to have high ratings and so here she was.
During her walk-around, she had taken note of one hedgehog who was making quite a fair amount of loud grunting noises as he went through his own workout. It made her smile a bit at the display, but she left him to it and continued on to actually get started herself.

Upon reaching the area she intended to start out in, the Clydesdale reached up and pulled her high ponytail tighter to keep it secure. Granted, both her hair and her long tail had quite evidentally seen some special salon treatment recently, judging by the fresh waves and curls throughout the cascading dark brown to gentle blonde hair. And what was more, upon taking position in one of the horizontal seated leg press machines, the equine reached in through one side of her top and withdrew a cellphone, which she proceeded to use to snap herself a selfie before her workout even began. Really, was this horse here to work out or just trying to look like she worked out??

Despite the slow start, the Clydesdale soon clicked her phone off and tucked it away inside her shirt again. Was that a pocket in her sports bra...? After adjusting the weights on the machine to something much more suitably heavy for someone with her toned sort of physique, both hooves were promptly braced up in front of her and the horse's workout finally began in earnest.


((Also, small questions. Are there any rules about how long people have to post in here? I ask because holiday season means it gets harder to post sometimes so I'll try to not go over any limits there are. And are we sticking with fall as the season??))

((I'd prefer to stick to the usual three day limit, but if people are struggling to reply before then, I'll extend it to five days. Of course, if you cant make it on time, or you don't know what to put, feel free to pm me or post in this thread))

"Right, left, right left, finish with a knee to the ribs!" Raito shouted, as Caen picked up speed, carrying out the combinations of punches and kicks that Raito shouted out, he launched forwards, knee-first, causing the punching bag to swing upwards and hit the ceiling. Caen looked over at Raito and smiled. However, this smile soon dropped, much like the punching bag, as it swooped down and knocked the hedgehog off his feet. Raito immediately burst out laughing "and that's the second lesson" she said as she continued "always expect the unexpected. It still doesn't make the unexpected any less funny!" Raito was soon bent over double, laughing like a maniac. The hedgehog lay there for a few seconds, dazed, but soon sat up. "Yeah, thanks for asking if I'm okay..." Caen said a little breathlessly "I think I'd better... Take a break from the punching..."

The hedgehog stood up, brushing some dirt off of his legs. He rolled his shoulders to check nothing was dislocated. Luckily, the only thing that appeared to be hurt was his pride. He began to walk out of the room, into one that contained a lot of weights and weighted machinery. Raito followed behind, slapping the hedgehog on his shoulder "now this is my kinda thing!" She said.

The vixen woman in yellow began to quietly and calmly proceed towards the weight room herself. As she did so she causally moved behind Caen as she seemed to be wanting to lift weights that day. The red haired fox lady waited for him to enter the room before she would enter in behind.

(Can I join after froshana posts? Just to keep the order)

Not long into her own workout, the equine's pointed ears turned curiously. There seemed to be quite a commotion of raucous guffawing from the next room. It sounded.. female? Definitely female. Although the Clydesdale glanced that way, she didn't react much otherwise. At least someone here was really getting a kick out of staying fit, right?

She kept after her own repeated movements, pushing against the weight and resistance the machine offered and keeping a grip on the handholds on either side of the seat. There was some rhythm to the gesture, perhaps vaguely in sync with the song playing, but nowhere near fast enough to be accurate.

A little while later, some bright colors entering the room caught her attention and the horse glanced over as they appeared. She noted the red hedgehog she'd passed by earlier and two new fox faces. After inwardly judging their outfits as was habitual for her, she returned her gaze in front of her. If she kept letting herself get distracted, she'd never get a full count done!

Not too long after, a rather small and bright looking, young, grey fox stepped in wearing a rather large grin and an outfit that looked like it belonged in the 80s and sporting a spunky, short hairstyle. Dressed in an overly baggy violet shirt with a star on the front, tied back at the base with a hair tie to reveal black yoga shorts, she walked in, carrying a small training bag over her shoulder. It seemed like this was her first time in the place by the bewildered look on her face as she took the scene in. She took a deep breath, breathing out heavily after

"Smells like invigoration!"

She commented to herself. Hopefully it's that and not some rather funky body odour, which can be quite common in gyms!
She decided to place the bag down and wander around a little, taking note of where the equipment were and who was occupying it before finally locating a few treadmills.

Caen glanced behind him at Raito, before continuing into the room "I thought your kinda thing involved beating people up or shooting their brains out." Caen replied, seemingly unfazed by the thought of any people overhearing his conversation.
"Well, yeah," she replied "but that's when I'm working, not working out. Look, while you're out there with your lighter-than-paper swords, I'm here actually getting stronger."
Caen sighed, as Raito was correct. He did lack the physical strength that his... Hobby might require. He rolled his eyes before walking over to a machine with weights on the back. He saw that on a machine next to this one, a young horse was proceeding with her own workout. He hoped that she wasn't wondering too much about what was going on in the other room. He shrugged his shoulders before adjusting the weights on the machine to just barely enough for him to pull up comfortably. Just as he pulled up his legs and was about to begin, he noticed Raito was lingering nearby. "Haven't you got some working out to do?"
"I would've thought you needed some... Emotional support, yeah!" She replied, trying to sound genuine but failing miserably.
"Trust me, if I want emotional support, I'm probably better off asking anyone else in here. You'll just laugh if I mess up somewhere."

Raito shrugged her shoulders before walking away, towards a set of large weights. The hedgehog breathed a sigh of relief before beginning to use the machine himself. He grunted every time he brought the weights as far as they could go. Just as he was doing this, he noticed another fox enter the room. She seemed... Oddly familiar, yet Caen could not quite put his finger on what made her familiar.

(Would anyone mind if I change my character for this? I've made a new one I'm looking to test out.)