and I'm here to save the world (Finn)

[Deleted]

The last day of May. Andy and Phil hadn't seen each other or spoken since graduation, which was actually proving to be okay. They both needed some time to themselves, slipping into adulthood and sorting things out. They both were awful at communication, they had realized, and decided to take a moment to figure out what was really important so that they could come together later and have a mature, adult conversation about all of it.

Meanwhile, Andy had joined the Hit Wizard program and was a Hit Witch in training. It was strange, thinking she went from wanting to be an Auror, to a Healer and now this. It felt right, though. Utterly and entirely right. She had been boxing, a suggestion given to her by her therapist, and it had really helped her find a balance in her life. She had something that was useful, that used her energy, that didn't result in her violin getting smashed every time she got emotional. This felt right.

She had, just this last week, starting frequenting a muggle gym to practice on the punching bags. She hadn't asked for much instruction, since she had a little already, but mostly just used it for practice. Today she was there, having hold arrived a half hour ago, punching away.

finn kylie nottingham

[finn kylie nottingham]

@lestrange

Something had to be done about her boredom. There were only so many criminals she could catch before it got exhausting, and hiding away in her apartment playing video games all day would absolutely demolish any social life she had created since moving to London. It had been almost five months without officially working now, and Finn was finally starting to feel herself go crazy. All of her friends, both new and old alike, had paying jobs or something that would occupy them throughout the day. None of her hobbies could be done day after day for hours on end without some repercussions, and since she needed to cool off on the vigilante gig for a bit, getting it all out was starting to become even more difficult. Her solution? Joining a no-maj gym and working it all out. Keeping in shape for whatever came next was her thought process, and it would never hurt to sweat her worries away. It had always worked back home, so there was no reason it wouldn’t be like that here as well.

No-maj gyms always had an interesting dynamic. There were the stay at home mothers, coming in for their yoga lessons or personal trainers that somewhere close to twenty years younger than they were, and that they were almost always having an affair with, or would at the drop of a hat if possible. Finn tended to steer clear of that crowd, because the pettiness and gossip riddled conversations weren’t her thing in the slightest. The other half consisted of the gym rats – the bulky ex-athletes who could never actually play soccer again due to torn ACLs or blown knees, but still wanted to maintain their healthy lifestyle. Once again, their sheer size and need to pump iron turned her off, not to mention their masochistic belief in staring at themselves in the mirrors for every second they were in the gym. At least they had decent personalities, whereas the soccer moms were simply discontent with their lives. If she had to pick between the two groups, the meatheads were definitely her people.

While she had become somewhat of a regular over the last month, making sure to maintain a steady work-out schedule and diet, there were other semi-regulars that came in from time to time. The one she had noticed recently, and was extremely hard to miss, was the young girl that was always punching away at the punching bags in the corner. It would have been one thing if she was interested in boxing or learning how to punch; then Finn probably wouldn’t have noticed. This girl though – she was wailing on the poor punching bags. That was impressive. After watching for the first few days in awe, Finn finally found herself walking over to the girl. “How long have you been doing that?” she pointed at the punching bags. “Not half bad. Might need to hit up your trainer myself.”

[Deleted]

Andy looked over, stopping the bag with her hand when someone approached her and spoke. Andy smiled a little, but her body was still in fighting stance for the most part. "Only about three months," she said in all honesty. "I just got wrapped up in it, I guess," that was an understatement. "My training has mostly been from books and videos..." yes, she had gone to the muggle library to watch YouTube instructional videos on how to box. She was a bit obsessive, to tell the truth. Once she became interested in something or something worked for her temper she sold her soul to it. She hadn't touched a violin since school ended. Not that this was very long ago, but for her even a week was a long time.

"Do you box?" she asked the girl, lifting her hand from the bag since it had steadied itself. In all honesty Andy hadn't noticed if the girl had been around before or not. When she was there, she was in her own little world. She even left her wand behind, which was something most magical beings were too scared to do. She felt like she could handle herself without it, though, and didn't most people here not have wands anyway? Maybe all of them? Why did she need the extra 'protection'? She kind of liked just being like everyone else. Like this girl.

finn kylie nottingham

[finn kylie nottingham]

@lestrange

Finn kept her mouth from dropping open as the girl said she had only been boxing for three months. That was some crazy training if she was able to achieve that much, that fast. From a distance, she would have guessed that the girl had grown up doing it. Back home there were a few gyms around still, but they were exclusive. This girl though…she had learned everything from books and videos. No-majs were damn motivated over here. The best of the best and athletes had that level of dedication, but she looked more like an average person. And to do it all without a trainer was even more impressive. “What can’t the internet give us these days?” Finn joked, looking past the girl and at the punching bag again. The answer, of course, was that it could give them anything. She had found herself heavily dependent on no-maj technology and the internet when she had first moved. It was easier when she was on her own, and it was the only way to talk to her family.

The girl asked Finn if she boxed, and she shook her head. “Not anymore. I took it up for work, but didn’t have the time to continue with it.” Work meaning a police officer, if the girl asked. That was her go to answer over here. It seemed like it was hard to convince some, but then she started going into details of sting operations and driving a police cruiser around (which she had never actually done before) and almost everyone nodded their heads and went along with it. The only perception of American police officers that British citizens had was what the news gave them. Luckily that and cop dramas were exactly how Finn built her disguise as an officer, and everyone bit the lure. “But if you say books and videos work well, that might save me some money. Trainers are expensive.”

[Deleted]

At the mention of the internet Andy grinned. She was thrilled when it was finally shown to her, after years of pureblood ideals being so against it. It really was incredibly useful and amazing. Muggles did some pretty awesome things with technology. Truthfully, Andy maaaay have gotten a little attached to the YouTube. She was thinking of even using it to learn French to surprise Cecelia. Well, that was a long way off, but it was an idea she was brewing.

The girl said she didn't box anymore, and that her job involved boxing. Andy's jaw did drop slightly at that. The girl added the books and videos worked to save money, since trainers were expensive. "I had a little work with a trainer, but not much. Mostly I just feel like I need someone to look at me the way I can't see myself, you know? Like check posture and stuff," she said, pursing her lips to the side, "what's... what kind of work did you do? I'm training to be in law enforcement myself, actually."

finn kylie nottingham

[finn kylie nottingham]

@lestrange

Was having to fight for work really that strange? The reaction the younger girl gave was funny at least. This wasn’t America after all. Finn wasn’t exactly sure what the training procedures for her no-maj police counterparts over here were, but they certainly weren’t anything close to what she could make up about the NYPD. Those guys were literally everywhere in the city. Protecting and serving was their job after all. She wasn’t ashamed to say that most of what she knew was based off of television shows, but that was also the product of being raised in a non-magical household. Finn nodded her head as the girl said that she had a trainer for a bit and now just needed someone to overlook her current training. She got that. Having a training partner or teacher was integral for getting better. Not holding back or any of that stuff. “That makes sense. Partially why I stopped in the first place. I don’t have much need for it since I moved here,” Finn admitted.

Then the girl asked the question. And followed it up with the statement that Finn certainly didn’t want attached to it. She was training to go into law enforcement. Finn kept herself from making any physical reactions to the comment. While this girl was just a no-maj, blowing her non-magical cover as a police officer immediately would suck. Then she would be getting tons of questions every time she came to the gym. Questions she would have to prepare for. Stories she would have to either make up or modify from the ones she had conducted as an auror. “Bartender,” Finn lied. That was such a shit lie too. “At a bar in a rough part of New York City. Not my proudest of jobs.” She hoped the tattoos and her general appearance would sell it. It also wouldn’t be all that farfetched for an average sized female working at a tough bar to want to know how to defend herself. The only other shining light at the end of the tunnel she had thrown herself into was that making up bar fight stories was a lot easier than trying to come up with crimes. Drunks were irrational. Everyone knew that. “What branch of law enforcement?” Finn asked, trying to spin the conversation back onto the girl.

[Deleted]

The woman said that she didn't have much need for boxing when she moved here. She then said she was a bartender, and Andy raised an eyebrow. Speaking about working in rough part of New York City. That was.. strange, but smart to learn how to fight. Andy was learning how to fight before she changed jobs anyway, just for herself and to have the knowledge. She asked what branch of Law Enforcement Andy was working in, and Andy shrugged. "depends where they put me, really, after I finish all the training," she explained. "Hoping to be out in the field a lot though, not so much a fan of parking ticket gigs," she joked, knowing that would make her sound a little more non magical.

"I'm Andy, by the way," she said, realizing that she hadn't offered her name yet. She didn't offer a hand, though, but squared up to the bag instead, then nodded to the next one over swinging nearby, "feel free join me," she said, starting to hit the bag again. She wasn't necessarily meaning to cut off the conversation, but she had come here for a reason, obviously.

finn kylie nottingham

[finn kylie nottingham]

@lestrange

The career as a bartender went unquestioned. Finn felt a wave of relief wash over her. That could have gotten ugly if the wrong questions were asked. She didn’t think she was the greatest liar, and to say she was a bartender was even worse. Her knowledge on drinks was minimal, lately requiring the new acquisition of Luke as her roommate to tell her how things were made and what was actually worth the most bang for her buck. That was what his job was, after all. It would be easier to ask him for stories and drink tips and lie to this girl about them instead of pretending to be a police officer. She wasn’t sure what the laws were like in the UK, but Finn was positive that impersonating an officer in the States was a crime. A lot of her activities in the magical world were already borderline illegal as they were – she didn’t need to add no-maj crimes to that list as well.

Finn listened to the girl as she explained that she was hoping to be out in the field for work. She definitely understood that feeling. Desk work sucked. It was a necessary evil at the end of the day though, and without it the cogs of the branch wouldn’t be running the way they were supposed to. Luckily it did get easier as time went on. The beginning it was a huge drain though, and she had always hated doing it before heading home. “Yeah please, no more parking tickets. Those people don’t have a soul,” she laughed. “Finn. And maybe next time? I probably need gloves for that thing,” she motioned to the other punching bag. “And those are currently at home. How often are you here?”

[Deleted]

Finn, as she introduced herself, spoke about how the parking ticket people don't have a soul, which made Andy chuckle. Even though she didn't know anything about parking or even driving, she could pretend she related - and the joke was easy enough to get. Finn then spoke about not having her gloves, mentioning that she had left them at home. "Awe," Andy muttered. Then she asked Andy how often she was there and Andy shrugged, knowing that if she gave the real answer she may look crazy. "About three times a week... maybe more occasionally," it was generally every morning and every evening, if she wasn't doing anything with Will or Susan. She didn't have Phil and had nothing better to do but training so... why not work herself sick here? She wanted to be stronger anyway, right? As much as she liked spells for offense and defense, she wanted to be better at the non magic part of it all, for the sake of her being prepared for anything. And the boxing had started as a therapy technique anyway, so there was nothing surprising about her continuing it. "Next time?" she suggested.

finn kylie nottingham

[finn kylie nottingham]

@lestrange

Finn felt bad since it seemed like Andy was actually interested in continuing their boxing today. Unfortunately some things couldn’t be helped, and if it had been a day where she had wanted to box, they would have been able to keep going. She nodded her head as the younger girl explained that she was there at least three times a week, sometimes more. That would explain why she had advanced so far with her practice. “Lucky for you, I’m here just as often. So I’ll rework my workout schedule to fit in this as well. Been meaning to get back into boxing, just haven’t had the motivation to do it,” Finn laughed. That and between her normal gym workout and jogging with the dog, boxing was the last of her energy out the window. She would be able to manage it though. Being a former Auror meant being in perpetually good shape was inevitable. It was time to shake off the remainder of the laziness caused by the move. “Next time it is.” Finn gave a small wave before to her belongings where she had left them at her last station, collecting them up before leaving for the day.

---

It had been a few days since she had seen Andy at the gym, mainly because she had been busy and only managed to go in the middle of the day. Unfortunately that meant showing off to all of the middle aged no-maj soccer (it was silly that they called it football here) moms and beer-bellied dads, who had lost any semblance of a healthy body upon introducing children into their lives. That was exactly why she would not be having any of those any time soon. Today was different though; Finn had managed to get work done the day before, and that meant packing her boxing gloves into her gym bag for the following morning. Getting into the gym with people who actually cared about their health was rejuvenating, and Finn immediately made her way over to begin her normal routine. She hadn’t seen Andy yet, but that didn’t mean the girl wasn’t there. Once the normal workout was done, Finn was heading straight over to the punching bags regardless of whether or not Andy was there.

[Deleted]

Andy wasn't there before Finn, but had arrived just as Finn was heading toward the punching bags herself. Andy smiled in spite of herself, not really expecting to actually be glad to see someone here, especially someone that she didn't know very well. But Finn seemed fun, smart and capable and those were all qualities that Andy admired. Those were the kind of people that Andy wanted to spend her time with, for the most part. She approached Finn and gave the girl a nod when she stepped up to her favorite bag, holding her gloves to her. "Hey, Finn. Been here long?" she asked. Finn looked as though she had already been there doing other things. Andy always did this first, and other things afterward if she actually made time for it. She had been getting into running lately, thanks to Kai.

finn kylie nottingham

[finn kylie nottingham]

@lestrange

She was in the middle of lacing her gloves up when she saw Andy heading towards the bags, presumably to get started on the boxing as well. If not, Finn knew she could find something else to do in the meantime. There were plenty of other machines that would let her get both an exercise in as well as a cooldown before the boxing started up. Finishing the last knot on her gloves, she slid them on and tapped the ones that Andy held up. “Long enough to get my usual stuff done. Perfect timing on your part, I’d say.” Impeccable, actually. Being able to seamlessly go from one to the next was how she liked it. Too often during her normal time in the middle of the day she had to wait around for the older people to get off of a machine. That was her one criticism of this gym – there weren’t enough machines to really handle a crowd. Getting on the wrong end of a personal trainer session also had its own negatives, because that usually meant a few of the areas were blocked off. That meant a lot of time spent doing push-ups and other small things to pass the time. “So how do you usually start? I’m going to pretend I’ve never done this before and go back to the basics, if that works for you.” It was easier that way, especially if Andy was new to it as well. Finn found it easier to relearn something if she was alongside a newcomer. That and it had been a few years, and she was definitely going to be rusty and hurting after the first few sessions.

[Deleted]

Finn said that she had done her usual routine, claiming Andy had prefect timing. Andy grinned, nodding. She was always glad when things worked out like that. Andy started to get set up and Finn asked how she usually started. "Yeah, that works. I generally start pretty simple..." she started, and then they got into the thick of it. It was nice to be a teacher, even if Finn did know what she was doing a good chunk of the time. Andy didn't really think she was that great with people, okay she KNEW she wasn't, but something about being able to teach them about something important to you made it easier. Phil had showed her that, even if she didn't really notice that it. He was always happier and less socially awkward when he was telling people about his love for plants. Everyone was like that, Andy was realizing. They were always more comfortable talking about something they loved.

Andy and Finn met at the gym several times after that, for the rest of the summer and probably would after that. Andy didn't expect enjoying having someone to work with, but she actually did. Soon they weren't only using the bags but were boxing with each other too, which was way better practice. It was nice to have a friend who didn't know anything about her other life, her magical life. It was like a breath of fresh air.

finn kylie nottingham
(the end XD)