Keep On Running (Nanaly, Meninas)

It’d been about a week or so since she and Stella had fought the masked lunatic and Meninas was still rather annoyed at herself for how things had gone. They’d won, yeah but the Sternritter couldn’t help but feel guilty over her friend’s injuries. If she’d been stronger, faster, quicker with her Gebet then maybe she could have helped Stella out more. It was so frustrating and thinking back on the fight caused her to clench her fists and want to hit something. That alone worried her, for that was not how she’d been brought up. She wasn’t supposed to fight out of anger, such was how effective she was at using her fists and the damage she could do.

Yet, everytime she found herself about to lash out, Meninas would hear her phone go off and there would be another picture or gif of a cat, which caused her to smile again. Ever since she’d met Nanaly, the young woman had flooded her with a non-stop wave of cats and the Sternritter had to admit that they were cute as heck. She never grew tired of them and while her replies were usually simply emojis, the Scottish warrior knew that Nanaly would know what they meant. Keep ‘em coming.

With her friend in mind, Meninas had eventually asked through text if she was up for a little exercise. She remembered how desperate Nanaly was to get stronger and felt that maybe a run would be a good start. The Sternritter wasn’t going to push her friend hard, just a little cardio.

Dressed in her work out gear, the tall pink haired woman would start to stretch, waiting for her friend, just outside a forest on the outskirts of Tokyo.

Joining the Vandenreich had taken a lot out of Nanaly, in just a week she was in a new home, on new meds, and without her family for the first time in her life. The new meds were the main part, they were a whole lot stronger than what she was taking before, and she was totally able to feel the effects. Thankfully she wasn't alone, Meninas and Yumiko had been a great help in adjusting, and she was more than ready to get started on her training! A run with the pink-haired girl sounded just perfect! She'd get to work out cardio and catch up on things.

Honestly, she hadn't worked out a day in her life... one of the good side effects of her meds was weight loss, if you wanted to look at it that way. Many of the calories she ate were burned up as she tried to produce more energy.

Meeting up just outside of Tokyo made a lot of sense, it was a place Nanaly visited when she could and knew quite well. It was quite close to where she and Meni first met! As Nanaly flew on her broom closer to the meeting spot, that bright pink hair slowly came into view.

Meni would see Nanaly also in workout gear, a very plain black crop top, and some blue shorts. Though her stomach was visible, this would give Meni a better idea of how small Nanaly's build was. Her arms lacked muscle and her stomach was flat as a board.

"Hey!" She happily spoke, stepping off her broom as it dissipated. Seeing Meni stretching would cause her to stretch as well, touching her toes and flexing her back as she spoke. "I've been hella excited about this!" Hopefully Nanaly could distract Meni from the topic of Nanaly's medicine. However, with her transition into the Vandenreich, it would be a hard topic to avoid.

As mixed up as she was inside, Meninas had to smile as Nanaly made her appearance and started to stretch. The girl was always so peppy and the Sternritter had to admit that she needed someone cheerful to be around. It was no good just training by herself, as all that did was cause her to eventually lose her concentration and damage something. She’d never had a problem controlling her strength before but that fight had messed up emotionally, more than she realised. One thing was for sure, if she saw that guy again then there’d be hell to pay.

“Hey!” She replied with a smile. “I’m glad to hear that you’re still so eager about this. I thought that maybe after some time in the Vandenreich, you might have changed your mind.” It was about as close as she could get to a joke but if anyone could draw one out of her, it was Nanaly. Meninas had been a little concerned about whether her friend would be comfortable with her new life, knowing herself that the transition could be a little tough but it looked as though Nanaly was handling herself well.

Focusing on what they were going to do for the time being, she’d add after a short time preparing. “We’re not going to do anything too strenuous today. Just a short run to get the blood pumping a bit. I don’t want to see you overextend yourself or anything like that.” She couldn’t help but notice her friend’s lack of tone in terms of her muscles and knew that it would take time for Nanaly to develop her form. Meninas had been lucky that her father had been rather insistent on her own training although even he hadn’t expected the pink haired girl to be able to outlift her brothers.

The deal she made with Emil, involved some surgeries she had to undergo, what they did was essentially some work on her heart. While it didn't fix her problems, it certainly helped. It would help with blood flow, as for her immune system problems...? Well, the new meds were supposed to be helping with that. Only time could tell how those were working. Hearing the joke from her friend caused Quincy to roll her eyes.

"Oh please~ How could I forget about someone as strange as you~" She stuck her tongue out playfully as she reached up and over, to the left, holding for a moment, clearly already pushing her body a bit. "All the needles, scalpels, and pills make me want some fresh air, so no shot in hell I'd skip out on this~"

A jog? That sounded nice, though her face would turn a bright shade of pink as she rubbed the back of her neck. "I... don't think I've ever really jogged in my life. I've always really used my broom! So... promise you won't leave me in the dust?" She would lightly giggle.

It wouldn't take Nanaly long to start jogging off, turning around and slowly walking backward to ensure Meni was catching up with her. After a moment she turned and moved forward. Her pace was slow, but to be fair this wasn't a race, that being said, as Nanaly moved forward down the trail, that infectious smile didn't go anywhere.

Honestly, what Nanaly was describing sounded quite nasty to the Sternritter but she did an admirable job of hiding the dismay from her face. Just what on Earth were they pumping into her? In a way, she felt kind of bad for suggesting the Vandenreich if it meant that Nanaly had to go through all of that but another part knew that it may just be what the girl needed in order to get better. That’s what Meninas hoped anyway and with any luck, Nanaly would come out the other side feeling on top of the world.

Once the topic returned to what they were doing though, she noticeably relaxed, understanding why Nanaly might be a little wary about jogging. It took a while to get your body to peak fitness and with Nanaly’s health issues, her journey was going to take a bit longer than most. “I’ll be right next to you.” She assured her friend. “We’ll take it slow and steady until you feel comfortable with what we’re doing. There’s no need to rush or anything.”

Once they set off, Meninas would stick to her word, jogging beside the woman at the pace she set. It was gentle and the Sternritter didn’t show much in the way of fatigue, being used to having to outsprint a foursome of annoying and big mouthed kin. They always bugged her about her skills and took any chance to show off. In the end, it’d all ended rather violently but that was all in the past now.

The smile on Nanaly’s face was always the same though and as they jogged, she’d state. “You know, I’ve never met anyone quite as happy to do cardio as you.”

There was no reason to look too much into the past or the future. Nanaly lived her life here and now, since her future was never certain she would always cherish what was happening right now. This was why she had to fight through all the pain and downsides, no point in doing nothing!

The witch woman kept jogging, having Meninas right next to her was... motivating. Her already heavy breathing faded as she smiled at the presence of the woman. "Right! Let's get going" Nanaly would pick up the speed, just a little bit. As she enjoyed the trail, some flowers, and various plants caught her eye as she proceeded forward.

As Meni mentioned that smile, shifted into a smirk. "I can't let this girl win!" Nanaly tapped her finger against her chest where her heart would be. "I gotta push her! She can't be lazy~"

The Sternritter would smile at Nanaly’s response, keeping up with Nanaly’s increased pace easily enough. Meninas wasn’t primarily known for her foot speed but she could hold her own and good luck to anyone who tried to stop her once she got a full head of steam going. She reckoned that for an opponent it must have felt like being hit by a truck. Still, she was always pushing herself onwards and she did hope to continue to raise the bar when it came to her own skills. Strength was of course her favourite though and one day she sorely hoped that she could move on from large vehicles to something even more ambitious. Maybe one day she’d be hurling planes into the sky?

“Let’s just push her in stages, hmm?” The pink haired woman replied, slightly cautious. The first step was always the roughest and Meninas didn’t truly know the full story behind Nanaly’s illness nor just how badly the meds were affecting her. In a way, just basic exercise could be dangerous to her friend but Nanaly was convinced and the Sternritter honestly didn’t know how else to help. Training was one of the only things that she was any good at.

While running might have been tiring and hurt, Nanaly kept that smile as she thought about the results and their worth. So she would push through the inherent tiredness. It was obvious that Nanaly was doing her best to keep chucking onward! Nanaly would make sure to breathe in, through her nose, and out of her mouth. Honestly, she probably would have given up already were Meni not here. She wanted to make a strong impression on her friend.

Nanaly nodded, and a soft chuckle escaped from her mouth as Meni suggested to take it slow. She would keep going, turning her head to Meni to speak up. "And what have you been up to since we last saw each other?" She raised an eyebrow, this whole thing had been about Nanaly, so it was only fair she asked about her friend and checked up on her.

“Causing trouble like always.” Meninas replied in a voice so deadpan that it almost seemed like she was serious. The smile, however, gave it away though and she soon enough added. “It’s mostly been training and learning the ins and outs of the Vandenreich. There’s so much to learn and I’m still getting lost every other day. Wouldn’t exchange the experience for anything though as it’s been so eye opening working and seeing Quincy far more powerful than me around.”

The pace was alright and Meninas didn’t show much in the way of tiredness, simply chugging along as she always did. She wasn’t sure whether to mention her one actual fight but after a bit, decided that she would. “Me and another Quincy had a run in with a masked wearing madman just recently. I’ve got no idea who or what he was but he was strong when it came to firing spells. He created this massive giant thing that I had to break a limb at a time. Was pretty rough and while I didn’t get hurt, Stella sadly did.”

At first, Nanaly took it seriously, though she noted the smile. Meni didn't seem like the type to get into trouble. A soft giggle escaped from her. It seems chatting with Meni was distracting her from the tiredness that was quickly growing throughout her body. "Now you gotta teach me everything you learn! And I'll make sure to teach you all the cool stuff I learn!" Nanaly had this glimmer in her eyes, eager to spend more time with Meni. "More powerful than you? Well... how about we both get stronger together! We'll be the coolest strongest Quincy~"


Nanaly moved faster, just a bit, pushing herself again. "Madman? I'll be sure to keep an eye out! I'll call you and we can both beat him up!" The image of Meni fighting a giant was a funny one to her. Despite talking to Meni, her panting seemingly rapidly growing, breathing a bit faster.