More baby Nicky on the way 3

…

Using some hurdles from the gym's sports shed, Sylvia constructed a playpen for her son. The baby platypus ambled around inside it, occasionally yelling "moofie!" or something similar.

"Be good, okay?" Sylvia said to him.

"Blaga!" Nicky yelled.

Sylvia grinned. "That's my boy."

She headed back over to the other side of the otherwise-empty gym to where Perry was waiting. "Sorry," she grinned sheepishly.

Perry did not smile. "Okay, let's get to work. You're here for three weeks, yes?"

"Yes…sir."

Perry did not show either pleasure or displeasure at being called "sir". "Do you have any experience working in OWCA?"

"No, sir."

Perry was mildly irritated by that but not annoyed. Yet. "Do you have any experience in martial arts?"

"No, sir."

Perry stared at her. "Do you have any experience fighting?"

"Uh…no...I don't have any experience fighting," Sylvia said. "I'm a singer-songwriter, mostly. I write songs and perform them. It's what I really love. Well, there's also something else, but I don't think it'll be useful here."

"What?"

"I don't know how to fight, sir," Sylvia said patiently. "I have never been taught."

Perry pinched the bridge of his nose. "You mean to tell me I have three weeks to train you up…from scratch?"

"I-I'm a quick learner, sir."

"Your file said you have four brothers and you're telling me none of them taught you how to fight?"

"They didn't, sir."

"Jesus…"

Perry knew his job had just become ten times harder. "Okay, well, let's start with the basics. Many complex moves are just levelled-up basic moves, so let's start with hitting and kicking."

Perry brought out a dummy. It had a stand and a pole, which placed the dummy at about chest height. It was made of white material and in the shape of a human torso without arms. It was connected to the pole by a spring, meaning it could move from side to side and front to back.

"That's creepy," commented Sylvia.

"Just hit the dummy," sighed Perry.

Sylvia did so. It felt satisfying so she hit it again. And again. And again.

"Okay, stop now," snapped Perry. "When you hit the dummy, there's a certain position you should end in. Like this."

Perry adopted the pose. His right leg was bent and behind his left leg, which was out straight, facing towards the dummy. His right arm was bent up at the elbow and behind his head, just lower than if he was about to throw a shot putt, his hand in a fist. His other arm was outstretched towards the dummy, his hand again in a fist.

"This is the pose you must adopt after hitting the dummy," Perry said. "Also, you will notice that a lot of animals have their own battle stance. This is ours. Platypuses', I mean. Except for one thing." Perry opened his left hand out so that his hand was completely straight. "So if anyone ever calls for "battle stance", this is what they mean."

Sylvia copied the pose. "Okay. Got it."

"Now hit the dummy like you mean it and end with that pose."

Sylvia relaxed the pose and raised her fists.

"No, do the position again."

Sylvia obeyed.

"This is the position you must use when you're about to hit the dummy. Except…"

Perry switched her arms over so that they were doing what the other used to be doing.

"Hit it with your right hand and then pull back into the first pose."

Sylvia tried but her feet wouldn't stay in the same position. She almost tripped over as she went in to hit the dummy.

"No, keep your feet still!" Perry ordered. "Still!"

"S-sorry…"

Perry made her do it again. And again. And again.

Sylvia was beginning to sweat from exhaustion. It didn't help that Perry seemed to be growing more and more impatient with her. As she hit the dummy yet again and held the pose, she looked back at Perry, hoping for praise. She had done everything right: starting with one pose and ending with another.

However, Perry just moved Sylvia's right arm lower, tapped her leg with his foot until she moved it two inches to the right, and said, "Again."

Sylvia bit back tears and said, "Yes, sir."

She tried to do it again but her legs gave out and she fell against the dummy, clutching it for support.

"I shouldn't have to deal with this," snapped Perry.

"I'm…sorry…sir…" Sylvia wheezed. "I'm just…really tired…"

"Stamina is crucial for OWCA agents," Perry snarled.

Sylvia stared at her trainer, unsure if she had imagined him actually snarling at her. "I-I'm usually good with stamina," she coughed. "I-I used to dance a lot. It's just that I'm not used to actually hitting things."

"Well if you want to be a halfway decent OWCA agent, you're going to have to get used to hitting things!" Perry shouted at her.

Sylvia bent her head and squeezed her eyes shut to try and prevent tears. It was only her first day and it was already horrible. "I-I'm sorry…I was just-."

"I don't want excuses, I want effort!" snapped Perry. "Do it again."

Sylvia pushed herself off the floor and arranged her limbs into the position that Perry had taught her. Anger and confusion at Perry's actions made Sylvia perform the move perfectly. Even she could tell that. She looked back at Perry with a hint of challenge on her face.

"Satisfactory," Perry said, scowling. "Try it ten times in a row."

Sylvia almost cried again. She bit her lip and nodded.

She tried her best to comply. She really did. However, she had already pushed her stamina past breaking point and she only managed three weak attempts before she sank to the floor, gasping for breath. Through her blurry vision, she saw Perry shaking his head in disappointment.

"Take a break and be back here in exactly ten minutes."

…

Poor Sylvia :(