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At the offer of a spot out from with one of the girls, Natalie didn't know how to say no. She offered a tiny smile, stepping forward to stand next to the one that had spoken to her. "Thanks," she whispered, looking down at her before shifting her focus back to her friend. Now that it was time for the moves, her attention increased tenfold.
One, two, three. Pause. One, two, three. Pause. It took a minute to find the groove, but once Nat found a match in tempo, it really wasn't as hard as she had made it to believe. There was structure in this, which offered the brunette comfort. Even at the encouragement of the others, she began to move herself with extra flow.
There was a point when she was confident in taking her eyes off her feet, gaze catching Lena's and that grin she wore. Nat smiled back at her, a laugh drawing from her lips. "I believe I will be too tall to partner up with anyone," she confessed, glancing around. Even the adults, she towered over with her natural height.
It was convenient that Natalie had just come from yoga. It took practically the same supplies, and the trainer lifted her water bottle to her lips, taking a slow sip before tightening the cap again. "So far, so good," she confirmed lightly, head bobbing with a nod. She smiled at the contact, glancing towards the rest of the class before letting her attention settle on Lena again.
"We'll see how I do." By no means did she want to give up, but the brunette was unsure how she would move forward once there was a tempo to follow. "I trust you." She added for good measure. She doubted there would be many more that she would let pull her into a dance studio like this.
Natalie kept mostly quiet as the room began to fill up, pressing her back against the far wall and observing. It was only when Lena spoke out to her again did she open her mouth. "Okay." Still, it was quiet as she stood upright. They started with stretching, and Natalie smiled. That, she could certainly handle. The trainer was flexible, given her interests in yoga and outdoor activities.
Her body bent to her will, eyes drawing shut as she exhaled with the exercise. She could feel the burn of her muscles, but it offered a relief, knowing she was doing well to stretch out her body. If this took up most of the class, she would be more than happy to join more often.
She moved with the change of positions, feeling her shirt rise upwards and get in the way. Briefly, she broke pose to pull the material off, giving the freedom of wearing just a sports bra underneath before she resumed.
When a little girl approached them, Natalie immediately smiled down at her. It appeared that she was a student of Lena's, and she was adorable. The excitement the girl wore was hard not to ignore, and she had to wonder if everyone carried the same sort of energy that would be participating in that class. She finished her smoothie, nodding when Lena stated they should get going.
The crowd at the door was diverse, and Natalie couldn't help but to smile at the interactions between the students and Lena. She seemed to care so much about them as individuals. Though, it didn't surprise her that Lena treated her students that way.
Standing at the red head's side, Nat gave a small wave at the introduction, laughing lightly at the questions thrown at her. "Thank you," she replied sheepishly. "I'm not a dancer. I'm just like you."
It appeared that Lena lead quite the life. In comparison to Nat's, she was so active. "That's wonderful! Congratulations." The trainer couldn't fathom that it would be anything different than a professional dance recital sort of performance. It worked out that she left an open schedule most of the time; it would be fun to go and watch her preform. "I'll definitely be there."
As for her friends? Natalie pressed her lips to the straw, humoring the idea of Clarke or Caleb joining her to such an event. She had a limited number of humans she could call her friends, and of those two, neither really seemed to fit the bill to want to go out to a dance club. "It might just be me."
Pulling her wallet out of her backpack, Natalie paid the cashier, tossing a couple extra dollars into the tip jar. She placed a hand over the one that squeezed her arm, offering a couple light pats as she lead them towards the pick up counter. Her mind settled on wondering what it would be like to participate in a beginner's dance class. Of course, it wouldn't be long before she found out.
But a question pulled her thoughts back to the dance instructor, eyebrows raising up as if she genuinely hadn't expected the question. There were so few things that Natalie planned out in advance. Her lips pressed together as she pondered on it for a few moments.
"I have nothing planned," she finally confessed. "Do you?"
Natalie could say that she didn't recognize him a fellow trainer, but with the large amount of staff running around Bellefonte, she couldn't be sure if he was a teacher or something other. He seemed older than even a normal college student, but she didn't ask.
"Oh, nowhere important." She replied similarly, though she lacked the natural coolness his tone offered. "I was just heading to the library before going home for the evening." The corner of her mouth rose upwards slightly. "Cookbooks."
Lena was probably the wildest of the people she knew. Her bright hair matched her personality, and the trainer laughed at the idea of actually participating in her class. "I will consider it," Natalie offered with a small smile as they made their way to the smoothie bar. "Though I think you overestimate my abilities." Dancing was something she reserved for a night alone at home with the animals - and even then, Adam judged her.
A small gasp slipped from her lips when she felt the force of a hand make contact with her. Pink flushed her cheeks as she tried to offer another laugh.
Approaching the smoothie bar, her gaze shifted towards the menu, glancing through the options. "I would like the Dream Team, please." Natalie started to the person behind the counter. "With almonds. And would it be possible to use oat milk instead of soy? Oh, thank you." Sparing a glance towards Lena, she tilted her head. "What would you like? My treat."
Her own height of five-ten had nothing on this man, and Natalie found herself looking up rather than down at an individual. The draw of contact between their hands lasted long enough for her to notice the slow connection. Once her hand was released, she pressed both palms against her legs, feeling a hint of heat rise in her features as she was called pretty.
"Oh, I'm sure that isn't true." Ever the modest one, and as if a nagging came from the back of her head that tried to push her for more social interaction, the brunette looked in the direction he had been headed, and then back at him. "Where were you headed?"
The concern that left her lips was completely genuine, feeling more worried for the individual she ran right into rather than herself, despite her position on the floor. Bright blue eyes caught her own before they shifted down to the hand offered to her. She extended her own hand, fingers curling around the base of his as she used his weight to pull herself up and onto her feet.
"Yes, I am. Thank you." The concern slowly left her features as a soft smile took over instead. "I should've been looking where I was walking. Are you okay?"
It was one of the rare days that Natalie didn't have two dogs following her around the school. The pair were too lazy this morning to get moving, and Nat offered them the chance to sleep in, staying home rather than coming to work for her. It was a break from the norm, and for it, the trainer felt herself a little lost without a companion or two at her side. Everything seemed so much more quiet.
Her day was coming towards an end, but while she had the spare time, the brunette headed for the library, interested in trying to find some cook books to bring home. There was always room for more meat-free recipes in her life, as long as she could find them. Her eyes were cast downwards to the ground as she walked the hallways in the direction of the library, unaware of her surroundings and without the aid of sensitive noses to warn her of anything she might have missed.
Or, in this case, anyone. There was the sudden force against her shoulder as she turned a corner, forcing Nat backwards from the impact until she fell. It wasn't a hard fall, but she immediately caught sight of bright blonde hair, and her eyes grew wide. "I- I am so sorry!"
The dynamic between Caleb and his sister always interested Natalie. Having no siblings herself, she couldn't imagine what it would be like to have someone so constantly in her life that stood on two legs. Constant human companionship was still something that rattled her brain, even if she tried for it on the one or two rare dates she would find herself on. A sibling was different though, so she could only live out the experience through other's stories. Caleb's included.
The familiar name made Nat's eyes light up as she straightened in her seat, and Oz's tail wagged a little faster just from mere mention. "I adore Clarke!" Now that she thought about it, it was strange that she hadn't brought up the red head earlier. She was her best friend, though admittedly they had a very strange friendship as it was. "She's such a sweetheart."
A soft laugh escaped Nat's lips at the mention of spending more quality time with an animal over people. "There's nothing wrong with that." Of course, the person who preferred the company of animals to humans would be biased.
Natalie was a huge fan of natural smoothies; packed with bananas, nuts, and other organic foods to create something that was both sweet and healthy. She smiled when he took the bottle, placing her own on the floor after having taken a sip. She unrolled the top of the paper bag, pulling out another home made treat - granola bars. She extended one out to him. It was important to keep energy up; using abilities could often be draining - and it showed on him.
"I sure hope so." Nat knew there was no way to be sure about the fact. There was always the possibility a trainer specializing in abilities like his could come along, or her own life would take an unexpected turn away from Bellefonte, despite her current plans to stay. "But for now we'll be here with you."
Biting into the granola bar, she stood up, rolling her shoulders to stretch a little. "Once you're ready, we can try again. But take your time."
This poor girl. Natalie had no idea what experience might have caused her to fear the bite of a dog, but the trainer didn't have the heart to hear that a person feared all dogs because of an experience. She knew better than most that when a dog bites, it's usually because it is scared. She took slow steps backwards towards Jodie. "Dog's aren't bad, sweetie." With a glance towards the German Shepard, the dog stood upright upon a silent request, though slowly as to try not to startle the red head.
"This is Jodie. She'd never hurt anyone." And following along, the dog opened it's mouth as wide as it could, and Natalie placed her hand in the space between her teeth, holding it there. Were the dog to bite down, it would definitely be enough to cause damage and hurt her. "See?"
Each power had its own side effects, and Rowan's appeared to be physically taxing on him. She could see it in his posture, and Jodie could smell it in the air around them. When he sat down, Natalie went over to her own backpack, pulling out a couple of shaker bottles and a paper bag. Returning to him, she pressed a knee into the floor, extending the bottle out to him. "Hope you like smoothies." The thick, brownish liquid sloshed in the container. "It's full of protein. You should drink some." She opened her own bottle, taking a sip of it.
