Weight of the World-p.r.s

31-old habits die hard

It was somewhat difficult to figure out Emily's fighting style, but Brooke managed. The younger girl's swings were similar to her element in a way, strong and grounded, focused on defense rather than offense. And Brooke found it difficult to be offensive when a sharp pain flared from her ankle at every movement. She had to grit her teeth to prevent herself from crying out in pain, especially when Emily landed a blow against her weak ankle. Brooke heard a worrying crack and felt herself topple, but she just accepted her fate and let herself fall. She really should've gone in sooner. Hitting the ground with a thud, she tried to act enthusiastic when Emily's face lit up with pride. Though, Brooke found it easier to mask her emotions with the rangers other than her two childhood friends. She had always felt a need to be honest with them- but right now she just focused on the younger girl standing over her.

"See, ya did it," Brooke pointed out, quickly sitting up and drawing her injured ankle closer to her body. She instantly noticed that it was slightly bent in a direction that was not normal, but she hid it by crossing her legs. "Now, may I ask, what's this about?" She questioned, Emily instantly freezing.

"What do you mean?" Emily feigned ignorance, but Brooke silently called bullshit almost instantly- grey eyes flashing as she raised her brows and pursed her lips slightly. The yellow ranger just stared at the silver at the moment, almost sweating under her unwavering stare, before letting out a sigh and a weak laugh. "I... want to be tougher. I feel like I'm not holding my weight, that I'm weaker than you and the others. And you're tough, and I want to be like you." She admitted, Brooke biting back a comment that she knew she shouldn't say.

Honestly, Brooke wanted to laugh. The way that Emily was looking up to her, and comparing herself to her, was almost sickening. She didn't know what to say that would come out as nice, her eyes flashing multiple times and settling on a grey-gold as she thought up a response. No wonder Jayden practically despised being put on a pedestal. "...I'm not the right person to look up to, Em. I appreciate it, but," Sucking in a sharp breath, Brooke tried to focus on coming up with a proper response rather than the pain in her ankle. "I'm going to sound like a real cocky bitch here, but, you physically can't be on my level. I'm not human, and you are. My brain and body are wired completely different from yours, and everyone else's on the team. Don't compare yourself to me- I- it's just not possible, y'know?" A nervous laugh escaped Brooke's lips as the pain in her ankle increased, her squeezing her eyes shut for a moment and curling her clawed hands into fists. "I'm not as tough as you think, either. I'm just a damn good actor because that's what I had to do to survive. Ask Red, he's seen me at my worst so many times. My confidence is almost fake. I'm really not who you think I am." Her claws dug into her skin, drawing blood, but luckily it was dark enough for Emily not to notice.

Who was mostly silent, her voice wavering as she spoke again. "If yours is fake- then what is mine?" Emily muttered, Brooke biting back a scream.

She couldn't deal with this right now. "Emily. It's late, you're overthinking things, really. You're alive. That's the most important thing and don't- just... get some rest. I'll pick up here, okay? We can talk about it tomorrow," Brooke felt like an asshole, but it was the only thing she could say without hurting Emily's feelings even more. She hadn't even been mentally prepared for training- let alone a therapy session with an ankle that was most likely snapped out of place. "Please. Get some rest, and sleep well. You're doing just fine." She tried to shoot the blonde a small smile, but Emily just returned it with a small nod.

"Goodnight, Brooke," Emily mumbled, setting her training sword back on the rack and making her way back into the Shiba House.

When she was gone, Brooke instantly uncrossed her legs, forcing herself to stand up. She didn't stay up for long, however, as her ankle gave out for the second time and she found herself back on the ground. Letting out a whimper, Brooke squeezed her eyes shut, trying to force herself not to think about the pain. She didn't even know why it hurt so bad compared to the other times- and she was worried that it had been broken for a second time. She was fucked then because she couldn't fight with a broken ankle. Even though she needed to fight. It was her job. Forcing herself to sit back up, Brooke knew she was too tired to shift fully- and in too much pain. So, she just tried to bear it, pushing herself back onto her feet.