The two hours spent doing combat training with Kalko and Devon after that served to not only remind her that her body was not entirely recovered from the previous day, but that she really had no clue how to handle herself in a fight. At least working with Devon made her less irritable than working one-on-one with Kal - and she didn't have to keep everything so covered up.
By the time they were finished she was sweating, tired, a little bit bruised and a lot more relaxed than she'd been since she first arrived. She was starting to understand how throwing her mind and body into something wholeheartedly could distract her from her cravings. The slowly developing strength and tone in her muscles also made her feel more in control, and that was a good feeling.
They decided to stop past the kitchens on their way upstairs for something a bit tastier than water. Devon found some bottles of soda in the fridge and tossed one to Sierra before screwing off the cap on his own and taking a long gulp. He leaned back on the counter and watched Sierra drink from hers speculatively.
"You know that you're doing pretty well, don't you?" he mused out of the blue.
"You don't need to patronize me. I know I suck at the combat stuff, and I haven't exactly been great at anything else yet. If I wasn't a skin walker they'd probably throw me out on my arse."
"You're gonna get there, just give it a little more time. Hell, I thought I knew a thing or two about fighting, but Kal clearly knows how to take everything up a few notches. He's a good trainer - he'll bring us both up to speed."
"I guess... It would help a lot though if he wasn't such a dick," Sierra grumbled.
Devon snickered.
"Kal is more like a machine than a human - you need to take emotion out of everything he says and does with you. Most of his actions are motivated by strategy, not feeling."
"If you say so," she replied with a shrug of her shoulders.
She headed towards the exit and turned at the doorway with a smirk on her face, followed by a series of robotic movements and the phrase "Hasta la vista, baby," in a dry Austrian-accented monotone.
Caught by surprise, Devon nearly fell on the floor laughing.
"Oh that's priceless - but we'd need to give our Terminator a more Hawaiian accent somehow," he noted between tears of laughter.
They were still recovering from that little jibe together as they walked towards the stairs to go up and shower, when Devon suddenly hesitated and nearly dropped his cold drink. A short, clumsy fumble resulted in him catching it seconds before it actually hit the ground. Unfortunately that didn't stop it from fizzing over onto his hands and all over the floor. But he barely noticed because, by that point, his focus was solidly on something in the great hall. Sierra moved up to his side to get a better look.
"She's back!" he noted a little too excitedly.
Senka's eyes danced over to him and she scowled disapprovingly as she made her way across the hall towards them with Adam following on behind. She did not look like she was in a good mood. Then again, Sierra had yet to see her in anything resembling a good mood...
"What happened?" Sierra inquired politely as she stepped aside. She had to pull a somewhat gobsmacked Devon out the way.
"The mission was a complete waste of time," Adam informed them, looking a little bone-weary and unimpressed himself.
"What do you mean? There was no-one out there?" Sierra probed.
Senka huffed. "It was just Hulk Logan."
Her voice was deep and sultry, with a somewhat Russian flair. It was sexy and dangerous and suited her perfectly.
"Wow! Really?" Devon inquired innocently, no doubt still in shock from seeing her so unexpectedly again.
"No, not really, you idiot! It is a code name. Has anyone even bothered to give these morons a proper induction yet?" she asked no one in particular as she stormed passed them and headed up the stairs.
Adam let her go ahead, choosing instead to linger with Devon and Sierra. He looked at Sierra.
"How have you been getting on?" he asked, genuinely interested.
"Code names?" she inquired, completely avoiding his question.
"Yes, some of the people we run into regularly have code names. It's so that if anyone intersects our radio transmissions or the reports we send through to the Order, they won't be so easily identified," he informed them.
"So Hulk Logan is...?"
"Nurlan Khan. He's a white ape. Let's just say I can understand why some people believe in the yeti," Adam volunteered.
It took both Devon and Sierra a moment to process that little bit of information.
"There any Pink Panther's out there?" Devon asked after a moment's consideration.
"Yes actually. He's a feline art thief that pops up the papers now and then," Adam replied without realising what Devon was actually asking.
Devon looked disappointed and went back to sipping on what was left of his drink. A moment later his focus was drawn to something above them and he bolted up the stairs. Sierra guessed that Senka was on the move. She looked back at Adam.
"Have you done any transition training yet?" he inquired conversationally as they started up the stairs together at a more sedate pace.
"Not yet. No one seems all that keen for me to morph around here. I guess I can't really blame them after what happened with you," she remarked, glancing at the floor guiltily.
She felt his hand touch her shoulder reassuringly.
"I can't say that I enjoyed the process, but I was deeply curious about it all so finding out first hand wasn't the worst thing that could have happened to me," he informed her with a warm smile. "Besides, now that it's done, I can work with you a bit more closely - if you're okay with that?"
Sierra shrugged indecisively. "What did you have in mind?"
"Well I want to understand your creature a bit better," he explained. "I'd like to observe you and gather a little data on skin walkers, maybe do a few simple tests...?"
Sierra glanced up at him suspiciously.
"These tests involve pain, scalpels or needles?" she asked warily.
"That depends," Adam replied. "How painful are your transformations? I don't have any plans for medical testing, but I'm pretty sure I'll be needing you to trigger quite a few changes."
"Bones rearranging and muscles pulling apart, then reconnecting? What could possibly be painful about that?" She asked rhetorically.
Adam grinned sheepishly.
"We know so little about your kind and I'm desperate to fill in the blanks," he admitted, "even if it means asking a stupid question from time to time."
He paused as she got to her bedroom door and looked at her studiously.
"You should probably know that Jocelyn has decided not to give any information we gather on you to the Order until we've cross-checked it and received your permission to send it through. So if you're worried that your presence among us is going to kick up some kind of crazy hype in the were-world, you don't need to. No one knows you're here."
That little revelation floored Sierra. She'd been feeling like such an outsider that she hadn't even considered that Jocelyn would give her the same level of consideration as she gave to the others. Deep down she still felt like a total outsider, even though she couldn't deny that her genes made her a very definite member of their exclusive club.
"Thanks," she replied softly with genuine gratitude.
She couldn't really think of anything else to say right then.
Adam flashed his charming smile at her and dug his hands into his pockets.
"Well think about the testing and let me know. I'd be honoured to be accepted into your world."
Sierra smiled warmly at him.
"I will," she promised.
He beamed and carried on to his room on the opposite landing. She grabbed a clean set of clothes, a towel and her toiletries then headed for the showers.