The day had started off almost the same as any other day. The shower to help her wake up, breakfast and the small shot of espresso that Aria could hardly live without. Caffeine sometimes was her only weakness. She needed at least a little bit each day. Then there was the bloody tram to the training deck. If the ship wasnâ€™t so huge, Aria would probably forgo the tram altogether and run there herself. But taking the tram was pretty much the only way to get from one deck to another.<br/><br/>Luckily, being up as early as she was, there was little traffic. In another hour or so, the trams would begin to fill in earnest with everyone waking up and making their rounds about the ship. Rolling her neck to stretch a bit, Aria stepped out of the tram quickly once on the deck. Twisting her long red hair up into a tight bun, Aria smirked; the training room was almost empty.<br/><br/>She maybe got through half of her daily routine before a small wrench was chucked into her system. She might have been here for four or five hours, and the deck had filled substantially. She heard cheering and yelling, coaxing and punches landing on skin. Blowing a strand of hair from her face, Aria passed an arm over her forehead to brush away the sweat. She heard a solid blow and winced with a smirk on her face, seeing the loser come skidding to the floor.<br/><br/>They had started sparring early today. Taking a deep breath to calm herself quickly, Aria tossed her head to the side in an attempt to move the hair from her face. She stepped off her track, her curiosity getting the best of her as she wandered closer to the mob of people that surrounded the sparring mat. She reached into the pocket of her pants, pulling out a roll of boxing tape, wrapping a few layers over each hand as she walked into the crowd. She passed people effortlessly until she saw who was the head of all the commotion today.<br/><br/>He was tough looking enough, but that wasnâ€™t stopping others to challenge him. To Aria, he looked more of an engineer brute than anything. He was clumsy, mostly throwing his weight around and getting lucky. Cracking her knuckles, Aria couldnâ€™t help but laugh. This was quite comical. Someone nudged her, and Aria glanced down at the short hybrid of a fox that was running the bids.<br/><br/>â€œRiley my girl, tell me you can give these savages a run for their money more than these sorry excuses for soliders.â€ He murmured to her, looking disappointed as he handed over a few credits to another man. Aria chuckled and rubbed her chin.<br/><br/>â€œYou know how much trouble Iâ€™ll get into with my Major if I get caught bringing in another brute to Med Deck for a patch up?â€ Aria said.<br/><br/>â€œOh these games are legal enough! And since when were you one to pay attention to legalities?â€<br/><br/>â€œI never said legalities.â€ Aria said, pointing a finger at the fox to warn him from twisting her words. â€œIâ€™m more worried about liabilities.â€ The fox gave a toothy grin.<br/><br/>â€œThen youâ€™re in. Give me 50 credits and Iâ€™ll double your winnings if you donâ€™t knock him out on the first round.â€ He said and Aria rolled her eyes.<br/><br/>â€œYouâ€™re gonna make me go two rounds with this bozo?â€ Aria grumbled.<br/><br/>â€œEveryone thinks the odds are against you; Iâ€™m one of the few who knows your secret Riley.â€<br/><br/>"Yea and after this everyone will know." Aria said, keeping  her gaze on the fox, emerald green eyes serious for all that a part of her was itching for the fight to happen.<br/><br/>â€œAlright alright, Iâ€™ll triple your winnings! Whatâ€™daâ€™ya say girl?â€<br/><br/>â€œBloody thief.â€ Aria answered, but handed over the credits nonetheless. At this point, the brute was being cocky, walking around the mat, and taunting anyone else to challenge him. Aria pulled at her hair, letting it fall to her waist in loose strands of the vibrant red she was born with. Most people thought she had it genetically changed, but Aria usually dismissed that argument altogether.<br/><br/>Stepping onto the mat brought Aria the usual whistles and calls of excitement as she twirled her hair back up effortlessly. â€œYouâ€™ve got a big mouth,â€ Aria said as she calmly did her hair up. â€œWhich explains the muffin top waist line and the flabby chest. Is that all you engineers do now a days? Damn, Iâ€™m glad I got out of that unit.â€ She said with a smirk, looking up at the man who was now too furious to be questioning the fight.<br/><br/><br/>It was like watching a bull and its fighter. Aria continued to taught and wave her red flag, letting the bull charge before effortlessly dodging out of the path. She kept it interesting, wanting her cut of a hundred and fifty credits. Twirling her fingers gently, Aria couldnâ€™t help but laugh as she dodged a punch, sidestepped another hit. Round two.<br/><br/>â€œMy turn.â€ Aria murmured, rolling her neck once more. Now he was drained, exhaustion ebbing at him. People were scrambling about the mat to get a better view now as Aria ran at him. Just as he was about the swing she jumped, pushed off from his hand to spin, landing a decent kick to his face. Landing behind him, Aria chuckled, seeing the dazed look on his face as he rubbed away the blood from his nose. â€œStill wanna dance pretty boy?â€ Aria asked, holding her hands out in a taunt. Narrowing her eyes, Aria watched and waited.<br/><br/><br/>The steps unfolded in her mind just like they always did in a fight. She could predict the movements of her opponents if she fought them long enough. She could almost see their weaknesses and knew how to turn it against them.<br/><br/>There. He had a bad knee; he was leading with his other leg. Aria waited before running a few steps and sliding at the last minute, his knuckle managed to cut into her forehead at her hairline, but she still got a solid kick to the weak knee. The man let out an anguished yell, falling to his knee before passing out entirely.<br/><br/>A few men cheered, others groaned at the loss of the bet. Aria took a deep breath and stood up, blowing a strand of hair that had got loose from her face before looking over at her fox friend. She held up a hand and he grinned before handing over her share.<br/><br/>â€œMight wanna get a bandaid.â€ He said, pointing to her forehead. â€œSame time next week?â€<br/><br/>â€œNot on your life.â€ Aria said, growling as she now felt the warm blood trickling down her forehead. She walked over to her opponent and took his arm like it was nothing. â€œCome on big boy, letâ€™s get you fixed up.â€ With the help of another guy, probably the manâ€™s partner or friend, Aria managed to get the limp man to medical bay.<br/><br/><br/><br/>Looking around, Aria was almost relieved when she didnâ€™t see any sign of her Major being on deck. That was a relief. â€œSee to it that heâ€™s taken care of.â€ Aria muttered. She wasnâ€™t worried, the medics would have him back up and running within the hour. Sighing quietly, Aria rubbed her neck as she wandered back out of the hallway. If she was lucky, she could get out of here unnoticed; it was annoying in medical bay sometimes.<br/><br/>As she walked down another hallway towards the tram, another medical officer, a synthetic, caught sight of her injury.<br/><br/>â€œYou require medical assistance.â€ It drawled out.<br/><br/>â€œNo Iâ€™m fine.â€<br/><br/>â€œYou are injured.â€ It continued.<br/><br/>â€œItâ€™s just a scratch.â€ Aria countered, trying not to growl in frustration.