In mixed groups

The group by the TV all stand and make their way toward the kitchen, everyone gathering up different plates of sandwiches, some pouring themselves some water or taking some fizzy drink from the fridge. Eventually they all come to settle in small groups around the dining table, bench or living room. Michael finds himself besides Kate, Christian and Amy. Brianna ends up by the counter with Danielle, and James heads back over to the living room to continue playing between bites.

"Still surprised you never mentioned you did martial arts man, what kind of style do you do?" Christian continued on, overly eager to discuss the topic given his inexperience.

The subject caught Kate's attention as well, lifting her eyes to watch Mike as he explained further.

Munching on a bit of his sandwich, Mike paused to swallow before explaining. "Well, the gym I go to is a bit of a mixed bag. They start you off with boxing and regular fitness drills, then they do their best to teach you some grappling and Jiu Jitsu, and then after that you can take specialty classes to develop what you want. For me I went with Muay Thai"

"Which one's that one?" Amy asked, sipping on her water.

"It's uh, I don't know if you've seen it or not actually, but to explain it briefly, it's a style all about maximising your offensive and defensive tools. Instead of just punching and kicking, a lot of it revolves around using your knees and elbows as well."

"It's that 'art of 8 limbs' things huh?" Kate tacks on, earning a nod from Mike,

"Yeah exactly that, you watch MMA?" he replies, a little surprised by her knowledge.

With a nod, she takes another bite. "Mum and I used to watch a bunch of that stuff, always thought it was cool"

"It's definitely cool" Christian agrees, "Maybe if I wasn't so busy with the swimming team I'd give it a go"

Michael shrugs, "No reason why you can't pick up a lesson here and there man, I'd definitely encourage you to get into it, you've got the body type and the fitness to support it." he observes,

Christian chuckles, "Yeah? Well if it's coming from the expert..."

The Aussie scoffs, before reaching over and giving him a light punch on the arm, to which Christian doesn't seem all that affected. "Yeah nah, you'd be fine. Arms like those? You'd have reach advantage on most people. What do you do? Butterfly or something?"

"From time to time, mostly freestyle and backstroke though" Christian nods, "You swim?"

"Only for fun, Dad and I used to go to the beach every week back in Australia. Took me ages just to get past the doggy paddle though" Mike snickers, Christian adding his own chuckle as Amy tilts her head to the side.

"Hey Mike?" she pokes,

"Yo"

"Is the martial arts thing something everyone can do? Or just boys?" she asks, pushing her empty plate forward on the dining table,

"Oh, no for sure it's something everyone can do - should do, in my opinion. Especially women, even if you don't make a full time thing out of it, at least learning those fundamentals for a rainy day, yknow? Just in case? Definitely worthwhile." he explains fervently, giving encouraging looks to both girls at the table.

"Well, what do you say then babe? Think we should go with Mike to one of his classes sometime?" Christian suggests, wrapping an arm around the blonde's shoulders.

"Sure! I think it could be fun, and if Brianna was right then watching Mike do his thing would be interesting to watch" she grinned playfully.

Brianna and Danielle eat in relative silence for a few minutes, neither girl all too familiar with the other. Until Dani breaks the silence after taking a large bite from her sandwich.

"Soooo, I've seen you out on the track during lunches before. You work out?" the brunette quizzes,

Brianna nods softly, using a napkin to wipe some sauce from the corner of her mouth, "Yep, gymnastics and running for the most part"

"No kidding? You ever think about joining the cheer squad? I mean if you do gymnastics that's like... most of it" Dani replied,

The ginger girl shakes her head, "Nah, I don't think it's for me. Fitness I can get behind but pom-poms and high pitched chanting? Not my thing. No offense"

Dani just chuckles for a second, "None taken, it would certainly be a large shift to see you trade those cargo pants for a bright, frilly skirt."

"You think?" Brianna scoffed, "I'd die of embarassment."

"Nonsense, not to sound creepy or anything but I've seen you in the changerooms before. You're hot as fuck, nothing a girl like you needs to feel embarassed about" the brunette encourages, giving Brianna a cheerful smile,

"Pft, well it sounds a little creepy not gonna lie, but, thanks" she chuckles,

"Anytime," Dani winks, "So, how do you like the lodge so far?"

"It's awesome, Amy dragged me out onto the deck earlier, the view is insane. That and apparently there's a reading area upstairs?" Brianna remembers,

"Yes! Cozy little spot, a little smaller than the living room. That's where all the junk like Monopoly, Cluedo and all the cards get stored, plus my family stocked it with books, mostly historical stuff, not sure if that's your bag." Dani explains,

Brianna shrugs, "I don't mind it, but yeah I'm more of a fiction gal. Still, I might check it out later."

"Well, I'm going to ask if anyone's up for a bit of swimming after lunch, it's a bit late to walk all the way down to the lake, but I made sure the pool was clean before we arrived. Care to join?"

The prospect was a tad confronting for Brianna, more than just skirts and cheering, she found the idea of wearing swimwear in front of so many strangers a little uncomfortable. She envied Danielle in that regard, the brunette oozed confidence, seemingly without any shade of self consciousness.

"Uhhh, maybe? Might dip my feet in." was all Brianna would commit to,

"That's fine, just want to make sure you feel included" Dani smiles, reaching to collect Brianna's plate and dropping both of theirs in one of the sinks. The redhead smiled softly and nodded her thanks, before Danielle skipped over to the dining table and loudly planted her hands down to grab everyone's attention. "Yo, who's up to get changed and go for a dip in the pool?"