[Jaykobell]

Within a city such as Lamenolai, businesses of various types could be found. Touristic buildings, cultural areas, parks, restaurants; natives of Lamenolai and foreigners alike could enjoy the city. Even to those who lived here, it felt like there was always at least one place they hadn't had a chance to see yet.

Amidst all the businesses, one particular little one was slowly growing. It had started out as a modest, small one-floor gym in a quieter corner of town. Over time, many had come to like the friendliness of the place and the owner, and more subscriptions had lead to expansions. Although it wasn't the only gym in the whole city, this one seemed to be a sort of favorite to those who visited and frequented it. From its modest start, it was now a larger two-story gym.

The layout inside started out with the reception area; the receptionist, usually one of the trainers of the gym, welcomed those who entered. A tiny chip was required to pass through and into the gym; every member received one upon registering with the gym. Scanning the chip allowed the person to walk onward and see the gym for themselves. Of course, those who dwelled by the reception just a bit longer would see a number of pamphlets for private lessons, private trainers, public classes, towels, and many more.

First, past the reception, were the bathrooms and the changing rooms: one side of the women, and the other for the men. On the first floor were all the weight machines; large and tall windows had a nice view of the streets outside, and a large, wall-wide mirror at the end of the room allowed the athletes to see themselves as they exercised, to make sure they had the right posture.

On the second floor, which could be reached by going up the stairs, had all the cardiovascular machines; treadmills and bicycles were there, along with a variety of other machines. That same floor also had a few rooms, which were used for private lessons and group classes. A few televisions hung from the ceiling and walls here and there, which showed news about sports or the world in general. Finally, to add to the gym environment, music was playing throughout the building to motivate the people hard at work.

It was a cozy little gym; not much compared to bigger, more expensive ones, but it offered service and friendliness, along with very affordable prices. All those things alone were enough to earn a good amount of loyal customers.

And even amongst the customers, were those who worked at the gym, too.

It was part of his daily life to come here and to take care of himself. He was stronger in muscular exercises, but he could hold his own on a treadmill as well. Still, his muscular, bulky body did indicate that he spent far more time on the first floor than on the second.

He wasn't a body-builder nor intimidating, but his arms had nice forms to them, which were easy to see thanks to the small tank top he was wearing for his training; and no beer belly to be seen, despite how fitted the top was. The only thing that could give him an intimidating look was perhaps his height, since he reached well above six feet; past that, his skin was surprisingly pale — almost white. He stood out in a crowd, but he wasn't one to swim in the attention.

He took short breaks after a few repetitions; he took the opportunity to wipe the sweat from his forehead, and to look around to check out the customers. It was good to see the gym active and booming. It especially motivated him to see overweight or thin customers; they were making a hard, terrifying step in their lives, but he was proud to say his gym was where they wanted to start the journey.

When not taking a break, it was back to the weights. Every day was pretty similar; not exciting, but at least not a chore to get through.

[Kitsumi]

(I included a preview Silver made for me of what Elliot will look like once he has his edits - just click his picture for the link. He'll still have his antlers, they just weren't drawn on the preview. Just thought it would be nice for you to see how he will actually look when in Kuhna form.)

This was even more intimidating than it had been his first time walking into the gym. When Elliot had first entered three days ago, flier clutched tightly in his hand, he had been focused on filling out the forms necessary to sign up. It had been easier for him not to look at the various equipment, or the people using them who looked as if they had spent years here already. It had taken him a few days to work up the courage to come back, and now he was already thinking about running back out the door.

Having already scanned his chip and changed out of his street clothes, he hesitantly walked towards the smaller dumbbells. Every step he took increased his nervousness. He stood out like a sore thumb, or so he thought. He was too skinny to be in a place like this. Not in an unhealthy way - Elliot certainly ate enough, and he wasn't skin and bones. But he was spindly, just barely under six feet tall with long limbs and awkward movements. Coming to the gym wasn't something he wanted to do, but he was sick of the teasing nicknames his friends had latched onto him. They certainly hadn't meant to hurt him when they called him Twig, or Slenderman; it was all in good fun. But it had effected him nonetheless, and now that he was here, he might as well try to do something to change his physique for the better.

Of course, it was difficult to focus on the equipment in front of him when he was able to spot an attractive man, perspiring under the weight of the equipment he used. Elliot gulped, forcing his gaze down but finding it wandering back up to settle on the man again. If the young man had felt out of place before, now he felt it tenfold in his baggy t-shirt and ripped basketball shorts he had dug out of the bottom of his dresser.

Realizing that he had been standing in front of the dumbbells for a good ten minutes or so, Elliot blushed and grabbed the smallest weights. He wasn't sure of what the correct form was, and so he simply tried to imitate the things he had seen in movies and magazines. He held his arms at his sides, lifting one fist up towards his chest before dropping it as he lifted the other. His movements were sloppy and without any real rhythm. He still wasn't focusing. He had moved a few feet away from the other dumbbells, but his eyes continued to wander in the same direction as before. He knew he was staring...but could anyone really blame him? The guy was total eye candy. And this was one of the few places where Elliot could feel free to look without worrying about his friends noticing and questioning him.

[Jaykobell]

Really, he wasn't here to get ripped or to become one of the toughest body-builders. He wasn't even doing it to attract women, as some men did; aiming for that "firefighter" body to attract women to them. He wasn't absolutely good-looking, but he looked fine enough. A few women — and men, actually — glanced at him now and again. Even those who knew he was the owner of the business didn't hesitate to glance in his direction.

Usually, he didn't really bother to glance back at them. Today, though, he could feel someone staring at him. He wasn't just giving him a glance; he was legitimately staring. From the looks, he couldn't help but to instinctively look up and take a glance at the one staring: a scrawny-looking little man that he hadn't seen at the gym before. A new member, then? Maybe he was impressed at some of the people here; some did look like they'd been exercising for years.

The more time went by, the more... the little man didn't seem to know what to do. He stared at the dumbbells for a while. Well, in-between staring at him, too. Even when he finally picked them up, his movements were awkward. The poor fellow looked like someone who'd never ever heard of proper gym exercises; and unfortunately, unless he learned proper positions, he could exercise for months without seeing an inkling of progress.

He felt a little bad for the guy. As the owner, he felt a little obliged to make sure all of his members were on the right path.

He finished his set, and then got up from the pressing bench to go put down the weights back on their rack. He took a sip of water, wiped his forehead and his hands with his towel, and he slipped it around his neck before walking up to the new fellow.

He put a hand on the little guy's shoulder; a gesture that, he hoped, would give the guy a feeling of friendliness. It was like a pat friends gave each other; except his hand was surprisingly cold for someone who'd been doing weights and sweating over it. Just a detail, right?

"Hey," he greeted with a quiet voice, one that was a little surprising to hear from such a big guy. "Welcome to the gym. I don't think I've seen you here before." He paused and glanced down at the dumbbells the guy was trying to lift. "Would you like me to help with the dumbbells?" He could help him with everything else in the gym, but it seemed like they'd caught his attention above everything else.

[Kitsumi]

The whole 'inconspicuous' thing was something that Elliot had never learned. He tried to keep from being caught staring, but he was pretty sure that the man he continued to watch was aware of the smaller man's gaze. Hopefully, it could be easily played off as simply trying to glean some clues on how to work out by watching the other man. That was plausible, right?

It wasn't even like the man was the hottest he had seen. It was just the way he moved. Although he was sweating, he made his motions with the weights seem easy. Perhaps 'easy' wasn't exactly the right word. If it was easy, there would never be any results, right? Maybe it was just the way he moved with confidence. He knew what he was doing with the equipment. And he didn't seem to care about anyone else in the gym. He wasn't trying to show off or get attention. Plus, he had the most beautiful pale complexion that Elliot had seen in a while, if not ever. After seeing so many fake tans, it was refreshing to see someone who confidently carried a light skin tone.

Glancing over one more time, the skinny man realized that the one he had been checking out was no longer in his original position. Elliot didn't want to scan the room for him. Now that would have been way too obvious. And apparently, it wasn't required either.

The hand on his shoulder was a surprise. Elliot stiffened slightly in surprise, but didn't jump or show any other negative reactions. He turned, eyes widening as he realized that the man he had been ogling before was now speaking to him. Was he hallucinating from the strain of the dumbbells? No, that was impossible. His weights were the smallest, probably no bigger than five pounds if even that. And he hadn't even worked hard enough to begin sweating.

"Uh..." He wasn't off to the best start, obviously. "Oh, thanks. Yeah, this is my first time actually coming here. I'm Elliot." He looked down at the weights in his hands, suddenly embarrassed at their size. "It's pretty obvious that I have no idea what I'm doing." He chuckled nervously at his own lame attempt at making a joke. "I don't want to waste your time, but I'd definitely appreciate the help."

[Jaykobell]

It looked like this guy was the timid type; he could tell from how he'd tensed up just then. It was probably a massive accomplishment for him to have managed to come here, then. Hopefully he would get this see this little man more often starting today.

"Elliot," he echoed the name, "I see." He didn't always remember every single customer that came to the gym, but he did try his best to remember as many as he could. Of course, interacting personally with them made it a lot easier on his memory, that's for sure.

"Not a waste of time at all," he assured the little guy, though his quiet and sort of distant voice made it a little hard to tell. If anything, despite that, he didn't give off any bad vibes.

He eyed the weights the newcomer had picked up. "Hmm... there's a lot you can do with dumbbells. They're very good for beginners." He took his hand off the guy's shoulder and crossed his arms. "Do you have a goal in mind, coming here?" A common rookie mistake: going to the gym with no clear goal in mind. Those who used the machines and the weights without a good plan usually didn't see a lot of improvement. "Is it to lose weight, gain muscle mass, get cardiovascular endurance?" That would be the first step; and then... "If you want to gain muscle mass with these, there are many positions and exercises. Which parts of your body do you want to work out?"

[Kitsumi]

Elliot didn't miss the fact that the man didn't offer his name in return. He wasn't going to ask, though. It was generous enough for the guy to offer his assistance. He probably didn't need anyone following him around trying to make friends. Or maybe it was weird for guys to take time to introduce themselves to each other in gyms? It wasn't as if Elliot, as inexperienced as he was, would know if this were the case.

While he wasn't so sure that the man's time wouldn't be a waste, the assurance was enough to make Elliot feel better about taking the offered help. It wasn't something he would normally feel comfortable with, but at this point he knew that he needed all the help he could get.

Looking down at the weights in his hands, the smaller man was pleased that he had at least started with something that had potential for him as a beginner. "Uh, I'm not sure about a goal..." Elliot started to say. But as the other man continued speaking, he began nodding. "Oh, I'm definitely trying to build muscle mass." He had thought it would be obvious. Isn't that usually why men of his size came to the gym? "I guess I want to work on all of them. Or is that bad?" Trying to think fast, he blurted out, "I just want to be bigger. But if I had to focus on any one area, I guess it would be my torso? Abs, I think?" He really didn't have much of an idea what he was talking about.

[Jaykobell]

He was nowhere to be, so he had all the time in the world — figuratively — for this little fellow. It sounded like he was trying to think fast and come up with answers, but all he did was stand there and listen patiently. The kid didn't have to feel pressured to answer — saying that he had no idea what he wanted to do was completely fine too.

"Hmm, okay," he mused quietly, tilting his head and looking the guy from head to toes and back. It was a common goal for small guys like him, who were sometimes embarrassed at how small and "frail" they looked compared to the common standard for men.

"It's better to start with a specific set of spots you want to train. If you try to train them all at once, you won't see a lot of progress." Of course, unless this fellow could afford entire days of training; but if his assumption was right, this guy had a job and a life to maintain. Even him, being the owner of a gym and exercising every day, did other things besides exercising. "It's better to start slow when you're a beginner. If you try too much, you won't see progress, and you could become discouraged." How many had imagined they could do it all, and then ended up giving up because a single week hadn't been enough? It took a lot of time, patience, and discipline to reach a healthy body.

"Your arms and your abs are a good start, if you want to look bigger," he suggested, and he turned to the wall. "There are a lot of positions that need you to sit down on a mat. But there is an easy one to do when standing up that trains your upper body. That one might be easier to start with. What would you prefer?"

[Kitsumi]

Watching the larger man look him up and down, Elliot felt himself grow slightly nervous under his scrutiny. He knew of course that the other man was only trying to judge his physique in order to give him the most fitting advice, but it was still thrilling to be looked at for so long by such an attractive man. Of course, there wasn't much to look at that would actually be considered attractive, so Elliot knew that he could throw that thought right out the window.

"Okay," he said, nodding. Starting with a couple of focus points would probably be easier, anyways. Once he started to build muscle in one or two areas - assuming that he would actually be able to stick with this long enough to see results - it might make it easier once he switched to other areas. "I'm already feeling a bit discouraged," he admitted with a sheepish laugh. "So I should probably definitely focus on one or two areas."

Worrying his bottom lip with his teeth, Elliot shrugged. "Um, either would work to start." He knew he wasn't being very helpful, so he tried again. "I mean, standing up sounds good. I should probably start out with whatever is easiest."

[Jaykobell]

Ah, how often he'd heard those words. It was very difficult to maintain discipline; not only in sports and exercising, but also in many other things. He really did know what it felt like; the feeling that you would never reach a higher level. That crippling feeling that even brought you to ask yourself, "what's the point?"

"I don't blame you," he told Elliot when he admitted being discouraged. "It's hard to keep training. You're not the first to be discouraged... you won't be the last, either." Some registered never to come back again; some kept a good discipline for months, and then fell off the members' list. "Starting is easy. Keeping up is what's hard. That's why I built this gym: maybe I can help the people who don't know where to start." It was like a passing remark, at this point, that he was the owner of this place. A lot of people already knew, so it wasn't a secret, really.

So then, they both approved that starting with something simple would be the best thing to do. "Okay. Do you want me to show you first, or do you want an explanation?" Some weren't very comfortable getting touched and positioned, or they just learned better from seeing it first.

[Kitsumi]

Hearing that he wasn't the only one who had difficulty with motivation was actually encouraging. It meant that he wasn't the only one who came in here with dreams of faraway goals that may seem unattainable at first. It also strengthened his resolve. "I'm not going to quit," he said, a determined note in his voice. "I know others have probably said that. But I'm usually pretty good with keeping my commitments, once I make them."

Wait a minute. He had almost missed that last comment, but now that it registered, Elliot's eyes widened slightly. "Wait, are you the owner?" He had heard the name mentioned once or twice when signing up, and now wracked his brain trying to remember it. William? Wilhelm? It was on the tip of his tongue... "Wilheard, right? That's you?"

Now he was slightly out of sorts. Was he really being trained in the beginnings of weight lifting by the owner of the gym? Now he definitely didn't want to waste the other man's time, so he was quick to answer. "I think I learn better if I can see something in action. If you could show me, I might be able to mimic your movements."

[Jaykobell]

Well, it was good to hear it. Sure, many did say those words, stricken with motivation on the spot. The majority then realized maybe they'd bitten off more than they could chew, and they ended up giving up entirely. Some, though, did manage to pull through. If this little fellow managed to keep up even just a little, it might already help out his figure.

He tilted his head a little bit when he seemed surprised to hear that he was the owner. "Yeah. That's me," he said plainly, as if there were nothing to it. Sure, he owned the business, but he was a person too — he exercised like they all did. He wasn't any more special or anything like that. "Sorry... I guess you didn't know?" he asked, flashing just a bit of a sheepish smile at the little guy. It didn't stick around for very long, but there — shining in his mouth... canines? But it was hard to say.

"Okay, then." When he heard Elliot's answer, Wilheard moved to pick up some of the bigger weights. At this point, only a few proved to be an effort for him, but hopefully it wouldn't intimidate Elliot to see Wilheard pick up a pair of 40-pound dumbbells. And honestly, he could probably go heavier than that.

"It's pretty simple, so you can do it at home if you have a set," he started with, and he positioned himself where his side faced Elliot, so the little guy could see it all. "First, make sure you're standing straight. You hold one dumbbell in each hand. With one in each hand, you do a running motion with your arms." He demonstrated by bending his elbows at ninety-degree angles, and lifting one arm after the other, as if he were running. His body stayed straight, back straight and chin raised, and his arms moving pretty effortlessly. "Usually, you do sets of fifteen repetitions, with a break of a few seconds in-between sets of repetitions." Before long, his own repetitions were done, and he let his arms drop back to his sides.

"You can start with sets of five or ten, if you want," he added, turning now to face Elliot. "Did you see it? Do you need me to do it again?"

[Kitsumi]

Shaking his head slightly, Elliot gave Wilheard a half smile. "No, I didn't know," he answered. "I guess I just didn't expect the actual owner to take the time to give personal training." Then again, he didn't exactly know what sort of thing to expect from a business owner; it wasn't like he knew many of them. He had always just assumed that they preferred to keep their distance, keeping things strictly business without forming any sort of relationships with those who came in.

Looking from the 40-pound weights to the skinny 10-pound ones he held, the smaller man felt his cheeks gain a subtle shade of pink. Yeah, he obviously had a long ways to go. He had to take a deep breath and focus on the end result he was hoping for. It would all be worth it, if he were able to stick with this.

"Maybe I'll get a set," Elliot thought to himself out loud. "It might help to be able to get at least a bit of extra lifting in on days that I'm unable to make it here." At the moment, his schedule would only allow him to come in two or three times a week. Even that was only possible because he had rearranged a few things. He was happy that it had worked out for him to come in today, though - watching Wilheard model the correct form and movements for him proved to be incredibly helpful.

Giving a single nod, he furrowed his brows in concentration. "I think I saw how it's done. Let's see...like this?" He mirrored the position Wilheard had taken, and tried to copy the movements. He was still a bit clumsy, fumbling one of the weights at first, but this attempt was far better than his first had been. After repeating the motion ten times, he dropped his arms.

[Jaykobell]

Wilheard nodded when Elliot said he might get a set for home. Even Wilheard himself had a set at home, along with a few basic machines. Sometimes his schedule just didn't allow for him to come down to the gym. Sure, he was the owner, but that actually meant that sometimes, he had to be out and about dealing with business pertaining to the gym.

He watched Elliot carefully, and while his technique was still awkward, it could only be expected from a beginner. Still, it was a whole lot better than what he'd witnessed just earlier. With a little bit of practice, Elliot would have this particular posture down. After that, he could continue to train that one, while learning another one on the side. So on and so forth, until he had a few more positions to help diversify his training regimen.

"It looks good," Wilheard complimented with a nod, although he did give some pointers on what to look out for. Some didn't keep their back straight; others didn't keep their arms curved to a ninety-degree angle. "If you keep practicing, you'll get better; and then you'll be able to learn more postures. It'll make training less repetitive and boring."

[Kitsumi]

Elliot soaked up the information that was fed to him like a sponge soaking up water. The pointers were helpful, although he knew he probably wouldn't remember all of it at first. Training in front of a mirror would probably help. It would be good to check his posture as he moved, make sure it looked correct.

"Thanks," he said finally. "I really appreciate you taking the time to help me. I probably would have ended up pulling a muscle or something from doing it wrong, if you hadn't come along." Although he was partially exaggerating, it was a liable concern. It was actually one of the reasons he had put off getting in shape for so long - he was scared of the possibility of injury.

[Jaykobell]

"No problem," Wilheard answered to Elliot's thanks. "Teaching and coaching are what I like doing the most. That's why I opened the gym." True, he could've had other motives, like general fitness and a healthy lifestyle, and he could've left the actual training and coaching to his employees. But really, he liked nothing more but to share that knowledge with others, and when people took the advice to heart and came out stronger than before, and healthier than before, he was proud to see it.

"Well, you can pull a muscle even when you have the right posture," he pointed out. "Sometimes, the body may be weak, or it may be tired, or you might've exercise one posture for a long time, but pull a muscle on a new one, or you might pull from not doing stretched properly before exercising..." The list could go on, but he would be keeping Elliot here all day if they had to get really technical. "There's always a certain risk with physical fitness, but if you're careful, the risk of injury is small."

"I'm here often, if you want any more help. For now, would you prefer that I leave you to practice alone, or would you like me to keep supervising?" Some wanted just enough to practice on their own after, while others were a little bit more insecure or paranoid. He had no intention of smothering Elliot if the boy wanted to practice alone or away from prying eyes; the same applied to all those he helped, too. He was a fitness coach, not a nanny.