"Puberty," she mumbled. "I'm flat."  It still stung a little, but she wasn't as upset as before.  After talking with Cafas she had started to look at female athletes online.  She wasn't alone with being flat.

>>"When you're swinging a punch, you want to make sure you have more balance, and turn your body into the punch, carry our momentum a bit."

Then she watched how Serena moved her upper body. It looked like the same kind of coordination she used when turning really quick while swimming. She had to move her whole body with the motion. Concentrating, with an idea of what to do this time, Abby swung her body from the waist as she extended her arm at the dummy. It felt like she hit it harder than before. Before she could pull back, fer foot slipped on the flooring and she tumbled to the ground. "Ouch. I guess my feet weren't right that time," she laughed a little.

Serena smiled widely at the other girl, suppressing a chuckle at the way that she responded, somewhat resigned. "You're just barely into puberty, some people are slightly later bloomers." She reassured. Not that there was anything wrong with being flatter chested at all, if anything it was likely to actually be more convenient in the long run. Oddly, she wondered which form Mirror preferred.

"Wait wait, you talked with Cafas about this?" She giggled out loud. "Oh my goodness, my dad had to deal with all of that on his own, I wonder if Cafas was as embarrassed and awkward as he had been?" She mused out loud, clearly entertained. She giggled again at the mental image. "Oh dear, memories."

Serena smiled at the girl widely. "That was much, much better Abby! Seriously, well done." She cheered for the girl. "Hmmm, I imagine the floor in here is a little slippery for you bare foot. Are you more comfortable like that then, or do you just not have good workout shoes on you?" She asked with a smile.

Abby didn't know about late blooming, but she did know she was probably the only girl her age with a flat chest. But she was getting used to the idea.

>>"Wait wait, you talked with Cafas about this? Oh my goodness, my dad had to deal with all of that on his own, I wonder if Cafas was as embarrassed and awkward as he had been?"

"He didn't look embarrassed. He told me he'd introduce me to older women like me," Abby frowned. She didn't think Cafas had trouble with it. He seemed calm, though she hadn't really looked to him much during that talk.

>>"Hmmm, I imagine the floor in here is a little slippery for you bare foot. Are you more comfortable like that then, or do you just not have good workout shoes on you?"

Abby staggered to her feet. "My skin is really sensitive. Legs and feet a whole lot more. I think it's because of a natural shark's lateral line. Shoes and I don't really get along." Abby shrugged a little. "I usually got barefoot or wear sandals. I might feel better with a different kind of shoe, but I haven't really tried."

Serena smiled gently at the other girl as she spoke. She understood she supposed, at her age being a bit freaked out by stuff like that. Serena hadn't really cared at the time, she was too much of a bookworm to notice other people very much, that and then the whole death of a parent thing kind of took over most of her puberty... Thank god Jake was such a good influence overall.

She was still amused at the mental image of the man with the pink hair trying to explain puberty to Abby. She wondered idly what he was really like. It would definitely be interesting to meet him, especially if he cared about and was helping Abby through things like this. She couldn't imagine what it would have been like if her circumstances had happened a few years earlier, near Abby's age. How she would have handled that. "Well that was very nice of him, I'm glad to hear you have somebody who cares for you at the mansion a lot." She replied, sincerely.

Serena nodded, understanding flooding to her. She wondered if there was anybody at the mansion that could help make her something that she was more comfortable with. She made a mental note to ask around about that after the session. "I understand, I'm sorry you have to deal with that." All powers had their downsides, she supposed. Her own most certainly seemed to.

She smiled at Abby. "Try 4 or 5 more times and then we'll take a break from this one and move onto the next one. Remember, shoulders squared, turn your body into the punch." She soothed.

>>"I understand, I'm sorry you have to deal with that."

Abby smiled a little. "It's not so bad in water. Or when it rains a lot. She was happy the conversation was moving away from the topic of... growing up. She didn't really like talking about it. Though she had heard several older girls exchange "tips".

>>"Try 4 or 5 more times and then we'll take a break from this one and move onto the next one. Remember, shoulders squared, turn your body into the punch."

Agreeing to the instructions was easy. Doing them not so much. Abby fell down two more times before she figured out how her feet needed to be to keep her standing. Her front foot had to stay put. Not move a bit. Her back one needed to be on the balls of her feet so her foot could move. After that, she stayed on her feet when practicing the punch. Once she had done it right four time, she stopped and turned to Serena.

The blonde nodded in understanding. Serena wondered what it was like for shifters sometimes, she could only shift for a brief period of time, and her alternative form was very far from an animal. She hoped to never have to do it in front of Abby, the girl was lovely but Serena terrified herself with her power, she didn't want to freak out someone as sweet as the younger blonde.

She vividly remembered the first time she'd activated blood form, it had felt so surreal at first, like a dream. And when she'd finished she passed out. Much to her dismay without her clothes, as she had kind of passed straight through them when she'd.

Serena smiled and watched Abby. She wanted to see how much the girl could work out on her own before actually giving her anymore advice, and to her credit the girl adjusted her feet's positioning until it was easier for her to stand up. Obviously rules that applied to Serena's fighting didn't necessarily apply to Abby, but there was still some overlap and she was definitely taking it on board.

"Very very good Abby! A big part of learning how to handle yourself is working stuff out and hard work, unlike with actual learning there is a lot less hand holding." She smirked. "Especially when you're not taking formal lessons." She paused for a second. "It would probably be smart for you to take some from Sam at some point, he's a lot better at this than I am." She admitted, a little embarrassed.

>>"Very very good Abby! A big part of learning how to handle yourself is working stuff out and hard work, unlike with actual learning there is a lot less hand holding. Especially when you're not taking formal lessons."

Abby beamed at the praise. She had done it! She was learning how to protect herself. Having someone to teach her was a lot better than trying to figure it out herself. She had seen other students try that method.

>>"It would probably be smart for you to take some from Sam at some point, he's a lot better at this than I am."

Sam seemed to be someone Serena looked up to. Maybe he was like a brother. Brothers were nice to have. At least, Abby thought so, she didn't have any brothers that she knew of. Or maybe...

"Would you introduce me first?" she asked. While she liked meeting new people, it helped to have someone she knew there. Abby was learning lots of tricks to help with being so shy.

Serena felt a little wave of pride that Abby was getting this, and taking on Serena's advice so well. She still wasn't sure how she felt about being viewed as a role model, or a true adult by kids like Abby. But she didn't seem to have screwed any of it up thus far, which definitely counted for something as far as she was concerned.

Serena idly wondered if having a new student that wanted to and was even eager to learn would have a positive impact on Sam. He didn't exactly have to dial up the role model act around her, she had known him for so long that they were relatively at ease around each other, even after maiming each other a little bit in training. She smiled at that thought, though it also filled her with some sadness. She was growing up.

A small nod went Abby's way. "When I feel like you've gotten to the point, and if you still feel eager to learn, I'll introduce you." She replied with a warm tone. "He's a good person, and an excellent teacher." She added. Sam was most definitely better than her, her admiration with him was more from her teenage years. He wasn't as old as most of the teachers, and he had understood her fairly well in a time when she hid most of her feelings.

She crossed her arms and quirked an eyebrow. "Well, I think it's time to work on the avoiding getting hit part of things." She responded, some excitement in her voice at how well it was progressing. "After this we can take a short break to drink some water, then resume." She added.

Walking over to one of the dummies she'd set up she gestured. It was programmed for someone closer to her height than Abby's, as most people wouldn't be used to swinging at kids. "This one will swing every 10 to 15 seconds, in 3 different positions, I want you to stand in front of it for a minute, and try to avoid as much as possible." She stepped up in front of it in demonstration.

It swung an overhead hook, she ducked underneath it and then went back to her ready position. It then jabbed at her and she took a step to the side. Thirdly and finally the dummy threw an uppercut style punch and Serena avoided this with a simple back step. It was pretty slow all things considered, and a real person could probably swing faster than it with ease, even if they didn't fight much.

She stepped away and moved for Abby to try. If any punches connected it wouldn't hurt much, after all she'd made sure this one was heavily padded.

>>"Well, I think it's time to work on the avoiding getting hit part of things. After this we can take a short break to drink some water, then resume."

Abby bounced a little on her toes. This was the part she was really looking forward to. Knowing how to fight was all good. But she wanted to know how to not get hit at all. This would help with that.

>>"This one will swing every 10 to 15 seconds, in 3 different positions, I want you to stand in front of it for a minute, and try to avoid as much as possible."

It sounded easy. Then Serena made it look easy. But the older girl had been trained by this Sam guy. And he seemed to be as good or better than Cafas. And Cafas trained everyday. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Abby moved to stand in front of the dummy. She made sure her feet were like she had them when punching, though she lowered her back foot more than when she did that.

It started with the same first attack it had with Serena. Remembering her moves was easy, and the dummy was aiming way higher than her head. She flinched a little before ducking her head down like Serena had. The arm swung wide over her head. Then the dummy went back to it's start. Abby felt more confident for the next one. When the dummy moved like it had for Serena, she twisted away from the fist. Then they were back to the start. The next move followed the pattern. Abby jumped back a bit to dodge the upward swinging fist. Then reset.

The next fist would be the same as the first, wide overhead. This time, Abby knew she would be safe from the dummy. It missed by a foot last time. She didn't move more than to watch the fist. She should have moved. It hit her in her cheek. Abby fell to the ground with a groan. Her teeth had cut into her cheek. She turned around on the floor and glared at the dummy. It hadn't followed the pattern.

The blonde had her arms crossed, watching Abby's movements closely. She flinched a little, but didn't hesitate much in her movements, so she dodged the first few blows with a surprising amount of grace. Serena smiled, if the girl could learn to keep her movements fluid, and practice a lot she could definitely be good at this. It was a long way off, but Serena had high hopes for the girl.

In her head she noted the fact that Abby was an avid swimmer, and that was a skill that required a lot of fineness. That was possibly why she picked up on this so fast, and the girl was likely also more physically fit than a lot of girls that happened to be her age. It made a lot of sense when she thought about it that Abby was a natural when it came to picking stuff up, she was a smart girl.

The girl seemingly got a little cocky after deftly dodging the first round of blows, and was caught off guard and smacked in the face. Serena did her best to suppress a smile and keep her face as neutral as she could. She wasn't happy that the other girl had gotten a little hurt, she was glad that the girl would learn from this. She needed to learn her own limits, and pay attention.

"That was a very good first attempt. Bare in mind that people in the real world won't always follow the same rules, and a lot of them will act differently, keep your mind open and be ready to react to unexpected things." She paused. "But again, good job. You dodged most of those very well." A little positive reinforcement also went a long way in learning.

>>"That was a very good first attempt. Bare in mind that people in the real world won't always follow the same rules, and a lot of them will act differently, keep your mind open and be ready to react to unexpected things. But again, good job. You dodged most of those very well."

Abby pushed her tongue against the cut inside her mouth. It wasn't bleeding much. Though that could have been due to how often she cut herself there. Her teeth were sharp. Or maybe DocProf did something to help people heal after seeing him so many times. That would make sense.

"I still got hit," she muttered, still checking the cut. When she was satisfied with its condition, she stood back up. "Would I person figure out how to hit me that quickly?" She didn't know it, but a little blood was clinging to her teeth from the cut.

Serena paused when Abby spoke, she saw a flash of red in the other girl's mouth. Most people may have not noticed these things, especially considering that gums and the roof of the mouth were fairly close colours anyway. But Serena wasn't most people. She was very familiar with that scarlet colour. She took a step forwards and smiled at Abby gently. "Are you bleeding much?" She asked.

She thought on the question for a moment, thinking of the times she'd actually been in fights. "Well, it really depends on the situation." She thought up an example. "For example, if it was just some random thug, misogynistic as a lot of them tend to be, they don't really expect female's to be able to fight back very effectively, or to be able to avoid being hit." She sighed. "Sadly, to our advantage is most people tend to judge a book by it's cover, if you'll forgive the metaphore."

Serena stretched out gently and gestured over to a bench on the side of the room, with her gym bag. "Come on, you've been working hard. Let's take a quick break to sit down and re hydrate." She smiled.

Abby shook her head at the question. ”No, I bit my cheeks and lip a lot. Doc said my body's gotten used to sending co-colag- clotting blood to those areas. It closes pretty fast. If it gets too bad I go see Doc,” the little blonde explained. DocProf had taught her a lot about the differences between her body and normal human bodies. It was kinda cool knowing what made her different and how it all worked.

>>"For example, if it was just some random thug, misogynistic as a lot of them tend to be, they don't really expect female's to be able to fight back very effectively, or to be able to avoid being hit. Sadly, to our advantage is most people tend to judge a book by it's cover, if you'll forgive the metaphore."

Abby thought about what Serena said while taking her break. She was trying to put what the older girl said to her past experiences. When she had met Kirsi, she and the younger girl had been able to get away from a group of adults. Two little girls had surprised those men. And Abby was smaller than most other girls her age. She knew she looked younger than she was. But then, Maya and Isabel were adults and they had been really different than she had thought.

”So people assume things based on gender and size? That means lots of people would underestimate me right?” It seemed like that would happen. She was small and female. Though her teeth were sharp, she had to be close to actually use them. If she could find a way of defending herself that took advantage of that... And since she didn't have a real chest, those wouldn't bother her while moving. Huh... Abby had realized it would help her with swimming, being streamlined instead of having bumps.  She hadn't realized the advantages outside of water though.

Serena had to make an effort to keep her expression neutral. She felt a flicker of concern over Abby, she couldn't imagine making yourself bleed regularly was a fun thing to happen. In fact she knew this wasn't a fun thing, Serena had more experience with self inflicted injury than almost anybody else in the mansion, though a lot of hers was intentional for power purposes.

Serena distinctly remembered an afternoon during the riots a few years prior, where she'd found James and Leon, being mobbed by a small group and she had promptly surprised everyone including the two young mutants by mopping the floor with the lot of them. Though in fairness, she'd also used her power which had freaked them out, but she was an average height, teenage girl at the time, they had towered over her.

She nodded, a slightly grim expression on her face. "Sadly most people don't adopt the not-judging a book by it's cover philosophy." She replied grimly. The blonde took a sip of a water bottle and then offered one to Abby. "The mansion tends to be much better at that though. Their staff are good people." She closed her eyes for a moment, picturing all the people who she'd witnessed go out of their way to help young mutants and smiled to herself.

Abby drank her water slowly as she listened to Serena. Cafas and Maya were nice. They didn't act like she was going to eat them. Mama had been nice too, but she hadn't spent much time with her. The gate-killer was... she was different. DocProf was awesome and knew all sorts of fun facts.

"The kids my age do," she mumbled quietly. Lots of the kids in her class acted like she would eat them if they got too close. There were times they forgot and talked to her like a normal classmate, but it wasn't often. Her teeth were pretty visible after all. "Do you think they'll ever stop?"