As they went to sit at the dining table, Hale returned, silently slipping into stride just behind Cleo. He raised his eyebrows at the less stick-like outline of her legs and gave Jeff a surprised, but respectful nod. "I see that the training has been going well, Miss Hartley, it would seem you chose well," he began cordially, and Cleo, who had not realised he was there, nearly jumped out of her skin.
"Geez, Hale, warn a girl before you frighten the shit out of her!"
Hale's eyebrows furrowed at the swear, though his expression quickly cleared. "Of course, my apologies, mistress. I was just here to enquire about your plans for breakfast."
Cleo turned back to Jeff, and called out, "What do you want for breakfast? Anything you like."
"Uh, scrambled eggs on toast?" Jeff replied, caught a little off-guard. Cleo nodded and turned back to Hale.
"And I'll have my usual, thanks. Oh, and let's eat in the theatre room, I can't miss out on the new episode they're airing today." Hale nodded curtly and left just as silently and swiftly as he'd arrived.
Jeff let himself be led through the seemingly endless maze of corridors and cliffside views the mansion offered as Cleo chattered on about some banal television show. Her voice became background noise as he took in the majesty of the landscape, and just how far from the ground they were. If he pressed his face against the glass, he could see the red of the cliff face stretch almost a hundred metres down and disappear into the green-grey of the trees below. He shuddered, but all the while he was thinking of how to put it into action for Cleo's evolution. Perhaps free climbing? Imagine, her red hair blending in with the stone, wild, as her biceps rippled trying to haul herself to the next hold, her legs strong and sturdy, and her-
"...What do you think?" Cleo asked and looked at Jeff expectantly. He blinked, bringing himself out of his daydream, and stared at her with an open mouth.
"Uh, I- no, wait. I think it was good?" he supplied, rather stupidly.
Cleo stared back at him for a few seconds more before she broke out into a grin. "That's what I thought too! But no, apparently the power scaling is just 'too unreasonable' and the characters..." And then she was off again, marching down the hallway with Jeff in tow.
Soon, they came to the theatre room, a large space with a whole wall entirely taken up by the largest TV screen Jeff had ever seen. A few rows of chairs were set up as if it were truly a movie theatre (of course, they were the fancy, reclining seats from the most expensive movie theatres around. They couldn't be seen to be poor, after all) but Cleo ignored those in favour of a few beanbags strewn haphazardly at the very front, closest to the screen. She pulled him down onto one next to him, just as the screen flickered to life.
"Oh, it's starting already!" she whispered, rapt with anticipation. Jeff watched, unimpressed as a cheery theme song played and words appeared.
Lady Titanica and the Stupendous Sisters! Series 15, Episode 11: Attack of the Wonder Wolves!
Jeff rolled his eyes. "Series 15? How many of these things are there?"
"Oh, well over two hundred," Cleo casually replied. "And I've watched them all since I was a little girl. It inspired me to become an athlete."
Jeff privately scoffed as several brightly-coloured superheroines walked on screen. Cleo listed them all out by name as they appeared.
"Zapporia, she can control lightning. Melara and Junara are identical twins from the planet Fith, they can read minds and see what the other twin sees. Then there's Valkinera, who shoots laser beams out of her eyes, and the brilliant Dr Neuron, who's super intelligent." Then, the final member of the group stepped up. A woman dressed all in black and white, with short, spiked hair and an authoritative, stern face. Of course, those weren't her biggest attraction. Beneath her skintight spandex, huge boulders of muscle bulged as she went into a pose. Cleo had stars in her eyes, whispering the name with reverence. "Lady Titanica. She's my hero. Did you know she didn't even get magical powers or anything? She just trained so hard she broke the bonds of gravity and began to fly!"
"Sounds like a cheap 60s TV show designed to sell toys."
Cleo looked as though he had just ripped out her heart and eaten it right in front of her. "Look, the early episodes might have been a little simplistic, but it really picked up at the 5th season and it's got an amazing storyline and underappreciated characters, okay?" She crossed her arms and scowled at him. He sighed and turned back to the mindless show.
A crack of light fell across the screen. Hale had returned, in his arms two dishes. He placed one down in front of Jeff - a dish of the most extravagant eggs on toast he'd ever had, it even had fish eggs sprinkled on top! Then, he handed Cleo a bowl of something. Jeff couldn't help but glance over, curious as to what her 'regular' breakfast would be. His jaw dropped.
It was a bowl of Lucky Charms. Not just that, but the Lucky Charmswithout the cereal. She just ate a bowl of marshmallows for breakfast every day! How the girl was still stick-thin eluded him.
Sensing his surprise, Cleo tilted her head, unfortunately letting a few of the marshmallows she'd shoved into her mouth escape. "Did you want some?", Taking his silence as intrigue, she swallowed her mouthful and grinned. "Did you know they don't even have these in Australia? Apparently, it's 'too unhealthy' or something. I have to get them flown in, isn't that crazy?"
"What's crazy is you thinking you'll be able to eat that for breakfast and still become as fit as Lady Titanica!" Jeff snapped back, having regained his ability to speak. "Have a look at my breakfast. It has proteins for building muscle, and carbohydrates that will keep me fueled. And it tastes delicious! Now look at yours, and what have you got? A bowl of sugar."
"But I like Lucky Charms!"
"Well, you have to give them up if you want to be trained by me!"
Cleo sighed but put down the bowl. Jeff nodded. "That's good. Now let's find you something else to eat."