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The Typhoon's practice facility spared no expense for its players. Well, except for the fact that it was a bit dated when it came to the other franchise's in the FBA. There was nothing dilapidated about it, but Hildegard rarely vacated the place long enough to get any renovations. Circa the mid 1990s, it was state of the art. Hildegard liked it for one particular reason, though: the distinct lack of cameras inside.

After being guided through the door by a number of employees, the young FBA prospect, Erik Kijani, found himself in the Typhoons practice gym. He took a moment to gaze through the whole court in awe.

"Who are joo?" sounded a voice that made any player cringe. At the opposite entrance, Hildegard stood there, in one of her old jerseys when she played back in Nice.

"Name," she demanded.

Erik's nerves quickly took over, but he used as much energy as he could to keep his serious demeanor. "Erik Kijani. Um...I'm here for the Interview." He announced.

She looked him up and down and scoffed. "Not even dressed? What zhe hell are joo here for zhen?" She never told him to come in gear, but then again, she was the Demon Coach, someone that expected her authority to carry her commands at time. "Five minutes. Beeile dich!" She was all about first impressions.

Kijani froze, realizing he was only in jeans shorts and T-Shirt. "Um....I could change...if you want me too....but I can play in these clothes too.....I apologize." Kijani was almost stumbling on his words. He tried everything to save himself. She pointed to the door.

"Now!" she shouted. Looks like he was getting changed. Hopefully there would be something in the locker room. Kijani sprinted to the locker room.

"Shorts. I just need shorts." He thought.

He looked through lockers, through bins, through shelves, and even through the showers. He took a huge breath of relief once he finally found a pair of shorts. He quickly put them on, tightened his shoelaces, and ran back to the court.

"Ready coach!" He called out.

She grabbed a ball from the rack and twirled it on her finger. "Varm up, tventy laps. Zhen suicide drills. Go."

Erik nodded his head, stretched, and began running. He kept a steady pace and breathed easy. He felt comfortable running. It made him more determined. He felt ready for anything now, but maybe not prepared for it. After 10 minutes, the laps were done. As he began his suicides, just straight sprinting, Hildegard rolled a ball rack underneath one of the baskets. Most coaches would allow some sort of rest, but she was looking to assemble a championship team. Any weakness would be easily picked out. Another 12 minutes passed and suicides were done. Erik then took time to rest and let the air fill his lungs, but Hildegard didn't let him.

"Get back up!" She tossed him a ball with a bit more moxie than she normally would. She pointed out the Xs on the floor with numbers under them. "Start shooting," she called. He was to run from number to number and shoot the balls she threw, whatever that pace might be.

Shocked, Erik quickly got up and dribbled to the first spot. He missed the first due to him rushing, but thankfully made the next. The drill continued and Kijani was on and off. Made four, missed three, made three, missed four, made five, missed three. It wasn't going to well with shooting. Erik got a little frustrated. Hildegard saw that little spark, one she was looking for if Tallahassee was to continue being an offensive powerhouse. She sped up her tossing, leaving no room to slow down. Erik noticed that the passes were going faster. He did his best to stay in rhythm. Missed four, made two, missed four.

"Come on." He grumbled under his breath. Finally, after missing two, he finally got on a roll and made eight.

He was okay, she admitted to herself, but now was the time to start messing with him. She began throwing the ball to incorrect numbers, forcing him to stumble in order to catch them, if he could. Erik almost missed the first trick pass, but quickly caught it and made the shot. Then the next trick pass lead to a terrible miss. Erik had an annoyed and angry look on his face.

"What is she doing?" He thought.

He then completely missed and screamed loudly, but he quickly caught himself and ran back to the drill. Yes, this was what she wanted to see.

"Vhat is zhe matter?" she asked calmly. Then she let fly one ball that went straight for a couple of his.

Erik overheard the coach but tried to keep his focus, but his shots just weren't going in consistently. His arms were getting tired, but he didn't care. Her passes became more erratic. She spun the ball so that it would go wildly out of the way, gave no indication that she was following any pattern, essentially made the entire exercise unfair. The whole time, she kept a starkly serious look on her face. He was about to crack, she knew it.

Erik couldn't understand what was going on. He could barely catch the passes now.

"How is that a good pass?" He thought.

He was getting furious. He Grunted and screamed occasionally. He completely forgot about shooting. Then one pass went completely off. Erik couldn't take it anymore.

"Really?!" He screamed. "How can I catch that?! Huh?!.....I know....I know you're the coach, but.....really?!"

Yes, this was what she was looking for, but she still had to keep up appearances. She threw the ball that she had to the side, letting it clamor up through the stands, and headed for him. The lithe woman held a surprising stature when she got mad. She stopped inches from him.

"And vhat are joo goink to do about zhat? Hmm?"

Erik barley even tried to catch the ludicrous pass. "Maybe you should let me pass the ball! I'm the point guard! I know how to pass!" Erik then fell silent once he realized he was yelling at a FBA coach...but he didn't apologize.

At this point, their noses were touching. She wasn't afraid to get into the faces of her aggressors. "Und zhat means joo do not need to know how to shoot?" She pointed to the empty stands, though it was just the practice stadium. " hat are joo goink to do if joo are not given fair passes on zhe court, hmm?"

"I will......I...!" Erik didn't have an answer. He couldn't think of the right answer, but finally he said: "I would....try to catch it." Erik didn't like his answer, but it's all he had. _"Was she testing me?"_He thought.

She scoffed at his answer and stepped back. "Zhat aggression is useless if joo are just goink to fall to pieces on zhe court." She stomped through the balls on the court and headed to the door. "Pick up zhe balls, zhen take fifteen. After, joo vill face me." And with that, she left.

Erik growled a little as she left the gym. He grabbed one basketball and threw it hard on the floor in anger. Then he began to clean up.

_ _ "I will show her my...aggression." He mumbled under his breath.

Hildegard spent her time toweling off and getting enough water. The arena was empty except for the two of them. Punctual, she returned and waited for the draft prospect to return. Erik just came back from drinking water at the nearest water fountain he could find and walked to the court a few seconds late to meet Hildergard. She glared at him and stood, picking up a basketball on her way.

"Aww, is zhe wütend Kätzchen still mad zhat he could not keep up earlier?"

Erik kept his angry glare at the couch as he walked towards her. He didn't answer, partly because he didn't understand what she just called him.

_ "Little kitten?"_. He thought about for a second, but then completely forgot about it.

She smirked. "Joo ssink joo are aggressive, but joo are just a kitten." She threw the ball to him and strolled on the court. "Try not to vaste my time, ja?"

Erik caught the ball and gripped it tight. No more words were spoken. Erik dribbled the ball low and went straight for her. Hildegard took a defensive stance and waited to see which way he'd dodge, or if he'd just plow right through her. Either way, she'd be ready. What would he do with his aggression? Erik did his usual move, dribbling the ball between his legs, left than right, moving the ball quick to try to get her off her feet. Clearly, the prospect hadn't reviewed her playing, otherwise he would know that footwork was her claim to fame, among other things. She could admit that he was impressive, but she still had more of his aggression to draw out. She sidestepped him and knicked the ball with the tips of her fingers, sending it out of his control and into her hands. To add insult to injury, she toss the ball and smacked him in the shoulder, before regaining it herself.

"Angry kitty, is zhat all joo haff got?"

At first Erik was shocked, but the hit on the shoulder was all he needed. He quickly slapped the ball out of her hands and drove to the right, pushing her off to the side a little with his shoulder. For sure, Hildegard was surprised at the light graze, just enough that it wouldn't be noticed by refs, but effective in the sense that it threw her off balance. As he drove it to the basket, she kept her expression plain. That better not be all, she thought. Taking the opportunity, Erik saw he had a slight advantage and drove straight for the rim. He wanted to dunk the ball. He was going to dunk the ball. Her knees had just enough spring in them to put herself between him and the basket. There would be more points to score, but damned if she just let him get one without working for it. In a split second, Erik saw her catching up, he had to make a choice of either to keep going or back out for a jump shot, but everything in his body was telling him to go for it. He made the last step with his left paw and jumped. His risk paid off, and the ball was slammed through the net, though Hildegard covered him so close that when they both landed, she knocked him over, seemingly unintentionally. She stood over him, the same plain expression on her muzzle.

"Joo haff more vork to do zhan zhat. Get up, Kätzchen."

Erik felt satisfied after the dunk, but he new it wasn't over yet. He got back up on his two paws and said: "And more points to score."

The next few baskets were a back and forth between the coach and this prospect. They traded blows, while Hildegard continually threw insults around, ramping up his aggression, at times seeing him focus it, and at times seeing him falter. Erik was trying to keep a level head, but the coach was really testing him. Every now and then he would shove her, drive through aggressively, or box her out a little too hard, but he was trying his best to stay focused. As far as insulting her back, he only mumbled some foul words in swahili. She was relentless, though. She earned her reputation by never once giving in, never once showing her age.

It was down to a one-versus-one point battle, with the ball in Hildegard's hands. Erik caught his breath quickly and got into a tight defense stance, only an arms length away from her. Could she have used other players to do this job? Of course, but why miss all the fun? Her playing days were over, but she could still show these green players something. She had a reputation to keep up. And she let that reputation fly by putting on one last hard drive for the basket. Erik ran for her, pushing his weight against her hoping she wouldn't get the shot. It didn't seem to be working. Erik was getting ready to jump for it. Hildegard kept her back to him and didn't let up. He was focusing his anger, his coverage almost spotless, and the fact that the score was neck-a-neck, she felt impressed. But she didn't throw games, from playoffs to showing draft prospects what was what. She spun around him and went hard for the basket. Erik gave one last small nudge to throw her off and got ready to attempt to block the shot. The nudge was somewhat successful, but that ball sailed and sailed true, edging the rim but going in. The two landed off balance and fell to the floor. The ball smacked against the waxed floor and echoed loudly.

"Not bad, kid."

Erik wasn't even close to blocking it. The nudge took too much time away for him to get close. He was mad at first, but then surprise that Hildegard said something that wasn't meant to mess with him. He was hesitant to say thank you, so he just nodded his head. She pushed herself to her feet and offered her hand to help him. Erik was confused, but he grabbed her hand and she helped him up. She put her hands on her back and stretched.

"Joo need vork. Joor aggression, it might be zhe key to joor career. Vonce joo get it under control."

Erik finally calmed down. He was still upset about the loss, but he quickly regained his more conserved and respectful side.

"I understand." He said.

She nodded. They walked toward the exit. "Do joo drink beer?"

He smiled a little and said: "If you don't know my father, then yes I do."

She smirked. "Zhat vill take joo far, zhen."

He gave a quick laugh and fixed his shirt a bit, but he then realized he was still wearing shorts that didn't belong to him. "Um...I can keep the shorts?" he asked politely.