A pair of hands, each wrapped in bandages that covered their palms and ended around the second knuckle of each finger, shot into view and grasped the heavy barbell on either side of Polly's head. The knuckles on either hand popped quietly from within their bindings, before a quiet grunt of effort and another softer, less easily identified sound followed. Little by little, the heavy bar and its overbearing weights were hoisted off of the trapped girl's neck, before finally settled heavily in place on the weight bench's lowest weight holding tier, dropped in place with an alarmingly heavy 'clank' of finality. 
"Phew~" A pitched voice intoned, strangely pleasant given the urgency of just a moment prior. Though the hands fell away from view, they were quickly replaced by an emerald eyed girl with a combed of solar orange hair, as she slumped forward onto the recently replaced bar bell and looked down on Polly where she lay.
"That was a close one wasn't it?" Aegle asked pleasantly, her slightly shrill voice muted by her evident breathlessness, though even her quiet panting couldn't restrain the broad and friendly grin spreading across her thin lips. 
"How much ya tryin' to lift?" She mused, glancing away from Polly and towards the thick black weights on either end of the bar. She was a smallish girl, with lively, verdant green eyes whose color was contrasted magnificently by the eye strainingly orange mohawk which adorned her, otherwise shaved head. Aegle whistled tunelessly when she got her answer, and promptly turned back to once again grin at the pink haired freshman, as if she hadn't just come dangerously close to crushing her throat. 
"S'a pretty good thing you were able to hold all that up..." She complimented, without even a hint of sarcasm or insincerity in her light and friendly tone. "I'm pretty sure that much weight woulda snapped your neck like a pencil if ya hadn't stopped it."

Pushing herself off the bar bell with nearly enough force to slide it right off the rest it had been laid upon, Aegle sidled blithely around the work bench and looked down on Polly once again. There was something about the way she moved; a certain lightness to her movements which didn't seem to fit the strange, almost limping gait of her steps. 
"Doesn't look like it squashed anythin' important..." Aegle commented in the same tactless, terminally positive tone she'd used since first invading Polly's little corner of Remnant. Affecting a shrug, an act which she managed to make lopsided, awkward, and effortless all at once, Aegle redoubled her already impressive grin.
"Yer not bleedin' or bruised or anything at least." She observed, before slowly leaning down and scooping Polly's towel off the floor, where her frantic struggling had knocked it. Handing it to the pink haired girl, Aegle once again glanced at the weights which Polly had been trying to lift. She was dressed in a baggy hoodie which, from its worn and weathered appearance, seemed almost certainly to be a constant feature of her wardrobe. With it, she also wore an equally baggy pair of sweat pants, which was a faded and worn shade of blackish gray. Both garments did a remarkable job concealing the exact shape and dimensions of the small body they covered, though she must have been, at least reasonably, well built with how she handled the weight which had been crushing Polly.
"Maybe try somethin' a little lighter." Aegle suggested as she briefly looked back at the pink hair girl, before adding, "Goin' big only matters if ya can actually lift it." Again, there wasn't anything in her tone to suggest she was being sardonic or facetious with her advice, just an implacable positivity, as though she sincerely believed she was giving Polly well reasoned advice. 

"Well..." The orange haired girl said abruptly, turning on her heels with such lightness that it gave especial contrast to the half limp of her subsequent steps, "Good luck~ Lemme know if ya need somethin' else pulled off of ya."
Making her way for the free weights, Aegle didn't even glance back at Polly as she spoke away. And she didn't even have a sweat towel.

Arriving at the free weights, Aegle wasted little time in picking out a pair she like and getting them comfortably seated in her hands. While she could have made use of just over half of the weights which were available, she picked out two of the lightest from the wide selection before carrying them to an isolated little spot just across from the cardio equipment. Testing her grip, Aegle curled either arm once, then twice, before allowing a satisfied grin to spread across her lips. Slipping both weights to one hand, she reached her free hand down the neck of her hoody and fiddled about between her shoulder blades. After a couple of seconds, her posture started to slacken ever so slightly. Her shoulders drooped just a tiny bit lower and her knees bent minutely, as though her whole body had suddenly grown several pounds heavier. She pumped the weights, still clutched perilously in one hand, in an experimental fashion. Unsatisfied, she turned her attention back to her other hand, which remained hidden down the back of her hoodie. A couple more seconds passed, and Aegle's posture grew even worse. Her legs quavered minutely as she adjusted her footing, while her arm visibly struggled wight the weights she'd just recently been able to curl with next to no difficulty. Aegle considered her trembling arm as she performed another experimental lift, then gave a satisfied nod of her head. She dropped her free hand out of her hoodie and promptly filled it with one of the barbells, before she spread her feet and, looking vaguely unsteady, began slowly curling both weights at the same time. Her emerald eyes met with those of a lean man who'd also been making use of the free weights, and it was clear at just a glance that he'd seen the whole thing. And between the raised eyebrow and inquisitive expression he wore, it was clear he had a couple of questions for her, though they were apparently not so important as to interrupt his work out. Unabashed, Aegle gave him a bright smile before she turned her attention back to counting her reps. 

After one set, Aegle once again took both weights in one hand, while her freed hand slipped into her hoodie to make adjustments, and while it wasn't possible to see precisely what she was adjusting, the effects were noticeable. Each time she finished a set, and following each adjustment, her stance and posture were just a little poorer, and her exercised just a little more difficult. By the time Polly was reaching her 'finish line', Aegle was struggling to lift her weights even once, despite having moved both dumbbells around like they weighed nothing only a few minutes earlier. The effort was plain on her face too, which shone redly with flush and sweat, while her breathing escaped her mouth in urgent, yet still controlled, breaths. Finally, when it seemed as though she couldn't possibly lift the weights any more. Aegle let her arms relax and swing heavily down to her sides, before she crouched down and placed either dumbbell carefully on the floor. Her arms were shaking a little, while her heart fluttered loudly in her ears. She closed her eyes, breathed deep, stood back up and slipped both hands casually behind her head, before straightening up as much as she could, which turned out to be considerably less than when she'd begun her work out. 

It's impossible to say where Aegle's work out would have gone from there, if it hadn't been interrupted by a deafeningly loud bang from dangerously near by. While she didn't turn sharply towards the surprising noise, she did give it a curious look. Ample familiarity with the inside of one gym or another had taught her that loud bangs were best investigated, especially when they didn't sound like someone who was getting just a little too rammy with the fixed machines. She'd also quite forgotten about the strange girl with the pink hair by that point, which was less a criticism of Polly's unique appearance and more an expression of Aegle's extremely insular mindset. Thus, she was still trying to puzzle out exactly how a treadmill had tipped onto its side when a sharp cry rose up from the pink haired figure trapped beneath it. Aegle blinked and, as if seeing Polly, supine beneath the fallen machine, immediately sprang into action. The lean man who'd been by the free weights rushed over as well, and had actually responded more quickly than Aegle, but the difference in proximity still allowed the small girl to reach Polly first. Without thinking, Aegle grabbed the top most hand bar of the tipped treadmill, and gave it as firm a yank as she could manage. It was no good however, and it took a second before Aegle realized the reason. 
"Oh, Shoot!" She said in tame expletive, "Sorry, just hang on. I got this." Mr. Lean had reached her by then, and wrapped his own hands around the hand bar where Aegle's had been just a moment before, only he gave it a push instead of a tug, trying to push it off of Polly rather than roll it back into an upright position as Aegle had intended. The bulky machine wouldn't budge however. 
"Too heavy..." Mr. Lean protested. More gym patrons were starting to take an interest in the situation, and had started to move in for a closer look, though Aegle and Mr. Lean remained as the only two close enough to help. 
"Just gimme a sec..." Aegle reiterated, her hand once again slipped down the neck of her hoody, reached back over one crooked shoulder. "Stupid, dumb, numb hands." She growled more quietly. After another second, a loud thrumming sound emanated from Aegle as her posture straightened and her movements resumed their previous lightness and ease. Another patron, a whom who'd been using the exercise balls near the bench press, joined Mr. Lean beside the treadmill, and both attempted to shove it off of the girl it had trapped, with their combined efforts serving only to slide its heavy base a couple of inches, nowhere near far enough to free Polly. Aegle, meanwhile, stooped down beside the fallen machine and wrapped both hands around the very hand bar that was pinning Polly down.
"Stand back!" She told Mr. Lean and Exercise Ball shortly. Without waiting for ascent from either, and with a sound like a half dozen blenders hiding beneath a blanket, Aegle hauled on the weighty piece of equipment, which began to move nearly immediately. Gritting her teeth, Aegle positioned herself over her feet and lifted with her legs, and slowly lifted the treadmill. Then with a sudden hiss of effort, accompanied by a shrill chorus of very angry, straining electric motors, Aegle forced herself up and brought the treadmill up with her, rising it all the way of Polly in a single explosive display of physical strength. The treadmill toppled back into its upright position, with a few rocking quakes before it finally settled flat on the floor once again. Aegle, meanwhile, didn't spare more than a moment to catch her breath and instead pushed herself shakily off the righted treadmill and dropped heavily onto her knees beside the girl it had pinned. 
"Hey? Y'alright?" She asked breathlessly, naked concern nearly eclipsing her open features. Her movements continued to resonate with audible mechanical whirring, but she paid that no mind. She was far more worried about Polly, though if her screaming had been any indication, the treadmill had more surprised her than hurt her. Aegle was honestly very glad it had automatically shut itself off after being knocked onto its side.