A lot of trouble got in the way of Ivara getting out of bed. There was her alarm, her neighbor yelling at her to get up, and a big deal of shit on the floor stopped her from doing everything she needed to do. Her hair got in the way at every turn too, blocking her eyes, getting caught on the dresser, and to add insult to injury she face planted onto the floor the moment she left her room. “I’m leaving for the training grounds,” she called out to whoever cared in her house. She was way past asking for permission for anything training related. She knew that as long as she wasn’t goofing off, her actions would be viewed positively. Ivara was once again standing in the training area with her little cousin, Huntura. Instead of practicing with a blade or some special attacks, she was going to be practicing unarmed combat as a means of focusing and harnessing natural energy around her. She was accompanied by a big ol’ cat. Someone she had made a relationship with but still hadn’t brought into battle or anything. This was just a training session. Nothing special about it, that would hopefully help her awaken some abilities.
Supposedly by doing this special training she would be able to achieve greater heights. This was eye opening for her, at least, because she was not the type to give much stock in these kinds of things. Power was power. She could already manipulate plants, wasn’t that enough? She mumbled as she got ready. She pulled her to the side and tried to give her a little coaching, though she had never been one to be considered a good teacher. “Well. To start, you have to try to calm down. Feel every bit of your body. Expel the your energy through every pore in your skin, but I think it would be more reasonable for you to hit with your palms because you’re still a kid and I don’t like the idea of you hurting your knuckles, like everyone else.” The practice was to use non-physical energy after all. Nobody wanted to dirty their hands with the more rough fighting styles. The principle was simple: you spin your opponent away as quickly as possible, hitting your opponent as they struck so as to constitute a sort of "shield" of with which you could repel your opponents, and their attacks n such.
The cat watched them all. He gave hints and tips to both combatants, trying to do his best to help unlock their potentials. It was hard work though. There was no one right way to go about changing oneself and it usually came with a lot of trial and error. It was simple in theory, but required a lot of agility to pull off. Ivara had never pulled something like that off herself, which was why she was practicing. “I should be as calm as possible. This requires a very high speed of execution” she thought as she waved her arms to mimic what she meant to do. “I’ve got an idea,” her training patner said, “how about you close your eyes, I will turn around you, and attack you, simply with a punch or kick. You will have to block all of my attacks, which I will speed up as you go. Let's go.” There was plenty of time for them to practice as long as they needed. Ivara was patient for her age and happy to spend time helping her cousin so long as she didn’t act out and give her a headache. The cat nodded, “that’s a good idea. It’ll help you sense better. Be mindful to focus on the energy around you.”
She was already starting to spin slowly around Ivara. Slightly worried, she closed her eyes, fluttering. She tried to hear her relative’s footsteps on the ground ... But unfortunately for her, she didn’t make much noise. She wasn’t that good at detecting location based on sound, so she had no idea where she was other than ‘not in front of me’. When suddenly she felt a blow to the stomach. She tried to parry it but it was hard to parry a blow that already struck. Too late. She tried, but her arm came long after her cousin’s palm. She tipped back, while instinctively opening her eyes. Her cousin helped her get up, then when she was ready, she started her circle around her again. Ivara concentrated again, trying to imagine her cousin moving. "If I can't see, because my eyes are closed, and if I can't hear her either since she makes no noise… I have to feel it. I have to focus on her, on the blows she will strike me with, and I will try to block them." This time she didn't just try to hear her friend. She tried to smell her. She paid attention to the slightest rustle of nature
She tried to imagine it evolving with her smaller cousin. She imagined her... And that's where she attacked. Behind her. While she imagined her slightly more to the right, she at least was close. With a movement of the hand, she swung it forwards. Huntura rolled up on the floor to dodge, dragging her long black hair behind her. Ivara had touched her hair with her punch, surprisingly. Ivara stood back up, determined to try again. No matter how long it took. Though Ivara had gotten close, Huntura followed up with a couple smacks that made Ivara humble. Her cousin was almost disappointed to succeed in hitting her over and over again, already hoping to see her properly counter her attack. Ivara got knocked down a couple times but she always got up immediately, ready to go again. Her concentration was visible, like the string of a drawn bow. She turned around again, and suddenly struck out at the target she couldn’t see. She brushed hair with her fist again. It was better than air, she guessed. Then, after a few more laps, she made a small brush with her left foot by cutting off her cousin’s movements once again.
A cloud of dust rose when she jumped back in surprise. She hadn’t expected to cut her off. Huntura did not emit the slightest sign of amusement. Something had changed. Something almost imperceptible, but which had not escaped her. She waited until she was back in place, then started to circle Ivara again. Palm stroke, from the left, towards the sternum. Ivara still missed. But there was a significant development there, and she was certain to have noticed a change of attitude. The next attack was slower, and as she had expected, Ivara's crossed hands came to stop Huntura’s punch. “You did it!” she shouted. Sure, blocking one punch out of dozens wasn’t that impressive but Ivara was doing her best. It was time to switch things up. Ivara and her cousin switched places so that she could be the blind one and get some practice. Ivara did not lose her concentration, however, and silence fell again. Harnessing natural energy around her was not so simple. She stamped her foot on the ground and started to circle! As the younger cousin had anticipated, she turned and blocked Ivara’s first blow using her forearm. It was almost unfair how much better Huntura was at this than Ivara.
She even counter attacked, slamming Ivara in the hollow of her stomach, and she fell to her knees, wheezing. “Not bad,” Ivara said with an impressed look on her face. “I guess it’s easier to hear me. I’m not as light on my feet as you are.” Huntura helped her get up, then considering that they could move on to another phase of training, Ivara began to spin faster around Huntura. The sound of her steps confused the young girl at first, who lost her footing twice, then quickly used it to identify the position of her training partner. The blows came faster, more randomly, but each time, the hands, arms, and legs of little Huntura came to counter the attacks of Ivara. When she was late and could not block, she dodged with grace and agility before straightening up and preparing for the next attack. They continued for a couple more rounds but then Ivara suddenly stopped. All this running around had tired her. She wanted to do something else for a little while. “Enough with the blind fighting,” Ivara announced, “let’s try some straight up sparring.” Huntura shrugged then squared up to her cousin. They took a few moments to catch their breath then they went at each other.
Ivara held back her strength as to not injure her partner then threw a punch at her face, then in the chest, three times over and over again. Each strike was parried, save for the last blow that passed her guard, and she tipped back with a grimace. She looked astonished that she had managed to parry so many of her attacks when she had put all her speed into them. No doubt although she was tired, but she was not less so she could not rely on such an excuse. Maybe she was going easy on him? They separated then squared off again. Ivara thought she would go even more quickly this time, to see if she could break past the guard again. She hoped that determination would be enough to do the trick. Her eyes flicked to Huntura’s body then she started striking again. She saw that her hair was dancing with the air in an unchanging and infinite choreography. Ivara attacked and listened to the leaves hitting each other, she felt the wind caress her face, the movement so imperceptible of the air crashing against her clothes like a gnat on a window. Slowly, she felt the natural energy swell around her. Was she doing it!?
Still, though she focused as hard as she could, she couldn’t break her younger cousin’s guard again. Her movements became sloppy, tired. She needed a break. .. but she kept going. Instead of just punching, Ivara tried to throw in some kicks too. The air and natural energy from her missed strikes came to caress Huntura’s face. She, without waiting a second, raised an arm. She blocked Ivara's foot. Ivara teetered a little, regained her balance, then threw her next kick in the middle of Huntura's belly. She hadn’t been prepared for another kick and the attack connected. Out of breath, she fell forward. Ivara helped her to get up, and she got up without much difficulty. The attakcs continued. Those to which she only reacted too late, she dodged them. She doubted that without her natural ease in defense, she could have succeeded. However, not having a very good endurance, she was getting tired, when suddenly Ivara stopped again. Seeing Huntura fidget in the lul of combat made Ivara chuckle. “You really love this stuff don’t you?” Spending time with her did her good, she forgot her worries, her worries. Ivara wanted these moments to last forever, to train, learn, teach.
She lost herself in her thoughts, and thus remained a moment, standing, staring at her without seeing her. She finally realized it, and stopped. The girl jumped in her direction, and took her hands, looking worried. “Is everything alright ? You look weird.” The sound of her voice brought the boy out of her torpor, which fluttered for a moment before regaining consciousness. “Yea, I'm fine, she replied, smiling. I was just thinking about your progress, I can't wait for you to become a grown up.” Even if she didn't tell the whole truth, it wasn't a lie, and she got away with it as she smiled and closed her eyes. They kept practicing for a long time, repeating, again and again, the movements of the back and forth punches until their technique improved. Admittedly, Ivara would still need some refinements, because her movements were far from perfect, but that would only be a matter of practice. The woman decided to return at dusk, before the sun disappeared behind the horizon. Huntura could not rejoice as their separation was difficult, because they both knew that it might be some time before they got to do this again in the near future.
Ivara accompanied her cousin home, then walked away, regretfully. When she had reached the threshold of her own home. “You love her very much, don't you?” asked a passerby who saw Ivara’s expression. It was that cat from before. Ivara stopped, surprised, then replied with a smile, “Of course, it's my little cousin. She means a lot to me.” She really did appreciate the work they had put in today.
Ivara continued on home. She thought about the cool earth beneath her feet. Thinking about all that she would have to improve on to succeed in becoming a powerful mage in her guild one day. She didn’t have it in her to go all the way back to the training area, so she decided to just rest at home and lay out the plans for the next day of training. Tired, she yawned slightly, and closed her eyes with a flutter while thinking about her cousin. That night, she only dreamed of her. But her training wasn’t over. No, she still had a long ways to go to unlock the secrets of her hidden power. This was but the beginning on a long ass road to power that she chased.
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Supposedly by doing this special training she would be able to achieve greater heights. This was eye opening for her, at least, because she was not the type to give much stock in these kinds of things. Power was power. She could already manipulate plants, wasn’t that enough? She mumbled as she got ready. She pulled her to the side and tried to give her a little coaching, though she had never been one to be considered a good teacher. “Well. To start, you have to try to calm down. Feel every bit of your body. Expel the your energy through every pore in your skin, but I think it would be more reasonable for you to hit with your palms because you’re still a kid and I don’t like the idea of you hurting your knuckles, like everyone else.” The practice was to use non-physical energy after all. Nobody wanted to dirty their hands with the more rough fighting styles. The principle was simple: you spin your opponent away as quickly as possible, hitting your opponent as they struck so as to constitute a sort of "shield" of with which you could repel your opponents, and their attacks n such.
The cat watched them all. He gave hints and tips to both combatants, trying to do his best to help unlock their potentials. It was hard work though. There was no one right way to go about changing oneself and it usually came with a lot of trial and error. It was simple in theory, but required a lot of agility to pull off. Ivara had never pulled something like that off herself, which was why she was practicing. “I should be as calm as possible. This requires a very high speed of execution” she thought as she waved her arms to mimic what she meant to do. “I’ve got an idea,” her training patner said, “how about you close your eyes, I will turn around you, and attack you, simply with a punch or kick. You will have to block all of my attacks, which I will speed up as you go. Let's go.” There was plenty of time for them to practice as long as they needed. Ivara was patient for her age and happy to spend time helping her cousin so long as she didn’t act out and give her a headache. The cat nodded, “that’s a good idea. It’ll help you sense better. Be mindful to focus on the energy around you.”
She was already starting to spin slowly around Ivara. Slightly worried, she closed her eyes, fluttering. She tried to hear her relative’s footsteps on the ground ... But unfortunately for her, she didn’t make much noise. She wasn’t that good at detecting location based on sound, so she had no idea where she was other than ‘not in front of me’. When suddenly she felt a blow to the stomach. She tried to parry it but it was hard to parry a blow that already struck. Too late. She tried, but her arm came long after her cousin’s palm. She tipped back, while instinctively opening her eyes. Her cousin helped her get up, then when she was ready, she started her circle around her again. Ivara concentrated again, trying to imagine her cousin moving. "If I can't see, because my eyes are closed, and if I can't hear her either since she makes no noise… I have to feel it. I have to focus on her, on the blows she will strike me with, and I will try to block them." This time she didn't just try to hear her friend. She tried to smell her. She paid attention to the slightest rustle of nature
She tried to imagine it evolving with her smaller cousin. She imagined her... And that's where she attacked. Behind her. While she imagined her slightly more to the right, she at least was close. With a movement of the hand, she swung it forwards. Huntura rolled up on the floor to dodge, dragging her long black hair behind her. Ivara had touched her hair with her punch, surprisingly. Ivara stood back up, determined to try again. No matter how long it took. Though Ivara had gotten close, Huntura followed up with a couple smacks that made Ivara humble. Her cousin was almost disappointed to succeed in hitting her over and over again, already hoping to see her properly counter her attack. Ivara got knocked down a couple times but she always got up immediately, ready to go again. Her concentration was visible, like the string of a drawn bow. She turned around again, and suddenly struck out at the target she couldn’t see. She brushed hair with her fist again. It was better than air, she guessed. Then, after a few more laps, she made a small brush with her left foot by cutting off her cousin’s movements once again.
A cloud of dust rose when she jumped back in surprise. She hadn’t expected to cut her off. Huntura did not emit the slightest sign of amusement. Something had changed. Something almost imperceptible, but which had not escaped her. She waited until she was back in place, then started to circle Ivara again. Palm stroke, from the left, towards the sternum. Ivara still missed. But there was a significant development there, and she was certain to have noticed a change of attitude. The next attack was slower, and as she had expected, Ivara's crossed hands came to stop Huntura’s punch. “You did it!” she shouted. Sure, blocking one punch out of dozens wasn’t that impressive but Ivara was doing her best. It was time to switch things up. Ivara and her cousin switched places so that she could be the blind one and get some practice. Ivara did not lose her concentration, however, and silence fell again. Harnessing natural energy around her was not so simple. She stamped her foot on the ground and started to circle! As the younger cousin had anticipated, she turned and blocked Ivara’s first blow using her forearm. It was almost unfair how much better Huntura was at this than Ivara.
She even counter attacked, slamming Ivara in the hollow of her stomach, and she fell to her knees, wheezing. “Not bad,” Ivara said with an impressed look on her face. “I guess it’s easier to hear me. I’m not as light on my feet as you are.” Huntura helped her get up, then considering that they could move on to another phase of training, Ivara began to spin faster around Huntura. The sound of her steps confused the young girl at first, who lost her footing twice, then quickly used it to identify the position of her training partner. The blows came faster, more randomly, but each time, the hands, arms, and legs of little Huntura came to counter the attacks of Ivara. When she was late and could not block, she dodged with grace and agility before straightening up and preparing for the next attack. They continued for a couple more rounds but then Ivara suddenly stopped. All this running around had tired her. She wanted to do something else for a little while. “Enough with the blind fighting,” Ivara announced, “let’s try some straight up sparring.” Huntura shrugged then squared up to her cousin. They took a few moments to catch their breath then they went at each other.
Ivara held back her strength as to not injure her partner then threw a punch at her face, then in the chest, three times over and over again. Each strike was parried, save for the last blow that passed her guard, and she tipped back with a grimace. She looked astonished that she had managed to parry so many of her attacks when she had put all her speed into them. No doubt although she was tired, but she was not less so she could not rely on such an excuse. Maybe she was going easy on him? They separated then squared off again. Ivara thought she would go even more quickly this time, to see if she could break past the guard again. She hoped that determination would be enough to do the trick. Her eyes flicked to Huntura’s body then she started striking again. She saw that her hair was dancing with the air in an unchanging and infinite choreography. Ivara attacked and listened to the leaves hitting each other, she felt the wind caress her face, the movement so imperceptible of the air crashing against her clothes like a gnat on a window. Slowly, she felt the natural energy swell around her. Was she doing it!?
Still, though she focused as hard as she could, she couldn’t break her younger cousin’s guard again. Her movements became sloppy, tired. She needed a break. .. but she kept going. Instead of just punching, Ivara tried to throw in some kicks too. The air and natural energy from her missed strikes came to caress Huntura’s face. She, without waiting a second, raised an arm. She blocked Ivara's foot. Ivara teetered a little, regained her balance, then threw her next kick in the middle of Huntura's belly. She hadn’t been prepared for another kick and the attack connected. Out of breath, she fell forward. Ivara helped her to get up, and she got up without much difficulty. The attakcs continued. Those to which she only reacted too late, she dodged them. She doubted that without her natural ease in defense, she could have succeeded. However, not having a very good endurance, she was getting tired, when suddenly Ivara stopped again. Seeing Huntura fidget in the lul of combat made Ivara chuckle. “You really love this stuff don’t you?” Spending time with her did her good, she forgot her worries, her worries. Ivara wanted these moments to last forever, to train, learn, teach.
She lost herself in her thoughts, and thus remained a moment, standing, staring at her without seeing her. She finally realized it, and stopped. The girl jumped in her direction, and took her hands, looking worried. “Is everything alright ? You look weird.” The sound of her voice brought the boy out of her torpor, which fluttered for a moment before regaining consciousness. “Yea, I'm fine, she replied, smiling. I was just thinking about your progress, I can't wait for you to become a grown up.” Even if she didn't tell the whole truth, it wasn't a lie, and she got away with it as she smiled and closed her eyes. They kept practicing for a long time, repeating, again and again, the movements of the back and forth punches until their technique improved. Admittedly, Ivara would still need some refinements, because her movements were far from perfect, but that would only be a matter of practice. The woman decided to return at dusk, before the sun disappeared behind the horizon. Huntura could not rejoice as their separation was difficult, because they both knew that it might be some time before they got to do this again in the near future.
Ivara accompanied her cousin home, then walked away, regretfully. When she had reached the threshold of her own home. “You love her very much, don't you?” asked a passerby who saw Ivara’s expression. It was that cat from before. Ivara stopped, surprised, then replied with a smile, “Of course, it's my little cousin. She means a lot to me.” She really did appreciate the work they had put in today.
Ivara continued on home. She thought about the cool earth beneath her feet. Thinking about all that she would have to improve on to succeed in becoming a powerful mage in her guild one day. She didn’t have it in her to go all the way back to the training area, so she decided to just rest at home and lay out the plans for the next day of training. Tired, she yawned slightly, and closed her eyes with a flutter while thinking about her cousin. That night, she only dreamed of her. But her training wasn’t over. No, she still had a long ways to go to unlock the secrets of her hidden power. This was but the beginning on a long ass road to power that she chased.
2257 words
