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 Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2017 12:06 pm
Although she'd initially liked the idea of using Naqenni's bow, of touching Naqenni's bow when she was sure it was something few others were allowed, by the time the older Elaria knelt behind her, Nivalis felt nothing but a surge of irritation, and her first (albeit unreasonable) thought was that it wasn't fair that the weapon wouldn't work for her. In fact, it only seemed to 'work' when Naq's fingers joined hers, and together they managed to spear one of the creatures from its flight.
Nivalis stared at the faintly twitching body of their kill against the far-away bark of a tree and puffed out a quiet sigh. Nowhere in the course of the last several minutes had Naqenni told her she couldn't do anything.
Not vocally, anyway. But she hardly needed to. The uncooperative nature of the weapon, coupled with the apparently-obvious-enough fact that Nivalis had needed the assistance (and Naq had been generous enough to give it) felt more disheartening than if she had been informed otherwise. At least then, she might've had the opportunity to prove her sister wrong... Or the chance to work at it so that later she might feel pleased that she accomplished something.
But now there was only grump and irritation and annoyance. When Naqenni released her after their shot, Niva lowered the bow, and pouted over her shoulder at the other Elaria. "I'm not very good," she stated curtly, bottom lip jutting out in dissatisfaction. At Naq's command, she let out a short flustered sound from the back of her throat. "I can't hardly- Uuugh."
She knew her sister deserved more respect than that. And she knew none of her Alkidike trainers would've taken those words well, but because it was Naqenni, her blood, in the moment it felt like she could get away with that much. But in the next, she realized she wanted to behave better, show more poise and skill to her sisters than to any Alkidike. She pinched her bottom lip between her teeth, narrowed her eyes, and raised the bow again. It hadn't become any less unmanageable over the course of the last minute, and it still proved to be far too much for her to pull fully.
Once settled to 'as far as she could hold it,' Niva glanced back to the other girl expectantly.
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Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2017 1:38 pm
Naqenni watched, waiting as Nivalis worked through her responses—from immediate, peevish frustration, to contemplation as her lip disappeared between her teeth, and then eventually something more workable: cooperation and determination. She recalled, for a moment, one of her earliest training sessions with Lumikani, how the older alkidike had baited her, taken her confidence and turned it on her, having her hold her blades out until her arms burned, waiting for her to fail.
That wasn’t the sort of lesson she wanted to pass on to her mystic.
There was an element of it, though, which in moderation seemed useful—the lesson had stuck, after all. So, when Nivalis reached the limit of her draw, Naqenni looked without moving immediately, gauging the range of the pull and allowing a moment just for her to hold it there, before raising her own hand back up.
“Good,” she said, fingers fitting back beside Nivalis’ and seeing how much more it took to bring it to a proper nock. A notable amount, but not as much as it might have been—and not unimpressive, given Nivalis’ size comparatively. “You have a good draw for your age,” she said. “If you found bows to your taste, you are not behind.”
Gradually, so as not to jerk Niva’s arm with sudden strain, she let up, releasing until the drawstring was even again before tipping her head and sparing her younger sister a glance.
“We can practice like this, if you like. But I think a weapon to your size would be a better gauge of your progress so far, and we could shoot together. Would you like to fetch a training bow?”
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Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2017 6:54 am
For the most part, Nivalis felt nothing but a muted dissatisfaction as she peered over her shoulder at Naqenni in the short interim that the older girl watched her. There were likely few people who could make any substantial improvement in a single day- in a handful of hours- but she'd still hoped for better of herself. Nivalis always felt so sure she would be at her best when she needed to be at her best, and now, standing before Naqenni, felt like one of those times.
It never worked out quite the way she hoped. She waited for the day when that moment of perfect clarity and inspiration would come, when she (and everyone else) could see the fruit of hours of training and study. One moment where everything would fall into place and she would feel talented at something. Anything.
Today was not that day. Today she was 'not behind.'
It wasn't the shock and awe and deep respect and admiration she wanted from her sister, but as far as things her sister said were concerned, it was praise enough. Nivalis worked to put a smile on her face and tried not to feel too terribly disappointed with herself. "Thank you, sister. I will... fetch something more suitable, I suppose."
She still didn't really want to, but anything less would be wasting Naqenni's time, and the older Elaria had made enough concessions for her that day. She handed Naq's bow back to her and took a few steps back in the direction of camp. "You can stay here, if you like. I will be back faster than a keldari's strike."
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Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2017 11:12 am
You can stay here if you like.
There was half an instant where Naqenni debated the safety of allowing Nivalis to run off on her own. But a moment later, she dismissed the concern. They were but a stone’s throw from camp in an area she’d been permitted, even encouraged, to head to and practice on her own as a child. And besides that, Nivalis seemed quick to be disappointed with herself and chafe against the idea that she couldn’t handle something—a condition that was unlikely to improve, if she couldn’t be trusted to run the twenty dozen paces to camp and back.
So, Naqenni nodded.
“One, two…” she began to count as one might in a child’s game of seek and find, seeing how many moments it took ‘for a keldari to strike,’ “…three, four…”
She stood as she spoke, moving forward into the clearing to gather the arrows already shot in the interim.
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Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2017 7:42 am
The moment Naqenni started to count, Nivalis scampered away with all due haste, hopping along the way as if something were nipping at her heels. Procuring training arms in an extremist camp was not difficult, even for one of her age and station. She poked her head into the training yard, shared brief words with its current overseer, and was passed a bow that at least looked to be suitable enough for her.
It felt more manageable than Naqenni's, and that was good enough for now. After offering a quick thanks, Nivalis scurried back out to the small clearing where Naqenni waited. By no means was the distance long, but Niva had been determined to make it there and back as quickly as possible.
When she returned to Naq's side, she was panting, but smiling just the same. "I don't have a training bow of my own," she informed the older girl. "I had to borrow one." She held it up for her sister to see, then moved into the position they'd shot from earlier. "But I am ready now. Let's not waste any time." She raised her bow, pulled back the string until her fingers dusted her cheek, and beamed. "I won't leave until I can hit them on my own."
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