1st Trial of Ymiden, 716
Aualar was woken from his sleep by a hand clamped over his mouth and nose. His eyes flew open, his heart pounding in his chest as he flailed.
"Stop it!" A familiar voice whispered at him, and he froze. His eyes strained in the darkness, and he could just make out the outline of Riheey. The hand was slowly removed from his mouth, and he breathed in deeply.
Together the pair left the room, and standing in the hall was the rest of his spark. He could barely see through his bleary, sleepy filled eyes, and he wasn't the only one. Harah and the twins both looked like they were about to fall over, but Eohky and Riheey were both dressed and ready for the day, weapons strapped on their backs, and the rest of the spark's clothing in their arms. His face began to get warm as he realized he was standing next to Eohky in nothing but his underwear, and he shifted, trying to cover up a little better. She caught the movement, and raised an eyebrow at him. His face flamed red, but she had already turned away, speaking to the group.
"We're starting behind. They ranked us by how fast we ran, and we were one of the lowest groups. We've only got two seasons to make our way up. I refuse to finish last."
Her voice carried a note of determination, and it woke Aualar up a bit. He shook his head fiercely, trying to shake the cobwebs out of his mind.
"Wha-what? I'm sorry, what time is it? His voice cracked as he tried to speak, and his face flushed again.
"4th Break. Why?"
His mouth dropped open, surprise across his face. "And what exactly do you think we'll be doing? Immortals, I didn't go to sleep until 1st Break last night!" His voice began to rise, and he was quickly hushed by the rest. As soon as he spoke he felt mortified. As if I said that to her!
"This isn't up for discussion. We're doing this, all of us." The flashing eyes challenged Aualar, daring him to disagree. Without a hesitation, he pulled on his clothes, and grabbed his weapon.
"Good, now lets go out for a run." Her voice was chipper, and Aualar felt himself cheering up, but slowly, so slowly. He followed his spark out of the door, his eyes locked on the back of her head.
They leaned over, panting. She had led them on a hard run, despite only lasting for half a break. They had nearly sprinted the whole thing, pausing for brief, 30-trill rests, before they were off again. Everyone was gasping, sweat dripping off them, when Eohky forced herself upright.
"All right, that was a good warmup." A tinge of sarcasm threaded its way through her voice, and Aualar smirked. As the rest of the spark slowly forced themselves up, and Eohky continued.
"We're all terrible at bows, so we're going to work on them this morning. Plus a little birdy told me that we're having a competition in archery this week, and we need the extra points. Especially you, Aualar. "
At her comment, his cheeks burned. No matter how true it was, it still hurt him to have it pointed out, let alone pointed out by his crush. A silence fell over the group, awkward at the reminder of Aualar's failure, and unsure of how to proceed. Slowly, they headed off towards the targets, none of them meeting his eyes. They trotted over towards the archery range, carefully stringing their bows.
Aualar fiddled with his, not quite able to hook the small loop around the end of his bow. A small hand fell over his, guiding in over perfectly. He looked up to see Eohky's face inches from his. He froze- he could feel her warm breath on his face, smell her skin, and his heart began to race. A small smile crossed her face as he stared at her, like a deer in headlights, and she leaned in, whispering in his ear.
"Sorry about that Aualar. But I know you can do it, and you doing well will push them to do better. They look up to you."
He barely registered her words, but he somehow managed to mutter something vaguely coherent. He turned towards the target, already knocking his bow. He pulled back, his arm shaking with the force required to pull the longbow.
There were a variety of weapons, but Aran had nearly forced the Aukari into the longbow. 'It's a good weapon for a big one like yourself' he said. 'You'll have no problems pulling it' he said.... Hmm. He hunched his neck awkwardly, peering down the shaft of the arrow to sight the target twenty feet away. As he let go, the tight string struck his arm, the skin immediately going red, and the arrow flew off course, somehow lodging itself in the dead centre of Harah's target.
The rest of his spark turned to look at him, their faces were masks of shock at his shot, slowly turning to mirth as they realized he had been aiming for his own target. Soon the group was howling on the ground, Herau's feet kicking the air as tears streamed from their faces. The tension was broken, and soon they were all helping each other to their feet.
"You should try to pull with your back, Aualar. It might help." Riheey told Aualar, squeezing his own shoulder blades together as he demonstrated. The man's muscles rippled as he did, and Aualar felt a stab of envy as he saw Eohky glance appreciatively at his back.
He stalked over towards the archery range, his mood suddenly soured. But despite that, he knew that Riheey was just looking out for him. He breathed deeply. calming himself as he pushed his resentment out. Finally, he stood up, and drew his bow. He pushed out his chest, squeezing his back, and the string came back easily. A smile crossed his face as he got to full draw, and held it without shaking. With the change in his stance, he found he could easily stare down the shaft as well. He exhaled, and let go, the shaft flying straight and true to hit the target. He let out a whoop, and the others turned to look at his target.
The arrow had missed the painted circle, and had barely struck the top of the straw, but Aualar was elated. That was the closest shot he had made in three trials of practice, and he grinned broadly as he managed to contain his excitement.
It's going to be a good day.
"Stop it!" A familiar voice whispered at him, and he froze. His eyes strained in the darkness, and he could just make out the outline of Riheey. The hand was slowly removed from his mouth, and he breathed in deeply.
Together the pair left the room, and standing in the hall was the rest of his spark. He could barely see through his bleary, sleepy filled eyes, and he wasn't the only one. Harah and the twins both looked like they were about to fall over, but Eohky and Riheey were both dressed and ready for the day, weapons strapped on their backs, and the rest of the spark's clothing in their arms. His face began to get warm as he realized he was standing next to Eohky in nothing but his underwear, and he shifted, trying to cover up a little better. She caught the movement, and raised an eyebrow at him. His face flamed red, but she had already turned away, speaking to the group.
"We're starting behind. They ranked us by how fast we ran, and we were one of the lowest groups. We've only got two seasons to make our way up. I refuse to finish last."
Her voice carried a note of determination, and it woke Aualar up a bit. He shook his head fiercely, trying to shake the cobwebs out of his mind.
"Wha-what? I'm sorry, what time is it? His voice cracked as he tried to speak, and his face flushed again.
"4th Break. Why?"
His mouth dropped open, surprise across his face. "And what exactly do you think we'll be doing? Immortals, I didn't go to sleep until 1st Break last night!" His voice began to rise, and he was quickly hushed by the rest. As soon as he spoke he felt mortified. As if I said that to her!
"This isn't up for discussion. We're doing this, all of us." The flashing eyes challenged Aualar, daring him to disagree. Without a hesitation, he pulled on his clothes, and grabbed his weapon.
"Good, now lets go out for a run." Her voice was chipper, and Aualar felt himself cheering up, but slowly, so slowly. He followed his spark out of the door, his eyes locked on the back of her head.
They leaned over, panting. She had led them on a hard run, despite only lasting for half a break. They had nearly sprinted the whole thing, pausing for brief, 30-trill rests, before they were off again. Everyone was gasping, sweat dripping off them, when Eohky forced herself upright.
"All right, that was a good warmup." A tinge of sarcasm threaded its way through her voice, and Aualar smirked. As the rest of the spark slowly forced themselves up, and Eohky continued.
"We're all terrible at bows, so we're going to work on them this morning. Plus a little birdy told me that we're having a competition in archery this week, and we need the extra points. Especially you, Aualar. "
At her comment, his cheeks burned. No matter how true it was, it still hurt him to have it pointed out, let alone pointed out by his crush. A silence fell over the group, awkward at the reminder of Aualar's failure, and unsure of how to proceed. Slowly, they headed off towards the targets, none of them meeting his eyes. They trotted over towards the archery range, carefully stringing their bows.
Aualar fiddled with his, not quite able to hook the small loop around the end of his bow. A small hand fell over his, guiding in over perfectly. He looked up to see Eohky's face inches from his. He froze- he could feel her warm breath on his face, smell her skin, and his heart began to race. A small smile crossed her face as he stared at her, like a deer in headlights, and she leaned in, whispering in his ear.
"Sorry about that Aualar. But I know you can do it, and you doing well will push them to do better. They look up to you."
He barely registered her words, but he somehow managed to mutter something vaguely coherent. He turned towards the target, already knocking his bow. He pulled back, his arm shaking with the force required to pull the longbow.
There were a variety of weapons, but Aran had nearly forced the Aukari into the longbow. 'It's a good weapon for a big one like yourself' he said. 'You'll have no problems pulling it' he said.... Hmm. He hunched his neck awkwardly, peering down the shaft of the arrow to sight the target twenty feet away. As he let go, the tight string struck his arm, the skin immediately going red, and the arrow flew off course, somehow lodging itself in the dead centre of Harah's target.
The rest of his spark turned to look at him, their faces were masks of shock at his shot, slowly turning to mirth as they realized he had been aiming for his own target. Soon the group was howling on the ground, Herau's feet kicking the air as tears streamed from their faces. The tension was broken, and soon they were all helping each other to their feet.
"You should try to pull with your back, Aualar. It might help." Riheey told Aualar, squeezing his own shoulder blades together as he demonstrated. The man's muscles rippled as he did, and Aualar felt a stab of envy as he saw Eohky glance appreciatively at his back.
He stalked over towards the archery range, his mood suddenly soured. But despite that, he knew that Riheey was just looking out for him. He breathed deeply. calming himself as he pushed his resentment out. Finally, he stood up, and drew his bow. He pushed out his chest, squeezing his back, and the string came back easily. A smile crossed his face as he got to full draw, and held it without shaking. With the change in his stance, he found he could easily stare down the shaft as well. He exhaled, and let go, the shaft flying straight and true to hit the target. He let out a whoop, and the others turned to look at his target.
The arrow had missed the painted circle, and had barely struck the top of the straw, but Aualar was elated. That was the closest shot he had made in three trials of practice, and he grinned broadly as he managed to contain his excitement.
It's going to be a good day.
