|
|
Post by Quorkbirb on Sept 19, 2018 10:59:06 GMT -6
Paling Half
Froya - QuorkBirb
Anika - tarried-seaSetting:Time: Midday, late spring Place: War Lord’s fortress. Weather: The sky is heavily barred with clouds, but it’s not particularly cold and is proving to be a pleasant spring day. Special Points:- Week following Chapter 6 |
|
|
|
Post by Quorkbirb on Sept 19, 2018 11:18:56 GMT -6
Froya | Valkyrie
Making her way to her Lord’s personal chamber, Froya collected her wandering thoughts. It had been a week since Grigori and Alvane were taken by the Cult and her body still ached from the skirmish. Many times had the Valkyrie gone over the affair in her mind, thinking what the group could have done differently; but no, they had been outnumbered, light was failing, and the rains had begun … a hard situation in which most would have failed. It was difficult, to not let the guilt and grief consume her. She knew she must keep her faith and drive steady, if there was any ever hope of retrieving Grigori. Why had Hira sent the child with Froya’s party, when dangers were all around?
Reaching the grand wooden door, the Valkyrie entered the room without pausing to knock. She knew she would not find Hira here, as the unicorn was in the main chambers below; occupied with official business. This, however, was where the War Lord had left her daughter. Nestled deeply in the fortresses’ stony embrace, the War Lord’s apartment was a secure place to leave a child unguarded. Many high windows lined the upper wall and let in light, but were too small for covert entry of enemies. Lanterns hung strategically throughout the room, pooling their light and illuminating the room where the window-light did not reach. A fire roared merrily in the large hearth, but it’s mirth did not reach Froya’s heart. It’s crackling sounded dull and hollow. The room was comfortable and warm; a log succumbed to the fire with a resounding pop and crack. Closing the door gently behind her, Froya surveyed the room. Anika was not immediately in sight, though she expected her to be bundled up somewhere cradling Grigori’s doll.
“Anika?” she called in a strong, steady voice that was not harsh. A voice that understood the anguish the filly harbored and offered refuge.
Post: 1
Word Count: 321
|
|
|
|
Post by tarriedsea on Sept 19, 2018 16:58:11 GMT -6
 Anika didn't hear Froya come in. She was on the other side of her mother's bed, nestled with her head under her baby blanket and watching the flames in the hearth dance from a distance. The way they snapped and twirled made her sleepy. Under her breast, Grigori's plush doll lay squashed and safe. She hadn't let it out of her sight since the day he left.
She had refused breakfast. Mama was getting weary of her refusal to eat, she knew. Mama was frustrated. Everyone was frustrated. And now she was delegated to her mother's quarters almost all of the time. The day she went to see the silver woods & the strange cat creature was the last day she was allowed outside without at least three Shields at her flank.
Not that she wanted to go outside anyway. The world was missing someone to share it with.
“Anika?”
She jumped and her jaw smacked the ground before her head snapped up. The blanket hung off her ears. It took her eyes a moment to wake up and adjust to the brown figure in her room. Wasn't Mama.
Froya!
Anika wiggled out of the blanket and onto her feet. Forgetting her vague feeling of emptiness for one moment, she leapt toward the Valkyrie with renewed vigor. She hadn't seen Froya in days, maybe weeks? Who knew. It had been a long time.
But she stopped short. Cautious. Scared. Too many weird and sad things had been happening lately- was Froya here to give more bad news? Did something happen to Mama?
"Foya" she said quietly, looking at her with lost eyes. Eyes that pled for comfort. Any other day she would run straight into Froya's chest and snuggle against her warm fuzz, but these days she was so much more tired than usual, and the desire was snuffed out in her. |
|
|
|
Post by Quorkbirb on Sept 20, 2018 14:26:39 GMT -6
Froya | Valkyrie
There was a ‘clunk’ and as Froya’s eyes locked onto the source, out scrambled Anika from behind Hira’s bed. At first the filly ran towards her and the Valkyrie felt relieved to see her with such energy, but then she stopped and became timid.
“Hello, little lamb.” Froya said kindly, closing the gap between them and gently tousled the foal’s tuft of mane with her muzzle.
Like many children with busy, high ranking parents, the twins were accustomed to being tossed between adults (namely the Valkyries) while their mother was preoccupied. It was a blessing that they were born as a pair, their constant companionship had kept them somewhat sheltered from the woes of being overlooked in favor of national affairs. They had been able to grow, explore, and play as foals were intended to. With the mounting peril in the country, however, they faced more restrictions in their movements and activities. Hira had become more absent out of necessity, but still they had each other and their development wasn’t concerning. War with the cultists was ongoing, the Bloody Flanks had reemerged, and many of the nation’s forces had been sent southward to fortify the Aodhian strike against Serora. Grigori’s capture had solidified the concern that it was no longer safe to travel with the children outside of Skeldr, guarded or no.
Consequently, Anika was locked away, like a precious treasure. It was logical that the child would be safer within the fortresses walls. Here she was well guarded by Hira’s underlings and protected by the thick stone when she wasn’t watched. No harm would come to her … at least not in body. Without her constant companion, she was often alone. A foal that could not play, socialize, or explore was a foal that was at risk of withering. Froya could not save Grigori, but she would do her best to make sure Anika did not fall as well.
“Your mother tells me you refused to eat this morning?”
Post: 2
Word Count: 330
|
|
|
|
Post by tarriedsea on Sept 21, 2018 11:37:42 GMT -6
Hearing Froya's gentle voice made Anika relax, and the filly wriggled happily under the mare's touch.
“Your mother tells me you refused to eat this morning?”
At the remark Anika shrunk back, ears lopping to the side. Oh. She stared at her hooves. She didn't want Froya to be mad at her. She just wasn't hungry. That's what she told Mama, anyway. Why didn't anyone understand that?
She bit her lower lip, quiet without an excuse, then finally shook her head. A lump spontaneously rose in her throat. Now she was in trouble. Was that why Froya was here? To lecture? She itched for the comfort of her baby blanket, but it lay limply on the other side of the room.
Maybe she could distract Froya from lecturing. Anika jumped and nipped lightly at the mare's shoulder before leaping backward, trying to initiate a play session. Froya was one of her mother's closest friends and the Valkyrie Anika most wanted to mimic. Valkyries were tough. They did whatever they wanted. They didn't get lectured. Surely no one checked if Froya had eaten breakfast every morning.
|
|
|
|
Post by Quorkbirb on Nov 29, 2018 12:01:01 GMT -6
Froya | Valkyrie
Watching the child shrink back at the simple question hurt Froya. She wondered how many meals she had refused since her brother’s kidnapping. Suddenly, the foal shifted and was clambering against her side. A tired smile tugged at the corner of the Valkyrie’s mouth. The filly still had some energy yet.
“You seem rambunctious enough for someone who hasn’t had their morning meal, but I’m still not convinced you could make it through a training session on an empty tummy...”
Looking at the child sidelong and watching to see if she would realize what the Valkyrie was hinting at, Froya waited briefly before bumping the foal with her hip to gently dislodge her. Moving to where Anika had been resting when she entered, the warrior scanned the pile of blankets (her gaze momentarily held by Grigori’s doll), searching for a foal sized staff. It did not immediately reveal itself to her and she wondered if Anika had lost interest in the minor weapon since losing her brother. After all, when one was used to learning with a peer, the task could become undesirable in their absence.
“Where are you keeping your birthday present, little one? I haven't seen it for a while.”
Post: 3
Word Count: 202
|
|
|
|
Post by tarriedsea on Nov 30, 2018 8:46:58 GMT -6
Froya easily unseated her with a bump of her hip, and Anika giggled, flicking her tail like a lamb.
Froya said something, but she wasn't listening, instead opting to quickly wrap most of her plushes and dolls in blankets to keep them warm while Froya looked on. It felt like too many eyes had been upon her lately. The blanket nest was a cozy spot the filly intentionally obscured from the doorway. She wanted to hide for awhile.
"Where are you keeping your birthday present, little one?"
Oh! The fighting sticks. Normally they were kept upright in a pottered vase by the fire, but in full preservation mode Anika had taken some of Grigori's possessions and hid them under her mother's bed. She didn't want anyone to take his- what if he came back and it was gone? She had to keep it safe.
Nosing under the thick mattress, she grabbed her own stick in her teeth. Hers had a grooved copper band around the middle, her brother's had a silver one.
She paused for a moment. Suddenly she didn't like separating them.
Wait. Training session?
Froya's words finally echoed in her ears and she leapt up as if struck by lighting, stick clattering to the floor. She let out a squeal and frantically tried to pick the stick up with her teke- a tiny amber glow enclosing the copper band's grip. It wobbled but hovered above the floor.
Froya was going to teach her how to fight! A real training session! She leapt again, losing focus on the stick as it smacked the floor a second time.
|
|
|
|
Post by Quorkbirb on Nov 30, 2018 11:39:56 GMT -6
Froya | Valkyrie
Her ears swung back at the clattering of the stick, rejecting the harsh noise. Children were such turbulent things, Froya had been no acception. Anika leapt like a lamb and dropped her stick for the second time. A golden flecked teke snaked around it and lifted it off the floor. Expecting Anika to follow, Froya began towards the door.
“Let's find you something to eat and then we can go practice in the courtyard.”
The filly was still so young that she wasn’t eating many solid foods, but the Valkyrie didn’t want to interrupt her mother’s duties. For now some soaked oats would do and she could pass the child off to her mother for milk after training. Leading the way through stone corridors, Froya ensured Anika stayed by her heels and did not wander off. So much time along in her mother’s chambers could very well make the rest of the fortress an exciting playground again.
Taking her to the kitchen, Froya prepared some soft, soaked oats for the foal. She added herbs and wild vegetables cut into tiny, diced pieces or dried and powdered. Packed with nutrients, the additions would be good for Anika, but also held a bitter taste. Mixing in a bit of honey and topping it off with berries to balance the flavor, she slid the small bowl of porridge before Anika. Froya added a small piece of grainy wheat toast to the side, smeared with some cheese and juniper berries.
“Just enough to help a little lamb get big and strong.”
Post: 4
Word Count: 257
|
|
|
|
Post by tarriedsea on Dec 3, 2018 10:25:20 GMT -6
Anika paused a moment before following Froya. She grabbed Grigori's plushie in her teeth. True to her own inner word, she brought the ragged thing with her everywhere. She wasn't with Grigori when he disappeared, and the thought of something happening to his toy while she wasn't paying attention was just as bad.
Her hooves clicked on the stone floor, so small compared to Froya's solid steps. Froya's scent wafted back to her. The Valkyrie always smelled so good, like earth and fresh air. After so many days inside, the Fortress air was getting stale and stuffy.
In the kitchen as Froya rummaged around, Anika sat Grigori's doll on a high wooden table. Ani watched her and slowly realized she'd really have to eat whatever Froya was making. Her appetite was still missing. But she didn't want to upset the big mare. And she had promised training. Real training! Maybe Ani could force a few bites.
“Just enough to help a little lamb get big and strong.”
The bowl slid into her vision. While the past few days she'd been enticed with sweets and fruits to start eating again, it had never been this much. She glanced to make sure Froya was watching, and took a bite.
The honey filled her mouth with sweetness. She wagged her tail. Suddenly she was famished, and she couldn't get enough. Porridge slopped all over the table and her face. When only a spoonful remained, she nosed the bowl in front of Grigori's toy in case it was hungry too.
She took a mouthful of toast and grinned at Froya with a messy face, now beaming. |
|
|
|
Post by Quorkbirb on Dec 6, 2018 13:05:14 GMT -6
Froya | Valkyrie
“Very good.” she said, touseling Anika’s forelock as she grabbed the now empty bowl in her teke. Giving it a quick rinse, the mare left it on the counter for staff to deal with later. Turning back to Ani as she finished her toast, Froya retrieved the foal’s staff from the table and offered it to her.
“Would you like to carry your weapon to training?”
She waited for her to accept the stick or reject it and then headed out a back door to the training yard. Some of Froya’s peers were there, causing quite a commotion. Delta and Kelby bickered playfully as they exchanged blows, a few others looked on and anticipated who would win the match. Froya did not go this way, instead she led Anika to the far side of the courtyard. Under the shade of tall trees that edged the yard, their shadows dancing and morphing delicately on the ground, she stopped and faced the child.
“Alright little one, are you ready? You must focus and apply yourself.” Froya was unsure if Anika knew what it meant to apply herself, but she decided it would be something she would learn with time. If the foal hadn’t accepted her staff in the kitchen, the Valkyrie offered it again now. “Show me your best fighting stance.”
Post: 5
Word Count: 219
|
|
|
|
Post by tarriedsea on Dec 18, 2018 11:33:21 GMT -6
The word "training" made her excited and she nodded eagerly, trying to hold Grigori's doll in her mouth while gripping the stick with her weak teke. Unbalanced, it fell to the ground. She huffed and tried again- it was heavy, but she could do it- and when it hit the floor a second time, she dropped the toy, gripped the stick in her mouth, and stuffed a corner of the plushie's leg in her cheek. She'd just carry both.
After a few failed attempts at getting through the doorway with a lengthy stick hanging out of her lips, she finally wedged herself out behind Froya. The training yard was dappled with sunlight and Anika shivered in the fresh air. Other Valkyries sparred- she stopped to watch them for a moment. Their heavy hooves hit the ground with each blow. Anika felt the earth tremble.
Realizing Froya was at the other end of the yard already, she scurried after her and dropped the stick on the way. Impatient with its inability to do what she wanted, Anika kicked it until it rolled under the shady grove Froya had picked out. She sat Grigori's tall against a tree in the shade.
“Show me your best fighting stance.”
Oh, she knew this! She and her brother wrestled all the time. She leapt and landed with all four gangly legs parked out, baring her tiny baby teeth and squinting her eyes. A small growl rumbled in her throat. She was a tiger! Or a bear. Froya would be so impressed.
|
|
|
|
Post by Quorkbirb on Dec 19, 2018 11:37:30 GMT -6
Froya | Valkyrie
Froya was, in fact, quite impressed. Anika’s stance was not perfect by any means, but it held the right idea and her determination was promising. The Valkyrie walked around Anika slowly, observing her hoof placement and how her weight was distributed. Gently she would tug the filly’s legs further inwards or outwards depending on what was needed. Eventually she rounded Anika and faced her head on once more.
“Very good, keep yourself well balanced on your hooves. Remember to stay well connected to our mother earth, she will help to keep you from falling. Now pick up your weapon!”
Focusing on making her teke brightly visible, she showed Anika where to grasp the tool in her teke. Froya reached out to balance the ends of Anika’s stick, but only to ease the load on the filly’s feeble grip. Guiding the stick into the resting position, she explained how this placement would make it easy for Anika to switch to defense or attack positions. Next she helped the foal glide the staff up, twirling it as they did so that it rested mostly parallel to the group, but at a slight angle.
“This is how you should hold it to block an attack, try to let the blow fall in the middle of the staff where it is strongest. See how smoothly you can bring it from one position to the next?”
Froya lightly pulled the stick downward again, reversing the motion she just led Anika through, and the staff was once again in the resting position. She brought the filly through the maneuver a few more time, gradually releasing her hold on the rod until her own teke’s support was near absent.
“Do you think you have it?”
Post: 6
Word Count: 288
|
|
|
|
Post by tarriedsea on Jan 3, 2019 9:15:24 GMT -6
Froya gently moved the filly's legs to different placements, and Anika had to suppress a giggle. A tremble of excitement washed through her. This was real! Real training! She wanted Froya to teach her everything.
“Remember to stay well connected to our mother earth, she will help to keep you from falling."
Without thinking, Anika dipped her head between her forelegs to look at the grass. Mama always talked about the Earth Mother, and the Shields and Valkyries always referenced the name Kaia in their conversations. She didn't know much about the goddess except that she must be important for everyone to like her so much. Oh, and she was a unicorn.
"Now pick up your weapon!”
She sprang into action, whirling to find Froya's teke already grabbing the stick. Clumsily she wrapped her own fragile teke around it, a small amber light meshing with the mare's own golden grip. She looked the mare in the eyes and grinned widely, excitement no longer contained.
Froya demonstrated the movements of the weapon with grace and fluidity. It happened fast but Anika could mimic it. Probably.
“Do you think you have it?”
"Yes!" she yelped. Furrowing her brows in total concentration, Anika slowly wrapped her teke around the stick's grip. Trying to emulate the same speed as the Valkyrie, Anika quickly twirled it into a defensive position. But the momentum of the weapon was too much to control. She lost her hold and the stick promptly smacked Froya on the neck. |
|
|
|
Post by Quorkbirb on Jan 3, 2019 14:28:36 GMT -6
Froya | Valkyrie
Anika’s eyes fell downward, staring at the dirt beneath her feet as if it was new and fresh. A chuckle murred in Froya’s chest, rumbling up her throat and died before it met her lips. It was true that Anika’s concentration wasn’t as honed as the older horses Froya typically trained with, but the novelty of a foal in the beginnings of training was unique and made the whole affair feel refreshed.
In a snap the filly was at attention again and they were led through the technique until it was her turn to try it on her own. Froya’s glittering teke faded from the ends of the staff. Taking the full weight of it, Anika beamed at the Valkyrie and Froya offered a tame smile in return. A feeling of apprehension swirled in the pit of her stomach, watching the foal handle the staff in her weak teke, but the older mare dispelled it. It was a natural feeling, she knew, when watching someone try their hoof at a new task. It was a reaction easy enough to dismiss.
Perhaps, though, it had held some premonition; for as Froya watched and analyzed, the filly brought the stick through the motion with overly ambitious speed. Ears fell backwards, nipped by concern. Forces beyond the child’s understanding ripped the weapon from her amber glow, spun it through the air, and planted it firmly against Froya’s neck. Recoiling before the stick reached her, Froya winced and arched her neck as the wood met body with a emphatic slap. It smarted, but was nothing more than a minor sting to one who had arrows and knives pierce their pelt. Shaking out her main to recover from the blow, she reached down and prompted retrieved the staff off the ground; handing it back to the child.
“Now we know you can put some strength into an attack. Try it slower, focus on how you move and hold your weapon instead of how fast.”
She ignored the bite of a bruise forming beneath her brown coat.
Post: 7
Word Count: 341
|
|
|
|
Post by foalish on May 10, 2019 17:17:02 GMT -6
|
|
