Practice Makes Better

by **Jaylani Rae** on August 20th, 2017, 11:38 pm

Early Morning of the 45th Summer 517

It felt like such a long time ago that another had been planning to live in Syka with the mixed blood. She remember various things about him, but he did not often consume her thoughts. It had been a fleeting moment in time to her, her time with him. He had brought with him promises that he only broke, but he had at least given her lessons she would always be able to use. Opened her world up so that she could go out and reach for what she wanted. Given her tools so that she might be able to survive in that world. In these was she was forever indebted to the male who had disappeared. She did not see it like that though. To her, the debt had been paid in worry over those first seasons he had been gone. She had pined after him, worried for him, even searched through Riverfall for clues for him. He had just simply vanished. Gone from her life and she had gotten over him.

Jaylani had never loved that male. She had never loved anyone, not in that capacity. If she even knew how to love like that. She did not know if she had loved anyone in her life at all, actually. She had cared for people, but there had always been a disconnect for her. She had been given the ability, so far, to break off ties and leave it at that. The girl was not one to pine. Not one to look back and remember fondly, wishing things had turned out different. It probably came with all those people who had not cared about her as a child. Those caretakers who had just passed her around till she landed with one who did not know or have the time to really be a mother. It had been a sad life really. One of solitude. Jaylani had not let it affect her in most ways. She was adventurous, full of life and passion. A bit naive, overly trusting, completely loyal. When another was done with her though, after a little bit of time they were forgotten. Nothing but ashes in the wind.

It was early in the morning, Syna had just finished her rise into the sky. Strokes of sunlight colored the sandy beach and reflected off the clear waters of the sea. It was beautiful, but Jaylani was not out to take in the beauty today. She was recalling a lesson taught. Working from it and expanding her knowledge on her own. It was, in her opinion, easier to do things on her own. No one to rely on. No one to break promises and let her down.

The quarterstaff was held in her hands with a loose grip. It had been a gift from the male mentioned earlier. The mixed blood was not preinclined to violence, despite her blood heritage, and had not wanted to learn how to wield a weapon. The male had insisted though, saying she needed it if she was ever going to survive anywhere. It seemed as though he was not the only male to think that. Theo had pressed the handle of a brutal looking blade into Jaylani’s hands too long ago. Anyway, the mixed blood had fought with that other male in her life over the handle of weapons. She insisted that she did not want to know how to harm another life, but he insisted that she needed to learn to defend herself. The quarterstaff had been the compromise. Less like a weapon and more like a shield. Both. Jaylani had decided she could get behind wielding the staff and the male had gifted her this one in response.

The mixed blood had been taught three different holds. One where she held it in thirds with the knuckles of one hand facing the ground and the knuckles of the opposite hand facing the sky. This was the most used of the three holds. The second hold was narrower, used for spinning. The hands would come together so that they were only about a fist length’s apart and again the knuckles of each hand would face opposite. The last hold was, in Jaylani’s opinion, the strangest one in terms of how it felt in her hands. The hold was the same as far as one hand still faced palm up and the other palm down, but the positioning of her hands was lower on the staff so that it took up only about two thirds of the weapon. Her hands on this last hold were positioned wide apart and the rest of the staff faced the sky. This hold was for defending herself from counter strikes and dealing out her own, defined, strikes should she ever need to.

The hold with which Jaylani held her weapon now was the second one. Her hands were perfectly in the middle of the staff, a fists length apart. She tightened her grip and twisted her wrists so that they both moved towards the right. Then she halted where her wrists could twist no more and put effort into forcing the staff to spin in the opposite direction. She repeated this a couple times, just watching the weapon spin. She liked to make it spin, found it mesmerizing. The mixed blood could have just done that all day, but there were other things to do. She was not going to get any better just watching the staff spin. So she released a breath and put her quarterstaff gently in the dry sand before she dropped down into a crouch and stretched her right leg in back of her. She pressed the ball of her foot and toes into the sand, bracing herself as she dropped the knee of her left leg. One leg stretched out long and the other bent so that her foot was sideways to the sky, Jaylani slowly lowered her hips until the muscles in her legs began too hurt more than she could bare. She stopped there and pressed her hands into the sand, holding herself there for as long as she could.

Ticks went by, then a full chime. It felt like an eternity that she was there in the stretch. Her arms began to tremble and she could not bare it anymore. Slowly, the mixed blood moved out of the position. She stood for a moment and pulled the knee of her right leg up before releasing it down again, feeling regained in her thigh muscle. Jaylani shook out her wrists for a moment and then dropped down into that same crouch again. Her left leg was extended behind her this time, the right leg dropped down. She could go farther down with this leg, the muscles more loose and flexible. Jaylani lowered her hips as far as she could and when it became too much, she stopped and braced herself with hands pressed into the sand. It should be noted that this whole time, the mixed blood kept a mostly flat back by keeping her chest pressed out towards the sky. It was only when it became too much and her gaze dropped to the ground that her chest followed and her back rounded.

Jaylani drew her leg back to where it was directly under her and stood to her feet once more after about a chime had passed. She pulled the knee of her left leg up just as she had with her right and lowered it back to the ground. Wrists were shaken out and rolled before the mixed blood pinched her shoulder blades back and heard small cracks pop from her upper spine. Giving her neck a turn from side to side, Jaylani shook her muscles out and breathed a sigh. More stretching should have been done, but she was not the biggest fan of lingering in one position for too long. So she worked fast with the other stretches she really should have taken slowly and let linger. The elbow of one arm was pointed to the sky with her palm pressed against her upper back while the elbow of the other arm was pointed to the ground, the back of that hand reaching the middle of her back. This stretched the outer muscles of her arms, but she did not let herself linger. Just ten or so ticks in the position and then she switched to the same position but her arms in opposite directions. Again, she only held for about ten or so ticks.

The mixed blood let her arms fall to her side and swing back and forth. She gave a content sigh that released all the air from her lungs. Her gaze drifted to her quarterstaff, but she shook her head. First she would work on her stances, then she would pick up the staff.

Common | 'Thoughts'

Word CountPost Total: 1,475
Overall Total: 29,417

by **Jaylani Rae** on August 22nd, 2017, 6:27 am

The stances were, in Jaylani’s opinion, the most boring part of learning to wield her quarterstaff. She did not see the importance of where her feet were placed during any one strike or defensive position. The male who had given her the staff had explained that it was important where her feet were because her legs were her base. Everything built had to have a sturdy foundation or it would only fall apart. Jaylani had not agreed, but she had complied in what he wanted because he had known more than her and had always been so demanding when it came to things he wanted her to know. He had seemed to thrive off of correcting what she was doing wrong. The mixed blood had not cared and just trusted him to know what was best. Not anymore, though. He had given up the right to correct her when he disappeared from her life.

The stances had been drilled into the mixed blood’s head by this point and to not go through them felt wrong. So she did, if only to ease her mind. There were four that she knew of. Cat, horse, front, and long front was what that male had told her they were called. Cat was the hardest because of the balance required for it. Jaylani was sure on her feet, but the sand was uneven. Even doing it where the sand was wet, hard, and more or less flat was very difficult. The mixed blood left that for last, to be decided if she was actually going to work on it or not. The horse stance was the easiest in the half Myrian’s opinion. Her feet were required to be just wider than shoulder width apart with all her toes facing forward.

The hardest part of the horse stance was bending the legs. Jaylani always felt a burn in the back of her thighs when she tried to drop down and remain holding herself up. On a good day she could go down into a shallow squat. Usually, however, she only was able to bend her legs very slightly while still maintaining to keep herself held up. Her back was straight, though leaned forward just slightly so she could keep some balance. While this was the easiest of the stances in her opinion, she was not yet very strong in this stance. If someone came behind her and pushed it was likely her legs would buckle beneath her and send her flying forward. Strength needed to be built in her legs, but she also needed to figure out at which point she was the most sturdy in the stance. Currently it was where her legs were barely bent. She could buried her feet into the ground and remain steady, but it did not feel like enough. She wanted more. The strength to go lower, to remain solid in her foundation.

What would turn into being her most used stance was the long front stance. Jaylani straightened her legs and pushed around the sand around her until it looked relatively flat. She then stretched out into a sort of front lung where her front leg was bent with her back leg stick straight. Once more, all ten toes were faced forward. It was uncomfortable for the mixed blood to face all her toes forward, however. When she stood normal and relaxed her feet had a slight turn out to her. Not so much so that it was concerning and pointed towards spinal problems, but enough so that made pointing her feet straight forward uncomfortable in her feet, calves, hips, and even her back a little. In the horse stance she did not notice it so much, but in this stance she did because she felt unbalanced. So, in response to this discomfort, she “cheated” and allowed her feet to turn out just slightly. Not too much to make the stance pointless, but enough so that she felt balanced again. Her back was straight here too, her chest out and shoulders up and together. She leaned forward, arms stretched out straight in front of her with empty hands.

Jaylani held herself in the stance for only a couple ticks before she straightened her front leg and drew her back leg forward to meet it. She exhaled and bent her body at the knees a couple times, loosening herself up a little more. She did not enjoy doing this on the beach so much for the ground was uneven even where she had tried to make it flat. She could feel the unbalance in her lower back where muscles were beginning to ache. She had started already, however, and was not willing to go find somewhere flatter. To pause would likely end in her giving up for the day and she knew that was no good. Next time she practiced she would just have to find somewhere flat first. Even just a long, sturdy, flat, board placed in the sand might work. That was an idea anyway. The mixed blood decided that she would look into it later as she moved into practice for her normal front stance.

This stance was a lot like the long front stance except that there was less space between her legs. It was once more like a front lung with the back leg straight and front leg bent, but it felt more natural. If Jaylani had lowered the knee of her back leg to the ground than she would have been in an usual lung that she might use to strengthen the muscles in her legs. The mixed blood focused on keeping her back straight, her toes as forward facing as she could comfortably allow them to be, and her shoulders parallel with the ground. She exhaled contently, glad that she still remembered the three stances she had practiced. Sure, the ground was uneven which had made practice not the most comfortable and she was not as solid in her legs as she maybe should have been, but the position of her legs and feet had been remembered. The rest would come with practice.

The mixed blood moved out of the front stance and raised her arms above her head. Her fingers twined together and she pulled up body up towards the sky. A content sigh was released as she lower her arms slowly to her sides, tension held in her arms until she relaxed them at her sides. A small stretch to keep her muscles loose. She bent over at the waist after that and took hold of her quarterstaff before pulling it up from the ground. Jaylani took a moment to look at it before she did anything else. It had been awhile.

Jaylani was still very young in heart and soul. She appreciated the beauty of the world, but had a hard time appreciating the beauty that could be found in things made by the hands of mortals. Still, she did at least like her quarterstaff. It had been made out of wood, though what kind she could not tell. Someone had taken the time to etch shallow, little patterns of complex vines around the ends at both sides. The whole thing was nice, sturdy, and the wood of it was smooth without any splinters. It was not much a weapon, though. It had no sharp points or blades. It was just a wooden pole. As previously mentioned, though, that was why the mixed blood had agreed to take the use of it up. It did not feel so much like she could hurt someone with the staff -though she could have if she knew how-, but instead protect herself should the need arise. She did not suspect the need arising, but she was known to be naive. Perhaps it had been best that male from long ago insist she learn how to wield something. The gods only knew if Jaylani would have ever come to the conclusion to do so on her own.

The girl exhaled and took a correct hold of the staff in her hands once more. She was using the narrow hold, the one for spinning. With her hands about a fist width’s apart, the girl dropped into a front stance. Her feet were turned out slightly, but faced as forward as she could get them before feeling unabalanced, and her back was straight. Her gaze stared out over the sea as she twisted her wrists. She spun the staff in front of her first, the wooden pole coming into her line of vision occasionally. It was only a few times that the mixed blood spun the staff in front of her before she stopped and lifted her arms above her head. The same grip held the staff and wrists were twisted once more. This was not so easy, however, and arms began to ache with her actions quickly. Still, she spun the staff. Only, she spun it twice before she twisted her wrists too far by accident. Her grip on the quarterstaff was released instantly. The weapon dropped from the sky and landed in the sand with a soft thud, but not before having hit the mixed blood in the head on the way down.

“Ow!” Jaylani found herself exclaiming.

Wrists achy and head throbbing, Jaylani let out an involuntary whimper. She did not know which part of her body to coddle first. The half Eypharian dropped out of the front stance and sat in the sand with a frown etched across her features. She rubbed the top of her head with one hand and massaged the wrist of the same arm that hand belonged to with her other hand. It seemed as though the mixed blood needed to do some more practicing. Lots more practicing.

Common | 'Thoughts'

Word CountPost Total: 1,631
Overall Total: 31,048

by **Jaylani Rae** on August 23rd, 2017, 6:17 am

It did not make one a very strong person to give up when they failed on the first try. Not that this was Jaylani’s very first try ever, but the point still remained. She knew that if she gave up now, when things got hard, than all she would do for the rest of her life was give up. That did not sit well with the mixed blood. Her soul was pained at the very thought of being known as one who gave up. One who was weak and could not stand on her own. It was not in her blood. She did not know it, but to be the one described truly was not in her blood. The people of her mother were prideful of their heritage and who they were, where they stood in society. The people of her father were vicious, yes, but they were warriors. Neither peoples gave up. Neither peoples stood for weakness. Both fought tooth and nail for what they wanted until victory was achieved. The daughter of those peoples was no different. Even if she did not yet fully know it.

Jaylani brought her hand down from her head and shook out her wrists. A new determination set in her eyes as she pushed herself up into a standing position. Not even that great of a bump had been left on her head. The quarterstaff was not heavy enough to duel out any great amount of damage on its own. Someone had to be behind it. Someone had to want for it to cause harm and put the movement behind it before any true injury could be caused. That had not happened to the mixed blood. This had just been a mistake. A small error on her way to knowledge. She would not let it define her. Would not let something so minor control where she went with this skill. The staff was picked up from where it had landed on the ground. It was time to start again.

The mixed blood moved down to where the sand was wet and harder. The waves would surely come and wash around her feet where she stood, but she did not mind. The ground was flatter here than it had been in the dry sand. Later she would find a place that was truly flat to practice or make a sort of temporary floor for herself to achieve the same goal. Whatever got her what she wanted quicker. Soon she would begin building herself a more stable home where her tent stood. She would be sure to have flat floors in that so this temporary place to practice would not have to be utilized forever. Just until she had more permanently settled. Just until she had achieved her goals. She was going to achieve them, she had already decided, and she could see in her mind’s eye what the end result looked like.

When Jaylani thought of how she wanted her future home to look, she often thought of the Panacea. She liked the way the paradise healing clinic had a very open air approach. It gave it a sort of oneness with nature she enjoyed. There would not be many rooms in her future home for she did not want to take up a lot of space. She just wanted something simple. Something that did not take up too much room or need much of the jungle destroyed for it to be built. Simple, but solid floors were all she wanted. A bare minimum of walls and a ceiling to go over her head. If there was to be anything that functioned as a “wall”, dividers woven with many colors was what came to mind. The only thing of luxury that she wished for herself was a better bed than a bedroll on the ground. A mattress of feathers and fur suspended above the floor. Not quite what one would find in Riverfall, but the mixed blood did not wish for it to be. She did not want to live in the past, but look towards a future that was bright and just waiting for her. She just so happened to wish for that future to have a comfortable bed for her to sleep in during the night hours.

A shadow of a smile passed over Jaylani’s features as she thought of the home she one day wished to build for herself. She did not allow herself to linger for too much longer, though, for the home would not be built this day. Probably not even the day after. Soon was all she could promise herself. In what was the here and now for her could be found her quarterstaff just waiting to be practiced. It seemed best to live in the present. So, with that in mind, Jaylani drew her attention back to the weapon held in her hands.

They had never really gotten down strikes when the male was with the mixed blood. He had shown her many times some of the beginning strikes, but she had never fully caught onto them. She just knew what they were suppose to look like in theory. That is, if he had even been doing them right. The mixed blood did not know for sure. She had not gone and sought out any others who might have known more than him and known how to teach her better. Jaylani knew she had been an unfocused pupil in those days. More so than she was now. Her mind was still very much so like that of a child’s mind. It wandered, did not like to linger on anything that bored her. She was not truly a child anymore and could control it if she wanted to, but it was rare that she wanted to. Only when she was trying to really learn something. She had not been doing that when the male tried to teach her these things with her quarterstaff. She regretted her inattention greatly now that she wished to practice and expand upon those lessons he had taught her.

Jaylani closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She took one of those breaths that Duncan had taught her about when she was at the pools last time. One that filled up in her belly first and then caused her chest to expand. She held it for as many ticks as she could before she released it in a slow stream. She was getting better at this. She was even practicing. Of course, it was only whenever she remembered to do so which was, honestly, not likely often enough, but she was at least trying. Effort was being given. She still really wished to learn how to swim and become strong in that swimming so she was determined to keep trying. The breath was fully released and with it, the mixed blood’s inner anxieties relaxed. She could do this. She believed in herself.

The quarterstaff was held in thirds. One palm faced the sky and the other faced the ground. Jaylani brought the foot of her right leg up and pressed it lightly into the knee of her left leg before moving the quarterstaff so that it was on her right shoulder, her right hand being the hand closest to her shoulder which was not the most comfortable of positions. She did her best to make sure the staff was parallel to the ground, but that was the easy part. What made it hard was the movement and getting both her arms and legs to cooperate with her mind at the same time. It was the same struggle she had with swimming. Her front leg moved out so that she landed in a long front stance. At the same time, her right arm made to stretch forward and her left arm move back. The staff was thrust forward over her head. Her right arm was suppose to stretch out and turn so that her palm faced the ground. Her left arm was suppose to slide down the staff so that her hand was at her hip, faced more or less towards the sky. This did not happen. Jaylani’s first try ended up a poor example of what one had once tried so hard to teach her.

The mixed blood’s hands did not move, but instead remained where they were holding the quarterstaff in thirds. This was uncomfortable and unnatural in feeling, but not the only thing Jaylani did wrong in this try. She also had gone too far with her long front stance. Balance was quickly lost and she felt her body being jolted forward. She did not fall forward, but she did feel her knee pop as she twisted her body to catch herself. Rapidly, she brought her forward bent leg back and went to stand on two feet again. There was a moment of standing on one foot in this time. A moment where she had to release one hand from the staff so that her arms could stretch wide to keep her from falling. Her other foot was placed on the wet sand, resting on top while the other foot was almost now fully submerged in the tiny rock fragments. The staff, without Jaylani’s realizing it, was swung upwards as she brought her arms back to her sides after regaining some balance. The weapon held in one hand flung forward and hit her hard in the nose. Another involuntary cry of pain was uttered.

Jaylani dropped the staff and reached up to hold her throbbing nose with both hands. She put pressure on it to keep the pain at a minimum, but she could not hold her nose forever. Eventually she had to let go and when she did.. all that pain came roaring back. She was worried that it would start to bleed. That she would have to go to the Akalak that ran the healing clinic and tell him of the accident that had happened. If only it had been during the actual practice that she had hit herself. At least then she might not have felt so foolish in her accident. The mixed blood was not so lucky as that. No, it had happened in a moment of unbalance trying to get back to normal. Just her luck.

Fortunately for Jaylani, though, her nose did not start to bleed.

Common | 'Thoughts'

Word CountPost Total: 1,731
Overall Total: 32,779

by **Jaylani Rae** on August 24th, 2017, 3:11 am

At least, it did not start to bleed until a few ticks later. Just when the mixed blood thought she was safe to begin once more the debate of whether or not she was going to continue, a few drops of blood splashed onto the sand below her. At first she did not realize where the blood was coming from and pure concern was written across her face. Then she felt it. The sticky warmth of blood trailing down from her nose and dripping down from her chin. Jaylani raised a hand and brushed her fingertips across the space between her upper lip and her nostrils. When she pulled away and looked down to her fingertips with that molten gaze, it was only confirmed. The red of her blood was crimson in the sunlight. She looked at it a long moment, horrified. It took the nose to begin not just bleeding, but gushing, for her to start moving into action.

There was nothing with which to try and stop the bleeding besides the clothes the mixed blood wore. She had on her skirt and makeshift top that bound around her chest. The top piece was what Jaylani untied and pressed to her nostrils. If it had not gotten blood on it already, it was definitely stained crimson now. The mixed blood did not care. She was panicked and frightened. She knew what to do in this situation with an animal, but when it came to herself she had no clue. All she knew was to go to the healing clinic. Just suck it up and expose her foolishness to Jansen and Kalum. A groan escaped her throat. She really did not want to do that even though now she really did not have a choice. So she began the journey towards the Panacea. First, however, she picked up her staff with the hand not pressing more fabric than needed against her nose and then she ran like her feet were on fire towards the healing clinic.

Jaylani was not a great runner. Usual she ran wild and free with heart abandoned. It always tired her out greatly and caused lots of gasped breaths when she finished, but neither of those things mattered to her. She enjoyed the exercise. The feeling of the wind against her face, the feeling of the sand flying up as she moved through it, the touch of Syna constant against her sky despite all the movement. Only, this running was not like that running. There were no feelings of happiness or general carefreeness. All Jaylani felt was panic and her inability to breath properly. She should have really known better that this was not the end of the world and her nose would heal on its own eventually. The blood would stop coming soon enough and then she could clean herself up. She was not thinking like that, though. She was thinking like this was the end of her life if she did not get help right away.

In the time that it took to get to the healing clinic, Jaylani’s nose would have stopped bleeding. That is, if she had not been constantly irritating it by the running, trying to breath, and rubbing at it with that messed up clothe. So, because of all of that, the wound had not fully shut on its own. Still, it was not bleeding nearly as bad as before by this point. The mixed blood stood just outside of the clinic where she panted to catch her breath. It felt like she could not get enough air into her lungs. Like there was something blocking her from filling them even when she was using her mouth to breath. It was rather terrifying to the girl already in such a strung out state. If only she had made herself stop and think. Just taken a pause and sorted out her options. So much could have been avoided if she had just possessed a more rational state of being.

Jaylani walked the rest of the way towards the clinic that had been built with so little in the way of walls. She walked around, breathing heavily, looking for the Akalak who ran the place. The twin souls were no stranger to the mixed blood. She did not know them incredibly well, but she had been to the healing clinic many times before simply because of her own job within the settlement and how close it was to the work they did. The Akalak was a good teacher and, when she was focused, she was a willing student. She acknowledged that both Jansen and Kalum knew a great deal more than her when it came to medicine. They had knowledge that she wanted and needed for her own work. Now was not a time to grow in that knowledge, however. She had a bloody nose to get sorted out and the Akalak was just the one who would be able to handle it.

“Jansen?” Jaylani called out softly, her voice muffled from the fabric stuffed in front of her face, “Kalum? You here?”

The mixed blood looked around the main room with her molten gaze for half a chime longer before she caught the sight of the blue toned Akalak stepping out of the small lab that was off the main clinic itself. He was looking at her with a gaze that was the one a father might give their child when they had been foolish. Jaylani cast her gaze down and blushed slightly, feeling very much so like that foolish child.

“So, what did you do to yourself this time?” his voice was not cold, just calculating.

This was not the first time Jaylani had been in with an injury. She had a tendency towards getting them. Spending the grand majority of her time exploring and not taking many precautions had its drawbacks.

“Hit my nose,” came Jaylani’s muffled voice.

The Akalak looked at her for a long tick before he sighed and motioned her over. The mixed blood did as she was directed to and left her staff leaning in the corner before she headed to one of the empty beds. She sat down on the edge and pulled the fabric down from her face when Jansen motioned for her to. At least, she guessed it was Jansen. He had more of a tendency to wear that look of “fatherly” disappointment when she came in hurt than Kalem did.

“What did you hit it with?” the male questioned as he inspected the still lightly bleeding wound.

Jaylani swallowed and looked towards the ceiling. She did not want to admit it. Not to him and not even to herself. It just felt so much like something that should not have happened.

“The quarterstaff. I was just.. getting balance and then hit my nose,” Jaylani answered before laughing weakly in attempt to cover her stupidity.

The girl blushed, crossed her arms over her chest and tried to shrink into herself. She did not want to be seen or talked to. Did not want any sort of contact with another being, but instead wished to be home where she could be alone. It did not even have to be home. Just somewhere where she could be alone and wallow in her carelessness by herself.

“You need to be more careful.” It was not the first time he had told her that and it was probably not the last time he would either. “This is not too bad of an injury, but the point still stands. You keep going like this and one day it will be more than a bloody nose.”

Jaylani only nodded. He seemed more upset with the fact she had been careless than the fact she was hurt. That told her it was not as bad as she had thought. It was finally catching up to her that maybe she did not have to come here. Maybe it would have been alright on its own. Too late now, though. There was no going back. She just hoped the rest of this lesson was cut short. It was not one she wanted to be told.

“I will try,” the mixed blood promised and the Akalak sighed in response.

Jaylani wondered if he believed her or if he was tired of warning her. She was not sure and she was not brave enough to ask. He raised his hand to touch her still mildly throbbing nose instead of speaking any words. The male was quiet for a long moment as he used his gnosis marks to heal. There was a warmth that spread through the girl. It covered her nose first and then flooded the rest of her. When Jansen pulled away, she felt back to normal once more. The warmth left, but memory of it lingered. He had been kind. Taken away her pain nearly instantly. She knew that she had not deserved it, but instead deserved to be patched up and sent on her way to heal like the unmarked being she was. Especially since her injury had been caused by such a silly accident.

“Thank you,” she murmured, truly meaning those words.

“You are welcome. Please try to be more careful, Jaylani. You will not get lucky forever,” the Akalak’s voice was gentle as he spoke and the mixed blood knew he meant those words he said.

“I promise, I will try better,” Jaylani promised him more sincerely.

The mixed blood watched as the male sighed and nodded, accepting her promise that was undoubtedly fleeting at best no matter how much she tried to mean it. He stood to his feet and moved away so she could get through. Jaylani stood and moved past him. She would bring him some food next time she came through for anything. Payment for this, but also a thank you for his continued care. She told him that she would come with something for him next time before farewells were exchanged. The mixed blood picked up her bloodied top and departed after picking her quarterstaff up from where she had left it.

Jaylani started her journey home after that, done with tempting fate for the day. It was time to just be within her tent doing something that had no chance of being life threatening. Now she just needed to figure out what sort of thing that something was.

Common | 'Thoughts'

Word CountPost Total: 1,736
Overall Total: 34,515