Set Yourself Free (Aidara)

[Holland]

Location: The Archery Ranges Timestamp: 30th Day of Summer, 512 AV The dawn of a new day peaked through the seamless cracks of Holland's room. She wondered whether she should either go to the forest or the ranges due to her lack of practice lately. Her Mother had been lurking around the area for a while always reminding her of the burden she has to carry everyday. Almost every night, she would crawl into a corner and cry herself to sleep hoping for a better day. Since her Father passed away, times have been harder ever since her Mother had gone mental. Holland would make sure everyday to visit her Mother hoping she wouldn't hear the same things over again. It was if she were stuck in a pit of mud and there was no way of getting out. "Ranges it is."She told herself as she began to scavenge for all her gear. Normally she kept it in her chest at night and locked it since she was afraid of losing anything. All the gear she had was hand-crafted by her Father, the only thing she had left of him. Despite the fact he did die because of her she wanted to bring herself to the conclusion that he was smiling down at her. Claiming that her progress was wonderful, and that she was going to be just like him. Only if any of that were true, since probably her Father was still yelling at her to do better. Holland had big shoes to fill and sometimes it did become overwhelming because her Father was a man known for his work. On the other hand, his daughter was known as another piece of trash who is throwing away her life doing nothing. Which was a big lie because it was her Mother who had been spreading those rumours. The Avora had been spending countless hours trying to bust her butt off, with nothing in return. Never had she ever chosen to make social contact since her mind was driven to be better than anyone else. Also to carry her Father's legacy and ways as she ventured into the unknown. By then, she had gathered all her things and headed out into the long hallways of the mountain. The sound of her feet clapped against the hard rocky surface. Music to her ears as it began to become a mere nothing, now knowing that she had reached a vast area. Full of adventure and wonder, her home... The Archery Ranges. Holland had spent most of her life here, and made sure to come here when she was clearly alone. Giving herself time to be one with herself, not to hear others trying to meet the same goal as her. Constant words replayed through her mind as each bow she drew, and strung. Saying she would never be good enough or that her Father was ashamed of her. Holland wondered whether if her Mother wanted to ruin her life by making her mad, mentally of course. Sometimes she did wonder why her Mother hadn't chose to let her go instead of following her Father's orders. Therefore she wouldn't be in this situation, and would have aspired to be someone she wanted to be. The Avora wasn't a mere individual, in her perspective she was the replica of her Father. Something she had always wanted was to be her own self and not have to live up to expectations. Feeling independent was just another step to adulthood but she was stuck in a box. With no windows, no loop holes, just a reply of blank images and emotionless voices. Holland was a nobody as her Mother called her, she was a piece of dirt just waiting to be kicked. It was as if she didn't exist and no one knew of her existence. The positive side of everything was that if she failed no one would be able to see it but her Father. She could just imagine her Father scolding her in the same exact spot she stood. When he demanded for her to use the bow with fire. It was her fault for failing him that day, it was her fault for the death of the one she loved and treasure most. A single tear fell down her cheek as she felt herself sobbing once again. The Avora crawled into a small corner where no one could find her. It felt like time was dragging and wished that an angel would come and save her. By then her cheeks were a tomato red and swollen. Her eyes were bulging red, trying to return to their normal color. She wanted this nightmare to be over and done with. If only there was such a thing. "Get me out of here." She mumbled, the last words she said before returning to her sobbing.

[Aidara]

Taking a deep breath, Addy pursed her lips and blew hard in the direction of her bow. The thing had sat in the corner of her aerie for goddess knows how long, just gathering dust; with the storm, all the work she had to do at the Infirmary, her Endal duties, her child, and now Ash... well, Addy had hardly any time to herself anymore.

Another puff of breath was sent towards the bow, the little woman wrinkling her nose at the thought of really picking it up and getting her hands so dirty, though this tactic seemed to be doing nothing at all. Taking another step forward, as if she were a child approaching some new object, scared that it would bite, Addy took a deep breath and blew hard.

The resulting cloud of dust that exploded into her face sent the woman stumbling backwards, choking and sputtering while in the corner, the bow wobbled drunkenly and teetered to the stone floor with a clatter. It was almost as if it was laughing at her.

"Momma, are you okay?" The little voice chirped, drifting through the doorway. Natalie called from far enough away that Addy knew she had been in the aerie she and Sira both used. Coughing as she opened her mouth to reply, sucking in more dust still lingering in the air, Addy tried to call out and assure her daughter that everything was fine.

"Yeah Sweetie, I'm good. Are you going for a fly?" The croaking sound that came out of Addy's mouth made Natalie giggle wildly; easily amused, just like her mother.

"Yes Momma! I'll see you later!" With another laugh Natalie twittered her goodbye, in her true form rather than Nari, and as a Kestrel swooped out into open skies.

Having recovered, Addy stooped and scooped up the offending bow, grabbing her quiver and slinging both over her shoulder as she marched out into the common room. A whistle pierced the otherwise silent space as the little woman searched for her other sandle, hopping up and down on one foot as she attempted to latch the clasps. There was a rustling overhead and a soft hoot as Ash fluttered down to land on a nearby shelf.

Smiling at her soot owl, Addy finally slid the clasp on her sandle home and paced over to where her little companion sat. He was still small, though no longer a chick, leading Addy to believe that he would always be of small size. Lifting an arm and whistling again, Ash hopped, launched and gracefully drifted down onto the healers wrist; his talons dug into her flesh as he gripped, but with callouses beginning to form from the repeated incidences of this, Addy hardly winced when the skin broke.

"We're going to go down to the ranges today.. Oh! What's wrong with your wing?" Swinging her arm in close, Ash hooted his question and tilted his head towards Addy. Carefully lifting his wing, Addy examined the rumpeled feathers with concern; a few of them stuck out in odd directions, straight up in the air or at an angle. "Are you hurt?" Another hoot, though it didn't help much.

Gentle fingers probed, green eyes flickering to the owls face as she did so. No sign of pain. A good sign. Doing her best to smooth the feathers back into place without breaking them, Addy lifted the owl to eye level. "You need to take better care of them, Ash. Preening is a good thing." Making a mental note to visit Val later for advice on how to teach a bird such things, Addy dropped her arm quickly, causing Ash to launch from his perch and glide around the room. "Lets go."

The day was warm, bright and with little breeze. Perfect for practice in once sense, though it also meant that the Ranges would be practically flooded with other Endal and Avora stretching their strings. There had been little time for pleasure for anyone these past few seasons and the Inartans were bound to be taking advantage of it.

Sure enough, when Addy got down to the Ranges there wasn't a single open target. Resigned to having to wait for her turn, Addy stood off to one side, content to watch others techniques. Watching could be just as beneficial as the actual practice itself. Ash perched nearby, lighting upon a branch and hooting softly.

A half a bell found Addy still waiting for her turn, green eyes riveted to a nearby Avora as he practiced. Yes, the man was a good shot but it was the muscles that ripped down his back as he drew his longbow that Addy was really watching. She hadn't even realized that a smirk had crept across her lips until Ash fluttered down infront of her face, hooting loudly. Annoyed, the little woman lifted a hand to shoo him away, but the little owl persisted, hooting again.

"What is it!" But the ball of black feathers was off, shooting to her left. Intrigued, Addy followed until her companion fluttered down onto a perch and hooted a third time. "What do you...?"

The girl was laying in the corner, muttering to herself and sobbing. Immediately alarmed, Addy dropped her bow and quiver in a very unceremonious heap and rushed to the girls side, well trained eyes tracking up and down the girls frame for any sort of injury.

"Whoa! Are you alright? Hello? I said are you alright?"

[Holland]

Holland looked up to the woman with curious eyes masking her pain with a fake smile. Something she had to put on everyday another way to avoid the many questions she received. Squeezing her eyes tightly she tried to restrain herself from shedding a single tear. The Avora opened her eyes hoping the woman wouldn't have bothered and just had left her. Although that wasn't the case, she was stuck with her. Managing to make a sentence, "I'm... F-fine. Just, p-please l-l-leave me alone." She choked out. Quickly she attempted to get up from her position and avoid the problem. The woman herself, she didn't need to tell anyone her problems. By the time she knew it, she managed to escape from her predator and out into another area. Her breathing was rather uneven also being used as another give away. The woman was likely to hear her as her breath echoed against the walls of the mountain. Foot steps were heard in the distance but she couldn't do anything about them. The feeling of weakness just struck her, leading the Avora into a bottomless pit. Where she couldn't get out. Those types of feelings made her feel the imperfections, the flaws. A horrible feeling, one of her pet peeves. All Holly wanted was a normal life and she was stuck with paranoia and a mental problem. All thanks to her parents. Anxiety washed within her leaving another breathless gasp from her red lips. No one knew the pains he had suffered, or how many mental problems she had received. Neither was she willing to tell people about it until she was ready. But the question was: When will she be ready? When will the day come that she can become open about these things? Would it be today, tomorrow, a month, when? All these questions flooded her head, of course she wouldn't go dead out and express her feelings to a stranger. That just wasn't her. The restrictions that held her down like bolts, she couldn't escape from them. That's what made it harder for her to move on because when she was able to break free. She somehow managed to latch herself down again. Another painful and gruesome time for the young Avora. Many days she wondered when the suffering would end, and when she would finally be free. That day may never come unless she learned how to be normal. Thing was, Holland wasn't normal... She was the odd one out, not making her special than others. More like a freak. A freak with problems, causing no one to like her. No one understood her pain. No one..

[Aidara]

Rocking back onto her heels, momentarily stunned as the sobbing woman sprinted away, it took Addy only a moment to wrap her head around what just happened before she was up and chasing after the fleeing woman. She wasn’t hard to track, the sounds of her distress making her location almost as obvious as if she stood up and shouted “Over here!”

Even so, Addy approached cautiously, keeping her footsteps light as she followed the mountainside, listening for any indication that the distraught woman had realized she was followed. Clearly, she wanted nothing to do with the healer but there was no way that Addy could just… leave her. Sobbing. Alone. If she had been hurt, she could need help… if she had been taken against her will, Addy wanted to find out who. Many a young female came to her in the Infirmary after being caught in a dark corridor alone, and this woman was showing all the same symptoms. The thought alone made the color rise to her cheeks, fury blinding her for a moment and causing her to trip over a stone, dislodged by the woman’s flight.

The sobbing was louder, accompanied by a panicked breathing as Addy rounded the final turn, revealing the woman to her. Tactics changed immediately, even, confident steps bringing the healer to the woman’s side. It took only a moment of concentration for her to access the golden spool of power within her, forgoing any kind of meditation to help her focus in the fear that this poor woman would flee again before Addy could find her center. Instead, the glowing golden strand that the healer envisioned her power as slipped into the crying girl with barely any resistance; it wasn’t as precise as it could have been, but it was all the same at this point.

Inside the woman’s consciousness, Addy was immediately overwhelmed by the sheer amount of distress that plagued the poor girl. Though she was only really good at easing the pain of headaches, Addy none the less attempted to ease the stress that had coiled tightly within the woman, carefully urging the muscles of her neck and shoulders to unclench, only able to partially alleviate the anxiety that consumed the woman’s senses.

Knowing that was all that she could do, Addy quickly withdrew her power and waited quietly for the woman to react; She hated invading an individual like that, without their permission, but had she just let it to continue the girl could have gone into shock.

“I’m just trying to help you.” Keeping her voice quiet and soothing Addy shifted so that she could be seen out of the woman’s peripheral vision. Keeping the questions simple for now, to not overwhelm her further, Addy waited a few ticks before asking “Do you feel any better?”