Flashback (The Training Yard) Hard Lessons (Kaie)

[Turrin]

Time Stamp: 5th Summer, 502AV, Morning
Location: Taloba, The Training Yard
Who: Kaie

“Give me it back,” Turrin stood in front of his cousin with his fists clenched to his side and demanded, “I need to go train before my father gets home!” The half breed eyes narrowed at his older cousin, but he knew he shouldn't strike her, but ever fiber of his being wanted too. The dark haired girl gave him smug grin and said arrogantly, “One day my dear cousin. I will be the head of the clan, and you will have to listen and respect all my wishes. Now if you want you bow back, I want you to get on your hands and knees and meow like the good kitten you are.” Turrin golden eyes fixed on his fourteen year old cousin and said bluntly, “Grandmother isn't dead yet or my Aunt, so no Talula, I will not degrade myself for your sick amusement.” Turrin quickly reached out and took hold of shaft of the bow with his left hand, and he reached out and shoved the smaller girl into the wall with his right. He was happy that she let go of the bow easily when he pushed her, but he knew this incident would only deepen the feud between him and his cousin. As he watched his cousin hit the wall, he knew that he was going to here about it from his Grandmother, but he knew nothing he did would please the old crone anyways, so he picked up his quiver and started walking towards the door. Suddenly, he heard Talula yell at him, “Regardless on how hard you try, Turrin. You will always be a mongrel like your bitch of a mother..”

Furious, Turrin dropped his short bow on the ground and stalked toward Talula. He could tell his cousin was itching for a fight, and after insulting his mother, he was going give her what she wanted a bloody fight! Turrin grabbed her by the hem of her shirt and said with a sneer, “Talula my mother is twice the woman you will ever be.” Talula laughed out loud and threw a punch at his stomach. Turrin didn't have time to react, so he staggered back from the force of the blow. He knew his cousin was quite good at unarmed combat, so the blow from the punch knocked the wind out of him. When he got back his composure, Turrin got in his into his fighting stance. He got into his fighting stance with his left fist in front of his face, right foot back, and his lifted his left foot, so he barely resting his weight on the toes of his foot. He put his left arm up to protect his face and his right hand laid at his waist. It was a basic stance, but he felt comfortable using it. When his cousin made the first move, Turrin waited patiently for her to strike. Turrin watched her come at him with a swift kick with her left kick to the groin. The half breed moved forward and swung his left arm down to deflect the blow. When the kick was deflected, and as he stepped forward, he quickly threw a punch into the face of his cousin. Turrin knew Talula had the reflexes of a cat, but he wasn't expecting her to move as quickly as she did. His cousin moved her head slightly to the left to evade his blow. However, he didn't have time to get back into his stance because she struck out with a quick jab to his jaw with her blocking hand. The blow staggered him back, but the finishing blow was a unblocked punch to the stomach. The force of the blow brought him to drop to his knees as he held his stomach trying to keep himself from throwing up.

Suddenly, Turrin felt his head jerk back and stared up into his cousin brown eyes. She gave him a half grin and said softly, “You should learn to play the lute like your mother, mongrel because you will never be a warrior of Myri.” The golden eyed boy shook his head and stayed silent. He didn't know what to say since he just got humiliated by her. Luckily, their was nobody here to witness the fight in the long house. “You fought well, Talula...” When Turrin felt his cousin let go of his hair, he closed his eyes for a moment when he recognized the voice of his grandmother. Slowly he started to raise, and he watched Talula walk over to his grandmother and said arrogantly, “It wasn't much of a fight anyways since Turri spends all his training time working on his archery. He forgets about his basic self defense.” With each word his cousin uttered, Turrin felt like he wanted to scream, but he couldn't since he didn't want to disrespect his Grandmother. As she put a loving arm around her prized daughter, she gave him a disapproving look and asked with little emotion in her voice, “Why did you turn my home into the training yard, boy?” The golden eyed boy shifted uncomfortably and said as respectfully as he could muster, “Grandmother, Talula wasn't giving me back my bow, and I.” The Old woman barked and stomped her foot, “No excuses! I will not have you pick fights with your cousin. She is your family isn't she not?” Turrin shot his cousin a glance, nodded slowly, and said defeated, “Yes, she is Grandmother. I am sorry.”

The old crone just shook her head and said plainly, “Since I saw the whole fight, Talula is right. You are lacking in your unarmed skills. I want you to go to training yard and work on your melee skills. I will not have you embarrassing me or our clan. If I like it or not, you are a Twisted Vine, and I will not coddle you like your human mother!” Turrin kept a straight face, but he never understood her Grandmother's and Aunt's contempt for his mother. His mother was a loving woman who cared for her children, his father, and his clan. She did everything to please the old woman, but Grandmother still hated her for muddying up the clan with her half breed children. Turrin ran a hand through his hair and said respectfully, “Grandmother, I promise you. I will get better in my self defense. May I go now?” The old woman just nodded and said with a frown her face, “Your starting to talk like her too. Go! I don't want you back here until night fall.” Turrin nodded respectfully to her, but he said nothing as he picked up his short bow and quiver and walked out the door.

[Kaie]

Keikyo promised her. He promised her he'd be there by sun up. Though as the little Myrian girl wandered through the thin jungle path alone, she heard nothing from her cousin Keikyo. No bushes rustled to scar her. No childish war cry was shouted to scare the six year old. Instead there was only the silence of the jungle. Just the empty buzzing of insects and occasional rustle of leaves overhead too high for her cousin to climb. She was alone. Kaie was too young to be journeying this sort of terrain by herself. Maybe she'd get back at him by mentioning her little solo travel to their elders when she got back...

Kaie sighed and stomped toward the Training Yard. She could only hope the little idiot would be waiting for her there at least. Though the dangers of her world were all she'd ever known, even she knew she was far too young to brave them. Just when she was nearing the yards she heard footsteps. Were they behind her? In front of her? The Myrian girl couldn't tell. Instincts for self preservation reminded her of her physical weakness, sending her into a crouch between the brush. Hidden, she peeked through the jungle leaves. Searching for what was stalking between the trees.

[Turrin]

When Turrin made out of the door, he clenched his fists and stalked through the jungle to the training yard. As he walked through the forest, he could hear a pair of monkeys playing in the trees above him. He was too angry to notice, but the pair of curious primates seemed to be following him through the canopy. Since it was the beginning of summer, he noticed the humidity seemed to hang thick in the morning air. It sort of looked like a fog in the trees. He knew it was going to be hot and miserable at the Training Yard today, but anyplace was better than the long house at the moment. When father was around, he had a way of calming his Grandmother's harsh words thrown in his direction. He knew that he wasn't wanted by his clan, and his Aunt Narla and Grandmother made it abundantly clear of the fact. When Turrin made it to the edge of the jungle, he started to stretch, so he could run to the Training Yard. The twelve year old boy sat on the ground and start to spread his legs apart. When he couldn't stretch them out anymore. He bent his toes up, bent over, and tried to touch the tip of his toes on his right foot. He made it half way down, and he noticed the burning the back of his hamstring. He held it there for half a chime than switched to other leg and repeated the stretch again. When he was finished with his first stretch, he started to spread his leg standing up. He watched his father do the splits before, and he could make it all the way down to the ground. It was a impressive feat that Turrin wanted to achieve himself, so he started to inch lower and lower hoping to touch the ground, but the burring sensation in legs started to build until he had to stop moving lower. He held it in the position for half a chime than he stood up, secured his equipment, and started to run down the path.

Turrin ran the path many times in his young life, so it should be pretty easy to avoid the pit falls along the way. The boy didn't start his run in a sprint. He started off at jog as he moved quickly through the forest. As he ran through the jungle, he could feel himself start to sweat as his heart raced in his chest. Suddenly up a head, he saw a downed branch in the path from a late spring storm, so he causally jumped over it. However, he misjudged the jump, his toe hit one of the smaller branches sticking up, and fell to the ground on his knees. He stood up, felt a sharp pain, and a warm sticky liquid trickling down his leg. Turrin took his hand pressed it up against his knee to stop the bleeding and bite his teeth together to conquer the pain. When he stopped bleeding, he started to jog at a slower pace. He made a metal note to jump higher on his way back home, and he continued running down the path. Eventually, he made it to a small stream, and he came to a dead stop and looked at his surroundings. He knew the stream wasn't deep, but he didn't want to fall in it either, so he looked for a way to get across. Walking up to the shoreline of the stream, he put some of the water on his scrap to clean the dirt out it. When he was finished, he looked down stream noticed a ten foot log stretching the length of the stream.

Turrin walked over to the log and tested the log's stability with his foot. He noticed it wouldn't budge, so he jumped on the log. The log didn't move, but he noticed his balance was off, so he spread his arms out to his side. When his balance returned to him, he started to slowly walk to the other side. He noticed when he walked forward his balance would shift to either side, so he would have to either adjust his footing or weight to counteract him falling. It was slow getting across, and the rate of the current under him didn't help his resolve, but when he made it to the other side, he jumped down and running down the path. When Turrin was on the other side of the stream, he continued running down the path for a quarter of a bell. During the time, he had to stop and a catch his breath about four times before he continued his journey. As he continued down the path, he saw a large ant mound down the path, so he picked up his speed to a sprint and hurtled over a large hill of red ants. When he was over, he quickly got up and moved away from the colony on insects. Suddenly, he heard a rustling of leaves in front of him. Turrin knew enough about the jungle and to be weary of the creatures that dwell in it, but he needed make sure if it was a animal or a Myrian. Turrin walked slowly to the bush and ordered out loud in common, “If you are Myrian come out now!” He just hoped it wasn't a Myrian adult, or he could be in serious trouble. When he got to the thick underbrush, he didn't noticed anything inside that he could see, so he took his hand away from his hilt and back away from it with a worried look on his face wondering if it was a large cat or reptile in the bushes.

[Kaie]

Eventually the source of the sounds crossed her vision. The little Myrian held her breath as she peered through the leaves, biting her lip as foot steps came closer. He appeared to be a Myrian but there was something...Not Myrian about him, too. Something off in the way he looked. She couldn't quite pin point it, but she knew it was there. He seemed to be staring straight at her hiding place with no intentions of redirecting his focus. Did he know she was there? Would he tell her clan she was travelling alone. He wasn't going to beat her, was he?

The little girl's mind raced like a charging Tskanna and fear swept across her being. Finally the guy stopped. Yet then came the words. The words of which she did not understand. Kaie tilted her head just them completely perplexed. Being a six year old, she was rather oblivious to the outside world's existence. It seemed all that mattered now was the clan, Myri, and her future. Not just her future though but that of the clan's. One day she'd join their ranks and defeat the Dhani with the brutality of her ancestors before her. Yet for now she was speechless and confused. The tongue was foreign. She'd heard her parents exchange words in the language before but they were words she didn't get. Barbarian words. He looked Myrian, so why didn't he speak like one?

"Don't you speak the tongue of the Goddess Queen?" She asked steadily, a little girl's voice holding a challenge. Still she peered at him through the leaves defiantly. Unsure of his loyalties, she felt the need to be prepared for all possibilities. Would he dare strike her?

[Turrin]

Turrin eyed the bushes as he tried to catch a glimpse of the creature that made the noise. Tapping the hilt of his talon sword, he was about to turn around and continue to the training yard, but he heard a defiant voice of a little girl call out from under the bushes. The question the girl asked made him smirk to himself, and he wondered if the little girl was from one of the more tradition clans. Turrin knelt down to get a better look at the little girl. When he saw her, he was reminded of the time his father told him that Myrian females were much more dangerous than a tiger or a alligator. As he got a better look at the little girl, he noticed the little girl had penetrating brown eyes. He felt like he was staring at a cornered animal, so he gave the little girl a respectfully nod and said calmly, “I mean you no disrespect to our Goddess Myri or you, but my clan speaks mostly the common tongue except during ceremonies to honor our beloved Goddess than we use Ancient Myrian.” Turrin new his clan was relatively new to Myrian society. The Twisted Vine clan has only been a clan for last two hundred years after their ancestors defeated a Dhani Warlord. He only knew the story because the skull of the Dhani Warlord is on display at their longhouse.

Turrin decided to relax his guard. He didn't expect a little girl half his age to attack him, but he had been wrong before. Looking at her with his golden eyes, he gave her a reassuring smile and said softly, “My name is Turrin of the Twisted Vine. I am son of Ceela and Marak of the Twisted Vine Clan.” The half breed knew Ceela wasn't a Myrian name, but he wasn't sure if the little girl would pick up on the little fact about him. Turrin knew that females carried more political power in Myrian society than men, so he knew that he needed to be as respectful as he could, so he didn't offend the little girl. However, she reminded him of his own twin sister Kaya. Unlike the little girl in the bushes, she had the complexion of his Inarta mother. Turrin looked at the girl and decided to ask his own set of questions, “I am on my way to training yard. Would you care to join me?” He knew that they were inside the city, but the city was still crawling with dangerous beast that would find even a little girl a tasty meal if they weren't to careful. Turrin knew that he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he let the little girl fend for herself on the way to the training yard. The Myrian knew that if she refused his help, he couldn't object or force her to come along with him since she was a female. Turrin asked with a extend of his hand, “What is your name?”

[Kaie]

Warily she eyed the man as he turned back to her and knelt before her. Though his eyes searched hers, Kaie had her sights only on his sword. She already knew fists could hurt, but she'd be an idiot not to realize the fatality a weapon can cause. And far quicker than the fist too. All the while her expression was blank though her muddy brown orbs still radiated confidence. He was one of her own despite the odd hue of his hair. She had no reason to be afraid of him, right?

Her face contorted with confusion at his words immediately. A clan that spoke the Common tongue almost exclusively? Why? What use was that practice in a world of guttural Myrian words and animal signals? Her young mind raced with questions. Ones she doubted would be answered soon. Nonetheless her mind was one tracked. As soon as he changed the subject to give a name, Kaie had moved on from the oddity of his clan. Instead she looked him over and tried hopelessly to read his golden eyes. She found little but she did catch his smile. Didn't smiles mean friendly, good things? Plus he was respectful to her as a Myrian man should. He conducted himself in a pleasant, formal way. And in addition he invited her to accompany him to the very place she was supposed to be headed. It wasn't a good idea for her to keep traveling alone out here anyways...

"Kaie of the Cutthroat Shadows. Daughter of Shantiwa and Keritan from the same clan. Why do you come to the Arena alone?" She asked like some innocent child when in reality she was already becoming quite a trouble maker. Her little bronzed hand reached to find his, hesitantly but somehow trying to maintain that sureness. One might bet he could definitely see that glimmer of doubt within her hard exterior. Then again she was a kid. And in retrospect, he probably still was too.

OOC:Sorry this took so long! Crazy week! I promise any future delays will not be to that extent! Thanks for being so patient.

[Turrin]

“Kaie of the Cutthroat Shadows, I will remember your name. It is a honor to meet you.” Turrin was silent when she asked his reason for going to arena alone. He could give the girl a hundred reasons for walking the jungle alone, but he gave her a sad smile and said simply, “I am always alone, Kaie...” It was the best way to describe his life as mongrel to the full blooded Myrian girl. She probably wouldn't understand the meaning of his answer, but she would in the future, maybe. Turrin decided to give her a simple answer to her question, “I am a warrior of Myri, so I am heading to arena to train. Today, I am going to work on my archery skills and unarmed combat.” He knew his grandmother told him specificity to work on his unarmed combat skills, but he wanted to make his own mother smile at his skill with a bow. He loved it when his mother smile for him, and he didn't care what the old bag thought about him.

Turrin took her little hand and helped her out of the underbrush and gave her a compliment, “I have to say, Kaie. You a quite adept on hiding because I had no clue where you were till you opened your mouth.” The young teenage boy laughed out loud and said with a smile, “I thought your a ferocious large cat, but I found out that you are much more dangerous predator, a Myrian female.” The young half breed was accustom to listening to his Inarta mother talk to his Myrian father, and he noticed his father had a way with words and his mother was a musician from Wind Reach, so they could talk for hours without stopping. He noticed he was starting to pick up his father's wit and his mother's elegance with the common tongue. Letting go of the little girls hand, he back away from her to let her stand up. Looking at Kaie, he figured that she just started her warrior training, so he was curious if she was interested in learning archery, “Since you asked me about traveling to arena alone, why are you traveling alone? No offense, Kaie. I know we are in the city, but it is dangerous for a child like you to traveling alone.”

Looking at the little girl, Turrin couldn't help himself from seeing his mischievous twin sister looking up at him, so the half breeds protective side started to show as he looked at the Kaie. He wasn't sure of the girls' martial training yet, so he couldn't gauge her skills, but if she had to hide when he approached her. He figured the child was still a novice in the arts of war. Turrin knew that he couldn't stand here and talk to the child, so he motioned her to follow him and said with a smile, “Why don't you join me? I promise you that I will get you to the arena safely. If you want, I could teach you a little about archery.” When he looked at the young girl, he could tell the Kaie would someday grow up to be a fine warrior of Myri by the look in her determination in her eyes.

[Kaie]

Uncertain at first, Kaie suddenly beamed at the boy's words. However, she did note his silent nature. It almost like he was...Sad? But why? She looked up at him curiously, one hand toying with the tiger fang necklace hanging from her neck. Kaie liked to run her fingers along the smooth, white texture. It was comforting once but now it had become a childish habit. She took great pride in it, though, and any day she left the longhouse without it left her feeling a little empty. His answer to her question about his solo journey only prompted more questions from the little girl.

Always alone? Why? Have you disgraced the people, your tribe, the Goddess Queen? Are you a bad hunter?

Errant thoughts assaulted her tiny head mercilessly. Her mind was always reeling and his open ended answers didn't help in that respect. All seemed to be clarified (well, some of it) when he confirmed he was a warrior of Myri and therefore needed to train. And in archery and unarmed combat! The words were big and cumbersome. It took her a minute to realize he was talking about fighting with bows, arrows, and fists. The realization almost made her giddy with excitement though once she remembered she was going there too. He wasn't a female, but maybe he was good at something! Could he show her bow to shoot an arrow? Was he as good of a fighter as her father? Keritan was really good with his gladius and his body. One time she saw him sparring with one of his military buddies. It went on for a long time, she remembered,but he came out roughly on top. One punch to the jaw and BAM! The other guy was out.

Kaie was just about to tell him all about it when he interrupted her train of thought with more words. He was nice. Always complimenting her and what not. And he called her a good hider! The little girl almost visibly stood up straighter with pride. Her clan took stealth, camouflage, and the like seriously. If only her mother could've seen her! Kaie giggled at him, completely glowing at the idea she could be considered ferocious at all at her age. Fierce like a tiger, too!

"My cousin, Keikyo, was supposed to take me. We go to the Training Yards sometimes to play, I mean, train! Looks like he forgot me... Could I really come with you? We could spar and train, and shoot arrows, and throw spears, and throw those things that tie up people's feet!"

Goddess, she really was such a child.

[Turrin]

Turrin snickered at the enthusiasm of the young Myrian girl, and said with a smirk, “You remind me of my twin sister Kaya. She has so much energy. It makes me tired trying to watch her sometimes. Also if we see your cousin Keikyo there, we will have to practice the trippy things on him for forgetting you. Come on Kaie let go!” It was nice not acting like a warrior for a moment and just be a kid for once. The Twisted Vine prided themselves as disciplined warriors and hunters, so the clan had to live their lives as disciplined as possible even the children. As they walked to training yard, Turrin looked at Kaie and asked with a smile, “I am going to teach you how to fire with a short bow. Maybe if you you get good enough, I will convince my father to take you on a hunting trip with us. We will have to ask your parents of course, but it could be a good set skills for you to learn. What do you think of my idea?” Turrin kept his eyes on the jungle as he escorted the Myrian girl through the jungle. He knew that he needed to protect the child with his life till she was able to defend herself on her own, so he kept a hand on the hilt of his talon sword as they walked through the jungle. Even in the city, the Caiyha had a tendency to surprise you, so he had to be extra careful today. He gave the little girl a reassuring smile before he turned his attention back to the jungle. The walk to the training yard was uneventful, and Turrin let out a sigh of relief when he heard the clashing sounds of swords, twang of bowstrings, and grunts of the unarmed warriors. Walking around a column, Turrin noticed the adult archery range was full with hunters and warriors, so he made his way to the children archery range. He looked at Kaie and said with a smile, “Well Kaie lets get you a training short bow and get started in your training.” Turrin knew their were instructors around to help the little girl if she asked, but he figured it could be good way to get the know her. He didn't have many friends, so it could be nice to have someone to talk to even if she was half his age. Walking up to the weapon stand, he looked at the Kaie for a moment to judge her size, and he started to pick up different type of bows compared to her size. However, he realized that she should decided on the bow that she would like to use, so he knelt down in front of her and asked politely, “Kaie of the Cutthroat Shadows would you prefer learning with a long bow or a short bow. The long bow is good for shooting long distances at your enemies with greater power, and the short bow is good for hunting, shooting from a mount, and shooting in confined space like a jungle or inside a structure; however, you don't get the range or the power with a long bow. Also if you choose long bow, I can only show you the basics of archery since I used a short bow. Which type of bow would you prefer? It is your choice.”

[Kaie]

Kaie looked down at her feet with a grin, shuffling some when he compared her to his own sister. At the mention of Keikyo, however, she snapped her head back up curiously. That smile crept up the corners of her lips again at his joke. Really all she could think about was actually getting to the Training Yard! Kaie had absolutely heard the stories of the place but never had she truly gotten a good look. Well, at least she sure hadn't stepped foot there. And now this Turrin was going to teach her a thing or two?! It was enough to get her little heart aflutter with excitement.

"I think I'll take the short bow!" Kaie declared after a careful moment of deliberation. With all the clear advantages he listed with the shortbow rather than the longbow, her choice was rather clear. Oh, she could almost see it all now. Crouching in the dense Jungle brush hidden from some giant Okapi she tracked down, raising her bow and taking the thing down with ease. Better yet she could take down some of those worthless Dhani! They were warrior's fantasies and she was obsessed. Good thing there was something around that actually knew what they were talking about. Or so she hoped. At this age he certainly could've fooled her.

It was really a wonder Kaie managed to get a response out at all. She was assaulted by the stimuli in the Yards. The clash of swords and the thunking of arrows hitting targets. All around she could see recruits and citizens alike testing their skills with and without weapons on each other. Men and woman were caked in the earth they had tumbled in, neither opponent readily giving up. No doubt blood had been spilled several times before they even arrived. With all the intensity and aggression released in one location, there was bound to be more action afoot.

"Turrin, are you going to shoot your bow with the army one day?