29th Day of Fall, 513 AV Early Morning
Awareness came slowly to her as she lay in the warm comfort of her bed, her visit with Maybell a lingering sort of dread, overshadowed by a deeper feeling of fear that chilled her even wrapped as she was in blankets. For all that it was fear, it only served to drive her from her bed. She would not lay passively in her bed when she could work away the icy fingers of fear that pulled at her.
She came to her feet quickly enough, digging in her trunk for her clothing. Dressed in her tunic and breeches, boots left inside to await her return she went out into the near darkness of the morning.
She shivered in the chill air despite her extra clothing, but she knew well enough that she would warm quickly. The ground seemed to meet her half way in her readiness, pressing her back and shoulders up from the ground with fingers of cold. She pressed on, muscles in her stomach contracting and releasing with her movements, but it was too slow to warm her.
Onto her hands she rolled, pressing her body up onto her palms and toes, then with a push she brought her knees to her chest, then a jump up into the air with her arms raised above her head, back into her crouch, then down into a push up. It took only a few repeats of the exercise for her body to warm, first her legs and arms, warming with the repeated use of the muscles, followed by the rest of her body more slowly. She pressed on, forcing her body away from the earth only to come back down and feel the ground against the length of her body. Heat spread through her body as her breathing became labored, beads of sweat forming on her brow and along her back.
Her arms grew tired before her legs did, shaking slightly beneath her as she pushed her body up from the ground. She finished the movement with the jump to her feet, standing to begin her next exercise.
She squared her feet beneath her shoulders then, keeping her back straight above her hips she dropped her weight into her rear, bending her knees and engaging the muscles in her legs. Shifting her weight she rose , and after no more than a tick's rest she dropped again. Up and down her legs fighting the pull of the earth to hold her up and lift her weight from the sitting position.
It was a task that required little thought, this up and down and up again, and soon her mind wandered to the night before.
She had been working, Maybell was in to check on how the shop was doing, and as she was leaving the older woman had caught Rue's arm. 'I have something for you, Rue. Tomorrow is a special day, isn't it?' Rue had tried to refuse, celebrating in the wake of news so horrible just wasn't in her plans, but the other had played on what she knew younger girl. 'With my own daughters off with their husbands, it is not often I get the chance to give a gift. Besides, I worked quite hard on this.'
From the sectioned off area where Maybell often returned to work the woman came forward with a white bundle, clothing of some sort, Rue assumed. 'Wear this on your birthday, child. It would bring me great joy to know you had something nice to wear on such a special day.'
Just like that Rue no longer had the words she needed to explain to the woman that such a thing wasn't necessary. She wouldn't be celebrating, not in the wake of the cruelty that had been discovered among their people. The poor Drykas...
The burning in her legs reminded her that she wasn't even counting the squats, and that perhaps it was time to switch once again to something more challenging, something that would keep her mind more occupied.
Once more she found herself supporting her weight on her hands and toes, body laying on the same plain as the ground. She held her body there, shifting her weight so that her left leg could come up, bending at the knee as her torso twisted contracting the muscles in her stomach and back. Back down her left went, both feet on the ground only long enough to settle her weight so the other leg could mirror the movement up to her torso.
She settled into the pattern as the burning in her stomach grew, careful not to forget to breathe as she worked her body. Soon her entire body was warmed once more, muscles of her shoulders and arms matching the straining in her back and stomach, her calves and thighs having turned into a single source of burning. When her stomach was so tight that it began to strain her breaths she decided that it was time to finish up.
One armed push-ups were something that she had begun working on in the early summer, hopes of mimicking the acrobats dancing in her mind. It was these she went to next. She lifted one arm, crossing it over the small of her back, the other arm lowered her body to the ground then back up, keeping her torso flat all the while. Down, up, repeat. The first couple were not so hard, but that was soon to change.
Her entire body seemed to shake balanced as she was on one arm. She was half way in the push up, struggling to press her body up from the ground a final time. All she had to do was straighten her arm, and she was so close, but the traitorous appendage wobbled beneath her. With an unladylike grunt, she straightened her elbow, the muscles of her arm burning from the stint in limbo.
She rolled over onto her back, dropping the short distance to the ground and lifted her arms up above her so that she could see them. Her hands shook slightly in the air above her, but that was okay because she had managed to do twenty one armed pushups. Not so long ago she had tried the same only to fall on her face before she could do one. Almost a season of work had gone into further strengthening her arms, and only because she hoped it would allow her to walk on her hands.
She had no plans of trying such today, her early morning workout only done because she had more reason now than ever to be ready to defend herself. Word had spread though the city quickly, talk of a body found, beaten and broken and who knew what else before it had been abandoned between tents.
Awareness came slowly to her as she lay in the warm comfort of her bed, her visit with Maybell a lingering sort of dread, overshadowed by a deeper feeling of fear that chilled her even wrapped as she was in blankets. For all that it was fear, it only served to drive her from her bed. She would not lay passively in her bed when she could work away the icy fingers of fear that pulled at her.
She came to her feet quickly enough, digging in her trunk for her clothing. Dressed in her tunic and breeches, boots left inside to await her return she went out into the near darkness of the morning.
She shivered in the chill air despite her extra clothing, but she knew well enough that she would warm quickly. The ground seemed to meet her half way in her readiness, pressing her back and shoulders up from the ground with fingers of cold. She pressed on, muscles in her stomach contracting and releasing with her movements, but it was too slow to warm her.
Onto her hands she rolled, pressing her body up onto her palms and toes, then with a push she brought her knees to her chest, then a jump up into the air with her arms raised above her head, back into her crouch, then down into a push up. It took only a few repeats of the exercise for her body to warm, first her legs and arms, warming with the repeated use of the muscles, followed by the rest of her body more slowly. She pressed on, forcing her body away from the earth only to come back down and feel the ground against the length of her body. Heat spread through her body as her breathing became labored, beads of sweat forming on her brow and along her back.
Her arms grew tired before her legs did, shaking slightly beneath her as she pushed her body up from the ground. She finished the movement with the jump to her feet, standing to begin her next exercise.
She squared her feet beneath her shoulders then, keeping her back straight above her hips she dropped her weight into her rear, bending her knees and engaging the muscles in her legs. Shifting her weight she rose , and after no more than a tick's rest she dropped again. Up and down her legs fighting the pull of the earth to hold her up and lift her weight from the sitting position.
It was a task that required little thought, this up and down and up again, and soon her mind wandered to the night before.
She had been working, Maybell was in to check on how the shop was doing, and as she was leaving the older woman had caught Rue's arm. 'I have something for you, Rue. Tomorrow is a special day, isn't it?' Rue had tried to refuse, celebrating in the wake of news so horrible just wasn't in her plans, but the other had played on what she knew younger girl. 'With my own daughters off with their husbands, it is not often I get the chance to give a gift. Besides, I worked quite hard on this.'
From the sectioned off area where Maybell often returned to work the woman came forward with a white bundle, clothing of some sort, Rue assumed. 'Wear this on your birthday, child. It would bring me great joy to know you had something nice to wear on such a special day.'
Just like that Rue no longer had the words she needed to explain to the woman that such a thing wasn't necessary. She wouldn't be celebrating, not in the wake of the cruelty that had been discovered among their people. The poor Drykas...
The burning in her legs reminded her that she wasn't even counting the squats, and that perhaps it was time to switch once again to something more challenging, something that would keep her mind more occupied.
Once more she found herself supporting her weight on her hands and toes, body laying on the same plain as the ground. She held her body there, shifting her weight so that her left leg could come up, bending at the knee as her torso twisted contracting the muscles in her stomach and back. Back down her left went, both feet on the ground only long enough to settle her weight so the other leg could mirror the movement up to her torso.
She settled into the pattern as the burning in her stomach grew, careful not to forget to breathe as she worked her body. Soon her entire body was warmed once more, muscles of her shoulders and arms matching the straining in her back and stomach, her calves and thighs having turned into a single source of burning. When her stomach was so tight that it began to strain her breaths she decided that it was time to finish up.
One armed push-ups were something that she had begun working on in the early summer, hopes of mimicking the acrobats dancing in her mind. It was these she went to next. She lifted one arm, crossing it over the small of her back, the other arm lowered her body to the ground then back up, keeping her torso flat all the while. Down, up, repeat. The first couple were not so hard, but that was soon to change.
Her entire body seemed to shake balanced as she was on one arm. She was half way in the push up, struggling to press her body up from the ground a final time. All she had to do was straighten her arm, and she was so close, but the traitorous appendage wobbled beneath her. With an unladylike grunt, she straightened her elbow, the muscles of her arm burning from the stint in limbo.
She rolled over onto her back, dropping the short distance to the ground and lifted her arms up above her so that she could see them. Her hands shook slightly in the air above her, but that was okay because she had managed to do twenty one armed pushups. Not so long ago she had tried the same only to fall on her face before she could do one. Almost a season of work had gone into further strengthening her arms, and only because she hoped it would allow her to walk on her hands.
She had no plans of trying such today, her early morning workout only done because she had more reason now than ever to be ready to defend herself. Word had spread though the city quickly, talk of a body found, beaten and broken and who knew what else before it had been abandoned between tents.
