[Flashback] Games and Childhood 1, Bad Falls

[Reia Stringer]

13th of Spring 493 AV.

"Oh wow, it's even better up close!" exclaimed Reia between her panting, a thin finger directed at the canopy of a tree she and her friend Mareen had discovered yesterday, tucked off at the edges of the Syliran Fields. While Reia was already skipping about the tree, sizing it up and giggling in anticipation of the climb. Her finger trailed down to the trunk of the tree - the soft pad running roughly over the old tree's pockmarked flesh, feeling out its appealing texture.

"What'dya think, Mar," Reia stopped skipping in front of the panting Mareen, the freckled and red-pig-tailed girl not nearly as vital as her golden haired friend, "race to the top?" Reia leaned over to give Mareen the most pleadingly enthusiastic face she could muster, wide eyed and beaming.

Mareen, as she finally managed to catch her breath, plopped rear-first under the thick, shady branches of the little giant. "I unno Reia," replied Mareen with a skeptical drawl, "It's real big, real, real big." Mareen began to pull up blades of grass by the handful - tying them into little knots. Reia sat herself down across from Mareen and began doing the same. It was a little activity Reia had come up with quite some time ago, and the duo had a going competition to see who could make the most interesting notes and most unique designs. Mareen, they both agreed, had the best one so far; an amazingly knotted wreath of little crisscrossing flowers. Reia had been working hard to beat it - her fingers getting nimbler by the day)

As Reia's small hands fiddled with a particularly stubborn, but perfectly lengthed, blade of grass she spoke up to Mareen without raising her focused gaze. "Yeah..." The blade tore and Reia tossed it aside with a giggling frown of mock-frustration, "But it's got so many branches, though! And it's so lumpy and perfect!". Reia's legged kicked out in punctuation - nearly knocking back Mareen - who brushed it aside with an amused snort.

"We don't have to climb it all the way though, top aint going nowhere." Mareen said with a kind amount of assertion, "Lets just go up a few branches'n see who can count up the most bugs.". She placed the half finished grass-creation off to the side, in a little dirt patch where she wouldn't forget it.

Reia, having made no progress on her own creation tossed the whole thing in Mareen's face with a laugh - who squealed and sputtered in response. "Ugh, fine Mar - but at least let's race about it! Third branch up, come on!" Reia sprinted right back up to the base of the tree - jumping and cartwheeling around the old trunk in impatient anticipation of her friend's consent.

Mareen - brushing the last specks of grass off her reddish cheeks let out the most adult sigh she could muster. "Okay, okay! You're such a kid, Reia." Mareen crawled up to her feet and trotted over to the bottom of the tree - intercepting the chuckling Reia and gripping a particularly thick chunk of bark.

Reia, rubbing her hands together in delight, sunk her nails into a small hollow in the tree-side. She was already looking for bugs to count and planning the best way up. Though she didn't actually have any intention to stop at the third branch. "Count to three then," with the regular sarcastic add-on when Mareen emphasized her two-year seniority, "Granny Mar."

While Mareen counted Reia plucked a little spider up out of the hollow of the tree, and as soon as Mareen reached three Reia chucked the little critter right at her. Mareen let out a terrified screech, followed shortly by (certainly just) accusations of cheating. Reia just laughed in response as she took advantage of her wonderful little prank - already a foot off the ground.

[Reia Stringer]

Mareen's dad was a logger and a very talkative sort - far more jolly than Reia's own father. Reia would often laze about Mareen's house to play and as such would listen in as the pockmarked redhead talked about his business - knowing little beyond that and having few friends that weren't loggers themselves. She had asked him once why trees have more branches and leaves at the top if, as he claimed, they grow from the top - not the bottom. He didn't quite know himself - but he and his friends, after some arguing, suspected that it must be that as the tree ages the branches grow more quickly. Reia didn't know if that was right or not, but she did know that the hardest branches to get to were usually the first ones up - and they got more plentiful from there.

She though about this as she struggled, with her tiny frame, to swing herself up to the first branch - a thick, gnarled thing with hardly a leaf left on it. Mareen had already recovered, and spurred by the unfair tactics of Reia, was already pulling herself up onto her first branch a few feet away. At this point neither of them were bothering to count the bugs - things had gotten awfully competitive, just as Reia had hoped it would be. Mareen wasn't usually the competitive sort... until she got angry. And Reia was often keen to draw the former out of her friend, even if it meant the later. Reia had found that competition, friendly or not, made things much more fun.

Her attempts to heave herself from the rough handhold she had onto the tree failed again and again, but no other handholds to get her any higher were in sight. Mareen had chosen a far better starting point for the climb. Finally Reia gave up entirely on the search, once again a stray though entering her mind. She remembered how quickly the neighborhood cats could climb, often with nothing to hold onto. They'd spring across the largest gaps, all legs pressing together into the same hold to spring across to their destination. Why not? Reia decided to give it a go herself. As quickly as she good she pulled her small feet up around the same gap her hands were squeezed in - pushing off with all four limbs together.

Even she was surprised by how far she managed to fly - too far. She launched over the first branch entirely - her limbs flailing for whatever hold they could as she realized her underestimation. And if not for her legs catching on a few of the twigs leaning out of the branch she aimed for, slowing her down and tangling her britches, she may very well have taken a tumble onto the ground below!

Her amazing recovery, arms and body wrapped around the branch in a small shock, was announced with a cheer of success! Even as she lay sprawled, panting on the branch as she righted herself she hooted and hollered in exhilaration between every halting breath. Stopping only to clamber back towards the trunk in anticipation of the next leg of the race! Mareen was already on the second branch! But Reia was feeling far bolder than before - her smile twice as toothy as usual. She realized now that Mareen's size and strength would make it impossible to beat her with pure climbing, and Mareen was more observant, and probably a bit smarter than Reia (though Reia wouldn't admit it) to boot - she probably knew the best path up. But Reia knew she had a few advantages of her own, and Mar had her own weaknesses.

For one, Reia was brave. This time she didn't even bother with climbing, she instead remembered the cats. Standing up on the branch, she was bold enough to back up a few steps, and then charge right back up it's length. With a little yelp of exertion she jumped as high as high as she could, right towards the trunk. She could see Mareen looking down on her from a branch up - shock and confusion at Reia's strange manuever just now registering on her face. With a second little yelp - arms and feet leaning but for a moment into the thick bark of the old trunk she pushed off once again. And this time she had a measure of what this cat-like spring could do: her light-footed bounce up off the wall flew her right up into the next branch. But not on top of it. She let out a girlish little "Oof!" As she felt the air pressed from her lungs as only her upper body was left atop the branch, arms scrabbling for purchase. She, miraculously enough, claws her fingers around a few stray branches - legs danging and kicking beneath her.

Mareen, worried now, stopped her race as the anger vanished in concern. "Reia? You okay Reia?", she questioned as Reia kicked for purchase, eventually finding it against the side of the trunk. Mareen calmed from her rising panic at her friend's precarious position, (6 feet up can look to be an awful lot for an 11 year old girl) as Reia forced her whole body atop the trunk - smile wide as she struggled between breathing and chuckling.

"I'm fine... Mar..." Reia finally forced out, pushing herself back to all fours, Mar now sitting across the second branch up, a foot away. "I didn't even know I could jump that high!", her energy already back to her, Reia looked no worse the wear beyond the scrapes across her arm. Though she made real sure that Mareen could see them - Mareen looked a bit more scared as she saw the dull red lines. Mareen had always been easy to scare.

Mareen smiled back, looking down towards the base of the tree "Maybe we should stop here, we're alr-". Mareen couldn't muster up enough concern in the world to stop Reia at this point. By the time Mareen looked up again, Reia was already climbing - quickly scrambling up to the final branch, merely a head above her. "Dangit Reia!", the flustered girl exclaimed, red rising in her cheeks. And for that matter Mareen was far too easy to trick as well.

"Race aint over yet, Mar!" Yelled down Reia - neck craning as she hoisted both arms into reach of the next branch. Mareen began her own ascent - not wanting to beat so easily. And unlike Reia's, Mareen's the next branch was already within full arms reach of her. And Mareen could pull herself up a branch far easier than Reia could. She had to think up yet another trick.