Flashback Flexibility & Fitness

Kiva struggles to keep up with her fang during training.

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Taloba, home to the Myrians, is the thriving core of Falyndar. Inhabited by a fierce and savage tribe where blood sacrifices are normal and a way of life, they are untamed and proud of it. Warlike, and with their numbers growing, the Myrians are set on reclaiming what is rightfully theirs. [Lore]

Flexibility & Fitness

Postby Kiva on December 17th, 2015, 8:28 pm

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53rd of Summer, 509 A.V
Taloba

The humid morning air was thick, even inside the barracks. The sun had yet to wake, and after some shouting from their Tokah, the fang began to rise with a number of groans and grumbles. Kiva rolled over in her cot, sore even from the day before, and knew she had her morning training and patrol to do before she could even consider relaxing again. A long sigh escaped her lips and with some coaxing from her bunk mate, Kiva opened and eyes and cursed under her breath. Her thin blanket was thrown from her and she swung her legs over the side of the mat, stretching languidly. She looked around. In the dim light, other newly entered rekruits were moving quickly, getting dressed while their tokah watched closely. More orders were yelled and Kiva stood, brushing sleep from her eyes and throwing her hair up into a half-hazard pony tail. She began reaching around for the pile of clothes that belonged to her at the foot of her cot and pulled on her loincloth. Her shirt smelled strongly of sweat and would need to be washed soon. Kiva's nose crinkled in distaste as she pulled it over her head. She didn't have much of a choice.

Still half asleep, it was difficult for Kiva's coordination to kick in. The group was lead outside, and she stumbled once or twice, but made sure to keep up. The group silently lined up in short rows. The Tokah stood before them, and looked at them each individually. She gave a small nod, the signal.

In unison, they all began jogging in place, Kiva slow and groggily. Lifting one foot, and another, she bent her arms at her waist, and looked down, watching her feet. The impact of the hard dirt smacking against her feet sent small jolts through her legs. She kept on her toes to remain light and bouncy, but it wasn't long until her breathing started growing laborious. 'Keep going, come on.' she told herself, trying to focus on the rhythm of the run. The awful stitch in her side, one she was growing more and more familiar with started to creep into her motions. Kiva gritted her teeth and kept moving through the pain. Her ponytail bounced and swished with each lift and fall.

"Listen up!" the Tokah yelled, staring at the fang, "You are weak and need to be strengthened. You are nothing!... Yet. Myri has seen potential in you, we will not disappoint her. Begin stretching, now!"

It was the same as the day before and by now the fang mates knew what was expected. Kiva was one of the least flexible of the group, and so this was always one of the harder parts... 'If it was easy, it wouldn't be worth it.' The young woman leaned forward in unison with the others, feet together. She tried to touch her toes, but her hands barely splayed to her shins. She grunted, trying to push it more, but had to stop and respect her limitation. Looking sideways, she saw most of the others reach their toes and she sighed. The tokah wandered over, staring at a long minute at Kiva's lack of flexibility. She began counting for the group, "One...two... three... Keep holding it. Feel it."

The leader went out of Kiva's range of vision, and she felt the tightness of muscles, the arching of her back. Kiva struggled to hold it, reaching with her fingers as much as possible.

"Keep your knees straight, Kiva."

Kiva said nothing, but felt frustrated. She knew to keep them straight. But it was hard. Straightening her legs as she was told, she tried not to hold her breath as she worked. After what seemed like bells, the tokah called for the next stretch. Kiva grunted and did as she was told. Her body was starting to wake up, but she didn't have to like it.

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Last edited by Kiva on January 10th, 2016, 1:38 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Flexibility & Fitness

Postby Kiva on December 17th, 2015, 9:07 pm

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The next stretch was easier, but Kiva felt it in her legs just as much, just in a different spot. After straightening up, Kiva moved her legs a bit, shaking them out. The release in the tension was wonderful. She bent one leg backwards at the knee, using a hand to reach behind her and grab her ankle.

"Standing Thigh Stretch. Ready?" A nod from the tokah had everyone in their positions. Their leader started to count, and Kiva looked out among the training yard. One fang was already on their early jog, a few scragglers, but otherwise it was obvious they had received more training. Kiva envied them. They were mostly past all this... struggling. They were stronger, more skilled. They would be given more missions, more responsibility. Kiva was just newly marked, barely an adult, and it was obvious she was in no serious physical condition. She needed to be prepared. Letting out a long exhale, this new stretch provided it's own challenges. For one - balance. Kiva wobbled more than once, her leg dropping, or having to catch herself and re-position herself. For this one, she felt slightly more relieved, and her eyes darted to other fang mates who also faltered.

The tokah shouted at them each time, demanding they continue, pick back up and start over. She counted, restarting each time someone faltered, whistling sharply when they were to switch legs.

"You are a team," the tokah yelled, "A cohesive unit. When one of us falls, we all fall. We are each others strength's, and weakness'. When you cannot do what you need to, we fail. I let you start over, but the Dhani are not so forgiving. We are in a war. Remember that."

She circled the group, letting the depth of what she said sink in, "Keep your hips and knees aligned. Relax your shoulders. Very good, Ika, Kiva. Your knee is faltering, Zo. Head high. Feel it."

It felt good to be praised, and Kiva grinned. She looked down at her feet. 'Are my hips aligned?' she wondered. She sure felt something in the front of her thighs. There was an awareness in her muscles, and she could feel them warming up. She held her position still, taking some deep breaths.

"Tokah," Kiva dared, watching as their leaders head snapped in her direction.

"Yes?"

"What do these stretches do?"

Surely she wasn't the only one who wondered? They would allow them to reach their toes, or contort their legs, but how did this help with battle?

The tokah raised her brow, "Flexibility reduces injury. It allows you to control your body, move with grace. Work harder and longer. If you try to dodge an arrow, and need to bend out of the way, but cannot bend that extra inch you need, you still get shot. Release."

Everyone dropped their last leg, shifting and shaking them out. Time for another.

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Flexibility & Fitness

Postby Kiva on December 18th, 2015, 5:39 pm

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Kiva's legs were starting to feel loose and warm, and when she stepped into the next stretch, extending one leg as if lunging, she leaned forward, holding her position. This tension was felt in the back of her calves, and she held her weight up with her right foot, placing both hands on her hips for balance.

"Keep your back leg straight, foot on the ground and create an angle, like this with your leading knee." The tokah momentarily demonstrated, then pointed to those with good posture. Kiva took deep breaths as she mentally counted the ticks in her head. It was a great way to practice her counting, something that wasn't often stressed in her education.

'One. Two. Three. Four.' She continued her breathing. The tokah nodded.

"Good. Raise your back foot onto your toes. Now lift your arms upwards, fingertips to the sky, palms inward. Hold."

This was new. Kiva furrowed her brow, doing as she was told. It felt strange to hold her hands in the air. 'Why are we doing this?' She soon found out. It crept up on her - the heat in her arms, the difficulty it was to hold the position. Muscles she wasn't even aware of were starting to make themselves known, complaining of fatigue. Gravity made itself known, and breathing in the group became a step louder as the rekruits worked on the position.

"Come on," Kiva muttered, eyes forward. Soon the tokah would allow them to rest, to lower their arms and stand straight... But she didn't. Their leader waited, as patiently as could be, watching like a tiger watches its prey. It then dawned on Kiva. She was looking for the weakest link, the one who would drop first. When one fails, they all fail.

But how long would they last?

Kiva's arms were already beginning to burn, and she looked to her side to see faces of discomfort around her. There was nothing they could do but hold their position. Ticks turned into chimes, and no sooner, Kiva felt her arms were going to fall off. They burned, and ached, her legs threatening to give out by shaking.

"I can't do it," Kiva heard a fang mate behind her say.

"Yes, we can." she replied, not quite sure if she believed herself. She looked for a way to motivate them, and herself. Their tokah still sat back sadistically, seeing what they would do. The girl next to her started to lower her arms, and Kiva called out to her,

"Don't. You can... do it." In fact, she wasn't sure she could do it herself, but her fang mate nodded, pinching her eyes closed and lifted her arms upwards once more.

Kiva's own muscles were burning like fire, and her feet wobbled from their extended balance. She gritted her teeth, taking her mind off it the pain, "Hey, Rok, you sing, right?"

There was silence for a moment, and for a moment, she doubted she'd get an answer. After a second, she heard a small pained response, "Yes," the male grunted.

"Sing me something."

"I ca... I can't right now."

Kiva sighed, "Come on. I'll sing too." And with some embarrassment, she started off soft, the lyrics breaking between her breaths. Kiva was not a singer. She was hardly anything, really, but she didn't know the first thing about it. But she knew the words to some of the war chants, the songs they sang to Myri, and the ones from the festivals. Kiva began to sing them, badly, but that wasn't her goal. It took only a few verses, before another one of her teammates caught on, joining her.

The two sang in bad unison, their voices cracking, but the support strengthened the other, and they started singing louder.

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Flexibility & Fitness

Postby Kiva on December 23rd, 2015, 5:57 pm

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It was surprising to her how quick the song caught on. Rok began singing it, his own experienced baritone blending in with their muddled voices. Kiva raised her own voice, belting out the lyrics, finding that they distracted her from her own pain, and she felt herself smiling when one of her fang mates sang the wrong words, and they all chuckled. There was a renewed strength among them, singing the praises of their goddess queen. The songs of victory, of fighting through pain and tragedy. Of perseverance... It motivated them to keep going.

"We will fight for the goddess queen, riding into battle..." The lyrics fell off her tongue easily, and the pain her body felt... worth it. The group continued to chant, until, finally, the song was over.

Immediately, the tokah raised her hand, having watched the whole display. "...Release." Kiva's eyes widened and they all collapsed, Kiva falling to the dirt ground, her arms barely strong enough to catch herself. They cheered. What a small victory, but a victory non-the-less.

"Do not think this is over yet." The tokah warned, "Butterfly positions, everyone."

Despite their leader's warning, everyone knew this position was much easier than the others, as it allowed something marvelous - sitting.

'Oh, thank Myri.'
Kiva brought the soles of her feet together, trying not to slouch over. Her hips were tight, so she was unable to perform the goal of this stretch very successfully. The idea was that after bringing your feet together, you use your hands or elbows to push your knees to the ground and hold. The flexible were able to touch, the not so flexible had higher knees.

Kiva's were somewhere in the middle, she would have guessed, not quite high, not quite low. She pushed her knees with her elbows, feeling the muscles in her groin and thighs pull. There was discomfort, but no pain, and as the tokah counted, she tried to relax. It was a challenge, given the way her body felt. It was light and weary. Instead of relaxing, she wanted to lay down and nap. Moving was strange.

As if not having enjoyed the sadistic act of watching her fang struggle, the tokah circled the group again, offering encouragement and points of advice. It was like their little challenge never happened to her, a fact that did not escape the young trainee. 'Was that some kind of test? Did we pass?'

Whatever it was, Kiva was happy it was over. She took her new stretch thankfully, leaning back and stretching out when they were told to release. She rose to her shaky feet, looking for their next order.

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Flexibility & Fitness

Postby Kiva on December 24th, 2015, 8:01 pm

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"This will be our last stretch this morning," they were instructed, "Lift your right arm, and align it with your spine." Their tokah turned so that her back was facing them and after moving her long braids out of the way, she reached behind her head and touched the center of her back, "Use your other hand and grab your elbow, pulling downward. I want these lines to be perfect, understand? This is not a hard exercise. You will feel a pull in your bicep, your upper arm." She lowed her arms and smacked it for emphasis, "When we are done with both arms we will go on our run. Try not to fall behind."

One by one, the group lined up their arms to their spine, with Kiva being surprised with how good she was at this one. She pulled more until she felt she was unable to go further, exhaling slowly. More than once, she noticed the tokah look at her. The woman's face was unreadable. Kiva lowered her eyes and counted until the tokah told them to switch, and then lowed one arm and favored the other.

When they were finished, Kiva rolled her shoulders and followed the rest of the group to the edge of the barracks and took her place beside her teammates. A long, shrill whistle erupted from the group. It was time to run. They jogged side by side, with Kiva's own body refusing to cooperate this time. Even with her loose limbs, she tired quickly and struggled to push herself, falling behind quickly. Her hair began to stick to her forehead in the humidity, and her breathing was labored.

One by one, her teammates began to pass her, and tiny bursts of energy would propel her for a short period of time before she would slow down and fall back in line. She lifted and pushed with her legs, her feet feeling heavy as they smacked into the dirt. Their tokah was chanting, ordering the team to push further.

She tried... but she found it hard to keep up. Only her pride kept her from giving up. Not with the men in her fang managing to do better. Kiva gritted her teeth and took deep breaths, feeling her lungs beg for mercy. They felt on fire, and she stared at her own feet, how they moved on their own. One in front of the other... That was all it was. Keeping them moving. Her mind felt empty as she centered on her body, and she almost didn't notice their tokah falling into place beside her.

The woman moved effortlessly, as if she was born to run. Kiva was sure she was about to be punished for her weakness but she was addressed casually, "Kiva," the tokah said, "Earlier, you have your teammates strength. Even know, you struggle, but you haven't stopped. You are not the strongest, or fastest of your fang,"

The words stung, but the stitch in her side hurt more, "Yes," she agreed, not sure what else to say and finding it hard to speak and run at the same time.

The tokah continued, jumping over a tree root that was protruding from the ground. Kiva did the same, sloppily jumping in the air and reacting to the obstacle. "You will need to keep training, but I believe you could be a great leader one day. But... Kiva,"

Kiva's eyes widened and she lifted her eyes to look at her leader who was staring intently at her, "No more singing."

A small smile split across both their lips before the tokah grew serious once more, shouting orders. She sped up, leaving Kiva to struggle, but somehow, the younger female found it wasn't as hard as before...

Kiva felt... motivated. She ran until her legs gave out.

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Flexibility & Fitness

Postby Izuyanai on August 10th, 2016, 4:09 pm

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