[Flashback] Painful Distractions (Solo)

[Nari]

15th Day of Winter, 509 AV “Good morning, Mother,” Nari murmured absently, padding out of her chamber and into the main room. She had woken earlier than was her wont, and it was obvious even from her bearing that the girl was not pleased by this fact. Her hair was tugged back at the nape of her neck, though it was still mussed from sleep, and her linen shirt and pants were wrinkled. A weak smile couldn’t distract from the dark circles under her eyes, and her skin had lost its sunkissed hue. The perfumer had been having trouble sleeping lately, her mind full of cold snow sifting through her fingers, gamy meat roasted in a firepit, and other sensations she had never truly known. Every night, she would wake in a cold sweat, a wrenching feeling in her stomach and a strange desire for something she couldn’t quite understand. Since her younger sisters had all left home and made their own lives on the Isle- Nari had just been gifted with her fourth niece- her mother was the only one who knew of this ailment. Lilis, Nari’s mother, had grown increasingly worried about her eldest child. This lack of sleep added to the strange internal tug was making Nari irritable, so much so that she couldn’t even leave home for fear that she would snap at one of the neighbors and shame her family. Both women knew this urge was the mysterious ‘Call’ that many of the Konti felt during their lives. They both also knew that Nari was not ready to leave Mura. Lilis believed her daughter was too irresponsible to leave the safety of the Isle, and Nari was sure that she could do more good here at home rather than abroad. Nari had recently gone to The Crystal Cavern to pray. Even though she did not want to leave the White Isle, she did not want to upset Avalis either. If this was a task from the Goddess for a higher purpose, Nari would not hesitate to leave. If it was, as she believed, only a strong desire for children and a place of her own in the world, she would find a way to put off this horrible feeling until she had time to deal with it properly. Even with prayer, however, no answer was forthcoming- nor was any relief. That was why Nari was forced awake even earlier than usual, at her mother’s specific request. Since waiting for respite was not working, Lilis reasoned, it was time to put forth some serious effort toward fixing the issue herself.

[Nari]

“Sit,” Lilis instructed her daughter casually, lowering her own body to kneel on the floor. She had folded her hands on top of each other in her lap and was smiling patiently. Nari was not in the mood to witness her mother’s calm without a large amount of jealousy. She grumbled as she flopped onto the floor, pulling her legs in to her side and tucking them against her rear. Her shoulders she drew back as she straightened her spine- in order to better open her airways. This was not a new experience. “Good,” the older Konti announced with a grin. She sucked in a deep breath through her nose, held it for a few moments, and released it slowly. Though she had begun the ritual of meditation, her attention was still focused on her daughter. “Your turn.” “I know,” Nari said, allowing a tinge of bitterness into her tone. Unlike her mother, though, she needed to fully concentrate on her breathing in order to delve into herself. With one last immature grimace, she closed her eyes. The light in the room turned her lids to a bright red color, though the brightness soon faded. Inhale, she told herself, counting to five. Her fingers rubbed against the linen at her knees, a distraction Nari did not fancy in the slightest. She flexed her hands and moved them closer to her midsection, while she held her indrawn breath. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. The breath rushed from her lungs in one uncontrolled spurt, and she didn’t even begin counting for the release. “Nari, concentrate. This is for your own good,” her mother warned, her own breathing soft and regular. Unable to reply, Nari began again. She inhaled to the count of five, held for a count of seven, and released her breath slowly- this time able to check it and count to five again. Repeating this process, she stared at her closed eyelids. The darkness was soothing, as was the repetitive motions involved in breathing. She was able to eventually draw her awareness into her body. She could hear the steady drum of her heart, feel the slick flow of blood through her veins, and even smell the salt on the air as it traveled from her nostrils to her lungs. These feelings, though simple, were hers. She may not always know her own memories or feelings, but she knew her own body. It was a foundation, a keystone upon which she could hold onto her own sanity, even when the world felt turned upside down. Nari continued her breathing exercises, drawing her focus to touch on each body part. Her head, usually so full of conflicting thoughts, was now merely a lump at the top of her body; her neck and shoulders had finally released the tension she had been amassing for days. Her hands, always the most graceful part of her body, were simply resting in her lap; and even her feet, clumsy as they could sometimes be, felt rested. Each limb was a peaceful part of the whole that made up Nari’s body.

[Nari]

“Are you relaxed?” Lilis asked carefully. She was no longer seated across from her daughter. If Nari could judge by the direction of her mother’s voice, Lilis was now behind her right shoulder. “I want you to stretch out your legs, sweetheart, and lean back onto the floor.” A little surprised by this turn of events, Nari did as she was asked. She continued breathing in her strict fashion, however. Her legs were directly in front of her, and as she lay down, her arms were nudged until they reached straight off to each side. Instead of opening her eyes, however, Nari concentrated on keeping each limb as still as possible. “Wonderful,” her mother continued. “Now, I want you to pull your legs up until they are directly above your hips.” With those words, Nari could feel her mother’s hands directing her legs to the right area. She didn’t exactly enjoying the feeling of being touching and having her body forced into strange positions, but she couldn’t gainsay her own mother. She, instead, did as she was told without complaint- for now. Using the muscles in her abdomen, Nari was instructed to keep her knees together while slowly lowering them to each side until they almost touched the floor. Her upper body felt the stretch of the muscles being pulled from the first motion, while her midsection quickly began to heat up. She kept up this particular exercise for what seemed like hours, until her legs felt like lead and her stomach was on fire. Her mother had not told her to stop, but she needed a rest. “Done, are you?” her mother’s voice commented from a distance. Nari’s temper flared, noticing that her mother was in another room rather than helping her with this strange task. If she wasn’t even going to pay attention, what was the point of making her daughter get up early? She drew breath to announce that she felt stupid and was finished, but her mother knew her too well to allow that to happen. “Let’s move on. I need you to stand please.” Nari’s breathing was no longer controlled, and she was no longer in her contemplative state. She was, however, distracted from the problems that had been plaguing her for days. Scrambling from her horizontal position, she sniffed grumpily at her mother before standing directly in front of the woman that birthed her. “Now what?” she complained. Without missing a beat, Lilis kicked at her daughter’s feet until they were shoulder-width apart. A quick yank was used to position Nari’s arms above her head. To be honest, it was a very uncomfortable position, especially for one who had no idea why she was standing so. Lilis caught her daughter eying her oddly and smiled for reassurance. “These are easy stretching techniques. I should have taught them to you earlier, but you so hated physical exertion. I wanted you to concentrate on your talents, but the time has come for a little deviance from your normal schedule,” she said, her tone firm and dismissing any possibility the torture ending soon. “I want you to touch your toes- the right foot with your left hand, and your left foot with your right hand. Do this twenty times for each side, and let me know when you’re finished.” Nari groaned, her middle still aching from the previous exercise. She was well and truly out of shape for a Konti, even if it didn’t show. If she would have known that her morning meditation session was going to turn into a workout, she wouldn’t have agreed to wake up so early. Her mother, unfortunately, knew her well enough to keep that tidbit of information to herself until it was too late. Bending at the waist, Nari let her breath out in a whoosh as she stretched toward her feet. Her fingers brushed the scales on top of her left foot briefly before she straightened. Her inhalation was quick, and she only let herself stand still for a chime. With another exhalation, she lowered herself for the second time. This procedure continued until Nari had completed the correct number of stretches. Her entire body felt disconnected, her legs now flabby and jelly-like. If she had thought she was finished, though, she would be proven sorely wrong. “Only one more stretch, my dear,” Lilis said, beaming. She was clearly enjoying watching her daughter struggle through the exercises. While Nari was slow and awkward with the moves, she hadn’t once lost her focus and gotten the distant-eyed expression that daily worried her mother. If nothing else, that accomplishment was worth dealing with Nari’s snarly attitude for a few bells. “You don’t even have to change positions.” Nari, of course, didn’t understand her mother’s seemingly sadistic delight. She grimaced and held her tongue, though, not wanting to anger Lilis and risk increasing the number of stretches when she was so close to finished. When she was allowed to drop her arms back down to her sides, she sighed. “One arm goes over your head, like so,” Lilis said, lifting her right arm straight into the air and leaning to the left, leading with her right hand. “This will stretch your arms and back and loosen your muscles. Do this on both sides until I tell you to stop.” Imitating the actions, Nari noticed that this stretch actually felt pleasant unlike the other two. Her spine creaked and popped, and she groaned her contentment. Left side, right side, left side, right side- she leaned and unbent at a luxurious pace, letting the action relax her tight muscles. More than once, she caught herself praising her mother for saving this move until last. “That’s enough,” her mother said quietly, amused at Nari’s reaction. “I’ll let you rest for a few chimes before we begin for real.” “For real?” Nari echoed incredulously.

[Nari]

A grumpy Nari sipped sweet juice as she watched her mother clear a space in the middle of the main room. She honestly should have been helping the older Konti- it was her mother, and Lilis was going through all of this effort for her benefit. This was ‘resting time,’ though, and Nari was still juvenile enough to scoff at the idea of giving up the little time she was allowed to relax. With an instructor like her mother, who knew when her next break would be? “Ready for the next phase?” Lilis asked sweetly, tilting her head to the side. She was standing in the center of the room, shaking her wrists and shifting her feet. Nari’s shoulders drooped, but she nodded. Setting her juice down on the table, she sighed and joined her mother. “What do you want me to do now?” she asked resignedly. It was to her immense surprise, then, when her mother did not instruct her in further stretches or exercises. Nari’s shocked gaze rested on the pair of suvai that were pushed in front of her nose. “I-I don’t remember much about the suvai.” “I know you don’t,” Lilis replied. “That’s why we’re going to work on it now. First posture- now.” Nari flinched, taking the weapons from her mother carefully. Her body relaxed and she racked her mind for the first stance she had been taught. Praying to Avalis that she remembered correctly, she slid her right foot away from her left. Her knees bent, and she inhaled carefully. She gripped the suvai loosely with the blades pressed against the inside of her forearms. With a quick jerk, she flipped the weapons outward. The air rushed from her lungs as she lifted her arms in front of her body until they crossed in front of her face. As she continued the arc and lowered her hands, she kept the right at chin level while the left hovered at her chest. She was ready for battle. Or not. “Again,” Lilis demanded. She was shaking her head slowly. “Your movements lacked fluidity and precision. You looked like an ungainly child, flinging her arms around. You need to concentrate on your arms.” The disappointment emanated from Nari. One of the biggest parts of Konti culture, and she couldn’t even accomplish the first move. Again and again she forced her tired body through the position- first focusing on her arms, then her legs, and finally on her grip. Sweat flowed into her eyes and dripped down her spine. “Flip the suvai with your fingers, not your entire hand. You must conserve your energy for the fight,” Lilis ordered, taking the slick weapons and twisting them easily. Nari was tearful at this point, wanting nothing more than to go back to her room and curl on her bed. She received the suvai with little grace and began the process of flipping them back and forth over her hands. Her index finger held rigid to use as a pivot point, she pushed the weapon toward the ground with her thumb, and caught the hilt with the rest of her fingers. Once with her right hand, once with her left. Twice with her right hand, twice with her left- then, she practiced the move simultaneously. She kept this up until her fingers blistered and the breath rasped from her throat. “Good. Now we work on the ending position,” Nari heard her mother direct through a haze of exhaustion. This was much more work than the perfumer had put her body through in years.

[Nari]

Gritting her teeth, Nari lowered her body. Her center of gravity rested directly on her hips, and her hands flexed against the suvai’s hilts. With a deep breath she lunged to her left, bringing the blades up over her right shoulder and down to her left hip in a convex arc. She paused to correct her feet positioning before her mother could comment. With a grimace, she flipped the blades down until they rested against her outside forearms. A red mark had long ago formed around her finger, now being rubbed raw and bloody. She ignored the pain, however, and continued with the posture. Drawing her arms toward her body, she exhaled deeply. Keeping her spine straight, she shifted her weight, balancing on the balls of both feet. She turned to face forward, staring into her mother’s not-quite-disapproving stare, and drew her feet together. Pulling her feet together and standing tall, she lowered her arms to their resting positions and smiled defiantly. By this point she was panting and unable to dare her mother to criticize her actions, but the thought was there. “Very well done,” Lilis admitted thoughtfully. “You corrected your initial mistakes and took extra care in your movements. If you can do it again, faster this time, we can be finished for the day.” With a dry throat, Nari whimpered. “Again?” she asked, her voice cracking. A precise nod from her mother, however, was the only offered response. Nari lowered herself again and prepared to cut an imaginary arc in the air. She popped her wrists into the correct position, slicing the space with excruciating force. She flung herself to the left, flicking her weapons over her finger and around to the back of her arm. Drawing both arms close to her body, she shifted her balance and yanked her feet together in a single, swift movement. With her arms lowered to her sides, she gave her mother a cursory glance before she dropped to the floor. “I’m. Not. Moving,” she managed between huffs, soaking up the coolness the ground had to offer. “Of course you’re not,” Lilis agreed casually, picking up the suvai from where they had fallen and wiping them on the bottom of her shirt. “I said we were finished for the day, so you’re free to do whatever you choose.” Nari closed her eyes, feeling a slow ache forming within every muscle she had- and many she had never noticed before. She nodded, not bothering to look at her mother. “Tomorrow, we’ll start the first striking position so be sure to get some rest tonight,” she said, leaning down to kiss her daughter on her moist cheek and not noticing the despairing cry that Nari could not hold back. [End]

[Yggdrasil]

Nari Experience: 3 points Body Building, 2 points Meditation, 3 points Suvai Lores: Simple Exercises, How to Meditate While Crabby Comments Wonderful thread! It was quite the joy to read! I am sorry it took me so long to grade this. Also, I put body building at 3 because you did go into quite some detail about the work outs, a bit less when it comes to the meditation. But! I enjoyed reading it, it really allowed me to see Nari's personality.