10 Winter, 510 AV Aello was standing in the middle of a dark alleyway, utterly alone. The moon was high in the sky, and darkness seemed to have taken over the night and everything that surrounded her. The air was unusually warm for this time of the winter, which was the only thing that allowed the girl to be out and about, practicing her dagger-wielding skills by the light of the moon. As for the time being, Aello's dagger was clutched tightly in her right hand, her knuckles growing red with the pressure she was exerting on the grip. The blood-stained silver blade was pointed away from her body, as one would wield your average sword. Aello was practicing her lunges. Several beads of sweat had appeared on her brow as she thrust her right arm outward, slashing the blade through the sky, the tip pointed out and away from her. As soon as she had extended her arm and the blade, Aello raised the tip of her right foot, and then shot it forward, the movement having been propelled by a slight straightening in her left leg. Having raised the tip of her foot too high however, and not having propelled herself forward quickly enough, Aello's left leg tripped over the back of her right, and her body wobbled forward. The knife fell from her hand and clattered on the ground as Aello waved her hands around wildly, desperately trying to regain her footing. Failing miserably, Aello's hands made contact with the cold ground, thankfully missing the blade, and several nasty cuts. Frustrated with herself, Aello breathed heavily for a few moments, her heart pounding as she began to wonder why she couldn't master such a simple move. Finally, she forced herself up, grabbed the knife, and attempted the lunge all over again. This time, when she extended her right hand, and raised the tip of her right foot for the lunge, it was not as high as her previous attempt, and thus her left leg didn't trip over the right. This time, Aello didn't end up on her hands in knees, instead her entire body remained in line with one another, pointing at the imaginary target that stood right in front of her. Her knee was extended beyond her right foot, and it appeared as though she were about to kneel on one leg and propose to someone with her dagger. "Well it's about time," Aello muttered to herself, as she got back up and repeated the process several times, until she was certain she had gotten it down. It was then that she realized practicing such a move would more than likely be useless to her. For, if one thought about it, they realized the reach of a sword was far greater than that of a dagger, and if she were fighting a sword with a dagger and attempted to lunge for the swordsman she was attacking; she would more than likely impale herself on their blade, long before her dagger even touched them. That, or she would leave an entire side of her body, and her head wide open, which would give her opponent the perfect opportunity to strike. So maybe she should ignore lunges, Aello thought, but then again, they may work if she were fighting someone with an equally small blade. Aello sighed as she straightened her body back up. This was ridiculous, learning this sort of thing shouldn't be this darn difficult, she thought. Perhaps she should try another move? Aello wondered, as she placed both of her hands on the hilt of the dagger, and stood facing one of the alley walls, her foot spread slightly apart from each other, each pointed straight at the wall. Aello brought the blade up and over her head, and then sliced it downwards in a light arc, bringing the blade to a halt when it came to the middle of her chest. Her breathing was growing heavy, and her heart was pounding. She felt as though she were a butcher hacking recklessly at a piece of meat. Aello sighed as she removed her left hand from the hilt, and quickly put the blade back in its proper place. Perhaps the knife wasn't the weapon for her after all, she thought, as she looked up at the moon. It sure wasn't as easy to grasp as the bow anyway. |