[Memory] Home alone.
Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2020 1:23 pm
31st of Frost, 105
Frost was always a difficult time of the year. Everyone that bared witness to its icy touch knew so. For Arkash and his small family, it was a trying season that tested their wills to the extraordinarily. Cojack had to wear extra protective clothing against the elements, which weren't supplied by the overseers of their workplaces while Liu was quite comfortable in the cold weather due to the thickness of her fur.
Meanwhile, Arkash was almost paralyzed by the frigid cold. His muscles didn't work right whenever he spent too long outside. There'd been a number of times where Liu had to carry him back into the warmth after playing in the snow for too long. At best, he was able to manage nearly twenty minutes before he started to stiffen, then another ten before his muscles would give out completely.
Of course, the young Rath thought he was cursed to forever long for the snow, and never truly enjoy it. Despite the cold, he still enjoyed building sculptures and throwing snowballs at his parents. But, it was that frigid, numb sensation in his hands that always impeded him.
Arkash wasn't designed for the weather of Lorien, and so, the Frost was always extraordinarily difficult for him. The fire had to be on all the time; even through the night. The family had to spend a lot more time gathering firewood and tinder, and more expenses were paid toward food, clothing, and repairs for their shack. Realistically speaking, Liu and Cojack didn't work as much as they normally did either, which only made the times harder as they were constantly short on farthings.
That morning, Cojack and Liu had just finished boarding up one of the broken planks in the ceiling. The young Rathari didn't like the sound of the hammer, but he liked the cold even less.
"Whew..." Spoke Cojack as he panted in an effort to cool himself down. Indeed, the room was extraordinarily hot with the fire burning so much. "Well, that's done. We even saved a few nails for next time!" Cojack, ever the optimist saw a silver lining in almost everything.
"You'd best save your strength, honey. We're woodworking today," warned Liu, who'd just finished putting away her tools to take to work. Meanwhile, Cojack was having some difficulty with the heat, as he'd done the majority of the heavy lifting in holding the board up, as well as hammering the nails. That reflected in huffing and panting, and fanning himself with one of his big hands.
"Yeah," he puffed. "You might be right there."
With that, the wolf offered Arkash a plate of various dried meats for breakfast. It was what was leftover from yesterday's meal, but Arkash loved dried meat and it didn't spoil easily, so he didn't mind. "We'll be home soon, okay? Make sure you keep the fire going, and don't open the door for anyone," came his mother's instructions.
Arkash simply nodded in response as he tossed a piece of dried meat into his mouth, and began to work it down with his serrated teeth. Liu told him that every time she left, it wasn't as though he'd forgotten since yesterday or the day before that. Arkash loved the heat of the air. Sitting there in the warmth of the fire while eating meats, he was perfectly at home and content to remain there for an entire day. And that was all that mattered to Cojack and Liu; that their boy was safe and happy. With a slight smile, Liu ducked down a bit to run her paw over the boy's head.
"We've gotta go, honey," declared Cojack, who'd gotten all his winter gear on in a hurry, and was rearing to get out of the oven-like house. Liu rolled her eyes, then gave Arkash a kiss on his forehead. "I love you, stay warm and stay safe."
Arkash shut his eyes at the kiss, then swallowed the meat pulp in his mouth. "I love you too!" he spoke with haste and quickly lifted a free hand to his head as if he were trying to wipe the kiss from his scales. He was eight now; too old to be receiving kisses from his mother.
Liu simply rolled her eyes. "Watch it you, or you'll get another," warned the wolf with a cheeky, knowing smile, then straightened up. Promptly, Arkash stopped wiping his head. With that, the two quickly stepped out of the house, and Cojack waved goodbye to the boy before he too made his way out of the oven-like interior they'd made and shut the door to trap the heat in.
As soon as they were gone, Arkash resumed rubbing the kiss from his head, then popped another piece of dry meat into his maw. Before long, he'd finished his breakfast, and he was bored. He hoped that the process of eating breakfast had taken him at least half an hour, but it wasn't likely so. Arkash was ravenous.
The addition of the new plank in the ceiling offered the opportunity to recount all of the planks in the house and compare to see which surface that the most boards; a fair new re-evaluation was necessary, but Arkash would save that for later.
His thoughts wandered to the earlier summer while he lounged by the fire. Cojack had taught him some stretches to limber up his body and keep him warm. Since then, he'd been practicing his stretches and training his flexibility, but not much. He had nothing else to do, so he might as well practice while he waited for Cojack and Liu to be done with their work. With a sigh, Arkash climbed to his feet, then put the plate he'd ate from on the table. He'd clean it later.
Once he was ready, he straightened the slouch in his back, then lowered into a lunge. Curiously, he felt no tightness sensation in his legs, or anywhere at all, really. So, Arkash lifted from the lunge and tried again, but paid close attention to his form. Again, he felt nothing. Arkash considered that to be strange. Had he already attained maximum flexibility? Somehow, he doubted that was so.
Curious, Arkash pressed to his feet once more and held out his arm to be horizontal with the ground. With a flick of his body, he kicked upward as high as he could... And caught his claws with his hand! he stared for a moment, marveling while he maintained his center of balance, then let his foot down as he began to stumble. Immediately, he attempted the same thing with his other leg and again caught his foot claws with just as much finesse. Suddenly, Arkash was extremely flexible; it didn't even pull or stretch for him to move like that.
But what had caused his sudden bout of flexibility? As he lowered his leg, the lizard furrowed his brow ridges and considered the circumstances, the patterns, then looked to the fire. The only thing that was different about his stretches now and all the times before was that he had a heat source beside him. That was when it struck. Every time before, Arkash had been in the cold. His whole body tensed up and became stiff in the cold, but that wasn't an accurate representation of his flexibility. By stretching his muscles while they were cold and stiff, he strained the fibers far more than he would have if he'd done so while hot. Arkash didn't know that, of course, but had vague ideas that the heat somehow loosened his form.
So, with his freshly loosened body, Arkash spread his stance wide, and carefully widened his legs further and further. Eventually, he began to feel the pull on the insides of his thighs. So, he turned to the side to slide one foot forward while the other went back. His hands soon met the boarded floor, and he eased the rest of his form downward with great care. Within moments, he'd completed his first full split.
Arkash's lips spread in a curling smile. He was amazed! Impressed and proud! Arkash couldn't wait to show Cojack and Liu of what he'd accomplished while home alone, but... how did he get up? The lizard hissed, then pulled against his legs. No use, he couldn't lift his own weight that way. A mild panic took him as he fumbled and tried to ease himself out of the split, to no avail. What if he was stuck like that for the entire day! No, Arkash had to get out of it.
So, using his hands, he pressed into the ground to lift his body a bit, then sighed a breath of relief as the budding tension in his thighs eased. First, he tried to move his front leg closer to him, but that didn't work. So, Instead, he lowered the knee of his back leg to the ground. All of a sudden, he had a more stable base. One hand in front of the other, the Rathari eased himself backward. Gradually, the split was broken, and he came to sit on his leg.
He'd done it. With minimal training, the young Rathari had performed a full split and then got himself out of it again. With a smile and an exhale, he stood up and brushed his scales off before he reached down to touch his toe-claws while he maintained the straightness of his legs. It truly did feel quite good to be so limber., so, with the thought of showing Cojack and Liu when they arrived home firmly set in his mind, he continued to practice his stretches beside the fire.
Frost was always a difficult time of the year. Everyone that bared witness to its icy touch knew so. For Arkash and his small family, it was a trying season that tested their wills to the extraordinarily. Cojack had to wear extra protective clothing against the elements, which weren't supplied by the overseers of their workplaces while Liu was quite comfortable in the cold weather due to the thickness of her fur.
Meanwhile, Arkash was almost paralyzed by the frigid cold. His muscles didn't work right whenever he spent too long outside. There'd been a number of times where Liu had to carry him back into the warmth after playing in the snow for too long. At best, he was able to manage nearly twenty minutes before he started to stiffen, then another ten before his muscles would give out completely.
Of course, the young Rath thought he was cursed to forever long for the snow, and never truly enjoy it. Despite the cold, he still enjoyed building sculptures and throwing snowballs at his parents. But, it was that frigid, numb sensation in his hands that always impeded him.
Arkash wasn't designed for the weather of Lorien, and so, the Frost was always extraordinarily difficult for him. The fire had to be on all the time; even through the night. The family had to spend a lot more time gathering firewood and tinder, and more expenses were paid toward food, clothing, and repairs for their shack. Realistically speaking, Liu and Cojack didn't work as much as they normally did either, which only made the times harder as they were constantly short on farthings.
That morning, Cojack and Liu had just finished boarding up one of the broken planks in the ceiling. The young Rathari didn't like the sound of the hammer, but he liked the cold even less.
"Whew..." Spoke Cojack as he panted in an effort to cool himself down. Indeed, the room was extraordinarily hot with the fire burning so much. "Well, that's done. We even saved a few nails for next time!" Cojack, ever the optimist saw a silver lining in almost everything.
"You'd best save your strength, honey. We're woodworking today," warned Liu, who'd just finished putting away her tools to take to work. Meanwhile, Cojack was having some difficulty with the heat, as he'd done the majority of the heavy lifting in holding the board up, as well as hammering the nails. That reflected in huffing and panting, and fanning himself with one of his big hands.
"Yeah," he puffed. "You might be right there."
With that, the wolf offered Arkash a plate of various dried meats for breakfast. It was what was leftover from yesterday's meal, but Arkash loved dried meat and it didn't spoil easily, so he didn't mind. "We'll be home soon, okay? Make sure you keep the fire going, and don't open the door for anyone," came his mother's instructions.
Arkash simply nodded in response as he tossed a piece of dried meat into his mouth, and began to work it down with his serrated teeth. Liu told him that every time she left, it wasn't as though he'd forgotten since yesterday or the day before that. Arkash loved the heat of the air. Sitting there in the warmth of the fire while eating meats, he was perfectly at home and content to remain there for an entire day. And that was all that mattered to Cojack and Liu; that their boy was safe and happy. With a slight smile, Liu ducked down a bit to run her paw over the boy's head.
"We've gotta go, honey," declared Cojack, who'd gotten all his winter gear on in a hurry, and was rearing to get out of the oven-like house. Liu rolled her eyes, then gave Arkash a kiss on his forehead. "I love you, stay warm and stay safe."
Arkash shut his eyes at the kiss, then swallowed the meat pulp in his mouth. "I love you too!" he spoke with haste and quickly lifted a free hand to his head as if he were trying to wipe the kiss from his scales. He was eight now; too old to be receiving kisses from his mother.
Liu simply rolled her eyes. "Watch it you, or you'll get another," warned the wolf with a cheeky, knowing smile, then straightened up. Promptly, Arkash stopped wiping his head. With that, the two quickly stepped out of the house, and Cojack waved goodbye to the boy before he too made his way out of the oven-like interior they'd made and shut the door to trap the heat in.
As soon as they were gone, Arkash resumed rubbing the kiss from his head, then popped another piece of dry meat into his maw. Before long, he'd finished his breakfast, and he was bored. He hoped that the process of eating breakfast had taken him at least half an hour, but it wasn't likely so. Arkash was ravenous.
The addition of the new plank in the ceiling offered the opportunity to recount all of the planks in the house and compare to see which surface that the most boards; a fair new re-evaluation was necessary, but Arkash would save that for later.
His thoughts wandered to the earlier summer while he lounged by the fire. Cojack had taught him some stretches to limber up his body and keep him warm. Since then, he'd been practicing his stretches and training his flexibility, but not much. He had nothing else to do, so he might as well practice while he waited for Cojack and Liu to be done with their work. With a sigh, Arkash climbed to his feet, then put the plate he'd ate from on the table. He'd clean it later.
Once he was ready, he straightened the slouch in his back, then lowered into a lunge. Curiously, he felt no tightness sensation in his legs, or anywhere at all, really. So, Arkash lifted from the lunge and tried again, but paid close attention to his form. Again, he felt nothing. Arkash considered that to be strange. Had he already attained maximum flexibility? Somehow, he doubted that was so.
Curious, Arkash pressed to his feet once more and held out his arm to be horizontal with the ground. With a flick of his body, he kicked upward as high as he could... And caught his claws with his hand! he stared for a moment, marveling while he maintained his center of balance, then let his foot down as he began to stumble. Immediately, he attempted the same thing with his other leg and again caught his foot claws with just as much finesse. Suddenly, Arkash was extremely flexible; it didn't even pull or stretch for him to move like that.
But what had caused his sudden bout of flexibility? As he lowered his leg, the lizard furrowed his brow ridges and considered the circumstances, the patterns, then looked to the fire. The only thing that was different about his stretches now and all the times before was that he had a heat source beside him. That was when it struck. Every time before, Arkash had been in the cold. His whole body tensed up and became stiff in the cold, but that wasn't an accurate representation of his flexibility. By stretching his muscles while they were cold and stiff, he strained the fibers far more than he would have if he'd done so while hot. Arkash didn't know that, of course, but had vague ideas that the heat somehow loosened his form.
So, with his freshly loosened body, Arkash spread his stance wide, and carefully widened his legs further and further. Eventually, he began to feel the pull on the insides of his thighs. So, he turned to the side to slide one foot forward while the other went back. His hands soon met the boarded floor, and he eased the rest of his form downward with great care. Within moments, he'd completed his first full split.
Arkash's lips spread in a curling smile. He was amazed! Impressed and proud! Arkash couldn't wait to show Cojack and Liu of what he'd accomplished while home alone, but... how did he get up? The lizard hissed, then pulled against his legs. No use, he couldn't lift his own weight that way. A mild panic took him as he fumbled and tried to ease himself out of the split, to no avail. What if he was stuck like that for the entire day! No, Arkash had to get out of it.
So, using his hands, he pressed into the ground to lift his body a bit, then sighed a breath of relief as the budding tension in his thighs eased. First, he tried to move his front leg closer to him, but that didn't work. So, Instead, he lowered the knee of his back leg to the ground. All of a sudden, he had a more stable base. One hand in front of the other, the Rathari eased himself backward. Gradually, the split was broken, and he came to sit on his leg.
He'd done it. With minimal training, the young Rathari had performed a full split and then got himself out of it again. With a smile and an exhale, he stood up and brushed his scales off before he reached down to touch his toe-claws while he maintained the straightness of his legs. It truly did feel quite good to be so limber., so, with the thought of showing Cojack and Liu when they arrived home firmly set in his mind, he continued to practice his stretches beside the fire.
