[Raellon] Stretch and Bend 4 (Solo)
Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2020 9:41 pm
60th of Searing, 120 AS
The early morning light was refreshing, and despite the growing heat of the day there was a nice breeze which rustled the fur and brought with it the scent of morning dew and fresh baked bread. Bell had already finished her morning stretches, had her breakfast, and prepared for the day. Now she was out and about, wandering absently as she swung her arms and hopped lightly on her toes. Today she wore her normal clothes, a slightly patched pair of pants and tight fitting shirt. From time to time she would adjust her pace, moving from a bouncing step to nearly a skip, earning her a few odd looks from those who passed by on their way to their morning routines. The last few weeks had done wonders for Bell's mood. The daily stretches, practicing of techniques and all around fitness increase had a positive affect on nearly every part of her life. Thus as she walked her nose twitched happily as she smiled and waved at nearly every person she passed.
As she made her way toward the center of town a low wall began to form as the stone path began to lead into gully where the market itself was housed. Instead of following the path Bell hopped onto the wall, holding her arms out for balance as she walked one foot carefully placed in front of the other so as not to lose her balance. The road continued to dip down, while the wall remained at the same level with a slight curve so that it began to circle the entirety of the market area. Bell hummed softly to herself as she walked, even more odd looks being thrown her way as people glanced up at the wall as if their eyes were drawn to her for whatever reason. Hadn't these people seen a rabbit on a wall before?
With a shrug the Rathari tilted forward, lowering her hands so that she held onto each lip of the wall while she swung her feet into the air. She wiggled her toes, her abdomen tight while the rest of her body relaxed slightly as the weight settled easily onto her shoulders. Ever since that first nights practice Bell had been sure to spend several minutes every day practicing her handstand, and just a couple days previously she had made the breakthrough she was looking for. Breathing in Bell resumed her pace, but this time she continued her walk on her hands, still balancing though with her legs this time instead of her arms. A sense of excitement filled the rabbit as she performed the acrobatic feat, a rather basic performance for most, but still a significant milestone for her own improvement. A few children looked up as she walked, and in a moment of inspiration Bell adjusted her weight and held herself up with one hand, waving with the other before quickly resuming her hold on the wall and continuing on.
Eventually the wall began to curve too much to make for easy traversal on her hands, and so she let her knees bend and she lowered her body slightly as her weight rolled forward in the direction she was walking. Her feet touched first, and as soon as the first toe touched Bell pushed off of the wall with her hands and raised herself up to her feet once more. Once back in the proper orientation Bell set hands on hips and looked over the wakening market, nodding as she saw the people of the city truly beginning to get into the swing of their day. For several minutes Bell stood there, looking over at all the stalls that were opening up. One stall in particular caught her eye, serving small rolls of bread with cheese. A grumble came from her gut, and it was then that Bell realized she really was quite hungry.
Patting her pockets Bell found the required coin and turned to head back down the wall to head down the ramp, but then stopped. Turning she knelt at the edge of the wall, her ears twitching as she tilted her head, examining the distance. It couldn't be more than 10 feet or so to the ground, not exactly a short drop but still a much shorter distance than some of the acrobats in the troupe used to navigate during a show. Bell herself had practiced the maneuvers herself, with a net granted, and had become reasonably good. At the very least she had lost most of her fear of heights. Now, however, these memories were giving her an idea.
Tapping her knee the Rabbit glanced from side to side, noting that no one was in the immediate area underneath the wall. Most were in their stalls beginning to open up, and the first few people of the morning crowd had not yet even begun to creep down the ramp. If she did it now.... Nodding Bell stood once more, rolling her shoulders and hopping on the balls of her feat. There was an edging of fear around the excitement, but with a firm shake of her head the Rathari silenced that nagging voice of doubt and made up her mind.
The trick, Reimar's voice floated into Bell's mind as she stared at the ground below, Is to not think. Your body knows what to do, but your mind will get in its way if you let it. Don't hesitate, act and fall back on the techniques I taught you.
Bell remembered the day Reimar had said those words to her. It was right before her very first performance in a small town during one of their harvest festivals. She was nervous, so much so that she had not eaten the entire day. She trembled with nerves, and her mind went blank whenever she tried to remember her routine. Thankfully Reimar had been right. She didn't need to actually remember her steps that night, she had practiced them so often that they came flowing naturally without her even willing them to. Sometimes in life, Bell learned that day, you simply had to jump.
So that is what she did. Bell sucked in a breath, biting back the cold dread and shattered her hesitation with forceful action. Two steps and then she dove, tucking her body into a tight ball so that she turned in the air, angling her body so that she was falling feet first. Just before impact she relaxed every muscle in her bod, bending her waist and pulling her arms in close around her head. Her feet hard stone and she bent her knees, absorbing part of the momentum while tucking her body tight once more. Her body folded in, rolling forward once until her feet touched once more. She pressed off the ground, using the momentum to carry her back into the air in a hop. She then proceeded to do a combination of hop and skip, arms waving as she captured her movements and slowed to a stop. With her feet firmly on the ground she raised her hands high in the air, smiling as she swept into a bow. When no applauds came Bell raised her head and looked around, noting that there was no one in the area to have seen her rather impressive actions.
"Well that's disappointing." Bell grumbled, but a rumble from her stomach reminded her why she had taking the leap in the first place. Shrugging made her way over to the stalls, stopping before the one selling the bread and ordered one roll with butter instead of cheese. It tasted delicious, and she finished the morsel with just a few bites.
With her belly full and ready to face the rest of the day Bell proceeded to bounce and skip her way toward the docks, every once in a while performing a tumble or another handstand, ignoring the looks she received as she practiced her movements. At one point she even missed the handstand, falling sideways and turning it into a cartwheel. She must have been quite the site because more than one person shouted at her to get out of the way, how impatient of them. Ah well. They were probably just hungry.
At the Docks the rabbit paused, stretching her arms high over head once more before stepping up on one of the raised legs of the peer. Shielding her eyes Bell found her eyes drawn to one boat in particular, a smaller vessel with a yellow and blue flag that flapped in the wind. It had a small cabin which took up the middle portion of the ship just beneath the sails. A few sailors were working the ropes and preparing the ship for its next voyage, and as Bell watched she couldn't help but imagine herself and Lyss standing aboard, climbing the rigging and sitting on the edge of the bow as the boat rocked across the crashing ocean waves.
"We really do need to get a boat." Bell thought for the second time this season. The more she looked at them the more certain she felt. If they could travel by water anywhere they wanted... Well, that would just be perfect. Maybe one day. If she could convince Lyss that this was the right thing for them afterall.
