(book) Chapter 1: Scene 2 & 3 [Phoenix]
6.30.07 -- 6:23pm

I felt the blood running over the back of my thighs, the chanting, the thumping. My heart was racing. I felt exulted, and terrified at once. The wind howled and rustled the animal skin enclosure. I felt my palms sweating, heard my heart beating, saw the naked breasts painted in charcoal before me, felt the hot sting of flesh being cut down my legs, the warm trickle of blood flowing out of me, the dizziness of excitement, heat, pain and blood loss, and yet I stood perfectly still as the smooth cylindrical wooden crown was placed upon my head.
I turned to face the room, and they fell silent.

I woke from the familiar dream hazily. Why do I always wake up at that part? I questioned myself. I’ll just have to have it yet again to find out. I pulled the covers away and rubbing my eyes I rolled over and stared at the bedside clock.
It was nearly noon, and the apartment was quiet. It was nice to have the day to explore the city, but I didn’t expect to be doing it on my own. I prepared myself for the day and left the room, poking my head into Raina’s, Jasmine’s and Layla’s rooms as I ventured down the hall. Sure enough, I was alone. Even Travanni and Sensai were not to be found. I flounced on the couch in the living area and considered turning on the TV mounted on the wall. I thought better of it, not being much of a TV person, and sprawled before the view through the window.
My eyes traced the outlines of large buildings, ran down the streets, and followed cars and people about, the busy-ness of the people soothing. Soon I would visit my parents in the suburbs whom I hadn’t seen in several months. The thought was sobering and I purposefully turned my musings to more recent events.

I was delighted that we would be racing, and during the length of the elevator ride I prepared my breath as I used to in track, and tensing and relaxing my muscles, preparing them for the push I was about to come through. I wanted badly to come in second for once at something. Raina and Jasmine always were forgetting that Layla and I were there, which made me wonder sometimes why Yamato had brought us together in the first place.
What about Travanni? I thought suddenly, still controlling my breath carefully. I have no idea how fast she can run. Her legs are long even though she’s still short. This will be an interesting race.
Kyekiko, Sensai’s sister, informed us the winner of the race down the long hall would be entitled to a treat. It made me all the more determined to prove myself.

Layla was panicking inside her mind, just my luck, she thought, I get no warning, and I’m wearing a skirt and everyone knows I’m not a good runner and this will be my first impression on another of Sensai’s family members. What a joke Kyekiko is going to think I am.
Kyekiko walked aside so that she was on the wall near Layla, and then said, "On the count of three... Oh, by the way, you must touch the wall on that end, I’m sure that’s how you were taught..."
"Yes," was an almost unison response, except for Travanni who was more worried than Layla. Travanni hadn’t been training with Sensai at all, and felt terribly sheepish about being put up to such a task on first meeting the new woman.
"One... Two... Three!"
Jasmine and Nuria bounded into the lead, shocking Raina, and causing her to push off her toes to gain back the three strides they were ahead of her. Travanni, already feeling short of breath was only just ahead of Layla. Layla wanted nothing more than to not come in last, or to at least not be too far behind, was half way down the long hall when she stopped trying to conserve energy and pushed forward, wishing desperately she was wearing running shoes, not to mention a better bra.
I can’t let Jasmine win this, Nuria thought desperately as Jasmine touched the wall one step ahead of her. Nuria flung herself into the wall, not slowing down for it at all, and springing off of it the moment she hit it. Raina, frustrated that Nuria was beating her at something was only one more step behind.
I can’t keep this speed the rest of the run, Jasmine thought, and wondered how far she was in the lead. Just the conscious thought of not being able to keep the speed slowed her just enough for both Nuria and Raina to jump ahead of her.
One third of the way back down the hall for Raina, Nuria and Jasmine, and Travanni hit the wall, two steps before Layla. Yet while Travanni was young and slender, she had not been training, and Layla began to gain on her on the run back. Travanni felt her heart sink as her legs burned and could go no faster as Layla passed her, a new wave of energy filling the blonde city girl.
I’ve got to make up some distance, and I will! Layla yelled in her mind determinedly. Raina, now in second, suddenly felt a leg cramp. She was used to running, but not at full speed, in fact, she never needed to run as fast as she could, and felt herself not able to stretch her legs as far anymore, not with a cramp running up her left thigh. One quarter of the distance left Jasmine passed Raina, and Layla found herself six long strides behind, Travanni two strides behind Layla.
Nuria could feel Jasmine approaching her, and she knew in track she had never pulled off such speed before. I am a warrior, Nuria thought, pushing off with her toes, pumping with her arms, taking gasping breaths through her mouth. A memory of a dream flooded her with only a quarter of the length of the hallway left, an eighth the entire distance ahead of her, Sensai so close to her. In that dream she had been a runner, a messenger from tribe to tribe to warn of attacks and send for skilled medicine women. She was that messenger because she was the fastest.
Jasmine’s stride was right beside her, and then as the dream filled her, she found herself not tired at all, and bounded ahead. Travanni seemed to link with Nuria at this moment, as she had the same dream before, and she passed Layla again, and as Nuria touched Sensai’s hand, she found herself beside her sister. They touched Sensai’s hands at the same time only moments after Jasmine. Layla, with extreme self disgust reached the finish last.
How did I come in last? I was far ahead of Travanni! She made a rather sour face, but tried to mask it as she turned towards Nuria who was jumping up and down while everyone else heaved for air. The only other not gasping heavily was Travanni, but she still felt inclined to lean on the wall.
Kyekiko was clapping, "That was very exciting! Never have I see such determination in so many young women at once! Well, then again, what else should I expect from pupils of my brother? What is your name?" She asked looking at Nuria.
"Nuria Santilla."
"No!" Kyekiko said, Nuria stopped smiling and looked at her questioningly, "Your name is Nuria Myoshi! I want to adopt you."
Even Sensai couldn’t mask his look of surprise, he said, "Sister, have you gone mad? You can’t take my student."
Kyekiko smiled, pushing her Asian cheeks high on her face, but not quite into her eyes as many Asian’s cheeks did. "I said I will adopt her, not take her away from you. Let me... Ah, I am getting ahead of myself, let’s talk about this later, shall we?"
"She does know that I have parents, right?" Nuria whispered to Layla.
"I don’t know, and if that’s the treat, I guess... Well, never mind. Tell me what happens tonight, alright?"
"Of course," Nuria replied.
"Whisper, whisper," Travanni chided coming up behind the two.
Sensai cut off the spattering of conversation with one phrase: "Well done – to our rooms now."

I jabbed again into the air, knees bent, knees spread apart, back as straight as I could manage. I had been chamber punching into the air for at least five minutes, but now I found myself slowing down, ready to rest.
How could I lose like that? I berated myself, How could I come in last again? I punched again with a new flush of fury. Three months in training, and still I’m the weakest link! I stood straight and let my arms fall to my sides; strode up to a tree and gave it a high side kick full of anger. My foot hurt, but I kicked again anyway.
I’m still the fat girl, the city girl, the rich girl! I let out a scream as I kicked the tree for the third time with more venom than the first, and heard a crack in my foot. I gritted my teeth and pulled out my training tantos; short twin swords. I began slashing aimlessly, my blonde hair catching in the wind, covering my eyes and causing me to slash my wrist.
"Shit!" I screamed in anger. I pulled my hair to the side, and with the same bloody tanto slashed over half it’s length off. I felt tears welling up, but I pushed them back and screamed again, slashing madly again at the innocent tree.
The blood ran down my arm and off my elbow and still I slashed at the tree, my foot ached, and still my rhythm didn’t falter. It comforted my disconsolate heart to see the slashes of bark fall away, the steady movement, laboring my breathing further and further.
The second time I cut myself the pain got to me and I dropped the tantos to the ground and began kicking with my other foot, balancing on the injured on. The pain in my body began to numb, as I repeated to myself that I was strong, that I would train until I was stronger than Jasmin and Raina both, and not before then.
My eyes became blurred, either from tears, or fury, maybe from both, but I found my repeated kicks growing less rhythmic, my body swaying and then, missing the tree all together, my foot swung around and knocked me on the ground. I felt a tanto under my cheek, the metal cold, and the edge sharp and discomforting.
It’s cold sharp edge was the last sensation I felt before everything went black.

~Phoenix

Drawing of Raina

My Poetry

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The Original Write; which is still back story to the current, but of course the second time around, I’m writing with better style.