. . . Ishka's Point Of View . . .
*Exhales*
Letting out a steam that manifested like a dragon's breath, it is the sign that Autumn is coming.
The weather switching gear makes me don't want to have the courage to get out, but my schedule always demands it, Holidays included.
I warm up with some stretches across my curvaceous and slender yet muscular body, starting from the neck, shoulders, arms, hands, back, waist, and legs in respective order.
*Shoes taps*
As i tie my shoelaces after tapping it to get some rock slip down, i wear it with feeling some watery feeling down inside. (Uwaah, it's got some vapours inside!)
Jiggling my body in spite of all the harshness the weather's doing to me, inside out, i ready myself to trek around the neighborhood at such time early in the morning, Dusk.
*Jogging*
Some of the streetlights are still On because it is specifically adjusted to shut down after sunrise.
The street that was bustling with all manners of vehicles are few in between, seeing as how today is Sunday. (Been wanting visit the White-haired boy's place, that Arlan. Hope he isn't forcefully trained Spartan by his parents, like how i got by my Uncle... I Miss Him)
Flowers, trees and bushes are sometimes seen dangling near 'Green Spaces', areas specifically made to give way for vegetations that's beneficial to the surroundings like visually pleasing, aromatically freshening, or the fact that they help suck up water when it rains flood. (Gotta be ice cold with all the water vapours on all parts of them. Eh, maybe some'll just spread out a mat and have a picnic there when the sun is high up)
The architecture of all the houses around here varies from slanted, slope, cube-shaped, or no roof at all like how our's have a garden on the third floor. (Too bad we can't go have Arl look at it and pick some cherries 'cause it was locked with Mom having it pocketed. 'Least now i can bring him some with how close he is to his 5th birthday, not so sure with the Extra sweetness it gives will make him eat it in the first place)
Shaking off the weight of having physical labor i'll be having when i'm back to school, i offset myself from the dread, slapping my face to wake up and keep on going. (Ngh, just what does Elena do in weekdays?)
Going on about with the goals of passing 5 to 6 after achieving 4 last month, i go on about with my daily exercise for making sure i physically are fit to make do with Arrows and Bows, also Heavy Guns. (Where the heck is the well around here that was back then? Think i missed a spot or two, around town)
Reason why i'm looking for wells is the Pulley that basically replicates the basic repetition of pulling the string of an arrow.
As i traverse my surroundings, i got a water well in my sight placed somewhere near the back of some florist's shops. (Please, not another metallic chain for the pulling, God!)
Coming closer, i slow down and take a seat near it, lumping my back to the circling shape it takes after.
I stretch my legs in order to not induce pain like muscle cramps every now and then. (Hurts a ton when i first got taught by Sir Garvin on how to slash horizontally, With A Wooden Pike! Which weights a lot more than a Steel Sword, like Why?!)
Inhales and Exhales, i rise up and scan the well for it's pulley, which Rope is made from Nylon. (Hmm... Here comes the skin burns!)
I put my hands on it, mimicking an Archer's set of pulling a string, while having the bucket down the well full to make sure this exercise gains me the muscle memory i'm tasked.
*Cranks*
Apparently, the nobles of this city once tried to put some alternatives to the wells, like putting some Wind spells that'd make them go above but all that does is flood the lower levels and makes rainbows, so we stayed with the good old wells. (Bwahaha! What's ta expect of having Grand-tiered Wind spell to do the lifting for ya?
Agh, my skin burns)
As it makes a sound that my ears bears with all my might, given how irritating it is, i keep up to make at least 30 pulls in and out. "Khh! Just 10 more reps, Come On!"
*Water splash*
Letting go of the pulley that weights a bucketful of water, i sit down, taking another breather before finishing my 1st circling run. (Fuck, was all Archer doing this kind of thing at such little age of 10? I'd be damned, and honestly i thought all there is was just going Bullseye on a target, but this?
I want to smack my past self for being such a dimwit, thinking it's all easy come and easy goes on the Ranger Academy)
"Phew, that's a quarter of a run done, only 2 more". I stand as i make a little warming up on the spot by jogging in place, before going yet for another run.
Around town, i did archer's movements, squats, sit-ups, pull-ups, and all kinds of morning routine for getting my body acquainted with the pain of a mobile archer. (Curses be, and all this just to pull a Freaking Longbow?! AGH!!)
. . .
*Sprinkles*
As i turn on the shower for being set on Warm, i wipe my body from the accumulated sweat that resides on the outer skin. "Brr! What's with the chilling frost mist?!"
After taking the bath, i sweep my teeth from some 'blood' that is just the fat of most meat we ate last night with a toothbrush that if you were to flow Mana will move it's brushes up and down automatically until you stop the flow.
*Clothes rags*
As i take it upon myself for a new change of black long-sleeved shirt and black pants alongside another winter jacket i've hanged near the bathroom, seeing as the ones i wear this morning is now all smelly,
i go forward to the dining and kitchen room on the back of the house after drying my hair off. (*Sniffles* Agh, what great weather, yet again)
"Oh Rheks~ana, Valiantly Rheks~ana~, 'Till our hands tire of the pauls and mauls them all~". From inside the room blocked by a door, i hear Father' s singing the 'Dwarven's Duty', a 'National Shanty' for most off the dwarven community. (Aren't shanties to be singed on the wavy sea? Don't get it)
*door opens*
"Shabby copper we have it, Raggedy golden we make it, Oh for what we'll do to keep it all~". Father continues singing in a' Nordic' and 'Southern' fashion, a way that the ancient people used to make words and make them be a little bit Adventurous and Perilous. (Oh Boy, won't be hearing me 'till he's done with again, old geezer)
Ignoring the wailing of the old man, i open all of the dish-covers that awaits to be served it's contents:
Vegetables, mostly Salad.
Rices with shrimps and eggs, with the egg half-boiled.
Tofus and some fermented Salt Fish.
As i pick a little bit of everything there is, i then take a cup of water to accompany me so i won't be having a hard time if i were to choke after my morning routines. "Taerllishka, Heavenly Taerllishka, to the sparkles we praise to you~, Oh to the sparkles we praise, To, You~". I kept on my business, eating the plate until the last piece of rice done with the spoon.
(*sighs* Why does our name have to be derivative of his lullabies?). I clean my plate along the utensils in the kitchen sink.
Now, who would think to have their kids name as some of the legendary figures as singed in these songs? Well, my parents who according to the Yellowroad's denizens, have aided the King so much so in the past, that when Pops are given a wish, he said 'Ta name me childs after the great figures of the Earthen Smith : Rheksana and Taerlishka'.
Have a guess on what happened after? Lots and loads of ruckus happened, though it quieted down after the King 'Silenced' them all, with his brash voice and intimidating attitude that of an Alpha Lion.
*burps*
(Whoops, hope i ain't got him all brazen!). Afterwards, a drink of two full cups of water, and i set out to wake my Brother in his room, hopefully not in shambles of all the stuff he has in his room. (Just to get away from this old one's hugs, gotta get to it!)
. . .
*door opens*
Entering Rexar's room, he has scribbles all around on his notebooks on their front cover saying 'The High-Walls' Stewards', the full name of Ytris' Guardians. (Agh, was Elena's doing this kind of thing for a living? Maybe not, with Arl being a White-head, surely he don't need no lectures... mostfully, maybe)
I look over my brother's carefree sleepy face as the chicken alarm on a drawer beside him hasn't initiated it's Cock-a-doodle-doo mode yet, and so i take the opportunity to wake him earlier. "Oy, wakey-wakey"
"The Mandrake Dragon!!". He jumps out of his sleep with his eyes fully opened in red.
" 'Ey-' ey, ya still getting nightmares out of that kid?". I open the windows at the far side of his bed.
"Ngh, but it's so cold~". Quivering by the gushing air seeping in, he pulls his blanket to cover himself up more inside it's warm and cozy heat.
Rexar got a little wary of Arlan's power, namely his 'Siren's Howl', this reminded him of a mythical creature that is 'Mandrake Dragon' which is pretty illogical when i get to realize what it is.
Mandrake is a type of living plants, like Treants, which'll stray off any deviant which it deems as a danger to it's existence, by Howling on close proximity.
On the other hand, a Dragon aside from spewing any kind of Elemental effect it possesses inside it's body, can also Howl on all directions.
A 'Mandrake Dragon' is an Earthen Dragon that's more akin of a Drake but still able to make it scales distinct enough to differ itself from it's cousins, has it's Howling as the main weapon whenever it feels like it as it can Paralyze and inflict Fear upon the target, and they rarely goes out in search of something once they set their goals.
Dragons are still living people when they Transform into humanoid shape, but not with the Rogue war inflicting chaos everywhere and making some juveniles completely redundant to restore them back to their conscious state. (Qaiz really was lucky, his family just wasn't around when it happened. Figures he hated the Rogues that make him fight his own family in the wild)
And supposedly, Arlan activated that skill that is used to save me, andis the one that scared Rexar. (Just hope he gets over it, 'cause i doubt that is going to be seldomly used in such harsh world that is Altaris)
I shake his body from left to right. "Oy, C'mon ya lil' dumbo! We're gonna go visit the Gritt's house shortly, and ya got yourself all cozy, eh?"
Afterwards, he drops his legs down the bed before stretching and gone out without a word. (Ain't that's just rude, and he didn't make bed yet!)
I do this unwillingly but since i always do this every morning, my body subconsciously does the job ever since i came home and joined the Ranger's academy.
I sleep at 7.45 in the night, asleep at 8 and wake up at 4.05 in the morning, so that makes up for 8 hours of sleep. (Means less time to tinker and research about the lost techs, what a shame)
I exit the room and headed downstairs to ready my hoverbike for a test run before going outside yet again, as it need maintenance every couple of weeks, and i don't want to get stranded halfway while buying groceries when Mother is in her room like back then while Arlan is staying with us.
*footsteps*
"Morning, sweetie~". Mother on her pajamas of greens is greeting me, half-awake in her state.
"Morning, Ma". I kept on getting down as i walk past her, and open the door to the garage.
*Light flicks*
As the sun hasn't fully risen yet, it gives me the time to test this vehicle while everyone is still waking up.
*Pulls cloth*
Hoverbike, was one of the Lost Technology that is being recovered in the whole of Ytris and apparently the neighboring continent has their own circumstances that used to deal with Aeon.
Even Aeon themselves are still in the progress of repairing everything that was broken and posted a demand if there were to be parts or ruins of their makings, like where i found Nebulis and especially this hoverbike. (Since the other are still scared of them, i get to be the only one to have brought one. Luck's on me, i guess)
Instead of having wheels, it has 4 hazard-less propellers going downward and it's glowing holes won't do anything if you were to touch it even in the middle of the circles. (Almost got myself a heart attack when that kid Arlan tries to put his hand inside)
Utilizing many magic inscriptions and circles to incorporate Stable Flight, hoverbike can go up to 120 miles per hour if it's on a straightforward road. (Don't want to remember crashing to some rocks that's a little higher than the other)
It consumes Mana as its fuel, but many documents that i found on the crash site of the airship details about how these things could be operated Without fuel, and with history, it might be awhile before we discover a way to make them operate to it's optimal capacity.
I reach my hands out to the garage door which activates after i Flow Mana, even from afar, and it's going to open slowly or quickly according to the Mana i've inserted.
With sunlight getting inside, i flick the light switch as i wear my helmet.
*Jet Engine startup*
The sound of the hoverbike always thrills me to the core as once it goes on, i can not leave myself to leave it be until i've gone on a road trip but for today, it's a trip around the neighborhood.
*beep, beep*
Alongside it's functions are front windshields, side-lights, and passenger seats. All of these in just the press of a button near the bike's counter.
The interface of the helmet stating trajectories, speedometer, fuel capacity and engine status is quite overwhelming when i first started it up.
And somewhere along those lines are music player where i got something to inject to some of the holes that is called 'Flash-disk', guided by Nebulis, i discovered some of these music that was saved and i still play them.
But since the sound of the morning was solemn and quiet, i choose to slide up the face-shield and embrace the cold frosting wind.
*Zooms*
. . .
Going around and seeing the streetlights go lights out by the time i got home, the sun turns to highlight the fog.
When i got home, as always, both of us siblings got caught by Father and gets involved in his Hugging routine, much like my Exercises.
Momma wants to give the Gritt some gifts from some herbs, fruits, potions and the likes to the adults
Arlan, on the other hand, gets to have some books and most of them are learning material regarding the wilds' plants and herbs. She says that it's the Thanks for making her a sharp knife that can cut through bones like a butcher's.
Pops have me store some boxes on my Storage Ring that i'm not to open and just give to the parents yet again.
He also made a Beginner's Wand and some kids clothes as gifts, and much like Mom, is just his Thanks for rising his insight on smithing with Mana.
"Ready, sis!". On my left, Rexar giddies up for our journey and my next visit to the Gritt Duo, alongside their second child.
(Pretty sure there's 2 other wife he had somewhere inside the city, forgot her name but she had both a boy and a girl if i'm not wrong)
As i strap again, with the both of us fully layered with warm winter clothing, we plan to stay in Arlan's house the same way he did, for 3 days straight and i packed up the stuff that i want to talk with all of them about. (*chuckles* If it's Elena, i bet she'd want the drone now)
My side is being pulled, shaking back and forth. "Sis? We're going or what?"
I put his hand away, and revs the engine in accordance of our homestay. "Well, buckle up, ya chump!"
*Zoom*
. . .
Nearing the checkpoint, i turn down the engine and is greeted by yet again, the Chief as he wave his hands towards us that is slowing down. "Hey, you two!"
"Hi!"
"Heya"
He circles around the vehicle, steering his distance from it quite a bit, acting as if it is some landmine waiting to be activated. "Say uh, how's it going with the training?"
(Wow, even i can see what he's being wary off)
Fixing the mirrors as some cars and horse carts are waiting for their turns. "Ain't no easy peasy, lemon squeezy or anything like that but, sure is going the way i like it"
"Your Pace, Your Pace?". He gestures the other guards to lift the blockade.
"Yep, My Own Pace, My Own Pace. See Ya!". As i start up the engine yet again, i wave my hand back without looking.
"See You Later, Chief!". Rexar screamed as the sound of the bike overwhelms his.
"Take Care On The Road, You Two!"
*Zooms*
With all of the preparations, i am reminded of what his face might just be like. (Nervous? Surprised? Happy? I just want to see whatever his reaction is. Call me a creep but it's like seeing a kitten meows at their adolescence, just so cute!)
. . .