Post by cortana on Dec 27, 2014 13:11:28 GMT
The night was coming to an end and the sky had taken on a wonderful pink hue as the sun began to rise. Many adventures and landers alike were still tucked away, resting up for the coming day. Cortana however was not. While normally not a morning person, she had been forcing herself to get up early and take advantage of the barren area around the parliament building. It wasn't that it was void of other people, plenty of early birds were here, but there was enough empty space that she could practice what she needed most. Balance.
The one year Cortana had taken to adjust to the game and get used to her body had done wonders. She had learnt to walk, something she had only dreamed about prior to the being stuck in Elder Tale, even run. In fact, she had got the movement part of things down quite well. Running and jumping had become some of her favourite actives, something she thought she would surely not even think about had she never lost her legs in the real world. But after going a decade and a bit strapped to a wheelchair jumping was the sweetest form of freedom imaginable.
Movement was fine, wobbly at times, but fine, what she really struggled with was the not moving part, standing still, without the need of something to balance herself against, or someone. She could hold it for a moment, but the moment she began to relax she would lose it, and stumble about. Years of sitting had taken its toll and her body didn't know how to balance itself on a pair of hips. Not without actively thinking about it, and even that was hard.
So out from the alleyways that lead to the old parliament building bounced Cortana, cheerful as always. She walked with a hop and a skip now and then, still energized at how good those movements felt. Often the landing of the skip however had her shoot her arms out for balance, and a staggered step or two as she regained composure, but it never stopped her trying it.
An old street lamp protruded from the sidewalk, the light portion looked like it had been beaten by something heavy, but enough of it still stood to act as a leaning post. That was Cortana's destination. It was somewhat in the centre of the open area, and the light foot traffic often avoided that area, keeping to the edges and out of the way, meaning she didn't have to worry about falling on anyone carelessly. A few busy adventurers had gotten annoyed at her over the years when she fell against them. Most were understanding, assuming she just tripped. A few had been concerned and even helped her for a little while. Stories from other adventurers who had limbs missing or damaged bodies rediscovering themselves in Elder Tale had proliferated through most of the public and so Cortana's story wasn't too unusual.
As she approached the lamp post she ended her route with a bit jump, landing close enough to the post that she could wrap her arms around it for balance. She giggled happily as she did so. There was just something exhilarating about flying through the air like that, she couldn't get over how good it felt. The smile she wore proud. One year had past, and she had come a long way, and was just about ready for her adventure to begin. All that remained was to continue her practice and look for the right starting stepping stone to take off from.
With her right hand on the post, she moved away from it, so that her arm was out stretched. She shuffled her feet so they were spaced to what she was natural. None of it was completely natural to her, but she tried. She looked down and bit her lip, wondering if the angle she had her feet at were right. "Too straight? Maybe pointed out more…" She mumbled to herself, adjusting her feet. Her shuffling and twisting to get just right might have looked strange to strangers passing but Cortana was the type of girl that simply didn't care. The few cocky guys that had tried to make fun of her had all been teased into an embarrassing submission, resulting in a hearty giggle from Cortana.
Once she was ready, Cortana took a deep breath, closed her eyes and slowly pulled her arm away from the post. As silly as she looked, she felt good at how balanced she felt. Still. She wasn't feeling that light strain along the back of her neck when she started to fall forward, nor did it feel like her hips were pushing forward out from under her, like when she fell backwards. She was just still, straight, and standing. And then she let the breath she was holding out.
It all went downhill from there. Her upper torso swayed just a little bit too far back, her hips over compensated and moved too far forward. She ended up throwing her arms forward, desperately trying to straighten herself but the more time past, the more she was bent over backwards until finally she collapsed onto her back. She dropped her arms out to the sides in a dramatic sign of defeat. The smile however, never left her face for a moment.
She gave herself a few moments to live on the ground like that. She took in the rough uncomfortable bricks that were cold this early in the morning, and felt how they sucked the heat from her body. She moved her legs about and imagined herself standing, visualising her goal and clear as she could. When the moments were up, she opened her eyes, sat up and reaching out for her old friend, the light post. With it as her faithful partner to support her, she made it back to her feet. The only way she was going to master it, was to try, and try, and try again.
(WC: 1005)
[vixi Pen Ddraig]
The one year Cortana had taken to adjust to the game and get used to her body had done wonders. She had learnt to walk, something she had only dreamed about prior to the being stuck in Elder Tale, even run. In fact, she had got the movement part of things down quite well. Running and jumping had become some of her favourite actives, something she thought she would surely not even think about had she never lost her legs in the real world. But after going a decade and a bit strapped to a wheelchair jumping was the sweetest form of freedom imaginable.
Movement was fine, wobbly at times, but fine, what she really struggled with was the not moving part, standing still, without the need of something to balance herself against, or someone. She could hold it for a moment, but the moment she began to relax she would lose it, and stumble about. Years of sitting had taken its toll and her body didn't know how to balance itself on a pair of hips. Not without actively thinking about it, and even that was hard.
So out from the alleyways that lead to the old parliament building bounced Cortana, cheerful as always. She walked with a hop and a skip now and then, still energized at how good those movements felt. Often the landing of the skip however had her shoot her arms out for balance, and a staggered step or two as she regained composure, but it never stopped her trying it.
An old street lamp protruded from the sidewalk, the light portion looked like it had been beaten by something heavy, but enough of it still stood to act as a leaning post. That was Cortana's destination. It was somewhat in the centre of the open area, and the light foot traffic often avoided that area, keeping to the edges and out of the way, meaning she didn't have to worry about falling on anyone carelessly. A few busy adventurers had gotten annoyed at her over the years when she fell against them. Most were understanding, assuming she just tripped. A few had been concerned and even helped her for a little while. Stories from other adventurers who had limbs missing or damaged bodies rediscovering themselves in Elder Tale had proliferated through most of the public and so Cortana's story wasn't too unusual.
As she approached the lamp post she ended her route with a bit jump, landing close enough to the post that she could wrap her arms around it for balance. She giggled happily as she did so. There was just something exhilarating about flying through the air like that, she couldn't get over how good it felt. The smile she wore proud. One year had past, and she had come a long way, and was just about ready for her adventure to begin. All that remained was to continue her practice and look for the right starting stepping stone to take off from.
With her right hand on the post, she moved away from it, so that her arm was out stretched. She shuffled her feet so they were spaced to what she was natural. None of it was completely natural to her, but she tried. She looked down and bit her lip, wondering if the angle she had her feet at were right. "Too straight? Maybe pointed out more…" She mumbled to herself, adjusting her feet. Her shuffling and twisting to get just right might have looked strange to strangers passing but Cortana was the type of girl that simply didn't care. The few cocky guys that had tried to make fun of her had all been teased into an embarrassing submission, resulting in a hearty giggle from Cortana.
Once she was ready, Cortana took a deep breath, closed her eyes and slowly pulled her arm away from the post. As silly as she looked, she felt good at how balanced she felt. Still. She wasn't feeling that light strain along the back of her neck when she started to fall forward, nor did it feel like her hips were pushing forward out from under her, like when she fell backwards. She was just still, straight, and standing. And then she let the breath she was holding out.
It all went downhill from there. Her upper torso swayed just a little bit too far back, her hips over compensated and moved too far forward. She ended up throwing her arms forward, desperately trying to straighten herself but the more time past, the more she was bent over backwards until finally she collapsed onto her back. She dropped her arms out to the sides in a dramatic sign of defeat. The smile however, never left her face for a moment.
She gave herself a few moments to live on the ground like that. She took in the rough uncomfortable bricks that were cold this early in the morning, and felt how they sucked the heat from her body. She moved her legs about and imagined herself standing, visualising her goal and clear as she could. When the moments were up, she opened her eyes, sat up and reaching out for her old friend, the light post. With it as her faithful partner to support her, she made it back to her feet. The only way she was going to master it, was to try, and try, and try again.
(WC: 1005)
[vixi Pen Ddraig]
