Swift Like a Coursing River

[Clarke Griffin]

We have to be prepared.

She was holding the knife wrong.

Clarke Griffin, the great and powerful Wanheda, stood in the practice yard with a scowl on her face. She knew she had a lot to learn, but she could take on a puma, and that had to be worth something. But no. If she wanted to actually make it to Arkadia Lexa said she needed to be ready to face anything. The Ice Queen's army was crawling around Polis, an infestation, and the girl from space was their primary target. She needed to know how to defend herself properly.

Yesterday she'd spent the entire morning being berated for holding a fake sword wrong, and she still had the bruises from it. The contusions were striking against her pale skin, and the reason they were working with a different weapon today. Clarke had the notion that they'd keep cycling through weapons until they found one the girl from space took to as well as a revolver. So far, no dice.

She wasn't a warrior. They'd have to accept it.

It was a good thing she hadn't taken the Hippocratic oath. The girl glanced from the knife to the target a few paces away before turning to study the woman who was her tutor this morning. The sun was in her eyes. Clarke squinted at Kevah's silhouette, her nose scrunching up, as she tried to focus more on the warrior and less on the brilliance of their surroundings.

It was a pretty location, where the Natblidas trained, and a number were hard at work around her. Some sparred with swords, the motion catching her eyes, and even more simply watched. She didn't know if they were hoping to learn something from the great Wanheda, or if they simply found her failure amusing. While Clarke usually liked children she wasn't sure what to do around these. She wasn't sure what to do around most of the grounders, really. Her knuckles whitened around the knife.

"I throw it?" she asked Kevah hating how stupid she felt when confronted with this sort of thing. Also, her fluency in Trigedaslang bordered on childish, she hadn't taken to it as easily as she had Latin back in school.

@kevah
Hope this works~ <3

[Deleted]

IT'S SURVIVAL

Of the fittest

 Kevah was blatantly frowning as she stared at the infamous Wanheda. At the girl that had slaughtered her brother and three-hundred others. At the girl that had annihilated every man, woman and child that once resided in Mount Weather. The Grounder was unable to understand how the Commander of Death was capable of looking so lost. That was the sole reason that Kevah hadn't yet tried to murder her: it'd be like killing a child. A child that had fried her brother like venison... 

The Grounder repressed any grief that dared to resurface, instead focusing on the task at hand. She had to teach Wanheda how to use a knife (So what? A part of her asked bitterly. She can kill you too?). 

Cocking a brow, Kevah answered Wanheda's broken Trigedasleng with, "No, you just hold it and hope the knife flies off towards your target by itself." She then looked down at the girl's hands, blowing out a small sigh. Usually Kevah had the patience required of a teacher, but around the Sky Person she couldn't help but feel it drastically ebbing away. 

"You're not holding it properly," she noted dully, throwing in a sharp insult for good measure. Jerking up her own hand, she demonstrated the proper technique. Since her knife was relatively heavy, her thumb was placed against the base of the blade with the rest of her fingers curled around the handle. "Remember not to snap your wrist when you throw." 

Kevah dropped her hand, taking a slow step backwards. She now wore an expectant - if not still slightly irritated - facial expression. A demonstration would probably have been more effective, but Kev wanted to see the other struggle a little bit before she knocked her down. And besides, knife throwing had never really been the Grounder's strongest suit. Yes, she was good at it, but missing her target in front of Wanheda was definitely not something she wanted at the moment. 

Clarke Griffin

made by jellyfish princess @ adoxography

[googlefont="Oswald:300"][googlefont="Source Sans Pro:200"]

[Clarke Griffin]

We have to be prepared.

Clarke's understanding of Trigedasleng wasn't so poor that she didn't comprehend sarcasm. The blonde pursed her lips, glaring at Kevah, as she tried to come up with a smart sort of reply. Absolutely nothing popped to mind. With her knowledge of the grounder language failing her the girl from space resorted to grumbling in equally sarcastic English: "And here I thought you were teaching me telekinesis." Not that it made her feel any better. The uselessness of her own incompetence with apparently simple (for a grounder) tasks gnawed on her already hollow sense of self.

When told she wasn't holding the knife properly the girl from space sighed in an agitated fashion. She tried to mimic the warrior's motion, bringing up her own hand to mirror Kevah's, as she set her thumb against the base and curled her fingers too tight around the handle. The knuckles of her dirty hand glowed white. At the reminder not to snap her wrist when she threw Clarke nodded. That didn't mean she could manage not to do it, though.

Wanheda glanced at Kevah for a searching moment before she came to the conclusion that no more instruction was forthcoming. Clarke took a deep breath, drew back the knife clutched in her hand, and tossed it stupidly at the target. She missed. The knife clattered to the ground, spinning in the dirt, and the girl took a step forward to retrieve it before remembering she had another knife in her other hand.

She threw that one next. This one landed closer to the target and skimmed the top of the target as it flew past. Clarke huffed, as impatient as the woman besides her, and marched towards the target to pluck her pair of knives from the ground behind it. She was supposed to be terrifying, a force to be reckoned with, and here the great Wanheda couldn't even hit the broadside of the tower with a knife. Clarke's face felt hot and she tried to ignore the gazes of the curious Natblidas.

When she returned back to Kevah's side, somewhat reluctantly, she glowered at the warrior. She wasn't angry at the woman, though. She was angry at herself. She tried again: two more trips back to retrieve the fallen knives. On the fifth throw she finally hit the target. The knife smashed in handle first, though, and bounced off onto the ground. The delight on Clarke's face was instantly swept away as she tried once more with her brows furrowed in determination.

"Why won't it stay?" she complained, not caring that she was whining, as she brought the knives back to the starting position that third time.

@kevah

[Deleted]

IT'S SURVIVAL

Of the fittest

The other girl didn't seem too pleased with her, not that Kevah could complain. She found herself returning the foreigner's look with a disgusted grimace. It was quick to morph into a scorching glare, however, because of two things: one, she hadn't understood the English term for "telekinesis" and it upset her, and two Wanheda was equally as surly as Kevah which really did nothing to improve the situation. She welcomed the change in subject when her trainee (the thought of calling a murderer that made her shiver with displeasure) threw the knife. 

Kevah openly laughed at the failure. And she chuckled again and again whenever Wanheda missed her mark. How great was it that children were better at throwing knives than someone dubbed the Commander of Death? "A helpful tip: hit the target," she offered less-than-helpfully. On the Arker's fourth try Kevah snickered out, "What are you even aiming at?"

As much as the Grounder was enjoying herself supervising the great Wanheda's pathetic attempts at something Kev had learned to do years ago, a small part of her wanted to just get this lesson over with. She didn't like being so close to a Sky Person, especially when she was tasked with teaching her such a useful tool. 

She disdainfully eyed the other girl as she approached looking rather heated. And then she complained. Kevah let out only one huff of laughter, completely incredulous. "Because you're not hitting a living target," she blew out almost matter-of-factly, "it seems killing is all you know, isn't it?" For a moment Kevah let that hang in the air, determinedly maintaining eye contact for as long as she could. Then, "You're probably not relaxed enough. Just-"

Deciding that an explanation would most likely be lost on the Arker, Kevah pushed her aside and swiveled around to face the target. She gripped her knife, arched her arm above her head and released it, holding out her hand in front of her as she did so. The knife spun a few times within the air, only to stop once it collided with its designated target. Fortunately she'd managed to get it relatively centered height-wise, but the weapon had landed a couple inches to the right of the bull's eye. She turned back towards Wanheda. "I'm better with moving targets." 

Clarke Griffin

made by jellyfish princess @ adoxography

[googlefont="Oswald:300"][googlefont="Source Sans Pro:200"]

[Clarke Griffin]

We have to be prepared.

Kevah's laughter was sharp, biting into her skull, and Clarke felt the onset of a headache starting behind her eyes. The pain was alright. She probably deserved it. The headache did nothing to improve her mood, though. Especially as she kept missing and the Grounder kept laughing. Her helpful hints could go float.

The idea that she couldn't get the knife to stay embedded in the target simply because it wasn't alive stung in a way Kevah had probably intended. Wanheda's spine straightened and she drew herself up to her full not-so-formidable height, but she couldn't keep her face from crumpling at the truth in the warrior's words. She was a killer. She'd been the one to silence Atom's pained whimpers, the one to dispatch the guard who'd been ordered to keep her captive when Finn's life was on the line, the one to then smother that very life she'd held so dear.

Her fingers burned with blood that had been scrubbed away but would never really leave her. The killing of hundreds that she was attributed to had been less personal. She was still guilty, though. Clarke's pale gaze dropped from Kevah's first, an admission of weakness, and she was grateful when the older girl decided to go back to teaching.

She watched as the Grounder flung the knife at the target and tried to memorize the motion. It stuck, with a hollow thud, not too far from the center. Kevah's comment was met with a deadpan stare. "Apparently, so am I," the girl from space replied as she moved to take the place from the throwing target that the warrior had been in.

When the knife left her outstretched hand, this time, Clarke felt she was getting somewhere. It sailed towards the target, but hit against handle first with a thud, before glancing off Kevah's knife with a clink. It landed on the dusty ground as the Arker let out a frustrated groan.

@kevah

[Deleted]

IT'S SURVIVAL

Of the fittest

 Wanheda hadn't reacted to her comment as Kevah had expected. Instead of the sadistic smile that the Grounder could have bet on to surface, the Sky Person almost looked ashamed. Kevah wrinkled her nose, partially because Wanheda was simply in front of her and partially because she couldn't understand her. She was quick to drop her confusion, though. She had other matters to attend to. 

She stared at the knife as it whizzed through the air, but blew out an irritated breath when, of course, it didn't land properly. For a moment she puckered her lips, gaze fixated over the knife as it rested on the floor then she whirled back towards the other girl. "You're supposed to stick it with the pointy end," Kevah said flatly. She grumbled incoherently to herself, including as many curses as she could in the same sentence. 

The Grounder looked back towards the target and sighed, quickly rubbing a hand over her face. She'd given Wanheda the benefit of the doubt, figuring she'd get it in a couple throws, but of course things were never that easy when it came to the Sky People. She'd have to approach this like she would with any other student. 

Should Wanheda still hold a knife, Kevah would pluck it from her fingers, drop it on the floor, and kick it away just because she wanted to. Then, she stiffly jabbed at Wanheda's body, positioning her appropriately. Should the Arker choose to be difficult or not comply fast enough, Kevah would rather viciously knee or elbow her into position. Once she was set properly Kevah would give the Sky Person one of her own knives. Maybe the balance would be better with the ones she'd been using.

"Stay relaxed. Envision where the knife is going to go, and like I said before don't snap your wrist when you throw. If you're as incompetent as I think you are and you're still unable to get it in the next few throws I'll get you a thinner blade and you'll use a different grip," she said quickly. She then jogged towards the target, pulled her own knife from the target and picked up the one on the floor before she moved aside, once again looking expectant.

Clarke Griffin

made by jellyfish princess @ adoxography

[googlefont="Oswald:300"][googlefont="Source Sans Pro:200"]

[Clarke Griffin]

We have to be prepared.

"I'm trying!" Clarke rebuked with a huff. If it was simply as easy as sticking it with the pointy end then she'd already have that by now. After all, she knew how to use a knife when she wasn't flinging it around. Well, she knew how to use a scalpel but the same principles could be applied to weapons. While her teacher facepalmed Clarke studied the target again. If the Grounder warrior wasn't going to be any use then she'd figure this out herself. Maybe.

The knife was pulled from her hand before she could throw it. Wanheda opened her mouth to protest, but what came out was a squeak when she was jabbed. Even if she was blonde, like Barbie, Clarke was not a pose-able action figure. It took a few vicious elbow jabs for the Arker to stop trying to fight back, partially because Kevah'd hit one of her bruises from sword-training day eliciting a hiss of pain from Wanheda, and partially because she finally realized that the warrior wasn't just bullying her for no reason.

A new knife was set in the blonde's hand and she stared from it to Kevah as the warrior gave her some more advice. Clarke wasn't sure she knew how to relax anymore. She'd always been high-strung, but the fall of Mount Weather had damaged her. The girl bristled at being called incompetent, even if that's what she was when it came to hurling sharp projectiles at targets. "Well sorry I skipped weapons 101," the girl grumbled as her teacher headed back towards the target to collect the knives there.

At that expectant glare, as soon as the target was cleared, Clarke once again tried her hand at knife throwing. She tried very hard not to snap her wrist, but she wasn't keeping very relaxed. This time the knife flew true, and actually hit the target point-first, but it didn't embed itself within the material. Wanheda scowled as her knife once again hit the ground. Lacking anymore projectiles to try again, Clarke turned towards her equally frustrated teacher for direction.

@kevah

[Deleted]

IT'S SURVIVAL

Of the fittest

 Kevah smirked upon hearing Wanheda's hiss of pain. Good, she thought. Once she'd gotten the other girl placed and ready, she'd had to restrain herself from beating at her uselessly. It was lucky for the Arker that Kevah was considerate enough to clear the target, because if the Grounder hadn't encountered a distraction it would've been very likely that Wanheda would've endured more than just a tap of her elbow. 

A gust of air dictated that Wanheda had thrown the knife she'd been given, and to Kevah's grudging pleasure the weapon hit the target - and not with the hilt. At least the girl was improving. Kevah leaned forward and took back her knife, replacing the tiniest of prideful smiles with a saccharine sweet one. "Good job," she cooed out, "it looks like you're not completely hopeless after all." She strode back towards her pupil and stopped once she was beside her. "You're either not using enough force or your technique is off. Watch me." 

Kevah took a step back, readied herself, and raised her arm. Then she threw the knife - only things went terribly wrong. Kevah missed. The weapon skimmed the target, instead lodging itself neatly into a tree close behind it. For a fraction of a second the Grounder winced before quickly covering it up with a thin smile. "When you get to be as good as me you can even hit trees." 

She coughed before Wanheda could respond. "Anyway, force. Impact. Tech-nique. Go get the knife and try it yourself." 

Clarke Griffin

made by jellyfish princess @ adoxography

[googlefont="Oswald:300"][googlefont="Source Sans Pro:200"]

[Clarke Griffin]

We have to be prepared.

Even if it wasn't a genuine smile Clarke's lips couldn't help but quirk in an attempt to return it. Sarcastic praise was more than she'd gotten as far as positive interaction in the woods. Oh, she'd made some friends, and she'd been praised as Wanheda the destroyer of mountains but it wasn't the same. Throwing a knife and hitting a target was something she didn't feel guilty about trying to accomplish. It was safe.

She watched as the warrior threw the knife again, saw it embed itself into the tree, and smirked at the other girl's words. The blonde glanced sidelong at Kevah with a look that easily read she knew what had actually happened and saw through the shoddy cover up. Before she could make a smart comeback about trees attacking, though, she was given the order to try again.

Clarke made her way over to the tree. It shouldn't have taken her long to pull the stupid blade free, but it caught on the bark. The Arker made a soft noise of frustration as she tugged at it again before jerking backwards the moment it was free. She stumbled, ungracefully, back a few steps but managed to avoid tripping over the target as she made her way back to Kevah.

The next throw had the same result as the previous. The knife tip seemed to embed itself slightly into the target, eliciting a half-second smile of pride from Wanheda, before it tumbled to the ground like it had so many times before. The blonde huffed in frustration and went after the knife again. This time, when she threw it, it was all power and no technique.

Her frustration arced in the air as the knife smashed hilt-first into the target and bounced a good foot back towards them. Gritting her teeth, Clarke turned towards Kevah. "Throwing a knife isn't going to stop the Ice Queen from invading!" she complained, stomping forwards to snatch the weapon back up and not even caring that the Natblidas were staring now. "And it's not like I'm ever going to be attacked by trees!"

@kevah
#dramaheda