Ravs Are Rarely Wrong: The Kinowenn Chronicles Vol III by Ronning Rachel

Author:Ronning, Rachel [Ronning, Rachel]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: FICTION / Fantasy / General
Publisher: Outskirts Press, Inc.
Published: 2015-11-07T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 22

Justin was still sleeping when Lucy woke the next morning. She snuck out of bed and went looking for breakfast; she found Ferra instead. The Elf was outside near their tree house, facing the rising sun, and stretching. Lucy recognized the stretches as some she had learned from Taran. She positioned herself about four feet away from Ferra and joined in. The slow, controlled, fluid motions felt wonderful. Lucy’s soreness and tensions drained away. After they finished going through the motions a third time, Ferra turned to her and smiled.

“Justin?” she questioned.

“Taran,” replied Lucy.

“You move well,” she nodded with approval.

“Thanks,” replied Lucy with a self-deprecating laugh.

“What?” questioned Ferra.

“Watching Elves move is like every cliché I’ve ever heard. ‘It is poetry in motion. They are heartbreakingly graceful. They walk more gracefully than some talented people dance.’ I’ve felt very awkward since we entered your lands.”

Ferra laughed. “Do your best and don’t let the rest worry you. How is your hand to hand combat?”

“Not as good as it probably should be. I’ve been concentrating on my magical abilities lately. I’ve been working more on inner peace and balance than hitting adversaries.”

“Sometimes, the best way to find inner peace is to hit someone,” teased Ferra.

It was Lucy’s turn to laugh, in earnest this time.

“In all seriousness, outward balance can sometimes help with inner balance and vice versa. We’ll start slowly,” Ferra assured her.

The moves Ferra showed her were different from the ones she had learned with Orin. Ferra’s moves felt like dance steps, especially when they did them in slow motion. Lucy found herself smiling as they began to move faster. This was fun. Once she got the basic set down, Ferra got picky about placement.

“The moves are not enough. You have to adjust them for each person you fight. In many cases, the moves are designed to hit pressure points or make your opponent’s body move to painful positions. It is a good fighting style for smaller women because it relies on creating the most amount of pain with the least amount of force or strength,” Ferra explained.

“I like it,” responded Lucy with gusto and a smile.

“So do I,” said Taran joining them.

“How much do you remember?” asked Ferra, a twinkle in her eyes.

“Enough to go full speed but pull the hits,” replied Taran, returning the twinkle.

Ferra crouched in the ready position. Taran matched her position with the corresponding one. Then they began. Lucy was enthralled watching their quick and fluid movements. At times her eyes couldn’t follow the motions. Ferra was quicker and more graceful, of course, but Taran by no means floundered. They dipped and spun; hands and legs flashed out at each other. Every step back had a return attack and every attack moved into a block. Lucy had no idea who was winning. Every now and then one of them grunted when a hit was struck, but it was never hard enough to break the dance. It was beautiful to watch.

“I’m done,” said Taran, stepping out of the fight and breathing heavily.

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