By and Down [Closed]

[Domri Blackblade]

The snap of heavy cloth against the surface of skin echoed in the empty room of the temple as the young monk's kick shot through the air. His foot fell to the ground with an absolute softness, light weight on the ball of his foot as he rotated and continued to perform his form with a much practiced crispness and precision. Soft beads of sweat dotted his forehead, creased in a frown of complete and total concentration.

 

Circling the young monk was a much older one of similar dark brown hair and vibrant blue eyes, Ral. He raised his leg in a powerful kick aimed at his son's side, shoved him roughly, struck at his stomach. They were all efforts to knock the young man off balance or distract him from his form. Efforts that'd failed much to the elder monk's satisfaction.

 

"Good," Ral growled out once his son finished his form. His lips pulled into a wide grin as he ruffled Adun's hair.

 

"Criticisms, sir?" Adun asked, though his lips could not resist twitching into into a proud, albeit faint smile. His dark hair clung to his forehead and his chest rose in fell in deep breaths as he looked up to the other man.

 

"Aye. Take a rest so I can go see your brother. I should like to see my eldest son outside of this room every so often." Ral playfully shoved Adun back a bit and shook his head. Raising a finger up, he motioned to the doors that led outside of the room. "Go on."

 

Waving his hand in defeat, Adun nodded with a small sigh.

"Aye, alright. Alright," he responded with a soft laugh. Bowing respectfully, he took a few steps back and turned towards the door. Ral had passed him on his way out, bowing just before exiting the room, and leaving Adun alone for the moment.

 

Lingering back, he loosened the cloth he wrapped around his wrists and glanced around. His life was in these walls and rarely outside of them. It was the price he paid to ascend in his training to where he was now. He was his father's legacy and protege. The weight of expectation and legacy was completely on his shoulders. Exhaling a soft breath, he sat down along the wall, and let his head fall back against the surface.

[Virella]

Life in the temple was rarely a quiet affair, even within the smaller mountain temple Avelina resided, and privacy a rarity among those not ascended within the ranks of the Fists. Despite her mother been granted such privileges, Avelina had not. Rarely granted time outside the temple, Ave resorted to dwelling within the stone walls after she had been dismissed by her master after the day’s training. Not that the young Monk ever had felt trapped within it, in fact every time she was forced to leave her Brothers and Sisters for an extended period of time, she protested.

 

Though thankfully there was no need for such today. No need to go visit her father, her half-siblings, or any of that nonsense who took her away from the temple. Just some rare spare time for her own.

However that did not mean she had the intention to let it go to waste, despite feeling sore and slightly exhausted of the day’s earlier training.

 

Making her way further through the temple in her training garbs, eventually the pale, red-haired Highlander made her way towards what she assumed to be an empty room. After all, she had not granted permission to leave for the mountains to meditate, so instead an abandon place within the temple had to make do.

 

As soon as she stepped into, what she assumed to be empty, room, she spotted a figure resting against the wall. At first disappointed and slightly annoyed at realising her planning got interrupted by her plan gone awry, soon turned into relief at the moment she realised who the person in question was.

 

Turning to face the Fist resting at the wall, she dipped her head and offered him a bright smile. “Brother Adun, I did not expect to find you here of all places.” she said, and added with a chuckle “I rarely see you so alone and unoccupied within these walls. I pray I am not interrupting anything?” She knew she wasn’t, but she was hardly going to miss out on trying to chat with the Fist she quietly admired from a distance.

[Domri Blackblade]

Truthfully, Adun had no idea what he wanted to do now that he'd been given the time off to decide. He was a man driven by structure. Frequently, free time with him was just more training with either his family or other individuals, and the both of them were unavailable. Unless his mother and sister were free and around, he had no idea what to do with himself in free time.

 

That wasn't to say he was without friends. There were people around whom he got to know on a friendly level and even spent time with, but his drive to continue to excel usually had him not a part of the groups that went out to socialize. It was satisfactory enough for them to invite him, at least, since there was always a chance he came off unapproachable because of his priorities.

 

At the sound of another voice, Adun was pulled from his thoughts and looked up at being addressed. His lips tugged into a warm smile when he saw that it was Avelina. He wasn't entirely sure if she was closer to his age or his brother's, but she was always more on his level of skill. It would be a lie if he said he didn't admire that about her just a little bit.

 

"Sister Avelina, it's good to see you as always," he greeted with a soft smile. Subconsciously, he reached up and smoothed over his damp, sweaty hair away from his eyes so he could see her better. "You do not interrupt me, no. I actually only finished with my father and was trying to decide what to do next. Did you intend to use this room to train? I can be out of here before you know it."

 

He hopped to his feet and bowed swiftly at his shoulders to her. It was when he stood that he noted that she was currently alone and it tempted him quite a bit to offer to train with her. After all, Ral could not fault him for helping out one of his peers, no?