HE MOTIONED ME TO THE SKY,

It had never been said that she would shirk her training.

She paused in her movements to consider the straw-stuffed dummy a dozen yards away from her, the dagger she had borrowed from the armory halting next to her shoulder. There are several others sticking out of the ground around the target, one with hilt still quivering, but none have actually managed to hit their target. It shouldn’t have been this hard to control the small, light daggers -- hell, they were practically made for this, and if she couldn’t hit the target while firmly on the ground, how was she supposed to do so while in the air?

A scoff leaves her lips, her mind extending and yanking the daggers from the dirt to clatter into a pile at her feet, her pale eyes narrowing. There had to be a trick to this -- she just couldn’t figure out exactly what it was, how to keep the blades steady in the air once she sent them flying. 

With a frustrated grunt, she sends the hovering blade flying -- only to watch it embed itself into the dirt at the foot of the target, quivering as though laughing at her feeble attempts.

I HEARD HEAVEN & THE THUNDER CRY.

HE MOTIONED ME TO THE SKY,

She stares at the dagger with a disgruntled expression crossing her face, aware of her audience but paying no mind to the mare -- until a husky, accented voice breaks through the silence of the courtyard, drawing her gaze towards the golden mare painted with thick strokes of white. For a moment, she refuses to answer, caught between her own stubborn pride and her need to improve her performance with the hovering weapons -- it’s a battle that plays out over her feminine face, her expression shifting from mulish pride to a resigned sort of acceptance over the space of a few moments.

“I think so, yes,” She finally admits with no small amount of stung pride, scuffing a hoof into the dirt beneath her and giving the daggers a slightly frazzled look. Of course, it had to be a pretty girl who stumbled across her obvious failure, one who knew what they were doing, even. It just rubbed salt into the already raw wound, but if it meant she became better suited to serve the Halcyon Unit -- how could she not swallow her pride and ask for help?

“No matter how I send them flying, they don’t go where I need them to.”

I HEARD HEAVEN & THE THUNDER CRY.

HE MOTIONED ME TO THE SKY,

She bites down her pride with teeth sharpened by ambition, her desire for knowledge stronger than any humiliation she might experience as a result of her request for help. Instead, her pale eyes turn towards the golden mare, watching how the sunlight plays across her curves -- it seems to sparkle across her coat, teasing at the dip of her hip, and for a brief moment she finds herself far more entranced with the impromptu teacher rather than the current lesson.

She’s always been a sucker for muscle, after all -- the contrast between her own lithe frame and a stockier one, the knowledge that they could go toe-to-toe without a doubt -- and this mare is certainly built thick, in the best kind of way.

Her ears swing forward as the mare speaks, drinking in the slight accent of her words. Even so, there’s unveiled curiosity in her gaze as she watches how easily the dagger hovers beneath the command of the northern woman, how it embeds itself into the target with what seems like minimal effort. Carefully, she extends the magic and lifts one of the daggers, concentrating on the weight of the handle and realizing that by doing so, it seems to steady much more than before.

“My name is Theodosia, by the way. What may I call you?”

I HEARD HEAVEN & THE THUNDER CRY.

HE MOTIONED ME TO THE SKY,

Her eyebrows furrow as her attention shifts to the hovering dagger, taking her time now -- learning the weight of it in the palm of her mind, how it balances now with her focus on the handle. She takes a deep breath to center herself, her focus shifting towards the straw-stuffed dummy in front of her before she lets the dagger fly. It sinks itself into the rough burlap of the target, and while it is nowhere near the brightly painted target, it is still progress that draws a wide, beaming smile across her face.

“Definitely better!” She agrees enthusiastically, her pale lavender eyes bright and her ears perking forwards as her gaze dances between the northern mare and the dagger embedded in the dummy. She’s amazed at how quickly such simple advice had helped with her problem, levitating another dagger with her focus on the handle -- this time, when she lets it fly, it hits one of the outer edges of the target.

“Thank you, Valkyr.” She seems almost unable to contain her joy at having been taught the trick to the daggers, taking a quick step forward and brushing a kiss of gratitude across Valk’s cheek. “You can call me Theo, if you’d like.”

I HEARD HEAVEN & THE THUNDER CRY.

HE MOTIONED ME TO THE SKY,

The daggers waver for a moment before she carefully brings them hovering back to her, neatly setting them in a pile at her hooves. The one now embedded in the target takes a few more moments of concentration, but she’s starting to get the hang of this telekinesis thing -- a short ‘tug’ brings it to join the others before she turns to the mare with a bright smile that matches the gleam of her pale coat.

“It was great to meet you,” Her words are almost painfully earnest, ears perked forward towards the Northern woman. “I gotta get going -- I’ll see you around sometime, right?”

I HEARD HEAVEN & THE THUNDER CRY.