People are much more afraid of seeing the light than being in the dark.
George Gould.
(Yes, Edd's brother. I'm not kidding. He had that on twitter.)

2-18-24 6-4-17'23 5-8-15-12-8-25-8 12-23, 2-18-24 6-4-17'23 6-18-17-6-8-12-25-8 12-23
4-17-7 2-18-24 6-4-17'23 23-18-24-6-11 16-8, '6-4-24-22-8 12'16 24-17-23-18-24-6-11-4-5-15-8!
4-17-7 12 14-17-18-26 2-18-24 11-4-23-8 12-23, 4-17-7 2-18-24 6-4-17'23 23-4-14-8 12-23
2-18-24'15-15 17-8-25-8-21 5-21-8-4-14 16-8, '6-4-24-22-8 12'16 24-17-5-21-8-4-14-4-5-15-8!
16-12-6-11-4-8-15 13-4-6-14-22-18-17, 24-17-5-21-8-4-14-4-5-15-8.


Thursday, 15th May, 2104


For Godsakes Cora, you need to stretch!

I turn my hand upside down and push it on the tree trunk, riddled with a few weeks' worth of nicks and holes. I grimace and grit my teeth as the tightness of my muscles become painful for a few seconds. When I do the same for my left hand, the pain isn't too bad- ow- but the arm stings after.

My shoulders crack and pop with the rest of my back. I keep stretching, aches showing up and leaving as I go on with my arms, and chest. The baldric over my shoulder and the belt around my waist are almost back to being familiar again.

Focus, Cora. Always aim higher than the initial target- no no no, not too high! Keep your chin down! Right, there it is. Just let the paradox happen…

Pull back, shoulders firm and straight, two fingers below and one above…

THWICK!

TOCK!

"Eh," I shrug, "Could've been better but I'll take it."

I repeat this process for a while - some shots are the same, some better, some worse… But Emily was right: I am still good at archery, even though I need to polish it again. (Though maybe a Mediterranean release wasn't the best way to use from my starting days…)

There's my anchor point to re-solidify, practice in different shooting spots and positions, and I'm readjusting to my old rider's bow. But… I'm feeling good about this so far.

My shooting grounds aren't too far from home, just a half-hour walk-jog-sprint combo to a small wood with strong, tall trees - perfect for solo target practice away from the rest of the world. I've even brought some roped weights from the antiques room out here for warm-ups. Plus, I like the secrecy of it for some reason. It all just works for me.

Oh, out of arrows again. I should really be more practical about that - if the time ever calls for it, whatever the weird reason might be. Legion, Phoenix or otherwise.

Striding to the targets, I slide my bow back into its nail catch, pull out and pick up arrows from the trunks and the ground respectively. Thank god they're not broken or anything: I'd gotten them and the quiver from Ell and Ed last Christmas. Still grateful they'd picked the right spine weight.

The last arrow that's in the tree though…

"Grr! Must've been… Agh! A good shot… To get stuck!"

I don't even shoot close or well enough to warrant-

SNAP!

Great. Least it was an older arrow…

...Huh. Wouldn't that be funny if I just glued it back on and used it as… I dunno, a hanging target spot or something?

ZZZ!

Laurel Wreath: Whre are you? Dinner's ready cause Matt n Tord are doing Culture night! (Tom n Edd are trying to save it too so plz send help)

Me: Won't take too long, be there soon

Just a few more shots…

Heading back, I stand tall. Chest up and shoulders back, raising my bow and arrow. Remember Cora, it's the back muscles and the torso that do the work…

THWICK-TOCK!

THWICK-TOCK!

THWICK-TOCK!

Wait. Three decent target-hitting shots in a row?

Yeah, I'll call it a day here. Not normal but… Sounds like progress.

Better hurry back before dinner gets cold, though.


"Cora! There you are!"

"Oof, Matt-!"

"Laurie and Emily were so worried about you! They were about to head out! Where were you anyway?"

"Easy, easy Matt. I'm fine. I've just been out for a walk in the old area." I roll my eyes at Matt's 'kiss the cook' apron as he lets go, "Well, I did text Laur that I'd be back soon, and I'm here and alive, right? Is that the bare minimum criteria?"

"Corrie!" I hear Em's shoes somehow skid on the floor towards us, "Half an hour isn't soon! And those standards of living aren't the bare minimum, you know that!"

I know her teasing voice can't hide her vivid belief in those words, but I have a goofy grin nevertheless.

"Of course I'm gonna make sure life's worth living, Emmy. That's the real standard you set here, right? How's your parents by the way? You have been talking to them often, yeah?"

"Yeah yeah," Tom butts in from the kitchen doorway, his half-amused smile tainting his bored tone, "All that stuff. They're fine and it's only her dad who's just doing his 'overconcerned dad' thing. Now head in so we can eat, Laurie and I had to save the commie's custard bread rolls again in the time it took for you to get here."

"At least my meat-and-potato pie came out good!"

"Psh, for once, Matt!"

"Leave it," Em shakes her head, turning off her phone, "I'm eager to try out what you've all made."

"I've also just cooked some pasta," Edd calls from the kitchen, "Is that okay?"

"Anything goes!" I holler back, a smile spreading again, "As long as we're all full by the end of it."


"Then I ripped out his meaty heart! And the burritorranosaurus was no more!"

"What? No! That can't have been real!"

"It was real, Laur," Tom affirms, "To his ginger caveman braincells last century - I found him hiding in the fridge, nearly frozen."

Tord, Laurie and Edd erupt in laughter; Em's facepalming, unable to hide her amused smile at Matt's groans; and I'm chuckling at Tom's cocky smirk.

"Oh God," Edd catches his breath, "I haven't heard that story in a while!"

Glancing around the table again as everyone recovers, I can't hold back a surge of stupid, wholesome warmth swimming in my chest.

Emily looks utterly beautiful with her natural curly hair completely out. It's complemented by her pastel lilac button-up and her flowing, knee-length white skirt. Laurie has gone full goldilocks with her scrunchie out the way. Her red jacket is now a vest with the detachable sleeves in her closet, and mid-tone blue shorts replace her navy gym leggings.

Edd, Tom, Matt and Tord, less touch-starved and hugging more than ever before (Tom hated admitting this), are more fuller with vibrant colour in their faces since last month. Even better, they recently returned to eating actual food last week. I suppose on how slightly thicker Edd is to the others, he really was keen to get off the bone broths, then the chicken soup.

(I wouldn't be surprised if a penchant for food was a thing in the family - not that it's a bad thing.)

"Cora? Coraaaa?"

"Huh? Sorry Laur."

"Whatcha thinking about? Also I like your new hoodie. The light green looks good on you."

I jolt a little, seeing that all eyes are on me (whatever Tom's deal is, I've stopped caring).

"Oh, erm, thanks Laurie… Well… I guess I'm just really glad we're all here like this. I mean, the past month was so weird to get through, a-and it's crazy how you guys were recovering so quickly. I mean, we've barely started in a lot of aspects, but also… You guys have come a long way."

The four of them lean back in their moment of glory, nodding.

"You're not wrong," Edd says, "You three literally dragged us out of a hell that froze over. And we've been to Hell! And not just the one in Norway!"

"Excuse me?"

"Well Emily, it all started when-"

Ding ding ding!

"Who's texting you, Cora?"

"What the- it's mum!" I skim over what she's sent me, "A reminder for the polls tomorrow. And… Advice not to vote for Thor? I mean fair, but weird."

"Why not? Doesn't she like him?" Edd raises an eyebrow, the rest of the table taking interest.

"It's not that, they've been good friends and he's my dad's cousin… But she'd never say stuff like this unless something's up. Which it is for the party he's stuck leading."

"Oh, goodness yes. Even my mum said essentially the same thing to me over the phone."

"You guys all know about the Legion stuff around it, right?" Laur points out.

"Ohhh, yeah. Well, I hope there isn't any more drama about them," Edd wipes his face with a tissue, "Tom couldn't stop talking about how hard it was for Laurie to stay focused on schoolwork because of it."

"I'm so glad I'm doing in-person on part-time now," Laurie whines, "I haaaaaaated it so much…"

Same, Laur.

"Everything should be okay tomorrow," I take another sip of Nectar from my glass, "Em and I will take it easy, vote and get outta there if anything does come up, simple."

I can't help but notice that Edd longingly looks at what I'm drinking. But I don't blame him and his (hopefully temporary) gut sensitivities.

"Pssh, politics already has a lot of bad luck behind it," Tom scoffs, "I remember that the last time I voted. Wait. We're all alive in this century instead of the previous one. Do we still have to vote?"

A clatter of cutlery on the table, broken by giggles from Laurie… And me.

"I don't think," I manage, "They'd take well to someone who's been legally dead for seventy-three years lightly."

"Plus, isn't Tord a Norwegian citizen?" Matt wonders, "He won't get to vote at all!"

"Of course I don't! I was Deputy Prime Minister of Norway!"

"Was Deputy Prime Minister!"

"Shut up, Tom!"

"So what," Edd waves it off, "We can't vote, so it should give us more time to focus on living! Wait, does that mean we get pension?"

The four banter on and I glance at Emily, amused.

I suppose they'll sort themselves out soon, Corrie.

Thanks, Emmy.

There's a tap on my shoulder, so I turn to face- Dammit Laurie, don't give me that look!

"Not now!" I whisper, "The time will come when it wants to!"

She pouts, but a cheeky grin then paints her face for a moment too long.

"It might be sooner than you think!"

"Seriously Cora," Em whispers to my right, "I know we talked about this before, but don't you think this is going on a bit too long?"

"See? Emily agrees with me!"

"Laurie, you're coming with us, I'm not letting you do that behind my back."

There, problem solved.

But why is she still grinning?


Author's Note:

HOUGH. It's been a while. And uni short film pre-production has been a ride.

Which, as it means, I can't do my bi-weekly posting of the fic any longer. I've still got a lot to write and rewrite, and that's not even thinking of the production work that'll come in the next trimester.

From now on until I'm in a better circumstance to write release faster, I'm aiming to post a chapter on every Second Friday, Every third month. Which means the next update should be coming up on the 9th of September, 2022.

I know it's a long time to wait, but a long time is what I need. Thanks for understanding and being patient for so long - you guys have been and are the best.