AN: Happy Monday Everybody! I know Monday's are rough for everyone,
especially those of us still in school. It's amazing what one day can do to
an entire week! Anyway, I'm in a marginally happy mood for a Monday. I
registered for my classes for next semester and I got all the classes I
wanted, including a Creative Writing class that I've wanted to get into for
a while. Please keep up with the reviews-good, bad, indifferent- I'm pretty
sure I can use whatever you guys say next semester!
Lindiel Eryn: I'm glad you liked the fact I had them spying on her. I figured she's a bit tougher than Emma so an all out direct approach wouldn't work. She also knows karate so that makes her just a bit more difficult to approach starting out.
hobbitgirl11: Great scene! Both my mom and I call my younger sister "The Pip" because she's kind of like Pippin sometimes. My mom and sister, on the other hand, call me either "Gollum" or "The Gollum" for lots of reasons. I'm glad you like both the character and the fact you got to get into her head for awhile.
sunni07: They're not very nice people at all. They just lack any redeemable qualities. Well, that is, if you're Niphredil. Anywho, some action is coming up. I hope you like it!
A Monkey's Harp: People whose opinions change on a whim aren't the best type of people. I've known quite a few people like that (actually, I still dance with a few of them). Thanks for the comment about the dialogue. I reread it and it did sound a bit strange. I always appreciate a little constructive criticism, especially now that I'm going to take creative writing.
kurleyhawk2: Here you go! Another chapter! I'm glad you like my story.
LalaithoftheBruinen: Wait no more! Here's the next chapter! You'll soon see what she encounters either to or from her karate class.
LJP: Thanks for pointing out my shoddy spelling. That's what happens when one updates dangerously close to 4 AM. My spelling starts to degenerate around 3 AM which isn't fun because I get the best ideas then. She'll meet up with the Middle Earth folk soon enough. Let's just Emma is acting under orders from both her brother and Aragorn.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except for a handful of made up characters. Tolkien thought up the concept and, as such, it belongs to him. I'm just playing in his world. I'm broke and in college. All I own are Pointe Shoes.
Embolden, but knowing she was going to get an earful from Jay when she came home, by her parting comment, Niphredil walked out of the huge house. She did not have to think about getting to the dojo where she took Tae Kwan Do classes. Her feet knew their own way.
As she walked, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on edge. Everything around her seemed to harbor a hidden threat, acting as a hiding place for the group of people that appeared to be stalking her. There was an unease in her usually casual movements, her guard staying on high alert at all times. She knew she could protect herself just enough to get away from an offending party but that was not enough to convince herself that she was safe out in the darkened streets.
"Stop it, Niphredil," she admonished herself, feeling foolish for even thinking about being afraid.
She knew this neighborhood like the back of her hand, after all these years. The streets were as familiar as the locations her dreams were set in which unnerved her slightly. It seemed to blur the lines between the real world and the dream world...a feeling she was not all together comfortable with.
Trying to shake the unpleasant thoughts out of her head, lest they increase their hold there, she started to consider other things.
She was amazed, as usually, that the Jones's allowed her to take Tae Kwan do at all. They-well, mostly Jay-like to see her as miserable as humanly possible. She suspected that their allowance was due to the fact it got her out of their house for a short while, giving them the illusion that they were a normal family.
On more than one occasion, she'd been told she was a blemish on their family, a crude mark that marred the perfection of their household.
Niphredil longed to tell them just how wrong their assumptions were. She was not the cruel, mean spirited one. That award was reserved for the twins. They made a living picking on people smaller than them. One of their favorite targets had been Hope until she had both left the school they attended and Niphredil took her under her wing.
Niphredil continued to walk, following her feet. There was a huge manor she always passed on her way to class. It was one of the most remarkable features of the small town. Most towns could boast good public or private schools. Salem Center could boast loudest of all, that they had one of the most highly regarded boarding schools in the country. It was an exclusive school, its students being recruited from all around the world.
Niphredil allowed herself a small smile as she passed it. Jay and Kay had tried their hardest to get the twins into the school, claiming they were more gifted than the other students. The school's headmaster, a bald man confined to a wheelchair, just regarded them with a kindly smile and told them "no."
Niphredil knew only one person who attended that school. That person being Hope.
Clearing the school's large gate, Niphredil spotted two old, tired eyes watching her. Following her line of sight, the pair of eyes grew into an old man. Not just any old man but the same old man she had seen nearly everyday.
He turned his wizened gaze on Niphredil, making her feel very small. She hadn't the vaguest of ideas of what his intentions might even be. He never said anything to her or tried to harm her in anyway. It was just that his mere presence made her suspicious. He seemed to radiate some type of power but she could never put her finger on what that power was.
The old man appeared to disappear, dropping into the shadows, as she entered the dojo.
If Niphredil could call anyplace home, the small dojo where she trained would be it. She was comfortable here, able to exert part of herself that cried out sometimes. Something about the martial arts felt right to her, like she was meant to give life to these movements.
"Took you long enough to get here," commented one of the more advanced students as she entered the room they trained in.
Doc was in his office, working on some last minute business arrangements. He was retiring and his more advanced students, Niphredil being among them, decided to treat him to a show of sorts. Each, alone or in tandem with another, was going to put on a small display for him. To show him just how much they had learned.
"Sorry, Carla," Niphredil stated, speaking to the vicious looking girl who had greeted her with the snide comment, "I kind of got lost in my own thoughts on my way over here."
"Are you going to spazz out like that when it comes time to do your thing with my Siddy-poo?" questioned an Oriental female clinging to the arm of a dark skinned boy.
Niphredil regarded the couple with narrow eyes. The female's name was Angelica but she told everyone to call her Angie. The male, her boyfriend and the source of her own personality, had told her to call him Sid. Angie wasn't to keen on the fact Niphredil and Sid had decided to work in tandem, putting on a join display for Doc.
"Do I ever spazz out when I'm here?" Niphredil retorted, forcing the other girl to shrink back a bit.
The rest of the class seemed mildly oblivious to Niphredil's presence. There was a tallish boy named Omar and the strangest set of triplet Niphredil ever had the occasion to meet; Benjamin, Manuel, and Leonard also known as Benny, Manny, and Lenny.
Discussion was kept to a quiet hush, as final parts of tandem routines were settled and a roster of who was doing what and when they were doing it.
The hush was broken by Lenny, who shouted, "He's coming! Let's get ready!'
Though Angie wanted to go last, Sid had convinced her he and Niphredil should close out their little show. The act the routine of them had worked out was difficult to say the least.
Sid had come up with it, teaching it step by slow step to Niphredil.
"Ready Niphredil?" he questioned, checking over her grip on the razor thin blades both had in their hands.
"Very ready," came her reply.
All thoughts of being followed were gone. She was in zone, focused beyond compare. Sid's check of the blade in her hand was not necessary. It felt comfortable to hold a blade in her hands, like there was a hidden strength in the metal that awoke some primal part of her. She'd been comfortable holding a blade since Doc had first placed on in her small hands.
Sid gave a curt nod in Omar's general direction. The tall, silent boy cued the CD player. The song they were using was called "Congo Fury."
Vaguely electronic notes filtered out followed by a voice crying out. Sid and Niphredil engaged in their dance, so to speak. It was a dance half of their own design and half inspired by a fight found in Sid's film of choice, The Animatrix. The song he was using, as well as most of the beginning of the routine, came from the short film "Final Flight of the Osiris."
Of course, the pair could not move like the digital characters but they could try. When choreography ran out, the two worked on their own instincts. Each knew where the other was going to be and where the other blade would land. They moved in time with the music, Sid taking the heavier electronic beats to press Niphredil into defending herself.
To her credit, the elven maiden was able to withstand the brunt of his attack. She became a twisting, turning creatures. Her motions were all even, flowing from one to the next without visible seams. She had never known where this style had originated from but neither could Doc, for that matter. It appeared to be not of this earth. Manny had once commented it reminded him of how the elves in the Lord of the Rings movies fought.
Taking the lighter beats as her own, as well as anything that could be classified as vocalizations, Niphredil turned the tables on Sid. She came at him, blade glinting dangerously in the light. She noted that, as she went along, her grip would change allowing her to make the sword an actual extension of herself. It spun like another part of her arm.
Agility, tumbling, was put on display as well. Back flips from both Niphredil and Sid were a common sight as well as bends that took them nearly to the floor.
The two worked for the entire length of the track, almost seven and half minutes, ending it by backing away from each other.
After all their displays, Doc regarded his students with his usually stare.
Then his face split into a rare grin.
"One day," he stated, "I'm going to wake up and the lot of you are going to be standing over my bed dressed as ninjas."
The class laughed, and Benny brought out a huge cake. It was party time for the tired, want-to-be ninjas.
Lindiel Eryn: I'm glad you liked the fact I had them spying on her. I figured she's a bit tougher than Emma so an all out direct approach wouldn't work. She also knows karate so that makes her just a bit more difficult to approach starting out.
hobbitgirl11: Great scene! Both my mom and I call my younger sister "The Pip" because she's kind of like Pippin sometimes. My mom and sister, on the other hand, call me either "Gollum" or "The Gollum" for lots of reasons. I'm glad you like both the character and the fact you got to get into her head for awhile.
sunni07: They're not very nice people at all. They just lack any redeemable qualities. Well, that is, if you're Niphredil. Anywho, some action is coming up. I hope you like it!
A Monkey's Harp: People whose opinions change on a whim aren't the best type of people. I've known quite a few people like that (actually, I still dance with a few of them). Thanks for the comment about the dialogue. I reread it and it did sound a bit strange. I always appreciate a little constructive criticism, especially now that I'm going to take creative writing.
kurleyhawk2: Here you go! Another chapter! I'm glad you like my story.
LalaithoftheBruinen: Wait no more! Here's the next chapter! You'll soon see what she encounters either to or from her karate class.
LJP: Thanks for pointing out my shoddy spelling. That's what happens when one updates dangerously close to 4 AM. My spelling starts to degenerate around 3 AM which isn't fun because I get the best ideas then. She'll meet up with the Middle Earth folk soon enough. Let's just Emma is acting under orders from both her brother and Aragorn.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except for a handful of made up characters. Tolkien thought up the concept and, as such, it belongs to him. I'm just playing in his world. I'm broke and in college. All I own are Pointe Shoes.
Embolden, but knowing she was going to get an earful from Jay when she came home, by her parting comment, Niphredil walked out of the huge house. She did not have to think about getting to the dojo where she took Tae Kwan Do classes. Her feet knew their own way.
As she walked, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on edge. Everything around her seemed to harbor a hidden threat, acting as a hiding place for the group of people that appeared to be stalking her. There was an unease in her usually casual movements, her guard staying on high alert at all times. She knew she could protect herself just enough to get away from an offending party but that was not enough to convince herself that she was safe out in the darkened streets.
"Stop it, Niphredil," she admonished herself, feeling foolish for even thinking about being afraid.
She knew this neighborhood like the back of her hand, after all these years. The streets were as familiar as the locations her dreams were set in which unnerved her slightly. It seemed to blur the lines between the real world and the dream world...a feeling she was not all together comfortable with.
Trying to shake the unpleasant thoughts out of her head, lest they increase their hold there, she started to consider other things.
She was amazed, as usually, that the Jones's allowed her to take Tae Kwan do at all. They-well, mostly Jay-like to see her as miserable as humanly possible. She suspected that their allowance was due to the fact it got her out of their house for a short while, giving them the illusion that they were a normal family.
On more than one occasion, she'd been told she was a blemish on their family, a crude mark that marred the perfection of their household.
Niphredil longed to tell them just how wrong their assumptions were. She was not the cruel, mean spirited one. That award was reserved for the twins. They made a living picking on people smaller than them. One of their favorite targets had been Hope until she had both left the school they attended and Niphredil took her under her wing.
Niphredil continued to walk, following her feet. There was a huge manor she always passed on her way to class. It was one of the most remarkable features of the small town. Most towns could boast good public or private schools. Salem Center could boast loudest of all, that they had one of the most highly regarded boarding schools in the country. It was an exclusive school, its students being recruited from all around the world.
Niphredil allowed herself a small smile as she passed it. Jay and Kay had tried their hardest to get the twins into the school, claiming they were more gifted than the other students. The school's headmaster, a bald man confined to a wheelchair, just regarded them with a kindly smile and told them "no."
Niphredil knew only one person who attended that school. That person being Hope.
Clearing the school's large gate, Niphredil spotted two old, tired eyes watching her. Following her line of sight, the pair of eyes grew into an old man. Not just any old man but the same old man she had seen nearly everyday.
He turned his wizened gaze on Niphredil, making her feel very small. She hadn't the vaguest of ideas of what his intentions might even be. He never said anything to her or tried to harm her in anyway. It was just that his mere presence made her suspicious. He seemed to radiate some type of power but she could never put her finger on what that power was.
The old man appeared to disappear, dropping into the shadows, as she entered the dojo.
If Niphredil could call anyplace home, the small dojo where she trained would be it. She was comfortable here, able to exert part of herself that cried out sometimes. Something about the martial arts felt right to her, like she was meant to give life to these movements.
"Took you long enough to get here," commented one of the more advanced students as she entered the room they trained in.
Doc was in his office, working on some last minute business arrangements. He was retiring and his more advanced students, Niphredil being among them, decided to treat him to a show of sorts. Each, alone or in tandem with another, was going to put on a small display for him. To show him just how much they had learned.
"Sorry, Carla," Niphredil stated, speaking to the vicious looking girl who had greeted her with the snide comment, "I kind of got lost in my own thoughts on my way over here."
"Are you going to spazz out like that when it comes time to do your thing with my Siddy-poo?" questioned an Oriental female clinging to the arm of a dark skinned boy.
Niphredil regarded the couple with narrow eyes. The female's name was Angelica but she told everyone to call her Angie. The male, her boyfriend and the source of her own personality, had told her to call him Sid. Angie wasn't to keen on the fact Niphredil and Sid had decided to work in tandem, putting on a join display for Doc.
"Do I ever spazz out when I'm here?" Niphredil retorted, forcing the other girl to shrink back a bit.
The rest of the class seemed mildly oblivious to Niphredil's presence. There was a tallish boy named Omar and the strangest set of triplet Niphredil ever had the occasion to meet; Benjamin, Manuel, and Leonard also known as Benny, Manny, and Lenny.
Discussion was kept to a quiet hush, as final parts of tandem routines were settled and a roster of who was doing what and when they were doing it.
The hush was broken by Lenny, who shouted, "He's coming! Let's get ready!'
Though Angie wanted to go last, Sid had convinced her he and Niphredil should close out their little show. The act the routine of them had worked out was difficult to say the least.
Sid had come up with it, teaching it step by slow step to Niphredil.
"Ready Niphredil?" he questioned, checking over her grip on the razor thin blades both had in their hands.
"Very ready," came her reply.
All thoughts of being followed were gone. She was in zone, focused beyond compare. Sid's check of the blade in her hand was not necessary. It felt comfortable to hold a blade in her hands, like there was a hidden strength in the metal that awoke some primal part of her. She'd been comfortable holding a blade since Doc had first placed on in her small hands.
Sid gave a curt nod in Omar's general direction. The tall, silent boy cued the CD player. The song they were using was called "Congo Fury."
Vaguely electronic notes filtered out followed by a voice crying out. Sid and Niphredil engaged in their dance, so to speak. It was a dance half of their own design and half inspired by a fight found in Sid's film of choice, The Animatrix. The song he was using, as well as most of the beginning of the routine, came from the short film "Final Flight of the Osiris."
Of course, the pair could not move like the digital characters but they could try. When choreography ran out, the two worked on their own instincts. Each knew where the other was going to be and where the other blade would land. They moved in time with the music, Sid taking the heavier electronic beats to press Niphredil into defending herself.
To her credit, the elven maiden was able to withstand the brunt of his attack. She became a twisting, turning creatures. Her motions were all even, flowing from one to the next without visible seams. She had never known where this style had originated from but neither could Doc, for that matter. It appeared to be not of this earth. Manny had once commented it reminded him of how the elves in the Lord of the Rings movies fought.
Taking the lighter beats as her own, as well as anything that could be classified as vocalizations, Niphredil turned the tables on Sid. She came at him, blade glinting dangerously in the light. She noted that, as she went along, her grip would change allowing her to make the sword an actual extension of herself. It spun like another part of her arm.
Agility, tumbling, was put on display as well. Back flips from both Niphredil and Sid were a common sight as well as bends that took them nearly to the floor.
The two worked for the entire length of the track, almost seven and half minutes, ending it by backing away from each other.
After all their displays, Doc regarded his students with his usually stare.
Then his face split into a rare grin.
"One day," he stated, "I'm going to wake up and the lot of you are going to be standing over my bed dressed as ninjas."
The class laughed, and Benny brought out a huge cake. It was party time for the tired, want-to-be ninjas.