CHAPTER THREE: THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM
Two Days Later – Sierra Mountains
Clearing her mind of all thoughts, except for maybe the whispering, soft breeze of the wind and the gently flowing stream, she relaxed her shoulders. She breathed slowly and calmly through her nose, focusing all of her attention inward.
The ninja star flew out of her hand with an amazing speed. The sun reflected off of the shiny flat surface of the shuriken while it spun end over end, connecting with the outside edge of the wooden target – imbedding itself deep in the upright wooden log.
She quietly cursed. Off center again. I know I can do better than that! With a subtle angst revealed only by the tenseness in her shoulders, she tried to disguise her frustration with herself.
A warm hand patted her softly on the shoulder, as if to say, "Good job". Or maybe he meant "Relax." She normally did a better job reading the mysterious man, but every ounce of her concentration was spent on throwing these cursed ninja stars that he insisted she practice throwing. *Silent weapons, Shana! Silent weapons give you the advantage in combat!*
He would sign to her… often through forceful arm motions and a rapid speed, driving home the importance of the throwing star.
She knew he was going to work her hard. Sure, the scene looked peaceful: a nice, quiet cabin high up in the Sierras, next to a babbling brook, but… like Snake-Eyes, looks could be deceiving. Still… no matter how difficult she thought her mentor's teachings could be, it was impossible to have been prepared for this kind of challenge.
But she could always count on Snake-Eyes to continue encouraging her. She was grateful for his acknowledgement as she dealt with what seemed like the most difficult of tasks.
She turned to the silent man in black, finding his consolation warming… but unnecessary. "Well, at least it stuck in the wood this time. Only took two hours of practice to get that far!"
The silent man would have laughed if he could have. Shana O'Hara always seemed to keep the mood light, even under the most intensive of training. But the truth was Snake-Eyes couldn't have been more proud of her. Even if he wouldn't let her know.
But Snake knew that it didn't feel like a vacation for her – not at this point, anyway. He knew that he gave her a steep learning curve, but she always chose the difficult road all on her own. She always had to be number one; and if she couldn't be, she'd bend over backwards and do whatever it took to get there. Yes, even on her own… vacation.
Scarlett walked over to the log to pull out her throwing ninja stars. "I must admit, Snake, you DO make this look easy. Give me time though, and I'll throw just as good as you, if not better!" Shana always had that competitive edge that most people found annoying, but Snake-Eyes wasn't simply just 'most people'.
He'd give a slight smile under his mask every time she got into what he called one of her 'stubborn modes' – it was the point where her fiery competitive personality seemed to take over. There was no way that he would tell her that, of course. And ruin the fun? No. Snake was simply content with crossing his arms and watching her in action once she got that way. Such spirit and resolve, he would think to himself, but a lack of patience. You can't be perfect overnight. Still, you have spirit. That will get you far.
After all, Shana had been through a lot in her short twenty years of life. Snake-Eyes had seen a lot of the world's horrors as well, but he also had a lot more life experience than she did. He didn't like admitting that he was almost twice as old as she was; awkwardness befell him every time he thought about it. What she saw in him, he would never know. Sometimes, it made him wonder if he misread her signals about how she truly felt about him.
Watching Shana retrieve the last of her throwing stars, Snake-Eyes made a "come here" motion with his finger. Shana went to him. Snake held up a single finger and spun it in a circle, indicating he wanted her to turn around and face the target. She immediately did without question. Taking her right hand in his, pointing to her palm, he indicated that he wanted her to grab her shuriken and get ready for the next round. This time, though, he'd give her a few additional pointers.
Standing behind her and pressing up against her closely, he took her right arm and made a slow but deliberate throwing motion with it, slightly exaggerating a twist in her arm at. Snake-Eyes shook his head "no". Then, doing it again with a little less of the twisting motion – a couple times, for repetitive behavior – he showed her the right way to do it.
Knowing full well that she had a stubborn streak a mile wide, Snake often tried to let her do things her way. Even if he knew a better way. Then, gradually, he'd try to teach her the correct way. Not that she did anything wrong, per se… but he knew how to make her better.
Most of the time she'd listen to him and put her pride aside. She was smart enough to realize he not only knew what he was doing, but that he was probably the best soldier on the team. It would behoove her to listen up and put her pride aside, a flaw of hers she was all too familiar with. As long as she wasn't frustrated with him, she seemed to listen to him.
Snake-Eyes stood back, nodding and giving her approval to throw. Shana stepped up, moving her arm forward in slow motion, practicing her throw a few times before she released the star. Comfortable and ready, certain she could take out that extra little twist in her arm, she launched the shuriken as hard as she could, still paying careful attention her form. The throwing star sailed at record speed, slamming dead center into the wooden log with such force that a large split in the wood worked its way up to the top.
Breathing hard, moving her hair out of her face, she could hardly believe her achievement. She heard Snake-Eyes clapping behind her.
A wide smile crept up on her face, and it took everything in her to restrain herself from jumping up and down in a cocky celebration victory. Instead, she managed to take a graceful . "Thank you, thank you!" She couldn't help but laugh as Snake-Eyes lowered his head, shaking it, as if he wanted to say, "Show off…"
Shana put her arms around his shoulders. "Oh, ok, your right. I'll try not to show off; I'm just so excited I finally did it! AND, I have the best instructor in the world to thank for it." She leaned up to kiss him on the cheek, over his mask. One of these days, I'm going to kiss you again without your silly mask, Snake-Eyes, she thought.
Snake-Eyes face turned red under his mask, but he kept his back straight and tall… doing his best to make sure she didn't realize she caught him off guard. But what he did do was make continuous throwing motions with his own hand, communicating to her, *You did great, but let's get back to practice. Practice makes perfect.*
"OK, OK. You're such a slave driver! No celebration for me; I get it. Back to practice…" Smiling, she turned around to face the target, ready to reengage, discontent with settling for mediocrity – fully unaware of the silent warrior behind her, scratching his head, trying to figure out just exactly what her kiss meant.
After all, this was a different Shana than he remembered; much more mature and womanly, yet still a member of God's most complex creation. Was it a quick thank-you kiss, like one meant for a close brother? Was it a celebration kiss that one would give to any random stranger in the heat of the moment? Was it something… more?
He shook his head, shifting his focus to Shana's throwing form once more.