Apple Trees & Throwing Discs (Memory)

[Saej Mirilla]

It is better to travel well
than to arrive.
― Buddha
¤

Ash 57 119 Year of the Age of Steel
Earth's Rest¤

Taking care to get off all the dirt, Saej was taking a brush to her horse’s fur. The horse was brown in color with a darker brown mane and had no real name though she loved and it cared for it just the same. He served her well, pulling the cart to and fro wherever she needed it to go so in Saej’s mind it was the least she could to brush him and care for him in the other ways he needed. While brushing him was a simple task it was important for his health. It wouldn’t serve him to be covered in road dirt constantly or other filth from the streets. The brushing also seemed to make him happier as it was a good bonding experience for the both of them. He nuzzled her gently as she finished and she patted his soft nose with her hand, just being with him for a moment. Tying his lead to the wagon she turned her attention to the mule, now performing the same task on the her. This would have to be done with extra care as the mule had quite the temper and could be cross sometimes for no reason. Best not to get a swift kick to the nose today.

The mule was just named Mule or “good girl”, the same as the horse. This wasn’t out of any insult, in fact she did it in respect for them. She thought sometimes perhaps they had their own names that they called themselves and each other in their own tongue, so it wasn’t her place to call them anything else. The brushing was done with the same care as the horse, making sure to get the legs in particular and following the hair for the most part unless a spot was caked with dust. With that done she basked in the sun for some time while eating part of her lunch she had left over as a snack afterwards deciding today might be a good day to find some apples for treats for the horses. Why not?

Saej thought she had seen an apple tree near where some of the other caravans were parked about twenty minutes away. Leaving Poppy by the horses side to bark at anyone who may bring sticky fingers to her homestead she started off in the direction of the trees. She brought her chakrams, both of them, just in case she needed to protect herself or her wagon when she returned.
‘You never know,’
She thought to herself with a grimace, remembering the recent events of falling into the chapel’s pit.
Passing by and waving to the other caravaners it wasn’t long before she had found the apple tree. It was tall and gnarled, clearly old. Underneath sat a child, she was crying. Saej grimaced to herself again not wanting to get involved, but found she was drawn over to the child anyway. Getting underneath the tree she could see why the child was crying, someone had tied her doll to a rope with a rock on the other end and tossed it into the tree. The end with the stone had wrapped around a branch and the doll was hanging there by its neck, just out of reach of Saej. The little girl grabbed Saej’s dress and tugged, she had stopped crying but tears were still glinting in her big brown eyes.
“Please Missus! Can you get my doll? She is choking!”

[Saej Mirilla]

It is better to travel well
than to arrive.
― Buddha
¤

¤

The little girl explained that she lived with the caravaners and some of the older kids with her brother were teasing her for playing with dolls “at her age”. They sought to make an example of the doll. They were the ones who tied it to the rope and hung her doll in a tree. The little girl was absolutely beside herself with grief and Saej knew what she had to do. Instructing the girl to get far back she pulled out a chakram and flung it at the rope.

The first time missed, quickly lending itself to gravity and almost slicing Saej herself on its way down. She stepped back farther from the target. Trying again she angled it more and tossed the chakram a second time, hard. It flung from her hand the wrong way and lodged itself in the trunk of the tree, luckily at a height Saej was able to retrieve it from with some effort. As she tested the edge with her thumb she spared a glance at the little girl, she looked terrified and Saej told her with a half smile,
“Third time’s a charm?”
The girl only nodded with a frightened whimper coming from her frowning mouth.

Tying her hair up into a ponytail Saej focused intently on the swing, this time giving a couple slow practice swings without the chakram leaving her hand. Once she thought she had it lined up she let the chakram go. It whizzed through the air and hit its target, in the process chopping part of the dolls arm off. The sound of crashing branches could be heard as the chakram fell through the eaves and back to the earth below, while the severed arm fell at Saej’s feet.

A thunk could be heard as the stone hit the ground, beside it lay the doll, still tied to the severed rope. The little girl came running up and grabbed the doll, leaving the arm, giving Saej a gleeful look before running back to her home in the caravan. Saej shrugged then grabbed a few apples from lower hanging branches. She wrapped them in a layer of her skirt and made her way back to her own wagon.

Once there she fed both of the beasts an apple, nothing was amiss from her wagon and Poppy was happy to see her. Giving them all scratches and pats her mind drifted back to the little girl and how sorry she felt for her to be bullied so.
‘Kids were rude at times and sage like at others. Even when I was growing up. Some things never change.’
She thought with a slight sneer while taking a bite of an apple herself, one foot propped on the wagon wheel and her arm with the apple resting on her thigh. Having just taken a bite she had to stop herself from choking from the shock when a small finger poked her side from behind. It was the little girl again.
“Missus, my name is Gera. I-I want you to teach me how to do that-- thing! I am done playing with dolls. I want to be like you!”

[Saej Mirilla]

It is better to travel well
than to arrive.
― Buddha
¤

¤

Gera explained if she knew how to throw “like that” those “big kids” would never mess with her again! Saej considered this for a few moments before telling her no, Gera would have to go back home. It wasn’t because of teaching a stranger's child how to use a weapon, that didn’t even cross Saej’s mind at all. It was because she enjoyed her solitude, pure peace and quiet. Talking children with a million questions would infringe on that. Unfortunately Gera was persistent and revealed a clay plate she had taken from her parents goods to use as her practice weapon. She nagged and bothered Saej for an hour refusing to go home until finally Saej gave in.

Together Saej taught her the basics of throwing. They used a blanket hung from a branch as the target. Saej brought out her own plate to use as a disc as well. Saej explained the best she knew how, having never taught anyone about this before and knowing little herself. They sent the awkward discs sailing to the blanket one at a time, Saej instructing the little girl as they went.

“So, uh, first you have to check and make sure your blade is sharp. Touch your thumb to the edge but don’t swipe it or you’ll cut yourself. A dull chakram is useless. The next important thing would be to check your distance. How far do you have to throw? Depending on what you’re throwing at it may need to be a much harder toss than if it were up close. The difference between hitting and arm or a leg and hitting a piece of paper, for example. Uhh…. I guess the last thing is a throw. Have you ever skipped rocks before? Like across a pond or puddle?”
The little girl gave a grim smile as she nodded, it was as if she were very much enjoying the thought of hitting her brother with her chakram plate.
“Uh… yeah. I guess it’s kind of like that. You want the air to travel underneath the disc as it slices through the air. Sometimes they can bend to one side or another as well during their flight. Just. I dunno here. Throw your disc again and show me what you’ve got from farther back.”

They took a few steps back before the little girl whipped the plate from her hands and it flung off course, hitting the ground far to the left of the blanket and exploding into bits of clay. It would be hard to say Saej wasn’t relieved but the little girl looked dejected. Her head hung low and once again tears threatened to wash over her brown eyes. Sighing, Saej put her plate back and brought out a chakram. She handed the weapon over to the Gera and told her with seriousness.
“Be careful, it’s VERY sharp. You may throw it three times and then you need to leave.”

Gera wiped away the tears from her eyes and absolutely beamed at Saej. Saej had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. The first thing that went wrong was that the chakram was too heavy for the girl. She could barely hold it at its middle, let alone grip it the way it was intended to be held. Next, when she threw it the chakram sailed maybe two feet before hitting the ground. Still, Gera tried twice more and by the third time had gotten the chakram just a little bit farther.
“Please just let me keep trying, I’ll get it!”
Gera begged as Saej took the chakram from her and put it away in her wagon.
“Absolutely not.”
Was Saej’s reply, as she took the little girl by the hand and lead her back to the path headed towards the main caravan camp.
“You’re welcome, please… don’t come back.”
The little girl walked up the path and waved before continuing on.
“And good luck!”
Saej stretched and climbed into her wagon, unrolling her bedroll. It was time for an afternoon nap.

[Leliana]

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Character Name

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[indent=30]Experience: 5 points

[indent=30]Knowledge: Animal Handling; Brushing the dirt from a horse
[indent=30]Animal Handling; Brushing creates a bond
[indent=30]Thrown Weapon (Chakram); Hitting a target that is up high
[indent=30]Thrown Weapon (Chakram); Practicing the throw before you toss
[indent=30]Thrown Weapon (Chakram); Throwing from a distance
[indent=30]Teaching; Showing someone how to throw a chakram

[indent=30]Injuries/Overstepping: None

[indent=30]Comments:

► Show Spoiler

Nothing like teaching a kid how to stand up bullies by showing her the proper way of throwing deadly weapons at them. I approve.

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