RP Narrative Who: Elle Abercrombie When: 8 April, 1980 (at dawn) What: Elle's getting back some of her old fire. Where: Gairloch Status: Complete
It was that hazy time of the morning, where the night and day flirted with one another, where the stars began to dim and a fog rolled over the land. The sky was fading into a steel grey and the sparse clouds still barely lit against the night sky. The camp slept. Only the sounds of the nature that surrounded them, the water gently lapping on the shore, permeated the silence. Soon the birds would begin to chirp. Spring was slowly waking from it's long slumber.
Elle stood still, barefoot on the shore of the lake, her back to the camp behind her. She breathed silently, in through her nose, out through her mouth. She relaxed her muscles, calmed her breath, slowed her heartbeat. And then she began.
She had learned tai chi early on in her Auror training, a supplement to her training she had learned from Neil before their mother died and they stopped speaking. She had abandoned it when her training was over, but had found one of the books Neil had given her three weeks prior. After reading it again, locked away in her barrack, she knew it was what she needed. Health, meditation, martial art. She needed to get better. She needed to move on. She needed to let the demons that haunted her release into the world.
So she had started getting up before dawn. It wasn't easy at first, but after a couple of days, stepping out into the cold night didn't bother her as much. The silence was calming. Comforting. It helped her in her quest to settle her mind and her heart. It was how she had survived Al's birthday without breaking down and destroying herself. It was how she functioned every day in the camp, helping with plans, cooking, and maintaining some sort of quality of life. She was forcing herself to heal. To get better. To not only get stronger mentally, but physically as well. She needed to reclaim her life. Her purpose. Her duty.
She took a low breath and began to move, her hands cupped around an imaginary ball as she shifted over her center of gravity and stepped forward. She continued through her range of motion; the movements had come back to her like she had never stopped the first morning she stood on the beach. She focused on her breathing, her balance, her movement. The feeling of energy that coursed through her veins. Birds began their morning songs, but she paid them no mind. They were part of the world, but not a distraction. She was one with the air, with the trees, with the water, with the birds who sang.
The movements became quicker as the fog began to dissipate and the horizon behind her toyed with the light. Despite the chill in the air, a fine sheen of sweat showed on her brow as she focused her energy to the movement, to her strength. It was a good feeling. The ache in her muscles, the sweat on her skin. It reminded her that she was still alive. That her heart still beat, and her body still worked. Finding the book and rereading it and starting her morning routine was probably the best thing she had decided to do for herself since arriving in Gairloch.
The sun gently began to rise, and the sky was painted red, orange, pink, and blue. Stars began to twinkle and fade, and Elle found her way to sitting on the beach, though now she faced the camp and the sun that began to shine through the trees. She curled her legs underneath her and rested the backs of her hands on her knees. She breathed and let the sun dance over her as it rose into the sky. Her eyes closed, she knew innately when the sun had fully crested over the horizon, and she leaned forward to press her forehead to the sand in front of her; a sort of homage to the sun, her current lifeforce.
She uncurled her legs and without a glance back to the water or ahead to the horizon, headed up the path so she could shower before the day truly began.