Arch of the Lost Ruin

Catching Shoes

Delphyra narrowed her narrow slitted electric blue eyes, ones of a cat, but much more terrifying. “I’m going to take a bath.”

A bath. Snarling and threatening to kill me for a bath? Why in the world does she want to travel half a day’s journey to get to the nearest river? Even if she made it, the body of water would be occupied of other species, which my father carefully warned us about. I didn’t argue, I just wanted to see my father, and fast. My claws need to train! “Fine.” I scoffed, as I brushed past my eldest godsister, my tail up and chin high. Wow, looked like those lady lessons finally have a purpose after all.

On the way to our camp, I saw Raevyn coming towards me. I was glad to see my sister, “Where’s da?!” I shouted, because there were some distance between us.

“In the camp!” Raevyn shouted back, to the best of her ability, and was panting when we finally caught up to one another.

Raevyn was sweet. A sweet little thing who wishes nothing but peace. The world didn’t work that way, and everyone in my family and god-family knew war was all there is in this world. Whenever father tried to explain to Raevyn, she denied his rants, and insisted on peace. When she grew up, she said, she was going to be a mage, practicing works of magic only to heal and not to hurt. She was sassy, too.

“You done?” I asked, already recovering from my run.

“Yeah… I guess?” Raevyn giggled as she ran ahead.

We both arrived at camp, which had only Rynoarc standing in the middle because Tessalyn, my moralistic godmother, was going to train Mynona, my other godsister. I asked where Evalyn was.

“She’s out looking for Delphyra.” Rynoarc sighed, chuckling, “I have a feeling you two are going to head out yourselves and force your godmother to chase after you.”

I agreed. Hey, some of these days, you’ve just got to explore. I knew where exactly Delphyra went, and being a favorite of my father’s, I would always tell the truth, “She went to take a bath… But father, isn’t the nearest river almost a half day’s journey away?”

“True, true.” Rynoarc nodded slowly, the way he did when he took things into consideration. I already caught on to this behavior, and mimicked him whenever I thought about something in a deep way, “Thank you, Elixa. Your mum should be returning soon… I would love to go and train with you two, but the camp needs to be protected.”

Before I could even open my mouth, Raevyn immediately retaliated, “No, da, I think I’m good.”

I rolled my eyes. Why wouldn’t Raevyn want to train with our father? Sometimes, I don’t think she belongs in this family. “Why don’t we train in the camp, da?”

“I don’t want you messing with… everything.” Rynoarc chuckled deeply again, his pale blue eyes glistening with amusement.

“I promise I won’t.” I grinned.

“Yeah, I’m out.” Raevyn sighed, lifting herself on her paws and trotted away to the bottom of the hill where our camp was located.

“All right; hold on a minute.” Rynoarc watched as Raevyn padded away, then disappeared down the hill also.

A few moments later, he came out with a… What was it?

“It’s a fitter!” Rynoarc exclaimed, as he set down the thing on the ground.

I lowered my head, examining the… thing. It was oval in structure, and had a hole where my entire paw could fit in. It was white with a few streaks of gray and blue here and there, like the sky but with lots of gray. I tilted my head.

“We’ll practice accuracy with it.” Rynoarc said, lifting his paw under my tilted head to adjust it back to its normal angle.

“...How, da?” I asked, utterly puzzled.

“I’ll throw and you catch.” Rynoarc explained, wrapping his mouth around one of the strings that were loose on it, “I’ll throw it to you by this string, and you catch. It’s sort of like… a fetch thing, you would say.”

I perked my ears. This was more playtime than training, but I liked it nonetheless, “What did you call it again?” I questioned as I got into position a good distance from my father, ready to catch.

“I call it a fitter, because I could fit my paws into it!” Rynoarc answered, throwing the fitter through the air.

I positioned myself, concentrating on the path that the fitter would follow. The most effective technique to perfect accuracy of precision is… I waited, and leapt into the air, clasping my mouth around the white and blue fitter, landing down triumphantly. Patience!

Rynoarc smiled with pride as I came up to him, carrying the fitter with my chin high, “Excellent. I wondered what inspired your act of self-control.”

Whenever we did the fetch thing, it was always with sticks, and I get so excited I jump way too early and end up with the stick crashing onto my head. “The most effective technique to perfect accuracy of precision is patience.” I grinned, leaving the fitter on the ground for my father to grasp his mouth around the string again.

“So you remember.” Rynoarc chuckled, “But consider the element of surprise.”