• Memory • [Warrick] Trouble with Bullies (Vivian)

[Lei'lira]

13 Cylus, 704


"Ten times one is ten. Ten times two is twenty. Ten times three is thirty..." Lei'lira chanted under her breath as she started to descend the icy steps leading into the school house.

Her arc group was going to be tested on their multiplication skills tomorrow, and Lei'lira wanted to be prepared for it. She had already memorized the nines times table, and she was fairly confident on the elevens times table, though she planned to study it some more once class was dismissed for the day. Of the three times tables she would be tested on, the tens times table was the easiest. For that reason, she had saved it for last, preferring to spend most of her study time on the harder material. But she took her grades very seriously, and she wanted to do her best, so in spare trills such as these, she practiced whenever she could.

"Ten time four is fourty. Ten times five is fifty. Ten times six is sixty. Ten times seven is seventy..."

Lei'lira felt a hard shove from behind. She cried out in startled fright as she scrambled to regain her balance. But the ice on the stairs was too slippery for her to find any purchase on it. The ground dropped out from under her as her feet skidded off the stair, and onto nothing but air. Then she fell to the ground with another cry. Her entire body ached from the fall, but it could have been a lot worse. A deep snow drift had cushioned her fall, preventing her from sustaining any severe harm.

Laughter filled the air. When Lei'lira looked up, she saw five boys standing on the stairs above her, grinning, and laughing. Three of them were older, and the other two were in her arc group. Lei'lira scowled at them. But she didn't dare say anything. She was quite intimidated by the boys, especially the three older ones. They were all a lot bigger than she was. Worse, they were well known for being bullies. When a teacher was around, they were as charming as could be, so if she were to tell a teacher what had happened, it was unlikely that they would believe her. But when the adults weren't around, the boys took great amusement in tormenting the other kids; a few had even gotten really hurt. And there were no teachers around now.

Tears of anger and pain stung Lei'lira's eyes as she stood slowly, but she stubbornly refused to shed them; she didn't want to give the bullies the satisfaction of knowing they had gotten to her.

"Leave me alone." she muttered, wanting nothing more than for recess to be over.

She was covered in snow from head to foot after landing in the snow drift. And no matter how hard she tried to dust herself off, some of the snow would cling to her clothes, and melt once they went back into the classroom. It would mean a long, cold, wet afternoon before she could go home, and change.

"Leave me alone!" one of the boys mocked.

Lei'lira glared at him in angry silence, her eyes flashing in anger she didn't dare to express. If she tried to protest, or yelled at them, they might decide to do something even worse.

[Vivian Shiryu]

Vivian's expression could best be described as somewhat vacant as she left the schoolhouse. Most understood why the young Warrick was fairly withdrawn of late, as she had almost drowned on her fathers ship late last arc and hadn't yet fully recovered from her near death experience, as she still had nightmares from the experience. She was still passing her lessons, but it was clear that much of the fire that had once dominated the being of the daughter of Warrick had been doused in the cold waters of the ocean.

She was quiet as she walked down the stairs, ignoring the other students about her. Then she heard a cry of fear and suprise and she looked up to see her cousin fall from the stairs. She looked at the boys behind her and her eyes narrowed. The local bullies were clever about not getting caught, but they rarely tried to pick on the older students. Vivian stepped down the stairs and stood behind them. "Leave her be." she said, her voice cold and...almost empty sounding, a hold over from her near death experience. "Unless you want to head down the stairs yourself."

She knew that most didn't fight back against the bullies because the teachers wouldn't believe them, but she simply gave them a cold smile. "I'm a troubled child, after all. Teachers would just say I'm reacting from falling off the ship, that I'm trying to find myself again or something like that." she said, her smile widening. "And of course, I'm nobility. They won't punish me too hard." Vivian still held the high ground, and she very clearly ready for a fight.

[Lei'lira]

The youngest of the bullies looked at Vivian uncertainly. Had they been alone, it was likely that they would have backed down. But the older boys had no fear of a little girl, noble or not. And they had even less fear of a girl who seemed to be a mere shadow of herself after she had nearly drowned.

"Oh yeah? And just who is going to knock us off the stairs, hmm? You? In case you've forgotten how to count, we outnumber you." Hanson said confidently.

This seemed to be all that the younger boys needed to regain their sense of superiority.

"Better watch out, Vivian. Snow is frozen water, after all. Wouldn't want you to drown!"

Lei'lira glared at the bullies in mute fury. How dare they taunt Vivian about something like that? She wasn't brave enough to stand up to the boys for her own sake, but Vivian was her cousin, and her friend. And she wasn't going to allow anyone to hurt her family. Besides...Vivian had a good point. Would the teachers really punish a noble severely? Especially over something like this? Lei'lira might not have the excuse of having survived a near death experience. But she wasn't known as a troublemaker. Rather the opposite, in fact. Lei'lira took great pains not to do anything that was going to get her in any kind of trouble. Surely she wouldn't be punished too harshly for a first time offense?

With that thought in mind, Lei'lira scooped up a huge handful of snow, and packed it into as hard a snowball as she could manage. The bullies were focused on Vivian, so they never even saw it coming when she hurled her snowball as hard as she could. Her aim was terrible. She missed the boy she had been aiming at completely. The snowball might have hit Vivian, but in a stroke of good fortune, one of the bullies chose the right moment to shift position, stepping into the path of the airborne missile. It struck Hanson in the back of the head, making him gasp as bits of icy cold snow fell down his neck, and into his shirt.

Unfortunately, Lei'lira had given no thought to what would happen if she did manage to strike back at the bullies; her anger at the attempt to hurt Vivian had overwhelmed her with anger. Hanson bellowed in rage, and began stalking down the steps towards her. Lei'lira cringed in fear, taking a step back. To her surprise, the bully paused in his attack. Hanson stopped to break one of the icicles off of the railing, and hurled it at Lei'lira. She managed to dodge enough that it didn't strike her in the chest where he had aimed, but it did strike her arm with enough force to draw blood as it tore a small hole in her sleeve.

[Vivian Shiryu]

Vivian merely raised an eyebrow at the bullies confidence at their numbers and their taunts about her trouble with water. "I can count fine. Well enough to see that not one of you cowards can take on a girl smaller than you without a crew backing you up to stiffen your spine." she said, her tone coldly arrogant, which might surprise them. Vivian had always, before the accident, been known as an open and friendly girl.

Then Lei'lira threw a snowball and hit the biggest bully, causing him to turn to stalk towards Lira. Vivian stepped forward, but two of the other bullies moved to block her, and while she wanted them to leave Lira alone, she didn't want to actually hurt them. Then Hanson threw an icicle at her cousin and the young Warrick's temper snapped in twain. She swung at the two bullies in her way, her fist knocking one off balance and causing him to slip, though he didn't fall. She kicked the second one in the knee and he slipped and fell as well. Her way now clear, Vivian launched herself at Hanson.

Hanson wasn't expecting Vivian to hit him the way she did and wasn't prepared for her weight. The two of them went down the stairs together, landing in the same drift that had caught Le'lira. The bullies started down towards them, but stopped when Vivian stood up first, grabbing Hanson and hitting him again. "Leave. Lei'lira. Alone!" she snapped, punctuating each word with another hit. The other bullies stopped, shocked at the display of fury from the girl so many had thought nearly broken by her near-drowning.

[Lei'lira]

The bullies were shocked at the way that Vivian attacked their leader, Hanson. But that didn't hold them for long. They converged on Vivian, intent on helping their leader...and Lei'lira converged on them. She knew nothing of fighting, and she was terrified to try. But she wasn't about to leave her cousin to their nonexistent mercies after she had drawn their attention on herself while trying to help her.

She took advantage of her assets. Lei'lira wasn't strong, but she was small, and fast. When she tried to move silently, her feet didn't make much sound in the snow; what sound she did make was mostly lost in the shouting. So she snuck up on the bully that was closest to her, and grabbed his arm, latching on as hard as she could. When he tried to free himself from the "annoying little girl," Lei'lira threw her weight back as hard as she could. Her efforts weren't powerful enough to throw them both backwards, but she was able to hinder his progress towards her cousin. The bully, a boy named Daryl, who was a couple of arcs older than Lei'lira, turned back to try and shake her off. Before he could, Lei'lira hauled back and slapped him as hard as she could across his face. The sharp blow wasn't strong enough to do real damage, but it did leave a bright red hand print on his right cheek.

"Don't hurt Vivian!"

Daryl stared her for several long trills in wide eyed shock. He was used to having the advantage in a fight, not being trapped between two kids who were willing to fight back. He wasn't used to his targets fighting back at all...and he didn't like his odds if he stayed where he was. So he fled, and two of the younger boys ran with him.

"You'll be sorry that you messed with us! We'll make you sorry that you were ever born!"

When Daryl fled, Lei'lira watched him go. Then she turned, and looked for her next target. She might not be the fighter that Vivian was...but she could still help.

[Vivian Shiryu]

While Lei'lira distracted the other bullies, Vivian had her hands full with Hanson. Ferocity aside, Hanson was still bigger than Vivian and he knocked her off of him. The two of them scrambled to their feet, though Vivian was up first. Hanson, however, came up with the icicle he had thrown at Lei'lira clutched in his fist. "You...you...you..." he choked out, his voice thick with rage and humiliation.

Vivian, now noticing what few of Hanson's followers who still remained rallying behind him, dived into the snow at the base of one of the trees around the school house. "Coward! Get back here!" he shouted, going after her. When Vivian stood back up, however, she swung the stick she had dived for and hit him hard across the chest. Hanson let out an oof and backed off in surprise, not used to anything even remotely close to this level of resistance. Bullies normally picked on kids who wouldn't fight back or try stop them, but that wasn't what was happening here. Here were two people, one a shy and withdrawn young girl, the other girl older but one who was scared of water.

Hanson took another step back and this time Vivian stepped forward. "Did you think this through, Hanson? Lira and I are Warrick. We won't stand to be pushed around by you." she said, still in that coldly arrogant tone she had addressed them with before. Then she grinned widely. "Besides, the peasant children might not be able to get you in trouble, but we're nobility."

Hanson considered Vivian for a moment, her words, the stick in her hands, and the fact she was clearly ready for a fight. Then he broke and ran, his remaining followers tailing him as he fled. Vivian tossed her stick aside, then turned to her cousin. "You all right, Lira?" she asked, her voice losing the edge of excitement it had gotten during the fight, though she didn't sound quite as disinterested as she usually did lately.

[Lei'lira]

Lei'lira had gotten so focused on trying to keep the bullies from ganging up on her cousin that she didn't even notice that the fight was over until Vivian asked if she was okay. Startled, she took stock of herself. She was covered with snow from head to foot after landing in that snow drift. And her entire body ached. It was almost certain that she would be covered in bruises come morning. But at the same time, she felt...powerful.

It was a strange feeling. And it was one that she had never felt before. But it also felt...good, somehow. She had been tormented by the bullies many times in the past. It had always left her feeling cold, and sick, and weak; useless. But today...today was different. She had made a difference. Vivian had been the one to actually fight the bullies. But she had been the one to make it possible. Had all of the boys been able to gang up on Vivian at once the way they had planned to, they could have hurt her cousin very badly. She had put a stop to that; she, quiet, shy, bookish Lei'lira who could answer most questions the teachers asked her with ease, but who never seemed to know what to do when faced with one of her classmates.

Lei'lira was still trying to catch her breath from her exertions, so she nodded rather than spoke.

"What about you?" she asked a few bits later.

She looked at her cousin in concern, trying to see if she was injured in any way while she waited for an answer. Almost absently, she reached for the small pouch she wore around her neck, tied with a pretty ribbon. It was her treasure pouch. When her hand found it, she paused briefly, then pulled it over her head, staring at it for a few trills before opening it.

Two small rocks lay nestled in the pouch. Neither was any bigger than a cat's paw. Both were a shimmery white in color. One had swirls of blue, and silver flecks, while the other had green swirls, and golden flecks within. She had found them near a stream that ran through her farm. Lei'lira thought they were beautiful, so she'd scooped them up, and had been carrying them around in her pouch ever since. She had thought that she would give one to her twin sister for their birthday so they could each have a special treasure, but after sharing this triumph with Vivian, it felt right to give one to her cousin instead.

"Thank you, Vivian. For helping me like that. I'd like to give you something...if you want it, that is."

Lei'lira showed her cousin the rock with the green swirls, and golden flecks.

"I found it near a stream a while ago. I have one too, see?"

Lei'lira showed Vivian the other stone.

"If we each had one, it would be like we were special friends, or something. That is...if you want to...?" Lei'lira trailed off uncertainly.

Off Topic

This thread covers the following challenges: 2. Give a gift to another PC in-thread, and 4. Get into a fight (verbal or physical) with another PC.

[Vivian Shiryu]

Vivian nodded as Lira said she was fine, then shrugged as Lei'lira asked about her own welfare. "I'm fine. I've had worse." she said, before watching curiously as Lei'lira opened the pouch she was wearing. When her cousin offered her the rock, Vivian smiled slightly, something she hadn't done in a while. "I'd like that a lot, Lira." she said, her tone a little shy as she took the rock Lira offered.

After a bit, Vivian looked at the clothes she and Lira were wearing, which were already damp, then down at the snow around them, then back up at Lira. "So...we're already wet, and there's all this snow about." she said, her tone speculative. "So...do you maybe want to have a snowball fight?" she asked. She had gotten into snowball fights of varying levels of seriousness with her siblings, but she had been too withdrawn lately for one. They were a lot of fun though, and she found herself grinning slightly at the notion.

[Lei'lira]

Lei'lira was relived to hear that Vivian was okay. And she smiled happily when her cousin took the gift she'd offered as thanks for her help. It felt like she was gaining a special friend.

When Vivian asked if she wanted to have a snowball fight, she grinned impishly. It was true that they were covered in snow already. A little more snow would hardly hurt anything. And she was still full of energy left over from the fight with the bullies. It would feel good to work some of that energy off, and a snowball fight would be a lot of fun. Instead of answering directly, Lei'lira carefully put her rock back into her pouch and put it away. When it was safely out of the way, she reached down and scooped up a generous handful of snow, packing it into a tight ball as she stood. Then, still grinning at her cousin, Lei'lira tossed the snowball at Vivian.

"Yes. Yes, I think I would." she said, giggling happily.

Lei'lira didn't bother to wait and see if her snowball hit its target or not. She had bad aim, and she knew it. So she was going for quantity over quality. As fast as she could, she was making snowballs, and tossing them at her cousin, pausing only long enough to take aim before throwing. When she threw a snowball, she ran to another location, both to dodge any snowballs Vivian threw her way, and to prevent herself from running out of a ready supply of snow. Her strategy had the additional benefit of not being where she was expected to be when Vivian tried to throw snowballs her way. In order to get her, her cousin would have to keep track of her while making her ammunition, and dodging a wild flurry of snowballs; even with aim as bad as hers, at least a few were likely to reach their mark.

But she couldn't keep it up for long. Running through the slippery snow was hard, and she'd already gone through one fight. It didn't take long for her to start feeling the aches caused by her fall down the stairs. But she wasn't willing to give up. So she abandoned her strategy, and stayed in one place, but she still continued tossing as many snowballs as she could as quickly as she could manage, giggling madly all the while.

[Vivian Shiryu]

Vivian was silent as she watched Lei'lira put away her own rock, but when her cousin started to make a snowball, she figured she had her answer and started to make her own snowball. Lira was faster though and Vivian was pelted with snow before she got hers finished, though she had her snowball going after Lira only a second later. After that, the fight began in earnest, with both girls moving and throwing as fast as they could, though that meant almost no snowballs from either girl was hitting the mark.

After a while, the two got too tired to move and just stood still throwing snowballs at each other. At this point, more hits were scored, but there was still a lot of missing from both sides. Lira was giggling excitedly, and while Vivian didn't giggle, she did grin happily at her cousin as they exchanged snowballs. However, before the pair could completely and utterly exhaust themselves, the sound of crunching snow behind her made Vivian turn around, though she had to look up to meet her parents grin.

"Well, you two look like you're having fun. But it's getting late. Let's get you home." Vivian's father said, bending down to pick up Vivian. Her mother, meanwhile, walked over Lei'lira and picked her up. The family was, for the moment, still largely staying together at the main house, since the children were still so young, so Vivian's parents wouldn't have to make a trip to get Lei'lira home. Vivian grinned at Lei'lira as she nestled against her father, happier than she had been in a long time.