First Training Lesson (Thana)

The afternoon was happily one where the grounds were empty. It was Hogsmeade weekend, and many students from third years and up ran off. She didn't even bother to tell Benjamin directly that he was in charge, she had left him a note and walked off to get ready for the day. Rubbing her hair softly, she pulled her hair up and tied it in a high ponytail letting it cascade down her back. Slipping her shorts on and a sports bra, she was ready to work out. The weather was warming up, not enough for normal people, but for her, it was simply chilly.

Throwing a jumper on just in case, she walked off to the meeting she had planned. Thana had been good to her word, and promised her a first lesson on her powers and Tess jumped at taking the chance. She needed to get out, something to distract her after the whole situation with Benjamin. She needed something for her, something to escape to and she found it through training.

Thana had made a promise to Tess before the short holidays, and she would keep that promise. Thana sent a message to Tess that she would be free on one of the Hogsmeade weekends, Thana didn't go like she usually would. Instead she spent the Friday night out at the Black Lake, she had explored the Forbidden Forest, finally finding somewhere suitable to train. She sent a message to Tess, telling her to meet her by wearing comfortable clothing.

Thana herself wore something quite unusual, for her anyway. She wore training gear, ( http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=126692039 ) It didn't show her tattoo's, she still had her Jacket on for the moment. Thana waited by the edge of the forest for Tess.

Tess had to admit that she was walking more brisker than she would usually. She had an anxious attitude to it all, a mixture of excitement and fear that she wasn't cut out to the level expected. Ever since the last meeting, she had pushed herself and worked as far as she could trying to prepare herself for the upcoming training.

If she was honest to herself, she was scared that she wasn't up to par to Thana's expectations. And despite only know the girl for a short while, she felt the need for her to respect her, not just for her name, but for the hard work she put. Her need for approval stemmed deep from her childhood.

As she headed towards the lake, she walked towards the path that was briefly described in an owl and rushed off. At the edge of the forest by the older trees was Thana as she had described and Tess hugged the jumper closer to her body and smiled shyly.

"Hey"

(Thana's tattoos)
Wolf tattoo, just below neck on right side. ( http://tribaltattoomeanings.org/wp-content/gallery/tribal-wolf-tattoo/wolf-and-moon-tribal-0c8d864be7edbab511f439bd7371dec6e89e612d.gif )
Dragon tattoo, on right side. (not quite as big, it doesn't go past Thana's upper chest) (http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2013/248/5/0/dragon_tattoo_on_side_by_iri007-d6l6e6d.jpg )
(I will post my others later XD)

Thana waited for Tess, finally she saw her arrive. Thana briefly looked her over, she had done what Thana asked, hair up. Check, suitable clothing. Check. Thana nodded approvingly, she still had on her jumper. "Hey" Thana replied, "Follow me"

Thana walked even further than where her and Tess were, confidently walking over the thin layer of ice that was now covering the Lake. Thana led Tess to the far side of the Lake, to where she had set up. She had cleared a part of the ground, making it a perfect arena style clearing. The Ice had thickened there as well. Thana had made several Ice platforms as well. There was a small stream that ran into the Lake, several large boulders that Thana herself had flattened overnight. She had made sure everything would be perfect.

Tess rubbed her arm softly waiting for instructions. She ignored the way Thana studied her, and did her own way of studying. She noticed the strange markings on the girl before her and was curious about them, but not enough to directly ask. Shaking out of the habit, instead she mentally prepared herself to do this. Training always left her worn, but today she had to push; taking Thana's personal time, she felt a bit guilty over it. For all she knew Thana had plans prior to all of it, but there she was helping.

At Thana's order to follow her, Tess did as asked, not really feeling like making conversation. But her eyes followed around the area looking at how the whole area had been transformed. Where there laid nothing, now stood ice, and water and she forced her shoulders to roll to calm herself down.

"This is amazing" she murmured softly impressed. "Where do we start?"

"This is amazing, where do we start?" Tess asked, Thana looked at her. "We start at the beginning, it seems like a pretty good place to start." Thana said nicely. "The best place to start is with questions. Now I will tell you this in advance, if you have any questions feel free to ask. I will answer any you may have. Nothing is off topic. " she stated kindly.

During their walk to the spot Thana had unzipped her jacket, now it was time to train. She removed her Jacket, revealing her training gear underneath. And fully showing her tattoo's, she kept her gloves on however. They never came off. "Tess how fit are you?" Thana enquired, she needed to know how far Tess could go.

Tess nodded at Thana's comment of starting in the beginning. She couldn't help but wonder what was it to be considered the beginning. But either way she nodded and wondered exactly what had she gotten herself into. But as Thana began to remove her jacket, she looked at her curiously, especially now that the markings were even clearer. She didn't understand how people got them, but what caught her eye were the great detail, and an off coloration on the girl's arm, something hidden. She didn't dare ask, instead wondered if she would ever get a marking such as those.

But as the silence loomed over, Tess followed her leadership and removed her own. Removing her black jumper, she shivered slightly at the change of temperature. Her abdomen was now open to the weather, and she rubbed it lightly, wishing it was flatter than it was. She was getting fitter.

"Tess how fit are you?" Thana asked.

Tess lifted her head and looked at her curiously. She mulled over the questioning, really wondering how fit she considered herself.

"I'm a Chaser" she began, "I'm good"

She didn't want to sound cocky, but she had been told, in not so many words by her Captain that she was good. Better than he was in her position; but she knew it was because of her lithe body and was fluidity in the air.

"I'm fast, and I think I'm good. I'm also a good swimmer, I-I can hold my breath and feel comfortable within it."

She wasn't made of muscles, not at all, she often wished she was skinnier, hell skinny would be great. She was short, but her body wasn't as skinny as Rhian's was, which made her wonder how to improve. But for now, she was happy in her size, which was average, average everything.

Thana watched as Tess took off her jacket, she wasn't super skinny but neither did Thana want or expect Tess to be. As she answered Thana's question Thana just nodded, " that's fine, I just wanted to make sure you could move" Thana said kindly, hell she knew what it was to not be able to move for ages. She hated it.

" Right well first off are the tests" Thana told Tess, " And before you ask , no I didn't come up with them. I just learnt how to give them. " she explained kindly. " so if at anytime to feel like it really sucks, don't tell me. Tell the Monk that made me do all bloody elements for his amusement "

Thana walked with Tess to one of the large boulders in the clearing. It was only around 9 meters tall, but hard enough to climb. " first task is to climb to the top of the boulder WITHOUT magic" Thana explained kindly. " and don't worry if you fall it won't hurt.... Much" Thana added.

In reality it wasn't true. If Tess did fall Thana would catch her and make sure she was safe. No actual harm would come to her, she wouldn't even hit the proper ground. Thana had put up protective spells to make sure no harm would come from climbing. All this was , was a mental challenge. Normally it was administered last, but Thana was going to be nicer to Tess. Not that Tess would know, by the end of it Thana was sure Tess would hate her.

As Thana began to describe the first task that was to come towards Tess, she bit back a sharp breath and looked at the large boulder. It wasn't going to be easy, and she rolled off her shoulders trying to take on how it was going to happen. It was clear that she was not going to have any safety net to anything. She didn't bother saying anything to Thana, instead took the boulder in trying to study how to climb it.

Perhaps her mind was too analytical, perhaps she it was better to grasp it herself. Walking closer, she dug her foot on one part of the boulder and began to climb, more so the attempt than anything. Gripping her hands tightly on the rock, she moved up, shaky. She thought she was good on her upper body, from throwing the quaffle around to high distances. But now, it was one thing throwing the ball, a totally different thing when lifting you own weight.

'Don't, please keep moving' she thought.

Tess huffed and puffed and shakily climbed. It was hot, it was painful, and she felt herself beginning to sweat. She took deep breaths, and wiggled herself up. Surprisingly enough she ignored the embarrassing positions and predicament she had put herself in, instead, ignoring the way she stretched up, clumsily. All her thoughts of fluidness were wiped as soon as she mounted. She leaned her head against the rock and closed her eyes pressing her cheek against the boulder. Breathing heavily, she was barely halfway up, and she was forcing herself not to just let herself fall.


'Come on, you have to try, please keep going. You can't fail, you've failed enough' she thought.

Thana watched as Tess started the test, for the first bit she did well. She put herself in awkward positions, but she still attempted it. Tess tried, which was what Thana wanted.

Halfway up Tess started running into trouble, she had run out of energy and was battling her inner thoughts. "Tess you need to clear your mind, at the moment you are like a waterfall. Rushing and not doing anything much. Become like the slow stream, calm but moving forwards" she told Tess.

Tess needed to calm down, to figure out why she was doing this and who she was doing this for, it wasn't for Thana, it wasn't for Mycroft her brother. She needed to do this for herself, she just had to remember that.

Tess huffed against the rock, the cool texture of the rock being a weird sort of comfort against her cheeks. Her arms were tired, and her legs, they were digging into the position as best she could. Why was she doing this? She'd done thing to herself many times over. First time was in her third year, and being tested by Josh in her attempts to join the Quidditch team. She had been throw, beaten and sore but she'd done it. And she'd moved up the ranks on her own.

'You can do it now' her conscious pleaded.

Failure was the second most heinous thing that a member of her family could do. It wasn't an option, it meant that they were second rate not good enough. She'd already failed the day of her birth; she was the accident, and a female, and that she couldn't fix. She'd pushed through that and made sure not to fail for anything.

'You're already a failure, what's another one?' a voice that sounded weirdly like her father. And she sighed, closing her eyes tightly.

"Tess you need to clear your mind, at the moment you are like a waterfall. Rushing and not doing anything much. Become like the slow stream, calm but moving forwards"

Thana spoke up to her and Tess opened her eyes not daring to look down at the girl, instead decided to look up. She was halfway there and she knew she had to keep going. Her body was going to hate her, but she needed to do this. Pushing herself up, she stretched her left arm and stretched to reach something to grip. Finding it comfortably, she pulled herself up, groaning softly. and pulled up her legs nearly giving up on her. She wiped her brow, and breathed in heavily hoping to find some sort of control.

Slowly, up she went, her body pressed against the rock, taking a rest every few feet that she went. This was bigger than training, this was now out of pride, and she wouldn't let that get wounded. Pulling and kicking off, she found herself finally seeing the top of the boulder. The last few steps, she threw herself on up and rolled to her back staring at the sky above her. Her arms were stretched across the boulder as she caught her breath. A sense of adrenaline and euphoria ran through her.

"Finally" she whispered softly to herself.

Thana watched as Tess fought within herself, she stood silent for a few minutes. Watching. Finally Tess started to move again, slower, but determined. She kept going, Thana watched as Tess kept going.

Finally she made it to the top, Thana watched with pride. "There you go" she said as Tess made it up. Thana stood and let her enjoy her minutes of joy.

She stood and waited, letting Tess get her breath back. Then Thana climbed the rock, it was enjoyable for her. It was easy for her, but that came from years of Training. She used her body weight to throw herself up, meters at a time. In a matter of under a minute she made it to the top.

The years of Training had made Thana fit, she kept up her daily training schedule. It was where she disappeared to during the day, and at night. Thana stood up at the top, and handed Tess a water bottle. She had earned it. "Here Hun" she said, giving it to her.

The sky never looked as beautiful as Tess found herself staring at it. Her chest was heaving as her lungs begged to take air. She had her right hand over her heart hearing it thump quickly, especially against her ears and closed her eyes. In her daze, she didn't even notice Thana climbing so gracefully, instead her brain was humming. She had never felt that feeling of sheer quietness in her mind, as if something calmed it down.

Hearing someone near her, she opened her eyes lazily as a blurry Thana handed her something. She lifted her hand and pulled it to her letting a few droplets fall to her neck before she found her mouth and began to chug it down. Water always tasted best when it was cold and you were exhausted and that's exactly how she felt. It was after her drink was nearly done, she lifted her head and nodded.

"Thank you" she breathed out.

She didn't dare ask what was next. All that mattered at the moment was composing herself.

Thank you Tess breathed out, Thana just waved her hand. "Don't worry about it, you earned it" Thana replied. She sat down, on the top of the boulder. The scenery was beautiful, over the Lake. This was almost as nice as the view from the top of Hogwarts, which Thana climbed regularly.

"Relax for a few minutes, enjoy the beautiful scenery" Thana told Tess, letting her enjoy her peace. Thana could sense that Tess had relaxed, "You passed the Test" Thana told Tess, still watching and enjoying the scenery.

Closing her eyes, she calmed down, her breath slowly returned to normal, her heart stopped hammering against her ears, and she didn't dare wonder what she looked like at the moment. She knew her hair was over her head, as her neck was touching the cold boulder. Her skin was cooling down from it, and she wondered if it would get better.

Looking over at Thana, she heard her say that the lesson was over, and she had a mixture of relief and disappointment. For if she struggled already, she could only imagine it would get worse. Sitting up, she bit back a grunt, and looked around. She felt a bit lightheaded, but she couldn't deny the lake was beautiful.

"It can only get better from here right?"

Thana looked at Tess, she was a total mess. But in a good way, "well come on we had better get you cleaned up" Thana said standing up, "Don't worry its easier to go down, and its more fun!" Thana said jumping off the rock.

She fell for a few seconds, before the spells activated. They completely slowed her fall, gave resistance. Thana landed perfectly, and easily. Then she looked up at Tess, "Your turn, its the best part of Training, the higher you climb the more fun you have falling. " Thana told her.

Tess looked around a bit confused as Thana was so energetic about everything. Had she not climbed up here as well? Taking a deep breath, she stood up, she rubbed her temples softly and wanted nothing but a warm batch. As Thana jumped off the rock, Tess looked warily as it was her turn to head down too. Was she just supposed to jump off?!

Turning her back softly she began to climb down, only to hear Thana telling her this was still part of her training. Shakily, she sat on the boulder and hopped off, squeaking slightly as she reached the ground. She had no idea how the hell she landed on her feet but she was grateful for doing so.

"That was a bit frightening" she admitted.

"Don't worry about it" Thana replied, watching Tess get down. "You passed, that's all I wanted.." Thana told her, before remembering her plan. "Oh Tess one more thing........CHILL!" Thana said pushing Tess into the water, Thana smiled as Tess splashed around.

"Don't worry, by the time I am done one of two things will happen. Either you will be a brilliant Bender, or you will have grown gills from being in the water so much!" She said, then to be fair. Thana ran and jumped into the Lake herself, it was freezing cold for most people. Thana enjoyed the cold however, with warmth radiating off her.

"One more thing.."

Tess looked over at Thana curiously, before she realized what was coming. She let out a cry of shock before she was thrown into the lake. It was by no means graceful, as she took the plunge. But her body had a mind of it's own, as it automatically began to push itself towards the surface. Popping her head out of the water, she could only mourn the fact that she looked over more horrible than before. She was going to protest, but Thana jumped right before she could, splashing Tess on the face.

Wiping her face, she looked over at the girl and studied her. Despite how serious she tended to be, she had fun like any other person her age. Tess let out a small smile and tugged her hair tie off, letting her hair flow down and dove under. The water was so cold, but it made her feel alive and for that she had to admit, she felt at home.

"I'll be good, I promise" she said once she rose back up to the surface.

"I'll be good, I promise" Tess said, "Its not about being good or bad, its about dedication and hard work. " Thana explained. "If you work hard, you will get results. They may take time but you will get them, an ant doesn't build Rome in a day. It takes many days" Thana said, trying to be inspiring.

It was good to muck around and have fun, it was something she didn't usually do. She normally kept up her appearance of cold demeanour, it felt good to have fun. "You should get back" Thana told Tess, even though it was a short lesson it had taken a few hours.

Thana was sure that Tess would feel the workout from the climb. "To make this easier, I suggest you do a little bit of training.

You can train with me when I do if you like, I get up at four every morning. If you want to join in meet me at the bottom of the stairs. Have a few days rest though, you earned it" Thana told the girl, she got out and picked up a towel she had brought, she left one for Tess. Doubting she would really need it.

As Thana explained that she should be doing training, Tess completely agreed and nodded, smiling shyly as she dove back in the water. Sometimes when the word gave her such trouble, she oftentimes forgot to really be a teen her age. It seemed silly, but she had freedom that many around her didn't. She wasn't stuck to some pureblood for the rest of her life, she wasn't stifled intellectually, she was free. And sometimes she forgot how to have fun. Maybe it was because she was always alone, especially after everything.

"Thank you, and I'll take those days to rest" she replied sincerely.

As Thana walked away, she dismissed the ideas of training early. She wanted to, in theory, but promising herself to something and not being able to wake up early was not something she would do. Her duties as Head Girl ran late, especially as she carried the weight of both Heads, and she would have worn herself out for class. Still, Tess kicked off and took some time to herself, cooling off and wondering what could possibly come next.