"Fuck." Cassandra does not normally curse, but her right arm feels like jelly. She sits at home laying on the couch with an ice pack. Archery practice is beginning to wear on her. Ram warned her that she needed to take it slow and she didn't listen. She needs to go faster, be stronger. It doesn't have to all come at once, but it is frustrating.


Aria jumps up onto the couch and crawls up onto Cassandra's chest immediately snuggling up into a little ball, as if this is her official sleeping spot. Now Cassandra has this feeling of obligation to allow her to stay there. She looks down at the cat on her chest and lifts her less sore arm up to pet her, which makes the kitten vibrate in the most calming of manners.


The Fairest takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. "I think mama has worked way too hard the last week, don't you?"


The cat doesn't respond, happily receiving the pets and ignoring all other sounds. It can't help but make Cassandra smile. She leans her head back again, sighing as she continues to pet Aria, giving scratches behind the ears and long strokes on her back.


As frustrating as it is, she is getting stronger, and she is getting better each time. She is a natural with a bow, keenly dexterous and diligent in study. It is going to take far more than that however if she wants to make this her main form of fighting. At the same time, she knows she needs a secondary form for close combat. She isn't sure what to do about that. She is athletic, but she is far from being good with a punch. Perhaps she could find a way to utilize knives more dexterously than in strength. Isn't it more important where you hit than how hard you hit? Either way, it's frustrating.


She thinks on the kind of person she was just a year ago, and she realizes just how much she's changed. A year ago she was packing up to move. A year ago she was devastated by severe loss and traumatized from the aftermath. Fast forward a year, and now she is happy and thriving in a new community with new friends, a motley, and someone she believes could be a life partner. She used to feel useless, like a burden in any kind of physical situation. Now she's not. Now she can navigate. Now she can wield a bow and arrow. Now she's figured out what she's good at and leaned into it. She's finding purpose.


Her arms feel like jelly, but it's worth it.