1101. Education, 9
(Armylè)
In one of these very basic introductory training courses, Prume slipped and took a powerful punch to the chin, sending her little weight flying a good metre further back.
She stood up again, apparently not so hurt, but that had been impressive and made my heart jolt.
Prume quite calmly said she would like to try something else now. I would have been less measured probably.
But overall I could tell she wasn’t finding much pleasure or curiosity into these things. This form of human contact wasn’t appealing to her, and her lower size and weight didn’t help. Unless the opponent was really throwing themselves at her with good momentum, she couldn’t do much.
She also tried the training weapons, stick, wooden sword and others. But I could see how much she was bored and uninterested. I told her she didn’t need to insist. Clearly that wasn’t her call.
Still since they were going together, Prume voluntarily kept trying everything like her sister, so they could eventually train a little together. Even if Prume wouldn’t try to progress or do much, she liked the idea of helping Elyne a little.
So now, all what we needed, was for her to find the body language that really suited her.
~
Elyne found the one.
Not the most elegant one from my perspective. It wasn’t Aikido or Capoeira I would have loved to paint.
It was something more brutal, at least in appearance. Brute strength seemed to be more important than tactic and technicality. The appearance behind every movement was that of simplicity and weight. All looked like the most basic moves of Karatedo to my untrained eye, but each movement and strike carried all the power it could get.
There was real technicality behind this art of impactful strike, that required indeed to master the body and all its capacities properly. To carry swiftness, accuracy in control, and kinetic energy to the highest degrees.
The name of this odd branch of Karatedo didn’t matter to me. All I saw with some concern and relief, was that Elyne apparently liked this style of fighting and hitting things.
I wondered for a moment whether it was best for everyone else’s other children for Elyne to learn this way of more efficient body destruction, or to continue to go raw and wild. Because this sport seemed to exalt violence at first glance. Giving her more tools to beat people up looked like a bad call.
But really it was more about mastering oneself, and pushing progress of oneself through training. Exactly what Elyne needed.
For now she was having her fun turning and giving good kicks against a column covered with a blanket.
To my surprise she was the only girl in that style of martial art, and the smaller one. It was mostly virile young men and a few muscular seniors there. I hoped with a wry smile she wouldn’t put them off too quickly.
Actually, they might quickly get quite fond of her as her potential will begin to shine. My cute little beast.
I confirmed to the head teacher she would continue so until further notice, years from now. Elyne chirped behind the sweat, happy. That seemed to be a gift more than a punishment. Weird gift from my prim and proper perspective. She returned to hit a wall for the time being, and then to exchange punches with one of the guys. Well... Have fun sweetheart!
~
Prume didn’t train nearly as much. She did the bare minimum but often accompanied Elyne, simply giving her a hand at times. It was still an activity they shared in a way, and they were happy with that.
Much as I expected and feared, Elyne began to shine. Fast. And ever so bright...
In a few months only, she rose tenfold her power and energy.
She could throw stunning blows despite her little frame and age next to everyone else. And I saw her with another wry smile of embarrassed pride, when her training was to punch with all her might someone bracing for it in order to push him back, and she managed to make move one of the meatiest men there. So her punches could move a hundred kilograms or more... Dear goodness. The teacher congratulated me for raising such a fine child. I felt embarrassed more than proud. And a little amused as well.
She wasn’t yet objectively the strongest or best student, but no one was blind about her potential as a champion in the sport come adulthood. Her dispositions were obvious already.
And if she were to start hitting the gym to do muscle building work... I imagined the kind of overly idealised muscular bodies from fiction one could see in literary and graphical arts. The super-heroes with chiselled muscles all over. She might have all the potential to become something else... That could be fun to paint, but I wouldn’t push her that way. It would be up to her.
For now she seemed already pretty happy and fulfilled enough, just being allowed to punch people bracing for it.
The teachers corrected her postures and movements, and she would train more.
~
A year or so later, without incident thankfully, Elyne was getting good at this. She had a punching bag in the house, so she wouldn’t risk breaking the house walls...
Prume kept going with her, albeit more as a spectator most of the time. She didn’t mind not doing much more. She still had not grown since her return or barely. She remained slim and small, while Elyne was building centimetres and muscle all over. She didn’t become bulky, but you could tell at first glance this girl was doing a lot of physical activity. And she was smiling brightly. Elyne’s smile had grown in maturity I want to say, or that she was shining better.
Maybe that played an intimidating part now, that she was buffed. No one bothered them anymore as far as I heard. Elyne had never really developed a taste for street fight, so she never punched anyone outside the gymnasium, thank goodness.
Maya had picked the family tradition of swimming. Prume joined them occasionally. Swimming she liked, even if only seldom. She hadn’t really yet found her call for a passion that would last for many years to come. I could tell she was still fliting here and there without finding her call. But that’s alright.
She was mostly shy about her skin white stripes. Any time she needed to undress, she had reluctance and it was harder for her. No one would judge her, but she apprehended seeing these reminders of her possible bad health.
The young Néphéline I now was often watching over; she obviously was more akin to Prume. Not much sport for the little girl. Anything she could do to get and feel closer to Prume for now, she would do without question.
However... One thing she couldn’t fight against, was that Prume did not grow over these years, while Néphéline did.
It was a little hard on Prume, and just as much if not worse on Néphéline, seeing her closing the gap with her crush.
They wouldn’t be around each other in middle school since Prume would move onto high school by then, but Néphéline was on her way to move ahead of Prume in this, simply growing...
I avoided the jokes of saying aloud I wished my girls would never grow up now.
Her growth spurt from last time had definitely stopped, perhaps lost for good.
Her hormonal deficiencies were obvious, but she had no treatment to make up for it anymore.
There used to be one, but now it was avoided for possibly good and bad reasons. Hard to say really.
Would a renewed hormonal supplements treatment do anything? Or would her odd condition bypass this as well and fail? Was it worth it? I knew at the very least that metabolism was a complicated set of chains, with many steps and links all over the place. It took to break or miss a few very specific ones or a good chunk of them, to kill a process as complex as young human body maturing. The solution needed to identify them.
Would it be possible at this level? Or would I risk opening this I feared for her?
Would the wiser still be to do nothing for her... Even if her life would only grow harsher?
~
My twins were in their last year of middle school, reaching their thirteenth birthday.
Overall things were fine, but Prume’s concerns had grown instead of her body. This was affecting her more heavily by now. And I resorted to discuss the matter with Samanthine anyway.
I was worried, but I wanted to tread carefully. Sam was still the same.
A - I don’t want to do too much and risk losing it all... What do you think?
S - ... I don’t know...
A - Should I ask a new doctor as if it was unrelated?
S - No... Actually, I might know someone who could give you wise advices and their opinion on the whole matter.
A - Yes? Whom?
S - I heard he’s retired now, but he still seats honoris causa in the medical order. I’m fairly certain he will remember me and Prume...
The old dean must have sighed, when he heard of Sam wanting to meet with him again.
~
