No less than the best

Today she had a somewhat…awkward task. She had been working on a certain present for Schola for months now, using whatever free time she could to come out to the secluded wood so she could work on the project. Though that wasn’t the awkward part, the awkward part was actually presenting the gift to her friend.

As much as she liked to act cool, there was no way she could do this without revealing just how much she had come to care for him. Not once in her entire life had she put so much as a drop of effort into something that didn’t somehow benefit her.

A loud twig snapping followed by a loud ‘OOF’ pulls her from her thoughts and reminds her of the blindfolded companion relying on her for direction.

“Sorry bout that pretty boy, hope I didn’t ruin that cute face of yours,” she laughs, pulling him to his feet. “Just a little bit farther,” She’s not sure why she felt the need to blindfold him. People usually did this when they wanted to surprise someone so she did the same without thinking.

The rest of the walk is filled with an odd silence as Diana tries to collect her thoughts. Suddenly she stops walking and tugs the blindfold off in one fluid movement to reveal…what is just barely recognizable as a shrine. Perhaps nothing as fancy as the ones they had in the bigger cities, but in the very least a stranger walking passed it could recognize the small buildings function.

The poor excuse for a shrine just barely reached their knees and while it was still a far cry from it’s larger brethren, the materials were in the very least sturdy. Strong enough to last for quite some time. The name of the buildings patron god was etched into the small red gate that  stood right at the dirt paths side.

“So…” she swallowed, feeling uncharacteristically anxious. “Not half bad huh,” The genuinely kind gesture leaves her feeling rather vulnerable, and she finds herself avoiding eye contact with the boy as he takes in the impromptu present. “What’cha think?” She chances a peek at his expression attempting to mask her nervousness with her normal grin. Unfortunately her true feelings are still as clear as day.

The feeling of wanting to make someone else happy because you cared about them. Until that moment Diana had never experienced such things and the sudden wave of alien emotions left her guard much lower than usual as she struggled to sort herself.

To any onlookers she was just a girl leisurely juggling a soccer ball to kill time, completely unaware of the rage and frustration she was battling beneath the surface. She had been dealing with her sudden loss of her favorite past time pretty well at first but it seemed to be getting harder and harder everyday.

Usually she tried to avoid it but that day she found herself reminiscing of the days she could run. Run faster than anyone and everyone. Her legs could easily remember the sensation of pushing off pavement at top speed. The memory sends another jolt of frustration through her and without thinking she sends the soccer ball up as high as she can.

“Oh great...,” A long exhale before she wraps her arm around the trunk. “No use complainin’ I suppose,” With that she began to pull herself up against the bark. It’s a little hard, her legs were plenty strong, made obvious from the very visible muscle bulging beneath her skin, though her arms had gotten little to no exercise. It’s a tough task indeed but she somehow managed to make it to the top branch where her precious soccer ball rested.