"Yeah… Even if you did practice as hard as you could… it would just bring down your fighting capabilities. It would be best if you focused on hand-to-hand combat as I've noticed you're quite talented at that," Auntie says before walking back in front of us.
Lucy looked slightly depressed with a single tear running down her cheek as she stared off into the abyss.
I giggled a bit before Auntie came over to me first.
"Okay, I used a bow for quite some time before switching over to the sword, so I should be able to help you… First, let's see your form,"
I raised my bow and pulled back the stretchy string made from ice.
It was a strange cold sensation, but I held the position firmly while Auntie adjusted my form.
A few hours then passed, and our weapon session had ended much faster than we originally anticipated.
It seemed easy in the beginning as she adjusted our form but then we had to spar against her for 20 minutes straight without a break.
If we stopped, we would get a slap on the back of our hands and then have to hold a push-up position for another 20 minutes.
But there was no punishment for stopping while running as we didn't want to freeze to death outside… so that was enough to push us to run as fast as we could so we could have just the slightest bit of warmth from the fireplace.
"This is abuse," I mutter, rubbing the back of my red hand.
I then reached for the soft snow below me as it was the only water source within my reach.
I was parched, and my lips were dry from breathing through my mouth in the cold air…
"Then don't stop next time," Auntie says as she grabs my hand and gives me a wooden cup filled with clean water.
"Thanks," I respond, breathing out a long cloud of white mist.
"Never eat the snow,"
"Why?"
"You'll become more dehydrated,"
"Ah, okay,"
There was a long awkward silence between us as the rest of the girls were inside the wooden cabin, warming up with the fire.
I was still outside as I was the last one to finish the run.
"You seem out of it… What's wrong?" Auntie asks as she rubs the top of my head with her thumb.
"I hate the cold,"
"May I ask why?"
"No,"
"I see… Well, if you need somebody to talk to, I'm here," Auntie says as she pulls my head towards her shoulder.
I leaned against her, breathing out another breath of cold mist.
…
I then grabbed a cup of white powder and sprinkled it across the clothes, causing bubbles to form.
I let the clothes sit for a few minutes while heating up another batch of water.
Once I noticed the clothes seemed thoroughly washed, I poured the hot water on the clothes, removing all the bubbles.
I then hung them up to dry on a rack right next to the fireplace.
A few hours passed, and I was on another run after failing to hold the push-up position.
The snow was coming down hard, but I tried to push through with my teeth grit to the max.
It was so cold.
I really hated it.
'Big sis! Look! Look what I found!'
'Big sis! Look! Look at how large this ravine is!'
'I know! Look at how big it is!'
"*sigh*... Shit," I mutter.
A few minutes passed, and the snowstorm raged even harder, sapping my eyesight quickly.
I decided waiting out the rest of the snowstorm would be a better idea, so I quickly ran towards one of the large trees and opened a small metal container that I took from my pocket.
It was filled with just a tiny bit of water, so I drank it.
This slightly revitalized my energy, allowing me to have just enough energy to create a blade of water that cut a hole in the tree beside me.
I was worried the tree might collapse, so I didn't make the hole too large, just enough for me to fit as I brought my legs into a fetal position.