nadiaholme

[nadiaholme]

She watches him, studies him - and when he gives her the nod, her stance relaxes as instructed. Already there's a nice little ache in her shoulders, but not too much that it would prohibit her from doing more. It's odd -- to practice martial arts as a preliminary of learning magic. But she understands, now, why it's like this. It's about control of self, mind and body. If she can't twist her mind into understanding and controlling herself at it's core, how will she understand the otherworldly parts of her?

Hell, before all of this -- she wasn't sure she wanted to even believe that there was a power there. Now, she's doing all she can to just block it out.

She catches the wooden sword when it's tossed to her, but not without slight fumbling. Nadia weighs it in her hands, and grips the hilt bringing it into a slightly similar stance. "Good. It feels-- Heavy." She also means more than one thing -- the weight of the room, the weight of her thoughts, and the magic she's trying so hard to keep at bay.

She swallows, hard, and tries to take his words to heart. Now, she settles deeper into the stance, grip a little too tight -- fear, maybe? When he kicks, she brings up the sword ( sloppy, but connecting ) to block the attack, and stumbles backwards. She'd been taken off guard, and that was the problem.

Her hold on her magic goes lax as she tries to remember his lessons, and to defend, defend, defend.

The next time she gets into a formal stance, he's silently approving of it. A firm-set, solid foundation with clear and concise movements; she's confident in this one, there's no doubt in the ripples of muscle nor of the certainty that he's about to knock her down again. She believes it, this time. That she'll stay standing.

She might be praised about it, in the way his head lifts and a glimmer sparks in the pits of his gaze. They've yet to even taste, or brush magic yet. He's only shown her the kind that unbalances a person when someone is not prepared.

If she maintains this assertiveness over the core basics, he thinks she might be something that could eventually pose a challenge. With a nod, he intends for her to relax her stance. Miyazaki leads them to the other side of the dojo, where bokuto are balanced on hooks against the wall. He lifts one and swiftly, without warning tosses one of the wooden swords to Nadia. It's heavy, but less weighted if she maintains her stance, firmly drawing a fist to her hips — only now, she will have that fist around the hilt. Whether she intends to learn this art, is irrelevant. She'll learn strength and discipline this way.

"How does it feel?" the bokuto, the room — her confidence, her concern among the lacklustre thrum of blood that leaks magic. Tetsuya moves two fingers through the air, watching the minor flush of fire skirt down the length of the sword between them. "It is easier to defend if there is something you believe will take the force first." A lesson, as always. Sometimes defence is better than an offence; timing is a patience game. He needs her to remember her stance, feel the weight of the object in her grip when she might need to stop a blow.

Miyazaki allows her time to get into her stance once more before he allows their core basics to morph into a full technique. And then, he spins, to kick his foot at the weapon she's learning.

[nadiaholme]

closed starter for: @visioncursed where: lipscomb caverns

This was all a little too real. It'd only been recently that she felt like she'd really joined the coven, and she hasn't been able to do much of anything other than try and not lose herself to the constant overload of information she gets on a daily basis. Just knowing things is exhausting. She likes her cards, they provide focus.

But now-- the one who brought her in is now encased in ( or literally? ) some sort of crystal. Looking around, she wonders how many witches in here are the same.

Turning, she looks to Jamie with a frown.

"What do we do now?"

[nadiaholme]

Working as much as she did, Nadia started to learn the regulars and their favorites - it made things easier when all she had to do was flash a bright smile and get their order ready without them having to wait. Her favorite was an older lady, with a slight shake in her hands, and wrinkles that told her she'd spent much of her life laughing. She liked a decaffeinated black tea with a splash of milk.

However, with Medina, it was always something new. Not a bad thing necessarily, but definitely kept her on her toes. She brightened up when she saw the familiar face and got her order ready to go as quick as possible --

Not seconds later, though, Nadia watched as she stumbled and spilled the contents. Wincing, she started another of the exact same drink and rushed outside to hopefully prevent the passersby from being too irritable. "I'm so sorry-- Here, here. I made you a new one, and.." She looked to the other, drenched in it. "We have a bathroom if you'd like to clean up."

open to anyone between brewed awakening and tūmatarau apothecary.

brewed awakening was one of few places that had become a staple for medina since arriving in port leiry. starting her day with a cup of coffee or tea was already a formed habit, plus the drinks at brewed had always started her off on the right foot for the day. especially when they put a little something extra in her cup. every day she'd come in and order something new. she never was a simple girl and she often did find herself bored of the same thing over and over again. todays cup had an earthier smell to it, medina's nose resting above the lid, the steam of the hot beverage warming her face as she made her way from brewed and towards the apothecary she'd had her eye on recently. medina's grip on her recyclable cup tightened as her heel slipped into a crack in the ground beneath her, sticking in the process. the cup didn't leave her hand, but the contents did, tripping on her own caught heel, the hot beverage came shooting out before her, towards whoever it was walking opposite her. " oh bollocks! ' she huffs out, reaching back to yank her heel from the ground before offering any courtesy to the person before her. " did you make it out unscathed? ' she asked before looking up to see for herself if her beverage had landed on them or not.

[nadiaholme]

Anxiety is rolling off of Jac in waves, and Nadia gets it - she's just as anxious, something rolling in her gut at trying to seem somewhat normal. At least here, with her, it's almost like she doesn't have to pretend so much. Maybe because she's not the one bewildered at someone talking to her.

Her eyebrows raise and she interrupts her so she won't go nuclear. "I'm cool with a next time." With her regular shoes on, she stands and winces a little at the ache in her legs, but they walk together towards the concession stand.

She'd been eyeing some of the candy displayed, but-- the idea of a hot dog is really calling to her. Probably not as good as the ones she got on the side of the road going up the mountain, but serviceable. "That's cool - This city's nice." But she shakes her head, "No, no - I'm not really new, but it's the first time in a bit that I've been able to get out."

Should she go into the whole.. thing? Probably not all of it. "I just got my first apartment not too long ago and I work at Brewed Awakening. Came here because my tips were really good this week and I've never been somewhere like this by myself before. You said you were here with.. a friend, right? What made you tag along?"

Jac blinks in surprise when Nadia flops easily into a chair beside her, already going through the process of switching over to her shoes from her skates. She supposes it's not that out of the ordinary for normal people, but it's the first time that Jac feels like she can be included in that group.

She hurriedly slips her feet out of the skates and into her normal shoes, sighing internally in relief now that the world stopped moving from underneath her. Her head pops back up when Nadia offers to buy and asks if she is from around here. Immediately, her mouth opens to protest, but she pauses, unsure what exactly is the polite response here. Was she just offering to be nice? Did Jac look hungry or like she didn't have money?

"Oh, it's... I mean, if you're okay with that. I can get next time. If... if there's a next time. There doesn't have to be because, you know, we're strangers and you might think I'm totally weird or something and-" she forces herself to stop talking with a long exhale. "Um... yeah, I was born and raised here," she decides that changing the subject abruptly was less embarrassing for all involved. "What about you? Are you new here?" She's never seen her around, not that Jac gets out very much, but she thinks she would remember Nadia's face if she had seen it. Jac stands, gesturing towards the concession booth so they could continue their conversation while they walked. "What made you come to the rink tonight?"

[nadiaholme]

Before she has time to react, he moves quick to knock her onto her back - the air expelling from her lungs in a soft grunt as she hits the ground. Nadia's face contorts into something akin to pain, but she's not down for the count. If anything, the pain is a reminder of what she's here for - to remind herself that she's a different person than what she was raised to be, groomed to be.

She does rise back to her feet and brushes herself off. His quiet amusement makes something swell in her chest - like she knows she can do this. And she sinks down into the position again, this time planting her feet and grounding her form like he had shown her.

She shifts her weight from foot to foot to test it before sinking into it again, lifting her hands as she'd been taught. This time she lifts her arm and brings it back down to her waist in clear, concise movements.

He's building foundations for the next generations; it's a long future thought. Houses built atop the staling blood and mud of history. It's planting new greenery and roots, where the earth has been fed iron and bone, stabilised and hardened for new bricks to sit atop and wash away the perishable parts of the past.

Nadia understands, he imagines, that silence is a good sign after several sessions. The quiet of the dojo means there is contentment; satisfaction is a close comfort, it means there is nothing to scold or burn for. Miyazaki's gaze is assessing as he watches the woman mimic the gestures, form fine, assertion lacking.

Instead of a verbal correction, Tetsuya twists his foot on the floor as if he has an extension of himself wrapped around Nadia's ankles; a single pivot that provokes airy arms to sweep along the ground, rippling like an ocean might sweep at a ship. A veil of air cuts along the ground to crash around her calves, with enough force to trip the most promising student.

It's his way of reminding her that had she grounded her form, she might have been able to counter, or affirm herself. Tetsuya straightens, hands pressed together behind his back. He allows his expression to display minor amusement — he is not disappointed; discipline takes time and patience is a virtuous act that he has a complex relationship with.

He waits for Nadia to take her position again, or give up, as many of them have before.

[nadiaholme]

She grits her teeth at the smack to her forearm, straightening it out into the proper form. Nadia has never practiced anything like this, but when she'd seen the dojo and flyers for it, she'd joined up on a whim. It's money she feels like she doesn't have (she does), but it's worth it for the sore muscles and shake in her legs when she returns home.

It's good, to feel yourself improving in something, at the very least.

He adjust to the front of her, shifting into a stance and movement that she quickly figures out to imitate. Her fist, too, goes towards her waist - and then pushes out. There's not a lot of confidence in her movements, but she's doing them all the same.

It's different with magic. Doing it over and over again to build it up - feels harder somehow when it's not physical.

When she returns back to a resting stance, she bites down hard at her lower lip in an attempt to straighten, wobbling and nearly falling.

For: @nadiaholme

When he is not in the dark with a screen haloing him in artificial light. Miyazaki has a redemptive role as sensei. He walks the soft mats barefoot, circling Nadia like a killer whale. A giant force, only painted murderous when under threat. He eyes the next generation with a bitter disdain. He’s obtusely aware of his lack of time to mold them into something of substance. His biological clock is hidden beneath fabrics, but he knows it drills deep enough that it bleeds the surface of his skin a decaying black.

On weekends, he reserves time for those vying for an intense focus. Often, he finds that the magically inclined find out he’s not just dangerous in one art, and they crave to get a chance to train in a private setting; they want to know where he came from, who he is, or what he is.

He has no qualm with it. If they wish to be slammed into the mats by a whirlwind, so be it. Speaking is a distraction; small talk is a focus that isn’t on the discipline of her poise.

Nadia is one of his newer students and it shows. The back of his hand smacks the underside of her forearm, making sure she holds steady. His foot twists the same way as he stands before her, ancient mind imagining a thousand other youths where she stands; of various disciplines and training.

He’s silent in his teachings, if he speaks, the likelihood is that they are failing to adapt to the arts.

When he’s standing in front of Nadia, he mirrors her stance — dark eyes speak far more coldly, urging her to mimic the movements as he draws a fist inwards almost against his waist; muscles firm and tight before he pushes it out with the same confidence. A return to a resting stance, but no waver in the back and forth. The basics are the foundations of the complex.

He straightens, waiting for her to show him the sequence of moves.

[nadiaholme]

Nadia finds herself smiling easily at the agreement, and makes her way over towards the seats, too - already plopped in one to catch her breath and soothe her aching calves just from a quick few laps around the place. She's not used to things like this - the fun, easy ones. It always feels like she's going to end up having a catch or that someone will make her feel terrible for smiling.

Those days are long gone, though, and she looks up - "Oh - I was gonna.." She gestures down to her feet with a laugh.

"We can go together, it's fine." Another, softer laugh, a hint of a blush dusting at her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. This is all so much, and she's really just -

She's trying to reach out and make friends and have fun, and feels awkward herself.

"I'll buy?" Now that she has some money, she doesn't mind helping someone out or splurging on some food once in a while. Especially if she uses her discount for food at the shop. Once her shoes are changed, she sits up a bit and looks over at Jac -

"Are you a local?"

She expects Nadia to ask more questions about Lara, or talk about the boyfriend she must have, or altogether just cut the conversation short because she realizes how awkward Jac is as a human being. But the redhead does nothing of the sort, even invites her to stick around and she has to recalibrate the responses she had already prepared.

"Oh! Um... yeah, we can... we can do that." Her head bobs up and down like a bobblehead but she starts moving towards the small gap in the wall that lets people skate on and off the floor. Once they're back on the carpet, she feels a tiny bit steadier, though she is pretty sure she looks entirely ridiculous shuffling along the brightly patterned floor.

"I think... I'm going to switch to my regular shoes," she admits finally after catching herself from falling for the third time. "I mean... if you actually want the corn dog..." Suddenly, Jac is uncertain that maybe she is doing too much. "I can meet you at the concession stand?" At least that way, Nadia had an excuse to walk away before any of this became more embarrassing.

[nadiaholme]

NADIA as A GREEN FAIRY

It's the first year she's felt like she could actually dress up without incurring some sort of heavenly wrath - so she opts for something simple and cute that makes her feel adorable. The wings are from the flea market and the corset is a hand-me-down over the top of a handmade dress.

She's attending AJ's party, though it's not entirely her scene, so she can experience what a real adult Halloween party is like -- And is about to have a true culture shock.

[nadiaholme]

Bones and tea leaves makes her wrinkle her nose and shake her head - the playing cards are the only connection to a home she actually loved. Maybe one day, she could hone her skills with seeing through running water, smoke, and fire - all other things that bring comfort to her.

"Of course." She nods, looking down at her hands - and the card she'd offered - and brings it back to herself while playing with the worn edges. A few people now have only wanted to help, and the teas and potions do help her from having constant flashes --

But she's not sure if she wants to explore all the possibilities of what she's capable of, yet. "Is there a way to ease into it? Or is it always all or nothing?"

"I know, darling." She sighed softly, wishing that she could do more to help Nadia. All she could do was give potions to help, but that would only dim the witches powers and that wouldn't allow her to learn the control she needed.

"If reading them helps, then read them. You could read other things too, like the bones and tea leaves. I can keep giving you potions but, Nadia honey, you need to learn to handle this too. I want you to be able to handle this, you know? It's not me trying to be mean, it's me trying to be nice and help you. You know that, don't you?"

Willow watched as she shuffled the deck and pulled out a card. "Well, that's exactly you. Knowledge and special talents is what you have in abundance."

[nadiaholme]

The person in front of her isn't someone she knows - or someone that even remotely looks familiar, which sets her on edge. The tension tightens up her shoulders and she scratches at the little plastic piece of her hoodie string with her thumbnail.

"Uh, meant to. Right. Uhm. A lady at the coffee shop told me--"

Goodness, she feels ridiculous. It's all so much.

"She mentioned Lipscomb, and a.. a, uh, community?" Swallowing, she barrels forward. "We had a really odd conversation and -- She reminds me of someone I used to know? Who taught me.. stuff."

Kore doesn't often spend a lot of time at Lipscomb. Usually finds it a little too on the nose for their coven, but she can understand that Apsara prefers it. Probably finds some kind of kinship with the rocks she emulates herself after.

There isn't a meeting scheduled that she's aware of, just felt the need to be a little closer to the earth today for whatever reason. Kore has long since learned to listen to their body when it has an inexplicable urge like that. She's barely been there for a few minutes before she comes across someone, a stranger that she doesn't recognize.

"No, not really," Kore replies with a small shrug. "People don't usually find their way down here unless they're meant to. Did someone guide you?"

[nadiaholme]

Nadia follows the gesture towards the girl's roommate, raising her eyebrows at how naturally she seems to move. For a moment, she's almost jealous - but her attention quickly turns back towards Jac, who Nadia can now see looks way more nervous than she originally had expected.

Hell, she even feels like she's about to combust just from talking to someone new. It's all just a lot. And she never really knows how to interact with a lot of people out here - either she's too polite or not polite enough, by their measure. Starting conversations at the coffee shop is somehow rude, and she always feels her cheeks flush when she realizes the customer was in a hurry and trying to hightail it quickly out.

Swallowing, she feels her nose wrinkle slightly in disgust at the potential of a 'boyfriend'. "Nope. Definitely no boyfriend." Her legs feel wobbly, and she figures Jac probably feels even wobblier. "What about, uh, we scoot along the wall and just hang over there by the concessions? I was eyeing a corndog someone had earlier."

Jac is smiling back, despite herself, even though her cheeks are flushed still from the exertion and embarrassment. They are mercifully mostly out of the way over by the wall and she expects Nadia to skate away after a moment, relieved to get away from the weird girl. But she asks instead about Jac, if she's here with anyone and the witch almost nods before she catches herself.

Does Nadia mean with someone, or with someone? The thought of the second choice is so absurd that Jac shakes her head quickly with a self-deprecating smile. "Just my roommate," she adds, gesturing at Lara, still drawing eyes with her perfect grace. She prepares herself for a barrage of questions, most of them amounting to asking whether her roommate was single (a question that Jac never really knew how to answer in the first place).

"W-what about you? Boyfriend?" she asks as casually as she can manage even as her eyes keep darting from place to place.

[nadiaholme]

Nadia's eyebrows twitch together as she tries not to feel the surge of anxiety of something real just beneath the surface. Her mind goes to her aunt, of all the warnings and laughs and teachings. And the answer is simple: This card calls to her because she's unsure if she should trust Apsara, but that she feels pulled to her, too.

Swallowing, she doesn't answer, and watches the card transform from her three of hearts to The Fool - a card she's never seen before.

"Can we talk when I'm not on the clock?"

"Three hearts - pulled three ways. Indecision of the heart, yes. That is a blunt and direct summary of the card but what is it that drives you, dear - why do the ink and the stock call you to give this to me?" She places the card down on the table, under her palm. "You feel uneasy here - as if you may have even made a mistake in coming here, in stopping here." She flips the card up; The Fool, blindly and boldy striding forth; does he see the cliff before him? Does he care? "You haven't, Nadia Holme, and while I am uncertain of a great many things, this is not one of them."

[nadiaholme]

When she smiles, her nose wrinkles - half embarrassed, half amused. It's funny just how much she stands out, just for the way she speaks. But she brings a hand to her chest and rubs it with a sigh, as if the magic is forming a thick marble right in the center of it. It feels like it'll never go away, this.. knowing.

"I still don't think it's.." She shakes her head. "It doesn't feel like it's real, half the time." Maybe if she were in her aunt's cottage again. "The only thing I know that helps is, uhm."

Nadia pauses then, and turns to her bag, and pulls out a deck of cards. "Reading these in the morning helps." A quick shuffle, then she pulls out an ace of clubs. "Ha.. thirst for knowledge or special talents."

"Can't blame them for that, I like listening to you talk too." Willow laughed softly, chewing her lower lip as she looked over the other. She listened to the other, knowing her concerns truly bothered her but for Willow she didn't mind if the customers had a reaction; she loved the customers but her staff and their well-being meant more to her. "Honey, this is all just a part of it growing within you, you'll gain more control over it, more control of not blurting out the things you know unless you're asked."

There were things that Willow could do to help, potions that she knew would suppress things for Nadia but she truly didn't think that would help. Nadia needed to learn to control it, for her own benefit more than to the benefit of others. "Have you found anything that helps you at all?"

[nadiaholme]

Nadia licks her lips and tries not to let her breath come out as shaky as it feels - "I.. yeah." Her lower lip is pulled between her teeth. Which question is she answering? She's not sure. All of them? Her great aunt had been.. It had been easier with her. There were meanings to the cards, to be sure, but it was so much easier to feel their meanings by being in tune with them.

Just like the crystals. It all felt so witchy woo and stupid out here in Port Leiry.

"It.. it means indecision." She's staring at the card like she didn't pick it on purpose. And she didn't. And now it's staring her back in the face, telling her exactly what's happening right now. "Lack of commitment.. usually in relationships, but.. can be other things, too."

"Apsara's eyes rest not on the drink she's handed, but the card the girls slips into her hand along with it. Three of hearts. It makes her smile for what it represents, even if, bereft of any other of its cardboard compatriots compatriots, it is little more than vague advice. She lets her head fall to one side as she regards the girl, holding the token between two fingers before putting it on the counter, face down. "You read cards?" She says, bluntly. "Or do they speak to you, in their way? What do the suits speak? What truths do their ranks whisper?" She flips the card - three of hearts. "What is it that compels you today, about this card?"

[nadiaholme]

closed starter for: @witchkore where: near the lipscomb caverns

She fiddled nervously with the strings of her hoodie, wondering if she's walking into something ridiculous or dangerous or both -

Swallowing, Nadia tried to push down that sinking feeling in her gut, and made her way over towards the entrance of the crystalline cave. Caverns and underground exploration wasn't all that new to her, really, but she knew the dangers all too well.

It was a beautiful place, though. A sound of footsteps echoing makes her jump and she whips around, eyes wide - "S-sorry. I was just.. I'm not trespassing, am I?"

[nadiaholme]

hc + 📿 for a faith-themed headcanon

Faith is a sticky subject for her. It was nothing but a curse and plagued her every waking moment for most of her life - and still does. Lately, though, she's been able to find moments here and there where her mind doesn't immediately turn to the faith-based teachings she was brought up with, and it's been a relief to escape it.

[nadiaholme]

hc + ☕ for a drink-themed headcanon

Alcoholic beverages are something that Nadia has never touched - even after moving across the country to Port Leiry. However, she does have a bit of a sweet tooth, and a craving for coffee, especially after working at Brewed Awakening. So she loves to mix the two cravings and find out what sort of sweet treat she can make for herself each morning when she clocks in.