Strength and skill in battle.
That's what the Mantis Clan was supposed to be known for. Strength and skill. Diwali had never been able to make up her mind about where she stood in the hierarchy of battle prowess in her clan, and with little else like a husband to distract her, it was becoming something of an obsession. Especially since another year had passed where she didn't sign up for the tournament, the one time a year they had a chance to show off. To maybe even learn something from each other in the field.
But how was she supposed to train better? Obviously they tried but if she wanted to stand out, she needed something more than the rest. Picking fights constantly was not the style of any of the Ela'wadiyi, even this clan.. hunting was her best bet but it was generally frowned upon to play with your food.
So she was pacing restlessly, far enough away from the clan that she could go hunting on her own but struggling to make up her mind. Should she try to hunt for faster, smaller prey? Or birds? But stealth was hardly a skill in face to face combat.. maybe she'd be better off leaning into dad's side of the family, but Shadow wasn't her clan.
Ugh!
