[div style="max-width: 600px; text-align: justify; font-family: arial; font-size: 9pt;"]normal. average. ordinary. regular. all accurate words to describe melantha.

growing up in isolation with only her large family for company, it never really affected her to not possess any powers of any sort. sure, her father and several siblings possessed the abilities, but they were never used for anything except for fun. but after she arrived in snowbound and was exposed to clan life, melantha quickly learned that she is at a serious disadvantage. unfortunately, the mountain lioness cannot change her genetic coding. the only thing she can do to combat her natural disability is to train. if she can't use powers, she can learn to identify powered people's abilities and what to do to avoid being affected by them. sort of like building up an immunity to poison or learning to predict weather patterns. it doesn't always work, but it helps when faced with something that she cannot control.

melantha rises before the sun, crossing the vast, snowy plains and heading for an empty clearing a good distance from the main camp. the fewer the distractions, the better. she takes a sit in the center, the cold snow wet beneath her rump. mel shuts her eyes, turning her focus from the outside world to the inside. for several minutes, she just sits there. any person who might happen to pass by will probably assume she fell asleep, but that is not the truth. in reality, melantha is listening to her surroundings. she feels the energy in the air, hears the whisper of the trees and the song of the gently falling snow. meditation, the humans call it. she tunes herself to the sound of nature. with a clear head, she begins training. she directs her attention to the strongest tree, pauses for a moment, and takes off in a sprint. she counts her strides. one, two, three. her muscles tense, and she springs from the ground and transitions into a climb, swiftly maneuvering through the branches and identifying a bough thick enough to support her weight.

several seconds pass. she imagines a fallen log as a powered enemy, this time with the ability to control the elements. a deep breath. inhale. exhale. she leaps, landing to the side of the log rather than on top as it is a common misconception that landing directly on the back of prey is a smart hunting tactic. instead, it is better to land on stable ground and use momentum to instantly spring into the side of the creature and knock them off balance. she does just that, using the log as her training dummy. she imagines her enemy turning towards her, preparing to attack. instead of rolling away to safety, melantha rushes forward. the idea is that elemental powers are less reliable when being used to close to the wielder. just like most ranged weapons are at a disadvantage in close range because the person is in danger of harming themselves as well. no one in their right mind wants to set themselves on fire. she brakes on her forelegs, sweeping her hindlegs around to kick sand in the enemy's "eyes." take away their ability to see her, and it takes away their ability to accurately attack her. then she rushes in and strikes at the throat. game over.

melantha steps back to catch her breath, mulling over her strategies. it's not foolproof, but its a start. hopefully she can convince someone in snowbound to help her train sometime so she no longer needs to use inanimate objects. it's just not the same as using a live target. after thirty seconds of break, melantha continues on with various speed and agility training. she needs to be in perfect condition. if anything bad were to happen, she cannot afford to be anything less than the best. by the time she's done, the sun is nearly at its peak. perhaps it is time to call it quits. the sunlight feels warm on her back, appealing to her feline instincts to recharge beneath the gentle rays. after taking the time to seek out the perfect tree branch with access to sunlight, mel stretches out and shuts her eyes. it's naptime, so hopefully no one bothers her.