Nyxara
Letting go of my combat barrier, I pause for a moment to settle before reaching for the faint harmony I previously ignored. Cupping my hands before me, I let the note rise in my throat, low and steady. The harmony grew stronger as I perceived another, softer vibration threading beneath the first note.
Not a second pitch, but something felt more than heard. The air trembled as if a piano cord had been pressed by my finger tips. My hum deepened, and from my intent, words of essence manifested in harmony from my lips. "Thesh'kar T'alek… Vel'an Vel (Shield the mind… anchor the soul.)" A barely manifested ripple of energy draped around my body. It resembled a hooded cloak of shimmering starlight energy instead of a body suit like Lux's example.
Lux grinned with an impressed expression. "Good. Now again—without the hand motions. Others will hear the Vel'Sharii but won't necessarily connect what your intent is because the words could mean different things to different people." I prepared to re-craft my shield when suddenly Lux struck.
His fist came fast, but I barely crafted a combat barrier in time. Right when I thought that was the complete test, a siren went off in my head. I crafted a personal shield quickly and my mind was once again tranquil. Neither shield was perfect. Nor clean. But they were solid. Created from willpower more than essence technique.
"Not bad, little wolf. You'll get faster and better at your crafting" he told me. "Once you get crafting of your combat and personal barriers to the point of being instinctive and reflexive, you can then work on crafting long term passive wards for both physical and mental protection from your tertiary core in your crown/head area. This will be harder to do but will be beneficial in freeing up your other two cores for other crafting." While Lux gave me feedback, he backed off some distance, so I dropped my barriers.
This was the wrong move. In a blink, Lux disappeared from sight. I searched for him, but before I could move from my spot, a sharp whistle burst from behind me. I turned too late. A small pebble hit my hip.
"Damn it, Lux. That shit hurts." I flinched, rubbing my hip. Another pebble hit my shoulder triggering me to scream in annoyance. "This isn't funny, Lux. Stop throwing rocks at me. What does this have to do with my training?" The pebbles' sting lingered like a wasp bite, sharp enough to make my hip and shoulder throb. He got me off balance so quickly. What do I do in this open field? There is nowhere to hide. I'm twisting and turning, dodging pebbles that keep coming from my blind spots.
"This isn't a class at your academy, Little Wolf," Lux's voice came from right behind, but when I turned, he was not there. No matter how fast I moved, I could not catch a glimpse of him. "You're training in the real world now. People cheat. There is a method to the madness. I'm not throwing stones at you for shits and giggles. Oh, and no cussing. It isn't ladylike."
He stepped forward out of thin air. I was giving him an unamused expression with a snort. "You can take that shitty opinion and shove it up your ass. I will say whatever I want, however I want." I crossed my arms, while I started walking backwards towards the bench for my water bottle, only to realize I wasn't moving—Lux was stepping on my foot.
"We aren't done yet. Stay there, and I'll get your water bottle." Glaring at his back, I rub my aching body. He returns with my water bottle quickly. While I sip my water, he stared at me. Not a hint of impatience, yet I feel pressured to finish my water break. When I hand my water bottle back to him, he accepts it with a nod, then places his hands behind his back.
"You got thrown off balance. You could have protected yourself with a barrier at any time, but instead, you reacted as if I was simply bullying you. Why? You arrived ready to begin reforging yourself into the woman the enclave has always known you could be. Not the weakest of us." He circles me with an assessing eye.
His words are cold, but I can barely scent his concern and hope for me. This isn't the sudden prodigy scenario I was hoping for. I try to hold back the tears that begin to well up. I bow my head to look at the ground with blurry vision. He is disappointed in me. He called me a savant just two nights ago, and I'm proving I'm weak the first chance I get to impress him.
I didn't sense his approach. Gently, he raises my face to meet his eyes. "This is not the time for tears. We have work to do and little time to do it all. I am not disappointed in you. I'm giving you feedback. You are Ajei. Stand with pride and listen unafraid. This is barely an inconvenience. You know you can and will do better. I don't doubt you. I'm reshaping you." He flicked my forehead, making me wince. The sting of his flick hadn't even faded before his loud kiss replaced it with embarrassing warmth.
"We didn't guide you as we should have in the past. We will not make that mistake again. You don't have to breathe battle like Keir. Neither Aspen nor I do. Yet, we are an enclave of warriors. Being unable to survive and fight well is not acceptable. Not anymore." His gaze seems to see past all my defenses to my soul.
"The you who stands before me now wouldn't accept being considered the weakest Ajei. I see it in your eyes, words, and movements. We want what you want. You want to be the best. So we will push you to be the best if that is your desire."
His wolf is looking at me through his eyes. Assessing me. Does he think I'm as worthy of this effort as Lux does? I stare, caught in his hypnotic gaze. Lux flicks my forehead again, making me blink. "I will be mentioning to the others that you seem unusually susceptible to an alpha's gaze and presence. We will have to get you desensitized. Are you ready to continue?" Taking a few steps back, I jump in place, shake my limbs out, then give him a nod.
"Good. You didn't think. You didn't try to think. Even without putting up a barrier, you could have attempted retaliation. There are rocks on the ground all around you. Why? Your senses are stronger now, aren't they?" I hesitated to respond.
Hell yeah, they are better than before, but I don't have a clue if Grey's senses were as weak as mine were without context. Is he even really asking me a question right now? He might just be being rhetorical. So I shrug noncommittally.
"Don't lie. What can you smell?" I closed my eyes and sniffed. "The grass. The trees. A distant whiff of…bodies training," I muttered, impressed my sense of smell was that strong. There was no one else outside, so I had to be scenting the people training in the building nearby.
He grinned. "See? You just filtered three layers of scent. Now do it with sound. Listen." The breeze. A shifting leaf. A cricket chirp three meters away. A heartbeat—Lux's—near my left side. What is he up to? His heartbeat drifted closer, then away, again and again. "What do you hear, Little Wolf?"
Essence surged nearby before I could respond verbally. Instead I craft a barrier and duck. Opening my eyes, I find my brother completing a kick to where my head had just been. His grin only widened. With a laugh, he announced, "Better!"
"Would you stop with all the sneak attacks! What if I hadn't ducked? Would I still have a head?" I tackled my brother, taking him by surprise. He just laughed then pulled me into a hug. "Who is doing sneak attacks now?"
His relief is so evident, I had to ask the question burning in my mind. So I tickled him until he let go, then slid beside him to really see his face. "Why are you so happy and relieved?" Lux sat up, ruffling my hair, his smile faint but not as carefree. "Before your rebirth, you had let all your training and discipline go. You used artifacts for what you could once do naturally. It was honestly a bit of a nightmare to watch you throw away our legacy like that." He spoke quietly, but there was a hitch to it that I wasn't expecting.
His shoulders relaxed like he was letting go of a secret held close for years. He swallowed while looking away, fingers fidgeting with a stone bracelet, and I realized this wasn't a jab—this was something he'd been dealing with in silence. Watching Grey throw away the legacy he took pride in hadn't just disappointed him. It had hurt him. I took his hand grasping it tightly. Giving him the only comfort I had to give in this moment.
"While I am still getting to know the woman I am now, one thing I do know is that I will not hurt you or our Tharym like that again. I don't know why I did what I did before but that isn't who I am now. I will prove this to myself and everyone. I may not end up being the strongest but I certainly won't be considered the weakest." I looked away pretending I didn't see him wiping some tears away. He squeezed my hand back before standing up. He pulled me up before I even realized I was standing. Well that is disorienting.
"Then let's get back to work. We have a little under an hour before it's time for you to head over to Aspen." He was back in instructor mode like we hadn't just had a moment but his faint blush betrayed his mask. It's okay, his blush is all the reward I need for this bonding moment. He can be so adorable sometimes.