20.

It is too exciting, Elai can feel the rush through his entire body.
“Breathe through the feeling first. Make it your own. Try to.. detach it from your mind and eyes.” Arlon cannot find the words to explain it, but Elai knows what he means. He knows he has to be able to think of his ability as something that comes naturally, instead of keeping it attached to the mind.
“Do not mind my movements.” Arlon is careful, even though he knows he can resist Elai’s ability without thinking of it. The king takes out a few objects. From wood to metal; it is all important for the basics. He places them in front of Elai, who is quietly breathing in the feeling of the connection he has with his core.
“Transfer it to your hands only.” Arlon’s voice has gotten less stern.
“Let us not think of the eyes today.” Arlon smiles.
Elai would not dare. His eyes are what broke Mave’s arm. They are what got him exiled. He does not want to use them. Not now, at least.
“Can you do that for me?” Arlon’s voicer is smooth now.
Something inside of Elai’s stomach sparks. He does not want to acknowledge it, though.
“I can.” Elai can feel it rush up into his fingertips, and as soon as he looks at the wooden plank, it breaks. Little pieces of wood shatter into the mud, and Elai can’t help but chuckle. He could never forget how it felt the first time he broke something. It was amazing.
It feels even better, now.
“Good. Good job. The stronger the material, the harder it gets, though. So no cheering yet.”
Arlon sits down behind the objects with a soft smile on his face. There is no threat; Elai seems to handle himself just fine. The king has got to be honest; he thought he’d be a disaster.
The stone breaks when Elai focuses on it, and so does the metal. He does not seem to find it hard to deepen his concentration at all. It as if the prince had been lying about his inability to wield his own power. “This is fun!” But before Arlon’s suspicion can rise, he already gets where it comes from; Elai is simply filled with excitement.
When Eryx taught Arlon how to wield and fight, excitement is what got him through it. It made him determined and focused like no other. It is what made him such a good wielder.
“Now focus your eyes and hands on me.” Arlon says something that worries Elai; he can only think of Mave in this moment.
“What if I fuck it up?”
“I will know.”
“I don’t think I can do this.”
“Don’t think.”
Somehow, those words bring Elai to do it, anyways. His eyes look up at Arlon first, his hands following. He can still feel the power flow through his fingertips. At first it seems silly of the king to just trust Elai like that. But it becomes clear that it is more about how much he trusts himself, about how much he trusts his own resistance.
“You are still wielding, right?” Arlon crosses his arms and grins up at Elai. the prince wants to roll his eyes at the cockiness first, but he does not want to disrespect him in this moment.
“Yes.”
“I can feel it. try to lessen it bit by bit.” It slowly starts to sound logical, and Elai obeys without second thoughts. He takes deep breaths as he tries to pull his ability down from his fingertips into his palms. It is the easiest part, and Arlon can feel it fade away from his body the more Elai pulls it back in.
“Your control is as simple as that. When you call it back, it comes back. Do not let it boss you around.” Arlon sounds so.. professional. It almost makes Elai feel jealous. Almost.
Elai eventually drops his arms; his concentration disappeared. He had done it. for the very first time, he was able to control it.
“Oh my- I did it- I actually-“ Elai has a bright smile on his face as he looks at his hands. Arlon was clear with every word he used; it was so easy to follow. The control is much simpler than Elai thought it would be. When you call it back, it comes back. And he was right; it came back.
“See how easy control is? As long as you drop your fear, it has no power over you. You are its master.” Arlon startles Elai; the king had stood up and walked up to him. Elai can’t stop himself; he has to embrace the king. It is the rush of relief and excitement that forces him to.
Elai can feel the king stiffen in his embrace, yet he does not let go. He needs to hug him for just a little longer.
“I did not think I could ever get past this part.”
Arlon does not answer; he is still as frozen as he can be.
His mind if thinking about things he wants to avoid now that he’s being held like this. Connie’s hugs do not do this to him, neither do Cesilia’s. so what is so special about Elai’s hugs? Is it because he has long, blonde hair like Eryx did? Or is it because he just needed to be hugged by a person that had not embraced him before? Is he going to cry?
“You are not past it yet. This was your first time controlling it. Now comes the second time, and the third, and the million times after that.” Arlon is not an optimist.
Elai pulls back from the one-sided embrace with a sulking face.
“Well aright, grump. I will not celebrate my little victory.”
“I did not mean to-“
“It was a joke, heh.” Elai pokes Arlon’s arm with his finger and for some reason winks up at the king. It makes Arlon chuckle. He can luckily feel the memories of Eryx slip away again. Elai is nothing like him. Nothing. “How many times do you think it will take before I can control it without concentration?” Elai asks a question anyone would. He is desperate to finish his training and be an actual Death Gazer. Arlon gets it.
“It depends on how well you deal with it.” He just can’t give a better answer than that.
It seems to be the perfect answer in Elai’s eyes, though; his eyes are filled with sparks.
“Alright, so let me try again! And again! And a million times more after that!” The boy is.. adorable. Arlon can’t stand it.