26.

Elai's pov

“So, Arlon’s moves are much more practical when you have something to steer, like fire or water. Our moves need to be more.. rough. Less.. like a dancer.” Connie seems to be joking around, considering Arlon leans back against the wall with a loud chuckle.
“So when Arlon does this-“ Connie tries his hardest to duplicate the move Arlon makes when he begins to wield, and I now get why Arlon laughed. Connie looks stiff and odd when he does it, while Arlon looked graceful and precise. “Do it yourself if I’m so funny!” Connie raises his arms and watches Arlon walk forward, moves following without saying another word. He doesn’t stop, and I can easily tell it is to tease Connie. “Arlon! I’m trying to be serious. Just do the one move you always do when you begin. You know.. the-“ Connie reenacts the move once more, and this time it makes me laugh too. Arlon obeys his friend, luckily, grin still on his face. it mesmerizes me just as much as it did the first time I saw him do it. The fire doesn’t seem dangerous once it comes out of his hand. He plays it so well that it looks harmless, it looks kind. He makes a weapon seem like a toy. It is beautiful.
“Now that would not work with a death gaze, considering we don’t have an element that.. shoots out of our body.” Connie is bad with words, but I get where he’s coming from. “So instead of that- we do this.” Connie’s move isn’t much different from what Arlon did. The limbs are stiffer and rougher, and Connie’s feet stay firmly onto the ground. He isn’t making it a dance; he actually looks like he’s fighting. I let out a huff. Man, I wish I was able to wield fire. I do not have a body to look.. cool like that.
“See the difference?” Connie raises his eyebrows at me, and for a moment we smile at each other. It is nice.
“Yeah. We are supposed to move like stiffened brooms while Arlon makes the battle field his stage. Great!”
Connie rolls his eyes at my remark. “Alright, whiner. Now remember, you’ve got two hands and two eyes to play with. Which means you have to focus on both enemies and the things around you. One hand fights, the other carries.” Connie nods at Arlon, and the king quickly summons his resistance in order for Connie to begin. His feet are quick but predictable, unlike his hands. They move slow but rough. One easily attacks Arlon, while the other focuses on bringing the small wooden knives up behind his back. I haven’t carried objects with my gaze yet, and oh do I wonder how it feels.
“See?”
“What about the eyes?”
“Greedy. Let us focus on our hands.” It was a snarl. He obviously does not want me to learn about the eyes. It is clear, and it is alright. Suspicion is dangerous, but also understandable. I am still not to be trusted, no matter how much they laugh in my presence. Connie stops moving, and I had not noticed that Arlon had positioned himself beside me. He helps me with the stance of my feet. He stops me from burying them underneath the mud and instead pushes them onto the surface. “You do not want the mud to be your greatest enemy when you walk.” He says it so calmly and defined. It could make me melt if I wanted it to. But I do not want it to, do I?
“Good. Now follow my moves. I will start slow.” Connie and Arlon both move beside me, but my eyes focus on Connie only. I can see the king enjoy his time beside me, while I try my hardest to keep up with his warrior friend.
“Too fast too fast!” I can’t keep up with what he is doing, and so Connie takes a step back before looking at me. At first I expect him to sigh, but he looks rather understanding.
He starts when I nod at him, this time his motions slow enough to follow. I am not as stiff in my movement as he is, but I am not as smooth as Arlon either. I am somewhere in between, and I truly hope it is enough. I pick the three stepped move up faster than I could’ve imagined, and I am soon easily swaying across the training field. Connie had stopped to take a look at my movements, arms crossed and brows furrowed, while Arlon is still moving beside me. He keeps doing the same moves as I am, and it almost feels like we’re dancing together. A smile slowly grows on my face, I can’t stop it. I feel free in this moment, free from who I was, who I am meant to be and what my purpose had become. I am just.. me. Just Elai. No Amias blood, no raging father and no hatred for the man I train next to. I can feel the sweat starting to form on my forehead when I stop moving, hands leaning down against my knees. “I have to say- you are much faster than I had thought.” Connie nods towards Arlon with his words pointed at me. I smile.
“It was only one move.”
“Do not expect there to be many moves. You eventually find a rhythm of your own, one that connects you with your death gaze. Trust me. Nothing to worry about.” His words are reassuring, yet I still worry. I want to be faster, I want to be able to do more.
Connie is a considered mentor, and I start to wonder who trained him. “Want to try it with your gaze, or want to learn another one first?” it is kind that I get to decide.
“I want to try it with my gaze! Oh can I do that? Can I?” The mere thought already gets me excited; this is a new step.
“We’re not gonna stop you.” Connie’s accent is extra thick when he chuckles while talking. It sounds pretty and I can’t help but smile when I get his approval. “Be careful with your surroundings. Don’t want to break someone’s leg.” Arlon jokes as he steps away from me, hands hiding behind his back. A trail of nerves covers my spine, but I stay unfazed; I want to do this. I start off doing the steps without my ability, my mind carefully searching the connection my neck has with my core. It is difficult to find it now that I am moving, but it doesn’t block me out. My will is stronger than my doubt, and soon enough my hand focuses on the barrels in the back of the training arena. They don’t falter at first, but when I take another step and focus my eyes on them, one of them burst into tiny little pieces. The sound startles me as a grin grows on my face. I did it. They break one after another, the sound mixing together with the chuckles of Arlon and Connie. “This isn’t so hard!” Everything I have been doing comes to me so easily, I wonder if I had gotten a blessing from the sun. Maybe she is rooting for me, or supporting me because of the supposed curse she first gave me. I want to thank her with a sacrifice, but it is forbidden to worship any god other than the moon in Turi. I can’t thank her unless I step over the border. But the border is dangerous, and Connie has his eyes on me.. always.
“You confuse me more every day, pretty boy. You tell us you don’t know anything, yet you pick it up in mere seconds.” Connie doesn’t sound like he’s being serious, but when I stop to turn around, he has his arms crossed and his eyes squinted. He looks at me like he knows what I am supposed to say, as if he knows I am wrapped in a web of lies.
Stupid thing is; this is the only thing I haven’t lied about. So what does he want me to do? what does he want me to say? I stand there, trying to figure out what to say to make him loosen up again. “I’ve got excellent teachers.” Maybe a compliment will do. My eyes travel to Arlon, who is nervously looking at his best friend, arms crossed as well. They seem to be in on the same thing yet they do not reveal what that thing is.
“Try to hurt me. Try to do anything that would make me reveal some kind of evolutionary strength. I dare you.” I spread my arms and raise my eyebrows at the warrior, who lets out a huff. “I wish you had a teacher for that attitude of yours, too.” He walks up to me without any hesitation in his eyes. I hold my breath when I feel my legs freeze; Connie has taken a hold of my bones with his gaze. His eyes do not look at them, neither do his hands move. He is a natural; he can wield it without the use of his limbs or eyes. It is frightening.