A day later...
Taiga was the first up sneaking out of her and Aaron's hut. She had her sword on her hip and just finished pulling on her jacket when she saw Rin sitting on the cliff's edge.
"You're up early." Rin joked
"Well I never liked to sleep. Dreams I don't like." Taiga said looking away
"But what is it you are really doing up?" He asked her now as she stopped to think
"Ever since my parents passed away, I haven't done much with my life. Until I found Aaron stumbling around in the alleyways delirious. Things haven't been the same, dreams I don't remember, like nothing makes." Taiga's finally explained being upfront with Rin
"Well I can't give you a path." He said standing as she now looked annoyed "Destiny has already chosen something for you. But I can more than show you how to fight properly. Far better than that brute of a Kushan could." He added now approaching her as he looked down at her seriously
"Ohhh? So that's what Tigress was talking about. She mentioned you'd kill her if you saw her." Taiga said remembering now though Rin was unamused
"My clan and her clan have never gotten along. And she will push my buttons if she had her way, get me to fight her. But she has the decency to respect my wishes and the times being what they are." Rin explained flatly
He took off his false arm and let it fall to the ground before drawing his sword. Taiga was the most confused but slowly drew her own sword now.
"To wield a sword, a warrior needs both hands. Those that have dishonored themselves are marked by their missing fingers, or empty sleeves." Rin explained as he held his sword at the ready
Taiga was wide eyed now. She couldn't imagine what he did that was so bad that it constituted him to lose a whole limb.
"Now, attack me. And I will chip away the rough edges of your style." He said nodding for her to make her move
Taiga's was once again annoyed at his words. She raced forward slashing at him only to easily be blocked. He immediately dispatched and tripped her.
"Too slow. Move faster. This is not a dance." Rin said sternly as he was waiting for her to attack again
Standing up she readied herself and attacked again, her swings getting better but she was still too slow.
"Who taught you how to fight?" He asked flatly
"The royal academy sword instructors." Taiga said
"Of course. A style designed for dueling in formal exchanges. Your sword is not made for such engagements. It was originally designed by my ancestors after all." Rin said revealing the truth of her sword as she went wide eyed being tripped again
"You mean my father...?" She asked slowly
"I doubt it. More likely an heirloom passed down from the settlers. The design made more popular. But a true sword crafted stands the test of time. That sword has." Rin explained to her as he walked back to his starting position "Up on your feet. You wanted to learn. So I am going to teach you how I was." He added waiting for her
Taiga groaned in frustration as she stood again.
"I believe in you." Aaron said making her jump as he was just standing there his arms folded over his chest "You believed in me." He added simply
Taiga was for a moment lost but recalled now their time with Sam. She saw the way they battled on the water. He was a natural but Samantha more than manhandled him.
"Pay attention!" Rin said swinging at her as she instinctively blocked "Good. Your reflexes are not so dulled." He commented
With this she batted his blade away and began letting the blade flow controlling its movement with both hands as he had instructed. This went on until Xylia and the others woke finally and the day officially began...
They could all immediately sense it.
"My lord! We tried to stop her! But she insisted on speaking with you." A guard said rushing to Rin
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Xylia immediately looking at her, that same woman again. Akina...
At her side was a boy who looked strikingly similar to Taiga.
"Eugene?! What the hell are you doing here?!" Taiga said as he hugged her with tears spilling from his eyes
"Took a few extra days... but I'm back. I've got yours, no matter what." He assured as his sister held him confused
"Sorry to barge in, but the fool insisted." Akina apologized to Rin as he held Xylia close
"It's alright. Tell us what you can." Rin said as Xylia still had a look of fear seeing this woman
"How about over tea?" Akina suggested making Xylia reconsider for a moment
"Very well then..." Xylia whispered as they silently returned to the tent
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*three days earlier..*
Within a day of the attack the town was being cleaned up and repaired by the kingdom as the Princess herself had come out to make sure everything was looked after, though Rin and his clan had already begun their trek into the mountains...
The reports had all officially been filed. A dark mage of unknown origin attacked the town for reasons unknown, though through the valiant efforts of the Dawnsythe's leader, Rin Sayer and a group of freelance adventurers the mage was thwarted and fled.
The group of adventurers had since also disappeared having gone back to traveling by countryside as well.
The village of Misty had heard about the attacked and sent over workers and aid to help their neighbors. Samantha and Tanner leading the efforts, Akina also dedicating her time to helping the town's people also. As the three were busy working on the wall of the shop that exploded a boy was arguing with one of the royal knights.
"Guard! It's alright, let him pass. He's a friend of mine." Akina called over taking note of who it was
The guard begrudgingly let the boy pass as he hurried over panting hard.
"I got here as fast as I could. I swear to the gods! She always gets some wild idea when I'm away." He explained to Akina
"Eugene. Calm down. Explain it to me from the start." Akina said now making him sit down slowly as she locked eyes with him
Eugene took a deep breath let it out slowly.
"Okay... I was away trying to make some extra money in one of the guild towns. Just running some documents. I was only supposed to be gone a few days. That money would've finally cleared the last of our debts and allow Taiga to get back into the academy." Eugene explained sighing as he rubbing his forehead "I come home to find a note she was headed to Juni's hometown to find help for her new boyfriend, I rushed as fast I could, only to be delayed by an attack here. And she's still not here..." he now said spilling his guts as he was clearly frustrated by this whole situation
"Sometimes life throws us for such a loop that we need to take a step back from everything and everyone. Find what you are truly looking for." Akina explained
"I'm sure she did it just to piss me off." He sighed
"We cannot force our friends and loved ones to walk a path of our choosing." Akina said smoothly "But if you really want to find her I will take you to her." She added
He finally stopped as he looked on at her in pure shock.
"She's probably halfway up the mountains now. A good friend of mine took her and the boy up there. Juni and her Father's clan are there. Safe. But if you really think it wise, Rin will let you stay." She finished now
Eugene finally came to his senses and seemed to settle down at last.
"I need you to force my magic out." Eugene said as Akina's eyes now darted to him making both Sam and Tanner perk up at this
"Are you out of your mind boy?! You'll drive yourself insane!" Tanner said firmly
"I can't sit back any longer." Eugene defended
"Getting yourself killed won't protect your sister." Samantha warned him
"If that is what he desires. Then I cannot change his mind." Akina said still looking into Eugene's eyes
"I'm sure they're going to need me. I'm going to need my magic." Eugene clarified
"Then it's decided." Akina said standing as Sam and Tanner were immediately annoyed by this, not happy at all about this idea "After, we finish helping the townspeople. Sometimes we just have to take care of what's infront of us, the world has its own way of getting along." She added as she resumed working now
Eugene never was one to waste time, always the type to never stand for nonsense while preferring to get himself a big hurry for no reason. Often overthinking and over preparing only to miss one detail and his entire plan would cave in.
The day was spent finishing up the rebuilding efforts. Leaving Eugene time to reflect and think. The only thing his mind having been on was making sure his sister was safe and not hurt, to bring her home. She was all he had left for family, he wasn't sure what he would do if he lost her...
"Come along. We have a long night ahead of us." Akina said motioning for Eugene to follow her as she was headed for the forest now
"I never did understand this very much. Taiga was always better with magic." Eugene said his tone downtrodden as he settled on the ground
"I taught you both better than that. It was only both you and her's foolishness that squandered your gifts. Now here you are again. Trying to jump into a fire you have no idea if you'll come out of." Akina explained as she sat down herself and began a bonfire
"Nothing else matters. I just know I have to keep her safe. I can't lose her too." Eugene said again
"That's where your shortcomings start. You can't do that forever. You need to live too. You know one of my shops is always open if you need work so bad." She countered now "Don't be careless with life, but don't be too careful either. You cannot be afraid to lose something or part of yourself. That's how you gain the confidence to attack life when nothing seems to be going right, even when you don't think you have any control over anything..." she mused now as he stared into the fire
*Eugene became entranced by her words, seeing his life dancing in the shadows of the flames. A happy family in the capital, until they disappeared from the flames leaving the two children, one wanting the attention of the other, but the other too busy to see what mattered most.*
"So what do I do then..?" He asked sheepishly unable to accept the answer but needing to hear it
"You learn." She whispered as focused her aura on him as he could feel the himself catapulted deep into his soul...
He was back where he felt safest. A time where his magic first manifested, and place where he was happiest. His parents manor. Built in the capital and had fostered four generations by the time he and his sister were born. But there he sat on the steps with a book. The boy in a formal uniform. But he looked happy. He finally looked up as they had the same eyes. The final piece of this world. The reflection of the soul when one was happiest.
"You finally made it back." The boy said happily as he carefully set aside his book and walked up to Eugene hugging his waist
Eugene still thrown off by all this.
"I still can't tell if this is all in my head or this is really happening." Eugene said still in disbelief
"Well sure it's all in your head goofy. But who's to say this isn't real? You're the one who created it." The boy simply reminded him
Eugene now approached the house feeling it's walls and rails as a smile crept up on his lips. The sense of comfort and warmth he recalled from this place and time. Now it belonged to him and his sister.
"You know what you need to do." The boy said watching him
"But I'm afraid." He admitted
"Let go of what you fear most." The boy stated now "And live for yourself too." He added
Eugene could feel his heart beating hard in his chest. He could feel what he needed to do in his heart, but his mind would argue otherwise. He fought against this feeling as hard as he could, but could not stop it from taking root.
His eyes opened again, having clenched his fist unintentionally melting the ground, burning and shifting the dirt and rocks into a liquid state, a small pothole of lava just below his fist...
Akina smiled softly at this.
"Congratulations on surviving." She replied simply "That gives us a few days to dust off your skills." She added standing while cracking her knuckles and neck
"Cmon I don't have time to be wasting on training." Eugene demanded as he stood before immediately dodging a stream of lava that whizzed passed him as the ground shook violently
"Keep talking like that and I won't go easy." Akina said serious her eyes now trained on him "You asked me. So let's get to it." She added
Eugene sighed as he focused, feeling his aura building up. Akina smirked a little ready for him at any time. With this their battle of lava began...
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