Incline 39: Einervaene

"Aim for her tit!" Ayi-chira nearly shouted as she cheered Urtuoi-kischu on from the sides of the chamber. Her choice of words causing me to stop which in turn caused Urtuoi-kischu to collide with me. His controlled aura having given him the means to get an actual grasp on my lightning form that I had been working on a lot. Specifically in order to make it more modest but even then, I still looked naked.

And, well, Ayi-chira's choice of words had made me exceptionally embarrassed as there was indeed a hand near my... As she put it, tit. But, thankfully, Urtuoi-kischu could not bear to keep his hand near me as the lightning was causing him too much pain. Yet, that also made me feel bad as I guess I just did not like the idea of scaring him off.

"Can you not encourage that behaviour!?" I found myself saying to the Ibenorrocon as she laughed while the Nomad shook his head.

"Perhaps you should not be so exposed then?" he said as his eyes stayed focused on my opponent. Urtuoi-kischu who was once again idle as he thought on what to do.

"Ninno! What did I say!" Ayi-chira then said before a small water orb smacked into his face. The sudden halt to his train of thought causing him to snap his jaws in the direction of the blow. Only for him to then calm down when he properly registered the water. My normal body soon appearing once again as I decasted the spell.

"Well? Do you think you are getting better?" I asked the towering bug as I passed him over a bottle of water. My body moving back slightly when he tore off the lid and just dumped it all down his throat. A lot of it spilling out onto his overalls while he smacked his jaw over and over.

"Bit hard to tell, little too much hyper-lethal voltage flowing through me when I do it." he sarcastically restored before shaking his hand. A hand that soon passed on its excess static on to me which caused me jump slightly.

"How is it you are still hurt by shocks and that?" Ayi-chira asked me as she came close. A series of giggles locked behind her closed mouth.

"How is it you can still be drowned despite being able to flood an arena?" I then asked her as my body straightened out before I moved closer to her. A slight mixture of my jealousy towards her and general national rivalry driving me to do it. That same smile she always had on being what I had to put up with.

"You're both pretty now break it up." Urtuoi-kischu then commented as he passed by before grabbing me. And while he just wanted to get back to training, I was left with a red face. He had just called me pretty, he had just declared that he saw me as pretty!

"R-Right." I said in reply as I prepared to cast my spell again. My body quickly transmuting back into lightning that was contained entirely in my near-naked form. His own magic warping and moving about as we did a repeat of what we had been doing. We would start slowly, with him prodding at me before then bringing it up into a much faster pace.

Both to make sure he was able to maintain control of his internal-magic, his external-magic and his aura too. And like how it went last time, he was unable to tolerate the pain he felt when his hands touched me. A task he was finding increasingly easier as I was lost in some other thoughts while we did this. His sudden roar of pain bringing me out of these thoughts.

"Shit! Shit! Undwote go away!" he growled out as he bounced around the room while waving his hand about. Ayi-chira laughing did ease my worries a little, however, Urtuoi-kischu had not shown this kind of reaction before during our training.

"Are you alright!?" I asked as I went back to my normal form. A sudden pain in my heart happening when he tried to avoid my touch when I went over to see if he was alright.

"Oh, you're back to normal..." he pretty much panted out as he continued to make sharp breaths while whipping his hand about.

"Sorry!" I said to him as I saw how badly his hand had been burned by me. But, it was soon getting better as this place was the only place in Suhurlodst that actually had unrestricted healing. I did not understand why the healing in this place was so restricted. I only knew it was essentially treated as a commodity and as a means to control.

"Do you even know how strong your voltage is!?" he asked me in a rather high-pitched tone, clearly shocked by how potent my magic is. And well, he was also shocked.

"I... I never found out, no... I just assume it is as powerful as lightning..." I mumbled in embarrassment as I rub a high-heel boot along the floor.

"Alright, alright. That's enough for today... Enough indeed." he then said before he began to walk away. Something that provoked me into following him so I could carry on speaking to him.

"Are you sure? Your exam is tomorrow. Are you sure you don't want to get everything ready? To make sure you are ready?" my fingers coming together as I asked this. I was very worried for him, he had been going nonstop this past week and now he just wanted to stop? It seemed a bit sudden.

"Einervaene, look at the clock." he then told me, and, I listened. I went and looked at the clock before looking back at him with a nervous chuckle as it seems like he did indeed have a point regarding it. It was nighttime now, we'd be having to go to sleep soon as it was an early start.

A quiet and brief laugh leaving me before I spoke again, "We really have been going at it for a while, haven't we?"

"Indeed. And, like you said, Execution Day is tomorrow." he said with a grim chuckle before he sighed long and hard.

"Urtuoi... Nin... We're going to get you through this, okay? I'll help you here and hopefully, you can pay me back later." I said with a smile as I remembered our prior talks regarding how I got here. How I ended up deciding on coming to this land and all that.

"Pay you back? Lari is doing it unconditionally." he said with a grin which caused me to pout.

"I don't care what that slime-covered desert stick does." I mumbled grumpily.

"You two don't get along, huh?" Urtuoi-kischu then asked me quietly after he moved a little closer.

I sighed before answering, "No, I get along fine with her... It's just..." I began to say before a hand touched my head. One touching his too.

"And under the gaze of the Equilibrium, First Amongst All. We declare that Motrtha shall come into your life this night!" Ayi-chira recited while giggling before she forced my head closer to Urtuoi's. And while I ended up slipping down and landing against his body, he had locked up when Ayi-chira did that. My face burning all the while as I knew what those words were. They were part of a marriage ceremony!

A marriage ceremony!

"Do you mind, Lari?" Urtuoi-kischu then asked of Ayi-chira as he took me off of him and got up. A giggling Ibenorroccon running about as she was chased after by the one who made my heart feel strange. And well, while I had some time to myself, I found myself getting up and leaving the chamber. A sullen expression developing before I left the building entirely, soon heading onwards towards the on-campus temple.

A tender grip from me forcing the door to the temple open once I arrived there. Silence greeted me, however, as it was entirely empty and devoid of caretakers and people expressing their faith. And once I was done staring uncomfortably at the large section dedicated to the fourteen moons, I moved. Going straight over to the Goddess of Mothers, the one who seemed to be connected to my feelings for Nin...

I may have not had much time with it, but, coming here every now and then has made me realise something. The runes and writing on that bracelet of his are most certainly ones that belong to this goddess. And there was most definitely strong magic internalised within that bracelet! Yet, it was a little pointless in a way to be here.

I could not exactly speak to the goddess of note to seek clarification. To get an answer as to why my heart fluttered as of late when I was near Nin, more so when he had that bracelet on. So, instead, I just intently stared at that statue of the Goddess of Mothers, the one who comforted a newborn Thunder. And then, I put my hand on the statue's face, cupping its cheek shortly after.

"Do I actually... Do I actually..." I began to say before I found myself being stumped over and over again whenever I tried to speak it aloud. I had known him for what must have easily been more than or close to a year... I have known of women older than me falling for men in a shorter period of time... Yet, I was just not sure if this is what I thought it was.

Rossie-chira had clearly already shown a major investment with Nin on a personal level. And he in turn had shown a great amount of interest in Ayi-chira. An interest that didn't seem to going anywhere soon. Yet, in my confusion, I found myself getting frustrated.

"There is nothing that condemns more than one wife or concubine, here or back home... So why is this so frustrating to think about?" I muttered before putting a set of spread out fingers onto my face. And then, I stepped back a little as I swear I just saw that statue develop a smile before giggles left it. Perplexion spreading about my features before I just shook my head and moved to leave.

"Keep going at it, he'll notice." a voice then clearly said to me as if it was right next to me. A frightened jump being my response before I then smacked the wall before getting stuck in a gap.

"Who... Who is there!?" I then demanded to know, trying my best to sound intimidating before I then saw a ghostly image. An image of my... Mother!? Why was I seeing an image of my mother!?

Pregnant no less!?

"No... Is that...?" I then found myself saying in disbelief as I finally got up again, the image becoming much clearer somehow. It was not my mother, it was a much older me! How I ended up figuring this out was rather simple as a mirage of Nin in his old outfit was now holding this woman. This future version of me was being held lovingly by Nin and she was also clearly pregnant!

And then it just disappeared, yet, I was not disappointed to see it go. I was just filled with joy and happiness as my bare belly was rubbed by my gloved hands. Me and Nin together with me clearly in the attire of a Ruling-Lady as they might get called here in this land. That is what I saw, I saw a future where my efforts proved true and these feelings of mine were made clear.

"Now if only I had the confidence to actually admit it." I then joked, proverbially cutting my wrist with that comment as it admitted my greatest problem right now. I just could not bring myself to think of it as or to call it what I clearly saw. That being love. I just could not do it, there was just something that bothered me and it wasn't Nin not being human.

"Don't you be going anywhere now." I then remarked to the statue before leaving the temple. Those giggles once again being heard before I got out of the building, a small smile on my face before I went away from the building. My intentions clear as I moved with haste to our dorm so I could hopefully speak to Nin some more.

And, hopefully, maybe... And this was embarrassing me a little... Hopefully, I would be able to find an excuse or reason to sleep in his bed again. As, while it was an embarrassing one for me, my first night with him and Rossie-chira was a fond memory.

Somehow.

I guess it had to do with that bracelet of his yet at the same time, I must have just been really happy to be in kind arms again. Having just gotten off of yet another ship and other forms of travel as getting here was so exhausting... That night was bliss once I was done being harmed by my own magic, it was. To just not have to worry about all the worries my travels put on me.

He even made me like the idea of travelling again as his companionship made it much more tolerable. Even Rossie-chira helped with that, actually, and Baltanthan too! Even if Rossie-chira often displayed intense jealousy when I was near Nin and even with her threats. Baltanthan was the same, those threats he liked to make and his seemingly never upbeat mood.

Despite it all, I enjoyed travelling with those two. And I hoped dearly I would get to travel with them more. Hopefully to my homeland too! So, as Nin came back into my sights as I got closer to the training building again; I just smiled.