Incline 36: Student Omb

"Again, I would like to speak to you about something..." Nin said impatiently as we walked towards a nearby stream. Frankly, I was amazed I was even able to get them to budge. But, I could sense people were following. Malicious as they were, they seemed to be willing to stick to their word.

"And you can speak to me all about it as we fish." I tell him firmly, yet, hopefully, not too provocatively. I overheard Einervaene's confused crying, what Nin did was cruel. But, when he had that much anger in him, it came as no surprise. And it should come to him with no surprise that I was unwilling to forgive such actions.

However, now was not the time. It was inconceivably better to wait until either Larishazza came back. Or, enough time had passed for this all to die down a little. Until then, however, we fish.

"Why're you taking me fishing anyway...?" he soon asks before I stop him from throwing away his gloves. It was a fresh pair, but, I tore them slightly to better fit his hands.

"Get your mind focused on something else." I tell him plainly and that was all there was to it. We had tried to easy way buy having that sit down with him. But it was clear that he needed regular guidance. A trait that was as admirable as it was frustrating to deal with.

I could honestly say, I loved how passionate he was about protecting Larishazza. However, I hated how enthralled he let himself become with his rage. He was not the only one who was angry. Yet, he was so unabashedly dismissive of everyone else's feelings.

Tiyanat was trying her hardest to get help that would not see us harmed. She was trying so very hard and it hurt my heart to see her this upset. Normally, like the ice I helped her use, she was cool-headed. So long as her upbeat sister was not involved.

Yet, now, she was melting down to such an extent that her old self had simply evaporated. I was desperate to see it all go back to normal. But, this was not a situation we could simply charge at. This wasn't the Inter-House nor some skirmish back home, beneath the continents.

We were dealing with a criminal within a city. A very powerful city at that. Our attempts would make us more enemies than they would get rid of. We had to try and put our faith in others for now...

"This is stupid, it's a waste of energy." Nin scornfully comments as his arm suddenly flattens a fish.

I shake my head and try to alleviate the mood, "No, like this." I joke. Catching a legged fish of decent size as it tried to hop over me. However, I quickly threw it away once those legs of its started to flail wildly.

I laughed it off, but, Nin was not amused. I made sure he left the mask and that at the dormitory. It was the best way to keep an eye on his gaze after all. The gateways into his soul were crucial to my efforts...

If he could see mine and I his, we could speak more frankly. He would have nowhere to hide. And, if it came to it, I would stand before him as he let it out. Unlike the others, I knew I could hold my own.

I stared down a great warrior recently, Nin was not that great warrior. He may have been a friend, a good friend to our mutual good friend... But, he still had a lot to learn. And this anger showed it off quite a bit...

"So, try and catch a big one, like that." I tell him as I try to keep the topic off of Larishazza. Maybe I could frustrate him into going along with it? I've seen Tiyanat do the same to Larishazza, after all. Then again, Nin was not her...

"I'm not going to waste my time doing this!" he nearly shouts as his sharp finger swings at where he left his gloves.

"Then what are you going to do? You need something to put that anger into. People are already hurting because of it." I tell him, making sure he knew full well that my tone was severe.

"AND LARISHAZZA IS ACTUALLY HURTING!" he roared as he got right up into my face. And, I looked away and then down. Not because I was actually nervous, but because I knew he should back away if I did. Thankfully, my prediction came true.

"And making it harder on your frien-"

"Friends!? Please, that shit Einervaene has made it abundantly clear that she wanted this to happen to her!"

"That's not true." I correct with a glare. That was a very dangerous claim for him to make. He was actively making enemies of his friends...? It was inconceivably horrifying.

"Then why does she refuse to help!? Why is she so insistent that I do not risk my life for Larishazza when she did the same for me!? She's a hypocrite!"

"She's not a hypocrite, she just cares about you deeply."

"Not a hypocrite...? ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING, OMB!? OR HAS ALL THAT FAT GONE INTO YOUR EARS INSTEAD!?" he shouts as his anger comes back to the forefront. And, were it not for me repositioning my legs, he might've shoved me to the ground. For his sake, I could not make it look like he had the upper hand.

"Einervaene saved your life under far different conditions. There was no government to make you public enemy number one! There was only that beast!" I remind him as I started to push back against him. However, I was regretting my actions as I was playing into his anger. So I backed down and sat down.

"Why're you all so insistent on leaving Larishazza alone like this...? She needs our help!" he said to me with desperate pleading. And, I hid my faced and sighed.

"I know she does."

"Then why, as her friend, do you do nothing!" he spits. Then, in the heat of the moment, I punched him away with a flaming fist.

"IT IS BECAUSE I AM HER FRIEND THAT I AM TRYING TO KEEP YOU AROUND FOR HER!" I roar down to him as he clutched his burning flesh.

"Bastard..." he lowly growls before he surges to his feet. Yet, I brought him down again and cooled his wound in the water. I let him flail and struggle in my grip. But, I did not let him leave my side and I kept him wrapped up in my right arm.

"Nin, you need to stop this." I tell him with a shaky, uncertain calmness. I had already failed to keep my cool. That blow I delivered might've just sealed his choice. I would have to live with that mistake should the worst come to pass...

"Stop what? Worrying for my friend? Caring for her? Wanting to pay her back for all she has done for me!?" he nearly screams, but, instead, he drove himself to tears.

"It is because you care for her that you should stop this. She wants to see you when she comes back, don't disappoint her." I tell him with a gentle nudge.

"And what if she doesn't...?" he asks quite rightly as his hands dug into the earth. Even with our magic being sapped away, he was still able to crush the brittle pieces of rock.

"She will, Larishazza is a strong girl. A tough one, she might be always smiling and dancing, but she can keep on rising." nudging him a little more until I saw the faintest sign of a smile.

"Yeah... She probably did better than me in the Inter-House..." he reminisces.

"You didn't do bad yourself, beat one of Exceptional House's best fighters."

"With a handicap..."

"Doesn't matter, you still won."

"I mean, me winning that doesn't mean much when we look at how Vapooliar ruined us all..."

"Yeah, we all fought as one, and we fell as one." I tell him with a smile. I liked that even if it was painful indeed. We were all there, all giving it our best even if it meant our loss.

"Obviously, you lot all got wiped out one after the other." he jokes rather tiredly.

"We still lost together." I point out one more time before I got up to my feet. We had fishing to get back to after all.

"So... What kind of fish are around here...?"

"I dunno." I say with a shrug.

"You bring me out here to fish and you have no idea what we are going to find?"

"That makes it more entertaining, no?" I ask just in time for something to slap me in the face as it jumped by.

"He-" he began to laugh quietly before something larger tripped him up. With the help of his large body, though, I was able to kick a few fish out the water. Some, however, just hopped back in with those legs of theirs. Some even revealed wings as they glided off into the distance.

"Have you ever tried to fly?" I then ask him, seeing these fish having put the topic in my head.

"I... Did something with Lari at the party..." he answers quietly.

"So that is what you two were doing in the distance!" I exclaim as I had finally figured out what they were doing. After the couple's dance, they disappeared into the distance. I could sense Larishazza's magic. But I could not figure out what was happening.

"Yeah... Lari was distracted by something so she suddenly wanted to show me this new spell of hers." he explains before he slams a fist into the water. But, he quickly rises and does something with the falling droplets.

"I don't...?"

"She was basically jumping over and over."

I smile, "That sounds like her alright."

We then both sit down for a moment, "What about you, then? Any new spells?" I decided to ask him. I personally have not seen a new spell come about for a while. That might've been due to how I was building up magic, though.

Building up all that power but not really using it.

He shakes his head, however, "Haven't been able to focus on it." he comments before he shows me what he last developed. It was very tame compared to normal, but it was still interesting to see. Fire that did not burn at all. Fire that was made of pure magic...

"In the future, you know, when you and Larishazza are happy together. You might want to consider making sure you have plenty of spells to protect her with."

"Happy together...?" he questions with a sudden switch in his behaviour. The way those mandibles of his moved, they were suddenly excited.

"Oh, would you look at that?" I point out with a snicker. The idea of such a relationship was there. But this very much confirmed that it was an actual thing.

"Are you disappointed I have my eyes on her, then?" he asks as he tries to brush my jabs off with humour.

"Hm, no. Very much a no. I got a sweetheart elsewhere."

"Tiyanat?"

"Hah, no." I tell him, much to his surprise. Frankly, everyone would probably be surprised if they found out. Me and Tiyanat did get on quite well, after all. And, with my actual body revealed, it was understandable how she might...

"So how do I use this...?" Nin eventually asks as he tries to use a fishing rod I got.

"That is a good question to ask..." I say as I try to figure out how his hands could work with this. They were not really the tool using type...

"Well, these gloves are already broken, so why not break the string off and put it on a branch?" he points out before I snatch the rod into my hands.

"No, I paid good money for this, I am not breaking it." I sternly tell him before I get to fishing. He seemed content to watch, however.