Want and Will

Talis watched the mesmerizing beings with round eyes and mixture of fear and awe. She had pictured another green skinned individual like Nimara, but found he was drastically different. He had a deep skin that moved with luminescence in the patterns of woodgrain and bark. Formal attire in luxurious fabrics hung in neat layers of deep blue and sand from a well muscled, thick body. On a regal face with a sharp nose and luscious lips, two large eyes swirled like liquid metal. A thick crown of well maintained locs decorated in silver beads and charms cascade across his shoulders and down his back. The tip of long ears looped with cuffs and rings remained unmoving and proud, just slightly held back.

Even as his warform began to play across his features, there remained an addictive nature to his image. Irises blown out, his entire eyes silver pools as deep purple veins withered across the planes of his face. His voice slipped into the air from between sharp teeth like smooth thunder on the distant horizon.

There was an unnatural and ethereal beauty to the beings with their large starry eyes and a glowing shiny appearance. Even Nimara, who Talis didn't like, had an eye-catching grandeur.

She picked herself up, attention glued to them.

Their bodies were nearly pressed together as he gripped her face. Nimara grabbed his wrist but she made no move to attack him. She hissed, face twisted, eyes rolling across the field looking for something. Someone. "What if I don't play along with your stupid plan? I don't see Delta anywhere right now."

Thus far Talis witnessed the royal fae as formal, polite, and to the point. She had also learned, through the actions of the argumentative assassin, that he was domineeringly assertive. He stood threateningly close, unfazed, wielding the entitlement and authority only a prince could.

"I told you not to be a fool." He threw her face back and she stumbled. "If you are truly prepared for your next cycle you can try your luck." A long blade, white and dual edged, ringing like breaking crystal, snapped into existence with a wave of his fingers, He grasped its hilt yet kept it held down loosely at his side. "You may try to kill me here– if you think you could kill a man face to face for once, assassin. However, whether I die or not, there is nowhere you can hide from Delta."

…"And if I kill that bastard first?"

A vapid smirk rose on his face as he shook his head. "Do you think the man really wouldn't be full of knives by now if he hadn't thought of such possibilities." He scoffed. "All his magic and everything and everyone he's put it into is set to explode upon his demise. You'd be destroying more than just he and yourself."

The green fae's scowl softened a little. Uncertainty entering her eyes.

"You will not have the upper hand here, Nimara. I suggest you find your good behavior. After all, it's a rather soft punishment for your crimes, considering what I'm sure you've heard the imperial court does to its criminals." The sword in his hand dissipated into a shimmering mist. "Do we have an understanding?"

Talis swallowed thickly, so close to the two that she could feel the waves of their charged energy mingling across her skin. It's raw power soaked into her in intoxicating little pulses.

A brief moment of contemplation, everyone holding their breaths with eyes trained on the trio, and Nimaras shoulder slumped. Some of the tension in the air dissipated. "I understand." She muttered angrily under her breath.

"Good." Yuen said with a stiff nod then made his way back over to Talis, features relaxing, morphing into their softer counterpart. His eyes roamed over her. "Are you alright?"

Talis nodded, breathless as he neared, and held up the staff. "I didn't drop it that time."

"Very good," He commended. Already back to his soft and deep tones. "Do you see how adjusting the way you stand helps?" He moved on so fast from the tension of his confrontation with Nimara. Reclaiming the air around them and filling it with his typical level confidence.

She nodded again and his hands slipped over hers where she held the staff. Touching the being was like grabbing hold of a raw plasma crystal; zaps, tingles, and sparks tunneled through her veins. Whispers of what lived beneath his skin. A little mental effort and she was dimming its flow, protecting herself from its charge and offering more room to breathe– space to think with his direct contact. She followed his lead as he lowered the staff and used his foot to spread hers the appropriate distance.

"This time straighten your back and bend your knees."

Talis straightened up, drawing back her shoulders and bent her knees.

"Bend them a little more." She listened and he took a step back to inspect, his hand leaving hers. "Very good." He hummed and then grabbed the center of the weapon. "I don't want you to worry about using any magic. For now I am just going to push. Don't let me knock you over." She nodded. "One, two-"

Talis' grip on the staff tightened as he started to exert force. Her back began to bend and her legs hardened, calves swelling as her feet balanced her and she leaned forward. Her arms wobbled as he pushed harder, feet sliding back as she bent her knees more to fight the force.

"You're holding your breath, remember to breathe."

Two deep inhales and exhales provided a little more energy and stability as he increased his force. He was easily taking a step forward, as she slid back. Her elbows began to shake and her legs were starting to cramp as she strained against him. Deep breaths cycling through her lungs provided momentary bursts of power.

"Keep going." The fae prince encouraged, barely expending any effort.

A few more seconds and her arms were collapsing, knees buckling from the pressure. Yuen caught her forearms before she could fall, held her upright just long enough for her to find her feet again. "Alright, now tell me what muscles worked the hardest to hold you up?"

Talis breathed in and out heavily, a little sweat accumulating on her forehead. "My calves, my thighs, and like, all the muscles in my arms."

Yuen observed her thin arms with a nod. "I noticed they were shaking pretty hard. You need to bulk up. Fighting, whether it's with a sword or with magic, requires strength." He stayed facing Talis as his head turned a little to the side, a sharp gaze rolling back to Nimara. "Create a training regime to help her build muscles. Once she's got some agility and strength, move on to tactical and offensive cultivations."

He pulled on the staff she still held. "May I?"

"Oh, of course." Talis released it.

He ran a hand along its surface as he inspected its grain and gnarls, twisting the rings the wood had been patiently trained and grown through. "I do not think this weapon is compatible with you."

"It isn't." Mikhail finally spoke from the side, with steady cat-like amused interest. He and the demon had watched the whole ordeal with that look and only spoke up now. "An Eenoan staff is crafted to suit its owner best. That ones is a moon dead and as the remnants of his spirit fade from the world it will lose its vitality."

"Why didn't you say that earlier?!" Scoffed Nimara, sounding insulted.

The Maaroi shrugged. "It still has value for the time being."

Yuen held the staff out to Mikhail. "Care to demonstrate? I am not in tune with the frequencies of material magic, so it's hard for me to read it."

Mikhail shook his head, holding up his hands. "Unfortunately not. The nature of my power is very different from the common cultivations you see." His dark magic was chaotic and volatile, unknown and untamed in its clash with other types of energy. It was one of the few magics funneled through the skin, "If I touch it it may shred itself to pieces."

Yuen looked at the other humans, with a raised eyebrow. Idoni shook her head. Amelia replied with disappointment, "I can't use any magic," and the elderly medicine woman scanned everyone before she exasperated, "Well good gods give me the damn thing."

She shoved her cane into Idoni's side as she passed. "Where's your inquisitive spirit, girl? A mentor expects better from their student." She scolded, as she approached the fae. "How can I expect you to teach Talis if you are not willing to explore her interests? I tolerated and encouraged so many of your bizarre experiments and silly ideas. And I've watched you advance so many of my own teachings because of it."

Yuen met the hobbling woman half way and politely handed her the staff. "Thank you young man." She tucked her cane in the crook of her arm, using the staff to walk back towards Idoni.

Idoni looked at the piece of wood in her hands in distaste. "I agreed to teach her about healing and spirits, not weapons and war-"

"You don't get to choose the path I take!" Talis yelled, fists clenched at her side, looking more livid than she did with the Nimara. The two had been feuding for the last couple of weeks, fighting in only the way two siblings could– all-out because there was the security of familial bonds and love. The rage had been eager in Talis and she was bristling as she jumped into another argument.

Idoni snapped, a frown of disapproval carved deep in her face, "Nimara is right! Look at you! You don't belong in a battle!" Her vowels clipped as she threw out a hand, highlighting her little sister's appearance. Twirling coils held away from her face with an assortment of flowery pins and barretts, jewelry covered her body in stacks and layers, and a pretty flowing pink dress dirtied from constantly being thrown on her ass. Talis was heavily feminine in appearance. She most certainly did not look like a fighter.

Even still, she'd never been more determined. In her pretty dress and all. Korin had awoken some ferocious passion inside of Talis. The sorcerer's energy permanently poisoned her with bravery and driven recklessness. The beginnings of knowing how to navigate uncertainty and fear. The desire for more– something different– that always lived inside of her finally had the tools to begin its mission.

Talis often felt pushed to pursue the paths of Ms. Menia and her sister. Typically pacifists who practiced medicine and healing. However she'd never found satisfaction in the potions and herbs. She was good at them, unintentionally so, never managing to make exactly what she wanted. She was also good with ancestral spirits and had the sight for it. But she didn't really like their antics. The notoriety of their lives that earned them a place in the spirit world often came with the egos to match.

This, though, she wanted so bad she could taste it. A world of discovery, the thrill she always desired, had come to her doorstep. She had viewed a small sliver of a reality that existed outside of the comfort of Ipahn and she wanted more. The opportunity would be setting sail soon. She needed to be as ready as possible, and so far her sister(and Nimara) had only been holding her back.

"I'm going. Whether you like it or not." Talis affirmed as she prepared for a new challenge.

Under the watching eyes of the circle of strangers, Idonis' nostrils flared and with an angry whip of her head she was stopping away.

"She is only worried for you, you know?" Ms. Menia spoke as they watched her leave.

"Well she's being a huge bitch and she needs to stop." Talis crossed her arms with a pout.

"The last time Idoni watched someone she loved leave with a weapon in hand, they did not return." The old medicine woman eyed down the young witch with a stern judgment. "You have chosen the path of your parents and she is terrified of what the future may hold for you."

Talis' eyes cast to the ground as the winds were taken from her sails. When their parents died she'd been a toddler, Idoni was sixteen. To Talis, her sister was her guardian. But for Idoni, hers had perished and she had immediately taken on the burden of caring for her baby sister, refusing to let the Ipahnish state separate them.

She took a breath hating how guilty she was constantly feeling lately.

Menia, done scolding both women, now stamped the staff into the ground. The thing rang with a wobbling womp as her energy filled it, before it puttered out. "It's definitely got some juice left but I don't think it likes being held by women."

A collective groan from the ladies filled the clearing and Menia shrugged. "The Eenoans only allow men to join their factions. This weapon was made for a man by a man." She trailed to the edge of the small circle the group had formed and then held the staff out to Samhir, the only human male among them. "Here, go on and give it a try."

The rigid and silent Samhir stared at the staff while reaching into his vest. "I don't know how to use magic, Ms. Menia."

"If your daughter can house such incredible power I do not doubt that magical ability exists in you or Ama's blood. And looking at what happened with Ama, I'd guess that it's probably yours."

Samhir pulled out his flask, took a quick swill and chased it down with a ragged and tired sigh.