💾 Archived View for xn--sz8hf6d.ws › spellblade › chapter-2.gmi captured on 2024-03-21 at 15:06:29. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
⬅️ Previous capture (2021-12-03)
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Calm the racing drafthorse of your mind like this: breathe in for four counts, hold for four counts, breathe out for four counts, hold for four counts. Focus on Now, not Then or What Might Be.
---
Earler, in the meal hall Zekas and his team were having a meal. Today was the chef's "experimental" day. However Sharks don't have a particularly strong sense of smell above water. Normally this was Zekas' favorite day because he could easily get a double portion, but today's events had left him on edge.
"I can't believe we lost like that. We were so damn close. How could you let it get away like that? It was right there!", Zekas angered at the poor people who were subjected to being on the same team with him.
Blanu sat there and recieved the tounge-lashing. _If this is that bad, then what the heck happened with the teacher?_ he thought to himself.
"That know-it-all cat keeps getting away with it. First she gets the good team, then she uses her blood to fake the flag? How stupid are you people?"
Blanu decided that this was a good time to pipe up, "I don't think that was her plan, I was the one that stabbed her. Didn't think it would do so much though."
Zekas looked over at Blanu's direction. Zekas intently stared at the younger shark, studying his medium build and roughly short stature. "How much damage did you do?"
"I kinda sharpened my sword last night to try and buff out a knot in the wood, and when it struck her the cut was pretty good, about one knuckle-tip across. I figured she had thicker skin."
Zekas looked at Blanu incredulously. "A knuckle-tip? I saw the bleed had stopped by the time we walked back to the teacher. She had a bandage on it by then, but still she should have had some more bleed in her."
"Oh yeah, there was one other thing. I could swear this was glare or something but I think I saw her hands glow at the end of it."
Zekas looked over inquisitively. "Her hands...glow? Like a witch?"
"Mighta been the glare, but I could swear that I saw her hands glow."
Zekas stared down at his food. _Hands glowing? Fast healing? Could she be a spellcaster?_ Zekas laughed to himself a bit. "It was probably the glare. You need to be more attentive next time."
Blanu laugned to himself with a very nervous laugh. "Yeah, it was probably nothin', sorry boss!"
Zekas continued the laugh, making the rest of the team feel obligated to laugh as well. _It's probably something, but I'd need proof before I do anything about this._
---
It was a beautiful day in Nord Sewlet. Alicia was up to no good with other kids building a snow fort. The other group of kids had challenged them to a battle, and Alicia was more than happy to oblige. Their snow fort was made, complete with their bunker full of snowball ammunition. One of the other kids taunted over with "dumb girls, I bet your fort isn't even ready!"
"You wanna eat those words?" Alicia shouted back. Alicia had a reputation for being the most accurate with her snow projectiles, using her body as a trebuchet she could easily thwack her foes across the battlefield...sometimes that is.
They cast the first snowball. The battle was on. The fight was not bloody, but it was over as soon as one of the snowballs missed the enemy fort. It struck the side of the mountain and then the shaking started. It was an avalanche.
_NO!_ Alicia screamed to herself in her mind, shocking herself awake. She was safe in the bladecraft school. _There was no avalanche, it was a dream. I'm safe, it was a dream. I'm awake, it was a dream._ Alicia ran down the list of affirmations from her mother, using them to pull herself to her normal state of calm. _Anxiety is a bitch_, she thought.
Alicia looked over and saw Tistus unceremoniously on his back and twitching happily like he was dreaming. _At least someone's having a decent dream_.
Alicia quietly stole forward over to Tistus' cot. Her presence made his eyes flutter open and he instinctively purred in his sleep. Alicia grabbed Tistus in a tender, caring hug; the kind of hug that you can only understand when you wake up from horrific nightmares of your past. Tistus stirred and yawned. He whispered to Alicia "Another one?" Alicia nodded. "The avalanche?" Alicia nodded again. Tistus hugged back tighter, these ones always hit Alicia hard.
They stayed like that for what felt like an hour or two, but then the blissful silence was broken by the morning bell. Alicia stretched and yawned, then gracefully started to stand. It was morning: another day, another battle.
As Alicia was getting dressed in her class uniform Tistus looked up at Alicia. "You know you can talk with me about that any time you need, right? It must be tough to have all that bottled up so much."
Alicia nodded back and hugged him as her response. "I'll try."
Alicia's thoughts returned to the battle yesterday. The anxiety from the adrenaline of her magic was still there. _No_, she thought. _I need to stop thinking about this. This will only cause trouble if I keep thinking about it. I'm not a witch, that was a fluke and it won't happen again._
She put on her boots and tied them, hopefully to uniform spec. She was ready for the day, but first her stomach was ready for a meal at the canteen.