"Wooooow!" Freyja exclaimed in fascination. "Over there Kirin! Look at that island! It's violet!"
Freyja and Kirin are aboard a luxury ship heading to the eastern continent of Cewon. It has been a week since they sailed and yet, Freyja couldn't help but still be fascinated by the view of the sparkling blue sea and islands all around. "Look Kirin! There are even seagulls!" She kept on pointing almost everything that she saw.
"Don't shout, everyone's looking at you!" He scolded, feeling a little embarrassed.
"This world is really amazing compared to the world that I came from! I never got the chance to travel by sea back there." She whispered in his ear.
"Seriously? You never rode a ship before? What are you doing to get around then?" She nodded with a grin. "Yep! That's right. I've never been on a ship before. But you know, people in my world also ride air planes!"
"You mean like air ships?"
"Sort of... I've never rode a plane before, so I really don't know."
"Um... Kirin..." Freyja suddenly shifted to a more serious mood. "Hn?"
"When will you teach me how to fight? Teach me how to use magic! Teach—" Kirin covered her mouth to silence her. "Alright, one by one!"
"I am serious Kirin! Someone after my life, right? Then I have to learn how to defend myself! Also, how can I protect you if I couldn't even save myself?"
"Hahah! You are going to protect me?" He crouched, laughing hard.
"What's so funny about that!? I said I would, didn't I? Don't make fun of me!" She exclaimed with flaming red cheeks. "Don't laugh!"
Freyja has been pestering him with this training since they left Lunchian. She wanted to learn how to do the 'magic' that she's been seeing a number of people do—including Kirin. Kirin though, is still hesitant. The issue is not about her body strength, but more about the compatibility of her 'aura.' He never sensed any kind of aura from her, which means that she is a completely normal person. Forcing her to learn will most likely kill her. But she had a good point. Regardless if she's the same 'Lenfiare' his father is searching for or not, it is a fact that she is still in danger and can be assassinated any time.
"Alright. But you have to promise me, that you'll follow every single thing that I tell you to do." He purposely tried to look terrifying, but it never works on her. "Yes sir!" Kirin sighed in defeat.
"Hey, Kirin." She looked completely unsure if Kirin really is training her or simply joking. "I thought you are going to teach me sword fighting and that aura thing?" She asked.
Kirin made her sit, with her legs crossed above the soft bed of her room. He instructed her to concentrate and think of nothing for five straight hours. At first, it sounded so easy, but, Kirin kept on distracting her.
"Freyja, what would you like for dinner?" He asked, all of a sudden.
"SPAGHETTI and CHICKEN!" She immediately replied with a bright smile.
"CONCENTRATE!" Kirin flicked her forehead. "Didn't I tell you to concentrate for five hours!? Timer is back to zero!" He exclaimed.
"WHAT!? But you're asking me!" She reasoned out.
"Okay, now concentrate!"
Freyja closed her eyes once more, following Kirin's orders. But then again, a few minutes later, Kirin came into her room, with a plate of aromatic roasted chicken on his hands. The scent of the tasty roast immediately distracted Freyja. But, as to not ruin her concentration, she pretended not to smell anything.
"Concentrate Freyja, or else Kirin will reset the timer!" She kept on telling herself over and over until...
Her stomach gave in. "I'm hungry!" She shouted, falling down the mattress face flat. ~click!~ she heard Kirin reset the timer.
"Fine, I'll let you eat this time." Kirin handed over the roast chicken meal to the hungry girl. "I'm spoiling her, geez."
"LET's EAT!!!" In no less than a minute, Freyja grabbed the plate. And, like a hungry beast, she feasted on the chicken while Kirin sat there without a word.
"Father sent scouts to fetch me. It probable means that he has a lead on Astrid's whereabouts." Kirin thought, looking at Freyja. "This is bad. That sorcerer escaped and by now, Father knows that she's with me. Is she really the same person? She did say Astrid spoke to her. Plus, this 'another world' issue looks real to me. But why? She's just a normal girl. Can she really be the key to Astrid's seal?"
"Kirin, is there something wrong?" He's so focused on his thoughts he didn't even hear her.
"By this time, he should have figured that I'm not planning to hand Astrid over to him. Do we really have to go to Runerich? An ambush could be waiting for us..."
"KI-RIIIN!" Finally, she got though him. "Aren't you going to eat?"
"The only way is to find Astrid. And as long as she's with me, I have the upper hand in this hunt."
"Kirin, are you really teaching me how to fight?" She asked, wondering about the mental exercise. "Shouldn't we be holding swords and slash things, like what others do? I sort of did martial arts too, you know. And our mental training only lasted for one day."
Kirin flicked her forehead yet again. "No."
"Huh? But why?"
"Listen, concentration and focus is the most important. Once your concentration is ruined, no matter how good your swordsmanship is, no matter how strong you are, you will most likely lose... You have to stay focused. When you fight, only think about your enemy. Just think about piercing your blade right through him..." Kirin explained, but in truth, he's still observing if she does have any talent in aura manipulation.
Kirin never imagined that he'd say exact same words as his father did. "Kill or be killed. The world is a battle of realities. The strongest ones will get to decide what is real. So make sure to get a hold of your 'reality' more than anything. What is it that I want to happen? And from there, your body will follow." He recalled.
Freyja nodded. "So that's it. You have to clear your mind so that you could focus in the fight..." Convinced, Freyja became more serious with her task.
"Anyway, you get the point. Make sure to be mentally prepared, and focused. You understand?" Kirin stood up. "Now, after eating, go back to your training." With that, he left.
Freyja nodded. "Alright."
Freyja closed her eyes once again, back to the training that Kirin assigned to her. With an inward smile, the urge to work hard enveloped her entire self.
On the other hand, Kirin is at the deck, blankly staring at the night sky by himself. Because of Freyja's lessons, he's inevitably remembering his father and their manor in Hawsdark. Something he'd rather not remember.
"You are different from your brothers, from the rest of us. Keep that in mind."
"What the hell." Kirin looked up at the skies. His brows furrowed. He is in such deep thoughts, he only sensed it now. The winds are blowing strangely strong, reminding him of an approaching storm. True enough, the crew started shouting orders to each other.
"Hurry! Adjust the sails!!"
The clouds getting darker and darker, the winds stronger. In a minute or two, rain started to fall, from little drops, to a heavy downpour. The ship started rocking hard, as the waves grew stronger and more violent.
"KYAHHH!" Freyja's concentration is totally disrupted by the ship's sudden movements. She quickly put on her shoes and rushed out of the cabin.
"Mother!"
Freyja looked to her side and found a boy, around seven or eight years of age, crying. The ship rocked and rocked. She's about to leave him be, when she happened to glance at the shelves above him. The ship rocked and rocked until a large, wooden crate slid off the shelf and fell right above the boy!
"WATCH OUT!" Freyja impulsively ran to him. She grabbed him tight before sliding to the other side, avoiding the crashing crate. The ship rocked hard one more time.
"Are you alright?" Freyja asked, the trembling boy in her arms. He is unharmed, but she isn't. Freyja felt the tingling pain on her left foot. It was a minor sprain, luckily, she can still stand. "Now go inside the room!"
Kirin slammed the door to Freyja's room open. There is no sign of her. "FREYJA!" He shouted. "Where the heck is she!?"
Kirin searched through the rooms and cabins, but still, no sign of her. The waves grew even stronger, and the people began to panic. The crew visibly ran around to adjust the sails but the wind is too strong for them to handle. The ropes, the sails, they're starting to tear off one by one.
Meanwhile, Freyja is up at the top deck, looking for Kirin. The passengers are running hysterically, the crew couldn't keep them calm. Because there's so much people, she found it difficult to look for Kirin. Freyja then decided to climb a higher platform to have a bird's eye view. "Kirin! Can you hear me?" She can't even hear her own voice because of the wind, much more Kirin's. It was then that she realized that there is something strange. She saw the same violet island she's been admiring hours ago at the exact same place. She's pretty sure though that they've covered quite some distance already since then. Freyja tightened her grip with the pole and closed her eyes, feeling the wind. Looking at the waves, it's making a strange pattern. The wind's pattern is relatively predictable, but the waves is completely different. Freyja is aware that this world might now follow the same laws of Physics as the world she's from, but she is sure that there has to be a certain pattern or logic that it follows just the same. The sailors, though very experienced, seemed to be completely confused as well. Some of them putting up the sails, and some of them pulling them down. They're all over the place. Which means, that this storm is also not the ordinary storm these people would expect to encounter.
"Can it be!?" Freyja felt that finally got it! She wanted to observe more, but the ship rocked hard again and without her focus, her grip loosened and she toppled over and fell straight down!
Luckily, Kirin is just in time, and caught her safe. She opened her eyes expecting a few broken bones, but found Kirin instead much to her relief.
"The hell are you doing up there!?" Kirin shouted, grabbing her hand. He literally dragged her with him, to the ship's beak. "Wait Kirin, where are we going!?" She resisted.
"Hold onto my back as tight as you can and I will swim to the nearest island." He started folding his pants. Freyja pulled away from his grasp. "You are going to swim!?" She sure didn't find it a sane solution to the problem. "Just shut up and follow me! I can do it! I am not human!" He is impulsively talking just as to convince her.
Freyja grabbed Kirin's arm instinctively. She wanted to escape together. But, for some reason, she can't find the resolve to leave without even helping, especially now that she's got a pretty good idea how to do that. Looking at the terrified children, the panicked passengers, the crew members, she can't bring herself to just leave. But, she didn't want to endanger Kirin's life just because of her feelings. Freyja let go of Kirin's arm with a heavy heart, and pushed him to the edge of the beak.
Was it about finding purpose? Grabbing an opportunity to help? To pacify the emptiness she felt that she can actually do something and belong? Regardless, she wanted to stay.
"I believe you. I believe you can swim and get out of this storm. So, let's meet after this is over. I think I can help them somehow." She said, infuriating Kirin. "What nonsense! What can you possibly do!? Hurry up and---"
"It's okay Kirin!" She shouted, looking rather confident, grinning. "Let's meet up at Cewon!" With a deep breath, she turned her back at him and rushed straight to the captain's cabin.
There's no more time. Kirin's survival instincts took over. Kirin jumped off the ship.
~o0o~