Takabi watched the time on his phone.
The following couple days were uneventful. Simple classes, he turned some heads with rumors about that night, but aside from the stress of school and Nana's recovery, it's been calm.
He didn't like it.
It was one of the reasons he made the call. He had to do something, get his mind off things in his life.
Carlos hadn't come back to the room, and Takabi hadn't seen him since their fight. He was worried. The first call he made was to Anna, but nothing came of that as Carlos hadn't contacted her at all.
"Disappears and doesn't even call his sister."
His next call was to Carlos himself, but at the time, Carlos' phone was still in the room. He left without any of his stuff. That was a major red flag to Takabi, but since he's been helping Nana really recover, and get over her mental hurdles thoroughly, he hadn't had any time to completely investigate.
No Carlos, and most of his energy was focused on her. Kairas had been on his best behavior, hiding in Jewel's room. Ariel was weirded out at first, but quickly warmed up the boy since he proved he was very smart.
How, Takabi couldn't tell.
The third and final call he made was around half an hour ago. When he picked up, his voice was full of worry, something Takabi wasn't used to with Garuga.
"What happened? Are you okay," Was the Dragon's first words.
Takabi explained everything that had happened, from his fight with Carlos to the incident with the Huntress. Garuga sat silently through each word, drinking it, absorbing, and brainstorming about what to do. Finally, his answer was just to come in person.
And that they did. Three large bodies flew overhead, their dark shadows and large wings shaking the land violently. The Dragons landed in the trees around him, shrinking down quickly until they were out of view. Syrreth appeared from the bushes first, dressed in an all white track suit that hugged her body perfectly. Her sleeves were rolled up, and her collar rolled down on her shoulders.
"Takabi," She said, voice still deep from mid morph. "Good to see you're alright."
He nodded at her as Porrelth appeared next. He was wearing his red long coat, but had on a black tank top underneath, with deep blue jeans and red sneakers. This guy needed to reevaluate his fashion sense. "What's up, Kid? Doing well, I assume."
"About as well as I can be." He said, getting to his feet.
Garuga appeared then, in his usual black T-Shirt and dark silk slacks. His eyes looked tired from worry, and Takabi couldn't help but laugh at him a little. The Dragon flipped him off and took his place next to the other two. "We're getting right down to business. I briefed them about the other night, and we agreed to speed up the training date. Can you two show him? Please?"
Porrelth and Syrreth stood next to one another, hands raised in the air. Porrelth's palm was under Syrreth's.
Light swirled around the pair until a white sphere formed in her grasp, the hollow magic filled with flames he could only assume was from Porrelth.
A basketball sized sphere that was see through, and held a strong orange flame.
The two looked at Takabi, suddenly charging at him. On instinct, he jumped over them just as the sphere smashed into the rock he was sitting on, blowing it to bits in a controlled and focused ball of fire and white.
When Takabi landed, his eyes were wide with excitement, ignorant to the possibility that he could have died. "WHOA!! What was that!"
"Nova," They both said, turning back to him.
Syrreth rubbed her throat as her voice became more feminine, and she spoke. "It's a spell that encompasses light and flames at its base. Powerful, it takes two to contain it and manipulate its abilities to its fullest."
"Two?"
"In our case anyway, as we're limited to a single element." Syrreth sat in the grass. "We think you're capable of using this on your own. Garuga told us about your ability to use light."
His excitement faded a bit. He scratched his wrist, exhaling a small flame. "Actually… I can only use light when I activate the Gem for it, and I haven't been able to do that since I fought Erodon."
"Only with the Gem?" She looked at the other two, then stood. "I'm afraid you're mistaken. As a Fallen Angel, you're capable of light and dark manipulation naturally. You just have to try."
"How," He asked, determination settling in his eyes. "Wait, no, I called you here for a different reason. To help me control the Gems."
"So we'll do both," Garuga said. "Light first, since it doesn't seem to strain you. It should come more natural, just search for the power deep inside and let it out." Takabi watched him and nodded, shutting his eyes and taking a deep breath. The wind blew gently, his breathing slowing down, everything leaving his mind as he searched inside.
Light.
Light.
Five minutes passed. Then ten. After fifteen, he groaned and opened his eyes. ���I don't feel anything. At all."
"Have you tried a trigger? Something must be linked to your subconscious for you to call onto the power. It came in a need, not desire from what I recall." Garuga rubbed his five o clock, walking around and standing next to Porrelth.
It wasn't a far fetched idea. When he used it before, it was the want to uphold his mother's will and ideals that caused it to come out. He searched for the same feeling back then, but deep down knew it wouldn't work. That feeling was specific to that situation.
He gripped his fists, closing his eyes and attempting something else. Something he wanted to protect, something dear to him.
The Earth? No, too broad and stereotypical.
Maybe Jewel, and his friends in general? No, that wouldn't work either. He loved them, but it wasn't like they were his source of strength or anything like that. At least, not in the sense that they physically gave him power.
"Takabi!" Her voice was full of happiness and hope. There was a strong warmth when she came into his mind, something that tugged at his heart strings and erased any negativity in his mind.
His eyes shot up, and then it happened. The white tattoos raced up the right side of his body. They glowed, outlining his body in a thick aura and recoloring his right eye purely white.
"You did it," Syrreth said, mouth agape in shock.
Garuga smiled proudly, nodding. "Of course he did. Boy's a battle branic."
He held back a smile at Garuga's proud comment and watched them, eyes hard. "So, how do I do this?"
"I believe training so you can use light naturally without the Gem would be better." Syrreth brushed the back of her pants. "If you don't mind, may we spar for a little while?"
"Of course," He said, taking a fighting stance and steadying his breathing.
He leapt ahead, slamming his fist against her forearm. The two vanished into thin air, their feet carrying them around and through the trees, exchanging light jabs, testing the waters against one another. They rushed up the trees, flipping onto the top branches.
Syrreth took a deep breath and released a beam of light from her throat. It crashed through the bark, rushing right for him. Takabi raised his right palm towards it, catching it and trying to hold it back. His feet slid back, just barely off the branch he was on.
On instinct, he summoned more of the Gem's power, strengthening himself. His mind focused on the light, the feeling of the element in his system, and he relaxed, deactivating the Gem slowly but trying to hold onto the light itself. He was losing grip on the breath attack, but it was to be expected.
"I've got this… I've got this.. The power of light itself. Control over purity in my body. Give it a form, like Syrreth.." He closed his eyes, the last of the tattoos fading. The light didn't burn his hand anymore. He shielded himself in a sphere, the blast swallowing him and rushing past, crashing through a mountain and blowing it to pieces.
Syrreth sucked in air, eyes wide as she jumped her branch and rushed over towards. "Takabi, my boy, are you…" She didn't finish her sentence.
There he was. On the ground, but on his feet, uninjured in a ball of whiteness. A cocky smile was on his face as he dispersed the light, and he stood upright, patting his hand as it healed. "I think I got the hang of it."
"I thought I hurt you," She sighed, walking over and tugging his ear. "Warn me if you can't handle it next time!"
"Ah! Sorry!" He said, taking his ear back as she placed hands on her hips.
"Right. Now, let's work on altering its shape, then mixing it with your flames. Think you can handle it?" She asked, and he nodded.
"Of course." He replied. They moved to rejoin the other two. From behind one of the trees, Kairas watched his brother. He sat on the branch, looking at his hands and maneuvering his fingers in the darkness.
-------------------------------------------
"God, I'm so burnt out." Nana pushed her textbooks from her and almost slammed her head against the table.
Takabi had his eyes scanning over the words in his notebook, but his mind was elsewhere. He was holding an orange, since it had the best and closest thing to a perfect circle in the room. One of his legs rested on the other, pencil in his left hand tapping against the pages.
Nana raised an eyebrow at him, resting her chin on her hands. "You've been on that same page for the past half hour, honey. You're not that much of a slow reader, are you?"
When she received no response, she stood, walking in front of him and snatching his textbook. "Hey, I was reading that."
"No, you weren't," She said, tossing it on the bed and pushing his leg down so she could sit on his lap. "Still trying to figure out Nova?"
"Mhm," He replied, eyes focused on the orange. "I think I almost have the shape change right, but I can't maintain it too well. Once I add the flames, the whole thing falls apart and explodes in my face."
She touched her chin with a finger, then said, "Imagine the sphere is something you want to grasp for hours." Her fingers moved to her chest. "Like these."
"Can you be serious for once," He asked, laughing.
"I am, Boo," She said, getting to her feet. "Anyway, take a break. Let's go grab some dinner." She walked towards their closet and looked over her hung up outfits.
Takabi watched her, and he placed the orange down gently. "Are you up to it? I can bring the food back up here if you want."
"Takabi, you've been a sweetheart keeping me up to date and waiting on me for things I need, but I need to stretch my legs. The room is fun, but I haven't been outside since the pool." She said, pulling out a frilly pink skirt and low cut button white shirt. She shook her head and placed the outfit back. "Go take a shower. I should be done by the time you get out."
He opened his mouth to protest her moving around, but he couldn't deny she looked and seemed better. Sighing, he got to his feet, kissed her cheek and moved into the shower, stripping down and stepping inside. He kept his eyes closed, taking small yet quick breaths. With his right hand, he kept his palm open, away from the water and focused. Simply, a white, hollow sphere began to form, perfectly round. Next came the tricky part.
He turned his back to the water, holding his hand down and out in front of himself. A small flame began to flicker in the center. In the water, he could feel himself slowly sweat from his intense focus.
Takabi bit his lip, drawing a little blood, eyes suddenly shooting open as the sphere collapsed and he groaned loudly. His hand reached for the soap, and he began to wash himself down, mind flicking from Carlos to the spell, Nova. At the moment, neither would speak with him, or was readable, and it left a strong frustration at his core.