Frides was the first person to wake up the next morning, as he was when it was just him, Nero, and Urs. Now they instantly had two more traveling companions. Friends as Nero put it. He turned to the side to see Nero up as well, staring him down with sleepy eyes.
"Uh." Not a word but a sound. Nero got up and went into the woods for his workout, followed by an equally sleepy Urs.
Elle and Ouran woke up not long after that. Elle put together breakfast and served Frides and Ouran. Leaving enough for Urs and Nero. She pulled out a map of Oanid.
"You have a map." Ouran exclaimed.
"You've never seen one before?" She asked.
"Not up close."
"Can you read?"
"Yeah! My dad taught me." He replied solemnly.
"Do you want to see it?"
"Can I?"
"Sure." Elle handed over the map.
"How far are we from New Oania?" Frides asked. Ouran looked over to Elle. He knew how to read but he didn't know how to read a map.
"Here." She pointed to the edges of the map. "These are conversions that can help you calculate the distance."
Ouran blankly stared. "I'm not really good at maths."
"I can help you with that if you want?"
"Yeah, my brother tried to teach me but would always get mad at me."
"Its okay. I can show you."
"That's if you can learn how to slip." Frides interrupted.
"What does that mean?" Ouran asked.
"How are you trying to be a Retainer if you don't at least know the term?" Frides judged him. "Come on. I'll show you then." Frides got up and walked out to an opening in the woods.
"Okay." Ouran painfully handed the map back to Elle.
"Good luck." Elle gave a pitying look.
Frides threw down five daggers in the shape of a star. Each dagger twelve feet apart from the other. "Slipping is the quick movement forward, backwards, sideways, and diagonally in one step."
Ouran looked at the daggers and jumped in between them. Never reaching the dagger on each end. "You mean jumping or dashing."
"No, not like jumping. It'll be easier if I show you." Frides steps over to one of the daggers and waved Ouran away. "Watch my feet."
As he kicked off from the first dagger Ouran saw two sparks. One by Frides' toes and the other by his ankle. As he moves in a star pattern Ouran can see the spark with each step. Just as Frides explained, its not a jump or a dash. His body was completely level. He moved from one place to the next as if he was walking there in one step. He ended the movement by returning to the dagger he started at. "This is important and can be challenging but far more important than the technique itself. Watch closely. Then you complete the pattern in the opposite direction." He demonstrated. Ouran watched him go through the motions in reverse it seemed.
At the end of the technique Frides gestured to Ouran to try it out.
"You want me to do that? How do I do it?"
"Its just like it looks. Build up the glow at the tip of your feet and around your ankle and step forward with all of your energy."
"Okay." Ouran stepped towards the first dagger. He built up the glow around his ankle and towards the front of his foot and kicked off sending his feet flying backwards, earning himself a face full of dirt.
Frides walked over to him and lifted him up. "That's why its called slipping. It's similar to that. Try again, except take into account the ground you're standing on and propelling your body forward."
Ouran repeated what he did the last time, including Frides suggestion. He was able to successfully slip, but didn't make it to the other dagger. He looked down and around finding himself directly in the center of the star.
"Slipping is not a difficult technique. It is the level of your technique that decides whether you live or die. You need to learn to slip twelve feet in all directions, in this pattern forwards and in reverse. Also, you need to be able to do this in 5 seconds or less."
Ouran looked at the daggers and from where he was standing, that sounded impossible even if he had two months. Instead he had two days.
Nero found a nice and sturdy branch and did a few pull ups. He lifted himself up and walked along the branch on his hands. Urs leaned against a fallen tree stump and snuggles in, and watched Nero walk across the branch. The Branch broke and Nero fell to the ground. Urs lifted her head up. Nero got up, brushing himself off laughing and looking over at Urs.
"Iziah? Iziah is that you!" A man burst out of the bushes into the area that Nero and Urs were in. He was holding a Grey glowed Gladius sword. "Who are you guys?"
Nero shrugged and tapped his leg. Urs turned her attention from the man and back to Nero. He pat his leg and she got up and walked over to him.
The man released his Glow and walks up to Nero. "Please, can you help me. I came into these woods with my son. He went to get water from the river. I've been searching for him for a day. I just can't cover enough ground. Can you help me?"
Nero turned away and continued to walk away. The man rushed over and placed a hand on Nero's shoulder. Nero turned and looked at the mans hand and it was quickly removed. "I really need help. Please, I'll even pay you."
Nero shrugged his shoulders and waved for the man to follow him.
To Be Continued...
Thanks For Reading!