Taking a deep stretch, Jamal stood his ground while watching the space between him and Laken. They were both outside in the back courtyard on a cool morning, with Ula watching in the background holding Jackie in her arms. Apparently, Jamal had to see something about Laken, but she still was a bit interested in what it had to be about.
"Alright, Laken. I just got to test you on your powers. You okay with that?" Jamal grinned with excitement.
"Yeah Pa, I'm ready to win!" Laken assumed it was a game.
"Alright, then follow my lead. Can you do this?" Jamal took a quick breath.
With almost no effort, his body was completely ignited in flames, as the man looked back at his son. Laken studied him for a bit, before he stepped back a bit.
"Jamal, don't you think this may be too advanced for him?" Ula watched with interest, as their daughter was attempting to grab towards their direction.
"I don't know, I'm about to find out right now." Jamal looked back.
Even though Laken was straining, Jamal could see his right arm slowly creating a dark flame of sorts, as it was quickly starting to move across his body. Impressed, Jamal continued to stare for a few more seconds before Laken himself was covered with his dark-like power, although it was more aura-like than Jamal's fire.
"Did I do it Pa?" Laken looked at his hands in surprise. "I feel so good!"
"Yeah, son! I didn't even think that you could." Jamal was a bit shocked with the end result. "But you can go further beyond."
"How?"
"You have to focus really hard, but feel your power moving outwards. You want to feel it grow and move about you, but it's not very easy." Jamal focused, his flames expanding rather quickly.
Laken watched with curiosity, as he took a deep breath, before starting to clench his body together. Although it appeared to not be doing anything, Jamal could see his power fluctuate about him, whipping around, even though there was no wind.
"Jamal." Ula looked a bit concerned.
"It's fine, look." Jamal pointed, to which she turned.
Laken's power was slowly moving outwards, as the boy struggled to contain this new energy. As great as it was, Jamal could tell when the power would be too much for him. He was reaching that point of it being uncontrollable, and Jamal wasn't going to risk his son exploding in strength that he couldn't handle.
"That's good, Laken." Jamal nodded, to which the boy let the energy loose, and quickly dissipated.
The boy almost fell down, if Jamal hadn't grabbed him in time, and patted his back. Jamal didn't even hit that level of mastery until after the tournament all those years ago, and yet his son was barely four and doing it with some difficulty.
"How I do, Pa?" Laken looked at him with concern.
"You did good son, I really mean it. Let's go get some ice cream because of that, as well as it being another birthday gift." Jamal laughed with joy at the work he was putting in.
Laken could do nothing but yell in excitement as he rushed back into the complex and toward his room. Staying composed, he moved toward Ula as he grasped her hand. He had something in his mind that he wanted to get off.
"Hey, I've been meaning to tell you this." Jamal looked into her eyes, "It's important."
"Is something wrong?" Ula's face turned with worry, "Did you not tell me this prior?"
"Nah, ever since coming from Suruthum to back into Saputa, I've been thinking about the marriage situation."
"Oh," Ula was a bit shocked, "Hold on."
Jamal looked to see Jackie already asleep from the lack of activity, as he watched both of them go back inside. Turning to glance back into the sunlight, he could only see the few other buildings that were as high as the complex, at least in this part of the city. The downtown area was mostly reconstructed, as business was a bit slow to pick up with the lack of supplies to function properly. It was a miracle they were all in one piece to be completely honest.
"Alright, she's settled in. Now, what did you want to tell me again?" Ula returned with a grin, causing him to turn back around. "About marriage?"
"Ah, yeah. So I should first ask, do you still want to marry me?" Jamal looked into her eyes while saying.
Almost without hesitation, Ula couldn't help but laugh as she grabbed his arm in a playful manner. A bit confused, he just watched and waited patiently for her to calm down.
"Sorry, I didn't think you would ask it like that. Of course, I want to be with you for the rest of my life." Ula took a breath of relief before looking at him. "After everything that's happened, and you would still die for me, there's nothing that could replace it."
"That's good to hear." Jamal grabbed her arm back. "Because, I now have the perfect spot for it."
"Oh yeah?" she bit her lip in interest, "Where would that be?"
"Back in Saputa City, once we get it back. Where we belong." Jamal couldn't help but hold her tighter.
She couldn't contain her excitement, as she squealed with joy before moving closer to the man's face. Jamal followed her direction, as they made out with each other against the building wall, not leaving each other's side again. That was until Laken popped back out conveniently after mere seconds, only to stare at the pair.
"Pa, you kissing Ma again?" the boy interrupted the couple, to which he stopped.
"Oh, yeah. Ice cream!" Jamal remembered, before giving Ula a quick peck on the cheek. "I'll get you something too."
"Okay, I love you." Ula flashed a small grin. "Be careful."
"Always," Jamal shot a smile back, before grabbing the kid's hand. "Let's go get some dessert!"