~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~
if she is your close friend, can I be like that too?
when I no longer have any use, what will I be to you?
when I stop being your refuge, what else am I supposed to be
when we're done with our cycle, when eventually, you'll be free?
-R.
~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~
"Victory," Aisia uttered.
That was the meaning written beside her name.
Kairo was dumbfounded. If her parents wished for her to be alive and well, then it seemed that Grisia not only wanted her to be healthy, but also to be successful in life.
Beside him, he heard Aisia. She was choking up, turning muffled sobbing into sniffles. He rubbed her on her back in an effort to comfort her.
Maybe all this time, as roundabout as it was, Grisia was trying to communicate his love for her in his own way.
"This is so cheesy and corny that it's dumb," she sniffled. "But I guess I don't dislike this," she said with an upbeat smile even through the tears and snot.
"What about Grisia's name? Let's look for it," said Kairo. She agreed.
And so, they browsed the book for his name, but nothing came up.
"How odd," he said.
"I guess his name is uncommon?"
"Perhaps."
"Then what about your name, Kairo?"
"Oh, good idea."
They read the text beside Kairo's name. It read, "Victorious One".
Somehow, both of them were disappointed.
"That's similar to mine, but it's much more grand," she said.
"I suppose with how many names there are, there's bound to be some meanings that will overlap. But don't let it take away from the importance of your name!"
"I know. I'll cherish mine. Yours is only a copycat of mine anyway," she cheekily snickered.
"No way! Yours is the copycat! My name came first, see? K comes before S!"
And so they argued and laughed together.
In the days that followed, Aisia's ki handling improved as much as her mood did.
"Huh, I suppose I wasn't needed," Grisia said. "It seems that you've resolved the problem on your own, Sia."
Upon hearing him call her name as usual, she perked up. "I didn't do it alone," she said as she nudged Kairo.
Kairo gave a sheepish smile.
"I'm glad you two are getting along. In your first meeting, I thought you two would be more opposed to each other."
"Oh, yeah. Kairo's a real pain to get along with, alright," she pinched him by his cheek.
"Hah? You're the snarky crybaby that's hard to deal with!" he said, pinching her back.
"What?! I only cried a few times!" she barked back.
"Exactly my point," he smirked.
"Alright, playtime is for later. Focus on your training."
They let go of each other and shouted, "HA!"
After lunch, they played for the rest of the day. During their time together, a topic about her name came up.
"Hey, you know, you can call me by my nickname too if you want," she told Kairo.
"Huh? Really? Are you sure?"
She audibly nodded. "Mhm."
"Isn't it precious to you because Grisia made that name up for you?"
"Don't give him too much credit. I don't think he thought about it too deeply. It is simply my name shortened anyway. Knowing him, he probably only realized the meaning behind it after the fact."
"Then... Sia."
"Yes?"
"Sia. There, I called you by your name."
"Oh, right. Duh," she hit her forehead. "It was so natural that I forgot I told you to call me that," she said as an excuse.
"Shut up," he laughed. "Yeah, rolls right off the tongue. I don't know why I haven't done it sooner."
"Well, this is a sign that we're closer now."
"Then what about me? Kai? Ro? Ugh, stinky. Can't shorten it at all."
"Yeah, no. Let's stick with Kairo-boy."
"Or I guess just Kairo is still fine," he grinned.
Soon, they lay down on the grass to rest. They talked about their training while staring up at the sky until it moved to a conversation about the different chakra elements.
One such element they touched upon was wind chakra.
"Pops told me that wind chakra would be easier to learn and master if I learned how to whistle," said Aisia.
"Can you whistle?"
"Nay, that's why I started learning fire chakra instead."
"Whistling is easy, see?"
Kairo demonstrated his skill which Aisia became jealous of. He whistled a sweet tune that he didn't know the origin of. Thinking about it, he did not remember when or how he learned how to whistle.
"No fair! How do you do it?"
She tried to mimic his lips, but she only made raspberry noises.
"Err, don't blow too hard. Make the hole as tiny as possible. Like squeezing air."
He puckered his lip and blew without the whistling sound to make it easier for her to follow. She tried again. There were no raspberry noises this time, but now she was merely blowing air.
"That's it, that's an improvement. Good job, keep at it. But you shouldn't blow forcefully. If your cheeks are expanding, then you're doing it wrong."
She tried again, sitting up to be able to follow Kairo's instructions better.
"You're really close, I can hear a slight whistle," she kept trying but something was missing. "Hmm... here, what you should do while trying to whistle is to slowly move your lips downward. And lick your lips, it's easier to do if your lips are moist."
She did as she was told. She kept trying for a few more minutes, coming closer each time until finally, she got to hear her first faint whistle.
She whistled her success, her eyes widening in excitement, but the sound she made was akin to a broken flute.
"I can do it now! Do you hear that, Kairo? I did it!" she kept whistling crudely, hoping that she never forgets how to do it.
"Yes, you did. But that's not yet a full whistle. The more you do it, the more you'll get the hang of it until it sounds like this."
He whistled the same tune from earlier. He doesn't remember where he heard it from, but it was somehow familiar. Aisia imitated the tune, but her whistle devolved into merely blowing air again.
"Wait, wait! I can still whistle!"
Her whistling sound was gradually becoming fuller, but she clearly still needed more practice.
Kairo smiled. "I think you learned it faster than I did," he said.
"It's because you're such a great teacher," she smiled back. Kairo was flattered by this praise until she continued, "Or maybe I'm just that much better than you."
He playfully punched her on the shoulder. They both laughed.
Kairo felt content with this. His heart felt full.
The two of them became silent.
He felt Aisia's eyes on him. When he looked at her, they made eye contact for a moment before Aisia turned away.
"Yeah? Anything troubling you, Sia?"
She was starting to redden, especially her ears. That was the only thing he could see since she wasn't facing him.
"N-No. Nothing. I have to do something else. See you later!" she replied without turning to face him.
"Oh. Alright," he said, but all he could do was watch her stand up and run away without waiting for his reply.
"Well, I suppose I should walk around and look at the greenery. I could peruse the library, but I don't feel like reading today.