THE APPLE OF SNAKES

xxi. training bodies

Nerluce took a deep breath.

Taayir said that breathing was important when it came to physical magick, especially for those with a fire affinity. The actual reason was something like proper breathing helped with stamina, but Nerluce liked to think it was because when he used fire magick some part of him became fire as well. Taayir said that the pool of magick wasn't an actual pool - you couldn't dissect someone and find an organ that stored magick - but Nerluce felt it inside of himself.

When he used his fire, he felt it in his throat, like it was coming up his windpipe. There had been a couple of times where Nerluce broke out into a fit of coughs. But of course, the flames were just a product of his imagination. Something he just imagined to the point of deceiving his flesh. Mind over matter and all of that.

Nerluce wished he could apply mind over matter to any other part of his life.

Taayir had them running up and down the mountain. And lifting weights. And just generally exercising. She had everyone with a fire affinity working out twice a week and she had anyone practicing physical magick working out the other five days. Nerluce barely had time to retain... well much of anything from his academic classes. He slept through most of them because he was always up late studying magick.

There had never been a single period in Nerluce's life where he was working so hard, just to stay in this stupid place. A lot of people had been sent home - including half of the disciples he'd come with and the two girls he shared a dorm with but never bothered to learn their names. Corbett was not - unfortunately.

Nerluce couldn't tell what it was about the yellow-haired boy - 'Blond,' Corbett had snapped, 'not yellow!' - that got on his nerves. Probably some combination of things. Corbett was obnoxious and arrogant and spoiled and not to mention good at magick, because, of course, he was.

Actually, Nerluce refused to talk magick with any of his classmates because of how quickly it made him want to punch them in the face. He hadn't. Yet. Corbett was definitely the closest but Hamelin's glare had been enough to discourage Nerluce. Nerluce wasn't afraid to fight, even when the odds were against him. However, Hamelin would most definitely smear Nerluce's guts across the courtyard and he was stupid, not suicidal.

Everyone just assumed Nerluce didn't like magick all that much. Which was true, in a way. Nerluce didn't like magick because he wasn't good at magick and he especially didn't like talking magick because it seemed to come so easily for everyone else and... it just made him angry. Jealous.

It was stupid. But Nerluce was the only one who had to stay up until the moon had begun its descent in order to be even a mediocre magickian. And so when people who had it easy complained... his goodwill waned very quickly.

Deep breaths. Right.

Like that helped. Nerluce bit the inside of his cheek, chewing until he tasted blood, and then opening his eyes open to glare at Taayir. "What am I doing exactly?" Nerluce asked.

He was staying late - again - but this time it was for the physical magick class. It didn't help that Aristide was leaning against a tree, gold-rimmed eyes searing Nerluce's flesh. They hadn't talked about what had happened. With the wolf. Or how Aristide had saved Nerluce's life. Aristide wasn't the type to hold things over someone's head and Nerluce wasn't the type to obsess over debts.

So they just... ignored it. Or pretended it hadn't happened at all.

"A handstand, what does it look like?" Taayir asked. She was smirking like a demon.

"Yeah, I know that," Nerluce spat. He felt like he was constantly spitting. He looked at his hands he was balancing on. "I've been trying to get it right for three weeks now. But... why?"