Will Of The Fates

11.

The mood in the clearing immediately tensed up as Hanna returned. I saw her throw a glare at Sidas, which he returned with equal fervour. Pyr glared at Sidas too as she sat down and Pippa walked over to me. She sat down beside me and reached for my eyes. I slapped her hand away too and shifted forward. My head went in between my knees as the breakfast cooked and the mood worsened.

The meat and the bread tasted like nothing to me. Elikai took my dishes from me and told me to prepare myself as he went to wash up in the stream.

I nodded and stood up. All the bones in my body clicked loudly at the movement. My hands went over my head as I did a series of slow stretches to wake up my body. The buckles to my sword's scabbards went around my waist and the dagger went around my thigh. I stayed on my feet as everyone got ready around me.

I closed my eyes and let the mana in my body roll up into a tiny ball. It took longer than usual because I couldn't concentrate. But when it was as small as it could, I removed my hold on it.

The mana in my body exploded outwards. My eyes widened as my heart quickened and my arms and legs tingled. I felt the hair on my limbs stand on its ends as my entire body shook with the force of the mana that rushed through me.

I exhaled shakily. Blood rushed in my ears and I could see everything extremely clearly. My team and Elikai's watched me I shook my head. My teeth shook in my skull and everything I felt was increased. The wind on my skin gave me shivers, the sound of the leaves rustling was loud. I could hear the grass crunch under my feet.

"Honestly, that's more dangerous than it is helpful." Elikai spoke up as he walked back into the clearing. It sounded like he was yelling. "But you're young." He stood up and adjusted the bags around his body. "You'll be alright..."

I met his eyes. "Sorry if you wanted to see what I did to wake up."

He raised an eyebrow as he crouched to place some dishes in a bag. "Did I say that?"

I shrugged. "I don't know."

"Are you hearing things?"

I shrugged again. "I don't know."

Elikai sighed. "Tell me if you do."

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, old man."

"Again with the age." He sounded exasperated. "You should be the one concerned about what that is doing to you."

"I'll be alright." I repeated Elikai's words from before. They bounced around my skull. "It's only shaving a few years off my life at a time."

"That's the spirit." Sidas chuckled as Elikai threw me yet another concerned look.

I gave him a shaky smile as I resisted the urge to jump up and down.

Hanna walked up to me and poked me in the shoulder. "You look like you just ran the length of the forest."

"That's sounds great." I nodded vigorously. "I can do that."

"Slow down there." Elikai placed a hand on my shoulder. "We have to go inside there." He jerked his head towards the massive crack in the wall. "Save your energy for those things."

"Yay." I nodded again.

Sidas walked up the wall of the cliff. I followed and tried to not bounce every step of the way. He turned to look at me as I got closer. "Can you shield your presence in that state?"

"Why?" I asked too quickly.

"If those things sense mana, it's good idea to shut ours off."

I shook my head. "Won't help. They sense the mana inside us, not just the one we're letting out." I rotated my jaw. My teeth tingled. "We need to..." A thought crossed my mind but it vanished as soon as I spoke. I cocked my head. "Something. We need to do something." I think I was speaking too fast.