28: Training Session

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The tree line finally stretched out in front of me, tall birch trees towering above me with thick leaves creating a blanket of shadows that covered the thicket. Sun rays barely shone through, which made the ground moist. Looking down, a bed of mushrooms sprawled out beneath me, some of them already trampled on by a certain blind man who must have missed them. Or, the mushrooms were of no importance. 

Not all were. 

In Everett Valley, there were only two kind of mushrooms. The Kevses, the ones with mind-altering components and the Konsis, those that grew on the forest bed like weed and were eaten by smaller forest animals. 

Stepping into the footsteps that Feiran already created, I followed his path through countless bushes, branches, hanging vines and logs that came into view. The forest floor here was dense, barely any room to breathe properly. I wondered why Feiran had come here. 

Was he able to clear his head in a place that didn't exactly mirror a calm opening with enough space for thoughts to fill it?

As I went deeper and deeper into the forest, I figured that I would probably never understand the man, no matter how hard I tried to.

It wasn't until someone threw a rock at me from the side, which I registered in time and caught in my bare hand, that I knew I was in the right place. 

"How the fuck did you do that?"

I couldn't believe that a crazy blind man had attempted to throw a rock right at my face. When I dropped it, I felt small cuts in my palm begin to bleed. The sting made me angry, for I couldn't understand why he would do something like that in the first place. The fact that he could, despite not being able to see, only infuriated me more.

He can't even see me yet tries to murder me any chance he gets!

The most frustrating part about it was because I couldn't understand why. All it felt like was torture without any purpose. And his refusal of answering questions in a normal matter... Well, it was safe to say that I continued to dislike Feiran for making me bleed on purpose.

"Do you ever not mock me?" I thundered, furious that he refused to help me or explain anything of value. Was this all just to show how weak I was? How he was the one who was in control? That he was better than me?

"Try again," his voice travelled towards me, though I couldn't find the person it belonged to. Scanning the general direction it originated from, I saw nothing but more trees and branches.

"Try what again?" I asked, trying to let go of my frustration. Unfortunately, I wasn't very successful at it.

His insult only licked at the flames that my anger began to spark to life.

"You're most certainly not the smartest tool in the shed, are you, little girl?"

Scoffing, I was at a loss of words. He'd insinuated that he thought of me as dimwitted, dumb even, but he'd never outright insulted me like that. And topping it off with 'little girl'?

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