One With Nature

Baby Steps: 3

Clothes feel weird.

Having a body in general feels weird, but clothes just add more weirdness to that. Whenever I go into my puppet body, it always feels like I'm being forced into this... tight space made of flesh.

Clothes just seemed to add another layer to that space. Scathach gave me a modified version of her own clothes so now I was wearing a dark purple body suit that covered everything from the neck down.

Looking at my hand, I clinched it and let go a few times to test how it feels like. I was still getting used to movement in general. Suddenness having flesh and blood really throws you off.

Sometimes, I move the right arm instead of the left arm and the opposite happens. Mainly because, when I try to move, I mostly focus on 'move arm', not which one or how.

I need to completely focus to move properly, and even then it's still sluggish and slow.

"Here," Scathach instructed giving me two bags.

I managed to grab hold of them and they nearly sent me to the ground when Scathach let go. They weren't THAT heavy, but I'm still getting used to using muscles.

"Wat... in... dese?" I slurred from my puppet body.

Having a mouth and tongue was hard.

"They're bags of dirt," I tried my best to give her a confused look, which she seemed to understand. "You need to get used to moving. So, to make sure you use all your limps, I want you to go around in circles while carrying these," she instructed before sighing and looking around. "If it were for me, we would be training in my castle, but since you still can't move your body properly and I have no desire to hold your hand along the way, you won't make it through the plains of the Land of Shadows."

So, since she can't go home and train me at the same time, she's making me literally walk in circles while carrying bags of actual dirt?

I mean, I understand her logic, but still...

"Now, get going. I want one hundred circles around those five trees," Scathach barked, pointing at a group of trees that weren't exactly close to each other.

Deciding to get it over with, I started roughly walking towards the trees and began my slow one hundred circles.

I didn't reach the tenth round before I realised that I had forgotten something important: fatigue and tiredness were a thing, and bodies of flesh and blood feel it.

It was so weird. Never experiencing this stuff and then suddenly having them around. It was really odd... and unpleasant. No wonder Stheno and Euryale left physical stuff to me and Medusa.

I didn't even reach twenty before my puppet body dropped and I went back to my real body. "What is the meaning of this?" Scathach questioned.

"Give me a second to relax," I groaned as I sat down. Having that feeling just... vanish was equally odd.

"I don't remember saying you could take a break," Scathach said back, her eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, well, I don't remember ever experiencing fatigue or any kind of physical strain, so it really threw me off to feel it for the first time," I said back.

We kept glaring at each other for a few more seconds before she finally gave in. "Fine. However, every time you drop, you'll have to start over again until you can do one hundred without dropping."

"I'm okay with that," I said back as I turned my gaze to the blue sky. I looked at it for a few moments before turning back to Scathach. "What do you gain from helping me?"

Scathach kept looking at me without making a sound for a few moments before she sighed. "Do you know what fairies say about you?"

"No, not really. I've had little interaction with them," I shrugged.

"Most of what the fairies say about you is one thing. A warning. They say 'Zakiel is the strongest', period. Not 'strongest of elementals'. Just 'the strongest'. I've also done some research and found several mentions of you through history," Scathach explained.

"And what does that have to do with you helping me?" I asked.

"With all this talk or you being the strongest, I couldn't help but wonder... can you kill an immortal?" Scathach asked.

Oh... that's what this is about? "I think I know where this is going, and the answer is no."

Scathach scowled and glared at me. "Why?"

"Well, for starters, let me make myself clear. I am stronger than you. That's a fact you most likely know yourself from the research you did. But, what you don't know, is how much stronger than you I am. Let me put it this way, fighting me is no different than taking your own spear and stabbing yourself right here and now. You would die by suicide within my Reality Marble, and there's no immortality to keep you around anymore. If you wanted a meaningless death, Scathach, you would have taken your own life when you realised what my Reality Marble does, but you didn't," I stopped for a few seconds to see if Scathach will defend herself, but she didn't. "And second, I can already tell I'm not the one you want to end your suffering," Scathach turned her glare to the ground but her scowl vanished.

Above all else, Scathach was a warrior. She wanted to die, but she also wanted it to be in a fight or someone worthy. A meaningless suicide was something she would never accept. And, while Scathach is strong, fighting an Ultimate One IS suicide if you're not insanely powerful.

If Scathach wanted a death like that, she would have killed herself when she realised Nature's Law removes her immortality.

As for the second part, well, it was mainly because I knew she wanted Cu Chullain to be the one to kill her.

"So, are you still gonna keep training me after I told you that you gain nothing?" I asked, hiding the hope in my voice.

Sadly, Scathach shrugged. "Why not? I have nothing to do as the ghouls go through another cycle. I miss the feeling of having a student. So, I may as well teach you on how to use your body and how to use Runes."

I groaned and shook my head. "Alright, alright. But, you don't have to teach me Runes. I'm positive that I already know them more than you."

"Really? Primordial Runes?" She asked, a smug smile as she believed she had me.

"Funny how you thought I meant anything else," I retorted, crossing my arms.

Scathach placed her arms on her waist and turned her nose slightly upwards, literally looking down on me. "You greatly underestimate my mastery if you believe I have nothing to teach you."

"I learned how to use Runes from Yggdrasil itself, the Norse Tree that gave Odin his wisdom which he used to create Runes in the first place. If you're actually arrogant enough to pretend you're smarter than the all knowing World Tree of the Nine Realms, be my guest and make a clown of yourself."

Scathach stared at me in shock for a few moments before huffing and looking away.

Was it childish to feel like I won against her? Absolutely.

Did that stop me from feeling good? No.