The Hermit, The Tower, The World (Vol.2 Complete)

3rd - 6th of Yalech

With the exception of Serrin, Rea seemed to have developed a passionate determination for what she used to call "the physical stuff". It went well beyond the morning sessions which she attended every day before Cira returned. Calas started to think she was like his own shadow for the amount of time they spent together. She even went with him to lunch with Jem on Ivora just so she could ask Calas to train with her well into the evening afterwards.

"Woah, Cal," Jem confided quickly to him upon seeing Rea, "What in the thistlebrush happened to Rea? That is Rea right?"

Calas chuckled and nodded to the agitated hog, but it was Rea who responded.

"Yes, it's me! I can hear you, ya know." Rea set her fists on the curves of her hips beside Calas. "I'm standing right here."

"Ah-ahaha!" Jem stuttered nervously, and waved his hands defensively in her direction. "I didn't mean no harm, Rea! It's just, well, I thought you were fully human is all."

Rea looked perplexed as her eyes went wide with alarm. She answered Jem slowly, that mousy hint of uncertainty creeping into her voice.

"I am human… mostly. But what does that have to do with anything?"

"He means that the Sunflame Dawn only affects creatures and plants as you have been." Calas interjected mildly. "Whatever creature blood you have must be pretty dominant for it to affect you like this."

"Oh," Rea thought about it for a moment, "I suppose that makes sense as Vesa said it happened to her, too."

"So what creature blood do you have, then?" Jem asked as they sat down for lunch in the Cheerful Hearth.

"My mom is part Drakari."

"I'm surprised you didn't grow scales, too." Calas chuckled lightly, but Rea's face turned concerned.

"That's true," Jem added, "most Drakari hybrids have at least a few scales and sometimes they even grow wings!" Rea's face turned horrified and Calas subconsciously set a comforting hand on her arm on the table.

"That probably won't happen, though." Calas added quickly to try and ease her sudden anxiety about the possibility of sprouting wings. "It's extremely rare that rapid growth happens twice." He realized then where his hand was and retracted it as casually as he could. He used it instead to brush back the longer strands of his hair away from his face.

An awkward silence fell on the trio as their order was brought out to them and Calas measured his breaths. There was a delicate balance he skirted, and he found it more difficult to keep on the correct side of that scale with each passing day. The change in him happened before she had, and while her shape meant little to him, Calas still found it, and what she kept inside increasingly alluring.

"My mom does have a few scales, now that you mention it." Rea said thoughtfully after they started eating.

"Hmm," Jem murmured over his plate of fish, "and you're sure you didn't get any?"

Calas understood Jem's confusion as hereditary changes were common from parent to child. Rea shook her head in response, confirming for Jem that no such changes existed.

"None."

"I wonder when Daz got his…" Jem mused while munching on his meal, "That reminds me, I hear you're a natural at martial arts, Rea."

"Who told you that?" Rea asked, her face scrunched in distrust.

"Well, Cal, of course." Jem responded blandly, as if it were obvious, and Calas about choked on a bite. He avoided looking at her as he gulped down his drink to clear his throat of the stuff. Was Jem trying to kill him today?

"Oh really?" She drawled and Calas didn't need to see Rea to know that she stared at him intently. "If I'm such a natural, why do I need to practice so much, Cal?" There was venom to her voice as she poked him on the shoulder, but still carried a hint of banter. Maybe Calas imagined that last part.

"Because there is so much to teach you still, Rea." Calas shot back with a playful jeer of his own.

"Speaking of practice," Rea started in a lighter tone as Calas finally glanced in her direction. "Are you free after lunch today?"

"Sure. Haven't had enough for the day?"

"I'm having trouble with the last sequence you taught me. It doesn't feel right for some reason and I think I'm just doing it wrong." She paused as she took a bite, and added as an aside, "You always seem to know exactly what the problem is…"

"Yeah, we can go back to the pitch if you want." Calas smiled at her and Rea smiled back as she chewed her food. He felt a warmth in his chest that reflected the emotion that came from the thread; from her. It struck him profoundly as it might be the first time she'd sent something like that to him.

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It felt a little like plunging into an oasis. The sensation like warm waves on his skin was exciting and satisfying all at once and he found himself wanting it to happen again. Calas knew the desire was selfish, but part of him wished for it anyway. He wouldn't ask for it, or push for it, there was still too much at stake for her, but he couldn't deny how exhilarating it made him feel.

The sly wink from Jem might have deterred him as it implied that Jem took her interest as proof that there was something between them. Calas was still unsure as one instance might still be a fluke. Rea had become increasingly focused on training and while a part of him wanted to bring up other topics, there were too many sound, logical reasons not to. The foremost of those being that Calas refused to break his promise and her trust in him to guide her through what bound them.

It was easy to blame the thread and the danger of what the consequences of a broken promise might mean for both of them. Although, that particular part was the least of Calas' worries. More troublesome and dangerous, was Orendell's looming threat against her and it made Calas all the more motivated to continue teaching her. Each day that he woke up and felt the mark dormant was like a gift that he refused to squander.

It was evident that she had become more accustomed to her new stature, and Calas had noticed, too. By Emder he started teaching her new forms in sequence, like steps in a dance, and on more than one occasion he felt a nostalgic similarity to how he taught Lady Crow to dance. It shouldn't have been such a revelation to him, since she was most certainly the same person.

Unfortunately, Calas was not the only one who noticed Rea's change. Most of the regular junkies to the morning sessions had seen how Rea had grown over the Sunflame Dawn, but there were some stragglers who came to the news as late as Emder. A certain Drakari was one of them.

"Cal, have you seen Rea lately?" Daz jogged over to where Calas and Rea were practicing, and Calas gritted his teeth at Daz's use of her three-letter nickname. "I wanted to ask her about that book she liked, the Dragon one…" At the mention of one of her favorite books, Rea turned to face him and Daz was dumbfounded.

The Drakari's jaw dropped as he realized who those lithe curves in a sleeveless vest and too-short leggings belonged to. The reaction was quite satisfying to Calas, but he hid the smirk under his hand while Rea glowered at Daz. For leering most likely.

"You didn't recognize me just because I'm taller, Daz?" Rea popped out her hip and held out her hands to the side, a fierce pout to her lips. "Even Reith knew it was me at first glance."

"Yeah, well," Daz stalled, scratching the back of his head. "You were facing away from me and… Wow, your stances are so graceful." The change in topic and tone gave Calas whiplash, but Rea seemed to pause at the compliment, her angst against him diffused in some way.

"Oh, thanks." She started softly as she corrected her posture and expression to something more amicable. "I've been working really hard at it this past week. Trying to get used to all this." She gestured haplessly at herself.

"I'll say. That's quite the change, but it really suits you." Daz continued with a charming smile and Calas gave a subtle sniff of reproach. He hadn't appreciated Daz's interruption, nor did he enjoy that glint in Daz's eye.

"Thanks." Rea smiled sweetly at the Drakari and Calas bit down a pang of bitterness he couldn't quite place.

"While you are here," Rea continued in a gentle voice, "Jem said that you went through this, too, and that's where you got your scales."

"That's right. Happened a few years ago." Daz sighed heavily. "I wanted wings, though. That would have been so awesome, learning how to fly. Could you imagine me flying? It might've given me an edge against this guy." Daz slapped the back of his hand on Calas' bicep while giving him a wry grin.

"I doubt it." Calas said flatly, his expression a mirror of his tone. Calas wondered if Daz was goading him on purpose, because he admitted inwardly that it was working.

"Oh, come on, Cal," Daz jeered, "you have to admit that a flying opponent would have an advantage on you. You don't even use weapons!"

"Don't need to." Calas responded quickly and coolly. He felt a bit more satisfied with the fact that Daz didn't know that, if Calas needed to, he could shift into a bird and fly. That wasn't ever something he would showcase here on the pitch or in this school again if he could help it.

As if in response to his thoughts, the mark began to heat on his ribs and Calas froze. A mixture of panic, foreboding, and that bitterness from before bubbled inside of him, threatening to escape him. It took every ounce of will power he had to push it all down and maintain an outward mask of calm.

"Calas, let's get back to it." Rea's stern voice shook him.

A shock of warmth, like a gentle breeze, rippled through him a moment later and he shifted his gaze to Rea. The tilt of her head was subtle, but curious as he locked eyes with her. Had he sent something through the thread to make her react so quickly? He hadn't thought so, but he nodded to her all the same.

"Maybe we can talk more at lunch?" She asked, turning to Daz and he nodded happily, understanding his dismissal.

"I would love to! I have questions about this Dragon Prince guy." Daz said as he waved his farewells to them both. Once he was out of earshot and Rea resumed the sequence they had been working on, she spoke in a low tone.

"Are you alright?" She moved as if she hadn't spoken, but her eyes found his and he felt like she could bore into him with that stare.

Calas only nodded his assent and watched as she moved from posture to posture. The mark still tingled in warning, in temptation to let one of those bottled up emotions loose. As before, none of that war showed on his face.

"You have a weird look in your eyes." Rea continued her graceful way through as Calas crossed his arms. When he didn't respond, she continued, "It feels dangerous. Wild. They look really different. Less like you."

He chuckled at that, but it was more from nerves. She was an expert on him now? How closely did she really watch him to see through him so easily?

"Did you get that through the thread?" He asked in a dusky rumble.

"No, it's just an impression. Like one of those images you can send me." She shifted her weight perfectly from foot to foot, her body connected through each moment and Calas was impressed at both the answer and her progress. "The thread just feels…cold. Are you doing something to make it feel that way?"

"No," Calas said slowly, though when he thought about it, he might have been. If his ability to mask his emotions translated to his will and the mana within the thread, it made a sort of sense that this would alter the perception of how the thread felt. It was the same concept as the panther and the wolf.

At that, he smirked as it dawned on him that she was aware enough to notice a change in his eyes. While that was a little bit unnerving to Calas personally, it meant that she had developed what he felt she lacked when he had first started teaching her.

"Why are you smiling at me like that?" Rea asked with a giggle and finally stopped the sequence.

"How would you like to learn the wolf?" Calas answered her question with a question.

"Finally! Yes!" Her smile lit up her face and Calas' own smile broadened at the sight.

The sensation at his ribs retreated. For now.