You're gonna go far, kid.

200 gold. That was all he was given to build a complex, original device that he happened to also have no idea how to build yet. He was furious. "Surely this will not be a waste of time and money", "Why must we support something that has clearly been done before?" The words rang in his head as he walked back to his room, his emotion threatening to explode, yet none of his internal struggles were visible in a display of total control even he wasnt expecting he could manage. "Perhaps. But our dear Athan here is surely capable of making something unique. Let him create it. Then once we see what he has made we can judge if it's worth continuing." That was his anchor, his will to finish it as quickly as possible. He entered his room. It wasnt decorated much, with just a bed and desk, only decorations being an abstract poster, its colors and shapes overlapping in an intricate way, which hung above his desk, a small wooden box looking like a chest on his desk, which he knew held a valuable orb, and a gaian shield in the corner of the room, which he didnt even remember when or where he got it from. The poster always calmed him down, being able to space him out and silence his mind when observing the overlapping colors and shapes. Not this time though. The moment the door closed behind him his anger was very obvious. His mind ran, thinking of the events that took place just moments ago, the elders' words stuck in his head. And the worst part was, he couldnt blame them either. This was a rough idea of what he had in mind, withount any planning, and yet for some reason he still told them. Why am i that impatient? it cant be.. Im not scared.. am i? Why do instincts have to be that irrational.. He completely ignored Candy sitting on his bed looking at him whilst he mumbled under his breath, his thoughts leaking out of his mind "I wonder.. maybe this..? No, it wouldnt work. How abo- maybe. Then, Tearia's tech. Hmm. Would it?" he paced around for a few minutes, thinking, then he sat down, took the few pieces of paper he had and started sketching. It was unusual for him to ever write anything down, prefering to take the extra time to do it all in his head, where it was most secure, but not willing to waste time away for this particular object. He sketched out a rough diagram of how his device would be. Once he finally finished the rough draw it had felt like hours to him, which wasnt too far off the hour and a half he actually spent in his room, when Candy's voice finally interrupted his thoughts, bringing him back to reality. "Is.... everything alright?" Candy would respond, looking a bit confused. "Doubtful. He looks like he's ready to strangle someone. Do you need any help?" Lilith offered. Though Lilith offering 'help' is a scary thought, at least it showed that she was warming up to Athan. While Candy seemed to take to him pretty easily, Lilith always seemed to have her guard up when it came to encounters with him, only just recently starting to relax more when he was around. "If by someone you mean everyone, then yes, Lilith." he said with a harsh voice as he sat at his desk, taking in a deep breath, then releasing it, and rubbing his eyes and the bridge of his nose. "They only gave me 200 gold. For a complex machine." He touched his temples with both his hands, rubbing them with his index and middle finger. "I cant build ANYTHING, with 200 gold. I have to improvise." After a moment, he stood up and, going towards the shield, picking it up and testing it, he then turned to the precious wooden box. "Maybe.." he said hesitantly, then looked at his crystal necklace instead, indecisive. He grunted. "How do i make bloodline ability batteries.." he was trying his best not to start cursing in front of Candy, like he usually does in a sticky situation. "I'll have to visit the library, do you want to come with? It will at least be a little different from this room." The concept of cost, or even numbers that high, still were foreign to her, but Candy didn't dwell on it. The thought of being able to escape the room sounded wonderful. "Oh! Please, please!" She begged, ready to leave the moment he asked. It didnt take them long to reach the library, Athan having memorized the building's corridors and rooms in the past decade, he navigated through them effortlessly. Candy would notice the stares she got, but she wouldnt think much of it, being more interested as to why he was so upset about his poor payment, which resulted in him explaining to her how currency worked. Entering the library he immediately searched for books on Tearian technology, engineering, and crystals that hold soul, and even Soul Cores in attempts to prepare himself for building the device, as well as hoping to stumble upon some clever way to use something he already owned, the sorage of spells and soul still unclear to him, his design still unfinished. Needless to say, he spent almost his entire week inside that library, using cheap tricks like pinching himself, or even "power naps" to keep awake for longer, tiredness not catching up to him. Every time he returned to his room, he tweaked the design again and again, improving it every time before sleeping on his desk or floor, his bed being occupied by Candy's curled up form, which he strangely grew fond of. His only breaks from his work were his walks with Candy, not wanting to keep her locked up in a room, which resulted in some interesting conversations, the most important of them being about her ball and chain's curse. Athan proposed to her she break the curse and be free of the heavy ball, but she refused. So the only thing he could do is propose the alternative, of controlling the curse instead, suppressing it when not needed, for convenience and efficiency. Interestingly enough, his "power naps" resulted in an increase of awareness of his dreams. He could remember more of what happened in his dreaming world, for that little bit after he woke up, most of his dreams being about twist versions of recent events, some good, some bad. Regardless, he shoved them all to the abyss that was the back of his head, forced to be forgotten, drowned in all the reading. When he finally finished learning all he could from the books the library had that was relevant to his project, he had no idea what he would do. Nothing he read solved his problem, having no idea how to store spells or abilities along with soul in a "battery", or a container object. Autonomous casting was also out of his reach, knowing it would cost a small fortune to create a servitor for the suit, on top of having no knowledge of an artificial being like a servitor being able to cast said spells or abilities. This, whilst extremely frustrating to Athan, at least meant he finally knew what he was doing. He needed to find someone with the knowledge, finances, or materials to do something like that. Whatever the way to make spell batteries was, it was rare enough to be hidden from even the Magoi's reach, knowledge kept safe from their agents. And what better organization to keep a secret knowledge locked up, than the very same one that had their own secret magic? Their mages feared for their unknown powers even by The Magoi? The Therosi. Candy wouldnt agree with her not being involved with the Therosi search, and neither would Athan. Blood magic is powerful and mysterious, which made him believe it might be the key to his device's finalization. But to even porsue them, he wanted Candy to be ready. So after a few brief hours of relaxation, he threw himself to teaching Candy full time. The subjects he focused her personal education about were Social Skills, and Fighting Skills. Luckily, Athan's knowledge of the local geography helped, already knowing the best training locations were, where none visited to interrupt them. They were on his favorite spot, a clearing that was far enough away from Tidal to be decently isolated, as well as serene, only sounds being nature, in its full glory, which Athan thought was a way better atmosphere than the bustling halls of The Magoi, the busyness neverending. He snapped out of a few minutes long space-out. Candy was happily chopping away little chunks from the nearly two feet in diameter log set up for her to practice strikes and alignment. In her mind, she faced a real opponent that lashed out at her with different strikes themselves, and her strange dance-like style was on display, never knowing when a real strike was to be made until it was too late to tell. She seemed to imagine a rather low sweep attack coming for her, though instead of how most people would guard, back off, or jump over it, the girl went to her knees and leaned back with the imaginary blade passing over her, and then leaned forward quickly, using her body's movement for extra power as the ring blade slammed deep into the wooden post. She then tested her earlier theory she had about the Therosi they fought before, and using the momentum from leaning forward into the strike, she moved into a handstand to perform a spinning kick to build momentum on her ball and chain, only to flip upright to wrap the chain on her arm for control as she slammed the ball into the halo, the shortening of the chain doubling the momentum and slamming down, splitting the post in half like a splitting wedge and lodging the halo into the ground. At the site of the possible destruction and macabre images in her mind, Candy started hopping for joy in place, clapping her hands and cheering. It was a move she had been practicing for a while in case they ran into him again. Her celebration was interrupted by Athan's arrival. "Need a sparring partner? I wouldnt mind to stretch a bit myself." She heard the question but didn't understand it. "Sparring? What is that?" she first asked, though his second comment made her think she had the idea. "Oh, stretches! We like to stretch, but be warned, we don't think you can stretch as well as we do," she teased as she performed a stretch that would prove her right. The girl could pull off moves that could win any contortionists seal of approval. "Thats a really impressive stretch.." he said, nodding, looking quite impressed by her flexibility, before smiling to her question. "Oh, no. Sparring is not just stretching. Its abou-" and before finishing his sentence he lashed onto her, locking her hands behind her back with a quick motion, increased in speed through application of his gravity to reduce his weight and amplify the force of his movements. Anyone else trying to do such complex gravity manipulation would of failed miserably, but Athan had dedicated his life into the precise manipulation of this power. Candy honestly took him pinning her in the middle of her stretch without being phased at all, her complete trust in him knowing that he wouldn't hurt her. "-out fighting without the intent to kill. With your skills, it really isnt a fair match for the wooden pole." he chuckled, releasing his grip on candy's hands yet keeping them in place with gravity, before adding "Hell, they arent a fair match for most descendants, let alone that Therosi. Hes lucky we were in a rush." Walking in front of her, he took off his jacket, throwing it over the broken pole as to not get dirt on it, only wearing his aqua t-shirt and pants. Candy could now clearly see his webbed hands, and his arms shining under the strong sun, both from his transparent scales and the little moisture they're covered with. Cracking his knuckles, his smile widened. "Now, show me what you got. Without killing me of course." giving much emphasis to the not dying part. She seemed wary when he described sparring. "N-no," Candy responded apprehensively, which may have come as a surprise to Athan. Upon hearing this, his smile faded. "No?" he asked, only for her to respond immediately after "I can't... we don't want to hurt you, you are not bad. It's too dangerous, what if something happens? We don't hurt good people...," she said, her worry obviously written across her face. She knew how deadly her weapons were first hand, and she didn't know a way that they couldn't be used in a fight without causing injury. Also, if the person she had to fight was Athan, she for sure didn't want to cause any harm. He meant too much to her to hurt, and he wasn't a bad guy like the people on the ship. Athan cracked his neck, and stretched his hands. "Okay. And what happens if you get emotionally manipulated?" he asked bluntly with a hint of anger, maybe for the first time directed towards Candy. Yet his face remained desceptively emotionless. "Tell me, what happens when who you thought was good, suddenly turns on you with a knife, a claw, a fang?" as he was speaking, he was tightening the gravity hold he had her hands in behind her back. Candy was surprised by the sudden turn in Athan, and admittedly a bit scared. When the pressure on her arms increased, she shifted uncomfortably. "I-ts starting to hurt," she started but he kept going, her eyes locking on to his as he continued to berate her way of thinking. "What happens when some sick fu-" he paused, and pretended to clear his throat, "some sick person uses his abilities to look like me? Or even worse, control me?! What then, candy? Will you die in my hands, unable to protect yourself? Or will you let killith do it instead?" his eyes looked as hard as she has ever seen them. His whole body looked tense. All she could currently eak out was a small "We don't know," in response here and there. When mentioning 'killith' she tried to disagree with him but she didn't have time to say anything as tears started to form as she got upset. "And what do you suppose i do when they're done killing you using me, regaining control only to see your lifeless, bloodied body in my hands?" And with those final words, he released his hold on her hands, slowly walking over to her, and gently hugging her, all his tension immediately vanishing. "Dont do this to me.." he whispered to her, with an almost pleading voice. "WE DON'T KNOW!" she yelled loudly through sobs after his remark about holding her dead body as she slumped down to the ground. When she felt him approach and hug her she buried her face in his chest. "We just can't risk killing you... you... are the only one that wants us. We don't want to be alone, not again... what if we slip up and go to far? The though of it, we can't stand it." "And i.." he stuttered, "i.. cant risk losing you." he placed a hand on the back of her head, before releasing her and looking at her in the eyes, wiping one of her tears with the back of his hand, "That's exactly why you must spar with me. Your weapons, to put it simply, are killing machines." he took a deep breath, calming himself further, then continued "You can expertly use them, so much so that i doubt i would last long in a real fight against you. Which is why by sparring with me now, this can be avoided." Lifting a hand, some of the moisture lifted from his skin and from candy's clothes and head where he touched her, forming into a miniature candy with both her weapons. Then, biting into his thumb, he manipulated some of the blood, and created an image of the blood mage they were so well acquainted with. "When you, well, when both you and Lilith fought with him, this is what you did." The liquid moved, mimicking their movement back in the fight. The blood mage was quickly tied with the ball and chain, expertly immobilizing him. "You might of moved by instinct then, but this was perfect. You tied him up, immobilizing him without significant harm, so you could quickly after follow up with.." he paused, the mini Candy and Lilith moving with the halo to slice the mini blood mage, with the figure immediately deforming on impact. "this. What would of been a perfect decapitation if it wasnt for his expert skills." Now the liquid formed to a mini Athan, in the same position the blood mage was before, right before the halo went to his throat. "And this, is a way to stop me from moving. However i wouldnt stop there, i would still be able to kill you, even standing still." he said as water Candy stood still, only for her neck to deform -making some holes that reminded her of the dragonkin that had injured Athan back in the ship- then quickly reforming itself again. "No matter how you slice it, if i am controlled there is no way for you to stop me without either killing me, or, the preferred course of action, knocking me unconscious." he said finally, as water Candy smacked blood Athan in the head and falling to an imaginary, invisible floor. Then the blood returned to Athan, re-entered his open wound and with the water quickly following suit, healing his wound and finally being applied to his skin again. "Not killing... knocking out? But how would we...," Candy started to trail off. "Our weapons would be to strong to attack with... we would have to strike them ourselves?" "But people like Athan would keep us from ever getting that close..." she replied to Lilith. Maybe learning some magic to use at range?" "Mmmm... that would't help right now though..." Her conversation with herself was stopped by Athan continuing on. "Plus, you might come across people that have no other choice but to follow orders from the bad guys." putting it in a way that she would understand, "Some need money for their loved ones to live a good life, some are forced to obey, there are many reasons why you would want to keep yourself from killing anyone but the Therosi, or other enemies that might come. So fighting without fear or regret is our priority now." This idea confused Candy and Lilith greatly, as it shown on her face. Using the ability to knock people out on hostiles that weren't bad. "W-wait. No th-that can't be right...," she thought out loud, but after the examples he gave for both himself and why people would fight when they dont want to, she seemed to get a pale look about her. "Athan... so... those others. O-on the ship. The ones that attacked us back after I killed the first therosi... they were... bad too, right? They were bad, right!?" She repeated, a hint of hysteria building up in her voice. His train of thought was interrupted by her clear freak out over the killing of non-Therosi. Not responding right away, he was thinking to himself Well i cant afford to have her freak out like that. But its not like they were completely innocent now that i think about it.. he decided before saying "I doubt that's the case. Besides, why would they be armed if they were forced to anything? Who gives weapons to simple bystanders? Especially battle axes like the one i had to disarm one of them from right befor-" he cut himself before he admitted he's the reason she was safe, and also the reason he got injured in the process shit "No, i wasnt talking about them. But going forward, if we're going to find more Therosi to get rid of, it would be stupid to think that we wont run into innocents forced to fight us, or even being directly manipulated, both physically, mentally or emotionally." What's up with me lately, how.. why do i slip up like that? he thought to himself, referring to him almost admitting to protecting her. He knew she wasnt stupid, but he still wasnt about to admit to her, she was the reason he got injured, because he was too preoccupied with protecting her instead. Nearly instantly, she began to calm down, her breathing returning to normal. She looked down and picked up her mask looking at it as if for some confirmation before nodding to it. "Alright then. Lets do it. Just, please stop us if things get out of hand. We still prefer not to hurt you... or anyone else who doesnt deserve it," she requested, not only for now, but was obviously reffering to later too. With a smile, Athan assured her in a warm voice, "Of course." then cracked his neck again, preparing for the skirmish soon to take place, then finally added "And, i may have said that i probably dont stand a chance against you in a fight, buuuuuuut, dont expect to get away with going easy on me." Then, he readied himself up and started moving towards her the exact same way as before, only this time he dropped face down to the ground. "Ah, my ankle!" he shouted, as he started holding his ankle in what probably was a pained grimace. Her head tilted slightly in confusion at the display. "Wait, have you started yet or...?" "How about we go and check?" With that Candy made her way to him, but the ball and chain were aleady spinning next to her. "He did say not to go easy, right?" "But i want to check on him first." "Same here, but if he is alright... HE'LL MOVE!" Lilith called out as she spun the ball overhead and brought it down. Were both Lilith and Candy in control right now? And was that stored up agression for making Candy sad? As he expected, this was concerning to Candy. For Athan though, it was all part of the plan. Whilst he was cracking his head and drawing attention to his neck, he had activated his omni-eye, its red eye symptom not visible yet, and locked to candy. Then, he fell but held himself centimeters away from the ground with his gravity, whilst blowing hard to create dust particles out of his supposed fall, which he masked with his pained yell. There waited for the perfect moment, when candy came closer, and sprang at her, legs around her neck, on a headlock, as he weighed himself as to make it harder for her to shake him off, proving Lilith right, but not in the best of ways since Candy wanted them to get closer. Her downward smash was avoided by a very much faking it Athan as he flipped up and got more personal than either one of the personalities wanted to be, a muffled exclamation of surprise their only response. When she felt herself tipping backwards, she reacted quickly, jumping up and backwards slightly to flip her body up as she turned into a solid metal version of herself, now weighing down on top of Athan as they made their way to the floor. Before they made contact with the ground, he quickly kicked himself away from them, in a great feat of strength if it wasnt for his gravity, as he launched 7 feet up in the air, landing on his feet with a backflip which he totally did on purpose to show off. "Excellent thinking, lilith! Never underestimate your enemy. Candy, while the thought of checking on me is flattering.. we did just say that we would spar. Dont let the enemy use that kindness, 'cause trust me, they will." Then, he smiled an even wider smile. "Now, lets see that flexibility of yours pushed to the limit. Dont let any of them hit you!" he said as he raised his hand in front of his face, making a circle with his thumb and index finger, blowing from the gap and creating 20 bubbles, circling her in a tight dome, then random ones moving in, one by one at first, to test their awareness, then slowly more and more until it was almost impossible to dodge. Lets see, can she think her way out of this under stress? I wonder.. She started out well enough dodging them as if she danced alongside them in the dome, however as more were added it started to become a bit too crowded, and while she had the idea to pop these bubbles, she didnt know if the could zap her through her weapons, and she wasnt sure if she threw her halo that the barrier wouldnt just let it fly out at just the right moment. Instead, she got close to the edge of the barrier, with her back to Athan, and then popped a poral in front of her as soon as she leapt forward. Next thing Athan would know was that there was a portal with a seraph about to perform a drop kick from behind him. Seeing her weave and dance around with the bubbles was entertaining, until a portal opened that is. Oh right, she can do that. Oh well.. he watched as she leapt at him, only to find herself rooted midair, then pushed back with an invisible force, Athan manipulating her ball to swing her around, and away, then spreading the bubbles all over the battlefield, with 5 of them landing on him slowly as he readied himself for a big move, his stamina needing some refreshment. I wish there was a water source, but oh well. He summoned a lot of water, a substantial amount of it, and spread it all around, slowly making smaller and smaller water pockets as he pushed his ability of controlling liquids to the limit, making a field of hovering water. and the bubbles falling on it, charging it, it was effectively an electric hazard. "Lets see what you'll do about this." as he chucked to himself lightly. She's a long ways from knocking me out, if she even remembers the goal at this point. Yet she shows such promise.. Candy slowly took off her mask, hooking it to her side nice and securely. She was concentrated, determined, but the face lacked the maliciousness that Lilith's often had, so it was safe to assume with the slight smile that this was Candy in complete control. Athan with a confident smile looked as she took the mask off and ran towards him. Mask off so.. Candy? Unbelievably, Candy surged forward against all odds, weaving beautifully between the dangerous zones of water. She took her halo blade, knowing it was running out of time before it returned to her and with a spin for momentum threw it full force to Athan. It looked like a final desperate move, and Candy hoped that is what it would be believed as, for she was falling right toward one of the electric traps, "What the..!" Athan exclaimed as he had to divert his focus from the water droplets to stop the halo before it sliced him in half, successfully halting its movement just at the right time, his elaborate electric trap falling to the ground, along with a steaming Candy. While Athan was destracted by the ring blade coming at him, she used her own manipulation as she hit the water, right before Athan had to drop it to the ground. She shrieked out in pain as the electricity writhed through her body. It was painful, but it quickly went away as she had hoped, though her memories of similar tortures allowed her to keep up the act of having just been electrocuted. Normally, a shock with the power Athan described would be devastating and could have lasting effects. However, her soul manipulation allowed her to reset non physical damage effects, meaning that, when used as she was being hit, the lasting effects it could have had would be negated as the manipulation took effect while she was being electrocuted, and like most descendants, manipulations didn't take and special requirements to control, just will, like Athan's gravity or water manipulation. Candy fell to the ground, steam coming off of her from the heat of the shock as she lay there completely quiet. Her plan, to do exactly as he did to her, and make him think she was hurt, only she was actually able to simulate the actual occurrence of being hit instead of faking an ankle injury. Once he tried to pick her up or help her, that would be when she would strike. "Oh no.. Candy!" he said as he ran towards her, truly terrified for her wellbeing, his thoughts running wild, knowing fully well how she could of died from that, being a Seraphim with weakness to electricity. He didnt want to believe his eyes as the steam coming off of her suggested many things. And he would of fallen for it, if it wasnt for the halo remaining on the ground as conjured metal, instead of returning to its usual place above her head. Oh that little... Still going towards her and not slowing his pace, he also gravitated her halo with him, and right before he was above her, he gravitated her up to her feet, looking at her with eyes both worried and impressed. He tried to put words into his thoughts, but he didnt know where to start, all that came out being "wow. Just.. wow." He hugged her, making sure she was okay and asking "How did you do that? This much shock could of killed you, Seraphim are weak against electricity!" he kept her at an embrace of worry, only to be released quickly after, pointing at the halo. "I have to say, masterfully done using my own tricks against me. But you must make sure its believable from all angles.. If you had dismissed the halo i would of lost to you, but abilities and spells remain as long as you are conscious or focused on them. That is what gave you away." She looked up to him with a tired smile, "It still hurt, a-alot, but its an elemental damage spell, so i can reset its effects. In this case, its damage," she said resting her head on his shoulder as he embraced her. "I just had to time it right to take effect at the right time." As she said this, the time ran out on the halo and it faded into view above her head. "But.... we did not know that the spells just.... disappear when not awake," she stated plainly. Still she looked worse for wear and tired, both from her rapid use of soul and after being fried by the electricity, she had every right to be worn down. He listened to her plan, and judged how she executed it, even more impressed now, with a hint of worry still. "Thats okay, i dont blame you. That is exactly what we're hoping to accomplish with this. Knocking out people stops their spells." he walked to the sliced log, grabbing and wearing his jacket again, signalling the end of their sparring. "You and i are a lot alike, you know that?" he said as he patted her head. "You're smarter than most ive encountered. With some training, you will surpass me quite easily, and rapidly. But enough about that, what do you say we take a break and eat something? I'll even get you some sweets, you more than earned them." he told her with a warm smile, dispelling his omni-eye, his left eye returning to normal. And i need to relieve some stress.. All.. this, is really taxing. Candy seemed stunned for a moment when Athan spoke. She just stared at him, a bit shocked, but not because of the electricity. She fidgeted in place a bit bashfully, looking away from him, "You think so?" she responded a bit surprised to all he said. She had never heard someone compliment her before, and while it made something inside her seem to flutter, she wasn't sure what it was. Maybe she felt some pride in herself? Her bond growing with Athan? It was strange but... she liked it. She sat there for a moment as Athan got his jacket, giggling to herself out of this sudden feeling of joy. "Yeah, of course i think so." he replied honestly, straightening his jacket to perfectly fit his form, not minding her giggling. He was slowly feeling the effects of the fight, so he conjured a bubble and splashed it on him, helping him recover his energy even a little. When Athan mentioned getting some food and sweets, she seemed all eager to go despite still sitting on the ground. A little embarrassed and still quite drained from the fight, she blushed a bit when she asked her next question. "U-uhm, ...could you.... carry me?" she asked. The toll of the fight now settling in, she was sore and tired all over. she may have negated the effects of the lightning, but the pain it caused her in the meantime still affected her. and now that they were at rest and the adrenaline was wearing off, she was feeling quite tapped out. Dont tell me... He eyed her, moving his eyes up and down, making sure it wasn't what he thought it was, and surely enough it seemed she was just tired and hurt. With a heavy sigh he conjured some water and applied a thin layer of it all over her body before saying "Stand still and relax. This will only take a minute." as he started working, healing her body whilst simultaneously pressing the water on her in a way that he knew would help her sore muscles. "And, dont run into my electricity fields again. Its strong enough to kill a Seraphim under "ideal" circumstances." The emphasis to "ideal", the implication shouting "when used to anyone but you" After a minute, as promised, he was finished. He retracted the water, leaving no trace of moisture, like she wasnt covered in a thin layer of moving water just a second ago, and let it drop with a splash to a plant that was nearby. "Is this better?" he asked as he helped her stand with minimal hand movement, which was totally unnecessary, having no need to move his body to manipulate gravity anymore, but doing it unconsciously, a quirk he gained from his early days when he still struggled to control his bloodline. However, she would soon find that wasnt the only thing he did, when she attempts to move, her weight being almost entirely negated, allowing her to move like she suddenly gained super strength, or lost weight. I cant believe she wants to keep the ball attached.. Even though she has the option she still wont let it go.. But i guess i do have to thank that ball too, without it she wouldnt be that strong. In a way it made my life easier. Then again, she was lying on the ground a second ago.. Oh what did i do to deserve this.. Candy was a little upset that he didn't pick her up or even lift her with his gravity, that was always fun. But when she fealt how easy it was for her to move around and how the pain seemed to disappear, she was back to her normal happy self, testing the new light feeling while balancing on top of her ball, walking backwrds on it to roll it forward. "I'll try not to anymore," she promised, "so what are we thinking about eating?" she asked as she followed along. Athan didnt think about it, his mouth just moved on its own. "Lets just say, my favorite. Though it doesnt compare with Vrondi's specialty, not even Tidal's Wake." He was already finished before he could stop himself from saying that, and reflexively looked around to see if anyone had heard, even though he knew nobody was around. Im getting too careless with her around.. Keep it together, Athanasios! he scolded himself. The thought of his past being dug up by some eyesdropper, too curious for his own good. I really dont like this.. he thought, still as paranoid as ever. For the remaining few days, Athan helped candy perfect her ball's curse suppression, as well as continued teaching her how normal social interactions go, which included not whispering to Lilith. He also practiced a little on a new way to use his gravity, increasing his physical force in close combat, which he was already capable of but wasnt comfortable with. He asked Candy about advice, which was a little helpful, given her knowledge on heavy object control. Finally, he bought a certain stone fragment he hoped he wouldnt have to use, given that if he had a need for it, they would be in serious trouble.. Half a day away from Vrondi, the both of them are enjoying the scenery, chatting sparcely, or so it would seem, as Athan's mind is already at work, wondering where to search for the Aion without becoming a target. Sunfire.. Its my best bet right now, nobody would let Candy through to the capital.. Its closer to fotia too.. I cant risk it.. Hopefully i'll find something worthwhile..