04-08-2018, 05:30 PM
An ache spread warmth across his jaw like he'd been punched. Except nobody in the room so much laid a hand on him.
Remembering how hard he'd grit his teeth, he rubbed his chin until the muscles fell slack while his other hand held up the sign to halt. Despite the signal, he sensed the shadow of Dominik's weaves loom closer. If that son of a bitch thought he was going to get in an easy hit while Jay was plucking a bottle from the drink station, he was in for a surprise.
Luckily for him, Karim interrupted. "Rules are not suggestions, Taichechski." The man grumbled something in response. Jay smiled at the rows of glass bottles without so much as glancing over his shoulder. Taichechski was a hot-head, but he wouldn't stand up against Karim. The guy was a good leader and held the respect of everyone. Taichechski wasn't stupid, even if he thought the newbie of the group was an easy mark. So maybe it was partly true, but Jay was learning.
Like now. He stopped himself from grabbing the nearest bottle of water. Each glass bottle sported the shape of a wine-bottle, but was filled with crystal clear (albeit, tepid) liquid.
Jay took a breath and summoned the power to his grasp. That was another thing. The guys didn't refer to it as magic and spells. They called the power something eternal and all-permeating. Channeling.
Brow furrowed, he wrapped cords of air around the bottle and hoisted it in front of him. Funny how all the channeling in the tunnels seemed so easy at the time and now it was nigh impossible to pick up a bottle of water.
Splitting the flow, he held the first solidly while the second was curled around the cork. It wasn't that tight and would pop out easily by hand. The flows bent, tightened and the sound of its freedom was a satisfying pop.
He was vaguely aware of faces watching him to see if he could do it. He'd only been here a day, but the Ascendants pushed each other hard. Everyone seemed to grow differently, so nobody could predict how fast Jay would progress. What was known was that their power grew in spits and bursts and depended strongly on how often it was used and how hard it was pushed.
Air held the bottle before him. The cork rolled on the floor at his feet. It would take a flow of fire to cool the water to a refreshing temperature. So far, he hadn't accomplished the task. Two flows at once - air and fire - were exponentially harder to control than two threads of the same thing.
His heart beat in his chest. His jaw clenched, although he did nothing to loosen the muscle at the moment. It seemed his face was likely to ache for weeks to come at this pace.
Air and fire. On their own, both seemed easy. Together was another story. At least, together on demand. He'd done something with them in the tunnel, but like hell if he could repeat it now.
Fire slipped. Again and again. It escaped his grasp. The split focus was too much. Frowning, he gave up for the time being and snatched the bottle from mid-air and put the rim to his lips, fully aware that releasing the air freed up his head to use the fire and draw out the heat. But that felt like cheating. Until he could do it at the same time, tepid water was the brew of the day.
When he turned, Taichechski only shrugged and stalked off to take his own break. Jay met eyes with Karim, the only other one paying any attention at that point. As the Arab channeled a bottle over to himself and the glass turned a frosty shade, he didn't say a thing.
Remembering how hard he'd grit his teeth, he rubbed his chin until the muscles fell slack while his other hand held up the sign to halt. Despite the signal, he sensed the shadow of Dominik's weaves loom closer. If that son of a bitch thought he was going to get in an easy hit while Jay was plucking a bottle from the drink station, he was in for a surprise.
Luckily for him, Karim interrupted. "Rules are not suggestions, Taichechski." The man grumbled something in response. Jay smiled at the rows of glass bottles without so much as glancing over his shoulder. Taichechski was a hot-head, but he wouldn't stand up against Karim. The guy was a good leader and held the respect of everyone. Taichechski wasn't stupid, even if he thought the newbie of the group was an easy mark. So maybe it was partly true, but Jay was learning.
Like now. He stopped himself from grabbing the nearest bottle of water. Each glass bottle sported the shape of a wine-bottle, but was filled with crystal clear (albeit, tepid) liquid.
Jay took a breath and summoned the power to his grasp. That was another thing. The guys didn't refer to it as magic and spells. They called the power something eternal and all-permeating. Channeling.
Brow furrowed, he wrapped cords of air around the bottle and hoisted it in front of him. Funny how all the channeling in the tunnels seemed so easy at the time and now it was nigh impossible to pick up a bottle of water.
Splitting the flow, he held the first solidly while the second was curled around the cork. It wasn't that tight and would pop out easily by hand. The flows bent, tightened and the sound of its freedom was a satisfying pop.
He was vaguely aware of faces watching him to see if he could do it. He'd only been here a day, but the Ascendants pushed each other hard. Everyone seemed to grow differently, so nobody could predict how fast Jay would progress. What was known was that their power grew in spits and bursts and depended strongly on how often it was used and how hard it was pushed.
Air held the bottle before him. The cork rolled on the floor at his feet. It would take a flow of fire to cool the water to a refreshing temperature. So far, he hadn't accomplished the task. Two flows at once - air and fire - were exponentially harder to control than two threads of the same thing.
His heart beat in his chest. His jaw clenched, although he did nothing to loosen the muscle at the moment. It seemed his face was likely to ache for weeks to come at this pace.
Air and fire. On their own, both seemed easy. Together was another story. At least, together on demand. He'd done something with them in the tunnel, but like hell if he could repeat it now.
Fire slipped. Again and again. It escaped his grasp. The split focus was too much. Frowning, he gave up for the time being and snatched the bottle from mid-air and put the rim to his lips, fully aware that releasing the air freed up his head to use the fire and draw out the heat. But that felt like cheating. Until he could do it at the same time, tepid water was the brew of the day.
When he turned, Taichechski only shrugged and stalked off to take his own break. Jay met eyes with Karim, the only other one paying any attention at that point. As the Arab channeled a bottle over to himself and the glass turned a frosty shade, he didn't say a thing.
Only darkness shows you the light.