"Thank you for making me better," a bald little girl said happily as she hugged Maxine. Moments before, Maxine sang to a group of children and used her voice as a carrier for her energies. She managed to remove every last cell of cancer out of every child in the room. Most of the kids present wouldn't have lasted more than a couple months if she hadn't helped them.
"You're welcome, little one," Maxine said as she hugged her back, "Now, can you do me a favor?"
"Sure!" the little girl said happily.
"I want you to go play, and be as happy as you can," Maxine said happily, "It will make both me and your parents extra happy."
"'Kay!" the little girl said happily, "I'm gonna eat a lot of yummy foods too!"
"You do that," Maxine said with a big smile plastered on her face as the little girl smiled back and ran to her parents.
"Um, can I ask a question?" a teenage boy asked and Maxine nodded her head, "Why are some cultivators assholes?" Maxine reflexively snorted in amusement.
"Well, when someone can lift a car over their head with one hand, it tends to fill them with such confidence that they feel that they can behave however they please," Maxine explained, "But that isn't the case. There is always someone stronger that will take offense to their behavior and it helps their attitude if they're reminded of that fact."
"Oh, but why don't you act like that?" the boy asked, "You're the strongest person on Earth."
"I've learned it's just easier to be polite when you first meet someone. It prevents many problems from happening," Maxine said honestly, "After all, there are some super strong cultivators out there that like to hide how strong they are."
"But why would they do that?" an innocent looking little girl asked.
"They're lonely," Maxine answered, "Everyone is so scared of them that they need to hide how strong they are. If they don't, everyone would be super polite to them, but it doesn't give those super strong people what they crave. And that's genuine human connection."
"Um, okay," the innocent little girl says as she scampers off. Well, I guess that was a bit too much for their minds to understand at this point. They'll get it once they get older. Anyways, I need to go look at those kids with varying levels of paralysis. Their lives are not in immediate danger, but they need help just the same.
Maxine stood up and began to move to a different part of the hospital. She sighed in annoyance when she heard a familiar set of foot steps following behind her. She glanced behind her and saw a pair of elves following her. They've been watching me since this morning. It's clear they want to ask me something. So, why won't they just come out and ask me what's on their mind? Ugh, it's very irritating. I hope it doesn't have anything to do with the fact that I'm healing these kids. I've been doing this for nearly a week. If they had a problem with it, they should've just come out and said so.
When Maxine arrived at the area where they gathered all of the children suffering form some form of paralysis, she scanned them with her spiritual sense. The vast majority either had a spinal injury of some kind. The rest suffered from either a head injury, blood flow problem or an infection of some kind that damaged some delicate nerves.
After she was done, she spotted the parents of the children and slowly walked towards them. They tried to speak to her, but she held up her hand to let them know to wait for her to speak first. "I've already looked at all of your kids and I already know what's wrong with them. The kids with the back injuries are the easiest to heal so, I'll heal them as a group. As for the rest of them, I'll have to heal them individually."
"How can you make such a quick judgement?" a particularly angry looking man asked, "You havn't even looked at their charts!"
"I scanned their bodies with my spiritual sense the moment I walked in the door," Maxine said calmly, "While I understand it's hard for you to comprehend this, but my mind works thousands of times faster than yours does. And my spiritual sense gives me many times more detail than even the best MRI available. Now, does anyone else have a question? If not, I'll begin."
"How will you heal our children?" a concerned mother asked.
"Normally, healing requires physical contact, but I don't need to physically touch them to heal what ails them. Instead, I use my voice as a carrier for my energies. This way I can heal a large group such as this in short period of time. It's less efficient energy wise, but with my reserves, I could heal in this manner for most of the day without getting overly tired," Maxine answered, "As a bonus, you and the children get to hear me sing and I've been told I have a very beautiful singing voice." She felt the pair of elves look at her back intently at the mention of her singing. Why would they be interested in that? I know the night elves were capable of speeding up the growth of crops and perform wood-shaping through the use of songs. So, healing through the use of one shouldn't be that big of a deal.
"I don't care what method you use so long as my son can walk again," a rather thin man said with a surprisingly deep voice.
"He won't be able to walk right away, but he should regain sensation in his legs and feet today. As for walking, that's depends on how much work he's willing to put into it," Maxine replied, "That reminds me. Most of these kids will need physical therapy to regain full use of their bodies after today. Healing techniques can cure all sorts of ailments. They can even regrow lost limbs, but any long term loss of a limb or immobility always requires some time for the patient to relearn how to use it. Any other questions?"
No one appeared as if they had any more questions. "No?" Maxine asked and waited a few seconds before she spoke, "In that case, please, make yourselves comfortable while I get ready to start."
Maxine slowly walked over to a space directly infront of all the children and began singing. She used songs that were both sung by women and were about healing. Within moments, the elves gave her looks of pleasant surprise and it confused her. What are they surprised about? It shouldn't be that rare for someone to heal through song, right? I mean countless cultivators have already figured out how to confuse, cause other's to hallucinate and injure through the use of music. Why would it be surprising if someone could heal using it as well? At least, they're not bothering me while I'm healing these kids.
Once she went through a few songs, she checked many of the children over with her spiritual sense and smiled in satisfaction to herself as she walked towards a small boy in a wheelchair. She knelt down infront of him to put herself at his eye level and gently pinched his thigh. "Do you feel that?" Maxine asked, but she hardly needed to. The little boy looked at his leg in surprise and immediately hugged her while practically chanting the words 'thank you.'
His parents swiftly thanked her as well and she disengaged from the little boy before moving onto the children that needed individualized treatment. Each time that she healed one of them, both the child and their parents thanked her profusely and to her surprise, the elves seemed to get more pleased by the second. Okay... starting to get a little weirded out here. It doesn't help that I can't tell if they're men or women. Wait, their ears are a little longer than normal. Damn it. They're high elves. Now, I'm really worried.
When she was finished treating the last child, she stood up and walked purposefully towards the elves. "What do you want?" Maxine demanded, "You've been following me for most of the day and it's bothering me."
"Apologies, we were hoping to talk to you in private," the high elf on the left said in a masculine tone.
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"About what?" Maxine asked.
"We were hoping for increased trade of chocolate to our people," the high elf said.
"You should be talking with the merchants then. Personally, I prefer to stay out of such negotiations," Maxine answered simply, "And I'm certain they wish for the same."
"You should reconsider," the high elf said in a threatening tone and she felt him blast her with his killing intent. Although, to her, it was rather weak. He hasn't killed more than a dozen people.
Maxine in turn directed the full force of her killing intent at him. He instantly started sweating as blood drained from his face. "You will not tell me what to do on my homeworld," Maxine said calmly, "And if I find out that you're threatening any earthlings to get a better deal, I'll literately kick you between your legs hard enough to put you into orbit. Am I clear?"
"Y.. yes," the high elf said nervously.
Maxine immediately shifted her gaze to his companion and raised an eyebrow. "Are you here to discuss matters of trade as well?" Maxine asked, "If so, my answer will remain the same: Talk to the merchants yourselves."
"No, I am not here on that matter. I just came to observe you in particular," the high elven 'woman' said, "You're more powerful than anyone else on this planet, yet you still treat everyone equally. I find it an unusual, yet refreshing, approach."
"I was raised to be polite to everyone, until they give me a reason not to," Maxine answered honestly, "Oh, by the way, why were you watching me so intently earlier while I sang?"
"I was just appreciating your skill in the use of healing songs," the high elven woman said, "It's so rare to see such a talent among humans. Most of your kind that can use song for healing don't. Instead, they use their songs as a weapon."
"I've seen that unfortunate pattern myself," Maxine admitted.
"I agree. It is unfortunate," the high elven woman lamented before seemed to realize something," Forgive me, I've forgotten to introduce myself. I'm Allana Trenz and I'm very pleased to make your acquaintance."
"As am I and I'm sure that you're aware that my name is Maxine Cinderson," Maxine answered, "Although, my legal family name is Levings. I still prefer Cinderson."
"I imagine there is a reason behind this preference," Allana Trenz pointed out.
"There is, but I would prefer not to talk about it," Maxine answered calmly and glanced at the wall clock, "Oh, it seems that I need to head home for the day. I hope that we can both find the time to chat again."
"I look forward to such an encounter," Allana Trenz said with a smile.
As Maxine walked away, she marveled internally at how polite Allana Trenz was. Normally, high elves always carried themselves as if they were superior to everyone else, but this high elf woman did not. In fact, she treated Maxine as an equal. Well, there are always outliers to every group. Allana Trenz must be one of them. Then again, she might be showing me respect due to daddy. Or she's a political animal looking to quietly manipulate me into helping the high elves. Sadly, I wouldn't know if that was the case. High elves have had a very long time to perfect that kind of method to a literal art. Anyways, time to head home. I need to check on Lucas' progress with the hydrakin inheritance. He shouldn't be practicing anything other than the beginner techniques.
As soon as she exited the hospital, she created an arch to return home. She didn't see Lucas in his usual spot infront of the TV or waiting patiently outside of the kitchen for dinner. Good, he must be in the training room.
Maxine made her way to the training room and took a peek inside and smiled in pride at Lucas' dedication. He was practicing the basics of a strange unarmed fighting style that incorporated the use of the unique energy pathways of his species and it was producing very potent results, even with his low level of skill. However, she rather he focus more on speed than power. That little guy can have all of the hitting power in the world, but it'll be useless if he can't hit his opponent. It's why I focus on speed. With our venom, one scratch from our claws is usually enough to decide a fight as long as we play it safe afterwards.
"Very good," Maxine praised him and he immediately whirled around to face her with a smile on his face, "You're getting the hang of those basic movements faster than I thought. Keep this up and you'll be learning the next set of techniques in another four to five months."
"Why not sooner?" Lucas asked.
"You need a solid understanding of the basics first," Maxine replied and added when she saw his disappointment, "Think of it this way. The basics are like the foundation of a building. The better the foundations, the bigger and sturdier the building can become. Do you understand?"
"I think so," Lucas replied and returned to practicing his moves.
"That's the spirit," Maxine said encouragingly, "Now, I'll go help mom with making dinner. You just keep at it and I'll come get you when it's ready."
"'Kay," Lucas responded calmly while he continued practicing.
Maxine left the training room and made her way to the kitchen. But as soon as she got there, Hellen was already in the middle of preparing dinner. Maxine recognized what her mother was trying to make and chipped in to help get it ready. It didn't take them very long to finish and notify both Guan and Lucas that dinner was ready.
Once she was at the table, Guan simply stated, "Be careful around those high elves. It rarely bodes well for anyone when they're polite like they were with you today. A friend of mine died when he was lured into a trap by a 'polite' high elf. I don't want you to end up in a similar situation."
"Understood," Maxine answered simply before she began to dig in.
"Spar?" Lucas asked Maxine after they were all done eating.
"Let's put our dishes in the sink, first," Maxine said calmly, "And I'll be happy to spar."
"YAY!" Lucas shouted happily and swiftly took his and Maxine's plate to the sink. I didn't expect him to do that. He must really want to test out his moves. She started walking towards the training room and was surprised when she felt Lucas' hands push against her lower back to hurry her along.
"Alright, alright," Maxine chuckled, "I'll move faster." With that, Maxine proceeded to walk quickly towards the training room.
As soon as she was there, she took up an unarmed fighting stance just before Lucas rushed at her. Maxine leaned back as he swiped at her with his claws and slightly tapped the back of his hand to make him spin like a top. "Make sure both of your feet are grounded whenever you strike like that. Otherwise, your opponent can take advantage of you, like I did just now," Maxine advised and swayed to the left when Lucas thrust his claws forward at her stomach, "Better, but make sure to have a follow up if your first strike misses. Try to think of a combo that's difficult to avoid. Like this one."
Maxine intentionally threw a slow jab that Lucas avoided and immediately kicked him in the gut with a swift kick. "See. It's hard to avoid, isn't it?" Maxine asked. Unless, of course, you know that it's coming, but that's another lesson. Getting some basic moves is a must. After that, he can start learning how to anticipate his opponent.
"Yeah," Lucas said as he rubbed his stomach for a moment and without warning, he lunged at her. Against someone else at his level, it would've had a decent chance of working, but Maxine simply side-stepped to dodge it. However, his tail whipped out to hit her ribs and she let it connect. Unfortunately, for Lucas, it did absolutely no damage to her due to the difference in their cultivation.
"Nice combo," Maxine praised him, "You're learning very quickly." He'll need more pointers on how to improve, but he's coming along very nicely.
They continued sparring for a couple hours until Maxine's phone rang. She checked the caller id and it was the UN secretary. "Hello. Is there something wrong?" Maxine said calmly while using one hand to continue sparring with Lucas.
"Hello, Maxine. Do you remember that young man that you chased out of my office the other day?" the UN secretary asked.
"Yes, I remember," Maxine acknowledged.
"Well, he's now stating to several news outlets that you ambushed him in order to 'defeat' him when he was trying to challenge you for your position and he's demanding a rematch," the UN secretary explained, "How do you want to handle this?"
"I would like to laugh in his face at his stupidity, but that wouldn't help matters," Maxine replied, "And seeing how I have very little experience dealing with this I think I would choose silence. Anything else might give his advisors an opening to exploit me politically."
"Normally, that would be the best choice, but Tang Zhiqiang has convinced his nation that he is more powerful than you are," the UN secretary replied, "And they've come to an agreement of sorts with several other nations to pressure the UN until this 'rematch' happens."
"Fine, just set up a time and place. I'll be there," Maxine said in annoyance, "But just to be clear, I want you to send this message to those morons: I spared Tang Zhiqiang's life once out of a desire for our world to be stronger and I shall not do so again if he can't see that he's outmatched."
"I'll be sure to let them know," the UN secretary said and Maxine could hear him gulp nervously.
"Is there anything else?" Maxine asked.
"No, there isn't. I'll let you go then," the UN secretary said calmly.
"Bye," Maxine said as she ended the call and glanced at Lucas, whom looked very frustrated.
"No fair," Lucas said grumpily.
"Well, what did you expect?" Maxine asked, "I'm over two stages above you in strength."
"Not that," Lucas said, "Supposed to spar, not talk on phone."
"I'm sorry about that, but I have responsibilities that I can't ignore," Maxine explained to Lucas, "I'm hoping that someone can take over for me soon, but thus far, the one guy that could isn't exactly the right kind of person for the job."
"Oh," Lucas said before yawning, "Sleepy."
"Alright, let's head to bed," Maxine said cheerfully. Well, you can go to bed here, but I'm going to go to Emily's place. It's been too long since I've spent the night over there. In fact, I should either move in with her or she with me. I'll talk with her about that before my deathmatch with that idiot.