Chapter 63

Jay woke up to someone knocking on his door. It startled him awake and for a moment he was worried it was Lux, returned for his conversation. Shaking off the mental cobwebs of sleep Jay got up and walked to the door in the darkness. He opened it still half asleep. “Hello?” he asked.

Aiden walked in to the room past Jay, not waiting for an invitation. “Up and at em big guy.” he said with a smile. “Its time for weapons practice. The birds and insects aren't even awake yet. Lets go go go.” he said as he clapped his hands at the end and motioned at Jay to get dressed.

Jay suddenly remembered he had agreed to start practicing with his staff in the mornings. Jay had no alarm clock of any kind and relied on Aiden and M'redith to get him up. It wasn't a great system and Jay realized he'd have to add something to his list of things to do and buy.

“I need to get an alarm clock don't I?” Jay asked Aiden in realization.

Aiden laughed, “You don't have an alarm clock yet??”

“I haven't had the opportunity to pick one up. I also didn't know you guys had alarm clocks here.” Jay said as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and walked back to his bedroom to get dressed.

“How else would you know to get up?” Aiden asked as he plopped himself in to a chair and set his staff across his lap.

“I don't know – wait for dawn?” Jay said grumpily even though the entire 'wake up early' thing had been his idea to begin with. Aiden chose not to point that out and instead moved on to the next subject.

“M'redith will meet us at the field. Its really nice of her to do this you know.” Aiden said thoughtfully.

“I know – I really appreciate both of you helping me out.” Jay responded, his voice a bit muffled as he slid a shirt on over his head. It was a plain linen shirt without pockets or anything that his staff could catch on during practice.

“No, I mean,” Aiden started before trying a different approach, “She doesn't even use a staff. How can she help you? She's waking up before the crack of dawn just to provide you with emotional support essentially.”

Jay shook his head, “I understand what you're trying to get at but a Fighter doesn't stick with just one weapon do they? I thought they would train across a range of weapons – the staff definitely being one of them.”

Aiden shrugged, “I mean eventually, sure, but she's just level 1. She needs to become skilled at one weapon before she tries to move on to others. Who knows, maybe this will help her too and I don't know what I'm talking about.”

Jay finished getting dressed and sat down to lace up his boots. After he finished that he picked up his collapsed staff and mentally ordered it to extend to six feet.

“Ok, I'm as ready as I'm going to be.” Jay said with a sigh as the two left the room and Jay closed the door behind them. Jay turned the doorknob one more time just to be sure it was locked.

Aiden looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Just making sure.” Jay said sheepishly.

Aiden led the two of them down a number of paths Jay was unfamiliar with.

“Thanks for waking me up. I would have slept right through to breakfast otherwise I think.” Jay said with a yawn. He brought up his arm and yawned in to his elbow out of politeness.

Aiden peered at Jay, “You really need an alarm clock.”

They turned a corner and walked behind a row of office buildings before they spotted M'redith standing in a field of grass and working through the steps of a sword form. She executed each move carefully before moving her body precisely to a new angle before initiating her next attack.

Some moves she performed slowly with graceful movements. Others she performed with a brutal and violent motion. The two seemingly opposite forms of movement were paired together to become something greater than the sum of its parts.

She had apparently been there for a while already and was sweating in the pre-dawn darkness, a streak of color showing on one side of the sky as the sun prepared to make a showing. She dropped her wooden practice sword as Jay grinned and swooped her up in to a big hug.

“Oh, no, Jay, I'm all sweaty!” she said but Jay kept the hug up. Finally she hugged back and squealed. “Tell a girl before you turn on an aura will you?”

Aiden chuckled. They were all talking softly and trying not to make too much noise just out of habit. There wasn't anyone close enough to hear them, the residential section set up on the other side of the Guild grounds.

M'redith melted in to Jay's arms and turned around to face Aiden, her back leaning up against Jay as the aura worked. “Thanks for picking him up,” she said with a smile.

Aiden shrugged in reply and moments later M'redith was sparkling clean and smelled vaguely of the beach.

Disengaging from Jay she turned around and said thanks before she put her arms over her head and stretched. “I don't think I'll ever get sick of that even if I do forget about it sometimes.” M'redith said with a happy grin.

“Ok,” Aiden said, “if you two are done flirting can we practice now?” Aiden smiled to take any sting out of his words.

The three stood next to each other and began to go through the exercises they had been learning over the past week or two.

It was clear from the very beginning that Jay was not ever going to be gifted at staff fighting. Where M'redith floated from one position to another Jay stumbled. Where Aiden transitioned from defense to offense Jay did the same but took longer to do it.

Anything M'redith and Aiden could do with a staff Jay would do worse. Not for a lack of trying, the staff just wasn't comfortable in Jay's hands yet. It would take practice.

After an hour it was Jay's turn to be sweaty and panting for breath. The aura could get distracting during combat so Jay left it off during practice time.

“I thought combat skills would be a bit easier to learn,” Jay said with a grimace.

“What,” Aiden asked mockingly, “you're not deadly enough after your one early morning practice session? One that isn't even over yet might I remind you.” he said as he leaned on his staff.

M'redith chuckled. “Ok, time to spar. Face each other. Ready stances. Fight!” she said as she stepped back and Aiden and Jay circled each other trading blows.

Jay was good at one thing in particular – defense. He could dodge strikes and slip just enough out of the way to not get hit. It was when he tried to go on the offense that things went badly for him.

The fight devolved in to Aiden raining strikes down upon Jay who managed to block most of them. Jay found it almost impossible to transition to offense without offering Aiden up an opening.

“That's enough. My turn.” M'redith said after the two had finished an extended bout. Aiden shrugged and stepped aside to make room for her. He leaned on his staff while he breathed heavily.

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“Ready?” he asked Jay who nodded. “Fight!” he said as he took a step back.

M'redith circled Jay with her wooden sword and occasionally made probing attacks to see how Jay would respond. Jay responded the same way each time – with either a dodge or a block. After a few minutes Aiden paused the match.

“Jay, you're stepping back too much. Try circling or side stepping instead of giving up ground. Or – and I know you find this uncomfortable – you could try stepping forward.” Aiden said as he pointed at Jay with one finger.

Jay nodded and took a deep breath. “Ok. I'll give that a try.”

The fight resumed and M'redith launched an overhead strike at Jay which Jay did not block. Instead Jay stepped to the side and struck out not at the sword but at one of M'redith's arms. The strike ruined her grip on the sword and she stepped back for a moment to reset.

Jay had yet to get an opportunity to go on the offense and he wasn't sure if he'd get another chance aside from the one M'redith presented him with as she stepped back.

Jay stepped forward and swung the staff low towards her ankle. She stepped back but then shot forward off of her back foot after the staff swung past her. Her sword shot forward and struck Jay in the solar plexus with a solid thunk.

Jay had a hard time breathing after that and in moments M'redith had won. “Great effort!” she said appreciatively.

Aiden nodded. “Much better than your normal routine of repeatedly backing away from the fight.”

Jay laughed, “Am I really that bad?”

Aiden shook his head, “Worse.”

M'redith laughed and Aiden cracked a smile. “Don't worry,” she said, “almost everyone starts out being awful at fighting. It takes time and practice, something I'm guessing you had little of back where you came from?”

Jay shook his head but smiled, “Staff fighting was not something I ran in to very often where I came from. Or at all. I'll just have to work extra hard.”

Aiden laughed. “Don't get discouraged when that doesn't work. The only way you're going to get better with the staff is work and time.”

Jay pursed his lips, “How much time exactly?”

“Months,” replied M'redith just as Aiden said “Years.”

Jay laughed, “So... a while then. Got it.”

Jay took a break as Aiden and M'redith took a turn sparring. “Ready you two? Ok. Fight!” Jay said as he stepped away from his two friends who took the opportunity to circle each other while they looked for an opening.

M'redith soundly trounced Aiden with her sword and Aiden shook his head. “Fighting a sword with a staff. Of COURSE I'd lose.”

Jay laughed. “I don't know if that is the reason you lost but I guess it didn't help. M'redith is really good too though.”

M'redith smiled. Jay took that moment to offer them the use of his aura and they both took a turn, M'redith first, to stand in the aura and get cleaned up.

Once they all looked sparkling clean Aiden led the group to breakfast. They passed quite a few other people and the sun made a riot of color, all reds and yellows, across the sky as it made its first peek above the horizon for the day.

By the time they had arrived at the dining hall the sun had risen completely above the horizon and cast long shadows across the ground. Aiden yawned, followed by Jay and M'redith and even an uninvolved third party standing in line behind them. Yawns were catchy.

M'redith was craning her neck to see over the people in front of her in an attempt to learn what breakfast would consist of. Jay grinned, he didn't have to move at all. As he was already taller than everyone else he could plainly see that breakfast would be delicious.

“Breakfast sandwiches.” Jay said as he licked his lips.

“That's it?” Aiden asked as if lodging a formal complaint.

“Are you kidding? Have you had one before?” M'redith said in shock.

Jay reached the head of the line and picked out two croissant sandwiches stuffed with crispy bacon and cheesy eggs. Each was wrapped in a paper wrapper that let you eat the sandwich without getting your fingers dirty. Jay moved to the next station in the line and picked out a bright red bowl of strawberry yogurt. He picked out a glass of orange juice with magical pink ice cubes floating in it shining a pleasant bright pink color.

M'redith picked a single croissant sandwich with spicy sausage and cheesy eggs. She grabbed a blueberry yogurt in a bright red dish and picked out an apple juice for her drink.

Aiden looked disappointed before he saw another row of sandwiches towards the back. He picked two sandwiches made out of crispy buttered english muffins stuffed with bacon and cheesy eggs. He skipped the yogurt and got two slices of buttered toast instead. Staring at the drink selection he finally picked out a glass of grapefruit juice with pink magic iced cubes.

The three sat down in their normal seating arrangement. Jay in the middle, M'redith to his right, and Aiden to his left. They ate quietly as no one was in a chatty mood after waking up early. At least they were clean and wearing clean clothes – that alone cheered them up a little.

The three finished eating and leaned back in their chairs, M'redith leaning on Jay's arm.

“We have a few minutes before class, you guys want to sit here or walk to class and hang out under the big tree near the entrance for the practice hall? M'redith asked as she used one finger to wind a few strands of hair behind her ear.

Aiden shrugged but stood up, “Might as well head out.”

Jay didn't have an opinion so stood up with Aiden and shrugged. “Works for me.”

Jay brought up the trays for everyone as Aiden stretched and M'redith stood up as well.

“How'd he do?” asked Aiden.

M'redith shrugged, “It was a good start. He needs a real trainer to help him practice though – I'm not sure we're enough.”

Aiden thought about that for a moment. “So, what? Should he add a weapons trainer to his list of things to do?”

M'redith smiled, “I'm not sure he could afford it right now. His list of things he needs to buy has rapidly outpaced his bank account's funds. I'd think that improving his fighting abilities would be a priority though.”

Aiden sighed, “Ok. We'll just keep working with him then the best we can. Anything is better than him only practicing during class. It's too bad he has other things to do – if he just focused on weapons training and nothing else he might advance a lot faster.”

M'redith laughed, “Or he might get bored and do even worse. You never know how someone will take to intense training. He's doing good so far, lets stick with what we're doing until he finds a real trainer.”

Jay returned, “Good to go?”

“Yup. And just so you know we talked about you the entire time you were gone,” Aiden said with a grin and walked outside with his two friends.

Jay was about to reply when they stepped outside the dining hall and stopped. A few people yelled at them to move and they sheepishly walked to the side to allow others to pass. Across from the dining hall was the standing staff, by itself. It stood upright without any visible means of support. It was alone, its owner nowhere to be found. It stood like a silent sentry.

As the three friends watched the staff from across the road it gave a little hop before pausing then continuing to hop away. It hopped around the corner of the building across the street from them and then hopped along, turning down a side street in the distance.

“So...” Jay said, drawing out the o.

“Were we just being watched by a staff?” Aiden asked.

M'redith furrowed her eyebrows, “That thing is creepy.”

Jay laughed, “Its just watching – it's not like it attacked us or anything.”

“CREEPY.” insisted M'redith as she poked Jay in the chest with one finger and Aiden laughed.

Jay smiled as the three started up their walk once again and headed towards the practice hall. “Eden is weird sometimes.”