The next day....

I narrow my eyes and look across the open sky. The tension between each of my fingers was mounting with clarity. My armor was fitted and strong over my body like a shell. My knee-blade was extended with my gun by my side. I had my shield and the outside was shiny with a reflective film. I grip my controls. Maur was having me fight Toah and I was going to unleash my rage against him. It was just for practice. Maur's voice echoes in my head. He had a list and it was a lot.

“Never forget about the wind currents.”

“Never let your knee-blade snag on the bone structure the wrong way.”

“Your shield can be used for reflecting sunlight at the eyes. It's not just for hiding behind.”

“Precision and discipline. Superiority through action and not by opinion.”

My eyes flutter, as Maur redirects sunlight into my face with his shield. He was demonstrating again. The reflective coating over its metal surface blinds me. I knew the simple strike of a bullet could disable my shield’s ability, I couldn't let it be cracked into shards.

Maur hovers near me in the air. He has Toah guide him again, to the right position. He speaks again to me, .

“You will likely fail again, but from here I can observe your improvements.”

I hesitate. Toah shakes his head at me. This was nonsense to him and Maur couldn't see his disapproving gestures. Toah hovers in the sky across from me. Maur flies closer, bumping me slightly before speaking.

“Remember Lani, aim above the hand and you are sure to strike a wire. Aim for the forehead and you are sure to slash the chest. Lift up. You blade is beneath you.”

Toah faces off with me, gripping to his jet-pack controls and bowing to his master. I do the same with an awkward pause. Maur couldn't see me well. He was listening to the sounds of our movements and making judgments in his mind. It worked like a clock.

My breathing wavers. I wasn't even sure if I was doing everything right. Maur had filled my mind with more advice than I could keep track of. Suddenly, Toah's jet-pack sputters into action and he leaps through the sky leaving a howl in the air.

I wrap my jet-pack wires around my hand in loops. I didn't want to drop my controls again. The wires were a lot tougher than I thought and not as flexible as they appeared.

I readied myself. Extra armor plating covered my vulnerable exterior, giving me feelings of safety. Toah had refused to give me his training gear, so Maur was letting me use his extra metal plates.

A button clicks and I feel the rumble of my jet-pack across my back. It gradually moves me with a will of its own and I was used to controlling it. I pull my helmet visor over my face, looking through the darkened lenses. There was writing on the inside, that allowed me quickly glance and judge distances and speeds as I flew. Toah and I wait for Maur to give the signal.

“Attack now!”

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In a flash of speed, I hone in on Toah preparing to slash him across the neck. He desperately reaches for his gun. I change direction and miss him, as he makes a last second evasion. The cold air howls around me. Toah’s body jerks within my view, growing large within a second’s timing.

I strike at him and I'm hurdled off course. Toah had rammed me with his shield. By the time I recover, Toah falls in behind me. He chases me as we rush in a circle. He moves his body with unpredictable movements, not allowing me to see him when I glance behind. I snatch the mirror on my belt. I hold it in the palm of my free hand. I look behind me and slap it back on my belt. I hear gunshots.

Toah fires twice hitting my jet-pack. It starts to smoke and lean to the side. I clumsily try to pull out my gun, but I was too slow. In a burst of speed, Toah slams into my side with his armor. I watch helplessly as my gun falls to the ground. Before I recover, Toah sweeps around again and strikes me from above. He snags me by my shoulder and drags me to ground. A rush of adrenaline courses through my back. I anxiously try to judge the distance of my fall.

I loosen up my posture and crash into the ground. I bounce a few times, and start bleeding from my nose. I wipe my face and lie on my side. I was in pain.

“She can’t think on her feet, sir, Too clumsy,” salutes Toah.

“I can't see that, Toah.”

Toah looks at Maur and makes a rude gesture. He grips hard to his jet-pack controls and feigns another attack at me. I fall over as he barely strikes me with his knee-blade. I watch as Toah finishes a vertical loop and hovers in front of me with precision. He stares at me, as I slowly get up again.

“Let her stay a wimpy dancer. That's all she is,” Toah sneers.

My eyes dart to Toah. I stare at him angrily and he continues to circle me.

Toah shakes his head at me. “There's a reason our priests uphold the laws and traditions. She wasn’t meant to be like us. She's the outsider and a woman.”

Maur stops to ponder. He was listening to everything that happened and calculating the blurs.

“Well Toah, it appears you are the better fighter for now. Relish this moment and take Lani to her tent. This will be enough practice for today.”

Some time later, Toah takes me to my tent. He opens the entrance like he was ordered to and looks at me. Before I enter in, he kicks the back of my boots. I nearly fall over. I look back angrily.

“Just seeing if you needed new ones,” he states.

I stare at Toah, but there was no one to stare at. He had already left. I rush out of my tent, just in time to see him pass the central campfire. I run up behind him and give him a hard shove.

Toah spins around and punches me across the face. I stumble backwards and eject my knee-blade. I raise it and he blocks it, but I jab him with my jet-pack controller instead. I hear his jaw click and he backs away. Toah wipes his mouth of blood.

Toah looks back at me and whistles mockingly. Others come out of their tents and surround us. He walks up to me and rests his hand on my shoulder.

“I own you little Ryoken girl. Let's complete your training some other day.”

Toah starts to walk off. I run at him, but one of the other Caparans pulls me back.

“Don't do it. Toah has his cronies.”

A wellspring of emotional frustration surges through me. The other Caparans pull me back, while some taunt from the distance. There was a divide among the tents that had been forming for a while. I run back into my tent. I start to pound my desk, but a whistle outside my tent distracts me.

I burst out the cloth entrance and find no one there. An alcoholic drink was there by my feet. The other Caparans were trying to cheer me up and take my mind off everything. I take the drink and put it in the corner of my room. I didn't want it, but the gesture calmed me down.

Sometimes, being a flying killer was bearable. Other times, I thought about a different life. I still remembered when Atjani and I got separated. It changed everything for me. I thought he would come find me, but Melinal was on his mind. I as a nobody to him. I was just some messenger girl and we were all the same.

“Mmm.”

I dart back to my drink and kick it over. I watch my tent cloth shake a few times, before I run to my bed and pull out my old things. I hold my bandanna in my hand. It had a picture of a small pearly bird on it. I give it a hug and smile.

“I'm still a Lam Lathi messenger. It's still a lonely journey. I hope Atjani is still alive. I miss him now.”