Chapter Seven: Friction

Teal made them train until Joseph felt like his arms would fall off. His mana pool had started to recover, but now his body was exhausted too. His only consolation was that Lauren was in no better shape after holding her shield against his wild sword attacks.

When they returned to their quarters, Lauren showed him to his room. There were several others off a small hallway, and some bathrooms down the end. Joseph took a shower, marvelling at the enchantments that drew water all the way up the tower, or perhaps down from the roof, and heated it too. He let the warm water ease away some of his aches, and found it settled his mind in equal measure.

He retired to his room, moving his pack and weapons there, and collapsed onto the bed. It was far nicer than his own one back home. He soon fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

When Joseph woke again, he felt much better. Still sore, but refreshed. His mana pool had completely refilled overnight, but that was to be expected. It would generally only take three or four hours to refill from empty.

He showered again, then dressed, noting that the door to Lauren’s room was still closed. He found several pairs of clean, new, and freshly pressed trousers and loose shirts waiting for him in his room. He’d missed them completely in his exhaustion last night. As he put on a set, his stomach growled, and he decided he would venture forth for some food.

Joseph made his way into the lounge area, with its attached kitchenette. He fossicked about in the cupboards and produced a large bowl and some cutlery, then spent a while cutting up fruit from a heavily-laden bowl on the counter.

As he was mixing the diced fruit in the bowl, the door to the bedroom hallway opened. He looked up, and an unfamiliar boy strode in.

“Morning!” the boy yelled at him. “That looks decent! Mind if I grab a bowl?” The boy produced a smaller bowl from one of the cupboards, and immediately began helping himself to the fruit salad.

Joseph was a little taken aback. He didn’t know that anyone else had arrived. The boy must have arrived last night. He sauntered over to the couches and sat down, kicking one bare foot up on the low table.

“Which one are you then?” he said around a mouthful of food. “I assume you’re in this mess too. You can’t be a cook, they’d know how to prepare a better breakfast.”

Joseph was gobsmacked. The nerve of him! Wandering in and taking food without asking. He assessed this new intruder.

He was large, and seemed maybe a year or two older than Joseph himself. Taller than average, which was taller than Joseph, and much broader than average, which was much broader than him too. He had a mop of unruly black hair, where Joseph kept his own sandy brown curls shorn as close to his skull as he could manage.

His face was broad too, and bluff, with a strong jawline and blunt features. He chewed his fruit like a cow. Joseph’s face might be softer, but he liked to think he was at least decent looking. This fellow looked like he could barge through an enchanted wall face-first.

“It’s considered polite to ask before you take food,” Joseph noted, deliberately not answering the other boy’s question. He began to chop more fruit: he had only made enough for two, expecting only himself and Lauren to be eating.

The boy’s mouth hung open, his brows lowered over his eyes. “I’ve gone and been rude, haven’t I?” he said. “Sorry, friend.”

He stood, wiping his hands on his trousers, and approached Joseph again. He stuck out his hand.

“I’m Genn. Just got in last night.”

“Joseph. Pleased to meet you,” he said, shaking his hand. He was glad that Genn could be contrite, in his own way, but he still seemed a bit brash.

“Pleased to meet you too!” He returned to the couch, and to devouring his fruit. Joseph finished cutting the fruit, and fixed himself a bowl too. He took the couch opposite Genn.

“So,” Genn said, idly waving his fork at Joseph. “When did they grab you? I was staying at an inn two days away when they showed up! Imagine the look on the innkeeper’s face when three Mystic dragons landed outside!” He chuckled to himself.

“They picked me up from a barracks in the city. Where were you coming from? Must have been a decent way out.”

“Oh! My folks are soldiers down at the Amber Pass. I knew I was going to awaken, but my folks refused to send me to the capital as soon word arrived of the Fracturing. Lost two days I could’ve spent getting closer. I was furious! Lucky the Mystics recognised my prowess, or I would’ve been going on an excursion with the dregs.”

Joseph didn’t really know what to say to that. “Yeah, lucky…” he managed. He decided to change tack. “What element did you awaken?

Genn’s face darkened immediately. His mouth pressed into a thin line. “Life,” he said, eventually, then, “But I’m no wuss, I won’t hear it!” He thrust a meaty finger at Joseph.

Joseph held up his hands in mock surrender. “Didn’t say you were. Officer Teal, she’s our trainer, she says Life is quite versatile.”

That seemed to mollify the larger boy somewhat. His expression became thoughtful. “That sounds about right. I don’t want to end up some weak healer though.”

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It was not what Joseph had said at all, but he’d take the small win. He didn’t think Genn was simple, just boorish, and full of himself. Hopefully some training with Teal would smooth out some of his rough edges.

It was at that moment that the hallway door cracked again, and Lauren came in. She made it halfway across the room before she realised they had a visitor.

“Oh! Sorry! Hi! I’m Lauren, pleased to meet you!” she said.

“I’m Genn,” he replied, offering her a hand. Lauren sized it up, clearly noting its stickiness, and then grimaced and shook it. Genn seemed oblivious to her distaste.

“There’s fruit on the counter for you,” Joseph offered. Lauren filled herself a bowl and came to join them, sitting perched with a straight back on the edge of the couch next to him.

“Where’s the other one then?” Genn asked. “White said there’s four of us.” Little pieces of fruit spattered from his mouth as he spoke around a mouthful again. Lauren shuffled slightly further back on her seat, unconsciously smoothing her trousers with one hand.

“Not here yet, though they can’t be far off if I had to guess,” Joseph answered.

“Good! We need to get going! I want my egg. I can still get a Fire dragon, at least. I’m gonna be the greatest rider to have ever lived!”

Joseph could appreciate his enthusiasm, at least. He noticed Lauren giving him a side eye from beside him.

Genn threw his bowl down on the low table, fork and ceramic clattering, throwing little bits of food and juice over the countertop. Joseph could practically feel Lauren tense up beside him.

“Teal should be here soon for training…” Joseph mentioned casually.

“Shit! Better get ready!” Genn practically flew out of his seat, leaving his bowl where it lay. Joseph took it, along with his own empty one, to the sink and washed them. Then he returned and wiped down the table with a cloth. Lauren gave him a small smile, daintily eating single pieces of fruit one at a time.

“He’s… a lot, isn’t he?” she said.

“Mmhmmmm,” Joseph replied. He paused for a second. “We’re going to have to work together though. We’ll likely even end up forming a dragonflight, if the Mystics have their way. He doesn’t seem …irredeemable.”

“It’s good you think so,” she said. Then she sighed. “Sorry, that was unfair of me. I’m just …this is all happening so fast, you know? Last week I was working on sewing beads onto dresses, now…” She gestured around. “I’m finding it tough to adapt, is all.”

Joseph could see how much the admission cost her. He supposed this would be hard, if dragonriding wasn’t something you actually wanted.

“It’ll be alright. As much as I’ve always wanted to be a rider, I definitely never envisaged getting caught up in some Mystic intrigues. We’re all out of our depth here. But at least we’ve got each other, right?”

Genn came wandering back out of the bedrooms at that point, shoes on, but with his shirt untucked, and scratching his arse.

“Heavens, these are good pants!” he said. “Where do you think they make ‘em?”

Lauren just sighed.

~~~~~

Soon enough, the trio found themselves back in the training room with Officer Teal. Unsurprisingly, Genn immediately lamented awakening Life, annoyed that he couldn’t damage things with his strikes. Teal listened to his complaints with great equanimity, and offered a simple piece of advice: damage was what dragons were for. Even the strongest Heartstrike paled in comparison to an Air dragon’s dragonsbreath, and they were known to be the weakest offensively, generally speaking.

Genn threw himself into the training with renewed vigour, impressing even Teal with the strength of his Lifestrikes. Even though Lifestrikes couldn’t deal any damage, he managed to light up the enchanted target up in red in about the same amount of strikes as Joseph had. Teal explained that the target measured the general power of the strikes by measuring how much mana was in them, and how condensed it was.

His shields were not so good, the white, fiery discs he produced were wobbly and uneven. Teal drilled him over and over, and he eventually got so frustrated that he gave up. He stormed off and sat to one side of the room. Teal ignored him, and set Joseph to battering at Lauren’s Soulshields with a training sword.

He clobbered away at the silvery discs with various degrees of success, and Lauren held them until she invariably flinched or cringed, and dropped them. Teal had them repeat the exercise over and over, just like the day before, until, eventually, something surprising happened.

Lauren had just flinched at a strike, and her shield had faltered, when Genn approached. He had grabbed a training sword like Joseph’s from a rack.

Lauren was catching her breath, when he walked up to her and whacked her with it across her stomach.

“Oof!” she cried. “Ow! Hey! What was that for?”

Genn shrugged. “The worst part of fear is not knowing. That’s what my Da always says. Now you know,” he said simply. Officer Teal was watching them with a blank expression.

Surprisingly, Lauren just frowned, but didn’t say anything more. “Have another go,” Genn told her.

She extended a hand towards Joseph again, and her Soulshield swirled into existence. Joseph looked to Genn, who just gestured at the shield.

He attacked again, swiping and thrusting, and this time, Lauren held out for much longer. Eventually, though, Joseph chopped at the edge of it, and she lost concentration and dropped it.

She grinned at them both even so. “It feels better. You were right!” she said brightly. Then she frowned. “I still lost it, though.”

Genn shrugged once again. “Don’t look at me, I’m no coward.” Lauren bristled.

Teal stepped in. “That was good, Lauren. Fear of pain is not something you can ever completely erase.” She eyed Genn significantly. “It’s something you need to work on. That was much better though.”

Lauren preened at the compliment, then reformed her shield. Joseph readied himself, but Genn put a hand on his shoulder.

“You look like a baby waving a toothbrush. Watch me.”

He set his feet and raised his sword, holding it one handed, in front of, and slightly to the side of his body. Then he approached the shield, each step measured and even, and attacked.

Joseph could see the differences. Genn had clearly had a lot of training. His swings and thrusts were practised and methodical, the complete opposite of Joseph’s wild flailing. He seemed to be using a lot less energy in his attacks, and yet also seemed to be producing much greater impacts on the shield. Every strike hit it nearly dead centre.

Again, Lauren held out for much longer than before, even under Genn’s systematic assault. When her shield finally flickered and failed, Teal gave a few slow claps.

“I like what I see. Ladies and gentlemen, we have the beginnings of a team.”