William couldn’t read his teacher at that distance, but he would have sworn that he had a bemused look on his face. William busied himself by striating the furs over his body.
Ansuya, rose from the bed. She turned back toward William. “You are a very interesting pup, William.” She let the tiniest of smiles creep along her lips. “I will leave you to your training. You still have a lot to learn, but I can promise you that no other death squads will be coming for you.” She raised one eyebrow then the other and she let a full smile blossom on her face. “Good luck.” She turned and walked toward the door.
Ares stepped aside for the Elder and turned back toward William. Once the Elder had disappeared out the entryway Ares took a few steps toward his student. “Since you are up already how about we start the day?”
William was not exactly looking forward to whatever Ares had planned for him. As he moved around on his bed, he became aware of the muscle tension and soreness that he felt from the day before. Ares stood by the entryway waiting for William to move. He flexed his sore legs and became aware that he was still naked. He was sure that Ares would not have any sympathy for him. He looked at Ares, who folded his arms in front of his chest. William knew that his protests would fall on deaf ears so without thinking about it too much he threw off the fur blankets and got out of his nice warm bed.
Resisting the urge to cover himself and run for his dresser, he made himself walk the short distance from his bed to place where the safety of his clothes rested. Trying to ignore his self-consciousness he withdrew his underwear from the top drawer and put them on, trying to be much less hurried than he felt like being. He then bent over and withdrew a pair of shorts and one of his shirts. He noticed immediately that there were a lot more clothes in the dresser than he remembered and the thought of him not owning any wearable shorts struck him. He silently wondered who had endowed him with the new articles of clothes. He glanced toward Ares who was still standing with his arms crossed.
“William, is there a problem?”
William glanced back toward his dresser. “Yes, how did all these clothes get here?”
Ares breathed a heavy sigh that was audible throughout the spacious bedroom. “We are not animals here, William. We saw that you were in need of new clothes, and we provided them for you.” Ares held William in a hardening stare. “Now if you are done wasting time, get dressed and go to the bathroom. I did mention that we had work to do today?”
William nodded and pulled on his new clothes, they fit so perfectly he thought that they must have been tailored for him. The simple khaki pants and clean cotton t-shirt hugged his sore body nicely without being too tight. William grabbed his toiletries and hurried off to the large open bay bathroom that he had been shown only days ago, it seemed almost like another life. He stepped inside the room. The showers behind the half wall partition were quiet and the toilets stood empty. William finished his business and brushed his teeth. The feeling of a real toothbrush against his teeth was still a welcome sensation. He cleaned himself and exited the room.
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He rushed back toward his room on the third floor of his obsidian building. He ran up the ramp and saw that Ares was waiting for him on the landing leading to his bedroom. Ares stepped aside and let his student enter. William walked past his teacher and returned his things to the dresser. He looked down and caressed the wood of the lonely piece of furniture. He took a deep breath and turned to face his teacher and all that he had in store for him.
Ares stood in the entryway, his eight-foot-tall frame blocking it almost entirely from view. He unfolded his arms, his golden eyes staring into Williams own blue green ones. Ares stared at William for long moments. William felt a slight nagging sensation in the back of his mind, and he had to physically resist the urge to look away. It was a test of Williams will or at least that is what he took it as and as he understood what was happening his confidence rose and his eyes held the eyes of his teacher with less and less difficulty.
Ares nodded and a small smile cracked his lips. William had to admit after what happened yesterday it was good to feel like he had done something right.
“How do you feel?”
William was a little taken aback by the question. Since he had entered the City under the Mountain no one had asked him how he felt or seemed to care at all what William thought about what was going on. He thought back to yesterday and couldn’t really pull up any strong emotions about it one way or another. “I feel ok.” It was the simplest way to answer and, oddly enough, it was the truth.
“Just ok?” Ares voice raised itself in pitch to form a question. William watched as his teacher looked him up and down. Ares stood stock still with that small smile still on his lips. “After what happened to you yesterday, I would think you would be sore, or tired, or angry, or any number of things. But you are just ok?”
William nodded. “Yep, I’m ok.”
Ares nodded. “Because of everything you’ve been through I was thinking that it was time for you to get better acquainted with the place that is to be your home.” Ares stepped outside of the bedroom, and he motioned for William to follow.
William walked out on the landing and Ares swept his arms out encompassing the whole of the black City under the Mountain. The obsidian structures rising like building blocks from an impossibly smooth floor. The various rooftops that he could see that reflected the light from the multitudes of ceiling crystals glistened on the black polished stone. The obelisk like Tower, where he had first been introduced to the hard unforgiving lessons that this place had to teach, like a jagged spear thrust into the ground rose high above every other building.
William looked out at the green of the indoor forest where he had undergone his trial by fire yesterday. The vibrant greens and browns and the smells of cedar and pine as it permeated the air around him. The green of the forest seemed less out of place and more augmented the surrounding blackness of the hard-edged buildings of the city. The forest was as much a part of this place as the buildings and looking out over this place it resonated with a harmony that he had never seen matched by anything he had witnessed made by man. He was struck by how perfect this place was, if perfection was even an appropriate term for this place.