“I love the night. I love its cold. I love its cruelty. I love it because in that cold cruelness, our instinct is to seek others. To seek comfort. To seek love. I love that is what we do. I love that who we are in the darkest hour.”

-Snowstar

Weekend Training

“Thrust. Swing. Parry.” Jerry shouted as Alice moved the blade in her hand. “Thrust. Swing. Parry.”

Alice huffed and puffed keeping up with the boy’s call. Sweat beaded her forehead as she stabbed forward, slashed to the side, and then swiped back before getting back into the starting position to start again. Thrust. Swing. Parry. Alice did them again and again.

“Oh, Sweet Mercy!” Samantha cried out red-faced and threw her trident to the ground, breaking the same pattern Alice was doing, “Jerry this is stupid. This won’t help in a real fight.”

“This isn’t training Sam. It’s a test.” Jerry strolled past them. “I’m not trying to have you improve anything. I’m testing your endurance.”

“Our endurance? We could have just ran the track!” Sam gestured over to the school forest with the track ring around it.

“I said endurance. Not stamina.” Jerry clarified.

“What’s the difference!?” Sam shouted.

“Ask Alice,” Jerry said before strolling away.

Sam turned her gaze to Alice. The two girls were both in the khaki-colored sweats provided by the school. Past that the two were contrasted. Black hair, blond hair. Dull green eyes, bright blue eyes. Lean limbs and a narrow frame, built muscle and a bulk that made her the tallest girl in class. Even their complexion which they both got from their European home were different right then as Sam’s huffing breath was only slowly returning her to her fair shade. She puffed, “Well?”

“Oh!” Alice jumped a bit, “Well, English is actually a second language for me. I don’t really know what those words mean completely, but I’m guessing he’s talking about the difference between normal work and an actual fight. Fighting is much harder than any exercise.”

“So then why are we just exercising !” Sam shouted into the sky.

“Hey, you were the one who said to trust Jerry.” Alice scowled.

“Well, that was before he had us thrusting and swinging and parrying for two hours!” Sam shouted swinging her trident wildly.

“Twenty minutes,” Alice corrected.

“Shut up!” Sam slammed the trident pommel down, “I’m tired of this!”

“Oh hush up.” Amanda called out from the field table she and Abraham were sitting at, “You are allowed to leave if you want.”

“Oh, big talk! You’re not even doing anything!” Sam shouted back.

“Am so,” Amanda lifted a book up, “We’re reading.”

“We do that every day in class!” Sam shouted.

“At least your staying clean over there,” York called from behind them. His khaki sweats were covered in dirt as was he. Nearby Brick was just as coated in dirt which gained another layer as he lean forward and allowed his bulk to slam into the ground, “When Jerry said to practice standing up I hadn’t imagined it would be so taxing.”

“What even is that about?” Sam asked as Brick lifted his bulk up.

“To put simply,” York leaned himself forward and allowed himself to plop onto the ground, “For our body frames levering them up is more difficult. So falling down is much more dangerous for us.”

“Well, that still sounds more fun than a-Thrust a-Swing a-Parry!” Samantha swung her trident mockingly. “Also, why aren’t you doing anything Jerry.”

She leveled her trident at Jerry who was at the moment lend on a wall, “I train every day. Both physical exercise and combat drills. The only thing I need is to work on coordination of the team. Thus why I had you all doing these things.”

“That is,” Samantha puffed out her chest and stomped a foot, “The lamest excuse. Sounds like you’re just being lazy.”

“I agree with Sam, Jerry.” Alice stepped up by her, “We hadn’t seen anything to show you’re… umm… what word do I want?”

“Legit.” Amanda said as she joined the two other girls, “And she’s right. I’ve seen everyone fight except you. And also Abraham, but he looks scary enough to hold his own.”

“Thanks,” Abraham commented from his seat.

“So then the team has decided. I’ll show you how capable I am.” Jerry said stepping off the wall and into the field.

“The other boys didn’t say anything, Jerry.” Amanda noted.

“We only need four agreed votes, so it doesn’t matter. Now come on, Sam. One on one.” Jerry turned to face the girls.

“Woo! A fight!” Brick said walking over.

“This will be a new set of data.” York joined in.

Even Abraham set his book under his arm and lined up, “Might as well.”

Sam for her part was almost jumping with glee as she entered the space, her trident at the ready. “Someone go get a medic.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Jerry said casually.

“I won’t be holding back,” Sam said swinging the trident slightly in show.

“I however will be. So we won’t need a medic.” Jerry explained.

“Wow. That’s cocksure.” Amanda said before blowing a kiss to Sam imbued with her power over fortune and favor, “For luck Sammy.”

Sam nodded and set her sight on Jerry. Fire was burning in her eyes. Alice lean down to Amanda and whispered, “Isn’t that cheating?”

“Sweetheart, It won’t matter,” Amanda said just before Sam launched herself forward and thrusted her trident at Jerry as he grabbed just under the tip and pushed it aside while he jabbed Sam in the chin. A swift shin kick threw Sam off balance and Jerry flipped and threw her to the ground. Twisting into an armbar he pinned her. With only a slight move Sam was yelling in pain.

“Say uncle,” Jerry said in his flat tone.

“Never!” Sam cried before crying out in pain.

“Say uncle or I break your arm.” Jerry threatened. It was a serious threat, but with a school full of demihumans someone was likely to provide a full recovery. In fact, Class J had Sara Valentine, which meant that Jerry was serious about his serious threat. He would have snapped Sam’s arm right there, and since Sam started the fight he won’t even get a talking to.

“Okay! Uncle! Uncle!” Sam shouted as Jerry let go. She rubbed her shoulder as her eyes started to water, “You really are a jerk, Jerry!”

“I know.” Jerry dusted himself off, “For what it’s worth, if you had had any other edge you would have won. Also, and this is my point so listen, if you were less worn out you would have been able to overpower me. So work on your endurance. Also, thank Amanda. I would have cracked your jaw without her luck on you.”

Jerry strolled off and Alice went to help Sam up, “Are you okay Sam? Are you hurt?”

“Yeah, my pride, and badly.” Sam sniffed.

“I’m… sorry,” Alice didn’t know what to say.

“It’s fine. I lost my temper is all.” Sam smiled before wincing from her jaw, “I guess there is a reason why Jerry is the team leader after all.”

“I thought it was because none of us wanted to be team leader.” Abraham offered, “Want me to use some recovery magic?”

“You can do that?” Sam asked.

“Yeah. My magic talent is more offensive, but I can support and defend as well.” Abraham explained summoning mana forth.

“Well, you better. It’s what we’ve been studying for the past week.” Amanda said.

“Well thank you, but I’ll pass.” Sam said rubbing her chin, “I’ll just get a good night’s rest.”

Abraham shrugged. “Alright then. We still have over an hour planned for training, so I’m going back to reading.”

“And we will continue our own task.” York declared and waddled away as Brick followed.

Sam sighed and turned to Alice, “I guess we’ll get back to our thing.”

“Nonsense.” Amanda chimed in, “After that you need to rest. Alice, go with her.”

“With her to where?” Alice asked.

“Wherever. Just hang out until time is over.” Amanda started back to join Abraham.

“I agree with Amanda,” Jerry said strolling back. “Simple companionship is as important as tactical coordination.”

“So we should train to be friends?” Alice asked, “If so, then that’s something for you to work on.”

Jerry leaned back in shock, “Ouch. Worst part is that I can’t disagree. So here, take this.”

Jerry pulled a card out of his pocket. It was the size of a playing card and was marked with a series of shapes in a grid. On the back a text design that just said “ARCADE” with more shapes surrounding it. Sam took it and looked it over, “How much is it?”

“More than enough.” Jerry said, “So go enjoy it, but stay away from Battle Brawl. Adrian is currently having a fit over it.”

“What is this?” Alice asked.

“A token card. Jerry is treating us to the arcade.” Sam explained waving the card.

“The arcade?” Alice’s brow furrowed in confusion.

“Yeah, you never been?”

“No. There were a few game cabinets at the train station back home, but I never played.”

“Seriously? Oh, we have to go now.” Sam took Alice’s hand and pulled her along. They took a bus and were at the arcade in under an hour. Sam took the card to the front counter and set it down with her school ID. “Can you redeem this?”

“Sure thing.” The man took the token card to a machine that scanned it. “Do you want the whole amount?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure? Cause this thing has a thousand tokens on it.”

“A thousand!?” Samantha gasped, “As in a thousand quarters worth?”

“Yep. You want the whole amount?”

“That’s over two hundred dollars?”

“Two hundred fifty in fact. I can give you fifty rolls if you want.”

Alice spoke up, “Can we have a roll each, and the rest stay on the card?”

“Sure.” and with a few button pushes the girls had a hundred tokens and a card worth nine hundred more.

“This is wild.” Sam said looking at the card, “I can’t believe Jerry just dropped this on us. What a jerk!”

“How does this make him a jerk?” Alice asked.

“Well, now I can’t be mad at him!” Sam stomped a foot. “I was going to give him a cold shoulder and everything.”

That made Alice laugh, “I doubt that. You’re too nice for that Sam.”

Sam scoffed, “Oh that’s what you think. Watch this!”

Sam turned her nose away from Alice and ignored her inquiries, “What are you doing? Is this your cold shoulder? This is your big threat?”

“Yep, and I won’t drop it until you say sorry.” Sam said before her eye was caught by a game and she dropped her facade completely as she grabbed Alice, “Oh, Lore Legend. You have to play it. Come on.”

Sam placed Alice in front of a cabinet. The screen flashed the title ‘Lore Legend’ with the line ‘Can You Conquer Chaos?’ under it. Sam broke her roll and dropped a token into the slot. The game screen flashed telling them that it was ready to drop them into the void, and Sam pushed the start button.

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“Okay, it’s simple. You’re the dot in the center of the screen.” She pointed, “Move with the joystick, use the buttons to act. The game tells you the rest.”

Alice did just as Sam said and shifted the joystick around while pushing buttons. A minute in and the game opened a text box with instructions to explore and seek the means to undo chaos. After that, Alice started to move far and around as the map scrolled with her dot. Sam read out every text and even did voices when it was character dialogue. Alice explored different areas and collected items.

The game had a story where so many were trapped in the maze and couldn’t get out, but if they stopped trying to get out they would fade away and die. The player controlled a character named Hope and was also trying to escape. The layout of the world was vast and confusing and if the player didn’t move Hope for a whole minute then they would fade away and die ending the game. So the player had to stay on the move across the world.

“Wow, you’re really getting the hang of this,” Sam said as Alice solved a puzzle. The game made a little jingle and opened the path to the next area. “You sure you never played this before.”

“I haven’t.” Alice said as she navigated around monsters and traps, “This is my first time. Promise.”

“Well, you could have fooled me.” A voice came from behind them. A boy stepped up on the other side of Alice. He wore a khaki school uniform like theirs, “You’re already at the last area.”

“I know you. You’re in Class G,” Sam said.

“Belen Laskaris.” Belen extended a hand, “Olympian other kin.”

“Samantha VonBec.” Sam extended her own, “Zodiac Warrior.”

“And your friend?” Belen asked.

“Alice Hansen.” Alice said and then mumbled, “I’m, well, I have a, or rather I was chosen, or inherited-”

The game gave out a sad jingle as the screen popped up “You are losing your will. Rekindle?” and asked for an extra token.

“That’s my fault. Here.” Belen dropped a token in and the game continued, “Please, don’t let me distract you.”

Alice took up the control again and started moving and was immediately hit by something that flashed on the screen.

“Just a trap.” Belen said as Alice continued to the next and stopped. She just stared at the screen. It was a room with one exit, the way she came, and nothing in it. Belen said, “You still have bombs.”

“Right, and there’s likely a secret path,” Alice muttered moving around the room. She had been opening paths the whole time without prompt, but now she scanned the walls and couldn’t tell where it was.

“Yeah. There’s two. Here and there.” Belen pointed them out. “One is probably a trick though. So you’ll need to figure out which one.”

“Right,” Alice looked at the two spots. The pixels were slightly different from the rest of the walls, “How?”

“Well, how did you figure out the last few?” Belen asked.

Alice stopped moving and stared at the screen. “I don’t know.”

The sad jingle played again and the game asked if they wanted to rekindle their will. Belen looked from the screen to Alice and back again. “I’m sorry. Is this a thing?”

“What?” Alice snapped out of it and looked at Belen, “A thing?”

“Yeah, a thing. Something involving your demitype?” Belen asked, “Like another personality or something.”

“No!” Alice snapped, “I’m just me and only me. I just… lost my focus.”

“Okay.” Belen stepped back, “Sorry about that. I’ve played a lot of Lore Legend. And I like meeting other fans. Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Alice said and looked around, “Let’s play something else.”

Belen nodded and joined the two girls as they scanned the other rows of games. Belen and Sam talked about them. Belen knew a lot of information about each game and told them that he was studying computer coding and function.

“So, could you make your own games if you wanted?” Sam asked.

“Can and have, but nothing very impressive. I really don’t have that strong a computer.” Belen said as they came upon a crowd. They were surrounding a cabinet marked “Battle Brawl”. Belen sighed as a swear came from the center of the crowd, “Sweet Mercy. It’s that Adrian guy. Jerk has been playing nonstop for almost a week now.”

“Why?” Sam asked.

“Some chick strolled in here last week and beat his high score and the guy can not drop it.” Belen shrugged, “I can’t stand the guy. You aren’t teammates with him are you?”

“No.” Alice answered, “We are in the same class though. And now that I think about it, he’s been really quiet in an angry way the past few days.”

“I bet.” Belen said, “Come on, let me treat you to two to lunch.”

“Oh, trying to woo us now?” Sam fluttered her eyes.

“I thought my encyclopedic knowledge of video games was doing that already.” Belen smiled, “I’m hoping at least one of you were impressed.”

“I was. What about you Alice?” Sam asked only to get no response. “Alice?”

Sam called again and saw that Alice was staring off into the distance. When Sam shook her she shook her head, “What? Oh, sorry Sam. I think I’m going to head on home.”

As Alice walked Belen turned to Sam, “Was it something I said?”

It was. Or rather something he addressed that had shaken Alice. Exiting the arcade she headed straight home. When she entered she called out “I’m home.”

From the kitchen her dad called back, “Glad you’re back. Come see me.”

Alice did. Walking into the kitchen where her father was preparing a lunch. “You’re later than you said you would be.”

“I went to hang out with a friend,” Alice said as she took a seat at the counter.

“That Mary girl?” her dad asked.

“No. one of my teammates. Sam.”

“Sam? A boyfriend?”

“Sam’s a girl.”

“Ah. Well, tell her you still need to be home by ten.”

Alice laughed, “Dad! She’s just a friend.”

“I know sweetie.” Dad smiled, “Of course, your mother and I were just friends at first.”

“You’ve told me.” Alice’s face dropped into a frown, “Speaking of mom.”

Her dad stopped his work. He set aside his knife and took a seat next to his daughter. “What it is?”

“I just wanted to ask.” She started, “Did she have any hobbies?”

“Of course,” he smiled, “Outside of telling everyone about how great you were, she did all kinds of stuff. Crafting was a big thing for her. She could weave, carve, and even smith with the best of them. She also enjoyed writing. Poems mostly, and they were always terrible, but she always spoke from the heart and she wrote in the most beautiful script. In fact, we sold a book of poems.”

“You wrote them, and Mom penned them,” Alice said knowing the story that paid for their wedding. “You got married the next fall.”

“And had you the next summer.” He continued, “I remember her knitting every bit of clothing you wore growing up. Until you went to school and the other kids made fun of you.”

“They did? I don’t remember that.” Alice asked.

“Me neither,” Her dad shrugged, “but that’s what your teacher told us. And you were getting big enough that just buying clothes was more reasonable all around. We gave away everything she made though.”

“Did she do other stuff?”

“Sure. She loved nature and everything in it. She must have hiked every mile of Scandinavia at least twice. In fact,-”

“That’s how you met.” Alice cut him off, “You two met in the middle of nowhere. You started a fight and she beat you up. After that, you were both arrested for trespassing.”

“Yep, and we were inseparable since then.” His face fell into a frown, “Well, until she passed.”

The room was quiet for a moment as the weight of loss was respected. Alice spoke up, “Was there anything else? Anything like… one of those video games?”

“Video games?” He thought, “Not really. She didn’t really play them. Except for one.”

“Which one?” Alice asked with bated breath.

Her father thought on, not noticing, “I don’t really remember. The one where you move around a dot and talk to other dots, and they’re trapped or something. Started with an L. Lord Legacy or something.”

“Lore Legend.” Alice corrected.

“Yeah. I remember her playing a few times. Apparently, she could win the game in under an hour.” Her dad explained. He then looked at his daughter. Her face seemed to be in a state of worry. “Hey, what’s wrong Sweetie?”

“It’s nothing. Thank you, Dad.” Alice stood and hugged her father before heading to her room, “I’m going to study.”

Alice walked up the stairs ignoring her father’s concerns and support. She entered her room and closed the door behind her twisting the simple privacy lock. She sat down on her bed and pulled the sword off her back. She had been carrying it all day. Like she did every day. Sometimes people looked at her, but only for a moment. The city was full of strange sights. Body frames of every size and skin of every color. Strange clothing and mannerisms paired together. Feats that would amaze a mundane person were done as casually as crossing a street. No one was concerned about a girl with a sword. Even if it was a magical sword. A magical sword that turned her from a normal girl into a powerful and amazing warrior.

The Legendary Sword of Ancients had belonged to Alice’s mother before she died, and before that her own mother, and her mother before that. The sword had been passed down their family for centuries. Every time they used it it became stronger and more powerful because the sword wasn’t imbued with power from only its forging. It gathered it over the years from its wielders. Every time The Sword was used it collected a bit of willpower, a bit of skill, and gave it back in full force. With one action she could become imbued with the essence of her ancestors. Of her mother. And just as the wielder gave to the sword, the sword gave back. Alice closed her eyes and thought. She had never even seen the game she played before that day, but she remembered playing it dozens of times. The screen flashing and the box making sounds, and every time the screen cut to black. In every one of those brief moments, before color returned and blocked the reflection in the screen, she saw a face that looked almost like her.

“Alice.” Her father knocked on the door, “Alice. Dinner is ready. Are you okay? Alice, the door is locked. Are you in there?”

“I am,” Alice said wiping her face. She had started crying for some reason and looked out to see the sun was setting. She had lost the whole day dwelling on her thoughts.

“Okay, Sweetie. Finish whatever you’re doing and come on down.” Her father walked away from the door leaving Alice in silence.

She again looked at the sword. At the face that was hers. Right now she was Alice Hansen. She cleared her mind as she returned the sword to its sheath and slung it over her shoulder onto her back and headed down for dinner. She had missed lunch and was incredibly hungry.

The next day was Sunday. Both Abraham and Jerry had invited her to church, but she declined. They didn’t mind at all. They knew she was pagan and respected that. Her Sunday however was a day of rest for her. Light cleaning and studying. She stayed busy enough to not think about the sword on her back. Sam and Amanda had called to hang out, but Alice turned them down too. She spent her day as mildly as she could. After all, tomorrow would come just the same.

Monday morning Alice woke up at six a.m. sharp. She readied herself and headed to school. She arrived just before eight when the doors were opened. She looked around until she spotted one of her classmates, “Mary! Hey!”

Mary Bittir was sitting on a bench with another classmate, one of her own teammates. Waving Alice over she greeted her, “Morning Alice, you know Nazuri?”

“Yeah, hey.” Alice waved to the other girl. Nazuri was of obvious African descent. Where Mary had only a trace, Nazuri had a deep shade of brown to her skin with long braided hair. Alice saw that she wore a necklace that seemed to be made of gold laced with beads and bones, “That’s an interesting necklace.”

“Thank you.” Nazuri said, “I made it myself.”

“Oh,” Alice raised her eyebrows, “How did you make it?”

“The beads are wood I carved and painted and the bones are from the first animal I hunted. My mom bought the gold chain actually, but it’s real gold, so I don’t mind.”

“Wow.” Alice said, “I’ve never been hunting. My mom was going to take me when I was twelve, but she died before she could.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I think it’s still hunting season. I can ask my mom if I can invite you on a trip.”

“Thank you. I would appreciate that.” Alice smiled at the offer. The school doors opened up and the janitor Bob stepped announcing that the building was open.

The day went by as normal. Mr Galacto went over the early 20th century and Mr Mirmen had the class read Arthurian Legend.

“So it was by pulling the sword that Merlin had set in the stone, Arthur was declared the first Christian king of Britain.” Mirmen closed the book in his hand and turned to the class, “Does anyone know why this is important? Why it was Merlin and why Arthur was Christian?”

The class didn’t respond as they looked over the text. Frank lifted a hand in the front row, “Because it made the rest of the land Christian?”

“No, Frank. You can’t make someone Christian against their will,” Mr Mirmen explained, “And I’m referring to how it was Merlin and Arthur specifically. Abraham, I’m sure you know.”

Abraham lower his hand, “It’s because Merlin was the very first anti-Christ. Baptized at birth he was free from demonic influence and became a Christian. It’s said the spell he casted on the stone was actually a curse against his father that the king would be a man capable of striking him down and undoing him.”

“That’s how I heard it too,” Adrian added without prompt.

“Thank you, Adrian, and while the record is disputed is generally agreed that Merlin was a demon-kin and that he used his demonic magic to ensure only a true Christian could remove the sword.” Mirmen opened the book, “Now, crowned as King Arthur, Merlin took him and-”

“Hey, is Alice’s sword Excalibur?” Melissa Odinson shouted out from the back of the class. “Does that mean Alice is the Queen of England?”

The class had turned to look at the two girls and the sword on Alice’s back.

“No, Ms Odinson. First, the sword in the stone was not Excalibur. Second, The Blade Excalibur is lost and is not involved in the claiming of any crown. Third, Ms Hansen’s sword has its own recorded origin outside of British influence.” Mr Mirmen listed off.

“Oh, oh well.” Melissa leaned back, “Would have been cool though.”

“Yes,” Mr Mirmen continued, “Now after becoming king, Merlin took Arthur to train…”

He continued on as Melissa leaned over, “Hey Alice, what does your sword do? It is magic, right?”

“Yes, it is.” Alice said, “It’s magic, and it does… magic.”

“Come on. Tell me. Is it cool?” Melissa whispered.

“Melissa, I’m trying to pay attention,” Alice said trying to ignore the small girl.

“I just want to know what it does.”

“Leave me alone! I don’t have to tell you anything!” Alice shouted aloud and the class turned to stare at her.

“Ms Hansen, Ms Odinson,” Mr Mirmen scolded them, “you will have plenty of time to chat after class. Please pay attention during class.”

“Yes, sir.” Alice blushed, “Sorry, sir.”

Class continued until lunch came, and after lunch and class dismissal Alice went to her Leisure Reading class with Mary and Vlad. When that ended she made her way to the field yard where a group of students stood ready to be instructed.

“Welcome to another day of transformation.” Ms Voldesaint clapped, “Line on up.”

Alice took a spot in line and waited. The others joined with the last one jumping and scooping Alice into a bear hug.

“Ali!” XK-88 shouted dropping Alice down to her feet. “It’s so good to see you again. You’re literally my favorite part of this class.”

“Thank you.” Alice smiled. XK was the only other member of Class J who had transformation classes. They had become friends over the few days they had shared. “You also make this class so much better.”

“That’s not impressive. I make everything better.” XK posed to allow the sun to gleam off his metal body, “By the by, what happened in class today? You just blew up.”

Alice looked away in shame, “Melissa was bothering me, and…”

“Say no more darling. That girl is impossible.”

“Okay, Class.” Ms Voldesaint called the class, “Today we’re just focusing on focusing. That is we’re doing meditation. A very useful tool for any morphor. Now pair up, and remember, if everyone can show a controlled shifting I’ll show you all my own transformation.”

“Oh, can I pair with Alice?” XK waved his hand in the air.

“Isn’t Ms Hansen a sonamorphor? You should try to pair with a polymorphor like yourself.” Ms Voldesaint said.

“Actually, I’m a metamorphor.” Alice corrected with a whisper.

“And we have the same class together.” XK added, “So I really trust her.”

“Oh, I apologize, and trust is also really important. So okay.” Ms Voldesaint said before moving on to the next student.

“Alright then. Let’s get to it.” XK pulled Alice off to a spot in the field where they sat across from one another, “Okay. Details. Gimme.”

“What?” Alice was taken aback.

“Your outburst with Melissa. Tell me everything.” XK lend forward resting his face in his hands.

“You told me say no more.”

“Now me tell you say yes more.” XK smirked as a gleam of greed shined in his eyes, “I can promise not to tell anyone.”

“Will you keep that promise?”

“I can promise to keep it.”

Alice laughed at that, “You’re such a jerk XK.”

“I’m aware.” XK chuckled to himself

“It wasn’t anything. She was asking about my sword.”

“The one your mother gave you?”

“The one I inherited from her when she died, yeah.”

XK stared at her now frowning, “And you still miss her. So you lashed out in sorrow.”

“I do miss her. I miss her so much but,” Alice stared at the ground in front of her, “That’s not why I snapped.”

“Then why?” XK asked in a soft voice, “Will you tell me?”

“No. I can’t.” Alice whispered.

XK studied her. Watching every twitch and breath. He reached out and placed a hand over hers, “You’re scared of something. I don’t quite understand fear, but I’m told a fear shared is a foe defeated.”

Alice was also told this. On her very first day in this class. Ms Voldesaint told everyone that day that transformations were always scary to the goodhearted. That to become yourself was also to lose yourself, because who are you if you’re someone else? That to live as another you is to allow the current you to die, and even if it’s just for the moment that moment brings all the human fear of death. That’s why it was important to work with others in class, because a fear shared is a foe defeated. The foes doubt, shame, and worry.

Alice breathed in and tried to summon the strength to tell the truth. She released the breath and decided to tell her friend, “What if I’m not as good as my mom?”

XK smiled sadly, “You don’t have to worry about that. Just be the best you you can be. Now come on. We need to at least pretend we’re trying.”

XK straightened his back taking the lotus position they were also shown on the first day and closed his eyes. Alice sighed and reached for her sword. Revealing its mirror shine to the sun she took it and looked at herself in it. She tried to quiet her mind, but her thoughts wouldn’t become still. She had not taken much from the sword. She had only used it a few times, and never to its full potential. Yet still, she felt like she had taken too much.