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Day Fourteen to Day Thirty-Three.
Day Fourteen to Day Thirty.
Chirithy insists that the progress Eden made in Milliways not be wasted, so all of Eden’s requests for a day or seven to do nothing in are completely ignored. Instead, Eden’s out in the street behind Leopardos Union every day, with usually several of the other Dormitory members with him, either sparring or going through training drills.
Eventually, he gets the hang -- more or less -- of channeling his magic. Thinking of it as a current being directed helps, as does being mindful of the energy around him.
As soon as he has that down, Queenie insists on moving his training in a more personalised direction.
“Your greatest strength is your speed,” she says. “So we’re going to work on a style that builds off that. Out-maneuver opponents, strike before they can strike you, and keep them at range when you need to put distance between you and them.”
Eden rests his keyblade on his shoulders, tilting his head. “Really? Can’t I just relax?”
Queenie arches an eyebrow. “No. Alvis, Adelle, do you think you can train Eden, with Izana and I overseeing?”
Adelle gives a cheerful shrug. “Sure! If he can keep up with me.”
Alvis doesn’t say anything, just folding his arms and glowering. Eden assumes that’s a yes, and given how Queenie nods, it seems she does, too.
The next few weeks see Alvis waking Eden at six, just as the sun lights up, and dragging him out of bed. At Alvis’ insistence (although Adelle seems to think it’s an unnecessary inconvenience), they visit the training grounds over at Ursus each day, making use of the wide open spaces, and occasionally beckoning people from Vulpes or Unicornis for friendly spars.
(Eden notes that nobody from Anguis is ever at the training grounds, and nobody from Ursus is ever asked -- although he sees Mateus and the rest of Ursus Dormitory 1 watching a few times. At one point, during a long afternoon, he thinks he catches Mateus moving towards him, raring to give the new kid an object lesson in how far behind he is, only for the red-haired boy with the hat to stop him.)
Slowly, though, bit by bit, he gets -- better?
“Don’t think you’re getting better,” Alvis remarks on day twenty, as Eden’s back hits the ground for the fifth time.
“Boo,” Luso yells at Alvis from the sidelines. “Boo. Don’t listen to him, Ed. Boo.”
Consistent. Slowly, though, bit by bit, he gets consistent: Instead of techniques that fail as often as they succeed, he succeeds every time; he can shape energy around his keyblade and fire it off in three or four unique patterns without thinking about it for more than a split second; he can sustain his speed for nearly as long as Alvis, and if he knows the terrain, he can even push off without testing the ground first.
On day twenty-four, he manages to keep pace with Alvis for long enough for them to duel themselves into a stalemate.
(“Don’t flatter yourself,” Alvis says. “If it had come down to endurance, I would’ve won.”
“Boo!” Luso calls.)
On day twenty-seven, he can do the same with Adelle, although duels with her are as much like dances as they are fights, the two of them weaving and darting around each other, looking for split-second openings, never striking unless they’re sure of an opportunity -- and eventually, Queenie always has to tell them to stop, since she can’t gauge Eden’s progress when the two are speeding around each other.
(“Don’t flatter yourself, kid,” Adelle chirps, clambering up onto high ground to ruffle Eden’s hair, then darting away. “I’m just being nice to you, you know? Welcoming-like.”)
Chirithy materialises atop his head at the end of the twenty-eighth day, rubbing one plush hand over -- whatever amounts to a chin for Chirithys. “This has taken longer than I’d hoped.”
“You haven’t exactly been helping much,” Eden points out.
“My job isn’t to teach you how to fight,” Chirithy replies. He hops off Eden’s head, settling on his bedside table. After a moment’s pause: “Your dormitory.”
“What about them?”
“How do you feel about them?”
Eden tilts his head at Chirithy.
Chirithy nods. “That’s what I thought. Will you tell me if that changes?”
“If what changes?”
Chirithy makes a noise that might be affirmation, and vanishes, leaving Eden to settle in for sleep.
Two more days follow without Chirithy appearing again. When he does, he says he’s told the Foreteller that Eden’s ready for a test.
Day Thirty-One.
Eden has no training today.
He throws the ball by his bed at the wall for fifteen hours, apart from an occasional break to find something to drink, then goes back to sleep.
Day Thirty-Two.
Eden throws the ball again, for another fifteen hours.
Then he sleeps.
Day Thirty-Three.
“Shopping!” Luso yells directly into Eden’s ear, an hour before the sun lights up.
Eden opens his eyes, staring at the ceiling for a moment as his mind catches up with his body, then remembers to groan irritably, tugging the covers over his head.
“C’mon,” Luso protests, grabbing Eden’s arm and tugging him out of bed. “We’ll get you some nicer clothes, and some ice cream.”
‘We’ is, apparently, Luso, Adelle, and Freyra, and as soon as Eden’s showered they pull him out the door, down through the library that Leopardos is built above, and out into town.
Ice cream comes first, then clothes, then ice cream, then books, then ice cream, then music, then ice cream, then desserts (miscellaneous), and then, finally, one last round of ice cream.
“You might just be my favourite customers after today,” the Moogle shopkeeper notes, as he serves them all their extra large helpings.
“Funny you should say that,” Adelle says, wryly. “A few people have said that to us today.”
“Yeah, I -- I might be out of munny after all the shopping today,” Luso says, checking his pockets. “What about everyone else?”
“Two-hundred munny. I’m saving up,” Freyra chirps.
“Twenty-four-hundred munny,” Adelle says.
Luso blinks. “But you only had eighteen-hundred this morning.”
Adelle waggles her fingers. “Sticky fingers.”
Eden pats his pocket. There are a few one munny coins in there, and that’s about it. “Broke.”
Luso sighs, slumping. “Adelle, can you pay?”
“Fine,” Adelle says, long-suffering. “And since this was all for Eden’s benefit, he can pay me back. He’ll be taking jobs for Leopardos soon, after all -- just give any munny you earn to me. With interest, naturally.”
“I don’t know what that is,” Eden says, folding his arms.
“Just put your faith in me, then. I promise to be very fair,” Adelle replies.
The Moogle turns slightly, peering at Eden. “You’re the newest keybearer?”
“Sure am,” Eden says, raising a hand. “What, nobody else has arrived since I did?”
The Moogle shakes his head. “Not a single one. Tell you what, you can have your sundae half price today.”
“That should make paying back his debt much quicker,” Adelle says.
When they’re done, they return to Leopardos, to the dining hall just above the library, already full to bustling by the time they’re there.
Chirithy manifests atop Eden’s head as he sits, settling slightly. “Foreteller Gula says he’ll see you at the fountain in three days, two in the afternoon.”
“For what?”
“For your test.”
Chirithy insists that the progress Eden made in Milliways not be wasted, so all of Eden’s requests for a day or seven to do nothing in are completely ignored. Instead, Eden’s out in the street behind Leopardos Union every day, with usually several of the other Dormitory members with him, either sparring or going through training drills.
Eventually, he gets the hang -- more or less -- of channeling his magic. Thinking of it as a current being directed helps, as does being mindful of the energy around him.
As soon as he has that down, Queenie insists on moving his training in a more personalised direction.
“Your greatest strength is your speed,” she says. “So we’re going to work on a style that builds off that. Out-maneuver opponents, strike before they can strike you, and keep them at range when you need to put distance between you and them.”
Eden rests his keyblade on his shoulders, tilting his head. “Really? Can’t I just relax?”
Queenie arches an eyebrow. “No. Alvis, Adelle, do you think you can train Eden, with Izana and I overseeing?”
Adelle gives a cheerful shrug. “Sure! If he can keep up with me.”
Alvis doesn’t say anything, just folding his arms and glowering. Eden assumes that’s a yes, and given how Queenie nods, it seems she does, too.
The next few weeks see Alvis waking Eden at six, just as the sun lights up, and dragging him out of bed. At Alvis’ insistence (although Adelle seems to think it’s an unnecessary inconvenience), they visit the training grounds over at Ursus each day, making use of the wide open spaces, and occasionally beckoning people from Vulpes or Unicornis for friendly spars.
(Eden notes that nobody from Anguis is ever at the training grounds, and nobody from Ursus is ever asked -- although he sees Mateus and the rest of Ursus Dormitory 1 watching a few times. At one point, during a long afternoon, he thinks he catches Mateus moving towards him, raring to give the new kid an object lesson in how far behind he is, only for the red-haired boy with the hat to stop him.)
Slowly, though, bit by bit, he gets -- better?
“Don’t think you’re getting better,” Alvis remarks on day twenty, as Eden’s back hits the ground for the fifth time.
“Boo,” Luso yells at Alvis from the sidelines. “Boo. Don’t listen to him, Ed. Boo.”
Consistent. Slowly, though, bit by bit, he gets consistent: Instead of techniques that fail as often as they succeed, he succeeds every time; he can shape energy around his keyblade and fire it off in three or four unique patterns without thinking about it for more than a split second; he can sustain his speed for nearly as long as Alvis, and if he knows the terrain, he can even push off without testing the ground first.
On day twenty-four, he manages to keep pace with Alvis for long enough for them to duel themselves into a stalemate.
(“Don’t flatter yourself,” Alvis says. “If it had come down to endurance, I would’ve won.”
“Boo!” Luso calls.)
On day twenty-seven, he can do the same with Adelle, although duels with her are as much like dances as they are fights, the two of them weaving and darting around each other, looking for split-second openings, never striking unless they’re sure of an opportunity -- and eventually, Queenie always has to tell them to stop, since she can’t gauge Eden’s progress when the two are speeding around each other.
(“Don’t flatter yourself, kid,” Adelle chirps, clambering up onto high ground to ruffle Eden’s hair, then darting away. “I’m just being nice to you, you know? Welcoming-like.”)
Chirithy materialises atop his head at the end of the twenty-eighth day, rubbing one plush hand over -- whatever amounts to a chin for Chirithys. “This has taken longer than I’d hoped.”
“You haven’t exactly been helping much,” Eden points out.
“My job isn’t to teach you how to fight,” Chirithy replies. He hops off Eden’s head, settling on his bedside table. After a moment’s pause: “Your dormitory.”
“What about them?”
“How do you feel about them?”
Eden tilts his head at Chirithy.
Chirithy nods. “That’s what I thought. Will you tell me if that changes?”
“If what changes?”
Chirithy makes a noise that might be affirmation, and vanishes, leaving Eden to settle in for sleep.
Two more days follow without Chirithy appearing again. When he does, he says he’s told the Foreteller that Eden’s ready for a test.
Day Thirty-One.
Eden has no training today.
He throws the ball by his bed at the wall for fifteen hours, apart from an occasional break to find something to drink, then goes back to sleep.
Day Thirty-Two.
Eden throws the ball again, for another fifteen hours.
Then he sleeps.
Day Thirty-Three.
“Shopping!” Luso yells directly into Eden’s ear, an hour before the sun lights up.
Eden opens his eyes, staring at the ceiling for a moment as his mind catches up with his body, then remembers to groan irritably, tugging the covers over his head.
“C’mon,” Luso protests, grabbing Eden’s arm and tugging him out of bed. “We’ll get you some nicer clothes, and some ice cream.”
‘We’ is, apparently, Luso, Adelle, and Freyra, and as soon as Eden’s showered they pull him out the door, down through the library that Leopardos is built above, and out into town.
Ice cream comes first, then clothes, then ice cream, then books, then ice cream, then music, then ice cream, then desserts (miscellaneous), and then, finally, one last round of ice cream.
“You might just be my favourite customers after today,” the Moogle shopkeeper notes, as he serves them all their extra large helpings.
“Funny you should say that,” Adelle says, wryly. “A few people have said that to us today.”
“Yeah, I -- I might be out of munny after all the shopping today,” Luso says, checking his pockets. “What about everyone else?”
“Two-hundred munny. I’m saving up,” Freyra chirps.
“Twenty-four-hundred munny,” Adelle says.
Luso blinks. “But you only had eighteen-hundred this morning.”
Adelle waggles her fingers. “Sticky fingers.”
Eden pats his pocket. There are a few one munny coins in there, and that’s about it. “Broke.”
Luso sighs, slumping. “Adelle, can you pay?”
“Fine,” Adelle says, long-suffering. “And since this was all for Eden’s benefit, he can pay me back. He’ll be taking jobs for Leopardos soon, after all -- just give any munny you earn to me. With interest, naturally.”
“I don’t know what that is,” Eden says, folding his arms.
“Just put your faith in me, then. I promise to be very fair,” Adelle replies.
The Moogle turns slightly, peering at Eden. “You’re the newest keybearer?”
“Sure am,” Eden says, raising a hand. “What, nobody else has arrived since I did?”
The Moogle shakes his head. “Not a single one. Tell you what, you can have your sundae half price today.”
“That should make paying back his debt much quicker,” Adelle says.
When they’re done, they return to Leopardos, to the dining hall just above the library, already full to bustling by the time they’re there.
Chirithy manifests atop Eden’s head as he sits, settling slightly. “Foreteller Gula says he’ll see you at the fountain in three days, two in the afternoon.”
“For what?”
“For your test.”