A Nighttime Stroll

(Vanessa Swordarm)

Spoiler : :blush: : Sorry...I am ashamed to say that I forgot to post this chapter...despite the fact it was done and intended to be posted days ago...

I have a theory that the reason is the chapter is so embarrassing for me that my brain conveniently forgot to remind me to post it...but that isn't much of an excuse right?

I will have to do something to make it up for you guys...anyway apologies once more here is the chapter:

I followed him through the dim rooms of the silent dojo. I noticed that he was surprisingly quiet if I couldn’t see him I would say he wasn’t there. Also sometimes I even couldn’t see him at all and I had to wait for him to get my attention and thus be able to see him again.

We made our way outside then to my shock he started on the dojos walking trail.

For a short while longer he continued with his strange silence then he suddenly stumbled and when he righted himself and he was his normal clumsy self.

He glanced back at me and shrugged

“I think well when I am moving, but it only works when I go at my own true pace.”

With his speed now much slower I soon was walking abreast and to the side of him. He looked at me again and had a strange smirk on his face. He nodded then continued

“I think you are curious about the difference between how I can seem to be and what I actually am?”

Not wanting to admit that he was right about my burning curiosity I shrugged. Then unable to prevent myself nodded firmly. He grinned wider

He then his smirk turned mischievous like he was sharing with me a secret joke.

“The answer is. As it so often is…Magic.”

I soon stopped walking blinked several times kind of flabbergasted and speechless. Of course it had to do something with magic…he didn’t really satisfy my curiosity at all.

After taking a few more steps then I did he too stopped and then he turned around to see me blankly staring at him. He bent downwards and burst out into loud laughter before pressing his hands to his mouth and trying to get himself under control. He then held up one of his hands in a ‘wait a moment’ gesture.

Still breathing deeply from his exertion of mirth he sighed then spoke again

“Before I came here I tried to get myself back into the habit of not using magic for every little thing including just walking around but…I am basically out of practice and that fight I had not that long ago didn’t help matters. I just simply…slipped up.”

He sighed again even more deeply and then turned to face away from me.

“Not so long ago I was in a position shall I say? Where I had to look strong, and look strong all of the time. My natural state of clumsiness would not have helped me in that endeavor at all, so I started constantly and consecutively casting various spells on myself that would correct my movements and force me to be graceful. It got to the point where I started to do it instinctively…”

I wondered then if he was talking about something to do with his participation in the war as the ‘hero mage’

“Anyway, tried to rid myself of this inefficient and kind of flashy bad habit but now and then sometimes when I let myself use magic, or when I become unbearably clumsy I end up instinctively ‘curing’ my natural state as you have already seen.”

He said it was spells but I was still kind of disbelieving. I myself could somewhat sense magic but I haven’t been able to sense anything from him at all. But when I gathered up the courage to ask as to how he was doing it he answered along with a laugh.

“Though I say I am curing myself it is not really exactly a cure…the nature of my magic and abilities are…let’s say different from anyone I have met or read about.

The explanation is very complicated and confusing even no maybe especially those who have a background in magic education and I am not sure I can describe things in a way that someone like you could understand.

I guess the best way to explain it would be to say my weakness are my strengths and my so called strengths are really my weaknesses.

But to keep things simple and to tell you what you want to know I will just reveal to you that not even most high rank magicians can sense my magic, and the few ones that do are also high level immortals and I had to do a lot of preparation beforehand to force my magic out in such a way they could feel it."

My brain slightly hurting from his explanation I just kept silent again and followed when mid-way through he started to walk down the trail again. Then when I couldn’t stand the silence any longer I stopped and waited until he had moved a little further ahead to ask.

“I thank you…for trying to answer my questions but I don’t think my curiosity is why you wanted me to follow you out here, and I and hopefully both of us have a lot to do tomorrow so…?”

He stopped again and I held my breath, then gasped out when he slumped into the dirt, I quickly went up to him but sighed in relief when I realized he was just sitting down.

He patted the ground beside him and when I gingerly also sat down legs folded beneath me, he snapped his fingers and suddenly there was absolute silence and I could no longer hear the insects the night owls or even the wind.

I was a bit apprehensive as I had the realization that before now I didn’t really understand what the word silence really meant. He smiled slightly which relaxed some of my nerves then said.

“There, now no one else will be able to hear us even in the unlikely event that there is someone there to eavesdrop.”

He turned to look at the dirt and started fiddling with some grass growing on the side of the trail.

“I am a bit embarrassed to admit this…but asking you to follow me was a bit of a whim…”

I bit my lip…this wasn’t planed? He continued despite by obvious surprise

“You see all that talk about your grandparents…my…shall we say friend? As well as his wife who was one of my few teachers…it brought me back to reminiscing about my first apprenticeship and remembering something she said when she accepted my request to be her student…”

“Which was…?” I prompted him when he fell silent for a while

“Well…” he said and to my surprise he blushed a deep red color then covered his face with his hands.

“So…she…I…” he tried again and stuttered and spluttered and finally curled into himself

I set my hand on his shoulder wanting to comfort him. He was obviously bent on discussing something that was a very uncomfortable subject.

“T-thanks” he murmured then taking a deep breath and then letting it out in a whoosh he peaked through his fingers at me, and I slid my hand off his shoulder making a fist on the warmth that still lingered.

“So to put the…cart before the horse so to speak. First let me say I want to give you some things to think on tonight, before I give my reply answer to your request…I have almost completely settled on my decision”

Surprise and hesitant hopeful joy filled me…he wanted me to think about something which probably meant that the answer was most likely going to be…

“This would be a lot easier if you didn’t look so much like your grandmother…” he interrupted my train of thought going a bit red again

“…When I asked your mother, excuse me, grandmother to teach me…she took me aside and pointed something out…”

he paused again but this time I held my breath and just waited what could she have said? While looking past me towards something that was probably nonexistent he managed to continue.

“She said to me…that I was male and she was female.”