Growth

--Dani's Perspective--

"Then, I'll leave the matter with Cole to you, Faith?" I asked her. She nodded and returned to Ruby's side, following her around.

I guess that's that. If he's in that strange cage, he won't do anything. I felt the need to worry, but I couldn't exhaust both my brain and body.

These past two days have been tough. I've been working on increasing my strength and some of my reflexes as well with Alatus. She's a tough trainer. I've been lifting weights when I train with her, I practice swinging weapons meant for two hands with one, and I am training to be more flexible as well.

All in all, my body is screaming at me.

This is a necessary step for my growth, however. In the past, I've missed out on opportunities because I lacked qualities, just like the rest of us, and now, I'm able to grow as a person because of it. That's how it was for everybody.

Carl was... staring out in the distance, Shike was training in combat, Boo was working on too many things to count, and even Faith had a part to play. We were all trying our best... that's all that matters, I guess. I wanted to be the best out of everybody, so I couldn't just let them over take me. And, I won't let that happen.

I stretched my body out, walking throughout the city back over to Alatus's group.

I passed by several stores and other stands in the street blooming with life. Part of my training had been to observe my surroundings more thoroughly, so I make note of things I can sense with all five of my senses before entering a new area.

The smell of fresh bread and bakery items in the distance...

The sight of smoke rising out of the chimneys of multiple houses...

The taste of stale dirt in the air from upturned particles from carriages...

The sound of people rustling through the street with smiles and laughs to follow...

The touch of the cold wind blew against my skin.

It's probably around this time of the year that we need coats to prepare for the cold temperatures... right?

No, that should be on its way out. I don't want to waste the resources on a jacket if I wasn't going to use it...

That reminds me of Sky's jacket.

It's ripped to shreds but returned to him. Most of it is completely unrecognizable from what it used to look like, but Sky held onto mementos like that. He still had the necklace I gave him, and the ring Lia gave him as well. Although, we usually couldn't see them on his body because of his clothing.

I wonder if I can get him another one...

I should pay him a visit today as well... maybe I can sneak one in before I meet Alatus.

I turned around in the middle of the street and slightly pushed my way through a crowd to return to the prison nearby.

I walked down the stone staircase into the basement of wherever he was stored, meeting his gaze upon the person entering his area.

"Dani! How are things? Is everybody doing alright?" He asked me, jumping up to greet me.

"Don't you worry! We're all getting stronger day by day. What about you? Are things okay in here?" I returned his question and he nodded.

"Don't worry about me either." He said with a smile.

"Illya, it's good to see you too. How are you?" I asked her, just to be polite.

"Peachy. I have to share a cell with Sky, but other than that, I'm alright. Did you know he snores loudly when he sleeps? It's annoying." Illya flatly said.

"I'm painfully aware. Is Ruby still treating you right? And hey, what about your lifespan reduction? Has it increased any? And the Awakening thing?" I asked him all at once.

"Oh, nothing has changed with the lifespan reduction or Ruby's treatment. It's relatively steady. However, the Awakening is now at Seventy-One Hours, Fourteen Minutes, and Fifty-One seconds. It's going down steadily, but it seems I still have around three days." He mentioned.

"We took in an outsider today. I could sense an inhuman amount of strands within him, strands that even matched your volume." I mentioned to Illya and Sky.

"What was his name?" Illya immediately asked me before Sky could.

"Cole. Does that sound familiar?" I asked her. She thought for a moment, and when I described his appearance to her, she started to freeze up.

"Sky... Cole, from Quake. He's here already, for you." Illya sharply said.

"That's why Faith wanted to keep his name silent. He has no idea you're here, so don't worry too much about it. What should I do with him?" I asked the two.

"Kill him." Illya quickly said.

"I wouldn't be opposed to that. He's locked behind Mahina Metal, so he can't use his strands. It would be an easy battle for me." I mentioned, but Illya playfully laughed and shook her head.

"No. Cole is trained in combat even more than I am. He could turn any situation around... and his Incarnation would probably kill you." Illya said.

"Incarnation? What is that? And what is his?" I asked Illya.

Hearing about Cole's training made this... troublesome... but I still had more strategies I could try out, other than letting Sky handle it.

"His ability. Sky has an Incarnation as well, but Cole's is basically immortality, any injury he sustains is immediately healed, so it's troublesome for even a person like me, not to mention you and your current power." She told me.

"I can't just let a powerhouse like that sit in a cell! What do I do about this? Should I tell Ruby the truth?" I asked her again.

"That, and only the truth. Tell her what we know about Quake and who Cole is. Ruby might be able to strategize in a way I don't know yet." Sky commented.