Surrounded

I turned out it wasn't actually yoga.

It was a bunch of different poses that resembled Chinese martial arts and yoga positions which started simple but ended with a backwards bridge.

I have been stretching nearly every day since I was born so this was nothing new to me.

When I picked up the exercise on the second try Lissi was too stunned to speak.

"Why are you so surprised"? I asked.

"Because you are doing it better then me" she said honestly.

"Well that's never good" I muttered.

"Why is that"? confused by my comment.

"The nail that sticks out gets hammered" I said.

Glancing at the two Terra children both of them with a look of envy and hate sown on their faces.

"The nail"?

"It's a saying where I come from... it means too much attention can be bad" she found herself agreeing with the statement.

"Can I ask you something... personal" she asked.

'No' I thought.

"Sure" is what really came out of my mouth.

She seemed to be a bit more comfortable with me which could be useful.

"What are your parents like"?

"I don't know" she looked at me wide eyed tilting her head.

"What do you mean you don't know... how are you still alive then"?

I shrugged, "What are your parents like"? I asked her.

"My parents where lovers... but the war in the east spread and they couldn't be together... my mom was accepted as a mage and left me here when I was born".

'She must have given birth at fourteen or fifteen' I thought.

"Do you like it here"?

She shrugged, "It's all I know... did you really get left behind"?

I nodded, "I got lucky and condensed my core in the direst situation".

"Still... cored mages have died in the desert... let alone a new mage".

I shrugged, "I'm really lucky" that was my most impressive lie yet.

"Well now you know the dangers of using that method, it is a good way to gather mana but only later on when you are accustomed to it".

I nodded and bowed, "Thank you, you didn't have to teach me so sincerely I want you to know I appreciate it".

She smiled, thinking she was wrong about me.

"Your the first one I've met... like me... is it the same for you".

I shook my head thinking about all the mixed blood children born of violence.

"So you have siblings"?

I chuckled, "You could say that".

"Lucky... I grew up here alone... everyone is so kind but I just can't get over the difference between us".

I shrugged, "We all bleed the same".

My one off comment struck a nerve with her making her look at me in a new light.

"Ya... I guess we do".

"So what's a guy got to do to get some meat around here"? I gave her the best smile in my arsenal hoping it will win me a free meal.

She giggled, "Come on, I'll show you something".

She dashed off running west and I followed behind her, Mage Kata looked like she was sleeping in the morning light.

She ran for miles going west, she was only speeding up never slowing down.

I kept up with her no problem, glad I can get this little girl alone and hopefully get some answers without Katas eavesdropping.

But that was quickly squashed, I couldn't place it but it felt like I was being watched.

I trusted the instincts that kept me alive those years in the ocean, I kept my head on the swivel.

She stopped nearly ten miles out and I saw a field of cactus come into view.

On top of each one was a large strawberry the size of a head and as red as blood.

She ran over and picked one biting at its tip with her small lips.

"Why do you carry that with you everywhere"? She pointed at the small blade I kept with me.

"Because I'm scared" she burst into laughter.

"Are you always so straightforward"?

"Yes".

That made her laugh even more, I took a bite starting from the top like she did.

It tasted like a mango and a Kiwi had a baby and that baby came out as a strawberry.

It was sweeter than anything I have ever tasted in this life.

I made contact with Ava when she didn't respond I thought to bring one back with me so she can taste it in real time.

"Leave it, the people of Luca don't take kindly to fruit poachers" Lissi said.

'Makes sense, we are in a desert'.

"My stomach is too full to run" her big blue eyes closed and she fell back rubbing her swollen tummy.

"How long has Mage Kata trained you"?

"She doesn't train anyone, she 'exchanges information'".

"Is that what she does with Mage Bilin"?

She shook her head, "Bilin doesn't want anything to do with Olim… even though she isn't Olim".

I didn't miss how she left out the honorifics and title when talking about Bilin.

"She isn't"?

"No, Luca was home of a roving tribe of desert people not in the Olim or Terra Kingdom".

"They made there living off the war between both kingdoms, buying in Terra and reselling in Olim and vice versa but that ended up giving them a bad name in both regions".

I nodded, many desert tribes in Africa are wiped out because of this very reason back on earth.

"Why is she staying here then"?

"There is something called a sand rider, it's large moving hunk of wood and gold that floats on the sand, mages use it to get around the mountains and go north west to the next territory".

That was a shock to me, I didn't realize I might have sabotaged Bilins chances of leaving here.

"Why don't they just go through the mountain"? I asked.

"Because a bunch of beasts roam that mountain, no one has ever went around it".

"I mean why not just go over it".

"You didn't hear me, beasts unlike anyone has ever fought before live in that mountain going over it is something only a group of people like Mage Kata can do and they have to work together".

I scratched my chin contemplating my options.

"Are you going to the Mage Association"? she asked.

I nodded, "Eventually yes I want to go".

"Me too... I want to find my mother".

'To what end'? I thought.

"Good luck" I said standing up and walking instead of running.

"When are you going to leave"? catching up to me she asked curiously.

"When I'm ready, I want to learn the water making array first".

She slowed her gate a bit.

"That's impossible, without being in the foundational stage it would be pointless because you need aura, and aura uses mana as a power source".

'This is what I was waiting for'.

"See aura isn't powerful at all but the way Mage Kata explained it is that it is an extension of your mana core, if your mana core is the head then the aura would be the body... does that make sense"?

"No" I replied scratching my chin.

"Ya me neither..." she giggled.

"What's the story behind the guys following Bilin"? I asked about the two Terra children and Olim child.

"They are ungrateful little worms, I didn't even bother to learn there names" she sneered.

I assumed they gave her issues for being born the way she was born.

"So they are just passing through"?

"Yes, they came from the north east"

"Even the Olim boy"?

"He is a..." she looked at me warily before finishing.

"He is a slave" she said looking down.

'Makes sense'.

"So if she doesn't give information about aura and arrays what does she show you".

A grin spread across her peach shaped face.

"This" she took huge leaps forward and flew off into the air.

I was a bit disappointed as I watched her do barrel rolls, until I looked at her with mana vision.

It was completely different from how I flew.

I sent my energy out in the opposing direction in pulses It was more like I was falling and catching myself, wasting a lot of energy in the process.

I got too used to using my second mana core to make up for my lack of control.

Her mana was going directly out from her lower body continuously levitating.

It looked like she was swimming through the air instead of propelling herself.

When she landed it was a soft and gentle where mine would be rough sometimes I had to roll to catch myself.

"That was amazing".

"It is amazing... but it's tiring" she said taking deep breaths.

"I have a question, why do some from Luca speak Terra and Olim and others don't"?

"Mage Kata teaches those that are willing but many are afraid of her".

"Well she is scary".

"I don't remember you being scared" she scowled thinking about the salute I gave Kata when I first met her.

"I apologized for that too".

She was still scowling but didn't bring it up again.

Rushing back to the settlement we couldn't find Bilin at the large stone platform.

"She's probably drinking or..."

"Or what"?

"Never mind that, come with me I also teach Terra and Olim to the younger ones".

As we walked through the settlement I noticed those who spoke Terra and Olim are usually younger.

The term 'can't teach an old dog a new trick' rang out loud here.

Apparently Lissi and others taught the children while the parents worked, the whole community was one large family where everyone knew each other and little crime happened.

Mainly because Bilin would kill without the slightest hesitation.

Nothing was owned, everything was community property.

It made raising children here easy.

I wasn't a wall flower, I engaged the natives and used whatever bits of the language I could piece together to introduce myself.

Although the adults didn't pay me any attention the children are excited to see a new face in the monotony of their youth.

Smiling and crouching down I began to draw letters on the ground the children getting entranced right away and even some of the older teenagers stopped what they are doing to come look.

They can speak both languages well enough, the issue was reading and writing.

I exchanged letters with them making them draw the letters of there language while I did mine.

I felt a strand of energy touch me, 'Did I miss anything' Ava asked while I moved my fingers in the dirt.

'Be careful with your energy, we have mages all around us'.

'What do you mean I don't feel any...'.

I sent her an image of all the adults from my perspective.

I didn't notice at first but now that I was so close I could feel the waves of energy coming from the adults, not all of them but a scary amount.

Every single adult who was with the children had a mana signature.

I kept my cool, the more children crowded around me the more I felt the mana fluctuate in the air.

I am surrounded on all sides by potential combatants and smiling faces.