A New Shift

Chapter: 8

The next morning was as dull as ever—another day of carrying bundles of sugarcane and produce to the storage building. The heavy atmosphere of manual labor was the same, but after the events of last night, the air felt a bit lighter between Abeni and me. I glanced at her walking beside me, carrying a bundle of bananas, her face still set in a frown.

"Are you still salty?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"Salty? You broke my arm, Kael," she snapped, shooting me an annoyed look.

"And I healed it," I pointed out, grinning. "Besides, you wouldn't have this problem if you learned healing magic. But what was it you said in broken English again? Healing magic is for wussies?"

"Screw you," she muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Love you too," I shot back with a smirk.

Our banter was interrupted by the sound of someone shouting in the distance. We both turned our heads toward the noise and saw a boy around thirteen years old arguing with one of the guards. He had deep brown hair and striking blue eyes, wearing a white shirt under a brown vest, and despite his age, he had an undeniably smug look on his face.

"Is that who I think it is?" Abeni asked, squinting as she tried to place the face.

"I think it is," I replied, narrowing my eyes. "What's his name again?"

"You expect me to know?"

"Fair point. But doesn't he seem more… cocky than usual?"

"Now that you mention it…"

Both of us released a pulse of Mana simultaneously, our senses sharpening as we probed the boy's aura. There it was, faint but present—a small, flickering signature of Mana coming from Alex's older brother.

"Huh, that's why. He finally unlocked his magic," I said.

"Why is his Mana so low, though? Even compared to Alex?"

"Pre-training Alex or post-training Alex?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Pre-training Alex."

I thought for a moment. "Well, if we're comparing pre-training Alex to his brother, it's kinda sad. Pre-training Alex's Mana was like the size of a bucket, but his brother's Mana… it's more like a soup bowl."

Abeni snorted. "Well, ain't that sad."

"Indeed."

We exchanged a glance, then both decided the scene wasn't worth watching any longer. We had better things to do than stand around watching Alex's brother flaunt his newfound, albeit pathetic, magic. We continued on our way to the storage building, letting the sound of the argument fade behind us.

That night, as usual, Abeni and I waited in our secret training spot. The moon hung high in the sky, casting long shadows across the clearing as the cool night breeze rustled the leaves. Tonight's session with Alex was just another step in what had become a pretty routine process. "Teaching" him elemental control was almost like playing babysitter at this point.

Abeni leaned against a tree, arms crossed, clearly bored. "So, how much longer do we have to deal with him?"

"Not much longer," I said, stretching my arms behind my head. "A week, maybe. His brother finally unlocked his Mana, so they'll be shipping both of them off to that magic academy soon."

"Good," Abeni muttered. "I'm tired of playing babysitter."

I couldn't help but laugh. "It's not that bad. At least we've gotten some useful stuff out of this. Plus aren't you too the same age?"

"Yeah, but the kid's annoying," she grumbled, pushing off the tree and pacing around.

"Oh, don't say that. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you've grown to like him."

Abeni shot me a look, her expression sour. "Like is a strong word, Kael. Tolerate is more accurate."

"Eh, tomato, tomato." I replied, waving her off.

Abeni smirked slightly, but before she could retort, Alex arrived. He approached nervously, as usual, carrying a small flame flickering in his hand—his first attempt at elemental control, though it was still shaky. He had made progress, sure, but it was slow going. His elemental control was rudimentary at best, the small flame barely staying lit as he approached us.

"Hey, Alex," I called out, snapping him out of his concentration. "Looks like you're starting to get the hang of it."

"Thanks," Alex said, trying to steady the flame. It flickered wildly in the wind before he finally managed to stabilize it, the small ball of fire hovering just above his palm.

Letting Alex use the English way of using magic instead of our own way was a genius idea of slowing Alex down even more. I had to tip my metaphorical hat to Abeni for that one.

Abeni watched him with narrowed eyes, clearly unimpressed. "Took you long enough."

Alex's face flushed slightly, but he nodded. "I know… but I think I'm starting to get it now. At least a little."

I chuckled, patting him on the shoulder. "That's the spirit. Just keep working at it."

Abeni rolled her eyes. "Yeah, just don't blow yourself up in the process."

Alex swallowed nervously, but he nodded again, determined. He spent the rest of the night working on keeping the flame steady, while Abeni and I focused on refining our own techniques. Despite her earlier complaints, Abeni helped him when his control wavered, though she would never admit it aloud. 

As the night wore on, I couldn't help but reflect on how far we had come in just a few months. Abeni and I were stronger, faster, and more skilled than we had ever been. We were growing every day, and with each step forward, but we were far from closer to our ultimate goal.

By the time the session wrapped up, the flame in Alex's hand was stable, though weak. I glanced at Abeni, who, despite her earlier complaints, had offered him tips throughout the evening, even if she wouldn't admit it aloud.

As we watched him leave, I couldn't help but reflect on how much had changed in the past few months. Abeni and I had grown exponentially, both in power and skill. But even with all this progress, our goal—the real goal—still loomed large in the distance, far beyond where we stood now.

The night air seemed to whisper promises of what lay ahead, but for now, we were still preparing, still learning.

But soon… soon, things would change.

Chapter 8: End