New Friends!

The clangor of the chains interrupted them, and the cavern fluttered alive. Kalani let out an exasperated sigh.

"Don't waste time..." he remarked before crawling out of his abode. 'Because I am running out of time,' he added silently. Thankfully, the girl nodded in agreement and didn't fuss. After all, they were both relying on each other to escape.

Following Kalani out, she attempted to stretch herself but frowned when soreness hit her all over. Nyx then noticed strange gazes from some of the slaves around them: a mixture of shock, fear, and envy written on their faces.

Inching closer to him, she mumbled to Kalani, "Why are they like that?" He looked at her with a raised brow.

"You will know later," he replied succinctly but coldly; if not for the fact that he was the only one there earlier, she would have assumed that she was speaking to another person.

The barred door of the cavern finally opened with a loud creak and the rattles of the chains, stuffing the next question Nyx had down her throat; the guards slowly walked forward as their assistants scurried in with the baskets of food.

"Isn't that our breakfast?..." Nyx muttered to Kalani quietly while motioning with her finger.

Meeting her bewildered gaze, he gestured with his head, "And fight with them?" She turned around to see the chaos breaking out over the food, and goosebumps rose on her arms.

"He's here..." Kalani mumbled before sticking his arm through his home's entrance. Stealing a glance at him, Nyx took a step back in shock when she noticed a sentry, who carried a wicker basket, behind her.

With a lack of a smile on his face, the sentry gave off the feeling of an iceberg as his baby-blue eyes bored into Nyx, watching her shift uneasily under his gaze. Breaking the tension, Kalani stood up from his position and brought out a replica of the basket, appearing worn and dusty compared to the guard's.

Once the boy approached him, the sentry shoved the basket into Kalani's arms. "Your food," the sentry remarked tersely. Nyx perceived a hint of disdain in the man's eyes before the sentry reluctantly took the dirty basket from Kalani and left.

"Here..." she finally snapped out of it when Kalani spoke to her and glanced down at his outstretched hand holding out half a loaf of bread, one which was freshly baked.

"Half of these loaves will be allotted to you for the rest of the week; I won't be responsible for you if you go hungry," Kalani mentioned as he calmly chowed down on another piece of loaf while storing the basket filled with the rest into his home.

'Oh, so he does have a nice side,' she mused with a smile. "Thanks," she replied, clasping her bread with both hands. He only grunted lightly in response.

"YOU TWO! Get over here!" a voice yelled; the scraggly bearded man from before pointed to them. "We don't have all day!..." Nyx hurriedly walked over while Kalani tagged along behind her.

Maybe due to his annoyance with them, the man separated Nyx and Kalani into different groups. As she approached the group, the slaves appeared to shy away from her.

'Is it because of him?...' she pondered while standing amid the group. Then she felt a touch on her hand. She glanced back to see a winged girl trembling behind her.

"C-can you give us some bread please?" the girl asked despite trembling nonstop. Nyx furrowed her brows, and when the girl noticed this, she stammered, "I-if you don't want to, it's f-fine..."

But just when she was about to leave, the girl felt warmth on her palm, widening her light charcoal eyes as she stared at the uneaten loaf in her palm.

"Share with your friends," Nyx uttered gently and patted the girl's hand lightly, only pausing once she saw tears well up in the girl's eyes.

"Thank you so much..." the girl whispered gratefully as she wiped away her tears. "What is your name?"

"You can call me Nyx, and you?"

"I am Emma. Nice to meet you," the girl replied. Then with haste, Emma broke up the bread and handed it to the group, but while Emma distributed the pieces, one of the younger boys approached Nyx shyly.

"My name is Dave; thank you for the food," he spoke up as he nibbled on his piece. Her chocolate eyes flickered with some emotion, but then Nyx smiled.

"No problem," she responded. Her reply opened the floodgates as the group eagerly introduced themselves.

...

By the time the day ended, Nyx couldn't help but feel a strong bond connect them all, making her reluctant to leave them.

Waving goodbye, Nyx skipped back to Kal's abode in spite of her tired body with a grin.

Once she made herself at home however, a low voice remarked, "You look silly." Glancing back over her shoulder, Nyx met his emerald eyes gazing at her from the entry, but instead of a yelp of shock, she simply giggled.

"You would smile this wide too if you found a friend," she responded. Kalani's brows creased at the word 'friend'.

"I don't believe in pure friendships..." he uttered slowly. "Because people here are more likely to not be what they seem."

"I'll be careful," she replied before sticking her tongue out playfully. "Jeez, you are like my brothers."

Since she didn't take him seriously, Kalani decided not to meddle. He then spoke up, "I have to wake up early tomorrow, so let's practice now." Despite her curiosity, Nyx understood that to know less was the wiser move.

"You may have wondered how I picked you out of the crowd as a wind practitioner. But it's quite simple; practitioners' visions are different from what normal people can 'see'. In essence, I can 'see spirits', but despite the name, we cannot define 'them' as living since 'they' lack speech and rationality. And we have to guide these 'spirits' in order to harness any element in the first place. Any questions before I move on?" Nyx inquired.

With his emerald eyes darting around, Kalani asked after ensuring no one was nearby, "Can practitioners 'see' all types of these 'spirits'? And how can I control them?"

"No, we can only view our own element," Nyx replied and continued further, "Since we are of the same element, I can briefly show you something, but I need your hand first."

With her palm outstretched to him, Nyx observed his hesitation before Kalani finally lowered his calloused hand into hers.

"I promise you will enjoy this," she mumbled softly and closed her eyes. Kalani waited, but although several minutes passed, no apparent changes took place. However, when he was about to speak up, the boy caught sight of a fuzzy, lime sphere clinging onto her waist.

Kalani blinked in confusion as countless others appeared to come out of thin air. It didn't take long before his sight was filled with these glowing spheres. Some were even attached to him!

"Aren't these 'spirits' adorable?" Nyx's question brought Kalani back to his senses, and he glanced up at her.

Due to the faint light being emitted, the girl's face was revealed more clearly. That fair honeyed skin and dark chocolate, almond shaped eyes were accentuated, making his breath lodge in his chest unknowingly.

"Hmm, cute..." he murmured gently before realizing what had left his lips. His emerald eyes lowered to the fuzzy masses as an unnoticeable, tint of red spread over the rim of his ears.

"Right?..." Nyx giggled lightly as her lips curled up. "We just need to command 'them' to follow our orders, and the best way is to spend time or interact."

A sense of unknown heaviness weighed on his chest when he realized she hadn't caught on. Distracted by his inner turmoil, he stared unfocused at the 'spirits' until he felt a soft pinch on his cheek.

"Were you even listening to me?" Nyx stared at him with her brows somewhat creased.

Kalani gently pried her fingers off his face. "Was distracted by these— things..." Kalani then responded as he prodded the fuzzy spheres to prove his point.

Nyx pinched his roguish hand, stating, "Be nice. Although 'they' might not necessarily be alive, treat 'them' with care..." After taking her palm out of his, the initially distinct forms of the lime spirits soon began to disperse and grow hazy.

"I'm unable to maintain your sight for long, but I'm sure you got the gist of it. This will be your first step in wielding the wind," Nyx remarked. And the further they conversed, the more Kalani was pleasantly surprised...

In spite of how naive she seemed, the girl was extremely knowledgeable and detailed in her explanations. The night seemed too brief as they talked long into the dark hours before both finally dozed off due to exhaustion.

...