"Leaving Nebula city? Why? For how long?" MorDrigin said, feeling more than astonished.
"Shh, don't raise your voice. Sai doesn't know about this yet." TayDrigin said in a calm tone that did little to reflect the uneasiness Mor was feeling.
"Why are you leaving Nebula City? It' not permanent is it?" MorDrigin had asked, anxious to hear her response. Which, like a needle to the heart, was not given right away.
TayDrigin leaned back into her chair and stared at the sky.
"I chose to leave." TayDrigin finally spoke up.
This time, Mor was not so eager to speak, as he was still trying to digest what he had just been told.
Aware MorDrigin was confused, Tay turned to meet his gaze, then she spoke once more.
"I couldn't stay in Nebula anymore, so I asked the Council to transfer me to Canopus."
Mor wanted to ask why, but he believed that he knew the answer to that. So instead, he decided to ask something else.
"So it's permanent then?"
Yet again, TayDrigin did not respond.
"You...want to leave me and Sai here?"
"I..." TayDrigin paused, then she turned her gaze to Sai, so her brows rose in what looked to be pain. "I want to leave Sai here."
Upon hearing this, MorDrigin froze. He didn't know how to respond to this or what to even think.
"She's strong. She'll fit into this family." TayDrigin said, falling her gaze.
"So you want to leave her because of that?" MorDrigin had asked, anger filling his tone.
"I can't stay here Mor. Not any longer. And I know you can't either."
"We can't just leave Sai..."
"I tried." TayDrigin said, almost losing control of her voice and pitch. "I tried to take her with me. I did everything in my power to take her…but the family wouldn't let me, your father wouldn't let me. Not if she were to get an Ethos." She paused, then turned her gaze to Sai once more. "And she has."
Once TayDrigin had said this, Mor fell silent. He didn't know what to say or think. He just remained silent, trying to get his thoughts under control.
***
In the blink of an eye, the two hours had passed. So the sun was once again golden and the world was once again varied in colors that were not limited to shades of blue. The Eclipse was finally gone.
Now setting out, the other Watchers had joined TayDrigin with her permission, so that now they were a party of four Watchers and twenty Seedlings. Twenty Seedlings in which more than a quarter all had Ethoses bonding with them.
And although seeing so many Ethoses with children much younger than Mor would naturally make him a little more than upset, he didn't have time to be weighed down by such feelings because his thoughts were completely occupied by something much more important.
For the past hour or so, Mor had been lost on what to think. He was struggling with the thought of leaving his sister. How could? She needed her mother and brother to be there for her. And he couldn't leave her with the people he calls his family.
But, staying in Nebula would mean he would have to suffer the same ridicule he had been suffering for the past five years now. He would be laughed out by outsiders, and not given respect by his family.
He would be treated like an apparition. And would be completely ignored most of the times like he wasn't there.
Though Mor had tried to pretend all of this didn't hurt him anymore, deep down, he knew better and still felt the pain of it all in his heart.
Perhaps, leaving wasn't such a bad idea. It's not like they would harm Sai in anyway. On the contrary, she would be treated like a princess. More so than she already was.
It was one thing trying to get a White Aura into the family line, it was completely another to not have any Amyntors in one line of the Drigin family at all. Mor had brought enough shame to his father's line that Sai would more than make up for it even if she wasn't a White Aura.
"Sai would be fine." Mor said, afraid he had finally made a decision.
"Hm?" SaiDrigin had asked, snapping Mor out of his daze.
"Oh uh, nothing." Mor said, a little more than flustered.
Not believing Mor, Sai rose a brow, looking straight at him with scrutiny in her gaze.
Upon seeing her glare, Mor smiled and began to scratch the back of his head.
Just then Mor had bumped into a Watcher in front of him. Opening his eyes, Mor found the Watcher frowning at him. In response, Mor smiled with a shrug, so the Watcher rolled his eyes and faced forward.
Looking ahead, Mor became astonished when he saw an Unformed, and almost immediately, he felt a pit rise in his stomach.
Turning his sights to his mother, he found her giving LoriHaden her hammer. And without wasting any time, she sprung onto the scene.
Mor watched as she tackled the stone creature. And this time, she fought with greater efficiency and thought. Yet, she still fell short. And had to be saved by TayDrigin.
She didn't protest, but also, she wasn't deterred by her failure. She smiled and turned her sights to CalisVon.
"Good luck out there." She said with a genuine cheery voice.
But CalisVon did not respond with such enthusiasm.
Thanking her, Calis made his way forward and asked for his weapon. Dual blades, just like before.
Mor watched Calis as the pit in his stomach began to rise. He found himself concerned for him, while praying he would succeed this time.
And if he didn't...then it would be Mor's turn. Which he didn't know if he was ready yet.
Looking at Calis, Mor found him hesitating. But within the second, he lunged forward. He struck at the Unformed Ethos, striking with great precision. It didn't take him very long to bring the Unformed to its knees.
But just when he was about to strike the weak spot, he froze in place yet again.
'Dammit!' Mor thought.
"What the hell are you doing?!" His brother had yelled, pulling Calis' thoughts away from the Unformed, so that it struck at him.
But before its attack could make contact, TayDrigin had already taken him out of danger, and brought him to the group.
Not even lingering on Calis, TayDrigin pointed her gaze to his brother and without her even saying anything, he bowed his head.
"Forgive me Lady Drigin. I didn't mean to..."
"Please make sure you don't repeat this again."
"I won't Lady Drigin."
After the exchange, TayDrigin made sure to keep CalisVon close to her. Then, turning her sights away from his brother, she placed it on MorDrigin, a complicated look in her eyes.
At once Mor felt himself sick.
It was finally his turn.
Feeling the weight of the world on him, Mor couldn't even lift a foot. He froze in place.
'Dammit, dammit move.' Mor forced himself forward, but it was all a wasted effort. Up until he felt a hand on his. Which somehow reverberated strength throughout his entire body.
Looking down, he found Sai looking up at him.
"You can do this." Sai said to him. And these simple words managed to instill a strength in Mor he didn't know existed.
Dawning a smile, Mor nodded, then he turned his sights to his mother.
Taking a step forward, he made his way to her so in front of her, and didn't hesitate in asking for his weapon of preference.
"I want a claymore." Mor said.
With a nod, TayDrigin flicked a finger at her Inventory, and out of a spark of light, a claymore formed in her hand.
It was an elegant piece. The claymore was made of a silver that looked like liquid metal. It had an ornate design on its pummel, a simple grip made of a strange black material and a cross guard that slanted toward the tip of the sword.
The blade itself was unapologetically long with a curved tip as opposed to being pointy. And it had a design of a complicated looking tree at its middle.
This claymore she held in her hands was no ordinary claymore, and Mor knew this. Though he wanted to protest, he knew his mother wouldn't budge in her decision to give it to him, so he decided to let it go.
He wasn't taking it permanently anyhow.
Taking it into his hands, Mor didn't feel much of its weight. It was almost light even.
Not lingering on the claymore for long. Mor took a deep breath, then he turned his gaze to the Unformed and prepared himself.
As he stared it down, he suddenly felt a strange weight press down on him. This was it, after one year of torture, he was at it again. In front of an Unformed. Praying with all his heart he could take it down, and make his family proud. Make himself proud. Prove everyone that ever doubted wrong...everyone that made him hate himself.
A these thoughts ate into Mor, he found himself losing the strength to do this.
But just then, as though reading his mind, Sai spoke.
"You can do this brother Mor."
Upon hearing Sai's voice, MorDrigin felt a semblance of himself. And he felt a semblance of strength.
Taking in a deep breath, Mor gripped the handle of the claymore tight, then he steeled his nerves. With an exhale, MorDrigin dashed forward, watching the Unformed close like a hawk.
The Unformed Ethos this time around looked like a snake with human torso and hands. And though it was made of stone, it moved with a free and fluid motion that did not translate the words "rigid body".
Clearing his head, MorDrigin tried to remain focused on the Unformed and only the Unformed.
As he stared the Unformed down while closing the gap between them, he realized it had noticed him. Tracing the movement of its body, Mor found it swinging its tail toward him.
Reacting to the Unformed Ethos' attack, Mor ducked under the tail just barely. While he was sliding under the tail's arc, he made sure not to take his eyes off of it. Doing so had proved fruitful once again. Because as he looked at it, he noticed a whiplash motion reverberating through its stone tail.
At once he leaped into the air, and once again narrowly evaded the tail's follow up attack. Which was an aggressive slam into the exact spot Mor stood only a second ago.
"Yes!"
"Perfect!"
"That's how you do it!"
Sai, Lori and May all said as hopes ran high for SaiDrigin and TayDrigin.
Though they were impressed by his performance and or not disappointed as they would expect nothing less from a Seedling with way more experience than them, they did not know that Mor was hanging by a thread.
Landing onto the floor after his jump, Mor closed the gap between him and the Unformed. Without hesitation, he took a swing at the Unformed Ethos' arm, making sure to strike at its joints.
He successfully hit his mark, but he did not do much damage to the joint. Barely even made a dent, and this was supposed to be the weakest part of the Unformed.
Witness this, Mor gritted his teeth as he dashed backwards, once again narrowly escaping the Unformed Ethos' slam.
Thinking on the failed strike to the Unformed Ethos' arm, Mor felt his courage wavering.
'I haven't improved at all.' Mor thought as he narrowly evaded another attack.
Narrowly has been a reality Mor knew his entire life.
For as long as he could remember, Mor was told that when he was born, he had narrowly escaped death. Born as a weak child, he almost gave up on the world had it not been for some slight of hand.
As Mor grew, his family had discovered that he was weak still. Many believed that as he grew older he would get stronger. But it seemed his weakness just scaled to his size and age. In simple terms, Mor was born very differently.
Whereas children his age could run around, roughhouse and exercise. MorDrigin found himself incapable of such things. He could never lift as much, run as fast or far, or take as many hits as kids his age.
No matter how much his father forced him, trained him. And no matter how much Mor pushed himself, broke his bones, he could never match up to the bare minimum his peers were capable of.
Yet Mor never gave up. He gave it his all and trained and trained. And by some miracle, he narrowly passed the physical test to become a Seedling.
Mor had managed this by using his brain. He studied so many fighting techniques and he made it a habit to watch and anticipate an opponents next move. The latter would give him a chance to evade an attack ahead of time, as he was too slow to evade said attack when it was struck.
This along with the fighting techniques he learned had helped him bridge a good portion of the gap that separated him from his peers.
But it would seem that wasn't enough.
With a gasp, Mor found an enormous stone hand rushing for him. It was hiding behind an attack he had just evaded, so there was no time to evade.
*SLAM*
*CRASH*
Mor was sent flying into a tree, so he at once became enveloped by pain.
Watching, anticipating and learning many fighting techniques had helped Mor bridge a good portion of the gap that separated him from his peers.
But it would seem that it wasn't enough. It was never enough.