They had trained all day. Juno led the soldiers through their punching workouts and meditation breaks, swapping every half hour until dinner. Everyone's bodies were left bruised to varying degrees. The stench of sweat filled the ship as men hurried below deck to wash themselves with their one bucket of water.
It barely helped, but at least it was something.
Now, the twenty soldiers loudly chatted, yelled, and fought as they ate their dinners within the rack, which was also dubbed the mess hall.
Obai attempted to eat his food alone near his bunk, hoping to concentrate on circulating his energy through the Body Trait, just as Nova had taught him ages ago. However, there were four pesky soldiers conversing around him, trying to get him to join. Teddy happened to be the most relentless.
Bolin was busy telling a story about how he and Teddy had escaped a bear attack. The other two—the partner that Obai had and someone with long blond hair—were listening, making fun of the ridiculous details the giant had exaggerated.
"Well, our fish hadda be real tasty since it did a backflip for it when I threw it behind us! I was quite reluctant to see my lunch go, though." Bolin laughed in his deep voice as Teddy smacked him on the back.
"We shouldn't have gone fishing in those woods to begin with! Nearly shit my pants on the run back. Our father was furious when he found our sorry asses."
"Haha! If I ever pulled something as dumb as that, my father would have killed me! You two are lucky to think the bear was the real threat!" The blond man responded.
As the blond man brushed his hair back, Obai's training partner answered the laughing brothers.
"I didn't realize how different life was like in those giant mountains. Always imagined you folk hiding in caves."
Bolin laughed even louder when he heard those words. "Ah! I really did for a month!"
Obai's focus wavered as he overheard that. A short smile glimpsed itself onto his unnaturally cold face as he imagined the scene.
'Of course that giant lived in a cave. He's got nothing but rocks in his head.'
"What about you, Marcus?" Teddy asked. "You're so eager to join the war, what was life like back home?"
The soldiers were still lively. Everyone had started chatting about different topics, but the most popular one was their opinions on the war. Marcus leaned back to think about his answer while Obai shifted his attention to getting used to his Body Trait again.
Bolin glanced at him, growing unusually quiet. He noticed the soft light of energy in Obai's eyes as they closed shut.
"Well, I probably had as lofty a childhood as anyone in the capital. My parents were dead set on their studies, trying to propose new ideas to the Empire. I wasn't much interested in their line of work, which kind of disappointed them. So, at sixteen I decided it best to join the imperial troops. I was hoping to rise up through the army by making a name for myself on the expansion through the Arm."
Teddy listened intently and excitedly. Seems he enjoyed communing with people. "Wow! Is the Arm really as dangerous as the carriers say?"
"Well, most of the time I really wasn't fighting back any devils. I remember hearing the stories from the news as well. Safe to say they like to exaggerate. I actually ended up getting bored, ending up as a blacksmith's assistant in the temp town we were stationed at."
"I heard that devils are beings born with strong mastery of Traits," the blond one cut in.
"Traits? I thought they were just freakishly strong. No way they can manipulate energy," the short man argued.
"No, Alistaire is right. All the time I spent out on the Arm, I had one run-in with a devil. We were out surveying some small canyon, and the thing came by and somehow raised the very ground we stood on. We were able to escape, but only after witnessing what the Karada troops could do was I sure that devils had to be able to manipulate energy too."
"Is that why you decided to join the Karada?"
"It's one reason," Marcus replied. He tilted his head down as he took a drink of water, his enthusiastic story dissipating as his eyes drifted away from the group.
"Alright, well, what about you, Alistaire?" Teddy continued his liveliness.
The blond man looked around at them, evaluating the men he was sharing these stories with. After a few seconds, he responded.
"I don't really have a grand backstory. I just hate the Seishin."
Teddy's eyes widened. "What? You just hate 'em for no reason then? What about your life before the war?"
Alistaire simply smiled at the reactions. "No reason other than they attacked and I want to get stronger. I used to live on a farm, but I didn't exactly have a notable life. Your bear story was better," he laughed.
"Really? That's it? Man, you lowlanders really don't know how to tell stories. Marcus, you got more?"
Marcus shook his head. His thoughts had wandered elsewhere.
"What about you? Silent ballerina."
A deep voice resounded behind Obai. During Marcus's talk, Bolin had started pacing slowly around the group, occasionally looking at Obai. He eventually stopped behind him without him noticing, his shadow towering over the mysterious man's frame.
Obai turned his head, glaring up at him.
"None of your business, freakish giant."
"How are you so good at energy manipulation?"
Obai shot up, his face only rising up to Bolin's chest. Flames shot out of his eyes as he failed his usually intimidating stance.
"How come you keep nagging me?" he asked in a demanding tone.
Alistaire's voice rang out behind him. "Because you're intriguing, dude. Your battle was the most entertaining, you're able to pick up the Body Trait immediately..."
"And you're standing out," Bolin finished.
The four men stared at Obai, desperately waiting for something, anything, that might tell them who this soldier was and how he was so good at energy manipulation. Other soldiers continued their conversations in the background as the ship pushed through the night.
Obai quit glaring at Bolin, turning to study the other three.
'Why do they care so much? Just focus on yourselves.'
Teddy leaned in, nerves finding their way into his voice as he initiated a new question.
"We're comrades now. Obai, right? Can't you tell us your story?"
He sighed. The past five years had made him forget what life was supposed to be like. How the average person was supposed to act. He never expected to return to a scene filled with laughter, surrounded by men the same age as him.
His path of revenge had stolen him. But could he be blamed? Nova was gone now. The person he cared for most had been killed. Who cares about anything else? He had to bring justice to the one who tormented him.
He looked around at them. Their eyes glowed with expectation.
These people would never give up. Whether it was nonsensical or not, they kept chasing after him. Maybe Obai would find his path easier if he let them follow him.
Slowly sitting back down, Obai finally answered.
"There's someone on the battlefield that I have to kill. That's all."
The air staled as the men looked at each other. They'd finally gotten some words out of Obai. It wasn't much, but at least it was better than angsty silence. At least it proved that he was human.
Bolin chuckled as he circled back to his original spot.
"You lowlanders have terrible stories."