Blood Floweret

« Chapter Twenty-One »

She barely ducked the fist that soared over her head. 

Her skin on the back of her neck prickled with the awareness of how close Eli's fist was to striking her. Though, not hard, he was hardly throwing punches but just mimicking the action to sharpen her reflexes and defenses. She was getting better, her feet moving quicker, and she was quite proud of herself for the improvement over the past few training sessions. 

Eli smirked, almost reading her thoughts, and then before she could blink he swiped her feet out from beneath her. She landed on the grass with a groan and she popped open an eye to glare up at him. He shrugged. 

"You got distracted," Eli stated and then extended his hand to help her up. 

"Was not!" She sputtered but let him pull her up. 

Eli smirked, "I noticed the second you stopped thinking about staying ahead of me." 

"How?" 

He shrugged again, his boyish features morphing into a smug grin, "I guess it's the years of practice and experience, you pick up on body language like second nature." 

She rolled her eyes at him, "Okay, rub it in my face, why don't you?" 

"I'm not!" He defended himself, raising his hands, "All I'm saying is, if you let your guard down---aka get distracted--even just for a second that's when your enemy defeats you. It takes practice to stay focused on your own movements and another person but you are doing well." 

She basked in the compliment, offering a small smile, and then she said, "I learn something new every day." 

Eli chuckled, "My Dad used to say that you never stop learning, and if you do, you are a fool." 

"Your Dad sounds like a wise man." 

A blink of unfiltered emotion crossed Eli's face, and then after a pause, he said, "He was." 

She didn't offer empty words, she hated them herself, so she chose to say, "How did he die?" 

Eli gazed at her with a careful expression, "You know, most people say that they're sorry first." 

"Why? It won't change anything." 

His eyes shifted color, only just slightly, "Yeah, you're right," Then he sighed, "I hated to hear those words anyway. Guess I'm not used to someone understanding that." 

"I lost my best friend saving my pack," She offered. 

"I lost my Dad in the Aloysius War," Eli returned, "He trained Reeve and fought by her side for a greater purpose. Sometimes I miss him but I train every day to follow in his footsteps." 

Something twitched in her heart, she had heard those words before. She had heard them so many times, it was a mindless mantra for the one who spoke them. Her eyes narrowed with realization. Eli reminded her of Fabian. They were both trying to become their fathers at some point in their lives. As if they were too afraid to become themselves; the only difference was, Fabian only had a few days before things went down, and Eli was still striving, breathing, training. She sighed. 

"Eli," She began slowly, "That's good. But don't forget that you are your own person, too, okay? You can honor your father but don't lose yourself in the process. You are not your father but his son, and I'm sure he'd be very proud of you for who you are." 

Eli was silent, his gaze searching for something within her own, and she almost thought she had seriously upset him. His expression gave away nothing besides how firmly his lips were pressed together as he pondered. Should she have not said that? No, she felt like she needed to. His situation reminded her of her best friend and Fabian had needed someone to tell him he wasn't his father, too. 

Finally, he sighed, quite heavily, and then said, "Leroy told me that, too." 

She didn't know what to say so she didn't speak. 

Eli ran a hand through his hair, "Maybe its...maybe its time for me to change my motive." 

She waited, patiently and encouragingly. 

"I've been trying to be my Dad since I was four and after he died, I focused on fighting for him. I killed Hunters for him. I train for him." Eli paused, eyes drifting off into the distance.

"But never yourself." She whispered. 

His eyes were stormy as they reconnected with hers, "I never took time to focus on myself." He agreed, almost in realization.

Her throat was tight with the emotional revelation in that moment and she couldn't find the right words to say. Somehow, she felt like she didn't need to. She had said what she needed to, what she felt like was right, and now it was up to Eli. He had to choose what he wanted, who he wanted to be, and she wouldn't interfere because she knew how personal the journey was.

 "Thank you, Val," Eli said after a long moment of silence between them, "I needed to hear that. Especially from someone who is around my age and who I look up to." 

She sputtered, "What?" 

"Don't be silly," Eli rolled his eyes, "Look around you, I've only met a handful of females who can kick ass like you. The entire pack talks about you, especially the kids."

"Don't they look up to Alpha Reeve?"

He gave her a glance, "Of course they look up to Reeve but they admire you for who you are. Little kids are smarter than you think, they can pick out qualities they like in people and attempt to mimic it." 

She grinned at that, thinking of Andy, "Touche." 

"So can we be friends?" 

Her eyes widened, "Wait, really?" 

"No, I'm just asking because I'm bored," Eli rolled his eyes, expression flat, and then he smiled,"I figured we could hang out more than just sparring buddies, what do you say?" 

Excitement rushed through her. A friend? Of course, she was friends with her family and that sort of thing, but this was like an official friend. She hadn't had one since Fabian, he was her best friend, but she wasn't dwelling on the past anymore. Fabian would have loved to see her make another friend. 

"Yes!" She exclaimed. 

"Great," Eli's eyes brightened, and then before she could think, he swiped her feet from beneath her for the second time today, and promptly stood over her with a smug expression on his face, "You were distracted again." 

"Oh my god," She groaned, standing up and brushing the grass from her jeans. 

He only snickered. 

♦      ♦      ♦      ♦      ♦      ♦

Well, their friendship blossomed. 

Quite unplanned and rather abruptly... but hey, we love it when that happens anyway! I get drawn into these characters and they just speak through me. I'm quite happy with the results almost every time.