Shattered Legacies: Book 1, Holo Change

💠Chapter 23: Arrival of ugh💠

For the next training session Lucien decided it would be a good idea for them to go for a jog through the town that morning. A decision that confused Anna a little bit, and even more when she found out they'd be jogging in plain sight instead of through the alleyways, even if they left their coats at the Chateau. And once outside he didn't exactly wait for her to say anything before instructing her to follow him, taking off at a steady pace that she had to do her best to match without passing him. Something that was easier said than done. Once her blood started pumping it was like something inside her wanted to shoot off, her legs kept trying to get faster which felt like a natural instinct. The same kind of instinct she'd felt before that apparently made people jump.

Meanwhile Lucien was enjoying the chance to get some normal exercise. Going for a simple jog down the sidewalk of the city, pretending as though he were a normal person who just so happened to be exercising with a younger relative was a good break. It wasn't the point of this training session, but it certainly was a perk in his eyes. And if he were being honest, he just really liked jogging and leg exercise like it. It gave him a sense of familiarity, to what he wasn't exactly sure since the pieces were missing, but the feeling was there. Both of them had their hair tied back and sporty clothes to help with the fact it was so sunny today. And as always, nobody was paying them any attention. That wasn't to say he wasn't paying attention to the young girl a few steps behind him, he made sure to look her way and make sure she was still there. Sanctuary or not, you could never be too careful. Ironic considering how she got here.

He noticed when she started having trouble keeping up after a good few minutes, slowing down and stopping so she could catch her breath. She bent over, holding her knees while she took deep breaths. Poor kid, he thought with a slight smirk of amusement. "C'mon, that all you got?" He decided to tease her a little bit, however she simply shrugged, "Lucien...why are we doing this?" before asking between breaths, looking back up at him with confusion clear as day. Glad she finally got a chance to ask him as well. "It's for stamina training." He answered without missing a beat, causing her to tilt her head slightly. "Stamina?" That was a new one to her, she didn't know what it was either. "Stamina is like your energy, how much you can move around and for how long." He explained, "You can't flee a fight or dodge quickly if you run out of stamina easily." it was the most important category next to strength. It was what got you to safety or gave you your second wind. Many people used treadmills for this exact thing. "You were able to flee the monsters before because you were scared, adrenaline carried you. But you can't rely on adrenaline, you'll end up working yourself into your grave." Second grave?

He then shrugged, "Plus it's a nice day, so I thought, why not?" kill two birds with one stone. Enjoy the outdoors and introduce the next skill category. And that all made sense, but it still left her with a concern. "But...why are we doing this here? Shouldn't we be avoiding the Soulful?" Which she wasn't shy about bringing up, standing up straight and keeping herself away from passersby as she had been all morning thus far. Something Lucien couldn't help but want to roll his eyes at, knowing exactly why she and so many others thought that. "Anna, I'm gonna be honest with you; That rule's a load of BS." He crossed his arms frankly, with a look of the same nature. To this Anna made an odd face, extremely confused by Lucien's claims, "Huh? But what if they detect us? They'll report us to the Guilds!" especially considering what she'd been told as the reason for why they couldn't be seen. She wasn't told what the guilds would do, but more than enough ideas were floated around by the other newborn Outcasts that it was safe to say that they were afraid.

"Regular people can't feel what we are." He said simply, unable to hide trace amounts of annoyance at the lies of the Order. "To them, we're just more faces in the crowd. If we don't wear our coats, we're even safer. There's nobody here who's a threat." No Guilds resided in the Neon City, not a single Weaver connected to a guild was in the city either given how little need there was for them to be here. The Neon City was, again, a sanctuary for the Outcasts, which meant detached from the rest of the Realms to the point of absurdity. Anna blinked, as if her little brain was struggling slightly to understand the concept of zero danger as she glanced around at the passersbys. Thinking about how little people had even looked their way since coming out this morning. And as expected, all she saw and registered was an unsettling "minding your own business" peace. "They... really can't tell?" She looked at Lucien again, "Not a single one." he confirmed with crossed arms.