White Strings

Episode 11 - Found

Kaon watched Silk as she practiced her moves on a target made of hay. She had gotten much better, it was evident. In just two weeks, she managed to perfect almost all the basic stances. It was the beginning, Kaon was aware, but he was truly proud of her progress.

"Are you ready for the mock trial today?" Kaon called at Silk's back.

"No!" Silk replied.

Kaon chuckled. Silk had been training non-stop for the past week, she was adamant to be able to carry her weight in the team. Kaon knew that she just didn't have enough time to catch up to Vax and Mayim, she was nowhere near their level. But watching her train, he couldn't bring himself to say that to her.

Silk suddenly stopped moving, and turned towards Kaon. Her face was sullen, full of worry. "What if you fail because of me?"

"We won't," Kaon reassured her.

"But we haven't established a connection yet, I can't locate you like Mayim can locate Kasu." Silk walked back and forth, flailing her arms around in an attempt to get rid of her uneasiness. "What if I hold you all back?"

"Just stay near Vax, she seems to like you."

Kaon kept looking at Silk as she stood silent, his eyes then followed her as she moved towards him. Before he could ask her what she was doing, she halted right in front of him and leaned over him. Her face stopped right near his, where she could see his eyes clearly. Kaon's eyes widened, his lips parting to let out a startled exhale.

"I could feel it last time when I looked into your eyes, I swear," Silk whispered. "I felt it inside me. Why did it not happen again?"

Kaon felt frozen for a moment, then collected his composure again. He placed his palm on Silk's nape, pulling her just a little closer. Close enough for her to immediately try to bounce back and try to squirm out of his grasp.

"Maybe you just like my eyes?" he chuckled and held her face firmly with his other hand. "There, take a long look into them, I will even move my hair away."

Silk watched him as he freed the back of her head to move his hair away from his eyes. Silk could see his eyes clearly now, and from so up close she felt the growing embarrassment finally get the best of her. She pulled away and stepped back until she was a safe distance away from Kaon.

"Feeling a little less nervous now?" Kaon smiled.

"I... You..." Silk pointed at Kaon as if it meant anything, and after being unable to make any sense, she ran away.

Kaon watched her back disappear on the path towards the house, and his smile disappeared. He looked at his hands that just moments ago had Silk in them. He slowly closed his palms and his gaze fixated on the hay target in the arena.

"You shouldn't," he said to himself.

A few moments later, they were leaving towards the temple. Silk tried to keep her mind off the memory of Kaon's very close eyes and the touch of his palm on the back of her head. She decided to pretend it didn't happen, but still couldn't look at Kaon as they walked towards the castle together. As they reached the bottom of the hill, Kasu and Affine were already waiting for them. They started talking about their plans and assumptions regarding the mock trial and Silk joined Vax in the back.

The walk was longer than usual, and once they were inside the temple again, Silk realized they were going towards the inner parts of the castle. She remembered the map Skyr drew on the dirt for her, and looked around the new area she had never been to before.

She noticed they were trailing the inner walls, passing nearby multiple entrances filled with guards. Silk was impressed by how spotless the area was, even if it didn't seem like many had frequented this path. Slowly, however, the unnatural cleanness of the temple started to disappear. Silk realized how weird it was to see leaves and dirt on the marbled ground, even though that was how any other place would have it.