Two Strands of Fortune

Season 1 Episode 29 - Chat On the Mountain

[IVAN'S POV]

I woke up early on a Saturday morning, as usual, to do my normal morning hike on my own up the mountainside. I got distracted by something that I walked past. There were rogue stones lying all around. 'Huh. Seems interesting.' I thought. I stepped off of the path and moved to a place in the woods where I thought I was secluded enough. I took a deep breath and held my closed fists out to the surrounding rocks. My fists lit up as the rocks began to float. 'Nice.' I suddenly opened my hands, making the rocks split into bits and pieces that still stayed floating. I made a full rotation and brought them together as I did the same with my arms. I was then able to form a new rock; a larger one. I wonder how breaking and creating rocks can help me in a battle. I then put the rock back down on the ground and powered down.
"Hey there!" Dylan appeared out of nowhere, making me jump a little. "Mind if I join your brooding session?" They asked.
"Sure." I said. We sat down and made a fire together.
"So what was that yesterday?" They asked.
"I don't know, I just felt the need to show off my Earth Muscles." I teasingly flexed. They rolled their eyes.
"There was something that Formido said that got me thinking." They began, "He said that he was going after someone that you felt dearest about. What's that about?"
'He said that?' I thought to myself. "I... Uh..." I stumbled over my words.
"If it's something that you don't want to tell me that's fine." They reassured me.
"No... I... I'm always joking around because I'm terrified on the inside about how people will see me if I get serious."
"What do you mean?"
"It's because all my life, and even before you, Alya and I met last year, I've always had to have a tough upper lip and not show weakness. I'm not blaming my GAD for this, but I've always had to be strong for others, which made me afraid of showing even the slightest amount of weakness. It's also the reason why I'm almost always brooding and trying to calm myself down by doing things that distracts me from the noise within my mind, like sports."
"I understand how you feel, Isaac."
"You do?"
"Yes. Not all of us are strong and self-confident. We all have fears, no matter how confident we may appear. It's just like you said. Fear doesn't make you weak, it shows that you're human."
"But, you're so confident and carry yourself like you're worth a million bucks."
"That's not the same. Confidence is something innate that you can access on your own, but even that takes work. It happens differently with other people, but I've learnt not to care about what people think of me when they try to make me feel ashamed of myself." I couldn't believe my ears, Danté Jadon Tryggr isn't imprenetrable.
"Danté?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for this."
"Anytime. Now tell me about Amanda. Don't pretend like the rest of haven't seen the looks you've been giving her." He teased. I just rolled my eyes and stared out at the landscape.