cascade | kotlc

21. Quan and Mai

 "Sure sounds like it," Fitz mumbled, stealing the words from her mind. She blinked, not even realizing she'd said the words aloud.

"Indeed it did," Sandor said, glancing at the other bodyguards. June shifted nervously, keeping one hand on the grip of her pistol.

Their expressions were hard to read.

"We sense your unease," Coach Rohana told the crowd. "And we applaud you for it. Fear breeds restraint and responsibility."

...

Fear also breeds panic.

Panic breeds chaos.

Who knows what the elves will do, faced by the daunting challenge in front of them?

How will they react to being trained to kill?

"It will not change the fact that this is a skill we each possess naturally. Saber-toothed tigers have claws and fangs. Peluda dragons have poison quills. Even the fragile flitterwings have venom in their tiny teeth. They do not fear these gifts. Yes, some creatures use such things to hunt and others to defend themselves. Either choice doesn't change the fact that the power exists.

Linh felt her stomach rise and fall, feeling extremely nauseous as she bent slightly, leaning on Biana, who also looked slightly green. She didn't know if it was from her own anxiety or Calla's ring, which was glowing brightly, sending threads of green light down Biana's arm.

"How do you feel about this?" she asked, holding Linh steady as June came over, spinning her gun around her finger.

"I don't know," she said, looking tense as she clicked the safety of her gun on and off. "This... feels dangerous. We're arming everyone, and this isn't something you can escape..."

"It's also important to note that power is not a new feature of our world," Coach Wilda reminded them. "Many of our special abilities could cause tremendous damage should we choose to use them for such. That doesn't mean we shy away from ability training, does it?"
"I kind of do," Linh muttered, dew gathering on her hair as she shook it away. "I... never felt safe learning Hydrokinesis after Atlantis."

"You should be proud," June told her, a hint of admiration in her voice. "I wish I could've harnessed that amount of power."

"Harness isn't the right word."

"Our goals here are simple," Coach Bora added. "We want you to understand your strength and to be able to call on it should you need it. Together, we want to show the world that, whether they like it or not, we are the strongest creatures. We do not need weapons or armor. Only the strength of our mind and the discipline and determination to master it."

"The Council's playing a very dangerous game," Biana said, fingering her ring as it glowed even brighter, like a flashlight in the darkness. Linh had to shield her eyes from the brilliant rays.

"Let's hope they know what they're doing, then." June shoved her gun back into her strap, taking out a narrow tube that unfolded into a stellarscope, before she pressed a button and it collapsed into the pipe again.

"You look... concerned," Sophie whispered to Sandor as the Coaches instructed everyone to head to their assigned tents.

"I am. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to protec you from an attack of this nature, especially one to flesh and bone. If crystal and stone are also vulnerable, what's to stop someone from exploding the ground we're standing on, or shattering a building around us?"

"Our own natural limitations," Magnate Leto said, sneaking up beside them. "There are ways to build reserves of energy, of course, but they take a tremendous amount of time and discipline. Otherwise, most people cannot attack anything bigger than the orbs the Coaches showed you."