𝐉𝐮𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐭 | 𝐑𝐨𝐛𝐛𝐲 𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐞 (DISCONTINUED)

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 31

She stared out of the window the whole plane ride, watching the land turn into sea and then back to land. She tried to sleep but her mind wouldn't turn off so she just watched the world pass by with a tired gaze. She had never been on a plane before, she'd never even been out of the Valley. She had plenty of time to think about everything regarding life, everything except her own life; she avoided that topic. Her head was pounding and the plane motion wasn't making her feel any better. She was shaking very slightly, not enough for anyone but her to notice.

She knew she was going through withdrawal because this had happened once before when she had the smart idea to quit cold turkey. Her forehead had a light sheen that she kept wiping off and she had to keep swallowing down her nausea. Her eyes were closed and just as sleep finally decided to welcome her, she felt the turbulence of the plane landing and her eyes shot open.

"Relax," Tian chuckled. "We're here."

Alora looked out of the window as they landed on the tarmac. She was starstruck by the beautifulness of the landscape and the serenity it seemed to possess. Little did she know, this place would bring her anything but serenity. Tian, Sensei Kim, and Alora exited the plane, squinting at the brightness of the sun, and got in the car to drive them as far into the forest as they could before they began to walk the last stretch of their trip. The dojang itself was breathtaking in a way, knowing that much danger lies within its stone walls. Sensei Kim took them to their little straw teepees and left them to get settled.

"When's Sensei Kreese coming? I haven't seen the man in ages," Alora questioned.

"He should be here in a couple weeks. He had some other business to take care of first but for now," Tian checked the time. "Lesson starts in an hour, I'll see you then," Tian nodded at her. She nodded back and stepped into her own teepee.

Alora put her backpack of minimal possessions on the thinly blanketed floor with a pillow and another blanket on top of it. She wasn't surprised this place didn't believe in comfort but she was definitely gonna miss having a mattress, that and air conditioning. She turned on her phone and quickly remembered that she was in the middle of the forest and there was no signal.

She sighed, "This'll be fun." After a couple more minutes of setting things up and then doing nothing, she decided to go explore and get a lay of the land. She also knew that if she stopped moving the nausea would catch up to her.

She walked around the place and memorized where certain things were. She had walked through pretty much the whole compound and was on her way back when she ran into a boy. The boy looked her up and down for a moment, cautious confusion coming over his face.

"Sorry," Alora apologized quickly.

He raised an eyebrow, realization dawning on him. "You're the American girl. A...Al...What's your name?" He had dark eyes that were almost black and jet-black hair that hung over his face in odd disarray like he had taken scissors to it and then changed his mind halfway through.

"Alora," she introduced herself. "You?"

"Kwon," he smirked at her. He looked up at the sky for a moment then back to her. "You better get back if you're training today. You'll be late."

Alora checked her watch and cursed under her breath. She rushed away, hearing Kwon's laughter trail after her as she ran back to her teepee to change into her new gi. She changed quickly, tripping over air and almost falling multiple times. She checked her watch one last time before slipping it into her bag and hauling tail to the training ground. She joined the rows in the back hoping to come in undetected. She knew she had failed when she caught her father's eye, already looking at her. She cringed, sending him an awkward smile.