Essention: Heat and Motion

Chapter 2: Meeting - Red

Vivran's knuckles bashed into the side of Red-hair's skull, pressing deep against his left ear.

It felt like a jackhammer was going off throughout his entire skeleton. Vibrations tearing up every fiber of his being, his brain bounced around in its once safe compartment. His organs were either in the wrong position, wrong shape, or both. His body was screaming for it end, but its voice was drowned out by the harsh ringing in his ears. Up and down, left and right, front and back, all were concepts that no longer held meaning.

"Wha-what's happenin- grk!"

Before he had even realized he had been sent flying, the cold, hard dirt suddenly appeared to give his body a warm welcome.

Bouncing off the floor, twice, he continued to tumble over 10 meters before coming to a groaning stop.

He was lying face up. Or so he thought. It's hard to tell when your eyes aren't working properly and your sense of touch is busy complaining about the crushed ligaments and broken bones. Actually, scratch that, he wasn't sure if his sense of touch was working either. It felt like his whole body was trembling on its own. His limbs and neck wouldn't sit still, twitching away as if being puppeteer by another force that had somehow taken over him.

Somehow, over all the white noise in his head, he could faintly hear someone speaking out to him.

"Ah crap, that was meant for your cheek!" they cried out in alarm. "Damn, you're still conscious?! Props to you, I haven't met anyone who could take a move from my Vibrio series head on and not go lights out. Specially when it bangs right on their ear drum. New experience for me, which I'm thankful for."

The boy on the ground may have been able to hear, but he could not understand any of the words being spoken to him. He wasn't sure if he would've been able to, even if he was fully compos mentis.

"Stay... calm..." he thought to himself. "Use the your Csen... like Ton-Ire said... and heal yourself through flowin-"

"What are you mumbling about down there? You aren't moving at all, but you say you're going to heal yourself?"

Apparently, he, in fact, had not been thinking to himself. That punch must of have rattled his brain so bad that he couldn't even tell what current action he was performing.

"Damn... it," he painfully grunted out. Like the rest of his body, his vocal chords were also under attack from slight jerking, making it difficult to speak. "Why are you... even here...?"

"Dude, I don't know what to tell ya. Look, see? I got the paper (well, most of it) and even if you say my attitude stinks or whatever, the facts are the facts: I'm a student-to-be. Ooh, that reminds, before you pass out, can you tell me where to find the master man? I kinda gotta sorta meet him and all that."

The boy on the ground seemed to contemplate for a few seconds, before letting out a deep, trembling sigh. If this intruder kept preaching his innocence, even in this situation, what else was he supposed to believe?

Besides... he had lost-

No.

No, he wouldn't accept that.

"Grk- kuh-! Gaaaaahk-!"

With all his might, the boy fought to get back up. To overcome this setback and return to the fight once again. If he couldn't do it here- If he couldn't even beat someone his own age...

Clenching his teeth as tight he could to try and stop the shaking that persisted inside of him, he summoned all of his strength into his arms and pushed off the ground.

"Oh, look at that, you managed sit up. Nice! Once again, another first. Man, you really are awesome."

"Shut... up..."