Soulstrings

5: Black and White

Would you like to see the world through my eyes?

Cameron never realized how much his wrist and arms could ache. His muscles were exhausted and were begging hard for a rest. His heart supported the argument, thumping heavily against his chest. He would give anything to just let the red knife slip free of the grip of his fingers.

But while Cameron was worn out, Iden was completely unfazed. His own dagger was poised and ready, eyes anticipating another strike. "Come on! You've got no energy! Are you holding back because of the one arm?"

"I. . . can't. . . Too. . . tired. . ." Cameron wheezed between breaths. He gave up, and dropped his hands to his knees. The Angon in his knife broke apart, raining to the ground.

Sighing, Iden dispersed his own Form, putting the fragments back into a little vial and sealed it shut. "It's already been a few weeks and you've barely made any progress. I'd have to say I expected you to do better. We're all you've got and you're all we've got. But what are you going to do if you ever end up against a Spirit on your own?"

"He's screwed," Padge replied from a distance. He sat leisurely below a tree, the shadows of the leaves giving him a comfortable shaded area away from the merciless sun. Vara sat beside him with her knees in front of her chest. Upon hearing Padge's comment, she gave him an annoyed glare.

"Isn't that why we Search in teams?" said Cameron, swallowing a gulp of saliva to soothe his parched throat immediately afterwards. He could've sworn it was dry as a desert. As he straightened, Jerilyn was there, offering a can of water and a towel. He eagerly accepted them.

"There are times when we have to take care of ourselves," said Iden. "The main problem with you is that your Angon is too weak, and so is your physical strength. You'll never break anything with it. Strengthening the Fragments and Forms is easier than building muscles."

"Yeah, well," Cameron began, "I'm not an all day moody, cranky hotheaded guy that has Angon to feed off of 24/7."

Iden narrowed his brows. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"All that it implies."

Giving up on figuring out what Cameron meant, Iden shifted their conversation. "Your arms dead?"

"Yes," Cameron replied.

"How are your legs?"

"Fine."

"Good. We head for the nearest town in one hour."

Black and White

The market was bustling with people. Merchants were yelling out their promotions as bystanders walked by. A few kids were playing around in the corner as the parents had their backs turned, busy trying to get discounts on the groceries. One of the shopkeepers was tending to a pair of customers who seemed to have interest in some of the fruits she had.

"Cameron," Vara asked, picking one of the bananas at the stand. "Does this look ripe to you?"

"I don't know," the boy grumbled, as he rubbed his arms. "Is it yellow?"

"I can't tell, you're supposed to tell me." Vara then leaned in towards Cameron's side. "That, and shopkeepers tend to lie to me," she whispered.

Cameron looked away from nursing his muscles for a quick glance at the banana in his friend's hand. "Alright, it's yellow."

Vara smiled before turning to the shopkeeper. "We'll take a bunch." She placed the bananas into her backpack while Cameron fished his pocket around for a couple of silver coins and placed them on the counter.