The Legend of Mordecai : The Star Warrior (3)

Chapter 16: Trail of Darkness

      Mordecai stands at the front of a large steel gate. The gate creeks open and a path of black mist, reaches his paws. The Moonlight Prince slowly follows the path, looking down at the mist.
      The path leads him to a familiar set of paws. He looks up then jumps.

      "Uh. Hi Panthum. Didn't see you there..." he says quickly, while laughing nervously.

      Panthum chuckles and her tail flickers. She stands straight with her eyes glowing in the darkness. The panther spirit seemed to blend into the shadows more than Mordecai could have imagined.

      "Welcome to your first training session. Trail of Darkness" Panthum states, her voice echoing throughout the area.

***

      Panthum dashes to the side, quickly dodging Mordecai's attack. The black panther spirit unleashes a heavy blow with her paw, knocking the Moonlight Prince to the ground. She halts and stands her ground.

      "You need to be more watchful of attacks, little one" She advises, circling around him.

      "I can tell...I'm not that fast you know!" Mordecai huffs, staggering back on all fours.

      "When are you going to get to the darkness training again?" Mordecai questions, tilting his head to the side. It had only felt like regular...well hardcore training to him. Not only that but no element attacks were being used. What was she planning?
      Panthum gazes at him from afar. She begins to circle Mordecai, watching him curiously. Mordecai tenses up and his eyes follow her every move.
      The black panther spirit quickly lunges towards him. Mordecai swiftly dodges and leaps up, swiping a unsheathed claw down on her. Panthum quickly rolls to the side and lifts up her right hind leg, tripping him. Mordecai rises from the ground growling.
"Seriously?! How long are you going to keep this up?" The Moonlight Prince growls in annoyance.
Panthum snickers and turns around, walking into the darkness. Her body fades but not her voice.

"Come. Follow me if you wish to really begin."

***

"Hm. How pathetic to be caught off guard. To protect a loved one is important yes...but you could have done more than sacrifice yourself, Sala." Catherine sighs, acknowledging the fallen leader of Wolgon City. The Darkmoon feline turns her head from the gem and pads down a flight of stairs.
Yowls of victory echo throughout the gothic castle, but she pays no attention. An odd pang of regret hits her. The deed was done and she didn't feel the need to celebrate. The last thing she needed to do was lead the kidnapping of the Moonlight Prince.

***

"Now!" Panthum shouts, running to the side of Mordecai. Mordecai rises up on his hind legs. He slams a paw on to the ground and focuses.
"What you are about to learn and work with is my first special move, Phantom Grab" Panthum assures, with gleaming eyes. She steps in front of Mordecai, placing a paw on the ground. An aura of shadow energy surrounds her paw. Mordecai watches with awe and his eyes widen to her paw's size. The black panther spirit's paw had suddenly grown ten times as big as it was.
Panthum raises her paw and stretches it out towards a pillar. "Watch" she commands.
She grabs a hold of the pillar, grasping her large shadowy paw around it. Panthum releases her shadowy paw and glances down at Mordecai. "Ready?" She asks with a sly feline smile. Mordecai gulps then holds his paw in place.
I can feel something but what? Panic and confusion was all the Moonlight Prince felt. It didn't seem like the elemental move was activating. Maybe I don't have the energy yet...to do this.
He looks down at his paw, noticing nothing different. Panthum circles around him, eyeing his paw. "Hm. Just as I expected." She purrs. Mordecai looks up at her in surprise, "W-what are you talking about? Is this move not meant for me or something?" "No, it is. When was the first and last time you learned elemental moves?" The black panther spirit questions, raising a paw and placing it on his head.
Mordecai pauses and closes his eyes. A sudden spark of realization comes to him. "My first time was in Coral Tide Cave, in Whale Island. Me and Arkoh's apprentice, Ti, had been faced with danger and I kind of just bursted with energy. Then I learned some at least I think I did. The last time was in the TidalFall Kingdom during an ambush by DarkMoon" he answers, explaining what he could recall in the past.
Panthum sighs. Her tail twitches as she sits down in front of him. "I knew it...this was going to happen eventually. You haven't been practicing your elements. When you first learned them, your Moon-Birth instincts kicked in. That allowed you to use what you could. When you learned some new ones however, it was by luck that you did them successfully. When you were on the waters however, you didn't even practice them. With that in mind, your battle during the ambush only allowed you to use what you instinctively remembered or what you could remember by heart" she explains then takes a deep breath.
Mordecai stands there with widen eye and in shock. "You mean to tell me I have a special mojo that hasn't been fueled. That's why can't really do this?!" He groans. He couldn't believe his ears. He really was lacking in power and experience. His time with Scarder's crew and the adventure had made him forget most of his powers. He wasn't very focused on using them. However, one thing stuck to him. He was informed by the Guardians that he wouldn't really need them. All of this is so confusing!
A heavy dizziness sweeps across him. The Moonlight Prince stares back at Panthum with irritated and tired eyes. The last thing he heard was Panthum saying the words "Don't forget to practice! It will help the next time we meet!" Then Mordecai slowly dropped to the ground, returning to his quiet bed.