Orelie

*11*

*11*

"Alright, Kyrene," I looked up to see Crae open his arms. "Start walking towards me." I bit my lip, not sure if I could. I lifted my leg a bit and it shook a little. I took another deep breath and shuffled my foot forward.

"That's it," He encouraged me. "One foot in front of the other. Even if you just shuffle towards me, it's great progress. Come on, move the next foot."

I squeezed my eyes shut and held my breath as I moved my other foot a bit. It didn't hurt, but I had tired myself out previously with many leg stretches and repeated standing and sitting. I was just sore from my exercises.

After two more steps, it seemed that the distance between Crae and I had grown. Where he once stood in the middle of the room was vacant and he was now closer to the wall. I didn't even realize that he had moved. I was more focused and looking down at my feet.

This time, I watched him to see if he would move again. He didn't move and I was slowly getting closer to him. I smiled excitedly at myself, my speed picking up a bit.

I don't know what happened next. All I know is my foot caught on something and the floor was rapidly coming at my face. I threw my arms out to catch my fall but never met the floor. I opened my eyes a bit and saw I was a few inches from it.

Strong arms tightened around me and I was lifted from my position. Soon, I was looking at Crae's face. My heart skipped a beat and my cheeks heated up. "I tripped..."

"But I caught you," He set me on my feet and held me steady. "Had I not moved, you wouldn't have fallen. You would have already been in my arms and me carrying you back to the couch."

I just shrugged and pulled back a bit. "It's alright. I would have fallen at some point, anyway." I carefully pulled myself from his hold and shuffled to the couch. I sat myself down and stretched my legs out in front of me. Almost instantly, Crae was rubbing my legs. He's started doing this for me the day I saw the creature.

I've gotten used to it, but the first few times were awkward. Maybe it was because I had started getting used to doing things on my own, I forgot what it was like to have someone do something like this for me.

"I'm thinking," I brought my attention back to Crae. He had finished rubbing my legs down and moved to his chair. "That maybe we can start training you in magic here in a few days. We need to start somewhere and I think the forest would be a wonderful place to start. It's close to a natural energy source and we can see if earth or plant magic is more your style."

"Is it possible for an Orelie to have more than one specialty?" He raised an eyebrow at my question. "I may have been speaking with Fern about it..."

He chuckled and adjusted in his chair. "I've only known one Orelie who could use all sorts of magic without flaws. He was exceptional and he used to teach at the Academy before he went into hiding. No one, not even I, knows where he's gone. Now, I'm not trying to crush your hopes, but I don't think you would be able to specialize in every magic."

"It's because of my weak and smaller stature." I nodded, fully understanding. "Fern had told me that Orelie are naturally weaker. I understand if I can't use all magic."

"It's a cruel fate that Orelie must endure." Crae sighed to himself. "Even though the Orelie I knew was powerful and could do most anything, if he pushed himself, he would begin coughing up blood and his body would begin ripping itself from the inside out."

I wrapped my arms around myself tightly. "Sounds awful."

He nodded. "Now, enough of this talk. I don't want to scare you away from magic. It's a beautiful and wonderful thing to master. I promise that as you get better at it, you'll grow stronger and will be able to not have any side affects that could risk your health."