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There's an awareness that every elemental master has, throughout, spanning through the merged realms. To every master, every person, -- a grouped vestibular mix-up that means something beyond what they know. It is true for the two who might've caused this chaos, the group that might've maddened the gods themselves.
But as Lloyd and Arin walk through the Spectral Lands to return home--there's a feeling so sudden that Lloyd assumes it's in the ground itself.
As though the world has tilted of it's axis. A faraway gong that pulses throughout the world, concussing anyone in it's wake.
Lloyd's confident smile vanishes instantly. As fast as this feeling infects him.
It's immediate. He brings a hand to steady his vision, but it's not enough, and the feeling doesn't dissipate. Breath catches in his lungs, as his knees buckle. Lloyd reaches the floor. He doesn't even notice he's hyperventilating. Lloyd closes his eyes, trying to blink away the dizziness. His hands shake as they hold him up. An uncomfortable twinge from where his powers rest.
"I feel weird." Lloyd finally manages to say with a pained expression, "It's like,"
He lifts his left hand, focusing on a thread of green. His eyes, usually a reflection of his power flashing unstabily. His heart staggers.
It's familiar as it was in the sand years ago.
"—my connection"
There's something broken in the way the verdant flame stutters as he tries to call upon it. Not a constant no longer but a repeated stab at his senses - a trouble shooting blast that pulses, burns brighter- wilder until it's—
Only to realize he can't control it, not even at all.
The blast hits its crescendo, and he tries to pull his hand away. His nerves scream in pain, numbness alight in his fingertips.
"Elemental power.." he breathes out tersely as the blast dissipates. "Something's wrong with it." He stands up.
He reaches his students eyes, which are widened with fear.
"What would cause that?" Arin asks.
Panic attempts to trill through him. Lloyd fights it off. "I don't know, but we need to get back to the Monastery, now."
The first night after a battle is always the hardest
Many things to attend to; pain in a body, thoughts yet processed.
But, they'd won! Defeated Thunderfang in the Spectral Lands, for once and for all. But even with a successful win, why did it feel so hollowed out?
It hadn't been the first time for Arin to find himself stranded, in the middle of some unknown realm, with his master, after a faulty portal-gate. He's thankful in a way for it not to be a power-hungry tyrant like Ras.
At the same time? — being with Lloyd makes him nervous.
His master has always seemed untouchable, godlike—a watchful gaze that always felt as though they were scanning through him. Maybe it was something to due with his unnerving green eyes.
That was always something vacant from Ras; who’d he’d always known not to trust. Lloyd, however, was a private person, impossible to decipher.
They should be at the Monastery. With his parents, and Lloyd's family, and the ninja. Instead they're stranded in the middle of who knows where, with no way to get back home.
Aches roll through Arin's muscles as he watches golden sparks of a campfire. It's nighttime, Lloyd lies asleep a few feet away, his elbow pulled haphazardly covering his face.
It happens later that night.
Arin is awoken by a rustling beside him. He drearily blinks as his eyes to adjust to what's going on. Only to find Lloyd, mumbling under his breath.
Green sparks, like he saw earlier crawls up on Lloyd's limbs, and body.
Lloyd's eyes remain closed, but his face lacks any semblance of calm. He must be stuck in some sort of dream, dissonant and fiery.
"Lloyd?" Arin says, sheepishly— caution wavering in his voice.
But Lloyd, does not answer. Arin fights an indecent urge to shake him awake. Like waking his own parents after his ownbad dreams as a child.
Instead, a recent indignant memory pricks at his senses like fire. Of shaking Lloyd in his arms, devoid of life in him. When Lloyd was —
He shakes his head.
Best not to think about that.
Lloyd's alive. He's just having a nightmare. A second concern joins the first one, that with sparks flying from his form he should probably avoid waking him up. Especially, should he risk what happened in the spectral lands.
Arin looks back at him.
Lloyd's face is still locked in that pain from earlier. He steps back, watching his master with a cautious expression. It is also then he notices tears, reflecting from the moonlight.
Arin turns away. He doesn't want to see this.
And he knows Lloyd wouldn't want him to either.
Betraying his waking thoughts in the night. Lloyd was never a good liar. He had been so positive despite what had happened. The fight, this place. Maybe-truly—he wasn't as positive as he’d promised.
Arin doesn't notice when the commotion stops, when the breathing calms. It isn't until he hears a rasped voice call for him, that he's snapped out of his senses. His own hands are wrapped around his knees as he sits away from the campfire.
"Arin?" Lloyd says to the night.
Arin turns. Lloyd has now sat up now, cuffed sleeves evident of the wiping of tears. A shiver runs down Arin's spine at Lloyd's eyes that remain slightly flashing as his energy fizzles out.
"Why are you awake?" Lloyd asks.
"You had a nightmare." Arin says, watching as guilt immediately floods across Lloyd's face.
"No!" Arin says in reaction "Don't worry. It—didn't wake me up."
Theres a cautious, doubtful expression that adorns Lloyd's features.
Arin still continues to talk. “I didn’t know if I should of waked you.”
“It’s okay.” Lloyd says, with an amount of calm that makes it unsettling.
“Are you okay?” Arin says. “Really.”
Lloyd pauses for a few seconds. “I — I’ll be okay.” He frowns and looks around. "I can't say I completely understand what's going on right now, but we need to find our way back."
Silence fills the space between them. The only other sound the remnants of a crackling fire in front of them.
"I'm sorry." Lloyd finally says.
Arin is surprised. “Why— you didn’t do anything—“
“I wish I could’ve brought you to your parents.”
The silence deepens. Is that why he was crying? No. Probably not..
“Lloyd." Arin pauses. "You didn’t know this would’ve happened. I don’t blame you.”
“I know.” Lloyd says, his focus now pitched to his hand that twinges in pain. "It's just — I just—"
The awkwardness still pings in the air like a restless energy.
"How are you holding up?" asks Lloyd, genuinely. "After this fight."
"I'm fine." The boy admits. "I'm just happy we destroyed Thunderfang, for good. Definitely don't want to do that again."
"Felt pretty final." Lloyd says.
But there’s always a chance, is the words kept unsaid. This battle did take an individual wear on the both of them, one so very different than the last.
Arin recalls the feeling of anger, that bled into their shared communication. Now, Lloyd exudes a calmness.
Arin can’t help but remember how Lloyd’s erratic fighting had disabled him.
"Are you still in pain?" Arin asks after a moment. "Like, from the Arc Dragon?"
Lloyd seems taken back by that, stutters. "What?" He says. "No."
To be honest, there hasn't ever been a point where Lloyd hasn't been in pain these days. It's expected from a warrior of his stature. But that's not something he's going to break to Arin during this time and place.
On the other side, Arin can see in the way Lloyd carries himself that he's lying. But it's indifferent from the way Ras was. Lloyd lies because he's trying to hold up the world, to protect Arin from some unforseen harm.
At the same time, sometimes it feels nervesome. It's almost like Lloyd doesn't realize that Arin has watched him die.
Lloyd can feel Arin's gaze, the blonde rolls his eyes.
"Arin—"
Arin just looks away.
"Arin." says Lloyd again. "What's wrong?"
Arin still doesn’t respond.
Lloyd gets up from his side of the campfire, with a slight stumble to where he does so. He hides the slight wince as Arin narrows his eyes at him.
Lloyd still keeps his distance, but tries to kneel on the dusty forest floor. Eyes fixed in a plea for Arin to explain what’s bothering him.
Arin looks at him, changing the subject, “Your eyes.” He says. “Were they always Green or is it because of your elemental powers?”
Lloyd blinks, not expecting the question.
”I mean..” Lloyd is confused. “Why.”
”Back in the Spectral Lands, when you fell, and were trying to use your powers. Your eyes were flashing.” He says. “Kinda like Sora’s but I’ve never seen yours like that.”
There’s a strange expression as Lloyd recalls. A mixture of dread that sinks him down. His eyes had always been strange, that he knew. From the mere glimpse at a couple of mirrors at the Depo in the resistance— with his eyes black and dulled. Or when they had changed and no one thought to mention.
Lloyd’s thoughts are interrupted by a tremor in his hand, he hisses quietly.
“Has this ever happened to you before.” Arin says. “With your powers?"
Lloyd chuckles dryly, replying immediately. "Yes. — well. Well, no. It's complicated."
Arin sits, thinking.
“I’m not going to lie to you. None of this is a good sign, it never is.” Lloyd continues.
"But it'll be okay!" Arin supplies. "We can fix it.”
Lloyd breaks a half-smile, one not believing of Arin's claim. But a friendly one that appreciates the sentiment.
“I’m not sure elemental powers work like that.” Lloyd says.
“Why not? Who says they can’t?" Arin thinks. "What about your research, like those scrolls you're always reading, have you ever read anything about your powers?"
"I have." Lloyd says. "But not really on mine. Everything I've found is incredibly vague. Whatever—" he jestures, at the broken spark at his fingertips. "This is"
“You have an elemental power and never have looked into how it works?"
Lloyd frowns at that.
“I’ve never had reason to. It's always done enough for me.” Lloyd’s hands are on his hips now. “Look, Arin. Like I said not all things are about elemental powers —"
Arin rolls his eyes. "I know."
”But it doesn’t mean I —“ Lloyd stutters. “It doesn’t mean I’m not worried. Something is off. Really off.”
Arin nods.
”And it’s important to find, what that is.”