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Description
“Water,” Soul said over the roar of the river. “It represents fluidity… flow, and ever-shifting change. It adapts to any situation it finds itself in. It becomes still in times of peace, but more deadly than any fire or earth quake when the storm of conflict finds you.”
“Yes, sensei,” Zero said as he balanced on the balls of his feet. The powerful current of the river only came up to his knees where he stood, and yet it felt like any movement would cause him to be swept away into the depths. He didn’t want to wind up in the depths. There were mermaids down there! They liked to eat children!
“In our Four Corners Rotation, Water is among the most difficult forms to master,” Soul said, continuing his speech while Zero fought to maintain his balance. “ It isn’t simply about your movements. You need to allow your body to flow as subtly as water.”
Zero heard the snap of a rope, and it felt as if the world slowed down. There weren’t enough trees to facilitate more than two directions if they were working with natural laws. But Soul had a strange ability to warp the natural laws of the world. To make it work in ways that... well, honestly, in ways that just didn’t make any sense. So when he was suddenly clobbered in the side of the head by a log as wide around as his torso, he simply could not maintain his balance, and he was sent into the water.
“Shift the way you view the entire battlefield,” Soul continued casually, as if Zero wasn’t being swept down the river at that very second. His enhanced hearing allowed him to pick up his sensei’s words as if the man were speaking next to him on a windless day. Zero forced himself to his feet, digging his feet into the dirt and fighting against the shoulder-deep waters with all of his power. Zero should have been able to move through the water as if he were wading through a still pond, but something was pitting its will against him. Empowering the waters.
“You! Are such! A dick!!!” Zero bellowed with each step. It didn’t take a genius to guess who’s will was pitted against him.
“Behind you, son,” Soul called. Zero moved to the side quickly, headbutting the log that came rushing in from the same direction as before. “Oh, sorry, I wasn’t paying attention. Thought you were facing me.”
“Dammit, sensei!” Zero growled as he tore off his blindfold. “How the hell am I supposed to dodge things I can’t see!?”
“You’re not sensing it because you’re getting stressed,” Soul said with a chuckle. He then stood, tossed his robe to over a rock, and held out his hand. “Let me show you.”
Zero handed Soul the blindfold and took a seat next to Lua. The kirin was backing away, giving that the boy was soaking wet. He huffed and shook his head. Nothing for it…
Soul waded into the water, and suddenly the turbulence turned up to unimaginable levels. Zero could barely see the man over the typhoon of foam, so he jumped up onto a high branch. Soul stood in the water of the river up to his chest, where the waters were the strongest. The waters buffeted him, and considering his master, Zero was certain the vortexes were more than surface deep.
Logs didn’t simply swing at him at the end of ropes. Rather, they rocketed at him like tree-thick ballista bolts. To make matters worse, their ends had been sharpened to points, which would not only kill him should he fail to dodge, but they would fly faster without all of the wind resistance from a flat surface.
Not a single log touched him...
Zero’s Storm Soul-enforced eyes pierced the water’s surface in that moment, as if he had uncovered a whole new type of vision. And in that moment, every single movement. Every shift in Soul’s muscles and stance. Ever twitch of his body. Every seemingly errant twist of his shoulders or hips. When Soul moved, it didn’t matter how big or small that motion was. It was as if the world itself was aiding in Soul’s movements.
Zero wanted to be petty and say that Soul was letting the water push him. But only a weak fool would say something so blatantly false. Soul was moving against the water. The forces of the world tried, and failed, to make him move. Mud swirled at his feet. Winds pushed against him. Water whirled in a chaotic display. Fire didn’t really play into the equation, simply because it was unnatural without itself being forged.
And faster than a heart beat, the moment ended. The waters stilled. The logs simply… vanished. So, they were illusions. Yet Zero saw no shift in the illusion as they flew towards him. Wouldn’t stop him from sabotaging his master’s next meal for making the student have to deal with real logs.
“Did you watch me closely? I wont show you again,” Soul asked as he moved onto the bank. Soul was dry now. Just another one of those damn workings of reality. It was irritating, to say the least.
“Yes, sensei.”
“Good. Now, remember; fluidity and adaptability. These are our strengths. Begin!”
"Yes, sensei!" Zero declared before jumping in. He put the blindfold on once again, opening his mind to the world around him.
"Oh, and watch behind you."
"Sensei, I am not falling for that one again!" he snapped. Apparently, the world didn't like that, because two smooth hands slammed into his back, dunking him under the water. He screamed more in fury and decidedly not in abject terror of being dragged into the darkness by a mermaid...
Don't worry, Zero's alright. xD

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Commission for Jeht-Maverick
Art by luigiix

Description
“Water,” Soul said over the roar of the river. “It represents fluidity… flow, and ever-shifting change. It adapts to any situation it finds itself in. It becomes still in times of peace, but more deadly than any fire or earth quake when the storm of conflict finds you.”
“Yes, sensei,” Zero said as he balanced on the balls of his feet. The powerful current of the river only came up to his knees where he stood, and yet it felt like any movement would cause him to be swept away into the depths. He didn’t want to wind up in the depths. There were mermaids down there! They liked to eat children!
“In our Four Corners Rotation, Water is among the most difficult forms to master,” Soul said, continuing his speech while Zero fought to maintain his balance. “ It isn’t simply about your movements. You need to allow your body to flow as subtly as water.”
Zero heard the snap of a rope, and it felt as if the world slowed down. There weren’t enough trees to facilitate more than two directions if they were working with natural laws. But Soul had a strange ability to warp the natural laws of the world. To make it work in ways that... well, honestly, in ways that just didn’t make any sense. So when he was suddenly clobbered in the side of the head by a log as wide around as his torso, he simply could not maintain his balance, and he was sent into the water.
“Shift the way you view the entire battlefield,” Soul continued casually, as if Zero wasn’t being swept down the river at that very second. His enhanced hearing allowed him to pick up his sensei’s words as if the man were speaking next to him on a windless day. Zero forced himself to his feet, digging his feet into the dirt and fighting against the shoulder-deep waters with all of his power. Zero should have been able to move through the water as if he were wading through a still pond, but something was pitting its will against him. Empowering the waters.
“You! Are such! A dick!!!” Zero bellowed with each step. It didn’t take a genius to guess who’s will was pitted against him.
“Behind you, son,” Soul called. Zero moved to the side quickly, headbutting the log that came rushing in from the same direction as before. “Oh, sorry, I wasn’t paying attention. Thought you were facing me.”
“Dammit, sensei!” Zero growled as he tore off his blindfold. “How the hell am I supposed to dodge things I can’t see!?”
“You’re not sensing it because you’re getting stressed,” Soul said with a chuckle. He then stood, tossed his robe to over a rock, and held out his hand. “Let me show you.”
Zero handed Soul the blindfold and took a seat next to Lua. The kirin was backing away, giving that the boy was soaking wet. He huffed and shook his head. Nothing for it…
Soul waded into the water, and suddenly the turbulence turned up to unimaginable levels. Zero could barely see the man over the typhoon of foam, so he jumped up onto a high branch. Soul stood in the water of the river up to his chest, where the waters were the strongest. The waters buffeted him, and considering his master, Zero was certain the vortexes were more than surface deep.
Logs didn’t simply swing at him at the end of ropes. Rather, they rocketed at him like tree-thick ballista bolts. To make matters worse, their ends had been sharpened to points, which would not only kill him should he fail to dodge, but they would fly faster without all of the wind resistance from a flat surface.
Not a single log touched him...
Zero’s Storm Soul-enforced eyes pierced the water’s surface in that moment, as if he had uncovered a whole new type of vision. And in that moment, every single movement. Every shift in Soul’s muscles and stance. Ever twitch of his body. Every seemingly errant twist of his shoulders or hips. When Soul moved, it didn’t matter how big or small that motion was. It was as if the world itself was aiding in Soul’s movements.
Zero wanted to be petty and say that Soul was letting the water push him. But only a weak fool would say something so blatantly false. Soul was moving against the water. The forces of the world tried, and failed, to make him move. Mud swirled at his feet. Winds pushed against him. Water whirled in a chaotic display. Fire didn’t really play into the equation, simply because it was unnatural without itself being forged.
And faster than a heart beat, the moment ended. The waters stilled. The logs simply… vanished. So, they were illusions. Yet Zero saw no shift in the illusion as they flew towards him. Wouldn’t stop him from sabotaging his master’s next meal for making the student have to deal with real logs.
“Did you watch me closely? I wont show you again,” Soul asked as he moved onto the bank. Soul was dry now. Just another one of those damn workings of reality. It was irritating, to say the least.
“Yes, sensei.”
“Good. Now, remember; fluidity and adaptability. These are our strengths. Begin!”
"Yes, sensei!" Zero declared before jumping in. He put the blindfold on once again, opening his mind to the world around him.
"Oh, and watch behind you."
"Sensei, I am not falling for that one again!" he snapped. Apparently, the world didn't like that, because two smooth hands slammed into his back, dunking him under the water. He screamed more in fury and decidedly not in abject terror of being dragged into the darkness by a mermaid...
Don't worry, Zero's alright. xD

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Commission for Jeht-Maverick
Art by luigiix