As she strode out of the mess hall, Ushanti's heart beat wildly in her chest.
What Lad had said held a canopy of truth. All this time she had been trying her level best to control something that was too large for her at her current state. It was no different than trying to hold water in her palm. The water would always slip through her fingers and no matter how hard she worked...the result would always be the same.
But if she used a cup to partake in a small portion of the water though...
She had to test it out. She had to test it out now.
The corridors of the ship were empty, what with most of the crew having gone for breakfast and all. As she made her way through past a turn she heard the rapid steps of somebody coming from behind her.
She turned.
It was Liam followed closely by Lad. They must have come after her. She stood and waited.
"Why are you guys following me?" she asked.
"Aren't you going to try something new with your training?" Liam replied.
"I don't see how that's any of your business"
"It wouldn't hurt to watch, would it?"
Ushanti paused. The look in Liam's eyes made her feel something warm in her heart. She didn't know what it was, but she decided that it wasn't a bad feeling at all.
Without saying anything she turned and walked, Liam and Lad following closely behind.
***
Captain Ramirez groaned and stretched. His stomach grumbled.
"Well then that's my cue" he said as he turned away from the wheel. Paying attention to the control panel, he flipped a switch that held the rudder in place. The storm had died out and the weather showed no signs of another storm coming anytime soon.
He could spend a few minutes off the wheel and treat himself to some breakfast. As a precaution he pulled back on the thrusters, reducing the speed- to not quite a stop but more like a smooth glide.
Satisfied he stepped out the Bridge and onto the gangway. The wind kissed his face. He gave his beard a scratch and peered out onto the deck. His left eyebrow rose when he spotted the three kids- Lad, Ushanti and Liam, stepping to the centre of the deck.
"Now that's not something you see everyday" he uttered. A sailor, an Ushari and a mainlander. He chuckled. "Today must be auspicious"
Saying that he stepped down the gangway his boots tapping onto the metal as it creaked beneath his weight. Sometimes the sound scared him. It was almost as if the ship itself was reminding him of his own mortal folly.
"Yeah well. We live and die" he reached the bottom and descended to the lower deck. From there, he made his way to the only place he could find a good meal.
The doors of the mess hall opened up to the loud chatter of the Conquistador crew.
That much wasn't a surprise. What really surprised him though was that the crew seemed to have gathered around one of the Ushari maidens- the oldest one particularly. She seemed to be having fun as well.
One of the crew members turned his head towards him and waved. "Captain!"
Ramirez smiled and headed over. "Still as loud as ever Ralph"
Ralph made space for him at the table and shoved a mug in his hands. He brought the cup to his lips and sipped. The liquid scotched his taste buds and made his head feel lighter.
"I thought you said there was no more rum?" he turned to Ralph.
"I don't know what your talking about" Ralph shrugged.
"You've come at the right time captain" Grey said from across the table. Ramirez turned his head from Ralph but not before he caught the man mouth 'Thank you'.
His lips twitched but that was all.
"So what is it that I am just in time to witness?" he lifted the mug to his lips and drank more of the rum.
"Shay was a big help today. You should have seen it cap'tain. The storm was-"
"A huge pain in the ass" he interjected.
"It could have been worse" Grey said and Ramirez arced a brow.
"How so?" he asked.
"We could have lost the cargo. Maybe even all of it"
The captain remained silent for a few heartbeats then he said "But we didn't"
"Aye" Grey nodded. "All thanks to this lass" he slapped Shay's shoulder. She had been drinking at the time so her posture was shaken. The contents of her cup jumped to her face. The Ushari scowled in irritation.
Grey on the other hand, completely ignored her heated gaze and proceeded on retelling the tale of the unwielding maidens and how they had so valiantly fought the forces of the nature itself. Upon their shoulders she and her sister carried the heavy cargo and locked it back in place. Preventing what could have otherwise been a major loss for the captain and his crew.
Captain Ramirez listened silently while the rest of the crew cheered at every dramatic paused the grey-bearded fellow made.
Watching all of this the captain had to admit that this tale needed a well deserved shanty. He smiled.
'Well I'm sure something can be worked out'
***
Ushanti let her mind fall into a state of deep focus. The sounds of the ocean waves dimmed. The calls of seagulls faded and the touched of the floor beneath her crossed legs seemed to vanish. As the rest of her five senses dulled, another took there place.
Her sense of Aether.
She could feel it within her body, as firmly as she always had. It was just as wide and just as unruly.
Her chest rose and fell at a steady beat.
She focused on her control. Something that she had become quite proficient in despite her continued failure. Shay had called it declaring her will and commanding the energy. Ushanti had been doing that for quite some time too and she would do the same today.
Except it wasn't really the same.
Instead of trying to gain control of the entire mass of Aether she did something different. In the back of her mind she envisioned, in her mind, a large floating globule of Aether so dense it resembled the blue waters of a lake. It swirled like a wheel in a machine.
It flowed in relenting. Unruly as it was stubborn. Just looking at it, she could already tell that it would not obey her.
Her will was too small and too young to take control of such a large quantity.
'But I don't need all of it now do I?'
Her will flowed to the very edge of the spinning globe of energy. Her will covered just the surface. She tried to take control.
It didn't work.
So she narrowed the influence of her will further. The Aether was stubborn. And so was she.
As the influence of her will narrowed with each failure, she began to feel a small tag. It was subtle, but it was there. Her influence narrowed further still until it covered small enough to be compared to a circle made by seven children holding hands.
Only then did the subtle tag become...unsubtle?
The energy finally listened. A small stream of it flowing away from its stubborn relatives in a steady steam.
A smile formed at the corners of her lips. Now this she could work with.
She siphoned off more energy, the steady stream expanding in a smooth river and the smooth river soon became a speeding river. She wanted to siphon off more energy but a jarring ache shattered her focus.
She winced and the vision vanished her hold of the energy going along with it. Her senses awakened and she could feel the world once again. Opening her eyes she winced once more. Her head throbbed with pain. But that mattered less than the fact that she had just controlled her Aether.
Part of it.
But her Aether still.
Her eyes glistened in excitement. She looked towards Liam and Lad only to find them clinging to the guardrails of the ship. And they were wet. Completely soaked through from head to toe. So was the floor.
'Was there another storm?'
Puzzled she looked up to the sky. They were clear and cloudless. The sun shining brightly even so what had happened?
It was only when she stood up that she noticed a peculiar detail. The only place that was wet was where she had sat with a trail of wetness leading to where the two boys stood.