[One Week Later]
To say that Cyrus's morning started off weird would be putting it mildly.
Roughly twenty minutes after receiving his morning treatment from Nick and Reyna, Cyrus was casually relaxing in the salon of Elaine MacNamara's mansion. Although he hated to admit it, the young 'tree magic' user was actually having a good time so far training under Elaine and Quintin. Which was something that he probably shouldn't say out loud, given the circumstances.
Not only was he learning a lot, but he was also seeing some serious improvements when it came to his physical health. In the week or so he had been here, his body was now almost back to its original state from before he was kidnapped by Aaron. On top of that, he was starting to see some pretty solid muscle development in areas of his body that he always seemed to have trouble with. The fact that he was able to come this far in such a short period of time was proof that Nick and Reyna's magics were capable of performing actual miracles when it came to muscle growth.
Thanks to this, Cyrus could now spar with Quintin at a much higher level than he was able to before. And despite the redhead's ridiculous training regime, he was actually starting to keep up with him when it came to both hand-to-hand and magic-based combat. Sure, he was still getting his ass kicked since he had the elemental disadvantage. But that was to be expected when constantly going up against the man whose job it was to protect the daughter of the DPA Commissioner.
Speaking of Elaine, the woman turned out to be quite the skilled teacher when it came to the art of enchanting. Thanks to her evening study sessions with Cyrus, the young man was now able to perform almost all of the first-level enchantments with relative ease. And the fact that he could now create runes, albeit mediocre ones, on the fly was something that Cyrus greatly valued. Soon enough, he'll be able to get to the point where he can break the enchantment on his tongue without too much trouble. Something that he was certainly looking forward to.
All in all, this was shaping up to be quite the productive outing for the young 'tree magic' user.
Sure, he still wasn't too thrilled about being semi-locked away in what was basically home base for an Iznana executive. But the progress that he was making almost made the whole thing worth it. And soon enough, Cyrus will finally be ready to take on Hannah the moment the opportunity becomes available to him.
When that opportunity might be, he didn't know. But sooner or later, Cyrus was going to get his chance to avenge the death of his best friend. And that's all that mattered to him at the moment.
With all this in mind, Cyrus let out a satisfied sigh as he allowed himself to relax on the comically large sofa in the middle of the mansion's salon. He still had about half an hour until it was time for his morning session with Quintin. So, all the young man wanted to do right now was relax until he needed to be at the indoor training facility that was attached to the western wing of the mansion.
Unfortunately for Cyrus, his moment of rest and leisure swiftly ended the moment a certain blue-haired woman made her presence known.
"There he is!" Michiko Honda happily shouted from right behind Cyrus with a wide smile on her face. "The newest addition to the crew!"
"What the-" The young man almost shouted the second he heard the woman's voice. Cyrus was shocked that the 'dark magic' user had managed to sneak up on him like this without him sensing her presence. But he quickly remembered that people with her specific magical attribute had the ability to conceal their mana signatures whenever they felt like it.
"When did you get here-"
Cyrus's question was cut off when Michiko, completely out of the blue, used her right arm to vault herself over the back of the sofa and land her body perfectly in the young man's lap. An action that instantly caused the young 'tree magic' user's body to seize up. Out of instinct more than anything else.
"Hey, what's your-"
Before Cyrus had the chance to tell the woman to get off of him, the 'dark magic' user did something that he wasn't truly prepared for.
Without a word, Michiko placed a freezing cold icepack that she was holding in her left hand on the side of Cyrus's face, the same side that had the scar that was running down the length of his cheek.
Almost instantly, Cyrus's whole body froze up, and a slew of unpleasant memories came rushing back into his mind. Memories of when he was still locked in Hannah's playroom against his will. Memories that he wished he could get rid of and never see again.
With a calm smile on her face, Michiko watched as Cyrus visibly shut down from having the icepack placed on his body, along with the fearful expression that suddenly appeared on his face. It was a reaction that she was expecting, but not one that she particularly enjoyed. But at the very least, her suspicions were confirmed.
Barely a few seconds later, Cyrus seemed to regain some control over himself and abruptly used his arms to throw Michiko off his body as quickly as he could. Throwing her so far, in fact, that the petite woman almost flew into a nearby wall. Fortunately for her, she was able to use her magic to throw herself into her own shadow before casually reappearing on the far side of the large sofa a second later. The part that was on the opposite side of the overhead light.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Cyrus shouted while still visibly shaking from what had just happened. It was clear that even from such a minuscule amount of contact, that lone icepack had certainly done a number on him.
"Just checking something." The woman replied while casually adjusting her wig.
"Checking what?!" Cyrus demanded, completely unable to stop the tremble in his arms or the tingling sensation on his face.
What the hell was wrong with this woman? This was Cyrus's first time seeing her since he got here, and she was all of a sudden trying to send him into shock for no reason. The young 'tree magic' user already knew that these people were crazy, but doing something like that was completely uncalled for.
"Your reaction, of course!" Michiko replied in an annoyingly cheery tone. "And my theory was correct."
"What theory?!"
"You're sensitive to the cold. And touch too, apparently…."
"Yeah, no shit!" Cyrus shot back. "It's not like I spent a fucking month trapped in a freezer by one of your flunkies or anything! Of course, I'm sensitive to the cold. And I definitely don't want anyone touching me like that!"
"And that's something you're gonna need to get over when you finally confront the little ice bitch."
"What?"
"Hannah likes to spread her magic out over a wide area to maximize its use. You're gonna need to be ready for that when we send you to go kill her."
"And you had to almost give me a heart attack to help me understand that?"
"Nope!" Michiko said with a grin. "I just wanted an excuse to feel you up for a second! I've been in the middle of a dry spell for a while now, and I almost forgot what it's like to feel a man's body against mine."
'You can't be serious…?' Cyrus looked at the woman as if she were crazy.
The 'tree magic' user remembered Evan saying something about the petite DJ being a total creep a while ago. But to actually see that it was true was something totally different altogether. Like, seriously, was that really the excuse that she was going to run with? If she were really as desperate for a man's touch as much as she claimed, then she could've just hired an escort or something. After all, that kind of thing just became legal in most states not even a few years ago.
"Anyways…I'll see what I can do to help you get over that." The woman then said, before activating her magic, and began to sink into her own shadow. "See you later, handsome!"
With that, Cyrus was left alone in the middle of the mansion's salon, forced to think about what had just happened.
Although the young man had a lot that he wanted to say about the last minute or so, he decided to simply push his thoughts to the side for now and focus on getting himself ready to meet up with Quintin. He needed to clear his mind before he received his daily ass-whooping from the resident 'fire magic' user of the group.
'What a bunch of weirdos….' Cyrus thought to himself as he tossed his body back onto the sofa, taking a moment to slap the icepack onto the floor before leaning back and taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down.
-(o)-
[Later That Day]
The rays of the late afternoon sun slanted through the trees bordering the southern edge of MacNamara mansion while casting golden light across the private training grounds on the far side of the residence overlooking the nearby mountains. All the while, the rhythmic thwip of arrows slicing through the air echoed off the old stone walls that framed the pristine archery range while a flock of birds watched on in what could only be described as pointed curiosity.
Cyrus, bundled up in a grey sweatsuit and with a wet towel slung over his shoulder, stopped mid-step as he caught sight of his new benefactor standing on a wooden platform barely a few yards away from him. His muscles ached in that familiar, rewarding way, the kind that told him he was getting stronger. But it was hard for him to even focus on that while looking at the odd sight before him.
Elaine MacNamara stood perfectly still as her pale green eyes focused on her target. Her stance was every bit composed, powerful, and graceful. Her long, dark hair was pulled back into a tight braid that swayed gently beneath the autumn breeze. And the fitted black training clothes that she was wearing clung to her frame like a second skin, along with a dark leather bracer strapped to her left forearm.
The bow in her hand gleamed under the afternoon sun. It was a magnificent-looking piece of equipment, at least in Cyrus's opinion. One that was made up of black polished wood that was accented with golden filigree along its shaft.
Without so much as a word, or even the slightest bit of unnecessary movement, Elaine loosed the string. And Cyrus watched as the arrow flew like a sharp breath of wind before striking dead center on the bullseye with a satisfying thunk.
"Damn." Cyrus muttered, too loud for it to go unnoticed.
Elaine turned toward him after releasing her stance, a small smirk playing at the edge of her lips. "I take it your workout's done?"
Cyrus took the chance to approach the woman. Once he was only a few feet away, the young man placed his hand on his hip before wiping the sweat from his brow. "I didn't know you did archery. Man…every shot's on point."
The woman shrugged while lowering her bow. "It's really muscle memory at this point. Plus, the target's not even that far away."
The young man chuckled, folding his arms as he studied the lineup of arrows on the target. Every one of them was buried within mere centimeters of each other. It was clear that this woman knew what she was doing. "You've been doing this a while, huh?"
"Ever since I was seven." Elaine said, not boastfully, just matter-of-fact. "I was a pretty hyperactive child. So, my father made sure I had something to focus on. And aside from all of my music lessons, this was the only thing that kept me sitting still."
Cyrus glanced at the elegant longbow in her hand. The thing looked like it could easily be worth a few grand, at least. "Magic-enhanced?"
Elaine shook her head. "Nope. Pure craftsmanship. I didn't want magic to interfere. At least, not during competitions."
"Wait…competitions? Like tournaments? You used to compete?"
The woman stepped to the side and retrieved another arrow from the nearby quiver. "I used to, back in the day. I even tried out for the Olympics when I was seventeen. Almost made it, too."
Cyrus blinked. "Wait, seriously? Never heard that story before. All of those YouTube documentaries about you never said anything about it."
Before responding, Elaine nocked the arrow, pulled it back smoothly, and released.
Another perfect bullseye.
She was seriously making this look easy.
"Because I didn't make it. Lost my spot to a regular human woman who can't even use magic. Or sense wind direction without an app, if you can believe it."
Cyrus whistled low. "Ouch. Sorry to hear that."
Elaine shrugged again, but there was something just a shade too controlled in her expression. "It stung, not gonna lie. Not because I lost, but because I thought my skills were enough. Turns out, skill is not the only thing they measure. Politics, sponsors, background stories... it all plays in. Apparently, it's easier to get behind some trailer-trash nobody with a sad backstory than a rich girl who could afford a private trainer. Plus, my grandfather liquidated the company that one of the selection committee members owned a few months before my tryouts."
Cyrus stepped beside her on the platform and watched Elaine line up another shot. "Still. That's impressive as hell."
Elaine let the arrow fly.
Another thunk.
Another bullseye.
Perfection.
She turned to him, finally, and smiled. "Thank you."
They stood in silence for a moment. The breeze rustled through the trees. The sun dipped lower.
Then Cyrus tilted his head. "You ever think about going back? Trying again?"
Elaine looked at the bow in her hands for a long moment.
"I used to, but not anymore. My career takes up too much of my time." Elaine said quietly. "Plus, I think I've got my hands full training a nineteen-year-old with funky 'plant magic' and a chip on his shoulder the size of a boulder."
Cyrus smirked. It was a funny joke, albeit a bit insulting. "Hey, I'm making good progress, though. You're a good teacher. And you're way less brutal than Quintin."
"And you're a fast learner." The woman replied. "Honestly, you could give my cousin, Ethan, a run for his money with how quickly you picked up my teachings."
"Thanks, I guess."
Elaine raised an eyebrow, a bit more playful now. "Don't get cocky, though. You've still got three weeks left here. Plenty of time for me to break you."
Cyrus grinned. "Bring it on. Doubt you can do more than what your flunkie already did."
"Oh, don't worry, you'll get your chance to see soon enough."
After firing off one more arrow, Elaine decided that now was a perfect time to end her training for the day. Actually, calling it training wasn't really accurate. It was more like a mental therapy session. One that allowed her an avenue to vent all of her frustrations and release some of the stress.
"We'll start your overdrive training in three days." The 'wind magic' user then announced, much to Cyrus's surprise.
"Already?" Cyrus raised an eyebrow upon hearing those words. "That was quick."
"Your body should be able to handle it now. Plus, you're making faster progress with your enchantment training than I expected. Now seems like a proper time to start."
"I look forward to it."
Elaine couldn't help but laugh. "We'll see if you can keep that same attitude once we start."
Something about the way Elaine said that made Cyrus think that he was in for a world of hurt. He already knew that this part of his training was going to be rough. But he didn't know how rough it was going to be. Hopefully, it was something that he would be able to push through quickly. He wanted to see what kind of overdrive skill he would get as soon as possible. And the longer he waited, the more anxious he was starting to get.
Eventually, the two sorcerers made their way up to Elaine's enchanting studio. It was once again time for his lessons. And if nothing else, Cyrus was eager to learn the next step in his budding journey as an enchanting specialist. It was too bad that Freddy couldn't be here for any of this. It would've been awesome to have him here right now.
'I sure hope he's doing well right now, wherever he may have ended up.' Was the last thought Cyrus had before walking into the house behind his new mentor.
-(o)-
Character Profile: Michiko
Name: Michiko Honda
Alias: DJ Shade
Gender: Female
Age: 29
Birthday: December 4th
Birthplace: Columbia, South Carolina, United States
Height: 60in
Weight: 95 lbs.
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown
Race: Asian
Magic: Dark
Occupation: DJ, Record Producer, Songwriter, Music Executive, Iznana Executive, Cosplayer, Influencer
Stat Chart: A(+)
-Physical Strength - 2
-Intelligence - 4
-Magic Amount - 4
-Magical Control - 5
-Magic Sensing - 5
-Special - 5
Fun Fact:
-Favorite food is fried chicken.
-Alma Mater: Queens University of Charlotte.
-Has produced fifteen albums (Ten platinum).
-Currently has eighteen musical awards.
-Favorite instrument is the piano.
-Has been stood up on twenty-four dates in the last ten months.