It was Saturday morning and dawn was breaking. Para played with her wristbands nervously as she approached her first training session with her new martial arts instructor—Asher had offered to train her a while ago, and she thought it might be good to capitalize on that to keep her ruse alive. She was hoping that she would be able to restrain her energy to keep from knocking his lights out and revealing herself. In preparation, she had sedated herself extra heavily for this occasion. Control, Para, control, she told herself as she approached the dark haired man who was stretched out languidly on a rock and gazing at the sunrise.
She felt the old familiar thrill from being in his presence without his knowledge. When he was clearer within her view she gasped loudly. “What the hell are you doing?”
Asher turned around, startled from his restful pose on the rock. “What?”
She placed her hands on her hips, her eyes flaring angrily. “Ash Burnson, just what is that infernal object in your mouth?”
“This? It’s a cigarette...”
“What in the blazes is it doing there? Since when do you smoke?”
“I—I just started a few days ago,” mumbled Asher, feeling like a guilty child who had been caught doing something wrong.
“Does your mother know you’re smoking?” Para demanded. She was sure that Amelia would be enraged if she found out about her youngest son’s new habit. “Whose cigarettes are these?” She moved closer to examine the brand, fearing the worst. The only member of their tightly-knit circle of friends and family who had ever smoked was Amara’s mother, Rose. As a toddler, once Amara had learned that cigarettes were unhealthy and that they made you sick, she had promptly marched up to her mother, kicking and screaming endlessly for hours until her mother had agreed to quit.
“Mara, please. You’re giving me such a headache,” complained an exhausted Rose as she leaned back in her computer chair.
Amara did not stop, but continued to pound her little fists into the floor.
Vincent entered the room then, in a blur of supernatural speed. “Wife! What on earth is wrong with the child? I can hear her through the walls and I am trying to meditate!”
Upon seeing her father, Amara only screamed louder.
“Child!” he admonished. “Cease this revolting ruckus instantly! Who has been killed?”
“Daddy!” screamed little Amara, pointing at Rose miserably. “Mommy, won’t stop smoking and Mrs. Amelia says it’s really bad for you! Mommy will get sick! I don’t want mommy to die!”
“For the love of god,” Rose mumbled as she stared down at the little girl in her white flowered dress and ponytail. Her face softened and she guiltily glanced at the cigarette lying in the ashtray. She suddenly jumped in surprise as the ashtray was vaporized.
“You heard the child, Rose,” Vincent roared. “You will never again touch a cigarette! For your daughter’s sake you must preserve your inferior human body. Besides, I have always found those things disgusting.”
“Really, Vince?” she asked, swiveling around in her chair to glare at him and crossing her arms. “Don’t you think you let your five year old daughter walk all over you a bit too much? You can’t give in to her every wish or she’ll grow up to be spoiled.”
“Well, I didn’t give into any of the boy’s wishes and he still grew up spoiled. I might as well be kind to one of my children.”
Rose chuckled softly, shaking her head with affection. “Aw. You’re such a softie.”
“If you dare call me...”
“Mommy, Daddy,” said Amara, tugging on Vincent’s sleeve. “Can I go play with Pax now?”
“No, Amara...” Rose saw the enraged look Vincent was giving her and she pressed the eraser end of a pencil against her temple. “Sure, sweetie.”
“Thanks!” said Amara, holding out her arms to her father.
“You want another hug?” said Vincent with a scowl.
“No way, Daddy!” she said with a giggle. “I know the rules. Once a day when no one is looking.”
“Then what do you want, child?”
“Can you please fly me to see Pax, daddy? I'm scared to fly alone.”
Vincent, unable to deny his daughter anything, had quietly cursed and picked the small girl up in his arms.
Her memory was interrupted by Asher’s excuses and explanations. “I got them from a co-worker. Medea, I don’t see what the problem is if I smoke once in a while…”
“I am a doctor, Ash! I see the insides of cancer patients on a basis which is far too regular for my liking. Do you know how many carcinogens are in cigarette smoke?”
“Dozens, I know, but…”
“No, buts!” she said passionately. “Do you think you’re immune to cancer just because you’re a deva… er, devastatingly handsome, strong, and healthy guy? Don’t give me this bullshit about smoking only once in a while! That’s how it starts!”
“Medea, I didn’t know you hated...”
“You quit smoking this instant or I’m leaving!”
“At this moment, I almost feel like you’re my girlfriend instead of Thor….”
“The cigarette is still burning,” she hissed.
Asher glanced at her in mild surprise before he tossed the cigarette to the ground and snuffed it with the toe of his boot. “I’m sorry,” he said softly, staring at her in a combination of admiration and surprise. Something in her bossy, demanding tone had reminded him a little of his mother, and a little of Amara.
“No,” she said, cringing and hitting herself in the forehead. “I shouldn’t have exploded at you like that.”
“It’s alright,” he said with a laugh. “I’m glad you care enough about me to want me alive.”
“Of course I do!” she exclaimed, stepping forward and putting her arms around his neck. She squeezed him gently in a reassuring hug, releasing an untraceable amount of prana from her hands, into his spine to give him a feeling of calmness.
“You might be the only one,” Asher said, swallowing as he returned the hug. He tried his best to suppress the feelings that her closeness aroused in him. Get a grip, man. She’s Thorn’s girl now, and she’s off limits.
Perfect, thought Para, unable to keep her pleased smirk away. “Well, teacher! As you know, I haven’t got much time but I’m really excited that you’re going to teach me how to fight. Where do we begin?”
“Let’s work a little bit on your speed and endurance by running laps around this field,” said Asher, gesturing to the lush hilly green field.
She nodded. “Will you run with me, Ash?”
“Of course,” he answered, “but don’t feel ashamed if you can’t keep up. I’m really, really very fit. Just try your best to keep me in sight!”
“I will,” she said smiling. She had only asked Asher to run with her so that she could get an idea of what he considered ‘normal’ to set the maximum pace for her. When Asher began to lightly jog up the inclines and dips in the grassy field, Para easily kept pace jogging beside him. “You weren’t kidding,” she commented, pretending to be out of breath. “You’re super-fast. I am trying my best to keep up with you.”
“You’re doing great, Medea,” he said with an encouraging Burnson smile.
They ran like this for about ten more minutes, engaging in light conversation before Para stopped and placed her hand on her knees, dramatically acting like she was gasping for breath.
“Oh… my… goodness,” she said between huge fake wheezing breaths. “You have so much endurance. You must work out really often.”
“I used to, but it also just comes naturally to me,” he said, doubling back to where she had stopped. “Let me try to teach you how to use your prana, now that you’ve got it pumping through your body and you can really feel it.”
“Prana?” she asked.
“Yeah—it’s like this special energy inside all of us, at our very center. All of martial arts is based on controlling this energy.” Asher sat on the ground, cross-legged, and Para smiled, sitting directly across from him. “Try to relax every muscle in your body,” he said, holding out his hands before him. “Focus on the energy deep in your belly, and try to draw it out through your hands.”
A small glow began to form in the middle of Asher’s hands as he demonstrated. Para smiled at his infinite patience and rudimentary explanation. He was such a good, sweet, loving boy. How could he ever be cruel? If only she could have read his mind sooner and understood the reasons why… but it was done. It was over. Once she had cared about his happiness, and she would have done anything to make him smile. Now all she had to hold onto was her little game. She didn’t care any longer whether either or both of them were miserable; she just cared about winning the game.
“Do you think you can bring your energy out like this, Medea?” he asked gently.
She couldn’t help feeling like a professor in preschool. “I’ll try my best, Ash.” Holding her hands out in front of her, she tried her hardest not to release the prana which her body naturally begged for her to expend. She made sounds of straining, and twitched her fingers rapidly as though she were trying very hard.
“Oh! It’s not working. I can’t do it,” she complained in a defeated tone.
“You totally can. I can feel that there is a strong energy inside you, Medea.” He leaned closer, looking down at her hands and back up at her eyes. “I could feel it from the first moment we met. I know you can do this! I know. So just concentrate and let it flow through your body!”
“I can’t!”
“Feel the energy! Feel it moving through your body!” Asher reached out and placed two fingers on her stomach. “It starts here, in your center. Your solar plexus.”
He slowly moved his fingers around to her back, and pressed the same two fingers at various points along her spine. “The energy flows through your spinal cord, becoming stronger and stronger as your nervous system forces it into a smaller, more concentrated form…”
He dragged his fingertips over her shoulders and slowly down her arms. “Feel the energy moving through your arms, through the channels of your body. It’s deeper than blood; it’s a special, tingly, magic feeling. Feel the power and let it travel outside of your body through the palms of your hands!”
“I’m trying,” she said through gritted teeth as she tried to control her energy from exploding exponentially inside her as his touch drove her body mad with desire.
“Just relax and let the warmth and power fill your insides,” he said softly.
How can I say no when you demand something like that, Ash? She tried to allow the tiniest ball of silver fire to form between her hands. It ended up being slightly larger than she intended, and Asher yelled in joy.
“Yes! You did it!” he shouted, reaching forward to hug her in his excitement. “Thorn’s going to flip!”
Para laughed at Asher’s excitement and hugged him back. “Thanks for teaching me this. It’s pretty amazing, but it takes so much concentration and I don’t know any practical uses for it. I guess I’ll practice on my own every chance I get. I really have to go now, but can we train again soon?”
“What? This isn’t nearly enough practice!” he complained. “You should spend at least two hours running, and then we should do some light sparring and more prana manipulation..."
“I wish I could,” she said apologetically, glancing at her watch. There were only two minutes remaining in her union. “I have a really busy day ahead of me. Work is super hectic. This is just my little before-work-workout, you know!”
“Alright,” he said with disappointment. “I know you’re busy and don’t want to exhaust you. Same time next week?”
“That works for me. Really can’t wait! See you soon, Ash.”