~Chapter 4- Modi & Emil~
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When Jirro woke, he found himself in an unfamiliar looking hut, with the smell of stew in the air. Corri and Aero were sound asleep near him. Before daring to step outside, he woke both of his cousins.
Aero sleepily looked around the hut and asked, "Where are we?"
"No clue."
They were in a cave illuminated by lanterns, with several other huts lining the area. Every sound they made seem to reverberate through the tunnels. He figured they must still be near Platt Mountain.
Jirro could hear the quiet humming of a woman near a broiling fire. Someone else was in the cave with them.
"You kids can come out if you like. We have food ready," A voice hollered. Jirro recognized it as the old woman's voice. They cautiously stepped out and found her stirring stew in a pot, with several logs sitting around it.
The young man who accompanied her sat nearby, drinking stew from a wooden bowl. As soon as Corri saw the young man who saved them, she smiled enthusiastically at him.
"Mornin'!" The old woman greeted them with a smile.
Aero walked over to the pot and sat down, ready to eat, "Thanks for saving us," He said as she handed him a bowl of stew.
"Yeah, thank you!" Corri added, making eye contact with the young man.
"Who are you two?" Aero asked as he sat and took his first sip of the stew.
The old woman smiled, "I'm Modi, and that man over there is my student, Emil."
Emil gave a nonchalant wave to the children, and Corri gave him another big smile. She couldn't take her eyes off him. Modi served Corri and Jirro, and they all sat around the pot.
"You two are really strong!" Aero complimented, "You might almost be as strong as my dad."
Modi's eyes darted back and forth, "That's funny for you to say, I actually know your fathers. They asked me to watch over you for a while."
"Really? Where are they now?" Aero asked.
"I'm afraid I don't know. But, we'll just wait here until they get back," Modi replied.
Jirro looked at Modi and noticed a bruise on her left cheek, "Where did you get that from?" Jirro asked.
Modi eyes darted back and forth again as she touched the bruise, "Oh, I must've gotten that when I fought that bandit."
Jirro raised an eyebrow, "But he hit you."
Modi stammered out a response, "Ah yes. Well embarrassing as it is to say, this is from a fall I took a few days ago. These old eyes aren't what they used to be."
Both Jirro and Aero stared skeptically at Modi. Someone as strong as her would never get a bruise that easily. Jirro had to wonder... Why were they so close to them to be able to save them? He appreciated it, but it seemed too convenient. All the while, Corri was trying to get Emil's attention.
Aero finished his stew, stood tall, and said, "I want to know how you hit that guy without actually hitting him! You threw a punch, and it looked like it missed, but the big guy still reacted. It looked like a light came out of you."
"Ah, that. Back at the academy, they called that Focus," Modi responded, "I suppose we could demonstrate it. Emil, do you mind?"
Emil stood from his log and set his bowl aside. He and Modi shared a knowing glance, one which gave Jirro pause.
"Sure," Emil answered.
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Emil set a series of bottles on top of a log and took a few steps away from it. He readied his fist, took aim, and punched the air. A faint light emerged from his hand, and moments later the bottle shattered. Corri clapped enthusiastically at the demonstration.
"Okay... So how do you do that?" Jirro asked, arms folded.
Emil looked down at him, "Well, it's simple kid. You just... Umm," Emil was at a loss for words and turned back to Modi, "How would you explain it?
"I don't know. You just do it." Modi said simply. She spoke to Emil much more callously than she did with the children, "Some people can do it, some can't."
Aero eyed the bottles and began punching the air in their direction. Nothing happened.
"Can I see you do it again?" Aero asked after a couple unsuccessful attempts.
"Sure," Emil lined up his fist with the bottles, concentrating on it. Jirro and Aero watched closely as he lunged his fist forward. Another bottle shattered to pieces.
Aero tried again unsuccessfully. He felt foolish for flinging his arms in the air like that. Jirro instead watched the remaining bottles for a moment.
Jirro took a sturdy stance, eyed his target, and readied himself. He imagined the bottle shattering to pieces and lunged his fist outward.
A faint blue light emitted from his hands, and moments later the very top of the bottle shattered. Both Modi and Emil whipped their heads to the boy.
"Wow. You actually pulled it off," Modi remarked, "I suppose considering your fathers, that shouldn't be surprising."
Jirro smiled, but felt a shortness of breath. He did it on his first try. He looked upon the last remaining bottle sitting on the log.
Aero tried again. He exhaled and stared at his target. He wound back and punched forward, roaring as he did. A faint red light emitted from him, and moments later, not only did the bottle shatter, but the entire log was uprooted from the ground. Aero fell to a knee, hard of breathing, as if he had just finished a hard sprint.
"Whoa, whoa, take it easy there!" Emil hurried to Aero's side and picked him off the ground, "Focus can put a pretty heavy strain on the body. Don't overdo it."
"Why didn't you tell us that from the start?" Jirro asked.
"I didn't expect you to pull it off that quickly!" Emil exasperatedly responded, "Are you alright, kid?"
Aero managed to slow his breathing, "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm fine."
Aero took a moment to catch his breath, still intent on trying it again. Corri asked Emil for another demonstration of Focus. In reality, she's probably just looking for an excuse to fawn over him more.
Jirro took a seat next to Modi. "How do you know our parents?"
Modi's eyes darted back and forth for a moment, "Well, I taught them when they were younger," Modi responded, her voice peaking slightly.
"My dad said they were taught by a man though," Jirro responded.
"Yes, that's true. Many people taught them. It's why they're so powerful. I'm honestly a little offended they never mentioned little old me," Modi took a sip of her stew, avoiding eye contact with Jirro.
Jirro decided to press her a little more, "So our parents know we're here?"
"Yes, yes, of course. Nothing to worry about," Modi answered anxiously.
Jirro noticed things weren't quite adding up. She kept having to correct herself. Jirro asked one more question, "Did you talk to my mom Michta too? She'll be worried sick if she doesn't know."
Modi paused for a moment, no doubt deliberating how she'd answer, "Of course I did. Michta knows."
"Okay that’s good," Jirro gave her a false smile.
She was lying. Jirro's mother died when he was very young. He didn't know why they saved them or why they insisted on staying here. He just knew that they needed to get away from them as soon as possible.
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Jirro waited until night fell. Emil and Modi retired to their own huts, while the children shared their own. As soon as the children were alone, Jirro spoke to his cousins.
"Those two are lying. They said they told my mom we would be here," Jirro explained in a hushed tone, "We need to leave."
"But your mom is... Why would they lie?" Aero asked.
"I don't know."
"Emil can't be bad though, he saved us after all," Corri insisted, "Besides, they're keeping us safe. If we left, we might run into those bandits again."
"It didn't look like that big bandit guy is very fast. If we come across him again, I'm sure we could run away. But there's nothing we can do against Modi. She's way stronger than us, and is too fast for us to run away from her," Jirro explained, "We need to find our dads."
It didn't take long for Aero to fall in line with Jirro's thinking, "I think you're right."
Corri pouted her lips, but nodded in agreement.
They left their hut as quietly as they could, sneakily going towards the cavern that appeared to be the way they came through. Once they were a safe distance away, they picked up the pace.
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The children heard footsteps and began to run. When Jirro looked back, he saw Emil, who was catching up to them. The young man jumped into the air over the children, cutting off their escape.
"That's far enough, kids!" Emil said.
Corri stepped forward with a nervous smile, "We just need to find our dads, Emil. We'll be back after we do."
"You aren't going anywhere," Emil said sternly, completely shattering Corri's impression of him.
Jirro and Aero glanced at one another. As long as Modi wasn't here, they stood a chance. At the same moment, the two attacked Emil. Aero threw a kick from the right and Jirro a hook from the left, but Emil blocked both blows simultaneously. Emil followed up with his own attack, with Jirro and Aero doing their best to cover for each other.
Suddenly, a faint yellow light rocketed through the air and struck Emil. Jirro looked back and saw the origin of the light was Corri, who was seething. Probably because she had fallen for Emil's facade. Corri punched the air once more and another yellow light struck Emil, providing Aero and Jirro just the opening they needed.
The boys landed a flurry of punches and kicks. Aero delivered an especially powerful uppercut into Emil's stomach, and he fell to his knees.
"Let's go!" Jirro yelled. He charged further down the cave and his cousins followed after. Corri spat at Emil as she passed him by. Emil tried to follow but couldn't quite stand.
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The children left the cave and gathered their bearings. They could tell they were near the southern end of the Platt Mountain range. Aero pointed to the Bog Woods, a densely wooded area to the south. It looked like a good enough place to hide. They headed deep into the foliage of the woods, found a suitably safe place, and rested for the night.
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