Metal and Flesh (The Rohvim, Book 1)

16.5 Passion

    "So if no Creator, how did we get here?"

   "No idea!" he snorted. "Like I said, there might be a creator, I don't know. I just know it doesn't make sense. I mean, we're really just mechanical animals that can think and talk. We're just like that mechanical doll that the master healer carries around with him, only instead of just being able to wave our arms and shake our heads, we can feel and think and talk and ... jump."

   "Huh. Well I just know that when I'm sitting at prayers in the communal hall, and during the singing, I feel something. Like I belong. Like there's something more that's there that I can't see."

   They sat silent for awhile, thinking, looking up at the stars. Aeden looked to the north, seeing the great bear. The guiding star. The plow. Rupert interrupted the silence. "So do you want to practice?"

   "Practice? What?"

   "Practice your dueling. How will you ever be as good as me unless you practice?"

   "Now?"

   "Yes. We don't seem to be sleeping."

   Aeden sat up and stared at the small young man. "I can't imagine why not. Ok, fine. But don't we need a disinterested third party?"

   "No. That's just if we want to make sure it's fair. With training, we don't really care about making it fair-we make it so I squish you as many times as possible until you learn how to duel."

   "Was that a challenge? Ok. Should I put my hand on your head?" Rupert nodded, and Aeden scooted over to him, placing his hand on the greasy disheveled hair. He entered.

   He looked around himself and saw a flat, grey floor, stretching as far as he could see in every direction. The sky, if you could call it that, was a slightly brighter grey than the floor.

   Nice head.

   Thanks. Let's start. Turn into something deadly and come at me.

   Aeden thought a bit, and instantly transformed into large cougar. With wings. He rose up in the air, flying faster and faster, testing his speed to the limit, and when he felt he was moving at a blindingly fast rate, he swooped towards Rupert, jaws gaping wide. Suddenly, Rupert disappeared. He flailed his head around, searching for the boy. He reappeared behind him, seemingly out of thin air. He changed course and swooped, and again Rupert disappeared, reappearing behind him.

   How do you do that?

   I just thought it. Try it. Look somewhere and decide to be there.

   Aeden opened his jaws and looked at a spot just behind Rupert, deciding that's where he'd rather be. Instantly, his perspective changed, and Rupert was right in front of him. He wrapped his terrible jaws around Rupert's head and snapped them shut. Or rather, tried fruitlessly to snap them shut. The result was twenty shattered teeth and a cry of anger from Aeden.

   But I got you! I was going to crush your head!

   Rupert casually brushed off a few teeth from his shoulder. Yes but I decided that my head was stronger than any force you could bite with.

   Well then how do you attack against that?

   Just decide that your bite can go through anything.

   Aeden considered this, regrowing his teeth while he thought. But... If I decide my bite goes through anything, and you decide that nothing can crush your head, how can anyone win?

   Well you can't just decide once that your head is impervious. You need to continually decide that. You must be constantly mindful of your body. If you want to be able to chomp down and bite through anything, you can't just decide once at the beginning that all your bites are powerful, you decide that THAT bite is powerful, And then you decide that the next bite is powerful, while I consciously decide that my head is STILL impervious to your bites.

   So, again, what happens when we both do that? I decide to super-chomp your head off, and you decide it's not going to happen?

   Well, if you're in my head, I would win. If I'm in your head, you could win. Maybe-I'm pretty good at this. When we're in a third party, whoever wants it more will win. You've got to feel it. With passion. Want it more than anything. 

   Aeden thought about this for a moment, and said, Ok, let's keep going. But since I'm in your head, you've got to promise not to do your steel head thing.

   I will promise no such thing.

   Well then how am I ever going to win?

   We're not doing this so you can win. We're doing this so you can learn, right?

   Fine. Let's go. And with that, Aeden, still a flying cougar, zipped up into the grey sky. Rupert transformed as well, this time to his hawk. Before Aeden could do anything, Rupert sped right towards him like lightning, his wings glinting like icy steel. Just in time, Aeden thought himself elsewhere, far away, and he instantly vanished and reappeared several hundred yards from where he was. He decided that his cougar form was flying far too slowly, and so changed to an eagle, and flew at blinding speed toward Rupert the Hawk. Rupert wheeled around and sped towards him as well. The distance between them disappeared almost instantly, and Aeden, nearly too late, thought himself below Rupert, and straightaway came tearing up through his hawk's body, though missing the head.

   The falling hawk head called out, That's it! Perfect! and regrew its body. Aeden tried again, thinking himself this time just above Rupert, heading down, and instantly reappeared just above the newly healed hawk, only to see him disappear just as he was about to slice him anew, now through the head. But no, he did not disappear. As Aeden passed the place where Rupert had been, he caught the barest glimpse of a fly, who careened out of control as it was caught in the wake of the blazing eagle. Coming around for another pass, he looked everywhere but could not see the tiny fly. He darted this way and that through the sky, as fast as thunder, to no avail. He felt something on the top of his head, and before he even could try looking, he was out. He opened his eyes and looked at the scrawny little young man next to him, hand still on his greasy hair. Rupert opened his eyes. "See? Told you smaller is better. There's no way to see a fly when you're going as fast as you were, especially one that can disappear and reappear on your head."

   "How did you end up getting me?"

   "I grew sharp teeth and burrowed into your head. Made a big mess in there."

   Aeden crawled back to his bedding. He murmured over to the other boy, "Thanks, Rupert. That was fun."

   "No problem. Dream well."

   "You too." Aeden replied, and within minutes dozed off.