Dynamic Drift

Noel was doubled over, hands on knees, as she tried to catch her breath. She wiped her sweaty bangs from her face and tossed her ponytail off her shoulder. She had tied her hair to keep it out of her face, but it didn’t help much.

“C’mon, Noel, you’re almost there,” said Azrath from above her. “We just need to keep at it for a little longer.”

How much longer? It had already been six days of this. She had been lucky to find a small park near her house that looked rarely used—or at least, the curse had driven most of the people away when she needed it, it was hard to tell—the perfect spot to start her training properly.

And so began the routine of Noel going to school, coming home and leaving her brother with the Kuboues to study, and then heading to the park to spend hours trying to react to Azrath’s movements.

She had not seen hide or hair of Darris since then, but she expected him to make an appearance soon. Noel suspected that just because she couldn’t see Darris didn’t mean he wasn’t there, waiting for her to take her next step forward.

It was slow going, especially since Azrath made her train with an old wooden broom handle they had found in a pile of the Kuboue’s burnable trash.

“You need to get used to fighting with the staff. It is your greatest weapon to combat the Ahngreel.”

He didn’t just have her block his tackles with the handle; she also had to dodge and divert his movements.

“The only Ahngreel you’ve seen are Darris and that Oriander. So, expect them all to be of a similar size and build. They have the height and strength advantage, so blocking would be useless. They’d break your arms with a single punch if you took one directly; I have no doubt about that. And you need to get within range to do real damage.”

Azrath told her that Dynamic Drift was defensive, and the best way to take full advantage of its capabilities was to do one of four reactions: dodge, divert, grab, and counter.

“While transformed, your strength far surpasses your normal output, and you are much faster. Perhaps even faster than most Ahngreel. But strength and speed mean nothing when you can’t ever reach your opponent. And you can be sure that any Ahngreel will far outclass you in reach.”

“That’s reassuring,” said Noel as she adjusted her grip on the broom handle.

“But you must be as a bird, swift and alert. Take advantage of an opponent's size and strive to step into their attacks.”

“Step into them?” That could only end in disaster.

“Yes,” said Azrath, “Larger opponents have a range as well, not just on the outside, but inside as well. Their power is cut significantly if they can’t extend their arm while punching or swinging a weapon. Therefore, that’s where you want to be. Observe.”

Azrath darted toward Noel, who raised the handle. But Azrath was quick and flew under it to stop right in front of her. He bopped her chin with a curled-up talon.

“I got you. What will you do now?”

Noel fought back the frustration at being tapped for the tenth time that day and used her free hand to grab Azrath. But again, he slipped away from her.

“Good instincts!” he said, “grabbing is the right answer. Being inside is not always the best place to be. But that’s all the more reason your reaction must be as close to instantaneous as possible. That’s why Dynamic Drift is critical: it shaves off those precious seconds and allows you to respond to quick movement.”

“But how do I know when I’m using Dynamic Drift?”

“Imagine my potential movement as countless arcing arrows stemming from me. Try to picture them in your mind. Those arrows also represent my Eingh. And if you do it right, one of those arrows will alight to show how I will move.”

Noel tried, but nothing came. She had a hard time visualizing anything in general unless it was Azrath in cute outfits. She shook her head.

“Well, you’ll get it. I know you can. If you can’t visualize, try to feel. If not that, then hear how you think I will move. It will take all five senses to fully activate the sixth.”

But no matter how hard Noel tried, she just couldn’t do it! No matter how fast she tried to move, Azrath was just out of her grasp.

As the sun set on the seventh day of training, Noel’s lack of progress came to a boiling point when Azrath’s body collided with her forehead for the umpteenth time that afternoon.

“That’s it!” said Noel, throwing down the broom handle so hard that a few splinters came flying off. “I can’t do it! I’m done. I’m going home.” She stormed off. There was still a lot of studying left to do.

“Wait, Noel!” Azrath, as he flew alongside her, “You’re so close to cracking this, I know it!”

“No more, Azrath. I give up.” It was just too much to process. She had to be aware of her surroundings, aware of her opponents, and aware of herself all at the same time. Her brain couldn’t keep up with any of it. She had not managed to hit Azrath once since they started.

“Try one last time, Noel! Please?”

“No, I’m tired. I want to get home and take a bath.”

But Azrath persisted, even stopping in front of her face to block her path. “What if you used the staff? The real staff.”

“Why would I do that?” said Noel as she waved her hand in front of her to shoo Azrath away. He had asked her a few times already this week. “I’m not going to be seen with that ridiculous outfit. Not in public, at least.”

“There’s no one here. And I think, if you’re connected to Urzuran’s Eingh, it might help you read the flow.”

Noel stopped and put a hand on her hip. “Yeah? And why do you think that?”

“I’ve been wondering how the staff gives you Eingh since you lack the aptitude alone.”

“Gee, thanks.”

Azrath wasn’t deterred, “And I think I’ve got a working theory: Let’s say there’s a ton of Uzuran’s Eingh stored in each piece, and when you access it, the staff lets that Eingh flow through you then back into the staff in a never-ending loop. And when you use your own Eingh, that also becomes part of the cycle. Only it’s more than you typically use.”

“So, you’re saying that the staff steals my Eingh?” She didn’t like the sound of that. That could mean the staff would one day suck her dry.

“No, not at all. When the staff returns to dormancy, your Eingh is returned to you. But when the staff is active, it’s like a primer for a water pump for your Eingh. It draws out what is already there!”

“And if I’m using more than I’m used to—?”

“The easier it is for you to use Dynamic Drift on instinct!”

Noel tilted her head as she considered what Azrath said, “This is only theoretical.”

“There’s only one way to prove this theory correct.”

She chewed her lip and glanced around the park. There was not a soul around. “Okay, you win. But just know I won’t like it.”

“Your distaste is noted,” said Azrath as he flew toward a park bench and landed with his back turned to her.

Noel smiled. She didn’t even have to ask this time. It took her a moment to rummage in her pocket and pull out the pen. Then she let the familiar words fall from her lips, and the light engulfed her. Her body began to dance like a ballerina on strings.

When she stopped, Noel looked around the park again. But there were no oglers this time. She looked at the staff in her hands, which felt much better than that dirty old broom handle.

“Alright, Azrath. Let’s make this quick.”

Azrath tuned and flew toward her.

“Wait,” said Noel as she touched the back of her head. Her hair had fallen loose sometime during her goofy transformation. She looked around for her hair tie in case it had fallen.

“Look, Noel, right there.” Azrath seemed to guess what she had been looking for as he pointed with a claw. But he wasn’t pointing at the ground; he was pointing at her blue coat. She looked down to see something blue and glittering sticking out of a pocket. She grabbed what turned out to be a hair tie but continued to marvel at her coat.

“This thing has pockets?”

“Is that such a surprise?”

Azrath would never understand the irritation of finding clothes with actual pockets. Of course, he didn’t wear clothes, so maybe he had other things to worry about.

“Well, whatever,” Noel help up the hair tie. She had never seen it before. She showed it to Azrath. “Where do you think this came from?”

“I don’t know,” said Azrath. “Am I supposed to have an answer to every question?”

“I guess not.” Noel pulled back her hair and tied it back with the tie. She supposed there were just some things she had to accept. “Alright, what do I do next?”

“Get ready.”

Noel raised the staff, her eyes watching Azrath with renewed vigor. She could feel power flowing through her body.

Here he comes.

Her handle shot out, the staff swinging in front of her in a horizontal arc. It whistled as it sliced through the air, but there was no Azrath near it.

“Woah,” he said as he popped back into her vision. “That was much faster than normal. I actually had to concentrate on that one.”

“But I was still nowhere near to hitting you, right?”

“Well… No. No, you weren’t.” he said sheepishly, “But it’s progress. And that’s got to count for something?”

“Not really,” said Noel. She leaned on her staff and looked dejectedly to the ground. “Well, we gave it a shot. I guess I’m unteachable. Thanks anyway, Az—” Something tickled her left ear. The gentlest breeze.

As memories of that night flooded her mind, Noel kicked the bottom of the staff so that it flipped into her hand. She pivoted to where she felt the presence and pointed the staff with both hands like a rifle.

“Whoever you are, come out, or I’ll shoot.”

“Noel?” said Azrath, “Who are you talking to?”

But she ignored him and kept her eyes locked on a bush that sat some ten feet away. “I said, Come out, or I’ll shoot. Did you hear me?” Her grip tightened on the staff as she took a careful step forward. “I’ll give you to the count of three.”

“Noel,” Azrath said again, “I can’t sense anyone.”

The bush quivered ever-so-slightly. “Three.”

Without hesitation, Noel took the staff in her right hand and threw it at the bush with her right hand like a javelin. It pierced the shrub and stuck there with its end sticking out.

There was the sound of someone stumbling and several heavy clomps as what sounded like someone running away. The people themselves were hidden, but something lingered in the air. Something that she couldn’t quite see. Like a half-invisible string dancing in the wind.

“Eingh de Sah!” said Azrath, who flew forward. His body came to rest in the middle of that invisible string. However, Azrath didn’t seem to notice as he stared at the place from where they heard the footsteps, “Who was that? I couldn’t even sense their—”

“LOOK OUT, AZRATH!” The thread suddenly went taut just as Noel leaped forward and swatted Azrath out of the air. Then something whizzed past the place Azrath would have been had she not knocked him away. There was a pinging sound as something hit a metal bench just to her left.

“Shit!” she said as she dove to the ground. Again, something whizzed past her, only this time, it was a centimeter above her head. Was somebody shooting at her?! Her breathing became shallow as she tried to figure out what to do next.

Noel held out her hand for the staff.

The sounds of more feet running. And then everything was still.

Noel stood and began to charge at the disappearing sound and caught her staff mid-run. “Get back here!” But there was no response. The silence resounded in her ear. And then her ears were full of the sound of her pounding heart. She looked around. There were no more threads in the air. Did that mean they were gone?

Her thoughts were interrupted by Azrath, who flew up to her face and said, “Ow! You hit me! How did you even—” his mouth fell open, “Noel, that was it! That must have been Dynamic Drift. You just used it without thinking!”

“Did I?” said Noel without looking at him. Her eyes scanned the park. “I don’t think that matters right now, Azrath.”

Her breathing became shallower as more thoughts flooded her mind. What just happened? Was that an attack? Or some kind of prank? Darris had said he would forge her into a warrior, but did that mean he would send someone to assassinate her? No, it couldn’t be. He wanted her alive. But then, who was watching them from the bushes? And, more importantly, how long had they been there without them noticing?

As the sun set around them, the two stared at the place the footsteps had come from. Noel didn’t think she dared to check around the bush for footprints.

“Let’s get out of here, Noel. I don’t think we should come back to this place again.”

Noel nodded absentmindedly, “Agreed.”

She kept her eyes fixed on the bush as she took a few steps back, then she whipped around and ran as fast she could, powering down so Azrath could follow right behind her.

At the moment, Noel didn’t care if people saw her. She just wanted to run home without stopping until she was through the front door.