A little help from a little brother

Alvin, Josie, and Aiden went to the kitchen after Alvin gathered together all the ramen ingredients.

“Is training going well so far?” said Aiden.

Alvin grabbed the pot and said, “Yeah. I Just need to do a little more before she’s done. I’m going to need your help for the next part. Only you can teach her how to do it.”

Aiden looked a bit confused until he realized what he meant. “Oh, that thing. That will be fun.”

“Since you know how to use magic, does that mean I get to learn magic?” said Josie.

“Yep,” said Alvin.

“Really!? What kind?”

“Fire, water, energy, and healing spells. If we’re to save everyone you love and care for swiftly, it’s best to limit it to these four.”

Alvin finished cooking and passed out the Ramen and chopsticks. “This’s how you do it,” said Alvin as he showed Josie how to use the chopsticks with his share of the food. Josie followed, shoving ramen in her mouth. This ramen tastes really good, Josie thought.

***

They followed Alvin to the dojo’s backyard. It was a vast and open space filled with big boulders everywhere. Alvin had a big smile on his face as he said, “For this part of your training…well let’s just have Aiden show you this one.”

Aiden walked up to one of the boulders. He held up a fist, pulled back his arm and said, “Fire Punch!”. His whole fist was burning before he made contact and when he did, the boulder exploded in a blaze of fire. There were no chunks of the rock left, it was completely destroyed before Josie’s eyes.

“That…”, said Alvin, “is Fire Punch, an attack that only dragons can do. I want you to do the same thing Aiden did about, let’s say, five times. Aiden will walk you through it.”

Alvin sat at a bench and watched them. “Alright then, stand over here and let’s get started.” said Aiden. “Ok, so you have to make a fist and pull your arm back like I did. Next focus your dream energy into the center of your body. Then you have to release all of that energy into your arm and then punch this rock. Don’t forget to say Fire Punch or it won’t activate before you hit the boulder, ok?”

“Got it. I’ll give it a shot.”

“Fire Punch!” Josie shouted before punching the boulder. But the rock did not explode. Instead, pain exploded and vibrated through her fist.

“Ow! Why didn’t it work?” Josie complained.

Aiden tilted his head. “Perhaps it’s because your soul didn’t feel any passion inside of you?”

Josie looked at Aiden while rubbing her knuckles. “Passion? What do you mean by that?”

“What I mean is, what kind of strong feeling pushes you forward, no matter the obstacle? What drives you to great heights that only you can reach? If your soul feels this, then your Fire Punch will be just as strong as that feeling,” Aiden looked away for a moment and blushed. “For me, I always think of my sister.”

Josie smiled. “That’s sweet of you.”

Aiden adjusted himself and stepped out of the way. “Anyways, you can try again when you’re ready.”

Josie stared at her hand. “What am I passionate about,” she thought. An idea flashed in her mind. Josie clenched her fist.

“Fire Punch!” The boulder was split asunder as a burst of fire exploded around her.

“…that was an amazing Fire Punch,” said Alvin.

“I’ve seen my fair share of Fire Punches in my life, but nothing compares to yours! What did you think about?” said Aiden.

“Everything. Everything that’s ever pushed me to do more. My dream. My friends. My mom and Kalah. All those thoughts are greater together than apart.” said Josie. She smiled at Aiden and ran to the next bolder.

In a short amount of time, Josie destroyed six boulders.

“Good. Now let’s go inside for the next part of your training: magic. It shouldn’t be too difficult since it’s similar to how you can use a Fire Punch.”

After getting back inside of the dojo, Alvin continued to explain. “Magic is similar in that you have to think about a specific feeling to use a specific spell. What do you feel when you think about fire? And what of water? Every time you cast magic, that is what you must ponder. Right now, I’d like you to try the fire spell. Since you are a dragon, you can breathe fire out of your mouth.”

Alvin moved to a safe distance. “Ok, breathe fire whenever you’re ready. Uh, gently, of course. Don’t want to start a fire.”

Josie inhaled some air into her lungs and blew out a gentle breeze of fire.

“Nice. Next, let’s do a water spell. What’s interesting about this spell is that your dream energy draws moisture from the air to create the water. Now please cast it like you did before, but with your hands.”

She raised her hands up in front of her. Suddenly, a blob of water appeared and hovered about.

“Ok, hold onto that feeling for a moment.” Alvin went into another room and returned with a watering can.

“Josie, would you please take that water you just made and aim it into this?”

Aiden, who was resting on the sidelines and watching them, said, “Really? Are you so lazy that you had to trick Josie into filling up your watering can, old man?”

Alvin looked back at Aiden with an annoyed look on his face. “I’m not old, I’m just well-traveled is all.”

After all the water was sent into the watering can, they continued on to do the healing spell. Alvin took out a knife from the kitchen. He rolled up his sleeve and cut his arm.

“Focus your dream energy into your hand and heal my injury.”

Josie’s hand glowed a gentle light as she healed his injury away.

“Excellent, now to learn how to do the final spell which is the energy spell.” Alvin clapped his hands and a target appeared in the center of the room. “ Remember what I taught you about dream energy? This spell builds up dream energy into your hand and then blasts out. I want you to hit that target with it.” Josie blasted the target without any trouble.

Aiden got up from his resting spot. “Now for the last two parts of your training. Fight me with Dragwind in its standard form. Then, it’s finally time for you to fly.” Aiden smiled at her as she took out Dragwind from its sheath. Alvin lent Aiden his katana.

Alvin left to another room while they fought. Aiden didn’t hesitate to put on the pressure while their swords danced with each hit. Eventually, Aiden yielded when he lost his balance on one of the blows, falling to the ground. Then Josie and Aiden went outside to fly to the dragon settlement and back. Not easy to fly when you’re so used to being on the ground, Josie thought. But she got the hang of it.

When they got back to the dojo, Aiden said, “Oh, before I forget, I have to show you how to store your sword away in your magic. Focus your dream energy onto your sword and tap it twice. If you want it back, focus your dream energy into your hands and simply grab into the air with Dragwind in your thoughts.”

She stored it away and then brought the sword back out. She starred at the sheathed sword and nodded with a smile that spread across her face as she said, “I know I’m borrowing the sheath temporarily, but could I please take it with me? I’ll return it later, promise!”

Aiden smiled back. “Sure. You can take it.”

Dragwind was now on her back, and they were about to head inside. Until Alvin rushed outside to them. 

“Josie, no time to explain how but a distress signal was sent out from Frost Valley! You must go there before it’s too late.”