~ Väinämöinen strode quickly up the hill, setting a blistering pace, his purple robes flowing out behind him. He looked positively mystical.
"But then, he's supposed to," thought Jaden. He took three jogging steps to keep up with Andrew. He and Takyle, both significantly shorter than Andrew, were used to compensating for his longer stride. Väinämöinen was even taller than Andrew though.
"Are you growing weary, young one?" Väinämöinen called back to Jaden without turning around.
"Uh, yes. Yes, a little bit. Sure," he answered. "If by "weary" you mean "ready to fall on my face in a dead blackout from exhaustion" then, yes, a little bit," he thought.
"Are you weak?" Väinämöinen called without slowing. Jaden turned to look at Takyle with a quizzically cynical expression. She shook her head in bafflement and returned a similar look.
"No, I'm not weak! At least not in general. Or were you talking about right now? I'll admit that I'm probably not at my apex right now, but I think that, relatively speaking I am far, far from weak. It's really a continuum when you think about it." Jaden stopped talking for a moment to catch his breath. A lot harder to do while you're making record time going up a hill.
"Are your companions weak?" demanded the wizard.
"No!" This time Jaden could speak with a lot more conviction without feeling arrogant. "No, they are not weak at all. The two strongest people that I know actually."
"Thanks!" commented Takyle. She grinned sideways at him.
"You're welcome. I only say it because it's true."
"That's very touching Jay," threw in Andrew.
The group skidded to a halt when they realized that just ahead Väinämöinen had stopped and whirled to face them. He glared at Andrew and Takyle.
"Excuse me! I was speaking!" he bellowed. Jaden felt a surge of righteous indignation.
"Actually!" he interrupted loudly, haughtily, and vehemently. "I was the one speaking, and these are my friends. I do not appreciate any of us being spoken down to, and particularly not them."
In his peripheral vision he could just see both of his companions staring at him with slack jaws, but he kept his own eyes firmly on Väinämöinen's. A task not to be taken lightly. The wizard glared down at him, boiling rage ill-concealed in his tight jawline and tense stance. An element in the back of Jaden's mind cautiously raised its hand.
"This whole confrontation thing might be a bad idea," it offered, helpfully.
"Thanks," Jaden responded, sarcastically. Then he realized that he'd said it aloud. Next he realized that it could actually work for the situation. And finally, he made sure he had an appropriately haughty and sarcastic look on his face to match it. Väinämöinen did not soften in the slightest. Jaden saw calculation going on behind his eyes, and abruptly he spun without another word and continued up the hill.
Jaden drew a deep breath. He looked at Andrew. Andrew stared back at him. A shiver ran through Jaden's body. Silently, he continued after Väinämöinen. The others trailed behind him. Before Väinämöinen had had his back to them Jaden had caught one more thing on his face.
Resolution. ~
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