Eating Your Weight: Getting a Grip

[Getting a Grip]

Training with Tiamat was a completely different world from what I did with Miyo, Aika, or even Marcille.

Instead of focusing on honing my strength or learning new techniques, the dragon wanted me to work toward controlling the power I already had. The first two days were spent simply meditating, working toward calming the instinct that came alongside my transformation so that we wouldn’t repeat the same incident that happened the first time I entered Tiamat’s grove.

It was boring. Horribly, mind-numbingly boring. For me–whose life had been constantly exciting since I was reborn–being forced to sit in a field for ten hours a day, staring at nothing but the insides of my eyelids wasn’t really the most interesting experience. With the sudden shift from excitement to monotony, one would think I’d be more restless than ever.

Only... despite the boredom, I didn’t find the exercises tedious. It was like a part of me that had always been on “go” finally had the chance to rest and recharge. That first day, I thought I would wake up dreading going back to Tiamat’s grove, but instead I woke up feeling more refreshed than I could ever remember.

The second day was much the same, and the one after that. When I asked Tiamat why I was feeling this way, the dragon only gave me a bemused look.

“Your life as a dragon has been full of battle and conquests and very little actual rest,” she explained, sitting across from me in the same position. “Do you think we spend so much time in our lairs simply because we’re lazy? Some of us are, true, but an existence of only movement tires one’s soul very quickly. Even us dragons, the very embodiments of power and domination, need time to rest. A fire that burns forever quickly finds itself lacking the fuel to burn at all.”

It made sense to me. As a human, I had been lazy at best, and the living embodiment of Sloth at worst. When I became a dragon, suddenly the world around me was moving so fast that I could barely keep up. I fell into step with it because I didn’t really have any other choice, but now that I’d taken the time to sit down and watch it go by, I was realizing just how antsy that constant movement had been making me.

Now, on the morning of the third day, I found myself settling into my usual spot in Tiamat’s field, legs crossed and hands resting on my knees. The flowers around me swayed gently in the breeze, their petals brushing against my ankles as I closed my eyes.

“Begin,” Tiamat’s voice came from somewhere behind me.

I turned my attention inward, finding that ball of heat in my chest. It was easier now than it had been on the first day. The fire still roiled against my touch, but I could hold it, shape it, direct it in ways that I hadn’t been able to before.

The instinct was still there as well, lurking beneath the surface. Every time I caught a whiff of Tiamat’s scent, or sensed her presence moving behind me, that primal part of me wanted to lash out. But I pushed it down, smothering it with my will, refusing to let it control me.

Time passed, though like usual, I wasn’t sure how much. Measuring time while in a trance was like trying to grab smoke with your bare hands. You could get an idea, but trying to hold onto it for any longer than a moment was basically impossible.

At some point, Tiamat’s presence moved closer. I caught her scent and immediately, the fire in my chest flared. A growl built in my throat, but I let out a long breath, forcing my body to relax.

“Good,” Tiamat murmured. “Very good.”

I didn’t respond, but I couldn’t deny the small spark of pleasure that her praise caused me.

The morning stretched. My stomach growled, but I ignored it. My legs ached from sitting still for so long, but I pushed past the discomfort. This was important. If I couldn’t master this, then I would be stuck here in the Underworld, far away from everything I cared about. That couldn’t happen.

Time passed in shutters, only measured by Tiamat straying closer to try and break my concentration. The false sun dipped below the trees and the wind began to cool, raising goosebumps on the parts of my arms and legs that were still completely human.

“Enough for today.”

My eyes opened at the sound of her voice, and I let out a long breath. My body felt both exhausted and energized at the same time, like I’d run a marathon and then taken the best nap of my life.

I stretched my arms above my head, feeling my joints pop. “How long was I out?”

“Nine hours,” Tiamat replied from somewhere off to my left. I turned, blinking as I found her lounging on the edge of the hill where the grass was the longest. She had patted out a makeshift bed for herself and was leaning on an elbow, staring at me from afar. “You showed significant improvement today. The instinct flared only three times, and each time you suppressed it within seconds.”

“Three times?” I frowned, trying to recall. “I only remember twice.”

“The third was when a rabbit wandered too close to you. You were too deep in meditation to notice, but your body reacted before your mind could catch up.”

I stared at her back, processing that information. “A rabbit? Seriously?”

“Prey is prey,” Tiamat said simply. “The instinct does not differentiate between threats and food. Were it only a few days ago, you would have snapped it up without noticing. But as it stands…”

She nodded her head and I followed her gaze to find a brown rabbit sitting only a few feet away from me, sniffing curiously at a patch of flowers. It seemed to sense my gaze and turned, stiffening as it caught sight of my slitted eyes gazing upon it.

With a squeak, it hopped off, making good time across the grove and disappearing into a bush a little ways away. I watched it go, before turning back to Tiamat with a curious expression.

“Why do you have rabbits down here?”

Tiamat grinned, showing off sharpened teeth. “I like to give into my baser urges on occasion. Rabbits have always been a favorite of mine to chase, and they make a juicy treat on the occasion I don’t decide to let them go.”

I sat there, imagining a massive dragon chasing a pack of bunnies across a field, and used all of my skills learned from meditation to hold back a laugh. Instead, I stood up, brushing grass and flower petals off my clothes. “So what’s next? Are we finally going to spar or something or are we done for the day?”

Tiamat tilted her head, blue eyes glinting in amusement. “Eager, are we? Tell me, little hatchling, what do you think would happen if I let you summon that little toothpick of yours and told you to attack me?”

I opened my mouth to say something cocky, then closed it again as I remembered how it went last time.

“You’d kick my ass,” I admitted. “Hard.”

“Mm,” Tiamat nodded. “And what would you learn from that?”

“That you can kick my ass?”

“Precisely. And that is a lesson you have already learned.” She rose from her spot on the grass, smoothing out her dress. “Combat teaches many things, but it does not teach control. And control is what you lack. You have power, more than most could dream of. But it is wild and untamed. You grasp a fistful, and a bucket slips through your fingers like water. Until you can hold an ocean in your palm, any combat training would be pointless.”

I followed her up the steps of the cabin, my stomach growling again as the smell of food drifted through the door. “So when do we get to the actual training?”

“This is the actual training. You simply refuse to see it as such because it does not involve swinging a sword around.”

Tiamat stretched languidly in a motion that reminded me of a cat. Her dress clung to her body, emphasizing hidden muscles and tight curves, and I swallowed and turned my eyes down to stop myself from staring.

I looked back up at the sound of bare feet padding across grass, and came face-to-chest with the woman. I gulped, looking up to find her staring down at me with an unreadable expression. Her eyes bore into mine, and I fought the urge to flinch as she brought a hand up, gently cupping my chin.

“What are you–” I asked, freezing as she leaned in until our noses were practically touching. This close, her features were even sharper, her eyes like pools of liquid crystal that stared right through me. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but if she didn’t back up soon, we were going to have a problem.

Seconds ticked by like minutes, before a smirk suddenly split her lips. “You are in control of yourself?”

I was blindsided by the question, but as she asked it, I realized that she was right. The voice in the back of my mind was quiet, a mere murmur compared to the roar that I had been experiencing thusfar. Even this close, I had no desire to fight her, no instinct telling me to dominate the creature in front of me.

Well, at least not physically, I amended, chancing a glance down to the low neck of her dress and the soft flesh it was just barely hiding.

Tiamat noticed where my eyes had gone, and her smirk widened.

“You can look all you want,” she said, her voice dropping to something dangerous. “But should you try to touch without permission...”

The hand on my jaw tightened slightly, claws I hadn’t noticed before digging into my skin. Not hard enough to draw blood, but hard enough to get the point across. I gulped, getting the message immediately.

Still, I couldn’t help myself. I gave her a lopsided smirk. “Is that a challenge?”

Tiamat’s eyes glittered in what I hoped was amusement. “You may take it however you wish.”

She disengaged from me and stepped away, releasing my chin and leaving me standing there with my heart pounding in my chest. “Training is complete for the day. Leave and return tomorrow, and we will begin the next step.”

She turned and headed back toward her cabin, and I watched her go. I wasn’t sure, but I thought there was an extra sway to her steps that hadn’t been there before, drawing eyes to that shapely ass hidden just beneath the dress.

I stared for a moment, biting my lip. Damn...

Then I turned and marched out of the grove, forcing myself to focus on the path ahead instead of the view behind me.

Stepping through the waterfall, I unfurled my wings and took to the sky, soaring high up into the air. The wind rushed past me, cool against my face as I rose above the canopy.

As I flew, my hand began to glow, and Nidhogg’s voice rumbled through my mind.

“You are playing a dangerous game, Naomi. That woman is not one to be toyed with.”

“I’m pretty sure I’m the one being toyed with,” I replied. “Besides, it’s not like I’m going to do anything she doesn’t want me to. Hell, it isn’t like I even can.”

“Those are brave words coming from one who couldn’t control her base instincts a scant few days ago.”

I stuck my tongue out at the back of my hand, and I felt Nidhogg’s indignation through our bond.

“Infantile,” he huffed, making me giggle.

I hovered above the Familiar Forest, the setting sun casting warm rays over the Underworld. I took a deep breath, absorbing the nature stretching out before me. Hundreds of miles of landscape lay between me and my destination, a few hours’ worth of flying that I didn’t really feel like making again.

“I guess it’s time to try it out,” I muttered.

“What are you planning?”

I breathed in. “Hopefully something cool.”

I dug deep inside of myself for my power. It came instantly, responding to me through the intimate connection I’d made over the past few days of meditation. Magic flooded through my limbs, trying to escape through my skin, but I lashed it tightly to me, using all of my mental focus to keep it in line.

My entire body glowed, a cocoon of power sliding over me until I was completely obscured. It wrapped around me tightly, and then shattered, revealing rugged black armor covering me from head to toe. The transformation was accompanied by a bright glow from the gems on my body and a loud voice.

[Devouring Dragon Overbooster!]

Nidhogg’s voice echoed as a wave of power escaped my leash and lashed at the world around me. The armor settled into place, heavier than I remembered but somehow more comfortable now that I had a better handle on my power.

“I am surprised you managed to access this form without instruction,” Nidhogg admitted. “Though I suppose I should not be. You have always been resourceful when it comes to finding ways to throw yourself into danger.”

I grunted. “I’m awesome like that. But fuck...”

It was tiring. I could feel the drain on my energy almost immediately, like a sinkhole in the bottom of a lake, sucking away everything I had. I had maybe a minute or two in this form before I was completely tapped out. Luckily, I only needed a few seconds.

I held out both hands and concentrated, thinking of the Sitri Estate, the path back there, and the impossible distance between us. I mapped it out in my mind, the distance, the time it would take to cross it, and then...

I devoured it.

The world around me shifted into an orange blur, colors and magic swirling into a violent kaleidoscope, and suddenly I was standing in front of the immense estate that Sona’s family called home. I gasped and fell to my knees, my armor cracking and falling around me instantly as I panted for the breath that had been suddenly sucked out of my lungs.

My eyes drooped as I stared at the paved stones of the courtyard, trying to quell the sudden nausea that had overcome me. I felt like I had just run a marathon without a sip of water, but there was no pain apart from a deep exhaustion. I pushed my hair out of my eyes, and my hand came back slick with the sweat that was practically dripping from my skin.

I stared at it for a moment, before grinning widely.

“Worth it.”

“That was impressive,” Nidhogg said, and his voice held a small note of what might have been admiration. “Even I never thought about devouring the concept of distance such as you just had. To consume the very space between two points... it is a creative application of our power.”

“Really?” I pushed myself up to a sitting position, still panting slightly. “It seemed kind of obvious.”

“Humans have always been rather ingenious when it comes to thinking in terms of shortcuts,” Nidhogg replied dryly. “I, however, do not get so easily bored of flying as you have. The feeling of the wind beneath my wings was one of the greatest pleasures I ever indulged in.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could get a word out, the doors to the estate burst open. Miyo came running out, her face pale with fear as she spotted me sitting on my hands and knees in the courtyard.

“Naomi!” She rushed over to me, dropping to her knees beside me. “What happened? Are you hurt? Did something attack you?”

I waved her off, wincing as I tried to straighten up. “I’m fine, I’m fine. Just tired.”

“Tired?” Miyo’s eyes swept over me, checking for injuries. “What happened.”

“I was testing something,” I explained. “Guess I need to work out a few kinks. How did you know I was home, though?”

“There likely wasn’t a single person in the entire estate that didn’t feel you arrive,” a voice cut in before she could respond.

We both looked over to find Sona stepping out of her home, a light frown on her face. She eyed me, and then Miyo, eyes narrowing in confusion.

“Whatever you did created a shockwave of power over this entire section of the Underworld,” she said, stopping a few feet away from us. “You blanketed half of our territory in your power. The staff are panicking.”

I winced. Devouring that much of anything was bound to make waves, and it seemed that the entire Sitri household had felt it. I would need to work that out the next time I tried something like this.

“I’m sorry. I’ll practice a bit more before I show up flaring my power on your front doorstep,” I said apologetically.

“That would probably be for the best,” Sona said, though her expression lightened slightly. “In any event, I’m glad you’re here. I need to talk to you.”

I stood with Miyo’s help, brushing dirt off my clothes. “What is it?”

Sona adjusted her glasses. “I’m returning to Kuoh tomorrow. I would have gone back days ago, but I had duties here that I’ve been putting off. Now that I’ve tended to them, I can leave again.”

“Okay,” I said slowly. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because when I return, I intend to pay your parents a visit.”

I blinked, “What? Why?”

Sona simply gestured at me. “It’s clear that you’re going to spend at least a few days here. There’s only so much Miss Kiryuu can do in the way of explaining your absence, and she can’t keep making excuses forever. I’m going to give your parents, and the staff at the school, a more plausible reason for your disappearance.”

She tilted her head slightly. “Is there anything you want me to tell them when I go?”

I thought for a long moment. My parents trusted me not to worry if I disappeared for a little bit, but honestly I was probably stretching it being gone so long. I wouldn’t be surprised if my mom had brought up the idea of talking to the police a few times already.

“Just make sure they know I’m safe,” I finally said. “And that I’ll probably be back soon... ish.”

Sona nodded. “I’ll take care of it.”

She turned and headed back inside, though she paused at the door to give me one last lingering look. There was something in her eyes that I couldn’t quite read, before she disappeared through the threshold.

As I stopped leaning on Miyo and stood on my own, the woman turned to me, expression unreadable. “Naomi… I’m going to return to Kuoh with her.”

I looked at her in shock. “What? Why?”

Miyo grabbed one of my hands, squeezing gently “I’d love nothing more than to stay here with you, Naomi. But the Underworld is getting a bit... overwhelming. Being surrounded by this many Devils is unusual for me, and I’m constantly on edge thanks to my training. Now that you’re safe, I don’t think I can stay here for much longer without accidentally pulling a knife on the next person who tries to bring me tea.”

I blinked, surprised by the admission, before my expression softened. I wrapped my hands around hers, squeezing back.

“I’m sorry, I had no idea,” I said gently. “If it was making you uncomfortable, why didn’t you say anything? I don’t want to make you suffer just because having you around makes me feel better.”

Miyo smiled, leaning down to press her forehead against my own. “It’s not something I like to advertise, and I’m more than capable of controlling my urges. It’s just getting a little tiring, that’s all. Especially now that you’re gone most of the day and I have nobody to look after.”

I swallowed, fighting the urge to apologize again. Instead, I just leaned up and pecked her lightly on the lips, rubbing the back of her hand with a thumb.

“Go then,” I said. “I’ll try to get back home as soon as possible so you don’t miss me too bad.”

“Who will be missing who?” Miyo hummed, a smile slipping over her face. “I’m not sure we’ve spent more than a day apart since summer vacation. You’re addicted to me, Naomi.”

“You say that like it doesn’t go both ways.”

“True enough. Nights will be quite lonely without you there to warm me up. In more ways than one,” her grin turned uncharacteristically naughty, brown eyes darkening with her growing lust. “I suppose I’ll just have to get my fill tonight.”

I swallowed hard as I caught Miyo’s meaning, and the problem that Tiamat had started reared its ugly head again. A pool of arousal began to stir in my stomach, heat spreading through my core.

Miyo looked down, her hand drifting to palm the bulge that had formed at the front of my shorts. I hissed at the contact, my hips jerking forward involuntarily.

“Yes...” she murmured, squeezing gently. “I’ll be filled indeed.”

She backed away, turning to walk inside. Over her shoulder, she gave me a smoky look that made my blood run hot. “I’ll be waiting in our room.”

I stood there, fists clenched, chest heaving, and an erection straining painfully against the front of my shorts. A giggle reached my ears, and I turned to see a pair of female servants staring at me, whispering and pointing.

I grunted, embarrassment and frustration warring within me, before stomping after Miyo.