Chapter 3 Anxiety

Time passes. My training never got any easier. I'd like to say that I always got better. Never was I fast enough learner for Phobos though. On an optimistic side though, It showed me purpose. I had a goal to keep up with Phobos to learn as fast as he could teach me. I learned quickly that magic was like another you. It's what many would call your spirit. Or you conscious. Some more loud and profound of what they want to say. Others were quiet or even telling you evil things to say. Phobos later admitted that I was not ready to be trained in communication with my magic yet. He was just trying to get me a little more into the training. I learned how to listen to him without any hesitation. As we moved on I started getting less bruised in our spars. I would actually see moves coming and block him. The only problem was striking back at him. Phobos had a firm belief that the best way to fight was to never block. Let all your blocks just be a counter attack back at the person. If your getting a fist thrust at you. Move in and around it into the enemy. Haiku and Jarx would come in every once and awhile. And observe and help me sometimes even. Haiku is a very loving sister and always glad to help. Jarx himself though is hard to get through to. He is always training and is hard to find a second to talk to him. All of us know all he wants is to find Jezabel and kill her. It's his one wish and desire. What he believes is his purpose in life. Right now I am not exactly sure what I want. Besides maybe be Phobos' triumphant student. In one of my conversations with Haiku about 6 months into my training, I was almost 17, she revealed a bit of news to me. There was mutterings about a strange man bent on killing all in his path.
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I turned 17 2 months ago. I've learned how to use my super sensitive hearing to my advantage with sparing with Phobos. Strangely I have learned how to hear Phobos' limbs tense right before they hit, strange habit of his. Warning me of which limb he is going to hit me with. He's also began training to fight with guns. From hand pistols to bazookas. One day that we believe to be the 23rd of March, we have no complete fact to know our guesses are right, Phobos had a special little thing proposed for me. He was going to ready me to speak to my magic. I find that Phobos likes to talk to himself a lot. It actually entertains me quite a bit. Yet that's probably makes him so brilliant. You know all geniuses talk to themselves right? I wake up on the 23rd and I hear some muttering. So I sit up and block out all my senses by ignoring everything around me. Believe me I'm so easily distracted this took many months of practice to get down. I opened my ears wide and began straining to listen. "I do not know if he is ready, but, he has been improving so fast and well." That made me extremely happy to know I was pleasing my master but I quickly dismissed my thoughts and concentrated on listening again. "Well than I'm going to do it. I'm going to teach him today!" What?!?! No I missed it. Me and my stupid absent mind. I just always had to zone out just at the right time to miss the important stuff. Now I had to wait though morning exercises, a full 3 hours, before finding out what in the world Phobos was muttering to himself about. I heard the pit pat of his feet echo down the hall way gradually getting louder. I realized through my listening I had forgetting to get ready for presenting myself to be trained. I hurry and got on my casual clothing for this kind of thing. I ran and got a t-shirt with some sweats just because, they were comfortable. I quickly ran to get everything on and make myself presentable in the 30 seconds I judged I had from the sound of Phobos' feet. Proud of the somewhat inhuman speed that I performed washing my face and throwing clothes on that took much practice and agility training to begin to master. I quickly ran to my small little desk that occupied the side of my room and sat down and tried to make myself look deep in thought. As if I was sitting their for the 5 minutes I was suppose to be. I had a bad feeling that It wasn't going to got through. Knowing Phobos he'd probably just see straight through it and might criticize me. I heard the click of the metal home made door open into my small little cellar you could call it. I heard Phobos breath in with some disappointment. What did I really look that bad. than I realized I forgot to tidy up my bed. Dang it! I knew I forgot something and oh my goodness I forgot to clean my sink which he asked me to do last night. I felt hopelessly doomed. Maybe I would have to wait for more than a few hours to find out what in the world he was going to teach me. He snapped his fingers I instantly was on my feet standing up straight with my eyes, and ears, having attention on him. If I have forgot to tell you before it's a bit difficult to talk to Phobos directly because, I have never really seen his face. He always finds a mask to put on, a cloth to wrap around his face, a veil, and any other thing you could think of. It has always made me wonder what was behind those concealment's. "Kronos, I would like you to run at least 3 miles within in 12 minutes and if you don't succeed the first time to do it again. Once you are done with that I would like you to work on your upper body which still seems to not be building as much as we would hope so." he said with a very what you could call professional tone. "Yes sir," I replied in an almost robotic tone back. Oh great, so that meant probably at the most 36 minutes of running and the rest of push ups, lifting, and other things of the sort. I was not looking forward but, oh well. I'd be in a better mood if I went in happier. So I tried to be optimistic and lighten up and think about how much it would help me in training. I got to our little area where we had all the exercise tools, including a track, and I began running. The 1st time through my 3 miles I did it within 18 minutes. That was okay though, I expected that my legs needed time to start getting blood pumping through them. The 2nd time I did a solid 12:30. I was so angry I was sure that should count. To be careful though that just in case Phobos some how found out and wouldn't teach me what ever he was going to teach me I did it over a 3rd time and did it in 11:45. Finally finished and panting with exhaustion I hurry and ran to our little food storage area and grabbed a basic health breakfast. Apple, milk, of course some cereal, just because it tasted good, a muffin (2 muffins actually) another apple an orange. I guess I was set I felt like I could eat more. I hurry and grabbed some waffles and went to our little kitchen and hurry and put everything together and chomped it down probably a little too fast. I quickly went back to the room and began working on doing around 100 push ups and pull ups. Some time passed and after much work I finally finished all I needed to do. I was exhausted and tired but, I knew the day had just begun. I went into the shower room where 3 dull you could say home made showers were there. I was not exactly sure how they were made but they worked. And I was grateful. For my training with Phobos in person I always changed into the long black hooded cloak. underneath I could wear what ever I wanted which usually consisted of another T shirt and what you could call basketball shorts. He wanted me to wear the cloak because it would be what I would be wearing when I went out with the family on hunts. I always took cold showers in the morning because, I found being cold once in a whole day was actually quite refreshing amongst all the heat. It was one of my faster showers. I quickly dressed and headed out of the shower rooms down a hall and to our training room. My heart beat quickened and Phobos heard me coming and I heard his heart beat quicken also.