Chapter 23
Day 22
"Come on Maya, don't slow down, don't slow down." Kharkov ordered.
"I'm trying my best… to not not move here…" Maya was sweating like a river.
Kharkov training camp. One of the most intense training sessions that a man can endure. So much so that there were days that Maya had to rest one or two days in her bed to recover. Her learning itinerary has changed drastically that her mentors agreed to make it flexible. No longer would she follow the three days model where the teachers have their own days. Now, the mentors would change their days. Sometimes, three days of Kharkov and two days of The Host and none from Red. It was a mess comparative to the norm but Red has planned it very well that Maya has performed optimally.
Kharkov and Maya were jogging at a quicker pace than before. It was already dusk and about to reach sundown. They have been circling around the City of Stone, The Courtyard, The Fields and also The Forest. They would rest only when Maya could no longer breathe or collapse. Since Maya has almost been in Tretho for almost a month, she was in fit shape. The best shape that she could ever be. Her body was athletic, so much so that her abdomen muscles could be seen. All of it was thanks to Red's diet and Kharkov training.
But even with her physical improvement, she was still not close to Kharkov. Each session, Kharkov would always be the last one standing. No matter how rigorous it was, the blonde soldier would always have a smile at his face and a laugh to spare.
"Poyekhali! (Let's go!)" Kharkov was motivated. "You could do it Maya."
"Ahh!" Maya closed her eyes and pushed her body to its limits.
The two were side by side when they jog but now Maya was leading. The first time she would ever do so but it seemed that Kharkov was going easy. She ran and ran, feeling the last drop of adrenaline that her body can provide and made sure to use all thighs muscles. It was an exhilarating experience.
"That's how you do it Siren!" Kharkov was catching up but he made sure that he was following her back. "Come on, almost there reaching The Courtyard."
One could see the stress in Maya's face. Her light skin turned red, her heart pumping at one hundred percent, the limit was reached. She opened her eyes and saw The Courtyard. Red was waiting for the two of them, with his arms crossed at the back. He realized Maya and Kharkov and put his hands on his hips, impressed on the scene. A smile formed, Maya could not wait to reach the end. But could she reach it? She was already gassed out, her muscles were fatigued, her heart screamed stop. Her body started to slump down and her legs started to grow weak. She could fall at any moment.
"No, no Maya. You're almost there!" Kharkov moved closer and pushed her back. "We're almost there friend!"
"I can't." Maya shook her head and started to slow down. "I'm gonna die…."
"Use your powers and focus on your legs." The mentor said.
"I…. can't."
"Do it!" Kharkov shouted.
Maya closed her eyes and followed what was ordered. Her Siren marks glowed and her eyes too. A jolt of energy emerged and it made her move quicker like a drug. Her pace incrementally increased and she was confident that she could reach it. Kharkov laughed by her side and patted her back at the same time. A few metres away and Red was clapping his hands. He moved to the side suddenly and Maya wondered why.
Abruptly, her Siren mark went null and all of her energy was gone. Just as she reached Red, she fell down and landed on her face. She was spirited but her muscles gave up on her. She rolled a few times and cannot do anything to stop it. Eventually she did stop but sand and dust clouded around her. She coughed and coughed, desperate for the air she needed. She could feel that she had cut herself by the pebble that she stumbled into. Because she was sweating, dust and sand stick to her cheeks and her hair was a mess. Maya couldn't care less, she had reached her goal.
As the dust settled, Maya saw her two mentors standing beside her and looking down. Kharkov put his hands on his hips and made his cheery smile. Red, who was often serious, curled his lips and nodded his head. That was her proof that she qualified. A big confidence boost for Maya without a doubt.
"Hahaha!" Kharkov laughed. "I told you so Red!"
"I have to say, I'm impressed. You two proved me wrong." Red crossed his arms. "You're a mess Blue."
Maya smiled but was barely capable of speaking. "I can't feel my body…"
"That's part of the session." Kharkov laughed again.
"I'll get the necessary things. Wait for me." Red left the scene.
Kharkov shook his head and lowered his body. He put his two hands under Maya and lifted her up. There was a broken pillar that collapsed and Kharkov went over to it. He put Maya down and let her lean on the pillar. Maya was like a cripple woman, all her body below the neck, she was incapable to move. The training was truly rigorous and taxing. Red returned and with him, two buckets of water and a leather bag.
"Kharkov, step aside." Red ordered.
Kharkov glanced to his back and saw Red, he quickly got up and raised his hands. Red passed one bucket to Kharkov and stood in front of Maya. He splashed Maya with the bucket of water and Maya gasped for air. Red never warned her, he simply did and never explained.
"The fuck Red!" Maya started to shiver. Steam started to emerge from Maya's body, showing how hot her body was.
"There's no better way for cooling the body instantly. Deal with it Blue." Red opened his bag and took out a towel. He passed it to Kharkov and moved towards Maya.
"Well you can warn me first, can you?" The water was so cold.
"Alright, alright, it's my fault." Red covered the towel at Maya's head. "Stay still and let me help you."
"Ughh…" Maya moaned.
Red proceeded to massage Maya. First he started with her legs then her torso, shoulder and arms. Red used his knowledge and skills, focusing at the most important joints. Maya squirmed and quiver, especially when Red started to massage Maya's marks. Red did not care about her feelings, Red only cared about her wellbeing. Kharkov looked from afar and was not surprised with Red's attitude.
"You know Red, why not give some slack to Maya? She's doing good to be honest." Kharkov smiled.
"There's this thing called the horse, the carrot and the whip. She's the horse, you're the carrot, and I'm the whip." Red pushed his finger on Maya's right thigh.
"Ouch!" Maya screamed. "God Red, you're killing me here."
"You know what you signed up for Blue."
Maya's face turned bitter, eyes closed and forehead full with wrinkles. Painful but necessary, she could feel the soreness seeps away soon after Red focused on a limb. As she opened her eyes and took deep breaths, she realized that Kharkov was stripping his shirt off. Miraculously, all her pain was gone and her cheeks quickly turned red. She gulped her throat and continued gazing upon the beautiful carved body of Kharkov. Red realized there was no hissing coming from Maya, she looked at Maya with confused brows. He glanced at her back and Kharkov cooled himself with a bucket of water, only his boxer was left to conceal. Everything else was bare for the public to see. Red quickly moved his hand to cover Maya's eyes; she expressed her disagreement with a grunt.
"Show off." Red said to Kharkov.
Kharkov brushes off the water on his face and slicks his hair back. "What?"
"You just had to strip in front of her."
"Opa, I thought she was occupied with you." Kharkov pointed out.
"Yeah, yeah, Blondie gotta show his muscle when he can right?" Red moved his hand away and Maya quickly focused back on Kharkov. "See?"
"Alright." Kharkov shrugged and moved to another place. "After this we're going to check her wings."
"Roger on that." Red nodded.
Maya followed her gaze at Kharkov until he was no longer near. Kharkov took another place to dry himself up and cool down. Maya bit her lip and released a sigh. Maya was asexual and care for no man or woman; but seeing Kharkov's body turn her on and questioned her sexuality. She looked at Red and the knowledgeable Searcher gave a smirk and a dry laugh.
"What?" Maya was embarrassed of her perverted actions.
"I thought you were asexual?" Red continued his massage on Maya while keeping eye contact.
"No comment."
"Well okay Blue, but so you know, he's married."
"What?"
Red laughed and shook his head. "Always the same reaction."
After a few hours of adequate rest, The Searchers and The Siren prepped the table for dinner. Maya and Kharkov were responsible for making the table ready. Red was putting the finishing touches on the main dish. It was curry with a mixture of chicken, fish and crickets. Red smelled the food and nodded.
"Dinner's ready." Red offered his hand to the air and waited. "Bowl."
Kharkov took all the three bowls and gave it to Maya. He gestured to her to go to Red and she followed without any objections. Maya moved and gave the bowls to Red, one by one. The cook filled each bowl with curry then gave to the Siren assistant. Not long did Maya's hand was occupied fully. Red gestured Maya to go first, he wanted to make sure the main dish could be eaten until tomorrow morning. Maya proceeded to the table and Kharkov was already seated, waiting for his bowl to come to him. Maya put Kharkov's bowl in front of him and the man started to rub his palms together. Maya put her bowl after Red's and sat down to her normal seat.
"I think that's enough Red, come and join us to eat." Kharkov called.
"I'm coming, just chill Blondie." Red closed the pot and put the ladle on top of the cover. Red sat beside Kharkov and took his spoon. "What are you guys waiting for? Eat. I'm not the one that runs around the city for the whole day."
Kharkov patted Red's back and began to eat his meal. A fit body like Kharkov requires a well balanced diet and Red provides all of it in his cookery. Even Maya, though entered just recently, experienced gains on all physical aspects. So Red was no joke when it comes to nutrition. Maya took her time and immerse herself upon the food. Back in Pandora, her diet mainly consists of beer, water and pizza. Rarely anyone cooked in Overlook or even Sanctuary. With Red's cooking, Maya finally indulges on real food rather than the usual non nutritional high fat fast food that she would usually eat.
She looked at the food and Maya savoured the smell. She took a spoon and ate the food. The spoon entered the mouth and left the food for the tongue to take. The warm texture. The rich spices. It made her eyes turn up and released an orgasmic groan. She stared at Red and could not believe what the Searcher had cooked. Each and every day, he would somehow overdo his cooking.
"Red, you always make good food." Maya swallowed the food. "How do you do it?"
"I got my secrets Blue." Red shrugged.
"Like I said." Kharkov intervened. "If Red was a woman, I would certainly lock him down and marry him."
"Just eat will ya?" Red said. "After both of you finished eating, we're going to check on Maya's wings. After that, we end the day. Plus, you guys really need to shower, even a skunk won't be near with you two."
"Say, why is it so important to see my wings?" Maya asked.
"Wings are a good measurement for a Siren's physical capabilities." Kharkov answered. "From the outset, you would conclude that every Siren wings are the same. Truth is, they are not, my friend. There are small details that we can differentiate from other Sirens. With all the little details, we can truly tap your physical potential."
Hearing that, Maya quickly consumed her food until the bowl was clean. "I'm done." She was bored with academics and spiritual studies, she wanted to see the physical aspects so badly.
Kharkov and Red saw the abrupt and quick eating of Maya. They both looked at each and shook their heads. Kharkov reacted with a small laugh and nodded. "Okay, let's check your wings Maya."
The three of them left the table and went into the middle of The Courtyard. Kharkov and Red stood side by side, having distance between Maya so that she could do her business.
"Alright Maya," Kharkov said. "I think you know what you need to do."
Maya nodded.
She focused on her powers and marks started to glow. As the marks glow, so do her wings started to appear. To her own fascination, she felt a powerful sensation, more powerful than the previous that she used her powers. The wings fully spanned, the blue hue was intense and the light was almost reaching blinding levels. Maya was surprised with her own ability. She looked left and right, she realized that her wings had become bigger than usual. At one point during the training, Maya doubted the training that she went through would make her stronger. But seeing her wings right now, all the doubts were gone.
"So…" Maya looked at Kharkov with more confidence than ever. "What do you think?"
Kharkov approached closer and moved around her. He stood at the back and made observations on the wings. "Interesting."
"What is interesting?" Maya glanced at Kharkov.
"Give him some time Blue, you'll get your answer." Red interjected.
Kharkov put his hands together and rubbed it fiercely. "I'm going to touch your wings so please be ready."
"You can't touch Siren wings, even I ca-!" Maya felt a hand touching a part of her body; she quickly turned and moved away from Kharkov.
"See?" Kharkov shrugged.
"That's really weird…" Maya said.
"Come on now, I want to end the day." Kharkov called her closer.
Maya closed her eyes and sighed. Taking a deep breath to calm her down and slowly she approached Kharkov. She always sees her wings but never feel like she has a pair. With Kharkov touching it, Maya was amazed and finally felt that the wings were a part of her body. Maya stood in front of Kharkov and nodded, telling Kharkov that she was ready for any examination. Kharkov rubbed his hands together again then started to touch the blue ethereal wings. Maya quivered but stood still. Kharkov started to move his palms around the wings itself.
"Wings are staples indicators of any Siren." Kharkov started to move at the right wing. "You can learn many things about a Siren just by her wings. Her personality, her powers, her age, her birth season and if you are truly knowledgeable, even her future."
"Really?" Maya opened her eyes and glanced behind.
"Yes my friend." Kharkov nodded and moved to the left wing. "Hewina loved birds, so Sirenos granted her children wings as a blessing. The wider the wing span, the stronger a Siren is. Most Sirens have two wings but there are some powerful Sirens who have four wings."
Kharkov moved away and put his hand on his waist. "I think that's it, we're done."
Maya turned off her Siren powers in an instant and the wings instantly faded. Red approached the two and stood between them.
"What is the consensus Searcher Kharkov?" Maya asked.
Kharkov glanced at Red then started to speak. "You have a silent temper, meaning, you may be silent but when the temper hits, it really hits. That you have to improve Maya, it could be your downfall if you make a mistake and your temper hits."
"How did you know?" Maya was surprised.
"You tend to doubt yourself, thinking that you are not enough. At the same time, you hate people who think that you are a weak Siren. Quite confusing but understandable." Kharkov explained. "You are really searching your roots, supposedly your parents or family. I think that's the reason that you are very keen to learn about your Siren lineage."
Maya was silent. Nobody knew about her motivations to fight and learn about Sirens, it was all to herself and she was never open to such topics.
Seeing Maya tensed up, Kharkov approached Maya then put his hand on her shoulder. "I have good news to tell Maya."
"That is?" Maya looked up to Kharkov.
"Your lineage is the purest I have ever seen." Kharkov smiled. "I don't know how to explain but judging by your wings, your blood is certainly impressive. There could be a chance that your family tree has some of the notable Sirens of your race."
"Really?" Maya was happy hearing it. "That means we can track them right?"
"Given enough time and effort, we can." Kharkov giggled. "We're Searchers to begin with so we can think about it later."
"Yes!" Maya celebrated. "Finally, I'm getting some results."
"Calm down Blue." Red said. "You still have training to finish."
"I'll track them after training of course…" Maya grin innocently.