~*.*Disciples of the Keyblade*.*~
Title: Agility
Rating: K+ for safety.
Warnings: Kids hurting themselves.
Characters: Master Eraqus, Ventus, Aqua, Terra
Summary: "Take this pebble from my hand, Ventus." Oh no. Pre-BBS.
~***~
Ventus frowned, unsure if this was actually the training or just some kind of joke. He looked from the vaguely amused face of his master to Terra and Aqua, whom were training in their armor not far away. They were outside, of course. The duo of older apprentices could hardly train inside without ripping the furniture to shreds.
Ventus himself was watching his friends via the open window, but Eraqus gained his attention with yet another brisk finger snap. He turned back, resisting the urge to yawn, tapping the table before him.
"Take this pebble from my hand, Ventus." The Keyblade Master repeated. "Don't look at me like that. This is your agility test. You pride yourself on your agility, don't you?"
Ventus nodded hesitantly. Eraqus smiled and opened his palm to reveal a small, round, smooth white stone about the size of the youngest protégé's thumb. He decided to examine this from every angle—this had to be some kind of trick. He took his sweet time processing the information before him, but all Ventus could honestly see was a small rock on his master's palm.
Casually, he pretended that he was distracted by a loud clang from outside as Terra struck Aqua's armored shoulder with his Keyblade. She recovered quickly and tripped him with a deft twist of one leg, straightening from her crouch in time to hit his arm.
Suddenly Ventus shot his hand out in an effort to grab the pebble, and Eraqus pulled back so quickly that he looked like a blur. Unfortunately the momentum from his movements caused the Keyblade Disciple to completely overshoot his mark. He collapsed in a heap on the floor, bringing the table and his own chair down on his shoulders and back. Eraqus dusted his robe off casually as Ventus struggled to sit upright, knocking the furniture away.
Raucous laughter reached his ears and Ventus flushed red as Terra's armored face appeared in the window. He removed his helmet and resumed laughing until tears ran down his face. Aqua shoved him aside and he crumpled to the ground, still having hysterics.
What made it worse—and Ventus wished he could die at that moment—was that Aqua was even on the verge of snickering. She turned her head to the side quickly and took a few breaths before facing him again. "What happened, Ven?" She asked innocently.
Stop laughing, he thought angrily. "I tried to get a pebble," he muttered so quietly that he hoped no one could hear properly.
The corner of Aqua's lips twitched as she beheld the scattered chairs and the overturned table, but she didn't say anything besides, "Just try again. You can do it."
Ventus straightened up and reset the furniture so that they were in their proper positions.
"Ready?" Eraqus inquired pleasantly as if nothing had happened. He retook his seat with a flourish of his robes.
"Yes, Master. As soon as Terra stops laughing." On cue, Terra covered his mouth and instead placed his helmet back on his head. With all the dignity he could muster, Ventus fixed him with a glare. "Are you done?"
"Yes. For now." Chuckling, Terra turned around only to be tripped by Aqua again.
"Leave him alone, we did that challenge before." She scolded.
"But we didn't—"Terra began, only to clamp his mouth shut as she narrowed her eyes to blue slits. They resumed their combat training, and Ventus tried not to think about either of the two older pupils.
There it was, an innocent hand on the small wooden counter with a white stone. Ventus's eyes strayed to the whorls on the table's surface as he settled into deep thought. It was clear he couldn't just try and wildly grab the rock; he'd only end up in a humiliating heap again. He could result to trickery if he wanted to, but somehow he knew Eraqus didn't want that.
Maybe it's only a matter of reflexes, and it has nothing to do with deception.
Ventus tried again to grab the pebble, but Eraqus pulled his hand back immediately. After a grand total of thirteen tries, even Ventus's cheery personality was wearing thin. Irritation caused him to ground his teeth together, and after yet another attempt he leaned back in his seat in defeat. "This is impossible Master; you're too fast for me."
"Yeah," a voice agreed. "You weren't even that fast with us!"
Terra and Aqua were by the window, watching with stunned expressions. Ventus felt even more ashamed now that he knew his friends had been studying him instead of practicing, like they were supposed to be doing.
In answer to Terra's outburst, Eraqus said, "I know that. But I think Ventus can do this. He just needs to clear his mind."
Clear my mind. That's what the Master always said when he wanted them to "find the light", and Ventus had only succeeded in brushing it before. Would the "light" somehow make him faster? His element was the wind; after all…Aqua's was water, and Terra's earth.
Ventus exhaled sharply and tried to relax. He didn't dwell on Terra or Master Eraqus—and especially not Aqua, because he still remembered her soft laughter from his earlier effort to grab the pebble. She had never laughed at him before, and somehow it hurt more than Terra's. The older apprentice was always mocking him anyway.
This is clearing your mind? Pathetic. Ventus scolded himself. He unexpectedly recoiled mentally, because he was certain he had just touched something. Something…warm. In his mind? Opening his eyes before the feeling left, he reached out and…
Closed his fingers around the pebble. He pulled back and stared stupidly at the little stone, unable to believe he had retrieved it. Over the hour, he had come to hate the rock. Now he was elated. A huge grin split his face and he jumped up, knocking the chair over in the process once more.
"I've got it! Look, Aqua, Terra, I've got the stone! It's mine! I got the pebble!" He jumped up and down with a sudden burst of energy, laughing, and ignoring the amused chuckles of his friends and Master.
His joy was infectious, and soon Aqua was smiling. "You did it."
"He did it," Terra sounded shocked.
Eraqus interrupted Ventus's happy prancing after a few moments. "I'm not surprised. I knew you had it in you."
"You did Master, and I got it, and you were right! Hah!" Ventus rounded on Terra. "In your face! Who's laughing now?" He bounced the stone off of the oldest protégé's bewildered face and proceeded to snicker uncontrollably.
"Okay Ven. Jeesh. It's just a rock," Terra complained.
Ventus made an effort to calm down, bowing to his master. "What else are we doing today?" He said with an air of zealous formality.
Eraqus seemed amused by his little fit but didn't bring it up. "Another important aspect of mastering agility is being able to perform all of your normal feats while wearing full armor, like Terra and Aqua were supposed to be practicing today." He fixed the two disciples with a glare, and they dipped their heads.
"But Ventus, we'll address the armor thing another day." Bending down to grab the pebble, Eraqus rolled the tiny stone between his fingers. "You're going to take this rock from me again. Twice."
The youngest apprentice's smile faded and Terra broke into wild guffaws, only to be silenced by Aqua. "Let's go train and leave him alone," she murmured.
Sitting down at the table again, Ventus hoped he could repeat the feat.
Either that or he would be sitting here from dawn until dusk. And Terra would never let him hear the end of that.
~***~
Shorter than the others I know, but I did say this one would be. Next one will be longer, and from Aqua's POV. I'll probably be rotating the POVs from Ventus to Aqua to Terra, unless I just feel the need to break it.
Anyway, Dani-Chan was right when I told her and she guessed. The pebble thing is from Karate Kid.
Mind dropping a review and/or ideas? I love them both, thanks a bunch to everyone that's favorite and reviewed, or put this on story alert!
Updates will be a tad slower now, since school is starting again tomorrow. At least an update or two a week though, at the very least, that I can promise.