I'll be spoiling you guys with updates today. This story is going to be over in a few more chapters (more than 6 but less than 10 probably) after a little more drama ensues of course ;) Thank you all for being supportive through this journey and rest assured that the second story will be coming out directly afterwards, with no break in posting. Much love to all my fellow Doccubus fans. - L
Chapter Twenty-Seven - Training
After being up for the third night in a row wrapped in each other's bodies, they woke up in the early afternoon, sunlight spilling through the window.
Lauren took a deep breath and stretched, waking her lover from her light sleep. Lauren rolled over to face Bo and brushed dark hair out of her eyes. Her chocolate eyes blinked open and gazed at her Elvin love. "Good morning," Bo purred, smiling.
"Morning beautiful," Lauren trailed a finger down Bo's cheek, stopping to pull her lovers lips towards her. Lauren deepened their kiss until they were both breathless and when she pulled back she placed a loving kiss to Bo's cheek, next to her lip. She felt Bo's lips curl into a smile and it brought a smile to her own face.
Lauren leaned back and rested her head on her hand to gaze at her love.
"What're we doing today?" Bo asked as her fingers reached out to play with the blonde's hair.
"I'm going to go to Tue's train, you're invited of course. I've been feeling uneasy since The Test, even though things went well, part of me feels that I just got lucky. I need to be more prepared."
"I don't agree that you got lucky, because I know how much you kick ass. But I do agree that I want you to be as prepared as you can be, I need to know you'll be safe when I'm not around."
Lauren smiled, "On the rare occasions that that happens I hope."
Bo grinned, "I'm excited to meet Tue, go hop in the shower and I'll make breakfast."
"You're going to cook? Should I be worried?" Lauren joked.
Bo smiled, "Probably but I promise I won't burn the house down while you shower."
"Sounds like a plan," Lauren stuck out her tongue adorably and Bo laughed, kissing her nose lovingly.
They walked through the forest, fingers interlaced tightly. They finally arrived at Tue's hut and Lauren knocked on the door. Tue opened the door soon after and grinned emphatically when he saw that it was Lauren.
"Come in, come in!"
Bo quirked an eyebrow, wondering how they would possibly fit, she followed Lauren into the hut and was surprised at how much bigger it was on the inside.
"It's so good to see you my dear", Tue pulled out chairs for them.
"Tue, this is Bo," Lauren said, knowing she didn't need any more of an introduction.
Tue walked over to Bo and held her head between his hands, looking at her warmly. She smiled and rested her hand on his, smiling at him. "You don't know how good it is to meet you Ysabeau."
"It's so good to meet you too," Bo told him sincerely.
"So, what can I do for you lovely girls?"
"Well, I came here to start training Tue, as you know I already had my Test but it was nerve racking to say the least, I need to learn more about my abilities so I can control them better and know what to expect."
Tue nodded, "Of course Lauren, it would be my pleasure. We will go and practice in the clearing, but first, there's something you need to have."
Tue walked to his bed and pulled out a long case from underneath it. He opened the locks on the case and removed a beautiful bo staff. "You will need this," he handed the staff to Lauren who took it, a little confused but not wanting to question the wise Elf.
"Follow me," he told them as he took his own bo staff from the wall near the door and left the hollow. The girls shared a look, not knowing quite to expect and followed Tue.
The three of them stood in a large clearing in the forest not far from Tue's hollow.
"The first thing you will need to know is that while conventional weapons like knives are excellent, for an Elf, they are not the most effective weapon we can use. A wooden bo staff connects us to the forest and amplifies our abilities. This staff will become an extension of your abilities, allowing you to project them much further than with your bare hands alone. Now I know you have already used your healing ability, which is excellent, so you've experienced what it feels like to connect to another person's chi and heal them from the inside out. The same goes for creating illness. We Elf's have many more smaller abilities but one that I think you will likely need to master in case you end up in any – confrontations, is the power of wind."
Bo knew how likely it was that Lauren would face confrontations as Tue had put it. Wherever Bo went, trouble seemed to follow and knowing that her lover could protect herself was the most important thing to Bo, it was one of the main reasons she'd gone along with their breakup, to keep Lauren safe. She refused to put the woman she called her soulmate at risk, Lauren had to be safe and that was all there was to it to Bo. There was no other option.
"What's the power of wind?" Lauren asked.
"Us Elves are quite like Nymphs in that we are connected to the elements. But unlike most Nymph's, save for a few rare ones, we have the ability to connect to all of the elements, not just one. You've already used the ability of the forest and the tree's as I noticed when you fought the Troll. Wind can allow you to protect enemies backwards and even float away from danger."
Lauren hesitated, "You mean I can fly?" She asked incredulously. It seemed amazing to her that after all the texts she'd read in the archive libraries and all the things she knew about the most obscure of Fae's, Elves had always remained one of the most mysterious. There was hardly anything written about them in the texts and what was written had always seemed to be contradictory, different countries having different opinions on the abilities of Elves.
Tue laughed, "Not fly exactly but you can take to the air for short periods of time, let me demonstrate." Tue took a deep breath and shut his eyes, he spread his arms wide and wind whipped through the tree's surrounding the clearing suddenly.
Tue lifted his head and floated off the ground like he was weightless.
"Whoa," Bo whispered. Lauren smiled, in awe.
He hovered for a second and then pressed his hands forward, he rocketed back a few feet and landed gracefully on his feet about six feet from where he'd started.
"As you can see, that is an excellent maneuver for avoiding enemy attacks. First I just want you to concentrate on taking to the air, we will master projecting afterwards."
Lauren fidgeted, not knowing exactly where to begin. "What do I do?"
Bo smiled, she'd never seen Lauren not know anything before and this side of her was so endearing it was unbelievable.
"Just clear your mind Lauren, you need to reach a meditative state. Think of a time when you were most at peace, most calm, bring that moment back to you, let it fill you up until there is nothing else. Then create a link with the wind and the rest will take care of itself. Remember, your abilities are all about your mind's eye, you must picture it before it can be."
When Tue said 'think of a time when you were most at peace' Lauren's eyes immediately went to Bo. The girls shared a loving look, lost in each other for long moments, as if nothing else existed. Bo nodded at her encouragingly and Lauren let her eyes drift closed. She didn't have to picture a specific instance or event, she simply thought of one word 'Bo', the peace filled her heart and limbs until it radiated through her aura. She took a deep breath and called wind to her. She thought she could hear leaves rustling but she was too focused to notice much. She felt the strength of wind, the power of it and yet the gentleness of it too. She opened her arms, inviting it. She heard Bo gasp and she opened her eyes, her hair was flying around her face so much it was hard to see at first, then she noticed, she was about 3 feet off the ground. She felt so incredible, so weightless both inside and out. She let out a proud, disbelieving laugh.
She took in a deep breath and refocused so she didn't fall, as she let the breath out, she thanked the power of wind and sent it on its way. She drifted softly back to the ground.
"Oh my god, Tue! That was ah-mazing!" She skipped up and down and hugged the Elf ecstatically. Bo clapped her hands together and laughed.
"More, more!" Lauren demanded, filled with childlike excitement. Bo and Tue laughed at her and he shook his head, his green eyes shining.
"Okay, now projecting. Use the bo staff first connect with the power of the staff, then I want you to call wind back, this time don't let yourself float, focus the power of wind through the staff and out the tip. I want you to try and knock me on my back."
"No Tue, what if I hurt you?"
Tue smirked. "If you hurt me, you can heal me," Tue reminded her.
"Oh – yeah. But are you sure?" Lauren asked, still uneasy.
"Of course. Now go ahead Doctor Lewis, do your worst," His eyes sparkled with mischief and Bo smiled at him. Now she knew what Lauren was talking about, this kind old soul was easy to fall in love with. Bo could already feel him taking a special place in her heart. It wasn't many people who could bring out the joy and happiness in her lover this easily and she respected him immensely for it.
Lauren calmed herself and focused. She tapped the end of the bo staff to the ground intuitively, grounding it's power and herself. She called wind and projected, swinging the staff towards Tue who stood about ten feet away. Purple tendrils exploded from the tip of the staff and the small Elvin man flew about eight feet through the air, landing on his butt in the long grass.
"Oh my god Tue! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine my dear, no broken bones. That was very good Lauren! How do you feel?"
"Amazing," Lauren said incredulously, shaking her head in disbelief.
"Well, I think that was enough for one day, besides my butt needs to heal."
"Oh god, I'm sorry," Lauren apologized sincerely, her eyes concerned. Tue just laughed at her, obviously full of pride.
"You did absolutely excellent today Lauren, it takes many people weeks to master what you did in one afternoon, you should be very proud, I know I am."
She ducked her head to hide her proud smile. "Thank you, Tue."
"Anytime my dear, you girls come back whenever you like- and it was a pleasure to meet you Bo, I can see how happy you make Lauren and she is very special to me."
"She's very special to me too Tue. I just wanted to tell you how much it means to me- everything you've done for Lauren and for us-" Bo broke off, choked with emotion, Lauren wrapped her arm around her lovers waist as the three of them walked out of the clearing together. "You've totally changed our lives and I honestly don't know if our relationship would've survived if you hadn't done this – incredible thing. I can't tell you how much it means to me." Bo's voice was shaking and Lauren squeezed her waist, wanting to ease her love of the pain she was feeling.
"I'll tell you what I told Lauren, I don't want to hear anymore thankyou's, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now because I would be dead if it wasn't for Doctor Lewis, it is I who should be thanking you. Besides, I couldn't be prouder of the newest member of my clan, I feel that I am the one who has been blessed. Plus, I can see the love between you too and I'm absolutely sure that you could survive anything."
Bo shook her head, blinking her tears away as she smiled enormously. "Wow, can I just say that - I love you," Bo laughed in disbelief of the incredible man.
Tue chuckled, "Well Ysabeau, I love you too. Trick is like a brother to me and I know how much you mean to not only him, but Lauren. She has already become like a daughter to me and her happiness is my happiness and I can see that you fill her up with joy. Goddess bless the two of you."
"May she bless you as well Tue. And thank you again – for teaching Lauren and keeping her safe, I can't lie that being with me can be – dangerous. Danger seems to follow me wherever I go and the fact that I know that Lauren can protect herself makes me feel so much more at ease, you can't possibly know."
Tue stopped at the door of his hollow and smiled. "I know because it makes me feel more at ease as well. Come back next week for more training Lauren though I have to admit I don't have much else to teach you. For now, stay safe and be happy and well girls. Love you both."
"Love you too Tue," the girls said in unison.
As they walked out of the forest, arms wrapped around each other, all Bo could manage to say was, "Wow."
"I know right?"
Bo shook her head, "Wow."