Morning came with a soft crackle in the air, the kind that always lingered before magic. Shoko woke to find that he had somehow tangled himself in his blanket so thoroughly that he looked like a wrapped dumpling.
Tilli sat on his chest, judging him with unblinking eyes.
Shoko groaned. "Don't look at me like that.."
Tilli purred smugly.
Ariandel's voice floated from the doorway, warm and teasing.
"Impressive. You've managed to bind yourself without using a single thread."
Shoko flushed. "It's not funny..."
She smiled. "It's a little funny."
She freed him with a gentle tug and brushed his hair back into place, though "in place" was generous. His hair still puffed everywhere like static snow.
"Up," she said. "Today is important."
Those words jolted him awake.
The clearing felt different today. He couldn't explain it, but the air tasted sharper... brighter.
Ariandel stood in the center, her staff planed firmly in the moss, her long white-and-gold robes trailing like woven starlight. She looked every bit the legendary mage she was rumored to be.
Shoko swallowed. He wanted to be like that, poised and strong, with magic that looked like it obeyed instead of arguing.
Ariandel's eyes glimmered. "Today, Shoko, your first true thread form."
His heart races.
"Is it a loop?" he asked.
"No."
"A circle?"
"No."
"A weapon?"
Ariandel's smile widened. "Yes."
Shoko's breath hitched.
This was it.
She lifted her hand. Light swirled at her fingertips as threads stretched out, weaving together until...
A shape formed.
Long, thin, razor-sharp.
A blade, shimmering like silver moonlight.
"This is the Thread blade," Ariandel said. "Light, fast, and deadly. Perfect for someone small and quick."
Shoko stared at it like it was a treasure.
She turned to him. "You will create your own today."
He nearly vibrated out of his skin. "Yes! I'll do it!"
Ariandel laughed quietly. "Calm down, little frost cat."
"I'm not a"
He hissed when a leaf brushed his ankle.
Ariandel raised a brow. Shoko groaned.
Training began with basic shaping motions.
Ariandel guided his hands. "Threads follow intention. Picture the blade before you create it."
Shoko closed his eyes.
"He pictured a slender sword, something light, something sharp, something elegant.
He remembered the overseers' heavy iron rods, their brutality... No.
His blade would be different. It will be precise, controlled.
A thread sprang from his fingertips.
Ariandel watched, prepared to intervene if it exploded again.
But instead...
It extended straight, without shaking.
Ariandel blinked. "...Already?"
Shoko opened his eyes. "Did I do it wrong?"
"No," she murmured. "You did it incredibly right. That was... faster than I expected."
Shoko glowed.
Ariandel inspected the thread closely. "You're learning unusually quickly. You grasp shapes faster than most adults."
Shoko's face warmed. "I just... like learning."
"That," she said, "is the best trait a mage can have."
Tilli chirped proudly and sat on Shoko's foot like a mascot.
"Now," Ariandel said, "add a second thread. Layer them."
Shoko nodded.
He summoned a second thread... Then a third...
Ariandel tilted her head. "Shoko. I only asked for two."
"They were there," he explained. "So I used them."
Ariandel stared at him for a long moment.
"...You're dangerous."
Shoko beamed. "Thank you."
"That was not- never mind."
She guided him again. "Focus the threads. Compress them. Sharpen the edge."
Shoko did, lips pursed.
And then... something clicked.
The threads fused.
Light bent.
A shape appeared.
Shoko held his breath as a thin violet-silver blade extended from his hand, glowing faintly with his own resonance.
Ariandel gasped softly.
Shoko looked at it, stunned. "I... made this?"
"Yes," she whispered. "And far faster than I expected."
The Blade shimmered gently, like a thing alive.
Ariandel stepped back, admiration in her eyes.
"You learn like lightning. Not perfectly, but naturally. You'll surpass me someday."
Shoko nearly dropped the blade. "W-What?! No! I could never-"
"You could," she said simply. "And you will."
Shoko didn't know what to do with the warmth in his chest, so he did what he always did when flustered...
He made a tiny squeaking cat noise.
Ariandel covered her smile. "Saints preserve me."
"Now try a basic strike," she said, setting a wooden dummy in the clearing.
Shoko took a stance.
He had no idea what he was doing, so he imitated the heroes from stories, one foot forward, one foot back, knees bent.
Ariandel let him do it, even though her expression suggested, "Yes this is adorable."
He swung.
Shoko expected the blade to bounce, or wobble, or break.
Instead-
FFSHHHK!
The blade sliced clean through the dummy.
The top half slid off and hit the ground with a soft thud.
Till jumped three feet into the air.
Ariandel's mouth fell open.
Shoko stared at the fallen wood, trembling. "I-I did that?"
Ariandel stepped forward slowly, examining the cut.
Perfectly smooth.
Flawless.
"...Shoko," she said quietly, "you have no idea how impressive that is."
Shoko felt dizzy/
He had always been the weak one.
The useless one.
The boy with no worth.
Yet here, with her, he was.. something.
"Can... can I do more?" he asked softly.
Ariandel smiled. And it wasn't he teasing smile she usually gave him. It was proud. Warm.
"Yes," she said. "Let's push further."
The next hour was a blur of motion.
Shoko learned many things, quick drawing, the thread-flick, the binding slash, and the loop-step. A footwork trick Ariandel insisted would save his life someday
He stumbled, fell, rolled down a small slope, accidentally threaded himself to a tree... but every mistake only made him try harder.
Whenever Ariandel explained something, he absorbed it instantly, not flawlessly, but eagerly.
He asked questions. So many questions...
"Why did threads bend this way?"
"Why did resonance change shape and sharpness?"
"Why did his threads sparkle when he got embarrassed?" (Ariandel didn't answer that one. She just laughed.)
At one point she stopped and placed a hand over her heart.
"You learn faster than anyone I've taught," she said quietly.
Shoko ducked his head, flustered. "I just... I don't want to disappoint you."
"You won't," she said firmly. "You couldn't."
His chest tightened with something soft and unfamiliar.
Halfway through a footwork drill, Ariandel stilled.
Her eyes narrowed. Her posture changed.
Shoko noticed immediately. "What's wrong?"
Ariandel stared toward the trees. "Something's watching."
Shoko felt the air shift like a weight settling on the forest.
Tilli bristled, fur puffing out like a golden dandelion.
Ariandel lifted her staff.
Her tone sharpened.
"Shoko. Behind be."
He obeyed immediately.
The trees rustled.
Branches creaked.
Something, or someone moved deep in the woods.
Ariandel didn't blink. "We end training here."
Shoko frowned. "Is it dangerous?"
Her hand tightened on her staff.
"Yes."
She touched his shoulder gently. "Stay close to me until I'm sure."
Shoko swallowed hard and nodded.
Tilli climbed onto his shoulder, trembling.
Ariandel gave him a soft smile. "Do not worry. I will keep you safe."
That warmth in his chest flared again, stronger this time.
"Okay," he whispered.
Once inside, Ariandel sealed the cabin with shimmering wards.
Shoko watched the glowing runes form along the doorframe in awe.
"Ariandel..."
She looked at him.
"Was someone out there?"
She hesitated just long enough to confirm his fear.
"...Yes."
Shoko tensed. "Are they looking for me?"
"Possibly."
Her voice was gentle but honest.
"Will you send me away" he whispered.
Her eyes widened hurt flashing across her face.
"Never."
She knelt, cupping his face.
"Listen to me, Shoko. I don't care who looks for you. You are mine to protect. And I will not abandon you."
Shoko's breath shuddered.
He learned into her hand without thinking.
Ariandel pulled him into a warm embrace.
His heart thumped wildly against her chest.
"You are safe," she whispered. "As long as I live."
Shoko's arms slowly tightened around her.
"...Okay."
That night, as Shoko tried to sleep, he felt something strange.
A tingling in the mark on his hand.
A whisper.
A pull.
Like a thread tugging from the forest.
He sat up in the dark, eyes glowing faintly purple.
"...someone's calling me."
Tilli raised his head, ears flat.
Outside a single twig snapped.
And Shoko knew.
Tomorrow, everything would change.