"She was over-exaggerating! Only four days of training, and I already feel like I could throw a mountain! Those Seishin don't stand a chance."
"They have their own Trait, you know. Don't get too cocky."
"Ah! Since you're the master, why don't you tell me about the Spirit Trait, Marcus? Huh? They can influence their will? Oh wow! They'll feel real determined after I throw a boulder on top of them!"
Alistaire was busy bragging again, his voice flooding the cramped barracks located at the southern edge of the inner city. The Kokoro never had a large army, only focusing on creating a few elites with the Emotion Trait, which was easily recognized by the fact that their barracks were barely the same size as the mess halls on the ships the Karada had sailed with.
Now, all one hundred of the fresh Karada recruits were thrown into the same building, only sorted by the captain they served under.
Obai sat in the corner near the entrance. He continued his previous calculations, which led him nowhere, only getting distracted as Teddy walked over to him.
He awkwardly smiled as he sat down.
"You somehow feel quieter than normal."
Obai's eyes shifted, glaring at Teddy then softening as he glanced around at the annoying, battle-hungry men.
He sighed. "I suppose. I was thinking about the past."
A loud crash resounded from the center of the room as Alistaire escalated his ruckus. Bolin swam through the crowd, prepared to help Marcus reel the man in.
Teddy looked down at his feet as he responded.
"Haha... I didn't realize you ever thought about the past."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Obai rebuked.
"Ah... just that you seem different than me. I always think about the past, so I never dared to imagine that you could be nostalgic."
Obai scoffed and drifted his gaze back towards the entrance. The captains had left just a few minutes ago, not giving a reason to the men. Naturally, Obai kept watch for when they returned, still glued to his mission to observe Juno.
The two fell silent for a moment before Obai took a breath.
"Do you understand the Body Trait?"
Teddy glanced up at him. "Well... I'm sure I have lots to learn, but I've been able to increase my strength at will."
"What about energy manipulation?"
"Um... is there a difference?"
Obai turned his head back. "Do you consciously feel how the energy flows through your body? Or do you simply force it through the Body Trait?"
Teddy's face reddened at the blunt questions. He hadn't expected to be thrown into an interrogation.
"I guess I just force it? Why?"
Obai ignored the question, answering with one of his own.
"Did you feel a surge of energy when you killed your opponent?"
Teddy just stared, his mouth hanging open.
Laughter and obnoxious yelling continued behind Teddy as the men slowly started fighting. Marcus was in the middle pushing Alistaire away from some other beefy guy who looked ready to pummel the pretty smile off the blond man's face with a barrage of punches.
After nearly five days together, not one of them mentioned their meet with Merric. Everyone who was currently in the room had won their initiation battles, was invited to see Ilka Merric with their defeated opponent to gain the Body Trait, and finally was forced to kill the young man they had beaten just hours before.
They were excited about their strength. About the war and becoming a hero. Yet they seemingly ignored the step that they took to be here.
As Teddy's silence continued, Obai restated his stern question.
"Besides Bolin and I, everyone here was forced to kill a man for energy. Why? Why would the Karada have you kill someone? You barely know how to control your energy, and yet they send you to fight an impossible battle against a Seishin commander that I assume has a thousand times more experience with energy manipulation than you."
He paused, looking over the tiny man's shocked expression.
"So what do you think?"
Teddy's eyes drooped after a while. The ruckus continued in the background.
"I don't know. I guess I brushed it off as just war. Everyone's gotta do something they aren't proud of."
Obai stared at him. "I agree. But in this case, the reason is more than 'just war'."
He slowly stood, towering above Teddy, with cold determination beneath his gray eyes.
"Killing someone physically grants you strength. So why have a hundred men instead of just one person with the power of a hundred men?"
Teddy's eyes quivered.
"Why are you asking me?"
Obai opened his mouth to answer before he suddenly glanced towards the barracks entrance. The room quieted slightly as a group of dark boots entered.
The captains returned. Except... Juno was missing.
Obai's eyebrows furrowed as he turned his back on Teddy.
"Forget about it," he answered as he brushed back his hair.
Obai's eyes swirled and glowed as he took a step towards the door, pushing the conversation he'd just had to the back of his mind.
Teddy sat quietly as he studied Obai with a strange look before a hand rested on his shoulder. An obnoxious voice sounded behind him as blond hair flicked out from the edge of sight.
"Teddyyyyy! Can't you back me up?" Alistaire blabbered. "This bastard from the other ship doesn't believe my power!"
He raised a hand and brushed away Alistaire's own. Now that Teddy's thoughts were interrupted, a subconscious bruteness flared from his voice. He usually associated the trait with his older brother, but life in the Vweiyan mountains certainly nurtured people a specific way.
"Why don't you get Marcus to do that?" he rebuked as he stood and looked up at glossy blue eyes in front of him.
Alistaire grinned and gestured behind him.
"Well 'cause he got knocked the hell out!"
A lanky man with brown hair laid in the center of the room, his body contorted and his mind out cold.
Teddy groaned. Wiping his eyes in frustration, he turned back around, hoping to return to the challenging conversation with Obai. Anything was better than dealing with Alistaire.
He was quickly disappointed, though. The cold man with gray eyes was nowhere to be seen.