September 20, 2010

"...Happy birthday to you," a small crowd of people sang to Blake on her 13th birthday as they finished the aptly-named song.

Blake reached forward as she sat at a table and blew out the candles on her cake. As the rest of the crowd clapped, she said, "Thank you, all of you."

After the party ended, Blake and Adam went upstairs and played video games for most of the night. Like many nights before, Adam was sleeping over at Blake's house. Her parents always enjoyed his company.

Adam said, "No way! You killed me again!"

Blake laughed and said, "Haha! I'm awesome at this game."

Adam, who had turned 15 2 months before, laughed it off and replied, "Ah, it doesn't matter. I'll kick your ass in the next round, Blake."

"We'll see about that, Adam." Blake felt very confident, having beaten Adam 3 times in a row.

In Adam's head, however, he wasn't thinking about the game.

Adam slept in a spare bedroom in Blake's house, as always. However, this night, he felt restless.

"Adam, no!"

"Somebody, help me!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

Adam suddenly woke up from his vivid nightmare, drenched in sweat and yelling, "Blake!"

As he breathed heavily and looked around, he saw that his vision was only a dream, and he laid back down in his bed. He rubbed his eyes and looked up at the ceiling, pondering to himself.

As he rolled over on his pillow after several moments of pondering, he said to himself, "Why do I keep having that dream?"

Then, he heard his door open, and a voice say, "Adam?"

Adam quickly looked at the door, startled, and asked, "Who is that?!"

As his vision cleared up, he saw that the visitor was Blake. She said as she walked over to his bed, "I heard you yelling in here. What's going on?"

Adam was quiet for a few seconds, trying to think how he should answer his friend's question. As Blake sat down on the bed next to him, he said, "I had a bad dream. A very bad dream. I could barely sleep."

"Oh... What was it about?"

"I'm not so sure I want to tell you."

Blake then put her hand on his shoulder and said, "Tell me, please. You're my mentor, and we're, like, best friends, Adam. I can tell you anything, so why not the other way too?"

"Fine..." Adam then sat up in his bed. "It was about you."

Blake looked confused. "Me?"

"It was terrible... You were screaming for help, and yet I couldn't help you." Adam then sighed. "It hurt to see that. It hurt a lot."

The cat girl looked worried. "Adam, are... Are you that concerned for me?"

"Well, yeah... I kinda have to be since I'm your mentor."

"Stop worrying so much, Adam. I can take care of myself. I'm not weak at all." Blake then got off the bed and stood back up. "Get some rest. Goodnight."

Once Blake left the room, Adam slid back under the covers, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

September 21, 2010

"Simon," Adam asked his own mentor as they sat down at a table at an outdoors restaurant. "Can I tell you about a dream I had last night?"

Simon, reading a book, looked up at Adam and said, "Oh. Oh yeah. Go ahead. What was it?"

Adam then put his pencil down, as he was doing homework from school. "It was about Blake. I had a dream where she was screaming for help, yet I couldn't help her."

Simon looked curious at Adam's description. "Really? You know, they say that dreams can be prophetic."

"I don't want that happening to her!" Adam suddenly got tense. "Blake is my student and my best friend! I'll be damned if I let anyone hurt her."

"Adam..."

"Yes, Simon?"

Simon then thought to himself, "Perfect... This is my chance..." "Do you know how to defend yourself in a fight?"

"Uhhh... Kind of? I know kicks and punches."

"Okay then," the winged man followed. "How about aura and semblance?"

"I thought that's just huntsmen and huntresses," Adam replied. "You unlocked your semblance?"

"You don't need to be in the Hunting Corps to unlock your's," Simon replied. "All you need is willpower. Now, do you want to protect Blake at all cost?"

"Yes, more than anything in the world!"

"Then I will train you to unlock your semblance, forge a weapon, and fight effectively in battle." Simon then grew cautious. "Do not tell anyone about this unless I say so first. I don't want the rest of the White Fang snooping in on this."

Adam nodded, "Yes, Simon."

"Say," he replied in a joking manner. "Do you like Blake?"

"Blake is my best friend, of course."

"No, I mean as more than a friend, Adam." Simon laughed.

Adam blushed and got defensive, saying, "Woah, woah, woah! She is JUST my best friend! The girl just turned 13 yesterday, and I turned 15 2 months ago! It would be weird if I tried asking her out like that." He then paused. "I mean, if she was a bit older, maybe I would..."

"Awww, c'mon. Me and my wife started dating on and off when I was 15 and she had just turned 13. Sure, we hit a few rough spots, but we eventually got back together and stayed together when I was 19 and she was 16." He then sighed. "Of course, we never ended up having a family since she died 2 years ago while pregnant with our child."

"I know, but..." Adam calmed down. "It's... Different?"

"Nah, it ain't different. You're just in denial." Simon then thought to himself, "Perfect! Now that Adam's fully under my wing, I can start canvassing Blake too."

September 25, 2010

Adam, Blake, and Simon drove out of the city on one of the major highways leading out before pulling over in Forever Fall. Simon said as they all got out of the car, "We'll be here for a bit. Don't worry, we're not far from the city wall, so we'll be relatively safe."

Blake went to the trunk of the car to grab Simon's supplies, which included his 4 guns and some ammunition. Adam went to join her. He said, "Blake, you need help?"

"Yep," she replied. "Take this hunting rifle and this can of ammo."

Once Adam grabbed both items, he walked off with Simon. "So, where are you taking us?"

"We're gonna practice shooting skills and hand-to-hand combat in the forest," Simon replied.

Blake said, "Hopefully none of us get hurt."

"Don't worry," Adam replied. "Simon knows what he's doing." As he said that, he couldn't help but feel uneasy around Blake ever since his conversation with Simon. He thought to himself, "What if Simon's right? I mean, I guess I've been looking at her more..." He then shook his head. "Adam, you idiot! She's younger than you by 2 years! What are you doing looking at a girl like that?! But... When we started, I only felt friendship with her, but now, I feel something else... What am I going to do?"

After several minutes of hiking, they got to a clearing in the forest. Simon said, "Okay, here we are, guys!"

Blake and Adam laid out their supplies on the grass in the clearing. Blake said, "Ready to see who can fight and shoot better, Ad?"

"You're on," Adam replied. "Just remember, don't get hurt."

"Of course." The 2 then high-fived each other in confidence. "Neither of us are that stupid."