I was early at the lagoon.

The sun hasn't even risen yet, but my mind and body were already completely awake, not only from the lack of sleep but also from my eagerness to master my power as soon as possible.

I took the liberty to multitask and practice my "force-bending" while taking a bath, and I was actually thrilled that I was able to do by myself what Qimir had taught me the last time he had the audacity to bathe with me.

With gentle yet focused movements of my hands, I was able to manipulate the ripples of the water, making them sway side to side at my will. It was surprising how it started to feel natural for me, and I felt like I could do it for hours.

Little by little I started to test the bounds of what I could do, by making the ripples bigger and bigger, then actually trying to do a force push just like what Qimir had demonstrated. The ones I did were actually weak at first, but after a few tries, I gradually managed to do it with enough force to displace some water.

It might not have been as powerful as Qimir's, but I was satisfied enough at the fact that I already could somewhat do it on my second day of training.

"Starting training early, I see."

I whipped around at Qimir's voice and saw him leaning against a rock by the shore, his arms crossed on his chest. Although it was still somewhat dark, I could still see that amused look on his face as if he's been watching me for a while now.

I actually sighed in exasperation and rolled my eyes. This man really couldn't give me a moment of privacy, huh.

"I couldn't sleep, so I thought might as well make my time useful." I replied flatly.

"Want me to join you?" He asked casually, a hint of humor in his voice.

"I'll appreciate it if you don't."

He just chuckled at my blunt response. Just for the heck of it, I decided to be a little more daring just to get back at him.

"How long have you been watching me?" I asked as I slowly walked towards him. I looked at him intently, curious at how he would react. The amused smile on his face slightly faltered as he realized that I was slowly emerging from the water, the waterline gradually revealing my neck, then to my collarbone.

"That's for you to figure out." He challenged, eyes momentarily shifting to my collarbone.

"Or have you been watching me the whole time?" My head tilted to one side, feigning an innocent look just to tease him. At this point, the upper part of my chest was already halfway revealed, and I had to hold back a smile as I saw he was having difficulty looking away.

His tongue poked his cheek as his gaze on me intensified. It was as if he was torn between looking or not looking.

But just as I took another step forward, he suddenly closed his eyes and turned around with a sigh, just in time before my chest was completely revealed. I beamed at my victory. He still had an ounce of decency after all.

"I could see you're adjusting well to your powers," he changed the topic, still having his back turned to me as I started to get dressed. "You're a quick learner."

"Thank you, master." I emphasized sarcastically. He turned around just as I was done clothing myself, an amused look on his face. I just smirked back at him, daring to return his intense gaze. I knew that he understood what kind of game I was playing.

His game.

I bet he didn't expect that I could seduce him back as well.

"Follow me. Your training starts now."

He said as he started leading the way up the stone path.

****

"Again," he growled as he managed to disarm me of my stick for the nth time. I bit my lip as I fought back my frustration, wondering why it was so hard to be able to block all of his attacks.

"You're going to fight men bigger than you. Stronger than you. If your defense will be as flimsy as this, you're dead in no time."

His movements were swift, powerful, and unpredictable. I knew I stood no chance against his brute strength and calculated movements, but I also knew I was in no place to complain.

Gritting my teeth, I picked my stick back up and readjusted my defensive stance. Qimir charged towards me once again, his stick swaying at me at lightning speed. Deciding to take my agility to my advantage, I stepped out of the way and nudged his arm to divert his attack away from me. I was able to dodge three more of his attempts, until I saw a chance and tried to be on the offense. I swung my stick towards his neck, but he was quick to crouch down to avoid the impact.

All of a sudden I felt the end of his stick touch the back of my neck, and in the blink of an eye I was forcefully pulled closer to him, my head locked between his chest and his stick.

If it were a lightsaber, my head would have been sliced right off.

"You're not focusing enough." He whispered harshly, his hot breath fanning across my face. The intensity in his eyes, the way his jaw was tightly clenched, and the way some of his hair was on his face looked so oddly attractive at that moment. It didn't help that he was wearing a sleeveless top, revealing his gigantic arms in all their glory. It was the first time I've seen them since he was always wearing long sleeves.

Yes, I was partially distracted, I admit.

My thoughts were pulled back to reality when Qimir sighed in exasperation as he finally released my neck and took two steps backward from me.

"Close your eyes."

My brows knitted in confusion.

"What?"

"If you can't see well with your eyes open, then you better learn how to see without it."

I scoffed in disbelief. "Do you honestly expect me to fight with my eyes closed?"

He just casually shrugged his shoulders as if to say, 'duh'.

I shut my eyes for a second as I sighed in exasperation. I was about to re-negotiate the situation but as I opened my eyes, Qimir suddenly disappeared right in front of me.

Before I could even react, his bulging arm appeared from behind and wrapped around my neck in a chokehold. I coughed at the sudden pressure.

"Focus," he hissed into my ear before quickly letting go. Flabbergasted, I turned around but he was gone once again. How was he doing that?! I didn't even feel him move. It was like he was teleporting from place to place.

I looked around in an attempt to find him, and a deafening silence enveloped the place as I anticipated his attack any second. Problem was, I didn't know where it was going to come from.

Realizing that my eyes were indeed useless in this situation, I closed my eyes and tried to feel my surroundings instead. I dug my heels deeper into the sand, hoping that it would help me feel his incoming steps better. I gripped the stick tightly as I prepared myself in a defensive stance.

All of a sudden I felt a vibration coming to my left, aimed towards my head so I ducked low. I instinctively swung my stick towards the source, making a thump sound as it hit something.

I opened my eyes to realize that I had successfully hit Qimir's left leg.

A ghost of a smile etched on his lips as he stood straight and walked back to his default position in front of me.

"Good, now you're paying attention."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, preparing for his next move. It puzzled me how I could feel his presence in one moment, and then I instantly couldn't at the next. It was like he was masking his presence.

Was that why I could never feel his presence around me?

I felt another vibration from behind me, and this time it was like I could almost make out the shape of Qimir's figure and how he was aiming the stick towards me. It was raised up high to hit me vertically, so I sidestepped just enough for him to miss.

Still with my eyes closed, I spun around to kick his leg, making him fall on one knee. I was about to hit his back with the stick but he was able to block it with his own by holding it backwards. He took this chance to spin back around to face me, and we parried for a while, and I wondered myself how was I able to fight better with my eyes closed.

At one point, Qimir was able to grab my wrist that was holding the stick, locking me into place. He was about to strike me once again while I was defenseless, but I thought quickly and decided to take my chances. I tried to block his attack using the force.

When I didn't feel the impact, I opened my eyes to check.

His arm was halfway raised in the air, slightly shaking as if he was trying to fight the invisible force holding him back. His brows furrowed as he looked at me in confusion.

I took this chance and headbutted him, making both of us fall on the ground. I landed on top of him and I made sure to press my stick against his neck.

I beamed in triumph.

"Gotcha."

His eyes narrowed in curiosity as he studied my face, probably wondering how I was able to beat him for once.

"I haven't even taught you that." He commented.

"I'm quick to adapt," I shrugged, though unable to hide the smugness in my tone. He smiled softly as his grip on my wrist loosened, but I didn't dare move an inch in case it was a trap to catch me off guard. A moment of silence stretched between us.

"Eli?" He whispered, an amused twinkle forming in his eyes.

"Hm?"

"You can get off me now." He said, his eyes momentarily looking down at our position. I followed his gaze and realized that I was sitting exactly at his crotch area.

I jumped off him so fast I almost tripped over my own foot. I cleared my throat in embarrassment.

"Lesson's over." He declared, an amused smile playing at his lips. I averted my gaze as I followed his lead back to the cave.

I just knew my cheeks were burning red in embarrassment.

*****