For King and Phoenix

The three of them were sitting cross-legged in the sand near the fire. A pair of pale hands, finally free of gloves, held a single grain of sand which was then dropped into Yelma's hand. Those hands instructed her to drop it. The grain of sand fell – and was caught by the same hands, lightly and quickly (Do not sacrifice speed for strength). Ahmed immediately wanted to try, but his face crumpled when he couldn't even see it (You have four other senses). Yelma sighed when her hands just couldn't seem to find it (Patience is what makes the world go 'round).

"She's a good teacher," Arth noted when Muiya pointed them out after another hour of the same exercise. "She will instill patience into them."

"Something an assassin needs then?" Muiya joked. Arth lifted an eyebrow and noted that Ali was now listening intently and pretending not to.

"Perhaps. Assassins keep to themselves, Muiya. They're very solitary." The African stretched out his legs and looked over at the three travelers.

Al-Jessad was now coaching them patiently in building a special place for their mind, a place where they could lull themselves into a sleep of awareness. It would make their body feather-light and lightning-quick with practice. He listened to the description of hers.

"It's just an empty plane of white bright light and I'm alone. Just me. There's nothing waiting for me, nothing wanting to kill me. It's very quiet and I can actually hear myself think. I'm floating in white, weightless."

"I'd want it to be blue," Yelma breathed just then, her eyes going unfocused from their world. "Surrounded by sky. Floating on clouds."

Ahmed snorted at his little sister and got a gentle cuff round the ear for his derogatory noise. He wrinkled his nose.

"Water," he said finally. "Just an empty body of water and I can walk on top of it and I can swim under it. Weightless water," he continued, "It won't crush me, but it will float with me..."

Al-Jessad grinned at them and they linked hands in a triangle. "Go on. I'll be here." The two children closed their eyes and bright blue eyes shifted over to the pirates around the fire. Arth waggled his eyebrows and she continued the line of her gaze to Ali. He was pinning her with the blackest glare she had ever experienced. "Quiet, Yelma. Just close your eyes and pretend you're nowhere but in that world of sky you want."

"That's one way to get them to calm down," the Elder grunted, creaking down to sit with Arth and Muiya. "She's been well-taught."

There was no wind, no heat, no cold, no night. The light was bright, but it didn't blind her. It spilled from everywhere, just a canvas of white completely enveloping her. It was inundated in silence and crushed in serenity.

She was rudely yanked away with a scream of pain. Blood dripped from a slice that had appeared from her finger.

"You can't go in so deep," someone said gently, wrapping up the twelve-year-old in a warm embrace. "It's dangerous. You could get trapped in your own mind and there are things we weren't meant to understand."

"Ahmed. Ahmed." The boy refused to open his eyes and refused to rouse. Yelma paled horribly when al-Jessad drew a knife and tried again. "Ahmed! Ahmed!" She shook him, grabbed his hand, and sliced his palm.

He screamed and reeled back away from her over the sand.

"Ahmed, Ahmed, look at me, Ahmed. You can't go in so deep, Ahmed. You can't forget about your surroundings so completely." His eyes were wide and scared. "What did you see, Ahmed?" she asked, her voice soothing as she reached for him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, rubbing a finger over the cut in his palm.

"I can't... I don't know."

"The mind is a dangerous place, Ahmed. Enjoy your special place, but don't forget about where you are." She healed the cut quietly. "I did the same thing. It was absolutely overwhelming. I got a scar for my pains, too." She bared her finger. A white, faded scar wrapped around the tip. "He wasn't as careful as I was," she teased. "Come on, that's enough for tonight. It's time for you two to go to sleep."

After chasing them around for the better part of a half-hour, they finally collapsed into sleep and al-Jessad followed close after them. The Elder grinned.

oooo

Casey-Drake: Thanks for being a constant!

So there it is. Late, as usual.

-SG