Episode 8: Learning to Control a Storm
1076 Words
Learning to Control a Storm
The training ground looked like a battlefield waiting to happen.
Because it had already happened.
Twice.
Aria stood in the center of a wide stone arena inside Blackthorn Territory.
Cracks still lined the ground from yesterday.
Burn marks. Frozen patches of silver energy. Half-repaired walls.
Ronan stood at the edge of the arena, arms crossed.
Watching.
Silent.
Patient.
Dangerous.
Aria pointed at him.
“…If I explode again, I’m blaming you.”
Ronan didn’t blink.
“That’s statistically likely.”
“Not comforting.”
“It wasn’t meant to be.”
⸻
A few meters away, Felix—somehow invited, somehow alive—sat on a broken pillar eating snacks.
“This is better than Netflix,” he said happily.
Ronan didn’t look at him.
“Leave.”
Felix waved a hand.
“I bring emotional support commentary.”
Aria shouted, “I don’t need emotional support!”
Felix nodded.
“That’s what everyone who needs emotional support says.”
⸻
Ronan finally stepped forward.
“Focus.”
Aria crossed her arms.
“I am focused.”
The air around her flickered slightly.
The ground responded instantly with a faint silver crack.
Ronan raised a brow.
“…That’s not focus.”
Aria frowned.
“It’s my resting state!”
⸻
Ronan sighed slightly.
“Try again.”
Aria lifted her hands.
Nothing happened.
“…Okay,” she said slowly. “This is good. I’m normal. We love normal.”
A beat.
The air stayed calm.
For two seconds.
Then—
A whisper inside her head.
They are watching.
Aria froze.
“…Nope. Not today.”
⸻
The energy burst.
Not violently.
But instantly.
A silver wave exploded outward—
BOOM.
Half the training ground cracked.
Felix screamed.
“WHY DOES SHE KEEP DOING THAT?!”
Ronan didn’t move.
But his eyes sharpened.
“…Aria. Breathe.”
“I AM BREATHING!”
“Not like that.”
⸻
Aria gritted her teeth.
“I don’t know how to control it!”
Ronan stepped closer.
“Stop trying to suppress it.”
“I’M NOT SUPPRESSING IT, IT’S SUPPRESSING ME!”
Ronan paused.
“…Fair.”
⸻
He walked into the arena.
Slow.
Unbothered.
Dangerous even without effort.
“Listen,” he said.
Aria frowned.
“I am listening.”
“No. You’re reacting.”
That made her pause.
⸻
Ronan stood directly in front of her now.
Close enough that the air between them felt heavy.
“Your power responds to emotion.”
Aria blinked.
“That’s the problem. I have emotions.”
“I noticed.”
“Rude.”
⸻
Ronan continued calmly.
“Fear triggers destruction.”
Aria looked away slightly.
“…That explains a lot.”
“Anger amplifies it.”
“I’m aware.”
“Confusion destabilizes it.”
Aria sighed.
“So basically I’m a walking disaster.”
Ronan nodded once.
“Yes.”
Then added:
“But a controllable one.”
⸻
Aria frowned.
“How do I control it then?”
Ronan didn’t answer immediately.
Instead—
He stepped closer.
Now too close.
Aria stiffened slightly.
“…What are you doing?”
“Anchoring you.”
“That sounds illegal.”
“It isn’t.”
⸻
He gently placed two fingers near her wrist—not grabbing.
Just grounding.
The moment he touched her—
The silver energy flickered.
But didn’t explode.
Aria froze.
“…Wait.”
Ronan’s voice lowered.
“Focus on my presence.”
Aria blinked.
“I don’t know what that means.”
“You do.”
⸻
Inside her chest—
The energy shifted.
Still there.
But quieter.
Listening.
⸻
Felix whispered from the side:
“…I think I’m watching supernatural therapy.”
Ronan didn’t even turn.
“Leave.”
Felix ate another snack.
“No.”
⸻
Aria suddenly frowned.
“…It’s calmer.”
Ronan nodded.
“Good.”
She looked at her hands.
“It’s still there though.”
“Yes.”
“…So I’m not fixed.”
Ronan’s gaze softened slightly.
“You’re not broken.”
Aria looked up instantly.
“…Don’t say things like that. That’s how people die in stories.”
Ronan almost smirked.
“Then don’t die.”
⸻
Aria tried to concentrate again.
Slow breath.
In.
Out.
The energy stayed steady.
For a moment.
Then—
A memory flashed.
Cassian’s voice.
She’s going to burn your world down.
Her emotion spiked.
The ground cracked instantly.
Ronan reacted immediately—
But too late.
BOOM.
A silver shockwave erupted.
Both Ronan and Felix were thrown back.
Felix screamed mid-air.
“I KNEW THIS WAS A BAD IDEA—”
Ronan hit the ground, rolled, stood instantly.
His eyes narrowed.
“…Still unstable.”
Aria groaned.
“I WAS DOING SO WELL!”
⸻
Ronan stepped forward again.
This time slower.
More controlled.
“Again.”
Aria blinked.
“…Seriously?”
“Yes.”
She sighed.
“…I hate training arcs.”
⸻
She tried again.
This time—
She didn’t think about fear.
Or anger.
Or confusion.
Instead—
She looked at Ronan.
Focused on his presence.
His voice.
His steadiness.
The silver energy flickered—
But didn’t explode.
It listened.
Aria widened her eyes.
“…Wait.”
Ronan’s gaze sharpened slightly.
“Yes.”
Aria whispered:
“It’s quieter.”
A pause.
Then—
A faint glow stabilized around her hands.
Not wild.
Not explosive.
Controlled.
Ronan observed silently.
“…Good.”
Aria smiled slightly.
“…I did it?”
Ronan nodded once.
“For three seconds.”
Aria frowned instantly.
“Three seconds?! That’s it?!”
Felix shouted from the rubble:
“THREE SECONDS IS A WIN IN THIS HOUSE!”
⸻
Aria looked down at her hands again.
The silver glow flickered softly.
Still dangerous.
But no longer chaotic.
She whispered:
“…I think I’m starting to understand it.”
Ronan watched her carefully.
“…Good.”
A pause.
Then quietly:
“Because next time Cassian comes…”
His eyes darkened slightly.
“You won’t have time to panic.”
Aria swallowed.
“…So this was just warm-up.”
Ronan nodded.
“Yes.”
Felix groaned.
“I hate rich supernatural people.”
⸻
The wind shifted across the broken arena.
And for the first time—
Aria didn’t feel like she was about to explode.
She felt like she was beginning to learn control.
Even if the world around her was still very much afraid of her.
⸻
END OF EPISODE 8
- Writer
