22 Run (1/2)

”Finn, let's continue on already...” Bryn's impatient whine grated on Finn's nerves. He had been relaxing, enjoying the soothing sensation of gathering and circulating the sun's energy through his body.

Is he not at all concerned with the fact that we literally almost died earlier... Finn lamented at how little Bryn seemed to care for his own safety.

Or maybe since he is young, he just thinks he is invincible...

Finn remembered also being that way, a long long time ago.

Finn glanced at the prosthetic that the boy was sporting, feeling a pang of sadness. Back in his old life, Finn didn't think he would have been able to cope with losing a leg.

Maybe... maybe he stopped seeing value in his own life... The unwelcome, harrowing thought cut Finn's relaxed attitude like a blade of ice. He seriously considered it.

However, after thinking about all his interactions with the boy previously, Finn dismissed this notion quickly. He snorted.

The boy just didn't understand his own mortality. The young often don't...

Life is precious! He should consider the risk to his own a bit more!

This fight shouldn't have been that dangerous, though. When he thought of the earth wolf and bandit he had killed, he found that he only succeeded because he struck quickly and without warning.

In the case of the earth wolf, he managed to trap it before killing it slowly. With the bandit, he took him by surprise where he couldn't defend himself in time.

Finn felt a revelation come to mind. This was the key!

As long as he struck first in a decisive manner with full power, he could end any fight prematurely with less effort. There was no need to amplify the risk by drawing fights out.

A blitzkrieg style of fighting. Now that he knew how strong his sunbeams were, he wouldn't hold back anymore.

Sunbeams... Finn smiled internally at his own cleverness, quite liking how the name sounded. It was quite fitting actually, since the energy he used to create them came from sunlight.

From experience and rough estimation, it took about two hours to recharge enough power to fire his most powerful sunbeam once.

Healing his own body took different amounts of energy, varying on both the degree of injury and the speed of the healing process.

Right now, he was still slightly drained from their earlier encounter and he wanted to be fully rested before fighting again. That being said, Bryn seemed to have other plans.

”Fiiiiiiiiinnnnn... Let's go already!” Bryn grumbled as he chewed on a piece of jerky. Currently, he was leaning against a tree with his arms crossed.

It's only been an hour, this brat has no patience... Finn felt the urge to smack him. Electing to be the bigger man-er... lizard, he elected to simply ignore the boy.

Thud! A pebble bounced off Finn's scales harmlessly.

Finn's jaw dropped open in shock. Bryn had thrown a stone at him!

The audacity!

Another stone came flying. Nope, Finn was not going to accept such abuse. Energy rapidly gathered and condensed in his throat. Opening his mouth, he fired. A bright blob of light hit the pebble, incinerating it to dust.

”Whoa...” Bryn sighed, impressed with the shot.

Hmm... that was like a bullet of light. Or maybe a spearhead? How about sunspike? Finn came up with a name on the spot. It wasn't continuous like a sunbeam, just a quick spurt of condensed light energy.

It was the same attack he used in the fight earlier to counter each windblade, only now deciding to give this particular technique a name.

Why didn't I think of that before... Only now did Finn think it was odd to categorize his attacks after the fact.

Oh well... live and learn I suppose. Finn definitely vowed to see what other types of

methods he could come up with to use his powers.

Thud!

While he was distracted by his own thoughts, Bryn had managed to sneak another pebble past his defenses.

”Ha!” He laughed at his success, until his grin turned into a look of horror. A massive white scaled lizard was coming his way.

”Ahhhhhh! I'm sorry! I was just kidding!” Bryn screamed apologies as he waved his arms frantically, hoping to not be crushed once again. But it was no use, Finn was on the warpath.

Acting in self preservation, Bryn began climbing the tree he had been leaning against and came to rest on a branch about ten feet in the air.

Finn was stumped. Only now, after looking up and down the tree, did he realize that there was no way he could climb without hands.

Seeing this as his victory, Bryn scoffed at the lizard below. In response, Finn opened his mouth and started gathering energy...

Uh oh... Bryn was thinking Finn was actually about to attack him.

”Wait! Wait! No!” Bryn yelled as Finn released a sunspike. Bryn turned away in fear as he braced for impact. Only, the attack wasn't aimed at him...

Crack!

Bryn opened one eye to see the base of the branch he had been sitting on was mostly blown apart by Finn's strike. He stared at the remaining wood that was holding his weight.

Snap!

Eh... Bryn thought in confusion as he fell to the earth below, managing to soften the fall by rolling. Out of nowhere, he saw a bulky weight preparing to crush the life from his bones.

”Mercy!” The boy pleaded, but Finn had none to give. He sat on Bryn, who expelled two lungfulls of air.

To his credit, the boy did all he could to escape his captor, squirming and writhing and eventually cursing up a storm.

Finn was as steadfast as a mountain, not budging in the least. The boy would suffer for his insolence!

After throwing a fit, Bryn finally tired and submitted. ”I'm sorry for throwing stones at you. It won't happen again...”

Finn considered the apology and ultimately decided he was above holding grudges. Stepping off of Bryn, he wrote a line in the dirt.

'I need to rest more. I used a lot of energy.'

Bryn read this and rubbed his chin. Deciding to actually take Finn seriously, he asked, ”How long?”

'Two more hours' Finn wrote in response. He actually needed more, but he decided to spare the impatient boy.

Besides, I can always gather energy while moving. How likely would it be to run into another magical beast within two hours of each other?

Frowning internally, Finn wondered if thoughts like these could jinx him even if they weren't spoken.

Bryn read Finn's scribbles and sighed. Finn recognized it as the kind of sigh a child gives when they have to go to class in the morning.

”...Fine,” Bryn grumbled as he went to fetch his poleaxe.

If I have to wait, might as well practice what the old man taught me... Bryn sat down, cradling the weapon with both hands and began concentrating.

A layer of thin, blue energy started forming on the surface of the poleaxe. Wherever the energy flowed, a small breeze would blow as if the weapon was attracting the wind.