James then repeated the process of training SKIN until it was deep into the afternoon.
Uquinn occasionally glanced over at James who was laying in the shallow shore waters of the lake. She then glanced around at the trees and branches around her, she could feel three gazes locked onto her.
' Why can't I see them? '
Ethan who was sitting next to her by the fire persistently looked over his shoulder looking for the same phantoms she was.
Uquinn had mastered SKIN on the third day and had Joined Ethan on their quest to the bottom of the lake. The Rainbow Pond was much deeper than they expected; she estimated that it was at least 25 feet deep.
Due to her familiarity with the feeling of karma flowing through her body, after previously mastering SIGHT, another basic application of karma she quickly grasped SKIN.
Uquinn received a physical enhancement of about 10% after mastering SKIN which is what drew the two extra gazes towards her.
This enhancement also allowed her to dive up to 11 meters below the surface where she was the first to encounter the Diamond Daggerteeth.
They were lean and large and had senses like an apex predator. They only seemed to appear in her blind spots as she swam deeper. The fish themselves were over 5 feet tall and their fishhead had a massive underbite. Their teeth were crystalline and sharper than anything she had encountered before. In her first encounter with them they nibbled a chunk out of her left thigh.
Thinking about the incident Uquinn glanced down at her thigh. She massaged the wound which had bled through her clothing and left a large red patch. The two were currently eating their dinner after another failed attempt at getting deeper.
Her eyes watered slightly as she could feel a searing pain rush through her nervous system. She looked up to the sky and bit into her lips letting out a muffled grunt. Her head quickly snapped back into a resting position and she blinked the tears out of her eyes like unloading mortar shells and wiped her face. 'What is enough for you?'
Ethan's expression was that of extreme frustration. He was able to master SKIN, almost half a day earlier than Uquinn but he still couldn't get past the 10 meter mark.
It was not as if there were fixed layers in which the fish resided. He was just too slow during his dives and eventually became overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of Bastion Bass and Grinning Koi. In addition to the Diamond daggerteeth, which smelled the blood, he was in a rough predicament always having to surface early.
Ethan lamented to himself. ' My nature doesn't give me any physical enhancement. How can I get that box before them? Using my Karmic ability won't be useful here. '
Uquinn chewed on the Grinning Koi which was currently charred. The Koi instead of smiling held a look of disbelief and resentment in its blackened eyes. ' It's been a week, and nothing's happened. But why do I feel so uneasy? Like something is going wrong…but what? '
Uquinn continued to tear into her serving of fish absent mindedly. Her thoughts weren't in the realm of what was happening. Her thoughts always seem to run right back to her earlier conversation with Ziggy. 'Why would he lie to me?'
This question plagued her mind like rats in the gutter. She wasn't sure who it was directed to. Everyone seems to be liars nowadays. Everyone with secrets that they needed to keep.
'Why am I the only honest one about how I feel? Why do they hide the truth from me?' She pondered in front of the flame which seemed to grow brighter for a split second. In the flames she could see him. His body was like a tower that looked over everything below him like they were his to shield from the weather.
Her father never once asked for her help with anything beyond her normal duties. ' I tried my best for him…I was the most loyal firekeeper. I did everything he asked of me. Why would he lie to me?'
Uquinn thought back to the night of the StarFall. A golden Jester with a bow aimed down from the heavens. It plucked a star from its own constellation and the star formed into a golden arrow.
Its arrow fell from the heavens and everything was bathed in a dazzling light. It was as if the sun rose again for just a few seconds to wash away the darkness. It felt like she was watching something that belonged in the Chronicles of King Midas.
It was at that moment she couldn't sit still and felt that she had to see what caused it. So she disobeyed instructions and followed the firekeepers into the forest and that's where she found him. Her eyes drifted away from the fire as James was resting in the water.
'He was lying in the river just like that when I saw him, peacefully sleeping like nothing was happening'
She turned away and looked once again in the flames. 'We still don't know what caused the Starfall, all we do know is that the King Shuck has been relentlessly attacking the Outposts since then. Is that what Ziggy was talking about is the King Shuck the danger?'
Her father's figure had disappeared; lost in the orange and yellow pantomime of the flames, but there was no story, only dancing in the fire. 'Was it coincidence or was it Fate? That brought me here to this day? Is there really anything that I can do to change the way he looks at me? It doesn't add up. '
In her mind a new question formed. She looked over at Ethan who was similarly silent. " Has your father ever done something that never made sense to you?"
Ethan blinked rapidly, his mind processing the question. ' Why is she asking me that?'
Eventually Ethan looked over towards her and scratched his head. " Yeah, but I think they do it out of love. Or at least I believe mine did."
Uquinn, given fresh perspective, furrowed her brows and remained silent briefly. " Why do something that would hurt the ones you love if they knew what you were doing? How is that love?"
Ethan furrowed his brows. ' I don't know, stop asking me.' but he eventually gave a serious answer.
" Maybe it's just how they see it? We all feel like we're doing the right thing. It's why we do anything, because it feels like the right thing to do in a moment, even if something feels wrong in the moment we can't know it's a mistake until you've actually made it. "
Uquinn asked, unable to quickly wrap her head around what he meant. " If you know it's a mistake, why do it? Isn't it easier to just not do it?"
Ethan sighed and massaged his hair. " I'm not sure but there's always a reason for it. People make mistakes out of love, sovereignty, despair , anger, even something as beautiful as hope can lead to mistakes, but again. You only know it's a mistake after you've made it. Good intentions make everything taste okay before it turns sour on your tongue. '
Uquinn seemed to understand something and bowed her head in deep thought. The world was only relieved of silence by the soft sounds of their breaths and the cackling of moisture escaping the flames of the fire.
A few minutes passed.
"I don't feel good about that. I feel sad." Uquinn understood what Ethan was trying to say but she could not shake the emotions that had built up inside of her.
' I have tried so hard for him to recognize me. Now it feels like he's never even seen me. I feel like all my effort has been wasted. To what end will I climb your shadow? I'm…Im your daughter, your only family. Don't you want to see me thrive? Why do you avoid me? Why do you tell me lies? Am I not worthy of your trust? Why? Why me? '
Uquinn could feel her emotions building and in response green karma flowed from her body and her muscles swelled and sparse fur began appearing on her.
Ethan watched in silence. He looked at his own reflection in his axe head and frowned. ' I'm not sure what to do, has my father really ever lied to me? '
Meanwhile once again James collapsed to his back wheezing in pain. He made a small splash as the water cooled him off. He could not hear anything other than the ambiance of the water rushing into his ears. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
'I'm done for today. '
The sun had drifted behind the treeline signaling the shift to night. James watched as that familiar black haze stretched and enveloped the lake. James bent over and gave himself a quick wash before heading back to the warmth of the fire to dry off.