Isa flew backwards a bit from a stiff kick from Alexandria. She was still having a bit of trouble keeping it up but the zipper was now in the middle of her chest. Isa stood up dusting herself off walking back to the center of the deck. This was the second day of training but her progression was awesome. She was able to express all the basic emotions with the suit still on. However shooting fire with the suit on was proving to be a greater challenge.

“You’re getting better but just remember to keep your hands up when you're unsure of what is coming. That way you will stop flying across the deck.” Alexandria wiped her forehead with a rag since it was a bit hot out today. The breeze wasn’t as strong as it was yesterday. “Now might be a good time to take a break. Go take some time to yourself and then you can start your fire practice in an hour or so.” She bowed to Isa who returned the bow and they went their separate ways.

Tyra went up to the crow’s nest to get some time for herself along with keeping an eye on the horizon. If what Isa said about her father was true it was only a matter of time before he came looking for her. Her rifle was within arms reach just in case a shot needed to be made. Of course the damage she did as they left the facility should keep them for at least a bit.

Alexandria sat down at the table on the deck going over her journal writing some ideas down to test her shifting limits. So far the only way to erase a shift that she found was to kill the animal in front of her. There was no way she was going to kill V. Come to think of it, she had not seen the vulture in quite some time. Of course she didn’t bring her with them on the mission but ever since they acquired the larger ship V wouldn’t come down from the crow’s nest.

She tapped her quill pen against the table running through all the possible ideas. Once they joined up with the rest of the crew Alexandria would make a point to check in on V. Alexandria took a drink from her flask letting out an exasperated sigh. She flipped to a new page in her journal dipping the quill pen into the well. It was time to write everything down in order to try and make better sense of it all.

Isa was off to the side sitting cross legged trying to focus like she remembered her mother doing. It was one of the only memories of her mother that helped with her emotions. Her father said it wasn’t good enough and made the suit. Of course that didn’t stop her from meditating as much as she could. It also allowed her to feel the fire inside her moving around. She wasn’t able to do anything with it but she knew it was there.

The only sounds drifting on the wind was the sound of the waves, Alexandria’s quill pen, and Isa’s breathing. They needed to move quickly since once the territory was taken it would need to be defended. It would not take long for word of the alliance to spread. Of course it was an alliance built of trade which never really lasted long. Alexandria really needed to make sure the alliance lasted since right now without it they wouldn’t be able to hold on to what they take.

A few hours passed which meant it was time for Isa to start her fire drills. The first and second time she tried this barely anything came out. She was able to feel the fire better after the first two times; perhaps the third will produce some results. Taking a grounded stance she breathed in deep trying to move the fire around her body.

Alexandria watched from the table as Isa began her ability training. She could tell that Isa was more confident this time. She put down her quill pen on top of her journal giving Isa her attention for the moment. The change of pace might help her solve the issue she was dealing with at the moment.

Isa reached her hands into the sky trying to pull the fire up. Opening her eyes for a moment she remembered the suit had gloves that she could remove. Why the hell had she never tried that before. She brought her hands down into a pyramid motion looking at the gloves for a moment. “If the zipper controls how well the suit works. Do you think taking the gloves off would help, captain?” She turned to look at Alexandria hoping she had some helpful advice.

Tilting her head to the side looking at Isa’s hands from where she sat. It was completely possible taking them off would help. However they could also intensify the flow of her abilities. She needed to be sure that if she did take them off control wasn’t lost. “If you feel it will help, go ahead and remove them. You could also just take off one if you’re still worried about it. Keeping control is the most important thing. We don’t want to sink the ship.”

Isa looked down at the gloves, closing her eyes focusing in on the fire. If she concentrated hard enough it was almost as if the fire was speaking to her. Of course it wasn’t a language, just a feeling that she knew what the fire wanted. Her father did say it was a part of her so that might be why she knew what it wanted. “I am going to trust in what I have learned so far. If I don’t improve I will be of no help to anyone.” She took off both gloves slowly and placed them in the suit pockets.

Her hands instantly started to glow a dark red. Isa started to breath a bit quickly and her heart pounded a bit harder. She needed to keep her breathing and heart rate in check. If her hands did anything else she could set the boat on fire. Diving into the memories of her mother Isa used those to calm herself. It was also time to channel the fire since she was finally able to draw it out so to speak.

Alexandira watched in amazement at the glow on Isa’s hands. It was something she had never seen before, only read about in books from when the virus first surfaced. Isa seemed off at first but now she was able to see her control was improving. The channeling of these powers was going to be key to controlling the territory since everyone would be too afraid of what Isa would do to them. Once it was true hopefully it would give her the confidence boost she wanted as well as needed.

Meanwhile, Isa was moving slowly attempting to feel the flow of fire through her body. It was something she picked up while at the facility from the books she was allowed to read. A form of martial arts that her mom must have practiced since it was her mother’s book. She knew that it wasn’t going to happen right away but controlling the fire with the gloves off was a huge step forward. Breathing in deep she pulled the fire up from inside her hands forming a small ball of orange light.

The light radiates all around her making the smile on her face a thousand times brighter. Which made everything that Alexandria had planned shine through the fog in front of them that much more. That fog of course was any and every obstacle that could possibly be placed in front of them. If any crew could make it through that Alexandria was growing more and more confident it was her crew.

“This is amazing! I have never had this much control in my entire life.” Isa’s emotions had gone up after taking off her gloves. The fireball pulsed a bit which caused Isa to take a breath. She still needed to keep her focus so a fireball didn’t launch itself into anyone or anything she cared about. Taking in another deep breath she pulled the fireball back into her hand and put the gloves back on.

The progress she made in a day was off the charts. Alexandria was ecstatic at her choice to break her out of the facility. Of course when they rejoined the other she did have some explaining to do. “You have done something I have never seen in my life. I am sure Tyra has seen something but she hasn’t said much since retreating to the crow’s nest.”

Tyra threw down a bread crust hitting Alexandria in the head. “You do know just because I don’t say anything doesn’t mean I am not listening.” She let out a hearty chuckle looking over at Isa. “Nice job there kid. I have only ever met one other with an ability like yours. If you’re able to gain the type of control she had we will be nearly unstoppable.” Tyra picked up her rifle putting it up on the rim of the crow’s nest. She was doing another sweep just in case.

Isa nodded in excitement walking over to Alexandria. “If you hadn’t got me out when you did I would still be sitting around doing nothing. Thanks so much for this and helping to find my mother in the future.” She gave Alexandria a huge hug which was returned to her.

Alexandria could feel the warmth from her body, something she wasn’t able to feel before. It would seem Isa was gaining more control over her ability. “This is going to benefit everyone involved so no thanks is necessary. I should be thanking you for agreeing to come with me in a spur of the moment choice. After you get something to eat we could have an extra sparring session if you’d like?”

She broke off the hug nodding quickly. This was everything she ever wanted and now it was slowly coming true. Isa went over to the table by the cabin door where some food had been placed for everyone to share. She grabbed two pieces of fried fish and a piece of fruit. There was no way she was going to give this feeling up for anything or anyone.

The fact that everything was coming together right before her eyes was an amazing feeling. They were only missing at least one more core member. After that everyone else would be underlings to the main crew members she first picked. Only about two days and they will be at the boundary for the first large island they were set to take over.

Alexandria needed to figure out how to stop herself from passing out. There had to be something she could do. Another look at the files might spark something. Once they were back together again she could ask for Lyric’s advice. That girl always knew what to say and how to say it. She was the perfect choice for first mate even though she could be a bit of a goofball. Everyone in the crew could at one point or another. When their last main member was chosen Alexandria could officially assign jobs to everyone. That was going to be fun since everyone is going to have so much fun getting their assignments. The last member needed to be someone that was good in hand to hand combat. Her hand to hand combat was alright but she knew there had to be someone better out there.

The sun was setting on the day which meant a sparring session was debatable. They could use Isa as a light source. The thought of that made Alexandria giggle. She walked over to the table sitting down looking over the notes she jotted down. All she had to do was figure out this one problem and life would get so much better. Hopefully that answer would come with the new day’s sun.