Chapter 394 Sight Training: Blindfolds

Keng finished preparing the dinner table as Lily helped Gorrum bring out plates and set the food out. The two had learned how to basically grill meat and potatoes with wild boar. Keng had known about this sort of recipe and was amazed even on Daros this was a dish they made.

"Where's Elder?" Keng asked, looking around. "He said he was going for a walk. Shouldn't he be back already?"

"He'll come back soon." Gorrum replied as he set the main dish in the middle of the table. "Bring the rest of the side dishes over and sit. Let's eat." Keng did as he was told and by the time they all sat down, Jyu'so walked in.

"Just in time!" Jyu'so cackled. He pulled his chair out and sat in it. "I see meat and potatoes. Nothing beats this."

"Had a good walk, Elder?" Lily asked. Jyu'so nodded.

"I stopped by my sister's for a moment. A good walk." Jyu'so replied. "Enough about that, let's eat!" The group dug into the delicious food. Keng had watched Gorrum cook the meal yet the flavors tasted way different than what he saw.

"Tomorrow we will use another training method to give you two an idea of what we mean to focus the energy around and in your eyes." Jyu'so casually brought up as they finished up dinner.

"There's another way?" Keng asked.

"There are many ways." Jyu'so replied. "This one is more physical. Maybe you two will understand it better if we use these." He pulled two blindfolds out of his Void Storage. They were white cloth with stars going across from left to right. Jyu'so handed a cloth to Lily and Keng.

"You'll blindfold yourself and tie it on. You'll feel what you need to do once those are on. My sister, Vix'i, was able to do the simple enchantment so you can thank her if this goes well." Jyu'so told them.

"T-thank you, Elder." Lily looked at him. "You didn't have to go this far for me. It's supposed to take many months to get used to, right?"

"Normally, yes." Jyu'so nodded. Lily became confused after his answer. Jyu'so noticed this and continued to speak. "Normally it does take many months to get the feel of it. Six months on average to start to understand and feel the energy produce it's intended Sight sensory effect.

"But Keng doesn't have time for that. Two years is a short amount of time to fit the rest of his necessary training in. That's why I'm expediting it and, maybe, it'll help you grasp it sooner as well."

"We shouldn't rush the training but this is an exception. Keng is a fast learner so he will learn quicker than you might. Do not feel pressured to keep up with him, Lily. We don't want you to create bad habits just to stay close to Keng. Elder and I do this because we know his capabilities. We may not know yours, fully, but if Commander Chimera has taken a liking to you, you'll benefit from the training." Gorrum added.

"Exactly." Jyu'so nodded. "You have your own path you must walk. Do not feel pressured to keep up. Keng, on the other hand, only has two months at best before I must head back to my village."

"For the meantime, you two get some rest. We will hunt after we try the blindfolds." Gorrum stood up. Keng and Lily stood up and nodded at the two older Foxes. Keng shuffled off to his room, shutting the door behind him as he quickly made his way into the bed and let out a sigh.

'Two months at best…' Keng sighed. His feet dangled inches away from the floor as he let another sigh out. He moved his arm to look at the blindfold. 'This is supposed to help me get an idea of what to expect… Should I try it now?'

Keng rolled over, moving his tails to not squash them. He let out a sigh as he settled into bed. He held the blindfold up in front of him and lowered it across his eyes. He lifted himself up enough to tie it on and lowered himself back onto the bed.

'Let's see how this goes…' Keng took a deep breath and felt the buzzing of energy around him. He laid there for awhile, putting himself into that meditative state. He had gotten just to the cusp of entering meditation when he felt an odd concentration of energy sparkling where his eyes were. 'Is this what Elder Jyu'so was talking about? Is this the thing that's supposed to help me?'

The sounds of twinkling continued to go off in front of him. He could feel the strange pulses of the mask as it continued to work.

'I guess I try to focus there?' It took him awhile to focus, again, but Keng eventually slipped into meditation. It was getting easier to slip into it each time he did it, but he wanted to know if he could accurately put the energy where the twinkles and blips of stars were or not. The energy moved around him like normal. He began to pull the energy towards his head, again. He had struggled doing such a thing. The movement always caused headaches and he was feeling the effects of the headaches coming on. 'Push through it.' Keng told himself. He felt the energy collecting near the blindfold. It flowed into his eyes like it was filling a sink. He could feel the rush of energy fully filling his eyes.

'Hold it.' Gorrum's voice spoke in his head. Keng's head pounded. He didn't want to hold that strange energy towards his eyes. He wanted to release it and lessen his own suffering. 'Hold it there, Keng. Remember that feeling in your eyes. Hold it as long as possible until you cannot anymore. Hold it until you pass out.'

"Wha…?" Keng's lips let out. He almost lost concentration as he tried to open his eyes. He grunted in pain, clutching his head as he narrowly regained the concentration we was working so hard for. "Gorrum's talking to me? How?"

'You're not the only one who can telepathically talk to people, y'know. It's a natural Fox Spirit thing to do.' Gorrum replied. 'I sensed your energy growing so I came to check on you.'

"But the door's not…"

'It isn't open because I can see past the material realm. You have much to learn, Keng. I said to get rest, but you and Lily seem to have had the same idea.'

"Lily's doing this… too?" Keng asked.

'Yes.' Gorrum nodded. He leaned against the wall next to Keng's door with his arms crossed. He looked over at the room diagonally to the right of Keng's. 'She's practicing, too, but it seems like she's just grasping the concept.' The headache made Keng lose concentration. He let out a heavy breath.

"I can't get pass this headache… It hurts too much, Gorrum." Keng groaned. He clutched his head and massaged his temples.

'Practice some more if you want to. Make sure to do what you did just now. Don't practice too hard, alright?'

"Yes, sir…" Keng sighed.

Keng and Lily would practice for a couple hours after Gorrum's interaction with Keng. Keng struggled to keep concentration due to his raging headache growing into a full blown migraine. He felt like he wanted to puke. He managed to count how long he could go and only reached a mere 29 seconds before he lost concentration. Lily grasped the concept and slowly worked on massing energy towards her eyes. She struggled to put the energy in her eyes, but she was getting more comfortable with repetition.

The next morning came as Keng groggily lifted himself out of bed. The blindfold was half on his face as he pulled it off of him. His head pounded as he got up out of bed and made his way to the door. He opened it, half asleep, and made his way to the bathroom. He did his business and smacked the water run. He listened to water rush out as he stood there for a moment to register what was happening. He stuffed the blindfold in his pocket and splashed his face with cold water. He shocked himself with cold water, waking himself up. He dunked his head underneath the stream of water and shuddered. He let out yelp as he pulled his head away and smacked the air rune. The air blew out at him as he smacked the water rune and dried himself off.

Keng got out of the bathroom and passed Lily's room. It looked like she was already up and out of her room. The front door was open. Keng knew this much because the sun was coming in. He entered his room and closed the door. He grabbed his bag and changed.

'Am I the last one awake?' Keng wondered. 'I must've worked hard yesterday… I still feel the headache.' He slipped on the tan shirt and pulled his pants off. He slipped on some black shorts and grabbed a pair of socks and got his shoes on. He threw open the door and jogged out to the front door and down the steps.

"Ah, there he is!" Lily pointed. Gorrum, Elder Jyu'so and Lily were already outside. Keng jogged over to them and smiled at Lily as he stood next to her underneath the tree.

"Last one awake. You didn't even hear me call you, huh?" Gorrum asked.

"No." Keng shook his head.

"Well, since you two practiced last night, we'll continue that before I send you out on your hunts."