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Arms Interlocked

Training is going accordingly...as accordingly as it can to the matriarch of the House Chorus. At least until a new development arises in the form of magic in the midst of the session. With the sudden use of the Crystal's power taking its toll on Primam, the twins are left to their own devices for a time.

Word count: 2,565

Sweat dripped down the twins’ faces and soaked through their shirts. Their white hair was tied back to keep it out of their golden eyes, but loose strands stuck out or clung to their sweaty faces and necks. It was a contrast to their fawn colored skin. They both held wooden swords in their hands, poised against one another in mock combat.

The training area was a stretch of packed dirt, nary a blade of grass that dared poke through due to years of being stomped and battered. The dryness of it was all the more apparent. After all, summer made training damn near unbearable. This was what needed to be done to prepare the two. It was all part of their regimen, regardless of how they felt about it.

“Again,” came the harsh command of a woman. The woman was the twins’ mother, and she stood a small distance away. Her arms were tucked behind her back, and her expression was hardened into a soured look. Her lips were pursed, and her brow was creased into a furrow.

Adjusting his grip, the male twin looked at his sister with a bit of an apologetic look upon his face. He was always better than her when it came to wielding weapons. Even when it came to hand to hand combat. It was a skewed and unfair match-up, but they generally had no other training partners to keep them honed for combat.

None that their mother typically approved of at any rate…

When the boy swung his sword at his sister, the wooden blade struck a crystalline shield that was conjured by her at that very moment. His eyes went wide as he staggered back. He stared at the translucent honeycomb patterned shield that stood between them.

They never used the Crystal’s magic before during their training. Was it allowed? Were they going to get punished for using it?

For a moment, the boy looked back at their mother. His heart thud dully in his chest, a mix of fear and anticipation of punishment welling within. When he saw that she only gazed at them with that stern expression, he turned back toward his sister. It seemed she had no qualms with this development. Reaffirming his grip upon the training sword, the boy mentally prepared himself.

“You think your enemies will hesitate like the two of you are now?” the twins’ mother barked after a moment of their standstill. “Break through your sister's new defenses, Tandem. She can't rely on the Crystal’s magic alone to protect her.”

Magic really was now on the table.

Tandem clenched his jaw. He supposed that magic would have been an inevitability should either of them have shown the aptitude for it. His sister’s shield was sturdy, that much was obvious. There had not even been a crack where he struck. Now, the shield started to crumble away, turning back into mana before dispersing into the air.

Between the two of them, Tandem’s sister seemed like she was the one who could wield the Crystal’s power better.

“Is that…all you can do, Prim?” Tandem asked, his voice loud enough for his sister to hear him. He wanted to know what to expect. Even if that defeated the purpose of their overall training. Neither of them tried to hurt each other, though. Not for real.

Prim shook her head only slightly in response, furrowing her brow. Quiet communication to spare them the harsh rule of their mother.

Tandem’s lips pursed momentarily. If the shield was not the only thing left at Prim's disposal, then that left him at a disadvantage. Just because her stamina was low meant next to nothing if she could still draw upon mana and the power of the Crystal. Tandem grit his teeth thinking about it. Just why did she decide to whip out a surprise like using magic?

Just then, Prim brought a hand to her head. A pained look crossed her face as she whimpered and slowly fell to her knees. Her breath stuttered, and she looked to be on the verge of tears.

“Primam!” Tandem exclaimed as he dropped his training sword and rushed to his sister's side. He then looked over his shoulder to their mother. “You have to call off training! Prim can't keep fighting like this. Please! We've been at this all afternoon!”

For a solid few seconds, their mother stared down at them, her gaze still cold. She then allowed an unimpressed ‘hmph’ to fall from her nose. Turning from them, she said, “very well. Get yourselves cleaned up. I expect you both to be ready for dinner in two hours. Do as you will until then.”

Their mother then walked away, hands firmly held behind her back. Once she was a good distance away, Tandem helped Primam back up onto her feet. Worry was etched all over his face.

“Why did you just do that, dummy?” Tandem hissed, furrowing his brow. “We've never used magic before. You think you can just up and use it now? During the tail end of training? You know that's when we've been too worn out to keep it up.”

Primam peeked past Tandem, her lip still settled into a pout. It quivered as she grit her teeth and watched their mother continue on her way. Once their mother was truly back in their house, Primam looked up at Tandem. Any pained expression she had melted away into amusement and relief before she giggled softly.

Tandem’s expression immediately gave way into shock, then mild annoyance. “Dammit, Prim! I thought you were actually hurt!” Tandem quietly yelled. He hit her shoulder softly, expressing his displeasure of feeling as if he were being led on. He straightened up and folded his arms over his chest.

“Did you want to keep training? Mother is like an extreme version of Master Clarus. She'd make us train until our legs and arms broke, probably…” Primam replied, scrunching her nose. She kept her hand on her head just in case their mother spied on them from the windows of their home. “I used magic and pretended to be bad at it so that it looked believable that training was taking its toll. Not to mention making me look desperate to win.”

“But…you're not bad at it…” It was Tandem’s turn to pout. “That shield you made was near flawless. How did you make it so strong?”

“I've been practicing in secret…behind the chocobo stables,” Primam revealed, pointing toward the aforementioned stables a good ways in the opposite direction of their house. She then turned toward Tandem, her expression falling slightly. “Do… Do you remember the freak snowstorm a couple years ago during the spring? Just before we were let out of school for summer break?”

Slowly, Tandem nodded.

“Do you remember what happened before that storm?” Primam asked. Her expression was distant as she looked at Tandem.

A moment passed as Tandem gave thought to the question asked. He searched back through his memories before his brow shot up with realization.

“You and Mum had a fight. A pretty bad one…” Tandem recalled. “It was the first time I saw you storm out of the house in tears. Not even an hour later, that snowstorm hit Insomnia. You're telling me that was you?”

Primam nodded.

“The hell!? Why didn't you ever say anything?” Tandem asked, hurt that Primam would have stayed silent about it for so long.

“I didn't want anyone to expect it of me right away. Especially not Mum…” Primam brought a hand to her arm, rubbing it in nervous fashion. “I needed to know I could do it on my own -- control it on my own. I needed to know that I could make it work without Mother forcing me to become great at it. If she found out and made me do it, I…I don't think I'd be as good at it as I am now. I mean, I'm still learning, but even still!”

“... You should have at least said something. You know I'd never sell you out -- least of all to Mum.” Tandem sighed, his frown deepening. He then let out a frustrated scoff. “Six above… No point bitching about it now, I guess. What can you do?”

Primam brightened up and then hurried along the fields toward the chocobo stables. She paused, turning to beckon Tandem to follow along after her. Reluctantly, he did, glancing over his shoulder at their family house momentarily. Primam led them behind the stables, a bounce in her step despite their rigorous training. It was almost as if she had barely worn herself out -- were it not for the sweat stains that marred the front, back, and pits of her shirt, Tandem would have sworn she held back more than just her magical capabilities.

“Prim, c'mon…slow down… I'm not the one who held back to use magic…” Tandem requested between pants. They eventually stopped, and Primam grinned widely. It was an odd sight lately, especially since she got her braces. Tandem figured she must have been excited enough to forget about her insecurities.

“Look…” Primam said, holding up her hands, palms facing the sky.

Obliging her request, Tandem looked down into Primam’s hands. Smirking slightly, he scoffed and replied, “what am I looking at? I'm not a palm reader, y'know?”

Puffing her cheeks slightly, Primam furrowed her brow. “Yeah, yeah, joke all you want. Just look!”

Rolling his eyes slightly, Tandem chuckled softly before looking down at Primam’s hands. At first, there was nothing. Frowning, Tandem started to shrug and look back up at Primam. Cold, refreshing air made him return his attention to his sister's outstretched palms where mana started to swirl and shimmer within. The air became colder and much more noticeably frigid. The longer Tandem watched, he realized ice crystals started to form and grow within her hands.

Tandem's expression contorted into shock, whereas Primam’s expression grew with excitement and pride. Turning slack jawed, Tandem lowered his hands back down to his sides, attempting to get his thoughts coherent. Primam was not just simply good at magic. She was an unknown prodigy.

“You…you can actually control it… That's not just casting a Blizzard spell, that's actually manipulating it to do what you want like the Crown’s Black Mages…! How-?” Tandem’s gaze met Primam’s. She only offered a smile in response before she halted her hold and control over the mana. The ice crystals shimmered and burst harmlessly into snow before melting away as quickly as they were conjured.

“I don't know…” Primam finally admitted. Her smile remained, though her gaze grew distant. “After that fight with mum, I…I just mustered a lot of what I felt and poured it into keeping hold of the ice. I found that…I could make it dance and swirl. Or I could make it sharp and dangerous.”

Tandem brought a finger to his chin, mulling Primam’s admission. He then pointed toward her with a bit of a smirk. “What about fire and lightning? You practice with those at all?”

“A little!” Primam looked down and fidgeted. “I don't…really like using them that much. The fire and electricity scares the chocobos… I never wanted them freaking out so much and making mum or dad come out to investigate. But the cold just kind of makes them fluff up a bit! It's really cute!”

Tandem let out an amused huff before shaking his head. “Yeah, of course…”

Chocobos had always been Primam’s favorite. Tandem knew that this was where Primam came in order to be alone with her thoughts. Looking over his shoulder, his expression fell slightly. Just how often had she snuck out on her own to be out here, distancing herself from the rest of the family in order to practice? How did he never pick up on it?

“Hey… Prim?” Tandem started, folding his arms over his chest. “How…long do you spend working on your magic out here?”

“Oh, um…” Primam looked thoughtful. “I guess as long as doesn't feel suspicious for Mum's ways? So usually about half an hour to an hour at a time between breaks. But…”

Primam looked down at the dirt, kicking a rock away in a sheepish manner.

“I've…also snuck out late at night to do it… When I can't sleep…” Primam continued.

Folding his arms back over his chest, Tandem frowned. He already came to a conclusion he was sure Primam also was aware of. A conclusion that neither of them wanted to voice.

But one of them had to acknowledge it…

“... After your brief display…I think… I think Mum already knows your potential for controlling the power of the Crystal…” Tandem said, his voice filled with concern. “She won't be happy if I take it easy on you after today, you know that…right?”

Silently, Primam nodded in response. She kept her gaze pointed downward. “It…won't surprise me if she's waiting for us to come back before punishing us both again.”

“... Yeah…”

The two of them stayed silent for a time. Tandem, gifted in his quick learning and adaptation to different weapon types, always had the upper hand against Primam during training. He took it easy on her, and he was sure this never escaped their mother's notice. Now that Primam showed even the briefest example of her magical power… Well, they both expected the worst when it came to how their training sessions would change.

… Not to mention they expected the worst when it came to their mother finally confronting them about this new development.

Taking in a breath and letting out a long sigh, Tandem then forced a smile. “Hey, at least she can't take away your magic, huh? The noble families are either born with it, or they're not. We're not like some Kingsglaive who are allowed only some tiny fraction of the King's power. If you have such good control over magic, then it's what the Crystal decided itself, yeah?”

Primam looked up, a smile finding its way back onto her face as her mood shifted. Nodded, she allowed herself to giggle softly. “Yeah… Yeah, you have a point.”

Tucking a loose strand of white hair behind her ear, Primam’s expression fell after a moment. Glancing up at Tandem, she then motioned for their home. “Mother will be furious if we don't return soon… Six above, she most likely already is.”

Reaching out and grabbing Primam’s shoulder before she started walking back, Tandem met her gaze with a steeled one of his own. “I-”

‘I don't know if I can take the brunt of this one if she is mad and decides to punish us. Keeping your own potential a secret likely has her fuming versus how I took it.’

“... I'm with you. Every step of the way so long as we have to share a roof. Alright?” Tandem removed his hand from Primam’s shoulder, shoving both of them into his pockets. “Cos…y'know…”

“You're my brother.” Primam’s expression warmed. “I know.”

“There's the Macaroon I know,” Tandem teased. His smile widened into a toothy grin, and he gently elbowed Primam’s arm before starting to jog back to the house. Pausing, he called out to her: “teach me how to do some of those Protect spells later! And if you know Cure, maybe we could practice that, too!”

“Fine! But only if you help me learn how to use a lance!”

#ffxv #ffxv writing #my writing #ffxv oc #oc: tandem chorus #oc: primam chorus #ffxv: reimagined

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