Karikalan: Saviour of the Cholas

Chapter 61: The Pigeon

Alli watched him doing his daily routine and tsked. "You are not giving it your all, Dimple! Come on, try harder."

Valavan dropped both his arms and scowled. He was regretting asking her to 'motivate' him by the minute. "I'm striking using not one, but two swords. Try doing it once. Then, we'll have this conversation."

Alli rolled her eyes. "You've milked that line for all its worth. So, you can use two swords. Bah!"

Valavan's scowl morphed into a full-on glare. "Not everyone can-"

"Yes, yes, I know they can't. But, I don't see you doing anything extraordinary. You are only doing what naturally comes to you. Put the extra effort everyone is putting!"

Valavan scoffed. "What do you want me to do? Break the dummy?"

Alli nodded seriously. "That seems like a start, yes. Go on, let's see you do it."

Valavan let out a breath. "I'm not going to do that. It would be a waste."

Alli snapped her fingers. "I know why you are not improving! You need inspiration!!"

Valavan shot her a look. "Oh? So, what shall we do? Make you give an inspiring speech?"

Alli shook her head. "Something even better. Imagine that dummy to be Irungovel. You'll have it severed in no time just using your left hand."

Valavan clenched his jaw. "No. I do not want to explore that possibility. Too dangerous."

Alli was about to retort when she got a better idea. Leaning closer, she whispered in his ear. "Lucrative."

The effect was instantaneous. Drawing his left arm back, he swung hard.

The dummy didn't break.

Alli clapped nonetheless. "That's more like it!"

Valavan rolled his eyes. "I didn't even break it. Stop trying to make me feel better."

Alli waved him off. "Did you honestly expect yourself to break it on your first time, silly?"

Valavan conceded. "Not exactly."

Alli pointed. "See? You've made an impressive dent in it though!" Valavan looked at it. She was right. One deep indentation was stark in contrast to the others. "A few more tries and it'll break in no time."

Valavan smiled. "But, not right now. We need to get going."

Alli looked at the rising sun nodded back, pressing a finger into his dimple. He stared at her. "What is it that you want to do with my dimple? You said you will tell me once we returned."

Remembering, Alli's eyes widened. "So much has happened since then that I completely forgot! I'll tell you when we reach Azhundur." He nodded once. They made their way out of the training room.

It was the day after they had decided to go to Azhundur. Good to their word, Valavan and Alli were all packed, ready to travel to.

They quickly went to their respective chambers and had a bath. Both of them had gotten up much earlier than the others so that they could travel the first thing in the morning. As they came down and took their lunch, Ilanchezhiyan was there to greet them. He was the only one present. "Take care, Prince", he cautioned. "Let me know once you reached safely."

"I will."

Chezhiyan motioned towards the gates. "Your chariot is ready."

Valavan winked. "Who said anything about a chariot?"

Alli groaned. "Please don't tell me you want to go atop Kali."

Valavan shrugged. "Alright, I won't." He stage-whispered. "But I do."