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THOUGH HE WAS SMILING like the sun, Will wore his danger in his starry eyes, unclouded and bright. The metal was cold against her touch when she closed her hand around the bat's handle, the weapon unfamiliar in her grip. For him however it almost seemed like a part of his body, still resting against his shoulder. A closer look revealed a new bruise blooming on the curve of his bicep, though this one was probably Levi's work.
She swayed the bat in the wind with light movements, frowning. "Okay," she said," am I just supposed to swing?"
He glanced at her, the stars in his gaze falling to his lips when he spoke. "I'll show you, El."
They walked towards the nearby trees, Will whistling a soft melody, before halting when they reached it. He placed his hand on one of the trees and tapped the trunk with his bat.
"You can aim at this," he said," for lack of better objects." He stared up at the tree then, eyes a bit sad. "Sorry for this."
He took a few steps back then and breathed in, his fingers tapping on the bat's handle before they formed a solid grip around it. She had seen him fight before and he had been impressive, but when she saw him now she knew she had only seen the tip of the iceberg. After one last look at her he swung, spinning on his axis and taking the wind along in his strike.
The blow resounded throughout the forest, along with a loud crack.
Levi and Alex stopped fighting immediately, turning around to stare at them. Once they discovered what Will had done, a loud laugh tumbled down Alex' lips.
"O my God," he said," Will, did you actually break a tree?"
Will looked flustered, like he hadn't expected it to take much damage. Instead a few branches had rained down on them, lines breaking apart like fingers where he had struck. He hadn't broken it, but he sure had hit harder than she'd thought possible. With the leaves in his hair and a stressed blush coloring his cheeks, he didn't look like someone who could do much harm at all really.
"I haven't," he said tentatively, looking at her with wide eyes," or have I?"
"Of course not, Will," she reassured him.
"Will, Destroyer of Trees," Alex howled," it sure fits with your other nicknames."
"What are your other nicknames?" Ella asked.
"I don't want to say," he said, cheeks flaming up again," they're embarrassing."
"They call him Silver Devil," Alex said.
"Alex!" Will exclaimed.
"You know," Alex continued, unbothered," because of his metal bat here and because he's part of our Levi's dear gang, the Devils -" He glanced at Levi. "- which is a stupid name, by the way."
