-Black Wolf POV-

The wolf wasn't entirely sure if he was breathing.

"A wolf," Knight Emil-iath whispered. She looked over at Knight Xi-ren. "Do you think-"

"I don't know," Knight Xi-ren said, a complicated expression on his face. The two of them fell silent, but the looks on their faces spoke volumes.

The wolf didn't dare to move. The room was empty, yet he felt like the walls were closing in on him.

If they found out-

[White Bunny: Calm down.]

She ordered, but he couldn't. Scenes flashed in his mind. Swords flashing. The reflection of flames. His breaths quickened, terrified that they would somehow look at him and know.

He should've never left the forest. He should've-

[White Bunny: You're just some random kid named Will. If you don't give them a reason, they'll never know.]

The wolf tried to hold her words in his mind. Still, doubt crept back in. The humans hadn't needed a reason to kill his family, so what if they just-

"It doesn't matter," Knight Emil-iath said finally. Her voice was a little shakier than before. She forced her bright smile back.

"I'll kill the wolf, and it'll be fine!" Knight Emil-iath said cheerfully.

It was not fine. The wolf gripped onto the sides of his chair to keep his hands from trembling, fighting to keep his breaths as even as possible. Knight Emil-iath didn't know, she didn't-

"And if Will dies?" Knight Xi-ren asked sharply. The wolf wasn't afraid of death on its own- no, he was afraid the knights would be the cause of his death, that he would wake up one day with Emil-iath's huge sword stabbed through his stomach.

Knight Emil-iath made a frustrated sound.

"Just don't let him, Xi-ren!" She said. Both of them spoke like he wasn't in the room. The wolf didn’t care- he’d rather they forgot about him entirely.

Knight Xi-ren let out a low laugh.

"So that's what it's going to be, is it?" Knight Xi-ren asked, eyes flashing with contempt. "Fine. I'll train him if you want, so you can say you tried when we send him back in a box."

Knight Emil-iath choked in outrage.

"Xi-ren, that's not -"

"Come on. Let's go," Knight Xi-ren said to the wolf, ignoring Knight Emil-iath entirely. He stalked towards the door, danger laced in every silent step. The wolf looked anxiously at Knight Emil-iath, not wanting to die in the middle of their argument.

Knight Emil-iath laughed weakly.

"He's just a little paranoid, that's all. Don't worry, you'll be fine," Knight Emil-iath said. She followed the two of them out the door. Her back was stiff, and her eyes glittered with muted fury.

This fight clearly wasn't over.

The wolf walked as far from the knights as possible, holding the bunny tight in his arms. He didn't dare to ask where they were going, not when tension crackled between them like it could snap at any moment. Knight Emil-iath was smiling, but the way her eyes twitched was not at all comforting.

The four of them left the village, walking down the path through the grass. Finally, when the village was far out of sight, Knight Xi-ren turned to face the wolf.

"Give your little pet to Emil-iath," Knight Xi-ren ordered. The wolf hesitated, and-

"Do it."

[White Bunny: Don't worry. I'll be fine.]

The wolf's throat tightened, but the icy expression on Knight Xi-ren's face didn't leave him with much of a choice. He carefully handed the bunny over to Knight Emil-iath, fingers lingering reluctantly on her fur before letting go.

"You don't have time to learn a sword," Knight Xi-ren told him, eyes scanning his face as if he expected that to turn the wolf away.

The wolf nodded quickly. The idea of striking something down with a sword was terrifying to him, anyway. Something flickered across the knight's face, but the man said nothing.

"Instead, this will be your first lesson."

Xi-ren reached across his back, drawing a white sword with his right hand. Without another word, he lunged forward.

"Xi-ren, what are you-"

The wolf jumped backwards. The tip of the sword sliced narrowly close to his throat. His heart beat wildly in his chest.

"What kind of lesson is this?" Knight Emil-iath shouted. "You're just forcing him to quit by threatening his life!"

"Too slow," Knight Xi-ren said coldly, ignoring the knight entirely. He struck again. The wolf threw himself to the right, narrowly avoiding being skewered to death.

[White Bunny: What the fuck is going on?]

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[Black Wolf: Training?]

He thought back, desperately hoping it was true. Xi-ren's eyes were cold, not an ounce of sympathy in them. The knight didn't seem like he would try to kill someone like this, but-

Xi-ren stabbed the sword towards the wolf's head. The wolf threw himself into the grass, rolling over as the white blade sank an inch into the dirt right beside him. For a moment, he was frozen, his own terror reflected back by the blade.

[White Bunny: What the fuck are you doing? Move! ]

He scrambled upright. Not a moment later, the sword sliced through the grass where his legs had been, scattering wisps of grass to the wind.

[White Bunny: Dodge right!]

He blindly dove towards the right. The sword sliced dangerously close to his head, and he could swear he could feel blood dripping down his ear. This time, he didn't pause, immediately getting back to his feet. He turned to run again, and-

[White Bunny: Don't turn your back to him, idiot! How the fuck are you going to dodge blows you can't see?]

He whirled around, catching the glint of Xi-ren's sword just in time to dodge to the left. He managed to avoid falling over, if barely.

[White Bunny: Shift your weight side to side, keep moving. You can't react if you're standing still.]

He felt stupid, shifting side to side when Xi-ren barely seemed to be trying. His expression was bored at best. Every few moments, he would lunge forward and try to take the wolf's head off again. If he was actually trying to kill the wolf-

The wolf dodged to the right. He somehow managed to stay upright after the second, then the third.

Knight Emil-iath let out a low whistle.

"Damn. You're better than I thought."

He tried to smile. Then the flat of the sword slammed into his shoulder, and he was sent flying.

He tumbled across the ground, leaving grass flattened behind him. When he stopped rolling, he looked around dazedly. The world was spinning too fast, and the sun was too bright. No, the sun was moving , streaking towards him in a blinding blur and-

Clang!

The awful sound made all the crows screech. The birds flew away.

The wolf slowly opened his eyes again. He found a huge shadow stretching above his head. The shadow gradually sharpened into focus, matching the lines of Emil-iath's black broadsword.

"What the fuck were you thinking, Xi-ren? You could've killed him!" Emil-iath shouted at Xi-ren. There was nothing subtle about her anger, not anymore. "I should have you removed from the party for that!"

Xi-ren smiled mirthlessly.

"Your first lesson. If you're ever in danger, hide behind Emil-iath."

"That's not a lesson," Knight Emil-iath snapped, but she sheathed her huge blade, stepping back. She shot Xi-ren another dark glare. "You and I are going to have words . Later."

Knight Xi-ren ignored her, tossing a glint of light at the wolf's feet. The sword, the wolf realized.

"You won't reach any sort of proficiency, but you need some basic skills. Pick it up."

The wolf bent down. He grabbed the hilt of the sword with his right hand, lifting the sword out of the dirt. His muscles strained from the effort needed just to get the tip of sword just an inch off the ground.

"Is that it?" Knight Xi-ren asked coldly. Once again, he didn't give the wolf any chance to respond, just unhooking the sheathe from his back and swinging it towards the wolf's head.

Instinctively, the wolf raised his hands above his head, dropping the sword. The weapon crashed down across his arms. He stumbled backwards, barely managing to remain upright.

Knight Xi-ren did not wait for him to recover. He struck again. The wolf dove forward, yanking the sword loose from the dirt. Somehow, he got the sword between himself and Xi-ren. The sword was still half in the dirt, but he managed to raise it just enough to block the blow.

The impact reverberated through his hands, and he nearly dropped the sword again.

He stabbed the sword into the ground, pushing himself back to his feet. He breathed hard, vision blurring at the edges. The tip of the sword rested on the ground- no matter what Xi-ren shouted at him, he couldn't lift it- and blood trickling down his arm.

"Too slow again. How typical."

Xi-ren never gave him any time to catch his breath. Even when the wolf managed to lift the sword, Xi-ren sent the sword flying out of his hand before he could even position it in front of him.

"Block."

How? The wolf wanted to snap back. You won't even give me the chance to grab the sword, how am I supposed to block?

Xi-ren knocked the sword out of his hand again.

"Dead," Xi-ren pronounced coldly, then struck him before he could pick his sword up. There wasn't even any malice in his eyes, just pure apathy. He didn't seem to care how many bruises he left on the wolf's arms, or even if the wolf got back up again.

What sort of training was this? The wolf thought desperately. His entire body trembled from the effort of just staying upright.

"Go home," Xi-ren told him again and again. That was it, wasn't it? Xi-ren wasn't even trying to help him- the knight was just beating him until he was willing to give up.

I want to go home, too! The wolf wanted to shout at Xi-ren, frustration burning his parched throat. Even his hands stung from being beaten so many times. He didn't want to learn how to use a sword, eat terrible berries, or pretend to be human. He would go home if the [System] would let him, but it wouldn't , so-

The wolf clenched his teeth, forcing himself back to his feet again. The sun was hot against his skin. He didn't even know how long they had been doing this for.

"Don't you think this is enough?" Knight Emil-iath asked, worried. Knight Xi-ren, as usual, didn't respond, just attacking the wolf again.

After hours of relentless attacks, the sun finally retreated below the horizon, ending their horrible training session.

Knight Xi-ren smiled as the wolf shoved the sword back at him. The knight could clearly see the resentment building in the wolf's eyes, and he just didn't care.

"See you tomorrow," Knight Xi-ren said mockingly.