Kaara dispelled her halberd and hovered healing water around everyone, “Is Sancta alright?”

“Probably just a soul injury. And well- maybe a bad bruise on her jaw where I hit her, but- y’know I’ll just take her to Shiira in case I hit her too hard or somethin’.”

“What about me? You gonna cut my horns too?” Kaara asked.

Tadios chuckled, “That was Sancta’s fight, and it looks like she failed. Still within the plan, though. I’ll get around to you if I’ve got time, but I think it’s best if I get Sancta to Shiira first.”

Kaara slumped down in the snow as she watched Tadios run off.

“Tadios got so much stronger in such a short time,” Arik huffed, splaying out on her back “pisses me off.”

Kaara could see tears welling in the corners of her eyes, “Tadios won’t consider that a win, but you’re still gonna consider that a loss, huh?” She said, laying down with her.

Arik put her arm over her eyes, her lip quivering, “Yeah…”

Kaara stared up at the gray winter sky, hearing Arik taking short choppy breaths as she tried not to cry, “remember that time you ate a testicle?”

That broke Arik from her self pity, “W-What?” She laughed, sniffling, “Why are you talking about that now? Are you dumb?”

“I tried to eat an arrow, so yeah, I’m pretty dumb.”

She wiped her eyes, sitting up again, “Why do you always know what to say? Only you, honestly…” She took a deep breath, looking at her palm and clenching it, “I’ll get him next time.”

“How did he beat you?”

Arik scratched her head, “Tadios got real smart real fuckin’ quick. It’s like he’s on a different level now. I thought maybe I’d closed the gap or surpassed him, but he showed me I was wrong.”

“Was he really that much stronger?”

“It’s not that. It’s more like- It was the way he fought. He was just catching me with feints the whole time! And I know I could’ve won if I aimed for his horns, but I was just being dumb.” Her tail thumped around in the snow, “I wouldn’t have ever thought he’d go for my horns like he did! I thought he was gonna lose himself in the fight like I was, and we were finally gonna both go all out until one of us dropped.”

“So Tadios got smart, huh?”

“Yeah, and he did this weird-” Arik struggled to find the right word, “thing? I dunno if it was magic or Ux, or whatever, but I hit him with a good shot, and he just sent me flying with something way bigger! Plus, all the wounds I put on him before that healed instantly. I’ve seen dad heal quickly like that before, but never anyone our age.”

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“Well Tadios still has a few years on us. I hear fifteen’s when we’ll really start getting strong, so is it really fair to be upset by a loss?”

Arik breathed in to speak, but before she could answer their conversation was broken by a whistle.

“Hey, I’m still up here by the way!” Rorik said, dangling above them, “Maybe talk about this after getting me down?”

“I would also be grateful for some assistance,” Fealux said.

“Right, sorry. Kaara, get the ninja girl will you?” Arik said, floating herself up to Rorik with her magic.

After cutting them down, Rorik collapsed in the snow with a heavy sigh, “They got us good, huh?”

“At least we got one of them in the end.” Arik said, “But yeah, they got us real fuckin’ good.”

Fealux bowed her head to Kaara, “It is up to you now. Please tell Deka what happened, and give him my apologies for being so weak.”

“Aw cmon, you did what you could, right? Sancta was tough.” Kaara said.

“Still, I should have been more vigilant.”

“I’ll tell him you sent Tulos running, but Sancta got you with a sneaky hit.”

“You need not defend my reputation, I do not seek to owe anyone any favors. I will bear this humiliation on my own.”

“Nah, you wouldn’t owe me, I wanna do it.”

Fealux paused, seemingly bewildered by Kaara’s statement. She looked at Kaara like she was trying to decipher what underlying intent Kaara might have.

“Kaara’s not a liar, you can trust she’s not trying to get something from you,” Arik said, “She might be trying to be your friend, though.”

Fealux squinted, “Fine. If there are no strings attached, then thank you for rescuing my dignity. I will have to decline anything beyond a business relationship, however. In case I ever need to kill you in the future.”

“And you nobles call us the weird ones.” Arik mumbled.

“No problem,” Kaara said, turning to Rorik and Arik, “Can you guys make sure Sancta’s alright?”

“Even after everything she’s been doing to you, you’re still worried about her, huh?” Arik said, arms crossed.

“I guess I’m less angry and more curious now. The way she was fighting. It was like she was a cornered animal. She was giving everything she had, risking it all just to hurt me. When I was holding my halberd I could sense the shifting of her soul. I could feel everything, but for some reason I couldn’t feel malice from it. I felt… loneliness? Fear? Frustration, mostly.”

“I was wondering what that weapon was. I could feel the cold from the treetops” Rorik said, “Although I’ve never heard of a weapon that lets you sense emotions.”

“It sounds more like you’re doing the ‘Kaara’ thing and trying to find something redeemable about her,” Arik said.

Kaara looked at her feet, hands behind her back, “Maybe I am, but I just can’t get rid of this gut feeling there’s something more to this that I’m not getting yet.”

“There’s some people you just gotta give up on, I think,”

“Don’t get me wrong, I still think Sancta’s a bitch, but now I just wanna know why. That’s all. She’s not a Malaki, y’know? She’s capable of being good.” Kaara sighed, “But I think the best way to help her is to have other people do it. It’s clear I can’t make her like me, but if the two of you guys can get her to come around, then maybe?”

“No promises I won’t break her nose a couple times.” Arik said, “But if it’s for you, I’ll hold back.”

“We’ll do what we can. You should go and regroup with everyone else,” Rorik said.

“Oh, that’s right!” Kaara said, taking off, “Let’s all eat dinner together tomorrow!”

“Go get ‘em!” Arik shouted after her.