POV Sephiroth

Slowly the sun vanished behind the far away mountains. Bereft of its light, the amount of people following their daily work dwindled, one after the other, going home as the darkness claimed the day. Sephiroth observed them from the roof of the manor. Today had marked a possible crossroad in her life.

She had offended a person she shouldn’t have and placed her lord in a difficult situation. Deciding between what was good for him or protecting her, he had stepped forward. Not only making his life more difficult but also earning the barony a possible enemy. She still remembered his steel filled voice as he stood his ground, not giving an inch. At that moment she vaguely saw another person in him. Tall and proud he stood, back unbending, radiating absolute power. A true lord.

Absentmindedly, she slid a hand over her neck, grabbing it like Aron had done before. That new side of him ran shivers down her spine. He had gazed into her eyes with such absolute confidence and finality. His eyes had changed. Those were not of a young man but of a monster in human clothing. they were cold, callous and apathetic. Sephiroth simply knew that he would make good on his treats. Others would have been disgusted or scared, but Sephiroth felt a warm shudder through her body. Deeply hidden in her body her once dead devil bloodline pulsed in consent. Yes, she would make him hers.

Standing up, she stretched herself. Tomorrow she was going to introduce Aron to the wilderness, another big step in his journey to become the man she wanted him to be. After this latest episode Sephiroth was even more motivated to teach him the best she could.

________

POV Aron Brightcloud

A soft hand caressed my check. Still mostly asleep I enjoyed its warmth. A beautiful voice sweetly whispered loving words into my ears. “Do you want do stay a bit longer in bed today my dear?” Yes, I wanted that. “Do you want to relax a bit more?” I nodded in appreciation, leaning into that warmth. “Do you want to be thrown out of the bed?” I nodded happily once more, still immersed in that blissful feeling.

The soft hand suddenly vanished, replaced by a pincer of a kraken. It gripped my shoulder so forcefully it hurt. Before I knew what was going on, I flew through the air and crashed into the adjacent wall.

“Good morning, my beloved Master. Have you slept well?” The sweet voice sounded again next to my ear.”

“Sephiroth!!”

Having collected myself, I raised my hurting body.

“What the heck was that?!”

She looked at me innocently. “I only followed your instructions, did I do something wrong?”

How could I ever have thought that my speech would impact her basic behaviour and let me have a more relaxed life… Sephiroth was Sephiroth, always. I had no illusions about that anymore. Looking at her happy face I shook my head in defeat.

Playing her innocent part further, she went on.

“Do you want to sleep longer? Naturally, I can come later again. My young master should have a happy life!”

I should have sold her to the marquess… “No, it is okay. As I am awake now, it is a good time to train.”

“Great, lets go to the garden.” Sephiroth happily threw my training-clothes at me. A part of me wanted to reprimand her. My cold subroutines tried to spark to life. But her caring eyes, that peered deeply into mine, stopped me from doing so. Yesterday I had shown her my darker side, yet she didn’t change her behaviour at all. In her own way she told me that she had seen my other self and approved of it. Thinking back to my old brothers in arms and how most of them had treated me, that was exceedingly rare.

I quickly changed clothes. We made our way to the back garden.

“So, today is my introduction into the wild, how do you want to do it?”

Sephiroth grinned at me “How about going directly into the woods? You already know how to swing your sword, so why wait?”

“Right, I still remember what you did the last time I tried that in weapons-training. No, lets start first with the basics, like behaving in the wild or animal lore. I don’t need another beating.”

“Aw, my young master, too scared of the wild?”

“No, but I know you too well.” I replied dryly.

Pouting at me, Sephiroth slumped her shoulders. I knew it! She had been so counting on hurting me again. Yet, typically in Sephiroth style, her pouting face instantly changed into a cheerful smile, not dwelling on her busted plan.

“Lets start theory first. In a nutshell, you need to know about four topics to survive in the wilderness. Firstly, know everything about the beasts living in it. Secondly, understand the properties of plants to not poison yourself and be able to use the surroundings to your advantage. Thirdly, know how to move freely and without obvious trail. And as last, be able to hid your aura and scent. The aura will come later, as you don’t have one yet.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

I will provide you with different books about beasts and flora, so study them in your free-time. For now we will begin with movement and scent hiding, followed by a bit of theory about aura suppression if we have the time. You won’t need it at the moment, but it is good to know about it.

I have talked with your mother and she has consented to let us go into the extensive forest next to the town. As long as we don’t go too deep, it will be okay. There we will train. So don your armor and equip your sword.

Right, I forgot to tell you. I got your sword from the weapon smith. Excellent choice, by the way. That weapon was by far the best out of the lot.”

Following her words, she threw a sword-shaped bundle at me. I caught it and quickly put on my armor. The armor was nothing special. Mostly hardened leather with mail and steel arm and shin braziers. Its purpose was to protect me while still allowing for instantaneous movement.

Sephiroth gave me a quick ones-over and nodded satisfied.

“Lets do a relaxed jog to the forest that will get your blood pumping.”

I was a bit surprised. That was much more normal than usual for Sephiroth’s standards.

“The looser has to do two hundred push-ups and carry back all the equipment!” Finished with her words she speeded off, leaving me standing in the garden exasperated.

And I already had hopes. Shacking my head I accelerated, running after her.

____

Some time and two hundred push-ups later I stood in the woods not far from Mendres, listening to Sephiroth as she instructed me how to move in a forest.

“You have to bend your knees and body. Lower it a bit, like this. Slowly move one leg in front, come down with the toes first. Pay attention to where you step. A dry piece of wood or dry leaves can make all the difference. Now slowly roll down, letting the whole foot touch the floor. Move your weight and repeat the process with the other leg.”

Following her own instruction, she moved around me, this time completely quiet.

“Now it's your turn, try it out.”

I moved with similar steps around the woods. Not as quiet as her, but quickly getting there. During military we had trained in such sort of movement techniques, I got used to them quickly.

Sephiroth watched me surprised, although somehow it felt a bit acted.

“You are a natural as it looks, not bad! In that case we can accelerate the program. The ground is not the only thing you need to pay attention to. While moving incorporate all the branches and vines into your travel-path. If you touch them accidentally, their rustling can be heard and betray your position. Damaged branches or vines are easily used to track you, so make sure to not touch them.”

I nodded in agreement. Our military instructor had taught us the same. With Sephiroth’s approval I slinked off into the woods for further practice. At first at a gentle pace, but quickly picking up speed. Not long later I was rushing through the forest, not touching anything.

Yes, my proficiency was still there. The new body making it even easier now that I had trained it to a good level. Suddenly my inborn paranoia rung the alarm bells in my head. It was too simple. Sephiroth always adjusted the exercise-level to my mastery. Something was up.

My until now passive working threat-assessment subroutines flared to live. Not a second too early. Mid jump, I lowered my body, flying horizontally for a brief moment. Something scraped past me, touching my chest slightly as it flew past my body. Righting myself up in the air, I came down into a roll and turned towards the possible enemy. While standing up I drew my sword. It proved a sensible idea as a piece of wood was already on collision course with my head. With little effort I batted it out of the air.

Scanning the surroundings, I didn’t find the perpetrator. Suddenly my sixth sense screamed. Behind me! I ducked and turned my body. My sword coming around in a 180° ark. With a loud ring, it crashed into another weapon. I used the backward force of the collision to jump away and get some distance from my enemy.

There she stood, grinning at me in approval.

“Not bad Aron, you sixth sense is improving.” With a predatory glint in her eyes, she winked at me. “Go! run my little lamp. I will catch you! And don’t forget, for every broken branch or trampled leaf you will have to do additional push-ups!”

Damn! I turned and sped deeper into the woods.

________

POV Sephiroth

He learned quickly. Not only his movement-skills, but also his danger-sense and decision-making improved rapidly. Sephiroth jumped from one branch to another, reaching a spot above Aron’s path. Not waiting for him to spot her, she kicked off into a back-flip, coming down on her charge from above. They crashed into each other, sword hitting sword with such force that it pushed them apart instantly. Righting herself, Sephiroth had to duck immediately. A piece of wood came flying through the space her head had been in a split second earlier.

Four meters apart, they eyed each other warily. Aron’s gaze had changed. Where before it had been focused but emotional, now he gazed at her mostly expressionless, not giving Sephiroth the slightest hint of his intentions. Suddenly he jumped, surmounting the distance in an instant. His sword came down full force, pushing her into a defensive position.

Sephiroth had limited herself to a similar speed and strength as her charge, thinking her experience would give her enough of an edge against him. Yet reality quickly proved her wrong. Aron behaved completely different today. He didn’t fall for her faints and before she realized what was going on he had manipulated her into a disadvantageous position. Breaking her resolution she used her superior speed to escape the otherwise impossible predicament. Yet that didn’t result in the expected outcome. She had to duck immediately a second time and raise her speed even more, as he had forced her into an even harsher situation.

Having saved herself from the new predicament, she fell back and assessed the situation anew. Aron simply stood there, eying her expressionlessly. What had that been?! How had he pushed her so hard. She had more experience, what did he do? Playing it back in her mind Sephiroth realised the reason. Every move had been planned, although she had better movements, she had completely danced to his tune. How had he done that?! And he didn’t even brush any bushes or branches. The traces of combat on the ground were minimal.

“Okay, I think that is enough for the moment. I don’t know what has changed, but you have made another significant step in your training. We can postpone further practice of how to fight and move without leaving traces in favor of a real beast fight.”

Listening to Sephiroth’s words Aron’s gaze slowly changed back into his usual behavior.