“Again!”

“Hyah!”

“Again!”

“Huff…hyah!”

“Again!”

“…”

“I said again!”

“I…can’t do it that fast!” Sola complained.

“Yes, you can. I saw you do it back in Kaju.” Ferris pointed out.

“I only did it twice then!...you want me to do it, like, five times!”

“Alright, I guess you WANT the Wailing to kill you!” Ferris shot back, as her and Sola kept complaining in front of the rest of the class.

“This is just last year’s Whil App class all over again.” One student pointed out, getting agreement from the other students.

Julia watched on as Sola and Ferris continued their shouting match, before turning to Essex. “I know we proved Ferris's innocence, but she can still be a real pill.”

“I would agree.” Essex said, wondering if she should intervene. “She is a horrid teacher.”

“You’re saying you can’t do it?” Ferris asked, stamping her foot.

“Yes!” Sola shouted back. “I get too tired and then I can’t think straight!”

“Clearly. Your Whil’s too powerful for you.” Ferris acknowledged, indicating to Sola’s small stature. “The fact that it hasn’t torn you up from the inside is remarkable.”

“Then train me better!” Sola yelled back. “I don’t want it to tear me up!”

Ferris grabbed her forehead, before pointing back at the training posts. “Alright then. Fire on my mark.”

Sola groaned, trying her best to lift her arms again, as the weight of her exhaustion and arm-cannons pulled them back down. She stood up straight, aiming both her cannons forward and building up a bit of electricity, before a small beam of light grazed the training posts, not even leaving a mark.

Ferris watched as Sola struggled to fire again, before sighing out and turning to the rest of the class. “What a shocker…Team Crater, get up here.”

Sola pouted at Ferris’ immediate dismissal, before storming off past the class, throwing off her arm-cannons as she trudged away.

Julia and Essex retrieved them and tried to catch up with her, as Ferris watched on from the side, clicking her tongue.

“If she ever starts getting good with that Whil, I’m gonna eat my hat.”

“Sola, wait!” Julia called, catching up to her. “I can’t just storm out of class like that.”

“I so can!” Sola snapped back. “Especially when my teacher’s…”

———

“…the absolute worst!” Sola complained, stomping around the team’s dorm room, as the rest of Team Valiant kept their distance and let her work out her frustration.

“Is this Ferris again?” Wess asked, sitting on Julia’s bed, as Julia giving a solitary nod beside her. “I swear, that Whil class sounds like a nightmare.”

“It is usually…” Essex said on the opposite bed, before Sola let out another frustrated groan. “…calmer.”

Harley emerged from the kitchen with a couple sandwiches she'd just finished, as Sola grabbed one angrily and took a bite.

Harley stood by, waiting on Sola, before Sola finally swallowed and looked away.

“…thank you.”

“No prob.” Harley smiled, handing off some to the rest of the team. “Man, Ferris is a pill.”

“That’s what I said!” Julia let out, grabbing her sandwich. “I wish we got another teacher for our Whil App class. Getting her in both first and second-year is…a lot.”

“And it sucks!” Sola added, rejuvenating her frustration. “How am I supposed to learn anything from her?”

“Well, you somewhat did last year.” Wess pointed out, thinking back on it. “Of course, under horrible circumstances.”

Sola recalled the night trapped in the Central Forest with the Gelatinous Wailing and winced, before sighing out. “I just want to get better at fighting, but my Whil is all I’ve got…”

Hearing this, Harley jumped in excitement, before hopping over to Sola and grabbing her side. “Well, here’s an idea. What if I tutor you for a few weeks?”

“Really?” Sola let out, visibly excited. “You’d do that?!”

“Yeah! I’ve got some free time coming up, so I can teach you how to really fight. Who knows? Maybe you'll get better with your Whil too.” Harley bragged, shrugging her shoulders. “Then we can rub it in Ferris’ stupid face.”

“Wait, hold on.” Julia interrupted, as Sola ignored her while thinking about training with Harley. “Won’t that get in the way of Sola’s other training?”

“Not really.” Harley pointed out. “Considering she hates her current training with Ferris. I’ll just teach her useful things instead.”

Harley waved her hand. “I’ll just show her how to throw a punch and let her build up some muscle. And if anyone can do that, it’s me.”

“Yeah!” Sola cheered, jumping up and down on the spot. “I’m gonna learn to fight!”

Harley and Sola celebrated to themselves, as Julia, Wess and Essex watched on in a mix of curiosity, paranoia, befuddlement, and doubt.

———

“How can I help you?”

“Can I get three of the posts back there?”

“Do you want any specific ones?”

“Uhh, lightning ones? Is that a…?” Harley asked, getting a nod from the Weapons Reserve attendant, as they went to retrieve the training posts for her.

Essex waited alongside Harley, as she felt a need to fill the dead air. “…are you not apprehensive about mentoring Sola?”

Harley thought for a second, then shook her head. “Not really.”

“But this won’t be an easy task. While none of us agree with Ferris’ methods, she is still a qualified educator.” Essex reasoned.

“But she sucks! I don’t know why Faller keeps her around here, cause it’s clearly not for teaching.” Harley pointed out. “And, as far as I can see it, Sola needs help, and I can help her.”

“…that is the principal tenant of Muer,” Essex said. “So, I understand your intention.”

“Muer?” Harley asked.

“It is the guiding philosophy for the Segaru Clan. We shed needless wants and desires and devote our lives to helping those around us.” Essex explained, as the attendant came back with the posts.

Harley made a point to thank the attendant and grab two of the posts, as Essex went for the third. “Huh. I guess that makes sense. That’s basically what a Venator is, anyway.”

“…in a sense.” Essex replied, as they started heading for the training grounds. “But I am appreciative that you have adopted the philosophy of Muer in your own way.”

“Admittedly, this is the first I’m hearing about it.” Harley remarked, laughing a bit. “And…to be honest, I’m kinda worried about helping her with her Whil.”

Harley waved her hand. “Punching and stuff, that I know, but…apart from Wess, I’m the only member without a Whil, and I don’t know that much about lightning or…physics? I guess it’d be physics…”

The duo saw the grounds just around the edge of the forest, as Essex spotted the rest of the team waving at them. “The fact that you are still inclined to help is very noble.”

“Oh, stop it…I’m gonna get a big head about it.” Harley teased, bumping Essex’s side.

Patiently waiting on the grounds, Sola stood somewhat firmly out on the dirt, as Julia and Wess watched her from the spectator stands.

Julia noticed a bit of apprehension in Sola’s stance, as she leaned over from the stands. “Everything alright, Sola?”

“Y-Yeah.” She replied. “K-Kinda.” She added. “N-No.” She finished.

“Are you nervous?”

Sola nodded frantically. “A-After I thought about it more, the worry came that I might screw up and make Harley feel bad.”

“Oh, this is Harley we’re talking about. She has self-confidence in spades.” Wess argued from the stands.

“B-But still! I’m her first mentee, I don’t want to be a burden!” Sola expressed, having trouble keeping her feet still, just as Harley and Essex came into view.

Essex dropped off the post and joined Julia and Wess up in the spectator stands, as Harley put down her posts and faced Sola proudly.

“Sola!”

“Y-Yeah!”

“Are you ready for training?”

“M-Maybe!”

Harley laughed. “Come on, let’s make that a yes!”

“Y-Yes!” Sola replied, getting a thumbs up from Harley.

“I like that initiative!” Harley exclaimed. “Now, before we get to training proper, I want to hear some personal goals from you. What do you want to get out of this training?”

Sola felt a bit put on the spot but thought hard about it anyway. “…I wanna get better at fighting! And with my Whil! I don’t feel like I’d be very useful in most fights, so I’m gonna improve to help the team.”

Sola pumped her fists. “I’m sick of being a glass cannon the team has to wheel around! I wanna wheel myself around!”

Sola put her hands down and blushed. “Did that make sense?”

Harley chuckled. “Yeah, that tracked. Let’s start with some warm-ups.”

Sola nodded along, as Harley lowered her sunglasses confidently.

“Alright.” She said, before darting off to the side. “One lap around the training grounds!”

Before Sola could comprehend it, Harley was already off down the considerable length of the trainings grounds, leaving her to try and catch up as best she could. Sola struggled to even match her speed, as the others looked on in worry.

“Harley’s going to crush that poor girl.” Wess expressed, watching on, as Julia rummaged around in her bag.

“I believe at this rate, we will be here a while.” Essex realised.

“Well, while we’re here, you wanna play some Bears and Twigs to pass the time?” Julia asked, pulling out the box for a card game, as Wess and Essex happily joined in, all while Sola was barely managing to get through.

She’d taken off her jacket, but this hadn’t helped much, as her legs were already about to give out.

“Geez…oh man…I’m…oh boy…”

Sola noticed Harley hanging back to catch up with her, still jogging beside her.

“You’ve got this! Just repeat after me! I’m so awesome!”

“I’m…so awesome!”

“I’m so great!”

“I’m…real great!”

“I’m on my way!”

“I’m…on the ground…” Sola let out, starting to slow even more.

“Come on, there’s got to be more drive in you!” Harley encouraged. “Just a bit further!”

Sola was already struggling again, as Harley sighed out and quickly picked her up, planting Sola square on her shoulders.

“Whoa!” Sola let out, now desperately holding on in fear, as Harley dashed around the length of the grounds.

Harley breathed out heavily, as Sola clung on for dear life.

“Don’t worry…I’ll help you…clear the rest of it!” Harley promised, visibly slowing down.

“B-But aren’t you getting tired too?” Sola questioned aloud.

“It’s…all about…pushing yourself!” Harley insisted, still keeping up. “Even when you think you’re done!”

Harley managed to get back to the duo’s starting point, before toppling on to the ground, fortunately letting Sola down safely before she did so.

Sola joined her as well, her heart racing from both the race and the impromptu piggyback.

“That…was…ugh…” Sola let out, struggling to stand back up, as Harley managed to jump to her feet.

“Don’t quit on me yet.” Harley said, quickly entering a combative pose. “The real workout starts now.”

“Real workout?!” Sola complained, while Harley held up her palm.

“We’re gonna be training up your punching.” Harley clarified. “I know you’re gonna be wearing cannons most of the time, but it’d be irresponsible not to show you how to throw a proper punch.”

Sola let out a sigh, more from exhaustion than annoyance, as she wound up her fist, lifting a leg off the ground, and took a swing.

“Ouch.” Harley said, ironically about how weak the punch was. “Okay, first things first. Keep both feet on the ground. Remember when I taught you grounding?”

Suddenly, the memory clicked of her and Harley’s earlier training sessions. “Oh yeah! I can do that!”

Sola scooched her feet into position, as Harley turned her more to the side.

“You also don’t want to face head on. You’ve got the right idea about winding up, but it only works if you’ve got weight behind it.” Harley explained, standing firmly and showing her palm again. “Let’s go again.”

Sola breathed out and pulled her fist back, closing her eyes while she swung, before she landed her punch with a noticeably heavy impact.

“Whoa!” Harley said, shaking her hand. “That was a big improvement.”

Sola eyes lit up. “Really?”

Harley nodded excitedly, before posing again. “Alright, let’s go again! You've got this!”

———

Harley hated having to put her dad out like this.

She was pretty used to it at this point. She’d been getting into fights for most of primary school, usually over minor things, and every time, William drove her home. But not this time.

Now it was Davidson’s turn.

“This is such bullshit.”

Harley felt the pang of guilt in her chest, sitting right next to Davidson in the passenger’s seat, as he rested one hand on the wheel and one on his head.

“I get one day off. One day, and then I get called out of nowhere to your school for Reun knows what...”

Harley clenched her fist and nearly kicked the seat out of frustration, as Davidson’s own frustration started to build.

“I mean, they drag me out there, convince me you got into some kinda fight, then it turns out all you were doing was protecting other kids from bullies.”

Harley opened her eyes and looked back at Davidson, still fairly pissed off.

“And do the bullies get in trouble? Do they get punished? No, just you. Some school…”

Harley tugged on her clothes, still nervous that she was in trouble. “You aren’t mad at me?”

“No, I’m not mad at you.” Davidson said. “You were awesome.”

Harley wiped her nose, before sitting up in her seat. “But aren’t you going to tell me hitting’s wrong?”

“Uhh, yeah, don’t hit.” Davidson let out, not really committing to it, as he focused mostly on the road. “But it sounds like they totally deserved it.”

“They so did! I saw this one big guy picking on some kids, so I blocked him off like Will taught me! Then a bunch of his cronies showed up, so I held ‘em off, and then…”

“You tripped them?”

“Yeah! I tripped them all!” Harley bragged, standing up in her seat, as Davidson pumped his fist.

“That’s my girl!” Davidson cheered, before remembering he was the parent and clearing his throat. “…but what it sounds like is that you kept hurting them when you should’ve stopped.”

“I didn’t wanna!” Harley expressed, folding her arms and pouting. “But that’s the only way they would get the message…”

Davidson looked back at Harley, before pulling the car over to the side of the road and parking it.

“Alright, Harley, I’m gonna tell you something important, so listen up.” Davidson prefaced.

Harley nodded in bated interest.

“Hurting people is wrong, no doubt about it, but fighting isn’t.” Davidson said. “If you’re fighting someone, and I mean really fighting them, that means you’re doing it for a good reason, like defending people or standing up for something right.”

“Okay…” Harley thought over. “So if I fight them again…”

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“Well, no, that’s the thing. You shouldn’t go out looking for a fight. At that point, you’re just as bad as the bullies.” Davidson reasoned. “You only fight if that’s your last option. A lot of problems can be solved just by talking things out.”

Harley nodded along, thinking back to the bullies, as Davidson patted her head.

“You’re on the right track. Keep taking care of those who need your help, okay?” Davidson insisted, as Harley gave an enthusiastic thumbs up.

Davidson resettled himself, as Harley touched her fingers together. “…the teachers are gonna get mad at me for fighting again, aren’t they?”

“Oh yeah.” Davidson grinned, before leaning in. “But truth be told, they stink pretty hard, so I wouldn’t listen to what they have to say.”

Harley giggled adorably, feeling her spirits rejuvenate, before kicking her legs back and forth, as Davidson started up the car again.

“Now, if Will asks us, this conversation never happened, okay?” Davidson said, as Harley mimed turning a key.

“Locked up tight!”

———

“Sola! Sola! Stop already!”

Sola finally pulled her punches, as Harley’s hand was starting to get a bit red.

“Wow, you really got into that.” Harley remarked. “My hand’s starting to sting.”

“Oh, sorry.” Sola apologised. “I just got really focused at some point.”

Harley grinned proudly. “That just means my teaching’s working.”

Suddenly, Harley sprinted off down the grounds again, before calling back to Sola.

“Another warm-up! One more lap of the grounds!”

“Come on!” Sola whined, still following along regardless, as the others stared back down from the stands.

“And with my Ursa Minor and Ursa Major allied…” Wess said, before noticing them doing laps again. “Well, this is shaping up to be an interesting routine.”

“I hope Harley isn’t too rough with her.” Julia wished. “Her training can be pretty intense when it wants to be.”

“It seems Sola’s taking to it, though.” Wess commented, noting Sola trying her best to keep up.

Essex perked up, before clearing her throat. “You could say she has…caught the train.”

Julia and Wess stared at her dead-faced in response to the joke, before Wess ended up laughing at the proceeding silence instead. However, Essex considered any laugh a success and smiled, just as Harley and Sola’s training was starting to pick up.

———

Harley’s mentoring style worked surprisingly well with Sola.

Sola was never much of a book learner, and while she did okay in school, her grades were always bordering on just not good enough.

Harley, on the other hand, loved reading, and literature in general, but…her grades were about the same. This wasn’t from lack of trying, and they hardly reflected how smart she could be, but they could be demoralising.

Even so, there was an understanding the two had with each other that didn’t come from their teachers or classes. Somewhat respect, somewhat shared language, somewhat…

“So, my Ursa Pyro, Ursa Ranger and Urssassin combine their powers…forming the Wild Pack.” Wess detailed, throwing down her cards, as Julia and Essex sat back in stunned silence. “With a bear collective on my side, I can summon the Trickster Tree Spirit, a near invincible wall for my Polar Bear Tribe.”

Julia gulped nervously, before leaning over to Essex and whispering. “I don’t have enough Honey Mana to play anything good, and I don’t think either of us can take her out on our own.”

“Scheme all you want, your Ursafacts are as good as mine.” Wess remarked, casually checking her nails.

“I believe I may have a strategy, but you will need to follow my lead.” Essex said, getting ready for her turn, as Wess addressed her.

“How goes the Black Bear Tribe these days, Essex?” Wess rhetorically asked, as Essex cleared her throat before answering.

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” She stated plainly, before playing her hand. “First, I shall play the Honeypot card, drawing your Ursa Pyro to my side of the field.”

“Great. That will just save me a turn of moving.” Wess pointed out, smiling wickedly. “Your demise is inevitable.”

“I don’t like her when she’s like this.” Julia let out, as Essex continued.

“Next, I will play the Ent Hunter, killing any bears on my side of the field.” Essex said, discarding the Ursa Pyro, as Wess only just began to sweat. “With the Pyro disposed of, your Wild Pack disbands, dissipating your Trickster Tree Spirit, but not before I revive your trickster and turn it to my side.”

Essex placed another card down, as Wess tried to maintain her composure.

“Finally...I move my farmer.” Essex stated, throwing Wess off with how mundane it was, as she still reeled from having lost her best creature so soon after getting it.

Julia touched her fingers together. “Uhh…since your…Ursafact is unguarded…” Julia nervously said, playing her turn. “I move my…Cub Scout in and take it for the Grizzly Bear Tribe…knocking you out of the game.”

Wess stayed silent, sitting and looking over the cards on display, before she got up off the floor and headed to the kitchen.

“I’m going to get myself a drink.”

“Come on, Wess, don’t get pouty.” Julia insisted, as Wess raised a finger.

“I’m not pouty. I’m just getting a drink. No need to look into that more than you have to.” Wess played off, with a noticeable tightness in her hand, before Essex leaned over to Julia.

“Should we continue this game?” Essex whispered.

“Probably best…” Julia said, readying her turn again, just as Harley burst through the dorm door, rushing over to the fridge, pushing Wess aside and grabbing out a bottle of water.

“Harley, you’re a wild animal.” Wess expressed, Harley choosing to ignore her.

“Sorry, but I need to stay hydrated.” Harley exclaimed, pouring the water on her face. “Sola’s so full of energy! She’s like a little firecracker!”

“So, training’s going well?” Julia asked, with Harley nodding back emphatically.

“Yeah! I get to teach her stuff and she, like, actually listens! I’m almost never the smartest person in the room, but she really wants to hear what I have to say.” Harley grinned, chucking the bottle back in the fridge and heading back out the door. “I’ve got to keep up the momentum! Don’t wait up!”

Harley slammed the door excitedly, leaving the others stunned where they were, as Essex decided to speak up.

“She seems to be excited about mentoring Sola.” Essex said.

“To be fair, it makes sense.” Wess replied, taking a sip of her drink. “Sola felt unheard being taught by Ferris, but now Harley hears her out, and vice versa.”

“And they both get along already, so that probably helps them in training.” Julia reasoned, as the idea connected for Essex.

“Could this be considered passion?” Essex asked, as Julia looked a bit embarrassed.

“Well, yeah, there’s certainly passion behind it.” Julia admitted. “Passion’s a good motivator, after all.”

“Most of the great artists in the world wouldn’t create without passion.” Wess added, joining them on the floor again. “Scientists have a passion for the world, hairdressers with hair, et cetera.”

“But…I dunno, I think it’s more respect.” Julia confessed. “Sola respects Harley enough to let her teach her, and Harley respects Sola enough not to waste her time. They both have plenty to gain out of this.”

Essex nodded along, thinking over what that kind of relationship meant to her, as Wess chimed in.

“Of course, we can only hope that this will funnel itself into useful training.” Wess pointed out. “Worst case scenario, they’re just goofing off while we're not around.”

“I do not believe they would.” Essex argued. “If they are truly passionate about this, they would not waste this opportunity, even for a moment.”

As Harley hurried back down to the grounds, she noticed Sola near their rest spot, strapping on her arm-cannons while she’d been out, as Harley cocked her head in response.

“It’s gonna be kinda hard to punch with those things on.”

Sola turned to her excitedly. “I thought we could start doing Whil training now. All this punching and grounding is good, but I still wanna get better with my Whil.”

Harley sweated nervously, as she tried to maintain some backbone. “B-But we don’t need to jump to that right now. Y-You’ve got all the time in the world to work on that.”

Sola noticed Harley’s jittering and squinted. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah! O-Of course I…” Harley tried, before sitting on the ground after remembering Sola wasn’t that dumb. “…no, you got me.”

Harley played with her fingers, as Sola stood by her. “I-I’ve been deliberately putting off Whil training with you…c-cause…”

Sola blinked. “Cause you don’t have one?”

“Well, yeah!” Harley let out. “With fighting, I could actually teach you things! But I don’t know this stuff. How am I gonna help you if I can’t even…”

Harley gave up and slumped over, avoiding looking at Sola, as Sola reached over and grabbed her shoulder.

“Hey, it’s okay. You don’t need a Whil as well to be a great teacher. Heck, Ferris has one and she’s terrible.” Sola assured. “You’ve helped me this far. You’re on the right track.”

Harley looked back up at her, as Sola gave her a warm smile.

“We’re both learning together, aren’t we?”

Harley managed to nod back, before Sola helped her to her feet and pointed at her with her cannon.

“Now, come on, teach! Work your magic!” Sola exclaimed, giggling to herself and getting into position with her arm-cannons out. “You got this!”

Harley watched as Sola hyped both of them up, still worrying that she couldn’t keep up with her, as she breathed to herself to calm down.

“Come one, brain, help me out here…” Harley demanded to herself, tapping her forehead.

She looked over Sola’s form again and noticed her already struggling with the cannons, as she fell back on what she knew.

“Alright, how about trying to ground yourself, like with the punching.” Harley suggested, as Sola tried to plant her feet. “And…what’s your biggest problem with the cannons?”

“Well, I can only fire them a few times, then I get really tired.” Sola explained. “And then I become totally useless.”

“Endurance, huh? Shit, that’s Essex’s thing…” Harley mumbled, before shaking her head. “No, you’ve got this…”

Harley glanced back at Sola and cocked her head. “Do you always shoot with both cannons at once?”

“Yeah? That’s how I fire my Whil without them too.” Sola said, lowering her arms. “Why?”

“Well, what if you only fire with one at a time? That way, you get less tired and can charge up the other one while the other’s shooting.”

Sola’s eyes lit up. “Hey, yeah! That’s a great idea!” Sola said, grounding herself again, before perking up and turning to Harley. “And, and, what if I hold up the cannon that’s firing with the arm that’s charging? Then I can aim better and switch a lot quicker!”

Harley chuckled. “Go ahead. There’s no harm in trying.”

Sola planted her feet on the ground and aimed back at the training post, before holding up her right cannon, while using her left arm to hold it up and aim. She charged up the cannon, building up light in the barrel, before firing a clean blast at the post, then another, and another, as the exhaustion caught up to her.

As she landed her fourth shot, she started charging her left cannon, then changed them around to start firing with the left, as shot, after shot, after shot, kept hitting.

She managed one last blast with the left, before lifting up her right again and finishing it off with one last clean hit.

As Sola stood back and watched her handiwork, Harley came up from behind and swept her up in a joyous embrace.

“Sola, you badass! That was, like, nine times!”

“I did it! I totally did it!” Sola cheered.

“You’re so awesome!”

“We’re so awesome!”

“We’re so great!”

“We’re on our way!”

Harley let Sola down, and found herself a little dizzy, as Sola jumped around happily.

“I’m gonna set up a few more posts and try again!” Sola exclaimed, getting a high-five from Harley with the cannon.

“Let’s go for ten this time!” Harley cheered, watching as Sola propped up a few more posts, before taking aim again.

———

Sola hated having to leave the house.

School wasn’t very fun, and she never had anywhere she wanted to go. And whenever she did leave, it was so her parents could drive her somewhere important.

“Hey mum?”

“Yeah?”

“What’re we doing here?”

Maxine sighed out, as she pulled into the recreation centre parking. “You’re taking those shock treatment classes, remember?”

“No.”

“Exactly. That’s why I drove you here.” Maxine reasoned, locking the car as they headed for the entrance. “And that way, you wouldn’t worm your way out of it.”

“But I don’t even get a say in this!” Sola complained, stamping her foot.

“Damn right you don’t. I’m not letting whatever poor Venator saps you get stuck with get hurt just because I didn’t do my job right.” Maxine insisted, opening the front door and reaching the front desk. “You’ll thank me later.”

“Can I help you?” The clerk asked.

“Yeah, she has a shock treatment class here.” Maxine said, as the clerk tapped a couple things into her computer.

“May I ask how old she is?”

“Thirteen.” Maxine replied, idly watching as Sola distracted herself.

“And reason for attending?”

“Uhh, Whil development? Is that a…” Maxine asked, as the clerk nodded back and handed Maxine a few forms.

“Just fill these out and head through the door down the hall.” The clerk said, as Maxine took the sheets and sat down with Sola, watching as she kicked her legs back and forth.

Maxine dutifully filled out each option, before finding one she unfortunately couldn’t answer and tapping Sola’s shoulder.

“Hey, uhh, quick question.” Maxine prefaced. “When’s your…birthday?”

“December 22nd.” Sola replied, before realising what that implied. “Hey!”

“Sorry!” Maxine quickly apologised. “You can hardly blame me. I wasn’t there for eight of them, after all.”

Sola pouted in her seat, as Maxine finished up the forms, before getting out of her seat.

“Alright, that should do it.” Maxine said to herself, before realising Sola hadn’t followed her, and was now standing shakily just out of eyeshot of the shock treatment classroom.

Maxine walked back over and crouched down. “Alright, what’s up?”

“I-I’m gonna screw it up!!!” Sola yelled a little too loudly, getting the rest of the room’s attention, as Maxine tried to quiet her.

“Hey, calm down. Why’re you gonna screw up?”

“C-Cause I’m not good with this type of stuff, and I might accidentally hurt someone in there…” Sola pointed out, as Maxine tried to make out her expression.

“So? You’re one of the most creative people I know, even for a teenager.” Maxine explained. “And, sure, it took some convincing, but you’re here, and you’re worried about people. That shows a lot of maturity.”

“B-But it isn’t mature to be scared…” Sola let out, as Maxine laughed.

“Yeah, it is! That means you know what could go wrong.” Maxine said. “Who cares if you screw up? Life’s more interesting when things go wrong anyway.”

Sola still looked unconvinced, as Maxine sighed out and got back up, looking at the classroom.

“Okay, here’s a better idea. Imagine there’s a cute girl in there.” Maxine suggested, peaking Sola’s interest. “Like, a really cute one.”

“Is she blonde?” Sola asked suddenly, as Maxine gave a noncommittal shrug.

“Uhh, sure, why not.” Maxine said.

“I don’t see any in there.” Sola pointed out, looking inside the class, as Maxine rolled her eyes.

“She’ll probably show up later.” Maxine insisted, before crouching again. “At least this way, you’ll have someone you want to impress in there.”

Sola nodded along surely. “Okay…but even if I screw up, I’m gonna make sure to impress you too.”

She took a deep breath and walked to the class, before turning back around and hugging Maxine, then heading inside proper, as Maxine found that her cheeks had flushed.

Maxine reached into her pocket and fished around for her tablet, making a call.

“…hello? Wayne? Yeah, I just dropped her off…she seemed good. She needed a bit of convincing, though…well, that makes sense. I hate to say it, but I think we might be good parents…yes, both of us…I’m sorry, who drove her here?...exactly.”

———

“Again!”

“Hah!”

“Again!”

“Hyah!”

“Nice! That was thirteen!”

“…woo!” Sola cheered, struggling to catch her breath, as Harley noticed the sun starting to set.

“Alright, I’m calling it, we’re so done for today…” Harley let out, collapsing to the ground, as Sola quickly joined her. “What a day…”

“I’m so tired. My hands feel like jelly…” Sola sympathised.

“Stop, you’ll make me think about food.” Harley groaned, only for Sola to join her.

“Dammit, now I am too.” Sola said, causing Harley to laugh.

“We’re just a couple of idiots making each other hungry, huh?”

Sola smiled. “At least we’re hungry together.”

Harley noticed the sky changing colour and laughed a little. “You’ve improved to an insane degree. I’m really proud of you.”

Sola tried to look humble. “Thanks. But it was a team effort…”

“Wha-hey, the others barely helped at all!” Harley joked, getting a laugh out of Sola.

“I meant us!” Sola corrected, knocking her head into Harley’s shoulder. “Stop being a doofus.”

Sola stared up at the sky as well and sighed out. “It feels so weird.”

“What does?”

“Just, being here. I had no idea what I wanted to do when I got here.” Sola admitted, standing back up. “But now, I dunno, I actually feel motivated, and I can kinda control my Whil.”

Harley chuckled. “It sounds like you’ve got some direction now.”

“Yeah! Direction!” Sola agreed, pointing frantically. “I wanna help people! I want to keep getting better and better at what I can and use that for whoever I can!”

“And beat up some Wailing along the way.” Harley said, as Sola sat back down, nodding.

“That too.” Sola said, settling back down. “If I can do that with you guys, then I think I’ll be set.”

“I think I know why you wanted to become a Venator now.” Harley said, nudging her shoulder. “So that we could be a team.”

Sola blushed and nodded, as Harley felt a gentle chill running through the air, now regretting her choice of tank top.

Sola quickly noticed and undid her jacket, wrapping it around them both.

“Thanks.” Harley let out, bundling up to it. “You know, I used to say the same stuff.”

Sola turned to Harley in shock. “When?”

“It was…a while ago.” Harley admitted. “Back in primary school, I used to get into a bunch of fights with bullies. They kept picking on the little kids, an-“

“You used to fight off bullies? That’s so cool!” Sola cheered, vibrating excitedly, as Harley looked away, her face turning crimson.

“It’s not that cool…” Harley murmured. “It put my dad’s out a lot…”

She turned back to Sola. “Anyway, the bullies kept getting tougher, so I had to get tougher to compensate. Eventually, I decided to become a Venator so I could keep fighting the good fight, but now with Wailing instead of loudmouth kids.”

Sola stared at Harley in admiration, before leaving her head on Harley’s side, resting as the night grew colder.

“Hey, Harley?”

“Yeah?”

“You reckon we’ll ever do anything big?”

“Big?”

“Yeah, I mean more than just be Venators.”

Harley smirked. “What, like end the Wailing Conflict? Inspire some great social change?”

“It could happen.” Sola said, staring up at the night sky. “We’d probably need a few more people, though. I don’t think five of us are going to cut it.”

Harley wrapped an arm around Sola. “I bet every team leaves the academy thinking they’ll be the ones to end it. I mean, that’s probably what Team Ballistic thought…”

“Yeah…” Sola agreed, briefly remembering the Tragedy of Team Ballistic. “But we’ll be careful about it.”

Harley found herself laughing again. “Let’s just work on Whil training first.”

“Okay…” Sola said, leaning into Harley, appreciating the sunset’s gradient with her, just as Julia arrived with a couple plates of food, before the cold hit her immediately.

“Hey, brought you guys dinn-oh, jeez, that’s smarts.” She let out, dropping off the plates. “Are you coming back inside soon?”

“Nah, I think we’ll stay out here for a bit longer.” Harley said, letting Sola rest on her. “We won’t be too long.”

“Okay. Have fun, you two.” Julia wished, waving them off, leaving the duo to appreciate each other’s company, huddled together under the night sky.

———

And just like that, a few weeks had already passed them by. It hadn’t felt very long, save for the few classes Sola still had to attend with Ferris, but she was always secure in the knowledge that training with Harley was just after, and that she could learn how to fight for real.

But of course, the mentoring was never meant to be a permanent thing. The team would usually train together, but Harley and Sola’s one-on-one sessions couldn’t afford to take up as much time as they had.

Sola jumped back, flexing her cannons to her side, as Harley lifted up her Buster Knuckles again, ready to continue sparring.

“Remember, your cannons can take a hit. I know it’ll feel weird but blocking with them will be much better than getting hit yourself.” Harley advised, as she noticed Sola seemed a bit out of it. “Something got you up?”

Sola lowered her cannons. “…it’s just…we’re finishing training soon, and…I wanna do something big!”

“Big?” Harley asked.

“Yeah! We’ve made a ton of progress, but it’d feel weird to end it without something to celebrate.” Sola reasoned.

Harley grinned along happily. “Celebrate, huh? Luckily, you’re with the resident party girl here. I’ll think of…”

Harley glanced around them, looking for some kind of inspiration, and almost coming up short, before spotting the large, pointed figure jutting out from in between the boxy skyscrapers of the academy.

“There.” Harley said, pointing right at it. “We’ll finish it there.”

Sola gulped. “Th-The Academy Spire?”

“Why not? No one really goes there anyway.” Harley mentioned. “One last sparring match to end off our mentoring.”

Sola struggled to build the confidence to say yes, before looking back at Harley, feeling rejuvenation just by sharing a glance with her, and pumping her fists inside her cannons.

“L-Let’s do it.”

“That’s a yes!” Harley exclaimed, bolting down to the Spire, as Sola frantically followed behind.

Sola paced herself as she caught up, and was now standing next to Harley, staring up at the massive marble spike pointing right at the sky.

Harley whistled. “Never get tired of seeing this.”

She stepped inside, careful to look around the hollow interior for anyone else that might be there, and fortunately found that the cost was clear.

“All good. We shouldn’t bother anyone.” Harley remarked, as Sola just caught it.

“I thought you said no one comes here.”

Harley tried not to break a sweat. “W-Well, I j-just wanted to be sure.”

She gave a very fake sounding laugh, as Sola decided not to press her anymore.

Sola looked around at the empty, circular interior curiously. “So, are we going to spar here?”

“Well, technically.” Harley played off. “But…I kinda lied…this won’t just be a sparring match.”

Sola looked confused, as Harley stood atop the first few steps of the stairs running up the inside of the Spire.

“This is also gonna be a race!”

“Huh?”

Harley pointed back at Sola. “You have to stop me from getting to the top of the Spire!”

“Wha?”

“This will be your final challenge, Sola Lusagi!”

“Uhh?”

“Ready, set, go!!!” Harley announced, already bolting up the staircase, as Sola frantically got into action, doing her best to follow up behind her.

Harley’s powerful muscles were already carrying her most of the way. She managed to make it a fair distance, out speeding Sola handling due to her well-defined physique, before the exhaustion of sprinting upstairs really started to hit her, causing her to struggle for a bit.

Meanwhile, Sola was still focused on closing the distance, having already ditched her jacket at the bottom of the stairs. Unfortunately, her cannons were starting to weigh her down, making the already difficult climb even harder.

After regaining her breath, Harley carried on up the stairs, already making it a quarter of the way there, while she looked back at Sola further down and waved.

“Serves you right for trying to best me! You could never win!” Harley yelled, hurrying back up, before feeling bad about the comment. “I don’t actually mean that, I’m just being a douche to spur you on!”

Sola groaned, the staircase seeming endless to her, as she debated ditching her cannons to try and catch up, before she looked at them and an idea came across her mind.

Harley was fast approaching the halfway point, feeling that she’d need another break soon enough, only to hear weird noises coming from further down the Spire, causing her to peer over the spiralling stairs.

She noticed Sola, now propelling herself upwards with blasts from her cannons, bounding up several steps at a time from the force of each shot, which was enough for Harley to freak out and really pick up her game.

Just as Harley hit the halfway point, Sola was quickly approaching, just about ready to pass her, before feeling fatigue from using her Whil so much.

She lay down on a few steps, as Harley sat by one of the steps, both panting and tired.

“Pretty…impressive.” Harley managed.

“…thanks.” Sola replied, focusing on breathing.

“How’d…you think of that?” Harley asked, as Sola closed her eyes.

“Well…I thought I could do…what I did back in Kaju…but…obviously witho-“

“See ya!” Harley let out, shocking Sola suddenly, as she opened her eyes and noticed Harley now clearing her way upward, taking advantage of Sola’s tiredness.

Sola quickly hurried back to her feet, already struggling to stand, before really pushing herself to keep going up and follow Harley, just as Harley only had a quarter of the way to go.

“Oh boy…I shouldn’t have gotten up that fast…” Harley admitted, only to ignore her exhaustion as she noticed Sola leaping up to her and hurry up, finally spotting the viewing platform at the top of the Spire.

Sola noticed the light coming from it too, as Harley frantically sprinted up the last few steps, ready to claim her victory.

She turned back to Sola excitedly, pumping her fists in the air as she sprinted. “A well-fought victory! I hate to say it, but this’ll have to mark the end of ou-“

In her excitement and distraction, Harley hadn’t realised just how fast she was going, and how much the viewing platform levelled out compared to the staircase. The realisation only hit as the safety rail that was supposed to keep people from falling suddenly collided with Harley’s stomach, and the rest of her body started to carry itself over the rail, now suddenly dropping over the edge of the Spire.

Once Sola had finally caught her way up, she was just in time to watch Harley collide with the railing and start to fall.

“Harley!!!” She cried, as her instincts kicked in, bolting over to catch her as she threw off one of her cannons.

It clattered to the floor, just as she managed to grab Harley with her free hand. Harley’s look was one of terrified desperation, as Sola tried her best to pull her up, but just couldn’t manage.

Not determined to give up, she grounded her foot against the railing and pointed her remaining cannon out toward the sky, before blasting it at full force to push them both back up onto the platform.

Due to Sola’s efforts, Harley was able to grab onto the railing with her other arm, before pulling herself up and tumbling over with Sola due to the momentum of her cannon blast.

It took them both a second, before they could acknowledge that they were safe, as Harley found her heart beating intensely, and Sola was only now feeling the pain in her right hand.

Tentatively, Sola placed her hands on Harley’s cheeks.

“Are you…”

Harley nodded, letting Sola feel some relief, as the sun started to set just beside them.

“I-I…I was really…” Sola let out, as Harley held her hand reassuringly.

“Yeah…I shouldn’t have…” Harley panted. “I think…I…”

Harley only now realised that she’d fallen backward, and that Sola was propped up above her, holding herself up above Harley’s legs, as Harley leaned back, sharing a glance with Sola in the sudden and wild moment.

The sunset lit both of their faces, bathing them in a gentle evening glow, as they felt a real warmth they hadn’t felt in however long.

After the panic and worry of the fall had worn off, Sola felt herself compelled to act, compelled to close the distance and slowly crawl forward, as Harley sat up to help, her heart still racing after everything that had transpired.

Sola’s other hand slipped onto Harley’s, as both of them let it happen, both waiting until Harley was properly up, and Sola was now above Harley’s body, the distance only shrinking as time went on.

The sun continued to compliment the moment, as the distance between them became less and less of a factor, but the warmth continued to grow, culminating in something special.

And then, it happened.

It was brief.

It was the beginning of everything, and yet, at the time, it felt so innocuous.

They kissed, holding it for however long it felt right, before breaking it, letting each other breathe heavily and process what had just happened.

“So…” Harley let out, still trying to collect herself. “I guess this is happening.”

“Yeah…” Sola agreed, thinking things over again, as the sunset truly made itself known, glinting off of Harley’s sunglasses and Sola’s eyes.

Neither could say what would come of this, or how things would work themselves out after everything had taken its course.

But one thing was for certain.

The sunset was truly lovely that night.