Chapter 43

"Come on, move it! Keep up." Cid demanded.

"He's…a… fucking… sadist," Riley was dog paddling for dear life, the icy cold waters of the river running at a swift current, threatening to take her down.

Everything was on the verge of numb. Her paws touched an upslope, allowing her to rise, with Zorna just behind her.

"Zorna chase," Cid ordered. The kraus shook the water from her coat then growled.

Wearily, Riley shook out her coat before loping along, trying to conserve her energy as Tobias limped forward, favoring his left leg. His face was blank as the sweat poured off of him, his teeth gritted with every step.

Riley could see both of their stamina bars blinking, but that didn't mean they could stop.

There was no stop, no more choice. The world had blurred into a sickly grey world of pain through constant exertion and effort. Time had distorted and no longer made any sense beyond the rising and the setting of the sun, but even that had little meaning.

Were they in the middle of the second week? Or the start of the third?

"Would it matter if I knew?" Riley said to herself while her stomach rumbled.

There had been no time for breakfast. Cid shook her out of her warm spot in Tobias' lap. She had been pressed up against him, concealed within the folds of his cloak, only to be plunged into this waking nightmare alongside him.

There was no time for food, words, or explanations. There was only time to run.

Her ears rang, and her vision blurred into an impressionistic painting. Then, the sensation of falling and cracking her muzzle rudely into the ground, rolling to a stop only after hitting the trunk of a tree.

"Ow…" Riley tried to struggle up on her paws, but a sharp, stabbing pain between her ribs kept her from doing so.

Tobias stopped.

Zorna set into his heels, barking and whining, but he ignored her as if she were a phantom. The frustration pushed Tobias towards rage as he shoved her rudely away, heaving with all his might before stumbling down onto one knee.

With faltering steps, he made his way to Riley as Zorna growled, rising her spike tipped tail in a menacing arc like a scorpion stinger.

"Zorna, hold. You think you get to push my companion around, boy?" Cid balked, pulling on the reigns.

Tobias ignored him and knelt down next to Riley.

"Hi buddy," she slurred, her eyes fluttering closed, only to force them open in a panic.

Cid dropped a healing and stamina potion rudely beside them, then shoved Tobias over with his boot.

"You godless bastard!" Tobias shot up on his feet, wincing in pain at the sudden pressure on the muscles of his legs, holding fire, glowing orange and white, his face a perfect mask of rage.

"So we're finally going to talk," Cid dismounted without a care in the world, "Nerves get a little shot when you're starving. You've been out of bread for days."

"Take another step, and I'm frying you. Back away slowly, now," Tobias threatened. The ball of flame began to stutter in and out of existence.

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In the upper right hand corner of Riley's vision, there on the edge of consciousness, she could see their stamina bars on the verge of total exhaustion.

"Attend to your companion. I'll make a fire and some breakfast," As if that settled matters, Cid turned his back on the two and began gathering kindling, giving them space.

Tobias dropped his power as he dropped to his knees, gasping. With shaking hands he gathered Riley, cradling her in his arms, uncorking the stamina potion by biting on the cork, angling her head, and inserting the bottle from the side to clear the obstacle of her front teeth.

"Easy, easy now," he soothed. Riley's eyes fluttered open as she slowly swallowed the trickle, then animating, sucking down the contents greedily, leaving only a bit for Tobias.

"Where am I? What time is it?" Her stamina bar was, at most, only a quarter refilled.

"The potions aren't working so well anymore," she groaned.

Tobias, uncaring, chugged down the last of it, "It stands to reason. We need actual rest and time to recover. Potions can only do so much."

"Why is he pushing us so hard then?" She whined.

"I think because he means to kill us. I haven't forgotten about seeing Chadrick the night we sat out on this misadventure," he pivoted with pained movements, joining Riley up against the tree as she shook.

"Come here," gently he pulled her into his lap. Riley, only marginally dry, pressed up against the smooth leathers of his midsection with a happy grunt.

"I think you're right," she yawned, "How do we escape though? We haven't seen anyone in days."

"Tobias?" She looked up, only to find him asleep, pushed well past his limits.

"When in Rome," Riley yawned again, her tone already fading as she set her head down.

Time passed. A deep and dreamless blackness settled over her consciousness.

The smell of cooking food invaded her twitching nose, prompting her back towards a weary consciousness.

The sun was beating down at such an angle that it covered them both, bypassing the shade of the tree. Tobias was still out, his head tilted back, snoring quietly.

Riley gently thumped his leg.

With a snort, his head snapped forward, "Wha? What?"

"Breakfast?" Cid held out a metal plate piled high with blue tinted eggs and something that looked like sweet potatoes.

"Where'd he get it all?" She asked.

To Cid's right was a medium-sized black bag with a drawstring closure, sparkling with magic.

Riley cast analyze.

Astral Storage Sack, Uncommon. 15 slots.

"Magic bag," Tobias answered aloud.

"Oh, this? Had it for years. You'll be issued your own at the end of training," Cid smiled affably.

Tobias wasn't buying it, but he wasn't about to turn down food either. Snatching the plate with a wary action, he began shoveling it down as fast as he could.

"Easy Tobias. You'll make yourself sick. We've plenty of time and plenty of extra for seconds. You're past your limit," Cid's voice dripped with new concern.

"Did a nicer monster eat our monster?" Riley balked as the instructor dug into his bag, only to pull out a fresh tenganut.

Riley's ears went rigid as he cut into it, leaning over to set out the pieces before her.

"Lesson one, a Ranger has to have brains, brawn, and a heart for this kind of work, but you also have to know your limits, your real limits. You also have to know when to surpass them. You've seen your edge now, son, and been well past it, so now we can begin," Cid smiled strangely.

Riley swallowed hard, almost choking on her fruit.

"What do you mean begin?" She yelped in a panic. Tobias stared on, eating with a stony silence.

"Still don't want to talk, eh? Most of my recruits hate me by the second week, but I don't mind. You see, most of those same recruits survive their first year, so go on ahead. May it keep you warm, son," Cid grinned with sadness in his eyes as Tobias narrowed his, chewing meditatively.

"You expect me to believe it's all for my benefit?" Tobias balked, his voice taking on a new edge of pure and deadly steel.

"I don't care what you think. I'm here to get you ready to face down the forces of magic and pure fucking chaos. This isn't your fancy academy, this isn't the King's Guard, this is the tip of the blade, son, and playing nice isn't going to be what keeps you alive. You learning to use that brain and that power you were gifted with the right way will, and you've already been impressing me," Cid praised.

Tobias choked.

"Either you or your beast has a dimensional power. You've been rationing your food, biding your time, and when you really felt like she was under threat, you were ready to end me, or at least try. You're stubborn, but you aren't stupid. That's something I can work with, so as I said, now that I know what you're made of, we can finally begin." Cid sighed, moving some of his eggs around on his plate before beginning to eat heartily.