Dalia Nnoara was, for lack of a better term, a warrior at heart.

Or at least, that was what Schrodinger’s father always said, whenever he talked about her.

Schrodinger wasn’t entirely sure of what he meant by that. Of course, he knew what a warrior was, and he understood the figure of speech itself. But still, the way his father said it always made him feel like he was missing something. Something about his father’s tone of voice, whenever he said that, always made him think that there was something he just didn’t understand.

Still, Schrodinger always tried his best. He always tried his best to understand his father’s words, and he always tried his best to keep up with his mother.

Even if he failed on occasion.

“Alright, that does it for our warmup,” his mother said, as her feet once again touched the ground. Rubbing her hands slightly, out of habit rather than any true need to clean them, as she finished getting up from a particularly complicated handstand.

And Schrodinger… well, he got on his feet as well, eventually. But far less elegantly. Because not only were his arms and shoulders burning up from how long they stayed like that, he also was only barely keeping his balance after all the stretching and leg-moving they did while upside down.

“Yes mother,” he half-said, half-gasped as he straightened himself up, still feeling slightly dizzy from the sudden movement. Because he swore that his tail should be helping him keep his balance. But as he shook his head to try and get rid of that slight bit of vertigo, he was sure that he was somehow falling towards his back, and that it was somehow his tail’s fault.

But as always, his mother didn’t seem to be bothered in the slightest.

“Well, that’s one part of your morning routine taken care of. Even if it was the part that you already know to do on your own,” she said, as she walked towards a wooden rack at the far end of the room.

To which he answered with a small and embarrassed grimace, while she had her back turned to him. But he knew she was right, and that there was nothing he could do about it but feel bad today and make sure he didn’t repeat the same mistake tomorrow. Or at least, that was what she always told him whenever he messed up.

Well, she would tell him that, and then she would gruel him with those exhausting warmups. Which, for the record, were way harder than the ones he was supposed to do on his own.

“So now we can finally begin our day proper,” she finished saying, as she reached the rack and picked up two particular instruments from it.

Schrodinger and his mother were in a square training room, its hard floor at the same time clean and worn out from use. The four corners of the room were filled with neatly organized groups of instruments, dummies, and other things besides. But the greater part of the room was kept clear. A large circle drawn on the floor, that dominated most of the room, demarcating the area where they practiced almost every morning.

And as his mother returned from one of the racks in a corner, she handed him the smaller of the two things she had picked up. It was an item that he was already familiar with. The same item that she handed him almost every morning, the small calluses on his hands settling around its handle in an almost perfect fit.

The thing that she handed him was a training sword. A blunt-edged training sword made of metal, which was particularly heavy even for him. Although it was still adequate for his size and height. His mother was also holding a similar sword, which was exactly like his own except for the fact that it was proportionally larger to her height, and that he knew it was far heavier than his.

He took the sword in his hands, and walked backwards until he was partway between the center of the ring and its edge. He then followed his mother’s lead as they gave each other a small salute. They didn’t exchange any words, or made any other gestures, because there was no need for it.

After all, that had been a part of Schrodinger’s routine for his entire life. He had been doing that for as long as he remembered.

“Ready?” she asked, even though she already knew the answer.

“Yes mother!” he said, giving her a firm nod.

And with that, yet another day of training began.

- - -

Like almost every other day in Schrodinger’s life, for the past few years at least, the early part of his morning was spent training with his mother.

Or rather, his mother spent the early part of her morning training him. Because Schrodinger didn’t really feel he was anywhere near good enough to be able to say he was training “with” his mother. He didn’t really think he was getting better at anything, despite her efforts.

Still, every day, he would try his best to keep up with his mother. Blocking her strikes, even though his arms would burn under the strain of her blows. Trying to hit her back, even though she would parry all his attempts effortlessly. Doing his best to imitate her footwork, even though he always felt like she was dancing around him while he was trying his best just to keep his feet under him.

And that morning as well, things were also happening like they always did. He was trying his best, and as usual his best was just not enough. Because even though she would give him an approving nod every time he did certain things, he couldn’t help but think she wasn’t really being sincere. He couldn’t help but think she was just giving him free encouragement.

He didn’t really feel like he was getting any better than he was yesterday, or the day before. He didn’t really feel he was getting any faster, like she said, or any stronger.

Because no matter how much she told him it didn’t matter, Schrodinger was still acutely aware that he would never be able to live up to her expectations. He was acutely aware that he was only half-blooded, and that no matter how hard he tried, he would always-

“Concentrate!” his mother’s loud and sharp tone snapped him out of his thoughts.

And suddenly, he was back in the present. Wearing his heavy and sweaty training clothes, holding a blunted training sword in a two-hand grip, and watching with wide-eyed surprise as his mother’s own sword arced down towards him in a slashing movement aimed directly at his head.

His reflexes took over, legs tensing for a little more stability as he raised his own blunted sword. Performing a guard motion that she had quite literally drilled into him over the past few months, lifting his own training blade just in time to stop her downward slash.

Or so he thought.

Schrodinger grimaced, looking up at her sword, as he realized that his mother’s training weapon was in fact between his own sword and his head. Meaning not only that she was able to get her strike through before he ever raised his guard, but also that she was able to stop her sword’s momentum a hair breadth’s away from hitting his head.

“You realize I can tell when you aren’t really paying attention, right?” she asked, her own posture relaxed despite how easily she kept her blade in the exact same spot, less than an inch shy of grazing his head.

To which he didn’t really know how to respond. He just stood there, frozen in the same posture he had been in when he failed to block her. A mixture of embarrassment and disappointment creeping into his thoughts.

“I’m trying my best,” he blurted out, realizing that at some point he had lowered his gaze towards the floor. His failed posture following right after. His arms falling back to his sides as the training sword on his hands suddenly felt way heavier than usual.

“I didn’t say you aren’t trying your best, Schrodinger. I just said you weren’t paying attention,” she said, resting her own sword on her shoulder, “which means there is something on your mind that isn’t letting you focus.”

And even though her tone was calm, and maybe even worried, it felt like anything but that to Schrodinger. Instead, as Dalia looked at him more carefully, he felt like she was appraising him. Judging him, even. And of course, he was sure that she was as disappointed in him as he felt about himself.

Still, given how intently he was looking towards the ground, he entirely missed how his mother pursed her lips. Because Dalia certainly noticed how her son’s ears were slightly down, as well as the fact that his tail was depressingly low behind him.

“Schrodinger, dear,” he heard her say, not even noticing how unusually soft her tone was, “is there anything you want to tell m-?”

But just as she began to ask that question, she was interrupted by a sharp beeping sound that drowned out her words. The sound, they both immediately knew, was coming from the metal wristband she had around her forearm. The portable device that, among several other things, also served as a personal communicator.

She had her hand around the wristband in the next moment, and the loud noise was immediately switched off. Still, a heavy silence took its place. Because Dalia gave a great deal of importance to her morning routine. So, the fact that someone was trying to get in touch with her at that time could only mean that it was something serious.

In fact, given how she had programmed her communicator to ignore almost every call during the morning, she knew that it was something that required her urgent attention. Whatever it was.

Schrodinger looked up at his mother, and he finally realized that she was grimacing. Still, he could also see that the beeping on her armband had been replaced by an angrily flashing red light. He watched as she hesitated for a few more seconds, before letting out a short sigh.

“Why don’t you take the rest of the morning off?” she said, putting on a rather pained smile as she took his sword from him. “Just make sure you aren’t late for school, and we can talk more when I get back for dinner?”

Schrodinger answered her with a half-hearted nod, and something about his expression made his mother hesitate for a few moments longer. However, the insisting flashing from her wristband eventually won, and soon enough she was storming out of the training room.

Leaving him alone.

Not realizing how much he sounded like his mother, Schrodinger himself let out a low sigh. His figure cooling down and his limbs beginning to ache slightly, as his body began to accept that the morning training had indeed finished early. He stood there for a few more moments, before he began to pick up on the fact that he was sweating and that his training clothes didn’t exactly smell good, which in turn finally motivated him to get moving again.

Although, in all honesty, he wasn’t entirely sure about what he would do next.

Because sure, Schrodinger had his own interests and ways to pass time. His life wasn’t so strictly scheduled that he was paralyzed, with no idea of what to do, just because he had a little bit of free time in the morning. Even if that sort of thing almost never happened.

The problem, however, was precisely that. He only had a little bit of free time. He definitely did not have time to do any of the things he would usually do. All his usual hobbies, such as wandering through the ventilation shafts and eavesdropping on the priests, all shared the common feature that they took up a lot of time. In fact, after consulting a nearby clock, he realized he had less than an hour before the time he would usually have breakfast with his mother, and he had school shortly after that.

Still, he decided to at least make his way back to his room. To clean up and change out of his training clothes while he mulled over that particular problem, if nothing else.

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Or at least that was his plan. Because as soon as he began making his way towards the door, he immediately heard someone knocking on it.

Actually, he didn’t hear someone knocking. He heard someone banging on the door. A trio of bangs that weren’t from someone asking to be let in as much as they were a person announcing their imminent entry. And before Schrodinger even had the chance to answer, or to react at all, the door was flung wide open.

But it was precisely because of that suddenness, or perhaps even rudeness, that he knew exactly who was about to barge into the training room.

He only had time to roll his eyes, realizing that his little free time was about to evaporate, before she walked into the training room.

“Scotty! Good morning!” said a blonde and overly energetic-looking girl as she walked into the room. Her eyes gleaming as if she owned the place.

From appearance alone, the girl looked like she was Schrodinger’s age. Perhaps just a bit taller than him, but that was it. She had blonde hair that that went to the middle of her back, and her red eyes seemed to be as energetic as her smile. Schrodinger knew she had a bit of canine blood, seeing how her parents were of different species just like his. But given how it was her father that had canine genes, and not her mother, she didn’t inherit the more blatant traits such as the ears or a tail.

Quite on the contrary. Her appearance was that of a perfectly neutral humanoid. A red-eyed girl wearing black boots and a white sundress, the hem of her skirt embroidered with tiny religious symbols in golden color.

“Hello Kali,” Schrodinger answered, his flat tone the polar opposite of her enthusiasm.

But the girl was too excited to even notice that.

“I saw your mom while I was making my way here!” she said, almost as soon as he finished saying hello.

“That means you have eyes. Wonderful,” he mumbled, wondering if she was even listening to him.

“And I was also with my dad a few minutes ago. We were having breakfast when he got a message,” Kali continued, her tone lowering to a conspiratorial hush. “He left in a hurry right after that.”

Schrodinger’s ears perked up at that. And the girl crossed her arms and puffed up with pride as she saw that she piqued his interest.

“Hold on. Your dad also got called for… something?” he asked, to which Kali nodded. “And you said it was a few minutes ago? No, wait, you got here just as mom left. So your dad was called maybe five minutes ago?”

“Yup, I came straight here just as he left,” she said. And the dawning realization on Schrodinger’s expression told Kali everything she needed to know. She could tell that he was already reaching the same conclusion she did.

Because Kali and Schrodinger had been friends for as long as they remembered. But that was because their parents knew each other as well. Their parents knew each other, they worked together, and they also lived practically next to each other. So, it was only natural that the two of them had grown up together.

And it was also no secret that Kali’s father was a terribly important man.

Which could only mean that…

“Oh wow. Something big happened,” he said, not sure if he should be surprised or worried.

“Yeap! Something’s going on, and it got the adults all worked up,” she said. Her excitement entirely at odds with his uneasy expression. “Something big happened. Dad got called. And judging by the timing, he must have decided to call everyone else, your mom included.”

He couldn’t help but agree with her. And he also couldn’t stop himself from feeling a chill in his guts at that.

“Whatever it is… it can’t be good,” he mumbled nervously.

“Wait, what?”

But only when Kali said those words, her tone clearly surprised, they finally realized how differently they felt about this conclusion they had just reached.

“What do you mean this can’t be good?” she asked, waving her arms up as if she was stating the obvious. “This is great news. I mean, something awesome is about to happen!”

“Awesome? Are you insane? Kali, this is your dad we are talking about. Do you know what it means when your dad gets an urgent message?”

“Well, duh. It means there’s going to be a fight somewhere,” Kali answered matter-of-factly. And Schrodinger couldn’t help going wide-eyed as the girl said that. “Who knows, it might even be a war!”

He didn’t know how to answer that. And the girl immediately picked up on his hesitation.

“Oh, come on Scotty. Don’t give me that look. Where do you think all the stories that dad tells come from? You can’t have war stories if you don’t make them.”

“Kali, I…” he was at a loss for words, but he didn’t even know why.

So, he blurted out the only thing he had in his mind.

“Kali, fighting isn’t good!”

And the girl didn’t even skip a beat before answering that.

“Scotty, just because you are bad at fighting, it doesn’t mean that fighting is bad.”

Schrodinger felt the fur on his tail bristle as soon as he heard that.

“Hey, watch your mouth!” he yelled, feeling a wave of heat cover his body as his temper rose. “I’m not bad at anything. It’s just that I don’t enjoy doing it and-!”

He almost yelled that, but he only realized what he was saying after the words had left his mouth. And once he realized what he was saying, he closed his mouth so quickly that he almost bit his tongue. But still, he was honestly surprised at what he had just said, to the point that he even felt a wave of shame rushing through his body.

After all, his mother was a warrior, and he was sure that she wanted him to become a warrior as well. She wouldn’t be training him every single day if she didn’t want him to follow in her footsteps. So, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of shame at what he just said. Because he was sure his mother would be disappointed in him if she had heard him right now.

And Kali picked up on his hesitation, even if she didn’t know what he was thinking.

“Oh, so that’s how we call it nowadays? We just say that we don’t enjoy doing the stuff we are bad at?” she asked, her hands going to her hips as she put on a smug expression. Her words coming out in a mocking tone.

It was obvious that she was just trying to get a rise out of Schrodinger.

And judging by the shift in his expression, she could tell that she was succeeding.

“I mean, you are always moaning and complaining about how you don’t feel like you’re getting any better,” she said, watching his brows furrow and his face turn a into a scowl. “But isn’t that how things work? If you don’t get better at something, then that means you’re just bad at it.”

“I’m still better than you!” he said, taking an angry half-step towards her. The heat inside his body growing even stronger.

But he was so angry that he didn’t even realize what was going on. He didn’t even notice that he was doing exactly what she wanted. In fact, he didn’t even notice that the girl had already turned her back to him. That she was making her way towards the wooden rack on the corner of the room where she knew the training weapons were kept.

Then again, he also didn’t realize he had balled his fists, or that he was gritting his teeth. So, there was no way he could realize that Kali was just leading him along.

“Oh really? You’re better than me?” she asked. Taking the heavy training sword she knew was his from the rack and throwing it towards him with a small grunt of effort. “Then prove it.”

Schdoringer didn’t answer her. Not with words, at least. He just caught the sword in midair and glared at her.

Kali, on the other hand, just kept a smug smile on her face as she looked around the assorted training weapons. Because even though she didn’t go to that training room frequently, she was still familiar enough with it to know exactly what she was looking for.

And only when Kali picked up a training weapon for herself did Schrodinger finally realize she was actually following through with her words. Because sure, he was angry at her, but he was sure she was going to back down at any moment.

So he couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow as she picked up a blunted one-handed saber and stood in front of him, her eyes full of defiance.

“Are… are you really doing this?” he asked, his tone still angry but now with doubt creeping into it.

“Why? Wanna back out like a scaredy-cat?”

He felt his pulse quicken at her words. But still, he felt obligated to point out what he thought was obvious.

“You’re not properly dressed,” he said, nodding at the sundress she was wearing. “You can get hurt.”

“You’re not going to hit me,” she answered.

“I’m not going easy on you.”

“Yeah, that kind of is the point.”

Kali said that as she fell into a fighting stance. Holding her saber in front of her as she turned her body a bit sideways, in a strange fencing-like posture he had never really seen her use before.

Schrodinger did the same, falling into the practiced stance his mother taught him. But he did it more in response to her than anything else. Because even though he was angry at her, that didn’t exactly mean he wanted to fight her. He wanted her to get off his case, sure, but he didn’t…

The problem was that…

It still felt wrong to even think about it, but he didn’t really… like to fight? He might have said those words without thinking, and to be honest he almost forgot about them after Kali began to taunt him. But still, those words still felt like… an admission of sorts?

And sure, he wanted to make Kali eat her own words. But he also didn’t want to fight her?

“Your saber is one-handed. My sword is two-handed,” he said, hoping to make her back out. Even though part of him already knew it wouldn’t make a difference. “And I’m stronger than you.”

“Will you just stop with the damn excuses already?!” she interrupted him.

And in the next moment, the girl was already striking him.

Kali closed the distance between them in a heartbeat, lashing out with the tip of her saber against his own sword. And he had no choice but to let his training and reflexes take over.

Her strikes were quick. They were quick like only a one-handed weapon could be, with all the flourish and wristwork that followed. And in the span of a single second, she had hit his sword two times, one on each side of the weapon.

Which Schrodinger knew didn’t mean anything. Or rather, it just meant she was playing around. Because for all that she had made a show of speed, she had only aimed at his weapon. Furthermore, he had also blocked both of her strikes. And her hitting the tip of her saber against the much stronger middle part of his sword meant that his weapon didn’t even budge from her strikes.

“Listen, if you’re just going to mess around then I’m leaving. I don’t have time for this,” he said, even though he kept his guard up.

But the only thing she did to answer him was smile.

He let out a low sigh, realizing this was all pointless. However, the moment he was about to lower his sword and just walk away, he felt… something.

And he finally realized that Kali wasn’t just smiling at him. She was also focusing.

“What… what are you doing?” he asked, feeling the fur of his tail standing on its end. Realizing that the anger he was feeling at the girl was quickly being replaced by growing tension.

But once again, she didn’t answer. Instead, he just felt that strange sensation grow, until he finally realized what it was.

Because Schrodinger could feel it, now. He could literally feel it. It was like a physical sensation of pressure against his skin. As if he was somehow submerging into water, or as if the air itself was pushing against him more strongly. But even though he could feel it on his skin, he could also only feel it on the side of his body that was facing Kali. As if the girl was a lamp, of sorts, and he could feel the light she was giving off with his body instead of see it with his eyes.

He felt all of that, and he immediately understood what that was. Because he recognized that. Everyone could feel it differently, of course. Some could see it with their eyes, others could smell it, and Schrodinger could feel it with his skin, even if it was covered by clothes. But still, he immediately understood what was happening.

That, he knew, was the unmistakable feeling of magic.

“Why are you doing this?” he asked, tightening his grip on the sword as he watched the girl furrow her brow with focus. As even her smile was being consumed by concentration.

“Just proving a point, Scotty,” she said with a heavy breath, even as the pressure on his skin grew stronger and stronger.

“Fights are supposed to be fair,” he said, using the same words his own mother told him time and again.

“Fights are supposed to be fights!” the girl answered.

And once again she lunged at him.

It happened in a flash. Kali did the same thing she did before. Aiming at his weapon with the tip of her saber. Striking at one side of his sword, and then circling her weapon around his with a flick of her wrist to hit it on the other side.

Except that this time, her strikes came much more quickly.

Kali didn’t really move in a blur. Schrodinger could still follow her with his eyes, and she attacked him in the exact same way she did before. However, she was doing it a lot faster. Faster than the rest of his body could follow, and definitely faster than he could move his sword.

And to his shock, whatever the girl’s magic did, it didn’t just make her move more quickly.

Schrodinger’s eyes went wide in surprise as the girl’s saber hit his sword. Because when that happened, her saber struck with the strength of a hammer. The strength of her first blow threw his sword to one side, with him barely being able to keep it in his grip. And her second blow was even stronger, hitting the other side of his sword with so much strength that his hands hurt.

Needless to say, that also left his guard wide open. His training sword, and his entire posture really, yanked completely out of position by the crushing blows of the much smaller saber.

However, Kali didn’t capitalize on that. And even though he was fully exposed for a full second, already wondering how little the pads on his training clothes would protect him, she didn’t take the opportunity to finish him off. Instead, Kali took a step back, widening the distance between them.

And Schrodinger didn’t even have the time to think about it, as he raised his arms again with aching arms, before he blurted out what was at the forefront of his mind.

“Hey, that’s cheating!” he shouted. Trying, and failing, to keep the shock out of his voice.

“No,” she replied, her voice at the same time strained with effort and triumphant, “this is called winning.”

“You haven’t won… yet,” he said. Although he immediately regretted it. After all, in these kinds of training duels, you won by landing a blow on the opponent’s body. However, he definitely didn’t want Kali to hit him with something like that. Because stronger physiology or not, he was almost sure she might break one of his bones if she hit him.

But still, the girl didn’t lunge at him again. Instead, she kept her distance, her expression becoming even more strained as she continued to focus.

Which caused a cold wave of dread to wash over him. After all, he could feel the pressure of her magic growing even stronger. In fact, he could even see a few droplets of sweat forming on her face, as she strained to do… something.

But most of all, he felt the weight of fear press around him, because he knew the girl could be utterly insane at times.

“You’re right, Scotty. I haven’t won yet,” she said, stressing that last word just as the pressure on Schrodinger’s skin reached its peak. “But only because I want to show you something.”

And with that, the sensation on his skin shifted. That ghostly sensation of pressure was still there, but it also became hot. A false heat that he knew wouldn’t really warm him, but that still felt like he was standing under the sun.

Or as if Kali had just become a small bonfire.

“In fact, I have been meaning to show you this for a while now, even since mom taught me this!” Kali said.

And Schrodinger finally understood why the girl had always been taught to use that flimsy one-handed saber.

Because with an unusually strained movement, the girl reached out to the dull blade of her saber with her free hand. The shift in pressure he felt on his skin telling him that Kali had focused all of that magical heat on the palm of her hand.

And the moment her free hand touched the saber, the entire blade of the weapon was engulfed in flames. With Schrodinger letting out a surprised yelp, that was all but drowned out by the girl’s maniacal laughter.

“Ahahahahahahah! Pretty awesome, isn’t it Scotty?!” she said, going back to her stance and flexing her legs. Making it very clear that she was preparing to lunge at him again. “Now I’m ready to win this duel!”

Their fight didn’t last much longer after that point.

In fact, it ended immediately, as Schrodinger’s arms immediately went limp with fear at the cackling girl in front of him.