Neva parried the rapier aimed for her throat. The enchanted obsidian steel cleaved through the air. The graying beastkin pulled on her years of combat beastkin as she parried Ada's return thrust. The strike left Ada open. Yet Neva waited as Ada pulled back, creating safe distance. The two waited for one another as they reformed their guards. Sweat pooled at both of their brows. Steel flashed in the air of the training ground as each contender waited for the other to attack.

The night was young as Ada shifted her rapier around cutting the still air. The gray, intense eyes of the young combatant gleamed with the ambition of youth as they roamed across her opponent searching for weakness.

Neva's mind was elsewhere. The years of experience melded together in a fugue of familiarity. The young contender brought a storm of memories in her wake. In the late evening the old warrior could not help but reminisce. Ada, trained to a fault, would not let a single advantage subside. The enchanted steel slipped through the air on its way towards the lifeblood of Neva. The blade screamed in delight as it neared Neva's neck.

"You're distracted." Ada said. The tip of her rapier rested near Neva's throat. The graying wolfkin had caught the blade. A wreath of fire surrounded her hand as she held the blade at bay. Her triceps popped out as she wrestled with Ada's strength.

"You know me too well." Neva admitted, as she turned the blade away. Neva readied herself into a fighting stance. Across from her, the superior warrior was distracted. Drawn inward, the weight of doubt compressed her shoulders downwards. The vengeful proud warrior seemed lesser to Ada.

"What's wrong? This was your idea. You wanted me to keep training." Ada said. She circled around Neva. The enchanted steel gifted by the Goddesses' own champion was ready to strike her opponent's exposed back.

"Aye. It was my idea." The strike was obvious. Neva could hear the shuffling upon the training yard's dirt as Ada struck forth. Circling around she wreathed her hand in fire as she slapped the rapier away. Throwing it away from herself she brought herself into a guard stance as Ada circled her.

"Then when are you not paying attention?" Ada asked.

"I'm distracted."

"About what?"

"The future." Neva admitted.

"Your breaking one of the fundamental rules you taught me. Never get distracted in front of an enemy."

"Rules are for the weak."

Ada was silent, as she struck. The more experienced wolfkin easily parried her strikes. Ada's enchanted rapier bounced off Neva's shortsword as she tried to press her advantage.

"What's there to think about anyways?" Ada asked. "We're gonna win. The goddess has chosen us. We are warriors. We strike the scourge from her world."

"It's not that simple." Neva admitted. Ada's rapier thrust towards her jugular again. Even with half her attention the more experienced wolfkin parried the strike as she moved around the training yard.

"Then what? I'm not holding back." Ada admitted. Neva sighed as she dodged the flurry of blows from Ada. Her rapier screamed in delight as the point shot towards Neva.

"Kill her! Bathe in her blood! Let us feast! Let us feast!" The blade whispered corrupted wanton desires in her mind. Neva dodged with ease. Her glazed eyes seemed to focus on far distant memories as the rapier danced around her.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"Child." Neva stopped as she flourished her shortsword into a guard. Immediately, Ada stopped her attack as she jumped back. Holding her rapier high she waited to counterattack.

"Another lecture? When will they stop? I'm too old for them."

"No. But I have a question."

"Speak, before I die of old age." Ada

"What is a warrior? Do you know?"

"I'm not about to be lectured. I'm a bit old for it." Ada went on the attack. Her blade whispered death and destruction to her as she hacked and slashed at Neva. The older wolfkin dodged and parried through the onslaught with practiced familiarity.

"Just answer." Neva gruffed. "Don't make me beat it out of you." The flurry subsided as Neva's blade flashed through the air, arcing towards Ada's head. The blonde wolfkin was quick to reposition herself as she held her rapier horizontally to intercept the blade.

"A warrior is one who kills their enemies. Regardless of good or evil. A true warrior wields their blade against odds great and small! They are heroes and villains! Warriors take the stage for the tales of our world!" Ada yelled in the training yard. The desolate area around them was quiet.

"Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!" Neva yelled as she went on the offensive. Her left hand glowed with flame as it gripped her sword. Her scars bunched up on her cheek as she scowled.

"Huh? Even a villain can be a warrior!" Ada shot back.

"But you're not a villain! Neither are you a hero!" Neva spat out. "Your head is too big for your own good girl. Stories are just fabrications!" Neva's indestructible sword sparked off of Ada's enchanted rapier. The blonde wolfkin was faster than she had ever been but it was still not enough. Pressuring her further back, she pressed the blonde wolfkin towards the edge of the practice ring.

"I'm a warrior! I'm a savior! I'm a hero that will be remembered for eons! My tale will be immortal!" Ada swung her sword wildly forcing Neva back as she dodged.

"Hah! You can't even beat me!" Neva taunted.

"I'm a hero. I'm a savior. The world will know my name!" Ada yelled.

"You've got a big head. Too big. Let me cut it down to size."

"You'll never land another blow upon me. Fritz has blessed me with power untold. Your geriatric strikes cannot touch me." Ada taunted. Neva frowned as she readied herself. "You've never told me how you got your sword. I've never seen you sharpen it. I've never seen you send it to a blacksmith. It's enchanted, no doubt. Yet with what? I've asked so many times, and you refuse to tell."

"The past is pointless. It doesn't define who you are. Who cares?"

"I care about the past. I want to know. Who are you really? I don't really understand you sometimes."

"Who I was is pointless! What matters is the here and now! What matters is what you can hold onto!" Neva launched into a savage flurry of blows. Kicking off the ground, she accelerated into a dead sprint towards Ada. The younger warrior barely had enough time to react. Her rapier flew through the air in a vain attempt to parry.

"It matters! Our story matters!" Ada shouted.

"Life isn't a story! There isn't a climax! There isn't an epilogue where the heroes meet back up! Life isn't a fairy tale! Wake up child. All that matters is what you can protect."

"It is! If we choose it to be. We can make it so."

"If only we could all have your boundless optimism. Some of us have actually experienced loss!"

"Loss! Loss, you refuse to speak of! Loss, you refuse to share with others!"

"Because it isn't my place to." Neva stopped. The sparring practice paused as she withdrew towards the center.

"How will I know until you say it?" Ada asked.

"Haha. Because." Neva laughed. "I was just like you. So sure of myself. So sure of my understanding of this world, that the words of others could never reach me. When I was young, the world seemed so certain. When I was young, everything seemed like it was in my comprehension. Yet it was an illusion, that the words of others could never break. The experience that I went through changed me."

"You're talking nonsense. Have you been drinking?" Ada asked.

"Maybe, you'll understand me one day." Neva grunted. "Perhaps I'll drop in on Fritz and get him to conjure more liquor. Still." Neva pointed her blade at Ada. "The true nature of a warrior, it is something you will never learn from those books you coveted. It is something personal. It is the guiding light that propels you to stand tall. A true warrior fights. A true warrior runs away. But most importantly, a true warrior protects others. Ada, do not die. You are not permitted to die in this city. I will never allow it."

"I will never die!" Ada shouted. "Not until my tale is done!" Neva rolled her eyes.

"Stop with this heroic nonsense already."

The two beastkin's blades crossed in the center of the training yard. Their steel threw sparks into the dark of night as they prepared for the approaching violence.