Quinn’s first attempt at striking Theo failed as he managed to maneuver his body just enough to cause her to miss. Which gave him the opportunity to swing low into her side as she corrected herself.

I felt the power he utilized in the bond and watched as the impact caused her to fall backwards. “Damn it! I had you.” Quinn grunted as she regained her balance.

“Did you? Your battle cry gave it away.” Théoden pointed out. “Never give your opponent the ability to know your next move.”

“I know that!” Quinn shouted as she lunged for Theo once more and failed to impact him as he vanished in a wave of mist and reappeared ten feet to the left. This ability was different from his draconic leap as this one was called side step.

“Damn it! Let me hit you!” Quinn shouted in rage as she began to move towards Theo and swing her fists in one rapid motion. This motion I could tell used some of her blood magic as her fists started to turn crimson. Each swing in Theo’s direction, I was able to see her fists grow more and more red. And on impact, her fist sent him flying backwards a few feet. “That’s more like it!”

Just as quickly as that strike hit him, she managed to get two more strikes on him as the crimson faded from her fists.

With each hit that struck, I knew he tried not to let the pain go through the bond. No matter how hard he tried, I still felt some of it. And damn that had to hurt like hell.

But to my surprise, Theo was able to bounce back quickly and use his draconic leap to reappear thirty feet away. “Blood infusion?” He questioned her.

“You know it.”

“Blood infusion?” I questioned.

“Blood infusion allows me to tie my own energy into my strikes through the use of my blood.” Quinn said, “It has its limitations but can be pretty nasty if done right.”

“Huh. Interesting.” I responded as I glanced over at Théoden.

“You pulled some of my blood in those strikes didn’t you?” He questioned as he was attempting to heal himself up a bit but his healing wasn’t doing as much as it should.

“Perhaps,” Quinn said, “though I must say, your blood is rather interesting. It’s not like normal elves.”

We both looked at her in question. “Huh?” We both said in unison.

“Your blood, it's special. I sensed it in my magic before but didn’t question it. Thought, if you had something you wanted to share, you tell me. It’s nothing bad, trust me. I sense good and a hell of a lot of power.” Quinn said as she balled up her fist in preparation for another strike on him.

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She charged at him with her fists fueling with crimson once more. As she had hoped to land a hit on him using his own power.

I felt my eyes widen as she drew near and held my breath for what I knew was going to be a powerful strike. However, to both our surprises, Théoden managed to dodge most of her fists this time around. Only getting hit on the very last strike.

That last strike sent Théoden back five feet as it impacted his stomach. Hell, I even felt this one through the bond as I could feel his innards being thrusted around his body. Causing me to want to hurl myself. However, I resisted the urge and tried my best to keep my composure. I was worried that she might have been able to pick up that I was hurting too.

It took a couple of seconds for Théoden to get back up on his feet but once he did he utilized the last few strikes against him to fuel his attacks with the same amount of rage. He leapt towards Quinn and managed to knock her down despite her best efforts in dodging his attack.

With his full weight against her, she had nowhere to go. “Let me up!” Quinn grunted as she tried to headbutt him.

“Not a chance. Not after that Quinn.” Théoden snarled as he threw a few of his own punches at Quinn. Quinn, being unable to move, got hit by all three of his strikes. One to the chest, one to the stomach, and one to the right shoulder.

“OFF!” Quinn shouted as she squirmed underneath Theo. Her eyes had gone wide in fear.

“Tap out and I will.” Theo said he held her tightly against the floor.

“NO!” Quinn shouted. I could see her magic start to build once more as she utilized the force she was given and pushed against him. This sent him flying in the air, to which he managed to land on his feet. She charged at him swinging one more time.

The first one missed as Theo dodged. The second missed. The third clipped him on his hip. He grunted on impact but shook it off.

Both had taken damage by now. Theo was a tad worse off than Quinn due to his healing faltering. However, both were still standing and both looked like they could go a few more rounds.

Thinking back to what Theo had told me, if I wanted to improve I had to face my fears. If I faced Quinn at her weakest point, that wasn’t facing my fear at all. I had to face her with some of her strength still intact. Despite being terrified of her abilities.

“Stop!” I yelled at them.

“Maria what is it?” Théoden asked me as they both looked at me with worry in their eyes.

I took a deep breath, “I think I am ready.”

“Ready for what Maria?” He asked me.

“To face Quinn.” I said with as much confidence as I can. I knew Quinn could kick my ass. However, I knew that Theo also told her no magic, so I knew there would be no threat for my ability to heal.

“Are you sure? I can go a few more rounds with her.”

“Yeah Maria, it really isn’t a problem.”

“Please. I want to. As long as you don’t do that magic trick I think I will be fine.”

“If you insist. Let me heal up a bit then we can begin.” Quinn said with a smile.

Are you sure? Theoden asked me as he tried to heal himself but still wasn’t able to fully heal yet.

Yes. Besides, you need rest.

Maria, you aren’t just doing this because my healing is blocked temporarily right?

Perhaps that is part of it dear but you said it yourself, I need to face my fears if I want to harness my full potential. And right now, Quinn is that fear.