Disclaimer: Pirating content is illegal. If this content is captured, published, plagiarized or used in any manner without author's consent, the offender can be traced and will face the full extent of the legal ramifications as stipulated by law.
These works are legally published with all rights reserved.
-
In the nation of tournaments, the sound of the bustling crowds and busy streets was mostly able to drown out the thoughts and fears that raced through Rannith's mind.
The overabundance of training centers was everywhere and the process to learn the rules and most basic techniques have been littered through every nook and cranny available. It was all too easy to streamline the basics, for those who listened and those who searched.
Rannith was able to find a new place which he would stay for the next several years. A place to return to, a place to sleep and stay, but it never became a home.
Affording this apartment was easy enough. Chipping in and reciting the basic rules to any and all who were freshly new, like he once was, and individual training sessions began to start paying handsomely. He needed practice, training, and it's what he did every single day. There were no house rules to follow, no one to hide from, and no other distractions, for months on end. He devoted all his time to working tirelessly, staying focused on his training, until one specific session changed everything.
-
"Did you know that this has been our 6th training session together?" Said a woman about his age and wielding a short sword that clashed with Rannith's dual knives. "No. I have not realized that." he returned while pushing back the long blade. "Is that all you have to say?" she laughed, turning into the momentum of her sword to rotate into a toe kick, "No discounts? Any critique on my training? See any improvements?". She continued on but he stayed silent.
Leaning back out of the range of her kick, he turned under the leg to intersect the upswipe as the sword returned to his front but the blade dug lower into the dirt than expected. Seeing this he covered his eyes expecting the dirt, but she changed the element at the last moment splashing him in the face with water.
He lowered his arm just enough in time to see the second hand, charged with electricity touching the water that shocked up through the wet surface to him. The lightning hit hard and stiffened his muscles up while she gained a leap back between them.
He charged, bounding forward and lunged at her with an upward momentum which she ducked down out of his directory, as expected, even when she tried to slash from beneath. The rotation he had gave enough reach to grab the woman by one of the wings on her back, twisting it with him causing her to yelp and give up her position to follow through with the grab.
Landing on the ground he still refused to let go, pulling her by the wing around him with a side-step before planting his foot between the feathered limbs so she stumbled forward. The wings flapped while balancing herself, she reached down for another handful of the earth, just out of his sight.
With a quick rotation she sprayed the dirt, burning it into an inferno that he sliced through with both daggers. He couldn't see through the heat and light to notice that he had just cleared a way through her own fire for his training partner to lunge through, sword ready while his knives were just too far apart.
As they hit the ground, his arms pinned under her knees, he let out a loud groan in pain, face twisting in agony when she readied her sword. Seeing his pain, she hesitated, not realizing that it was feigned. She hesitated enough that Rannith's tail was able to reach up behind her and twist her wings making her lose her posture once again. Dropping his knives, his hands slipped out and grabbed her wrists to twist the sword out of her hands while she was pushed onto her side.
He had her pinned, arms crossed from the push and pull maneuver, one wing still in control while he pointed her own sword back down to her. "So I take it, no discount then?" she laughed as he stood up, dropping the sword and holding out a hand to help her up, after all the duel had finished. "Your back is your most vulnerable spot, more so than most people. You shouldn't let anyone near enough to notice it."
She took his hand to get up but he slid his hand out of her grasp as soon as they both were back on their feet. She huffed, waiting for him to actually turn to talk to her but he only picked up his knives and dusted them off, sheathing them one after the other to which she only sighed and did the same. "Anything else?" she let the hand guard clack into place against the scabbard and turned to see he's still caught up in his own little world, the same routine he always had after training sessions.
"You shouldn't worry about if your enemy gets hurt or not. There's healing stations, doctors and saints on standby for a reason. Sometimes opponents might feign a landing blow or injury to throw you off your guard. Persist until the combat is completely finished." he said more scolding. It's one of the most basic advices given that, at their level, they should both have ingrained in themselves by now. "Well of course I know that." She approached, hands on her hips "that has never been a problem." "Well it was today." he continued the scolding.
"Well today is different." She retorted with indignation but that only seemed to leave him more clueless. "Because of the 6th training session?" he asked finally turning around facing her. "Nope!" she said with a widening grin, finally getting him to talk face to face. "Because I'm putting a team together for the tournaments and I want you to be on it." He hesitated for a moment considering it. She reached out her hand and he stared at it for a moment before saying "We both have such a long way to go before we're ready for any official competition…." He hesitantly reached for her hand but it was enough confirmation for her to reach further and clasp their hands in a firm grip. "Then we'll work on it together. As a team."
He smiled at that. Faintly but a smile for the first time in a very, very long time. "As a team," he whispered, enjoying the way it felt to say and what it meant. It meant together, and not alone.
-
Just as he predicted, they truly did need a lot of work, but together they put in the hard work. A team of 2 turned into a team of 3, then 4, and after more time finally a full team of 6.
They trained countless hours, worked on formations, tactics, and studied peers, pros and even new unheard of maneuvers new trainees were trying. Their winged team captain was usually the one calling the shots, and while she was smart, attentive and charismatic, Rannith had the eye and the mind that brought the strategy to their team.
In time they became the well oiled machine they trained and focused to be. Working their way up tier after tier on leaderboards and growing their own renown. In this time Rannith had finally learned what it was like to have those by your side, to not be alone and what it felt like to actually look forward to a new day. It's because of this new found sliver of happiness that he would have never expected the offer their captain would be presented with. Not just any offer, but one she couldn't refuse; one that would break the dream they had built together.