"You come back here with this kind of news!!!! HOW USELESS!!!"
Amidst the training that all of them are doing, on anotehr side of the world someone was being reprimanded.
Raynisha was hit in the face and was sent to the ground by the person shrouded with darkness in front of her.
"I apologize my lord."
Blood trickled down her lips.
"We just lost one of our factories, what do you mean apologize? And what you didn't even kill just even just one?"
As he berated her, he used his dark whip to punish her.
She kept silent and accepted ehr punishment.
The black figure looked at the side after he had vent out his anger.
"This one is useless, it is your turn to get out there," he spoke.
The one on the side bowed their head and left.
The dark figure turned to look at her and his eyes landed on her arm.
"What happened to that? Why did it not heal?"
Their bodies would heal in time but since the battle was a few days ago already, all the wounds she had received should have healed.
"The last attack I received was peculiar but I couldn't pin point how or why, my lord," she replied.
She remained kneeling on one knee while bowing her head.
Even when she was being whipped.
"Then stay here for the next days and leave the rest to the others. We'll watch until it heals and understand the gravity of that wound."
"Yes, my lord."
Raynisha stood up and left.
"My lord."
A hand reached out to the dark figure from the side.
It was the hand of a woman.
"Aren't you being too lenient to that woman?"
The dark figure scoffed, "Have you not seen me whipping her and the damaged she had received from it?"
His eyes had a glint of ruthlessness.
The woman smiled but didn't say more.
*****
Days passed by just like that and they continued doing what they had decided to do.
Soon the two months were over, Nixon and Stormie returned with a different vigor in their eyes.
And somehow they also noticed the changes on the others.
Not simply the strength but even the interactions between them.
Drake and Hunter was talking more than before.
The aura surrounding Drake have let up as well.
Willow and Drake were not interacting with one anotehr at all.
And somehow the aura surrounding Willow was a bit different than her usual gentle aura.
It's like there was something else in there but they couldn't point it out as of the moment.
"I guess it is time for that already?" Ridge replied to Nixon.
Nixon asked him if he had noticed how distant both Drake and Willow were.
"Willow seemed like she doesn't have her own life with the way she was acting towards Drake. It is good that she is now distancing herself, that's quite toxic for the both of them," Ridge continued.
If he were asked, he would blatantly say that this was better.
That way, both of them will grow more without hindering one another.
"You are quite a devil aren't you?" Nixon replied.
"I am just stating the truth. I kept quiet because Saphira and Hunter kept quiet. But I myself am getting tired at the way they were acting," he answered.
Nixon didn't know that Ridge has this side.
Then he remembered, among the seven of them, the first ones to spend time together were Saphira, Ridge and Hunter.
Ridge and Hunter would be reading books while Saphira would be sleeping.
But Hunter and Ridge spent much longer time together.
"I just remained silent that is all but I have my own thoughts," Ridge replied.
Plus he focuses more on his experiments than the matters regarding the relationship between them.
"Though I must say, you look much more mature as well," Ridge then said looking at Nixon.
Even though they haven't seen each other for just two months. It felt like they have matured more than the eight years that they were apart.
Two months is all it took.
"Back at you, I can feel a different aura coming from you. I think it must have been because of your physical aura? It seems stronger," Nixon replied.
"I have been training under the heads while you guys were away, I must say it was the most tedious one I have ever done. Didn't expect I have so little stamina."
Ridge sighed remembering the hellish time he had to go through in his own training.
Well it was him who asked for it but seriously, all of them were enjoying his demise.
Most of it was his father, the smile on his face was filled with meaning when Ridge finally asked to be trained in swords.
Because of his love for his potions and poisons he had neglected his sword skills a lot and he and his father would fight at times because of this.
But he was adamant, yet while they had just started their mission, he found out that he was too naive in his thoughts that his potions and poisons are enough.
Seeing the rest finding ways to improve themselves, he knew he too needed one.
And so, two months of none ending training with the heads and he knew as compared to before, he was now in a much better state.
Hunter even said so when he came by and saw him once.
When the two of them tried to spar, Ridge could finally hold himself against Hunter, something he could never do in the past.
"I want to spar with you now," Nixon excitedly said after hearing what Ridge had been up to during this time.
"Some other time, I just finished my training and I am about to collapse, give me a break," he said walking towards the house.
"Oh, that's right."
Nixon remembered that he had just arrived and haven't checked on Saphira yet.
For the past two months it was Black Tortoise who would return to help in the ice but about a week ago, Vermilion Bird said that it was already fine.