Meanwhile, at the Odhinkar Stables…
Primus was uneasy from the situation Emika brought upon him. However, he knew that dismissing her initiative and avoiding the nighttime sparring session would come back to bite him whenever he returned from Gwynedd. The scorn of a woman any age was not to be taken lightly, especially considering the last time he turned her down for a play date. He didn't hear the end of it for weeks.
Thus, with a reluctant sigh as he closed the horse's stable door, Primus caved in and accepted her challenge, even if it meant he'd lose sleep before his summoning to Bamburgh Castle at dawn. While Primus loved to sleep in from time to time, it wasn't as though he was notorious for doing so. Most mornings, he'd be the first one awake unless he was truly worn out physically from either chores or long training sessions. Napping during the day like they did earlier today occurred semi-frequently, depending on how much energy they had burned.
Primus did feel a bit refreshed from their earlier session thanks to said nap. Still, he'd almost certainly pray to the Christian God for this sparring session to end quickly if he didn't feel confident that he could make it happen on his own. Running on too few hours of sleep isn't healthy for anyone, no matter how mighty a warrior they are.
Still, if he had to do this, he might as well aim to win.
"Oh fine Emi, we can do this. I only ask that we make it quick. I don't want to pass out during the meeting and look foolish in front of all those important people."
Emika gave him a gleeful smile and squealed in glee before she took him by the arm and dragged him toward the trail that led to the clearing, where they fought earlier that day.
"You're the best, Chuckles! Don't worry, I'll knock you out and drag you to your bed in no time at all!"
Primus reluctantly grinned at that confident remark before he shook his arm free of her grasp, which resulted in her running ahead of him, challenging him to keep up with her. It was weird for him, as it felt like he could run faster at night than doing so during daylight. Perhaps taking in less of the environment made one focus more on the run itself? Less distractions for the mind? He had always wondered about that. Regardless, they'd reached the clearing in seemingly no time at all, before they halted near its center to catch their breath.
With Emika already wearing her Vættirtol in her hair braid, she had her magenta aura flowing off her person like a dim candle light, letting her outline stand out in the darkness. Taking little to no time in catching her breath, she'd skip further into the clearing with the fjórir tree behind her and to the right.
"Alright Chuckles, no backing out now!"
"You say that as though I have a choice."
Primus said reluctantly, as he walked to his position in front of her at an arm's distance, before realizing a sudden concern on her behalf. It was darker here than at the stables, the only light emitting from the moon overhead, which was currently a waning gibbous. The clouds in the sky didn't help his vision much either.
"Isn't your father aware that you're out so late?"
"Nah, he's down in the Inner Earth with mom and the seesters tonight, so I've got nothing to worry about."
Primus was a bit familiar with that sort of thing, for when his parents were out during missions at the same time, one of his responsibilities was watching his brothers for up to days at a time, albeit with the occasional check-in from neighboring adults to ensure they were sound and doing their chores. Primus had never been home on his own though, so he was jealous of that much.
He would proceed to pull his Vættirtol out from its pouch on his waist before fitting it properly around his wrist. When the raven headed tips of the oath ring snapped into place around his wrist, his yellow-green aura began radiating off his person like a calm river's flow. That's when he would turn to face her, andcthe two began staring one another down as a serious vibe began to radiate within them both. All they could see was one another in the void of darkness, which was all they truly needed for this sparring session.
Their eyes sparkled as a thin red line of self assured confidence shot out between them. Their gazes were fixed to one another, both trying to intimidate the another by stifling any chuckles or grins. Their auras lit up their immediate vicinity, offering more than enough clarity to watch the sheen flickering of light glow in their eyes.
Neither cowered from this standoff, as it was a customary tradition adopted from their training. The silence was as chilling as the nightly wind, which blew dead leaves gently across the clearing while these two children shifted their discipline to the forefront. After they both felt mentally prepared, Primus and Emika exchanged a customary forearm shake before they gripped respectively and began the spar on par with the intensity of a harsh thunder clap.
Emika started things off by instantly fixing her hand around his forearm, her grip like a strong vice. She tried to force him toward her so she could get a hand around the back of Primus's neck and her non-dominant leg behind his planted foot. There was an immediate struggle to try and keep her at bay, as Primus worked to struggle against her brute force like a wolf caught in a trap. Emika wasted no time asserting her approach, using her strength that was unusually powerful for a girl her age. It was noticeable through her aura, which began to flow faster than it did just a moment ago.
Primus would shuffle and weave in response, stepping out and shifting his footing out of her legs sweeping radius and her attempt at grasping the back of his neck by ducking and bobbing his head. He would carefully try to manage his own stamina by using as little effort as possible, and in doing so, he would try to read her while aiming to avoid being tripped as he tried to get his arm free from her grasp. Their auras flickered and their bodies danced as though they were doing this out of passionate spite; to strong-arm their way to more interesting modes of combat once the glima portion of the match was done with.
Both were maintaining their balance despite the struggle; Primus and Emika had both arms held now as they danced rhythmically to try and gain an advantage over one another. It was as though, despite their limited strength and stamina, they were capable of feats no child outside the Balderklan could pull off or endure without risking moderate injury. This was keenly due to their disciplined training, competence, and breathing techniques, which, compared to the trial Primus went through earlier with Balder, was not at the forefront of their focus at this point, especially since it came as second nature, let alone the style being fundamentally different.
Not to mention, Primus wasn't being put on the spot for royalty to witness out of the blue.
Regardless, it didn't take long for them to begin to sweat and catch themselves from using up too much energy all at once to initiate a grappling hold. Balancing force and proper breathing techniques, Primus especially, who was timing an action with a breath in or out, the two began to show off their basic understanding of the fundamentals that only made it that much more enticing to perform mutually. Back and forth they went, testing their tenacity, avoiding vulnerable openings, and all the while, aiming to gain the upper hand.
"Quit squirming, Chuckles!"
"You can't make me!"
With grunts and muffled cursing in between, each movement was just to ensure one didn't immediately sweep the other's leg and slam them to the ground. Both of their heads were down, bent at the spine, displaying their training through each shuffling movement. Whenever Emika swung a leg, Primus was ready for it and moved it out of the way. Whenever Primus pushed against her, Emika would do her best not to be forced back. She would skid back on her feet inch by inch, and used more of her Vættirtol to try and level the playing field of brute strength, dismissing the side effects that drained essential stamina. She would do this in bursts, instead of all at once, to conserve as much energy as she could.
The forest became alive; shadows of the treeline waved and reached out to touch them as their auras flickered and radiated with prominent light.
Emika wanted to try and secure a quick tap out, but it appeared as though Primus was doing well keeping her at bay. When push came to shove, she'd show great tenacity by letting go of his forearm suddenly and, bringing her right arm under his left arm, she pivoted to his left side. Emika caught him by surprise and wrapped her arms around his torso, which looked like a hug from the side.
"Like I said, this will be over in a flash, Chuckles!"
From there, she'd grip at his hip and squat down, lifting and arching her back before rotating him up and over her. This resulted in her slamming him down into the ground with her still wrapped around him with a hearty thud, but as she went to let go, Primus was persistent enough to wrap and lock his arm around her neck and held it firmly so she couldn't escape.
"Don't get so cocky this early in a spar!"
Exclaimed Primus with volume, as both auras were fluctuating furiously based on their physical output and lit up their clearing viciously. As Primus was on the ground with Emika on top of him, loose leaves would flutter away from them as he'd use his arm as a means to hold her firmly. He then brought his other arm around her right leg, which was a huge struggle on his part, as it took plenty of time to maneuver and catch their breaths in between the motions. Eventually, Primus managed to gain more of an upper hand in this scuffle in what seemed like eternity to him.
Gripping both around her neck with his arm and her right leg by behind the knee, he'd pivot as she struggled to counter these motions before he had a firm hold on both. From there he'd waste little time rolling onto his front. With his torso on the dirty ground, he'd quickly inhale before he began standing her up as he rose to his feet.
While Primus was still bent forward and down, Emika would be wrapped around his body loosely before he stood upwards, knocking her off balance to a degree where she would struggle to resist what followed. He lifted her up and brought his right leg behind both of hers, kicking her legs out from behind, resulting in them being pushed forward and off the ground. Caught off balance before she could fix herself, she slammed down into the dirt before Primus let go and secured the win for the glima portion of this spar.
Panting yet not winded, Primus shuffled to gain distance and a better defensive fighting stance for the fight as it continued. Emika immediately got back up in a roll with a flustered grunt before the fight went into round two, during which the basic gilma warm up ended and pure hjaldr commenced.
"What say you, Emi? You still think you'll end this quickly?"
Emika was disgruntled and lunged forward like a wolf chasing prey once she got close enough and attempted to tackle Primus to the ground, which resulted in him weaving out of the way and sweeping her leg. It made her trip and struggle to maintain her footing before coming to a stop, forcing her to stomp to a gradual halt. Unbeknownst to her, Primus had a follow up attack in mind, and when she was in the middle of stampeding to a halt, he aimed his left hand out at her and fired a blast of his Vættir directly at her turned back, resulting in her face planting into the dirt and dead leaves with a hefty thud.
"You gotta stop using so much brute force, Emi." Consoled Primus, as she stood up and brushed the leaves off her body and out of her hair with a look of pure frustration.
Beyond furious at this point, Emika snarled as she got up and faced him once again, though to her credit, she didn't necessarily ignore his words completely.
"Fine. I'm just getting warmed up anyways!"
With that, she'd proceed to spawn a magenta colored orb in her right hand and flung it at him from a distance, which illuminated the distance between them enough to cast shadows from the treeline surrounding them as it soared and sparkled. Primus would duck his head to the side, letting it fly just past his temple with an audible chiming whistle before it smashed into a tree and dissipated into delicate particles. Due to the limited potency of a child in training, the tree was left unscathed.
Primus, in retaliation, would try to hit her next orb with another one of his greenish-yellow beams from the palm of his left hand, and after timing with her throw, he effectively did so, causing an exploion like firecrackers between them. This happened twice over as Emika closed the distance between each throw, as she ran at an angle toward Primus.
Her being able to run and close the gap between them forced Primus to shift his footing to follow her trajectory, and when he fired a flash of his Vættir to try and meet her as she moved, she would drop and skid underneath it before sidearming another orb at him, effectively striking Primus in the gut.
This made him stagger for a brief second, before she closed in and tried to land a potent, amplified punch to his chest. Despite being staggered, Primus had enough time to extend both arms forward and fire a double helix beam at her to try and deter her from closing in, though she'd land her punch nonetheless.
She took the hit head on as she struck him, and while he continued to fire it persistently, she'd keep her fist extended while skidding bsck on her feet and took steps forward to push against it with her fist, which was quickly wearing him out. So, he ceased and let her stumble forward, expecting her to faceplant yet again.
She didn't, however, and as soon as the dual handed, double helix beam ceased, she had caught her footing by planting her dominant foot down forward, while only her upper body weaved forward and then retracted back up to face her opponent with a sneering grin. Catching herself, with both hands illuminating a bright magenta, she unleashed a volley of beads that expelled from her extended palms when she aimed them at him nearly point blank. He was struck by several smaller orbs in the torso and face before he began twisting his body and ran to the right, and she chased him with her rush of Vættir beads while standing in nearly the same spot, only turning to further bombard him once she caught up with him.
While he ran, Primus was focusing his aura into his hands and forearms, making them glow a sheen yellow-green as they gathered their potent Vættir. This is when Primus slid to a halt on his feet and began swatting the bombardment of beads with his hands, using his Vættirtol to charge his stamina for a good few seconds. After that depleted by swatting, he used the Vættir in his forearms to generate a circular shield to further deflect these beads. With both forearms pressed against one another perpendicular to the ground, he'd suddenly rush at her and let out a battle cry, which caused her to stop firing and quickly prepare herself for a clash.
Emika gradually built up her speed until she was running, as her arms were also engulfed in a bright magenta, forming two gauntlets as she charged at him. They'd roar out in unison as they stampeded toward one another like two eccentric goats. When they collided, the force of their impact made the leaves and dirt below them expel up and outward like a firey explosion, as a flash of bright white persisted between where their Vættir met, as they pushed against each other's raw brute force.
"Y-you can't beat me like earlier. Not when I can take you head on without distraction!" Exclaimed Emika, as their faces twitched and their teeth clenched tight, desperate to out endure the other.
Staring at each other with the angered focus of a true Ulfheðinn, neither were willing to back down. They kept pushing and struggling with gritted teeth as they began skidding back and forth on their soles. After considerable pressure and persistent endurance expired, Primus began to feel numb and exhausted. Depleting reserve stamina too early, Primus suddenly began questioning his ability to win here.
Once his arms grew too weary to continue pushing forward, he'd snarl in defiance as they became numb and began shaking against his will, giving way. Emika noticed this and took advantage of the situation with a kiap of assertiveness. She'd shove her arms back and broke the clash, sending Primus to a debilitating stagger as the white sparks from their heated Vættir flew outward and trickled to the ground. She'd reel back and slam her left fist into his right cheek, which effectively dropped him to the ground after he struggled to maintain his balance.
He slammed down hard on his back as he took this punch, feeling his face go numb from the impact and his brain rattle within his skull. It was like a wrecking ball struck him in the face, and while he didn't black out right then and there, he used what strength remained to endure it as he fell back. Emika lunged on top of him and planted herself on his stomach, with a fist ready to strike yet again if he showed any amount of resistance to her.
"You've lost this one, Chuckles!" She said between her panting, "Give up and let me have this!"
Primus was a stubborn soul, so much so that as he looked up at her, he didn't wince or flinch when he saw her ready to hit him yet again. He felt beyond fatigued, his arms wouldn't move on their own, as though begging for respite as they told his brain not to move, lest they go completely inoperable. He brought his head up in defiance, but his arms wouldn't budge. He felt powerless, but since he was considered flexible at his age, he'd do one more thing to try and end things with some amount of honor.
He tried to bend his legs and push her off of him, but she had the edge and fought against him easily. He didn't want to give up, but Emika wasn't giving him too many options. Dragging his elbows backwards in the dirt as he tried to sit up, his aura began to accelerate, a rushing power and pressure began to accompany a sudden breathing technique that he failed in performing for her grandfather, King Balder, earlier that day. His aura sounded like a wolf roaring with thunder as it spiked and rushed, and with a stern glare, he'd stare into her eyes with determination.
This resulted in her punching him across the jaw with her right fist, though due to her own fatigue, it'd be half as strong as the previous one she landed.
His head and upper body slammed down hard against the ground, his morale beyond tarnished and at the mercy of Emika's dominance. What little remained of his awareness and strength was focused on a final attack that would hopefully send her off of him, at the cost of any further pursuits on his part.
"Y-you're gonna feel this one, Emi."
As she came down to land her victory blow to his face one more time, Primus suddenly exploded with Vættir at its current full capacity. Like a self destruction, he'd erupt all of his remaining strength into this final act of defiance, forcing her to flex and bring her arms in front of her. The thunderous roar of the wolf within him echoed as lit up their bodies like an intense bonfire, as it flowed over her and budged her upwards slightly before suddenly, the pressure ceased as soon as it began.
The thunder dissipated, and his body had nothing left in reserves.
She was lifted off her knees, but as soon as it died down, she didn't get flung off of him enough in time, thus resulting in her quickly collecting her bearings before she focused all of her strength into her muscles and grabbed him by the collar of his dirty tunic, stood up, and lifted him up off the ground without any further resistance. He was wincing and panting slowly, out of any strength that remained, and became as limp as a noodle, unable to do much else but catch his breath.
She'd then drop him to his knees, realizing thst she had no strength left either. She despawned her gauntlets and bent forward, placing her hands on her knees so she could catch her breath as well. Primus's aura was faint and flickering embers, while hers was slightly more fluent and potent than his. When she knew he had nothing left to offer, she'd fall backwards onto her butt and sit right in front of him.
The sound of leaves and tiny clumps of dirt trickling down around them was what oversaw their heavy panting, and before long, silence settled while the two of them gathered their bearings. After effectively losing their spar, Primus adjusted off of his back and up onto his butt, leaning forward while resting his arms on his knees as he sweat profusely, finally catching his breath. Emika would do the same.
"Looks like, heh, I win, huff, Chuckles. Holy damn."
Primus, fatigued and worn beyond compare, slowly opened his eyes weakly, finally feeling his inability to move his arms, and felt the stinging pain on his face. He'd muster a defeated grin after a deep inhale and exhale.
"I uh, I guess so. You really wanted to win this, didn't you?"
Emika shook her head. "You're better than Gabe in potential, so I figured that if I could beat you, I could fight Gabe tomorrow in your place, since you'll be busy and all."
Primus's eyes widened in concern. "You intend to fight Gabe in my place? He's not exactly a pushover like me. He might hurt you for real!"
Emika didn't waver in her confidence. "It's like you said, Primus; he's just a dillusional bully. If I can put him in his place, you've got nothing to worry about!"
Primus wondered about that. "I mean, he's just gonna bitch about you fighting my battles for me when I return. Wouldn't it only cause more conflict?"
Emika paused in contemplation before she spoke again. "... I get it. But even if I do fight and beat him, he'll just be put in his place by you when you come back stronger than you are now. After that mission, you'll be so smart and strong, not even Gabe will be able to make you look weak in front of the others."
Primus couldn't muster any words of self confidence, and merely kept his eyes glued to hers, his own reeking of bashfulness.
"You're destined for greatness, Primus. You gotta live up to that responsibility no matter what!"
Primus merely shook his head in uncertainty. "I don't know. I'm not actually supposed to fight anyone during this mission. I'm just supposed to take notes and pay attention."
"Then just do that. Warfare is supposed to be a learning experience to all who survive it." Stated Emika, "You're gonna learn how the real Úlfheðnar fight, which isn't like anything any of us trainees have ever experienced. All I can ask of you is to do your best, survive, and learn. Take it all in. If you do that, there won't be a single one of us trainees who could prove you're weak!"
Primus meditated on those words, contemplating heavily as he responded to her. "I just don't get why it has to be me of all people. I like to fight, but not to kill someone in the process. Sometimes I just feel like Gabe could handle this responsibility better than me."
Emika mustered the strength to put a hand on his shoulder, looking at him with the utmost sincerity. "Being born with responsibility isn't easy for anyone. Not even Gabe. Don't think it's unfair just because you are uncomfortable with it."
"Well, I mean, why me? Why not someone else?"
"Don't talk like that. Don't forget, I'm different too. Our families are destined to grow strong enough to endure anything, Chuckles. Call it unfair if you wish. If you ask me, being born with a destiny beyond the expectations of our elders is an honor worth more than any gold or silver they could ever haul back to our shores."
Primus sighed at her words. He didn't always like to assume he was better than anyone else. It made him feel like he was entitled beyond reason, or desired to feel like he deserved to be on a high horse when in reality, he felt weaker than any warrior with a legacy to be proud of. Living up to these expectations alone felt like it was well beyond him, let alone being someone who was destined to be something greater than his elders. But in whose eyes would he be considered more significant? Why him? Why not someone more confident?
"Why do you believe in me more than I believe in myself?"
Emika made a gentle smile, looking into his eyes as her hand was still on his shoulder.
"Because I believe in you, Primus. If it was left up to someone like Gabe, I wouldn't have any faith that he'd do what's best for himself or our clan. But for you, well… I've got a gut feeling that you'd do what's best for everyone!"
Primus could only smile, before placing a hand on hers, and smiled with his usual serenity. "It means the world to hear that, Emi. Thank you. I'll do my best, for you, if not for myself. We're in this together, your family and mine. I just can't do it myself anymore."