As the late afternoon settled in, Zephyr reached their designated meeting spot and waited for Dain to arrive.
They were far from any village and their camp, between the Dark Forest and the wall, with another gate nearby. Not many guards patrolled this part of the wall. They didn't know why, but it meant less of an audience that might snicker at two Slinktails trying to improve their fighting skills.
Perhaps the fae they feared didn't cause trouble here? He had yet to meet one, though, after Naexi's comments about them, he didn't particularly want to.
Placing his stolen goods on the ground, he returned to one of the trees that started to shift to the side slightly, groaning in protest. It looked slightly different to the others, though, with a few characters marked into the side- characters of a language he didn't understand? Anyway, it never tried to grab him or throw him to the side like some of the others if he got too close to them. He wondered if the elves controlled the trees because of how that she-elf spoke to them before he escaped the forest.
Ignoring the tree's small protests, Zephyr began digging near its roots, shuffling some of the snow and dirt aside until he found a small cloth covering another weapon. The tree should have known he would return for his goods. A few days before, Zephyr suggested they begin learning how to use weapons just like the Draegorths. Dain was against it at first; Zephyr was yet to improve, but he insisted they needed them for the next stage of their training.
Dain might not be a Draegorth yet after one hundred years, but how could he have been if he hadn't picked up a sword?
Zephyr learned the techniques and was getting quicker at reading his opponent's attacks and defending himself, but there was a long way to go. He unwrapped the material and placed the other weapons with them before he started his warmup. Whenever there was spare time, or Dain was running late, Zephyr would start his exercise routine.
He used to hate exercise in his past life, but in the short time he'd been in Thraesia, learning from Dain and following this small routine, he'd grown much stronger, and it was going to help him in the long run. Once he can move around by himself, uncaring who sees him, confident enough like Maz that nobody will start anything, or if they do, then he can finish it, and then he might relax a little.
Until then, he did the following:
A 5-mile run (or something similar; he didn't actually know how far he ran, but he was always worn out after), 100 sit-ups, 100 push-ups, 100 squats, and 100 pull-ups on one of the trees that didn't toss him aside in irritation. So far, he'd made it to 50s in each of them before he almost passed out each day.
"What are you doing?" Dain stared up at the Slinktail whose tail had escaped his trousers; his cloak was to the side, revealing his slender arms bulking the tiniest as he pulled himself up to a branch, struggling as he lowered himself slowly.
"Forty-eight!" Zephyr huffed, his limbs shaking. "Two more. I'll be down after."
Did the pull-up he did to climb the rooftop count earlier? Surely, it did, right? No, stop being a wuss!
He focused on the people that fucked him over in his past life and those who fucked over this Slinktail in this life before he possessed it. It was his motivation.
His fingers started to slip, and Zephyr dropped from the vast height with a huff for the tenth or possibly twentieth time. "Need to get stronger," he mumbled, breathing deeply before he climbed up the tree again until he was hanging onto the branch and finishing the set. It wasn't anywhere near 100, but it was a start!
Jumping back down again, Zephyr gestured to the weapons with a wide grin. "Told you I could get some."
"I never doubted you for a second," Dain replied dryly as he knelt beside the pile of weapons. Unsheathing the scabbard of one of the swords revealed a slightly blue blade with artistic patterns engraved near the hilt. They really were remarkable craftsmanship, which was one of the reasons Zephyr stole them and most likely why the blacksmith was adamant about getting them back.
He even screamed out to the local guards to catch Zephyr, but he lost them swiftly in the back streets. "Pick whatever one you want."
"And the bow?" Dain stood up, holding the sword he first looked at, sheathing it again.
"To hunt," Zephyr answered with a shrug. "What else?"
"What are you planning, Zephyr?" Dain asked as Zephyr knelt, grabbing the other sword, which had been just as beautifully crafted by another blacksmith in another village. He unsheathed the top part of the sword, revealing a black blade with red engravings flourishing down the sword like flames.
"To become independent," he murmured, not expecting Dain to hear him. "Burn these shackles around my neck." He then stood up, pointing at the tree where the snow and dirt were piled to the side. "We should leave them buried there."
He didn't know what the Draegorths would do if they discovered them. First, steal them, then kill them. That sounded about right.
Dain stared at him a moment more before finally answering, "Well, we aren't training with them straight away. Come on, I haven't got all day."
He pointed his head towards one of the trees. "You know the first drill."
Zephyr returned to the tree that allowed him to do his pull-ups. It was easy to climb up because the branches were closer to the ground than the others. Lining up in front of it, he got into a fighting stance, bracing himself as he started directing hits to the tree trunk. After a swift side jab, the tree made an irritated noise and-
Zephyr blocked the branch intended to hit him in the face. He dodged the next hit and jumped when the ground rumbled, and the roots popped out to trip him up. The Slinktail returned to his set of strikes, simultaneously defending himself against the tree. Once he finished his practice on the tree, Dain would go through different moves before practising them and fighting.
"What did that poor tree ever do to you?" A snicker followed the question, and Zephyr tensed, slowly turning around and forgetting about the tree's responding hit. The whip of the branch shot across the side of his body, and he flew across the snowy ground and landed on his back. He stared up at Fig, whose eyes were twinkling in amusement. "So this is what you've been sneaking off for?"
Her boots crunched into the snow as she walked over to a rock and plopped herself down, facing them. "Let's see then."
Zephyr rose to his feet, brushing off the snow from his arms, watching her suspiciously. Dain's expression mirrored his, eyes narrowing as he asked, "You're not going to tell Garzon?"
"That depends. What's in it for me if I remain quiet?" Fig purred, flicking those turquoise curls to the side.
"Your life," Zephyr hissed, pointing his new blade in her direction.
Dain rolled his eyes to the sky, mumbling something under his breath, something about asking Zephyr to gain at least half a brain cell.
Fig hopped up from the rock and sauntered towards Zephyr, eyes roaming over him and finally resting on his eyes again. "I can see your skinny little wrist shaking from over there. You're holding it wrong, your positioning is wrong… Don't embarrass yourself further; put the sword down before you hurt yourself." Her hand rested on the end of the blade.
She looked between the pair. "I already know this was not Dain's idea. Not so soon after joining us… It's too risky…" Her gaze landed on Zephyr again, her hand remaining on the tip. "How'd you get him to cooperate?"
Zephyr remained silent. If he caved into Fig's blackmail and began paying her for silence, it would never stop. He'd be walked all over again. One thing would lead to another…
"I told him I wouldn't slit his throat in his sleep," Zephyr snarled, flicking the sword up and pointing it at Fig's neck, ignoring the slight wince on her expression where the sharp edge sliced through the side of her fingers. He fixed his gaze on hers, refusing to let her blackmail him.
Zephyr already had to restrain himself from lashing out regularly for the mistreatment he received from Garzon and Maz. They didn't physically abuse him like Alkazar used to with the previous owner of this body, but they ensured he worked until it was time for bed. Outside of the times he managed to sneak some sort of relevance to a break, any food he got was just before sleeping. And his day started all over again.
"Is that so?" Fig smirked, not batting an eyelash at the sharp edge pressing against her throat. It was his first time holding a sword, which Fig mostly pointed out earlier, but he would fight her if it meant remaining free from manipulation. He might not be skilled, but he was stronger than the last time they fought.
"Well. I'll have to train you myself." Fig shrugged.
"Eh?" Both Dain and Zephyr stared at her in disbelief.
"Neither of you know how to use a weapon. I'm not the best, but Garzon and Maz taught me how," she explained nonchalantly.
Zephyr's blade lowered slightly as he stared at her in suspicion. "What do you want in return?" There was no way she was doing this for free.
"A favour for a favour. I don't know what I want yet." Her devious smile said otherwise.
"Didn't realise we were dealing with a fae," Dain scoffed, clearly disliking the idea as much as Zephyr did.
Fig was right, though. Neither of them knew how to wield a sword. He'd seen her throw those daggers and knew from how Garzon and Maz praised her that she had to be a skilled fighter. He could accept this, and once he learned everything he needed to know, he'd just leave. It was as simple as that.
"Alright. Dain, what do you think?"
"Oh no. Not Dain." Zephyr looked at Fig again, frowning. "This is an agreement between us. I'll teach you both, but I want you, Zephyr, to return the favour."
That was definitely suspicious. Zephyr didn't waste another second on deciding.
"Agreed. But if you tell Garzon and Maz-"
"Yes, yes, you'll slit my throat. I got it."
Dain and Zephyr glanced at each other. The half-blind Slinktail shook his head, giving him the same look as before.
Fig clapped her hands. "Get to it! Let me see what you've got!"
"Oh boy. This will take a while." She huffed two hours later after watching Dain and Zephyr train.