The cart stopped near an open field; while she tended to the horse, Charlotte focused on making a fire. The town they were at couldn't be seen from where they were, but smoke could be seen in the distance, as well as the forest surrounding the town. His mind wandered to the rift he saw; what was that thing, and why was it taking in a dead wolf? The wolf had Chi; he could tell it was stronger than the sound bear. Where did the wolf come from?
He shook his head and finished setting up the fire as Stella walked over and sat across from him.
"Alright, since we are traveling together, we can probably take turns watching out. The question is...who takes the first watch?"
It was apparent that she wanted him to volunteer, and he had the same plan. It was safer for him to sleep in the day where she could most likely see any threat coming. In the night, it was dangerous to leave her to handle things.
"There won't be any need for us to take turns at night; you can sleep during the night. During the day, I'll sleep, and you can wake me up if trouble arises."
A sigh of relief escaped her lips, and she seemed slightly embarrassed. He could only smile as he opened his sack to grab some meat to eat...He took a piece out and offered it to her, and she happily accepted.
She took a bit and seemed to chipper up slightly as she quickly devoured the meat. She looked at him with surprise as he ate a lot more slowly.
"That was delicious; I have no idea how you don't just finish it immediately."
She seemed a bit jealous as she watched him eat, and he shook his head when she reached out for more.
"Can't give you anymore; I only had enough for myself to last me a week. If it's two of us we have to ration. Didn't you bring food for yourself?"
He said calmly; his focus was on moving the Chi into his heart. He was hoping to grow his storage by half of its current amount.
"I did, but it's not as tasty."
She giggled, got up, and walked over to the carriage. She opened the curtains near the driver's side and went inside.
"Goodnight"
He said quietly; her hand popped out, and she gave him a thumbs up before slipping back in as she went to sleep.
He closed the sack as he finished eating the meat; he got up and stretched. Now that he has some time, it would be nice to move around since he sits around most of the time.
He would spread Chi through his whole body as he began to dodge and strike the air. To anyone else, it seemed he was dodging nothing. He was trying to recall his fight with the bear and move as if he were fighting it once more; its primary weapon, "sound," wasn't something he could fight against, but the bear's strength was enough.
The Chi he was using on his brain helped immensely in submersing himself in the fight; he barely managed to do a few attacks before having to dodge. It might have just been him, but he felt like the bear moved faster. It was hard to fully recall the bear's strength since their scuffle hadn't lasted long enough.
He spent a few hours doing this before tossing himself to the ground to rest and look up at the stars. He still had a quarter of his Chi left in case of trouble. He doubted anything would attack them, especially with a fire.
He could keep his body covered in Chi for a few minutes, but it was extremely taxing. His body felt sore after training, but he was getting better at managing it. Still, it felt like what he was doing wasn't enough; he didn't have anyone to instruct or tell him he was doing something wrong. So he could only hope he was heading in the right direction.
He waited till he had filled his Chi fully once more before getting up and training once more; he had nothing but doubts. But it was too late to worry about it; he could only do what he thought was right.
The entire night quickly passed as he followed this schedule; Stella saw him training as she waited till he finished.
She was taking that time to eat some jerky from a bag inside the carriage. She offered him some once he sat back on the ground, which he happily took and ate as she prepared to leave.
"You sure work hard. Are you trying to become a guard in the capital?"
She said with some admiration that he was a bit too busy catching his breath to respond. He raised a finger to signal her to give him a moment.
"If you want, you can sleep inside the carriage. There isn't much space with the wood inside, but you are short and skinny, so you can easily fit."
She threw dirt over the fire to properly put it out as she moved the carriage and waited for him to get on.
"No, I am trying to join that school your brother is trying to..."
He was utterly exhausted as he forced himself to his feet and climbed up; he opened the curtains, got into the back, and put his sack against the carriage's walls to use as a pillow. There wasn't much space, but it was enough for him to lay flat.
"Really? Well, I wish you luck. If you happen to get in, my brother will try to join next year. If he gets in, can you try and get along with him?"
He smiled and gave a slight nod, which made her sigh with relief as she began moving the carriage. He laid down on the back and let his head rest against his sack, although he trusted her a bit. He wanted to be sure she wouldn't try to eat some of his meat; it was a bit too precious to have someone randomly eat it.
"Sweet dreams."
Was the last thing he heard as he closed his eyes; he really had exhausted himself too much, considering how easily he passed out.
He hoped the rest of the trip would be just as quiet; it would be nice.