Eratz stood in the center of the clearing, stretching. He glanced over at Mercury, whose short blue hair shimmered in the light.
"Ready to get started?" Eratz called out.
Mercury smirked, stretching her arms above her head.
"Hope you're prepared to eat my dust today."
Eratz chuckled inwardly.
'Good, she's fired up. If we can go all out, she'll be too tired to continue, and I could go for the terrakrus.'
"Big talk, I hope you're ready to face my reaction when you lose."
She rolled her eyes, her smirk unwavering.
"We'll see about that. Let's begin with an long race. We start from here and go to the lake we saw earlier, then we go back here."
Eratz nodded, concealing his surprise at her eagerness.
"Sounds good. Let's make it interesting, we do it three times, full speed all the way."
"Only if you can keep up," Mercury replied.
They positioned themselves at the starting line marked by two large rocks. "On three," Eratz instructed.
"One, two, three!" Mercury shouted in quickly, launching forward with explosive speed.
She took an immediate lead, her legs pumping with remarkable agility. Eratz pushed himself, matching her speed, he was confident in his body to handle this, but as he watched her back he realized that it was taking longer to catch up with her.
'She's faster than I expected,'
"Having fun behind?" She called out with a triumphant grin.
"Not a chance," he retorted, his muscles tensing.
Minutes stretched into what felt like hours as they navigated the winding forest path.
Mercury's speed was impeccable, but Eratz's endurance kept him close behind.
From time to time, she would slow down, but once she regained her breath, she left him behind.
Sweat began to bead on their foreheads, and their breaths came in heavy gasps, yet neither showed signs of giving up.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they reached the clearing once more, panting and drenched in sweat. Mercury stood slightly ahead, her chest heaving.
"Looks like... My win..."
Eratz wiped his brow, a mix of frustration and surprise in his eyes.
Visibly, she seemed more exhausted than him, maybe if the distance was longer he might have returned the tables, but he was forced to admit that he got crushed on speed.
"Don't get too cocky. Next challenge is mine."
"Bring it on," she shot back.
They approached a hefty boulder nestled among the trees.
"Let's see who can lift this the most times."
Mercury eyed the rock skeptically. "Compensating for something?"
He chuckled.
"Yeah, for your little arms."
She stepped forward, contracting her muscles and showing quite developed biceps and triceps
"I'll teach you what 'little arms' can do."
Gripping the rough edges, Mercury hoisted the boulder with a grunt. One, two, three lifts, her arms trembled slightly on the fourth. She set it down, shaking out her hands.
"... Your turn."
Eratz took her place, confidence surging. He lifted the boulder smoothly. Four, five, six, seven times. He glanced at her with a smug grin.
"Hm?"
She rolled her eyes.
"Don't strain yourself, King Kong. Why are we even doing this out here when we have perfectly good training facilities back at the agency?"
"Of course, a loser shouldn't understand, the forest adds unpredictability. Makes things more interesting."
- And I can look for my dragon right after you collapse.
She rolled her eyes.
"Fine, enjoy it while it lasts. How about an agility race through these trees?"
Eratz nodded, already moving into position.
"Ah, bad choice."
But he soon realized how true that sentence was.
As they darted through the obstacle course of hard branches and tangled vines, Mercury's agility shone.
She weaved through with graceful precision, darting around branches almost without touching them while Eratz pushed his limits, struggling to match her fluid movements.
"I thought I was the monkey?!" he called out, trying to mask his frustration.
"Aw, are you angry?"
He frowned, frustration creeping in.
'How is she better at something I practice every day? How strong is she?'
After that, They approached a narrow stream with a slippery log stretched across it.
"The worst of us lose," Eratz declared.
Mercury stepped onto the log with confident balance. Eratz followed, his strong body easily maintaining his stance.
Minutes passed as they maintained their balance through the pressure. Eratz felt a slight wobble but managed to steady himself.
Mercury noticed it smirked, but then her foot slipped, and she plunged into the cold water, bumping into him and sending him under in the process.
They emerged dripping wet, gasping for breath.
"It should count as a penalty for me," Eratz groaned, rubbing his head.
"Alright... now I'm really going to crush you... Why are we even the only ones suffering? Let's call our beasts too," Mercury replied.
"... Yeah, let's make them feel that too. For the next challenges, our beasts participate too and if they win, we get some points," Eratz agreed.
"Good for me," Mercury said, wiping water from her face.
Eratz reached out telepathically to his Thunder Lycaon, who was watching over Milo and Colin with a vigilant eye.
"Lycaon, join us. Aetheri, you take the watch," he commanded.
The beast responded with a powerful growl, reaching them instantly in a flash of electricity crackling along its fur.
Mercury closed her eyes briefly, then extended her hand. From a swirling vortex of water and light emerged a magnificent creature, a Seraphim Panther.
Its sleek, midnight-blue fur was interwoven with patterns that glowed like constellations. Feathered wings arched gracefully from its back, shimmering with iridescent colors.
Eratz's jaw dropped.
"A Celestial Panther?"
She smiled proudly.
"Meet my other baby, Nebula."
They turned to their beasts.
"You're participating too. It will be your training. Fight until this bird begs her master for a break," Eratz roared to the Lycaon.
Mercury clenched her fist in front of Nebula's head.
"Show him how we treat pests like him. I want you to turn this dog into jelly!"
The two beasts exchanged a glance, a mixture of incomprehension and slight exasperation. They knew their masters well and understood that it wasn't wise to disobey.
As the training intensified, Eratz and Mercury continued their fierce competition, their taunts sharp and filled with determination.
"Break a leg!" Eratz laughed.
"Fat chance," Mercury shouted back.
They continued to trade challenges, with every taunt and comeback, the tension between them growing palpable. It wasn't a training anymore, but a competition.
They squared off, muscles tense and minds focused. The forest around them seemed to fade, leaving only the charged atmosphere between them.
They moved simultaneously, trading swift strikes and agile blocks. Every time their hands brushed or their bodies collided, a spark of electric tension passed between them.
Their eyes met, and for a moment, the world stood still.
Eratz felt his heart race as Mercury's movements became more fluid, matching his every move.
He could see her moves, he could pass through them, but she always managed to block him, and in opposite, Mercury's touch always grazed Eratz's skin, but only when he pared her.
They continued, their bodies moving in perfect harmony, each push and parry drawing them closer. Their skins brushed, their breath mixed, spicy, intoxicating their lungs.
The temperature kept rising, the heart beat faster, stronger. The forest echoed with their exertion, their voices mixing with the sounds of nature around them.
Finally, in a burst of energy, they both lunged towards each other, colliding mid-air.
The impact sent them crashing back into the clearing, landing side by side, completely exhausted.
Their breaths came in heavy gasps, bodies drenched in sweat, hair sticking to their flushed skin.
Milo and Colin rushed over, worry etched on their faces.
"Are you okay?" Colin asked, eyes wide with concern.
Eratz and Mercury lay on the ground, struggling to move but unable to stop laughing.
"We're fine," Eratz panted, his chest heaving. "Just... Dying."
Mercury nodded, trying to catch her breath.
"Holy... Crap."
Milo looked between them, still anxious. "All these noises, it was you?! I was getting scared here!"
Eratz chuckled, Mercury laughed lightly, keeping her eyes shut.
As night began to fall, Milo started to panic, the shadows growing longer around them.
"W-What are we going to do? It's getting dark! The monster of the night will come eat us!"
Colin tried to calm him down with a worried look.
"We... uh... they're too tired... We have to do something ourselves... Oh, I know, Let's set up camp here."
Milo huffed, his eyes wide with worry. "Here? In the monsters' home?!"
Colin patted Eratz and Mercury's head, her expression turning serious.
"Milo, we have to, it's our turn to help our big brother and sister."
Eratz and Mercury remained on the ground, barely able to move, their bodies intertwined slightly from their exhausting battle.
Their outfits were torn and dirty, sweat glistening on their skin in the fading light.
In this sorry state, none of them was able to move and Colin quite grasped it.
"Milo, grab those logs over there. We'll need more firewood. I'll handle the tents. Let's finish before the monst... Before it's night."
Milo reluctantly nodded, still looking worried.
"Okay, but what's about the monster of the night inside the tent?"
"Move it, slowpoke!"
Unaware of Eratz and Mercury's monsters watching in the shadow, Milo hurried and rushed everywhere, grabbing wood, while Colin picked the tent and realized as she took the notice that she didn't know how to read, yet.