'She seems to be having trouble,' Olpi thought as Elero stood herself up for the third time. 'Maybe adjusting is harder than she thought it would be.' As opposed to the Virility rigid routine, refined by years of repetition, Elero adapted her warm-up to the surroundings. She dashed through patches of raised roots, bounced off trunks, and sliced dead twigs from their base branches.
Olpi huffed a breath of warm air into her hands and held them over her ears. For a moment, she imagined zooming through the forest like Elero. Free. Capable. Simple.. Elero's scars were deep and jagged.
"Let's do some unarmed round robin while Elero finishes her warm-up," Cerlius suggested.
'Round robin?' Olpi thought. 'What's that?'
"I'll start," Frey said. Without warning, he sent a fist hurtling towards Cerlius, who slapped it out of the way and countered with an elbow to the jaw.
Cerlius didn't get mad like Olpi expected, but broke into a smile the likes of which she had never seen before. How could a man's expressionless face radiate such pure, child-like joy?
"One-one thousand. Two-one thousand. Three-one thousand," Thomas sat back and counted the seconds while the two fought it out.
'Round robin must mean taking turns,' Olpi thought. 'Two fight while the third takes a break and counts.' She yelled over to them: "Do you want me to count for you, so it's easier to catch your breath? It's not like I'm doing anything."
Thomas shook his head and kept counting. If Olpi didn't know better, she would have thought he was scowling.
'Did I say something wrong?' she thought.
Mounds of snow cushioned Cerlius, as Frey used his weight to either slam or throw him. Cerlius would always get right back up and amble through the trees, where Frey struggled to navigate. He darted out only to throw a sharp combo to Frey's core and return to his original position.
"Thirty," Thomas said before rushing in. Cerlius leapt back and took Thomas's place counting.
"Olpi," Cerlius said after a few breaths. "Don't mind Thomas. He's adjusting to some things, just like Elero."
"Oh, ok," Olpi replied. "What should I do?"
Cerlius cocked his head to the side. "What should you do? I do not know."
Olpi sighed. "Nevermind."
After a few rounds she found herself standing up, looking around for the sixth time for something to do. Watching was entertaining but sitting for so long, in broad daylight, would get her beaten in the academy. At the very least it always attracted unwanted attention. She flinched every time the others yelled. 'Maybe I should go back.'
"I'm finished, assholes," Elero announced as she emerged from a pile of snow.
"Did you trip or something?" Thomas asked between his strikes at Cerlius, catching him once in the ribs.
"You shook the damned forest and snow fell on me," Elero hissed. A snowball exploded on the back of Thomas's head, giving Cerlius the chance to kick him down.
"No fair," Thomas said.
"Are you going to tell some bandit that right before he kills you?" Cerlius asked. He offered a hand and helped the young noble stand up. He didn't let go of the cold, pale hand for a few moments. His smile faded. "I see," he muttered.
"It's not a big deal," Thomas insisted.
"What's going on?" Frey asked. "Did you get cut or something?"
Cerlius paused, then began walking Thomas away. "Frey, spar with Elero for a bit."
"Where are you two love-birds going?" Elero asked. "I just got here and you're already running away. Is sparring with me really all that bad?"
Thomas chuckled. "Well, Doevm might be dying so that takes a bit of precedence."
Frey froze. "Sorry, what?"
Thomas took out an array of multi-colored vials from his belt: "These are poisons, venoms, and antidotes I got from Alexander. I put the belt on by force of habit. I think one of them, maybe, possibly, spilled on Doevm...so yeah."
"It's no harm, hopefully," Cerlius said as he led Thomas away from the others. Cerlius breathed out white puffs of warm air but nothing came from Thomas's mouth. If she didn't know better, she could have sworn that he was tearing up.
'Were those...claws?' Olpi thought. "Is he going to be ok?"
Frey shrugged. He took a stab at Elero's open back, meeting instead the point of a sturdy branch she had found. "Oh, I haven't forgotten you," Elero said with a smirk. "Bring it."
Without someone to count they just kept going, even after their training weapons broke. Punches echoed in the silent forest. Kicks snapped twigs and branches. Bodies collided with trees, knocking clumps of snow down.
'That man is just enormous,' Olpi thought as Frey and Elero finally took a break. Even though the giant was kneeling on the ground and she was sitting on a log, their heads were nearly equal height.
"Olpi, aren't you cold just sitting there?" Frey asked, startling her.
"Not really," Olpi said as she pulled out a sheathed dagger Cerlius had lent her. "This radiates heat, so as long as I have it I'll be fine. You don't have to worry about me but aren't you guys cold? Flames aren't my best element but I could try to warm you up. Or if you want to just have the dagger for a while, I'm sure I can manage."
Frey smiled. Copper life essence shimmered around him, causing a small gust of steam to rise from his chest. "We can use life essence to raise our body temperature. We can go for at least an hour, probably." He eyed the dagger. "You know, Doevm's had that little knife for a long time, and I can't believe I forgot about it."
"It's got a history to it?" Olpi asked.
Frey nodded: "You should have seen him in the war. He took down Vilbarians left and right."
"Oh," Olpi said, grimacing as she held the stained exterior. "S-should I give it back to him?"
Frey shook his head. "It has done its part, and done it well. Now it's nearly broken. The only thing it's good for now is to keep you from freezing to death."
"What about after the trip's done?" Olpi said. "If he used it so much, it seems like a waste just to let it rot in a spatial ring. It did its job well, right? Can't he just sharpen it or get it fixed?"
He shrugged. "It's just an old dagger that can't cut it anymore. Welp, the break's over." He and Elero engaged in another round of sparring.
Olpi rubbed her forehead. 'Why do I feel like throwing up?'
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