“I’m sure.”His tone was grievously serious as he accepted the sword from her.
His sister closed her eyes briefly as if the decision hurt, sharing the weight with him.As the head of their family, she had the right to stop him if she wanted, but she hadn’t, allowing him to fight grief his own way.Placing her hand over his, she pressed the amethyst stone between their palms with surprising strength.
Her voice trembled only a touch as she continued with the formality.“Fight with honor, brother.”
He looked up to see his soul-guardian smiling proudly at him as she stepped forward to hand him his shield.“Your mother would be so proud, just as I am.”
Shaking slightly, Raiden set the sword aside.Maybe he’d have to work up to that one.The heirloom held a great weight, and his head ached from the snippets of memory it brought forth.
Glancing inside the chest showed various mementos and objects of Daya’s.Very old boxes and journals lined the bottom of the trunk.Closer to the surface were books, a sparkling black statue, and a few musical instruments.Piled amongst them were four blades of various design and purpose.
A lump of emotion swelled his throat as he stared at the contents.He’d asked her to hide his weapons so he wouldn’t hurt her, and she’d stored them in a place of honor with her life’s treasures.
Gathering strength from her gesture, he retrieved the rest of his blades.A squawk from Daya’s permanently open window drew his attention.Ember tilted her head at him in curiosity.
“Any idea where I can practice with these?”There was a storm brewing, so outside wouldn’t be the best place to train.
With a ruffled shake of wings, she side-stepped until she could turn around on the sill.Looking back at him with a squawk, she beat her powerful wings and took off.Raiden sighed and gathered his weapons so he could follow the bird.
Pantingwithexertion,Raidenleaned against the wall and massaged his side.The injury was healing, but the daily practice was proving too much, too fast.The pain made him nauseous and dizzy, barely able to stomach water, let alone food.
Ember made low mutterings of annoyance from her roost in the barn, giving him her beady-eyed stare of displeasure mixed with accusation.
“Yeah, I know.I overdid it.”
Neka huffed her agreement from her nest.She left each dawn and dusk to hunt, but in between, the owlcat was content to watch him train in the barn or nap on the house porch.Her resemblance to an ice leopard didn’t even faze him anymore, nor did the giant wings.She’d become his confidante and his treasured companion.
“What else am I supposed to do though, really?”
He’d been training in intervals, practicing with the bow, knives, and the sword.It was a constant struggle to allow his muscle memory to lead him rather than conscious thought.Re-teaching himself how to wield the sword was more difficult than he’d anticipated.He had no idea if it was doing any good, but he was getting a good workout.
If only the exhausted sleep he fell into each night prevented the nightmares, he’d be in great shape.
Rising, Neka sauntered over and nosed his side.Her low growl confirmed he’d overused muscles that had yet to heal fully.“Sorry, girl.Got any better ideas?”
The owlcat looked to the hawk, and the two conversed noisily for a moment before turning back to him.Neka used her front shoulder to shove him over.Not expecting the forceful push, he stumbled sideways on the wall.
“Hey!”
Following him, she did it again, herding him until he fell into a shadowed niche along the side of the barn.His magic flickered, as it did any time he was fully in a shadow.Neka and Ember both made affirmative sounds.
“You want me to work on my magic?”
More affirmative sounds came from his companions.Kavesh, how was he supposed to do that?He’d gotten the hang of identifying shadows and bringing his magic up to meld himself with them.An odd form of hiding.It wouldn’t be a bad idea to work more on it, but finding shadows around the house wasn’t really going to help him much.
“No fair, you cheated!”The little firecracker leaned over him with accusing eyes and a scrunched-up nose, waves of red hair falling around her face.
Lying flat on the ground, he was wedged between the sofa and the wall in what turned out to be a pretty decent hiding spot for their game.He tried to be serious but failed at her outraged expression, his chest rising with huge bursts of laughter.
“Don’t get mad at me, Spark.”He grinned at the little girl as he sat up.“You never said I couldn’t practice my magic while you practiced yours.”
“Well, I’m saying it now!Only I can use magic this time.”
“Alright, little Spark, we’ll call this round a draw.Go start counting.”
“Hide again.Normal this time!”
Her red hair bounced dramatically as she stormed away from him, making him chuckle.She’d succeeded in tracking his mental signature even with him hiding in shadow, but he’d wait until next time to challenge her to a more difficult game.
