Every night now, me and Badger head to the rooftop of the institute to practice fighting skills. This way, we can act more like a couple without the threat of people watching. The darkness of the night conceals us and our words to one another.

At this point in time, I have him pinned down on the ground. He tries to writhe away from me, but I have his hands held down by my own. There's no way he can get out of this.

"Okay, let go- Let go! It hurts."

I immediately let go, and he threw me off instantaneously. I land with a thud on the rooftop. My chest heaves. He has his dagger to my throat now.

"Can't believe you fell for that."

"I can't really help that you're my boyfriend, and I care about whether or not I'm hurting you-"

"I want you to really try against me." Badger moves the dagger away from my neck.

"Alright. If that's what you want." I get up and brush my pants off. I take in the appearance of Badger. He has adrenaline in his eyes, a spark I like to see. I don't get to see it often.

I hesitate a second before charging Badger at full speed. Badger lets out a screech as I tackle him. I flip us around so that my back smacks into the ground. I can tell the breath has been knocked from his lungs, but otherwise he seems alright. He rolls off me and sits up, trying to catch his breath.

"I didn't even- You came out of nowhere." He coughs.

"Are you alright?"

"Fine, fine. Are other nations like that? Do they all have a Mitah?"

"I'm actually not too sure." I explain, sitting back beside him. I lean on my hands.

"How did you end up so powerful anyways?"

"My mom had me at a very young age, and she decided to give me up for adoption when I was born. I never really got an explanation about my dad. All I heard was that he wasn't against giving me up either. I grew up between foster families and the system, and when I turned eighteen, I was turned to the streets. I got into something that made me like this along the way- eating from laboratory dumpsters had no consequences for me at the time. Liri was visiting the village I was in to get recruits. She could tell I had something odd about me. I went with her because what else did I have?"

Badger stays silent for a while.

I bask in this silence. I compare it to the silence we would share before we knew each other this well. The silence used to be so scary, so uncomfortable. I hardly minded it now. I liked it, even.

"I was born on a farm to parents who expected a lot of me. My mother was extremely talented in sorcery, and my father hated it. They eventually got divorced, and I was old enough to move by then. They didn't want me staying at either of their houses since I couldn't help them. I wasn't good enough for my mother, and my father wanted nothing to do with a son like me. He wanted me to be normal. I went looking for jobs and I saw a flyer Liri had put out. I never told my parents where I went. I don't want them to find me, but I hope they're alright."

"Parents, am I right?" I make a little joke, and Badger laughs. He pulls me down by my shoulders, and I kiss him into the rooftop.

"So, can you smell the clouds? Is that one of your abilities? Super smell?"

"Thankfully, no." I deadpan. "But... there is something you don't know yet."

"Enlighten me."

I slowly lift him into bridal style.

"Oh God. This can't be good. I'm going to die."

"Do you want me to show you or not?" I laugh, and he shuts up.

Slowly, ever so slowly, we rise into the sky. I don't go up too far. I don't want to scare him.

"You can fly, and you never told me? That feels criminal." He retorts, holding onto my neck tighter. I feel his heart racing.

I set us back down on the rooftop. He hops out of my arms.

"Let's stop getting distracted. Come at me again." I lift my hands into fists, and we spend a few more hours training. I hope he never needs to use these skills, but you can never be too safe.