The morning light stretched across the village, soft rays peeking through the canopy above, casting dappled shadows on the ground. 

The air was fresh, and the smell of dew still clung to the earth. It was an unusual calm for a day filled with practice, but it was the perfect atmosphere for Leeani.

With the practiced ease of someone who had spent countless hours honing her craft, Leeani stood with her back straight, her feet firmly planted in the soft grass. 

She gripped the crossbow with one hand, her other hand raised to cover her eyes. 

The apples on the tree ahead swayed gently in the wind, bright and gleaming in the sunlight. 

One after another, the arrows she fired hit their mark, each shot striking its target dead-center with a satisfying thud.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

She didn't flinch. 

Each arrow went where she intended, a fluid motion from her body, controlled and precise. 

The boys from the village, who had been watching her from behind, could only stare in awe, their mouths agape.

"Wow... how many years did it take you to get this good?" one of them asked, his voice full of admiration.

Leeani, still focused, smiled faintly. 

"A few decades. More than a handful."

Qarek, who had been shadowboxing nearby, overheard the conversation. He paused mid-punch and turned, his face breaking into a grin. 

"She's not kidding," he said, wiping a bit of sweat from his brow. 

"I've been training with her since we were kids. The girl's a natural."

Leeani, never one for grand statements, nodded to Qarek in confirmation. 

"Yep. He's correct. My friend over there is right. Listen to him."

The boys chuckled, a few giving her a round of applause. 

They seemed fascinated by her effortless display of skill, wondering aloud how someone like Leeani could remain so cool under pressure.

"Alright, enough of that," Leeani said, lowering her crossbow and brushing a lock of hair from her face. 

"It's just practice."

Before the boys could ask any more questions, Jiighual appeared, carrying two large plates stacked with chicken and meat. 

He waved them over, his smile wide and infectious.

"You two! Stop showing off for the crowd and come eat," Jiighual called, the plates in his hands almost comically large in comparison to his muscular build. 

"You'll need your strength for the next round."

The boys, still watching, looked at each other with a mix of disappointment and awe. One of them sighed.

"Aww, we wanted to see more action..."

Jiighual, flexing his massive biceps, grinned, clearly enjoying the attention.

"Remember this: eating is also part of the warrior's training," he said, giving the boys a wink. 

"A warrior without food in their stomach is a warrior who won't make it to the battlefield."

Leeani rolled her eyes, though she was fighting back a smile. 

She said, waving her hand dismissively.

"Alright, alright, let's go eat."

Jiighual handed the plates to her and Qarek, who both took them graciously. 

Leeani muttered, more to herself than to anyone else, as they began to walk toward the nearest table.

"Food is fuel, after all."

The boys, still chuckling, dispersed, but their eyes lingered on Leeani and Qarek, murmuring among themselves in awe.

As the trio made their way to the table just beyond the village edge, the peaceful sound of birds chirping and the rustle of leaves filled the air. 

The morning felt like a peaceful pause in the middle of a long journey. 

They sat down at the table, the wooden chairs creaking under their weight as they dug into the food, savoring the simple luxury of a well-deserved meal.

Leeani didn't speak right away. 

Her thoughts were elsewhere, swirling in the quiet space that filled the gap between bites. 

She had always been someone who carried her burdens silently. 

The weight of expectation, her title as the Warrior of Envy, always seemed to cling to her more than any other, and it made her feel like an outsider among her own people.

As she chewed thoughtfully, her eyes focused on the food, she wondered, for the first time, if being the Warrior of Envy was something she truly wanted. 

She had trained so hard for years, had fought so many battles, but was it all to be envied? 

She was driven by the fear of not being enough—of not living up to the standards she set for herself. 

But this... this constant push to prove herself—was it worth it?

Qarek, sensing her quietness, nudged her. 

"Something on your mind?"

She gave him a brief smile, then shook her head. 

"Nothing you haven't heard before."

Qarek's eyes softened, though he remained silent. 

He knew Leeani better than anyone, and he could see the storm brewing beneath her calm exterior. 

Still, he didn't press her. 

Sometimes, it was enough to let her sit with her thoughts.

Leeani let out a long, quiet sigh. 

Her hands rested on the table, her fingers lightly tracing the edge of her plate. 

Leeani let out a long, quiet sigh. Her hands rested on the table, her fingers lightly tracing the edge of her plate. 

"Do you ever feel like..." she began, her voice low.

"Like everything you've worked for, every skill you've mastered, every battle you've fought... it's never enough?"

Qarek raised an eyebrow but said nothing, his eyes softening, waiting for her to continue.

Leeani leaned back in her chair, her eyes distant, as if trying to find the right words. 

"I mean..." she started, pausing to steady herself. 

"I've always been the one people look at, you know? The one they expect to be something. The one they admire or envy for what I can do. I can shoot an arrow with my eyes closed, I can fight off anyone who challenges me, but..." 

Her voice faltered, and she swallowed, trying to keep the tremble in her chest under control. 

"But no matter how much I push myself, no matter how much I achieve, it always feels like there's something more—something that's still missing."

She clenched her fist around her napkin, her nails digging into the fabric. 

"I've spent so long trying to be the best. Trying to be perfect. Every mistake I make feels like it's a failure. Every time I fall short of the impossible expectations I set for myself, it feels like I'm letting everyone down. Like I'm not enough. I keep telling myself that I have to be stronger, faster, better—because I don't want anyone to see me as weak. I don't want to let people down. I don't want them to look at me and think that I'm not worthy of their respect or their admiration."

She took a shaky breath, her voice quieter now, but filled with the weight of years of unspoken frustrations. 

"But the truth is... I'm tired. I'm just so tired. Tired of fighting against this image people have of me. Tired of fighting against myself, trying to be something I'm not. Everyone always expects me to be perfect, and I guess... I guess I started expecting that of myself, too. I thought that if I could just keep pushing, keep improving, keep being the warrior people needed me to be, maybe I'd finally feel like I mattered." 

Her voice cracked slightly, the rawness of her emotions slipping through the cracks. 

"But sometimes, I don't feel strong. Sometimes I feel like I'm falling apart inside. Sometimes, I feel like I'm pretending to be something I'm not, and it's... exhausting." 

She let out another sigh, her shoulders sagging with the weight of her words. 

"And I don't know how to stop. I don't know how to let go of all this pressure."

She looked up at Qarek, her eyes soft but full of vulnerability. 

"It's like I'm always running a race, but the finish line keeps moving farther away. I keep reaching for something, but no matter how hard I try, I can never quite grab it. And I'm scared. Scared that if I stop running, I'll be nothing. Scared that if I admit I can't keep up, people will stop seeing me as the strong one. They'll stop seeing me as... worth it."

Qarek sat quietly for a moment, his expression thoughtful, before he spoke, his voice gentle but firm.

"Leeani, no one expects you to be perfect. You're not some weapon or tool for others to use. You're a person. You've been carrying this weight alone for so long that you forgot what it feels like to put it down. And that's okay. You're allowed to rest. You're allowed to be vulnerable. You're allowed to be tired. The only one putting that pressure on you is you. And that's a heavy burden to carry."

Leeani's eyes glistened, and for a moment, she allowed herself to truly hear what he was saying. 

A part of her wanted to resist, wanted to hold onto that image of perfection—of never letting anyone see her as weak. 

But another part of her, the part that had been silently crying out for release, felt something stir.

"You've spent so much time trying to be enough for others," Qarek continued, his words steady and unwavering. 

"But what if you started trying to be enough for yourself? You're already enough as you are. You don't have to be perfect. You don't have to carry the weight of everyone's expectations on your shoulders. It's okay to let go, to breathe, to be as you are."

Leeani blinked, her chest tightening with emotion, but there was also something else—something lighter. 

She had been so focused on being perfect, on never showing any cracks, that she had forgotten what it felt like to simply exist without the pressure. 

Without the constant fear of falling short.

She swallowed, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I've always thought that if I could just be better—if I could just be perfect—maybe I wouldn't feel so lost, so... empty. But now I'm starting to realize that maybe... maybe I'm never going to feel whole if I'm always chasing something I can't reach." 

She paused, looking down at the plate in front of her, the food now cold, forgotten. 

"Maybe I don't need to chase it anymore."

Jiighual gave a soft smile while eating, his eyes warm with understanding. 

"Exactly. You don't have to chase anything. You just have to be. Be you."

Leeani let the words settle into her heart, like a balm over a long-healed wound. 

For the first time in years, she allowed herself to release the expectations, to let go of the fear of not being enough. 

She was enough. 

Just as she was.

Her shoulders relaxed, the tension she hadn't even realized was there beginning to melt away. 

And in that moment, with Qarek and Jiighual by her side and the quiet village life unfolding around her, she felt something shift.

She didn't have to be perfect. 

She didn't have to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders. 

She could simply be Leeani, the warrior, the friend, the person. 

The quiet peace that followed felt like a new beginning.

△▼△▼△▼△

The three of them finished eating, and the warm sun began to creep higher in the sky, casting a gentle light over the village as the sounds of the morning hustle started to fill the air. 

Jiighual carefully stacked the plates, his large hands making quick work of the cleanup. 

Leeani leaned back in her chair, stretching her arms overhead as a satisfied sigh escaped her lips.

Qarek wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, a grin playing at the corners of his lips.

"Now that was a good meal. I can't remember the last time I ate something that good."

Jiighual chuckled as he started gathering the plates. 

"Yeah, that's the magic of village life. It's simple, but it's always satisfying. Not like the food from back in Aurelia, where you'd be lucky to find a piece of bread that wasn't moldy."

Leeani, her mood lifted, turned to Jiighual, her eyes a bit playful now. 

"Hey, Jiighual," she said, shifting in her seat and leaning toward him. 

"Do you still plan on getting your shield fixed by Lyra now that the whole village was fixed by everyone?"

Jiighual paused, the plates halfway stacked, and a thoughtful look crossed his face. He scratched his chin, then shrugged with a smile. 

"Oh... that. My shield. Nah. I don't plan on getting it fixed anymore." 

He shifted the plates to one hand, then raised his other hand dramatically, as if revealing a secret. 

"I'm retired now, as a warrior. And now, I'll leave the rest of my life to growing old and being the chef of this village."

He dropped the plates on the table with a soft clink, both hands coming to rest on his hips. 

"It's actually quite peaceful, joyful, and lovely, to be honest. I'm not doing it just for me either. I'm doing it for my brother, Nert." 

His voice softened at the mention of Nert, a rare glimpse of sincerity breaking through his usual joviality.

Leeani smiled warmly, her heart swelling with affection for her old friend. 

"That's good for you, Jiighual. We—"

But before she could finish, Qarek cut in, a teasing smirk already forming on his face. 

"Come on now, Lea. Don't be envious all of a sudden after the talk we just had."

Leeani's face twisted into an exaggerated expression of mock indignation as she shot Qarek a playful glare. 

"I was just about to say that we're all happy for you, Jiighual. No need to get all suspicious."

Without warning, she slapped Qarek lightly on the back of the head, not enough to hurt but enough to let him know she wasn't going to let him get away with it. 

Qarek's grin only widened, and before she knew it, his hand shot up, giving her a playful swat right back on the head.

"Ow!" Leeani laughed, rubbing the spot where he had smacked her, her eyes narrowing with mock annoyance. 

"You're going to pay for that one."

Before Qarek could react, Leeani pushed herself out of the chair and bolted toward the village, her legs moving quickly and her laughter echoing through the air.

Qarek jumped to his feet, raising a hand in mock warning. 

He called, but he was already laughing, his voice warm and filled with good-natured challenge.

"Hey! Get back here!" 

Jiighual, watching the two with amusement, shook his head, a deep chuckle rumbling in his chest. 

He grabbed the last plate and hurriedly followed after them. 

He called, his deep voice making his words even more comedic as he jogged, the three plates still clutched in his massive hands.

"You two are impossible."

Leeani, hearing him behind her, pushed herself even faster, grinning like a mischievous child.

She yelled, glancing back over her shoulder. 

"Try to catch me, Jiighual!" 

Jiighual called back, now in full pursuit, his large feet pounding the dirt road.

"Don't think you're getting away that easily!" 

The playful chase continued through the village, with Leeani weaving in and out of the streets, her laughter blending with the sound of Jiighual's heavy footsteps and Qarek's mocking shouts. 

People in the village watched with raised eyebrows as the three warriors made a ruckus, clearly enjoying the simple joy of their friendship.

Qarek, not one to be left behind, pulled ahead slightly and then, with a burst of speed, darted toward Leeani, closing the gap. 

She turned to see him just in time to dodge, but he caught her by the sleeve, tugging her backward.

She let out a yelp of mock protest. 

"Hey! I'm faster than that, Qarek!"

Jiighual, still trailing them with the plates, gave a loud, exaggerated grunt, clearly not planning on letting up. 

"Come on! Are you two really going to leave me behind with the plates?! I'll drop them all at this rate!"

The sight of Jiighual struggling to keep pace, his arms swinging in exaggerated motions as he juggled the plates, only made Leeani and Qarek laugh harder. 

"HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

It was a ridiculous chase, with no real stakes—just the pure joy of being in the moment, of relishing in simple, carefree times that had become rare in their world.

Finally, after a few more moments of sprinting, dodging, and laughing, they slowed to a stop just outside one of the village's wood-hewn houses. 

Jiighual, panting heavily but with a grin that matched theirs, held up the three plates, his massive arms still holding them steady.

He said triumphantly, even though his victory was more about endurance than actual skill.

"Well, I guess I'm the one who wins after all," 

Leeani put her hands on her hips, out of breath but clearly enjoying the fun. 

"Alright, alright," she said, laughing. 

"You win. But just know, I'll get you next time!"

Qarek, still grinning, clapped Jiighual on the back. 

"You always win, Jiighual. You're a beast. But at least you've got the good sense to know when to stop."

Jiighual chuckled, the sound deep and hearty. 

"It's all about balance, my friend. Now, anyone hungry again? Because I'm not stopping just to play games, you know."

Leeani and Qarek both laughed and shook their heads, and just for a moment, the tension from the world around them seemed to fall away, leaving only the simple joy of friendship and the peace of a day well-spent.

And even though there was still much ahead of them—still many challenges, and battles, and struggles—the three of them could breathe a little easier now. 

They could laugh a little harder. 

They could be a little more carefree.

For once—

Everything felt right.

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