ADARA

Sheets of ice blasted into her face when she threw the might of her silver flames into the edges. It smoldered when she brought the blunt training sword through the mist and it gathered the magick within her to send another sharpened blast through. Violet ferocity slid through the mist, using the moisture on the grass to send themselves forward. Adara grunted when Yuven clotheslined her with his own training sword and her back hit the ground. Fiery whips crawled around her when he went for another harsh stab into her abdomen, rolling out of the way of his tempest when he sent another glyph of iceborn mist down to where she had been moments before. It froze the ground beneath her, and she tried to steady herself against him, but when she went for the strike, she frowned when the ghostly figure dissipated with a grin. Shit! Flame in her hand, she twisted around to meet the ripple. It billowed out in steam when Yuven swung his hand down on her wrist, overturning her glyph with his own as the silver embers sputtered out and died with the oxygen stolen from it.

"You cheating nug—"

The tip of his training sword pushed into her ribcage, and she slipped downwards onto her hindquarters. "I have struck your heart between your fourth and fifth rib cage and now you are dead. Again." He sent another harsh prod, and she smacked the sword away with the back of her hand. "Also, I didn't cheat. You're the one who wanted me to return to helping you magick wise. You need to get it through that wide skull of yours that most people are creative and will use whatever advantage they can get, I just have a bit of a different advantage that if you thought past your nose you could counteract it. Think fast this time." Yuven sent a glyph sweeping underneath her, but before she could scramble to her feet, icy claws slammed out of the ground and trapped her against it. Her hand shivered when one pushed deeper into her palm, forcing her to let go of her sword. "Or not."

Adara rested the back of her head into the frosty grass, waiting for him to let her go with his fun over, but he stood over her. "Are you going to release me at any point so we can actually talk about what I wanted to discuss with you? That was the deal." Sword out of her reach, she sent her heel into the ground, but her glyph shimmered when Yuven stepped on it in turn to break the center of power.

Embers scattered and melted the ice in the surrounding area, but he gave her another prod in the chest. "You are a firecore Magickae. Get yourself out, Sazaka."

"We're back to the last names again?" Adara struggled against the glyphic entrapment with Yuven providing no strength into its base. Her breath left her chest, and she tasted the fire in the forest when she let it stretch past her skin. Droplets oozed out of the ice claws, and Yuven raised his head with a quirk of his gray feathers. It slipped down her hand, and she pulled on the movement on the flow to send it forward. Victory short-lived, she gasped when Yuven brought his glyph back up to slap the lukewarm water back into her face.

"Again." Yuven tapped the training sword and stepped back from her.

"We've been at this for bells, Yuven," Adara bit and dragged herself onto her knees with her garments thoroughly soaked. "So, unless you want to hear me complaining about it until we're well into the night, we are going to talk about the situation with Fenrer and how you're going to deal with it like the friend I know you're capable of being despite your pride." Adara threw her sword at him, and it flew through him without him making any motion to dodge. It smacked into the post behind him and fell into the dirt. His eyebrow raised, and she scowled when he sent himself forward with his own swing. It missed her when she leaned back, stumbling for her own momentum when he continued the concentrated sweeps without magick. One struck her side, and she grabbed one of the fiery whips from her defenses to send it for his chest. He ducked, then came forward to send her right back to where she had been with a push of magick into her brow.

"Just remember that your magick won't always be able to save you, so use that head of yours once or twice and you might just show everyone what you're capable of." Yuven stuck the training sword into the ground and stood over her. "I shall throw you a bone since you kept your side of the deal. Discuss. Keep it snappy and concise."

"I see I've upgraded from being able to talk for three seconds before you get a headache."

Yuven narrowed his violet eyes. "If you keep dallying when you were the one hounding me it will turn into a migraine and I will downgrade you to no talking again." He flipped on his heel and stomped for the fence to sit on it, his gaze rapt on her with a ferocious instinct, though his expression remained passive when he slipped out a phial from his strap, opening it with a fang before taking out a small capsule from it.

He popped it in his mouth, so she took her chance with him occupied. "I don't know if you've heard that Fenrer plans on going to Sivaport to be at court as a Storm Warden at King Reyn's request." Adara threw her hand at him when his feathers rattled as he swallowed the capsule. "And before you whinge about monarchs when I've heard it over and over again with you, I want to figure out on how to make this comfortable for everyone and go with him." Her fists clenched, she came closer to him. "Yuven, he can't do this alone. He's still confused, he still thinks you hate him." Adara scowled when his feathers stopped their shivered rattles and he let out a hiss from his nose without opening his lips. "And you've done nothing to try and prove him wrong."

"That is a bold assumption to make, Adara. Do you think I haven't tried?" Yuven said when his nostrils flared. "Because I have. I went to him a week ago to try and talk to him, but he wanted me to leave. As for the other thing." Yuven hooked the phial of capsules back on his leather strap across his armor to bounce off the fence. "I am well aware. I knew before you did more than likely. I overheard Warden-Commander Faehariel discuss the Azahama attack. I told her that I know Fenrer requested to go alone... but that isn't in his authority to make that call. It's mine." He bared his fangs into a smile. "We're both going with him so I can make sure His Grace doesn't feel the sudden need to feed the cult more blood and to make sure the Storm Wardens of Sivaport know what to look out for," it dripped off his venomous tongue when he whisked his feather at her with a huff. "I will not have this happen again."

Her flames died on her throat when his feathers drooped against his ears. "Yuven... that wasn't your fault. There is no way you think you could stop that by yourself."

"I have a unique gift," Yuven pointed out to her. "I do think that I could have made the best attempt at stopping it, but I am not that arrogant to make the claim when it has passed me by." He waved his hand up and down. "It's not as if Fenrer or you have told me all the details, so I will have to get it another way. Even if it means..." He slid out his tongue with a roll. "Attempting to be cordial with a monarch."

"King Reyn saved Fenrer's life when he fell into the sea."

Yuven scowled at her, but pain tightened his pupils and he turned his back to her. "That situation didn't need to happen and now I owe a king for it." Each of his feathers flicked once more.

"Will you talk to Fenrer?" Adara pressed.

"I will try, but I make no promises on whether he will listen to me."

"He is your best friend."

Yuven tapped his hand into her chest to push her away from him when she went to stop him from retreating. "He is my Oathbound," he corrected. "My Oathbound who I may have damaged the bond beyond any repair. He is my family." His pupils turned into beads of rage, and a plume of mist left through his nose. "I am aware, Adara, you do not need to tell me what I already know." His fangs locked against his lower jaw, and Adara folded her arms and stood her ground. His gaze swept upwards, and he released the rest of the mist with a sharp exhale. Fingers pressed against the bridge of his nose, he shook his head. "I know," he said dully. "Repeating it to me is a waste of time, my point still stands. I will try."

"Fenrer wants to fix this," Adara told him.

"We shall see if he meant that on the boat-ride." Yuven picked up both training swords to slip them into the barrel at the gate. "We're done for now. At least your footwork isn't atrocious. You still need improvement of which we will return to working on at Sivaport."

"As long as you don't choose a rainy day..." Adara huffed when he stomped away from her and back to the citadel. Left alone in the training area, surrounded by droplets and frozen patches from Yuven's expression of magick, she sighed and slumped back down onto the ground. "Impossible, puffed up..." Teeth against her jaw, she sent her fist into the grass. Legs criss-crossed, she sent waves of heat in front of her to release the pent-up energy shuddering underneath her skin. Ashes swept with the breeze, and she sighed. Gods, I don't even know what Oathbound really are... I told Fenrer I could help him fix this, but...

"Is he gone?" a quiet voice asked behind her.

On her hips, Fenrer loomed on the other side of the fence, clearly having come from a different entrance of the citadel to avoid Yuven. "Did you just get here?" she asked, half-dreading the answer.

Fenrer frowned. "Sort of."

"Fen..." Adara sighed and headed up to him. "I know it's difficult considering Yuven's abrasive personality but you have to know he doesn't hate you."

Fenrer squeezed his brow together and shook his head at her. "I can't read him as well as I used to," he admitted, his lean shoulders lowered in defeat.

"Did you not hear him? He called you family."

"What difference does that make? Look at the other side of his family," Fenrer pointed out. "By way of his royal name, last I looked, that is his family and he hates the concept of them. You've seen his hatred for yourself." He tucked his arms against each other and slid out of her reach with a shake of his head. "I want to fix this."

"Avoiding him isn't going to fix it." Adara grasped onto him. "Try and have a normal conversation with him on the boat. That's a good start. You don't need to talk about the situation until we're on solid ground." Her fingers touched his warm cheek, and he let out a quiet breath. "You both need to make the same amount of effort, not more or less. I know Yuven cares about you but like you, he doesn't know how to fix what he broke. If you're still angry at him, that's okay, if you can't forgive him, that's okay too — but you need to talk to him. You've known each-other longer than you've known me."

Fenrer settled his attention on her and drew his lips into a weak smile. "And yet without you if this had happened I don't think Yuven and I would... be trying." He frowned again, shattered. "I thought I'd have a sense of peace without him barking in my ear, but... I just feel off without it. I don't feel better."

"I think Yuven feels the same way."

"If he does, he isn't showing it." Fenrer swept his gaze over her shoulder to where Yuven trotted off to with all the cares in the world. "If you think that will work... I shall try." His lack of hopeful expectation struck her in the heart when he stole out of her grip and headed back to the farthest entrance of the citadel, shrunk into his dwindled esteem.

I believe in you two.