"Honey's hands tightened around the blade."

It was cold but not as cold as she imagined it would be. The ice wasn't the same breed as the ice that filled buckets turning the winter. It didn't have the same bite that normal ice had. Instead, it was cold and sharp but energizing. It was like Honey had been shot by a bolt of lightning and her mouth was filled with the taste of mint.

"My blades are pure magic," Dai said, summoning another one for himself to wield. He slashed the air between them as if testing it out. "Should you be injured, it will heal you."

"And this energy?" Honey asked, pushing herself from foot to foot.

Dai smirked. "You are the third person I've permitted to fight with one of my blades," he said. "The first was a prisoner. It was a form of torture. I'd beat him over and over but the magic would keep him on his feet. He went insane."

Honey's throat went dry. Oh. Magic was banned in Amaryllis for a reason. It was dangerous. It was a force only meant to be wielded by those with celestial blood in their veins. For a being such as Dai to wield it... well that inevitably lead to situations like the one he'd described prior. Then again, it didn't sound like something that would be completely out of the picture for a god as well.

Perhaps there was no thing in all of existence that deserved to wield magic but Honey understood why they did. The taste of mint overtook her tongue. It felt good.

"Who was the second?" Honey asked.

Dai lunged. It happened so quickly, Honey barely had time to block the attack, and then it was an awful block. Her sword snapped in half. Dai looked disappointed but with a simply flick of his wrist, the sword regrew. "Don't block like that," he said. "Swords are fragile things, you know. More so when woven with ice."

Honey nodded. "Can I attack you? So I can see?"

"Of course," Dai said.

Honey wasn't good at much at anything - but one skill she prided herself on was her ability to watch and replicate. She was a fast learner and she took a lot of things in at once. That wasn't to say her attack was a perfect replica of Dai's - but it was as good as a novice to the blade would manage.

Golden eyes widened but Dai still blocked the attack with ease - practically catching Honey's blade with the hilt of his sword and then parrying. His hand rested on her own when the movement was through. "That was good," he said. "But did you see how I blocked it?"

"Once more," Honey said.

Dai nodded and the pair went through the movement again. That time Honey got it. They went back to having Dai attack her - slashing downwards in a rather basic movement. Honey missed a couple more times, the movement was much harder than Dai made it look, and she broke the blade once more, but eventually she found her rhythm. Over and over again she and Dai replicated the move.

"Very nice," Dai said. "I cannot tell if you are better than the average Mutare cub or if it is because your motor skills are more developed." He cocked his head, lips quirked up.

"Hah, hah," Honey said. "You know you didn't answer my question, right?"

"I know," Dai said, lifting his sword and giving Honey all of two beats to prepare for the blow. She was sloppy on this one but still managed to pull it off. Dai clicked his tongue before they started at it again.

It was like he was trying to drill the movement into her muscles.

"So?" Honey asked, pulling off a pretty impressive parry if she did say so herself. "Was the second person a prisoner too?"

"No," Dai said. "After you parry try attacking me."

Honey grunted. Of course, as soon as she got settled into a routine, Dai was switching it up on her. It took all of her attention to focus on this new drill. She attacked, Dai blocked and parried and then he attacked. Over and over. It seemed repetition was a major theme in his style of training. They were going slow, but if Honey wasn't mistaken, the pace was gradually beginning to pick up so every time she thought she'd gotten it, there was a blade in her face.

"You really are a natural," Dai said, giving Honey simple words of praise. "Are you certain I'm the first you've trained with."

"I might've watched my father a bit," Honey grunted. "What was this person like? The one who you gave your blade too?"

"You are rather obsessed with this, are you not?" Dai asked, speeding up.

Honey gritted her teeth. It took her a moment to readjust and then she was beginning to pant. She didn't know how long they'd been at it but her arms were beginning to ache. Over and over, it wasn't too bad by itself but put together, Honey was beginning to struggle. As her breathing became louder, tougher, more and more ragged - Dai's seemed as cool and collected as ever. This didn't even count as exertion to him.

"Can... can you blame me?" Honey managed.

Dai smiled, just a bit. It seemed this was amusing to him, Honey poking at his past with a stick. "The color red," he said. "He was very dear to me."

For just a fraction of a beat, Honey faltered. That was all the time it took for Dai to send the blade flying from her fingers and into a nearby tree. It disappeared almost as soon as it made impact, melting away into nothingness. The moment it did, Honey felt as if her lungs were caving in. She dropped to the floor instantly, clutching at her chest.

"You overdid it," Dai said, dismissing his own sword. "If you were getting tired, you should of told me."

Honey just wheezed.

"Look at you," Dai grumbled, shaking his head. "Fighting with my blades is a dangerous thing. You don't know when your body is at its limits." He clicked his tongue and placed his hand on Honey's forehead. Instantly, cool spread through her, her lungs easing into a steady rhythm. "Better?"

"Yeah," Honey said, sitting up. "Yeah, sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Dai said. "We should get some rest now. We'll pick up training in the morning. I'm certain Lukas won't mind if we fight and walk at the same time." He offered Honey a hand and she reluctantly took it.

"Dai?" she asked when she was on her feet again.

"Hm?"

"We are... we are friends right?"

Something about that question caused Dai to falter. His steps paused and for a moment he was still as stone. But when he turned around there was something so a smile on his face. "I suppose," he said. "Is there something else you want to ask about color red?"

"Yes... no," Honey said, shaking her head. "Just... you know you can talk to me. About... anything. Color red included."

Dai's smile turned into something sad. "I'll keep that in mind."

But that was all he said. Whatever weight he was carrying... it was clearly something he was not willing to share. Not... yet at least. Honey sighed but smiled back. She could wait. She could be patient and when Dai was ready to tell... well she would be there.

That's what friends did, after all.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Me, teary eyed as I write this: THEY'RE FRIENDS ADJFNVKB