7 Yisikhombisa

"Those ghosts are your burden."

The chief's voice echoed in my head as I lead a half-asleep Samuel towards the training fields. Melissa was beside me, her fingers intertwined with mine. They were my responsibility while we were on the Mpande territory. I knew that – I would gladly take up the mantle for my family.

"Care to explain why we are up before… the sun?" Sam yawned out. I knew my best friend was a fan of his 'beauty sleep' but war is no time for lazing.

I merely smirked at him, ruffling his hair. Slapping my hand away, he glared at me. Sammy was many things, but a morning person was not one.

"Enough," Melissa said sternly, I could hear the laughter behind her words though. I kissed the crown of her head and smirked back at Sam. There's that smirk again.

We reached a field saturated with sparring bodies. Some human and some fighting on all fours. The site of the overgrown kitty cats barring their teeth at one another was enough to wipe the sleep from Sam's eyes.

"Wow!" his excitement bought him the attention of the entire pride. At least 50 sets of eyes were piercing through him at once and the Norseman's cheeks were stained scarlet.

"I hope you're ready to get your gat handed to you, ghost," the voice roared until it could be deciphered as human. Desaley stood up from him lion form, his muscles flexing and relaxing back into his human state as he glared at my best friend. I took this chance to move in front of both of them protectively.

"Hey, Saley, if you want to keep those pretty dreads of yours, get your eyes off my brother and onto your opponent," I said only half-joking. I nodded to the boy behind him who took this as his chance to tackle Desaley to the ground. Almost.

Desaley caught his movements from the corner of his eye, sidestepping and flipping the opportunistic boy onto his ass. He stood once again, with his foot on his prey's throat.

Seems like he's not over yesterday's takedown after all. Its been a while since I've had a proper rumble, this could be fun.

Before I could step up to the challenge, my love stepped out in front of both Sam and me.

"How do you feel about fighting a ghost?" her voice was playful, but I could feel the force behind each syllable. Her eyes were a bright lilac as she glared across the field towards her target. My little nymph was nothing if not full of spunk. The thought of the lion getting his ass handed to him by my sweet shieldmaiden brought a smug smirk to my lips.

Deciding that his ego was worth the fight, the dreadlocked warrior got into a fighting stance. I could tell that he didn't think my love was a proper threat by the placement of his feet. They were too lax. Well, I supposed that will make this even more satisfying to watch; I would get to see her knock him on his ass and crush his ego all in one blow.

Melissa played it coy and took a faux offensive stance. But anyone with half a brain and three seconds of Nøkkenson knowledge under their belt would know that they are tricky bastards to fight for one reason – they make you fight yourself.

The lion was blindsided by this tactic when he pounced at the lilac eyed girl and she twirled around him in like a sting of dewdrops collecting on a leave. One step flowing into the next until she stood collected once more, with a disorientated lion at her feet. I could see the amber burning in Desaley's eyes as his frustration grew. He was not one to accept defeat lightly. He got to his feet and, instead of launching a thoughtless attack again, circled the brunette with a vicious look in his eyes.

I could see the beginning of a smile touch Lissa's lips. I loved watching her fight. It was like a performance. A rain dance without the theatrics but all of the drama. I couldn't help but fall in love with her more as I saw the familiar flicker of mischief in her eyes.

That's my girl.

Lissa looked down for a moment and twisted her ankle to test to ground. Here we go…

She raised her hands and rubbed her fingertips against each other. The dewdrops from the morning mist levitated until a ring of water surrounded her. Desaley's movements were halted in shock. The amber glint in his eyes transformed into umber saucers. This was enough to cause an adorable smirk to grace my darling's face. She brought her arms above her head and waved her arms in unison until the circle flowed into a crystal spear about her head.

With one deep breath, she finally did it.

With the flick of her wrist, the spear flew directly towards Desaley's skull. His shock prevented him from ducking the attack fast enough. He was a second away from being stabbed through the face at point-blank range.

Then.

In true, Melissa Nøkkenson fashion, she allowed the spear to explode and turn into a thousand snowflakes. The crystal flakes fell delicately onto the petrified warrior's head. The spectacle drew the attention of many of the other warriors. Soon, we were surrounded by a pride worthy of wide-eyed lions in awe of the snowflakes.

This compelled my sweet girlfriend to create more snowflakes for the pride to faun at. When she took a moment to form a tiny ball of snow in her hands, the rest of her dedicated audience watched her every move in anticipation.

She gently threw the snowball at one of the other warriors further away from her and Desaley. The younger woman looked offended at first, but she was soon infected by Melissa's giddiness and joined in with the fun. This resulted in a full-blown snow fight. I couldn't keep my eyes off the bubbly brunette as she encouraged

"Stop making that gross face, Nikky, you're going to tea a muscle in your face," Sammy teased me. I glared at the obnoxious blonde idiot. This only resulted in him laughing harder at my heated cheeks. I punched my friend on his shoulder, ignoring his annoying laughter as he ran to join in on the winter fun.

"What in the hell is happening here?" a bellowing voice scorched the entire field. The pride turned their attention to their infuriated princess.

"We are having a snow day," Sammy said, smiling at the snowball in his hands. The Nøkkenson twin clearly missed his icy home.

"You should be training not messing around with frozen water balls," Riley commanded her warriors. There was something about Rile's disapproval that sparked something in me. I took my time strutting towards the princess until I breached her personal bubble.

"Lighten up, Riley. Melissa was just giving the pride a demonstration," I tried to play it coy, but I knew she was seething. The last thing she wanted was to be shown up by a ghost in her own territory.

"We don't need ghosts to play the part of the fool. We already have you for that," she said, finally turning to meet my eyes. I took another step closer to her. This time we were only a breath away from the insufferable princess; I wonder if she could feel the fire brewing in my throat. Her eyes were darkened as she tried to maintain our intense staring match.

It wasn't until I felt someone's cool fingers intertwine with mine, that I realized how enflamed I was getting.

"Skatt, take a breath. Don't let your anger melt your brain," my love's voice calming voice poured into my ear. This only seemed to fuel Riley's fury. Her eyes quickly brightened from burnt a brooding onyx into a brilliant, and threatening, amber.

She meant war.