38 After Class Practice

The grass below my feet are tranquil. Not even the wind could have made them dance, looking as if everything was at a time-still. A grayish dark shadow envelops the surrounding woodland, looking as if they were absorbing the vitality from the purple and orange leaves that is supposed to be scattered everywhere; all except for one tree in the middle.

Swoosh.

A barely audible sound gets picked up by my ears in the otherwise silent shadow domain.

A tiny inconspicuous pebble shoots from somewhere from the excluded tree's branches, but the leaves are too heavy to pinpoint exactly where they had originated from. The trajectory continuously changes as two or three more pebbles are fired with inconsistent intervals and directions.

Like a vacuum, the first pebble didn't take long as it too took a pause in the grayed area of the woodland. The other pebbles couldn't take escape the same outcome—even decreasing the time it took for them to stop midair; half a split-second.

My eyes are closed and yet I couldn't help marveling at the sight of a giant tree in my vision. The giant tree that is surrounded by hundreds of pebbles, encompassing it until the leaves are barely seen from the outside.

Finally, I decide to conclude today's training with a sigh that was previously stuck in my chest. The hundred pebbles brusquely fall to the ground. The tree seems to look intimidating, even a bit holy, after being barricaded by the messy pebbles.

I stretch my limbs and stood up from the ground. My domain hasn't grown that much, but I could feel the better refinement in my control now. I release my domain along with another breath.

"Are you done practicing?" A young man suddenly dangles upside-down from a tree branch, one half-eaten fruit in one hand, and the other offering another.

"…Hm", I say in place of a thank you. Obrecht always kept me company even when I practiced after class.

I get flashed a sweet smile for no reason, as I take the fruit from his hands. Afterwards, he leans forward, and unhooks the back of his knees from the branch, only to land back on his feet. It feels as if I'm looking at a feline. A sudden urge to compete for midair flexibility takes over me. If it was before, I wouldn't have known how to feel competitive at the smallest things at all.

I smile behind the mask.

"What should we do now? Want to head to the Circ?"

I shake my head. Besides selling our hunted prey, I don't really like going there.

"Yeah, I figured." The other person sighs as we walk side by side upon the small trail. "It's gotten a lot peaceful without Vera and Krael hanging around us lately."

"…" ….

"How do they even practice together? One's on arrows and the other one's on throwing knives. Do they just compete who's more accurate and precise at targeting?"

"…" ….

"Yeah, I thought so too." Obrecht raises his arms to grab the sides of his head, looking up at the gentle purple crowns of the dense trees.

Every after class, Obrecht and I head to this part of the nearby forest, where Obrecht caught me eavesdropping before. It has become our own exclusive training ground now, as Vera and Krael chose another part that had offered a lot denser forestry for their target practice and mobility.

I previously asked Obrecht about the matters of the cave. For some reason, Obrecht kept evading the topic by answering my question with another question. It seems like he doesn't want me to go anywhere near the old cave or ask anything about it.

I steal a glance at Obrecht.

I hope he's not that sad about losing his cave because of me. I do feel guilty sometimes; it feels as if I've only been taking and never giving back anything from this person.

He suddenly turns to gaze back at me with no moment's notice.

"What are you thinking about?"

Not you, I try to deny even my own thoughts.

I jump up at a nearby tree to retrieve our hidden bags in one flexible somersault. I hand Obrecht's bag back to him, and get rewarded by yet another sweet smile. I wish he wouldn't do that sometimes.

"Tita Rohati said that there will be no classes tomorrow, in preparation for the next periodicals. It's your first time participating, right", Obrecht asked excitedly. "Then after the periodicals, we get a free day since the annual tournament is about to start soon."

"…" You're joining? I give him a look, my head tilting to the side.

"I'll join if you join the tournaments."

I look ahead of us and raise my sights to the giant crystals above us. Slowly, I shake my head.

I don't want to join. It feels uncomfortable to have so many eyes on me. I might as well forfeit the fight since I know I'll be making a lot of mistakes every other second.

"Then I'm not joining this year too." He says it as if it doesn't concern him.

Obrecht is good at fighting. He could easily dominate and reach the first top twenty ranks if he really wished it.

Am I pulling him back?

Before I had time to think, my fingers had hooked the helm of his training shirt. Awkwardly, I let go as he stares at my fingers for a moment.

He smiles, a tinge of reassurance emitting from that smile. "You don't have to worry so much. I'll join the annual tournaments when you're ready to join. That way, I could get a chance to compete with you too. It's more interesting that way."

Relieved, I tip my chin down once. We continue on our way until I see the familiar training camp on our way home. A few energetic people are still scattered around the grounds, trying to get as much practice as they could just like Obrecht and I. Well, it's mostly just me.

"…Oh", I softly exclaim after a moment's pause.

"What is it?"

I take out a book from my bag.

"…" I almost forgot to return this to Nehal.

"A book? Did you buy it?"

I shake my head, before elaborating, "…Nehal let me borrow it."

Obrecht's eyes widen, as he grabs the book to skim over the contents, but never forgetting to interrogate me during the process.

"A book? She lent you a book? Where did she lend it to you? How did she do it? When did you guys meet?"

"…When I got lost."

"Last week? Seriously? How did you even meet—No, you don't need to answer that. I think I can guess that part—Did she tell you when to return it and where?"

I shake my head.

"Hmm", Obrecht began thinking. "Does that mean that it's already yours?"

I shake my head. "…I'm returning it." It's not nice to not return things that aren't yours.

"Oh", Obrecht breathes out as he suddenly stops flipping through the pages, the book displaying the entire map of Inferis, including Lumea. "Have you memorized this already?"

I pinch a piece of small air between my index finger and thumb.

"Just a little, huh."

A moment later, I get startled as he whips his eyes back at me after staring at the book. Those hazel eyes sparkled with a hint of daring mischief.

"Could you lend this to me for tonight? We can ask Apa where we can find Tita Nehal and return it."

I look at him, curious why he wants to borrow the book.

He doesn't keep me in suspense as he answers, "Since we're not participating on the annual tournaments, we might as well secretly go roaming Inferis. Since the map noted down the most dangerous parts, I think we can safely get back right before dinner. Nobody would even know we're missing~"

I pinch his cheek hard in disapproval. This is a very, very bad idea. Odeti is going to scold me along with you if you don't reign in that daring side of yours.

"…If you get caught by the patrols, don't expect me to bail you out", I warn him, just in case he decides to interpret my disapproval as my acquiescence—this wouldn't be the first time if he did.

"Ah, I was wrong~ I was wrong, Videre~ Don't be angry~" Obrecht tries to remove my crabby pincher-like fingers from his cheek, but to no avail.

Obrecht kept crying for my forgiveness and kept promising he wouldn't go anywhere dangerous without me anymore. Only then did I let go.