Solute

She looked so precious, moping around because she just wanted to be helpful. The moment I got back up I couldn't help but give her a big hug.

"Wh-what the!"

I giggled. "And you say I get embarrassed about weird things."

Her arms fell to her side. "Why are you doing that all the sudden."

"Because I felt like it."

She grumbled, but I knew she couldn't have actually been mad, seeing as how she hugged me back.

"And listen… The armor still helps a lot, even if it doesn't fit. So thanks. I'm a little less nervous about this whole thing now."

As I stepped back she turned her head to the side. "Yeah, sure… Just remember to."

"Watch my back?" I finished her sentence, raising my eyebrows. "It's not like anyone else will."

"Pf… Only cause I can't come with you…" She raised a fist out in front of her. "I know what I said before… But… Just come back alive… K sis."

I raised my own fist to hers, "Who do you think you're talking to? I fought a demon you know."

She smirked. "If you were any good you would have killed it."

"Well… I mean I killed that giant bitterweed."

Her smirk turned into a smile. "Wow, what an accomplishment, I didn't know the great weedpuller was standing before me."

I covered my laugh. "I prefer the term Weed Slayer, thank you very much."

She rolled her eyes. "If you don't come back I'm writing that on your tombstone. The mighty Siya, slayer of weeds."

We laughed more until our smiles softened, our faces carrying the same somber smile as I turned to walk out the door. 

"Siya…"

I turned back to see her again.

"I-in case I don't see you again before you leave…"

I paused, waiting for her to continue. I half expected her to say something like I love you, but I knew that wasn't her style at all, and honestly, I don't think it would have meant as much either.

With a look that felt too wistful to be made by a 13-year-old, she closed her fist and pounded it over her heart, giving the solute of respect.

I felt a chill run through me from head to toe, pausing for a moment in shock before I could return it.

Seeing her give off a faint smile at my awkwardness helped ease the tension as I left the room, but her sad eyes only made me feel even more like I was heading to my death. Saying goodbye like that was almost too much.

I was only steps away as my mind began to pound. It was like the rolling of a freight train rumbled through my ears as out of nowhere the image the ghoul had shown me flashed through my mind, the distinctive pressure not even bothering me anymore, as the tombstone in the image suddenly changed, and my name became written across it.

My head split in two and began running two contradictory lines of thought.

'I have a bad feeling about this…'

'Thanks for the warning… I'll bring you something special.'

In moments the headache was gone, and instead of shrieks, I heard soft whispers. "The time is coming for your skills to be put to the test. I hope you won't disappoint."

Instead of pain, I felt as though I was floating through the air, and my body was nearly weightless.

"Rafi?" I asked, looking around, but it was all in my head.

The mischievous little girl laughed. "Just so you know we can see all your thoughts. We know all your embarrassing secrets. Owe! Hey, Sis what did you do that fo–"

The more mature one cleared her throat. "Just, be prepared to fight. You have at most two days. It would be wise to start sleeping with a sword."

'Wel… I'll be surrounded by monsters anyways… So that won't be a problem…'

I took a deep breath, shook my head to steady myself, and headed out. I still had to finish my preparations.

The tailor couldn't work with the material directly, but I figured they could help me out in other ways. For instance, wearing something under the armor to protect my skin where the gaps were…

Unfortunately, they apparently didn't work with armor at all… I quickly found out all of the armor my family owned was imported and self-maintained. The tailor only worked in clothes… And wasn't very happy to see me, with how many times I had ruined mine…

Despite that, they did give me some proper gear. Pants, and boots, as well as a compression-like sleeve for my arm, all made from one of the dire wolf soft leather. They weren't exactly the toughest, but they were comfortable, and a lot better than nothing. I also picked up several pouches and satchels I could strap to my legs to carry things, which I figured would probably come in handy enough.

By that point, I had almost everything I needed. The only thing left for me to do was to pick out a sword from the training yard.

I walked over and sat down on the bench in front of the fountain staring blankly at them. I had felt each one in my hands. I knew the differences in weight and swing, but none of that helped. The thing was, I could technically use all of them… But without magic, I couldn't use any of them…

Ideally, I would take a sword I could use properly even without magic, but there weren't any. From that standpoint, if I had to use magic anyway I might as well just bring one of the heaviest and sharpest ones. Of course, if I tried using one of those without magic I'd be even more useless.

"Siya?"

I turned my head slightly to see Mara walking out of the house, coming over to sit next to me. "I guess the cold really doesn't bother you anymore."

"Hey, Mara."

'She isn't limping anymore… That's good.'

"So what are you up to?"

"Well…" 'I wonder if she even knows.' "Father is taking me to a dungeon tomorrow… I figured having a good sword wouldn't be a bad idea… So…" I raised my hand towards the racks on the walls.

"But… They're all too big for you… You could just use magic, but if you run out of manna you wouldn't have anything to fall back on. That about right?" She raised a hand to her chin. " There are a few ways we could solve that problem."

I leaned my head back, staring up at the sky. "Right, either find a smaller sword, which is unlikely, or take a knife with me, which is dishonorable somehow. I thought about taking one of Air's knives… But I don't think Keigan would be very happy if he saw me doing that."

She nudged my shoulder with a smirk. "You could always fight with your bare hands."

I raised my left arm up. "Probably not the best idea…" I plopped it back down, lifting my head. "Honestly it still hurts every time I swing a sword. But I'm sure it's just in my head…"

"This is the last test right… This is it, and then you're done. You'd be heading off to the academy right after you get back, that way you can spend some time with your grandparents before school starts."

'First I've heard of it… But that's all if I make it back isn't it?' "Honestly, who knows at this point? I've been telling myself I only had to do one more thing forever now. It seems unreal to think I'd ever be done."

We paused for a long time. 'I wonder when she became this easy to talk to…' It wasn't like I was opening up as much as just thinking out loud, but even so it wasn't something I had ever done so casually, at least not in recent memory.

"Follow me…" Her voice was cold and serious, a side I hadn't seen in a while, thinking about it. It didn't even scare me anymore.

I followed her to her room where she grabbed her weapon belt. The leather was still covered in red and black stains from the mixing of blood from her last fight. "How about these? Would these be too big?"

She handed me the belt. One of her swords was broken in her last battle, but there was still a longsword and a large hunting knife left.

"Are you sure?" I slowly grabbed the sword, pulling it from its sheath.

"The blade is still heavy because it's made out of obsidian as well as steel. Although, it's still going to be lighter than anything out there. You should be able to use most of the same techniques that you've learned. Just be careful blocking with the flat of the blade since it's narrower."

I lifted it up into the air. I had thought it was just covered in the demon blood when I first saw it, but the blade was actually pitch black. It had a faint almost glass-like gloss to it and the was reminiscent of a starry night sky.

"It's not a greatsword though…"

She smiled with one side of her face. "Listen, everyone has to learn how to use a greatsword, and they are the most honorable weapons, but… To be honest you wouldn't exactly be breaking tradition if you picked up another style as well. If it keeps you alive, that's more important."

I looked back at the sword, lowering it to further admire the blade if only so I wouldn't have to keep looking her in the eyes. 

She flicked the sword creating a resonance that almost sounded like a musical string of a bass. "This was my sword when I was an adventurer. Greatswords were hard to maintain on the road, and… Honestly, not very convenient either."

"Oh, so you admit it."

She shrugged. "I mean, if I talked about all the things I didn't like about them… Would that have made you want to use them more?"

"Good point I guess," I said, putting it back in its sheath as I pulled out the large knife.

"I'm not the only one either. Your grandfather used a hammer the size of a horse. It was so heavy he couldn't even use it properly without weighted boots."

I chuckled nervously, imagining the image. "Sounds like an interesting man…"

"He's… Something, that's for sure. Your gramma was crazier though."

I raised my eyebrows. "What, did she like, use two hammers?"

Mara leaned back, thinking for a moment. "It's possible, I guess I always just assumed my brother got the idea from our father though."

'I… was joking…'

She shook her head. "No, gramma fought bare-handed, and she always goes into battle alone, telling people not to interfere in her duels, or take her kills."

'Eccentric much… Geez' "Gramma sounds more intense than you…"

She laughed. "Well, I had to get it from somewhere right…" Her face sank. "That's… Actually why you never really met them before..."

'Makes sense.'