Night soon gave way to the dawn's early morning light. As it started to peak its way over the horizon, pushing out the dark, cool blues of night, giving way for small glimpses of warm red and orange, preparing the sky for the soon-arriving bright yellow sun.

  However, unlike many others who would be awoken by the sun's first wave of light, there was a single elf groaning at the sun's arrival, trying to pull her from sleep's comforting embrace, disturbing her slumber. Lucina fought as much as she could, trying to return to that bliss; however, the night of the rising sun was too strong, forcing her to face the new day.

  She yawned, groaning as she sat up and stretched. Her loose, untied hair fell, landing just below her shoulders. "Why does the sun have to rise too early? I was in the middle of a good dream."

  Throwing off the covers, she swung her legs off the bed and started dressing herself in her usual attire. She left the room. Wandering down the hall, she came to a large window, giving her a full view of the estate's massive backyard. Her eyes darted to each tree that ran along the fence, taking notice of the flower gardens that painted the yard.

  She could even see that the training ground, which nearly covered the whole left side, was impressive. There were wooden dummies that had a humanoid shape. As the sun slowly rose over the horizon, illuminating the yard, something captured her senses. The faint sound of metal clashing rang out in the early morning of the day, joining that joined the unphased song of chirping birds, the two sounds almost seemed to set a rhythm for each other, and the faint light of a fire would spark periodically, breaking the tempo. At the sight, she would have flown down the stairs had it not been for a new voice to stop her.

  "Good Morning, I see we have another early riser."

  Turning to meet the voice, she was met by braided midnight blue hair. "Oh ah, good morning ma'am."

  Her nervous greeting only seemed to give the woman before her some kind of amused smile, as she followed the girl's gaze to the window, she had an idea of what was running through her mind.

  "Once you go down the stairs, take a right at the dining room, and then you'll be at the back door. And just a little warning from your elder, try to be quiet. Hellia is as sweet as they come, but try not to wake her up too early. That is, unless you want to see a demon." She could only release a quiet laugh at the first-hand experience.

  "Thank you, ma'am." Luicna gave a quick bow before taking off, but stopped. "I'm sorry. I'm Lucina Starfall, and thanks again."

  "Don't worry about it. By the way, you can call me Diana." She could only smile as she watched the elf take off. "Well, she seems nice."

  ——————————————————

  Bursting through the door, she was met with the warmth of spring's morning, only for the clashing of metal and a gentle, silk-like voice drew her attention to the training ground. There was a Red adornment in a set of cleaned armor.

  A rounded chest plate that covered his chest was against a red short-sleeve shirt as it curved downward, ending below his sternum. Metal shoulder pads were seen on both sides and were accompanied by a pair of arm guards that covered a good bit of his forearm. While his knees were covered by a single rounded piece of metal, his legs had gray armor resting against black pants, covering his lower legs between his knees and a pair of brown boots that helped cover his heel as it ran above his ankle, meeting behind the leg plates that finished off the look.

  Standing against him was none other than Maryan, but while bruises and small cuts painted his body, and in his hands was the reason why she couldn't see Breaker this morning, as he held a strong grip on its handle with labored breath, sweat fell from his brow.

  Blue eyes followed crimsonto the opponent before him. Maryan stood wearing the same attire as yesterday, wielding a pair of short, curved blades that were connected by a long chain. Her lavender hair swayed in the early morning breeze; however, unlike her opponent, there was no trace of damage of any kind on the little skin that was exposed. Not even a single tear could be seen on her clothing. But the biggest surprise wasn't the clear gap in skill between the two but the simple fact that she did so with a black band covering her eyes.

  "Come now, Red. I know you can do better. However, if this is the limit of your current abilities, then maybe I should stop pulling my punches and force you to adapt." Gone was the soft, caring voice she got to know the other day, because in its place, a cold, almost metallic tone took over.

  Without missing a beat, she charged, crossing her arms and in a flash with speed that even her father would have had a hard time keeping up with, she became a blur as streaks of black and lavender circled Red. The sound of clashing steel echoed with each attempt to block the swarm of strikes as she closed the distance. The small gap she allowed the boy to plant his feet after each strike only grew smaller as he was knocked around, trying to plant his feet firmly on the ground, her kept his eyes open for an opening. Even blind folded, her strikes were precise.

  "How can he even keep up with that movement? I can barely even see her!" Her blue eyes darted, trying to track a lavender-haired woman. Just like the boy amid the barrage of strikes, she struggled to keep up.

  A weaker opponent would have given in and accepted their fate, and succumbed to this hopeless situation. But Red wasn't a weaker opponent. Feeling the gaze of prying eyes, he refused to look pathetic in front of the one who watched this fight.

  The clashing of steel on steel echoed in the yard as these sounds joined the morning orchestra, as birds that roosted sang along

  But then he acted. After blocking and taking each attack to the best of his abilities, he slashed at one of the many flashing streaks. However, Maryan only appeared behind him, exploiting the opening he made due to his rash action, and delivered a swift kick to his side, sending him rolling across the dirt. Grabbing at the dirt, hauling his movement, he raised his left hand and aimed at his opponent, who simply stopped to watch him, giving him a clear shot as she let him aim.

  She wanted to see if he could do it.

  Every set of eyes watched as a small flame took shape.

  Lucina could only watch as he struggled to form the attack, as not a single spark came off the attack, recalling his efforts back in Eden, she locked her eyes on him as if trying to help him in some way. "Come on, you got this."

  The flame tried to grow, but soon reached the limit of what the caster could manage.

  "Firebolt!" Red cried out, launching the attack at his caretaker.

  However, once Maryan saw the flame's light come from her opponent, she didn't bother to move out of its path. She welcomed the attack, halting her movement to give him an easier target. She wanted to see if the fruits of his labor would finally be ready for harvest.

  As it approached, it only fizzled out before it even came within dodging distance of her. The only effect this had was that it caused a wave of disappointment to wash over him, extinguishing the fire Red had, making him give up. The slight change signaled the end of the match as Maryan's composure relaxed as she made her way over to check on the defeated boy.

  At the sight, she wanted to go help, and as Lucian took a step forward–

  "Hey Lucina, why don't you come have a chat with me for a bit?"

  Turning to see who had called her, she saw none other than the silver-haired half-elf call out to her from a wooden patio bench.

  "Ahhh, good morning, Lady Morgen. I'm sorry I didn't see you there." Bowing as she spoke.

  "Come now, I told you not to do that." It almost sounded like she was laughing at her rather than scolding. "So are you trying out a different hairstyle this morning?"

  This only made Lucina look back at her blue ribbon and run her other hand through her untied hair. "I guess I forgot to tie it this morning. I'll be right back."

  "There's no need, come here, I'll take care of it."

  "Are you sure? I'd hate to bother–

  "Nope, it wouldn't be a bother at all. Now come here." Maryan told the blond, patting the seat next to her.

  Taking a seat next to the royal, she handed off the blue ribbon as she felt a hand run through her hair, pulling it in, trying to find a good spot. "I must say that's quite a nice cloak you have, where did you get it?"

  "My Mom made it for me. It's based on the one the main character wore in 'Journey of Choice', I'm gonna have adventures just like her when I go on my journey."

  "'Journey of Choice' huh, well, you sure are setting your sights pretty high. Not many can walk down the righteous path."

  "I think I'll manage, after all, back home, when it comes to the blade, I've never lost a match."

  Morgen didn't need to see her face to feel the confidence and pride radiating off her with that statement as she puffed her chest out. "Oh, really now, but Roy told me that Red won all your exchanges."

  A nervous laugh took over as she was called out. "Well, up until that point, I was undefeated, but next time he's gonna be the one landing on the grass." The confidence in that statement was well...

  "You're quite amusing. So what should we do? How about we place it on the side, or how about we braid it and have them come together to form a ponytail? What do you think of that?" Morgen thought aloud, seeing if any of her suggestions would stick.

  "Thanks, but I like how I normally wear my hair." It felt awkward having a princess play with her hair like she was a living doll.

  "So a plain old ponytail?"

  "Yeah, it's the same way Miss Lyndis wears her hair."

  "Well, you can't beat the classics. All right, one ponytail coming right up, but let's see if I can't spice things up a little." Smirking as she took her time to tie a knot around the blond hair.

  They both soon heard the cries of the crimson-eyed boy calling out the name of the magic he had failed to cast just moments ago at one of the several practice targets as hazel green eyes changed their focus from blue to red, with the only thing to disrupt the morning calm was the boy's training. That was until Morgen spoke up.

  "So I, you'll call me Lady, while you call Lyn Miss. You sure do have a funny way of addressing royalty."

  "Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude, I—

  "Let me guess, you want to be like Lyn too, don't ya?" She teased, tightening the knot as she took hold of the blue strands and tail.

  "Yeah, my Mom told me a lot about the adventures she went on, so she's one of the people I want to be like."

  "Well, that's nice, but you might want to work on your etiquette before some of the others arrive. We wouldn't want a repeat of yesterday, now, do we?"

  Her face grew flush, recalling how she first made her presence known. "Sorry."

  "It's all right, but I would say that it was shocking to see a blue flame; that's something one doesn't get to see often."

  The mention of her fire caused the events of the other day to replay for her, ignoring how Morgen continued to play with her hair, but so did another memory.

  "Hey Morgen, can I ask you something?"

  "What, no Lady this time?" She teased. "Sure, what do you want to know?"

  "Well, it's about Red. Does he have a hard time with magic?

  "Why the sudden curiosity?"

  "When we met in Eden, he was at the same level he is now. I just figured that learning from someone like Miss Lyndis, I just thought that...

  "You thought that a prince, the son of the great Lyndis, would be beyond a simple village elf?" She only saw the elf nod her head. "Well, I don't know why that is. He's been like that for the past few years, but after each failure, he keeps trying." Recalling how, when he made his first flame all on his own. His eyes burned brightly as he showed it off. Turning her attention, hazel green joined azure blue. Watching as crimson red faced down a target, preparing yet another attempt.

  "I like to think he's just facing a block. But I'll tell you this, once he finds that reason, the source for his magic. You'd better be ready to watch him soar, after all, I faced a similar problem when I was younger."

  Watching as Red kept trying again and again to produce the attack, it only continued to mirror that day. Lucina couldn't help wondering what the problem was.

  Wrapping the blue strands around the length of hair, she turned her attention back to the elf. "So, mind if I ask you a question this time, Lucina?"

  "Ok, shoot, what do you want to know?"

  "What do you think about Red?"

  "What do I think about Red? Well, he's my friend, I mean that's the reason I was invited, right?"

  Morgen only laughed at herself. "I guess I should have been a bit more specific. What I want to know is what do you think of his eyes, do they bother you at all?"

  The concern in her voice didn't go unnoticed as Lucina took a moment to think. "Of course they don't. I like being around Red and the others I've met here, but when I saw some of the looks he got and what Hector told me about how people look at him because of his eyes. It made me... well, it made me mad."

  "It did?" At first, she was curious, but now. "So tell me, what was your first thought of his eyes when you first saw them?"

  "What do you mean by that?"

  "Come on, tell me, when you looked into his eyes, what did you see?"

  Lucina only felt Morgen continue to mess with her hair as she thought. "When I first saw him, I thought his eyes reminded me of fire. Does that sound weird to you?"

  "Fire, you say, care to elaborate?"

  "It's just that, they kinda remind me of a warm fire, does that make sense?"

  She simply smiled at the answer as she finished tying a little bow at the end of her hair. "I think it does. Now what do you think?" Taking out a white flat circle that opened to reveal a mirror, helping her see that the ribbon strands had been wrapped around her hair like a candy cane before coming to the bottom, forming a bow at the end. "Although I would have liked to give you a braid, you said that you liked to wear it in the same style as Lyn, so I put a little spin on it to help give you a little twist on the base design."

  Lucina only stared at what had been done to her hair. It was a simple change, but it was a change she liked.

  "Thanks, Morgen, I think it looks great." Getting up, Lucina was about to make her way over to see if there was something she could do to help.

  "I'm glad you liked it, after all, it's the least I can do for one of the few."

  That comment made her stop, returning her attention to the bench. "Few? Few of what?"

  She was only met with a smile while Morgen returned indoors. This only left Lucina confused as she watched Morgen leave without even bothering to answer her question.

  "Alright, one more time." Calming his heart, he filled his lungs before letting the air escape. "Ok, step one focuses your magic at a single point. Use the heat from my body as a base for the flame and conjure it in my hand. Once I've made the flame, use my body's natural electrical current to give the spell a little more kick." Still, that next step evaded him as the flame barely grew and no sparks came off.

  "Come on, give me a spark, even a little one will do." Begging, the grip on his wrist tightened. Trying to force some kind of reaction.

  "Hey, Red."

  The flame burned out when the voice stole his attention. "Oh, hey. Good morning Lucina." As she joined him, he noticed that her ribbon was tied differently. The way it was wrapped only made her bright golden yellow hair pop out against the dark blue ribbon. "Did you sleep well?"

  "Yeah, I did, thanks."

  The two didn't know how to continue from here, as neither knew how to approach the situation. But silence didn't fully cover them as one of them recalled some advice they had received.

  "I see you tied your hair differently. It looks nice."

  "Thanks, but I can't take the credit. Morgen was the one who tied it while we watched you." She couldn't help but spin it around her finger as she spoke. "That armor looks good on you."

  "Oh, you saw that."

  "Yeah, I guess Maryan is pretty, ah..." Removing her hand from her hair, she placed a finger on her chin, trying to find the right word to use. "... Intense."

  "Haha, yeah, intense would be a good way of putting it." he couldn't help but laugh, until his voice adopted a slight somber tone. "She is always willing to help me in the morning when my family is still sleeping, although she doesn't like to hold back."

  "Then why did she wear that eye mask?" She pondered. "I can't imagine it's easy to see through it."

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  Her thoughts were only answered by light laughter as Red only had a smile take shape.

  "Hey! What's so funny?" Pouting at the crimson-eyed boy's response.

  "The thing is, she can't. I've tried it on before, and the sun could be shining high in the sky, and all you could see is darkness."

  Lucina was left flabbergasted by the claim. the actions she witnessed, the pierced movement, the pinpoint precision of her blades. "You're lying."

  "No, it's the truth, she does it so she can get something out of the training."

  A calmness fell over them as birds started their morning songs, taking the place of clashing blades that had echoed there just moments ago.

  "So are you always up this early?"

  "Sometimes," His eyes drifted to the target before falling back to his hands. "I want to be better than the current me. So I normally try to get up so I can get some practice in."

  Hearing his words, they felt off, like they didn't know what path to go down. She didn't know how to respond or what words to use, so she spoke with her actions. Her hand rose aiming at the same target he tried to hit just moments ago, as sparking blue flames came off her hand.

  "Firebolt"

  Red could only watch as a ray of electrically charged blue fire shot out from her hand, hitting the target, leaving a scorch mark on the target's surface. The blast moved like lightning, leaving a trail of falling embers in its wake. He only watched, seeing how much further Lucina came in the short time since he last saw her in Eden. It was like she was already on the verge of crossing the bridge to the next level when they met. But now she was already starting her journey across the next divide.

  "Guess I'm still at the starting line, maybe I should just give—

  "Now it's your turn."

  "I don't–

  "Just go for it. When I was first starting, I got frustrated too, but someone told me that "If you trip, get up because once you start running there's nothing that can stop you," so give it another shot, alright?"

  With a simple set of words, a flashing smile, and pushing eyes. He gave in to her demands as he gripped his wrist with his left hand and went through the steps yet again. Lucina only watched another flame took its place in his hand. It was no larger than the attempt he made with Maryan. Seeing him struggle to increase the size of her hand moved it, removing his left hand from his wrist, leaving her hand in its place, while her other hand was set against the back of his hand, gently rotating his palm upward. She brought her hands together, cupping his hand, causing an azure flame to grow as it surrounded the weak orange flame.

  He felt a warm wave wash over his body and the insignificant flame grew inside the blue flame, slowly taking up more space. It was like the blue flame was helping it grow, jolts of electricity flew off like embers. His eyes grew as they swapped from the fire he now held to the blond who held his hand; he knew this technique.

  Convergence, a basic technique that allows someone to lend magic power to another, with the receiver acting as a conduit so a spell can be cast. It is used by all kinds of mages, both young and old, experienced and those who are just starting out. It's seen as a learning tool to help progress and expand their own knowledge, even amplifying their power.

  But right now, none of those thoughts entered his head. He only watched the flame dance in his hand, as the breeze instructed its movement with the crackling flame setting the rhythm. He could only feel the warm spread through his body, the small orange danced inside the blue fire, as the image was reflected in his fiery red eyes, and his mood seemed to change

  "So you just gonna stand there and look at it, or are you gonna let it rip?" She eagerly waited, wanting to see what would happen as she moved her right hand to his shoulder before letting go of his hand.

  Aiming at the target, a single word left his mouth.

  "Firebolt"

  The blast launched Red from his feet. The force sent him flying onto his rear. Watching the predominantly blue flame race across the ground, leaving burning embers and jolting sparks in its wake, only for it to finally collide with its target. Blasting the manikin, as parts flew off in several directions as the wooden stand was left on fire, and blue eyes winced at the damage their Convergence did.

  Rubbing the back of her head, a nervous laugh escaped. "Heh, looks like we overdid it. Sorry about the target."

  Her words only fell on deaf ears as Red only changed his gaze from the blue burning pool to the palm of his hands. The smile on his face tried to stay but started to fade at the realization of why he was finally able to pull it off. The fire that reflected in his eyes started to burn out, just like the burning pole; there was only blue fire. He did nothing.

  "Stop that." An annoyed voice and a jabbing finger at him as she stood over him. "You were ignoring me again, I swear I'm starting to think you're doing this on purpose."

  "Sorry."

  "So what are you waiting for? Give it another shot." She almost seemed excited.

  "Look, I don't think I can even do half of that." He got lost looking into the blue flames yet again until another jab found its mark on his cheek.

  "Then stop thinking and just go for it. You're my riva,l right?" She only gave him a playful shove towards the other target. "Now show me what my rival can do."

  Catching himself before he fell, he only saw her grinning face. "Alright, you don't have to shove me, you know." Preparing himself, he started to run through the motions yet again. "Ok, step one focu–

  "Stop trying to think through every step. Mom told me magic doesn't come from up here. It comes from here." Her hand moved from her head and pointed to her heart. "So don't think, just feel."

  He only rolled his eyes as he decided to go with her advice. He emptied his mind and simply focused on his hand and the fire that soon took form. Lucina only watched as Red closed his eyes and how a small flame was born in his hand, but unlike the prior attempt, it slowly grew when a small jolt of electricity came off.

  "Now just let it go."

  Opening his eyes, calling out the attack. A flame shot out from his palm. It wasn't as big or as fast when compared to the prior blast. But when the bolting flame left his hand, it hit the manican, leaving a small burn mark on its center. It wasn't much, but Lucina only saw the small spark appear in the eyes of her now claimed rival as his face lit up. His gaze didn't leave the target until yet another strike was placed at his shoulder, seeing Lucina grinning at him.

  "So the first one to hit their target ten times in a row wins." Extending her first, she waited for his response.

  He only mimicked the action, accepting her challenge. "Sure, I'm game."

  That look in his eyes told her everything she wanted to see. "Alright, but the loser has to make breakfast."

  "Hey! That wasn't part of the deal."

  She only smirked as she taunted him. "Sorry, I altered the deal and pray I don't alter it further. So, Mr. Prince, afraid to lose, you can back down if you want."

  "You're going down, blondie."

  Before they knew it, a pair of sparking flames flew as the match started, and while the blue flame was stronger and faster than its orange counterpart, it was still able to keep up.

  ——————————————————

  The early morning rays and the smell of eggs that filled the small house only served to open yellow eyes. Fir oulled herself out of bed, her feet were guided by her nose and stomach rather than her mind; she found herself standing in the kitchen.

  "Morning, dear."

  "Morning, Dad, so eggs again?"

  "Yeah, that and the food your friends left for us."

  While Noble prepped the eggs, Fir set the counter. Only moments after finishing, a knock on the door stole their attention.

  "Hey, Fir, you think you can get that?"

  Curiosity grew as Fir made her way to the door, wondering who was up and moving this early, let alone visiting their small home.

  The knocking only continued as a voice called out. "Hey, Fir, are you home?"

  Hearing Ash's voice, she rushed to the door, pulling it open only to show that it was indeed Ash and a woman with dark blond hair with a matching set of charcoal black eyes. "Hey, good morning, Fir, how did you sleep?"

  "Ah, what are you doing here this early?"

  "Well, let's just say I think you and your father are gonna like this." He couldn't wait to tell them.

  "Fir, who's at the door... hey, good morning, Ash, and I'm sorry, I don't believe we've met."

  There was a tiredness that came from the woman as she spoke. "It's all right, Mr. Crescent. Names Shauna and let's just say that thanks to my boy here telling my husband and I heard about your current situation. We thought we would extend a helping hand."

  Reaching into her bag, she tried to pull out an envelope, only to be met by Noble holding up his hand as if to tell her to stop. "Look, I appreciate the offer, but I can't just take your money; I need to be the one to prove it for us."

  Shauna could only let out a tired groan. "It's too early to deal with this. Look, we aren't giving you free money." Forcing him to take the envelope. "What we are trying to do is help someone out, and with business being as good as it is for us."

  While she spoke, Noble opened up the envelope as he skimmed the letter. "Wait, you're offering me a job?" His words only made Fir look from her father to the ashen-haired boy before her.

  "Yeah, we plan on opening another shop in the city's center sometime soon. We can talk more about those details at a later date. That is if you want the work."

  The zoophian pair was left shocked. Before them was a boy they had just met the other day, and his mother, and they were offering them work. The two were stuck trying to proceed with the offer before them.

  "Please come in, we can talk more over breakfast. If that works?"

  "Sure, that works, and sorry for the attitude. Ash here had me up and moving a little too early and didn't let me get my morning coffee."

  "No, I understand that feeling all too well. I think I have some inside. Would you like a cup?"

  "That would be lovely."

  As they made their way inside, a lingering warm scent of honey escaped the basket. Traveling its way into the young girl's nose. "Excuse me, Miss, but what is that smell?"

  "Well, on our way here, we went by Sweet Wheats, and they just finished making these." Opening the basket lid revealed a dozen freshly made rolls with honey glistening off them. Shauna watched as Fir's mouth started to water as a low grumble came from her stomach. "Well, go on."

  Taking one from the basket, she didn't hesitate to take a bite of the still-warm pastry. The look in her eyes only served to amuse the others as Ash joined in taking one for himself.

  ——————————————————

  As the morning passed, giving way to day as a pair of dirty plates cast mid-morning shadows on the ground, the sound of a wooden blade clashed with steel. Red and blue blurs darted around the yard, and they collided.

  This test of skill didn't go without spectators. Maryan and Morgen both observed this contest as they enjoyed this morning's display, but they weren't the only pair of prying eyes to be watching the event. The lingering smell of honey mint tea filled the air. However, they weren't the only ones watching.

  The sound of clashing wood filled the yard. Red and Lucina were solely focused on each other; the rising sun caused their shadows to grow. Illuminating the dueling pair.

  Sweat dripped down their heads as they pushed themselves further against each other, rapidly approaching the final stage of their morning match. Clashing once again, their blades locked. They pushed their blades against their opponent; they were trying to force the other to kneel. Confident grins painted their faces as they leaped back.

  "So I see I'm not the only one who kept their skills sharp."

  "Well, of course, I have to restart my undefeated streak, and that'll start with you."

  "Sure, you're welcome to try, but that's not gonn—

  His words were cut off, leaving Lucina confused. A small group had tackled him to the ground. Out of the laughing mass, she only knew the scarlet-haired boy, but the others were a mystery to her as she heard him groan.

  "Hey, get off me!"

  "Not gonna happen! This is payback for not meeting up with us yesterday!" The blond boy cried out. His laughter was joined by a pair of brunette girls.

  Although part of her was annoyed that their match was interrupted. "Hey, Red, who are they?

  "Oh, hey, good morning Lucina!" Roy called out, sitting on his brother's back, waving.

  "So who are these guys?"

  "This is Jason, and these are the twins. The one with the blue strip is Ardee, and this is Amber. Guys, this is Lucina." He groaned from underneath the pile. "Now, can you guys get off!"

  With sinister smirks, they all locked eyes and nodded in agreement. Getting off for only a moment, the sound of rushing feet against the ground filled the yard as the noise brought their attention to a figure that leaped off the deck.

  "BONSAI!!" The bronze skin figure only landed on Red's back with a laughing tone as it looked like impact had drained the color from his face. "Looks like we caught ya sleeping again, big guy, Gehe!"

  She only saw a short, dark raven, almost black haired girl with purple eyes who was currently using Red as a landing pad. "I don't mean to be rude, but who–

  "Alice, why did you do that?" Cried a purple-eyed boy with orange hair.

  Running over, Lucina only watched as he scolded the tanned girl, who simply laughed as she sat on her crimson-eyed rival.

  "Um, excuse me, but who are you?"

  "Oh, my apologies. My name is Pit Con–

  "Names Alice Endura." Grinning from ear to ear, her energetic voice cut the boy off, leaping off of Red's back. "And this is my best buddy, Pit Contro."

  While Lucina contoured with instructions and Roy took a moment to check on his brother. The remaining three chatted amongst themselves.

  "Hey Ardee, Jason, who's the elf?"

  "I don't know, I think she is one of Red's friends, but watching their match was fun to watch."

  While the twins tried to figure out who this Lucina was. Until Jason spoke up. "I think this is the girl that Mom said Red is courting." He whispered to them.

  ""Courting?""

  "What's that?" Amber spoke up.

  "Well, when I asked Mom, she didn't give me a straight answer. All she said was it's about getting to know someone, maybe it's an elf thing?"

  Thinking it over, the claim made sense to them, but Adree had another plan. "Well, if she is Red's friend, she'll be mine too."

  Watching them interact, Morgen and Maryan couldn't help but laugh at the scene that had transpired.

  "So why didn't you try to warn him, Maryan?"

  "Simple. In combat, there are no breaks or warnings, only the battle. So consider it a lesson about being aware of his surroundings."

  Morgen was left awestruck. There was no trace of mercy in those words as Maryan took a drink as she watched over the kids. "You know, you are merciless."

  Setting her empty glass down, she rose from her seat with a smile. "I thank you for the tea; there is some business I need to take care of." Like that, she was gone without a trace.

  Despite having known Maryan for as long as she had known Lyn, she was still a hard person to read.

  Turning her attention back to the group, she could only watch as many if the kids led by Roy and Alice continued to dog pile Red, much to Icarus's protest, while Adree almost threw herself at the new arrival. It was almost amusing to watch as the two seemed to hit it off, but things changed once a blue flame was lit. Like moths to a flame, the new arrivals left the crimson-eyed youth in favor of this newfound flame.

  "Good afternoon, Morgen, how ya been?"

  Hazel green changed from the mass of kids to the approaching trio of a zoophian wolfman wearing his signature black vest popped out against his green shirt, carrying a tray of meat kabobs, one of which he was currently eating. On his left was a bronze-skinned man, who, after helping in his father's business over the years, had bulked up. The weight of this blue scale trident is not even making it hard for him to move. "Lycan, Perseus! How have you been?"

  "Good. I hate to ask, but did you see Alice or Pit run by here at all? When we got to the gate, she took off, and well, he followed after her." Perseus spoke up.

  She could only chuckle. "Yeah, she made quite the entertaining entrance, although I don't think Red was amused by it."

  "Yeah, that sounds about right for her. By the way, how's Lady Altria? Did everything go well?"

  "Oh yeah, Mom's doing fine. She's just resting back home with little Nikolai. Mom was ecstatic to see that he had her brown hair. You should have seen his little pudgy face.

  "That's good to hear. Everything went well. Ma had me help with some deliveries. I've seen how rough it is." Lycan spoke in between bites. They could only stare as he continued to chew. "What? Want one, they're really good."

  "Even after all these years, and he still does this? I thought he would have stopped this by now." Perseus couldn't help but stare.

  "Sure, I'll take one, it's getting close to lunch anyway." Looking over the small but decent selection, she made a choice. " I'll take that one with the chicken, pineapple, and green peppers."

  Perseus just gave in and took one that was mostly beef and pork with a few different types of peppers.

  "By the way, where are the others?" Turning to each other, Perseus and Lycan couldn't stop the laughter from escaping. "Alright, you two, what's so funny?"

  "Al... All right." Perseus tried to stop his laughter. "Well, we don't know where the others are, but we know where Katlin and Iris are."

  "Oh, pray tell what happened to dear Katlin and Iris?" Morgen hid her false worry behind a fake smile as she hardly kept her thoughts in check as to what happened to her orange and green-haired friends.

  "It started this morning. We all met up trying to see what we would do with the day, and out of nowhere, we ran into this white hair guy and started talking with us. Honestly, he wasn't that bad, pretty informative on a lot of subjects, but then that all changed when Katlin arrived."

  At first, Morgen was interested in the daily drama that occurred between her friend group, mostly to hear what amusing situation befell the high elf. So she simply let Perseus continue.

  "He leaped toward her, at first, he was praising her beauty..." that only served to make Morgen's eyes roll. "... but he was speaking so fast I couldn't hear what he was saying. Something about his next book or something like that, but then he pulled out a watermelon and asked her to break it with her thighs. I swear I've never seen her kick someone that far in my life; her face was so red I swore she looked like a ripe tomato."

  The thought of Katlin's bright red face attached to her jade green hair, she probably looked ripe and ready to be picked right off the vine. "So I assume that's why she isn't here?" Morgen could barely hold back the tickling feeling in her throat.

  "Yeah." This time, Lycan spoke up. "She kicked him so hard the poor guy almost flew over a house. I swore she was going for distance."

  The three couldn't fight it as laughter filled them more as they imagined and recalled the event

  "So what happened next?"

  "Well, Katlin stormed off to vent, and Iris, well, she said she would follow her to make sure she wasn't going to kill the guy. But if you ask me, I think she's just gonna mess with her."

  While the two carried on, Lycan simply returned to his food. However, while he ate, he couldn't help but notice that something smelled different about the air. "Hey Morgen, Perseus, y'all smell that?"

  ....

  ....

  "Lycan, you really need to work on your etiquette." Morgen could only give him a blank expression, while Perseus pinched his nose.

  "No, that's not what I meant! There's a new scent here."

  Morgen could only laugh at the confusion between the two. "Oh, that. Yeah, don't worry about it, it's probably just—

  "Aw, does the puppy still not know how to act? That's so sad, we'll have to send him to obedience school."

  The group turned to meet the green and orange-haired arrivals.

  "Ah, Katlin, Iris, how are you both this afternoon? I take it Raiden will be arriving later?"

  "Yes, when I went to greet them, Raiden had already left."

  "Aw, thanks, Percy. You know, maybe you could teach this poor puppy some proper table manners." Iris only continued to taunt the zoophian.

  "Oh shut up, you cutting board."

  Her laughing expression quickly changed to anger, as golden eyes looked like they were throwing daggers at the wolfman as an argument between the two erupted.

  "Sooo Katlin." Morgen giggled as she called out to her jade-haired friend. "I heard you had an interesting encounter with a rather eccentric writer. How did it go?"

  She was only met with a groan from the high elf. "Morgen, please don't. I would have preferred to end that nuisance's existence rather than let one of his kind occupy another moment in my mind. So if you please, would you just not?"

  "Come now, it might be for your own good. It could give you a chance to spend time with the common folk, as you call them. You know, learn to rule better."

  The only answer Morgen got was a jaded glare from a pair of jade-colored eyes. "If it were to spend time with those of the common class, I'd prefer to spend it with the fairer kind who can at least mirror my kind's grace. Men, especially ones of his ilk, are just a bother."

  Morgan just smiled, turning her attention to their youngers. Watching them run around the yard. From Roy giving chase to Adree, Jason, and Alice as they played some kind of gam,e enjoying their time together, while Amber and Pit simply talked, but one sight made her leave the group, annoyed. There before her was the sight of Red taking part in an action she told him hundreds of times not to take part in.

  "Alright, let's give this another shot, but let's not blow up the target this time." Lucina could only laugh as both azure and crimson eyes looked over to the charred target.

  "Yeah, you ready?"

  "You know it."

  So the two mimicked the action from earlier. Joining hands, Red aimed the manikin, as red and blue flames formed in their connection concentration. A bolt of flame shot out and caught the onlookers' attention as it blasted the target.

  "So that's the new scent I picked up when I got here." Finding his answer, Lycan turned to Morgen. "Who is she? Did Lyndis get Red a magic tutor or something?"

  With the group looking to her, Morgen just smiled, watching the pair did the same act again. "You mean Lucina? No, apparently Red went and found himself a rival, at least that's what they tell me."

  A singular, shocked laughter came from Iris. "What, you can't be serious. That pipsqueak, a rival? Now that's a good joke. She's either just as bad as him or Lyndis paid her off."

  Morgen quickly turned to chastise Iris. Katlin slowly got up from her seat and made her way to the pair. Slowly, Katlin got up from her seat and made her way towards the pair.

  —

  The heat of two fires grew as hot red and blue flames, shot off sparking embers, and fell to the ground. Slowly, it became easier for the red flame to grow, but it was still dwarfed in size by its blue counterpart

  '"Firebolt!"'

  Two voices called out as two flaming bolts shot out. Racing towards their targets, one was hit by a blue blast, covering the target in fire before it slowly fizzled out. Crimson eyes could only stare at the target he was facing, slowly joined by Azure blue.

  "Hey, Red, don't worry about it. We can take a break if you–

  "Let's go!" Red cried out, not caring that he slowly gained the attention of others. "Lucina, look, I hit it!"

  Pointing towards the target, they both looked to the target, just slightly off from the center. There was a small burn mark, not bigger than a coin, but it was a burn mark all the same.

  "I hit it, I finally got a hit!" His excitement spread to her as they both tapped their fists against each other's. "Let's go again, I think I'm on a hot streak."

  With a smirk, Lucina was the first to get ready, but Red wasn't slow on the draw. Extending their hands, they both slowly caught flame and aimed at the targets once again. However, they weren't able to set off another round of fire.

  "I see that yet another one of my kind is showing their superiority." Their flames went out as they watched a jade-haired elf approach, moving past Red without even giving him a second glance. "I must say, seeing an altered color element being wielded by an elf does make this trip feel worth it."

  Red watched Lucina take a moment to speak, so he chose to speak first. "Lucina, this is the princess of Elvis, Katlin Alf–

  A chop came crashing down onto his head, cutting him off. "There's no need for you to open your mouth, blood-eye. I'm sure that my fellow elf can introduce herself just as well as I without your incompetence." Her voice changed from anger to gentle the moment she changed who she spoke to. "Now, I am Katlin Alfphis, next in line to the Alvis throne. Would you do me the pleasure of learning the name of the cute owner of these blue flames?"

  With an extended hand, Katlin waited for her hand to be taken. The smile she held slowly disappeared as her hand went ignored, watching as, rather than be taken, Lucina reached past her and grabbed Red's. "I'd say it was nice to meet you, but you interrupted our training. And I would like to get back to practicing with my friend."

  Azure glared at jade before pulling crimson away by the wrist. "Come on, Red. I think I want to take a break from magic; my hand is twitching to use my sword."

  He didn't even get a chance to protest before he was dragged off, not stopping until they were out of range of prying eyes.

  "Lucina, you go–

  "Heh, guess I've had some bad first impressions so far, haven't I?"

  Simply nudging his elbow against hers. "Don't worry about it, first impressions are. So best of three and the winner picks out lunch."

  A smile returned, and with ready hands, they both reached for their blades.