Chapter 208: War Cry

The trainees turned to each other. Hesitation spread across their faces. The scrape of boots sounded louder as they rubbed their feet against the packed earth beneath them, eyes tracing the small circle and the man standing inside it.

"Do you guys have any other questions?" Orion asked again.

One trainee spoke up then, his voice wobbling as he spoke, like he was scared of whatever sparring was about to happen.

"How does this decide who gets to take the test next week?" he asked Orion.

"If you can make me step out, even by an inch," Orion said plainly, "you get to take the test. If you can’t, you’ll have to wait until the end of the month."

"Wait," another spoke up. "Like, all of us?" she asked him.

Orion nodded. "If you all fail to make me move an inch, then you can forget the test next week. You’ll just have to wait for the official placement test at the end of the month."

"What if we choose not to spar today?" called a trainee who looked as if he’d been stuck in the trainee ranks for too long already.

"Then you give up on being a guard, a warrior, or a hunter," Orion answered without heat. "Those who want those roles do not step back when a challenge stands before them. If you’re not ready to meet the challenge, choose another path."

Not all heard that as encouragement. Determination shifted into skin-tight fear for some, but many reached for their weapons anyway. The racks became a chorus of wood and leather — spears were slotted free, longswords hefted, shortswords drawn.

While some trainees were filled with dread at what was to happen, there were those who were excited. Dren was one of them, and as he moved with the others to pick up their weapons, he hummed happily.

Laia’s eyebrow arched. "Why are you happy? This is like signing a death warrant, you know that, right?" she asked him.

"It’s not..."

Laia stared at him with a raised eyebrow as if daring him to finish the statement.

"...so maybe it is," he admitted with a sigh. "But that’s not all. It’s also an opportunity to learn more from him."

"Haven’t we learned enough from him?" Laia asked. "Sometimes I feel like he’s playing with us. I never thought his training would be this hellish and we still have one week to go."

"Alpha Orion’s..."

"Shut it, Joren. Please," Laia said sharply.

"But Dren is right, though. This is an opportunity to learn more," Sophia spoke up.

Nia stared at her with wide eyes. "Not you too. Are you smoking the same thing Dren is?" she asked, and Sophia chuckled.

"I’m being serious though," Sophia said. "This will help us know if what we’ve been doing will help if trouble comes. It will also help show where we need to improve."

"By trouble, you mean if a beast like a Skylur attacks?" Cat asked her.

Micah was the one who answered. "From what I’ve heard, there are strange things going on in Nirvana. That’s why Ronan and a few others went to scout," he said carefully.

Joren gasped in shock. "Really?"

Micah frowned at him. "What I just said is common knowledge. Everyone in the pack knows about this."

"Is this related to the last Skylur attack?" Joren asked, wide-eyed.

Micah nodded. "Yes."

Nia groaned, then turned to her twin. "How is it that we ended up only being good at fighting? Why couldn’t we have gone for blacksmithing or something else?"

Laia gave her an incredulous look. "Did you forget that we tried smithing but couldn’t even get the shapes right?"

"At least you didn’t start a fire," Sophia told them.

"No, that’s reserved for only you," Laia said, making them laugh.

Sophia yawned loudly as she picked up her weapon.

Nia turned to her worriedly. "You look tired. Are you sure you’ll be able to cope today?"

Sophia nodded as she stretched her limbs, as if willing the tiredness to depart from her.

"I’m not going to use tiredness as an excuse to not get better or stronger," she told Nia.

Nia observed her but didn’t say anything. She had tried convincing Sophia to get some rest, given how serious she had been about training the past few days, but Sophia didn’t listen. Nia just hoped it didn’t result in a hazard later.

Micah observed Sophia with a frown on his face. He was the newest addition to the group, and Cat had introduced him because, according to her, he needed to make more friends.

At first, he refused, choosing to stay alone because he was one of the oldest trainees still stuck as a trainee. But Sophia and the others didn’t care. They joked, they trained together, and they inspired one another to get stronger. Age didn’t matter with them. Being a failure didn’t matter either.

They didn’t care that he hardly spoke or that he was better at observing. They treated him like one of them, and he had to admit that Sophia’s smile was the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

He had seen Sophia around the pack before and had always wanted to speak to her — not just because she was beautiful, or because she was courageous and brave. The first time he saw her had been at this same training ground when Orion gave her the test to unsheathe a weapon.

He never thought she’d be able to do it. He, along with many others, had bet on her failure. But she took him and everyone else by surprise. She persisted, she endured, and she did it. And the fact that she pointed that same sword at Orion when she passed the test... Micah had seen her differently from that moment.

He saw a woman who was beautiful both inside and out. And perhaps it was because of that or rather because he cared about her a bit more than the others that he asked her quietly,

"Are you sure you’ll be okay?"

Sophia nodded. "Yes, Micah. You don’t need to be worried about me."

He wanted to say more but stayed quiet. Besides, he could just watch out for her — make sure she didn’t get hurt.

The trainees picked up their weapons in earnest. Fingers that had only lightly practiced a week ago now tested grips as though they had always held steel. Short practice parries were exchanged as if the metal itself were teaching rhythm.

Orion watched them quietly. And when they all gathered back, he asked with a tilt of his head,

"Are you guys ready now?"

Silence answered him. Most still dragged their feet, like they didn’t want to be there. Orion was about to give them a push when he heard a sound.

A trainee — young, eager, perhaps a little naïve — stamped his foot and released a loud sound that was awfully close to a war cry as he ran toward Orion with his longsword held high. Snow detonated beneath his boots as he threw himself at the circle.

And at that point, Orion smiled widely, teeth flashing, but his posture didn’t change. He was still relaxed.