12 Moons

Chapter 9

It had been three long weeks since Aila woke up next to the well with her sisters beside her. They had traveled all throughout the woods, to places Aila didn't even know existed. Mostly, they trained. It had been a while since Aila had fought and she had gotten a little rusty. Her first try at sparring with Skyla since she had died had ended catastrophically. Precious had to interfere halfway through, because Skyla had forgotten that Aila was still alive and could, quite easily, die.

Sparring with Skyla was not the only thing Aila did. While that helped her to become stronger, stamina with Dana helped her become quick and agile. They would race through the woods, dodging trees and roots and bushes as they went. Aila still wasn't that good at it yet, but she had still come a long way since the beginning, when she could barely jog a few feet before tripping and falling on the ground.

The most daunting thing Aila had to get good at was with Ann. Ann would lead her into a grove or thicket, and she would vanish. Aila was given a feeble stick and sometimes a blindfold. She had to parry and block as Ann jumped at her from trees. Ann's movements were as silent as her words. Training with Ann had given Aila the opportunity to learn about her more. Aila could now discern what Ann felt based on her expression alone. However, when Ann didn't want you to know what she was thinking, she was very good at disconnecting. Aila began to notice that Ann immediately disconnected whenever Dana was in the vicinity. But whenever Dana was near, everyone seemed to shut down. After a bit, Aila began to do it as well.

Precious seemed to come alive when she was training with Aila. For the most part, they partook in training together. Precious still was training in the same activities as Aila was, though she was much more advanced than Aila. The one thing that Precious would teach Aila was tracking. Precious would sprint away at top speed, and Aila would wait a full minute before setting off after her. It was an exercise set up by Dana, so that Aila could practice tracking and Precious could practice hiding.

A few times they had come to the edge of a place the other girls called Pinberg Thicket. Before entering, Dana would go ahead and speak to the figure they called the Great Sorceress. So far, she had rejected their activity in her property, and sent them off for more training. They had traveled all over, from the Thundering Elm Timberland to the Antibron Grove.

Now Aila stood across from Skyla. Aila was breathing heavily, sweat dripping down her face and into her eyes. Skyla looked like she was just getting started. To be fair, she didn't get tired now that she was a specter. Skyla had strips of leather wrapped around her fists, to protect her knuckles from cracking and bleeding. Aila had the same, but she didn't entirely know how to put them on correctly, so they kept slipping off.

Dana was standing off to the side of the Little Treefrog Clear, a small clearing they had decided to set up camp around for the time being. Ann was sitting on her knees next to Dana, a picture of peacefulness. She had a calm expression, and her hands were folded gently in her lap. A breeze blew by, and one of Aila's wisps that had come loose from her braid fluttered around. None of her sisters' hair strands moved an inch. That was another perk of being dead; nothing nature did could really affect you anymore, unless you let it.

Precious was nowhere to be seen. Most likely, she was off picking flowers somewhere or collecting food for Aila to eat. Either that or she was aimlessly wandering around the area in an attempt to avoid Dana by any means necessary. Aila didn't blame her.

Skyla let out a cry and charged. Aila dove to the side, rolling on her back and then springing back up to her feet. But before she could get fully on balance again, Skyla had kicked her legs out from under her. Aila fell on her back hard, knocking the wind out of her. She was still struggling to breathe when Skyla fell on top of her and got her head in a chokehold.