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CH. III✷ The Enemy Is Out There
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A trickle of sweat glides down Esmeralda's exposed neck. She wipes it off with the back of her smooth hand. "Get up," she says, breath heavy as she kicks at Kyrah's prone form on the ground. "You need to learn how to fight."
The sun remains high in the sky, bearing down on all of them. Ripples of humidity course the air, hinting a storm heading towards their way soon. But, it's hours long before a droplet of rain will even find them, so they do their best to make use of what they have now.
Kyrah sighs, back facing the grass as she closes her eyes. She rests her arm on the crown of her forehead, shading her eyes away from the heat of the sun.
Esmeralda's words mattered little to her at the moment. She tried to think of any coherent excuse to let herself out of training. Esmeralda, however, was smart; she purposely picked the days where neither Kyrah nor anyone else of the crew could complain about the weather.
A sense of dread washed over Kyrah as she groaned. The air felt stifling, only furthering Kyrah's motivations of laziness.
Esmeralda rolls her eyes, exasperation seeping through her features as she impatiently taps Kyrah with her foot again, urging her to get up.
Kyrah's eyes remain closed, but her voice is alert and aware as she sarcastically retorts, "I don't need to do anything. You're better off getting Kian to look decent for once in his life."
Somewhere, several feet away from Kyrah, Kian lies back against a huge stone, watching the scene in front of him unfold. He shakes his head at Kyrah's jab, voice dry, "Have I ever mentioned I don't like you?"
Kyrah opens her eyes to briefly glance at Kian, before she closes them again. A hint of a smile traces her lips. "Yes actually—," she pauses for a moment, pretending to think to herself, "About three times from just today alone."
"I can make that four times if you'd like."
"I'd rather you do not."
Esmeralda's irritation becomes more palpable as she paces herself, her body pent-up with frustration as she rocks her heel back and forth. Her lips are pursued together and her eyes intensely glare down at Kyrah from where she stands.
