Acari

Chapter Eight

Over the course of a month, Acari and Ragnar practiced her fighting and magic skills until she was almost as good as Ragnar himself (though that really didn't say much). They fought and practiced and she cast and cast until Acari had finally mastered spells and somewhat fighting. She still had her weak spots here and there, but if her magic could just cover those up, then what was there to beat? She even caught Ragnar off guard at times when he thought he'd won, and that made her feel really proud. He never went too hard on her though; he was always just above her skill level, but never spilling over the top. Everyday had somewhat of the same energy: they'd learn, they'd practice, they'd have fun.

But today had a different energy; it felt as though Ragnar had unlocked some new fire, a yellow-red one, and he'd been on his precipice ever since the day started. Acari was starting to get worried, but knew it was none of her business to ask, so she didn't. It didn't take long for them to walk all of the way to the training spot, and enter through the gates like they always did.

The worry in Acari started to boil over when she saw the look that Ragnar was trying to cover up on his face. It looked as though he himself was worried about something bad happening some time soon, something he probably wouldn't be able to recover from. But as his gaze fell on Acari staring at him intently, his expression shifted and a half hearted smile cracked along his face.

"Today we are going to change things up a little bit," Ragnar sang, but Acari could still hear the pain in his voice. "You have a test coming up some time soon and I wanted to prepare you for it. So for the rest of our train sessions, we are going to be doing magic and fighting!" The finished the last part with a subtle unease in his tone, as if he were worried that Acari was going to kill him (and she probably could, considering her capabilities at the moment).

"Ragnar, is-" started Acari, but was cut off by Ragnar grabbing her talons and holding them to his chest.

"This test is very, very serious, so for these next practice sessions, I want you to do the best that you possibly can, alright?" He whispered, almost to himself.

"Sure, I'll try..." she responded dryly.

Then Ragnar started setting up the targets, each of them having their own deformities, but still being good enough to fight back. Ragnar instructed Acari to hit every target with a different magical skill, and she did as she was told. Nowadays, it was so easy to use her magic that she didn't even have to think about it. Before she even opened her eyes, the target would already be flopping to the ground, spraying sand in every which way.

Ragnar congratulated her, having a rather smug look on his face, and moved on to the second part of the lesson.

"Are you sure my fighting is any good? I mean-"

"It's going to be great, I promise," Ragnar reassured, smiling. "All we need to do is work on your magic and fighting together and then you are going to be the best fighter in all of Paradoa!"

"You sure do have a knack for interrupting me, huh?" Acari murmured. Ragnar just chuckled in response.

"Your goal for fighting is to try and pin me," Ragnar said, circling Acari. "I don't suppose that will be too hard?"

"Bring it on."

Ragnar pounced and immediately Acari ducked, his hind legs grazing her wings. She took the opportunity to twist around and slash at them while he was still confused, tripping him. He all of a sudden shot up into the sky and Acari was determined to give chase. She charged for him and he dodged, though that was expected. She twisted in the sky swiftly and crashed into him midair, sending them both tumbling to the ground. Acari found her bearings fast and sat on top of Ragnar, keeping him grounded.