Frieren: Twin Souls

Chapter 9 Tournament part 3

Menno woke up with the first rays of sunlight, rubbed his eyes and sat on the edge of the bed. There was silence outside, which meant that the spectators had not yet started to arrive, Menno himself had not had any contact with his other companions since yesterday and for the first time in a long time, he thought of someone other than himself. After tidying himself up, he went for a short walk and the first thing that hit him was the smell from the nearby field kitchen, where breakfast was being prepared for the players and only here and there guards were milling around, keeping order and only the singing of birds interrupted the silence.

*A scene like a picture* He thought, but he knew that such moments rarely last long. *Everyone is so carefree, and only a few know what is coming. Always be ready* The last words were one of several that were repeated during his training, until they were boring, until each of the recruits got them into their heads and started to follow them, and contrary to what some people thought, this advice really worked. Then, he was torn from his thoughts by "Good morning", and the voice that said them belonged to Layla.

— I see you don't like wasting the day either. — She said, approaching him. — Shall we take a walk?

Menno didn't answer, he just nodded his head in affirmation.

— Can't you wait for the fighting to start too? — She asked, trying to question her opponent and learn a bit about him.

— In a way. I like it when something happens, anything. Longer peace is unnatural for me. — He replied evasively, but he told the truth.

— Me too. When it's too calm I always have the feeling that something's going to happen, and I want to be prepared when it does.

— You need to relax a bit, find a balance between constant readiness and relaxation, otherwise you can easily fall into paranoia. — Which came out of his mouth quite strange, because he himself had previously repeated to himself to be ready all the time.

— Oh, I see I'm dealing with an expert. — She giggled.

— Someone who used to struggle with this too and still struggles with it, but since I have companions by my side I try to relax a bit, and you have it easier because you have a sister who will always be by your side. — He replied with complete seriousness. Even though Ayla was his opponent, but only during the tournament, so he thought that good advice wouldn't hurt her.

Layla looked at him and sighed. 

— That's true, but she still treats me like a little child. Yes, she is older and more experienced, but that doesn't give her the right to tell me what to do.

— She doesn't. — He agreed. — But you're family and she's just worried about you, there's nothing you can do about it, but if it bothers you, just tell her to her face.

— Are you saying this from experience?

— Yes, but not from my own experience, I knew her once— Menno sighed, going back to the past, especially the one he was a part of, wasn't pleasant, but sometimes it was just necessary.— Someone very similar to you and your sister, and when death took one of them, the other one understood how lucky she was, but she didn't appreciate it, she missed her company, but there was nothing she could do about it. My advice: appreciate her company and her advice and what she does, and if it bothers you, just tell her. That's all.

— Very mature words for someone your age. — Layla stated, slightly embarrassed.

— This is my second life. Enough time to draw some conclusions. — He replied. — Not everyone gets a second chance, believe me, so it's only natural that we want to make the most of the first one.