The Wolf Girl

Chapter Seven

  Alex's POV
  "There has to be another way."
  Molly's eyes are still shining with tears. Penny has told us that to find Jack, we have to find a variety of maps to get to him. She has said that there is a possibility that there are clues that he has left throughout his travels.
But she also says that this is only what she has heard. The information she offers to us may not even be real.

"There isn't, Molly," Penny says, seemingly on the verge of tears as well. Molly sucks in a breath and goes very still. The only sound she emits is the shuddering breath she lets out. I gently put my hand on her shoulder and she looks back up at me. Pain is mixed in with her dark brown eyes. I blink and move my hand. Seeing my lifelong friend in tears for one of the first times in forever can be unsettling.

She sighs and pulls a strand of cherry red hair out of her eyes, tucking it behind her ear. "I'll go," she says. "No matter how much training it takes, or how long I have to wait to see him, I'll do it."
Fear creeps through me. "You can't go alone!" I exclaim.
"I have to," she replies firmly. "If I don't, I'm risking losing someone, whether the problem be anything from starvation to being attacked by wild animals."
"If you're going, I'm going," I declare. "If something were to happen to you, who would be able to help you? We don't know whether or not you're still out there."
A grim look of determination comes over her face. "No."
"You can't make me stay." My voice gradually rises with each word.
"Alex." She grabs my arm. "Please let me do this on my own." I shake my head firmly and she glares down at her hands. "If you go," she whispers, "promise me something. Promise you'll try your very best to defend yourself. Don't defend me."
"I can't promise the last part, but I'll defend myself," I say. "And that's the best you're getting."
She sighs in defeat, shaking her head. "You're right. I can't make you stay, and this is the best I'm getting." She lets go of my arm and looks at Penny, a blank expression on her face. "Train me," she requests.
  Penny nods and leads us to the training dummies. Thunder stands by my side, Starlight next to Molly, as Penny drones on about proper fighting techniques, most of which I already know about.

After a while, she looks at me. "Each of you will have a sparring match with me. Alex, first one to drop their sword loses." She averts her eyes to Molly's bow. "Molly, first one to drop their weapon in general."
  "How do you drop a bow?" Molly mutters under her breath, and Penny's gaze sharpens.
  "I'll have you know I've been in combat for years," Penny retorts after a moment, "and I have seen many bows drop."
  She looks back at me, sighing. "Who is going first?" she asks.
  "I'll go," I reply. I glance at Molly, silently checking to see if she is okay with it, and she makes the tiniest nod. Penny unsheathes a sword made of what seems to be corundum, and then pulls out a similar weapon, only smaller. A dagger.
Do I have to make her drop them both? Just the dagger? Just the sword?
  I finally stop what seems to be the extremely stupid feud which is about to erupt in my head. I can assume I have to make her drop both.
  We step away from Molly and back away from each other. I prepare to run.

  "Go!" she exclaims after a moment, and we charge toward each other. I immediately throw my sword forward and listen as it clangs against the sword which is only slightly weaker than my own. I grit my teeth and shift slightly, bringing my sword away and smacking the dagger. Her grip tightens and she swings for my sword. I block it and instantly smack my blade against hers, and the pressure causes her to loosen her grip on the weapon. I hit it twice more, and it seems as if she's about to drop it. She meets my eyes for a split second before swinging her sword to mine. In her attempt to hit my blade, she nearly drops the dagger again. I duck under her sword and smack the dagger. It flies out of her hands and into the soft grass beside us.
  She looks at it, wide eyed for a moment, before looking back at me and swinging with the larger sword. I block it instantly, determined to prove myself, and use the flat side of my sword to smack hers. The noise it makes causes me to cringe, but I keep my grip tight. My eyes make swift, observant glances, looking at the way she holds her sword and the direction she's looking so that I can figure out what her next move will be. After a moment, she promptly swings to the left, and I am able to block it easily. Our weapons are pressed together, and I shove harder, putting more pressure on her side. She grunts and tries to push back, but I am stronger. The longer we stand there, the more she struggles. Her grasp begins to falter and I give a powerful shove. She is extremely close to dropping it, but she just barely keeps a handhold on the soft handle. I push even harder, and the sword flies out of her hands.

  Penny turns and stares at me. "You are amazing at combat,"  she mutters, out of breath. I smirk a little and push my sword into its sheath.
  "I must get it from my father," I say. "His side of the family is amazing at melee attack. They are great fighters."
  "You talk of them proudly," she replies with a curt nod. "You are very lucky to have a family." She pulls a mask up over her face. It covers her mouth and nose. I tilt my head.
  "What's that for?" I ask.
  She shakes her head and pulls a black jacket on. A moment later, a man emerges from the trees, a shimmering topaz sword in his tight grip. Fire seems to dance in his green eyes.

  "Xander," Penny says nonchalantly to the man. A mask similar to her own covers his face, and he wears a gray jacket.
  "Penny," he replies in a gruff voice. "I heard there were new initiates."
  "You could say that," she sighs with a shrug. "They have potential."
  "Who is this?" Molly asks, standing and walking to us.
  "Xander, my training partner," Penny answers, rolling her brown eyes. "Late, as usual."
  "What's with the masks?" Molly continues.
  "We told each other that we'd never see our faces," Penny explains. "We both have something to hide."
  I take one look at Molly, and I can tell she wants to know what secrets they hide from each other.

  Penny tucks her hair behind her ear and sighs. "I already sparred with this one," she tells Xander, gesturing to me. He nods and looks at Molly.
  "So I'm sparring with her?" he asks, his eyes averting to the bow in her hand. Her grip visibly tightens around the slightly luminous material.
  "Yes," Penny answers.
  "Okay." He pushes the sword into its sheath and adjusts his mask with both hands as Penny pulls her jacket hood over her head. I glance between the two. They look as though they can't stand each other.
Maybe they can't.

Molly's POV
"Ready?" Xavier asks from about a third of the distance across the clearing. I nod and reach back, my fingers lingering over the sheath of arrows on my back.
"Go!" Penny exclaims, and I grab an arrow. I pull it into the string and shoot. I don't aim for his hand; the arrow spins and the point pierces the soft handle of his sword. He glances down in shock before running forward. I'm about to swing a hand and attempt to grab the bottom of his handle, but he disappears before me. In his place, a bird flaps its wings, Xavier's topaz sword held tightly in the grip of its talons.
Woah.
"No magic, Xavier!" Penny barks, and Xavier returns to his normal form.
"You're no fun, Penny!" he pouts before swinging at my bow. I wince instinctively and throw my bow out, his blade smacking the hard material.
It's impossible to drop a bow, I said.
  You know what's even harder?
  Making an opponent drop their weapon with a bow.
  I grab another arrow from my sheath, practically throwing it into position and pulling  the bowstring all the way back; as far as it will go. I feel a light vibration at my fingertips before I release the arrow, and the next thing I know, my arrow is deeply pushed into the soft fabric of the handlers his sword, which has flown out of his hands and into the grass. He stares at me, his green eyes full of wonder.
  "You used your bond with your weapon to your advantage!" he cries.
"Relax, Xander," Penny exclaims sharply. "She had no idea."
And it's true. I am dumbfounded. What happened?
"Her power is increasing, then," Xavier mutters.
  "What does that mean?" I demand, my voice thick with desperation.
  "Your angel powers," he answers, confused. "Don't you know about-"
  "I know about them!" I cry. "I know, I know, I know! No one needs to remind me that I'm not normal!" I feel tears streaming down my face, but I ignore them and look from Xavier to Penny. "I don't have to believe anything you people tell me! I don't even know if it's true! My father may not be alive, these so-called powers may just be sudden strength build-ups, and maybe anyone can summon companions!" I make a wide gesture toward Starlight and Thunder, who can most likely sense my fear, considering their laid-back ears and careful eyes. I sigh shakily and look over at Alex. His expression isn't a bewildered one, like Penny's, or an angered one, like Xavier's. It is calm. I see the message in his eyes; it's okay.
I take a n unsteady breath and nod to myself. I'm okay. I wipe my eyes with the hand that isn't clutching my bow like a lifeline.
"I would like to go home as soon as possible, after finding Dad," I whisper.
Xavier looks at me again, confused. "Go home?" he asks. "You won't be returning home until your training is complete."
"How long does training take?" I ask in a hoarse voice, fear striking me like lightning.
"Typically about six to eight years," he replies.
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A/N: I HATE MYSELF. WHY DO I DO THIS?! UGH! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It got kinda boring during some parts, in my opinion, but I hope I did okay.
I am most likely going to start a high school version of this story soon. I think it would be very fun!
As usual, I want to thank you for taking the time to read this!
~Mabel