Rayne Drops (FFXV)

IV) Killing a Menace

When I wake up, I hurt. All over. My back aches and my neck is tight and my legs are sweaty and my shoulders are sore. It's a mess. Groaning, I sit up. Ignis has already left the tent, as expected, and I can hear him quietly bustling around to make breakfast. Prompto and Noctis are a tangled mess, but that's to be expected. Prompto's adorably clingy and Noctis tolerates it; it all works out in the end. Gladio's taken over the advisor's spot, which is nothing surprising either.

I check the time on my phone. Six twenty-four. A little late. Sighing, I reach over and lay my hand on his bare shoulder, shaking gently. "C'mon, time to get up, Gladdy." He blinks awake slowly, frowning at Prompto's back.

"Name sounds a little inappropriate," he mumbles, sitting up and stretching his big arms over his head. I roll my eyes, grimacing when I stand to get out. "Tight squeeze, huh?"

"Oh yeah," I wince when my legs cramp just as I'm trying to climb over the big guy. He chuckles as I trip over his feet, knocking into Prompto's back. He whines in his sleep, burying his face into his sleeping bag. "Sorry."

"Thought you said you fine this time of day?" Gladio asks once we're outside. I send him a pointed look.

"Who woke who up?" I stretch my arms over my head, grimacing. "Iggy, we really need another tent. I couldn't feel my legs all night because of Gladio's. Actually, just get Gladio his own tent and everything should be okay."

"Then you'd be kicking everyone," Gladio points out. "I had to protect them all from your ravenous attacks."

"Yeah, okay," I roll my eyes. Ignis shakes his head from his cutting board, disapproving of our bickering. "C'mon, Iggy, I know you're entertained."

"Shouldn't you be training?" he asks without turning his head back.

"We're goin'," Gladio grins back at me. "Right, Rayne?"

"Coming," I huff, jumping down from the rock. The hard impact jolts through my stiff legs, nearly knocking me over. We really need another tent. "What're we doing?"

"Run first, spar after?" he suggests.

"Sounds good to me," I nod, taking off toward the road. "Keep up if you can!"

"Too easy," he laughs, running up to my side.

"Oh, c'mon, I'm not even jogging yet!" I stick my tongue out, speeding on ahead.

By the time we get back, we're both breathless, bent over and wheezing. I fall down onto all fours, panting. "I won," I gasp. "Good thing Noct's not here, huh?" I shout toward the rock. "He's kind of a sore loser!"

Noctis turns to frown at me from the campsite, shaking his head when Ignis asks him something. He's not too happy about being up so early. He immediately settles into a chair and closes his blue eyes.

"Ready for more?" Gladio asks, pulling me to my feet. He still sounds a bit winded.

"Come at me," I grin, backing up and loading my gunblade with practice bullets. They bruise, but they don't puncture the skin.

We spar for what feels like hours. A little slash here, a jab there, nothing particularly hard. I finally decide to go in and finish this when the others start putting stuff away. They may look busy, but I know they've been watching. Two people trained to fight to the death for their king, going at it in the middle of the wilderness. Interesting enough.

I wait for him to swing his heavy sword once more, watching for the perfect moment when he stumbles. It happens as always. I dash in, kicking at the back of his knees to shove him forward and expecting him to fall as I rush toward him, sword raised. He doesn't fall. Turns out, the guy's pretty heavy. He whips around at the last second, parrying my blow and knocking me to my back. He kneels over me, the side of his wide blade pressed to my throat.