“Yes, that means it’s on,” I snickered. “Whenever you’re ready, punch the tree again.”
She flexed her fingers in anticipation as her mana commingled with the stored power in the gauntlets. Her eyes snapped open as she reared back and threw another punch, aimed for the same spot as before. As soon as the metal connected with the trunk, a thunderous crash exploded out from the tree along with a hail of bark and splinters. A massive cone-shaped chunk of wood nearly six feet tall seemingly disappeared from the opposite side of the tree as a wave of force rippled out from the point of impact and up the towering emberwood. After a few secondary snaps, it fell forward and bounced off of the surrounding trees, eventually making its way down to crash against the forest floor.
Marin’s jaw hung open as she stared at the carnage she had inflicted. The clearing filled with a swarm of large red leaves, all flipping wildly through the air in a kaleidoscope of motion and color. I saw her begin to turn towards us through the swirling crimson, her eyes bouncing back and forth between her upturned hands and the dancing leaves. I applauded in unison with Lia, who let out a loud cheer of congratulation. The noise seemed to rouse Marin from her stupor, and a grin spread wide across her face. She performed a small, wiggling dance in celebration, culminating in a series of excited jumps and fist pumps.
“That was AMAZING!” she yelled. “I’m gonna do it again!”
“Woah, there,” I said, quickly putting a hand on her shoulder to interrupt her. “I’m glad you’re excited, but you don’t need to go clearcutting our forest just because you can. I happen to like these trees.”
She put her hands to her stomach and let out a loud laugh. “Okay, I guess you have a point,” she said, wiping a tear from her eye. She rang her knuckles together excitedly as she spoke. “I’ve never felt anything like that before. There was so much power coursing through me when I hit that tree, it was…” she trailed off as a shiver ran up her spine.
“I know how you’re feeling, Marin, but you have to make sure you don’t get carried away with all that power,” Lia said in the serious, didactic tone she used during their lessons. “From now on, you should train with the gauntlets on, but you have to promise not to activate them unless you’re in real danger. Can you do that?”
“Sure, of course,” she answered, partially distracted as she stared at her hands again. After another few moments of inspection, she straightened up and gave us each a small bow. “Thank you. Both of you. I promise I won’t let you down.”
I clapped my hands together emphatically. “Glad to hear it! Now, with your test out of the way, you’re free to go. You’ve earned the rest of the day off, I think.” I paused to turn and look at Lia, waggling my eyebrow. “Unless your teacher says otherwise.”
Lia rolled her eyes with a laugh. “No, we’re finished for the day. You did a great job, Marin.”
Marin let out a loud cheer. “Thanks! I need to get back and help make dinner for tonight; Elise is coming, so I want to make sure that everything is exactly—” She cut herself off with a small squeak. “What I mean is, I have to make sure dinner is ready. For everyone. You two are still coming, right?”
“We’ll be there,” I said, resisting the urge to tease her.
“Awesome! I’ll see you tonight, then!” she called out as she turned and began to sprint into the forest. “Don’t be late!” Her voice echoed back at us along with her heavy footfalls, both of which quickly faded into silence.
“All things considered, I think that went much better than I had originally hoped,” I mused as we made our way back to the house.
“She’s come a long way,” Lia agreed, taking my hand. “It’s hard to believe how well she’s doing, given how short of a time we’ve been training.”
“A month is a long time, at least in terms of our style of training,” I countered. “You’ve only been training for...what, three months at most?”
She stopped on the doorstep. “No, that can’t be right.” I watched with amusement as she counted silently to herself, repeating the process multiple times as she shook her head. “Wow. That is right. How is that possible?”
“Time has a funny way of tricking you like that,” I chuckled, tugging her inside.
“I guess so,” she replied quietly. “It feels like it's been years since I met you.”
“Imagine how you’ll feel when it’s actually been a year. Or ten years.” I bumped her shoulder lightly with mine. “Think you’ll be sick of me by then?”
“That depends on how many times you ask me if I’m sick of you between now and then,” she said, nudging me back.
“Hmm. I’ll have to save it for special occasions.” I flopped onto the couch when we entered the living room and stared blankly at the high ceiling, enjoying the respite after my morning of sparring.
Lia paused halfway up the staircase. “Aren't you going to pack? We’re leaving tomorrow morning, and we’ll be at my parents’ house for most of the afternoon.”
I gestured lazily over my body. “Done. I travel light.” She waved me off with a shake of her head as she climbed the rest of the staircase and disappeared into the bedroom. Having already donned my gear for Marin’s test, I was ready to leave aside from a few final items; I rose begrudgingly and retrieved the diamond orb from our table of curiosities,
