Hewlett isn't talking to me at all. He's just been, packing. It doesn't feel like it's a big deal.
"Hewlett! Get your scrawny ass down here," Brother Sabantu hollers from downstairs. It's about time they face off. Hewlett immediately starts walking to the door—
"Good luck out there," I blurt out. He stops, tilts his head with a smirk and continues down to the bar on the ground floor. I follow behind him slowly.
We reach the bar as Brother Sabantu ushers out the remaining customers. Hewlett takes a seat on one of the chairs at the counter. I sigh and grab a seat at a free table.
"Champo will be back once he makes sure my sons are home safe," Brother Sabantu says, closing the bar doors behind him. "Have you two decided what you'll do?" About staying or leaving?
"We have," Hewlett quickly answers. "I will stay a—
"I'll stay too." Fine. You win Hewlett. I'm staying. I don't think I can do this alone and you looked like you weren't planning on changing your mind any time soon. He snaps his head at me.
"You mean it?" Hewlett asks.
"...Yeah." But I'm staying here for a week max. Then I'll look for whoever's after me after finding the person Master Dell said I'd meet here.
"I'm the one asking the questions you malnourished mosquito," Brother Sabantu barks walking towards Hewlett. He's about to get it—
"I'm back," Champo interrupts. "Thought I was the one training Hewlett but you can go ahead."
"Shut up you stupid foolish idiot! Who told you to come back early?" Brother Sabantu asks. This place sounds more like a bar the longer I stay. I haven't even seen anyone else staying here apart from the two of them.
"But father—
"I said shut up!" Brother Sabantu snaps. "Take them down stairs. That's where you'll be training from, Brother Musunga said he won't be covering any more bills." There's a floor under the one we're on? Doesn't sound safe...or normal. Then again this is Brother Sabantu we're talking about so it's right up his alley. Champo shrugs and tells Hewlett and me to follow him behind the counter. There, a passage opens up with stairs going down.
"Why did you not bring a light with you down here," Hewlett asks as we go down the stairs. I can see just fine in the dark unlike Hewlett.
"Haven't been here in a while, must've forgotten it somewhere," Champo answers. He's lying. I don't smell any long-settled dust around. It actually smells clean. But why?
"And why is Brother Sabantu not following behind us?" Hewlett also asks. He's getting a bit chattier. Saying I'll stay must've cheered him up.
"He'll show up once you get a good hit on me," Champo says. Now that sounds more believable than what he said earlier. We spiral down the stairs for a while until we reach an open room. The room stretches to almost twice the size of the bar and has a really high roof. "This is where we'll be training from." The ground is actual dirt; it's been a while. "You'll go that way," he adds pointing to his right, "And I'll go this way. Yori will tell us to start once we're both ready."
"Understood," Hewlett announces. In a burst of wind from his palms, he shoots himself to the right. Champo looks back and notices Hewlett waiting for him. He gives off an irritated smirk as sand suddenly grows out beneath him. He then surfs the sand to his side of the room. "I'm ready."
"I'm ready too," Champo responds.
I stand somewhere evenly between them on the side lines and raise my arm up in the air. "Ready..." I haven't even told Hewlett that Master Dell has someone here in Saalku who can help me with the errand. "Set..." Get strong enough to follow me on this mission Hewlett, or I'm leaving without you. "Match!"
"Nkundu-nkundu!" Hewlett shouts clapping his hands together. A thunderous boom echoes through the room as a twister launches out of his hands heading for Champo.
Champo shifts into a stance. The sand below him forms into a streamlined shield, cutting through the twister. "You actually know a spell! That'll make this even more fun," Champo amusingly notes.
Hewlett quickly flies to him with wind whirling around his arms. Champo spatters his sand shield into a web of sand at Hewlett.
Hewlett slams his hands together dispersing the wind around his arms into a sphere.
The web doesn't capture Hewlett—Champo leaps to his right retracting his sand web.
Hewlett kicks out a gale slash and falls to the ground.
Champo shoots himself up high, dodging the gale. Sand climbs up his arm from his back. That's how he reached that high. The sand forms a tentacle-like whip in his hand which lashes at Hewlett.
It's moving too fast! —
Hewlett pushes himself off the ground. I hear a loud thud on the ground where Hewlett was.
Champo gets flung to the other end of his sand tentacle where it tried hitting Hewlett. How is he doing that though? His sand feels almost like a part of him.
Hewlett holds his hands up to block.
Champo hits his guard in a drop kick with both of his legs. That kick looked like it was coated with sand.
Another boom ripples through the room. But from the wall this time. Looks like Hewlett got kicked into it. I can't see properly with how much dust they're making.
Even more dust? Hewlett's fighting back—
Champo! He's surfing out of the dust cloud.
An 'X'-like gale slash whooshes out of the dust cloud and lands behind him. I can see Hewlett's attacks clearer than the first time we met. Does becoming a stronger lycan allow me to see this much?
Champo arches back to Hewlett, with pebbles floating around him.
Hewlett flies out of the dust cloud too and lands where the gale slash hit.
Champo immediately notices. "Here's a taste of my spell!" He shouts. "Sand bullets!"
The sand pebbles are launched at Hewlett one by one. My eyes barely keep up with their speed. "Dodge Hewlett!"
Hewlett pushes himself forward with his wind in time, the bullets are hot on his trail but he continuously launches himself forward. He's trying his best not to get hit by any of Champo's sand bullets but it's burning through his energy for sure. Who am I kidding? I'd do the same thing from the get go.
Champo stops his bullet barrage and throws himself high up on the wall behind him. Throwing those bullets must have used up most of the sand he surfed on. He then gathers the sand into his right arm.
Hewlett stops once he notices there aren't any bullets after him.
"You deserve that white robe Hewlett, but it still smells fresh on you," Champo cackles. "What you saw was my second spell! Well this..." Champo launches himself off the wall. Something's happening to the sand he's gathering. "This is my first spell! Sand Twister. Lance Form!" The sand violently rotates around his right arm, growing into a cone-shaped lance.
He's aiming for Hewlett with all that? —
"Yori!" Hewlett shouts. "I'll be just fine." I didn't notice it. Hewlett is making his own lance. Out of his wind! He's not planning on defending; he'll attack with everything he has left.
Hewlett's lance is growing faster than Champo's but is it strong enough?
I run back trying to get out of range before they—
A clapping boom rumbles across the entire room; a strong pressure rams into me. I stumble and hold my hand over my eyes and start running to where I hear Hewlett's heartbeat.
"Looks like this match has been decided." Brother Sabantu!