The girls were making their way from the libraryto a nice little spot just a short distance from the temple grounds. The two girls Tika and Maulana had even decided to tag along with them, as they too wanted to be close to their new friend.
Along the way, Alena felt a bit nervous exiting the grounds without first receiving Kenrir's approval, and continued to occasionally look back the way the came, while Elijah was right back in his usual spot, riding along in Alena's shoulder harness.
"Is it okay for me to be out here?" she asked, "Sensei had said I wasn't to leave there until I've received his approval."
"Of course it's okay!" Ania answered confidently, "You're with us!"
"Master Ken just wants to keep an eye on you, and he can't exactly leave his whole class unattended, but we're here with you now," Yonka followed.
"But then, what about the other students?" Alena inquired.
"We've already made arrangements for that, so you don't have to worry," Sheila insisted, "For now, let's just focus on our time together."
This helped Alena feel a bit better about her situation.
"So girls, since you're tagging along now, how is your combat training?" Sheila asked, addressing Tika and Maulana.
The two girls looked at each other, caught a bit off guard by the question.
"We have a system," Tika replied.
"Oh? And what's that then?" Sheila followed curiously.
Tika started rubbing the back of her headnervously.
"Well, we can't exactly show you right now since we left everything back at the dorm, but Maulana is a bit better with hand-to-hand than I am," she explained.
"Ahh, so you've been practicing with extensions? Not a bad call I must say," saidSheila.
Ania and Yonka giggled amongst themselves with knowing glances, while Alena became curious about the discussion. Elijah was taking in the scenery as they navigated their way to their set destination.
"So where are we going?" Tika asked the group.
"Yonka and I had this nice little spot where we'd practice, back during our time training under Master Ken, so we're heading there. It's a great spot," Ania explained.
The group carried on, and exchanged in conversation until they arrived at their destination. It was a cozy atmosphere as they entered a small clearing. Close to the clearing's center, there laid a long, fallen tree which stretched across a sizable watering hole. The tree itself was covered in fungi, and around the sunken watering hole could be seen tall grass with small pathways where animals would tread. The surrounding trees around the clearing were covered in various vines which arched down from tree to tree, and the branches crafted small canopies throughout. Towards the back of the clearing was a rock mound which seemed to formulate a naturally occurring chair, where people or animals could rest, facing the water. Small, white flowers were growing throughout the clearing, just like the dandelions of our world.
"Here we are!" Ania announced.
Alena's face lit up bright.
"Wow! It's so pretty!"
Alena was clearly amazed, and Tika with Maulana stood there with star struck expressions, as they saw all the potential this place had to offer. The whole group had come to a stop as they breathed in the familiar air. Sheila had met the twins here a couple times in the past, as she too had become fond of the atmosphere.
"It's definitely a bit livelier from the last time we were here," said Yonka, "Remember those days?" she asked Ania.
"How could I forget?" Ania replied, "We sure had some good times in this place," she added with a fond smile.
Sheila seemed happy hearing her fellow teammates reminiscing, and she began walking ahead towards the rock. As Tika and Maulana stepped closer to the watering hole, a thought left Tika's lips.
"We really should've brought our gear."
Maulana nodded silently in agreement.
Alena, thrilled by the open atmosphere before her, ran along giggling as she went to get a closer look towards the water. She carefully traversed down the short slope, and got down on her knees to skim her paw through the water's surface— feeling the wet, gentle flow around it.
"The water is warm!" she called out to the others.
Being so close to the water, Elijah had tucked himself down in the harness to keep a safe distance; weary of the water. In looking over her shoulder, Alena noticed this behavior.
"What? Do you think I would let you fall in?" she asked him.
Elijah did not answer, but simply buried his face behind the harness. When she looked up ahead, Alena could see Tika and Maulana as they were walking across the log, as they watched their steps.
"I can see why you like this spot," Maulana mentioned, as she stopped not far from the edge, just above the water.
Tika kept moving forward until she was nearly to the other side, and looked behind her, hearing Maulana's steps had gone silent. She looked at Maulana, and saw how she stood there with a calm, yet eager expression. That moment, Tika had blinked at Maulana's locked eyes in an almost knowing curiosity.
"Right here?" Tika asked her.
Ania and Yonka smiled from the sidelines as they observed the events taking shape.
Sheila too watched, sitting up on the rock with a warm interest. She had made herself comfortable, and Alena's eyes drifted up between her new friends.
"What do you think?" Maulana relayed the question.
Tika smiled before turning to face Maulana. The two stood on opposite ends of the log, and their feet held firm, keeping them in balance above the waters below. Elijah had popped his head up momentarily, to get a peek at what Alena was observing.
"Sure. I'm sure we could use the practice," Tika answered.
Maulana nodded in agreement with a slight smile.
"And what better way to do so than when you've got something on the line?" Maulana added.
At that moment, the two girls prepped their stances, and got ready for a friendly duel.
"Good luck," Maulana said, as she drug her right foot back, sweeping it out from her side while holding up angled fists.
"Don't get wet," Tika taunted back, as she lowered her posture and too held up her fists.
In a moment's notice, the two girls dashed towards one another, meeting at the center of the log.
Alena's eyes filled with surprise as she bore witness to another duel from below.
Their fists clashed, and the two girls pulled their punches at the right time to reduce the impact on their knuckles. Maulana followed up by swiping her hands upward, baring her pointed nails one slash after the other. Tika pulled back, keeping her feet firm as she spun, swinging her leg out overhead before landing her foot behind herself.
Maulana immediately ducked, attempting a floor sweep with her hands supporting her balance on the log. They were braced down, and her leg swung out along the log in a spiral motion. Tika caught her footing and lifted her foot, only to place it down again as Maulana's swept by. Tika then did a leaping summersault over Maulana, landing behind her.
Maulana quickly spun around, throwing her foot out in an additional floor sweep, and quickly stood up as Tika lept back.
Tika and Maulana once again went in for the charge, as Maulana performed wide swung haymaker-style throws, sweeping out her arms and fists in exaggerated punches, arching herself out sideways into each punch. Tika reacted by following the directions of each punch, just to lean back and shift her dodge in the opposite direction at the last moment.
Upon evading each punch, she followed up, leaning back slightly while sweeping up her leg swiftly in a high rising kick, holding her fists at her center. Maulana did a lowering leap back to avoid the head strike, and rose up to push forward with a hooked punch.
Tika threw straight punches, and Maulana latched her punch around Tika's straight throw, grabbing her behind her wrist with her other hand, and performed a swift dip while kicking out her foot into the inner side of Tika's shin, attempting to take her down with a judo throw.
Tika, however, quickly grabbed onto Maulana's elbow, and pushed back while allowing her full weight to fall as she pushed back with her other leg, throwing herself back down against the log. When she landed, her hand slipped, knocking off some bark and fungi into the water below. At that moment, Maulana lept up, throwing up her knee, and drove her foot angled down toward's Tika's chest, as she rolled backwards over the log towards the water's edge in a desperate evasion. Tika very nearly rolled off into the water when she reached over to the opposite side, catching her center of gravity in time.
As Maulana rotated herself to swing her leg forward, Tika shifted herself back, nearly laying flat on the log when she caught Maulana's kick with both hands, pushing up against the back of her thigh. Tika then brought her left foot forward, propping it up, and her right foot back, nearly centered behind her as she used her legs to lift herself into Maulana's thigh, propping it over her shoulder as she lifted herself up again.
This last ditch effort took Maulana off guard as she began tipping back with surprise. Her muscles tensed up as she could feel the moment she was about to fall. Her teeth gritted involuntarily as Tika got the upper hand and pressed her hands up against Maulana's thigh with all her might.
As her foot slipped against the bark, Maulana practically flipped over as she began to fall off the log. With a strike of luck, Maulana kept a foot latched over the log and dug her sharp nails into the side of it. Her body was arched toward the water, and Tika moved forward away from the edge, then watched in wait while Maulana carried herself back up again. When she did, Maulana took a few steps back, and prepared herself as she panted, catching her breath from the near watery experience.
The next moment, the two girls charged forward again, and their shins clashed together as they both threw out a high kick, as they exchanged a flurry of kicks while their duel raged on.
Sheila sat happily, lounging on the rock. She saw how Alena was quietly observing the duel from the edge of the water, and believed it would do Alena some good.
Sheila sighed in contentment as she turned to smile at the friendly duel presented before her, when suddenly her warm, gentle expression dropped from her face.
As the duel carried on, Sheila froze, and no one had seemed to notice as they believed her to be watching the fight. A few moments later, when she came to, Sheila instantly cupped her hand over her mouth as she sealed her eyes; a short coughing fit had come over her. The cough was wet, and when it ended, she opened her eyes to look into her hand. Her eyes became filled with shock, as she discovered a mist of blood over the palm of her hand.