Tim was barely holding on. A cautious step back, then he barely dodged to the right and swung slightly to the left in front of him, where his attacker should have been... and missed. And then he repeated that. And again. Meanwhile, he thought to himself: this is so boring.
Mia, on the other hand, thought she was somehow winning. She pushed him to the edge and enjoyed watching him barely hold on, with no way to fight back. It was slowly becoming more fun to threaten him than to actually kill him.
In the hardly visible fight through the white fog, Tim calmly and cautiously spoke out to her. "I would like to apologise again for before, for ignoring you so rudely. You know how it is? An arrogant Gravany acts so high and mighty in front of me, why wouldn't I try putting them in their place? It just so happens that this time it was you, and I didn't know you held a title..."
The fighting stopped for a moment, long enough for Tim to lower his blade out of his fighting stance. Then he heard her voice from somewhere in the white mist. "Was it because I am a woman?" Tim replied with a soft chuckle. "Of course it is because you are a woman! Women have no place in leadership positions!" His response made the fight continue a while longer.
Tim was once again barely holding on. Short jump back, barely dodging to the right, then blocking an attack from the left... and repeat, and again. Meanwhile, he thought to himself: she got more aggressive, but it is still too early to reveal what I can do in the fog. No point ruining the element of surprise. He raised his sword to block an attack from the left, but her crystal blade came from the right.
A shallow cut over his shoulder made him step back, for real this time. There had been no killing intent from her for him to notice. Tim smiled, thinking: "She was getting less predictable. This might even be fun." Mia laughed from inside the fog. "I finally made you bleed."
Tim didn't even bother tending to such a small wound. Instead, her lack of killing intent was a sign for him that it was possible to talk with her. So that was what he did. "I met a little girl earlier today. She said there was a gorgeous and kind young woman here, who would read her a story. Am I right to assume that you are that lady?"
Mia stopped laughing and was almost insulted by his complete lack of fear despite being wounded. "Well, yes. Yes I am. But someone threw a cursed man through the library, if I remember correctly..." Tim was already talking like he was speaking to an old friend. "Ah yes, what a shame. You remind me of my wife, a beautiful young woman who likes reading stories to our son and getting mad at me for no reason..." And with no surprise, Mia's attacks continued.
Tim barely... well, you already know. Meanwhile, he was getting nostalgic thinking about his wife, which made it harder to keep his focus on her killing intent. There were multiple options, of course, but it was hard to decide which one to use against someone he barely knew.
He thought about getting her angry again, but he was running out of material. On the other hand, he could try running, using the fog to amplify his cold Aura, making him more mobile than her. At least, he hadn't noticed her having much mobility. And of course, he could try restraining her in a crystal cage, but she would most likely know both whether she could break it and exactly how to do so.
Tim tried his last resort. "So, I noticed you were quite upset with my friend Erik earlier. Do you know him from somewhere?" Mia slowed down and said more calmly, "He was my first love." She heard metal hit the ground. Tim had dropped his sword and rushed toward her. "Please, tell me everything!"
Mia blushed and began swinging her crystal blade wildly out of embarrassment. Tim continued with considerably more dodging and considerably more moving around, all while asking her questions. He thought to himself: there is a chance that disarming myself will defuse the situation, showing her I have no will to keep fighting. Besides, I can turn her fog into my own weapon now. And keeping her talking turns her thoughts away from the fight.
While swinging, Mia spoke about the past. "There is nothing to talk about! He was well dressed, rude, kind, and a terrible dancer." Tim almost enjoyed the fight for the first time. "Yes, that is definitely him. Let me guess... he also vanished?"
Mia almost cried. "Yes, he did! The moment my father scolded him, he disappeared." Tim stepped back in visible shock. "I can't believe he would do that. How dare he!"
When Tim noticed a thump from somewhere in the fog, he turned serious. A cursed Tharny could heal fast, but not this fast. "Change of plans." He took a step back. The white fog began condensing beneath his right hand, pulling together into a ball of pure light. Mia watched in silent awe as her mist dissolved around them, making their immediate surroundings visible once more.
They noticed Erik on the ground beside Tim's sword, next to the cursed Tharny man and his severed arm. Tim shaped the ball of light into a rope and sent it wrapping around Mia to restrain her. Mia struggled to move and asked, "Is he alright?" She sounded worried, but Tim didn't catch her tone, all his focus was now on his friend.
Tim reasoned that his weak green slime technique, which continued to regenerate over a long period, had kept Erik stable, the effect hadn't worn off yet. "He's fine. Just unconscious." He put his sword back in its sheath and hoisted his friend up with his right arm over his shoulder, then carried him toward Mia with a serious expression.
Mia could barely move, and the rope of light only tightened when she struggled. She asked nervously, "So what now? You win, right?" Tim was silent for a moment, genuinely trying to work out whether that was true. When he spoke, his voice was calm and exhausted. "I wouldn't say so. The moment I get too far away, the light will lose its shape. I can't run with this weight on me... not even with the head start I'd get."
He thought for a moment. "If I turned the light into crystals it would last longer, but then you'd just take control of them..." He was interrupted by a surprised, "I can do that?!" Tim chuckled. "I figured you'd work it out eventually."
He noticed Erik slowly sliding off his shoulder and leaned to adjust his grip while he continued. "Anyway, my options come down to this... I surrender, and you jail us instead of killing any of us. If you don't agree..." He let the pause sit. "Then I will have to reconsider my rule about not killing women."
Mia swallowed and nervously agreed. "Sure. Jail sounds fine. I accept your surrender." There was, however, a slight problem, they didn't have a jail here. Tim nodded in approval and carried Erik toward the camp, walking slowly enough for his captor to follow whenever she realised she was already untied.
Mia caught up quickly. "How did you... how did you know I was telling the truth?" Tim spoke in a tired voice. "Your Aura didn't waver. Most lies can be read that way." Then she said quietly, more to herself than to him, "So attacking is not the only intent you can sense..."
On the way, they passed the cursed man still lying where he had fallen. Mia stopped and asked, "Is he alright? I thought losing an arm doesn't kill a cursed Tharny." Tim walked past him without interest. "He's fine. He probably went down from the pain, then forgot why he was on the ground and decided he must have lain down to sleep. Just put his arm back so he can heal faster."
Mia looked at Tim, confused. He probably hated the cursed as much as anyone else did and yet telling her to help one wasn't something you did for someone you hated. She wanted to ask him about it, but changed her mind. "Why... where are we going?"
Tim murmured, "To the camp. My sister is there, and I don't want her to worry."