Nothing ached.
Not his thighs, back, arms, nor his face which he'd sworn was ripped to shreds. A quick run across his nose and he cursed, springing out of bed while it was still dark out.
He'd never been up so early.
Al was up a few minutes after, both of them wondering what could've been done.
"Perhaps we should wait," she suggested. "We're not strong enough."
"I can cut through them easy enough," he muttered.
"Can you?" She asked, grasping his shoulder. "Maybe we just need a little more time."
Roosters cawed.
Dawn arrived, as did Leon, surprised to see them up. The lad said nothing, yawning while running a hand through brown messy hair.
Sparring until noon, exercise until dusk, then meditating in the night. He'd never sweat so much, in all the battles he'd been in. It was unlike anything he'd done before, though there was something familiar about it. On a foggy morning Leon wondered about his former life, and he spoke only that he was a soldier.
"I see," Leon said, standing over him after he took a blade to the kneecap. "Then you'd ought to be familiar with this; sweat more in training, so you don't bleed in war."
"I'm not familiar with much," he muttered, getting back on his feet, "just fire and chaos."
Leon grew a concerned look, then shrugged. "Again."
Weeks passed, and they hadn't re-entered the woods.
It was hot, so hot he believed he would melt, within he lands before the mountains. Not all from Hardok's doing, and there was a festival ushering in summer same as spring. Neither he nor Al wished to participate, though Leon suggested so, giving their minds time to rest.
"We'll resume in a week," Leon said, leaving them to rot at dusk, bells ringing in the village. "Stay off your feet much as ya' can."
Within the field they practiced until midnight.
They went slow, breaking down every movement before speeding up. She was loose, like an arrow flying onward. He was a bit stiff, but she kept pace with him, spinning to his back the same way Leon would. However she'd slow down, giving him time.
He grasped her wrist, demanding her to speed up. "I can handle it."
She smiled. "Can you?"
He stood straight, towering over her, realizing he'd grew a few inches. "You toying with me?"
"I don't 'toy'. I'm trying to help you."
"Then speed up," he demanded.
She did.
He tripped on his own feet, falling flat on his ass.
Blade pointed at his throat, she grinned. A grasp of her ankles, and he snatched her down. On top of him she drew a dagger, something she must've had forged in secret, as it was his first time seeing it.
"Remember?" She asked, pressing the dagger against his throat.
"Aye, you're a cunt," he muttered, pulling against her waist. "Why don't you do us both a fa-."
She kissed him.
Her lips were soft, breath like a warm bath.
Both arms wrapped round her waist, he kissed her for minutes on end. Tongues swirling, he could've tasted her all night. She ripped off her shirt. He stroke her breasts as she unbuckled his belt.
Crickets chirped, sparks flew above the village. Drums beat, and she straddled him to their rhythm. She was bright like the moon, hair falling over her face as she moaned. Upon turning her over, she wrapped him with her legs. He thrusted, squeezing a thigh with one hand, the other stroking her hair.
When he finished he laid on his back, taking her into his arms.
Clouds parted, revealing a half-moon.
Not until horns bellowed did they turn towards the village.
Just the children, playing warfare with wooden shield walls, pretending to be the fireborne kingdom. After getting dressed, they stayed in the field, watching Fat Carl be decapitated by the Cruel Bastard.
"You must've been a good lover," Al said, leaning on his shoulder.
"Maybe," he said, recalling the woman's voice.
She laughed. "Maybe? You're muscles aren't the only thing bigger than most."
"Aye, well, whoever held you in their arms was a lucky man."
She looked at him, moonlight reflecting within her eyes.
"I, didn't have anyone. I put everything I had into my work."
"Then you must've worked hard," he said, rubbing her shoulders. "Whoever you defended was lucky to have you."
She shook her head, leaning into his chest.
Until midnight, they stayed in the field.
Once back in the hut, they drank, fucked one another again, then fell asleep.
They days were longer, training harder, though the release they had when Leon left was enough to keep them sane. Love was as natural to him as fighting, and it was something much more than bedding a street harlot. Al spoke to him, in ways he didn't believe possible. They didn't need words, just a hand adjustment, maybe a nod or two.
Whether they fought or fucked, there was no hesitation.
Upon a full moon, when the leaves started changing colors, both of them kept Leon moving with purpose.
"Impressive," Leon said, licking blood of an arm scratch, "I'd say you've learned much as one could in a number of years."
"Aye," he said, facing the wood line.
A deep breath, once over a log, and seven hundred pounds flew overhead.
For a few seconds he held it, then let it rest on his shoulders. He squatted a dozen times, then heaved the log forward. Once at the one-ton log, he drove his feet hard, and lifted it to his waist. Then nothing more, as he let it fall from his grasp.
Al hoisted three hundred pounds up, to her collar bones before pausing, A deep breath, and she got it overhead.
Leon, eyes wide, praised her as she dropped it. "Remarkable! Both of you!"
They finished the day early, meditating an hour before dusk.
The last festival of the year, ushering winter and its darker days, was underway. Unlike prior celebrations, Leon wasn't as thrilled about smoking weed and drinking the night away. Instead the full moon had the lad's curiosity, the trio arriving back at a singing, dancing, fire stick turning village.
"Heading into the woods anytime soon?" Leon wondered as they arrived at their hut.
He and Al exchanged a look.
"Can't say for certain," Al answered. "You interested?"
Leon nodded, sparks of fire flying over the village hall. "Could use some excitement. Lest I hear another tale of old gods from the old man."
He laughed, "Now you're saying something I can agree with!"
"Very well," Leon said, turning to make for the hall. "I'll return within the hour."
While readying their gear, they devised another plan.
Silver would be watching the moment they entered the woods, so they had to assume. Wherever they went, he would follow. Once in range of the cave, the werewolves would be alerted.
"They speak to one another," Al explained, "through growls. We need a way to cut them off from communicating."
Arms folded, he stared at the fire. "Or draw him out. There has to be a way."
"They don't like fire," Al said, heating an arrow. "What I'd give for Stormflame's string again."
"Stormflame?"
She nodded. "A good elvish bow I traded over ten thousand coin for."
"Aye," he said, missing his flail. "If nothing else, I say we burn the forest down."
Al shook her head. "We'll be dead long before then."
A minute or so of silence, then she sprung up.
She scribbled something down, drawing out the path from the hut to the woods. There were arrows, trees, the cave's entrance, and he along with Leon and herself marked in different locations.
"I've got it," she said, growing a wide grin. "This has to work."
Leon knocked on the door, slurring his words a bit.
Al didn't seem to mind, and he figured numb nerves would serve the lad well joining them on their hunt.
Fire rose upon the summit, Hardok's breath illuminating the hills and the mountains.
Donned in dark cloaks, the trio entered the woods, a moon half full against raging fires.