The forest pressed in close around the central clearing, roots knotted beneath the moss and trunks rising high enough that their canopy swallowed most of the afternoon light.
Somewhere beyond the tree line, the distant clang of metal against metal echoed through the trees.
Beatrice circled Ari, her blades held low.
"Again."
Ari reset his stance, both weapons raised.
Beatrice closed the distance.
Their blades met in a lock, edges grinding against each other.
She pushed.
She's strong...
Ari thought.
Beatrice took one step forward, then another.
Ari's arms trembled as his feet scraped backward through the dirt.
"How many times am I going to go over this? Don't just hold it, redirect it. If I were a grasshopper, your bones would be crushed by now."
Ari gritted his teeth and twisted his wrist, angling her blades off to the side.
Beatrice stepped back and exhaled.
"Better."
They rushed at each other again.
She slashed upward.
Ari deflected the attack, but the force pushed him back a step.
She swung high.
Ari ducked.
Her blades passed over his head, cutting several strands of hair.
She's not holding back.
Beatrice raised her weapon as if she were going for another high strike.
Ari's eyes followed the movement.
At the last moment, she spun and aimed for his neck.
Ari caught her wrist.
Her eyes widened for a moment.
No way...
She swung with her free hand.
Ari leaned to the side and shoved her back a step.
She came at him from the left.
Ari twisted his blade upward.
Clang!
She reversed the angle instantly, sweeping her blade toward his torso.
Ari dropped low as the edge passed over his shoulder.
That was close.
He came back up with a swing, aiming for her exposed side.
But Beatrice was already gone.
She sidestepped and brought her blade down toward his collar.
Ari raised his weapon just in time.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Three strikes came in quick succession, each one faster than the last.
Ari blocked every one.
Then a distant screech echoed through the forest.
Ari's eyes flicked toward the sound beyond the trees.
Only for a fraction of a second.
By the time he turned back, Beatrice's blade had already swept in.
It struck the flat of his left weapon and twisted hard.
His weapon spun out of his grip and disappeared into the grass behind him.
What...?
Before he could react, Beatrice pivoted on her heel and drove a kick into the side of his face.
Ari spun through the air before hitting the ground with a thud.
"Ouch. That hurt."
He pressed a hand against his cheek, wincing as he pushed himself up onto one elbow.
"You were spacing out again," Beatrice said as she walked over. "And you were slacking off with your right hand."
"I can't help it."
Ari rubbed his jaw and sat up fully.
"I'm not used to using two weapons at once. Coordinating them is harder than it looks."
"That's because you don't have any confidence in your right hand."
Beatrice sheathed her weapon.
In the same motion, she grabbed a nearby boulder and set it down in front of him.
"What's this for...?"
"Hold this in your right hand. We'll strengthen it from here on out."
Ari stared at the boulder, then looked up at her.
"You can't be serious."
"You were the one who said you wanted to get stronger. So pick it up."
Ari's shoulders dropped.
He got to his feet, wrapped both arms around the stone, and lifted.
Beatrice watched him stagger beneath the weight.
His face tightened as he fought to keep the boulder from slipping out of his grip.
He's really been improving at a fast rate these past few days.
Since we started training, the gap between him and the other senior lance corporals has closed faster than it should have.
Even so...
He's still nowhere near where he was that day.
A memory surfaced.
Ari's mandible pressed against her neck.
When I fought him that day, he had only just become a Lance Corporal.
And yet... I lost.
There was something different about him.
Something I still don't have an answer for.
"Hold it there, and shift more of the weight into your right hand," she said. "Don't set it down until I tell you."
Ari's arms trembled, but he held the boulder in place.
A few seconds passed.
His eyes flicked toward the tree line again.
"Beatrice, aren't we supposed to be searching for a millipede the workers encountered along this route?"
"Yeah... you're right."
"But bear in mind, this might be the only chance I get to train you."
"And don't forget, you were the one who volunteered to replace Quinn in the first place."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"So, are you having doubts now?"
"No," Ari said.
"Good."
"Millipedes aren't fast, but they're almost as durable as centipedes. They're usually less hostile, too."
Beatrice glanced around the forest.
"The annoying part is finding one. They have a terrible sense of direction, so they wander all over the place."
Suddenly, the ground rumbled.
"What is that?" Ari asked.
Beatrice immediately unsheathed her mandibles.
A large, rolled-up shell rushed toward them, gaining speed as it crossed the clearing.
The grinding of mandibles against shell filled the air as Beatrice blocked the attack.
Her feet slid backward across the dirt as the force pushed her back.
She dug her feet into the ground and came to a stop.
The shell remained pressed against the edge of her blades for a moment before peeling away and rolling back several paces.
It unfurled.
Multiple segmented legs unfolded from beneath the armored plating, and a pair of antennae rose into the air.
"What is that thing?" Ari asked.
He dropped the boulder and reached for the weapon still lying in the grass.
"It's a millipede."
Beatrice kept her blades raised, her eyes fixed on the creature as it circled them.
Its legs clicked against the packed dirt.
"Looks like we didn't have to look for it after all."
The creature reared back, curling itself inward again.
Its shell tightened into a compact, gleaming ball.
"Move!" Beatrice shouted.
It launched forward.
Beatrice took a stance.
Ari pushed off the ground and cleared the space between them in a single bound, his weapon angled downward.
The shell met his blade edge-first.
For a moment, the impact held him suspended above it, his arms shaking from the force.
Then a thin crack split across the shell.
The creature's trajectory bent sideways, sending it skidding past Beatrice before it slammed into a root several feet away.
The impact threw Ari backward.
He hit the dirt hard and rolled once before scrambling back to his feet.
He grabbed his left arm and winced.
"Ari..."
He immediately raised his mandibles.
"Leave this to me, Beatrice."
"Don't be reckless," Beatrice said.
She looked into his eyes.
Her mouth opened slightly.
I see.
She sheathed her weapon.
The millipede twitched.
Then it rolled itself upright.
The crack along its side caught the light.
It charged at Ari again, faster this time.
Ari quickly stepped to the side as the millipede's body swept past him.
Its many legs tore through the soil as it curved around for another attack.
Ari pivoted and slashed at its side.
Clang!
His mandibles bounced off the hard shell.
"Damn..."
The creature stopped.
Ari's eyes widened.
He ducked.
A row of legs swept over his head.
Ari stepped backward, but one of the creature's legs caught his ankle.
His balance broke.
He hit the ground on his side and rolled away just as the millipede slammed its body down where he had been.
Dirt scattered across his face.
Ari pushed himself up.
The creature suddenly twisted.
Its shell slammed into him.
Ari was lifted off the ground.
His body flew backward and crashed against the trunk of a tree.
"Ugh!"
His back struck the bark hard enough to shake the branches above him.
He dropped to the ground and rolled onto his side.
For a moment, he didn't move.
Then he pushed himself up.
A sharp pain ran through his left arm, and he grabbed it.
I can't let something like this defeat me.
I've fought creatures stronger than this one.
He straightened.
His eyes shifted toward the crack in the creature's shell.
Then he tightened his grip on his right mandible.
Fine.
I'll use my right hand.
The millipede charged.
Ari met it head-on.
He swung his right mandible into the damaged section of the shell.
The plating groaned.
Another fracture spread outward from the first.
Ari pulled back and struck again.
And again.
"HAAH!"
Each impact widened the break until the plating along its side finally gave way and peeled open.
The creature's legs scrambled beneath it.
Its long, segmented body writhed as it tried to curl itself shut.
Ari drove his blade into the exposed abdomen, burying it to the hilt.
The creature let out a high, grating shriek.
Its legs kicked once against the dirt.
They twitched.
Then went still.
Ari pulled his blade free and let out a breath, his shoulders dropping.
His right hand shook, fingers numb, and his left arm was already starting to bruise.
Beatrice walked up beside him and crossed her arms.
"You didn't bother to listen to me when I warned you. Now look at you. You're all battered."
Ari looked away.
"I know."
Silence hung between them for a moment.
Beatrice exhaled.
"Still, you did well. You single-handedly took out a millipede. That's at least a Corporal-grade threat."
A faint smile touched her mouth.
"Looks like my training has been paying off."
"You think so?" Ari looked at her.
"Yes, but only barely." She turned away. "So don't get ahead of yourself."
"Well, barely is enough for me."
Beatrice shook her head.
"Let's find somewhere to rest for the night. I'll treat your wounds."
Ari nodded.
"Right."
Beatrice treated Ari's bruised arm, wrapping it with a strip of leaf coated in medicinal sap.
"There. This should do until we get back to the colony."
"Thank you."
"I'm so tired." Ari stretched.
It's almost been a week, huh.
He exhaled.
I wonder how Ignatia and her sisters are holding up in the meadows.
He reached over and carefully loosened the leaf wrapping. The petals were still there, pale and silver-veined.
Luminara told me to hold on to the Moonveil Blossom.
But I'm still not sure what it's supposed to do.
He folded the leaf back over it.
No use dwelling on it now.
Beatrice stared at him for a moment.
"Hey, Ari."
"Uh, what is it, Beatrice?"
"Um..."
She hesitated, then sighed.
"Nothing."
Beatrice looked away.
I couldn't ask him after all...
Her stomach growled.
Beatrice quickly pressed a hand against it.
Ari looked over.
His mouth opened slightly.
"What is it?"
"Nothing."
Ari stared at her for a moment before getting to his feet.
"I'll find something for us to eat. Wait here."
Beatrice reached out a hand toward him.
"Ari, wait..."
But he was already walking away.
Beatrice lowered her hand and sat down on an exposed tree root.
She leaned back against the trunk and stared up at the stars scattered across the night sky.
After a while, her gaze shifted.
Ari was gathering dry sticks nearby.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm starting a fire."
Beatrice watched him arrange the sticks.
The sight brought back a memory.
She remembered the first time Ari had created fire.
The flames had climbed across a giant hollow stump, consuming the dry wood as smoke filled the air.
Now, he worked with the same steady focus, gathering the last few branches.
"Why would you start a fire here? Do you want to burn the whole forest down?"
Beatrice got to her feet.
"Calm down. It's not what you think. I'm just cooking."
"What? What do you mean?"
"Just watch."
Ari knelt beside the bundle of sticks and rubbed two dry sticks together.
His hands moved steadily until a small spark caught.
A flame appeared.
Beatrice's eyes widened.
Ari placed a carved, bowl-shaped stone over the fire and let it heat.
He reached for a large leaf beside him.
Mushrooms, wild garlic, and nuts rested inside.
One by one, he picked them up and cut them apart with his mandibles, crushing the harder pieces before dropping them onto the heated stone.
The aroma reached Beatrice's nose.
"What is that smell?"
Ari reached into the large leaf and pulled out several slabs of insect meat.
The moment he saw them, he covered his mouth.
"Think of it as meat. Think of it as meat..."
He forced himself to look away for a moment before drawing his blade.
Ari began cutting the meat into smaller pieces, his expression tense.
He placed the pieces onto the heated stone and mixed them with the mushrooms, wild garlic, and nuts.
The food sizzled as he stirred it together.
Once it was ready, Ari placed the food onto a wooden board and added berries to the side.
He held it out to Beatrice.
A small drop of drool escaped her mouth.
She quickly wiped it away.
"Ari..."
"What is this sensation?"
Her eyes glistened, and a faint blush spread across her cheeks.
That's right. This is the first time she's ever smelled something that's been cooked.
Ari chuckled softly.
And it's the first time I've ever seen her act so out of character.
"Try eating it."
"Okay."
Beatrice picked up a piece of meat and cautiously took a bite.
Her antennae shot straight up.
She froze.
She took another bite.
Then another.
"It's delicious..."
"But how? What's with this flavor? What did you do?"
Ari scratched his cheek.
"It's just meat. I got it from the millipede, along with some mushrooms, wild garlic, and nuts for flavor."
"I didn't know that something like this even existed. I wonder how Lily would react to tasting..."
She looked at Ari.
He quietly watched her.
Beatrice cleared her throat, slightly flustered.
"Anyways, it's not half bad. Maybe you could teach me how to make it one day?"
"Yeah, no problem."
"I'll hold you to that," she said, continuing to eat.