Chapter 152. The Luxury of Arguing About Livestock Instead of Survival
The adrenaline of the fight lingered like a low-grade fever, but as the afternoon sun began its slow descent, casting amber honey across the training grounds, the tension finally bled out of the air.
The metallic tang of blood was washed away by fresh water as the students tended to their wounds, and the raw, visceral violence of the morning gave way to something rare: genuine, unburdened camaraderie.
William wiped the last of the dried blood from his knuckles, watching the group. He saw Catherine sharing a quiet, knowing look with Lia as she helped stabilize her wrist; he saw Kaela pretending to be annoyed while secretly accepting a canteen of water from Ellie.
There was a fragile, beautiful equilibrium between them, a bond forged not in words, but in the shared terror and triumph of combat.
An unexpected impulse struck him, a warm, insistent tug at his chest. He didn’t want this feeling to evaporate with the sunset.
He wanted to prolong this fragile moment of peace before the inevitable weight of their training returned.
"Alright, listen up!" William called out, his voice carrying across the yard, cutting through the quiet chatter.
The group turned toward him, some still limping, others still nursing bruised egos. "The equipment is put away, the wounds are patched, and I think we’ve all earned something better than dried rations and stale bread."
He paused, a genuine, boyish grin breaking through his battle-worn expression. "I want to take everyone somewhere."
’My treat. There’s a village just outside the city walls Old Oak Pass that I’ve never actually visited."
"Figured today’s as good a day as any to finally see it and actually enjoy some decent food."
"Food?" Kaela’s head snapped up like a predator hearing prey rustle in the grass. "You had me at ’my treat,’ Instructor Wade."
"Are we talking roasted meat? Honey cakes?! Because if I don’t get sugar in my system in the next ten minutes... I might actually combust!"
"Try to maintain some dignity, Kaela," Lia chided, though her own stomach gave an audible, betraying growl. "Though... I suppose a change of scenery would be academically refreshing."
"It’s not ’academically refreshing,’ Lia; it’s delicious," Clara chimed in with a giggle, already gathering her belongings. "I heard Old Oak has the best spiced cider in the province."
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Olivia asked, already moving toward the armory to return her practice gear. "Let’s go before Kaela eats the training dummies."
...
The reaction was instantaneous. The group erupted into a flurry of motion—enthusiastic, loud, and chaotic.
Kaela was already halfway to the main gates before William could even finish explaining the logistics, her boots kicking up dust as she sprinted ahead.
Within the hour, the full group of William, Catherine, Lia, Kaela, Ellie, Clara, and Olivia had formed a loose procession along the winding dirt road leading away from the city’s towering spires. The afternoon sun was warm and pleasant against their skin, the breeze carrying the scent of wildflowers and distant pine.
"How far is this village, exactly?" Kaela asked, her voice already laced with restless impatience. She was walking with exaggerated strides, her hands behind her head, clearly itching to be somewhere other than ’here.’
"A couple of hours, according to the map," William answered calmly, adjusting the strap of his travel pack.
"A couple of hours?" Kaela groaned loud enough to startle a passing bird. "That’s an eternity! My legs are already protesting the betrayal of this walk."
"We could have been there by now if we ran!"
"We are not running, Kaela," Lia said without looking back, her pace measured and precise. "It is a pleasant walk."
"You could try enjoying the scenery instead of complaining about the distance like some petulant child."
Kaela shot Lia a sideways glare, though there was no real heat in it. "I am enjoying the scenery, Lia."
"I’m just also complaining about the distance. Both things can be true, and frankly, my ability to multitask is superior to yours."
Trailing several paces behind the main cluster of bickering voices, Clara had already retreated into her own private world. Her charcoal pencil danced across the worn pages of her journal with practiced agility, capturing the fleeting beauty of the countryside.
She sketched the rolling emerald hills that undulated like waves beneath the golden light, the delicate silhouettes of wildflowers swaying in the breeze, and the skeletal outline of a distant windmill grinding lazily against the horizon.
To her, every line captured a moment of peace that felt almost fragile, given how often their lives were defined by steel and spellwork.
Ellie walked beside her, her steps light and bouncy, her eyes scanning the horizon with the unbridled fascination of someone who had spent nearly every waking moment confined within the gray stone walls of the academy. To Ellie, the world beyond the training grounds wasn’t just scenery it was a revelation.
"Look at that, Clara!" Ellie whispered urgently, leaning closer to the journal without breaking her gaze from a distant field.
She pointed toward a small herd of horned, woolly creatures creatures with thick, matted coats and curved horns that caught the sunlight. "I’ve never seen one of those up close."
"They look almost... magical." Ellie jumped in excitement. "Are they friendly? Do you think they’d let me feed them?"
Clara smiled without looking up from her sketch. "They look peaceful enough."
"Reasonably so," Olivia interjected, stepping into their peripheral vision with a dry, knowing smirk. "Though I wouldn’t recommend attempting to establish diplomatic relations with a stranger’s livestock without proper authorization from the farmer first."
"They can be territorial."
Ellie turned to her with an indignant huff, though her eyes were still bright with curiosity. "I wasn’t going to just walk up and pet a stranger’s livestock, Instructor Olivia!"
"I was merely observing their behavior."
"You had the exact expression of someone who was already mentally calculating how soft their wool would feel," Olivia countered, tilting her head with amusement. "The ’I wonder if I can pet it’ face is unmistakable."
Ellie’s protest dissolved into a genuine, melodic laugh that seemed to harmonize with the rustle of the wind through the trees. "Fine, fine! Maybe I was considering it."
"But can you blame me? Everything out here looks so... alive."
The conversation flowed around them like a gentle stream lightweight, unburdened by the memory of broken bones or the metallic taste of blood that had filled their mouths only hours before.
They spoke of trivial things: the quality of the air, the strange shapes of the clouds, and the rumors of what kind of food awaited them at Old Oak Pass.
For a moment, the shadows of war and the relentless pressure of their training seemed to vanish entirely, replaced by the simple joy of being young and alive under an endless sky.
At the rear of the procession, William had fallen into step beside Catherine. The two instructors maintained a respectful distance from the students, acting as a silent rearguard.
William watched the way the light played across the group the way Kaela still walked with a defensive swagger despite her exhaustion, the way Lia kept a protective eye on her bandaged wrist, and the way the younger girls laughed without fear.
’This is what we fight for,’ William thought, his jaw tightening slightly as a rare moment of vulnerability touched his mind. ’Not for glory, not for the academy, but for these moments.’
’For the ability to walk down a dirt road without looking for an ambush.’
’For the luxury of arguing about livestock instead of survival.’
Catherine noticed the shift in his expression, her silver eyes catching his gaze. She didn’t speak, but the subtle nod she gave him was enough.
She understood the weight of the silence he was carrying.
For the rest of the walk, the group moved as one a patchwork of personalities stitched together by shared hardship, now temporarily united by the simple, human desire for good food and better company.
Clara, noticing Ellie’s energy beginning to flag from the long walk, reached into her satchel and pulled out a small container of dried honey-glazed nuts. Without saying a word, she nudged Ellie’s shoulder and offered one.
Ellie took it with a grateful smile, the sweetness cutting through the dusty air.
"Thanks, Clara," she whispered. "You’re a lifesaver."
"Just keeping your brain fueled," Clara replied with a wink, returning to her sketches.
A few paces ahead, Kaela had finally stopped her relentless complaining about the distance. Her bravado had faded with the afternoon heat, leaving behind something softer.
She found herself walking closer to Lia than necessary. When Lia stumbled slightly on a protruding tree root, a small misstep that would have normally drawn a sharp comment from Kaela, the fire mage, she didn’t mock her.
Instead, Kaela’s hand shot out instinctively, catching Lia’s elbow to steady her.
"Watch your step, genius," Kaela muttered, though her voice lacked its usual venom. "Not everyone has your perfect magical balance."
Lia straightened her robes, her cheeks flushing slightly at the unexpected gesture of care. "Thank you, Kaela."
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Kaela pulled her hand away quickly, but she didn’t move back to her original position.
She stayed close enough that their shoulders occasionally brushed as they walked, a silent acknowledgment of the unspoken truce they had forged in the training courtyard.
Near the middle of the pack, Ellie had started humming a soft, wordless tune she remembered from her childhood, something gentle that seemed to soothe the restless energy of the group.
Clara picked up the melody with a quiet hum of her own, creating a small pocket of music that floated through the trees. Even Olivia, usually the most composed and guarded, allowed herself to relax, her usual sharp posture softening as she listened to the harmony.