It was the next day. Avryn washed up and went out to check around town. It was still early, probably around dawn. Not much of the slums had woken up just yet. He used this time to practice his swordplay. He trained for what felt like a half hour. A surprise awaited him when he spun around to attack: another blade.

  He entered into combat mode but realized it was a familiar face. It was Vyktria from the first round in the tournament. She was here in the flesh.

  “There was a problem with your training. You were fighting with yourself,” she commented.

  “They say your greatest enemy is yourself, no?” Avryn countered.

  “Indeed.”

  They both sheathed their weapons and went to talking. Avryn learned Vyktria grew up here, in the slums. She also heard that someone helped with kicking out a certain king from the place and wanted to see for herself and it seemed she found her answer. She said she would’ve done it herself had she known earlier.

  Avryn, ever the learner, asked if she could help him train grappling as that is a skill he wanted to master. She declined but offered up her teammate, Roshin, instead. She looked up the time in her Scribe, it was morning.

  “Well, I need to go, I’ll catch you around?” she turned to Avryn.

  He nodded. He had a lot of time on his hands and nothing much to do. He decided to help around the town. He was walking in the area where a lot of kids were playing. One child mustered her courage and approached him. She needed help finding her doll and asked Avryn for his help. Of course, he nodded. He asked what it looked like and where it was last seen.

  She described the doll as a plushy bear holding a heart and its last known location was near the tavern. He travelled to the establishment. The bartender greeted him and asked if he wanted one of the usual. Avryn responded with an unusual request: if he had seen the doll the child described. He asked Avryn what was with the request.

  Avryn responded by catching him up to speed with the situation.

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  “Ah, you just wanted to do some deeds, then?” the bartender asked.

  “Just the good ones. Really can’t do much else outside of training,” he lamented.

  “Yeah, you’re the type to never rest on your laurels,” the bartender surmised.

  He finished making his drink, served it, and also gave him the doll. It was up in the shelf, The two exchanged a nod of respect.

  “Tell her keep a closer eye on it from now on,” he said.

  Avryn took a swig of his drink before returning back to work. He found the kid and gave her her doll back. Another child, who looked to be her friend also came up with a request. She pointed somewhere. Avryn looked towards the direction and saw a cat stuck up near the top of a tree. Other kids were trying to think of ways to help. Avryn loosened his shoulders,

  “One rescued cat, coming right up,” he prepared to run.

  He used this time to amaze the children with his athleticism. Climbing trees was a favorite past time of his. He managed to reach near the cat, only for it to retreat a little higher up. Accepting the challenge, Avryn climbed higher, risking falling from the lighter branches. He managed to grab the cat by its scruff. The branch broke and he managed to land safely with a quick tumble onto the ground. What was important was the cat was safe. He handed it back to the little girl. The children regarded him as a hero that day.

  It was lunchtime now, the kids returned to their homes, leaving Avryn alone to his devices once more. He returned to the tavern again and ordered lunch. He felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned one way to find no one. He turned the other way and saw Vyktria one again. She had a grin on her face.

  “I didn’t know you were making some moves, bud,” she spoke.

  Her eyes gestured somewhere, to someone. Avryn met her gaze and looked into, it was Haley. Her face was covered in embarrassment. They both took a seat by Avryn’s side.

  “My best friend in the whole wide world was just talking about how you helped her dethrone this King guy,” she praised.

  Avryn emphasized it was a team effort. They all played their roles. Vyktria laughed and asked with a serious tone,

  “So what was in it for you?” her grip slightly tightened around Haley’s shoulder.

  “Nothing. Fact is, I owed her a favor so I helped,” Avryn sassed back.

  “Really? Nothing?” she leered.

  Avryn hunched over, matching her, but keeping his tone friendly,

  “Nothing. Same with love. I know nothing of it,” he told her.

  The bartender cleared his throat and gave to them their orders. Lunch was had, they can bicker later. A few scoopfuls of gruel later, they continued their conversation.

  “You sure you’re not making a move on Haley?” She was blunt.

  “Vyky! He’s not that kind of guy,” Haley de-escalated.

  “I never had friends. Never even had crushes. All I’ve ever known was fighting, and taking care of weapons. That’s the whole truth,” he confessed.

  Vyktria dropped her scary act, and apologized to Avryn. It was obvious to him she was protective of Haley. She shared with him some stories on how plenty lowlifes had attempted to court her. That was how she got good at fencing, by fending off every single one of those men.

  Avryn understood that much, at least. Bonds like that were to die for. He would had done the same if he was in her shoes. He nodded along and commended her bravery. He confessed to her his true intentions: to see the world and explore. That was it. He did not know for sure if love would fit in it for now. He was still trying to be a good friend to people, if he could.

  Vyktria was finally satisfied with that answer.

  “You can consider me and her as two of them,” she smiled.

  They shook hands on it.