Aurin stood with his hands on his hips and his chest puffed out as he stared proudly at the clearing on a flat part of the hill a mile south of Kyle’s ranch. Luna stood beside him, confused as to why he had brought her all the way out here. He had led her to believe there was something special he wanted to show her, but there was only grass and trees here.

  “A thing of beauty, right?” asked Aurin, closing his eyes and nodding softly.

  “It’s fine, I suppose,” said Luna with a shrug. “It looks like nearly every other part of the forest, only there aren’t as many trees here. Why exactly are you showing me this?”

  “It’s mine!” boomed Aurin, holding out his arms. “I bought it a couple of hours ago.”

  Luna’s jaw dropped and she slowly turned her head to look at her boyfriend. “You bought this land?” she asked breathlessly.

  “Yes, I did!”

  “Why? It must have been expensive! Why would you make such a huge decision on a whim?”

  “No, no, my love,” said Aurin, putting his hands on her shoulders and rotating her so that she took everything in. “This was no whim, dearest Luna. This is something I’ve been thinking about doing for a while and I wanted do it as soon as we arrived back from our travels.”

  “Ah,” said Luna, remembering Aurin’s not-so-subtle hints about his plan. “This was what you’ve been getting at, isn’t it? This big secret intention you had.”

  “Yep. It’s my own little slice of Hazelton. A place to call my own.”

  “Why this place in particular?”

  “Many reasons,” said Aurin, turning her around and pointing towards the looming Harmony Tower a couple of miles away. “For a start, we’re up the hill so we’ve got a great view of Harmony Tower.” He turned her a little more. “We can also see a lot of the town from here.”

  “And are there reasons other than the view?”

  “There are indeed. We’re close to the ranch so I can still help Kyle out while having my Minakai close by. We’re also far enough away from other people that I can train here without disturbing anybody and all destruction I cause can be repaired without worry of inconveniencing other Hazeltonians.”

  “That’s good, yes,” admitted Luna, cocking her head to the side.

  “Just imagine,” said Aurin, gesturing to the clearing. “A nice house built here, places for all the Minakai to live should they want to stay here instead of the ranch, and a battle arena where I can train and spar. It’s the perfect place for us.”

  “Us?”

  “Of course,” said Aurin, putting his hands around her waist and pulling her close. “I’m thinking about the future too. One day, I’d like you to move in with me and it’ll be yours too.”

  Luna’s eyes lit up and she beamed at Aurin. She was lost for words and rather than attempting to say something, she put her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply for several seconds before leaning back and taking a deep breath.

  “I would love nothing more,” she said, finally understanding everything.

  “Alright, missus,” he said, letting her go and raising his tamer glove. “I’ve got to get to work. Our dream isn’t going to build itself, you know.”

  There came a burst of orange, green, and silvery-grey light as Shamtile, Desparee, and Chopchop appeared in the clearing.

  “Gentlemen,” said Aurin, addressing the Minakai as Luna clung to him. “You’ve all been made aware of the plan. Chopchop, you get to work on the trees and the posts. Desparee, you’re on grass duty. Shamtile, start raising the land and make sure it’s reinforced. I don’t want it collapsing.”

  “Raising the land?” asked Luna in confusion.

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  “Just watch and see,” said Aurin as the Minakai all rushed off.

  Chopchop ran straight for the trees and starting cutting several of them down with his sharp blades. Desparee cried as he removed the grass in a small rectangular section of the clearing. He found several weeds and tree roots where he was clearing and pulled them out too before flinging them into the forest. Shamtile waited until Desparee’s work was finished and then he stood in the centre of the rectangle, placing his hands on the ground and getting a feel for the land.

  He suddenly leapt up and waved his arms in the air. The ground rushed up to meet him and the rectangular patch was now three feet taller than it had been before. Shamtile continued waving his arms and danced around in circles, shifting the earth underground to make sure there were no hollow spots that would lead to structural problems in the future.

  Aurin nodded along as he watched and his smile grew wider by the second. He instructed Desparee to aid Chopchop in preparing the supports and posts he wanted while Shamtile lined the outside of the arena with small boulders.

  “What’s he doing?” asked Luna as Shamtile worked.

  “Decorating,” said Aurin. “It has to look nice as well as be functional. A tamer of my prestige can’t be seen to have a training arena, can he?”

  “There’s that ego of yours again,” giggled Luna, resting her head on his shoulder while she watched Shamtile. “Although, I will admit I’m glad of it this time.”

  Once Shamtile had finished lining the battlefield with rocks around its short wall, he raised a slope of land on either side and crafted staircases using several more stones he pulled from out of nowhere. As he finished the first, Chopchop waved an arm and clicked loudly, calling Aurin over. The tamer strutted over with great enthusiasm and hoisted a large log onto each shoulder. Deciding that only the side nearest the forest path needed a signboard, Aurin carried the posts over to the steps that Shamtile had just finished and set one down. He took the other in two hands and whistled for Shamtile to open a small pit. He slammed the log inside and the masked lizard closed the soil around it, holding it firmly.

  Once the second of the posts was in, Chopchop and Desparee approached with several planks. Shamtile raised up two pillars, letting the Minakai stand near the top of the posts. Aurin tossed him several nails and he willed them into place, shoving them through the wood with his mind like it was nothing. He leapt to the other pillar and shot several more nails into the other side, securing the sign, and then both he and Desparee were brought back down to the ground by Shamtile.

  “Beautiful,” said Aurin, admiring his arena. “I just need some point and I can mark my territory on this arena.”

  “I hope that’s not a euphemism,” joked Luna.

  “Speaking of,” said Aurin, pushing his tongue into the side of his cheek and thinking. “Yes, we’ll definitely need to prioritise putting a bathroom in place. I’d rather not go in the woods for longer than necessary. I’ll head into town and pick up some pipes.”

  “Are you sure you don’t need a plumber for that?”

  “Nah, it’ll be fine.”

  “Really? You’ll have to find a way to connect to the water mains and if you disrupt the water flow to the town or any of the other houses in the forest, you’re going to be in hot water.”

  Aurin pondered this for a moment. “Yes, you’re right. That’s one job I’ll not take on myself. I was trying to avoid spending too much because that’s most of my savings gone already.”

  “You’ve blown through your tournament money?” asked Luna in shock.

  “Not all of it,” shrugged Aurin. “It’s alright, I’ll be hitting the tower with Tuptup and Flowl soon. Those two are in need of training and it’s a good way to fill up the old wallet again.”

  “Alright, but make sure you win the next Hazelton tournament,” Luna remarked and then winked at Aurin. “I’m high maintenance, you know.”

  Aurin laughed. “Luckily, I’m thrifty.”

  “In all seriousness,” said Luna, admiring the arena. “It does look good. And it only took you twenty minutes. I’m impressed.”

  “Good work, team!” Aurin called to the three Minakai who were also admiring their handiwork. Even Desparee looked chuffed with himself until his crippling anxiety returned.

  “Gragh!” cried Shamtile, slapping Desparee encouragingly on the back, but it was no use and the tree-like monster continued weeping.

  “I know what’ll keep the mood light around here,” said Aurin, running up the steps and standing in the middle of the arena. “How about the three of you break this place in with a sparring match? A free for all, and the winner gets to come into Hazelton and have lunch rather than eating Kyle’s ranch food.”

  The Minakai were all enthused by this, especially Shamtile who was certain he could wrangle a milkshake out of this deal.

  “Alright, Luna,” said Aurin, stepping back to clear the way for the Minakai. “Count them in.”

  Luna ran over to the edge of the battlefield, skipped up the steps and leaned on the post as the three monsters took their place. “Three. Two. One. Begin!”

  Chopchop and Desparee immediately turned on Shamtile, knowing he was the strongest of them all. The masked lizard yelped as roots wrapped around his legs and a metal arm came swinging in an arc through the air, aiming straight for him. He tensed himself and conjured a coating of diamond around his forearm, shielding himself from the brunt of the attack. He retaliated by opening the battlefield and dropping both Chopchop and Desparee into pits, which they desperately threw themselves out of before Shamtile could close them in.

  Aurin watched on excitedly, looking forward to the many training sessions and matches he would have at his new property. All he needed now was a home to go along with the battlefield, but that was one of his next projects to work on.

  here.

  Aurin's Team:

  Luna's Team: