For most of the morning, Quin and Conon zipped their way through the forest with trouble nowhere in sight.

  The moment served him well as he got himself accustomed to the high speed travel a Sentar’i can afford.

  Each step covered yards, objects went in and out of view instantly and even though he traveled through a vast forest, every blink presented him with a new scene.

  Still, his head swiveled as he kept watch for the three brutes from the day prior. They caught him off guard last time. They had no qualms with sneak attacks.

  “Yer gonna run into something if you don’t keep yer eyes forward,” Conon warned.

  “Oh, I’m just keeping my neck loose for those guys from the other day,” Quin responded.

  “Well that’s why I said we should head back through the trees. We’d be able to spot ‘em from up high.”

  Quin nearly tripped. “Well we’re almost back so they wouldn’t be so close,” he said nervously. “So, do you really think the others will turn a corner on me?"

  “You betcha. You keep that drive you have now, ‘n’ even Bossman’ll change his tune. Yer not the problem. It’s just…”

  Seconds passed by with only sounds of stamped grass.

  “We’ve all been on edge since our last mission, well Ner. Fyful for the most part. The last guy before you, got himself killed ‘n’ Bossman bein’ a Neraviv, took a lot of heat for that. So he doesn’t want a repeat.”

  “I’ve heard about it. So what exactly happened?”

  “Ah we’re back.” Conon said as he rushed up the hill to camp.

  As they emerged from the wooded hill, Conon froze on his last step. He reached his destination yet his eyes appeared lost. His jaw dropped at what he saw.

  Quin showed up a second later before he showed a similar shock.

  The stacks of rock (meticulously piled by both men) were scattered across the field.

  In a way, it looked like they returned to their natural spots. Prominent among the scatter stood Onyl who stared straight at her confused teammates.

  Possessed by incredulity, Conon’s eyes narrowed as they guided him to his partner.

  “What gives Onyl?” he pushed. “It’s not like these rocks stack instantly y’know.”

  Onyl matched Conon’s glower with her own. “He knows how to avoid your obstacles. At least those that are fixed and stationary.”

  “What’re you gettin’ at?”

  Onyl beckoned Conon over until he reached arm’s length. She stretched her height to reach Conon’s ear and relayed something under her breath. Soon after, his expression became awash with surprise.

  “Ohhh, yer startin’ to see how good my idea was,” he said with a light smile. “Or how’d you say it...the ‘merit of my plan’?”

  “Are you done?” Onyl asked. “Because I would like to get started.”

  Quin’s nerves began to rise, unsure what would happen next.

  “Alright brother, change of plans,” Conon announced. “We’ll still go ahead ‘n’ do what we were doin’ except this time, yer lookin’ out for Onyl.”

  “What? What does that mean?” Quin asked with a raised voice.

  “It means more training, new guy,” replied Onyl. “Now hurry up and prepare yourself.”

  Quin looked over to Conon who made a quick tilt of his head, it was Quin’s turn to be beckoned.

  They walked side by side as they distanced themselves from Onyl who stayed put. He didn’t want to wait for the surprise.

  “What’s going to happen?” he asked outright.

  “Don’t sweat it brother,” Conon reassured. “Onyl’s finally gonna to help us out just like I said she would.”

  “What exactly is she going to do?”

  “I’ll tell what she won’t do, put a finger on you.”

  That gave little comfort to Quin and his anxieties. The two men took some time to make light stretches. All the while, Onyl stayed exactly where she stood just yards away.

  Mixed feelings shared Quin’s heart. On one hand, the sight of Onyl making an effort to help him felt nice. It seemed like she started to accept him on the team, something Quin would fully be appreciative of.

  On the other hand, that appreciation ran parallel with apprehension.

  Every time he peeked over, Quin would catch sight of a cold glare. It gave him no hints of her plan, but plenty of dread. More than before, her presence was a distraction.

  He closed his eyes and tried to shift his brain away from Onyl. He tried to take note of the chirps off to the distance. No dice. No observation could outweigh his concerns.

  As Conon watched the inattentive Quin, he realized he’d have to make the first move. At once, he bolted towards Quin who only had a split second to snap out of his thoughts and react.

  Cloaks fluttered, arms clapped. It became a repeat of the events from earlier that morning. Pushed onto the defensive, Quin tried to create space, but Conon’s intensity closed the gap.

  Muscle memory gave him an aide.

  Once more, his body contorted and weaved from Conon’s strikes. A missed hook finally gave Quin a chance to go on his own offensive.

  He unleashed a series of recursive shots but just like before, he couldn’t land a hit. Neither men had an edge.

  Quin swatted Conon’s right arm away before he swung around behind his colleague. He wanted to make a back elbow strike and quickly while Conon remained tangible.

  One problem got in his way, his body failed to act.

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  Frozen in place, Quin’s elbow stopped inches away from Conon. Immediately, he knew what happened. he found himself caught in Onyl’s shadow arts.

  As much as he wanted to, Quin’s body wouldn’t budge. He became a live statue. His senses still worked fine. He could still hear nature, still smell his sweat. He felt his heartbeats as they thumped ever faster. His eyes could move, but they were limited to the direction his head faced.

  He felt a few pats on his shoulder. “Don’t worry brother, I won’t hit you,” he heard Conon say behind him. “But I could ‘n’ that’s the point.”

  Onyl released Quin from her trap and he regained control of his body. His balance had returned too. In his stumble, the grass experienced a trampling as he found his footing.

  His attention turned to his captor who stayed right where she started with her arms still crossed.

  “These things will happen out there new guy,” she stated. “Your enemies will not wait to get hit like a pile of stones.”

  “How are you doing that?” Quin anxiously asked. “You didn’t move or anything...but I couldn’t move at all.”

  “That was the [Shadow Capture]. When shadows cross one another, they can take the form of a single shape.

  “Our puppets are no mere shades. They cross one’s shadow and they will completely hold it in place. If their shadow cannot move, then neither can the castor of said shadow.”

  “Is that the same when the sun goes down? Can you still do that?”

  “Like I said, your enemies will not wait and give you favorable conditions.”

  “She’s right y’know,” Conon added. “Gotta be ready for anything. So c’mon, you ready?”

  Quin shook his limbs as he tried to shake off his nerves. He knew the goal now, he knew how to act. The two sparring partners had a brief breather before they went at it again.

  As the morning progressed however, Quin found himself caught again and again in Onyl’s [Shadow Capture].

  This continued all morning long until the sun no longer faced them but beamed directly over their heads. Onyl tipped her head and shielded her eyes before she looked down to her puppet, and its small surface area.

  “My shadow arts will not be as effective right now,” she stated. “We might as well take a break.”

  “Yes. Yes. Please,” Quin seconded from all fours.

  The three Tyrovivs approached their camp as Quin lifted his mask to give his face some air. Onyl disappeared into the tent before she returned with three pouches on top of her arms.

  “I thought Bossman’d be back by now,” said Conon as he caught one of the pouches. “Where’d he go?”

  “He went to the city,” Onyl answered. “He said he wanted to know the status of our next mission.”

  Relief filled Quin’s spirit, at least Ythan wasn’t around to see this latest stumble. He looked down as he collected his thoughts. Simply put, he had to divvy up his attention between two fighters.

  He knew they could pull off the task. Perhaps he should just ask them, he thought, but their answers would be based on experience, he determined. Did he have to pick up on some clue, he wondered, but where was he supposed to look, he questioned.

  Out of the corner of his eye, a shadow emerged. He flinched and snapped his fists up. His reaction made Onyl flinch as well, she nervously juggled a pouch before she finally secured it.

  Her shock vanished and her face dipped. She shoved the pouch across Quin’s chest before she returned to her conversation.

  Just the sight of Onyl’s shadow (or puppet as she preferred) made him jumpy. It came to the point that her puppet became more noticeable than her.

  Then it dawned on him, he had paid too much attention to Onyl and not enough to her silhouette.

  His next plan conjured itself in his head. He downed all of his water before he closed his mask and approached his two teammates.

  “Excuse me, I’d like to get back to it if that’s okay with you,” he told them.

  Conon took a quick swig before he closed his pouch and dropped it on the ground.

  “You see what I mean? He ain’t a fan of long breaks. Alright then, let’s get back to it.”

  Quin and Conon paced around for a bit then just like that, they charged at each other again. Onyl stood close by as things progressed. In fact, she seemed closer than ever.

  It put Quin on edge, but he had to put those nerves behind him as he focused on the man in front of him.

  The strikes were fewer in frequency as both men took a more defensive approach. Conon even intentionally opened himself to an attack, but Quin never took the bait.

  They both dragged their boots across the dirt as they skirted one another, and only attacked intermittently.

  Soon, Quin spotted a dark figure in his periphery; in an instant, he burst away from his teammates.

  Conon didn’t let up though. He jumped right back into Quin’s business who found himself on the back foot.

  As much as he kept his eyes on Conon, Quin still caught quick glimpses of Onyl’s puppet. When the silhouette crept its way toward him, he once again leaped out of range. He then returned his attention to Conon.

  Soon enough, Onyl caught on to Quin’s actions. Hand on her chin, she pondered over a new tactic.

  As Quin kept up with his sparring partner, she moved closer to the action. Then without warning, she jumped right into the spar and swung a leg at Quin.

  He instinctively ducked, but his mind had no immediate response. Suddenly, the spar became a two on one affair.

  Quin had to reserve an arm for each opponent as he tried his best to hold off the double team.

  Every movement and every second passed slowed his reaction and reflexes. Out-manned, the numbers eventually had the better of him.

  Quin’s teammates linked their kicks together with his midsection. His eyes shut hard as his brain registered the synchronized strikes.

  He dropped to a knee. Onyl and Conon yielded their offense as Quin nursed his torso.

  “A bit of advice, new guy,” Onyl began as she wiped sweat off her brow. “If you face a disadvantage like you did just now, find a way to isolate your opponents.”

  Quin needed some time to let the message sink in, his brain could only soak up the pain he felt.

  “I thought you said you weren’t going to hit me,” Quin pointed.

  “I do not recall arranging such stipulations,” Onyl replied with crossed arms.

  Conon nodded as he averted eye contact. “Yeah, sorry ‘bout that brother. I thought she was just gonna use her shadow arts. That’s on me.”

  Once some of the pain subsided, Quin returned to his feet. All things considered, he could have been in a worse exchange. At least it wasn’t against any real enemies.

  Suddenly, Ythan appeared from the woods. Back from the city, his scrunched up face displayed obvious rage. He saw his three subordinates across the field and his face lit up.

  “What are you all doing over here?!” he yelled with his arms bent out. “Get busy!”

  At once, Onyl and Conon hurried away from camp; Quin quickly read the writing and rushed down the wooded hills with them all the way to the bottom.

  He still couldn’t believe how fast the scenery changed as they went from a grassy peak to a rocky path in no time.

  Being a Sentar’i was downright incredible.

  They stopped at a road where a tall ridge divided it in two, a sign of one of the many forked paths into and out of Sirqu. Conon leaned back along the rock wall and let out a big sigh.

  “I guess we still don’t have a mission,” he speculated.

  “I thought we would have had one by now,” said Onyl who stood right by the divide’s edge.

  Her face pointed to Quin as she examined her new teammate. “There is something I would like to know, new guy.”

  “Oh. Uh sure, what is it,” he replied.

  “It is to my understanding that the Aerviv himself placed you on our team, yes?”

  “Well yeah, that’s what happened.”

  “Is there any reason why he picked you in particular?”

  Quin never thought about it. Originally, he had the belief that his actions in the Pit put him in big trouble.

  Once he found out he was in the clear however, his conscience cleared the whole matter up.

  “I don’t know actually,” Quin answered. “I actually thought I was screwed when I had to talk to him, but instead, he just put me here with you guys.”

  Bemusement masked Onyl’s face. “How peculiar. So he really picked some random trainee to join our squad?”

  “I’m tellin’ you, it’s all a test. All of us are put ‘n a tough spot,” Conon stated as he walked off. “We hafta go through our next mission carryin’ a raw Tyroviv (no offense brother).

  “Meanwhile at the same time, you gotta be ‘n a mission wit’ only a month’s worth of trainin’. I think we’re all gettin’ screwed if you ask me.

  “Anyway, I’ll be right back. Water’s tryin’ to get out of me.”

  Conon’s hunch traveled in both of his partners’ heads while he excused himself. Why would the Aerviv put Quin in such a state? Maybe he wasn’t quite in the clear as he believed.

  His partners were doing what they could to get him ready for a mission. How effective could he be? What sort of perils would he face? Would Ythan even allow him a chance to get involved?

  So many questions with so little answers.

  Onyl closed her eyes and gave a sigh of her own. “But why?” she whispered, she too couldn’t find any solid answers.

  From the other side of the ridge fork, a skid entered their ears. Onyl had enough time to notice a figure swing around from the edge before her head forcefully collided with the rock wall.

  She instantly dropped to the ground, knocked unconscious.

  From the other side, the three hulkish troublemakers from before swooped in onto Quin’s sight. He froze, unsure if he could tend to Onyl with danger inches in front of him.

  The large woman kept her eyes on Quin. “Now that tha’ mouthy bitch is taken care of, we can go ‘head ‘n’ finish what we started.”