33 Summer 511
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Continued from (here)
The next midnight, Shausha resumed her regular routine with Goilath, though she felt something had changed. After their conversation about the Akalak, there seemed to be a purpose to their training; It seemed almost like preparation for something imminent, but unseen. They spoke rarely, focusing on picking up where they had left off when their rhythm was broken. The moon and stars were obscured by low-hanging clouds. Their purple mist swirled above as a stormy wind hurriedly pushed them onwards. Below, she could see the wind blowing the long grasses in gusts, creating waves in the sea of grass.
Darting around the sky, they performed their deadly dance. Shausha swooped in from the side, trying to use speed where she lacked strength. Goliath met her with a sturdy block. He nicked her across the shoulder with a counter-strike, but she used this small opening below his arm to strike at his ribs. His knee rose to meet her, but she kicked it down and away with the bottom of her right foot. Her knuckles bumped weakly against the thick layer of muscle beneath his dark gray fur. She grimaced to herself; A successful strike on Goliath never seemed to phase him. As time passed, the loose, wispy clouds rose and condensed into a foreboding, dark, and smoky wall.
Shausha bent sideways as she felt Golaith’s fist breeze past her waist. His opposite leg pulled up and kicked her sideways. She grabbed her side in pain and, losing balance, felt her wings fail. As she hurtled towards the ground, she desperately tried reopening her wings. They shriveled under the force of the howling air, trailing limply after the rest of her falling body. Before she was dashed upon the rocky walls below, she felt Goliath’s arm slide around her chest, halting her fall once again. She sheepishly regained her balance and pulled out of his grasp. Panting and sweating, she continued her defense and her occasional offense.
Shausha saw a punch coming in low and fast from the right. She tightened her body and threw an arm up to block. However, she realized too late that it was a feint. Goliath’s opposite leg came up and across her body. She reeled, trying to regain her sense of “up” and simultaneously trying not to lose altitude. Every meter she fell was a meter she’d have to attain with double effort from her aching wings. Her head swam and she felt a small pop! from behind her forehead. A warm trickle of blood flowed from her nose and mixed with the cold sweat that beaded above her lips. It ran across her face and down her neck and between her breasts. She licked her lips once, taking in the salty, metallic taste. The scent reinvigorated her resolve and, looking up, she saw Goliath licking his lips as well.
They flew together once more. Shausha, staying especially alert after the introduction of feints. Each breath was rough in her throat; Exhaustion wore at her muscles. Her reflexes felt delayed; She was forced to sacrifice parts of her body to absorb blows that she could not dodge. Once again, she felt Golaith’s rhythm begin to overwhelm her own. She screeched as he sent a downward kick into her shoulder. Her eyes stung from the pain and her injured shoulder could not support the demand of keeping her afloat. Again, she plummeted downwards.
After the second time Shausha fell, she allowed herself to be carried up to the middle layer of sky. Golaith waited for her to straighten her wings and began flapping before he gently tossed her into the air. Her back ached terribly. She held a finger above her head to indicate she needed a moment. Gliding through the currents, she tried to relieve the muscles in her back. This provided little relaxation as she had to hold her wings tight anyway to stay in the air. She looped back around to Goliath and noticed he showed signs of tiring as well; The steady tempo of his wings had become irregular.
“We’ll finish up very soon,” he called down at her. Shausha cupped her hands around her mouth and called out in acknowledgement. The moment she closed her lips, she heard the roll of thunder. She saw Goliath tilt an ear to the sky. After the hesitation, he gave two powerful beats of his wings and, using the uphill advantage, dove at her. Shausha’s wings felt heavy as she thrust air beneath them. The constant braking and accelerating this lesson demanded was challenging enough, but there was the added turbulence to compensate for. She felt her stomach drop as the wind pressure changed abruptly, leaving her with the sudden feeling of no buoyancy at all.
She whipped her head up to see where Goliath was in his descent. She looked up in time to see him break from his plummet. Squinting, she saw him flick the back of his hand at her several times. Obeying, she began to descend. The still air suddenly turned violent, howling fiercely and rippling through her fur. She felt the first heavy droplets of cold rain spot the back of her neck and wings. The freezing rain was welcome on her hot fur, but the wind had gotten frighteningly powerful. She collapsed after landing abruptly on her fatigued legs. Goliath landed with a thud as well. She looked around, unfamiliar with this part of the ruins; During their training, they must have drifted some distance.
Shausha ran after Goliath who was ducking under the toppled ceilings and towers of Xy’s above-ground complex. Suddenly, there was a boundless flash of light. Clapping her hands over her sensitive ears, Shausha waited for the sky’s reply. A mighty bellow of thunder rolled down from the clouds, causing her to jump in fright. The rain had intensified to a true tempest by now, sending a torrential downpour of water on their heads. Shausha clung onto the peaks of her wings and pulled them over her head to provide some sort of shelter.
After a minute of searching, Goliath abandoned his quest for finding an entrance. The lightning and thunder were constant now and Shausha was absolutely soaked despite her best efforts of staying dry. They stumbled into a cobblestone room that had weathered the years of neglect better than others. The ceiling creaked as wind howled through the cracks and water poured through the tattered roof. Shausha looked up when she heard Goliath chuckling beside her. He pushed his sopping hair from his forehead and turned towards her.
“I’m certainly no tracker, am I?” he smiled, ringing his ponytail and shaking his fur dry. Shausha, too, was ridding herself of the water that soaked her hair and added uncomfortable weight. As she leaned sideways, squeezing her dreadlocks, her eyes followed the rivulets of water that ran down his broad shoulders, tracing his muscular back and trailing down his narrow waist.
“No, your talents are not in finding your prey,” Shausha admitted, “it’s what you do after they’re cornered.” At this remark, Goliath turned to look at her. He pinned her with a stare straightened himself. Shausha’s heartbeat shot up a few paces. Slowly, he approached her.
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