“Huuu..” The sweat running down my neck gradually spreads thinner upon meeting the cold morning air.The muscles in my forearm tighten and ache in protest as I force them to finish a few last swings. “ One-hundred-fourty-eight… One-hundred-fourty-nine…Huu… -One-hundred-fifty” My shoulders loosen up as I immediately drop the training stick onto the snowy ground below me and unravel my tensed posture, allowing my body an escape from the stress.

I fell down onto the cold wooden floor of the porch beside me, spreading myself out over it while breathing in rapid gasps to replace the air that was quickly used up by my body for the uncompromising workout.

“‘Your body uses up more air when you train, you know? That’s why you have to breathe faster when you’re putting in more effort. The longer you go in that exhausted state the more your body adapts to it and becomes even better at taking in more air more frequently.’” I remembered our white-haired devil-commander’s seemingly simple explanation as she wore a face that said ‘You didn’t even know this?’. “Hah…” I chuckled at the thought as I pulled up my neck slightly to view the rising sun directly ahead of me. The orange that was bleeding into the already purple sky signaled the end of my morning training. As it did every morning.

I picked myself up before grabbing my practice pole and heading back inside the house where breakfast was sure to be waiting for me. -Crrk- As the back porch door slowly creaked close behind me, I removed my boots before marching towards my bedroom door with even, effortful steps. Even my back was straightened to an ‘I’ as I trekked towards my sanctuary. Correct and consistent effort was the bane of failure, my father had once told me. Although the slight ache in my neck and sting in my calves would cause me discomfort from time to time, it was nothing compared to the fear of never seeing him again.

I immediately plopped myself down in a chair as I entered my bedroom, leaning my training pole carefully against the wall after doing so. From my seat, I surveyed my room meticulously for any rogue snow or dust that might have been tracked in in my two hour absence. Spotting none, as usual, I turned my attention forward, towards the large map that hung in a glass frame directly above my charter’s table. Standing up to view it more closely, I reveled in the tiny details of its design. The mountains depicted were drawn in varying number and shape, some large groups of 4-5 donning snow-covered summits while other, single mountains, had more precise details, one shaped strangely as if it had been toppled over, it’s highest side stretching horizontally as the protruding part was barely half its size. Another stood tall and shapely as a regular mountain should, barring one strange detail. In its center prevailed a large circle of black that formed a gap nearly half the width of the entire landmark.

When I had first seen it as a child I blinked away before looking back at it time and time again, as if expecting it to have been suddenly redrawn at my having done so. But when it remained the same no matter how many times I tried to refresh reality, I asked my father how he had allowed such an obvious mistake to stay on the map he had worked his whole life to create. At my somewhat angry question, my father simply laughed in response before explaining: “That hole isn’t a mistake,Tetsu. It’s real. As real as the moon in the sky or… as real as that terrible slosh your mother calls dinner” I remembered how he whispered the last part in an attempt to get me to laugh. It worked all too well, however. Well enough to backfire on him once my mom demanded I explain what was so funny to me that night at the dinner table.

I chuckled again at the memory as I reveled in childlike fascination at the thought of such a strange and interesting mountain possibly existing in the world. I wondered if I’d ever have the chance to see it…

The thought brought me back to reality as I tensed my shoulders and pulled my head up straight once more. I’d bring him out of that place no matter what it cost for me to do so, and once I’d done that we’d be able to travel the world as he always promised. I was sure he wouldn’t be easy to convince, having lived up there so long without so much as a letter down to his ‘dear’ younger brother. But I had to try.

“But first, breakfast…” I salivated at the thought of all the food my mom could have possibly made this morning as I walked with lighter steps towards the kitchen. Passing by my mother’s room on the way, my heart dropped as I spotted out of the corner of my eye her sleeping, blanket-wrapped figure in the bed down the corridor. My mind fell into the pits of despair as I stared with indignation at the figure of the woman crude enough to sleep through her obligation to feed her child in the morning.

I started with heavy steps to her bedroom and as I did I noticed the savory smell of cooking meat invading my senses. My hungry mind played tricks on me as it, too, couldn’t handle the harsh reality of having to wait so long for a meal. As I found myself leaning over my mother in her bedroom I began to shake her almost immediately in impatience, unable to practice any respect at her indolent form. She immediately rolled away at my touch, whining in a much higher tone than she usually had. My eyebrows twitched in frustration as I watched her groan in annoyance and turn even farther away from me.

My blood boiled underneath my skin that was still cold from the prolonged exposure to the outdoor air. ‘Ah’ a nefarious thought crossed my mind as I felt the stiff chill of my arm that hung down next to me. I slowly pulled back the blanket covering my mother, reaching my arm in to find her back collar and turning away as I did so. I was still a gentleman after all. Reaching inside, my hand felt softer and fluffier hair before finding the back collar of the woman inside. I grew confused at the unfamiliar sensation, but there was no room for hesitation inside my hungry mind.

I pushed my hand down my mother’s back, exposing her skin to my freezing arm that would surely cause quite a sting at its contact.

“YEEOW” A high pitched squeal erupted from inside the blanket below me accompanied by the unfamiliar sensation of soft skin on my hand as the figure from underneath the blanket quickly pulled away from my touch, turning around to glare at me as my eyes grew wide in shock. “Y-you… w-what are you doing!?” Elvi screamed from under me as she glared up at me with eyes full of suspicion and judgment.

“E-Elvi?” I questioned in confusion as the sound of rushed footsteps sounded out, coming closer from the direction of the kitchen. “What’s going on in here!?” My mother shouted from the doorway as she glanced between me and Elvi, and then at my arm that was still buried deep in the blanket over her. She immediately ran over to my side and smacked my temple before delving into a quick scolding: “Boy! Don’t you have any shame!? Coming in here and doing this, what the hell were you thinking!?” My mother shouted at me without any hesitation as she stared with exaggeratedly angry eyes into mind.

“I-I didn’t know it was h-her! I swear! I thought it was y-you.. -a-and why is she sleeping in your bed any-” I spat out through frantic breaths at the sudden judgment cast on me by the two women in the room before I was interrupted by a violent stinging at my ear that I quickly found was my mothers pinching hand as she begun to drag me out of the room. “Stop spewing nonsense! Get out here right now!” She shouted at me before turning to the bed behind me that was out of my view. “I’m so sorry for this Elvi, I’ll make sure he gets a proper scolding!”

“O-Oh alright… I don’t think he actually meant to do anything so-” She started from behind me as I sighed inwardly in relief. “Nonsense! This boy will have the worst beating of his life so help me god…” She seethed with extreme emotion as I quivered under her dangerous glare, fearing for my life what would happen when she finally got me alone.

Dragging me out halfway towards the kitchen, my mother immediately released my ear from her grasp as she turned me around to face her, her face appearing much more serious with much of the indignation gone from her solemn expression. “Tetsu.” She spoke my name as she looked up straight into my eyes.

“Y-Yes?” I answered in an intrepid anticipation. “You’ll listen to me, right?” She asked as she continued to stare into my eyes, a bit of the anger returning to her face as she said so. “Y-Yes! Of course! Anything you say!” I responded quickly in fear of her turning to a less… moral means of getting me to obey her. “Good.” She answered again quickly as her face returned to a more relaxed expression. “Don’t tell anyone about this.” She said with a straight face.

“About what?” I answered back, my confusion growing greater. “About her… -about Elvi sleeping in my bed.” She started. “That girl… she’s been through a lot, you know? It took a lot of courage for her to come to sleep in my bed. I don’t want her thinking that she should be ashamed of it.” My mother explained as my fear soon faded away, instead replaced by an all too familiar anger that had left me weeks ago.

“Of course.” I answered back with resolution, reaffirming in my mind once again that doing what I had done that day was the correct decision. The thought of her being unable to sleep at night due to that man… I clenched my fist at the thought of it as my mother continued to stare up at me.

“Still… you really went for it, huh?” She said rhetorically as her face went smug and suggestive, cupping her hand up to her mouth as she giggled. “N-No it wasn’t like that!” I answered quickly, the shame returning blood to my cheeks as I frantically responded. “I-I thought you h-hadn’t woken up yet! I w-was hungry and….” I continued to explain the situation hopelessly for a few more minutes as my mom simply ignored my reasonings and answered with a few sarcastic ‘Mhmms’ and ‘Uhhuh’s’ while she made her way back to the kitchen.

_________________________________________________________________________

-Shrrh- The broad thickets of brush shuffled in the cold gusts of wind that found their way through to the forests deepest spaces. Looming one over another, the trees swayed and leaned over each other, filling up even the smallest margins of the lush forest sky around them. Down below, on the marshy soil that was the foundation of the land, a young man walked cautiously between the bases and stumps of the trees around him. Making his way over mud-splattered stones and avoiding bushes and plants that looked particularly colorful as the forest trees cast their large shadows below, blocking out the moonlight shining down from above.

“R-Reltin? Arton?” Rafal shouted in a voice too soft to reach even the crickets around him as he looked around himself in search of the ones who had invited him here in the first place. The boys had disappeared from the house before he even had the chance to notice their training sticks were gone.

“M-midnight training?” He remembered himself asking the day before.

“Relax, Llana said there wasn’t anything to worry about. Well… at least predator-wise. You should probably still tread very carefully around the greenery lest, you know, ‘Phhh’ “ Elvi gestured an explosion around her head with her hands as she spoke the last part.

“Hrrh” Rafal shuddered at her words in his memory as he eyed a particularly green bush that stood a couple feet away from him.

-GRRRRGH-

The sudden growl of an unseen beast spurred to life Rafal’s previously weak-willed movements as he jumped in fright before turning to face the direction of the malicious sound. “Hrrrrrk” He croaked in fear as he saw the four-legged form of a wolf that stood hazily in the distance, eyeing him ferociously before it broke out suddenly in a dash toward him. “Uuuuh-AAAAAH!” Rafal’s quiet lurch turned into a manic shouting as he ran frantically in the opposite direction of the terrifying thing that chased behind him.

Running through pools of melted snow and thick bushes that would have otherwise stood to block his path, he was completely unconcerned about his surroundings as he continued in a mad dash to wherever the opposite direction of this creature was. His fur jacket caught on many small branches and leaves as he ran, cutting slits and making marks on it as he ran. Having come undone at the seams, the sides of his jacket swung unusually heavily as he ran, slowing him down as they knocked against the obstacles in his path. Why was his jacket so heavy today? Rafal wondered in panic as the sounds of twigs breaking and mud sloshing sounded louder and louder from behind him.

His panic grew worse as he spotted the ledge a couple dozen feet in front of him, recalling which direction he was heading in his fear rose through the roof as he realized the violent rushing river that was awaiting him just ahead. He looked behind while running for just a moment, spotting the shadow of the wolf that was just a few steps behind him now as he continued to run toward his aqueous fate ahead.

Looking ahead, he spotted a single vine which hung loosely from a tree branch directly above the center of the river ahead. Staring holes into it as he thought of the lunch meat he’d become if he stopped, he shut his eyes tight for a second before opening them and bracing himself. He ran faster than he had ever ran before nearing the edge of the land just before the river that was surely waiting in front of him. However, before he could make his leap of faith, he stopped.

His legs froze up as he grew closer, and although his mind screamed at him to take the risk, his body wouldn’t obey. He fell and curled up into a ball at the nearing sound of the wolf behind him and prepared for the violent ravaging of his fragile flesh. Preparing himself, it wasn’t rage or despair that he felt at the end of his life. No, it was a profound sense of regret that crept into the depths of his heart. The regret of not saying what was often on his mind, the regret of missing out on everything that his fear had prevented him from trying. The regret of not taking that one final jump and finding out what could have been.

-GRRRH- As the growling grew louder and the sound of flesh being torn reached his mind he was in awe at the miraculous lack of feeling his fear could bring him at the end of his life, not even being able to feel the pain of his own body being ravaged. -Gnrrh Chk- As the sound of meat being chewed and lips smacking continued from behind him, Rafal grew confused and soon opened his eyes and removed his hands from his face to see the indulgent figure of the wolf that chewed at a chunk of meat from a pocket on the inside of his jacket he’d never seen there before.

“Huh?” Looking closer, it wasn’t a wolf at all. A black and white spotted farm dog continued to gnaw at the meat on the inside of his jacket as he slowly took it off to reveal the other piece of meat planted on the inside of the other side. “...” He stared in shock at the meat before two silhouettes gradually revealed themselves from the forest around him.

“I thought you said that this would cure his fear! All it did was make him embarrass himself like that in front of us.” Reltin spoke as he held his shaking head in his hands, staring at Rafal with guilt as he did so.

“Hey, I said it will eventually. If fear was so easy to cure there wouldn’t be such a thing as cowardice in this world anymore.” Elvi responded as she looked gently down at the still curled up Rafal. “Come on, let’s go.” She said as she extended her arm toward him.

“Y-you did this…?” Rafal asked in a confused tone as he looked between the meat, farm dog, and the two people that stood in front of him.

Both Reltin and Elvi looked at each other nervously before turning back to Rafal in anxious anticipation of his next words. A large period of silence permeated in the air for a couple more seconds before Rafal finally opened his mouth to speak.

“...Huuuu Thank god…” Breathing out deeply, Rafal sighed in relief at the realization that the last nightmarish ten minutes was just a test designed by his teacher in order to help him. At his sigh the expression in both Elvi and Reltin’s faces relaxed and Rafal soon took her hand to pull himself up to his feet.

“I-I…Kuhum” Rafal stuttered as he usually did before coughing intentionally a few times and opening his mouth to speak again. “I think it worked.” He said without a moment of hesitation in his voice. Reltin looked toward Elvi in shock at one of his brother’s first confident sentences he’d heard in his life.

“Is working.” Elvi responded as Rafal looked back at her in confusion. “It hasn’t finished its work quite yet, hence, it's still working.” She started. “And on that note.” She added before putting both her fingers in her mouth and whistling loudly. “It’s time to go again.” She said while donning a sly smile like a devil.

“A-Again?” Rafal quizzed in fear and surprise, returning to his stuttering voice. “What, you didn’t think it would be just one test, did you?” She said as she continued to smile. “It would hardly be a training session if there was just one practice.” As she spoke, two figures appeared out of the forest wrapped in black cloth. They wielded rough and thick training poles as they began to walk toward the group. “They won’t be as peaceful as the dogs this time.” Elvi started. “So if I were you, I’d start running.”

At her words, Rafal stopped gawking and turned the other way to run. Soon followed by the heavy footsteps of the two boys chasing behind him.