Come Wednesday morning, I found myself meditating in the same field I had first used for sparring with Becca. Events had been progressing far faster than I expected, and I still wasn’t sure if I was taking the correct approach to things. Nonetheless, it seemed that Vince had tied himself to our group, and now all that remained was to begin his training. I made another set of runed weights for him, combat training for both beasts and humans would be a team effort. And I had a number of training techniques for his ki that would accelerate things. But I queried whether this was really the right way to go about it, and hence I had come out early this morning to reconsider. At the very least, with the tournament out of the way, I’d finally be able to formally train Lennie rather than just have him be a gopher on the hunting trips.

While I mediated on my decisions and the upcoming training regime, I waited for the trio. I had left instructions with Lennie to get enough provisions for lunch, and had asked both Lennie and Becca to get Vince on their way out here. They really ought to be along soon…

Just as I thought that, I sensed them reach the edge of my spiritual perception, navigating through the forest towards this glade. A short while later, and they emerged from the tree line and joined me. As we sat to have lunch, I started to go over with them my vision for the next several weeks and then to the start of winter. I was just describing one of Lennie’s most important roles within our group, when someone else broke through the treeline at a hard run, ran right up to us, and promptly doubled, panting heavily.

The four of all eyed each other wondering who the newcomer was and, wondering, in part, whether she was going to say anything.

Still panting lightly, she finally did.

“Hah. I want you to help me with my soft affinities! Hah. Hah.”

“What’s wrong with them?” I asked, smiling wryly.

“Well, you see,” she began, tapping her fingers together awkwardly, “I have a hard affinity for Air and umm, well, my soft affinities are light, kinetic and thermal. When really I should have developed an electric affinity.”

“You weren’t even in the City tournament. I don’t know you. None of the rest of us know you. Tell me this Sam, why should I train you?”

“No, I admit I wasn’t in the City Tournament. But I was in my District Tournament! I even qualified by ringing the bell, but lost in the first round. And besides, you and I are have lots in common, and I can be a great gi— errr, friend, who happens to be a girl! I know you can handle your sword, and see, look, I even have a longsword, woah-oh,” she cried, as she almost dropped the weapon.

I rubbed my forehead with my palm. I don’t nearly recall Sam being this silly or… forward? Was she hitting on me? I guess I didn’t really meet her until we were all a bit older, but still.

“Can you even muster enough strength to swing that thing?” I asked.

“Oh, yeah, sure,” she replied, then took a stance and began swinging with heavy grunts. “Hi-ya, hii-ya, hi—klang” her sword went as I caught it barehanded with the use of a bit of gray ki.

“Okay, first of all,” I started, “you don’t know how to use this weapon. I know you’re trying to make yourself feel like you’re worthy, but you need to get out of that level of self-doubt. On the other hand, while you clearly take yourself seriously, you don’t act like you do, which makes a lot of other people question that. Sure, you get the cute girl-act going on, but that’ll only last a few more years until it gets to be really old. Act on the outside as you think on the inside, and you’ll be one of the best spiritualists in a decade or so. Second, you clearly have no natural talent for a longsword. Your muscle and joints are tensing up and relaxing all in the wrong way for either a one or two handed sword. But you are moving in just the way you would with a spear or a trident. I’ll hold onto this sword for now,” I asserted, yanking the sword out of her hands, “while you run back into the City and buy yourself a basic trident,” pressing a thousand marks into her now empty hand.

Sam’s eyes widened in surprise as she realized—or perhaps just hoped—that I had agreed to train her, and that I wasn’t taunting her. “Yes sir!” she cried and she pumped her fist in the air, “I’ll be right back!”

As Sam ran away from us back to the City, my three friends—students?—sidled up to me. “Hey Boss,” Lennie said, “who was that, how did you know her, and what just happened?”

“Exactly what was supposed to happen,” I said with a grin. “Just that.”