They advanced as far as they had initially hoped. They were days away from reaching their destination, which made Finnian more anxious than he could comprehend. Yes, he had wanted to get to the Silver Orchid and all the mysteries that seemed to be found in that dorean for some time, but discovering them frightened him. Or perhaps what he was going to find out there. So he tried to focus on other details, although it was not always possible.

Blue Cliff, where the pack was headed, was near the region of Armecia, a city in a valley north of the Silver Orchid. Braunah and her kind were closer than them to their goal, and though Finnian was dying of curiosity to know the reason for its name, they had another course to take.

"It's because of the water," Braunah said.

He had built the city near the Nerelina River, an area of water as pure as if it came from the north. The Blue Cliff castle was a short distance away, where their monarch resided, and they also hid in case of significant danger. The pack would go there to reinforce their defences after the last attacks, although they would not stay there longer than necessary.

No matter how curious they were to visit that city, they would have to postpone it for another occasion. They were near the Sea of Grass' borders, but on that occasion, they had to sleep in the open, without any sanctuary to guarantee their rest. Not that it was necessary, especially since the pack was so numerous that they would need one of considerable size to avoid being crowded.

"Training?" Flicka repeated, almost as if it was the last thing she would expect to be asked.

"The duel with Sköll made us realize that we still have a lot of room for improvement," Finnian said.

"Just for them?" Flicka said.

As much as he would love to jump into a fight, he did not possess the strength of the elthean, let alone the experience of his buddies. Any of those present outclassed Blanche and him when it came to fighting, and while he wasn't afraid to join them, he wouldn't be the one to jump in only to have them end up hurt because of him. However, Nero's mother was adamant about her opinion. None would be left behind, and they would all have something to do before dark. Blanche and Ark would be on one side, while he would alternate between his friends, as they would only face one opponent.

"There are times when numbers are key, but how you use them will determine it even more," Braunah said.

Sometimes, it was advisable to end a fight as soon as possible without allowing your opponent to react. At other times, especially if you weren't sure what might happen or who you were facing, being cautious could be the difference between coming out alive or not. Thus, they did not fight one wolf but a succession of them. Regardless of what happened hours before, none of them wanted to face Team Signer in a spirit of revenge for Sköll's defeat. They volunteered to test the Signers' strength. At least that way, they felt they were working together, even when they were pursuing different goals.

One by one, Aer, Rune, Leith and Nero alternated, suddenly changing according to the preferences of their opponent or the indications of Braunah and Ead. Both had staked themselves as judges, dictating rules and limitations to see how they would react. The result? An exhausting one, though they didn't complain. It was they in the first place who sought such a thing, for they would only grow stronger if they learned from other sources.

"You're next, Signer," Flicka said.

"Why do I think that this is more than training?" Finnian said.

They had discussed it before among themselves, but something told him it was a way of guaranteeing that Nero would be okay, albeit peculiarly. Perhaps some congratulated him when he won his duel against Sköll, but that didn't stop them from silently contemplating the possibility of him being exiled because he was the Signer's partner. Even Finnian didn't like to use his status to be treated differently. They were doing it enough, but it didn't seem fair for Nero to suffer for it.

"We've accepted your alliance," Flicka said, "but you failed. We need to know if you have what it takes to fight. It doesn't matter who stands in your way."

In other words, he couldn't talk his way out of the situation. Even if his magical repertoire was limited, he unfolded his staff and stuck it into the ground, accepting that. The wolf might share traits with Nero, but neither she was his mother, nor his buddy would make them act otherwise.

"Don't worry. I won't be too hard on you."

Then, after saying those words, Flicka expelled a fire so blue from her mouth that it could be mistaken for the ocean. His first instinct was to run, look for a new angle from which to protect himself or counterattack. However, he knew well that such a flame could be sustained for longer, and from the way she had spoken to him, he didn't even doubt her intentions. Using the staff to channel his magic, Finnian used both hands to twist it, generating a shield that blocked the flame as cold as ice, surprising him as he realized it.

"She's not so different from Nero," Finnian muttered.

Then the wolf cut that current, extinguishing the flames with a prominent bite. From her mouth came a mist that covered the small field around them. Cold, so much so that it managed to penetrate even through his clothing, numbing him from moving. She propelled herself with her hind legs at that very instant, lunging towards him swiftly. It was a direct attack, too much for someone with experience, not that he was a complete novice.

Fixing his senses on Flicka, he waited until the instant she was close to him, and instead of dodging her, he stamped his foot on the ground so that rock came between them. Although it was no match for the monoliths that Nero managed to move, the collision was direct, but it bought him time. Flicka used her claws to break through, at which point Finnian drew an arc with his staff, creating a curtain of air that slowed the wolf down.

"Not bad. What else will you do with an enemy close to you?" Flicka said.

"This," Finnian said.

With his left hand, a golden glow was followed by a shower of chains that imprisoned her. It was a scaled-down version of what Aer could generate, but that was how his magic worked. He learned from whoever wanted to teach him and what his friends were capable of. He might be a frail human who was far from abandoning his title of mage-in-training, but that wouldn't stop him from persisting.

"The first rule of survival is that you can't get used to what you know," Flicka said as soon as he released her. "Keep improving, keep learning, because you never stop."

Her grandparents had a similar view. "They would give everything they know for what they don't know," identical to what Flicka had just shown her. That day as strange as it might seem to him, for they were all so long by now that he had grown accustomed to it, was a constant reminder that he was allowed to learn and make mistakes, but some mistakes could not be fixed.

As soon as night finally caught up with them, dinner was the first thing they needed to keep from flagging. Even he felt his mind sluggish from over-concentration and frustrated that it hadn't always worked out the way they would have liked.

"Any lessons from this training?" Ead said.

"Don't mess with the pack. What a temper they have!" Aer exclaimed.

"You never know where they might attack you, so always be prepared," Blanche said.

Perhaps they were not close to fainting, at least not thanks to the dinner, since they had to limit their strength several times. What they did agree on, apart from the fact that they should not make them angry, was that each fight was unique in its way, and what worked in one might not work in the next. As they learned, so would their opponents. No matter how powerful they were, if they knew how they would react, what moves or spells they would use, they would lose.

"Every day is unique, so you have to make the most of it," Finnian said.

"You're too optimistic," Blanche said.

"Maybe, but after working so much today, that's the only conclusion I can come to," Finnian said.

There was another, one that his friends shared, but which none of them voiced aloud, not out of fear, but a concern about their imminent future. It was a concern about their impending future - what if it was not enough, what if all that strength they possessed could not match that of their enemies?

However, there was not much more they could do that day, although a new surprise came to them when they were encouraged to participate in their "campfire tales". It was something as simple as gathering around a fire and sharing stories. It didn't matter if they were extended or short, with hidden messages or just for fun. They did it to bond, to create bonds that were not seen as possible at first. Because the time they spent each day was unique, and they would never get it back.

"You don't see something like this every day. Wolves telling bedtime stories?" Finnian said.