Theo jumped up, grabbing the flags on the brick wall in a single leap, and landing on the ground with a controlled bend in the knees, silent like a cat. He burst out with explosive power, and was almost running on top of the metal poles as he made his way up, grabbing bars and swinging up and over. In a matter of minutes, he had managed to reach the top of the labyrinth and grab the final flag. With a holler, he jumped down and landed on the ground, rolling to a stop just before Sparrow, holding the flags. His chest was heaving slightly, and his heavy breathing was the only sound as they judged his performance. They nodded, approving of his speed.

“That’s one down.” Sparrow said, turning around to exit the first room.

As they walked to the second room, Theo cycled Endless Song and Striding Wind, and by the time they had opened the door, he was breathing normally, and his muscles didn’t feel sore at all. Even though it had been more than a solid month, he still wasn’t used to feeling sore one moment, then fine the next. It was like a phantom pain, and one that lingered in his mind enough that he had to shake it away and focus on not feeling it.

As Theo entered the maze of tight corners and Sparrow looked on, he braced himself against the wall.

“And, go!” Sparrow commanded, and Theo sprang off, moving forward. It was still a very tight maze with sharp turns, but it was getting easier the more he ran through it. Also, he was using everything at his disposal. No longer did he run through the maze normally. Taking advantage of the fact that it was cramped enough that he almost had to tuck his elbows in so as to not bump into anything (enough to give a worm claustrophobia), Theo instead jumped off the walls, almost swimming through air as he held onto maze walls with all four limbs and pushed off with very short uses of the third step of Striding Wind.

By essentially climbing across the maze, Theo was able to leap as fast as he wished while also holding onto the walls to navigate corners. He had felt very clever when he’d thought of this, and the look on Sparrow’s face was incredible.

At this point, Sparrow had gotten used to this particular method, but it was still much faster than you’d expect from someone climbing about on all fours.

Eventually, Theo emerged from the exit of the maze like a four-legged spider, and dropped onto the floor (as there were no more walls to brace against and hold). Once again, Sparrow nodded, and once again, they moved onto the next room.

The suspended platforms were low enough that Theo could, at this point, cheat and just jump up and reach every single one. And even if Sparrow hadn’t expressly forbidden it, he wouldn’t have done it either. It took the fun out of the challenge. So instead, he did it exactly as intended, swinging from one to the other, almost flying as he leapt through the air to grab the next one. This was no longer a test of accuracy, but a dance (and Theo could almost hear a song hidden in the squeaking chains and his breathing).

Theo reached the end, and jumped down. He quirked an eyebrow, and Sparrow nodded in response. They moved on.

The fourth obstacle course was the only one Theo was still worried about. Partially from the many wires that could skin him, but also the absolute level of control needed. It wasn’t like the labyrinth, where everything was thick enough to grab, or the maze with solid walls. There were no tricks here, just finesse and dexterity and speed.

And the fact that he’d run this through enough times that he knew it well (the same way someone who’s heard a song ten times thinks they have a shot at remembering all the lyrics), or at least enough to try to properly finish it at a reasonable pace today.

Theo took a running start, approaching the entrance of the wires before diving and sliding under one at waist-height. Scrambling to his feet, he started to jog, sticking to a reasonable speed for now. He juked left and right, ducking under wires and hopping over others. And for a while, he succeeded.

Eventually, however, Theo’s foot slipped, and slid straight into a wire. He winced and held back a groan of pain as it cut through the side of his shoe like a spade through clay. It scraped the side of his foot, and he felt the skin come off his pinky toe. Gingerly, he moved his foot closer (and away from the wires), but while he didn’t lose anything, it would still hamper his movement (especially considering the concentration needed to infuse anything, concentration which would now have to be allocated to pain management).

Taking a deep breath, Theo tried to focus himself (and not think about the excruciating pain of getting skinned). Putting weight on his foot, Theo decided that he could manage to reach the entrance even with such an injury. So he continued the slog, trying his best to not focus on his foot.

After a few more rolls and dives and jumps (all while trying to suppress a scream), Theo made it out the other side. Sparrow was beside him in an instant, and they waited for a moment, deliberating. Eventually, they shrugged and started to hum Hymn of Healing.

“Do I pass?” Theo asked, as they finished up regrowing his skin. He wiggled his toes, felt the lack of pain, and was about to celebrate when he realised that his shoe was still cut open and now his foot felt the

“In the loosest definition of passing, yes. You are just competent enough to survive.” Sparrow said, pausing. “That being said, you’re going to be drilling this specific obstacle course a lot more.” Theo felt his fingers (and feet) trembling at the thought of potentially getting skinned again.

He was very thankful that at this point he was almost exclusively infusing mana into Self Awareness to help with controlling his body, and resolved to continue doing so.

“That being said, we can move on now. I think you’ve had enough of a grasp on movement that we can start training actual fighting.” Sparrow continued. Theo was at once excited and apprehensive.

They walked out and back to the reception area, where Grant was waiting. Since the altercation at the pub, the taciturn man had somehow turned even less friendly.

“I would like to book the sparring room.” Sparrow requested, politely. Grant didn’t even look at them as he continued to work on stacks and stacks of paper.

“Help me book the sparring room, please.” Sparrow reiterated, with a little more force in his voice. Grant looked up at them, and then went back to the paperwork.

“We all have things we’d like, but we can’t have them.” Grant said quietly, but still loud enough for both Sparrow and Theo to hear.

“Book me the sparring room. Now.” Sparrow said, less politely.

Grant didn’t physically respond to that, and continued to work as Sparrow stewed in anger and Theo felt more and more awkward.

Minutes later, Grant finally moved the sheet of paper he had been writing on to a specific pile, then, with a swift motion, picked out a sheet from the middle of a whole sheaf of reports, and handed it to Sparrow. They looked it over, and handed it back to Grant.

“Wrong form.” Grant looked at the sheet, and then slowly turned to Sparrow.

“Oh, you’re correct. Silly me.” Grant spoke with a completely serious face and deadpan voice as he went straight back to ignoring them.

Fed up, Sparrow snatched the sheet Grant was currently working on, hastily scribbled on it, and motioned for Theo to follow, as they made their way to a different hallway Theo had never been down, ignoring the sounds of Grant’s protests echoing through the building.

“He’ll be fine.” Sparrow pre-emptively responded to Theo’s unasked question.

Upon reaching the room, Theo was surprised at how minimalist it was. Solid stone floor, with a series of logs and log-shaped objects as tall and wide as he was. Sparrow, without a word, walked over to the first log in their path, and punched it halfway across the room. Their set jaw relaxed, and a lovely smile started to reach its fingers across their face.

“That is what you’re learning today. Power.” Sparrow said.

“Punch this.” Sparrow indicated a log. Or at least, Theo thought it was a log until he punched it. It was a little softer (just enough not to hurt his hand), and his punch sank in slightly before rebounding. The log-like thing rocked slightly, but didn’t move. Sparrow nodded, analysing and replaying the punch in their head.

“Ah, you’re punching with your fist.” Sparrow said.

“…isn’t that what you’re supposed to do?” Theo asked, face resembling that of someone who was just informed that 1 + 1 = 3. Sparrow moved behind Theo, and held his hands to manipulate and move them as they demonstrated.

“Put your whole body and weight behind it. You are not just your fist. You have an arm connected to your fist, a body connected to your arm, and legs connected to your body.” Sparrow tapped each body part as they talked.

“If you swing with only your fist in mind, it won’t be leveraging the strengths of the rest of your body. You are transferring the momentum from your legs up your body, through your arm, and into your fist. You are using your core and back muscles and everything else. As you punch, feel the muscles in your arm connecting your fist strongly to your body. Feel the muscles in your body connecting your arm to your legs. Feel the muscles in your feet connecting your legs to the ground.” Sparrow explained. Theo closed his eyes, trying to make sense of all, trying to feel all the things that Sparrow had said.

Theo focused, and tried to punch again. It felt about the same.

Sparrow moved away from Theo, back towards the log.

“Watch closely. It’s the difference between this,” Sparrow punched, and the first log stayed squarely where it was. Their body was relaxed, and no part of their body besides their arm moved.

“And this,” Sparrow slightly grunted, as their entire body moved forward. They were a drawn bow the instant before an arrow flew true. Theo could feel the reverberations through the ground, and the log blurred as it flew backwards. Oddly enough, they weren’t moving any faster than they were with the previous strike. “Now try again.”

Theo tried to feel it, and deliberately made a motion to keep as much of his body still as possible. Using just his fist, the punch flew slow, and was even weaker than before, like a pebble thrown by a toddler.

Then, readying up, he braced his entire body and tried to punch as he moved forward. It was a flailing mess of limbs, and he missed the log entirely before tripping over his own feet.

“You’d think that Self Awareness would help with that.” Sparrow mused. “Honestly, it’s probably better for my health that you’re not a prodigy with this as well as everything else.” Theo blushed at that, and Sparrow quickly added, “And that’s okay! You’re doing well.”

“Just like the obstacle courses, this is taking your raw strength and ability, and making it as efficient as possible. It’s not the most intuitive, but you can see why it’s important to learn.” Sparrow continued.

“Now, let’s give it another go, shall we?”

Hours later, Theo at least understood the importance of what Sparrow was talking about, even if he didn’t understand how to use it or how it worked. Something about momentum and force and weight.

It took the form of a lot of punching practice, posture and technique correction, and learning to co-ordinate his body. And by the end of the session, he was just about as competent as he was before.

At least, Theo had managed to figure out that essentially throwing his entire body at a log was somewhat effective at moving it, and Sparrow mentioned that he was halfway there to understanding what was actually going on.

“Good job today. Next time I’ll bring something extra to help demonstrate my point.” Sparrow said. They smiled, and Theo smiled back. He reflected on how much more pleasant their practice sessions had become and straightened up a little. Well, until Sparrow continued speaking.

“How do you feel about another errand?”