With a final glance at the now quiet tent, Leon leaned back slightly, arms resting behind his head, and watched the stars wheel slowly overhead. The wind rustled through the branches like a sigh, and the fire crackled on—warm, steady, a small beacon of peace in the dark woods.
The morning light came, and with just a few minutes from its appearance, Towan and Elliot were up, used to waking with the sun.
—“Good morning, wolf fighters,” Leon greeted them, already crouched by the fire, flipping something over a pan with the kind of calm that said yes, I’ve done this a hundred times before.
—“Let’s eat and pack this up,” he added, not even turning around as he heard them stretch and shuffle closer.
—“Good morning,” both brothers mumbled in unison as they plopped down beside him, still a little groggy but definitely hungry.
Breakfast was simple—flatbread, dried fruit, and something that vaguely resembled scrambled eggs but tasted way better than expected.
—“Did you actually season this?” Elliot asked mid-bite, squinting at the pan like it had just revealed a hidden talent.
—“What do you take me for, a barbarian?” Leon said with a raised eyebrow.
—“Kind of,” Towan muttered.
Leon ignored him.
After eating, they packed the tent with practiced ease and started walking again, the dirt path winding gently between tall trees and the occasional burst of birdsong.
—“If there’s no problem on the way,” Leon said over his shoulder, “we’ll be at my dojo by midday.”
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—“Finally!” Towan said, his pace immediately picking up. “No offense to camping under constant threat of death, but I’m ready for a roof and maybe something that isn’t stew.” He stopped only to add “No more wild animals trying to bite my face off.”
—“Don’t jinx it,” Elliot muttered. “Watch us run into a corrupted boar with a grudge.”
—“Now that you mention it,” Leon cut in, “I did meet a squirrel once who looked like he was planning something…”
Towan stared at him. “You’re joking, right?”
Leon gave no answer—just raised an eyebrow and kept walking.
The brothers exchanged a look.
—“Okay, now I’m scared of squirrels,” Elliot said. “Thanks.”
—“Also—training. Real training. Not ‘fight these surprise wolves and hope your instincts save you’ training.”
Leon smirked.
—“Hey, wolves are nature’s pop quizzes. And you passed.”
They continued down the path, the forest thinning slowly as the trees gave way to rolling hills in the distance.
Leon’s hand hovered briefly over his belt, brushing the small pouch where the rings now rested.
The silhouette of a distant building appeared just barely on the horizon—low, wide-roofed, and built with the unmistakable symmetry of a dojo.
Leon suddenly slowed down and pulled something from his belt pouch. Two small, dark rings, glinting faintly in the morning light. Their surfaces shimmered subtly, like ripples in a calm lake.
—“Here. These are for you.” He handed one to each of them without explanation.
Towan turned his in his hand. “Uh… thanks? Is this like a ‘Congrats on not dying’ gift?”
—“Think of it as a reward,” Leon said with a cryptic smile. “They’re Essentia-infused. Handmade, too.”
—“Wait—you made them?” Elliot asked.
Leon blinked, then waved it off. “Wha—no, no. I mean, I know the guy who made them. Great guy. Beardy. Lives in a canyon. Probably a hermit. Definitely not me.”
Towan squinted. “This sounds made up.”
Both brothers examined the rings more closely. The moment they slid them on, the metal adjusted slightly—almost imperceptibly—to fit perfectly.
—“Huh,” Elliot muttered. “Weird… It feels like it’s syncing with my Essentia. Is that possible?”
—“No idea,” Leon said way too quickly.
Towan narrowed his eyes. “You’re the worst liar I’ve ever met.”
Leon just smiled, unreadable as ever. “Let’s keep walking. Squirrels don’t wait forever.”
And with that, they continued their path toward the dojo, two brothers now with a mysterious gift, a dozen new questions, and a growing suspicion that their teacher was a lot more than just a traveling grump with decent cooking skills.