House of Amarin

It was while Lia was away, traveling north to get the lilies. Sion was yawning, walking down from his room, barely looking where he was going, heading towards their kitchen area by memory, wanting to brew coffee. It was still dark outside, and the only light on the bottom floor came from the fireplace and the embers glowing inside it. As he was shuffling around, he suddenly bumped into something… someone, almost falling over, making him open his eyes fully.

"Oh…" He flinched as he found himself face to face with Aurora, their noses almost touching. "Morning…"

"..." She looked unperturbed and just nodded slightly as they separated. "You should watch where you go." She wrote with her hair, fixing her loose top and shorts.

"Yeah." Sion agreed, yawning again, only having his boxers on. "I was up way too late. The fact that we can be tested about anything we learned in the past four years makes it hard to prepare fully for our last exam! I was re-reading my old notes from the first year."

"You took notes?" Aurora asked, leaning against the counter, watching him, munching on a toast with cheese melted onto it.

"At the first year." He smiled, "Only then! After that, I got used to how things work. Which is a problem! I focused too much on practical stuff and on-hand experience! If I get a task that makes me write an essay on something, I will be… in big trouble!"

"Not in as big as Koa." Aurora smiled, "She never took notes. Or at least, I never saw her doing it. Well… no matter! I wouldn't worry about it in your place; you look smart enough to bluff your way through!"

"Thanks… I guess?" Sion chuckled, shaking his head, pouring out the freshly brewed coffee.

"Want to blow off some steam?" Aurora asked, making him choke on his drink. In turn, Aurora simply rolled her violet eyes, releasing a silent snort, writing in the air. "I am not Koa. Idiot. Remember our first meeting?"

"Sure," Sion answered, wiping his lips and nose.

"Let's have a duel then. Go full out."

"Are you planning on releasing your anger on me after being done in by Simbad?" Sion asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I could ask the same… don't I?" She asked back quickly.

"Touché. But fine! I'm in… IF we establish some rules!"

"I'm listening."

"We do it on neutral grounds! Let's choose an arena with no obstacles!"

"Okay. Else?" Aurora nodded.

"Set a time limit. 10 minutes! If none of us is defeated until that point, we call it a draw!"

"Mmm… Sure. Anything more?"

"Nothing. That should be enough. No need to hold back; I won't either."

"Oh?" Aurora smiled, flashing her white teeth, "Why? Did you hold back against Simbad?"

"No. But that was different! He is a monster…."

"He… is good." Aurora wrote, her smile vanishing, "I don't think anybody in my old squad could have beaten him… only Solren."

"Your brother? What is he like?"

"The most honorable man I know." Aurora explained, "Also one of the best warriors of our 4th Branch. I think only Razael ranks above him in martial prowess… but I never saw them go head to head."

"I heard that he is pretty blunt." Sion smiled, remembering what Lia and Koa told him about Solren.

"He doesn't lie."

"It is hard to believe… everyone lies," Sion said, but Aurora did not take it to heart.

"If you meet him, you will understand. Shall we go?"

"Right now?" Sion asked, surprised, looking out the window and seeing the pitch-black scenery.

"At least nobody sees you lose~!" Aurora signed with her hands, which made Sion's eyes flash.

"Oh boy… now I really want to spank you…."

…
….
……

The arena was a simple, round stone circle floating above the clouds where Aurora and Sion were clashing against each other. Sion, summoning his pistols, at first tried keeping Aurora at a distance. She was already ready for that, casting a wide area of effect spell distorting Sion's light bullets, making them bend their path unnaturally, missing her.

Sion was not surprised, and when Aurora sped up, closing in the distance, holding two curved blades in her hands, similar blades appeared below his pistols' barrels, made out of white light. He was clashing against Aurora's rapid, quick, and deadly attacks, blocking, and countering. In return, Aurora's next moves would also intercept and counter his stabs, resulting in an endless back and forth.

Their bodies were moving faster and faster, their eyes locked onto the other, falling in a weird trance, moving in complete synchronization. Leg met against leg when one of them wanted to kick out or sweep the other off their feet. Blades were clashing in the air, throwing sparks of mana everywhere, making the two look like they were practicing a weird waltz in the middle of the arena.

"You are better in close quarters than I expected!" Aurora wrote after they separated, both gasping for air.

"I was never bad at it. Although I prefer battling from afar, I always trained myself in CQC." Sion answered as each of them took out a small vial and drank its content, regaining their stamina and spent mana. "I don't want to be caught off guard," Sion added, already swinging backward, blocking Aurora's blade that aimed right at the back of his head, trying to take him down in surprise.

"Good!" She mouthed silently, her eyes glowing as she tilted her head, dodging a point black shot from his pistol as their dance routine resumed.

Their battle lasted for more than fifteen minutes, only taking small breaks when both consumed a potion, regaining their strength. Yet, although they were matching each other, Sion realized after the fourth clash that he was going to lose. Aurora was starting to utilize maneuvers that he had never experienced before, clearly part of her military training. The only reason he did not get ejected early was that she pulled her hand back at the last moment, not landing the finishing blow and giving ample time for Sion to defend or counter it.

"You are holding back on me!" He groaned, refusing to take out another vile, stopping Aurora from drinking hers.

"I am not." She signed with her free hand.

"Yes, you are." Sion rolled his eyes, "I'm not stupid nor inexperienced!"

"I enjoy this." Aurora shrugged, "We are closely matched. This an excellent exercise!"

"But you are not using your full strength. Or pull it back at the last minute!"

"Those are killing techniques." Aurora wrote in the air, "It is meant to disable Undead so my partner can burn them into ashes while I move on to the next one. I'm not about to hurt you."

"The System would eject me anyway," Sion answered, rolling his eyes.

"Haahh…" Aurora breathed silently and nodded.

It was enough to make the two clash again, and this time Aurora slipped by, Sion's moving arm like a shadow. Her forward slash was a perfect faint, tricking him, trying to counter it. Instead, she abandoned her blades, which started to dissolve as soon as she let them go. By the time Sion reacted, Aurora was ducking forward, running her index finger through his extended arm, and Sion knew if she was holding a dagger, she would slice it right open. He couldn't help but smile, feeling a bit ticklish, seeing Aurora's similarly smiling face as she snuggled up to him, pushing him down on his back. All of it happened in a second, and when his head landed hard on the ground, making him groan, reopening his eyes, squinting, Aurora was sitting atop of him, one finger pointing at his throat, another onto his stomach.

"I would move my blades like this," Aurora mouthed slowly so he could read his lips, drawing circles onto his body, "and you would be dissected into three parts."

"Brutal." Sion chuckled, looking into her eyes. "You were faster than before. I knew you were holding back."

"It was a temporary boost." She shook her head, letting him go but still sitting atop him. "I can only use it a few times before my muscles get overheated, strained beyond their limits, and I become immobile."

"You won!" Sion sighed softly, and the System teleported both of them out of the arena. The sun was slightly peeking above the horizon as Aurora climbed off him, helping him up. "Brr… back out in the snow while sweaty is not pleasant!" Sion shivered.

"Ahaha~" Aurora chuckled silently, nudging him. "Let's go back and have a good bath!"

"Together?" Sion joked, walking with her.

"You can try," Aurora smirked, her fingers flashing in a light, mixing dark, violet energies together.

"Erh… It was a joke…." Sion added quickly, twitching his mouth, noticing the dangerous light in Aurora's eyes, who were grinning all the way back home.