Knight Quests: Training (MOX-994)

Pantalaimon and Troia faced each other in a small clearing in a training ground of Wingfell, surrounded by streams, moss-covered rocks and trees laden with orange, red and gold leaves rustling gently in the breeze. Troia and numerous other knights-in-training had been sent to Wingfell to receive training from the local masters of martial arts in the area; and, of course, Pantalaimon insisted that they specifically accompany Troia, as usual- and no matter how hard she tried to dissuade them they always ended up coming, anyways. 

Pantalaimon flashed their characteristic wink and smile at Troia; something that made some xyns swoon and others cheer up, but Troia never really felt anything when they did it for her. “It’s a beautiful evening for a bit of a tussle, isn’t it?” Pantalaimon exclaimed, cheerfully. “I haven’t had the opportunity to stretch my wings quite like this for some time. This’ll be an excellent warmup for me!~”

Pantalaimon stretched their legs and wings, Troia said nothing in response as she watched them. Pantalaimon loved to hear the sound of their own voice and always found ways to think of themself even when in the presence of others.

“Well, here I come!” Said Pantalaimon. They finished the last of their stretches, and shook a paw to loosen it up with a grin. “Sorry if I pluck out a feather or pull out a few hairs of yours!”

“Don’t be too sure of yourself.” Troia replied, her voice as calm as ever.

Pantalaimon pawed the ground, preparing to charge, then lunged full force at Troia. A strong gust of wind magic shot them forward like a rocket- but Troia had already vanished, and Pantalaimon struggled to screech to a halt on the earth. Their eyes quickly darted to their surroundings- they knew one of  Troia’s dark magic tricks was to melt into shadow, and she excelled at using it to ambush them when they least expected it. They’d have to stay light on their toes to evade her. 

A tail with a glowing, pointed stinger at the end suddenly lashed out at them from behind; Pantalaimon’s winged ears twitched, and they strafed to the side to dodge it, planting all fours firmly on the earth. Troia’s body immediately flickered into view and in seconds two illusory clones of her shot out to surround Pantalaimon. Another one of her tricks; they had to guess the correct one to attack, and hitting the wrong one would cost them precious time.

Pantalaimon reared up on their hindlegs and thrashed their wings repeatedly to generate powerful gusts of wind surrounding them. Razor-sharp blades of air sliced through all three Troias that surrounded them, and two illusory clones dissipated in seconds; but Troia herself had vanished again. 

They gritted their fangs as their eyes darted to their surroundings; the both of them were on equal footing in terms of agility and evasion, but only Troia had the brute strength to knock them out with a single hit. It would take Pantalaimon several times that to incapacitate her. 

Pantalaimon was about to spring into action- until they felt the sheer weight of another xyn barrel into them. The both of them rolled over each other several times, until Troia pinned them down firmly to the ground to a stop. Pantalaimon yipped in shock, and squirmed under Troia’s weight. Her knife-sharp claws were planted firmly on the fluffy feathers of their throat, but she took care not to prick their skin so that they didn’t bleed out.

“Hey! No fair!” Pantalaimon stuck out their tongue at Troia’s face. You didn’t give me time to react!” 

“And how many times have you caught me by surprise?” Troia responded. She stepped off of Pantalaimon and sat down beside them. She couldn’t lick her claws as long as her golden mask halo was present on her face, so she instead dusted them off with the stinger of tail, one claw at at a time. Her regal purple fur and feathers always seemed neat and tidy even when covered in debris.

Pantalaimon got up on all fours, shaking the dust off their body off much like a dog shake itself when drenched with water. “More times than any toes I could ever possibly have. And I don’t have any toes!” They flashed a cheeky smile again, and playfully pawed Troia’s chest (which they knew would tick her off). “Just give me a few minutes and let’s have another go again!”

“Fine,” Troia said, bluntly. “I’ll go first since I won this time.”

And with that, the both of them prepared for their next sparring match…