Seth was nearly jumping out of skin; though, he would never let Kendra see. The two siblings made their way through the forest on their way to Patton's pond. His first official training session. It had been a work in progress. First, he and Kendra would do workouts together in the mornings, working on coordination, strength and endurance. Eventually Warren, Dale, and Vanessa noticed they occasionally joined in the mornings and would give a few helpful pointers. Today, however, was real, official, not some po-dunk workout in the morning. Seth had heard rumors that they would actually be working with weapons! Of course, none of this phased Kendra. She wasn't one to get excited over weapons, besides her training sessions had become more frequent in the FairyRealm, and Seth knew that most of them included combat training.

He glanced over at Kendra, walking next to him, a look of complete ease graced her features. He was amazed at how much his sister had grown in such a short amount of time. She was always riddled with anxiety and nerves, but now she was full of confidence. He was proud to be his brother. Maybe those sessions in the FairyRealm weren't just meant to train her so that she would stay safe from physical attacks, but maybe also mental ones. The Queen seemed to be one smart lady. Now that he came to think of it, maybe Kendra's frequent visits to the FairyRealm weren't just to train more, but to see a certain someone. A small smirk graced his features as he tried to suppress his realization, but nothing concerning him ever escaped Kendra's keen eye.

"What are you thinking?" Kendra asked in an accusatory manner.

"Oh nothing…"

"No! You have to tell me now, you are practically mocking me with that smirk of yours. What is up your sleeve!?" Kendra argued, shoving his shoulder.

"Really, it's nothing, I'm just excited for our first official training session."

Kendra gave her brother a suspicious sideways glance, she knew full well that wasn't the reason he was smirking at her.

"This isn't over," she exclaimed, shaking a finger at him, while also simultaneously entering through the hedge and into the clearing around the pond.

Seth was glad that they arrived at their destination, he did not want to continue that banter. Though, his thoughts were cut short when he saw what surrounded him. The once modest pond had turned into a complete training ground. From where he stood, he could see wrestling mats, an obstacle course, targets, dummies, and, his favorite part, a wall full of different weapons. He was surprised he couldn't hear all the commotion before as the entire clearing was filled with noise as satyrs, centaurs, fairies, and dryads bustled about. Fairies fussed over the lawn and flowers, while the lythe, strong, dryads comforted them and polished weapons. The centaurs congregated on the wrestling mats and by the targets, challenging each other to competitions, while the satyrs joined in on the fun, bidding on who they thought would win each competition. Seth noticed Vanessa standing next to Warren, clearly annoyed about something, while Tanu and Trask stood on the other side of the space laughing and joking together.

A huge grin graced Seth's face. This was better than he had ever imagined. How did Kendra ever get this all organized? He looked over at his older sister, jumping out of his skin from excitement even more than before.

"So, what do you think?" Warren asked, as he ran up to Seth, bumping into his shoulder as he approached. Seth's mouth still hung open, his eyes attempting to process everything before him. "Your sister is pretty great isn't she?" The two cousins looked over at Kendra who had started a conversation with Vanessa. Seth nodded his head in appreciation to his sister, as both he and Warren joined the two girls.

"Warren, I wasn't done with you," Vanessa said with a huff. "I still don't think it was a good idea to invite the centaurs, especially with you two hooligans."

"Nessa, everything will be alright" Warren replied with mirth in his eyes. Much to her annoyance, Vanessa couldn't stay mad at the man standing in front of her for long and resorted to playfully punching him in the arm. Kendra gestured to Seth to follow her. The two siblings walked away, leaving Warren to faint being hurt, while Vanessa rolled her eyes good naturedly.

"I know you are most excited for combat training, so I thought Trask could help you with some sword fighting skills today."

Seth's body ached all over. Every inch of his body was covered in sweat, but he wouldn't let exhaustion stop him. He had been rehearsing fighting stances for the better half of the day, but he wouldn't stop; he was determined to learn everything he could. He squinted his eyes, his eyebrow furrowed in concentration at Trask, waiting for him to make the first move. The midday sun beat down on him, baking his skin and causing sweat to drip into his eyes, making it hard for him to focus. Trask stood still and relaxed. Seth twisted his feet deeper into the lush grass preparing himself to dodge or deflect whatever move the burly man would make. He could feel his hands slipping from the wooden sword he held and legs burned from holding the same crouched stance for so long. He couldn't help but wonder if Trask was just waiting for him to become so tired he would end up making himself loose. He was half tempted to initiate the attack, but he knew from his past ten attempts that it wouldn't work.

Seth wiped the sweat from his forehead and that's when he saw it. All of Task's muscles tensed, like a cat ready to pounce on its prey. Seth had just a split second to get his hand back onto his sword, but a small smile had graced his fingers: he had him this time. Trask lept toward him, but Seth nimbly dodged, remembering to technique the same exact man had shown him earlier. He put his sword toward the ground, effectively tripping the large man. Trask lost his footing, only for a brief second, but that was all Seth needed. The teenager whirled around and hit his opponent's weapon out of his hand. Seth was about to corner him on the ground, reveling in his victory, but Trask was faster. He fell back onto his hands and swept his long legs across the ground, causing Seth to fall onto his back. Seth felt the wind knock out of him and struggled to breath. Trask picked up the sword that lay next to him and pointed it at Seth's throat, a slight smirk on his face, while the boy on the ground glared at him.

"You got too cocky at the end, never celebrate like it is over until it is. You did a lot better this time though, good job" Task said. Seth smirked, don't celebrate until it's over, huh, he thought. He tightened his grip on his sword, and took a deep breath. He rolled out from under the point held at his neck, and leaped to his feet before Trask could react. Seth didn't stop, he took the sword out of Trask's hand during his shock, and crossed both in front the large man's neck.

"Never celebrate too early, huh?"

Trask burst out laughing as all the centaurs and satyrs surrounding the combat circle cheered at the showdown.

"Well done kid, let's call it a day," Trask replied, clapping Seth on the back, and walking away to get a drink and a towel. Seth dropped the two swords and heaved a huge sigh. He was exhausted but couldn't help himself from smiling, this was probably one of the best days he had ever had.

A/N: Yes, we are still alive. Sorry for this literally being posted almost a whole year later. Anywho, hoped you enjoyed, let us know if you have any suggestions and or requests. Have a wonderful day, love you all!