"Ryker are you okay?", Wendy asked worriedly. This was the second day of training, and Ryker had arranged with the young mage and her usual companion to meet on the beach. However, the soldier mage had a horrible face. He had deep circles under his eyes, was pale, and had an unfriendly face.
"It's just the result of a bad night's sleep Wendy," he said, knowing he hadn't slept for months and was sticking to strong medicine.
"But you don't look good. He doesn't want to leave today's training for another day", the young mage said back, still worried about the other mage's appearance.
"Not Wendy. Healthy body, healthy mind," he replied back. Dragon Slayer just resigned.
Although he warned that today they were going to swim, the mage was embarrassed, he didn't have much confidence in her physical size. She wasn't shy or anything, but being in her bathing suit in front of someone she'd known a little while ago bothered her a little.
"How's it going to be?", she asked looking at the wizard beside her, who was strangely wearing a shirt and shorts.
"Let's start with about 30 or 50 km. Depending on how much we can take", he said calmly.
"All this! Are you crazy!?" Carla yelled and Wendy just stood there in shock.
"Well, if we want to get stronger, we have to push ourselves, test ourselves, go beyond our endurance," he replied firmly. "And over the days we are expanding our limits," he said seriously.
Wasting no time they ran to the lake and began to swim, going back and forth on a course already pre-programmed by the soldier mage. Time passed and they were swimming until completing the distance they could. When they returned to the beach, they were very tired but somehow refreshed, including Ryker. They felt good and were relaxed. However, without wasting any time, he pulled everyone into a run in the sand that lasted a few more hours, followed by other complementary aerobic activities, as any military would do in training. It was excruciating and so the morning passed.
"AAAHHHHHH! I can't take it anymore!", complained Wendy, lying down on the exhausted sand.
"Me neither!" Carla followed. "You are a psychopath!" she said to the other wizard sitting beside them. He looked quite tired but didn't show it, always keeping his posture.
"How can you not be tired?" Wendy asked in amazement.
"I am," he replied coolly. "I just don't show that much. I've done that a lot in my life, you kind of get used to it," he said without much emotion or intonation.
"Get some rest and then let's get something to eat. We'll have more in the afternoon," he said devilishly, his face following his voice.
Both Wendy and Carla threw themselves on the sand of the paia to rest, looking up, on that clear day with clear and sunny skies. The day was hot and muggy, which further complicated training and made recovery difficult.
Ryker looked at Wendy fondly, it was a good time he spent with her. She reminded him of one of his friends from the past, and it made him nostalgic, and it saddened him too, with the painful memories that resemblance brought to him.
"You will be happy to hear that I followed your advice," he said, looking tenderly at the young mage beside him. "Yesterday I went to a store and bought a few things for a hobby".
Wendy smiled widely and the glow seemed to light up everyone. "That's good! What would it be?"
"Well, I'll keep it a secret", he smiles slightly.
"You have many secrets," the mage pouted. But a moment later the wizard leaned over and whispered his hobby in her ear, which made her smile deeply. The two magicians stood there smiling enjoying the scenery, sitting on the soft sand.
After a while they went to the guild to eat something made by Mirajane. They sat at the bar and stood there enjoying each other's company and Mira, who kept talking to them, especially Ryker.
Wendy watched him tease the bartender, which was weird, no one in the guild had the guts to tease what would be one of the strongest mages in the world, and known for her savagery when pissed off. But he didn't seem to care and Mira didn't seem to mind his teasing. The little Dragon Slayer imagined what it could be, and what she imagined made her blush bright red.
"Ryker!" Wendy calls. "I'm happy for you and Mira-san," she says sweetly as they leave the guild.
"Well…thanks, I guess," he said a little suspiciously. "But she and I are just friends, nothing more," he said smiling. "And I'm not an idiot, girl. I know what those idiots think. It took a while, but I realized how their minds work."
Wendy couldn't help but be embarrassed, she also imagined that there was something else there.
"Just because I'm her friend doesn't mean we have anything else."
"Oh yes," she said awkwardly as the wizard ran a hand over her head.
"Come on, let's keep training", he said and they went to the beach.
The mage picks up some magic weights, they can change the mass through magic putting on a big charge without being too big and clumsy.
"Bodybuilding", the magician tells the two young women. " I go first, setting the ideal weight for me for each exercise. Then do the same. Understood?", both stated.
Ryker did a series of exercises, which involved the biceps, triceps, trapezius, back muscles, and even abdominals with weights. When he was done, he handed it to Wendy to do the same, just adjusting the load to what she could manage. When she finished, she handed it to Carla to do the same.
"Hey Wendy!" the mage calls his companion, who is tired and has sore muscles. "You seem a little distant today. Everything is fine?"
The little mage looks at him with embarrassment and cute shyness. "Yeah…well yeah, I guess," he says awkwardly. "It's just…all the women in the guild, you know? There's a lot..."
"There's a lot..."
"Breasts", she whispers and blushes like Erza's hair, putting her hands on her face in shame. Although the speech was low, it was loud enough for the wizard beside him to hear, leaving him stunned.
"It's…well…it's…about it…I…you know…" the mage was stammering not knowing what to say or how to react to it. In fact, Wendy, seeing his reaction, was amused.
"Well... what can I say... does it bother you?" he asked awkwardly.
"A little…I think," said the mage almost in a shy whisper. "I wanted to be bigger. But, I think I'll be like Levy and I won't grow anymore!", she said, crying comically.
Ryker looked at her not knowing what to do. "But Levy is short and cute, and she's really pretty, you know?"
Wendy looked at him with tearful eyes, but with a glow and a background of hope. "Serious?"
Ryker looked at her tenderly and sighed. "Wendy, don't worry about it so much," he said sweetly, something unusual for him. "I heard that women grow up to 25 years old. So you still have many years to go"
"Really?", the little one said with sparkles in her eyes.
"Of course! Besides, there are more important things than the body", he said putting his arm around the young Dragon Slayer in a loving, protective and comforting way. "Guild girls can be kind of…big. But it's also good to be different. There's nothing wrong with that," he said trying to comfort her.
"I don't know how it's going to be up there, maybe your biotype is like that, skinny, short. And that's okay," he said and the mage looked more crestfallen. "That's not bad. Know something Wendy...", he said putting his hand on the girl's heart. "…the inside reflects the outside," she looked at him with awe and a glowing gleam in her eyes. "You are a pretty little girl, know that. Sweet and always willing to help whoever needs it, isn't that right?", she nodded. "So, in the end, that's what matters."
"Each one is each one. And I bet all those girls want to change something about their bodies," he looked at her mischievously. "I've never seen anyone who didn't want to change something", he said smiling and lightly, being accompanied by the little magician.
"Thanks Ryker," she said hugging him and snuggling into him and he ran his hand over her arms in a comforting way.
"It's alright girl. I'll be here to help you whenever possible", she had her face resting on the magician's chest and felt a fraternal warmth, a protective sensation, of comfort.
At that moment she realized that her family had grown, and she had just gained another older brother. This one was different from the others, colder and more distant, but even so she thought that, as he said, being different was good. She knew, however, that he would never leave her and be there for her. She couldn't be happier right now.
Carla had overheard the conversation and understood, in that moment, that this man, too, would be part of her friend's life and protected. And he wouldn't let anything bad happen to her. Maybe she was starting to like him, too.
"Well, the rest is over. Time for training!", he said, pulling the young woman away from the hug and standing up.
"Are we going to practice wrestling?", Wendy said all excited and bouncy.
"Not today", he said with a smile, the magician was not disappointed, she knew that something would come from there. "Well, my magic seems to work differently than yours, so I don't know if it will work," the wizard said thoughtfully. "But I will show you how to get in touch with your energy."
"What!?", the two gaped. "Like this!?".
Ryker crossed his arms and looked thoughtful. "Well, you have to feel it inside. Be intimate with her, and with that you can do a lot of things". They both looked confused, not understanding what he was saying.
The mage scratched his head in frustration. "I'll show you, I think it will be easier this way", he said. "Wendy, come here", the wizard said indicating for her to stand in front of him. "Attack me with everything you've got, I won't defend myself".
"What!?" she said in shock. "I couldn't do that. I do not wanna hurt you"
"Don't worry, nothing will happen. I just want to demonstrate what I'm talking about", he said seriously.
Even without meaning to, the magician resigned herself. "Okay," she said without excitement, jumping back and taking distance. " Tenryū no Hōkō, " he shouted. His attack was towards the wizard in front of him who made no move to dodge.
"Enhance", he called to himself, and was hit by the Dragon Slayer's attack, causing an explosion. After the dust settled, it revealed a wizard with no injuries.
It was one of the strongest attacks of Dragons Slayers and he didn't suffer anything, the two girls were amazed.
"It was a powerful attack, I have to admit," he said, stepping closer to the girls.
"How did you not get hurt?" Carla asked incredulously.
"I used my control over my energy, or magic, as you please, to create a protective barrier around me. And that has nothing to do with my style of magic", the two were amazed but excited.
Noticing the girls' excitement he continued. "If you manage to control your internal energy well, which is the source of all magic, you will be able to manipulate it freely, increasing the resistance of your body and the strength of your spells. You'll be able to jump higher, hit harder, run faster and so on", she added, the girls' excitement only increased.
"You can show us, Ryker," Wendy asked.
"Obviously!" he leaves his hands facing each other and closes his eyes in concentration. After a few seconds a pure blue sphere of light appears between his hands.
"See? This is pure energy".
"It's like Etherano, but a little different," Wendy notes, appreciating the beautiful luminous sphere.
Ryker undoes the ball and crosses his arms. "Like I said, my magic is different from yours. I don't know if they will be able to do this, but it doesn't hurt to try".
"And how do we master this?", the young Dragon Slayer was excited and with a sparkle in her eyes, hopeful of learning that technique.
"It takes time, but you seem to evolve fast, so it shouldn't take long," he said smiling as he ran his hand over the mage's head. "Sit down and cross your legs, the position itself doesn't matter", he ordered and promptly the two girls did so. "Close your eyes, you need to concentrate, focus on energy, or Etherano, as you wish. Search within, completely ignore any discomfort or discomfort, sounds, heat, cold, humidity, anything that hinders you. Focus on what's important."
"And how do we know we've made it?" Carla asked in disbelief.
"You will know, believe me. But don't expect to get it right either."
So they stayed for hours while he practiced his magic. Nothing happened, in fact it would take longer than just part of an afternoon. Ryker himself took months to master this technique and he wasn't even sure it would work with those mages. But he was proud of the dedication of what he considered a younger sister. After so much effort the two girls couldn't take it anymore and lay down tired.
"Awww…nothing happened, I didn't feel anything," Wendy whimpered in dismay and frustration.
"I already said it takes time. Learn to be patient girl, it's boring, but it's essential in life", he looked at her seriously. "It took me months myself, so relax."
"Yes," she said.
"Come on! I'll take you home, tomorrow we'll continue", he said helping her up and accompanying her to her dorms.
"Get ready, tomorrow we're going to run, with weights," said the wizard at the entrance to Fairy Hills. "Let's push a little bit".
"Yes," they both said excitedly, more than he thought possible.
"Ah, Wendy!" she called to her. "Tomorrow we will continue with the training in hand-to-hand combat. I think I will teach you Kali Silat."
"Huh!? And what is this?" he said with wide eyes. She imagined something brutal and very difficult that she could never do, and it put her in a state of dread and fear.
"It's a Filipino martial art. Basically you're going to learn to fight with knives," and she definitely panicked. "It's not your style, I know, but it's always good to know as much of everything as possible and it helps with motor coordination. And don't worry, I'll be there taking care of you. I know you can do it", he comforted the young woman with a hand on her head.
Wendy smiles confidently, feeling that he trusted her, that she would be able to, it gave her strength and the mage wouldn't let him down. "I'll be waiting," he said confidently.
They watched him walk away and the Dragon Slayer looked at her longtime companion, who had reverted to her cat form and was in her lap.
"What do you think? Do you think I can get this Kali Silat guy?", Wendy asked, still not really confident.
"Of course, girl. You are strong, you can get anything you want", Carla responded like a mother.
"I thought I was going to freak out," the magician said, laughing, entering the building.
"I trust him," Wendy smiles at her friend, happy that she has accepted her new brother.
And so the days went by, being interspersed between running and swimming more and more demanding. Weight training and aerobic training. Wrestling and magic training. The bond between them grew closer and as tiring as the days were, they couldn't say it wasn't fun. In between, Wendy and Ryker and even, from time to time, Carla, talked and had fun, laughing at each other. Now it was no longer a secret that Ryker was more communicative and open with everyone, even his eyes became friendlier.