Solaris was brimming with the joy of beating Selen; the feeling permeated his whole body with a feeling he'd never experienced before.
The feeling of winning.
The feeling was so strong when she congratulated him, he didn't even think anything of it; all he knew was he was victorious.
***
After a quick rest break, the two began walking back to the beginning of the course, yet this time the two were not silent; they, in fact, were in a talking mood.
Solaris was following the course of the conversation, not worrying about what he said or how to start a conversation. This time, he was just doing it.
This was something he had very little experience doing, as he mostly preferred to keep to himself. This was slightly changed over the course of the last few days; he rather enjoyed talking to Sami and Cedric, mostly because they did most of the communicating.
Yet this time, he was able to have and hold conversations; it felt as if they were building a connection of sorts.
It was the one thing Solaris had less experience in than communicating. He had never connected to the other kids he lived with at the foster homes he lived in, and never talked to people in school; he was always alone, something he thought he valued.
But now he wasn't sure.
reaching the course, the two spotted ember smoking at the starting line.
Solaris's training was now truly beginning.
***
Days passed into weeks and weeks into months; his life became more monotonous than his previous one.
Every day seemed to blend into the last, every meal was the same, every night looked identical, and everything was the same.
He would wake up, eat breakfast alone in the kitchen down the hall from the rooms, then he would get dressed and leave the building to go train. After hours of that, he'd leave study with Sami, then he'd eat alone and go to sleep. The entire process was truly repetitive.
For months, he had to train endurance, involving running, calisthenics, and lifting weights, before finally he could start combat training.
The entire time he was attempting to talk more with Selen, yet it was almost always different from that first day, except on Tuesdays, every Tuesday, she seemed different.
He couldn't quite figure out why, but she seemed like and entiely different person.
This, on the surface, wasn't very strange to Solaris; this didn't raise any alarms in his head, he just assumed that she was just happier on Tuesdays, and that was good enough for him.
"Sami, do you happen to know why Selen is happier on Tuesdays?"
Solaris asked nochalantly, and almost on instinct,
the response was not something he would've ever expected, however.
"What? Do you see Selen on Tuesdays?"
Sami asked, clearly confused
".. yeah... we train together almost every day."
Solaris responded in an even more confused tone.
"hmm.. I thought she was out that day. I could be wrong, though, all I know is that I've never seen her."
Sami said before motioning for the papers Solaris was writing on.
Solaris handed the paper to Sami while deep in thought.
Solaris was somewhat confused as to why Sami didn't know about Selen.
Why would she think Selen was out on Tuesdays? Doesn't she talk with her often?
Wouldn't that topic come up at some point?
Oh well, I assume it's nothing.
Sami gave a quick review of the papers that Solaris had been working on.
Since Solaris was no longer going to an actual school sami had volunteered to tutor and quiz him over a myriad of topics, including math, science, reading, and demon anatomy.
Today, he was doing math.
After a bit of time passed, he left the office and headed to his room.
Reaching the room, he decided that he wanted to get a bit more sword training before bed.
Solaris had only recently begun his combat training and was finally able to wield the sword he had picked months ago. Due to this, he had been rather excited about using the weapon.
Whenever he had a free moment, he would head back to the lush forest where they trained, attempting to become more proficient with the weapon.
Solaris opened his door, grabbed the sword he kept right next to it, and ran down the stairs, down the street, and through the alleyway, before appearing in the tranquil training grounds.
The forest was mostly used for endurance and strength training, while the ruins in the opening are mostly used for combat and extramicy training.
Walking to a good opening, Solaris checked his surroundings and drew his blade; the polished blade shone from the light of the setting sun. reflecting a serene light across the long, lush grass being softly blown by the wind.
Solaris tossed the sheath to the side, placing both hands onto the hilt and beginning to practice his footwork before shifting his grip around just as Ember had shown him, before settling into a ready stance and beginning to swing the blade.
holding the blade in front of him, Solaris took a deep breath in, then exhaled. The wind blew through his black hair. As soon as the wind settled, the blade flashed through the air.
"damn it!"
Once the blade began moving, Solaris shifted his feet and slipped on the grass.
The blade sliced through the dirt, and Solaris found himself looking up at the darkening sky.
After weeks of training, Solaris was still struggling in vain to master the longsword; as a matter of fact, he was struggling to even learn it, let alone master it. He couldn't seem to get his body and mind to intertwine into a flowing river of deadly motion.
Disappointed, Solaris lay on the ground for a bit, staring at the sky as the stars slowly began to populate the sky.
After the world had almost gone dark, he sat up to the sound of footsteps approaching. Looking around, he couldn't see anyone for a few moments before spotting a girl in a blue shirt and her long blonde hair flowing in the wind approaching through the woods.
It was Selen, or at least it looked like Selen.