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They spent the morning cleaning up the wreckage. Fenna salvaged her satchel, patched up what she could, and stored the remains of their food in a fresh wax leaf pouch. Zephyr used Star’s help to lift the scattered equipnt back into place, all while keeping a wary eye on the nearby underbrush.
By midday, the sunlight was clear and bright enough for training. But Fenna was already drawing out chalk symbols on flattened stones and muttering about bait traps and rope snares.
Zephyr knelt beside her. "Let’s plan it properly."
Fenna nodded, eyes serious now. "It didn’t leave any scent or traces behind. Only so footprints that vanished outside my tent. Star didn’t hear it. Whatever it is, it’s clever, small, and fast."
"Could be so forest sprite," Zephyr suggested. "Or a spirit furred creature. Emberwood forest has a few species that mimic drake prints. I read it in the book which your uncle Alren gave ."
Fenna looked up. "Then it is a beast. Which ans I can ta it."
"Maybe," he allowed. "But not if we scare it off. So tonight, we will stay hidden. We will wait for it to co, then catch it. You will sleep as usual."
She smiled grimly. "I’m not sleeping. I want to catch it by myself."
Zephyr set his jaw and stood. "We’ll build a false tent. Tonight, We will sleep together."
Fenna blinked. "Sleep... together?" Her brain short circuited.
Wait... did he just say what she thought he said?
"Together? Like, husband and wife? Sa sleeping roll? Skin against—"
Her thoughts imdiately spun into dangerous territory.
"No! Not until we get married!" she scread in her head, cheeks glowing like embers in a forge. "But if Zephyr really wants to... what do I do? I can’t say no! But I should! But I can’t! But I should!"
Smoke practically curled out of her ears as she stared at him, hands trembling, mind spiraling into disaster scenarios.
"What if he touches under the blanket? Or worse... what if we... do naughty things?"
Suddenly her imagination betrayed her.
She pictured a moonlit tent interior, faint orange firelight dancing across the canvas walls. Zephyr stood there in nothing but his underclothes. With broad-shouldered, calm, and utterly oblivious—while she, in nothing but a loose nightshirt, clutched a pillow to her chest like it was a shield.
"Zep..." she whispered in her mind’s hallucination, backing into the corner of the tent. "W-we shouldn’t do naughty things before marriage. We can kiss and hug, nothing more."
But the fantasy Zephyr only ca closer, hand reaching out, gentle and confident, eyes smoldering like forge coals. "Fenna, Kissing and hugs are not enough. I can’t wait until we get married. Co, let’s make babies."
Then his hand reached down to her belly, it kept going down and down and—
"ZEPHYR!" she shrieked aloud, covering her entire head with both hands. "Only married couples sleep together!!"
There was a long pause.
Cough. Cough. Cough.
Zephyr turned so red his face matched with his red shirt collar. "W-Wait! No—That’s not—I didn’t an it like that!"
He waved his hands wildly, knocking over the folded map scroll and nearly tripping on the corner of a bedroll. "I ant to sleep nearby! As in... sa camp. Not together."
Fenna peeked through her fingers, lips trembling in a half pout, half smile of embarrassnt. "Oh."
Zephyr coughed into his fist, trying to recover. "Your tent is bait. We recreate everything like before: warm blanket, food packs, your scent." He gestured at the canvas flap. "Then we hide in the brush. If it cos back, we ambush it. End of story."
"Oh..." Fenna mumbled again, face still pink as a peach. She slowly uncovered her face, shoulders rising and falling with relief and disappointnt. "You could’ve led with that, you idiot..."
She turned her back to him quickly to hide the last trace of red on her cheeks. Her dagger belt jingled softly as she adjusted it too hard.
Zephyr looked skyward like he was praying for strength. "I’m never using the words ’sleep together’ again."
Fenna muttered under her breath, "You better not. Especially to other won."
There was a short silence.
Then she sniffed and added, "If you need to do that kind of stuff... you better tell . I will compromise."
"What?" Zephyr asked.
"Nothing." She replied.
Zephyr turned to Star, who had been watching the entire exchange with the kind of blank face of curiosity, only a baby drake could manage.
The little drake tilted his head. "Purrr?"
Zephyr pointed a firm finger at him. "Not a word. You are too young to understand."
Star chirped and puffed out a tiny stream of smoke that suspiciously resembled a heart.
She finally laughed, short and sharp. "Don’t scold Star. And you better not snore."
A few monts later...
The ember red sun broke across the Emberwood clearing like a spilled forge. Thin rays sliced through the treetops, igniting every edge of basalt rock and ash-coated leaf with molten light. Zephyr stood at the edge of their camp, hands resting on his staff, watching Star stretch his wings in the warming air.
Fenna had already prepared the food, but today, breakfast was late. It is almost noon but they haven’t eaten yet.
Today was ti for fire training.
Zephyr stepped onto the training ring they’d scratched out in the dust. It was a wide circle marked with three smaller rings on the inside, arranged like nested targets. Star padded into place with practiced grace, flicking his tail and snorting smoke from his nostrils.
"You ready?" Zephyr asked, voice low but steady.
Star crouched, wings tight, eyes bright. He was Ready.
Zephyr bent and dragged a char stick through the ash, outlining a curved line. "Today we train your fire control. No flaring randomly. No overheating. Just raw bursts."
He pointed to the center ring. "Target ring one. Full blast."
Star’s mouth opened, light flickering deep within. Then—
FWOOM!
A clean jet of red-orange fla lanced out, crisp and sharp like a forge torch. The dust at the center ring scorched black instantly, and smoke rose in a twisting spiral.
Note: Please, Give golden ticket. Thank you.
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