CHAPTER 97: BAD FORM

{Scarlett}

The camp was too loud. Too crowded. Too full of Aegis and Serilla bickering over how to properly skin a deer, which was somehow turning into innuendo about knife techniques. At least, to Scarlett’s ears.

Scarlett needed to move.

She found a spot far enough from camp that the voices faded to murmurs, close enough that she could sprint back if something started eating someone. The clearing was small, barely ten feet across, but it would do.

Push-ups came first. The ground was cold under her palms, leaves crunching with each rep. One hundred. Two hundred. Her arms burned but it wasn’t enough. Never was, these days, with her current size.

She flipped over, hooked her feet under a fallen log, and started crunches.

Three hundred crunches. Four hundred. She kept going, until her shirt was soaked with sweat.

Then, suddenly:

"Your form is off."

Scarlett nearly jumped out of her skin. Kanna stood at the clearing’s edge, barely visible in the moonlight. She’d appeared from nowhere, silent as death.

"My form is perfect," Scarlett said, not stopping her crunches.

"Your lower back is arching. You’ll injure yourself."

"I’ve been doing this since I was twelve."

"Incorrectly, apparently."

Scarlett stopped mid-crunch to glare at her. Kanna’s expression didn’t change. Never did. The girl had the emotional range of a particularly emotionless rock. She even gave Lune a run for her money with that look.

"Fine. You want to see form?" Scarlett stood, brushing leaves off her ass. "Watch this."

She dropped into a one-armed push-up position. These were harder, required perfect balance and control. She knocked out twenty without breaking rhythm.

Kanna tilted her head slightly. That was practically an ovation from her.

"Better. But your shoulder is rotating inward."

"It is not—"

Kanna walked over. Before Scarlett could react, hands were on her body. One on her shoulder, adjusting the angle. Another on her hip, shifting her weight distribution.

The touch was clinical. Professional. Absolutely no reason for Scarlett’s brain to short-circuit.

"There," Kanna said. Her hand lingered on Scarlett’s shoulder for exactly one heartbeat longer than necessary. "Try now."

Scarlett did another push-up. It was easier, somehow. The strain distributed better across her muscles.

"Huh."

"You’re strong," Kanna said. "But strength without proper form is just future injury."

"Speaking from experience?"

"Perhaps."

She stepped back. Scarlett immediately missed the contact, which was stupid. This was Kanna Greaves. Her rival. The girl who’d humiliated her in that sparring match.

The girl whose ass looked incredible in training pants.

[STOP. IT.]

"Your turn," Scarlett said, standing up. "Show me your workout."

Kanna raised one perfect eyebrow.

"Why?"

"Fair’s fair. You corrected my form, I’ll correct yours."

"You assume my form needs correcting."

"Everyone’s form needs correcting. That’s what training partners are for."

Something flickered across Kanna’s face, but it was gone too fast to identify.

"I train alone."

"Yeah, well, you’re not alone right now."

They stared at each other. The forest was quiet except for something screaming in the distance. Probably getting eaten. Nature was fun like that.

Finally, Kanna pulled off her outer shirt.

Scarlett forgot how to breathe.

The girl was carved from marble. Every muscle perfectly defined, moving under her skin like water. She dropped into a plank position and held it. Just held it. No movement, no trembling, perfect stillness.

"That’s... that’s it?"

"Static holds build stabilizer muscles."

"For how long?"

"Until failure."

They waited. One minute. Two. Five. Kanna didn’t move, didn’t shake, barely seemed to breathe. It was like watching a statue pretend to exercise.

"This is insane," Scarlett said.

"Try it."

"What?"

"Join me. Unless you’re scared."

That was definitely a challenge. Scarlett dropped down beside her, matching the position.

The first minute was easy. The second minute was fine. By minute three, her core was screaming. By minute four, she was shaking like a leaf in a hurricane.

"Breathe," Kanna said, still perfectly still. She almost, almost, looked like she was smirking. "Don’t fight it. Accept it."

"Easy for you to say."

"Focus on something else."

"Like what?"

"Whatever helps."

Scarlett focused on not looking at Kanna’s sports bra. Or the way sweat was starting to gather between her shoulder blades. Or how her grey hair fell across her face.

[This is the opposite of helping.]

Her arms gave out at minute five. She collapsed, gasping.

"Pathetic," she wheezed at herself.

"Five minutes is respectable."

"You’re still going."

"I’ve been training this for years."

Kanna finally lowered herself at minute eight, controlled and graceful. She wasn’t even breathing hard.

"How?" Scarlett demanded.

"Practice. Discipline." Kanna stood, rolling her shoulders. "And proper form."

"You’re never going to let that go, are you?"

"... No."

But there was something in her voice. Not quite warmth, but... something. Scarlett couldn’t figure this girl out. One moment she was stone, the next there were these tiny cracks showing something underneath.

"We should return," Kanna said. "Korvo will assign night watch soon."

"Yeah. Right."

Kanna started walking back. Three steps, then she paused.

"Tomorrow morning. We’ll head east. If you want to train properly."

She was gone before Scarlett could respond.

[What just happened?]

Scarlett stood there for another minute, trying to process. Then she grinned.

Tomorrow morning.

She’d be there.

---

{Aegis}

The fire crackled, sending sparks into the dark sky.

Everyone else was asleep—or pretending to be. Scarlett was snoring loud enough to wake the dead. Kanna was perfectly still... might have been dead, honestly. Darius had somehow procured an actual pillow from God-knows-where.

And Aegis sat on a log, supposedly keeping watch. The forest was quiet except for the usual screams of things eating other things. Circle of life and all that.

"Can’t sleep?"

Serilla materialized beside her like a particularly horny ghost. She’d changed into something that could generously be called sleepwear and accurately be called underwear.

"I’m on watch."

"How diligent~" Serilla sat down, too close as always. "See anything interesting?"

"Trees. Darkness. More trees."

"Fascinating."

"You should sleep."

"Can’t. Too many thoughts, unfortunately."

"About?"

"Wouldn’t you like to know."

"Not really."

Serilla laughed quietly.

"Liar."

They sat in silence for a bit. The fire popped. Something howled in the distance.

"Can I ask you something?" Aegis said.

"Depends what it is."

"You and Liora. Before."

Serilla went still.

"What about it?"

"Just wondering how that happened."

Serilla blinked at her. Then, she pulled her knees to her chest. It made her look younger. More vulnerable. Still dangerous, but in a different way.

"We were fourteen," she said finally. "Met at some regional competition. She was singing, I was... well, it doesn’t matter what I was doing."

"Competing in a ’most naked’ contest?"

"Close. Gymnastics."

"So I was right."

That got a small smile.

"She had this way of looking at the world. Like everything was beautiful and worth saving."

"Very poetic."

"Very naive." Serilla picked at a splinter in the log. "We dated for eight months. Wrote letters every day. Made all these plans."

"What happened?"

"Nothing dramatic. No big fight or betrayal." She shrugged. "She just... there was this girl at her school. Some noble brat with fancy titles and fancier promises."

Aegis connected the dots.

Talia. Had to be.

"They never dated," Serilla continued. "Never even kissed, from what I heard. But Liora looked at her differently. Talked about her constantly. Every letter was ’she said this’ and ’she did that.’"

"That must have sucked."

"It was very educational, though." Serilla’s voice went flat. "It taught me that being good isn’t enough. Being devoted isn’t enough. Sometimes people want what they can’t have more than what’s right in front of them."

"So now you’re trying to be ’what she can’t have’? Is that it?"

"Now I’m showing her what she missed." Serilla turned to face her fully. "What we could have been if she’d just looked at me the way she looked at that noble."

The firelight made her eyes look almost red. Or, well, maybe that was just the crazy showing through.

"That’s..." Aegis searched for words. "Kind of sad, actually."

"It’s practical. I know what I want and I’m taking it."

"What if she doesn’t want to be taken?"

"Everyone wants to be wanted." Serilla shifted closer. "Even you."

"Pretty sure I’m wanted plenty already."

"Physically, sure." Serilla leaned in, voice lower. "But do any of them actually see you? Do any of them appreciate Aegis Starcaller? Or just what you can do for them?"

That hit weirdly close to home.

"Aren’t you in exactly that spot? How many of your conquests care about Serilla Frost? Does Liora?"

It was Serilla’s turn to pause.

"I could show you," Serilla said, and suddenly she was straddling Aegis’s lap. "What it’s like to be someone’s everything."

Her hands were on Aegis’s shoulders. Her ass was pressed against Aegis’s cock, which was definitely paying attention despite Aegis’s better judgment.

"Serilla—"

"I’m very good at it, you know? Being everything. I’ve had years to practice."

She rolled her hips. Aegis bit back a groan.

She leaned in, lips almost touching Aegis’s ear.

"I could make you forget all about them. Talia. Scarlett. That little painter. Want to find out what you’ve been missing?"

Her mouth was so close. Her breath hot on Aegis’s neck. It would be so easy to just—

Aegis cast a water spell directly at Serilla’s face.

"GAHH!"

Serilla fell backward off her lap, sputtering and soaked. Her see-through nightwear became completely transparent, which really wasn’t helping anything.

"What the fuck!"

"Go to sleep, Serilla," Aegis said, adjusting her pants (to not show her hard dick).

"You just—did you seriously—"

"Night watch is sacred duty. Can’t be distracted."

Serilla glared at her, water dripping from her hair. Her nipples were very visible through the wet fabric. Actually, everything was visible.

[Good God...]

"You’re going to regret this."

"Probably."

"I mean it. I don’t handle rejection well."

"Nobody handles rejection well. That’s what makes it rejection."

Serilla stood, wringing out her hair. "This isn’t over."

"It literally never is with you."

"Exactly."

She stalked back to her bedroll, muttering something that sounded like "stupid noble commoner with her stupid morals and her stupid perfect ass."

Aegis turned back to the fire. Her cock was still hard, which was frankly rude of it.

Suddenly...

Serilla Frost: +1 Affection

(❤️🤍🤍🤍🤍)

Aegis pulled back.

She raised a brow so high it hurt.

[Excuse me?]